Iran and Helping MEK

Huffingtonpost Post blogger Joan Z. Shore beats the drum for U.S. Support of Iranian dissidents MEK, who are also considered terrorists by the United States.

"Remove the MEK from the list of terrorist organizations," she writes. But only of we have the "guts" and "integrity" to do so.

Well that does it. As long as the collective manhood of our nation is called into question, we must go to war.

Alternatively, we could let the Iranians themselves say what they want through elections. And let em fight their own government if they've got a problem with it.

As awful as the current Iranian regime might seem to us, their replacements could be worse. After all, didn't the United States spend a lot of money helping the Afghan freedom fighters? And what became of that? The September 11th attacks.

All of which takes us away from the central issue: why isn't the Iranian government the problem of the Iranian people? And why do Americans have to die there?

Video: Mexican Drug Shootout

This on-the-spot video of being in a Mexican drug gang shootout is very real. The video was linked in a New York Times story on the killing of a Mexican drug boss, Antonio Ezequiel Cardenas Guillen. And I'm sure that many lives and dollars/pesos were spent on getting this creepy guy, and I don't want to minimize that in any way, but isn't he just going to be replaced by someone else?

The problems in Mexico are systemic. As in, very rich gringos live in the country to the north and pay for the drugs being transited through Mexico. And as long as the United States consumes illegal drugs, there is going to be another drug dealer and his gang to transport and sell them to us.

So I leave you with the prefect prescription for ending the Mexican drug war; stop using the drugs they sell and stop selling them the guns to shoot at each other. Just saying.

Failures of the War on Drugs

Do you really want to stop illegal drug use? Focus on demand here in the United States. If all our efforts and money were used to arrest Americans fueling the drug trade with dollars, then the war would be won.

The punitive measures used by the United States to stop the illegal use of drugs are being criticized by the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy. We are accused of weakening South American governments and their democracies because our policies cause more drug violence south of the border.

Since when are your governments our responsibility? Personally, I agree with the unnamed U.S. official in the article: there is violence because the overall trade is contracting, not expanding. Let's contract it a little bit more.



drugs, war on drugs, United States, latin america, Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy, cocaine, DEA, drug enforcement agency

NASA Chief's Sexism Catches Up With Him - Bye Bye Michael Griffin !

So NASA chief Michael Griffin, when not staring at the boobs of Lori Garver as he is known to do to women he works with, actually told the direct representative of the next President of the United States that she was not qualified to "evaluate rocket options." Since that is the agency spokesman saying this, you know it has been a little sanitized.

I have an idea, just a little one since I am female, but an idea nonetheless.

Perhaps what Lori Garver is evaluating is the quality of your management, Mr. Griffin. No one is saying she should write rocket engineering plans. But certainly she is qualified to judge the quality of your management. One way to do that is by evaluating results.

Sadly for Michael Griffin, he doesn't do too well in that department. He has engineered NASA to do nothing except experiments. NASA doesn't produce anything. The only goal is the Mars dream which has come at the expense of any practical results from all this money being spent by NASA and it's blood-sucking contractors.

Here's the quote from the Bloomberg article by Demian McLean:

"NASA chief Michael Griffin opposes the idea and told Obama’s transition team leader, Lori Garver, that her colleagues lack the engineering background to evaluate rocket options, agency spokesman Chris Shank said."



NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Fiftieth anniversary, new, Moon, Mars, America, Program, United States, Apollo, Ares, Orion, Launch, Vehicle, Constellation, Altair, Kennedy, Johnson, center, exploration, Science, economic expansion, settlement, Vision, ATK, astronauts, education, lunar, Lander, rover, LCROSS,SMART 1, LRO, Reconnaissance, Orbiter, Alliant Techsystems, Next generation, spaceships, spacesuit, mission, directorate, ESMD, Human, research, technology, development, commercial, orbital, transportation, project, prime, contractors, subcontractors, crew, booster, cryogenic, propulsion, life support, extravehicular, upper, stage, shuttle


Excite, Free, Google, Hotel, Music, New, Online, Sex, Yahoo

Drug War in Bolivia

The United States is accusing Bolivia of not doing enough to stop the flow of drugs out of that country.

How about the demand for drugs in this one?

We really can't control the flow of drugs as long as there is so much demand here in the United States. In fact, the only thing that the United States can really affect is the demand for illegal drugs by making it harder and riskier to purchase them.

Let's take all the DEA agents and all the money we are using to fight drug trafficking abroad and use it here in the States to attack demand. It would boost the economy by keeping those dollars at home. And we could stop blaming other countries for our own vicious appetites.

NPR: DON'T "Tell Me More" !!!

Lynching was the topic today. Are you kidding me? Like we're all not depressed enough? People are already suicidal, and you want to dwell on horrific events in American history?

How is this a help to anyone, exactly? Pull your head out of your butt and talk about something useful in this crisis, or at least something calming. Suggestions:

Living cheap
Eating cheap
Cheap fun
Ha, Ha, the rich people lost money
Avoiding the repo man
Discerning an investment banker and them throwing dog poop on him
Starting a small business

There's a myriad of interesting and relevant topics to chose from.

The thing about the Tell Me More show is it really is slanted towards African-Americans in terms of its choice of topics and speakers.

The Politics of NASA

During World War II, the leaders of the Manhattan Project approached the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Al Gore, Sr., about needing money, saying that they needed this big expensive machine that will cost a huge amount of money and we don't know if the country can afford it because we are fighting a war.

Senator Al Gore, Sr. asked, "What part of Tennessee are you planning on building this big expensive machine in?" The Oakridge National Laboratory was the result of that conversation.

The scientists learned their lesson well. NASA has a contract in every Congressional district in the nation. Every one. The effect of that is costs are multiplied several times over because all of the work has to be split up into little pieces.

Why are we spending so much money to keep the NASA boondoggle afloat when we can't find the money or willingness to take care of our veterans from the oil wars? If we can achieve energy independence through Moon development and alternative fuels, we won't have to send anyone else to die for oil supplies.

If NASA won't spend money to develop the Moon to prevent fighting another oil war, we should at least spend the money helping veterans of the oil wars.



NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Fiftieth anniversary, new, Moon, Mars, America, Program, United States, Apollo, Ares, Orion, Launch, Vehicle, Constellation, Altair, Kennedy, Johnson, center, exploration, Science, economic expansion, settlement, Vision, ATK, astronauts, education, lunar, Lander, rover, LCROSS,SMART 1, LRO, Reconnaissance, Orbiter, Alliant Techsystems, Next generation, spaceships, spacesuit, mission, directorate, ESMD, Human, research, technology, development, commercial, orbital, transportation, project, prime, contractors, subcontractors, crew, booster, cryogenic, propulsion, life support, extravehicular, upper, stage, shuttle


Excite, Free, Google, Hotel, Music, New, Online, Sex, Yahoo

NASA and the Moon vs. Mars Debate

Why the Moon? Why not focus on Mars?

Solar Power
All the materials are already on the Moon to make solar panels in the form of dirt. (See Girard O'Neil) The technology for beaming the energy back to Earth from the Moon is already in place. NASA is very good at doing tests, they are not as good on follow-through. The Moon has no clouds, it can absorb solar power 24 hours a day for two weeks solid, there is no atmosphere so energy can be gotten directly from the Sun, and no people will be displaced in gathering the energy.

Helium 3
Helium 3 can be used for clean nuclear fusion. Helium 3 is almost non-existent on Earth. On the Moon, it is impacted into the soil and would be retrieved by heating the soil. There is not enough Helium 3 on Earth to develop reactors for clean nuclear fusion. But there is on the Moon.

Radio Astronomy
The best place to do radio astronomy is the far side of the Moon because the radio waves from Earth are blocked. Also there is no atmosphere to interfere with collection of data.

Dangerous Diseases
Let's get storage and experiments with dangerous diseases out of our biosphere and on to the Moon where there is no atmosphere for the diseases to live in. Aside from that, the Moon is separate from the Earth and if there was an accidental escape of pathogens, no death would result.

Self-Reproducing Nanotechnology
If you want to work with self-reproducing nanotechnology, the best place is the Moon since if it gets out of control, people will not be killed and we won't be destroying our environment.

Geology and Regular Astronomy
The ancient crust of the Earth formed the Moon when a Mars-sized asteroid whacked the Earth and part of the crust was knocked away and form the Moon. Studying Moon geology will inform our knowledge of ancient Earth geology.

Mars is one year away. There is no way to develop Mars if we haven't practiced on the Moon. If we can't live, build, sustain on the Moon, we won't be able to do it on Mars either. The lessons on the Moon will let us know how to succeed on Mars. Both are places where we can't breathe and there is no water.

If we had just kept going with Saturn V, we would have been at Mars twenty years ago.




NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Fiftieth anniversary, new, Moon, Mars, America, Program, United States, Apollo, Ares, Orion, Launch, Vehicle, Constellation, Altair, Kennedy, Johnson, center, exploration, Science, economic expansion, settlement, Vision, ATK, astronauts, education, lunar, Lander, rover, LCROSS,SMART 1, LRO, Reconnaissance, Orbiter, Alliant Techsystems, Next generation, spaceships, spacesuit, mission, directorate, ESMD, Human, research, technology, development, commercial, orbital, transportation, project, prime, contractors, subcontractors, crew, booster, cryogenic, propulsion, life support, extravehicular, upper, stage, shuttle


Excite, Free, Google, Hotel, Music, New, Online, Sex, Yahoo

What 60 Minutes Missed: NASA is Lying to Congress, the President and the American Taxpayer

NASA is making choices in their Moon Project that ensures the project's failure. And they're doing it deliberately. NASA says it is interested in exploration. But science is a fundamental part of space exploration, and for NASA, science is not a priority. If the purpose of NASA is not future industrialization and scientifically-based exploration, what is it?

Building Hardware

Hardware is NASA's priority. Hardware without a real goal is just really expensive toys. NASA is essentially playing with multi-billion dollar rockets. Kennedy's dream of the United States as a Space Power has been abused by immature, short-sighted bureaucratic hardware junkies for far too long. If the goal of NASA is not cities in space, or access to the limitless energy available in space, or protection from extinction caused by asteroids and comets, then there should not be a NASA.

NASA never had any intention of doing anything beyond the bare minimum of meeting Kennedy's mandate "To land a man on the Moon before the decade is out and return him to the Earth" - except to make sure they brought home at least one rock. Kennedy would have been livid to know that NASA sacrificed the Saturn 5 Moon rocket for the space shuttle that couldn't even get out of Earth's orbit.

And the Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters that are being recycled into this Moon rocket are the same ones that blew up the Challenger. They are the most risky and volatile parts of the rocket. (1)

NASA's ostensible goal is to open space for everyone. NASA only wants to send astronauts so they can get money without having to produce any real results. (2)

Building a City

A city on the Moon cannot be built with four people. And that is all that NASA intends to send up there. (3)

NASA plans to protect the Moon city from radiation and micrometeors by burying them essentially in dirt, called regolith. Regolith is highly abrasive and destroys equipment. For power there are the solar cells, which is NASA's current plan, will be sandblasted by dust from the landing space craft unless it is at least two kilometers away. (4)

The practical upshot of that plan is that all materials used to build the Moon city must not only be shipped up on a space craft, it must be carried by hand over two kilometers by four astronauts, unless of course you put the Solar Arrays 2 km for the base and the landing area which would make there assembly and maintaince difficult. How big do you think that city will be given the constraints that NASA has already built into their plans? NASA never seriously intends to follow its legal mandate, and it is building the defeat of the project into its plan.

Building Breathable Air

Astronauts need to pre-breathe for hours before putting on space suits and going to the Moon's surface. They need to get all the nitrogen out of the blood before going on the Moon's surface to prevent the bends, similar to the precautions deep sea dives have to take before surfacing.

Currently, NASA uses the atmospheric pressure of sea level. By setting the atmospheric pressure to that of, say, Denver, about $10,000,000.00 would be saved over the life of the project. Shipping costs of nitrogen to the Moon would be reduced by one third because NSA would be replicating the atmosphere of Denver and not the sea shore.

Changing this simple formula would reduce stress on the space capsules and any lunar bases and allow larger ones to be built. The astronauts would have more productivity and reduce pre-breathing times by a third.

If NASA starts with a certain air pressure, future generations may be stuck with that decision for years for the same reason we have the same width road that the Romans had two thousand years ago. The long-term cost of this choice is actually in the quadrillions of dollars. That's if these choices don't preclude the success of the NASA Moon project altogether.

People will point to the Apollo I fire as reason for the decisions NASA has made. Apollo I used pure oxygen, undiluted with nitrogen, at higher atmospheric pressure. That's five times the oxygen content on Earth, and much higher than the oxygen content of a medical oxygen tent. NASA has never actually tested where the fire danger is.

Building a Rocket

If you don't know what you want to take to the Moon, you don't know the diameter of the rocket. The diameter of the rocket is the hardest thing to change - and the most expensive, since it requires reworking the entire assembly line and re-engineering the entire rocket. The width of the rocket largerly determines how much the rocket will weigh and how much lift will be required. (5)

The width of the rocket and its lift capacity is based on what NASA is planning on shipping to the Moon. NASA does not know what it is shipping yet. But they've already started building the rocket.

Building a Scam

NASA has been scamming the American people long enough. Billions of dollars are thrown at NASA to accomplish the goals of this nation and NASA has no intention of fulfilling its mandate. Instead, there are half-hearted plans, billions to defense contractors, and planned failures for Moon-related goals.

NASA needs to be held to account for the money it receives and the results it produces. While an appreciative nation throws money at NASA for accomplishments of the past, the United States is losing the space edge quickly. The next article will discuss what those costs really are. (6)


FOOTNOTES

(1) Solid rocket Boosters are basically extremely large bottle rockets. Once they are lit they are very difficult to control.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/ares/aresV/index.html
"For its initial insertion into Earth orbit, the Ares V first stage relies on two five-and-a-half-segment reusable solid rocket boosters. These are derived from the space shuttle solid rocket boosters and are similar to the single booster that serves as the first stage for the cargo vehicle's sister craft, the Ares I crew launch vehicle."

Challenger STS-51L - http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-51L.html
"The cause of explosion was determined to be an o-ring failure in the right solid rocket booster. Cold weather was determined to be a contributing factor."

NASA backs troubled rocket design
• 16 August 2008
• NewScientist.com news service
http://space.newscientist.com/article/mg19926693.300-nasa-backs-troubled-rocket-design.html?feedId=online-news_rss20

(2) The Space Settlement Act of 1988
http://books.google.com/books?id=X7qngT73MTMC&pg=PA241&lpg=PA241&dq=%22Space+Settlement+Act+of+1988%22&source=web&ots=ox8zyriWpU&sig=fMgvIffQm9szoh1F5x9n5cXHq5s&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result

" The Congress declares that the extension of human life beyond Earth's Atmosphere for the Purposes of advancing science, exploration and development will enhance the general welfare on Earth amd that such extension will eventually lead to the establishment of space settlements for the fullfilment of those purposes." Submitted by the late Republican George E. Brown Jr. and was written by his Aids for Space Policy Steven M. Wolfe.

NASA Charter
The National Aeronautics and Space Act

Pub. L. No. 85-568
72 Stat. 426 (Jul. 29, 1958)
As Amended

(d) The aeronautical and space activities of the United States shall be conducted so as to contribute materially to one or more of the following objectives:
(1) The expansion of human knowledge of the Earth and of phenomena in the atmosphere and space;
(2) The improvement of the usefulness, performance, speed, safety, and efficiency of aeronautical and space vehicles;
(3) The development and operation of vehicles capable of carrying instruments, equipment, supplies, and living organisms through space;
(4) The establishment of long-range studies of the potential benefits to be gained from, the opportunities for, and the problems involved in the utilization of aeronautical and space activities for peaceful and scientific purposes;
(5) The preservation of the role of the United States as a leader in aeronautical and space science and technology and in the application thereof to the conduct of peaceful activities within and outside the atmosphere;
(6) The making available to agencies directly concerned with national defense of discoveries that have military value or significance, and the furnishing by such agencies, to the civilian agency established to direct and control nonmilitary aeronautical and space activities, of information as to discoveries which have value or significance to that agency;
(7) Cooperation by the United States with other nations and groups of nations in work done pursuant to this Act and in the peaceful application of the results thereof;
(8) The most effective utilization of the scientific and engineering resources of the United States, with close cooperation among all interested agencies of the United States in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort, facilities, and equipment; and
(9) The preservation of the United States preeminent position in aeronautics and space through research and technology development related to associated manufacturing processes.
(3) (See http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellaion/altair/index.html and http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/news/ESAS_report.html and http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/orion/index.html) A city on the Moon needs protections from micrometeors and radiation, a way to control dust because it gets into everything and destroys it, and power.
(4) (http://www.nss.org/settlement/moon/library/lunar2.htm
The Second Conference on Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21st Century
Edited by W. W. Mendell. NASA Conferences Publication 3166, Volume 1 (Parts 1-4) & Volume 2 (Parts 5-8), 1992, 706 pages.
Lunar Base Launch and Landing Facilities Conceptual Design pp 139 -151
P 142 "At 2 kin, the aluminum surface will sustain virtually unnoticeable
damage. Reflective surfaces will degrade after numerous
landings and should be protected. Glass surfaces will sustain about
O. 1% surface pitting.
This will be unnoticeable in vision glasses after a single event but may show up as a haze after several landings. Optical-quality Glasses should certainly be protected.")

First the diameter of the rocket has to be built on a single machine so it is hard to change. The Saturn 5 was 10 meters in diameter. Second the diameter of the and the length detrimine the size of the rocket and the size determines the weight. The weight determines how many engines are needed. This is complicated by things like the weight of the engines and the weight of the fuel its self. But the area enclosed is the square of the radius ( half the diameter) time pi. So , the radius greatly affect the area. This number is multiply by the length to detrimine the volume. The volume determines the mass. Third is the aerodynmics. Even if the construction and the mass are not issues there is the aerodynmics, which have to be entirely recaluated when the diameter changes. These are issue with smaller rockets but they are huge with moon rockets since they are so big and the risks are so high.

(6) the dust, dirt and regolith are basically all the same thing


NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Fiftieth anniversary, new, Moon, Mars, America, Program, United States, Apollo, Ares, Orion, Launch, Vehicle, Constellation, Altair, Kennedy, Johnson, center, exploration, Science, economic expansion, settlement, Vision, ATK, astronauts, education, lunar, Lander, rover, LCROSS,SMART 1, LRO, Reconnaissance, Orbiter, Alliant Techsystems, Next generation, spaceships, spacesuit, mission, directorate, ESMD, Human, research, technology, development, commercial, orbital, transportation, project, prime, contractors, subcontractors, crew, booster, cryogenic, propulsion, life support, extravehicular, upper, stage, shuttle


Excite, Free, Google, Hotel, Music, New, Online, Sex, Yahoo

Gustav: Taking the Party Hat Off

The chair of the Republican Party is "taking his party hat off" relating to the storm Gustav and its relief efforts. But only because everybody is looking now.

When the victims of Katrina were invisible, this Administration didn't care. The political theorists felt that the Federal government should have a reduced role in rescuing states in distress, and the result was death and chaos.

They won't get away with that again, and they know it.

So now they care. I really believe they do. For themselves.

Gingrich Won't Run !!

And he's put on a few pounds, too. I thought I'd mention that since if Hillary put on that much weight it would be a source of commentary:

What does it mean?
Has he lost his personal discipline?
Has he lost his focus?
Would he have a heart attack in office?
Will his wife throw him out for letting himself go?
Maybe he doesn't really want the White House?
Won't we look bad with a fat guy representing us at international negotiating tables?
Where will we get all the pictures of Our Fearless Leader chopping wood or jogging?
Does he dye his hair?
Was that the same suit he wore yesterday?

Food for thought.

Our National Discourse on Terrorism

Here's a great YouTube clip. Sad but funny.

Syria is an Ally of the United States in War on Terror

According to a BBC article, Syria allowed the CIA to house kidnapped people the U.S. suspected of terrorism. They also allowed them to use "enhanced interrogation techniques," said Dick Marty, a Swiss politician investigating the whole extraordinary rendition program for a European human rights group.

Syria's assistance in the War on Terror is not something new. But this information, if true, shows that their level of involvement and cooperation is a lot higher than we have been led to believe.

Also, it poses an interesting contrast to the rhetoric of this Administration, which has been very negative regarding Syria.

Click on the title to this post to see the BBC article.

Wake Up!!

Be prepared this summer for yet another baby boomer self-indulgence in the form of yet another movie about Vietnam. Ummm, we're fighting a war now guys. Unlike the 60's however, the class divide has separated those fighting from the rest of the U.S. So the outrage is muted.

I have an idea. You don't need to go back forty years for a dose of invigorating anger. Just live in the moment. The outrage is right now.

The United States, your government, is torturing people. It is torturing teenagers.

The United States, your government, handed the reconstruction of Iraq over to political incompetents who were talked into massive, useless expenditures by contracting companies.

The United States, your government, is run by people who wait for the bureaucracy to feed them problems instead of thinking and asking the right questions.

The United States, your government, is sending our citizens into war without protective equipment they need.

The United States, your government, is shielding the children of the middle class from paying any cost for the debacle in Iraq.