The Alpha Site: Earth II

Twenty light years from Earth, above a calm, dark ocean, a huge, bloated red sun rises in the sky - a full ten times the size of our Sun as seen from Earth. Small waves lap at a sandy shore and on the beach as something stirs. This very well may be the scene on what is possibly the most extraordinary world to have been discovered by astronomers: the first truly Earth-like planet to have been found outside our Solar System. The discovery of the planet, designated Gliese 581c, was announced today by a team of European astronomers, using a telescope in La Silla in the Chilean Andes.

The Earth-like planet that could be covered in oceans and may support life is 20.5 light years away, and has the right temperature to allow liquid water on its surface. The new planet, which orbits a small, red star called Gliese 581, is about one-and-a-half times the diameter of the Earth, and is located in the constellation Libra.

Astrobiologists refer to a climate zone known as the Goldilocks Zone, where it is not so cold that water freezes and not so hot that it boils, but where it can lie on the planet's surface as a liquid. In our solar system, only one planet - Earth - lies in the Goldilocks Zone. Venus is far too hot and Mars is just too cold. This new planet lies bang in the middle of the zone, with average surface temperatures estimated to be between 32 and 102 degrees Fahrenheit. Lakes, rivers and even oceans are possible.

It is not clear what this planet is made of. If it is rock, like the Earth, then its surface may be land, or a combination of land and ocean. Another possibility is that Gliese 581c was formed mostly from ice far from the star (ice is a very common substance in the Universe), and moved to the close orbit it inhabits today. In which case its entire surface will have melted to form a giant, planet-wide ocean with no land, save perhaps a few rocky islands or icebergs.

The surface gravity is probably around twice that of the Earth and the atmosphere could be similar to ours. Although the new planet is in itself very Earth-like, its solar system is about as alien as could be imagined. The star at the centre - Gliese 581 - is small and dim, only about a third the size of our Sun and about 50 times cooler. The two other planets are huge, Neptune-sized worlds called Gliese 581b and Gliese 581d (there is no "a", to avoid confusion with the star itself). The Earth-like planet orbits its sun at a distance of only six million miles or so, travelling so fast that its "year" only lasts 13 of our days. The parent star would dominate the view from the surface - a huge red ball of fire that must be a spectacular sight.

It is difficult to speculate what - if any - life there is on the planet. If there is life there it would have to cope with the higher gravity and solar radiation from its sun. Just because Gliese 581c is habitable does not mean that it is inhabited, but we do know its sun is an ancient star - in fact, it is one of the oldest stars in the galaxy, and extremely stable. If there is life, it has had many billions of years to evolve.

The real importance is not so much the discovery of this planet itself, but the fact that it shows that Earth-like planets are probably extremely common in the Universe. There are 200 billion stars in our galaxy alone and many astronomers believe most of these stars have planets.

Interestingly, Gliese 581c is so close to the Earth that if its inhabitants only had our level of technology, they could - just about - pick up some of our radio signals, such as the most powerful military transmitters. What would happen if we received a signal from them is unclear.

"There is a protocol, buried away in the United Nations," says Dr Shostak of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute in California. "The President would be told first, after the signal was confirmed by other observatories. But we couldn't keep such a discovery secret."

It may be some time before we detect any such signals, but it is just possible that today we are closer than ever to finding life in the stars.

An Open Letter to Senator Reid on His Declaration of Defeat

April 21st, 2007

The following letter was written by Lt. Jason Nichols, a Naval officer who is currently serving in Baghdad. He is also the head of Appeal for Courage, a group of American active duty and reserve service personnel who are appealing to Congress to stay and finish the war.

Senator Reid:

When you say we’ve lost in Iraq, I don’t think you understand the effect of your words. The Iraqis I speak with are the good guys here, fighting to build a stable government. They hear what you say, but they don’t understand it. They don’t know about the political game, they don’t know about a Presidential veto, and they don’t know about party politics.

But they do know that if they help us, they are noticed by terrorists and extremists. They decide to help us if they think we can protect them from those terrorists. They tell us where caches of weapons are hidden. They call and report small groups of men who are strangers to the neighborhood, men that look the same to us, but are obvious to them as a foreign suicide cell.

To be brief, your words are killing us. Your statements make the Iraqis afraid to help us for fear we’ll leave them unprotected in the future. They don’t report a cache, and its weapons blow up my friends in a convoy. They don’t report a foreign fighter, and that fighter sends a mortar onto my base. Your statements are noticed, and they have an effect.

Finally, you are mistaken when you say we are losing. We are winning, I see it every day. However, we will win with fewer casualties if you help us. Will you?

Respectfully,
LT Jason Nichols, USN MNF-I,
Baghdad

Well said, Lieutenant Nichols!

Hattip to Gathering of Eagles http://gatheringofeagles.org/?p=311

Treason in the Senate

Harry Reid, Nevada democrat and senate majority leader, has declared the war in Iraq is "lost." One hundred thirty-five thousand American soldiers, sailors and airmen are taking the fight to the Islamic fanatics, and winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, but Reid, in his most seditionist statement so far, pronounces the war is lost.

So egregious is his statement that soldiers have expressed their shock and revulsion in emails sent throughout the country. In raw and emotional language from the bloody front lines, Cpl. Tyler Rock, of the 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, skewered Reid for being far removed from the patriotism and progress in Iraq. "Yeah, and I got a quote for that [expletive] Harry Reid. These families need us here," Rock vented in an e-mail to Pat Dollard, a Hollywood agent-turned-war reporter who posted the comment on his Web site, www.patdollard.com. Good on ya, Corporal!

Reid, in his blind hatred of the president and thirst for democrat party power, has let politics trump his patriotism. And that graciously assumes he had any to begin with.

Harry Reid. One despicable individual.

Flying Imams vs. John Doe

Remember those 5 Imams who made a big scene by praying publicly in the terminal at the Minneapolis airport recently? And during the flight they continued to pray loudly and moved about in the passenger cabin. Clearly trying to incite negative attention in order to use politically correct laws against those who reported their suspicious behavior, they've now sued both USAirways and the unknown passengers who reported their shenanigans, named in the complaints as certain "John Does."

Tired of this nonsense? Join up. Rep. Stevan Pearce (R-NM) drafted a bill to protect such John Does from liability. Here is Rep. Pearce's press release:

Today, United States Congressman Steve Pearce introduced H.R. 1640 the "Protecting Americans Fighting Terrorism Act of 2007." If passed, this legislation would protect individuals from being sued for reporting suspicious activities to law enforcement and security personnel.

The language of the Act comes as a direct response to a recent incident in Minneapolis. As reported in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the imams engaged in a variety of suspicious behaviors while boarding a US Airways flight, according to the airport police report. Some prayed loudly in the gate area, spoke angrily about the United States and Saddam, switched seats and sat in the 9/11 hijackers' configuration, and unnecessarily requested seatbelt extenders that could be used as weapons, according to witness reports and US Airways spokeswoman Andrea Rader.

As a result of the aforementioned behavior, citizens contacted airline authorities and the pilot informed law enforcement to have the suspicious parties removed from the aircraft. The original incident occurred in November of 2006; now the group has filed suit against US Airways and the
Minneapolis - St. Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission on 17 different charges. Included in the lawsuit as defendants, are "John Does" described as citizens who called authorities to report the suspicious behavior of the Imams.

Rep. Pearce commented on introducing the bill: "It is a sad day in America when our own institutions of freedom are being used against us in the battle against terrorism. When I first heard about the lawsuit brought by the 'imams' in Minnesota, it was clear to me that this was an injustice against Americans who were simply trying to protect themselves. These brave citizens should be recognized as heroes for their efforts to report suspicious activity, particularly activity that has been associated with previous terror attacks.

"As Americans, we must not allow ourselves to be bullied by individuals who seek to disrupt our way of life. We can not allow the sympathizers of terrorism to make Americans wonder if they could be sued before reporting possible terrorist activity. Whether it is an intimidation tactic or a full scale attack, Americans have the right and responsibility to protect themselves and their fellow citizens. I introduced this legislation to protect Americans and keep all citizens alert and vocal as they serve on the front line in our battle against terrorism here in America."

Finally some sanity. Terrorism, by definition, includes low-conflict situations like e-coli in our produce, rat poison in Rover's dog food, and certainly intimidation tactics like this ridiculous suit. And any judge who is worth his robes should immediately dismiss this suit - with extreme prejudice.

Some folks I've talked to have a better solution. They call it SOS. It's not a call for help, however. It means Shoot On Sight.

Have a nice day.

Hattip to Michele Malkin and the guys at Powerline

More Iraqi Progress

Tired of the propaganda about Iraq? Take a look in the paper, on the news, and all you'll see countless stories about casualties and destruction. But progress is being made in Iraq, and it's noteworthy. Here are just some of the achievements being made by US and coalition forces that you will not see in AP, NYT, WaPo, or the LA Times:

• The liberal media isn't going to report the fact that 3,100 Iraqi schools have been renovated, 364 are under rehabilitation, 263 new schools are under construction, and 38 new schools have been completed
• The liberal media isn't going to report that the Iraqi Police Service has over 55,000 fully trained and equipped police officers
• The liberal media isn't going to report that 96 percent of Iraqi children under the age of 5 have received the first 2 series of polio vaccinations
• The liberal media isn't going to report that 47 countries have reestablished their embassies in Iraq
  

Don't believe it? These facts are verifiable on the Department of Defense web site: http://www.defenselink.mil/.

Cassini's Eye on Saturn

Named for the 17th century Italian astronomer and mathematician Giovanni Cassini, the NASA probe bearing his name sent back some astounding images of Saturn, which were released by NASA Thursday. The images show a different perspective of Saturn's rings from a more polar orbit. Taken from a distance of only 800,000 miles, the images show distinctive ring shadows on the surface, and some interesting blue and gold coloration of the planet. The moon Dione can be seen orbiting in the background.

In other cosmic events, aside from the coronal mass ejections emanating from the sun, this evening the moon will rise in full eclipse. As it happens, a lunar eclipse and an opposition of Saturn and Neptune are in the cosmic cards this week. Combined with some bearish market fundamentals, that should keep the world's biggest stock market under a cloud, financial astrologer Arch Crawford wrote to clients. That means stay out of the casinos for a while.

Anyway, it's a good night to look up at the heavens and ponder the majesty of the universe that we've only begun to explore. It'll keep things in the proper perspective.

Solar Activity Threatens Telecommunications

Over the next three years, scientists expect that solar flares will increase in activity and intensity, potentially creating havoc with space-based telecommusications systems. Cell phones and GPS systems are vunerable as satellites are bombardard with radiation from these solar magnetic storms.

Markus Aschwanden, a solar physicist at the Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, has said, "The solar flares are expected to be at its maximum intensity by the year 2010. These solar flares and Coronoal Mass Ejections from the sun have the ability to travel all the way to the earth and create a blackout of cellular phone services and navigational systems like the GPS. If a solar flare or a CME collides with the Earth, it can cause a geomagnetic storm."

Aschwanden added that large geomagnetic storms have caused electrical power outages and damaged communication satellites. A few years back, these solar flares destroyed the satellite Galaxy 4.

Solar fares and coronal mass ejections occur when magnetic energy built up in the sun's atmosphere is suddenly released. These flares carry a huge amount of energy, and travel very fast, reaching the Earth in a matter of hours. The geomagnetic pulse in 1998 that killed Galaxy 4 caused widespread loss of pager service and other telecommunications problems.

Update: A Man With A Gun

Update: Now the news comes out that the Bosnian-born shooter at the Salt Lake City mall was indeed a muslim. But don't wait for the MSM to report this fact.

A Man With A Gun

Some people may believe that it takes a village to raise a child, or that it takes a police force to protect them. However, in two recent news stories, a single individual with a handgun thwarted what could have been far more serious situations.

In Seminole, Florida on Monday, an armed off duty Pinellas County deputy sheriff shot a 22 year-old man who was about to carjack a BMW, and most probably kidnap or shoot the two occupants.

And today an 18-year old lone gunman shot and killed five innocent people in a mall in Salt Lake City, Utah before he was engaged in a firefight with an armed off duty Ogden policeman.

Some 48 states have some sort of carry laws, but in 39 states, citizens enjoy the right to carry concealed weapons. Florida, my home state, first passed the "shall issue" carry legislation that has become the model for most concealed carry state laws. The graphic to the right shows how states have embraced armed self defense legislation over the last two decades.

Personally I have had a CCW permit for twenty-nine years, and I carry every day. Yet in all that time, I have been lucky - I've never had to present my weapon. But across the nation, a gun prevents a crime or saves a life every day. In Florida, over 50,000 women hold CCW permits, and even more carry guns in their car or purse.

In today's uncertain world, with terrorist cells in many US cities; with unprotected borders allowing smugglers, terrorists, religious radicals and other common criminals to invade our country; with sociopath youths committing burglaries and carjackings becoming commonplace, individual personal self defense is an absolute necessity. You better believe that the bad guys will have guns, and you better have one, too.

As we say down here in the South, "An armed society is a polite society."

War on Terror Global SitRep

As the Global War On Terror continues, some news briefs haven't made the main stream media. The politically correct press continues to shield the Islamofascists and other bad guys from scrutiny.

Russia

Our Russian "ally" delivers Tor-M1 air defense systems to Iran. This system is capable of identifying 48 targets, and firing at two simultaneously. This $700 million sale defies the US arms boycott agreement.

North Korea

As starvation continues this winter, refugees pay $20 to cross into China. China exploits the situation and demands that Pyongyang implement Chinese Communist style government.

China

People's Liberation Army foments terror in Southeast Asia, and the goal is to take the strategic Malaaca Straits. PLA also behind training and arms supply to Islamofascists in India.

Thailand

Islamic terrorists continue to kill innocent Buddhists in drive by shootings.

Philippines

Bounties on terrorists are working! To date, 155 criminals have been caught and $834,000 in bounty has been paid.

Canada

Canada's armed forces are so small that its 2,400 troop NATO deployment in Afghanistan leaves them short for security for the 2010 winter Olympics.

United States

Hawaiian spy ring busted. Indian-born defense contractor indicted for selling B-52 and cruise missile technology to China. Al Qaeda's revolutionary creed is based on Marxism-Leninism, and can be discredited, according to Rand Corp.

Costa Rica

US busts a home-made submarine with 2.7 tons of coke worth $90 million as it headed for the US from Columbia. 4 bad guys arrested.

Ecuador

US takes a hit in the drug war. US to be ousted from a crucial anti-drug base in South America. Ecuadorian government intends to convert the base into an airport.

United Kingdom

Russian dissident Aleksander Litvineneko, author of Blowing Up Russia: Terror From Within, a book critical of Russian President Vladmir Putin, was poisoned by radioactive polonium-210. Two other Russian diners with Litvinenko were also poisoned.

Germany

Master Communist spy Marcus Wolf has died. The stalinist's 40-year reign included torture and imprisonment of thousands of defiant East Germans during the cold war.

Turkey

Turk-Iran commission to fight Kurdish PKK terrorism in Turkey and Iran is implemented.

Israel

After losing dozens of Merkava tanks from Russian-made Kornet missiles during last summer's war with Hezbollah, Israel has developed an active missile protection system that can detect incoming missiles with radar.

Iraq

Death squads, made up of female Shiites, head to Baghdad armed with silenced pistols and bayonets. They will be disguised as Sunnis displaced by Shiites, according to Sunni intelligence sources.

Afghanistan

Utilizing smart bomb technology, allies forces eliminated 1,000 Taliban fighters during the summer offensive. Thanks go to coalition A-10 and F-16 drivers.

Saudi Arabia

Taking a cue from the US, perhaps, the Kingdom plans a high-tech, $12 billion wall along its border with Iraq to protect it from invading Islamofascists and other terrorists.

Guinea-Bissau

Law enforcement has all but collapsed in this tiny Atlantic coast African nation. Long known as a drug transit haven, a recent bust of cocaine from South America resulted in the bad guys being turned loose.

Nigeria

In a new twist, Operation Samaria seeks to train and send 50,000 Nigerian Christian missionaries during the next 15 years to evangelize Islamics from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia.

Somalia

Ethiopian troops deployed to support government forces and prevent violent Islamic Courts terrorists from invading Ethiopia. Yemen, Uganda and Kenya join forces against the Islamic Courts.

South Africa
Air Force seeks troop racial mix to 75% black and 25% white, reversing current racial makeup of 81% white. Transition is a problem; government's recruitment of unseasoned pilots has increased air training accidents.

Hat tip to Dr. Martin Brass for his global intel.

Seems Like Old Times

Jane! Hanoi Jane! Gee, it's great to see you protesting a war again, just like back in the 70s. It's like the old days! Look, here we are in front of the capital, with all our loopy friends out there in the crowd. Well, I don't see any Black Panthers, but there's Dick Gregory over there, so that's close. And in lieu of flower-power hippies, we have Code Pink. Code Pink, hey! Over here! "Pull. Out. Now!" That is so heavy. Where's Cindy?

This is so neat! Look, Sean Penn! And there's Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, and Jesse Jackson and Maxine Waters and Dennis Kucinich. All the beautiful, enlightened people are here.

And what else is cool, is we get to spray paint our inane slogans on the capital steps! That will show 'em - it'll really make our voice heard. Back, off Capital pigs! We know our rights! Yeah, those Neo-Cons won't mess with us.

If we just had an Iraqi anti-aircraft gun, or maybe an RPG, to stage some photos with. Oh, well, this rally of useful idiots will just have to do. Well, gotta go. I'm babysitting my grand kids today.

Peace, man!

The Ballad of Smoothride Glide and Lightfoot Cruise; Part II

Every once in while
The stories, they must be told
It keeps the flame alive to spread the news:
So hear ye now the ballad
Of Smoothride Glide and Lightfoot Cruise.

The day was dark and the wind’s a-howlin
Drivin’ the lee rail under
The rigging is singing a mournful song -
So vang the main and sheet the jib -
Hell, storms don’t last long.

Lightfoot’s praying and Smoothride’s laughing
You know how daring serves a fool.
But they’re nicely making way
With forty feet of waterline
Turning gray swells into spray.

The water in the cockpit is ankle deep
And Smoothride’s on the helm.
The jib sheet has gone flying
Lightfoot’s on the for’ard winch
And the halyards are sighing.

Now she may blow down,
And she may not right,
And the mast may crack asunder.
But she’ll make port at her own good speed
Amid laughter that sounds like thunder.

So it’s always a day for sailin’
And it’s always a day for livin’
And a dare fair won dispels the blues.
So take you now this life lesson
From Smoothride Glide and Lightfoot Cruise.

Copyright © 1998-2007 All Rights Reserved

Antikythera Decoded

One of the most intriguing archeological finds this century was the encrusted mechanical device found in 1901 on a 2,000 year-old shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea midway between Greece's Peloponnesian peninsula and the island of Crete.

Although having been studied extensively over the years, it was only recently that sophisicated x-ray and light imaging technology allowed a fuller understanding of the the so-called Antikythera mechanism.

The device, dating from Greece about 200 BC, was a very accurate solar and lunar calculator, able to predict eclipses and identify subtle irregularities in the lunar orbit. The bronze instrument tracked the Metonic cycle, which is based on the near equivalence of 235 lunar months to 19 solar years.

US Sub Hits Fishing Vessel

The nuclear-powered fast attack submarine USS Newport News reportedly collided with a Japanese fishing vessel in the Arabian Sea just south of the Straits of Hormuz. No injuries were reported, but there was some damage.

Nuclear High Noon

Israel's secret plan to use tactical nuclear weapons against Iran's uranium enrichment facilities was leaked last week. According to government sources, a single air strike, using tactical nukes roughly one-fifteenth the yield of the relatively small 1945 Hiroshima bomb, would follow conventional "bunker-busters". The small nukes would detonate deep underground, destroying the Iranian facility, while containing radioactive fallout.

The Israeli government has warned repeatedly that it will never allow nuclear weapons to be made in Iran, whose president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has declared that “Israel must be wiped off the map”.

In Iran, Tehran has issued its own warning that anyone attacking them would regret it, while at the same time used the Israeli threat as proof that Israel has nuclear weapons.

Broken Vows

To no one's surprise, after only five days of basking in congressional power, which they believe is their birthright, it comes to light that the Democrats have lied to us.

Campaigning to expand the work week to five days, like those of us in the electorate, Dems are now only working four days a week. Home come? Monday's a holiday because of the Florida-Ohio game. I'm not making this up. And next Monday's a holiday, too, because it's MLK's birthday. Well, we can't expect the anointed to put in the same hours of labor that we mere mortals are expected to produce, can we?

But what's worse is despite Pelosi's campaigning against raising taxes, the very first vote of the 110th congress was to change the house rules in order to circumvent the super-majority rule necessary to enact tax increases. Others have taken notice, too:

"American taxpayers need to hold on to their wallets because the new House rules concerning taxes are not worth the paper they're written on," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR).

"After spending an entire year on the campaign trail claiming she will not raise taxes, the first vote Nancy Pelosi brings to the floor for a vote as speaker will open the door to billions and billions of dollars of tax increases over the next two years," Mr. Norquist said.

Democrats cannot get elected by campaigning as who they really are. The midterm elections saw many "moderate" and "conservative" democrats win their races. But once in congress a democrat "grows," and is free to "vote his conscience." And that always means that we the taxpayers will once again foot the bill.

I'm not surprised, and yeah, I told you so.

Harbingers of the New Year?

Well, we're just 15 hours into the new year, and several interesting things have happened, some good, some bad and some just . . . interesting.

Aside from unusual happenings around the ol' homestead, like a stopped-up sewer line early this morning, and the aft davit lift motor on my dock going on the fritz, things are relatively normal. On New Year's Eve, in accordance with generations-old Southern custom, we always make a batch of Hoppin' John, and it was delicious, topped with chopped green onions and liberal dashes of hot sauce. The libations and fine cigars were enjoyed, and all here is well. However, elsewhere . . .

In Japan, a country of staid and conservative social values, a televised New Years Eve music special raised some eyebrows and caused national broadcaster NHK to issue an apology for the special's "topless" dancers. NHK said the dancers were actually wearing body suits, but I watched the video, and well, watched it again, just to be sure. Judge for yourself.

In Denver, just hours after the San Francisco 49ers and Dever Broncos game, Denver Bronco cornerback Darrent Williams was shot and killed in his limousine during a drive by shooting. Others were hit, as well, and were taken to local hospitals. Williams was 24.

In Chicago, witnesses reported the sighting of a UFO over O'Hare Airport. This is notable, because unlike the myriad UFO reports and conspiracy theories posted on Jeff Rense's website, this one made mainstream media. Officials explain the sighting as a weather phenomenon caused by heavy, low-hanging clouds reflecting city and airport light. Right. That's creative. At least they didn't use the old "it's just a weather balloon" cover.

Seems the AP-AOL pollsters can't get it right. A poll by Associated Press-AOL News indicates that most Americans see doom and gloom in the new year. In an Associated Press-AOL News poll, most Americans are optimistic about the new year. OK. Got it.

Mission Accomplished

On or about 2200 hours EST 29 December 2006, Iraqi courts carried out sentence and executed Saddam Hussein and two conspirators. Mission accomplished. Unreported by the mainstream media, the military objectives of Operation Iraqi Freedom consisted of:

• First, ending the regime of Saddam Hussein.
• Second, to identify, isolate and eliminate, Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
• Third, to search for, to capture and to drive out terrorists from the country.
• Fourth, to collect intelligence related to terrorist networks.
• Fifth, to collect such intelligence as is related to the global network of illicit weapons of mass destruction.
• Sixth, to end sanctions and to immediately deliver humanitarian support to the displaced and to many needed citizens.
• Seventh, to secure Iraq's oil fields and resources, which belong to the Iraqi people.
• Eighth, to help the Iraqi people create conditions for a transition to a representative self-government

Despite a massive propaganda campaign to the contrary by the media both here and in Iraq, judging from the stated goals above, it looks like we're not only winning, but we have all but won. And contrary to the Iraq Study [Surrender] Group's published reports, newly declassified documentary evidence indicates that Iraq and Hussein had links to Al Qaeda and the Taliban prior to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centers.

The United States did the right thing by removing Saddam Hussein, freeing millions of Iraqi people, and initiating a program to instill democracy in the middle east. We're the good guys, and if the 110th congress doesn't arbitrarily surrender to the secular terrorists, we will win this conflict.

Lunar Base? It's About Time!

Supporting President Bush's 2004 call for an off-world manned base, NASA plans to develop a permanent manned Lunar Base by 2020, probably at the moon's poles. One promising location is the Shackleton Crater at the south pole, which, in addition to having an area that is almost permanently sunlit, it is adjacent to a permanently dark area that might yield water ice. A permanently manned base would serve as a staging and operations for sorties on the lunar surface, as well as a launching area for manned missions to Mars. And it's about time!

The last humans to walk on the lunar surface, Astronauts Cernan and Schmitt, were members of the Apollo 17 mission. Why has it taken 34 years to return to Earth's closest neighbor? If the proposed lunar base is established and manned by 2020, it will be nearly a half-century since our return. Why so long? Perhaps, in part, because Apollo missions 12 and 14 photographed strange ruins and artifacts on the surface. Yet NASA has steadfastly denied their existence. Maybe NASA has only now decoded the meaning - if not the origin - of the unusal and otherworldy remains that only a dozen men have ever seen. And maybe now finds it necessary to continue the exploration.

Life on Mars? You bet!

In 1999, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) photographed gullies carved into the sides of Martian slopes. After in-depth studies, scientists believe the gullies were caused by flowing liquid water.

In images sent back by the Surveyor, one gully on a crater wall that was imaged in 2001 was found to have filled with light-coloured material when it was re-imaged in 2005. A similar new light-coloured deposit appears in a 2004 image of crater gullies previously imaged in 1999. The researchers suggest the deposits were made by liquid water flowing out from beneath the surface. The researchers estimate that each flow would have involved 5 to 10 swimming pools' worth of water. The evidence indicates that in the last five years, liquid water is flowing from underground to the Martian surface, and where's there's water, there's most probably life.

Couple this finding with the discovery of crinoids and other fossilized lifeforms, and evidence of life on Mars is strongly indicated. While NASA keeps much of the information coming back from Martian probes very close to its proverbial vest, we do know that the MGS suddenly went silent, and hasn't been heard from since November 5th, 2006. In an unusually open gesture, NASA asked the European Space Agency to help look for the missing orbiting spacecraft.

NASA re-programmed its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) to try to take pictures of MGS on November 17th and again on the 20th. But the images did not reveal the spacecraft, perhaps because MGS had shifted in its orbit since last contact. Mission members say MGS may already be dead, and if so, it will continue orbiting Mars for decades to come. But its orbit is expected to decay with time, causing it to plunge into Mars’s atmosphere after about 40 years. If MGS is still aloft, surely MRO will spot it. If not, it should find the wreckage on the Martian surface. If neither of these instances occur, one can only wonder how a orbiting space craft can just simply disappear.

GWOT SitRep

Not convinced that radical Islam is a world threat? The Global War on Terror (GWOT) continues. Consider:

• Thailand: Islamofascists burn schools in south Thailand, where most teachers are Buddhists.
• United States: Two border patrol agents face up to a dozen years in prison for attempting to stop illegal alien smugglers. One bad guy was shot in the gluteus maximus, fled back to Mexico and subsequently sued USBP for $5 million. Three jurors attested through sworn affidavits that they had been coerced to issue guilty verdicts. The GWOT goes space based, as the US interrupts Islamofascists' GPS, jamming their navigation, radar and money transfers.
• Cuba: Fidel Castro is reported to be at death's door. Back door diplomacy through the Swiss Embassy in Washington may yield a "normalization" of relations with the communist and terrorist-supporting nation. The White House has indicated it will not recognize a government under Raoul Castro, the dying dictator's brother.
• United Kingdom: Al Quaeda seeks nuclear technology to attack UK. Foiled airline plot was designed to down 10 airliners over major American cities, rather than over the Atlantic, as first believed. ABC news reported that the 11 indicted terrorists raised money by selling items on eBay. Civilian deaths in Iraq has been "grossly overestimated" by some half million.
• Germany: Priest protests spread of radical Islam by immolating himself at the Augustine monastery, where Martin Luther spent years as a monk.
• France: With a high population of Muslims, France reports an average of 15 attacks on law enforcement officials by Islamofascist terrorists per day.
• Algeria: Tribesmen from Mali and Niger repel attacks by Islamofascists.
• Nigeria: Sadistic Islamofascists demand parents refuse free polio vaccines for children.
• Ethiopia: President Meles Zenawi says country officially at war with Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), a group of Somali Islamofascists.
• Somalia: Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) found to be supported by Iran, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Islamofascist countries.
• Russia: Nato warns Russia that its proposed oil cartel alliance with Iran, China and other OPEC countries will sway balance of power.
• Lebanon: Unintended consequences arises from Lebanon-Israeli war outcome as Islamofascist Hezbollah demands more seats in Lebanese cabinet in order to gain veto power and ultimate control of the Lebanese government.
• Iraq: 14,000 US supplied small arms weapons have gone missing. DOD supplied rifles, pistols, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers to Iraqi security forces.
• Afghanistan: Taliban chief Mullah Omar on the run in Pakistan, according to Karzai government. Nato troops kill 1,000 Taliban terrorists in September. Afghani drug loads hire European mercenaries to provide military training to the drug cabals.

Never Forget, Again

" . . . December 7th, 1941, a date that will live in infamy." So spoke President Franklin D. Roosevelt, referring to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 65 years ago today. In just one hour, some 2,403 Americans died in that early morning bombing, 188 planes were destroyed, and 8 battleships sunk, destroyed or crippled. The Amercian Pacific Fleet was nearly wiped out. In the ceremonies that will take place today in Hawaii, 650 survivors and their families will remember the morning of December 7th, those who died, and perhaps will issue a call to this generation, to wake up and resist yet another enemy who has attacked us.

On September 11th, 2001, another sneak attack occurred on US soil. Four commercial airliners were hijacked by Islamic radicals and flown into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington DC, and a field in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 innocent and unsuspecting Americans lost their lives in this early morning coordinated terrorist act.

The parallels of events leading up to World War II and the present conflicts against terrorism (i.e. Islamic radicalism) are too obvious to ignore. We have our appeasers and castrati now as we did then, calling for "talks" with the enemy. In 1939 Chamberlain returned to Britain with the report that " . . . we can do business with Hitler," despite the fact that eastern Europe was already under siege from the Third Reich.

Today, as we learn of the ISG's recommendations, we can see the enemy is already interpreting this as a sign of weakness on our part, which they most certainly will exploit. We can expect more violence, not less; more demands for land and concessions, not fewer; and more death for infidels as the Islamists have no notion of compromise.

Have we lost the will to respond to our enemy, and to prevail against him with will and resolve, as we did 65 years ago? With the release of the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, better named the Iraq Surrender Group, it would seem that we have indeed lost our will to prevail. What we must do is recognize who our enemy is, and how he intends to harm us. No matter how politically incorrect that may be to acknowledge, our sworn enemy is radical Islam, and we must take the fight to him, and destroy him completely. Given the chance, he will certainly do so to us.

Lose An Election? Sue!

There's still one contested election from the midterm, and that's the Florida Congressional District 13 seat. This district covers a Republican-heavy area of Gulfcoast Florida south of Tampa Bay that includes Bradenton, Sarasota, and Venice.

The Republican candidate, Vern Buchanan, won the election by the narrowest of margins, less than 1%. By state law a mandatory recount is required, making the challenger's suit unnecessary. After the recount Buchanan won again, with a slightly higher margin. But that didn't satisfy Democrat Christine Jennings, who now has added the manufacturer of the voting machines to her lawsuit.

At issue is the intent of some 18,000 "undervotes" - people who voted in the election but chose neither Buchanan nor Jennings for the congressional seat. Pending the outcome of the election, both candidates went to Washington to attend the freshman orientation.

However, even having lost the election twice, Jennings will not concede. To make matters worse, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House-elect, allowed the unelected Jennings to cast a vote on a Judicial Committee matter.

The War at Home

Osama bin Laden once said that the war with the US would be fought equally on two fronts: on the battlefield and in the US press. He's right, of course. On the battlefield the war has been won and the US continues to win, but the propaganda war is all but lost. Thanks in large part to the New York Times and the Associated (with terrorists) Press, who have done everything they can - including fabricate sensational stories - to help us lose. Evidence of that loss is obvious by the outcome of the midterm elections, where the electorate was dumbed down and disheartened by the constant drumbeat of defeatism from the MSM.

The current US involvement in the middle east "peace process" became first hand in 1979, when the pitiful ideologue Jimmy Carter supported the Islamic uprising against the Shah of Iran. The Shah was disposed, and the Ayatollah Khomeini turned the country into a radical theocracy. That brand of radical Islamofascist ideology spread globally throughout Muslim communities, and nearly three decades later, we're still dealing with the consequences of the insane liberal policy that has caused untold carnage and misery, including thousands of American deaths.

So now the US cobbles together the Hamilton-Baker Iraq Study Group to "dialog" with Syria and Iran and to "talk with" the terrorists who call the shots in Iraq. While 75% of all American military causalities in Iraq have been caused by Iranian-built IEDs, we find we need to "talk with" Iran. And while the vast majority of the "insurgents" killed in action in Iraq are Syrian nationals, we need to "talk with" Syria, as well. The lunacy of this plan is obvious; it's asking your enemy to structure your defeat. Like asking Jeffery Dahmer to cater your next affair - you may find you're the banquet.

Not surprising that of the ten members of the group, six are liberals. Three are Clinton administration hacks, including William Perry, Clinton's Secretary of Defense who bailed out on rescuing the downed Blackhawk pilots in Mogadishu, Vernon Jordan, Clinton's attorney, and Leon Paneta, Clinton's Chief of Staff. We also have Sandra Day O'Connor, former liberal Supreme Court justice, and Lee Hamilton and Chuck Robb, two Democrat congressmen. Only four, Edwin Meese, Lawrence Eagleberger, Alan Simpson and James Baker are Republicans.

Does anyone doubt the outcome of this study group? This is a war for our cultural survival, yet liberals simply cannot grasp the fact that there is no negotiating with radical Islam - we can't talk our way out of this. We can expect that part of this to-be-negotiated settlement will undoubtedly be that Iran gets nukes. After all, Clinton's dream team gave North Korea a nuclear reactor, and the Chinese got both US designed nuclear warheads and delivery systems. What did the US get in exchange for this nuclear technology? Threatened annihilation from both countries. Why would we think Iran will act any differently? The Islamofascists want us dead, converted or reduced to dhimmi status. One wishes the US contingent would think more like them. We need to kill them all, for given half a chance and the means, they will certainly kill us all.

New Blood at NYT?

As the hapless New York Times continues to spew its anti-American propaganda, it also continues to lose revenue, subscribers and respect. The Gray Lady's stock price is taking a licking, too; it's down about 15% right now.

But that's good news to Maurice Greenburg, the mutli-billionaire insurance mogul. He's been buying up NYT stock in the apparent hopes of turing the grand paper around, and perhaps even moving the paper's ideological slant to the right somewhat. Greenburg, a legend in New York's financial circles, ran AIG Insurance Group for 40 years, and is no stranger to contentious business dealings. He has been a GOP contributor, is a friend of Henry Kissinger's, and was considered for a top CIA post.

In view of the fabricated news coming from the NYT and the AP lately, especially concerning foreign policy matters, replacing the Ochs-Shulzburger family as controlling stockholders with new blood may be just what's needed.

Pinch Schulzbuger seems to be taking Greenburg's takeover threat seriously, as upper management recently opted to forgo their $2 million stock bonuses, and instead returned the money to NYT employees.

How egalitarian.

Sex, Deer?

The next time someone refers to my home state as "Flori-duh", I'll let them in on this tidbit from the extremely blue state of Wisconsin. At least we Floridians aren't noted for engaging in necrophiliac bestiality.

It seems a Wisconsin man - that's a liberal blue state way up north - was arrested for having sex with a deer. It's against the law to have sex with an animal even in Wisconsin, a liberal northern state. His defense, as Wisconsin logic would have it - is that, well, you see, the animal was dead, and therefore not legally an animal. Further, the man found the deer - dead, of course - in a ditch. Hey, look, a dead deer. Well, why not just drop trou and have sex right here - in this ditch - with this dead deer? What could more normal, not to mention convenient?

The judge denied a defense motion to dismiss the charges based on the mortality of the animal at the time of the crime.

The Second Amendment

Consider the most important of Amendments to the Constitution: The Second Amendment is the shortest and the simplest of the Bill of Rights:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

This single sentence ensures that a citizen's right to keep and bear arms for personal defense is never threatened by the government. The experiences of the founders during the Revolutionary War led them to create and maintain a citizen militia, and they trusted an armed citizenry as the best safeguard against the possibility of a tyrannical government.

Over the years, the Supreme Court has upheld that the right to keep and bear arms is an individual right. Consider these landmark cases:

In United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174 (1939), the Supreme Court refused to take judicial notice that a short-barreled shotgun was useful for militia purposes. Nowhere did the court hold that an individual does not have a right to keep and bear arms. In United States v. Gomez, 81 F.3d 846, 850 n. 7 (9th Cir. 1996), Judge Kozinski opined that "The Second Amendment embodies the right to defend oneself and one’s home against physical attack."

In United States v. Hutzell, 217 F.3d 966, 969 (8th Cir. 2000), the court held that "... an individual's right to bear arms is constitutionally protected, see United States v. Miller ...."

In United States v. Emerson, 270 F.3d 203 (5th Cir. 2001), the court examined United States v. Miller and held: "We reject the collective rights and sophisticated collective rights models for interpreting the Second Amendment. We hold, consistent with Miller, that it protects the right of individuals ... to privately possess and bear their own firearms."

On December 17, 2004, the U.S. Department of Justice published an exhaustive Second Amendment memorandum, which concludes without reservation that "the Second Amendment secures a personal right of individuals, not a collective right that may only be invoked by a State or a quasi-collective right restricted to those persons who serve in organized militia units."

Following the midterm elections and the outcome thereof, we can expect a renewed cry from some groups to ban certain types of guns as well as some caliber of ammunition. It's already begun in Massachusetts where the Brady campaign and others hold sway. They claim that banning certain firearms, or registering all firearms, does not constitute an infringement of Second Amendment rights. But that's a ploy that's been tried before. In 1788 George Mason exposed it at Virginia's constitutional convention: "[W]hen the resolution of enslaving America was formed in Great Britain, the British Parliament was advised by an artful man . . . to disarm the people; that it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them; but that they should not do it openly, but weaken them, and let them sink gradually."

Our founders risked their lives and fortunes to create a free nation, and they guaranteed freedom as the birthright of American citizens through the Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment remains the first right among equals, because it is the one we turn to when all else fails.

American EU?

This hasn't gotten much MSM attention, which means it's probably pretty close to the truth. We try to stay away from the black helicopter conspiracy theories here, but from a revelation by Jerome Corsi, there is a plan, ratified in March 2005 that would, among other things, replace the dollar with a form of currency much like the Euro, called the Amero. The Amero would be the coin of the realm for the conjoined governments of the US, Canada and Mexico.

The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, as the plan is known, would effectively replace the national governments of the three countries. Depending on who you read, it's either the end of the US constitution, or merely a North American trade agreement. The partnership has its own web site, which, oddly enough, has a section on myths versus facts.

It seems we live in an era in which America's government will not protect and defend her borders from mass illegal migration, and will not pursue and eliminate her sworn enemies who have attacked her countless times in the last two decades. Yet this same government will gleefully meld her national sovereignty with two countries who, although allies, have very little to offer her in " . . . producing a North American security plan as well as providing free market movement of people, capital, and trade across the borders between the three NAFTA partners."

Time to stock up on weapons and ammunition, folks. If this plan is allowed to go through, despite the vigorous denials on the SPP web site, you proably needn't worry about your fourth amendment rights - you need to be very concerned about your first and second amendment rights. God save the USA.

Other Voices: Guest Editorial

Let’s Hope Plan “B” Works in Iraq
By Adrian Wyllie, Editor, Tampa Bay Start

As the Democrats position themselves for the upcoming feast of power in the House and Senate, and President Bush continues capitulating, it appears more and more obvious that “cut and run” will make the transition from dire warning to U.S. policy.

With that in mind, we have to focus on what happens when we do “redeploy” our troops out of Iraq. There are three likely possibilities.The first scenario is that as soon as the last helicopter lifts off from the embassy roof in Baghdad, the Shiites and Sunnis will begin a full scale civil war. At the same time, tens of thousands of al-Qaeda members and sympathizers will flood in from Syria, Iran and other neighboring countries.

The new Iraqi government will fall, and Iraq will become the hub mid east instability and the new world capital for global terrorism.

This would be an embarrassment to the U.S. and a blow to the global war against Islamic fascists. However, there would be a silver lining in this ominous dark cloud. If a civil war happened in Iraq, it would likely split into three distinct ethnic regions: Sunni, Shiite, and Kurd. The sovereign nation of Iraqi Kurdistan would quickly be formed in the north, and the U.S. would be welcomed there with open arms. The Kurds have been overwhelmingly supportive of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, as they suffered the worst of Saddam’s oppression. Also, the Kurdish region in northern Iraq is politically stable and secure. The Kurds would likely provide us with bases on their territory, as well as logistic and intelligence support. We'd lose Iraq but gain Iraqi Kurdistan.

It’s more difficult to forecast what would happen between Shiites and Sunnis. Even though polls show that the majority of both Shiites and Sunnis support the new government, the radical minority in both groups could eliminate the possibility of any joint government. Both sects would likely devolve into independent, totalitarian theocracies, each under the rule of the radical cleric de jour. They would engage in skirmish-like battles with each other, especially for control of Baghdad. That is until Iran and/or Syria seized on the opportunity to invade under the guise of peacekeeping. Either way, 80% of what is now Iraq would become a haven for al-Qaeda and like minded groups.

The second post-withdrawal scenario is that the newly formed Iraqi Security Force (ISF) will handle the sectarian insurgency and prevent an Iranian- and Syrian-backed al-Qaeda invasion. If they succeed, the new government will survive, and Iraq will become the model of freedom and democracy for the new Middle East.

The good news for this scenario is that the strength and readiness of the new Iraqi military and police forces has improved dramatically1, the Iraqi economy and infrastructure are better than before the war, and free and independent media is growing rapidly2. The bad news is that it will be a hard fight, and I only give them a 50/50 chance if the pullout happens within six months as most Democrats propose. The longer we stay, the better the ISF’s and Iraqi government’s odds.
If Iraqi can prevent outside interference from Iran and Syria, then the level of violence will stabilize and eventually decline. Despite the impression given by the international media’s obsessive coverage, the current situation in Iraq is not that bad.

In 2005, more people were murdered in the U.S. (16,692)3 than were killed in all Iraqi violence (9,361)4. Iraq’s murder rate was 35.1 per 100,000 in 2005, which includes all insurgent attacks and combat fatalities. This puts Iraq slightly above the tourist destination of Jamaica (32.4) and Hugo Chavez' utopia of Venezuela (31.6). However, you are still safer walking the streets of Iraq than you are in the nations of South Africa or Columbia, which have murder rates of 49.6 and 67.1 per 100,000 respectively.

Contrary to popular belief, there hasn’t been a war in Iraq since 2003. Iraq just has a serious crime problem, about the same as Washington D.C. (35.4 murders per 100,000 residents in 2005). Mission accomplished.

The bottom line is this: The new, democratic government in Iraq gets stronger every day. The majority of Iraqis support the new government, and they are taking part in the political system for the first time in their lives. They are learning what it means to be free. They are learning how it feels to not be afraid.

America has made a paid a huge price in lives and gold to secure this new freedom for the Iraqi people. We planted the seed, and they are almost ready to tend to the sapling. If we withdraw now, the roots that we watered with our sons’ and daughters’ blood may wither and die – and make their sacrifice for naught. Or, the Iraqi people just might pleasantly surprise us once again.

___________________

1. Report to Congress, “Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq” October 2005
2. St. Petersburg Times, “Iraq by the Numbers” 11/12/2006
3. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program
4. Estimated, compiled from various media accounts
5. Seventh United Nations Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems

Read more at Tampa Bay Start, Tampa Bay's favorite start portal.

Citizens Responsible for Iraqi Neighborhoods

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced a reconciliation plan, which enables Iraqi citizens from all political groups to hold their security forces responsible for creating peace and tolerance within their own neighborhoods, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad said October 2.

The plan, which calls for the creation of joint committees throughout Baghdad made up of clerics, tribal sheiks, representatives from all political blocs, along with the armed forces, is aimed at ending internal battles that prevent the unity Iraq so desperately needs, Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, said in a news conference.

"Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, local governance has taken on a whole new meaning here in Iraq," he said. "Iraqis are clearly focused on improving their quality of life and working towards a brighter future." As local governance improves, the Iraqi security forces continue to improve, Caldwell said.

Last month one brigade and three battalions of the Iraqi army assumed the lead in their areas of operation, bringing the total of Iraqi command units to six Iraqi army division headquarters, 30 brigades, and 89 battalions, he said.

Of the 110 bases that coalition forces have occupied since 2003, 52 have been turned over to Iraqi control, he added. In September, Iraqi and coalition forces killed more than 110 terrorists and detained more than 520 terrorist suspects in 164 operations, Caldwell said.

Based on information from a recently detained al Qaeda member, coalition forces on Sept. 28 detained a former driver and personal assistant of Abu Ayyoub al-Masri, the purported leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, along with 31 others during a series of raids in the Baghdad area. Intelligence indicates the individual detained participated in the 2005 bombing of two hotels in Baghdad that killed a total of 16 people and injured 65 others.

Caldwell stressed that while some units within the police force need work, others have proven to be very competent and professional units. "The transition from tyranny to democracy is definitely long and very difficult," he said. "Coalition forces continue to stand behind the government as it deals with tough decisions that lay ahead, and with the Iraqi security forces as they continue to grow in both quality and quantity."