Weekend News Summary ''barbaric''

Foremost: Muslim cowards on their way to paradise attacked five, 15-year-old, School Girls, ambushing them in a cocoa plantation on their way to a Christian high school in the Bukit Bambu. Three were beheaded, their severed heads relocated; one head was delivered to a Christian church.
Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation. Central Sulawesi province has a roughly equal number of Muslims and Christians (Islamic tolerance gets no better than this for Christians, right-minded academics and dissenters in general). If you consider yourself a liberal minded, tolerant, educated person, note well the bargain of tolerence radical Islam brings and peacful Islam silently condones for your grandchildren. Do you still want to be part of the problem?

Telling: Who condemned this most cowardly act? (As usual, not the vocal muslim comminity anywhere!). Pope Benedict today offered his deepest sympathies to the families of three Christian girls beheaded in Indonesia as they walked to school near a Muslim town. Then, In Jakarta, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered the police to begin a hunt for the killers. "In the holy month of Ramadan, we are again shocked by a sadistic crime in Poso that claimed the lives of three school students," he told reporters at the airport as he prepared to fly to Sumatra island."I condemn this barbarous killing, whoever the perpetrators are and whatever their motives." He ordered the security forces to find the killers and maintain order in the region, calling the barbarism "sadist and inhuman crimes".

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BORDEAUX, France - Rene Moreau, one of seven remaining French soldiers who fought in World War I, has died at the age of 108, a veterans' association said Thursday. No man lives as long by chance alone. God willed his longevity. He lived without fame or riches. Is there a lesson here? Perhaps the French are America's best friends afterall. Thanks to them for the help of the Marquis de Lafayette in 1781, Liberte in 1886, superlative achievements in science, philosophy, and the arts and selfless magnanimity ever since. May the insidious Muslim menace not eat your national heritage for lunch.

Back To The Future: Blimps?

Know anyone who thinks blimps would be a worthwhile addition to U.S. defenses against terrorists? In early June, Vigilis posted this:
Modernized blimps would probably do a fine job denying access to homeland littorals at costs the Pentagon could digest cheaply. Crew size is minimal and Al-Zarqawi's stash of heat seekers would not work well at much distance. Now, who wishes to scoff that our modern Navy would ever consider such folly?

Today, 5 months later, the Sub Report carries this rather uncanny revelation from Pravda:
USA develops gigantic airships to spy on Chinese and Iranian submarines- The Pentagon has evinced great interest in the erstwhile popular technology

The Walrus dirigible will have a classic shape, according to early concepts. The cross-section will look be an isosceles triangle with rounded corners. In modern usage, the terms zeppelin, dirigible and airship are interchangeable for rigid airships, while Blimp is an informal term typically applied to non-rigid airships.

Who cares? Unless bureaucracy takes over from DARPA, taxpayers may get economical bang for their buck. You will need to know if this program will be USN or AF supervised. Whoever gets this will likely get the starship Kennedy (NAFTA-11).

Exciting Submarine "Starship": USS Virginia (SSN-774)

Bubblehead posted his friend's exciting, partial description of a below decks tour on the most sophisticated submarine we are likely to know much about for some time. It has even drawn an excited response from Rob, our active duty RO, who says "It's like a starship, though...pilot/ copilot like helm/ops, OOD has a viewscreen (in essence), touch screens, PDA logs, all info on computer. Wow, next they won't surface for perstrans, they'll just beam 'em out..."

No one will have actual belowdeck photos for us before Bubblehead will, but if you want a bit of conceptual assistance to help you visualize, there are some 'generalized', unclassified pieces scattered about already. What does a photonic mast look like (see photo at left)? The Virginia Class submarines have two Kollmorgen AN/BVS-1 Photonic Masts, rather than optical periscopes. The non-hull penetrating Photonic Masts (fairwater enclosed) include LLTV (low light TV), thermal imager and laser rangefinder. The mast is the Universal Modular Mast developed by Kollmorgen and its Italian subsidiary, Calzoni.

The UNIVERSAL MODULAR MAST (UMM) integrates optronics, with communications and MilSatcom, high data rate modem, ESM, EW, DF, GPS, Communications Antennas, voltage sensor, thermal imaging , as well as "special mission" stuff.

For a generalized (unclass.) drawing of the Pilot and co-Pilot stations, various displays, etc. between frames 24 and 36, in the Command and Control Center (CACC) go here (and turn to page 3 of 10) of the pdf file.

Interesting thing about the 19 inch (could even be 20.4") displays mentioned: The color displays utilized for AN/UYQ-70 consoles have special magnetic field protection which enables them to operate even in the presence of high magnetic fields. Good idea.

While hunting this stuff (all publicly available), also came across a surprising photo of the Advanced Seal Delivery System (ASDS). That is the stealthy mini-combatant sub which delivers Navy SEALs from mother subs within high threat environments.

Had a real nice color layout drawing of Virginia's CACC, but it disappeared mysteriously and am guessing it was not for publication.

Telling? Journalists Not On Eagle Scout List

Chapomatic (Hat Tip) writes: The senator doesn’t like the new nominee for the Defense Department public affairs guy, because the nominee wrote an op-ed that Levin doesn’t agree with. ...“I think that’s a serious mischaracterization,” Levin continued. “It suggests what your approach will be to information if you are confirmed in this position.”

...That was when Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., jumped in. Inhofe, who volunteered that he has probably spent more time in Iraq than anyone on the committee, said he was rankled by a discussion he had with a field-grade officer in Iraq during one trip who told him that the media is distorting the picture of what is actually going on in Iraq. Inhofe suggested that the war in Iraq is being fought on television and in newspapers as much as on the battlefield. “More than half this battle is in the media,” he said. “They are winning that battle, and we have to do something about it.” (emphasis mine)

and Chapomatic quotes from Wizbang:

...Numerous times they (Al-Jazeera) had advance knowledge of military actions against coalition forces. Instead of reporting to the authorities that it had been tipped off, Al-Jazeera would pre- position a crew at the event site and wait for the attack, record it and rush it on air. This happened time after time, to the point where Al-Jazeera was expelled from Iraq. ...

In addition to being subsidized by Qatar, Al-Jazeera has very strong partners in the U.S. — ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, CNN and MSNBC. Video aired by Al-Jazeera ends up on these networks, sometimes within minutes. The terrorists are aware of this access and use it —

The arrangement between the U.S. networks and Al-Jazeera raises questions of journalistic ethics. Do the U.S. networks know the terms of the relationship that Al-Jazeera has with the terrorists? Do they want to know?

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Among listings of impressively famous Eagle Scouts one finds Pulitizer Prize winners, authors, a CNO, the commanding general of U.S. forces in Vietnam, Walmart’s founder, accomplished musicians, scientists, attorneys (gulp), Cabinet members, Governors, a nominee for sainthood, many astronauts, athletes and an NFL coach, a philanthropist, a former CIA director, a former U.S. president, artists, poets and aviators, etc. One finds no top, male journalists, however (Walter Cronkite was indeed a Boy Scout, but not an Eagle). This seems telling because Eagle Scouts have records of early accomplishment and high ideals. The glaring absence of Eagle Scouts among top male journalists in the U.S. may say that high ideals are not emphasized in values promoted by media moguls. That would be a shame. Come to think of it, where are the Eagle Scouts in higher education?

True, a very few Eagles later went bad (one had a brain tumor), but all have a record of early accomplishments and high ideals.

Lessons in Critical Thinking # 51026

Statistically, most urbanites are liberal leaning, global warming pushers; what about this New Yorker? - Large waves in New York city beach Tuesday, from remnants of Wilma offshore. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) . Hat Tip Drudge

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Since 1960, the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) has surveyed the heavens in hopes of finding transmissions from distant civilizations on alien planets. Of course, there is no way to know what frequency aliens might be using, or their language. In 1992, the U.S. government actually funded a SETI program. Later, it was ridiculed by Congress and cancelled. From Australia comes the latest whale grounding episode, Nearly 60 Whales Die in Mass Stranding. A group of 70 long finned pilot whales beached themselves in the same location in 1998, a spokeswoman said. Only 10 survived. Pilot whales are known to beach themselves in large numbers, though scientists have yet to pinpoint why. We do not know the whale's frequency or their language. Are the whales possibly sending us a message? Maybe we should know our own world better, before we attempt to communicate with aliens. For all we know, aliens may have programmed these whales to send us their message.

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Verdict Vs. Lawyer in Terror Case Upheld, a judge ruled Tuesday. Ex-lawyer Lynne Stewart was convicted of defrauding the government and making false statements after she helped pass messages between convicted bomb-plot Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman and his followers. Stewart faces up to 20 years in prison when sentenced in December. History proves she is likely to be pardoned by the next Democrat (party of lawyers) president, which could occur before 20 years pass. Her pardon should be a "litmus" test for Dem. candidates.

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You may want to skip this one, if you object to bludgeoning of Harp seals for pelts, and now, for Omega-3, a beneficial fatty acid derived from harp seal oil used as a health food ingredient.

In 2004, 365,900 harp seals were taken, and their pelts brought about $70 each. Canada estimates the value of the 2004 Atlantic seal harvest at $16.5-million. The $3C bread is a collaborative effort of Auntie Crae's and Terra Nova Fisheries, whose president, Cosmas Ho, is also a physician. In some people's view, sealing is a controversial topic, although hunting unweaned infant seals has been banned since 1987. Now, to your mind, what is the real issue to this story? If Dr. Ho is not retired, why has he chosen not to practice medicine? Could this be yet another suboptimization of socialized medicine?

Is Curt Weldon a Don Quixote?

Don Quixote de la Mancha was the novel by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. Some consider it the finest book of the entire Spanish language. The term 'quixotic', taken from the name of the book's hero, has come to mean idealistic or impractical.

Curt Weldon, an honorable member of the United States House of Representatives since 1987 (R-PA), is Vice-chair of the Armed Services Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee. Weldon's claims that Able Danger identified the 9/11 hijackers were picked up by the national media in August 2005. Now he also claims former Clinton Administration officials were warned ahead of time of the USS Cole bombing. If Weldon stands for re-election in 2006, will his own administration oppose him, as well? It looks very likely.

In unusual, bi-partisan fashion, the Government has gag-ordered 7 highly credible witnesses who corroborate Weldon's claims. It has been obvious that Weldon's claims may be true, but that the Government has destroyed underlying records, threatened witnesses and ignored reports - in essence, engaged in a total cover-up campaign. See Able Danger and the Gorelick Wall here , and 'Mr. Speaker, this is not America', here.

Previously, Molten Eagle predicted 'Abel Danger will never see the light of day' and offered three possible reasons for the Government's intransigence over a fair hearing of Weldon's claims. Now, Molten Eagle has not changed that prediction, but can now narrow down (by process of elimination) the three possible reasons to only one.

It is not just a removable roadblock to a fair hearing, National Security is a monument, an immovable obstacle. Admitting the veracity of Weldon's claims jeopardizes the usefulness of cutting-edge spy technology that currently allows the U.S. to predict and avert emerging terrorist threats. If enemies know that their most secretive communications have been intercepted, they will plug the "leaks" so the technology becomes useless. We of course, need intelligence to avoid successful WMD attacks in the future.

In time, (75 years?) when the truth comes out, the Clinton administration will be deservedly vilified as one of the worst in U.S. history. Some will even consider it fitting at that time to exercise eminent domain condemning and levelling his presidential library in Little Rock. Clinton would not be the only lawyer victimized by the truth. A Gorelick could come to mean something very vile in our future language.

Weldon needs bi-partisan support to help him. Max Cleland would be among the best choices. Why is no bi-partisan support forthcoming? Read the preceeding paragraph, again. Who is 'tilting at windmills'? Where is Max Cleland? Since Weldon serves on the House Homeland Security Committee, why is he either not privy to the technology in question, or dismissive of a continued need for its protection?

Submarine Commander Writes Thriller - Will "Mission Complete" Rival Tom Clancy's Success?

Captain Wigley (USN retired), a USNA graduate, spent twenty-nine years on active duty involved directly or mostly with sophisticated nuclear submarines. Better schooled in military and political science than Tom Clancy, Wigley also posesses the operational experience and insider's knowledge of submarine details necessary to write a convincing thriller.

His first novel, Mission Complete, revolves around the terrorist takeover of a U.S. nuclear attack submarine. USS Tigerfish has been pirated at anchor off Piraeus and is still operated by its American crew under brutal torture by communist guards. The commanding officer of the USS Jackfish SSN-945, attends a highly classified conference where it is revealed that an ultimatum was delivered to the President of the United States from a terrorist group demanding ransom money and disarmament of the U.S. strategic (nuclear weapons) arsenal. If the ultimatum is not met in 5 days (Christmas Eve), the terrorist will launch the Tigerfishes nuclear cruise missiles, annihilating Norfolk, Washington, New York, and Groton, Connecticuit.

Will Wigley's book be as successful as Tom Clancy's benchmark, The Hunt For Red October? Both involve attention to technical and operational details concerning military intelligence activities, one of the most secretive operational branches of the military, and technologies beyond the grasp of even average American techies. A best seller, Red October and its sequel books made Clancy wealthy. The USA box office performance of the film is in the all-time top 300 records (at #220). You will see from what follows that Clancy holds a 3-point lead over Wigley before the possibility of a cinematic production or sub-sim games are even considered:

Setting: Both involve the Cold War era - Mission Complete terrorists have soviet communist connections (versus outright Islamic) SCORE: Clancy 1 ; Wigley 0.

Currency: Tom Clancy was an early, and to many, surprising defender of Islam after the WTC terror attacks. One of the first experts interviewed on CNN on (the date of) 9/11, he defended Islam as a peaceful religion. Wigley seems to just wimp out of the area entirely.
SCORE: Clancy 0; Wigley 0.

Realism: Red October was inspired by real events; On November 8, 1975, the Soviet Navy frigate Storozhevoy mutinied, which at the time the West believed was an attempt to defect from Latvia to Gotland. The mutiny was led by the ship's political officer, Captain Valery Sablin. Since the mutiny was unsuccessful; Sablin was captured, court-martialed and executed.
SCORE: Clancy 1; Wigley 0.

Triteness: USS Tigerfish unlike Clancy's story, is not the name of a real or former U.S. submarine. The fact that the name has been used in two Cold War era books (Ice Station Zebra and O God of Battles is an indication that rather than helping Wigley as it did Clancy, the USN may actually be restricting Wigley's story to trite fictionality.
SCORE: Clancy 1; Wigley 0.

Conclusion:
Mission Complete may be an exciting read (disclosure: too early for reviews), but Clancy wins, hands down. Why? The U.S. military assisted Clancy's success chiefly for submariner recruiting purposes. For the time being, there are too many U.S. submarines and therefore, even one of the toughest military volunteers to recruit, submariners, may soon be surplus (one needs only recall the attempted BRAC closing of the Groton submarine base, drastically declining contracts for new sub construction, and the subs budgeted for future fleets).

Political Correctness: The Dumbed Down, Feel Good Agenda

Leave it to Lone Ranger to expose extremism in all of its unfamiliar guises. The photo shows radical extremists elements adapting to an American pagan ritual in order to promote their cause.

Authorities know only that these middle-eastern garbed terrorists may be members of the Kalhound Al-Retreiver cell headquartered in a suburb of a major U.S. metropolitan area.

One of them, no doubt, was a carefully disguised FBI informant.

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On a much sadder and more serious note, Lone Ranger exposes Another Liberal Atrocity. "As much as liberals love to invoke the name of Hitler, it is they who are dragging us back to the Nazis' practice of eugenics," he says.

You will want to read his short post for yourself and learn more about William Bennett.

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More hypocrisy: Americans are viewed by Nigerian scam artists as greedy, White people. To them, the scams, called 419 after the Nigerian statute against fraud, are a game. Their anthem, I Go Chop Your Dollars, a popular song in Lagos, hit the airwaves a few months ago as a CD.
So the widows and fixed income folk succumbing to sinister cons are greedier than criminals who perpetrate the crimes, or lawyers who defend them?

Able Danger - "Mr. Speaker, this is not America."

In his speech Friday about Abel Danger to the floor of Congress, Curt Weldon, a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, requested a full independent investigation by the Inspector General of the Pentagon. "Let the independent inspector for the Pentagon go in, not DIA. DIA cannot investigate itself. It does not have the capability to do that. It does not have the integrity to do that," said Weldon.

Excerpts (emphasis added):

What I did not know, Mr. Speaker, up until June of this year, was that that secret program called Able Danger actually identified the Brooklyn cell of al Qaeda in January and February of 2000, over 1 year before 9/11 every happened. In addition, I learned that not only did we identify the Brooklyn cell of al Qaeda, but we identified Mohamed Atta as one of the members of that Brooklyn cell along with three other terrorists who were the leadership of the 9/11 attack.

I have also learned, Mr. Speaker, that in September of 2000, again, over 1 year before 9/11, that Able Danger team attempted on three separate occasions to provide information to the FBI about the Brooklyn cell of al Qaeda, and on three separate occasions they were denied by lawyers in the previous administration to transfer that information.

And what Louis Freeh said, Mr. Speaker, is that that kind of actionable data could have allowed us to prevent the hijackings that occurred on September 11.

What we have here, I am convinced of this now, is an aggressive attempt by CIA management to cover up their own shortcomings in not being able to do what the Able Danger team did: They identified Mohammed Atta and the al Qaeda cell of Brooklyn 1 year before Ð9/11. But even before that, as the story unfolds, you are going to hear the story that they also identified the threat to the USS Cole 2 weeks before the attack, and 2 days before the attack were screaming not to let the USS Cole come into the harbor at Yemen because they knew something was about to happen.

So what has happened to Lieutenant Colonel Shaffer, Mr. Speaker? The Defense Intelligence Agency has lifted his security clearance. One day before he was to testify before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, in uniform, they permanently removed his security clearance. And now our Defense Intelligence Agency has told Colonel Shaffer's lawyer that they plan to seek a permanent removal of his pay and his health care benefits for him and his two children. Why, Mr. Speaker? Because Lieutenant Colonel Shaffer, like Commander Scott Philpot of the Navy, like J. D. Smith, and like a host of other Able Danger employees, has told the truth.

Mr. Speaker, this is not America.
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Molten Eagle's Analysis...
Reasons the Defense Intelligence Agency does not want Able Danger exposed:
+ Exposure risks revealing the capabilities of cutting-edge technology that currently allows the U.S. to predict emerging terrorist threats. (even if partially true, the public must understand the fatal impact of the lawyers' information block, so it is never allowed to occur again).

+ (as Weldon suggests) leaders in the Defense Intelligence Agency, including the deputy director, decided they do not want the story told. I think because they perhaps are fearful of being embarrassed and humiliated. (if this is true, the stakes are higher than humiliation or embarrassment - firings and denial of pensions are in order).

+ Because the Able Danger team attempted on three occasions to provide information to the FBI about the Brooklyn cell of al Qaeda, and on three occasions they were denied by lawyers in the previous administration to transfer that information, over 1 year before 9/11, public backlash against government lawyers might imperil Senate incumbents, and DOJ careerists deservedly.
(Note: Youngest of nine children in a blue collar family, Curt Weldon was the first in his family to attend and graduate from college. Weldon is not a Lawyer, it shows).

Submarines - Always Silent and Strange

Qualified submariners know "Christmas Tree" as the lighted display of valve and hatch riggings. One Cold War submarine also claimed a Sequoia (Redwood) tree to commemorate its keel laying. In 1956, three admirals and a captain planted the tree (how many would it take to decorate it?) for construction of Mare Island's first nuclear submarine. The sapling grew to become the Shipyard's Christmas tree from the 1980s until the yard closed in 1996. (US Navy tree photo courtesy of Darryl L. Baker) Could it still be there?

SARGO SSN-583 , the third SKATE - class nuclear attack submarine, received four Navy Unit Commendations in addition to a Meritorious Unit Commendation during 30 years of operations. One of its crew, MM3 (SS) James Smallwood, was posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corp Medal for heroic action during an oxygen explosion and fire that occurred innocently in 1960.

In 1965, Sargo collided with USS BARB (SSN 596) during local ops. In 1969, Sargo sank the USS STERLET (SS-392), off of Oahu, during torpedo testing.

Choice Bits from Around The Blogs

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Lone Ranger (unknown brosadcaster and writer for D.C. based international news agency) says Now, it took me only about 15 minutes of research to find this out. So, why isn't it common knowledge? Why don't the MSM and our government want us to know our enemy? Check out his post today: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell or We Will Kill You!"

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Insurgent financing network suffers next to last blow, but the big one is coming.
A nephew of Saddam Hussein believed to be the top financier to Iraq's insurgents could betray the location of missing Saddam fortunes, Iraq's interior minister hinted Thursday. Iraqi security officials said Yasir Sabhawi Ibrahim, a son of Saddam's half brother Sabhawi Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti, had been in Syria until the Damascus government forced him to leave. He was arrested within days of arriving in Iraq. Interior Minister Bayan Jabr said the suspect has told interrogators he was receiving money from someone "from the family of Saddam" living in "other Arab countries" to deliver to insurgents in Iraq. Iraqi security forces arrested Yasir Sabhawi Ibrahim during a pro-Saddam demonstration in the city of Tikrit on Wednesday, the day the former dictator's trial began in Baghdad, Jabr said. We will get more information from" Ibrahim to help determine who is the source of the funding for insurgents, Jabr said.

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Latest U.S. Terror Arrest and more on Baltimore Tunnel Plot A fifth man has now been arrested in the investigation of a terrorist threat to the tunnel this week, according to court documents. Maged Hussein, owner of an east Baltimore convenience store that had been raided by federal authorities Tuesday, was taken in to custody on a handgun charge. Four others were detained Tuesday on immigration charges and will be deported, according to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. One of the men, 30-year-old Mohamed Ahmed Mohamady Ismail, came up in a tip about the purported tunnel plot from a source who is in custody in the Netherlands. The tipster said several men would drive vehicles filled with explosives through a Baltimore-area tunnel. The target could have been either The Baltimore Harbor Tunnel or the Fort McHenry Tunnel.

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Clinton Calls on Canada to Fight Terrorism What could be stranger? If Hillary runs for president and loses, will New York have her back? Unlikely. What is Hillary's habit when faced with unpopularity (Hint: does she still live in Arkansas)? Look out Canada, Hillary may be coming to an election near you. Yes, she will establish domicile in Toronto first.

Curious News You May Have Missed

<> Bird flu sparking human epidemic is 'science fiction': Spain
Is Spain out of step, or more logical than the rest of the world? Before you try to answer that one, read the next one.

<> World is a safer place despite people's fears Telegraph Group Limited.

<> India bids to rule the waves - India firmly acknowledges the strategic importance of the Andaman Sea. The Indian Navy is setting up a Far Eastern Naval Command (FENC) off Port Blair on the Andaman Islands midway between the Bay of Bengal and the Malacca Strait - to give it "blue-water" status. The Malacca Strait, thanks to the weakness of the Indonesian and Malaysian navies, has become a hunting ground of pirates. Indian naval authorities are also concerned over the Chinese presence in these waters pointing out that with China controlling the ports of Akyab, Cheduba and Bassein, India's approaches to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands could be threatened. U.S. seems to approve, read the next one.

<> Navy eyes planet's most congested stretch of ocean - Other than Taiwan, the other Pacific Ocean area of interest to the Navy is the Malacca Straits, a 630-mile-long waterway that stretches between Indonesia and Malaysia. Half of the world's oil supply passes through the straits on tankers coming from the Middle East. Citing the threat of terrorism, U.S. Navy submariners have been clamoring for years to get permission from neighboring countries to patrol the straits, which have been plagued by piracy around the Singapore Strait section, where the waterway narrows to only 1½ miles wide.

<> Canada tells China could ship 450,000 bpd in 6 yrs - Canada could export up to 450,000 barrels per day of crude oil to China from northern Alberta's oil sands in the coming six years, Canadian Natural Resources Minister John McCallum said on Saturday. As the prime minister made very clear, we are very serious about the United States respecting the rules of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), McCallum told reporters on a conference call from China. During January-October 2004, oil exports to the U.S. were: Persian Gulf sources (2.4 million bbl/d); Canada (1.6 million bbl/d); Mexico (1.6 million bbl/d); Saudi Arabia (1.5 million bbl/d): Venezuela (1.3 million bbl/d): and Nigeria (1.1 million bbl/d).

<> Al Qaeda's "barber" arrested in Iraq - U.S. forces in Iraq said on Saturday that they were holding a man suspected of acting as a barber to senior al Qaeda militants and helping them change their appearance to evade capture by dying hair color, altering hairstyles and changing facial hair. The man, named as Walid Muhammad Farhan Juwar al-Zubaydi -- "aka 'The Barber,"' the U.S. military statement said -- was arrested in Baghdad on September 24, the day before U.S. troops caught up with and killed a militant they described as the most senior al Qaeda leader in the capital, Abu Azzam.

<> Update: Al Qaeda's Butcher - Zarqawi has About 139 Days to Live Remaining

<> Wilma Now Most Intense Atlantic Storm Ever - At this writing, Wilma's forecasted track takes her across Florida's penninsula on a NE course skirting the mainland in the Atlantic. Does anyone expect the storm to strike Florida's panhandle and continue toward Raliegh, NC?

U.S. Submarine History Quick Facts -part 1 WWII

Around 16,000 sailors made submarine combat patrols during WWII. About 375 officers and 3131 enlisted men were killed when 52 U.S. submarines were sunk.

The casualty rate (around 22%) was the highest for any branch of the U.S. military in WWII.
Yet, the casualty rate for Italy (85 boats lost), Japan (130 lost) and Germany (779 U-boats lost) were even higher. Germany's U-boat casualty rate for crew was almost 72%.

Of the 420 U.S. commanders who took submarines into war and survived, almost all made the rank of Captain. About 60 made Admiral, including Fearless Freddie Warder.

Great, One Capture Eliminated 130 Criminal Identities

A master forger created 130 identities for himself to open 473 bank accounts, including 200 with Barclays and 85 with the NatWest. Why? To perpetrate > £1 million in loan defaults leaving all the major High Street clearing banks with large debts. He was jailed for five and a half years Monday.

Kanagaratnam Ganan, 33, a Sri Lankan granted British citizenship in 2002, was the ringleader of the sophisticated fraud that involved two fellow Sri Lankans, Mr. Gnanachchandran and Mr. Rajaratnam. Kanagaratnam, posing as a recent arrival from Imdia, established credit-worthiness. Then he raised the stakes by applying for credit cards, loans and overdrafts on his accounts before defaulting. He had arranged 112 separate, mail redirection facilities to prevent banks from tracing the defaults to himself. His two confederates laundered the ill-gotten monies for him and received 1 and 3 year jail terms.

The scam had lasted five years before authorities captured the 'ghosts' they had been chasing in December, 2004 after an eight month investigation. Police captured Ganan at his home and have recovered £380,000 of his fraudulent receipts, much less than he got due to thousands lost speculating on dot-com businesses. Officers said a large chunk of cash had also been used to fund the crimes. So how did they catch him? He needed 130 different faces.

Dispatched To Eternal Patrol By The Chaos of Battle

In the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October based on Tom Clancy's 1984 thriller, future U.S. Senator Fred Dalton Thompson (R-TN) plays Rear Admiral Joshua Painter aboard aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. One of the greatest lines of the entire movie is when Admiral Painter says, "This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we will be lucky to live through it."

The line expresses with perfection the likely fate of the submarine USS SEAWOLF (SS-197) on her 15th war patrol, during the invasion of Morotai.

The Navy admits SEAWOLF (her location then unknown) was probably sunk by units of her own navy. It was Tuesday, October 3, 1944. SEAWOLF and NARWHAL (ss-167) exchanged 'SJ' radar recognition signals at 0756. Two planes1 from USS MIDWAY (CVE-63), responding to the torpedoing and sinking of USS Shelton (DE-407) by Japanese IJN submarine (RO-41) eighteen miles away, bombed an unidentified submarine around 11 AM. The planes dropped a dye marker at the sub's last location. Soon, USS Rowell (DE-403) , arrived and saturated the area (which was within a designated submarine safe passage lane) with its depth charges.

In the ensuing chaos, faint (probably morse code) signals detected from below were interpreted as enemy attempts to jam Rowell's sound gear. The lethal attack continued until a large air bubble, oil slick and some floating debris were spotted. Later, the Navy realized SEAWOLF3 was overdue, and all 79 lives aboard had been lost.

SEAWOLF, known as Submarine Raider of the Pacific, and her crews had served their country proudly from the very first days of the war in the Pacific. Her missions had been expensive for the enemy, daring for her crew and distinctive for her bold commanding officers, including "Fearless Freddie" Warder3, who penetrated over 40 miles into a heavily protected harbor to engage the enemy. During her first fourteen patrols, SEAWOLF had sunk 27 enemy ships, and damaged 13. She had received the Navy Unit Commendation for her fourth patrol. On her thirteenth patrol, a Top Secret photographic reconnaissance of Peleliu (Palau), she rescued two downed aviators during air raids. On her fourteenth patrol, SEAWOLF delivered cargo to guerrilla activities in the Philippines.

Notes: -1- Another sub, USS STINGRAY (SS-186) had also been attacked by planes from the Midway in the designated safety lane that day, but was luckier and survived the war. -2- Albert Bontier, unlucky new captain of SEAWOLF when she sank, had been assigned to command the aging sub after having been relieved of duty for running RAZORBACK aground off New London. SEAWOLF was en route to Samar with 17 U.S. Army agents and tons of "supplies" aboard when sunk. -3- As commander of the Atlantic submarine force, Rear Admiral Frederick B. Warder's flagship was SEAWOLF's nuclear namesake, SSN 575.

News You May Have Missed - Good, Bad & Terrorists

<> On October 7th Molten posted this conclusion regarding first world countries with muslim populations exceeding 3.5% of their total: Relatively small muslim populations are already potent political forces in some countries and can be considered politically assistive to the islamist terrorist threat regardless of intent or denials. If you found this easy to believe, you did not have to wait long for confirmation:
October 12, 2005 at 21:56:35 PDT Dutch Court Won't Extradite Terror Suspect
"This ruling is unique in Dutch legal history. Never before has a judge ruled that an extradition to the United States could not take place because the rights of a defendant could not be guaranteed," Nooitgedagt said. (AP) THE HAGUE, Netherlands (Muslim population 5.5%)

<> Bad News (The Caliphate): Religious Leader Wants Islamic Somalia An influential religious leader and alleged al-Qaida collaborator vowed in an interview Wednesday to establish an Islamic state in Somalia.

<> Good News (Muslim Backfire at last) Abdullah Urges Muslim Nations to Unite against extremists "who are distorting the teachings of Islam," Jordan's King Abdullah II said Wednesday. Islamic militants have launched several attacks in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, and in Jordan in recent years. More than 80 percent of Indonesia's 220 million people are Muslims. Most practice a broadly tolerant version of the faith.

<> Neutral News (Not buying this suicide) Syria Says Minister Committed Suicide

Asked whether it was possible such a crime could have taken place without his knowledge, Assad replied: 'I wouldn't think so. As I said, if that happened, this is treason.'

'Everything seemed normal,' Habash told Al-Arabiya TV. 'Certainly, the indications that came before it did not show he was under pressure here, or that his political situation was shaky.'

'I don't believe it was a suicide,' Ross said. 'The timing is extraordinarily coincidental. It certainly would look as if someone was trying to create the impression the person responsible for (the Hariri murder) is dead.

<> Man Arrested on Charges of Stealing Jet The 22 year old guy who flew the Cessna Citation Jet from Florida to Atlanta Sunday arrested Wednesday. Motive?

<> The Iranian government dismisses these charges. But there are counterfeits of such high quality found in the Middle East, they're called Supernotes. They have the raised ink feel of bills printed on intaglio presses, equipment generally owned by governments.

Now: U.S. accuses North Korea of $100 bill counterfeiting The Bush administration formally has accused North Korea of manufacturing high-quality counterfeit $100 "supernotes" for the first time, according to an indictment made public yesterday as part of a 16-year probe.

A May 19th indictment was unsealed Saturday after Mr. Garland had been arrested in Belfast. He is leader of the Marxist-Leninist Worker's Party leader, arm of the Official Irish Republican Army, and used party contacts to purchase fake $100 bills forged in North Korean, the indictment stated. Garland and six other men allegedly conspired from 1997 to 2000 to buy $1 million of supernotes from North Koreans during travels in Ireland, Britain, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Germany and elsewhere. (Anyone suspect IRAN yet?)

Confused German Chancellor Schroeder Disparages America

In his speech to a trade union in Hanover, on Wednesday, outgoing Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder warned of the dangers of eroding the welfare functions of the state. "I can think of a recent disaster that shows what happens when a country neglects its duties of state towards its people. My post as chancellor, which I still hold, does not allow me to name that country but you all know that I am talking about America," said Schroeder, who will soon cede his post to conservative rival Angela Merkel.

Perhaps Schroeder had been fooled by false media reports of unrescued Katrina victims, perhaps he is unfamiliar with the primary responsibilities for and lack of preparedness of Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin under the U.S. Constitution, or perhaps he is a knave.

Is Mr. Schroeder's comment arrogant, or simply foolish? His use of the terms 'duties of state' and 'welfare functions of state' say it all. Germany (#49), as a nation ranks behind Louisiana (#34) in GDP per capita, according to 1998 statistics.

In terms of land area, Louisiana (51,843 square miles) is more than one-third the size of Germany (137,826 square miles).

While there can be little doubt that Louisiana would, if it were a sovereign country, have a German embassy, Mr. Schroeder, a head of state, seems confused about the responsibilities and autonomy of American state governments under the U.S. Constitution.

While the president of the U.S. meets with both the head of Germany and the Governor of Louisiana, he is able to dictate to neither, nor is either bound to accept his advise. Angela Merkel will be a welcomed change.

Russia and EU Space Vehicle Tests Defy PETA

Last Friday Oct. 7, 2005, Russia's Inflatable Reentry and Descent Technology (IRDT) Demonstrator 2R test launched on a 30-foot, converted R-29R (SS-N-18) ICBM rocket from nuclear submarine Borisoglebsk in the Barents Sea. The IRDT disappeared after 35 minutes of suborbital flight. It separated from its rocket in a normal mode, entered the atmosphere descending on time, and was headed toward the Kura test range, as expected. Sunday, sources in Russia's Defense Ministry told Itar-Tass it had not been found and the search was ended.

The submarine launch method is relatively cheap and has not been very successful. Three previous launches failed, but this one worked, ITAR-Tass initially said. "A successful test of the device will make it possible to use it not only for the return of cargo, but also for the evacuation of the ISS (space station) crew, and for a soft landing on other planets," ITAR-Tass quoted the Lavochkin Co. as saying.

The IRDT was built on contract for the European Space Agency and the European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co., Interfax said. EADS is based in France and Germany and owns 80 percent of European aircraft-maker Airbus. IRDT is a collapsible vehicle designed to carry cargo and passengers from the low-orbital, ISS to Earth. It only weighs about 320 pounds empty.

Payload can vary from an estimated 680 pounds to 1.2 tons. The IRDT is designed to fly on a predictable trajectory without engines — making it a cheap alternative to the Soyuz spacecraft currently in use. It is said to inflate to about 8 meters during landing after surviving dense atmosphere heating.

It is doubtful that dogs or chimpanzees would not be used to test survivability before human use. Certainly, animal testing would be accomplished from an Earth launch rather than the ISS end and any trauma to animals would be as guarded as their names. Laika was the poor dog lost in Sputnik 2 (1957) to assure the safety of later cosmonauts. Now, however, there is even a PETA chapter in Moscow. No, they cannot monitor nuclear submarine launches or interview crews.

Yes, the solar sail launched last June failed, but Russians space engineers are certainly very competent. Remember who launched the first orbiting satellite? Whose Soyuz spacecraft regularly save the day when America's space shuttles cannot fly? I hope the next dog/chimp survives.

Masquerading News To Be Better Unmasked? A Controversial Move

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - In another bold move, the world's most popular internet media site, Yahoo News begins featuring the work of self-published bloggers side by side with the work of professional journalists today leveling distinctions between the two.

An expanded search feature will include news stories and related blogs with user-contributed photos and related links on a second-level news site for users wanting more details. The news page will now be split between 6,500 professional sources and links to hundreds of thousands of blogs available from its syndication service.

Robert Thompson, a media studies professor at Syracuse University, defined professional journalism as reporting which adheres to standards of accuracy and writing subjected to an editorial process, and all done with an eye to journalistic ethics, although he said journalism often falls short of these goals.

Jeff Jarvis, author of the blog Buzzmachine (http://www.buzzmachine.com), a former TV critic for TV Guide and People magazines, mocked the notion that journalists live by a shared set of professional standards, or that they are better trained or more trustworthy than the anyone-can-join blog movement. "What made the voice of the people somehow less important than the paid professional journalist?" he asked. "You don't need to have a degree, you don't need to have a paycheck, you don't need to have a byline," Jarvis said. "If you inform the public, you are committing an act of journalism," he declared.

A Just WAGE (War Against Great Evil): Can al Qaeda Lunacy Succeed?

Recently, President Bush delivered an address (linked below) remarked about "the fourth anniversary of a great evil". There was an uncanny parallel to Molten Eagle's comments of three days earlier:

Notice the order of the three, color-coded points:

October 3rd (Molten Eagle):
Can their lunacy succeed? Young al-Qaedas thrive on fantasies: video games; soldier of fortune adventure; notions of erotic paradise; the global Caliphate; and, other juvenile illusions. One by one Jihadis will be eradicated, commit suicide or mature into the human race. Poor students of history, they rarely have the slightest clue why the Caliphate is doomed - human nature has never been changed.

October 6th (President Bush):
And Islamic radicalism, like the ideology of communism, contains inherent contradictions that doom it to failure. By fearing freedom -- by distrusting human creativity, and punishing change, and limiting the contributions of half the population -- this ideology undermines the very qualities that make human progress possible, and human societies successful. The only thing modern about the militants' vision is the weapons they want to use against us. The rest of their grim vision is defined by a warped image of the past -- a declaration of war on the idea of progress, itself. And whatever lies ahead in the war against this ideology, the outcome is not in doubt: Those who despise freedom and progress have condemned themselves to isolation, decline, and collapse. Because free peoples believe in the future, free peoples will own the future. (Applause.)

Read the rest of President Bush's address to the National Endowment for Democracy at Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center Washington, D.C. -Hat tip to Eagle1 at EagleSpeak .

Treasures of "Global Warming"

From the New York Times (October 10th) As Polar Ice Turns to Water, Dreams of Treasure Abound breaks a few paradigms and envisions opportunities 20 years into the future. Sen. McCain and Adm. James D. Watkins, a retired chief of naval operations who is chairman of the United States Commission on Ocean Policy, are quoted with other "boundary" country notables concerning extending rights far into the oceans.

A race is on to declare oceanic boundaries because:
+ One quarter of undiscovered oil and gas lies in the Arctic, according to the USCG;
+ Polar thaw is unlocking lucrative shipping routes, perhaps the Northwest Passage;
+ New cruise ship destinations; and
+ Important new commercial fishing zones.

Submarine Photos - Journalist at 1,000 ft

Hat tip to Neptunus Lex: The Accidental Journalist freelance journalist and photographer (Blackrat) embarks aboard HMS Trenchant with rather lavish photography, first person impressions, and an explanation or two to clear up the usual misconceptions of nonsubmariners. USN Submariners will appreciate especially the photo of Navigation Officer Lt. Gareth Jenkins plotting a course on a chart with 200 plus wrecks in the shallow waters of the continental shelf. Very nicely presented. May be the quickest loading, high resolution submarine photos (with top clarity and color) on the web.

Submarines- Always Silent, Always Strange

From a story by Robert Hamilton in the Day.com (New London) -The official motto of the USS Augusta (SSN-710) is Any Mission, Any Time.

Shortly after Cmdr. Mike A. Haumer assumed command, he rushed Augusta to early deployment in the war with Iraq. After a four-month scheduled shipyard availabilty exceeded 7 months due to complications, Haumer got the Augusta back to the fleet in time for another long deployment this year.

The Augusta has managed five classified missions “vital to national security” without a hitch, Haumer said at a change-of-command last week during which he turned the reins over to Cmdr. James C. Childs. Along the way, the ship earned the Battle E and a Navy Unit Commendation.

For any nonsubmariners reading this, the esence and spirit of submarining is rarely told (and even then, without elaborate detail), because it is, afterall, still The Silent Service for good reason. The submarine force accounted for nearly one-third of Tomahawk missiles launched during the war. Here for all to read into is what Haumer told the crew and families at last week's change-of-command ceremony:

We never had to go off station because we couldn't fix or adapt to a broken piece of equipment. We never had to go off station because someone got hurt or because of family problems back home... You, the men of the Augusta, fixed it when it got broken and you, the families of Augusta, handled problems as they arose and made sure the ship could continue to perform, ‘Any Mission, Any Time,' ” Haumer said. “I thank you.”

Iran Blindsided By its Own Game. The Center of Terrorist Manufacturing Excellence Stumbles

There has been a new wrinkle in Iran's transparent plan to become radical Islam's Center of Manufacturing Excellence for Terror Tools.

Prime Minister Tony Blair had warned Iran that information linked it to recent bomb attacks on British troops in Iraq. Iran is already known as a major hub for heroin distribution into Europe, and is considered a state sponsor of terrorism by the CIA. Despite its huge petroleum exports, Iran still pretends it wants to develope nuclear capabilities for 'peaceful' purposes. Unless selling nuclear weapons to terrorists falls within the aegis of humanitarian relief, peaceful is a preposterous description for suitcase atomic bombs.

Iran is now surprised to learn an adage from Abraham Lincoln, who said, ... you may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time:

Prudent Iranians and other investors are bailing out of Tehran's stock market, shifting to liquid investments like gold as pressures against Iran's nuclear ambitions mount. The stock market dropped to $38.2 billion on Sunday, down from $45 billion when Ahmadinejad won his landslide (voters in Iran can be as young 15 years old). Iran is expected to be called before the U.N. Security Council since it has convinced no one of its nuclear sincerity.

What happens to Iran's economy when more investors lose confidence in its stock market? Investments in productive capacity will falter, unemployment will rise above the current 11%, and the value of its currency will fall -oil will be cheaper for Europe to import, but heroin will become more expensive for Iran to buy and export.

Why Slam Radical Islamists Right Now?

*corrected 10-8-05:
An interesting pattern emerged regarding a nation's resolve (at least initially) to preemptively combat the radical islamist menace.

Looking only at nonauthoritarian, first world countries we obtained statistics from the CIA's FACTBOOK (Sept 2005). With the conflicting exceptions only of the Netherlands and Canada there was a striking need not to join* the GWOT Coalition when a country's muslim population exceeded 3.5% of total. Dashes denote muslim populations too low to be specified as percentages. Factbook information indicates muslim populations are growing in several countries, including Italy.


Conclusion: Relatively small muslim populations are already potent political forces in some countries and can be considered politically assistive to the islamist terrorist threat regardless of intent or denials. Rather than wait until civil war is inevitable, an overwhelming confrontation should proceed at once. The preemtive GWOT coalition is a necessary demonstration of resolve to fight terrorism wherever it may be supported by host governments. Also important are actions including cooperative intelligence gathering by even noncoalition countries. Confrontation reveals the terrorists' supporters now. This identification is essential for ongoing world security.

Postscript: Population figures for the "Muslim World" are provided here. An estimated 1 - 2% of China's 1.3+ billion citizens are muslim (almost 20 million). Like other religious peoples, most muslims desire a peaceful existence. We cannot forget, however, that as muslim populations grow in relative terms they become politically assistive to radical Islamists by afinity, rather than by overt expressions of support. The result is just as dangerous to peaceful civilization.

The Submarine Philadelphia's Collision

Remember, the latest reported submarine collision- USS Philadelphia Struck by Turkish Freighter in Persian Gulf?

The SSN 690 collided with tM/V Yaso Aysen, a Turkish merchantman, at about 2 am on the morning of September 5th. Bubblehead quotes Lt. Wyatt Smith, formerly of the Philadelphia, in a letter to Soldiers For The Truth: "Obviously, I cannot discuss details of what happened that night. Men are being relieved on that ship as we speak because of a complete breakdown of the command and control process."

Next to incapacity of leadership, this seems awfully strong language. Whatever occurred happened slightly more than one day into a new moon, as tracked by U.S. Naval Observatory (for navigational purposes). The first full moon of September is known as the Fruit Moon according to Native Americans.

Wresting America's Control of the Internet

In June the United States stated what many had always feared: that it would retain indefinite control of the internet's foundation - its 'root servers', the basic directory for the whole internet. According to the Guardian Unlimited in Breaking America's grip on the net, Brazil relies on the internet for 90% of its tax collection - the question of who controls the internet could be critical. Suppose the infamouus U.N. Security Council rotated control among its members?

Author of Ruling the Root and expert, Milton Mueller, believes an overseeing council "could interfere with standards. What would stop it saying 'when you're making this standard for data transfer you have to include some kind of surveillance for law enforcement'? China has attracted its own criticism for human rights violations and filtering internet (from Gus Van Horn) content within its borders. Tunisia - host of the World Summit - has also come under attack for silencing online voices.

Former FBI Head Louis Freeh Tells 60 Minutes' Mike Wallace Sunday

Remember Vince Foster's suicide? Had he lived, would he have wriitten an insider's look at the Clinton administration? No, that is why Hillary picked him.

Former FBI Director Louis Freeh was also picked for his sensitive position. Bill Clinton called Freeh a “law enforcement legend” when he nominated him. Not only is Freeh's book MY FBI set for release next week, but he has taped an interview with Mike Wallace and CBSNEWS '60 MINUTES' to be broadcast Sunday, the DRUDGE REPORT tells us. Freeh says Clinton refused to ask Crown Prince Abdullah to allow FBI questioning of bombing suspects in the Saudi kingdom's custody – the only way open to secure the interviews. 'Bill Clinton raised the subject only to tell the crown prince that he understood the Saudis’ reluctance to cooperate and then he hit Abdullah up for a contribution to the Clinton Presidential Library.' Says Freeh, 'That’s a fact that I am reporting.'

Mysteries Under the Moon -Get Ready for a strange Submarine Event

This image is a governmental flag. Note the crescent and palm tree. In which part of the world is this flag ordinarily displayed?


These are a few other flags identified as Crescent Moon: Flags of the Muslim World. Note that Turkmenistan's (lower left) has its crescent facing West like the blue and white mystery flag.

History excerpts: Around 100 B.C., the Romans used squares of purple or red cloth hung from a horizontal bar affixed to a spear shaft; they called it a vexillum - Latin root of vexillology the study of flags. The first development of cloth flags, however, took place in China. Islam gave the development of flags another impetus. Perhaps because Islamic strictures against human representation encouraged the development of abstract decorative patterns, it was in the Middle East that the concept of associating specific colors with individuals and dynasties developed. Crusaders, on returning to Europe, brought back Middle Eastern flags. As one consequence, individuals, cities, states and other entities began to design and display their own flags.

The mystery of the Moon: What is a crescent moon? The two phases of our moon called waxing (new) and waning (old) are crescents.

More moon symbology: WASHINGTON (AP) - Two days after he was sentenced for taking classified documents, Sandy Berger was caught reckless driving by Virginia police who clocked him at 88 mph in a 55 mph zone. Berger appeared yesterday before the same federal magistrate who had sentenced him Sept. 8th in the documents case, Deborah Robinson. The traffic offense occurred while Berger, the former National Security adviser to President Clinton, is on a two-year probation handed down as part of his sentence in the document case. Robinson fined Berger $50,000 and sentenced him to 100 hours of community service. There was a new moon just before Berger was caught speeding.

Mystery flag? South Carolina (not an islamic country last time I was there).

Advanced Research Craft Sea Shadow

Does this 2005 photo look familiar and disconcerting at the same time? What is this vessel and how old is it really?

For a close-up photo, go here.

For more information, try this link.

Hint: The colors are out of place.

Were you thinking of the 1862 ironclad drawing (CSS Virginia) below?

Curious Items You May Have Missed

<>

STRASBOURG, France (AP) - Islamic Official Says West Demonizes Islam even though the Sept. 11 attacks were condemned by Muslims (We remember a long silence from Muslim leaders; did they whisper and no one heard them?)

<>

BALOCHISTAN province, Pakistan (BBC NEWS) - Authorities in Pakistan say they have arrested leading Taleban spokesman Latifullah Hakimi. A spokesman for President Karzai said he hoped the arrest would lead to other Taleban leaders being detained. "...(Hakimi) was a person who claimed the lives of many innocent people like clerics, doctors, teachers," the spokesman, Khaliq Ahmed Khaliq, told the BBC.

<>

PARIS, France (AP) - Attorney Jean-Marc Goldnadel knew he was going to make waves when he launched classaction.fr - a French Web site that lets users sign up to lawsuits online for as little as 12 euros ($14.50). Opponents of the government's plans have also seized on classaction.fr as evidence that a class action law would encourage the kind of 'excesses' that the United States is now trying to curb: ambulance-chasing lawyers, ruinous damages awards and spurious lawsuits used to blackmail companies into settlements. It's an incitement to blackmail, said Joelle Simon, head of legal affairs at France's Medef. We know what the American system costs their economy, and that is one import we can really do without.

<>

London, United Kingdom (BBC NEWS) - Click on this link to learn about how the US government works. (Journalism at its best.) So then, what is the American Bar Association's real purpose here?

<>

Politics: Staff members for a champion of the right to privacy and a leading critic of identity theft fraudulently obtained the credit report of a rising black political star. Your turn for tough questions, Sen. Schumer.

<>

WASHINGTON - (NY Daily News) The independent counsel investigation that led to the conviction of a former Clinton administration housing chief could come back to haunt Sen. Hillary Clinton. The Daily News reports that lawyers are fighting to suppress a potentially embarrassing final report from the probe that found Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros lied to the FBI about paying $250,000 hush money to his ex-mistress. Cisneros had paid a $10,000 fine after being found guilty in 1999 and was pardoned by Bill Clinton. Although neither Hillary nor her husband was targeted by independent counsel David Barrett, his 420-page final report sent to a special court 13 months ago will include alleged abuses of power by Clinton's administration. Sen. Hillary Clinton's lawyers are trying to quash that report.
In April, Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) tried to ax the probe.

New: The Untold (Silent) 1968 Story of a Soviet Submarine's (Strange) Mission

About Red Star Rogue: 'The Untold Story of a Soviet Submarines Nuclear Strike Attempt on the U.S.' "One of the great secrets of the Cold War, hidden for decades, is revealed at last." by Kenneth Sewell and Clint Richmond, Released: 13 September, 2005 ISBN: 0743261127 Sales

Excerpts from the only unflattering review of the 10 at time of this posting:

SubGuru former submariner , (not me) wrote:
If you approach this book as a techno-thriller, it's at least as good as the latest submarine fiction from DiMercurio, for example.

...I think it's much more likely that K-129 was lost after an explosion in one of the missile tubes during a routine patrol, much like what happened to the Yankee-class sub K-219 in October 1986 off of Bermuda. (Unless, of course, you believe the 'Hostile Waters' conspiracy theory that K-219 sank after colliding with an American sub -- If you believe that, then you must also believe that a U.S. sub torpedoed the Russian submarine Kursk.)

Go ahead and read this book, but don't believe everything you read.

Molten Eagle intends to read this book as soon as possible.

Trouble in Jihadis Paradise: Zarqawi Dead in About 156 Days - Our Countdown Continues

Remember the 2002 assassination of Laurence Foley, senior U.S. diplomat in Jordan? Three suspects confessed to Jordanian authorities that they had been armed and paid by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to assassinate Foley. That would not be one of Zarqawi's greatest crimes. Wanted for murdering Innocent women and cildren, his wanted poster says.

Zarqawi is, therefore, destined to become the lovliest virgin to welcome jihadis in 'paradise'. The Jihadis notion of paradise is as beyond polite description as their notion of peace under radical Islam.

Muslims and their enablers - our U.S. liberal apologists and appeasers scoff at the Global War on Terrorism telling us not to take the Islamist vision of a Muslim Caliphate (one government for all Moslem nations) seriously. Really, we thought the vision was actually one world under a muslim flag.

Fouad Hussein, a Jordanian journalist who spent time in prison with Zarqawi, interviewed key figures in radical Islam. His new book al-Zarqawi - al-Qaida's Second Generation is written about in © SPIEGEL ONLINE What al-Qaida Really Wants.

Hussein outlines An Islamic Caliphate in Seven Easy Steps. The next Step he calls The Third Phase. This is expected to take from 2007 to 2010. 'There will be a focus on Syria,' says Hussein, based on his sources. Attacks in Turkey and Israel are predicted. Iraq and Jordan will also be in danger.

Can their lunacy succeed? Young al-Qaedas thrive on fantasies: video games; soldier of fortune adventure; notions of erotic paradise; the global Caliphate; and, other juvenile illusions. One by one Jihadis will be eradicated, commit suicide or mature into the human race. Poor students of history, they rarely have the slightest clue why the Caliphate is doomed - human nature has never been changed.

Venezuela, The 51st State? - Why Chavez Suspects U.S. Invasion

The presidential term of office is six years in Venezuela with a single consecutive term. El Presidente Hugo Chavez is a popular shoe-in for re-election in 2006. What happens in 2012?
To delay 2012 elections (retain power beyond constitutional provisions) a national emergency must have been declared. It would not be an unheard of contrivance in South America. It can be assumed Chavez has already made plans , but when he learned details (see LA NUEVA CUBA below) of Operation Balboa, he assumed the U.S. and NATO were probably on to him.

Chavez, interviewed on ABC's Nightline, said the plan is called 'Balboa' and involves aircraft carriers and planes. CNN.com report. He said the military exercise is known as "Plan Balboa" and has included rehearsing simultaneous assaults by air, sea and land, involving troops from the United States and NATO countries.

The Spanish military held 'Operation Balboa' (in May 2001, conducting a mock assault in which the United States and allied countries simulated an attack on western Venezuela from bases in Panama and Colombia. U.S. and NATO officials provided classified information about Venezuela for the simulation conducted by 26 lieutenant colonels and other officials from the Spanish air force and other countries.

Interesting from LA NUEVA CUBA
Operation Balboa then goes into great detail into the hypothetical political situation of Venezuela. It posits the existence of a radical People's Party that "proposes actions against the interests of the legally constituted government" and against properties of the Blue Country (United States). The Venezuelan Revolutionary Force (VFL), exists in the west, with support of the White (Colombian) guerrillas, popular groups, and some of the Armed Forces, and practically controls the western part of Purple (Venezuela). The United Nations Security Council calls upon the VLF to abandon its belligerent actions and make peace with the Purple government. Peace talks between the groups fail, and Blue residents of the Black area are threatened. The UN authorizes the creation of an Allied Joint Combined Force to rescue the foreign residents (more juicy details).

So what was Chavez's plan to warrant the declaration of national emergency? Yanqui imperialism -the 51st state (we don't have to believe it, and well-to-do Venezuelans won't either, only his loyal, peasant voters). Well, Chavez it appears will need a revised plan.

Female Submarine Crew Advisability

Attempts by feminist lawyers in the Clinton Administration to assign women aboard navy submarines provoked considerable response and nearly all of it was negative. For example, a Connecticut newspaper published a letter from a female graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Patty Marr, who has served at sea and who definitely disagreed with attempts to assign women to submarines. Here are a sampling of excerpts from Marr and others:

Navy Position:
Women are not currently assigned to submarine crews because of the very limited habitability and privacy onboard a submarine. However, women have been on submarines for short durations as civilian technicians for specialized equipment testing, family members for one-day dependent cruises, and female midshipmen conducting two-day orientation cruises. Source:
http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/submarines/centennial/faqs.html

A Submarine Officer Speaks Frankly:
Having women on a sub would be a bit like having men and women together in prison. Personally, as an officer, I would not have wanted women on my crew, even if the women were better performers.
The first mission of the Navy is to defend the security of the United States. A secondary mission of the Navy is to accomplish the first mission in accordance with the values of the American people in so much as is practical. Sometimes it is not practical. Americans value democracy but democracy is not practical in the Navy. Americans value equal responsibilities for women. Now that the cold war is over (emphasis added) and the threat for which the sub force was built is gone, we might be able to afford putting women on submarines. But it would be expensive and there are many practical problems. Sometimes people bring up the idea of an all female submarine crew. I think this would work but training the first crew would be difficult. On the sub, the captain and a handful of chiefs each had 15 or more years experience on submarines. This experience made operating the ship possible. And this experience is not something that can develop quickly.
Source: http://www.patweb.com/rants/women.cfm

Another Submarine Officer Speaks Thoughtfully:
My recommendation is that if women must be integrated into the force, they come in as senior officers. No one aboard would ever question the authority of the executive officer, who is ten feet tall no matter who he (or she) is. The Navy would do well to take a few dozen surface ship female officers who have the best fitness reports and train them in submarines. Then put them to work as nuclear submarine navigators and watch them. My prediction is that half will fail, but the half who succeed will be worth the effort. Once females have "made their bones" as dolphin-wearers, then and only then should females be admitted to the junior officer and enlisted ranks.
Source: http://www.subsim.com/ssr/dimerc3.html

Scientific Observations (females first to use tools):
"In the first case, we had a female crossing a pool; and this female has crossed this pool by using a detached stick and testing the water depth, and trying to use it as a walking stick," he told the BBC. ...They can also learn tool use and transmit their acquired skills to other members of their social group. Hint: Teachers



Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4296606.stm


Phyllis Schlafly Speaks:
Women on subs is a terrible idea. The Navy's highest-ranking admirals are strongly opposed, but the powerful feminists in the Clinton Administration are trying to get their way by executive order. Female sailors of childbearing age would face particular medical risks on submarines. Air in a submarine is constantly recycled and trace elements in the atmosphere, such as carbon monoxide, cannot be filtered out. Such elements are reasonably safe for adults, but toxic for an unborn child.

Patty Marr's letter is worth quoting. "I can speak from experience that `women at sea' is no success story. Average women do not have the upper body strength of the average man.
"I passed all my tests, but I could not lower a submersible pump into a flooded space. Who would you prefer in wartime?
"Pregnancy and sea time are incompatible. If women become pregnant, they must eventually depart the ship. Submarines must have 100 percent crew readiness even in dental health.
"The Navy discriminates against obesity, illness, disability, age, and yes, sex. The military's mission is to effectively fight wars, not be an equal opportunity employer pandering to every special interest group. Should we make submarines handicapped accessible?
"I hope our military commanders have the courage to stand up against the pressure just as they need to in the heat of a battle."
Source: http://www.eagleforum.org/column/2000/aug00/00-08-30.shtml