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Lebanon sentences ex-minister Samaha to 13 years in prison
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Ex-Navy SEAL who says he killed bin Laden charged with DUI
[Watertown Daily] HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- The former Navy SEAL who says he fired the shots that killed Osama bin Laden was arrested Friday on a drunken driving charge after police found him asleep in a car parked at a convenience store in his Montana hometown.

Customers at the store in Butte called police to report a sleeping man behind the wheel of the running car around 2:30 a.m., Butte-Silver Bow County Undersheriff George Skuletich said. The officer who responded woke the man up, identified him as Robert O'Neill and noticed odd behavior.

"He was confused. His actions were consistent with somebody who might be under the influence of something," Skuletich said.

O'Neill denied drinking, gave different stories about where he had been and at one point told the officers he had taken prescription medication to help him sleep, Skuletich said.

O'Neill failed a field sobriety test and would not perform others. The officers brought him to jail, where he refused a test to determine his blood alcohol level. At that point, he was charged with driving under the influence, which is a misdemeanor, Skuletich said.

Jail records show O'Neill was released at 4:26 a.m. after posting a $685 bond. It is his first arrest.

I never agreed with the publicity, but this fellow may genuinely need some help. I hope he gets it in time.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/09/2016 02:46 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Former Navy SEAL.
Posted by: BrerRabbit || 04/09/2016 10:50 Comments || Top||

#2  Just a sec, he wasn't actually driving, was he?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/09/2016 12:56 Comments || Top||

#3  drunk and awake/or asleep in a running car, or even off with the keys available, is considered DUI in most states
Posted by: Frank G || 04/09/2016 13:11 Comments || Top||

#4  This is barbarous.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/09/2016 13:33 Comments || Top||


Man sets up fake DUI checkpoint, gets charged with DUI
[DISPATCH] A Pennsylvania man set up a fake drunken-driving checkpoint only to be charged with drunken driving himself when real troopers arrived to investigate.

The (Somerset) Daily American says 20-year-old Logan Shaulis will be sentenced June 27. He pleaded guilty Thursday to drunken driving, possessing instruments of crime, and impersonating a public servant.

Police say Shaulis used a flashing blue light bar, parked diagonally across state Route 601 and set up road flares about 4 a.m. on May 30.

A motorist who stopped says Shaulis claimed he was a trooper with the "drug and alcohol division" and demanded to see her identification.

When police arrived, Shaulis tried to hand a BB pistol to the car's passenger, saying he couldn't get caught with it.

Shaulis' attorney says Shaulis has since completed substance abuse treatment.
Posted by: Fred || 04/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  You MIGHT be a redneck if you've ever . . . . . . . . . . . .
Posted by: Canuckistan sniper || 04/09/2016 10:59 Comments || Top||

#2  IMO, the man has great future in politics.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/09/2016 12:54 Comments || Top||


Former NSA analyst wants Clinton to explain Kremlin connection
[Examiner] A former analyst for the National Security Agency is calling on Hillary Clinton to explain the emerging details of her campaign chief's connection to the Kremlin.

Lobbying forms made public last month indicate that the U.S. branch of the Russian bank Sberbank has retained the Podesta Group, a Washington-based lobbying firm founded by Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, and his brother, Tony, in 1998.

John Schindler, a security expert and former counterintelligence officer, notes that the bank's majority stockholder is the Russian Central Bank, which controls more than 30 percent of the country's banking assets.

"Sberbank is functionally an arm of the Kremlin, although it's ostensibly a private institution," Schindler wrote in a Thursday article for the Observer.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:


Former FBI official: Hacker likely extradited for Clinton probe
[Examiner] A former assistant director for the FBI said Friday that authorities would not have gone to the trouble of extraditing a notorious Romanian hacker unless he was key to their investigation of Hillary Clinton.

Marcel Lehel Lazar, known online as "Guccifer," was extradited from a Romanian prison at the end of March and relocated to a facility in Alexandria, Va. He is scheduled to remain in the country for 18 months while he faces a nine-count federal indictment on hacking charges.

Before his 2014 conviction in Romania, Guccifer hacked a range of public figures around the world. That included, most notably, former Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal, who exchanged private messages with Clinton during her tenure as secretary of state.

Through that action, Guccifer obtained emails Clinton had sent using her secret hdr22@clintonemail.com">hdr22@clintonemail.com account. He subsequently distributed at least some of that stolen information online.

Ron Hosko, a former assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division, told Fox News that it was unlikely U.S. authorities would have taken Guccifer out of a foreign prison unless they had a use for him. "Because of the proximity to Sidney Blumenthal and the activity involving Hillary's emails, [the timing] seems to be something beyond curious," Hosko said.

A 2015 interview that Matei Rosca conducted with Guccifer corroborates Hosko's assessment. Guccifer lacks any real programming skills, Rosca said, but may still hold information on Clinton to which no other person on the globe has access.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  No coincidence at all.
Posted by: newc || 04/09/2016 0:53 Comments || Top||

#2  Except has many clandestine COMMO.

She is sunk.
Posted by: newc || 04/09/2016 0:55 Comments || Top||

#3  He's the one with back up tapes...
Posted by: ed in texas || 04/09/2016 4:02 Comments || Top||

#4  He might have the 30,000 emails about yoga (the pants suits just scream that she's a fitness buff) and Chelsea's wedding
Posted by: Frank G || 04/09/2016 6:45 Comments || Top||

#5  When does he get a tour of Ft. Marcy Park?
Posted by: AlanC || 04/09/2016 8:47 Comments || Top||

#6  Was he extradited to get information from him or to make su?re nobody else does
Posted by: Glenmore || 04/09/2016 10:54 Comments || Top||

#7  "Was he extradited to get information from him or to make su?re nobody else does"

Yes
Posted by: newc || 04/09/2016 18:28 Comments || Top||


-Obits-
WWII veteran Andrew Moore laid to rest at Arlington
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/09/2016 09:26 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:


-Short Attention Span Theater-
The downside of the new EPA approved E15 blended fuel


Another round of 'Cash for Clunkers' is simply unaffordable. The desired 'kill off' will be managed by science and technology, and paid for by the consumer at the pump.

As Roosevelt envisioned, all farmers to become Democrats.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/09/2016 07:50 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Go diesel!
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/09/2016 10:50 Comments || Top||


-Land of the Free
Harry Reid trades insults with Cliven Bundy's wife in battle over standoff site
Excerpt:
[Guardian] Reid, the Democratic Senate leader, has previously called Bundy supporters "domestic terrorists".

In a phone interview on Friday, Bailey Logue, Cliven's 24-year-old daughter, who runs the family's Facebook page, said she was not surprised by Reid's announcement. "He's an evil, evil man," she said.
Bundy right or wrong, Bailey Logue nails it. Emphasis added.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/09/2016 02:15 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  at least she was kind enough to leave off the "alleged pederast"
Posted by: Frank G || 04/09/2016 6:38 Comments || Top||

#2  I have read that Reid has a financial interest in the land adjacent to the proposed wild life sanctuary. Reid is a rich man now. How much more money does he need? At some point his family members will pay a price for his dealings. He.... Will probably rot in hell.
Posted by: jvalentour || 04/09/2016 15:40 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Azeri-Armenian truce broken as 2 more killed
Two ethnic Armenian troops died in fighting with Azerbaijani forces April 8 as the foes accused each other of breaching a cease-fire that halted the worst outbreak of violence in decades over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The latest clashes are the first serious violation of a Moscow-mediated cease-fire which took effect on April 5, ending several days of fighting over the Karabakh region that claimed at least 90 lives. The unrest has sparked concern of a wider conflict in the strategic area that could drag in regional powers Russia and Turkey.

“Azerbaijan violated a cease-fire overnight” using mortars to shell ethnic Armenian rebel positions in Karabakh, the territory’s Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that two soldiers were killed.

Armenia accused Azerbaijan of shelling both military and civilian targets on the border.

“The Armenian villages of Karmir, Ttudjur, and Baganis came under Azerbaijani fire,” ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan said in a statement.

Azerbaijan, a mostly Muslim former Soviet republic, said it returned fire after Armenian forces shelled its positions in Karabakh.

“Azerbaijani armed forces responded to Armenian artillery strikes,” Defense Ministry spokesman Vagif Dargahly said. “Civilian targets [in Azerbaijan] were also shelled by the Armenian forces.”

Later in the day, Azerbaijan and Armenian-backed separatists said they had struck a temporary deal to allow each side to safely search for the bodies of their soldiers killed in clashes over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was in Baku on April 8 to hold talks with İlham Aliyev, the Azerbaijani president, aimed at resuming diplomatic efforts to resolve the territorial dispute.

“Russia, no less than Azerbaijan and Armenia, has an interest in there being peace in this region, our region,” Medvedev said. “The cease-fire agreement is the foundation for unfreezing talks between Baku and Yerevan.”
Posted by: Steve White || 04/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Given a chance our betters in Washington would support the wrong side as it has oil.
Posted by: 3dc || 04/09/2016 9:27 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
Seoul: 13 North Korean Workers at Foreign Restaurant Defect
[ABCNEWS.GO] Thirteen North Koreans working at the same restaurant in a foreign country have defected to South Korea, Seoul officials said Friday.

People working in North Korean-operated restaurants overseas have previously defected, but this is the first time multiple workers have beat feet from the same restaurant, South Korean Unification Ministry front man Jeong Joon Hee told news hounds in Seoul.

North Korean defections are a bitter point of contention between the rival Koreas. Pyongyang usually accuses Seoul of enticing North Korean citizens to defect, something Seoul denies.

Overseas North Korean workers are usually thought to be chosen largely because of their loyalty.

Jeong said one male and 12 female North Korean workers arrived in the South on Thursday. He didn't reveal the country where they were working or the route they took to avoid diplomatic problems and possibly endanger North Koreans still working in the country.

The News Agency that Dare Not be Named called a number of North Korean restaurants in Asia, and all were open except one located in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Danang, Vietnam. A person who answered the telephone at the hotel said the Pyongyang Restaurant had closed two weeks ago and all the Korean staff had left the country. She declined to provide more details or identify herself. It was unclear whether the restaurant was connected to the defections.
Posted by: Fred || 04/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Commies


Economy
Forced Price Reduction to Worsen USPS Financial Condition by $2 Billion Per Year
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 04/09/2016 08:54 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How about this for a greening, cost saving strategy: get rid of the bulk rate.
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/09/2016 10:38 Comments || Top||

#2  The operation is constitutionally mandated (not that anyone pays attention to that old document). It really wasn't intended to be profit making as much as supporting communication. Now if there was one activity that could be rationalized as a patronage priority, this was it. You could directly hold your Congresscritter directly responsible for service. Now it all hid behind bureaucracy and unionism.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/09/2016 12:47 Comments || Top||

#3  ...Saw an interesting comment on this elsewhere this morning - basically pointed out that the USPS has something like $335 BILLION dollars set aside in actual cash money for pension requirements even though only less than one percent of that will ever be spent. Now, if the USPS (which has serious money problems anyways) were to go under, Constitutional requirements be damned, you think that money would go back to the taxpayers? Nope. It would go back to Your United States Government, which would then wisely spend it, I'm sure.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 04/09/2016 12:52 Comments || Top||

#4  they're being held to Gov't standards for funding retiree health. I have a good friend who works there that can't understand why adequately funding her own retirement health account is a good thing.

Really
Posted by: Frank G || 04/09/2016 13:10 Comments || Top||

#5  USPS is nothing more than a junk mail delivery service. They even give discounts for it! Unbelievable.
Posted by: Fester Thrimble9033 || 04/09/2016 13:54 Comments || Top||

#6  They even give discounts for it!

Going for the "But we'll make it up on volume!" strategy. Like socialism, it's bound to work eventually.
Posted by: SteveS || 04/09/2016 14:30 Comments || Top||

#7  The manager of the corporate mail center where I work stated that you and I are not the customers the USES cares about. It is the bulk mailers.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 04/09/2016 15:02 Comments || Top||

#8  Here's an idea.... Cut deliveries to once or twice a week.

One of the reasons companies still use snail mail is because they often need to deliver confidential information (think credit card statements) and email is simply not secure and there s no standard for securing email which regular Joe and Sue will use.

Cut out bulk rates and raise prices as needed. Then give discounts to companies who use some sort of secure email infrastructure so they can send secure email to the above mentioned Joe And Sue. I doubt a discount would be needed. Printing, placing in envelopes, and mailing physical paper has got to be a huge expense.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 04/09/2016 15:45 Comments || Top||

#9  Their workers comp / disability expenses must be huge. I talked to one of my carriers. She walks 12 miles a day, 72 miles a week, works about 48 weeks a year. I don't think I was ever capable of that constant a level of exertion for years on end even when I was at my best physical condition, decades ago. An older carrier on my route has had back & knee surgery, has been getting sick leave & is definitely showing the effects of this kind of wear & tear on the body.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 04/09/2016 16:49 Comments || Top||

#10  Then give discounts to companies who use some sort of secure email infrastructure so they can send secure email to the above mentioned Joe And Sue. I doubt a discount would be needed. Printing, placing in envelopes, and mailing physical paper has got to be a huge expense.

Australia Post tried that, but they were up against a consortium of banks who ate their lunch.
Posted by: phil_b || 04/09/2016 20:08 Comments || Top||


Demand surge propels Baltic index to four month high
The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose to its highest level in four months on Friday, backed by an upswing in demand across vessel segments headed by capesizes.

The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, climbed 22 points or 4.26 percent to 539 points, a level not seen since Dec. 9.

The capesize index surged 94 points, or about 17 percent, to 656 points, touching its highest level since mid-December.
Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, soared $556 to $5,089.

The panamax index rose 16 points to 643 points.
Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, rose $128 to $5,131.

Among smaller vessels, the supramax index was up three points to 488 points, while the handysize index was up six points to 286 points.
Posted by: badanov || 04/09/2016 07:59 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I think you may have explained it once, but I've slept since then. How are the ups and downs of this index related to world affairs, again?
Posted by: Bobby || 04/09/2016 9:08 Comments || Top||

#2  In simple terms, it is a global index of shipping fees and charges, ergo a fairly reliable indicator of economic activity and demand. Perhaps more important, there is no secondary market for the Baltic Dry. That means there are no futures or options mkts so distortion is minimized and there is no micro tail wagging the global dog, it says what it says.
Posted by: Cesare || 04/09/2016 10:23 Comments || Top||

#3  It means global, so your country can be in trouble and the world getting better.
Posted by: Tarzan Slailet2796 || 04/09/2016 10:28 Comments || Top||

#4  It means, with no more increase in GDP, people are buying more shipped products.
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/09/2016 10:46 Comments || Top||

#5  What Cesare said.

I would only add that this index has been crashing since 2008, from a high of 11,750 (aprox.) to 288 in February, 2016.

The recovery now being shown in the index indicates that base economic activity ( people building/making stuff for sale) is improving/increasing. But as far down as the index has gone, it can only go up.
Posted by: badanov || 04/09/2016 11:39 Comments || Top||

#6  The recovery now being shown in the index indicates that base economic activity..... ( people building/making stuff for sale)

That really is the key, "people building/making stuff for sale," and it's not limited to the Baltic Exchange, but everyone here already knows that.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/09/2016 11:56 Comments || Top||

#7  Poss due to shipping B52 loggie parts train.
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/09/2016 23:08 Comments || Top||


Olde Tyme Religion
Pope insists conscience, not rules, must lead faithful
[DISPATCH] Pope Francis said Friday that Catholics should look to their own consciences more than Vatican rules to negotiate the complexities of sex, marriage and family life, demanding the church shift its emphasis from doctrine to mercy in confronting some of the thorniest issues facing the faithful.
Didn't somebody else say that? Who was it? Martin Luther? John Wycliffe? John Calvin? John Huss? John Knox? Something about man talking directly to God without going through a priestly intermediary?
In a major church document entitled "The Joy of Love," Francis made no explicit change in church doctrine and upheld church teaching on the lifelong bond of marriage between a man and a woman.
"What God has joined together let no man cast asunder."
But in selectively citing his predecessors and emphasizing his own teachings in strategically placed footnotes, Francis made innovative openings in pastoral practice for Catholics who civilly remarry and signaled that he wants nothing short of a revolution in the way priests guide Catholics. He said the church must no longer sit in judgment and "throw stones" at those who fail to live up to the Gospel's ideals of marriage and family life.
It's a thorny kind of a problem. Those of us who've cast or been cast asunder maybe didn't take it seriously when we were kids, look back on it with more understanding and guiltier consciences now. Divorce is a sin, like it or not, not something to be done casually. It hurts the principals, like it or not, and it hurts the kids. Yet there are lots of reasons people want divorce: abuse, infidelity, and desertion at the top of the list. But I think we've reached the point where "I'm tired of looking at your face" has become grounds.
"I understand those who prefer a more rigorous pastoral care which leaves no room for confusion," he wrote.
I always thought the Pope's job was to define sin and to campaign against it. Silly me. Now I have to think about it myself.
"But I sincerely believe that Jesus wants a church attentive to the goodness which the Holy Spirit sows in the midst of human weakness."
I'm sure he does. But I want my granddaughters to grow up to be ladies and the boys to be gentlemen. I want them to be able to tell good from bad from evil from Evil. It seems like a church would be a good idea to offer guidance in those areas, but I guess they'll have to read philosophers. Maybe they'll understand what the hell Bishop Berkeley was talking about, even if I did miss his point.
On thorny issues such as contraception, Francis stressed that a couple's individual conscience -- not dogmatic rules imposed on them across the board -- must guide their decisions and the church's pastoral practice. "We have been called to form consciences, not replace to them," he said.
Our first United Methodist Pope.
Posted by: Fred || 04/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  You are lost, Pope.
I do not know if you will be found.

Seriously.
Posted by: newc || 04/09/2016 0:44 Comments || Top||

#2  Doctrine is important. You are told what is needed, yet you support all methods that will Not get it there.

Posted by: newc || 04/09/2016 0:46 Comments || Top||

#3  "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. My last confession..."

"Whoa! Don't come in here and expect me to get all judgmental on you. Just say three Hail Mary's as a gesture of feminist solidarity and attend the Bernie Sanders rally out behind the rectory."
Posted by: Matt || 04/09/2016 7:20 Comments || Top||

#4  "I understand those who prefer a more rigorous pastoral care which leaves no room for confusion," he wrote.

So he leaves room for 'confusion' on the issues of right and wrong, good and evil?

Yes, retail shrinkage is very bad, but we don't want to harass the customers. Just let it go.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/09/2016 7:31 Comments || Top||

#5  Pope Fonzie has jumped the shark.
Posted by: regular joe || 04/09/2016 8:26 Comments || Top||

#6  "Is the Pope Catholic?" isn't just a bit of snarkiness anymore.
Posted by: charger || 04/09/2016 10:25 Comments || Top||

#7  What
the
*huh*

Ya damned pharisees.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 04/09/2016 17:53 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Human intelligence is declining
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/09/2016 06:43 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I don't travel much anymore, but I believe the problem may be localized and exacerbated by urban sprawl. Anthropologists and population biologists might support my theory, 'too many rats in the box' as it were. Multiple roads lead to de-civilization. We've picked several, not the least of which is man's capacity for evil.

The constant and ever increasing struggle to meet Maslow's Physiological Needs may also be a factor.

The Physiological or 'first order' include the most basic needs necessary for survival, such as the need for water, air, food, money, and sleep. (Money added). If we find ourselves too consumed with acquisition of these needs, little time is left for study, research, and learning.

Sorry, I'm beginning to digress and ramble. Must be the Brawndo electrolytes again.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/09/2016 7:01 Comments || Top||

#2  Brawndo: Its what plants want!
Posted by: whitecollar redneck || 04/09/2016 7:08 Comments || Top||

#3  Intelligence is finite. There are just more people around today.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/09/2016 9:07 Comments || Top||

#4  I thought from the title it was about humint and I was going to make a snarky remark about the intellectual level of the species. Instead we have an entire article of snark.
Posted by: Bobby || 04/09/2016 9:10 Comments || Top||

#5  Closer to the truth than many want to acknowledge P2k.
Sometimes, 'behavior-based' intelligence is just imitation of observed social mannerisms disguised by claims of cultured refinement.
An example would be the adoption of nontraditional clothing. Business suits made of dark wool are functional in northern climates but serve little purpose in hot environments other than a demonstration of 'northern-ness'. The elongated silk tie adds a bit of color for clan identification but also suggests male 'prowess' in reproduction rather than the bow tie developed to emphasize breadth of shoulders and strength of arms.
In localized subcultures, styles of red or blue membership and billed hats worn left or right perform similar functions.
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/09/2016 11:23 Comments || Top||

#6  Thus, evolution consists of variation followed by selection. It is important to remem-ber that this process of variation/selection never stops. Genes responsible for phenotypic attributes are subject to mutation. If a new allele produces a phenotype that has higher (Darwinian) fitness than the "old" phenotype, it will replace the original allele. Alternatively, as is true for most mutations, the new phenotype will have lower fitness than the old phenotype, and the mutant allele will be eliminated. That is, adaptive attributes are maintained by natural selection.

In other words use it, or lose it
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/09/2016 12:47 Comments || Top||

#7  I didn't understand the article
Posted by: Frank G || 04/09/2016 13:08 Comments || Top||

#8  Being stupid and making poor decisions are two different things. The poor decision part is way more damaging to society. I know plenty of less than average intelligent people who live decent lives. And I know plenty of smart people who negatively impact large portions of society.
Posted by: Airandee || 04/09/2016 17:29 Comments || Top||

#9  I knew an college grad architect who did not know how to use an allen wrench. Had no interest in such things.

I do not know how to work on a car's transmission. I would like to.

There is the difference.

Deliverance > Cash Cab
Posted by: swksvolFF || 04/09/2016 17:58 Comments || Top||

#10  Intelligence is finite,
Stupitity is infinite.

I believe Eienstien said that.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 04/09/2016 19:07 Comments || Top||

#11  "an average citizen from Athens of 1000 BC were to appear suddenly among us, he or she would be among the brightest and most intellectually alive of our colleagues and companions"

Should I conclude that things had already deteriorated significantly by 399BC?
Posted by: james || 04/09/2016 20:15 Comments || Top||


Moon Express proposes alternate approach for lunar mission regulatory approvals
[SPACENEWS] Concerned that regulatory uncertainty could block its plans to launch a lunar lander mission next year, Moon Express has proposed an alternative approach for carrying out a required payload review that could keep its plans on schedule while a more permanent legislative solution is developed.

The company announced April 8 that it has submitted to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration a request for a payload review of its planned lunar lander, offering additional information that it hopes will bridge a regulatory gap.

At issue is a provision in Article 6 of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 that requires countries to provide "authorization and continuing supervision" of activities in space by companies and organizations under their jurisdiction. That is usually performed in the U.S. through a licensing process for launches as well as communications and Earth imaging.

However,
some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go...
no federal government agency has authority to oversee operations of commercial spacecraft beyond Earth orbit. That has raised concerns about how the U.S. would meet its Article 6 obligations for authorization and supervision for such missions.
Posted by: Fred || 04/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  And the State Dept has voiced it's disapproval of space in general as icky...
Posted by: 3dc || 04/09/2016 0:52 Comments || Top||

#2  How long before this is "governed" by the UN?

OWG taxes, they're a coming.
Posted by: AlanC || 04/09/2016 8:42 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Black History Professor Imagines A World Without Whiteness [VIDEO]
[Daily Caller] James Harrison, history professor at Portland Community College, said in a lecture Monday for the college’s April Whiteness History Month that peace in the U.S. is impossible so long as whiteness still exists.

In a talk entitled "Imagine A World Without Whiteness," Harrison declared confidently conflict can only cease once the power structure of whiteness is totally eliminated.

"Imagine everyone living life in peace," Harrison said, building off John Lennon’s famous song "Imagine."

“And how do we get to that good world is the question — a world without conflict. And to me, my interpretation of these words, is it would be a world, or U.S., without whiteness, in terms of the power structure,” Harrison said, offering his own interpretation of Lennon’s song.
Professor Harrison really should get out more, travel a bit and see the world.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/09/2016 02:25 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  and stay there
Posted by: Frank G || 04/09/2016 6:39 Comments || Top||

#2  I think they've tried this in Mugabeville and Zumaville. How's that working out champ?
Posted by: AlanC || 04/09/2016 8:26 Comments || Top||

#3  "Imagine A World Without Whiteness,"

Don't have to imagine. It's pretty much all before 1492. The Euros were pretty much confined to their little corner of the world. China was pretty much the regional super power on the planet. War, pestilence, and famine were the norm. When you have no history, just life experience, you have insufficient data to make view all human history. The people today have less in common with those who lived a hundred years ago, than those who lived a hundred years ago have in common with those who lived a thousand years ago.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/09/2016 9:06 Comments || Top||

#4  Happiness is just a short plane flight away. Hop a shuttle to either Detroit or Chicago and you're there...enjoy the serenity
Posted by: Warthog || 04/09/2016 9:45 Comments || Top||

#5  Well, for starters, there'd be no Portland Community College at which to deliver a lecture, and no song entitled "Imagine" to "build off" from.

Posted by: charger || 04/09/2016 10:23 Comments || Top||

#6  My response to the professor. why are people of color constantly risking everything to migrate to what you consider the world of 'whiteness'?
Posted by: Airandee || 04/09/2016 10:54 Comments || Top||

#7  For one thing, this page would be hard to read with a black bnot background. For another, there would be fatter lions because zebras would have no stripes and would not be camouflaged.
Posted by: Glenmore || 04/09/2016 11:00 Comments || Top||

#8  Whatever happened to multiculturalism?
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 04/09/2016 12:00 Comments || Top||

#9  my suggestion: Mr. Harrison should only take home a professor's salary commensurate with the black proportion of taxes paid in Portland. So, assuming a Professor makes $80K, he would get 6.3% of that or about $5K. None of that icky white money. Show some principle, racist asshole
Posted by: Frank G || 04/09/2016 12:42 Comments || Top||

#10  Whatever happened to multiculturalism?

Multiculturalism is like a bus
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/09/2016 14:50 Comments || Top||

#11  I would prefer to imagine a world without James Harrison.

Preferably after he has left in a very messy, painful and screaming way as possible.
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/09/2016 16:27 Comments || Top||

#12  Can you imagine the vitriol and condemnation if you suggested a world without "blackness"?
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 04/09/2016 16:37 Comments || Top||



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