I guess the Ruskies wouldn't take NASA off our hands.
WASHINGTON â The U.S. Senate approved Sept. 21 a bill that would clear the way for NASA to buy the Russian Soyuz vehicles it needs to continue to occupy the International Space Station beyond this year.
The bill was introduced Sept. 15 by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) to provide temporary relief from provisions in the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000 that bar U.S. purchases of Russian human spaceflight hardware as long as Russia continues to help Iran in its pursuit of nuclear know-how and advanced weapons technology.
Lugarâs bill, S. 1713, changes the law to permit NASA to buy any Russian space hardware or services it needs for the International Space Station program until 2012.
The bill was approved the morning of Sept. 21 by unanimous consent, a Senate procedure that allows non-controversial legislation to bypass a floor vote.
The U.S. House of Representatives also is considering amending the Iran Nonproliferation Act to permit NASA to buy Soyuz vehicles, but it has yet to take any legislative action.
The House could either pick up and pass the Senateâs bill or introduce a bill of its own that would have to be reconciled with the Senate version before becoming law.
Without relief from the Iran act, NASA could soon find itself unable to send its astronauts to the space station for extended stays. A Soyuz capsule set to carry a new two-person crew â and one space tourist â to the station Sept. 30 is the last one Russia is obligated to provide at no charge to the United States under a bilateral agreement.
NASA and the U.S. State Department formally asked Congress in June to amend the Iran act to permit the United States to make use of Russian space technology in its space exploration plans.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/22/2005 14:30 ||
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#1
blech...
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
09/22/2005 15:16 Comments ||
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A very sad day for the US space effort.
Posted by: DanNY ||
09/22/2005 15:35 Comments ||
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#3
Legacy of putting all of our eggs in the Space Shuttle basket back in the 70s.
#4
Why don't we just buy this from the Russians? From what I can gather they have a nearly complete one plus some spare parts. I bet the control systems are reeeaaal familiar too.
#5
Didn't the roof of its hanger collapse and wreck the thing? No more Buran.
American Atlas boosters now use Russian RD-180 engines.
A complete Soyuz is a logical next (temporary) step.
New US rockets are being developed so America is in no danger of losing its edge in space.
Posted by: john ||
09/22/2005 19:07 Comments ||
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#6
Looked this up. There is indeed a nearly complete orbiter.
The Russian shuttle flew just once into space in 1988. It carried no human crew.
It was destroyed in a hanger collapse in 2002 along with the remaining Energia boosters.
The "Buran Analogue" - a non spaceworthy version with jet engines used for aerodynamic tests sits in a junkyard in Bahrain.
A number of non-flyable mockups remain. One is in Gorky park in Moscow. It was converted into an amusement park attraction.
4 more orbiters were constructed.
One was 95% completed and is stored in Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
One was 40% completed. It was sold to a museum in Germany.
One was 20% completed and was dismanted.
The last was started but subsequently dismanted.
Posted by: john ||
09/22/2005 19:25 Comments ||
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#7
John: those new rockets are basically saturn-sized expendables made with the expensive and unreliable shuttle components (including the SRB's, which really ticks me off). IMHO it gives us the worst of both worlds.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
09/22/2005 19:48 Comments ||
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EFL:I'll bet that was fun...
LOS ANGELES - The airliner circled Southern California for hours, crippled by a faulty landing gear, while inside its cabin 140 passengers watched their own life-and-death drama unfolding on live television.
"Hey, look at this. Wow, are those people screwed....oh, wait.."
While satellite TV sets aboard JetBlue Flight 292 were tuned to news broadcasts, some passengers cried. Others tried to telephone relatives and one woman sent a text message to her mother in Florida attempting to comfort her in the event she died."It was very weird. It would've been so much calmer without" the televisions, Pia Varma of Los Angeles said after the plane skidded to a safe landing Wednesday evening in a stream of sparks and burning tires. No one was hurt.
Saw the video, pilot done good
Varma, 23, and other passengers said the plane's monitors carried live DirectTV broadcasts on the plane's problems until just a few minutes before landing at Los Angeles International Airport. Note to airlines: If this happens again, might want to cut that satellite feed in the future.
#3
I remember this exact nose landing gear lock happened to another Airbus a few years ago. Pilot landed the plane safely.
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2005 12:16 Comments ||
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#4
It would've been so much calmer without the televisions
That statement fits a LOT of dangerous situations, not just this one.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/22/2005 13:19 Comments ||
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#5
I heard that this is the second time this has happened on that AirBus model. A pilot on the radio had a saying: "If it aint Boeing, I aint going." Doesn't France make and design these? I hope the crew/passengers sue the pants off AirBus.
Tyra Banks underwent a televised sonogram on her new talk show to prove that her breasts aren't fake. "I'm tired of this rumor. It's something that's followed me forever," the supermodel said Tuesday on "The Tyra Banks Show." After Banks asked the men in the audience to leave, Dr. Garth Fisher from ABC's "Extreme Makeover" performed a touch test and then the sonogram. He concluded: "Tyra Banks has natural breasts; there are no implants."
"By no means am I saying a breast implant is a bad thing, but it's not a choice that I made," the 31-year-old model said. "But it's something that a lot of the public ... think that I have, and that's so frustrating for me." Banks, who models for Victoria's Secret, also displayed how her push-up bra exaggerated her body. However, Banks said she's not totally real. "I got fake hair, y'all. I got fake eyelashes." The hour-long show was, as Banks declared, "all about breasts!" I have no idea who she is, or what her show is about when it isn't all about breasts. I can't really think of any comments, either, though I'm sure the regulars won't disappoint.
I dunno who she is, either, but my guess is that she's got big honkers...
#1
She is one of those vapid, shallow, self absorbed aging "supermodels" whose every utterance is the most important thing ever said (to her anyway).
And she is the proud owner of a pair of nice jahoobies.
Today's official hurricane post. Best wishes to the residents and Rantburg readers in Rita's path.
Will try to keep most current NHC warnings posted during the day. Every coastal Texas city from Corpus Christi to Houston/Galveston evacuating. No hotel rooms available south of Austin, shelters in San Antonio filling up fast. Looks to begin turn to north. Stay safe.
HURRICANE RITA INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER 20A
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
1 PM CDT THU SEP 22 2005
RITA WEAKENS A LITTLE FURTHER...REMAINS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS HURRICANE...
A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM PORT O'CONNOR TEXAS TO MORGAN CITY LOUISIANA. A HURRICANE WARNING MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITHIN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS. PREPARATIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY SHOULD BE RUSHED TO COMPLETION.
A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SOUTH OF PORT O'CONNOR TO PORT MANSFIELD TEXAS AND FOR THE SOUTHEASTERN COAST OF LOUISIANA EAST OF MORGAN CITY TO THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITHIN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
A TROPICAL STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FROM NORTH OF THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TO THE MOUTH OF THE PEARL RIVER INCLUDING METROPOLITAN NEW ORLEANS AND LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN...FROM SOUTH OF PORT MANSFIELD TO BROWNSVILLE TEXAS...AND FOR THE NORTHEASTERN COAST OF MEXICO FROM RIO SAN FERNANDO NORTHWARD TO THE RIO GRANDE. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 36 HOURS.
AT 1 PM CDT...1800Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE RITA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 25.5 NORTH...LONGITUDE 89.2 WEST OR ABOUT 435 MILES...700 KM...SOUTHEAST OF GALVESTON TEXAS AND ABOUT 430 MILES...695 KM... SOUTHEAST OF PORT ARTHUR TEXAS. RITA IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 9 MPH...15 KM/HR. A GRADUAL TURN TO THE NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 24 TO 36 HOURS.
DATA FROM A NOAA RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE DECREASED TO NEAR 150 MPH...240 KM/HR... WITH HIGHER GUSTS. RITA IS NOW A STRONG CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME SLIGHT WEAKENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS BUT RITA IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS HURRICANE.
HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 85 MILES...140 KM FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 185 MILES...295 KM.
LATEST MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE REPORTED BY A NOAA HURRICANE HUNTER
PLANE WAS 915 MB...27.01 INCHES.
REPEATING THE 1 PM CDT POSITION...25.5 N... 89.2 W. MOVEMENT
TOWARD...WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 9 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...150
MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...915 MB.
THE NEXT ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT
4 PM CDT.
#4
I liked this comment at the end of the NYT article:
"...But Jyza Sybai , a lanky, tomboyish Saudi 10-year-old, visiting Syria with her family for a short vacation, disagreed. "All my friends have Fulla now, but I still like Barbie the best," Jyza said. "She has blond hair and cool clothes. Every single girl in Saudi looks like Fulla, with the dark hair and the black scarf.
#5
I liked this comment at the end of the NYT article:
"...But Jyza Sybai , a lanky, tomboyish Saudi 10-year-old, visiting Syria with her family for a short vacation, disagreed. "All my friends have Fulla now, but I still like Barbie the best," Jyza said. "She has blond hair and cool clothes. Every single girl in Saudi looks like Fulla, with the dark hair and the black scarf.
A gang of five women and one man, all from Malaysia, were arrested here for using a large number of fake credit cards to make exorbitant purchases at swanky shops and shopping centers, announced Wednesday director of the Criminal Investigation Department at the Ministry of Interior Abdulhameed al-Awadhi. Mastermind of the gang, however, skipped the country before authorities could nab him, taking with him quite a bit of the stolen merchandize the gang had bought with the fake cards, said al-Awadhi.
He urged the public to safeguard their credit cards and not make them easily accessible to anyone they do not trust. He said the incident with the gang of five was unprecendented in Kuwait. But he affirmed that the Ministry was quite ready to handle cases of high tech crimes involving the use of computers and magnetic cards such as credit cards. The Ministry of Interior, he said, has plans in place to form a special task force to handle computer-related crimes, which he classified into two kinds, one related to Information Technology (IT) and the other to the Internet. The Ministry, he indicated, was contemplating legislation to encounter the dangers of computer and high tech crimes of all kinds.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2005 00:00 ||
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RIYADH - A Yemeni and a Saudi national were beheaded by the sword in Riyadh on Wednesday after they were convicted of kidnapping a woman, raping her and stealing her money and jewelry, the interior ministry said.
Bilal bin Ahmad bin Ali Mohammed from Yemen and Saudi Nasser bin Hassan bin Mohammed Hazazi were convicted of âdrinking alcohol, kidnapping a woman from a main street... raping her and returning her to where they had taken her from, after stealing her money and jewelry.â
Guess the family refused the blood money.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/22/2005 00:00 ||
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A helicopter carrying the Cabinet minister in charge of Mexico's federal police and eight others crashed in cloud-shrouded mountains outside Mexico City on Wednesday, killing everyone on board, President Vicente Fox said. The burned wreckage of the Bell helicopter was found in a mountainous, wooded area about 20 miles outside Mexico City several hours after it was reported missing.
They knew they were in trouble when they drew John Garang's mechanic...
The aircraft was carrying Public Safety Secretary Ramon Martin Huerta — a trusted Fox ally — Federal Preventive Police Chief Tomas Valencia, five other passengers and a crew of two. It had taken off from a military base in Mexico City and was headed to a ceremony at the maximum-security La Palma prison, 35 miles west of Mexico City, when it was crashed in mountains surrounded by dense clouds. "They all died in the line of duty," Fox said in a televised address, his voice cracking with emotion. "They are heroes ... I have lost not just a co-worker, but a close friend, Ramon."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2005 00:00 ||
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Via Drudge...
North Korea has introduced its first credit card to "modernize its settlement business." Yup, that'll fix it...
Pyongyang-based North East Asia Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea introduced an IC (integrated circuit) credit card, the state-run Korea Central News Agency reported Sept. 16. Wow! A chip on a card, how revolutionary!
"The IC card ensures the safety of the data registered in it. And it is impossible to counterfeit it so as to prevent money from being lost," KCNA said. Yeah, like some hacker won't take more than a few hours to get around it...
"Six kinds of currencies can be deposited in a card at a time. With this card, one can exchange money instantly without going to a money exchange booth," KCNA said. âA card can be shared by several persons (family members, relatives, friends, etc.)."
The news agency also said the new service by North East Asia Bank has been "greatly" welcomed by North Korean consumers. That's exactly what I do with my credit cards - share it with the family! Spread the wealth, comrades!
South Korean officials said the card would only deliver cash in local Won currency. "It seems to resemble an ATM-debit card, and could not be used beyond the borders of North Korea," an official said. Thus redefining the concept of useless.
North Korea introduced some market elements into its economy in July 2002, phasing out a decades-old food rationing and public distribution system since there's no food to ration or distribute. The measures seemed to follow in China's footsteps by admitting communism doesn't work gradually introducing market forces into a shattered, Stalinist command economy. Shall I be so rude as to ask: shattered by whom?
Under the reform package, called "July 1 Economic Management Improvement Measures," North Korea has also allowed prices and exchange rates to float and has permitted individuals and corporations to operate limited for-profit businesses. As in limiting profit?
But the communist North is facing negative fallout from the reforms, including a high inflation rate caused primarily by short supplies of goods, South Korean officials said. Like it's gonna get worse?
#1
LOL the slogan can be: Leave home without it, because nobody will accept it! Wonder what the finance charges are on a commie credit card? Or do they just let it ride in the name of world socialism?
Apparently fences, rubber bullets and bayonets are okay when Europeans protect their borders ...
Spanish authorities are rushing to double the height of a fence surrounding the north African enclave of Melilla after a dozen more immigrants were injured in a battle with police as they tried to find a way on to European soil.
The injuries followed the deaths of at least three immigrants over the past three weeks during mass attempts to storm the frontier that have ended in clashes with both Spanish police and their Moroccan counterparts on the other side of Melilla's border. Immigrants are using ladders and what one official called "military tactics" in their increasingly desperate attempts to get through the barrier erected around what is, in effect, a land frontier between the European Union and Africa.
Two 3m-high (10ft) security fences ring the Spanish enclave, which is home to 60,000 Spaniards and lies nine miles from the Moroccan city of Nador. Melilla is, with Ceuta, one of two Spanish enclaves on the coast of north Africa whose sovereignty is also claimed by Morocco. The six mile-long frontier has sensor pads, movement detectors, spotlights, infrared cameras and is patrolled by the Spanish civil guard.
The migrants, who have often travelled thousands of miles through central Africa and the Sahara to get to Melilla, try to cross the frontier in groups of up to 200. "We go in a group and all jump at once. We know that some will get through, that others will be injured and others may die, but we have to get through, whatever the cost," one told El Periódico newspaper.
Pitched battles with civil guard and army units from the notoriously tough Spanish Legion have seen rubber bullets fired at close range, according to immigrants and NGOs, while the Moroccans are accused of using bayonets and shotguns. Spanish police deny responsibility for the deaths.
Several hundred immigrants have been reportedly rounded up by Moroccan police and put over the border with Algeria in recent weeks, though Spanish newspapers said yesterday many had already made the 95-mile trip back on foot. Spain began to double the height of the outer fence days ago, but said the job would take weeks. The new fence will be much higher than the Berlin Wall.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Police found cases of food, clothing and tools intended for hurricane victims at the home of the chief administrative officer for a New Orleans suburb, authorities said Wednesday. Officers searched Cedric Floyd's home because of complaints that city workers were helping themselves to donations for hurricane victims. Floyd, who runs the day-to-day operations in the suburb of Kenner, was in charge of distributing the goods. Police plan to seek a charge of committing an illegal act as a public official against Floyd, and more charges against other city workers are possible, police Capt. Steve Caraway said.
The donations filled a large pickup truck four times. "It was an awful lot of stuff," Caraway said. The donated materials must be processed as evidence but eventually will be distributed to victims. "We have lots of families that are begging for these supplies," said Attorney General Charles Foti, whose office assisted in the investigation. Attempts to reach Floyd were unsuccessful at home numbers listed under his name in Kenner. His office number went unanswered after business hours. Philip Ramon, chief of staff to Kenner Mayor Philip Capitano, has said city officials were investigating the alleged pilfering but added that many employees were themselves hurricane victims.
Don't know about Floyd, but the mayor is a Republican.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/22/2005 09:05 ||
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IIRC, Floyd used to be on the School Board representing a strongly Democrat district.
#5
Here's your man and the nature of the problems Louisiana suffers under, officially:
Cedric Floyd, Chief Administrative Officer
The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) manages the day-to-day operation of City government. The Chief Administrative Officer, under the direction of the Mayor, shall supervise all departments, except the Legal Department, the Fire Department, and the Police Department. The CAO coordinates emergency management procedures, attends and participates in Council and Agenda Meetings, and represents the Mayor as directed.
Chief Administrative Officer Cedric Floyd was appointed to the highest non-elected position in city government on January 5, 2004. CAO Cedric Floyd has been a resident of the city of Kenner for over forty (40) years. He is a graduate of Bonnabel High School and received a Bachelor of Science Degree from Louisiana State University in 1980. CAO Floyd was a member of the Jefferson Parish School Board from January 1991 to December 1998, serving as School Board President in 1996. CAO Floyd was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Data Center, a national demographics information system company specializing in Redistricting of Election Districts.
#6
Hey mon frere, have a little compassion, here. This administratin' be tirin' work, make a man a little thirsty, an' pow'ful hongry, him. An' the hurricane done took all my tools. So back off.
Posted by: Officialin B. Hard ||
09/22/2005 11:44 Comments ||
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#7
Who's got your back in Kenner people? Some of us O-fishals are 'cane victims too.
#8
Floyd's party affiliation can most likely be deduced from the fact the wire story doesn't mention it.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/22/2005 14:47 Comments ||
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#9
LOL. Sorry, RC, Floyd was appointed by the acting mayor, a Republican.
From Black votes elect Kenner's new mayor: Floyd is the first black Chief Administrative Officer that Kenner has ever had, appointed by Capitano's ally Council President(acting Mayor, Dominic) Weilbaecher. He contends that the black community had confidence in Capitano and that it believed that the councilman would continue Weilbaecher's popular policies. I> Capitano's opponent in the mayoral race was the present Police Chief, Nick Congemi and brother of the outgoing Mayor Louis Congemi. Claims of payback from the Congemi's in 5.4.3.2...
#10
Is there a public official in N.O. who isn't corrupt/incompetent?
Posted by: Scott R ||
09/22/2005 18:09 Comments ||
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Et al....... (Where there is one there are many)
not necessarily lawyers!!
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: Andrea Jackson ||
09/22/2005 18:13 Comments ||
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A late post @ www.wwltv.com ( a N.O. CBS station) has stated that the CAO has aan arreat warrant out and the mayor has suspended him w/out pay. Looks like either there is something to this story, or maybe a 'jail accident' will keep the truth quiet...
#13
Floyd didn't just hit his expiration date and go bad this week folks. There are multiple red flags over the years with your man there. Keeping it all in mind, take careful note that his company worked on redistricting electorial boundaries. At the time of the most recent theft, Cedric was in charge of the emergency effort for Kenner. We wonder why the Katrina debacle. Here's a small glimpse at the answer on the local level.
TEHERAN - Tehranâs ambassador to Ireland has been arrested in Iran on charges of financial mismanagement, Iranian judicial and foreign ministry sources said on Wednesday.
Judiciary Minister Jamal Karimirad told reporters on Monday an Iranian envoy had been arrested and was in jail after failing to meet bail. Foreign Ministry sources on Wednesday named the man as Hamid Reza Nikkar, ambassador to Ireland. There was no indication of how Nikkar pleaded. âOne of our ambassadors has been arrested for financial mismanagement,â Karimirad said on Monday. âTen percent of a 16-million euro ($19.5 million) deal has been mismanaged,â he added.
"He should have gotten twenty percent," he continued.
It was unclear whether the charge, which one source said involved a construction project, related to a crime committed in Iran or abroad. Nikkar took up his posting in Dublin in June and foreign ministry sources said the charges were likely to relate to an alleged offence before his arrival in Ireland.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/22/2005 00:00 ||
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The U.S. military is bracing for future attacks in space, and the Air Force has deployed an electronic-warfare unit capable of jamming enemy satellites, the general in charge of space defenses says. "You can't go to war and win without space," said Gen. Lance Lord, the four-star general in charge of the Colorado-based Air Force Space Command.
Gen. Lord said in an interview with The Washington Times that his command plays a key role in monitoring space, protecting satellites from attack or disruption and preparing to carry out strikes on enemy spacecraft. Gen. Lord said the United States has a major strategic advantage over other nations' militaries because of its satellite communications and intelligence capabilities. "So we've got to protect that advantage," he said. "We're not talking about weaponizing space. We're not talking about massive satellite attacks coming over the horizon or anything like that. This is really a way to understand space situational awareness, who's out there, who's operating. We understand that," Gen. Lord said.
The top priorities of the space command are monitoring space and knowing the threats. Two other missions are defending satellites and conducting offensive operations against enemy spacecraft or ground signals that threaten U.S. satellites. "We understand that jamming has gone on and other things have occurred, and we watch that very closely," Gen. Lord said. He declined to identify specific nations that are working on anti-satellite weapons.
Other defense officials said China is a key worry as far as space warfare, partly because it has tested electronic signal jamming against satellites. "We watch China," one official said. "They've had 45 successful launches since 1996. They will be a very robust and potent competitor in the future, and we want to make sure we understand who they are and how they're emerging in this business. They look at us; we look at them."
Russia also in the past has deployed anti-satellite weapons and is developing anti-satellite jamming weapons.
Gen. Lord dismissed assertions by critics that the Air Force's plans to use small spacecraft for maintenance could include using the craft as anti-satellite ramming devices. "Anytime you have a satellite out there, if you run it into something else, you've got that kind of capability. That is not what we're doing," he said. Instead, offensive anti-satellite weapons currently are limited to "countercommunications" operations -- interrupting the signals sent from the ground to satellites that try to disrupt U.S. military or civilian spacecraft, Gen. Lord said.
The 76th Space Control Squadron, based at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., last year deployed the first offensive countercommunications system that uses mobile teams that can fire electronic jamming gear capable of knocking out enemy satellite communications. "If somebody is trying to use space against us, we could interrupt, in a reversible kind of way, those kind of capabilities as needed and as directed by U.S. policy," Gen. Lord said.
Oh, and a killer Kosmic Kloud is gonna wipe us out in 2014 (I thought it was 2012?)... It's Pravda so it must be true (well, if it is, we're screwed)... The Sun does not behave while the Earth is threatened by dust cloud Even scientists are surprised at large solar outbursts
"According to the forecasts everything must be peaceful and quiet on the Sun now", senior researcher at the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of the Russian Academy of Science, Sergey Yazev says. "The maximum of the solar activity in this cycle came in 2000. The minimum was will be in 2006. We've just observed abnormal burst of activity on the Sun. The reasons are unknown yet".
Looks like something unusual is going on. Yazev adds, "Scientists on Earth started watching the Sun from satellites and orbital telescopes only in the beginning of the 1970s. Since then there were no such anomalies. But that does not necessarily mean that this never happened at all. Maybe such outbursts happen once in fifty or hundred years. There are no reasons for panic. I think that earth dwellers will keep warm under the sun for the next couple of years.
Solar outburst is a surge of energy that can be compared with the explosion of several thousands of hydrogen bombs. Violent outbursts lead to the fact that strong E-field radiation reaching the Earth changes magnetic field of the planet as if shaking it. In its turn this affects health of meteosensitive people. Such people comprise 15 percent of the planet's population according to World Health Organization. By the way, during the solar activity micro flora multiplies more intensively and a person becomes more vulnerable to many infections. In fact, flu epidemics start 2,3 years before or after the maximum of solar activity.
Continued on Page 49
#7
It's the Brutal Terran WinterTM! We're all gonna die!
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
09/22/2005 23:25 Comments ||
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#8
I don't know about the first part, Phil, but the second part rings true, LOL!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/22/2005 23:32 Comments ||
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#9
"...what is happening to the sun" - ask GOD, or Madonna; or Osama iff the latter is the "true" Imam Mahdi and Saladin, ala Osama's medical probs = solar flares, etal. Lefty UNIVERSAL SECULARISM = ATHEISM = SCIENTIFISM says science or the forces of the universe t'aint suppos to talk back to you as iff a sentient or conscientious being. nor to have higher intelligence or comprehension or capability than mere humanity and any Lefty intellectuals therefrom. Universal Secular humanity is NOT suppos to predict the future or move objects or control weather or detect enemy psychics, ..........@, let alone have Marian apparitions or see "white" lights and "black" lights/shadows, chase each other,... etc.!? ITS CRISS ANGEL, NOT, D*** YOU, BWAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHA...........!?
On the evening of October 30, 1950, in the dark, early days of the Cold War, Red Chinese forces mounted a massive nighttime assault on American troops at Unsan, North Korea. As overwhelming numbers of communist soldiers attacked Americans throughout the night and into the next day, a rifleman with the Army's 8th Cavalry Regiment took up a 30-caliber machine gun at the south end of his unit's line, following in the footsteps of three other soldiers - all of whom had been killed at the post.
When the rest of the American troops were told to withdraw, the rifleman never received the order, and continued "steadfastly manning" the machine gun until his ammunition was exhausted, according to Army records. The brave soldier's "determined stand" single-handedly slowed the advance of the enemy in his sector, allowing the remnants of his unit to retreat southward, and to safety.
Fifty-five years later, the valor of the rifleman, Tibor "Ted" Rubin, is finally being recognized. On Friday, Corporal Rubin, who served in Korea from July 23, 1950, to April 20, 1953, will receive America's highest military accolade, the Medal of Honor, from President Bush in a White House ceremony.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2005 07:57 ||
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#1
Wow! Words fail me. But I wonder why he wasn't recognized before?
#5
Plain old anti-semitism is why he was not nominated early on. From jta.org:
In July of that year, Pfc. Rubin found himself fighting on the frontlines of Korea with I Company, 8th Regiment, First Cavalry Division. There he encountered the terror of the company â First Sgt. Artice Watson.
According to lengthy affidavits submitted by nearly a dozen men â mostly self-described âcountry boysâ from the South and Midwest â Watson was a vicious anti-Semite who consistently âvolunteeredâ Rubin for the most dangerous patrols and missions.
Rubinâs bravery during such missions so impressed two of his commanding officers that they recommended him three times for the Medal of Honor. Both officers were later killed in action, but not before telling Watson to initiate the necessary paper work to secure the medals for Rubin.
Some of the men in Rubinâs company were present when Watson was ordered to put in for the medals, and all are convinced that he deliberately ignored the orders.
âI believe in my heart that First Sgt. Watson would have jeopardized his own safety rather than assist in any way whatsoever in the awarding of the medal to a person of Jewish descent,â wrote Cpl. Harold Speakman in a notarized affidavit.
The guy must have a sturdy physical and mental constitution to say the least. To have your body wrecked not once but twice and still survive says something.
Apparently the levees should have held, according to the computer model. Either they need new levees or a new computer.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/22/2005 00:18 ||
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#1
Does anyone else remember the news a couple of weeks ago concerning about 5 gunmen being shot dead by authorities as a result of their shooting at those who were trying to fix the breach? I'm assuming it was this same breach. Was there ever a follow up to that story? If not, why not? I never heard any more about it. I'm not saying there's a connection; just kind of strange in itself and espcially so because I never heard any more about it. Anybody?
#2
I note that all the levee failures occurred on CANAL levees, not the main Lake levees. The history of drainage of the city led to pumping stations dumping water into canals that over time had their canal-bank levees raised.
Possibilities: geographic space limitations along canal banks (relative to the lakeshore) may have forced steeper (& less stable) levees there, and/or taller concrete seawall caps. Or possibly the storm surge may have been amplified by being forced into the 'slot' shape of a canal, much like the high tides of the Bay of Fundy.
'Inadequate' levees, for sure. 'Faulty' levees - maybe, but certainly not for sure.
Glenmore - evacuated to SW Houston from New Orleans area for Katrina, now re-evacuated to Baton Rouge.
#4
I notice projections for Rita have now shifted east toward Louisiana, and me. Anybody need some rain? Or some buildings blown down for insurance? Send me an invitation and I'll see if hurricanes continue to follow me.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/22/2005 12:26 Comments ||
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#6
I remember the shooters, right before they sent active duty military and SWAT teams in. One reporter sent out on the night patrols with the SWAT teams with nightvision. The next official report on TV just said there were no more incidents after the first 5-6 days. I also heard they were performing autopsies outside as they didn't have power early on, and I wondered why they needed to do autopsies? There were also some glitches over whose responsibility it was to collect bodies after several weeks, so I presume no one was being let into some areas. NO had a lot of violent gangs. I believe deliberately breaching the canals to preserve the historic part was one of the options and perhaps why President Bush called LA and ordered a mandatory evacuation. It may have been a miscalculation on how many poor women, children, and elderly that remained....plenty of ammo for a great conspiracy theory.
Why spend all that cash on buiding to spec when we can skimp a little and put some money in our own pockets as well as pay off the city councilmen got us the contract in the first place. A little sand in the concrete won't hurt nuthin'!
#8
prolly got their flyash spec from the 3 Gorges Dam book
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/22/2005 13:49 Comments ||
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#9
Dainelle, there's no way you could save one part of the city from a storm surge coming out of the lake by breaching the canal wall and flooding that part. There's no place for the water to go. Lake Ponchatrain has enough water to fill the entire city several times over.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
09/22/2005 19:54 Comments ||
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