New Years 'Terrorism': Unexpected, Overseas Contingency Operation

PREDICTION: Mar 3, 2010 Leif Ivar Kristiansen's lawsuit against Iceland will not prevail (expect another update).

UPDATE 2: Feb 9, 2010 Norwegian Hells Angel Sues Iceland for Deportation - The leader of the Hells Angels motorcycle club in Norway Leif Ivar Kristiansen has filed a lawsuit against the Icelandic state to the Icelandic Ministry for Justice and Human Rights for what he calls unfounded deportation on February 8.

UPDATE 1: Feb 9, 2010 Hells Angels to Sue Iceland for Unfounded Arrest - He finds it strange that he was arrested [M.E. he has a criminal record in Norway] when he was traveling with his lawyer. The purpose with their trip was to prepare a lawsuit against Icelandic authorities for the treatment of another Hells Angels member, who was arrested upon arrival to Iceland last weekend.

Interesting Dec. 28, 2009 ...

Police in Keflavík anticipate Scandinavian Hell’s Angels will enter Iceland in time to celebrate New Year’s Eve with their prospective Islandic chapter. The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide one-percenter organization and crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

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“When Hell’s Angels come to this country, they are turned back on the border and I assume the same will be done now,” said Sigrídur Björk Gudjónsdóttir, Police Commissioner in Sudurnes municipality which polices the Keflavík International Airport, Morgunbladid reported.

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Since Iceland (Ísland) is an island, turning Hell's Angels back on the border is somewhat of a naval exercise then? No, not when the anticipated entry portal is actually the international airport. So how do they get their bikes there? Hmm!

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When ustaboat was stationed at Mare Island Naval Shipyard (Vallejo, CA) we would occasionally encounter Hell's Angels at our hangouts like the original Sugar Shack. Rather than hassle guys with military haircuts, some of these coarse gentlemen would hand us Hell's Angels business cards embossed with a slogan that has not changed:

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"When we do right, nobody remembers. When we do wrong, nobody forgets".[12]

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

Graphics Like Jargon May Sometimes Confuse Broadband Choices for U.S. Submarines

Epitome of Unintelligible Jargon (GOBBLEDYGOOK)

Quote [color added]:

ADC2 applies its transformation to the original video file, before it gets encoded for streaming, so it is agnostic of any of the common video codecs.

Translation [color added]: That means that the process has to [have] been undone at the end-user level, however.

M.E. does not in anyway intend to diminish the promising ADC2 compression process described by the linked article. If feasible for submerged submarine comms, for instance, one could expect a 500 megabyte HD video file to compress further to only 73 MB and stream wirelessly across a cheap (by MIL standards) 0.75 Mbps 3G link.

In fact, "They were actually talking about being in Afghanistan and sending compressed, high-definition video from the front lines to command,” said one of ADC2's founders, Lewis Stoller.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Compare the Submerged Displacements and See What Fits

Submarine Alrosa disappeared in a news blackout since an event decribed as minor. Russian military officials described the sub’s problem as minor, but added that the vessel could not make it to its home port, Sevastopol, on Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. It was towed to the nearer port of Novorossiysk on November 23, according to the RIA Novosti news agency. The Alrosa is a Project 877 Kilo class submarine. Multiple accounts of Alrosa's recent misadventure are disputed by various sources within and without Russia. As yet, no Russian admiral has offered an official press release.

Alrosa's submerged displacement is given here and elsewhere as 3950 tons. Keep that in mind when reading the excerpt below an earlier article about a hybrid diesel sub with an RTG power pack:

Sep. 12, 2007 - Kommersant. Publishing House - Submarine: Military Secret Shows Up on the Internet [ed. B-90 Sarov Project 20120 [1] ]

The number of the submarine project was given: 20120 and its technical and tactical characteristics as well. those data indicate that the new submarine is very similar to the Project 877 Paltus (Halibut)diesel submarine, but its water displacement is greater (3950 vs. 3050 tons).

Both The Sub Report and Galrahn of Information Dissemination noted the interesting Sarov story.

Are Sarov's and Alrosa's displacements actually different? Contrary to what Kommersant tells us above, there appears to be no difference at all in Alrosa's and Sarov's submerged displacements (3950 tons). Why is this important? Is someone trying to mislead us?

Suppose the last operational Russian sub in the Black Sea (the Alrosa) is being refitted with her own RTG (backup energy source) and, therefore, the capability to spend longer periods under water? Would it not be much easier to make the similar-looking Sarov, assuming her sea tests have now been successful, appear to be the Alrosa and send it to Black Sea ops? Here is another thought from someone else.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Be Happy You Were Never Served Rabbit on a Submerged Nuclear Sub?

.... Rabbit, at least that is what we had been told.

It was the first and last time I ever tried the dish. Never expected it on a nuclear submarine, but we were often a laboratory for untold experiments.

Anyone else have the rabbit dining experience on a submerged, nuclear submarine? If not, it may have been an altogether different dining experience, and certainly a culinary experiment for the force: was the fried dish actually roof rabbit (roof hare as others call it)?

A few excerpts from a very interesting site:

In 1885 an English newspaper reported the story of a woman convicted of trapping and butchering cats and selling them to people as rabbit meat. ... This recipe for "Roast Cat as It Should Be Prepared" is from Ruperto de Nola, Libro de Cozina, 1529: ... and when it is roasted carve it as if it were rabbit or kid and put it on a large plate; and take the garlic with oil mixed with good broth so that it is coarse, and pour it over the cat and you can eat it for it is a good dish. ... The Spanish expression "pasar gato por liebre" (to pass off a cat as a hare) and the Portuguese expression "Comprar gato por lebre" (to buy a cat as a hare) are derived from this practice and mean "to pull the wool over someone's eyes". - CATS - FRIEND OR FOOD? - Sarah Hartwell

Things could have been worse during our experimental era. Had we been on USS Skate (SSN-578), an appropriate experimental dinner may well have been this currently popular dish.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Just-in-Time Female Condition Alert!

Daily Mail Online, 20th December 2009 - Serving U.S troops could face prison if they fall pregnant while active

Major General Anthony Cucolo, who runs US operations in northern Iraq, issued the new orders because he said he was losing too many women with critical skills. All troops under his command are covered by the extension to the military’s legal code – the first time the US Army has made pregnancy a punishable offence. Court martial for pregnancy is not an Army-wide policy but division commanders have the authority to impose such restrictions, a Pentagon spokesman said. Under the new policy, troops expecting a baby face court martial and a possible prison term – and so do the men who made them pregnant.

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Can the U.S. NAVY really afford to be so far behind any longer? Unfortunately, the simple answer may actually be YES. Although history underscores (see chart below) the seriousness of the NAVY's problem, the NAVY has become so politically correct (female submariners slated) and JAGged-up (see Note 3 below) these days that SecNav Mabus and his fawning surface flags will probably ignore Gen. Cucolo's pragmatic decision. How interesting is such a low expectation posture for a branch of the military service already under severe pressure?

Chart source. (all above are skimmers, remember).

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Lawyers, as anticipated, say Cucolo's policy raises serious ethical questions. What else would they say?

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'Here you really have issues that go to the core of personal integrity: reproductive rights,' said Eugene Fidell, who teaches military law at Yale Law School and is president of America’s National Institute of Military Justice.

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[Note: When M.E. was in the USN, one could not even get married without the Navy's permission. Of course, the core of personal integrity in those days were merely your contract with the Navy and, above all, your oath to serve your country].

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Submarines do not need to be any stranger for crews; yet, coed crews promise to make them just that.

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

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------------------------------------------------------

NOTES:

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1) -PREGNANCY - current Navy policy (as of 1994) removes a woman from her ship in the 20th week of pregnancy. Navy estimates between 1989-1990, 5% of women on ships were pregnant at any given time. The Navy requires that women return to their ships to complete their sea duty no later than four months after delivery. Navy pilots are grounded during pregnancy due to unknowns about the risk to the fetus. [source]

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2) -ANNAPOLIS - Male and female midshipmen wear virtually the same uniform and must fulfill the same requirements with the exception of some adjustments on the physical tests. According to 2 Navy reports issued in 1987 and 1990, male midshipmen resented female midshipmen because they were not expected to face combat. [ibid]

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3) - 2009 - First Known Case of Pregnant Naval Academy Graduate The U.S. Naval Academy reportedly graduated its first pregnant midshipman in May, even though school policy dictates women are not supposed to marry or begin families before completing their studies source

Weekend Curiosities - ANSWERS for Dec 11, 2009

1) - The sky image above left was reported as a mystery sighting in Norway the day American President Obama made his Nobel Price acceptance speech. The mystery was soon solved when the Russian defense ministry admitted a Bulava missile had been launched from a submerged submarine in the White Sea. Was the Russian missile test a success, or a failure? Since then, there has been another sighting, again admitted by Russia.

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ANSWER: The test was reported by Russia as a failure.

2) - The similar image at right displays a cap symbol familiar to U.S. to air travelers. What purpose does the symbol serve, if any?

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ANSWER: The emblem on the hub spinner is a visual indicator of both a turbine fan in motion (even if wind causes it), and rotational direction (CCW in this engine). It also provides a visual record of speed in the high-speed photography used in 'bird strike' tests.

3) - If the symbol in question 2) has a name, what is it called?

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ANSWER: [Western ideography] Called a clockwise spiral (applies from center out only) this is also the symbol used as the laundry sign for spin drying. [Eastern ideography] Yin or Yang.

If you think you have a better answer, feel free to provide.

Movie thriller - includes Sub Base Groton and hero LCDR

"The Assignment" (1997) - MPAA Rating: R - Action-Thriller starring Aidan Quinn as Lt. Cmdr. Annibal Ramirez/Carlos The Jackal, Donald Sutherland and Ben Kingsley. Distributor: Sony / Columbia - 115 min (US).

Unlike the majority of cartoonish, numbly unimaginative thrillers, this one's patient, smart, and believable, using character development in place of car chases, gun battles, and explosions, setting it easily a notch or two above its cliché- ridden brethren. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

----------------------------M.E. Review ----------

The action-packed movie (which certainly does include car chases, gun battles, and explosions) revolves around an American naval officer recruited by the CIA in an operation to eliminate his lookalike, infamous terrorist and Hugo Chavez's paisa Carlos The Jackal (Ilich Ramírez Sánchez).
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Missing an action movie of this caliber for almost 12 years perlexed M.E. until learning it was a sleeper almost completely ignored by the public, albeit not for the reason alleged ---masquerading as a documentary about the real Carlos's capture. M.E. never got the impression the movie was supposed to more than entertaining fiction, and neither will you. A short movie trailer is available here.
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The real reason for box office disappointment (U.S. gross of only $332,597 compared to Titanic $600,788,188, released later the same year) had more to do with natural female repulsion. The submarine factor turns out to be highly instrumental in causing such repulsion. Ironically, the unseen boomer gets barely more mention in the film than Groton, or Annibal Ramirez's gold dolphins.

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Had this movie been released in 2010, on the eve of touted female assignments to boomer subs, it would probably never even have been made. No spoilers here. No wimps, either.
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Submarines are always silent and strange.

Nuclear Sub disaster averted by armed sailors

VLADIVOSTOK, November 15 (RIA Novosti) - Final trials of Russia's Nerpa sub to start next week
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Successful sea trials of Russia's Nerpa nuclear attack submarine, damaged in a fatal accident during tests in November last year, may soon be announced. After several reversals, India may finally lease the 12,000-ton `K-152 Nerpa' Akula-II class submarine from Russia on 10-year lease. The K-152 Nerpa, to be renamed INS Chakra, is currently in final trials off Vladivostok with a small complement of naval officials this time. The submarine could be ready for recommissioning by early next year.
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Cross your fingers and Stand By!

FLASHBACK

MOSCOW, 23 September 1995 (Associated Press) Russian sub saved from brink of meltdown
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Heavily armed sailors forced the electric company to restore power to a nuclear submarine base.
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The outside power cutoff threatened to overheat a nuclear sub whose on-board reactor cooling system had failed. Sailors in bullet-proof vests entered two substations on Thursday to force the duty engineers at gunpoint to switch on the electricity. The fleet then took over all the substations serving its nuclear installations on the Kola Peninsula.
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The navy hotly denied any danger of a nuclear accident. But a fleet spokesman, Vladimir Kondriyanenko, said yesterday that "switching off the power for even a few minutes can cause an emergency".
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Submarines are always silent and strange.

Hollywood to Join Female Submariner Bandwagon

James Cameron of AVATAR fame is mulling a remake of submarine flick FANTASTIC VOYAGE.
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According to MTV Movies Blog Cameron may produce a 3-D remake of the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage, which was directed by Richard Fleischer.

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Well, 3-D nauseated some moviegoers, recently. Nevertheless, it would be interesting to compare the original sci-fi special effects with Cameron's latest 3-D style. Take, for example, Raquel Welch's antibody scene from Fantastic Voyage on YouTube.

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

Renewed Submarine Search Effort Raises Questions - Air France Flight 447 ULB

Remember this tragedy?

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The loss of Air France's Flight # 447, with 228 people on board, raised obvious forensic questions. Now, the world may safely rule out an act of terrorism, but not necessarily a criminal act. Neither of the aircraft's 2 black boxes has reportedly been recovered, and expected battery life of related underwater locator beacons has long since expired. In late July, the search for the black boxes entered its second phase, with a French research vessel resuming the search using a towed sonar array.

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On 20 August, it had been announced that the black-box search was halted. At the end of August, however, the BEA had announced it would resume the search in the Northern hemisphere's autumn of 2009. Last month, France's Minister of State for Cooperation indicated the third phase of search for the black boxes will commence in February 2010.[14]

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In July 2009, Airbus again advised A330 and A340 operators to change the Thales pitot tubes to newer Goodrich ones. On September 3, 2009, the American FAA issued a final Airworthiness Directive requiring pitot probes manufactured by Thales Avionics that were still installed on A330 or A340 aircraft to be replaced with probes manufactured by Goodrich, to prevent airspeed discrepancies that "could result in reduced control of the airplane."

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M.E. does not believe the loss of Flight 447 is connected with Islamist terrorism. Due to the number of notable passengers, criminal acts cannot yet be ruled out yet. No related extortion or blackmail threats of any passengers or crew have been publicized, however.

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The search effort brings 3 obvious questions to mind. First, had the ULB signal actually been located but not recovered earlier? French search teams had denied an earlier report that a "very weak" signal had been picked up from the black box locator beacon.[90] If so, why were no black boxes recovered then? Very deep depth and availability of a suitable recovery asset might explain the delay, and an important tenet of modern maritime recovery operations is NEVER TO REVEAL the LOCATION of OBJECTS BENEATH the SEA UNTIL AFTER ALL REVOVERIES HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL.

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There are simply many legal and national military reasons for this doctrine of secrecy. The public, therefore, does not really know whether a partial recovery had been made earlier. If not, the simple reason could be the very depth of the box(es) and availability of suitable recovery asset might explain the delay.

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The final question is, if the ULB had not actually been located earlier, how could one expect to retrieve black boxes now? Two possible answers to that question are self-evident, since any expectation of recovery in such circumstances would be close to zero.

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Here are the simplest possibilities.

1) The public has not been clued in as to all of the detection modes applicable to locating the black boxes (most likely for reasons of air transport security).

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2) The renewed search is really a cover story explaining the presence of other submarine activities in the search vicinity. France and Brazil are collaborating in nuclear submarine construction plans.

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Neither of the simple explanations may seem realistic to some. If you are one of the doubters, you may consider yourself in the majority that have not been paying attention to submarines very long.

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

Weekend Curiosities - Dec 11, 2009

SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake Tribune - DOE: Trainloads of nuke waste on way to Utah

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A Department of Energy official on Thursday informed U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, that 11,000 tons of the low-level radioactive waste -- packed in 14,800 drums -- is ready to be shipped from the Savannah River cleanup in South Carolina.

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Ultimately, about 10,000 metric tons of depleted uranium will make its way to Utah.
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Depleted uranium is different from other waste disposed at EnergySolutions Inc.'s facility 70 miles west of Salt Lake City because it becomes more radioactive over time, for up to 1 million years. The material is a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process used to make nuclear weapons during the Cold War era.

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QUESTIONS of the WEEK - refer to the two photos below

1) - The sky image at left was reported as a mystery sighting in Norway the day American President Obama made his Nobel Price acceptance speech. The mystery was soon solved when the Russian defense ministry admitted a Bulava missile had been launched from a submerged submarine in the White Sea. Was the Russian missile test a success, or a failure?
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2) - The similar image at right displays a cap symbol familiar to U.S. to air travelers. What purpose does the symbol serve, if any?
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3) - If the symbol in question 2) has a name, what is it called?
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Answers next week.
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Submarines are always silent and strange.

Chance of an Acquittal Brings Bombshell Revelation

Some might hope this topic refers to three of the Navy SEALS who, after capturing one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq (Ahmed Hashim Abed) have been accused by their prisoner of abuse.

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Unfortunately, this bombshell refers to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his alleged 9/11 co-conspirators who, if acquitted, will only be deported.

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Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano advised the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning that Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. did not consult her before deciding to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his alleged 9/11 co-conspirators in a New York federal court.

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Responding to questioning from Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Napolitano replied,

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“In the off chance that there were to be an acquittal for these individuals, they would immediately be put into removal proceedings and be deported.” She said, “They are paroled…into the country only for the purposes of prosecution. There are no immigration benefits that accrue to that.”

Napolitano declined to speculate as to where the detainees could be deported. Stand by, for more floundering.

The Federation's Sub Alrosa's First Mutiny

The following is neither an update to the blackout of the news nor a photo taken since last month's 'minor problem' with the Russian Federation's submarine Alrosa. Rather, it is a bit of Alrosa's curious history, more startling than even our USS Greeneville's (SSN-772) checkered past has seemed to some.

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Laid down in 1988, as B-871, she was renamed (in 2004) Alrosa [acronym for Almazy (diamonds) Rossii-Sakha] in deference to her patron, the investment consortium JSC Alrosa Group. The Alrosa Group accounted for 97% of Russian diamond production (about 25% of world rough diamond production) in 2005.
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On March 13, 1992, a number of Alrosa's crew captured the submarine and swore their oath to Ukraine. What happened next is anyone's guess, but something was suppressed by chief officer I.F. Leukhin, according to this RusNavy page, which also provides the following:
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From 1992 - 1996 the diesel-electric sub was idled due to malfunctioning storage batteries.
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We certainly have little clue to the rest of her history but, if this is true, someone at Black Sea Fleet Headquarters got in serious trouble for releasing this:

Black Sea Fleet submarine Alrosa suspended combat training in Black Sea on Saturday due to failure in power plant is being towed to Novorossiysk, informs RIA Novosti referring to the source in BSF HQ. [ibid]

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

Japan, Poland, and Tomahawk Land Attack Missile - Nuclear (TLAM-N)

None of this will sit well with conventional thinkers, including ourselves.

For whatever it is worth, here are the heads-ups we received, nevertheless.

It started with this article Japan: Save the Endangered Tomahawk! published this last Friday, and brought to our attention by one of our embedded sources. Make of it what you will.

The article included these tidbits:

This summer Japanese embassy officials in Washington quietly but strongly lobbied against American plans to retire the nuclear version of the Tomahawk in the context of the Congressional Commission on Strategic Posture of the United States. ..."In Asia extended deterrence relies heavily on the deployment of nuclear cruise missiles on some Los Angeles-class attack submarines…it has become clear that some allies in Asia would be very concerned about [Tomahawk] retirement.

"For many of the Cold War years, Tokyo didn't fret about the nuclear umbrella or America's will to use nuclear weapons should Japan be attacked. But in those years nuclear weapons were more clearly evident in Northeast Asia. American aircraft carriers were believed to carry nuclear bombs when making port calls, and tactical nuclear weapons were based in South Korea.

President George H W Bush ordered that the nuclear bombs be withdrawn from Korea and from aboard US navy ships, excepting ballistic missile submarines, back in 1991. American nuclear attack submarines no longer carry the nuclear tipped Tomahawks as a matter of routine. The weapons are stored on US soil.

The new government headed by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has not, so far as is known, made any efforts to block the retirement of the supposedly obsolete weapons systems.

Unnamed sources piled on more gauzy rumor:

President Obama will have a second term, because that has been his political opponents' master strategy all along, inlcuding Sen. John McCain's defeat. [That much we had suspected]

Obama's opponents have more or less promised Polish leadership a retired Ohio-class sub, when available, to make up for the anti-missile defense system they were promised and denied. In other words, the Poles will get some kind of second-strike capability after Obama's second term ends in 2016. [This we found particularly difficult to comprehend; it appears to make little sense in M.E.'s opinion]

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Climate Hoax Derailed?

UPDATES:

04 Dec 2009

The Speaker of the Danish Parliament has issued a damning criticism of the climate debate, saying politicians gullibly turn theories into facts. Thor Pedersen (Lib) "Scientists say: ‘We have a theory’ – then that crosses the road to the politicians who say: ‘We know"

03 Dec 2009

Nothing Nobel: Time To Terminate The IPCC
Scandals in Scandinavia: Time to Cancel IPCC and Withdraw Nobel Prizes From Them and Gore

Questions of the Week, Dec 2, 2009, Answers

Questions of the Week Dec 2, 2009, ANSWERS:
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1) Assuming Iran neither plans to attack nor to sponsor another entity's attack(s) upon the interests of countries mentioned below in the interim, does Iran believe an attack on its nuclear sites is probable within the next 15 months? Support your answer.
ANS: Unknown; Iran has released UK hostages, but not the US hostages.
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2) Will Israel attack Iran's nuclear sites in the next 15 months? Support your answer.
ANS: No, the largest Jewish population in the Middle East outside of Israel resides in Iran; see details in earlier post here.
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3) Will the UK attack Iran's nuclear sites in the next 15 months? Support your answer.
ANS: No; the UK will not commit an unilateral act of war without a direct threat to its homeland or territories.
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4) Will the US attack Iran's nuclear sites in the next 15 months? Support your answer.
ANS: No; the US will not commit an unilateral act of war without a direct threat to its homeland or territories.

Well, some submarine equivalents comes to mind...

Hat tip bookofjoe. Repairing High-Voltage Power Cables From a Helicopter

So, what would you consider the submarine equivalent?

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The possible answers are numerous, even if not obvious. M.E. will leave it up to commenters to provide their favorites.

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

Film Review You Need to Know About

Finally watched it on Netflix Instant movies last night out of curiousity. Recommend Highly.

Islam: What the West Needs to Know

This 2006 documentary, which runs 1:38, is an examination of Islam by scholars and a former P.L.O. insider who should know whereof they speak.

The video has 6 closely connected parts. Midway through, I knew the film has not been receiving the American audience it deserves. The reason is obvious - we have not declared war against Islam.

Prepare yourself to be enthralled by this video. Though I had read several books on Islam's history and customs, the video was very educational still.

Viewers are left with key questions to be answered on their own: Are we at war with Islam because Islam declares it, nevertheless?; and, How we can ever prevail against Islamist one-way intransigence, in either case.

Islam is a religion, but it is dangerously more. Islam is a stern political doctrine requiring subjugation of non-Muslims, and dissing the values Americans, particularly, take for granted. The authority is convincing.

A review by The Charlotte Observer, which neither accepts nor rejects the film's thesis, is summarized with the phrase, "...if their central thesis is true -- and it's worth considering -- then this is the most horrific film of the 21st century so far."[0][2]

Watch it from beginning to end for yourself. Highly recommended for all Americans, including Muslims.

California Taxpayers' Grievance of 2010: "No Taxation Without Oxygen"

The memorable grievance slogan of the the Thirteen Colonies prior to the American Revolution was: No taxation without representation!

In California, today, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has set the stage for another revolutionary slogan: No Taxation Without Oxygen!

The latest emblematic symbol of the passalong, cap-and-trade tax protesters? Treasure Island.

'Within a century, Treasure Island, this place where we are right now, could be totally under water,' the governor said. 'It is technology in the end that will save us. Though California leads the U.S. in its legal mandate to cut greenhouse gases, Mr Schwarzenegger explained how $2.5 trillion of property and assets were still at threat from climate change.

If you live in California and pay taxes (as opposed to gang members) you may want to consider fleeing to avoid drowning, outrageous taxes, or both.

O.C.O. Questions of the Week - Dec 2, 2009

Background
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O.C.O. means Overseas Contingency Operation. [9]
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23 November 09 - The Los Angeles Times -Iran begins air-defense drills to protect nuclear sites - "If biting sanctions do not persuade the Islamic Republic to demonstrate sincerity in negotiations and give up its enrichment activities, the White House will have to begin serious consideration of the option of a U.S.-led military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities," said a report issued last week by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank that advocates a tough line against Iran.
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Questions of the Week:
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1) Assuming Iran does neither plans to attack nor to sponsor another entity's attack(s) upon the interests of countries mentioned below in the interim, does Iran believe an attack on its nuclear sites is probable within the next 15 months? Support your answer.
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2) Will Israel attack Iran's nuclear sites in the next 15 months? Support your answer.
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3) Will the UK attack Iran's nuclear sites in the next 15 months? Support your answer.
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4) Will the US attack Iran's nuclear sites in the next 15 months? Support your answer.
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Answers: Yours anytime (comments open); M.E. answers Saturday
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Submarines are always silent and strange.

Pirate stock exchange promotes Capitalism

Tue Dec 1, 2009 - HARADHEERE, Somalia Reuters - Somali sea gangs lure investors at pirate lair - In Somalia's main pirate lair of Haradheere, the sea gangs have set up a cooperative to fund their hijackings offshore, a sort of stock exchange meets criminal syndicate.

Financiers from other nations joined Somali pirates in organizing an exchange to manage investments in maritime companies. In 4 months it has become an important facility for pirates to finance their operations.

We started with 15 'maritime companies' and now we are hosting 72. Ten of them have so far been successful at hijacking," Mohammed said. "The shares are open to all and everybody can take part, whether personally at sea or on land by providing cash, weapons or useful materials ... we've made piracy a community activity. ... The shares are open to all and everybody can take part, whether personally at sea or on land by providing cash, weapons or useful materials ... we've made piracy a community activity."

Somalia's Western-backed government of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed is battling hard-line Islamist rebels, and controls little more than a few streets of the capital. Haradheere, 250 miles northeast of Mogadishu, used to be a small fishing village. Now it is a bustling town where luxury 4x4s owned by pirates and their bankrollers create traffic jams along its streets.

Now that we know the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden pirates are on our side, does it make any more sense why their seizures and kidnappings have been somewhat tolerated by Western nations? Did not think so; the situation reminds one of the poppy fields flourishing in Afghanistan. Extortion is always extortion.

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As insurance costs for shippers rise and commodity prices for consumers escalate, remember how spineless our current governments have been.

Black Sea Projects

[color, bold and/or italic emphasis added - M.E.] Consider and compare excerpts from 2 sources:

----------------------------------- (1)

The man who located the wreck of the Titanic [Dr. Robert Ballard] has revealed that the discovery was a cover story to camouflage the real mission of inspecting the wrecks of two Cold War nuclear submarines. source- The Times -May 24, 2008 - Titanic search was cover for secret Cold War subs mission- by Lewis Smith, Environment Reporter

----------------------------------- (2)

The U.S. Navy agreed to sponsor a two-part expedition to test Ballard's equipment in the summer of 1985. The first part was a highly classified operation off the Azores, an attempt to find the remains of the USS Scorpion, an attack submarine lost in 1969, as well as the wreck of the Soviet sub that allegedly rammed and sank her. source- Unsinkable: the full story of the RMS Titanic By Daniel Allen Butler

M.E. Background Notes:

In 2002, Dr. Ballard led a National Geographic expedition with remote underwater vehicles in the Solomons. Ballard succeeded in finding a torpedo tube from the wreck of John F. Kennedy's PT-109 , which had been rammed in 1943 by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri.

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James Bond had the rank of Commander in the Royal Navy; Bob Ballard has been a commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve.

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Another National Geographic expedition [September 2000] to the Black Sea led by Ballard discovered some ancient shipwrecks. One of the four was in almost perfectly preserved condition with wooden mast standing upright some 1,000 feet below the surface. ... Scientists suspect oxygen-deprived the Black Seas unique, oxygen-deprived waters (below 656 feet) are ideal for wood preservation.

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Submarines are always silent and strange.