Nonexistent Saudi Submarine - Hmmm

The RSNF (Royal Saudi Naval Forces) is the naval arm for the Kingdom. Headquartered in Riyadh with a Western Fleet in the Red Sea (Jeddah) and Eastern Fleet in the Persian Gulf (Jubail), the RSNF is some 12,000 officers and men strong, including 1200 Marines.

Saudi naval officers have received training in the navies of France and Pakistan. - W. M. Thornton - 1997

In an earlier submarine program projected to cost $4 - $6 Billion, Saudi Arabian representatives visited submarine builders Vickers, ILK and Kockums. - see
Saudi Arabia enters the twenty-first century By Anthony H. Cordesman, Center for Strategic and International Studies (Washington, D.C.) -2003

As the Saudi navy currently claims no submarines, the existing Royal Saudi Naval Forces submarine insignia (shown above) is thought to be for SDV commandos, and perhaps even 'unofficial'.

Today, the New York Times published (registration required) Documents Back Saudi Link to Extremists:

WASHINGTON — Documents gathered by lawyers for the families of Sept. 11 victims provide new evidence of extensive financial support for Al Qaeda and other extremist groups by members of the Saudi royal family, but the material may never find its way into court because of legal and diplomatic obstacles.

M.E. has wondered since the space shuttle Challenger tragedy in 1986, if a submarine-based laser was responsible for the string of strange accidents off the eastern shores of the U.S.

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Even the CO2 lasers of yesteryear could burn through the skin of an airliner from miles below, igniting the fuel stored inside centerline tanks. M.E. has never seen a single photo of the centerline bottom skin from even one of the fatal flights, have you?

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If, as the NYT article reports, some Saudi Royals have been complicit in funding terrorists to wit:

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A sworn statement from a 1998 witness that an emissary from Turki al-Faisal handed a check for one billion Saudi riyals (now about $267 million) to a top Taliban leader.

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Internal Treasury Department documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, reflecting that prominent Saudi charity, the International Islamic Relief Organization, supported largely by members of the Saudi royal family, showed “support for terrorist organizations” through 2006.

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Then, M.E. believes members of the U.S. government may have been paid off and/or blackmailed since 1985, by misguided royals from you know where. This would certainly explain some of the strange failures of our federal government to communicate effectively since 1986.

In all fairness, we should not suspect Canada at this point.

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

A Question Begging

Consider TWA flight 800 (July 1996), SwissAir Flight 111 (September 1998), EgyptAir flight 990 (October 1999), and Air France Flight 447 (June 2009)?

Covertly or overtly, submarines have been utilized in recovery operations for the foregoing lost airliners as well as the space shuttle Challenger (January 1986).

Why since 1996, have transatlantic airliners been lost off the East coast of the Americas, rather than off the coasts of their home/destination continents?

Perhaps this will relieve your discomfort:

Remember Able Danger and, the toothless 911 Commission? Coverup exercises by the U.S. Congress?

You really do not have to be a conspiracy theorist to appreciate the feckless investigations, sloppy oversight and poor results communicated to the public, but to overlook Congress's incompetence or secretiveness, you must.

The coriolis effect does not account for the recurring locations of major aircraft losses, nor do claims by Al-Qaida and continuing denials by France, Brazil and the U.S. of terrorism.

As we had asked here, would the public be informed that the the ULB was ever found, or never found?

Finally, we ask again: What is the U.S. code name for China's towed array cutters (Zippos)? - Classified. What if CHINA had proved to the U.S. that they could render our technological superiority very vulnerable in a way the U.S. would be unwilling to admit. Think of the manner in which China demonstrated in 2007, that our satellite surveillance and communication technology could be defeated easily. Perhaps now, our towed arrays be severed at will by properly equipped PLAN subs.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Reading Bewteen the Lines: CHINA's P.L.A.N. is a Growing Pain

China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) boasts a personnel strength exceeding 250,000, with potentially unlimited growth prospects. Earlier this year, it was announced that PLAN wants to establish a world-class, blue-water navy.

In international waters it has encountered the U.S. Navy (currently the reigning world-class navy) in some memorable episodes publicly embarrassing for the United States.

First, there was the 2007 intrusion in the USS Kitty Hawk excercise with one of China's submarines. A Chinese diesel sub surfaced near a U.S. task force operated from Kitty Hawk on October 26 near Okinawa. The story was reported by the U.S. press in mid-November.As a result, but on November 24, 2007, M.E. made this prediction:

Options are numerous, but continued devaluation of the dollar against the yuan is the natural. Ouch, China! You were warned years ago to float your currency like other nations. The entire world remembers that you resisted. Your U.S investments are now worth how much less? Go suck a hundred year egg, China!

Then, in what has been termed the worst China-U.S. dispute in 8 years, there was the very serious South China Sea confrontation this past March. The unarmed USNS Impeccable monitoring submarine activity[8] 75 miles south of Hainan was harassed by several Chinese Naval ships.

Lately, of course, we have last week's "inadvertent encounter," between a Chinese submarine and the underwater sonar array being towed by the destroyer USS John McCain. The Chinese claim inadvertence as if they cannot or have not read Wikipedia on SURTASS (Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System), if not before the Impeccable incident, afterwards. Guess again, reporters.

According to StrategyWorld.com , the U.S. Navy did not reveal if the American ship had detected the sub before the collision. If the array was not activated, its sound (sonar) detectors would not have detected the sub. The Chinese admitted the sub was one of theirs, and the boat was apparently following the American ship unaware that a sonar array (which usually operates over a hundred meters beneath the surface, and two kilometers behind the ship towing it) was there.

The array was damaged, but the sub and the ship did not collide, the official said. Or, was the AN/SQR-19 towed away by the Chinese to gather our secrets? Implausible considering China's spy networks in the U.S. today. Why do things the difficult way and risk provoking unnecessary U.S. ire? The Chinese are patient, not stupid.

What was their point then? Well, if they wanted to prove to the U.S. that they could render our technological superiority very vulnerable, they may have made their point in a way the U.S. would be unwilling to admit. In the same manner China demonstrated in 2007, that our satellite surveillance and communication technology could be defeated easily, so too can our towed arrays be severed at will by properly equipped subs.

What, pray tell, is the U.S. code name for China's towed array cutters (Zippos)? - Classified.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Nurse A.C.O.R.N. Activist, I Presume?

Update to Timely Preview of Universal Health Care from April 21st. ...

The hallmarks of the terms public and universal as in restrooms or military conscription (the draft) have often meant lowered standards. Restroom sanitation particularly comes to mind in both public highway rest stops and VA hospitals (Washington post article) .

Washington Post UPDATE:
Report: VA Facilities Improperly Sterilized Colonoscopy Equipment

First there were revelations that VA hospitals in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee possibly exposed 10,320 veterans to hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV by not properly cleaning equipment.

As of today, 13 of those veterans have tested positive for hepatitis B, 34 for hepatitis C and six for HIV, according to the VA.An internal investigation released yesterday found that fewer than half of VA medical facilities randomly inspectioned had properly sterilized medical equipment used to perform colonoscopies, despite orders to comply with safety guidelines.

"There is no question that shoddy standards -- systemic across the VA -- put veterans at risk and dealt a blow to their trust in the VA," Rep. Harry E. Mitchell (D-Ariz.) said at the hearing. "And I’ll say it again, whether or not any veterans contracted illnesses from these procedures, it is outrageous that they even have to worry about that possibility."

VA medical facilities, because their employees work for the U.S. government using equipment owned by the government fit the classic definition of socialized medicine:

The literal meaning of socialized medicine is limited to systems of government operated health care facilities using government employed health care professionals.[8][9][10][7]. This definition applies both to British National Health Service hospital trusts and the Veterans Health Administration in the United States.

The internal report noted that the VA is not alone in reporting problems with endoscopy procedures: Private hospitals in financially struggling California and Pennsylvania have notified thousands of patients in recent years after similar concerns.

NEXT: What roles will the litigation industry play in the coming Universal Healthcare Scheme?

With few exceptions, the current administration is comprised of lawyers. There can be little doubt that the final Universal Health Care Act will initially allow private medical insurance accounts and health care providers. This will assure lawyers' job security (right to sue for malpractice claims). PREDICTION: Will the cost of health care be lowered like standards will? Of course, and when it does, the government will become the sole provider (last resort) for U.S. healthcare's lowered medical standards.

First Things First; Pourquoi Pas (Why Not)?

When it comes to submarines, no one is assigned to any sub for its entire period in commission. In what is perhaps the ultimate compartmentalization of national intelligence, only a few very high-ranking persons therefore, would ever know everything an individual sub attempted, much less accomplished. Hence, the saying: Submarines are Always Silent and Strange.

In the case of searching for Flight 447's ULB, submarine crews would know, like the public, the general location and mission. Unlike the public they would also know depths.

Consider two related statements from the press, however:

This is the first time the French military uses a nuclear-powered submarine to search for the debris of a crashed plane.

How would the reporter know this? Reporters would just know what they were told.

The submarine must pass very close to the boxes to have a chance of detecting them, he said. If the voice and data recorders are found, a French remote-controlled submarine will try to retrieve them with a robot arm. No flight recorders have been retrieved from the 12,000ft depth where those of Flight 447 are believed to lie.

Interesting, because given the irregular ocean depths in the search area and the need to pass very close [to the ULB beacon], what would the French Navy do first, search for the ULB with deep-diving submersibles or the relatively depth limited nuclear sub Émeraude (S 604)?

Obviously, a better search would be achieved using a deeper-diving submersible [Nautile] first, but its arrival is said to have been weather-delayed until tomorrow. The Pourquoi Pas is the only French vessel that carries suitable devices to retrieve and locate the black boxes, if their signals are ever detected.

Once located, however, an SSN like Émeraude underscores the importance of the ULB recovery mission.

A careful analysis, however, might suggest other possibilities:

1) The ULB may have been located before the SSN arrived. The SSN will transport the ULB, if recovered, safely back to France for forensic analysis.

2) The ULB may have been located and even recovered before the SSN arrived. The forensic examination has already taken place. If the examination reveals an exposive device aboard Flight 447, Émeraude purpose is still to transport the ULB (evidence) safely back to France.

In either case, when would the public be informed that the the ULB was ever found, or never found? Is this really needed now?

Submarines are always silent and strange.

WHO's on Fifth?

The Associated Press - Wed, Jun 10, 2009 -
WHO gets ready declare a swine flu pandemic

The World Health Organization (WHO) is gearing up to declare a swine flu pandemic. The world is in phase 5 of WHO's pandemic alert scale, meaning a global outbreak is imminent. Moving to phase 6, the highest level, means a pandemic has begun. If that declaration is made, it will push drugmakers to fast-track production of a swine flu vaccine.

The writing has been on the wall for weeks, said Chris Smith, a flu virologist at Cambridge University, adding he didn't know why WHO had waited so long to declare a pandemic. WHO probably doesn't want people to panic, but the virus is now unstoppable.

Since swine flu first emerged in Mexico and the United States in April, it has spread to 74 countries around the globe. On Wednesday, WHO reported 28,737 cases including 141 deaths. Most cases are mild and require no treatment.

Related:
* Navy reports 21 swine flu cases on USS Iwo Jima. The Navy has had 147 confirmed cases of H1N1, with 137 of those people already returned to work.
** Swine flu alert at Faslane nuclear submarine base as sailors and civilian worker fall ill

Influenza pandemics occur when a new strain of the influenza virus is transmitted to humans from another animal species. In contrast to the seasonal epidemics of influenza, pandemics occur irregularly. The 1918 Spanish flu was the most serious pandemic in recent history. Pandemics can cause high levels of mortality.

Unlike the following Abbott and Costello skit, H1N1 is definitely unfunny:

ANSWERS: Questions of the Week - 06-05-2009

from 06-05-2009:

Background - Proposals -
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***Transmit real time records of cockpit conversations and flight data directly to a storage facility via satellite.
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***Redesign 'black boxes' so that they float.
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***Redesign 'black boxes' so their beacon life is longer.
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QUESTIONS of the WEEK
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1 - Which two proposals are impaired by major failure modes and what are those modes?
ANS: The first proposal (real time records) is subject to malicious hacking and solar flare data corruption.
The second proposal (floating black boxes) is restricted by aircraft weight. Flotation must be heavy enough to survive pressures at great depth, yet light enough to fly without impairing fuel consumption significantly; or able to inflate at depth, yet not explode at reduced depth.
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2 - One of the two proposals also suffers from a current technological problem and raises serious U.S. labor issue with pilots. What are the problem and issue, respectively?
ANS: (Real time data collection) We currently don't have the technological wherewithal for an aircraft to transmit that much data continuously, says Dan Elwell, vice-president of the Aerospace Industries Association.
Also, pilots unions have objected to monitoring of flight crews, such as real-time voice data collectioin would enable.
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BONUS
3 - Were the black boxes from the two planes that crashed into the world trade center on 9-11 ever located?
ANS: Officially, NO.
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Submarines are always silent and strange.

ULB Questions of the Week - 06-05-2009

Air France's loss of Flight 447 has raised obvious forensic questions. The world would like to rule out terrorism, though such an act has not been claimed according to news reports. Investigators never located the 'black boxes' from the 2 planes that crashed into the World Trade Center on 9/11.

What are the basic specs on the Underwater Locator Beacon (ULB) of modern, transoceanic airliners?

The ULB device is usually attached to the flight data/cockpit voice recorder. Unless catastrophically damaged, ULBs are designed to pulse a 37.5 Khz (ultrasonic) signal once a second upon immersion for at least the next 30 days, and at depths up to at least 20,000 feet (6 km).

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Considering the time and expense of underwater searches (tens - hundreds 0f million $$) are there better ways to locate and recover vital flight data and cockpit voice information? Two of the following proposals ignore major failure modes connected with their implementation:

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***Transmit real time records of cockpit conversations and flight data directly to a storage facility via satellite.

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***Redesign 'black boxes' so that they float.

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***Redesign 'black boxes' so their beacon life is longer.

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QUESTIONS of the WEEK:

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1 - Which two proposals are impaired by major failure modes and what are those modes?

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2 - One of the two proposals also suffers from a current technological problem and the other raises serious U.S. labor issue with pilots. What are the problem and issue, respectively?

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BONUS

3 - Were the black boxes from the two planes that crashed into the world trade center on 9-11 ever located?

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Answers MONDAY

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

No, It Couldn't Be!

June 4, 2009 -

Mysterious Lights Have Brits Eyeing Night Sky

London, UK (AHN) - The incident was the latest of several sightings around the United Kingdom in the past two weeks. About 50 lights, described by The Mirror as "glowing mystery beams," appeared over Merseyside in northwestern region of the country on May 25. More lights were reported two days later over Cambridgeshire. Similar sightings have been reported in Cornwall and Manchester.

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Friday, May 29, 2009 -

US lab debuts super laser

LIVERMORE, CA (KGO) -

It's an event that was 12 years and $3.5 billion in the making. Friday, a host of politicians and scientists gathered to dedicate the world's largest laser, the National Ignition Facility, at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

NR-1: The Space Shuttle Challenger, Egypt Air 990, but not Air France 447

NR-1 operated under a longstanding veil of secrecy, conducting Cold War reconnaissance missions that are still classified.

In the 1980s NR-1 became widespread public knowledge when used for search and recovery of space shuttle Challenger's wreckage, as well as that of Egypt Air 990.

NR-1 was deactivated several months ago, so it will be no use in the forensic investigation of Air France's flight 447, the least of which would be recovery of the aircraft's flight data and cabin voice recorders. The Airbus 330 with 228 souls aboard disappeared from radar in flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. the least of which would be recovery of the aircraft's black boxes.

The unavailability of NR-1 certainly does not mean equally effective submersibles are not available. Wreckage located by the Brazilian Air Force about 400 miles northeast of Fernando do Noronha island, where the missing plane disappeared from radar screens.

France is also sending a research ship equipped with two mini-submarines to the search area. The mini-subs on the Pourquoi Pas can work at depths of up to 6,000m and the area where the plane disappeared has maximum depths of 4,700m (19,700 ft), French naval experts told AFP news agency.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Answers - Mystery Questions of the Weekend - May 30, 2009

Weekend Mystery Questions and Answers:

1 - Which former nuclear submarine junior officer later reported science news for a morning paper and discoveries in medicine for an NBC affiliate among other things?

ANSWER: Former Lt. John Dudley Miller, now Phd. ex- USS Seawolf (SSN-575) E.M.O.

2 - What occupies this fellow currently?

ANSWER: He writes and produces stories about new discoveries in science, medicine, technology, the enviroment, and the social sciences. He also consults in two fields: inferential statistics and litigation support.

Submarines are always silent and strange.