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Posts Tagged 'Petraeus'
Why Fighting For Our Country Under Obama Is Different Than Any Other Time – Except Maybe Vietnam
Fighting a war under the command of Barack Obama is very different than fighting under the command of any president who has ever come before. Up until president #44, commanders-in-chief actually had some degree of trust in the soldiers under their command. They put them into battle for one reason, summed up by President Ronald Reagan's statement: "We win, they lose." They sent them with commonsensical rules for civilized warfare, and then they gave them the mandate to go out and win. Today we have a commander-in-chief who would prefer not to talk about actually winning:
"I'm always worried about using the word 'victory,' because, you know, it invokes this notion of Emperor Hirohito coming down and signing a surrender to MacArthur."
In order to avoid the potential for some kind of awkward "victory," our soldiers and Marines are literally unable to shoot when every element of common sense and the entire history of warfare tell them to shoot:
Troops: Strict war rules slow Marjah offensive
By Alfred de Montesquiou and Deb Riechmann – The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Feb 15, 2010 15:08:51 EST
MARJAH, Afghanistan — Some American and Afghan troops say they're fighting the latest offensive in Afghanistan with a handicap — strict rules that routinely force them to hold their fire.
Although details of the new guidelines are classified to keep insurgents from reading them, U.S. troops say the Taliban are keenly aware of the restrictions.
"I understand the reason behind it, but it's so hard to fight a war like this," said Marine Lance Cpl. Travis Anderson, 20, of Altoona, Iowa. "They're using our rules of engagement against us," he said, adding that his platoon had repeatedly seen men drop their guns into ditches and walk away to blend in with civilians.
If a man emerges from a Taliban hideout after shooting erupts, U.S. troops say they cannot fire at him if he is not seen carrying a weapon — or if they did not personally watch him drop one.
What this means, some contend, is that a militant can fire at them, then set aside his weapon and walk freely out of a compound, possibly toward a weapons cache in another location. It was unclear how often this has happened. In another example, Marines pinned down by a barrage of insurgent bullets say they can't count on quick air support because it takes time to positively identify shooters.
"This is difficult," Lance Cpl. Michael Andrejczuk, 20, of Knoxville, Tenn., said Monday. "We are trained like when we see something, we obliterate it. But here, we have to see them and when we do, they don't have guns."
That mindset doesn't just apply to our fighting men on the ground, who are put in a position in which they can't defend themselves if their enemy flouts Obama's miserable rules of engagement. The pilots flying overhead and the artillerymen on surrounding positions are prevented from supporting our soldiers if they get pinned down, too:
Family calls U.S. military goals 'fuzzy'
Parents of soldier killed last week criticize firepower restrictions
By DENNIS YUSKO, Staff writer
First published in print: Thursday, June 24, 2010
QUEENSBURY — The parents of a Lake George soldier killed in Afghanistan attacked the Obama administration Wednesday for "flower children leadership," and said they would work to change U.S. rules of military engagement in the nine-year conflict.
Hours before holding a wake for their 27-year-old son in Glens Falls, Bill and Beverly Osborn heavily criticized a military policy implemented last year that places some restrictions on when American troops can use firepower in Afghanistan. The new rules were set when Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal assumed command of the Afghanistan effort, and have reportedly made it harder for troops to call in for or initiate air power, artillery and mortars against the Taliban.
The counterinsurgency policy is intended to reduce civilian casualties and win the allegiance of Afghans, McChrystal had said. But echoing criticisms from the Vietnam era, Bill Osborn said Wednesday that it's tied the hands of service members on the ground.
"We send our young men and women to spill their blood and we won't let them do their job," he said from his Queensbury home. "Winning hearts and minds is wonderful, but first we have to defeat the enemy."
And then we wonder why Obama doubled the American body count from Bush in 2009, and is now on pace to double his own total (which means four times the Bush 2008 Americans KIA).
We just suffered the highest number of American causalities for a single month in the history of the war. Mind you, EVERY month becomes the new "deadliest month" under Obama.
From icasualties.org:
For those who are historically ignorant, America firebombed Tokyo and Dresden in World War II. We didn't make sure that every single person who could possibly get killed during an attack was a 100%-confirmed "militant" before we sent a wave of death at our enemies. If we'd resorted to that form of liberal moral stupidity, we would have lost – and the only question would have been how many of us would have ended up speaking German, and how many of us would have ended up speaking Japanese.
Thank God we didn't have Obama leading us back then.
But our rules of engagement still weren't getting enough American soldiers killed, so Team Obama came up with a better idea: how about ordering soldiers to go into battle with unloaded weapons? That's right. Soldiers are now told to wait until they actually start falling down on the ground dead before they can actually be allowed to fumble a round into the chamber.
Fighting a War without Bullets?
Commanders have ordered a U.S. military unit in Afghanistan to patrol with unloaded weapons, according to a source in Afghanistan.
American soldiers in at least one unit have been ordered to conduct patrols without a round chambered in their weapons, an anonymous source stationed at a forward operating base in Afghanistan said in an interview. The source was unsure where the order originated or how many other units were affected.
When a weapon has a loaded magazine, but the safety is on and no round is chambered, the military refers to this condition as "amber status." Weapons on "red status" are ready to fire—they have a round in the chamber and the safety is off.
The source stated that he had been stationed at the base for only a month, but the amber weapons order was in place since before he arrived. A NATO spokesman could not confirm the information, stating that levels of force are classified.
In other words, our guys can't prepare their weapons to actually fire until they are already under attack.
Imagine sending our police into a building filled with armed gang members like that.
And you want to know how to win a medal in Obama's army? Don't do anything. Certainly don't actually shoot at the enemy.
Hold fire, earn a medal
By William H. McMichael – Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday May 12, 2010 15:51:31 EDT
U.S. troops in Afghanistan could soon be awarded a medal for not doing something, a precedent-setting award that would be given for "courageous restraint" for holding fire to save civilian lives.
The proposal is now circulating in the Kabul headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force, a command spokesman confirmed Tuesday.
"The idea is consistent with our approach," explained Air Force Lt. Col. Tadd Sholtis. "Our young men and women display remarkable courage every day, including situations where they refrain from using lethal force, even at risk to themselves, in order to prevent possible harm to civilians. In some situations our forces face in Afghanistan, that restraint is an act of discipline and courage not much different than those seen in combat actions."
Soldiers are often recognized for non-combat achievement with decorations such as their service's commendation medal. But most of the highest U.S. military decorations are for valor in combat. A medal to recognize a conscious effort to avoid a combat action would be unique.
It used to be that the hero was the guy who took on the enemy. Now it's the guy who crawls into the fetal position and walks away from a battle with an unfired weapon.
We can only wonder what Obama's version of Audie Murphy will look like.
And Iran sure doesn't have to worry about Obama shooting at them as they develop their nuclear arsenal so they can cause Armageddon.
About the only thing regarding the military Obama is actually determined to fight for is gay rights. You can bet that the same political weasels who won't let our soldiers actually shoot at the enemy will fight tooth and nail for the right of homosexual soldiers to be able to buttrape their buddies. Because we don't have nearly enough gay rape in the military. That's going to be the new meaning to "Don't ask, don't tell." Don't tell, because that homosexual is the new protected class.
And if all of the above doesn't beat all, you probably don't want to hear about the fact that Obama's timetable for a cut-and-run had nothing whatsoever about satisfying military issues and everything about satisfying political ones within Obama's radical leftwing base. The military wasn't even consulted, according to General David Petraeus:
McCain: "General, at any time during the deliberations that the military shared with the President when he went through the decision-making process, was there a recommendation from you or anyone in the military that we set a date of July 2011?"
Petraeus: "Uh, there was not."
McCain: "There was not – by any military person that you know of?"
Petraeus: "Not that I'm aware of."
Nobody knows what the hell is going on over there. Are we going to stay and fight? Or cut and run? Most of the Obama administration is saying that we are most definitely going to cut and run in July 2011. Take Vice President Biden, who says, "In July of 2011 you're going to see a whole lot of people moving out. Bet on it." All Obama will say is that "We didn't say we'd be switching off the lights and closing the door behind us." which isn't really saying anything.
All the money is on a pullout, as Obama cuts and runs. The Afghan people know that, know that the Taliban will soon be their landlords, and aren't about to risk any kind of meaningful alliance with America that would be necessary to actually winning over there.
Do you remember FDR telling Churchill, "I'll give you a year, and then we're running with our tail between our legs where it belongs"???
If it's a war worth fighting, it is a war worth sticking around to fight.
We will win when we allow our fighting men to fight. And not until then.
If you wonder whether Afghanistan is going to become like Vietnam, stop wondering: it already has. Because we're fighting Afghanistan the same way we fought Vietnam – with the mindset of putting our troops in danger while simultaneously preventing them from securing victory.
Tags:Afghanistan, air strikes, artillery, body count, casualties, commander-in-chief, courageous restraint, Don't ask, don't tell, firepower, flower children leadership, Hirohito, hold their fire, MacArthur, make it harder, medal, mortars, Obama, Petraeus, restraint, RoE, rules of engagement, strict rules, surrender, Taliban, unloaded weapons, using our rules of engagement against us, victory, Vietnam, without a round chambered, won't let them do their job
Posted in Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Conservative Issues, defense, military, Politics, terrorism, Vietnam, War | Leave a Comment »
Critical Failure Overload: Which Obama Failure Should We Focus On?
There seems to be a genius to Obama's incompetence. He is failing on so many levels, in so many ways, all at the same time, that nobody can possibly keep track of them all.
Which means, paradoxically, that the more failures Obama accumulates, the better he looks, as coverage of all the failure is dissipated such that nothing receives the focus it needs to penetrate the American culture of distraction.
A few days ago, the media hailed Obama's firing of Gen. Stanley McChrystal and replacement by Gen. David Petraeus as a magnificent act of presidential leadership and decision-making. Let's not mention that the same figures on the left who were hailing Petraeus yesterday were demonizing him when Bush appointed him to take control over the Iraq War and the surge strategy that won that war.
Obama is turning to Bush's general and Bush's Secretary of Defense in order to overcome the failure created by utterly failed Democrat Party ideas.
Chief among those utterly failed Democrat ideas is the timetable for cut-and-run. Democrats wanted to impose this guaranteed-to-fail strategy for Iraq, but Bush prevailed and won the war. Now they want to make sure we lose in Afghanistan, as Afghans who want to stay alive realize who will still be there a year from now (i.e., the Taliban), and who won't (i.e., the United States), and that they'd better not ally themselves with their "timetable for withdrawal" all-too-temporary American allies.
We find that the July 2011 timetable for withdrawal was a purely political decision that had no military justification or support whatsoever.
Of course, the failure in Afghanistan comes as a welcome relief to day 72 of the even bigger failure in the Gulf of Mexico.
The leftwing media is essentially shouting, "Hey, take your eye off that total failure over there on the Gulf Coast. Look over here!!! Obama fired a guy that pricked his thin-skin and appointed Bush's general to save his liberal ass. And he gave a speech!!! Don't waste your time thinking about the fact that BP took the cap off the leaking hole so that 104,000 gallons of oil per hour could pour out of the sea floor. Don't look at the possibility that as much as 4.2 million gallons of oil are pouring out of that damn hole Obama can't plug every single day!!!
Come on! Obama's got Bush's general now!!! The one whom Obama and every other Democrat demonized three years ago while he was winning in Iraq!!!"
Well, go ahead and take a look at how terribly Obama is failing in Afghanistan. Look at how Obama doubled Bush's last body count in 2009, and how he is now on pace to double his own doubling of Bush's body count this year. Look at how terrible a job Obama is doing mismanaging the various top-level civilian and military personnel who are clearly not on the same page with one another as personal fiefdoms rather than the mission dominate (see also here). The divisions – which underscore that Obama's entire Afghanistan plan is in freefall – aren't pretty. And don't forget to look at the fact that "Those divisions are of Obama's own making, stemming from his lack of leadership and failure to make a firm commitment to victory in Afghanistan."
While you're at it, take a look at the fact that, by the standards Democrats used to attack Bush in 2004, Barack Hussein is the worst president in American history bar none.
The Obama-failure in Afghanistan is a distraction for the Obama-failure in the Gulf of Mexico. And the Obama-failure in the Gulf of Mexico is a distraction for the Obama-failure in the economy.
Look at the fact that a full year and a half later, jobless claims continue to go up "sharply." Look at the fact that new home sales have plunged to the lowest level ever recorded. Look at the fact that that disaster followed the news that Obama's mortgage modification program had officially imploded. And look at the fact that bank foreclosures have doubled under Obama's "wreckovery."
One in four homeowners are underwater in their mortgages, and are increasingly just bailing out and walking away from their responsibilities in Obama's God-damn-America. Consumer confidence is down dramatically. And oil prices are way down for the very bad reason that our economy is in such bad shape no one can afford to go anywhere. And, of course, our stock market just took a very cold bath yesterday.
Where are we supposed to look to see an area in which Obama HASN'T failed?
Look at everything, if you have time to contemplate all the failure that Obama has brought. But don't be distracted from taking time to watch the spill cam footage every day, or following the latest tracking of Obama's oil spill and its contamination of the Gulf Coast, or following the Obama-regime-caused inability to clean up the mess.
As you watch the daily disaster unfolding, don't forget to remember that Obama is the guy running the show. Or that the show looks like a chicken running around after its head has been cut off
Tags:Afghanistan, bank foreclosures, Bush's general, consumer confidence, Eikenberry, every day, failed, failure, Holbrooke, home sales, incompetence, Iraq, jobless, July 2011, leadership, McChrystal, million gallons of oil, mortgages, not on the same page, Obama, oil prices, Petraeus, presidential, so many levels, so many ways, Taliban, timetable, unemployment, withdrawal
Posted in Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Conservative Issues, defense, Economy, military, oil, Politics | 5 Comments »
Question: Should Democrats Confirm 'General Betray Us'?
General David Petraeus earned the legitimate title of "hero" for his incredible work in leading the surge-based turnaround in Iraq.
A work that Democrats did everything they possibly could to undermine and destroy.
When General Petraeus came to Washington to appear before Congress to defend the progress he'd made in Iraq, the leftist MoveOn.org greeted him with the title, "General Betray Us," which ran at a vastly discounted rate by fellow liberal attack dog The New York Slimes.
Hillary Clinton told General Petraeus that his progress report on Iraq required "a willing suspension of disbelief," all but calling Petraeus a liar.
The Senate voted to condemn the "General Betray Us" sliming of David Petraeus. None of the Democrat presidential candidates supported it. Obama had voted on another bill half an hour earlier, but didn't have the courage or integrity to vote to condemn those who attacked a great general at war. He essentially voted "present" yet again. And Hillary Clinton literally voted in agreement with MoveOn.org.
And, of course, how did Barack Hussein analyze the Iraq strategy that Petraeus championed?
"I am not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq is going to solve the sectarian violence there," he told MSNBC. "In fact, I think it will do the reverse."
What did Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have to say about General David Petraeus' competence to turn around a difficult situation in Iraq?
"Now I believe myself … that this war is lost, and that the surge is not accomplishing anything"
Obama spent his entire seven minutes at the Petraeus hearing whining about how awful everything Petraeus was doing was, in basic agreement with Harry Reid's words of surrender:
It is to suggest that if the American people and the Congress had understood then that after devoting $1 trillion, which is what this thing optimistically will end up having cost, thousands of American lives, the creation of an environment in which Al Qaida in Iraq could operate because it didn't exist prior to our invasion, that we have increased terrorist recruitment around the world, that Iran has been strengthened, that bin Laden and Al Qaida are stronger than at any time since 2001, and that the process of Iraqi reconstruction and their standard of living would continue to be lower than it was pre- invasion, that if that had been the deal, I think most people would have said that's a bad deal, that does not make sense, that does not serve the United States' strategic interests.
And so I think that some of the frustration you hear from some of the questioners is that we have now set the bar so low that modest improvement in what was a completely chaotic situation, to the point where now we just have the levels of intolerable violence that existed in June of 2006 is considered success, and it's not.
I mean, Petraeus didn't accomplish anything in Iraq, and actually added to the needless violence, according to now-President Barry Hussein; he's a flat-out dishonest liar, according to now-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; we actually lost the Iraq War during Petraeus' leadership, according to Harry Reid; and he betrayed this country, according to the leftwing machine that largely got this administration elected. And now this same general is all of a sudden the go-to-guy for these very same Democrats? I mean, excuse me?
History has proven that it was Hillary Rodham Clinton, and the entire liberal establishment who demagogued and demonized the Iraq War, who were the liars. The surge strategy and the Iraq war that General David Petraues led was such a monumental success that Joe Biden (rather appropriately nicknamed Joe "Bite Me" by General Stanley McChyrstal's staff) tried to claim credit for it, saying:
[Iraq] "could be one of the great achievements of this administration. You're going to see 90,000 American troops come marching home by the end of the summer. You're going to see a stable government in Iraq that is actually moving toward a representative government."
Democrats never admit how terribly wrong and in fact shockingly immoral they were when they did everything they possibly could to undermine General Petraeus and the Iraq War. But that doesn't mean they won't cynically and hypocritically take credit for both Iraq and Petraeus now. That's just the kind of weasels Democrats are.
David Petraeus was the general that Democrats and their leftist allies despised. Petraeus was Bush's general. Petraeus was "the surge general." And the fact that the same liberals who hated Petraeus are now cheering Obama's selection of him makes me want to barf.
All I'm doing here is pointing out that by the twisted, vile, hypocritical, loathsome standards by which Democrats evaluated General Petraues, there is no way they should confirm him now.
They should find someone like the Pied Piper of fairy tale lore and confirm him instead.
And if Democrats do in fact now vote to confirm the man they attacked, it will be an open acknowledgment that they were rabid little treasonous vermin back in 2007.
Update, June 30, 2010: Democrats unanimously voted today to confirm as a matter of fact that they were treasonous liars in 2007.
Tags:a willing suspension of disbelief, General Betray Us?, General David Petraeus, Harry Reid, Hillary Clinton, Iraq, liar, McChrystal, MoveOn.org, New York Times, one of the great achievements of this administration, Petraeus, sectarian violence, this war is lost
Posted in Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Congress, Conservative Issues, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, Iraq, military, Politics, terrorism, War | 4 Comments »
Biden Reveals Obama Administration Treating Afghanistan As Political Problem
The money quote in the New York Times' story on Joe Biden's view on Afghanistan:
Beyond Mr. Biden's strategic concerns, some who participated in administration deliberations earlier this year said he was keenly aware that the country, and particularly his party's liberal base, was growing tired of the war and might not accept many more years of extensive American commitment.
"I think a big part of it is, the vice president's reading of the Democratic Party is this is not sustainable," said Bruce O. Riedel, who led the administration's review [of Afghanistan] early this year. "That's a part of the process that's a legitimate question for a president — if I do this, can I sustain it with political support at home? That was the argument the vice president was making back in the winter."
For any Democrat who ever wants to claim that Bush or Cheney "politicized the war," remember this and shut the hell up.
Biden is saying, "If we send more troops to augment our force, we won't get the votes we want. And our votes are a lot more important than our troops, aren't they?"
Biden, apparently Obama's new new "expert" on Afghanistan, is described in the New York Times as being "deeply pessimistic" about the war. I'm reminded of when Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid proclaimed defeat in Iraq. Cut and run cowards will ever be cut and run cowards.
I'm also reminded of Democrat House Majority Whip Representative James Clyburn saying that good news in Iraq amounted to a problem for Democrats. It was a "problem" only because the Democrats were more interested in their demagoguery and political games than they were in our soldiers' lives or the victory they were trying to win for the country.
Joe Biden is an "expert" in foreign policy the way I am an "expert" in neurosurgery: no one in their right mind would ever want me doing it. The Times story continues:
But Mr. Riedel said the public could be persuaded to stick by the war with a well-articulated argument by the president. And others, more harshly, argue that Mr. Biden's judgment on foreign policy has often been off base.
They point out that he voted against the successful Persian Gulf war of 1991, voted for the Iraq invasion of 2003, proposed dividing Iraq into three sections in 2006 and opposed the additional troops credited by many with turning Iraq around in 2007.
"When was the last time Biden was right about anything?" Thomas E. Ricks, a military writer, wrote in a blog on Sept. 24. Mr. Ricks is affiliated with the Center for a New American Security, a research organization founded by Democrats.
Stacked up against Biden are people who actually have some kind of basic clue about military reality — men like General David Petraeus, General Stan McChrystal (the nation's foremost special operations expert who would know better than anyone if the counter-terrorism strategy favored by Biden would work), and General Dan McNeil (who has served as commander in Afghanistan in multiple capacities).
Charles Krauthammer a) slams Biden's incompetence to make such decisions in juxtaposition to the incredible competence of the generals who profoundly disagree with Biden; and b) slams the incredibly cynical Obama strategy to create a new "expert" to justify his undermining of his generals and his troops:
KRAUTHAMMER: I think it's hard to believe this sudden media inflation of the wisdom of Joe Biden is accidental. It's clear that there is a debate inside the White House.
You got McChrystal, a man of incredible authority and stature, who says you got to go this way with a heavy troop involvement, and you've got Petraeus, the man who saved Iraq, saying the same, saying otherwise we're going to lose.
And the administration obviously is resisting, and it has to have a champion of the other side, and it's the hapless vice president. So some way you have to inflate his status and to make it at least somebody that will be a credible alternative.
I'm not sure that the Biden plan is a plan. It's an idea, and the administration obviously in its leaks is tending towards the Biden idea. But it needs to have some stature on that side, and that's why I'm little bit skeptical about the discovery of the vast storage of military wisdom in a guy, if you remember, opposed the Gulf War and opposed the surge and supported the Iraq war, which he now says was one of the great mistakes of American history — 0 for three.
Obama will lose more than twice as many American soldiers this year than George Bush lost last year. And his strategy seems to be to blame George Bush rather than honor his own repeatedly publicly stated commitment to the security of Afghanistan.
Even liberals are now publicly calling Obama the "whiner-in-chief." The Washington Post is asking, "Does Obama have the backbone?" and pointing out that:
This is the president we now have: He inspires lots of affection but not a lot of awe.
The sorry fact of the matter is that terrorists don't have a lot of respect for affection, but only for the awe that Obama is woefully lacking.
They are resurgent, because they believe they have a weakling in the White House that they can intimidate and defeat.
And I fear that they are right.
I am actually updating this before I even publish it, but the loathsome extent of Democrats' playing with the war like a toy to benefit themselves is further revealed in a Washington Times article entitled, "U.S. troop funds diverted to pet projects":
Senators diverted $2.6 billion in funds in a defense spending bill to pet projects largely at the expense of accounts that pay for fuel, ammunition and training for U.S. troops, including those fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to an analysis.
Among the 778 such projects, known as earmarks, packed into the bill: $25 million for a new World War II museum at the University of New Orleans and $20 million to launch an educational institute named after the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat.
While earmarks are hardly new in Washington, "in 30 years on Capitol Hill, I never saw Congress mangle the defense budget as badly as this year," said Winslow Wheeler, a former Senate staffer who worked on defense funding and oversight for both Republicans and Democrats. He is now a senior fellow at the Center for Defense Information, an independent research organization.
What can you even say to such treasonous betrayal of our troops?
Tags:Afghanistan, American casualties, backbone, Bush, Clyburn, deeply pessimistic, diverted, funds, good news in Iraq, growing tired of the war, Gulf War, Harry Reid, Iraq invasion, Joe Biden, liberal base, McChrystal, McNeil, partitioning Iraq, Petraeus, politicized the war, problem for Democrats, Ridedel, this war is lost, voted against, weakling, Whiner-in-Chief
Posted in Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Conservative Issues, defense, Harry Reid, Joe Biden, military, Politics, terrorism | 2 Comments »
A Time to Ponder: If US Attacked Again, Will We Still Favor Obama's Dismantling Of Bush Safeguards?
9/11 should be a time for every American to ponder the events of that fateful and horrific day in 2001.
We had just suffered more casualties from a foreign enemy in an act of war than had ever been sustained by America on its own soil in its entire history – including the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Most Americans were angry and demanded action. Fully 90% supported George Bush as he laid out his plans to respond to the attack. And that support was still above 70% when President Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq in March, 2003. We passed the Patriot Act with wide margins in both branches of Congress in October of 2001. Only ONE Senator – Russ Feingold – voted against it.
And then, slowly at first, and then precipitously, Americans began to turn against the president they had supported, against the wars they had supported, and against the Patriot Act they had supported.
You can see in collections of quotes from Democrats regarding Iraq and the underlying justifications of the war how Democrats were "for that war before they were against it" as declining American support made undermining the war effort itself more and more politically advantageous.
Truth or Fiction
Freedom Agenda
Democrat Jack Murtha denounced as war criminals and murderers Marines who were later proven to have been innocent. Democrat House Majority Whip Representative James Clyburn said that good news in Iraq amounted to a problem for Democrats. Democrats openly attacked Bush's "surge" strategy that proved to be the difference in turning the war around and providing victory for the United States. And Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, "Now I believe myself that this war is lost" even as our military was valiantly fighting on foreign soil to win. Barack Obama joined Democrats in voting to defund the troops fighting overseas as a means of politically undermining George Bush. Democrats denounced the credibility of General Petraeus even as liberals ran a New York Times ad entitled, "General Betray Us?"
Today, as we pause to reflect over 9/11, we no longer have a "war on terror." Now we have an "overseas contingency operation." We no longer want our Central Intelligence Agency to aggressively pursue terrorists and seek out any and all information to help us prevent the next attack. Now we want to criminalize those operatives who tried to keep us safe as a warning to any future CIA personnel who might be so foolish as to violate liberal morays. Better to lose a city or two than to waterboard a terrorist.
As I reflect on the hours of that terrible day of 9/11, I remember Palestinians cheering and dancing in the streets and holding up 'V for Victory' gestures. I remember people leaping to their deaths from the top floors of the skyscrapers rather than endure the heat that would have murdered them even more agonizingly. I remember Democrats and Republicans arm-in-arm singing "God Bless America" on the steps of the Capitol Building – at least until Democrats determined to undermine virtually everything they had previously supported.
On the anniversary of 9/11, I just wonder what will happen if we are attacked again. How will we respond? What will we want? How will we demand our president act?
Will Americans say, "We agree with President Obama. Let us hasten our dismantling of our intelligence apparatus to show the world our good will." Or will there be a dramatic swing back to the strategy envisioned and implemented by former President George Bush, based on aggressively taking the fight to the enemy, remaining in those fights, and winning them?
I hope that Americans soberly reflect how they would respond to the next massive terrorist attack today. Because virtually every expert agrees that another such attack is surely coming. And rather than swing wildly and frankly psychotically between extremes, perhaps we might come to a considered and committed path based on the real will of the American people.
Ask yourself this: if we are attacked again, would you want a President Bush, or would you want a President Obama? Would you want to handled the next massive attack in which thousands, or tens of thousands (or even more) Americans die to be handled as an act of war, or as a law enforcement investigation? Would you prefer to go to war against any nation that threatens us, or would you prefer to talk and negotiate instead? Would you prefer a president who fights our enemies, or a president who voted against fighting and who in fact voted for undermining the war effort in order to stop it?
Just what is it you want your commander in chief to do in response to a massive terrorist attack? What is it you expect your commander in chief to do in order to prevent such an attack from ever happening in the first place?
Let us realize that the next "Iraq" is rushing toward us in the form of a nuclear-weaponized Iran. Is such a country a threat? Should we allow them to develop their weapons of mass destruction, or should we use all means – including military power – to stop them? The media first reports that Iran's nuclear weapons program has been dramatically slowed down, then reports that they can literally make a bomb whenever they want within the space of a couple of weeks' time. One thing seems quite sure: Iran is inexorably working toward nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them. What do we want our president to do about it? Everything? Nothing?
To the extent that the American people are even capable of genuine self-reflection and wise contemplation of the future, I hope we take this opportunity to do so today.
I also hope that every single American – regardless of political party – takes a moment to thank God for our troops and pray for their safety and for their victory.
Tags:9/11, Central Intelligence Agency, cheering, dancing, General Betray Us?, George Bush, God Bless America, good will, Haditha, Harry Reid, Iraq, Jack Murtha, James Clyburn, Marines, massive casualties, Obama, Palestinians, Patriot Act, Petraeus, singing, support, terrorism, terrorist attack, undermine, war effort, waterboard
Posted in Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Congress, Conservative Issues, defense, Democrats, George Bush, Iran, Iraq, military, Politics, terrorism | 4 Comments »
CIA memos: Clinton Attacks Cheney Rather Than Reveal Truth
Having studied my fair share of philosophy, I recognize the genetic fallacy when I hear it. And I heard it today from the mouth of Obama's Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Let's not talk about a legitimate issue; let's instead demonize the person who is raising the legitimate issue while ignoring the issue itself. Hillary Clinton engaged in a textbook example of playing the politics of personal destruction – and distraction – rather than reveal the truth.
SecState Hillary Clinton doesn't find Cheney a "reliable source of information"
It's testy in the Foreign Relations Committee hearing today.
SecState HRC is testifying in front of the Foreign Affairs Committee and it seems she got into a bit of a heated exchange with Rep. Dana Rohrabacher — or he did with her — over the release of the interrogation memos.
Rohrabacher asks Secretary Clinton whether she agrees with former Veep Cheney's suggestion that all memos on enhanced interrogation be released.
Secretary Clinton's response? "It won't surprise you that I don't consider him to be a particularly reliable source of information…"
Rohrabacher bites back: "Madam Secretary, I asked you a specific question. … Dick Cheney has asked that specific documents be declassified. … I didn't ask you what your opinion is of Dick Cheney and if you want to maintain your credibility with us, what is your opinion on the release of those documents?"
Secretary Clinton: "I think we should get to the bottom of this entire matter. I think it's in the best interest of our country and that is what the president believes and that is why he's taken the actions he's taken."
Well, that's okay, I suppose. Dick Cheney just joined war hero and savior of the American effort in Iraq General David Petraeus in lacking credibility as far as Hillary Clinton is concerned.
WASHINGTON — Senator Clinton squared off yesterday with her possible challenger for the White House in 2012, General David Petraeus, and came closer than any of her colleagues to calling the commander of the multinational forces in Iraq a liar.
Using blunter language than any other Democrat in the last two days, Mrs. Clinton told General Petraeus that his progress report on Iraq required "a willing suspension of disbelief."
There's Youtube video for that, too.
Personally, I think that places Dick Cheney in far better company than the heroine of Whitewater, Travelgate, Filegate, a bunch of other assorted "-gates" and the wicked witch who blamed her husband getting blow jobs in the Oval Office on "a vast rightwing conspiracy." And it was such a perfectly-executed conspiracy that those dreadful rightwingers were able to plant Bill Clinton's own semen on Monica Lewinsky's dress.
But that's okay: her boss Obama is now going after all of those rightwing conspirators who believe horrible things such as: the right to exercise free speech; the right to peaceably assemble; the 14th Amendment's restriction of the federal government encroaching on the rights of the states and the people; the right of an innocent baby to live; the right to think that the United States should protect America for its own citizens; the right of our heroic combat veterans not to be regarded as dangerous terrorist threats when they return home; etc.
I want you to understand something: THESE are the people saying former` Vice President Dick Cheney isn't "reliable":
From April 20: (AP) President Barack Obama does not intend to prosecute Bush administration officials who devised the policies that led to the harsh interrogation of suspected terrorists, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said Sunday.
From April 21: President Obama left open the door Tuesday for charges to be brought against Bush administration lawyers who justified harsh interrogation techniques, though he continued to argue that CIA agents who used those tactics should not be prosecuted.
THESE are the people saying former Vice President Dick Cheney isn't "reliable":
JENNIFER LOVEN, AP: The $100 million target figure that the president talked about today with the Cabinet, can you explain why so small? I know he talked about—you know, you add up 100 million and 100 million, and eventually, you get somewhere, but it would take an awfully long time to add up hundred million (inaudible) in the deficit. Why not target a bigger number?
GIBBS: (Smiling) Well, I think only in Washington, D.C. is a hundred million dollars…
LOVEN: The deficit's very large. It's not a joke.
GIBBS: No, I'm…
LOVEN: The deficit's giant. $100 million really is only a step.
GIBBS: But no joke.
LOVEN: You sound like you're joking about it, but it's not funny.
GIBBS: I'm not making jokes about it. I'm being completely sincere that only in Washington, D.C. is $100 million not a lot of money. It is where I'm from. It is where I grew up. And I think it is for hundreds of millions of Americans.
LOVEN: The point is it's not a very big portion of the deficit.
TAPPER: You were talking about an appropriations bill a few weeks ago about $8 billion being minuscule—$8 billion in earmarks. We were talking about that and you said that that…
GIBBS: Well, in terms of—in…
TAPPER: …$100 million is a lot but $8 billion is small?
To quote a blogger:
Of course, $100 million is a lot of money where anyone is from. But in Washington DC, where Obama has expanded government spending by gargantuan amounts, it's 0.0029% of the budget. Or 0.00076% of what Obama spent on the "economic stimulus" spending spree
These are people who justify whatever the hell they want as "reliable information." The same people who justify trivializing $8 BILLION in pork because that $8 billion makes them look bad almost immediately thereafter justify claiming that $100 million in budget cuts is a huge figure because they think that .0029% of the budget they say they'll trim makes them look good. The people who claim Cheney lacks credibility massively lack so much of a shred of it themselves.
For the Obama administration, credibility means doublespeak. Openness means releasing only those documents that hurt the political opposition. Accountability means personally attacking anyone who raises a legitimate point.
So the administration that promised openness and accountability is now releasing only the documents that make the Bush administration and the United States of America look bad, but refuse to release the information that reveals how necessary and useful the actions that Bush took to protect this country. The administration that promised unparalleled bipartisanship is now pursuing the greatest political witch-hunt in American history and essentially transforming this country into a banana republic where the winners of the next election criminalize the previous administration. And personally attack anyone who confronts them for doing it while avoiding the main issue.
The facts are obvious to anyone who will consider them (or allow them to be released): the "harsh" interrogations worked. The Bush Administration officials were called upon to make extraordinary decisions in the heat of battle with thousands of dead Americans and many thousands or tens of thousands more feared to come. And they acted to protect the country.
So let's have a communist show trial, forbid the accused from presenting any exculpatory or mitigating evidence in their own defense, and put them in prison. That's the documented historical way of the left, after all.
That's the new America under Barack Hussein.
One day a Republican administration will be back in power – and they'll be mad as hell over the shocking perversions of justice that are going on right now. That administration will find its legal precedent to prosecute from what is going on right now. And the president and the administration that engaged in politically-motivated prosecutions is going to become the next victim of the next wave of politically-motivated prosecutions.
Note to the soon-to-be-prosecuted Bush officials: demand a change of venue out of Washington D.C., or you will be convicted of the crime of being a Republican just like Scooter Libby.
Tags:Bush, Dick Cheney, filegate, Hillary Clinton, Petraeus, reliable source, Robert Gibbs, Rohrabacher, show trial, torture, travelgate, vast rightwing conspiracy, Whitewater, willing suspension of disbelief
Posted in Barack Obama, Conservative Issues, defense, Democrats, fascism, Hillary Clinton, military, Politics, terrorism | 1 Comment »
Obama Cynically Urges Iraq To Stall US Withdrawel
This may be one of those moments when even Barack Obama's staunchest supporters have to face up to the possibility that their candidate is a man of contemptible character.
Many analysts have claimed that Barack Obama overcame Hillary Clinton primarily because he was more against the war than she was, such that the liberal base of the Democratic Party believed Obama would end the war and bring the troops home.
So it is simply staggering to hear that – while calling for a rapid withdrawel of American troops from Iraq – Obama privately urged the Iraqis to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.
It is difficult NOT to believe that such a disingenuous request is not motivated by political self-interests. If Republicans are bringing the troops home, Obama can't claim that he should be elected so that he can bring the troops home.
One thing is for certain: this matter demands an investigation. If it is true, it ought to break Obama's career.
Here is the article from The New York Post:
OBAMA TRIED TO STALL GIS' IRAQ WITHDRAWAL
WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.
According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.
"He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington," Zebari said in an interview.
Obama insisted that Congress should be involved in negotiations on the status of US troops – and that it was in the interests of both sides not to have an agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in its "state of weakness and political confusion."
"However, as an Iraqi, I prefer to have a security agreement that regulates the activities of foreign troops, rather than keeping the matter open." Zebari says.
Though Obama claims the US presence is "illegal," he suddenly remembered that Americans troops were in Iraq within the legal framework of a UN mandate. His advice was that, rather than reach an accord with the "weakened Bush administration," Iraq should seek an extension of the UN mandate.
While in Iraq, Obama also tried to persuade the US commanders, including Gen. David Petraeus, to suggest a "realistic withdrawal date." They declined.
Obama has made many contradictory statements with regard to Iraq. His latest position is that US combat troops should be out by 2010. Yet his effort to delay an agreement would make that withdrawal deadline impossible to meet.
Supposing he wins, Obama's administration wouldn't be fully operational before February – and naming a new ambassador to Baghdad and forming a new negotiation team might take longer still.
By then, Iraq will be in the throes of its own campaign season. Judging by the past two elections, forming a new coalition government may then take three months. So the Iraqi negotiating team might not be in place until next June.
Then, judging by how long the current talks have taken, restarting the process from scratch would leave the two sides needing at least six months to come up with a draft accord. That puts us at May 2010 for when the draft might be submitted to the Iraqi parliament – which might well need another six months to pass it into law.
Thus, the 2010 deadline fixed by Obama is a meaningless concept, thrown in as a sop to his anti-war base.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the Bush administration have a more flexible timetable in mind.
According to Zebari, the envisaged time span is two or three years – departure in 2011 or 2012. That would let Iraq hold its next general election, the third since liberation, and resolve a number of domestic political issues.
Even then, the dates mentioned are only "notional," making the timing and the cadence of withdrawal conditional on realities on the ground as appreciated by both sides.
Iraqi leaders are divided over the US election. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani (whose party is a member of the Socialist International) sees Obama as "a man of the Left" – who, once elected, might change his opposition to Iraq's liberation. Indeed, say Talabani's advisers, a President Obama might be tempted to appropriate the victory that America has already won in Iraq by claiming that his intervention transformed failure into success.
Maliki's advisers have persuaded him that Obama will win – but the prime minister worries about the senator's "political debt to the anti-war lobby" – which is determined to transform Iraq into a disaster to prove that toppling Saddam Hussein was "the biggest strategic blunder in US history."
Other prominent Iraqi leaders, such as Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi and Kurdish regional President Massoud Barzani, believe that Sen. John McCain would show "a more realistic approach to Iraqi issues."
Obama has given Iraqis the impression that he doesn't want Iraq to appear anything like a success, let alone a victory, for America. The reason? He fears that the perception of US victory there might revive the Bush Doctrine of "pre-emptive" war – that is, removing a threat before it strikes at America.
Despite some usual equivocations on the subject, Obama rejects pre-emption as a legitimate form of self -defense. To be credible, his foreign-policy philosophy requires Iraq to be seen as a failure, a disaster, a quagmire, a pig with lipstick or any of the other apocalyptic adjectives used by the American defeat industry in the past five years.
Yet Iraq is doing much better than its friends hoped and its enemies feared. The UN mandate will be extended in December, and we may yet get an agreement on the status of forces before President Bush leaves the White House in January.
Liberals see the most refreshing hope for change in history; I see the most cynical and disingenuous candidate who has ever run for high office.
Obama and the Democrats will not allow the war in Iraq to be viewed as any kind of success. It is vital to their interests to argue that America failed, that it lost, that it has been defeated (e.g., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: "I believe that this war is lost"). Why? Because they have so dedicated themselves to American failure that a victory would be bad for them (and anyone who doubts this need only recall House Majority Whip James Clyburn's acknowledgment that good news in Iraq amounted to a "real big problem" for Democrats).
Tags:anti-war lobby, Barack Obama, delay, Harry Reid, Iraq, Iraqi Foreign Minister, James Clyburn, Petraeus, stall, troop withdrawel, Zebari
Posted in Barack Obama, Conservative Issues, Democrats, Iraq, Politics, War | 4 Comments »
John McCain Getting "Commander-in-Chief" Poll Numbers Over Obama
Gallup had this newsflash, appropriately titled "Veterans Solidly Back McCain."
PRINCETON, NJ — With both presidential candidates addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention this week (John McCain on Monday and Barack Obama on Tuesday), Gallup finds that registered voters who have served in the U.S. military solidly back McCain over Obama, 56% to 34%.
Tags:Afghanistan, Barack Obama, commander-in-chief, generals, Iraq, John McCain, military, Petraeus, veterans
Posted in Barack Obama, Iraq, John McCain, Politics, War | Leave a Comment »


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Feeling Connected
Categories: Care Partners, Emotional & Spiritual Health, Social Connection|By Jennifer Friesen|Published On: September 11, 2018|
Cynthia Delgado brings comfort — and a sense of purpose — to the residents of St. Teresa Place
<img src="https://dementiaconnections.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/feelingConnected-1.jpg" alt="Cynthia Delgado (right) and Marj enjoy spending time together at St. Teresa Place. Photo by Jared Sych." />
Cynthia Delgado (right) and Marj enjoy spending time together at St. Teresa Place. Photo by Jared Sych.
For most of her life, Cynthia Delgado never planned to work in a long-term care facility. But after years in a career as an insurance adjuster, she found herself at a crossroads when she lost her job in 2015.
The change spurred her to go back to school at 59 years old, with the aim of becoming a care administrative assistant, and she was hired on at St. Teresa Place in northeast Calgary just last year.
"I never dreamed I would end up working in this kind of facility," Delgado says. "But I'm so glad I came. The [residents here] are now the reason I get up in the mornings and feel happy to come to work. How could I ever leave?"
As an administrative assistant, Delgado spends the majority of each workday behind a computer or stocking units with supplies. But, soon after taking up her new post, she also began to develop a special rapport with the residents. She found herself spending more and more time with them — playing music, dancing or simply talking.
Delgado was working a shift at St. Teresa Place when Dawn Turcotte moved her mother, Marj, into the facility in August 2017. Delgado felt a connection to Marj right from that very first day.
"I realized Marj was scared, because she didn't really know where she was," says Delgado. "I picked up on her fear, so I sat with her. It just came over me that she reminded me of my grandma. And that just put everything into perspective — I wanted to care for her."
Delgado moved to Canada from Jamaica in 1989 and, as she reflects on her life back home, she realizes that her grandmother likely had dementia, as well.
"I didn't know what it was back then," Delgado says. "But I look at Marj, and I think about how I wasn't there with my grandmother when she was sick."
"The [residents here] are now the reason I get up in the mornings and feel happy to come to work."
— Cynthia Delgado
Marj grew up outside of Brooks, Alberta, but spent most of her adult years on a farm north of Valleyview, where she enjoyed an active life taking care of her four children and her beloved horses. The family started to notice Marj's memory difficulties about six years ago, however, which eventually led to Marj and her husband moving to a Calgary condo in 2015 to be closer to their children in the city. Two years later, Marj moved out of the condo and into St. Teresa Place.
According to her daughter, Dawn, it was a big change for such an active woman, and having people care for her wasn't easy on her mom. Marj was always the caregiver, so, in the early days of care, she didn't understand why someone was serving her dinner or trying to help set the table.
Delgado noticed this early on, however, and started bringing Marj along with her to stock units with supplies, or they'd go for long walks outside.
"When [Cynthia] came along and gave Mom a cart to push around and some files to hold, it just made her feel useful and important," says Dawn. "I think that's something we all need."
Delgado enjoys the company and says that whenever she thanks Marj for helping her, Marj smiles and says, "Oh, no, you're helping me!"
"I bring her with me, hold her hand, and give her stuff to carry," Delgado says. "She feels responsible, and feels like she's doing something. She loves to walk, so when I get her to help me she's happy because she doesn't like to sit still."
Dawn and her family appreciate the work of all the staff at St. Teresa Place, but they feel especially lucky to have found Delgado, and they know Marj feels the same.
"It's so nice to know that when we can't be here, there's someone looking out for her," says Dawn. "It brings comfort. We all know that Mom is special, but to have someone else recognize it, and know that she still has so much left to offer, even though she has dementia, it's really comforting." [ ]
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'It's Like Coming Home to a Family that Understands Me'.
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What began as a neutral spirit facility in 1927 to produce buckets of gin has grown into one of the most successful grain whisky operations on the planet. Starting in '57 it also discretely housed a malt facility going by the name of Kinclaith for nearly 20 years before being converted to focus exclusively on grain whisky. While historically some of the distillate would end up in Ballantine's and Teacher's blended whiskies, the distillery is owned today by Chivas Brothers. The grain production is wheat based giving this 30 year old whisky an amazingly soft and creamy feel.
Have you ever had a friend in your life that just made you feel good? Full of optimism and affirmation? I sincerely hope that you have, because we should all get to have that experience. However-- if you haven't-- I offer this 30 year Strathclyde as a surrogate for that feeling. It's just so damn-well balanced. The nose is rich and warming, showing some savory cedar, some spice, and baked orchard fruit. The palate is remarkably light for a thirty-year spirit, but any flavors that might initially seem too hot or intense are smoothed out notes of browned-butter oatmeal cookie dough, leaving you with a pleasant little fire in the belly. Smashing value for what you get!
This has a strong spice presence right up front for a grain whisky. I get pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, and allspice. Then the sweeter aromas take charge and I'm suddenly in the mood for pastries. I smell buttery chocolate chip cookies and fresh apple streusel. The palate has more fruit characteristics, but the bready desserts remain. I get strawberries and cream and some jammy flavors as well. As it progresses to the finish, the baked goods take over again with some slightly overdone qualities so that the last flavors I taste are crunchy pie crust and dark buttered toast.
Round, like a loaf of freshly baked bread, the nose of this whisky makes no secret about the fact that it's going to be a soft and easy drinker. It just smells comforting and pleasant, like a warm corner store bakery. A little sweet spice of wood comes through the nose, but the magic really happens when you get around to tasting it. Honeyed graham crackers, nutmeg, and cinnamon coat your palate, A little browned butter shines through. Toast sprinkled with vanilla sugar comes to mind. It's full and gentle, but with a slight piquant note from the 51.8% cask strength. It's one of those 'practically perfect in every way' kinda whiskies.


It is our pleasure to announce the first workshop on Advanced Diffraction Techniques for Biology in the EPN campus at Grenoble, France.
This 1-week course will combine theoretical lectures and practicals on ESRF beamlines and other EPN instruments. It is dedicated to researchers (advanced PhD, PostDoc, Scientist) interested in macromolecular structural studies at atomic resolution using crystallographic approaches.
The course will take place from November 5 to November 9, 2018 at the EPN campus, Grenoble, France. To apply, please, send a short CV (1 page max.) and a motivation letter to marta.elzo-aizarna@ibs.fr before September 15, 2018.


EXISTING CARDS WILL BE DISABLED ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 15 AT 11:59PM.
We apologize for any inconvenience this reissue may cause and hope you will enjoy the enhancements. This mass reissue will ensure all TLFCU debit cardholders have EMV chipped cards to more effectively protect your account info from data breaches.
COMING SOON - This change will also allow for TLFCU to soon offer instant issue debit cards at our Capital Circle location...Stay tuned!


Hashtag "#business" returned 282 results.
Mayumi Nakamura, President of Seattle Executives Association, is visiting member companies. Sh already has visited over 85% of all the member companies.
Today she visited one company that represents MOVING and STORAGE classification in the association. Can you name who the ember is?
Did you know the company?
2013 SEA Member Booklets are Here!
Bruce Johnson of Rowland Studio provided the image for the cover of 2013 Seattle Executives Association booklet. Bruce Wiggins of U.S. Printing did the production of booklets. Thank you.
there will be an open house at Sound Publishing tomorrow.
There were line to get in the meeting. We mingled to exchange business progress and ideas. Formal meeting with Classification.
We celebrated 95th anniversary of Seattle Executives Association. We had over 100 people attended the meeting today including guests and past-presidents.
United Van Lines will be featured in an episode of the reality show Undercover Boss on CBS on March 13, at 9:00 p.m. ET & PT / 8:00 p.m. The CEO of United visited United agencies around the country and performed a variety of jobs undercover. City Moving Systems is a founding agent of United and very proud to be part of this organization that leads the nation in household relocation. This is an opportunity to learn more about the services we provide and should be fun to watch. I hope you tune in to see the show!
Fellow SEA members I wanted to pass on the best car buying experience I've ever had.
At the risk of knowing the words "very cheap, reliable transportation" are mutually exclusive I asked Mike Popke (Lynnwood Honda) for some help in getting my daughter her first car. Within a few days he and Rick Fonceca had several options that were excellent and yes, unbelievably affordable. Rick sent me videos of the cars via FLIP video! It made narrowing down the choices easy. So easy, in fact, that when we went to the dealership Tuesday, we took a test drive, reviewed the details/history(Car Fax included) of the car and my daughter was driving off the lot in less than an hour!
I cannot emphasize this enough: If you really want amazing value, perfect service and the best quality for the dollar you must buy from Lynwood Honda.
Congratulations to Seattle Exec, Don Sidel! Don's Group Attire, is celebrating 65 successful years of business in Seattle. Don showed us their new catalog which has some vintage photos of Don's father and his sons as small children - all working in the business. If you'd like one of these new catalogs, just let Don know and he'll send you one.
If you are looking for a low budget, unisex, all purpose promotional item, this special that American Solutions for Business is running through the end of the year might do the trick. Call 206.957.5160 for more information.
These trucks from DataSite Business Archives were spotted today by Marie Wan of National Sign Corporation.
Seattle Executives Association - the way to do business!
The 2010 International Executives Association Leadership Conference will be held in Honolulu, Hawaii, October 4 - October 7.
This conference offers valuable networking experience, as well as excellent information to improve business practices. If you would like to know more click on the link above or contact the SEA office.


Divorcing your spouse is probably one of the most difficult experiences a person could go through, on the grief scale the experience is right up there with the death of a loved one.
Having said that, you do have some control over the situation, control being the choice as to which way you are going to end your marriage.
There are a couple of different divorce options to choose from and which starting block you choose will set the tone for the duration of race and possibly even after the race is over. It is therefore one of the most important decisions you will ever make, so choose wisely.
The common misconception that has been created by the film industry is that when divorcing your significant other, you and your soon-to-be ex immediately become enemies and that someone has to emerge victorious in this war. "Take him to the cleaners" your friends may say or " fight for custody", the peer pressure to act accordingly can be intense . Zero thought is given to the fact that this person that you now wish to divorce and perhaps destroy in order to be victorious was once someone that you were very much in love with and cared about, It's okay to be angry, don't get me wrong. How will holding on to the anger or past serve you though?
Now what if there is a better way to handle your divorce? Would you not want to give it some thought?
A contested divorce simply means you are in for the long haul. You and your soon-to-be-ex will each appoint an attorney to act on your behalf. Once a divorce is contested the adversarial system kicks in and you and your significant other will head for trial. Each side will fight as hard as they can to win their case. In this system, winning is everything which means that there can only be one winner and one loser. The Judge will listen to each sides' legal representations and then he/she be tasked with the duty to decide who is telling the truth in order to make a just decision in favour of one party over the other.
This process can take many months and even years before the matter is brought to trial. Of necessity this would also mean that your legal costs are going to be adding up significantly and it is common knowledge that contested divorces are extremely expensive.
Many contested divorces however end up being settled prior to trial or on the steps of the court, having therefore gone through the adversarial process and incurring large legal bills which could have been avoided had the parties tried to settle beforehand.
Should you and you spouse agree on the terms of your divorce then this option is definitely for you. It is simple and cost effective and allows you and your spouse the chance to end your marriage quietly and with dignity.
You and your spouse will need to agree on the division of property, maintenance, spousal maintenance if applicable and terms around the contact and care of your children. You will both consult with one attorney, and therefore only have to pay one attorneys' bill. Your attorney will draft a settlement agreement which the both of you will sign and this settlement agreement will then become a court order once the marriage is dissolved by the court.
Uncontested divorces are the most cost effective way to get divorced and move through the system a lot faster as well. In addition hereto it also reduces hostility and assists the family to find their new normality as soon as possible. There will be no trial and only the Plaintiff will need to appear in court.
You and your spouse may not want to get involved in a long drawn out court battle but may also not agree on everything or agree on very little. Well there is an alternative to go going in guns blazing. Enter ….Divorce Mediation.
You and your spouse will meet with a neutral Family Mediator who will assist and guide you to come to an agreement that will be acceptable to both of you. The mediator will advise you on the different scenarios that could play out should you wish to proceed to trial and abandon mediation. The mediation process is also a cheaper and faster alternative to the adversarial system and involves the family as a whole.
The Mediator will draft an agreement which you may send to your attorney for review should you wish. If there are children born from the marriage, the mediator will also draft a comprehensive Parenting Plan for the family which deals with all aspects regarding the contact and care of the children as well as the responsibilities and rights of each parent. The Parenting Plan will be sent to the Family Advocate for their perusal and the Family Advocate will provide the court with their opinion as to whether or not the Parenting Plan is in the best interest of the children.
The Mediation process allows for both spouses to be actively involved in the decision making and will therefore walk away from the process with a settlement that is specifically tailored to their unique needs. The key to successful mediation is that both parents need to put the needs of the children first and make arrangements that will be in the best interest of the children as per the Children's Act.
Mediation is confidential and voluntary. It takes place a safe environment where both parties can express themselves, negotiate and come to an agreement that will be mutually beneficial.


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EU Threatens Mackerel Import Ban — The Reykjavik Grapevine
EU Threatens Mackerel Import Ban
The European Union has threatened to block imports of Icelandic mackerel if the country does not revise its position on overfishing in the North Atlantic.
Earlier this year, the Icelandic government decided to lift its strict moratorium on mackerel fishing and begin it anew, with the hopes of boosting the economy. The move was met with worry from EU officials. Recently, Iceland set a mackerel quota for 2011 that exceeds EU limits, and the reaction was swift.
The European Commission, Bloomberg reports, is set to impose a trade ban on mackerel imports that will go into effect 14 January. This decision will in turn be notified to a committee of the European Economic Area.
"This is a step that we should undertake as a matter of urgency," EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki said in a statement today in Brussels. The purpose is to "send a clear message to Iceland."
If Iceland doesn't reverse its decision, it may jeopardize their chances of getting into the EU, with which it is currently in accession talks. Where else it could possibly export its mackerel is not known.
The Bloomberg article in full can be read here.
Next: Iceland's Economic Recovery A Lesson For Ireland
Previous: Iceland Among The Top Choices For New Years
Grub & Grog: Bryggjan Brugghús Cooks With Beer, Glorious Beer
Into The Glaciers: See Them While You Can


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Spotify's 'Only You' Is a Glaring Reminder of Its Emotional Surveillance
Florence Ion
Good morning. The algorithm has music specifically tailored just for you.
Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo
In a bid to become the most Instagrammable music service, Spotify announced several new personalized playlists and features. They include the "Only You" in-app experience, similar to the year-end Wrapped playlist, and a beta feature where you can create an algorithm-infused playlist between you and a friend.
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You can try out Only You right now, provided the Spotify app on your smartphone is up to date. The shareable story walks you through the latest Spotify has learned about your streaming behavior over the last six months. It starts with your music horoscope, detailing your Sun, Moon, and Rising as the bands and artists you've listened to the most. It'll tell you which artists would make it to your dinner party, which ones demonstrate your "unique" genre pairings, and the years from which you listen to the most music. Spotify will also let you know if it thinks you're an early bird or a night owl, plus which combination of music and podcasts "sets your listening apart" from the rest of the populace.
I'm an older millennial, and the algorithm has certainly positioned me as such.
Screenshot: Florence Ion / Gizmodo
If you decide you want more interaction with friends, there's a beta feature called Blend, which enables you to combine your tastes with another to create a dynamic playlist. It works similar to the Release Radar and other related playlists aggregating songs weekly based on what you were listening to.
Spotify is also launching a cutesy way to see how the algorithm categorizes you as a fan. For instance, if you happen to fall into the category of Doja Cat listeners who relax to bellowing whale sounds, Spotify will serve you another shareable graphic with the stats. The company refers to this particular feature as "celebrating creators and their fandoms," but at its core, it's another look into how the algorithm categorizes you.
Looking at my own Only You readout, I can see how it stacked the varying Venn diagrams of genres to attempt to classify me as a listener. My Moon and Rising artists, for instance, include space music as my "emotional" genre (Moon) and a generalized version of The Wheels On the Bus as my most recent discovery (Rising). My Sun sign was my favorite synthwave band. In essence, all the algorithm did was point out that I have trouble sleeping and I recently had a kid who enjoys music at bath time.
I'm a reformed teenybopper who found ska in her high school years and yep, Spotify figured that out, too.
Spotify has managed to carve a niche for itself as a social media-friendly streaming service, helped in part by how well the algorithm can read a person's tastes. It's been successful enough that the personalized summary served up to its users at the end of every year is now a meme we expect to see sprout up around the holiday season. It's betting on it as an edge as it finds ways to compete against other streaming services, namely Apple Music and YouTube Music, which took over for Google Play Music and offers video as part of its packaged deal.
The new personalization features are undoubtedly fun to use. They come at the cost of finely tuned data collection—something Spotify pegs as an "intelligent" algorithm based on listeners' moods but feels more like emotional surveillance. Spotify presents the Only You feature with the context that it "gets" who you are, helping to solidify it as the app you launch to play what you need to hear. What it's getting is that I'm a tired parent who has trouble falling asleep and wishes she could go to concerts again. The algorithm works!
Only You will be available as a standalone feature on the main Spotify page through the end of the month. Then it'll be accessible through the Made for You hub. You can opt-out of some of the algorithm-feeding features by listening to Spotify with a private session or ticking on the Privacy feature in the Spotify settings.


text:
module Merlin class Spell
  # For Rails.
  #? Add template.locals
  def self.call(template)
    <<-RENDER
    spell = #{self}.new( self, { } ) do
      #{template.source}
    end

    class << self
      attr_accessor :merlin
    end

    self.merlin = spell.builder

    spell.cast
    RENDER
  end

  attr_accessor :builder

  def initialize(context_or_template = nil, *args, **assigns, &template)
    @context = context_or_template unless context_or_template.is_a? String
    @args = args
    @assigns = assigns
    @template = template || context_or_template
    @builder = Builders::SpellBuilder.new @context
  end

  def cast
    _initialize_vars
    _render_template
  end

  private
    def _initialize_vars
      if @context
        @context.instance_variables.each do |var|
          @builder.instance_variable_set var,
            @context.instance_variable_get(var)
        end
      end

      @assigns.each do |key, value|
        @builder.instance_variable_set(:"@#{key}", value)
      end
    end

    #? Add test for args.
    def _render_template
      case @template
      when String
        @builder.instance_eval @template, __FILE__, __LINE__
      when Proc
        @builder.instance_exec *@args, &@template
      end
      @builder.to_str
    end
end end

# bin/ spellcast [-spell=HtmlSpell (-r)equire] <file> || text

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Making a 'History Panel' for a paint program I'm making a very simple 'pixel-painting' program using HTML5/Canvas.
I'd like to give the user an option to go back in 'history', like the History panel in Photoshop / Adobe programs.
Basically it would be an undo button, but you'd be able to go back to the start of your actions, and there would also be a log showing the details of each action.
Is this possible? How would I even start storing this data?
How much memory is available within the Chrome browser in order to allow this on one page? – (Sorry if that is silly to ask, still quite new to Javascript and working within the browser.)
I have read this undo button Question, which is similar but I'd like to make the info about data being stored visible.
Thank you so so much for any help you can give!

A: You could copy the current canvas to a separate one each time an action is performed. Simply displaying old canvases could serve as an action log.
You can send a canvas to drawImage directly:
destContext.drawImage( srcCanvas, 0, 0 );

If that approach consumes too much memory, an alternative is to store all the commands in a stack, remove the last element when undoing, and redraw everything from scratch.

A: You would need to build a simple undo-redo stack. Then you need to decide if you will store vector data or image data. The latter is more efficient but can also take up much more memory. You may have cases where you want to store both types of data (path on top of images).
The method would be in simple steps:

*

*Store initial state for the new document. Keep a stack pointer pointing to the next free slot (for example using an array).

*When mouse down is hit (or some other operation that will cause a change is started) move stack pointer forward.

*When mouse button is released, make a snapshot, create thumbnail etc. It's up to you if you want to store the drawing as points or as a bitmap. If bitmap data you can get around storage space by compressing it using for example zip. Move stack pointer forward. If there exists snapshots in the stack at this point remove them.

*When you need to undo, simply draw back previous stored step and move the stack pointer back. By keeping the snapshots you can do redo by moving stack pointer forward and redraw the snapshot, if any.

*And finally, to visualize the undo-redo stack you can simply render each snapshot to a separate canvas at scale and extract that as an image which you put in the list.

Note: when creating a undo state it's important to clear any snapshots after the new stack pointer position. This is because if undo has been used, redo can be used if no changes. However, if undo was used and new drawing was added this would invalidate the next states so they have to be removed.
As to browser memory it will depend on the user's system. Some have a few gigabytes, other has a lot. There is no way to know. You would have to chose a UX strategy suitable for your scenario as well as target audience.
Example
This does not implement the logistics for handling the sync of the thumbnails, but has most other parts. I'll leave the rest as an exercise.

var ctx = c.getContext("2d"),
    stack = [],                  // undo-redo stack
    sp = 0,                      // stack pointer
    isDown = false;              // for drawing (demo)

capture();                       // create an initial undo capture (blank)

ctx.lineCap = "round";           // setup line for demo
ctx.lineWidth = 4;

// simple draw mechanism
c.onmousedown = function(e) {
  sp++;                          // on mouse down, move stack pointer to next slot
  isDown = true;                 // NOTE: clear any snapshots after this point (not shown)
  var pos = getXY(e);            // start drawing some line - how you draw is up to you
  ctx.beginPath();
  ctx.moveTo(pos.x, pos.y);
}

window.onmousemove = function(e) {
  if (!isDown) return;           // only for drawing
  var pos = getXY(e);
  ctx.lineTo(pos.x, pos.y);
  ctx.stroke();
  ctx.beginPath();
  ctx.moveTo(pos.x, pos.y);
}

window.onmouseup = function() {
  if (!isDown) return;
  isDown = false;
  capture();                     // capture an undo state
  makeThumb();                   // create and insert a thumbnail of state
};

function capture() {
  stack[sp] = c.toDataURL();     // one way, you could use getImageData,
                                 // or store points instead.. it's up to you
}

// Creates a thumbnail of current canvas and insert into visible undo stack
function makeThumb() {
  var canvas = document.createElement("canvas");
  canvas.width = canvas.height = 64;
  var ctxTmp = canvas.getContext("2d");
  ctxTmp.drawImage(c, 0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
  undos.appendChild(canvas);
}

// UNDO button clicked
undo.onclick = function() {
  var img = new Image;           // restore previous state/snapshot
  img.onload = function() {
    ctx.clearRect(0, 0, c.width, c.height);
    ctx.drawImage(this, 0, 0);
  }

  // move stack pointer back and get previous snapshot
  if (sp > 0) img.src = stack[--sp];
};

// REDO button clicked
redo.onclick = function() {

  // anything we can redo?
  if (sp < stack.length) {
    var img = new Image;
    img.onload = function() {
      ctx.clearRect(0, 0, c.width, c.height);
      ctx.drawImage(this, 0, 0);
    }

    // move stack pointer forward and get next snapshot
    img.src = stack[++sp];
  }
};

function getXY(e) {
  var r = c.getBoundingClientRect();
  return {x: e.clientX - r.left, y: e.clientY - r.top}
}
#c {background:#ccc}
<button id=undo>Undo</button>
<button id=redo>Redo</button>

<canvas id=c width=500 height=500></canvas>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


We are always open to new members in our group! If you are interested in joining, contact one of the club leaders. You must participate in at least one of the listed projects to be a part of the group. The minimum age for members is 9 and the maximum is 19, although parents are invited to join us at events.


Wanna do something really good for someone really good?
Hop on over to June's Tibetan Studies Fund and share a little love.
The mindful Ms. McCrory (pictured at left) is on her way to UVA's Tibetan Language Institute, and she could use your support.
I began practicing Tibetan Buddhism just over three years ago. I am so thankful for this practice, and for the benefits of greater patience, peace, and inspired study which have come from working with these ancient, compassionate teachings.
Last fall my studies expanded to include the Tibetan language. I find the language so joyful, and learning it stretches my mind in a way that my mind loves to be stretched! Now 8 months into my literary (written) Tibetan class, I have learned the 30 character alphabet, am writing and pronouncing words, and slowly getting the hang of grammar and form.
This summer I hope to travel from my home in the San Francisco Bay Area to Charlottesville, VA, to attend the University of Virginia's Summer Language Institute. I have already been accepted to this excellent and select program. Now I need to raise the funds for tuition, travel, and housing BY JUNE 1st, 2014.
The UVa Summer Language Institute creates an intensive language-learning environment on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, VA. 40-hour class weeks, Tibetan-language dorm housing, native-speaking teachers, and a resident tutor provide an almost immersive language learning experience. The result is 2 years of language study achieved in one summer session. This is the most comprehensive program I have found in the country. I consider it a blessing to be able to build this strong of a foundation here in the United States.
Why Tibetan? And why is this important to me?
You may or may not know, but there is a pressing need for translations of Tibetan Buddhist texts. In today's global world, practices like meditation and mindfulness are widely recognized for their benefits to personal health and well-being, and the integration of these methods is currently producing positive results in our classrooms, business environments, prisons, and healthcare facilities. Why has Tibet been such a great container for this wisdom? Because translators hundreds of years ago Translated the Buddhadharma into Tibetan. We are in a new renaissance as this wisdom lands here in the West. It is going to take countless conversations between translators, scholars and teachers to further share Tibetan practices, cultural information, and texts relevant to our culture's needs.
I am studying to become a translator to help fulfill this need and to transition into a new and fulfilling career path. Learning colloquial (spoken) Tibetan at UVa this summer is a way for me to literally bring the language to life, providing an experiential understanding of the language and Tibetan culture, and increasing my nimbleness as a future translator by giving me the ability to connect and dialog personally with Tibetan people.
This path of study is important to me because I have finally found a deep and multi-faceted path of study that I adore. I believe my work in this field can and will actually help people, in ways that I cannot yet begin to imagine.
I would be honored if you would contribute to my Tibetan Study Fund today.


text:
Dixeia spilleri is een vlindersoort uit de familie van de Pieridae (witjes), onderfamilie Pierinae.

Dixeia spilleri werd in 1884 beschreven door Spiller.

Witjes
IUCN-status niet bedreigd

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


About Us – DemeGrow, Inc.
We are dedicated to providing the planet with innovative LED lighting solutions that increase plant growth, vitality and productivity… Naturally!
DemeGrow, Inc. was started based on the idea that science doesn't have to affect a plant's organic properties to provide increased production, health and long term sustainability. Through the use of innovations in light science, DemeGrow is poised to establish itself as a leader in providing technologically advanced products that increase desired plant growth, plant production, reduction of water and better yields for a multitude of horticultural uses.
DemeGrow, Inc. was formed by world leading engineers and experts in the lighting industry with vast knowledge and experience in developing lighting systems for horticultural applications to develop solutions for the fast growing indoor growing marketplace. Lead by Dr. Jin Peng, Technical Director and a principal of DemeGrow, Inc., the company has developed a suite of LED options ranging from linear LED replacements for florescent lighting, to hermetically sealed high bay HID replacements, and the latest controllable and tunable LED Grow Systems.
Dr. Jin Peng obtained his PhD from the University of Houston in 2000. During his extensive carreer, Dr. Jin Peng has held multiple high level positions with global leaders in lighting including Senior Manufacturing Engineer at Corning, Inc. in New York and CML Innovative Technologies (a Division of Chicago Miniature Lamp) in New Jersey where he served as Technical Director of Asian Pacific Region. Dr. Jin Peng is currently serving as the Deputy Director of the Green Lighting System Center at Peking University which is a joint development center supported in conjuction with the California Lighting Technology Center at U.C. Davis. Dr. Jin Peng has more than 20 years experience in the creation and packaging technologies in LED lighting and has obtained multiple patents in both the U.S. and China.
DemeGrow has invested in research that is guided toward finding the right lighting combinations and spectrum that can safely and naturally cause a positive effect to a plants growth and performance. In 2015, DemeGrow provided an unrestricted grant to the Regents of the University of California to be utilized through the controlled environment agriculture program at U.C. Davis. It is there that Dr. Heiner Lieth, a leading crop ecologist specializing in greenhouse and nursery production, soilless culture, as well as horticultural lighting, is providing research into productive horticultural lighting solutions. Through his research we are able to identify the very important role that light has on photosynthesis and plant production as well as how manipulation of different nanometers of light as well as intensity can bring about different growth, taste, smell, resin production and other plant performance measurements.
The name of our company , DemeGrow, was created from the name of the Greek Goddess of harvest, Demeter, who presided over grains and the fertility of the earth. It was believed that Demeter made the crops grow each year. She was considered to be the goddess of the earth itself and of agriculture and also fertility in general. With this in mind, DemeGrow seeks to apply all that light science and soil nutrient science can provide in producing sustainable, highly productive and naturally resistant food and herbal crop solutions.
Our solutions include numerous standard and custom LED products, systems and controls for maximizing plant productivity and yield through advanced lighting science. The flagship of the company is the development of the DemeGrow Spectral Smart LED Grow Lights with tunable effective par.
The SPECTRAL SMART line of LED Grow Lights brings the latest in LED lighting sciences to the horticultural marketplace. SPECTRAL SMART LED Grow Lights have been designed and engineered to produce the widest range of Effective Photosynthetic Active Radiation or EPAR™ ranging from 412nm – 730nm as well as 6000K and 12000K, providing the highest level of photons at each nanometer for healthy, hearty plant growth and flowering. The advanced SPECTRAL SMART system is distributed into 4 different channels that provide both red and deep red, blue, white and the inclusion of blended UV bands.
The system comes with the SPECTRAL SMART CONTROLLER which provides both preprogrammed and custom setting capabilities giving the user complete programmability based on application and plant type. The SPECTRAL SMART CONTROLLER provides setting for 4 LED channels, 6 different modes including 3 DIY modes, and 8 set point custom scheduling times which allow the user the ability to customize both lighting type, lighting quantity from each band as well as the ability to introduce complete darkness for photoperiod plant types. Each unit also comes with integrated input and output ports and connection cable to allow for easy daisy chain installation to run up to 250 individual lights off the same program setting.
DemeGrow is investing in the future through research and design through our partnerships. Our goal is the endless pursuit of the right lighting source or sources for a multitude of horticultural applications, no matter what the lighting medium may be. Our goal is to provide increases to expected growth, vitality and yield while reducing energy usage, expense and environmental impact for the grower through lighting.


text:
UFO-Forschung - Götter, Gräber und Phantasten - Warum die Archäologie keine UFOs braucht
Astronomie - ALMA Spots Metamorphosing Aged Star
Raumfahrt - Olympic orbiter: Gundam satellite hitches ride to ISS to promote 2020 Games
Raumfahrt - ISROs space-age women: Shooting for the moon The projects led by Muthayya Vanitha and Ritu Karidhal Srivastava at Isro put India on the global map of space programmes
Raumfahrt - Boeing's Troubled Starliner Flight: It's All in the Numbers
Astronomie - Dimming Betelgeuse likely isn't cold, just dusty, new study shows
Astronomie - Fire from the Sky Researchers find evidence of a cosmic impact that caused destruction of one of the world's earliest human settlements
Astronomie - Radar and ice could help detect an elusive subatomic particle Scientists create new experiment to find neutrinos
Raumfahrt - Erfolgreicher Start von SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft CRS-20 -Update
Mars-Chroniken - NASAs Curiosity Mars Rover Snaps Its Highest-Resolution Panorama Yet
Raumfahrt - ISS-ALLtag: Bartolomeo heading for space to join Columbus
Raumfahrt - Virgin Orbit's Cosmic Girl 747 Conducts Taxi Test with Launcher One
Raumfahrt - ISS-ALLtag: Space lettuce
Astronomie - New ESO Study Evaluates Impact of Satellite Constellations on Astronomical Observations
Raumfahrt - Megaconstellation startup raises $110 million to connect smartphones via satellite
Raumfahrt - Axiom to fly Crew Dragon mission to the space station
Raumfahrt - Charles Berry, an early NASA flight surgeon, dies at 96
Raumfahrt - Russia to launch next Glonass-M navigation satellite on March 16
Mars-Chroniken - NASA names Mars 2020 rover Perseverance
Raumfahrt - SpaceX eyes major drone ship fleet upgrades and a new rocket recovery robot
Raumfahrt - Stratolaunch to resume test flights in September
Raumfahrt - Startvorbereitung für ISRO´s GSLV-F10 / GISAT-1
Astronomie - SETI@Home Is Over. But the Search for Alien Life Continues
Raumfahrt - Surprise! Plans for a Brexit version of the EUs Galileo have been delayed Global Prestige or Global Positioning? Squabbles ensue as politicos realise space is hard
Astronomie - Milky Way's warp caused by galactic collision, Gaia suggests
Raumfahrt - SpaceX delivers Falcon 9 rocket for Space Center Houston display
Astronomie - Ripples in space-time could explain the mystery of why the universe exists
Astronomie - Have we really found an alien protein inside a meteorite?
Raumfahrt - Destination Uranus! Rare chance to reach ice giants excites scientists A planetary alignment provides a window to visit Uranus and Neptune — but time is tight.
Raumfahrt - Space weather model gives earlier warning of satellite-killing radiation storms
Astronomie - What If Mysterious "Cotton Candy" Planets Actually Sport Rings?
UFO-Forschung - How UFO Sightings Became an American Obsession
Raumfahrt - #BeAnAstronaut: NASA Seeks Applicants to Explore Moon, Mars
Astronomie - Huge space snowman is two merging stars
Astronomie - Life on Titan cannot rely on cell membranes, according to computational simulations
Astronomie - Large exoplanet could have the right conditions for life
Raumfahrt - Venus Is the Spacecraft-Killer
Raumfahrt - 'Gravity is a shockingly strong force': Astronauts Nick Hague and Anne McClain talk about life after their space station missions
Raumfahrt - Lunar orbital station to allow spacemen stay on the Moon for 30 days
UFO-Forschung - The Year of UFOs In 2019, our eyes were on the skies. (?)
Raumfahrt - Pléiades Neo well on track for launch mid-2020
Donnerstag, 5. März 2020 - 07:40
A twice-flown SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket first stage is delivered to Space Center Houston for display on Tuesday night, March 3, 2020. (collectSPACE)
A SpaceX rocket has quietly touched down in Houston, landing under the cover of night at the NASA visitor center where it will soon go on display.
The Falcon 9 first stage, which was used to launch supplies to the International Space Station on two NASA-contracted missions, was delivered by truck to Space Center Houston late on Tuesday (March 3). The arrival came 10 months after it was first announced that the booster would be joining the outdoor exhibits at the non-profit science and space exploration learning center, which also serves as the official visitor center for NASA's Johnson Space Center in Texas.
The 156-foot-long (47-meter) booster was driven down NASA Road 1 (or NASA Parkway) on a wheeled transport. Accompanied by a police escort, the stage briefly blocked traffic in one direction as it was carefully backed into the parking lot at Space Center Houston at about 9:35 p.m. EST (0335 GMT on March 4). The delivery was not publicized in advance, so the only spectators were those who happened to be on the road or at nearby restaurants and businesses at the time.
A more public welcome is expected once the stage is on its display mounts.
Space Center Houston has been preparing the exhibit site along the border of its parking lot, adjacent to the display of NASA's original Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and mock space shuttle Independence, since August 2019. The Falcon 9 will be positioned horizontally in cradles that are high enough for visitors to be able to walk below the stage.
A cement walkway will run the perimeter of the rocket and then cross underneath it in the shape of the "X" in SpaceX's stylized logo.
Once on display, the Falcon 9 first stage will exhibit the wear and tear it received on its two launches. The 35th Falcon 9 first stage to be built, it was the first to fly on two missions for NASA. The stage first flew on June 3, 2017, lofting SpaceX's 11th resupply run to the space station on what was the 100th launch from Pad 39Aat Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The flight also marked the first reuse of the Dragon cargo spacecraft.
The stage then successfully returned for a touchdown on SpaceX's Landing Zone-1 (LZ-1) at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Six months later on Dec. 15, 2017, the flight-proven first stage lifted off again, this time with the space station-bound CRS-13 Dragon capsule. It then landed at LZ-1 for a second and last time.
"We are so excited we got CRS-11 and CRS-13, because it was the first reusable rocket segment used for a mission to send cargo to the International Space Station for NASA," William Harris, president and CEO of Space Center Houston, said in May 2019, when the booster's display was first announced. "It is really appropriate because [NASA controls the] space station from here in Houston and we have a major exhibit about the International Space Station."
The stage delivered to Space Center Houston is only the second flown Falcon 9 booster to go on display. The first has stood outside of SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, California since 2016. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also donated a flown and recovered booster to Cape Canaveral, but the details for that exhibit have yet to be announced.
The rocket's arrival at Space Center Houston comes days before the scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 with the last of SpaceX's first generation Dragon cargo spacecraft and within a few months of the expected first flight of NASA astronauts on a crewed Dragon to the space station.
Quelle: CS