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Future Space Settlements
STARSHIP HUMANITY
"How future generations will make the voyage from our eartyhly home to the planes and beyond – an what it means for our species
By Cameron M. Smith
Picture of proposed new mars One Settlement due to start in 2013
When Space Atlantis rolled to a stop in 2011, it did not mark, as some worried, the end of human spaceflight. Rather, as the extinction of the dinosaurs allowed early mammals to flourish, retiring the shuttle signals the opening of far greater opportunities for space exploration. Led by ambititious private comp[anies, we are entering the early stages of the migration of our species away from Earth and our adaption to entire new worlds. Mars is the stated goal of Elon Musk of PayPal fortune; polar exporers Tom and Tina Sjorgen, who are designing a private venture to Mars; and Europe's privately funded MarsOne project, which would establish a human colony by 2023. The colonization of space is beginning now.
But technology is not enough. If space colonization is to succeed in the long run, we must consider biology and culture as carefully as engineering. Colonization can not be about rockets and robots alone – it will have to embrace bodies, people, families, communities and cultures. We must begin to build an anthropology of space colonization to grapple with the fuzzy, messy, dynamic and often infuriating world of human biocultural adaption. And we must plan this new venture while remembering the clearest fact of all regarding living things. They change through time, by evolution.
Three main concepts shape current thought about space colonization.
First is the colonization if Mars. Widely publicized by the peppery space engineer and president of the Mars Society, Robert Zubrin, Martian colonies would be self-sufficientm using local resources to generate water and oxygen as well as to make construction materials. Next is the concept of free-floating colonies – enormous habitats built from lunara or asteroid metals. Popularized by physicist Gerard K. O'Neill in the 1970's, these would house thousands of people, could rotate to provide an Earth-like gravity ( as beautifully envisioned in the 1988 film 2001: A Space Odyssey), and could either orbit Earth or hang motionless at so-called Lagrabgian points, spots where an object's orbital motion balances the gravitational pull of the sun, moon and Earth.
Finally. We might also consider the concept of the space Ark, a giant craft carrying thousands of space colonists on a one-way, multigenerational voyage far from earth. I have been working with the nonprofit foundation Ucarus Interstellar to design such a mission.
Each of these approaches has its merits, and I think they are all technically inevitable. But we must never confuse space colonization with the conquest of space. The world beyond ours is unimaginably vats; it will be what it has always been. When humankind begins to make its home in space, it is we who will change…."
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From: Scientific American Magazine
"it is all the universe or nothing". H.G. Wells- 1936..
When Space Atlantis rolled to a stop in 2011, it did not mark, as some worried, the end of human spaceflight. Rather, as the extinction of the dinosaurs allowed early mammals to flourish, retiring the shuttle signals the opening of far greater opportunities for space exploration. Led by ambitious private companies, we are entering the early stages of the migration of our species away from Earth and our adaption to entire new worlds. Mars is the stated goal of Elon Musk of PayPal fortune; polar explorers Tom and Tina Sjorgen, who are designing a private venture to Mars; and Europe's privately funded MarsOne project, which would establish a human colony by 2023. The colonization of space is beginning now.
WHO WILL BE THE SPACE COLONISTS?
Here we must ditch the old concept of crew selection and the comically diabolical tests of chis-chinned space heroes depicted in The Right Stuff. Space colonists will be ordinary families and communities who will not be on a mission, but who are intending to live out their lifetimes. We will need a few Captain Picards, although most early colonists
ts will be farmers and construction workers.
Still early colonists will have to be genetically healthy. IN smallish populations, individuals, individuals carrying genetic maladies could threaten the future in ways that do not play out in a population of billions.. In a Space Ark, the biological fate of the colony is strongly conditioned by the genetic constitution of the founding population - If just a few travelers carry the genes of inherited disease, these genes will spread much more thoroughly.
We now know the details of hundreds of genes that cause disorders, from cancers to deafness ( Recently researchers announced that they could screen for more than 3,500 such traits in human fetuses.) A Genetic Screening Program seems clear - if you are carrying certain genes, you remain earth bound - but life it not so simple.Many maladies are polygenic - that is, the result of complex interactions among myriad genes. And even though one might carry the gene or genes for a certain disorder, environmental factors encountered during the course of life, can determine whether or not those genes are activated in a heathy or unhealthy way.
For example, the human ATRX gene helps to regulate processes related to oxygen transportation. But ATRX activity can be altered by environmental influences as diverse as nutrient intake or a person's state of mind. When ATRX function is significantly modified, oxygen transport is impeded, resulting in seizures, mental disabilities and stunted growth. Thus, one can not simply screen out people carrying ATRX: everyone has it. In some people, though, based on poorly understood environmental factors, ATRX will go haywire. Can be deselect someone for space colonization for something that might happen?
Complicating matters, we must also ensure broad genetic diversity of the gene pool. If all members of a population are genetically identical, a single sweep of disease could wipe everyone out. (This consideration demolishes the concept of a genetically engineered super-race of space travelers, as depicted in the 1997 film Gattaco.)
Once screened, what should be the population of space colonies? In a Mars colony, populations can grown and expand into new territory. But in a Space Ark, the population will be relatively low, and interbreeding becomes a concern. For example, in a study of Amish, Indian, Swedish and Utah populations, infant mortality was roughly double when matings occurred between first cousins than when they occurred between unrelated people.
To avoid these issues, we will have to consider the minimum population needed to maintain a healthy gene pool. Our p minimum viable population has been much debated, but several anthropologists have suggested a figure of about 500. Because small populations are always at risk of collapse, I would suggest beginning with a population at least four times that at minimum - 2,000 or about half the size of a well-staffed aircraft carrier - in a spacecraft carrier that gives this population ample room to grow. For humans away from earth, safety will tend to be found in numbers. (Even interstellar voyages will focus on reaching another solar system and inhabiting planets, where populations can grow again.)
We will also have to carefully consider the crew's demographic structure - the age and sex of colonial populations. Simulations by my colleague William Gardiner- O'Kearney show that over a few centuries, populations that begin with certain ratios of young to old and males to females persist better than others.
Early colonial populations then, should be individually healthy and collectively diverse to give future populations the best chance of having genes on hand that might be adaptive to new environments. But we cannot control everything. At some point we will have to roll the genetic dice - which we already do every time we chose to have children on Earth - and set out from cradle earth.
SPACE - BASED SELECTION
NO MATTER HOW CAREFULLY we prepare our colonial populations, life off planet earth, at least at first, will be more dangerous and perhaps a shorter life than we now have on planet Earth, Away from Earth people will be exposed to forces of natural selection that we have removed from modern life on planet Earth. Little of this selection will play out in the dramatic ways we might expect from watching science fiction movies, which tend to focus on the livers of adults. Instead it will occur during critical periods of tissue development in embryos and infants, when life is most delicate.
How could such selection play out?
For one example, consider that the human body has evolved close to sea level under an atmospheric pressure of roughly 15 pounds per square inch (psi) for the past several billion years, breathing a mix of roughly 80% nitrogen and 20% oxygen. Yet space travel requires presurized habitats that grow more expensive and laborious the build the more pressure they ned to hold. To ease the engineering requirements, atmospheric pressure in any off-Earth structure will be lower than on Earth.
Fair enough - Apollo astronauts survived just fine on 5 psi - but if you lower atmospheric pressure, you must increase oxygen as a percentage of what you are breathing. (Those same astronauts breathed 100% oxygen on their lunar voyages.)
Unfortunately lower atmospheric pressure and elevated oxygen levels interfere in vertebrate embryo development. Miscarriages and infant mortality will rise - at least for a time. Inevitably, natural selection will preserve the genes suitable for extraterrestrial conditions and remove those that are less suitable.
Infectious disease - to which small, dense populations such as space colonies are particularly vulnerable - will return as a significant concern, imposing new selection pressures as well. However careful we are with immunization and quarantine, plagues will eventually sweep through colonies, resulting in selection for people more capable of surviving the disease and selection against those less capable,
Finally, we must remember we will bring with us thousands of domesticates - plants and animals for food and materials - and that selective pressures will act on them as well. Ditto the millions of microbial species hat ride on and in human bodies - invisible genetic hitchhikers that are critical to our health (see: 'The Ultimate Social Network' by Jennifer Ackerman; SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN June 2012)
Based on a few calculations, I think it is reasonable that within five 30-year generations - about 150 years - such changes will be apparent in the extraterrestrial body.
Exactly what biological adaption swill evolve will depend heavily on the atmospheric and chemical environments of the habitats we build. W can not control these to a large extent. We can not easily control two other important factors that will shape humanity in space: gravity and radiation.
Mars travelers will feel just a third of Earth's gravity. Those conditions will select for a more lithe body stature that can move with less effort than the bulky, relatively muscular builds we use to counteract Earth's gravity. In Space Ark and other free floating scenarios, gravitation might remain about Earth normal, so Earth-normal statures might persist.
Radiations causes mutations, and any space colony will be unlikely to provide the protection from radiation that Earth;s atmosphere and magnetic field provide. Will increased mutations physical errors- repeated parts like an extra finger or malformed parts like a cleft palate? Certainly, but we can not and will not know what kind. The only thing we can predict with confidence is selection for increased resistance to radiation damage. Some people have better and more active DNA-repair mechanisms than others, and they will be more likely to pas their genes on.
Could more efficient DNA-repair mechanisms have any visible correlate - such as, a particular hair color?
Again we do not know.
But is is also possible for beneficial genetics to spread when they have no visible correlates. Among Hutteritics of South Decoda, who interbreed among a relatively small number of communities, anthropologists have found that people appear to be strongly influenced in their male choice of body aroma - an the better the person's immune system, fascinatingly, the better the aroma.
On a moderate, five generation time scale, then, human bodies will subtly reshaped by their environment. We will see adaptions on the order of those natives of the high Andies and Tibet, where more efficient oxygen-transport physiology has evolved, resulting in broader and deeper chests. Each alteration is a compromise, however, and these high-altitude populations also sustain higher infant mortality when giving birth at altitude. One cultural adaption to this biological change has been for mothers to descend to oxygen-richer altitudes to deliver children, We can expect similar biocultural shifts off of Earth, and we should plan for the most likely of them. For example, on Mars, birthing mothers might shuttle to an orbiting station where delivery could happen in a rotating, 1-g facility with more Earth-normal atmosphere, but I bet that eventually they would not bother and that distinctive Martian human characteristics would evolve.
A SPACE BASED CLTURE
CULTURAL CHANGE will be more apparent than biological change on a 150-yer time span. Studies of human migrations have taught us that while migrating people tent to carry on some traditions t maintain identity, they also devise novel traditions and customs as needed in new environments. For example, the Scandinavians who first colonized Iceland after AD 800 continued to worship Norse Gods and speak the Viking language, but quickly developed a distinctive cuisine - heavy on meat (whereas rye and oats were grown in Scandanavia) and on preserved foods to survive the harsh winters - as they explored the resources of an unknown land.
ON Mars, this acculturation will play out in innumerable ways. There, on low-pressure, oxygen-rich atmosphere contained in unique architectural materials and arrangements, sound might propagate differently -even if subtly - perhaps affecting pronunciation and even spacing of speech, resulting in novel ascents and dialects. The lighter gravity could influence body language, an important element of human communication, and would influence performance arts of all kinds. Cultural divergence occurs as just such small, innumerable differences accumulate.
More profound cultural change could occur in Space Ark scenarios, where life would have less to do with Earth at each moment that the star ship speeds away. Here basic concepts of space and time could well be transformed rather quickly. For example, how long would Space Ark cultures use Earth timekeeping? Without Earth's days and nights and years. civilizations might invent a base-10 time keeping scale. Or they might decide to count time down until a distant solar system is reached rather than up from some event in the past (such as the departure from an Earth to which they will never return).
LONG TERM GENETIC CHANGE
SIGNIFICANT GENETIC CHANGE occurs when new genes become widespread in a population. An example from Pre-history is the spread of genes that resulted in lactose intolerance in adults, which appeared independently in both Africa and Europe not long after the domestication of cattle. The genetic equipment allowed more energy to be derived from cattle, and in these populations, it quickly became nearly universal, or "fixed".
Although we cannot predict which mutations will arise, population genetics enables us to estimate how long it would take mutations to become fixed in the genome of space-based explorers. My calculations - based on model Mars population of 2,000 people of certain age and sex structures - indicate that it could occur in just a few generations and certainly within 300 years; we can expect significant original off-Earth physical characteristics in human populations on this time scale, These changes will be on the order of the broad geographical variation we see in humans today - a spectrum of different statures, skin, colors, hair textures and other features.
On Mars, there might be further, internal divergence as some populations elect to live most of their lives sheltered in underground habitats, while others prefer to take the increased radiation risks to lie in surface habitats offering greater mobility. In the limited- population closed-system Space Ark scenario, gene fixation, could happen much more rapidly, perhaps driving a greater uniformity than on Mars.
Whereas, there will be some biological change, long-term cultural change will be more profound. Consider that in the three centuries from the early 1600's, the English language changed so much that comprehending 17th Century English texts today requires special training, Three centuries hence, the language spoken on a Space Ark might be profoundly different.
Larger-scale cultural change is also quite likely. Exactly what divides one culture from another is a topic of tremendous debate in anthropology, but I believe that anthropologist Roy Rappaport made the distinction clear. Different cultures have different "ultimate sacred postulates" - core concepts, usually unquestionable and unquestioned, ingrained by tradition and ritual, that shape a population's essential philosophical and moral codes. For Christmas, for example, one such postulate is that "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the Earth." How long it will take for such foundation beliefs to change off Earth - and what direction - is impossible to say, but several centuries is certainly enough time to allow new cultures to arise.
THE RISE OF HOMO EXTRATERRESTIALS
WHEN WILL WE SEE even more fundamental biological change - that is, speciation? Small populations can change quickly, as evidenced by the unusually large mice that roam the Faroe Islands 1,200 years after Viking ships dropped off ordinary house mice. But anatomically modern humans have gone more than 100,000 years - migrating from Africa into a wide variety of environments, from desert to open ocean - apparently without biological speciation. (or nearest hominin relatives. such as the cold adapted Neandertals and the apparently miniaturized "hobbit" humans of the island of Floes in the western Pacific, split from our common ancestor substantially earlier). This largely because we use culture and technology to adapt more than biology alone. It would take, then, significant natural and cultural selection to reshape extraterrestrial humans to such a degree that they could no longer productively mate with earthlings.
Unless, of curse, humans devise their own speciation. It seems inevitable that off-Earthers will eventually harness the staggering power of DNA to tailor their own bodies for many conditions. Perhaps the people of Mars will biologically engineer gill-like structures to split the oxygen from atmospheric carbon or toughened skin tissues to endure low pressure. hey might make themselves into a new species, Homo extraterrestrials, by conscious choice.
HUMAN SPACE COLONIZATION will require plenty of engineering and technical advances. WE must also improve our understanding of how human biology and culture adapt to new conditions and use that knowledge to help space colonization succeed. I suggest beginning immediately with three courses of action.
First, we must abandon the technocrat's essential revulsion of humanity and begin procreating off of Earth, giving birth there and raising children there, to understand critical issues of human reproduction , development, and growth in new radiation, pressure atmosphere and gravity environments. Bureaucrats will recoil at the risks involved - children exposed to risk beyond that of a bicycle-helmeted, suburbanite! - but concerns will diminish as space access is privatized. Still, at times the adaption to space will e painful - but so is birth,
Second, we must experiment with growing and maintaining the health of domesticated species off of Earth. We are going nowhere without our microbes, plants and other animals.
And to promote these first few goals, an X-Prize should be awarded for the first functional, livable human habitat off of Earth; not a sterile orbiting, laboratory (as important as those are), but a home where people can grow plants, raise animals and even have children. many would shudder at the prospect of staying in such a place, but at the same time, there will be no shortage of volunteers.
Finally, we must reengage the proactive approach that has made human survival possible up to the present and use that capacity to shape our own evolution beyond our home planet.
We must be immensely bolder than our bureaucrats. Failing that, in time we will become extinct, like everything else on Earth. As H.G. Wells wrote about human future in 1936, "it is all the universe or nothing."
The below article is a good reason for the rich and powerful to build Off-Earth Space Arks to be away from planet Earth while things like mega earth quakes and mega floods, and other geographic emplossions play out their destructive and dramatic forces and run out of steam.
THE COMING MEGA FLOODS
Huge flows of vapor into the atmosphere, dubbed "atmosphere river",
have unleashed massive floods every 200 year, and climate change could bring more of them.
By Michael D. Dettinger and B. Lynn Ingram
Michael D. Dettinger : is a research hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Society
and a research associate at the Climate Atmosphere Sciences and Physical Oceanography Division at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in La Jolla California.
B. Lynn Ingram is a professor of earth and planetary science at the University of California, Berkley and co-author of The West Without Water ( University of California Press, Spring, 2013)
ALL WEST COASTS CAN BE HIT
Atmospheric rivers form over tropical waters and flow poleward toward the west coasts of many continents (one hit England in November 2009). They are prominent along the U.S, Pacific Coast but can occasionally arise in unusual places, such as the Gulf of Mexico (one flooded Nashville in May 2010). Atmospheric rivers could become larger in the future as the climate warms.
THE INTENSE RAINSTORMS SWEEPING IN FROM the pacific Ocean to pound central California on Christmas Eve in 1861 and continued virtually for 43 days. The deluges quickly transformed rivers running down from the Sierra Nevada mountains along the state's eastern border into raging torrents that swept away entire communities and mining settlements. The rivers and rains poured into the state's vast Central Valley, turning it into an inland sea 300 miles long and 200 miles wide. Thousands of people died, and one quarter of the state's estimated 800,000 cattle drowned. Downtown Sacramento was submerged under 10 feet of brown water filled with debris from countless mudslides on the region's steep slopes. California's legislature, unable to function, moved to San Francisco until Sacramento dried out - six months later, By then, the state was bankrupt.
A comparable episode today would be incredibly more devastating. The Central Valley is Home to more than six million people, 1.4 million of them in Sacramento. The land produces about $20 billion in crops annually, including 70 percent of the world's almonds- and portions of it have dropped 30 feet elevation because of extensive groundwater pumping, making those areas even more prone to flooding, Scientists who recently modeled a similarly relentless storm that lasted only 23 days concluded that this similar visitation would cause $400 billion in property damage and agricultural losses. Thousands of people could die unless preparations are evacuations worked very well indeed,
Was the 1861-62 flood a freak event?
It appears not.
New studies of sediment deposits in widespread locations indicate that cataclysmic floods of this magnitude have inundated California. every two centuries or so for at least the past two millennia. The 1861-62 storms also pummeled the coastline from northern Mexico and southern California up to British Columbia, creating the worst floods in recorded history. Climate scientists now hypothesize that these floods, and others like them in several regions of the world, were caused by atmospheric rivers, a phenomenon you may have never heard of. And they think California, at least, is overdue for another one.
TEN MISSISSIPPI RiVERS, ONE MILE HIGH
ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS are long streams of water vapor that form at about
one mile up in the atmosphere. They are only 250 miles across but extend for thousands of miles - sometimes across an entire ocean basin such as the Pacific.
These conveyer belts of vapor carry as much water as 10 to 15 Mississippi Rivers from the tropics and across the middle latitudes. When one reaches the U.S. West Coast and hits inland mountain ranges, such as the Sierra Nevada, it is forced up, cools off and condenses into vast quantities of precipitation.
People on the West Coast of North America have long known about storms called "pineapple expresses" which pour in fro the tropics near Hawaii and dump heavy rain and snow for three to five days. It turns out that they are just one configuration of an atmospheric river. A s many as nine atmospheric rivers hit California every year, according to investigations. Few of them end up being strong enough to yield mega-floods, but even the "normal" storms are as about as intense as rainstorms get in the rest of the U.S., so they challenge emergency personnel as well as flood-control authorities and water managers.
Atmospheric rivers also bring rains to the west coasts of other continents and can occasionally form in unlikely places. For example, the catastrophic flooding in and around Nashville in May 2010 - which caused some 30 deaths and more than $2 billion in damages -was fed by an unusual atmospheric river that brought heavy rain for two relentless days up into Tennessee from the Gulf of Mexico/ In 2009 substantial flooding in southern England and in various parts of Spain was also caused by atmospheric rivers. But the phenomenon is best understood along the Pacific Coast, and he latest studies suggest that these rivers of vapor may become even larger in the future as the climate warms.
SUDDEN DISCOVERY
DESPITE THEIR INCREDIBLE DESTRUCTION, atmospheric rivers were discovered only recently and in part by serendipity.
In January 1998 the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration's Environmental Technology Laboratory began a project called CALJET to improve the forecasting of large storms that hit the California Coast. The lab's research meteorologist Marty Ralph and others flew specially outfitted aircraft over the North Pole into an approaching winter storm to directly measure the conditions.
That storm was described as a "jet" - a zone of high winds. The reserachers found that the single storm, for several days running, was carrying about 20 percent of the atmosphere's moisture that was moving poleward at middle latitudes. The jet was concentrated at about a mile above the ocean's surface, high enough to have been difficult to identify using traditional meteorological observations from the ground.
Also in 1998 researchers Yong Zhu and the late Reginald Newell, then at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, noticed an odd feature in simulations of global wind and water-vapor patterns that had been made by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. They found that, outside of the tropics an average of about 95 percent of all vapor transport toward the poles occurred in just five or six narrow bands,distributed somewhat, randomly around the globe, that moved west to east across the middle latitudes. To describe these bands, they coined the term "atmospheric rivers"
At the same time, satellites carrying the new Special Sensor Microwave Imager were for the first time providing clear and complete observations of water-vapor distributions globally. The imagery showed that water-vapor tended to concentrate in long, narrow, moving corridors that extend most often from the warm, moist air of the tropics into the drier, cooler regions outside the tropics. The tentacles appeared and then fell apart on timescales from days to a couple of weeks.
Needles to say, researchers soon put together these three remarkably complementary findings. Since then, scientists have conducted a growing number of studies to better characterize West Coast atmospheric rivers. New observatories with upward-looking radars and wind profilers have been established to watch them. NOAA's Hydrometeorological Testbed program is peering farther inland to find out what happens when atmospheric rivers penetrate the interior.
Using data from these networks, forecasters are getting better and better at recognizing atmospheric rivers in weather models and at predicting their arrival at the West Coast. IN recent years some storms have been recognized more than a week before they hit land. Atmospheric rivers are also appearing in climate models used to predict future climate changes. Forecasters, feeling more confident in their prediction abilities, are beginning to warn the public about extremely heavy rains earlier than they would have in the past.
This improvement is providing extra time for emergency managers to prepare.
A MEGA-FLOOD EVERY CENTURY
DESPITE GRETER SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING, the 1961-62 floods are all but forgotten today. Communities, industries and agricultural operations in California and the West have spent the past century spreading out onto many of the same flood-plains that were submerged 150 years ago. Residents everywhere are unaware or unwary of the obvious risks to life and property. Meanwhile, though, anxious climatologists worry about the accumulating evidence that a mega-strim could happen against and soon.
The concern grows out of research that is looking 2,000 year back in time to piece together evidence revealing the occurrence and frequency of past floods. like detectives returning to a crime scene of long ago. They are sifting through evidence archived in sediments from lake beds, flood-plains, marshes and submarine basins. As floodwaters course down slopes and across the landscape, they scour the hills, picking up clay, silt and sand and carrying material in swollen currents. When the rivers slow on reaching a flood-plain, marsh, estuary or ocean, they release their loads of sediment: first the larger gravels, then the sands, and finally the silts and clays. Nature rebuilds after such events, and over time the flood deposits are themselves buried beneath newer sediments left by normal weather. Scientists extract vertical cores from these sediments and, back at the tab, analyze the preserved layers and date what happened when.
For example, flood deposits have been found under tidal marshes around San Francisco Bay in northern California. Typically the inflowing river waters that spread across the marshes deposit only thin traces of the finest sediments 0 clays and silts.
The more vigorous flows of major floods carry larger particles and deposit thicker and coarser layers. The flood payers can be dated using the common radiocarbon-dating method, which in this application is accurate to within 100 years. A study of the Malamud-Roam revealed deposits from massive flooding around A.D. 1100, 1400 and 1650. A distinct layer from the 1861-62 event is difficult to distinguish, however, because the decade before and after the flood moved whatever traces the floodwaters might have left.
Sediment cores taken beneath San Francisco Bay itself also indicate that in 1400 the bay was filled with freshwater (as it was during the 1861-62 event), indicating a massive flood.
Geologists have found more evidence in southern California, where two thirds of the state's nearly 38 million people live today, along the coats of Santa Barbara. Sediments there settle to the sea-floor every spring ( forming a light-coloured layer of algae known as diatoms) and again in winter (forming a dark-algae known as diatoms) and again in winter (forming a dark colored silt layer). Because the oxygen, concentrations in the deep waters there are inhospitably low for bottom-dwelling organisms that would usually churn and burrow, the annual sediment layers have remained remarkably undisturbed for thousands of years. Sediment cores there reveal six distinct mega-floods that appear as thick gray silt layers in A.D. 212, 440, 603, 1029, 1418 and 1605. The three most recent dates correlate well with the approximate 1100,1400 and 1650 dated indicated by the marsh deposits around San Francisco Bay - confirming that truly widespread floods have occurred every few hundred years. )In October, Ingrid Hendy of the University of Michigan and her colleagues published a paper based on a different dating method; it found a set of Santa Barbara dates that were offset from the six specific dates by 100 to 300 years, but the same basic pattern of mega-floods every 200 years or so holds).
The thickest flood layer in the Santa Barbara Basin was deposited in 1605. the sediment was two inches thick, a few miles offshore. The 440 and 1418 floods each left layers more than an inch thick. These compare with layers of 0.24 and 0.08 inch near the top of the core that were left by large storms in 1958 and 1964. respectively, which where among the biggest of the past century. The three earlier floods must have been far worse than any we have witnessed.
Evidence for enormous floods has also been found about 150 miles northeast of San FRancisco Bay, in sediment cores taken from a small lake called Little Packer that lies in the flood-plain of the Sacramento River, the largest river in northern California. During major floods, sediment-laden floodwaters spill into the lake, and the sediment settles to the bottom, forming thick, coarse layers. Geographer Roger Byrne of the University if California, Berkeley, and his graduate student Donald G. Sullivan used radio-carbon dating to determine that a flood comparable to the 1861-62 catastrophe occurred in each of the following time spans: 1235-1360, 1295-1440, 155501615, 1750-1770 and 1819-1820. That is one mega-flood every 100 to 200 years.
Certain mega-floods have also left records of their passage in narrow canyons in the Klamath Mountains in the northwestern corner of California, Two particularly enormous deposits were laid down around 1600 and 1750, once again agreeing with the other data.
When taken together, all the historical evidence suggests that the 1605 flood was at least 50 percent greater than any of the other mega-floods. And although the radiocarbon dates have significant uncertainties and could be reinterpreted if dating methods improve, the unsettling bottom line is that mega-floods as large or larger than the 1861-62 flood are a normal occurrence every two centuries or so. It has now been 150 years since that calamity, so it appears that California maybe due for another episode soon.
DISASTERS MORE LIKELY
IRONICALLY ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS that set up over California are not all bad, The smaller ones that arise annually are important sources of water. By analyzing the amount of rain and snow that atmospheric rivers brought to the U.S. West Coast in recent decades, along with records about long-term precipitation, snowpack and stream flow, researches have found that between 1950 and 2010, atmospheric rivers supplied 30 to 50 percent of California's water - in the span of only 10 days each year. They are finding similar proportions along the rest of the West Coats. In the same tome period, however, the storms also caused more than 80 percent of flooding in California rivers and 81 percent of the 128 most well-ducumented levee breaks in California's Central Valley.
Because atmospheric rivers play such terrible roles in floods and such vital roles in water supply, it is natural to wonder what might happen with then as climate change takes firmer hold. Recall that Zhu and Newell first coined the term "atmospheric rivers" to describe features they observed in computer models of weather. Those models are closely related to models used to project the future consequences of rising greenhouse gas concentrations. Scientists do not program
atmospheric rivers into weather and climate models, the rivers emerge as natural consequences of the way that the atmosphere and the atmospheric water cycle work, when the models are let loose to simulate the past, present or future. Thus, the rivers also appear in climate projection models used in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments.
A recent review by one of us (Dettinger) of seven different climate models from around the world has indicated that atmospheric rivers will likely continue to arrive in California throughout the 21st century, In the projections, air temperatures get warmer by about four degrees Fahrenheit on average because of atmospheric holds more water vapor, atmospheric rivers could carry more moisture.
On the other hand, because the tropics and polar regions are projected to warm at different rates, winds over the midlatitude Pacific are expected to weaken slightly. The rain that atmospheric rivers produce is primarily a product of the amount of vapor they hold and how fast they are moving, and so the question arises.
Will moister air or weaker wind win out?
In six of the seven climate models, the average rain and snow delivered to California by future atmospheric rivers increases by an average of about 10 percent by he year 2100, Moister air trumps weaker winds.
All seven models project that the number of atmospheric rivers arriving at the California coats each year will rise as well, from a historical average of about nine to 11. And all seven climate models predict that occasional atmospheric rivers will develop that are bigger than any of the historic mega-storms. Given the remarkable role that atmospheric rivers have played in California flooding, even these modest increases are a cause for concern and need to be investigated further to see if the projections are reliable.
TIME TO PREPARE
WITH ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS likely to become more frequent and larger and with so many people now living in their paths, society would be wise to prepare. To provide an example that California emergency managers could use to test their current plans and methods, scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey recently developed the scenario mentioned at the start of the article: a mega-strom that rivaled the 1861-62 storm in size but tasted 23 days instead of 43 (so no one could claim that the scenario was unrealistic). To further ensure that the scenario, which was eventually dubbed ARkStorm (Atmospheric River 1000 Storm), was a realistic possible, scientists constructed it by stitching together data from two of the largest storm sequences in California from the past 50 years: January 1969 and February 1986.
When project leaders ran the events of ARkStorm through a variety of weather runoff, engineering and economic models, the results suggested that sustained flooding could occur over most lowland areas of northern and southern California, Such flooding could lead to the evacuation of 1.5 million people> Damages and disruptions from high water, hundreds of landslides and hurricane force winds in certain spots could cause $400 billion in property damages and agricultural losses. Long-term business and employment interruptions could bring the eventual total costs to more than $700 billion. Based on disasters elsewhere in recent year, we believe a calamity thus extensive could kill thousands of people (the ARkStorm simulation did not predict deaths).
The costs are about three times those estimated by many of the same USGS project members who had worked on another disaster scenario known as "SkakeOut": a hypothetical magnitude 7.8 earthquake in southern California. It appears that an atmospheric river mega-strom - California's "Other Bog One" - may pose even greater risks to the Golden State thna large magnitude earthquake, An ARkStorm event is plausible for California, perhaps even inevitable. And the state's flood protection systems are not designed to handle it. The only upside is that today, with improved science and technology, the mega-storms could likely be forecasted anywhere from a few days to more than a week in advance. Proper planning and continuing efforts to improve forecasts could reduce the damage and loss of life.
The same promise, and warning, holds true along the western coats of other continents. Scientists gave studied atmospheric rivers in more depth along California's coast than anywhere else in the world, but they have little reason to expect that the storms would be less frequent or smaller elsewhere. The next mega-flood could occur in Chile, Spain, Namibia or Western Australia.
California as well as people all along the West Coast, should be aware of the threats posed by atmospheric rivers and should take forecasts of storms and floods very seriously, Planners and city and state leaders should also take note as they decide on Investments for the future. He who forgets the past is likely to repeat it.
Mars Colony Project Signs Deal to Study Spacesuits, Life Support
by Mike Wall, SPACE.com Senior Writer
http://www.space.com/20164-mars-colony-life-support-systems.html
A non-profit organization that aims to land four astronauts on Mars in 2023 has signed its first deal with a supplier for the ambitious space colonization effort.
The Netherlands-based Mars One has contracted with Paragon Space Development Corp. to perform a conceptual design study into Red Planet life-support and spacesuit systems, officials announced today (March 11).
"We are extremely proud to have been selected by the Mars One team to provide such a vital role on the project," Paragon chief engineer and co-founder Grant Anderson said in a statement. "The objective of this conceptual design study will be to provide a well-defined pathway to mature the technologies and architectures required for long-term human habitation in the Martian environment."
Paragon will look into developing an Environmental Control and Life Support System, which would provide colonists with safe living quarters and clean air and water. The company will also investigate spacesuit concepts that would allow Mars explorers to roam the Red Planet surface, officials said. Terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed. [Mars One's Red Planet Colony Project (Gallery)]
The work is not Arizona-based Paragon's first foray into the world of private manned Mars flights. The company is also providing life-support expertise for original space tourist Dennis Tito's Inspiration Mars Foundation, which plans to launch two astronauts on a Red Planet flyby mission in January 2018.
Mars One estimates that landing four settlers on Mars in 2023 will cost about $6 billion. The organization plans to foot the bill by staging a global reality-TV event, with cameras documenting all phases of the one-way mission from astronaut selection to the colonists' first years on the Red Planet.
Space.com Exclusive T-shirt. Available to Populate Mars. Buy Now
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Mars One has also secured some money from investors, which it is using to fund conceptual design studies like the one being performed by Paragon.
"At Mars One we thoroughly believe in the feasibility of our manned Mars mission, but we are well aware that the mission's success is also dependent on securing finances to facilitate technological progress," Mars One co-founder Bas Lansdorp said in a statement. "We are, therefore, grateful to sponsors, donors, and other partners from all walks of life that contribute to our ambition to land humans on Mars in 2023."
Mars One hopes the first four Mars colonists will form the vanguard of a permanent settlement that is bolstered by new arrivals every two years thereafter. There are no plans at the moment to bring any of these interplanetary adventurers back to Earth.
The organization released its astronaut requirements in January and plans to begin its televised selection process sometime this year, officials have said.
Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on SPACE.com.
Reality TV Show On Mars To Follow Settlers? | Video
The Boldest Mars Missions in History
Poll: Do You Want to Be a Mars Colonist?
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Mars One is a private spaceflight project led by Dutch entrepreneur, Bas Lansdorp, to establish a permanent human colony on Mars.[1]
Announced in June 2012, the plan is to send a communication satellite and path finder lander to the planet by 2016 and, after several stages, land four humans on Mars for permanent settlement in 2023.[2] A new set of four astronauts would then arrive every two years.[3]
The project is endorsed by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Gerard 't Hooft.[2][4]
Mars One became a not for profit foundation (Stichting under Dutch law) in early October 2012.[5][6]
Responsible Organization
First Crewed Flight
Crew Vehicle
Mars One Dragon
Crew Capacity
Launch Vehicle(s)
A one way trip dramatically lowers the overall mission costs,[7][8] such that putting the first four astronauts on Mars is expected to cost approximately US$6 billion.[9]
Mars One, the not-for-profit foundation, is the controlling stockholder of the for-profit Interplanetary Media Group.[10] A global reality-TV media event is intended to provide most of the funds to finance the expedition. It should begin with the astronaut selection process (with some public participation) and continue on through the first years of living on Mars.[3][11]
Although reported to be to the contrary by the Mars One founder, this appears influenced by the radio play script of the short story Juxtaposition,[citation needed] which was submitted to BBC Radio 4 in 2009 by author Dirk George Wickenden. The script was ultimately rejected in 2009 (as was the short story itself for Interzone magazine) but finally published in February 2013 on Amazon's Kindle, together with the original short story in the collection Inside Outside My Head. [12]
On 31 August 2012, company officials announced that funding from its first sponsors had been received.[7] Corporate sponsorship money will be used mostly to fund the conceptual design studies provided by the aerospace suppliers.[7]
Sponsors for Mars One include:[7][13][14]
Byte Internet (Dutch internet service provider)
Aleph Objects, Inc. (U.S. developer and manufacturer of rapid prototyping 3D printers)[15]
Verkkokauppa.com (Finland's 2nd largest consumer electronics retailer)
VBC Notarissen (Dutch law firm)
MeetIn (Dutch consulting company)
New-Energy.tv (Dutch web station)
Dejan SEO (Australian search engine optimization company)
Intrepid Research & Development (U.S. engineering company)[16]
Gerald W. Driggers (author of The Earth-Mars Chronicles)[16]
AdKnowledge (U.S. digital advertising company)[17]
Edinburgh International Science Festival
Baluw Research (Dutch market research firm)
Mind Power Hungary (Hungarian language translation firm)
Regus (multinational business and facility management corporation)
KIVI NIRIA (Royal Institution of Engineers in the Netherlands)
Rockstart Accelerator[18]
Space Dream Studios (space-related software and games)[19]
SoftLayer Technologies (servers and cloud computing)[20]
Kliniek Amstelveen (Dutch medical services)[21]
Mpress Books (British publishing firm)[22]
MakeAmsterdam (graphic design and branding)[23]
Great Communicators (speech training) [24]
Since December 2012[citation needed] and the official announcement of their conversion to a Stichting Mars One has been accepting one off and regular monthly donations through their website. as of 11 March 2013, they have received $59,400 in donations.
Mission plan
Mars One plans to establish the first human settlement on Mars. According to their schedule, the first crew of four astronauts would arrive on Mars in 2023, after a seven month journey from Earth. Further teams would join their settlement every two years, with the intention that by 2033 there would be over twenty people living and working on Mars.
As of June 2012[update], the mission plan is as follows:[4]
2013: The first 24 astronauts will be selected;[26] a replica of the settlement will be built for training purposes.[16]
2014: The first communication satellite will be produced.
2016: A supply mission will be launched during January (arriving October) with 2,500 kilograms (5,500 lb) of food in a 5 metres (16 ft) diameter variant of the SpaceX Dragon.[16] The fallback if this is not ready in time is either to use a 3.8 metres (12 ft) Dragon or to delay by two years.[27]
2018: An exploration vehicle will launch to pick the location of the settlement.[16]
2021: Six additional Dragon capsules and another rover will launch with two living units, two life support units and two supply units.[16]
2022: A SpaceX Falcon Heavy will launch with the first group of four colonists.[16]
2023: The first colonists will arrive on Mars in a modified Dragon capsule.[16]
2025: A second group of four colonists will arrive.[16]
2033: The colony will reach 20 settlers.[1]
The Mars One website states that the team behind Mars One began planning of Mars One in 2011. The company states that they researched the feasibility of the idea with specialists and expert organizations, and discussed the financial, psychological and ethical aspects of it.[28]
Mars One has identified at least one potential supplier for each component of the mission.[4][29] The major components are to be acquired from proven suppliers.[30]
The Falcon Heavy from SpaceX is the anticipated launcher.[30]
Mars Transit Vehicle
A manned interplanetary spacecraft which would transport the crew to Mars. It would be assembled in low earth orbit and comprise two propellant modules, a Transit Living Module (discarded just before arrival at Mars) and a lander (see "Human Lander" below).[30][31]
The likely supplier for the Transit living module is Thales Alenia Space.[32]
Communications system
A satellite in Mars orbit to relay video, speech and data between the settlement and Earth, and the related transceivers on Mars and Earth.[30] The likely supplier for the satellite is Surrey Satellite Technology.[32]
Mars One plans to use a 5 metres (16 ft)-diameter variant of SpaceX's Dragon capsule.[33][34] It would have a volume of ~25m3.[33]
Mars One Dragon capsules will be used in five roles:
Life Support Unit – a lander containing systems for generating from Martian resources the energy, water and breathable air needed by the settlers.[35] The likely supplier for these systems is Paragon Space Development.[32]
Supply Unit – a lander carrying only cargo (supplies).[30]
Living Unit – a lander containing an inflatable module to provide habitable space for the settlers on Mars.[36] The likely supplier of the inflatables is ILC Dover.[37]
Human Lander – a lander to carry the settlers to the surface of Mars (see "Mars Transit Vehicle" above).[30]
Rover Lander – a lander to carry the two rovers to the surface of Mars.[38]
The rover would be unpressurized and support travel distances of 80 km (50 miles).[39] The likely supplier for the rover is Astrobotic Technology.[32]
Mars Suit
The Mars Suit would be flexible to allow the settlers to work with both cumbersome construction materials and sophisticated machinery when they are outside the habitat while protecting them from the cold, low pressure and noxious gases of the Martian atmosphere.[40]The likely supplier of the suits is ILC Dover.[37] On March 12, 2013, Paragon Space Development Corporation were contracted to develop concepts for life support and the Mars Surface Exploration Spacesuit System. [41]
As of January 2013[update] the Mars One advisory board includes:
Tanja Masson-Zwaan – Deputy Director of the International Institute of Air and Space Law at Leiden University, President of the International Institute of Space Law, board member of the Netherlands Space Society, advisory board member of the Space Generation Advisory Council and was on the founding board of Women in Aerospace Europe.[42]
Brian Enke – Senior Space Research Analyst at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, USA.[43]
Profesor Pascale Ehrenfreund – lead investigator with the NASA Astrobiology Institute.[44]
Dr. Gino Ormeno – Aviation Medical Examiner.[45]
Steve Carsey – UK television executive and CEO of Conceive Media, a consultancy, development and production venture specialising in the creation of cross platform entertainment brands for the global market.[46]
Dr. Raye Kass – Professor of Applied Human Sciences at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.[47]
Profesor Thais Russomano – has over 20 years experience in Aerospace Medicine, Space Physiology and Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, and Telemedicine & eHealth research and development.[48]
Dr. Christopher P. McKay – Planetary Scientist at NASA Ames.[49] He has a particular interest in the evolution of the solar system and the origin of life and is actively involved in planning for future Mars missions including human exploration.[50] Dr McKay has been involved with research in several Mars-like environments and has traveled to the Antarctic Dry Valleys, the Atacama Desert, the Arctic, and the Namib Desert.[50]
Dr. John D. Rummel – Director of the Institute for Coastal Science and Policy at East Carolina University.[51]
Dr. John W. Traphagan – Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Centennial Commission and the Liberal Arts Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin.[52]
Dr. James R. Kass – has worked in the field of human spaceflight for more than 30 years.[53]
Jamie Guined – exercise scientist at the Exercise Physiology Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center and countermeasures researcher at the NASA Flight Analogs Research Unit, and science faculty member at the University of Phoenix.[54]
Professor Stefano Stramigioli – professor of Advanced Robotics and chair holder at the Robotics and Mechatronics group at the University of Twente and a member of the ESA topical team on the dynamics of prehension in micro-gravity and its application to robotics and prosthetics.[55]
Dr. Günther Reitz – head of the department of Radiation Biology, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, German Aerospace Center where he leads research on the biological effects of space radiation in manned space missions. Permanent chairman of the Workshop of Radiation Monitoring on the ISS (WRMISS) since its foundation in 1996.[56]
Profesor Leo Marcelis – professor in Crop Production in Low-Energy Greenhouses, Wageningen University, The Netherlands where he leads research into crop management, crop physiology and the modelling of greenhouse horticulture. He has over 25 years of experience in research on plant growth in controlled environments (greenhouses and climate rooms). Working in close collaboration with other university departments he develops complete and reliable food systems.[57]
Chris Welch, director of Masters Programs at the International Space University has said "Even ignoring the potential mismatch between the project income and its costs and questions about its longer-term viability, the Mars One proposal does not demonstrate a sufficiently deep understanding of the problems to give real confidence that the project would be able to meet its very ambitious schedule."[58]
Space tourist Richard Garriott stated in response to Mars One, "Many have interesting viable starting plans. Few raise the money to be able to pull it off."[59]
Robert Zubrin, advocate for manned Martian exploration, said "I don't think the business plan closes it. We're going to go to Mars, we need a billion dollars, and we're going to make up the revenue with advertising and media rights and so on. You might be able to make up some of the money that way, but I don't think that anyone who is interested in making money is going to invest on that basis — invest in this really risky proposition, and if you're lucky you'll break even? That doesn't fly."[60]
Wired Magazine gave it a plausibility score of 2 out of 10 as part of their 2012 Most Audacious Private Space Exploration Plans.[61]
Manned mission to Mars
Inspiration Mars
Colonization of Mars
^ a b Anne Sewell (1 June 2012). "Mars One: Human settlement on Mars in 2023". Digital Journal. http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/325858. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
^ a b Adario Strange (1 June 2012). "Dutch Group Planning for Mars Settlement by 2023". PC Mag. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2405162,00.asp. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
^ a b Dario Borghino (4 June 2012). "Mission to Mars meets reality TV". Gizmag. http://www.gizmag.com/mars-one-human-settlement-2023/22799/. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
^ a b c Staff (3 June 2012). "Mars One plans to establish human settlement on Mars in 2023". Kurzweil. http://www.kurzweilai.net/mars-one-plans-to-establish-human-settlement-on-mars-in-2023. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
^ Delft, TED talk. "Can this project be trusted?". Mars One Fans Forum. http://marsonefans.com/showthread.php/596-Can-this-project-be-trusted?p=3643&viewfull=1#post3643. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
^ "Mars One Will Take Humanity To Mars As A Not-For-Profit Foundation". Mars One. http://mars-one.com/en/mars-one-news/330-mars-one-now-a-not-for-profit-foundation. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
^ a b c d Staff (31 August 2012). "Private Manned Mars Mission Gets First Sponsors". Space.com. http://www.space.com/17360-private-mars-one-mission-sponsors.html. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
^ Claudine Zap (5 June 2012). "Mars One: One-way ticket to the red planet". Yahoo!. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/upshot/mars-one-one-way-ticket-red-planet-192011042.html. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
^ Michael Bradbury (5 June 2012). "Reality TV Sets Sights on Mars for New Show". Real Science. http://www.realscience.us/2012/06/05/reality-tv-sets-sights-on-mars-for-new-show. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
^ Nicola Clark (March 8, 2013). "Reality TV for the Red Planet". The New York Times. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
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^ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inside-Outside-My-Head-ebook/dp/B00BN69P38/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362745884&sr=8-1
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^ http://mars-one.com/en/sponsorships/contributors
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^ LinkedIn
^ https://twitter.com/MarsOneProject/status/299908561952190465
^ http://mars-one.com/en/donate
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^ "About the suppliers". Mars One. http://mars-one.com/en/about-mars-one/suppliers. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
^ a b c d e f Mars One – Technology
^ "Mars Transit Vehicle". Mars One. http://mars-one.com/en/mars-transit-vehicle. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
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^ a b "Mars One Dragon". MarsOneFans.com. 4 November 2012. http://marsonefans.com/showthread.php/617-Mars-One-Dragon?p=3756&viewfull=1#post3756. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
^ "Is this really possible?". Mars One. http://mars-one.com/en/mission/is-this-really-possible. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
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^ "Living Unit". Mars One. http://mars-one.com/en/living-unit. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
^ a b hbm11. "Mars One Dragon". Mars One Fans Forum. http://marsonefans.com/showthread.php/617-Mars-One-Dragon?p=3770&viewfull=1#post3770. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
^ "Rover". Mars One. http://mars-one.com/en/rover. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
^ Mars One – Is this really possible?
^ "Mars Suit". Mars One. http://mars-one.com/en/mars-suit. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
^ http://mars-one.com/en/mars-one-news/press-releases/11-news/380-mars-one-contracts-paragon-for-mars-life-support-systems
^ "Tanja Masson-Zwaan". Mars One. http://mars-one.com/en/about-mars-one/advisers/267-tanja-masson-zwaan. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
^ "Brian Enke". Mars One. http://mars-one.com/en/about-mars-one/advisers/266-brian-enke. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
^ "Prof. Pascale Ehrenfreund". Mars One. http://mars-one.com/en/about-mars-one/advisers/270-prof-pascale-ehrenfreund. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
^ "Dr. Gino Ormeno". Mars One. http://mars-one.com/en/about-mars-one/advisers/273-dr-gino-ormeno. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
^ "Steve Carsey". Mars One. http://mars-one.com/en/about-mars-one/advisers/274-steve-carsey. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
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^ "Prof. Thais Russomano". Mars One. http://mars-one.com/en/about-mars-one/advisers/308-prof-thais-russomano. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
^ "Dr. Christopher P. McKay". Mars One. http://mars-one.com/en/about-mars-one/advisers/313-dr-christopher-p-mckay. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
^ a b McKay, Chris. "Chris McKay" (in English). NASA. http://spacescience.arc.nasa.gov/staff/chris-mckay. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
^ "Dr. John D. Rummel". Mars One. http://mars-one.com/en/about-mars-one/advisers/322-dr-john-d-rummel. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
^ "Dr. John W. Traphagan". Mars One. http://mars-one.com/en/about-mars-one/advisers/323-dr-john-w-traphagan. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
^ "Dr. James R. Kass". Mars One. http://mars-one.com/en/about-mars-one/advisers/324-dr-james-r-kass. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
^ "Jamie Guined, M.Ed., MBA (USA)". Mars One. http://mars-one.com/en/about-mars-one/advisers/2-mars-mission/337-adviser-jamie-guined. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
^ "Prof. Stefano Stramigioli, M.Sc., PhD (IT / NL)". Mars One. http://mars-one.com/en/about-mars-one/advisers/2-mars-mission/345-stefano-stramigioli-m-sc-phd-it-nl. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
^ "Günther Reitz, PhD (Germany)". Mars One. http://mars-one.com/en/about-mars-one/advisers/2-mars-mission/350-dr-guenther-reitz-germany. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
^ "Prof. Leo F.M. Marcelis, PhD (NL)". http://mars-one.com/en/about-mars-one/advisers/2-mars-mission/354-prof-leo-f-m-marcelis-phd-nl. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
^ Holligan, Anna (19 June 2012). "Can the Dutch do reality TV in space?". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18506033. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
^ Howard, Jacqueline (5 June 2012). "Mars One: Dutch Startup Aims To Colonize Red Planet In 2023". Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/02/mars-one-colonize-red-planet-video_n_1564745.html. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
^ Taylor, Adam (8 June 2012). "This Incredible Plan For A Mission To Mars In 2023 Is No Hoax". Business Insider. http://www.businessinsider.com/mars-one-hoax-bas-landorp-2023-2012-6. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
^ Mann, Adam (27 December 2012). "The Year's Most Audacious Private Space Exploration Plans". Wired. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/12/audacious-space-companies-2012/?pid=5747. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
http://mars-one.com/en/
Human Settlement on Mars in 2023
Mars One is a not-for-profit organization that will take humanity to Mars in 2023, to establish the foundation of a permanent settlement from which we will prosper, learn, and grow. Before the first crew lands, Mars One will have established a habitable, sustainable settlement designed to receive astronauts every two years. To accomplish this, Mars One has developed a precise, realistic plan based entirely upon existing technologies. It is both economically and logistically feasible, in motion through the integration of existing suppliers and experts in space exploration.
We invite you to participate in this journey, by sharing our vision with your friends, by supporting our effort and, perhaps, by becoming the next Mars astronaut yourself.
T-shirts, Hoodies, Coffee Mugs and Posters available now!
Do you have a question about Mars One? We have an extensive FAQ page that sees to the most common ones.
What else? You can also use our search bar at the top right to find articles relevant to your query.
Astronaut applications
It is not yet possible to apply to become a Mars One astronaut. The astronaut selection program will start in the first half of 2013. For more information on the selection of the astronauts, please visit our FAQ page on astronaut selection and preparation. There, you can find information on the selection criteria, on how the astronauts are prepared, and several other aspects of the selection process.
If you fill in this form you will receive updates and announcements regarding the Astronaut Application Program and selection criteria. This is not an application form. After subscribing to this mailing list you will be informed on further steps of the application program.
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Mars One's Mission Objective
It is the Mission Objective of Mars One to establish a human settlement on the planet Mars in 2023.
Vision of Mars One
Mars One believes human exploration of the solar system should be a global effort, greater than the ambition of an individual nation. Mars exploration offers an opportunity to celebrate the power of a united humanity.
As with the Apollo Moon landings, a human mission to Mars will inspire generations to believe that all things are possible, that anything can be achieved. Mars One believes it is not only possible, but imperative that we establish a permanent settlement on Mars in order to accelerate our understanding of the formation of the solar system, the origins of life, and of equal importance, our place in the universe.
The Working Plan
In 2011, the founding members of the Mars One team came together to develop a strategic plan for taking humanity to Mars. That first year yielded the completion of a feasibility study, calling upon experts from space agencies and private aerospace corporations around the world. Written letters of interest in support of the Mars One plan were received. In this first-stage analysis, Mars One incorporated technical, financial, social-psychological and ethical components into its foundation plan.
This tremendous undertaking can only be achieved through the careful, deliberate movement through both the technical and media stages, gaining momentum and credibility with each completed step. The first effort is to award contracts to the already engaged aerospace suppliers, thus solidifying the Mission as technically feasible. At the same time, Mars One will launch the Astronaut Selection Program, open to anyone in the world.
Not unlike the televised events of the Olympic Games, Mars One intends to maintain an on-going, global media event, from astronaut selection to training, from lift-off to landing, to provide primary funding for this next giant leap for mankind.
About Mars One
Mars One is a not-for-profit organization whose goal is to establish a human settlement on Mars through the integration of existing, readily available technologies from industry leaders world-wide. Mars One intends to fund this decade-long endeavor by involving the whole world as the audience of an interactive, televised broadcast of every aspect of this mission, from the astronaut selections and their preparations to the arrival on Mars and their lives on the Red Planet.
Mars One has developed a roadmap to Mars comprising of various steps, each step bringing Mars One closer to placing the first four humans on Mars in 2023.
Below are the most important stages of the mission plan, summarized.
Mars One has developed a realistic plan to establish a settlement on Mars by 2023. This plan is built upon existing technologies available from proven suppliers. Mars One is not an aerospace company and will not manufacture mission hardware. All equipment will be developed by third party suppliers and integrated in established facilities.
The fully equipped mission is comprised of the following, primary hardware components:
Launcher: This is the rocket used to take payloads* from Earth launch into Earth orbit or to Mars. Mars One anticipates use of the Space X Falcon Heavy, an upgraded version of the Falcon 9 which is in use by Space X now. The Falcon Heavy is slated to undergo test flights in 2013, granting ample time for fine-tuning prior to the Mars One missions which begin in 2016.
Mars Transit Vehicle: This is responsible for transporting the astronauts to Mars, and consists of two propellent stages, a landing module and living quarters.
Lander: Mars One anticipates use of a variant of the SpaceX Dragon capsule, first tested in 2010. This is the same vehicle which successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) in May of 2012. The lander Mars One requires will be slightly larger than the current Dragon. The Lander will be used for 5 functions:
Life Support Unit: A Lander that contains the systems for the generation of energy, water and breathable air within the settlement.
Supply Unit: A Lander that contains food, spare parts and other smaller components.
Living Unit: This Unit is a Lander that is outfitted with a special inflatable section. After reaching the surface of Mars, this allows it to create a large living space for humans.
Human Lander: This is the unit which carries the astronauts to the surface of Mars.
Rover Lander: This is the unit which carries the rovers to the surface of Mars.
Rover: The Rover is a semi-autonomous, solar-electric powered exploration and construction vehicle used to explore the surface of Mars in search of the most suitable location for the settlement, for transport of large hardware components (in a tractor-like fashion), and then general assembly.
Mars Suit: All astronauts must wear their Mars Suits when exposed to the Mars atmosphere. Like those used by the Apollo astronauts on the Moon, Mars Suits protect astronauts from extreme temperatures, the very thin, non-breathable atmosphere, and otherwise harmful radiation.
Communications system: The communications system transmits the video streams from Mars to the communication satellite in Mars orbit and back to Earth.
* Payloads are the items delivered by the Launch Vehicle into Earth or Mars orbit, or to the surface of Mars. Mars One payloads may be a communications satellite, transit vehicle, propellent stage, or a Lander.
Mars One has visited several major aerospace companies around the world to discuss our plan and the hardware components that we need to implement the plan. For each component we have found at least one potential supplier. We have visited those companies and have received letters of interest from them. For more information about these companies, see Suppliers.
Is this really possible?
Mars One is not the first organization to ponder the idea of a manned mission to Mars. There have been many plans to do just this. And yet, none have come to fruition. Why should Mars One succeed?
There are several reasons, as described in some detail, below:
Emigration – The Mars One astronauts will depart Earth assuming that they will never return. This radically changes the mission requirements, reducing the need for return vehicles associated with currently unavailable technologies and far greater costs.
Solar panels – Through the use of this simple, robust, and plentiful energy source, Mars One does not require the development and launch of a nuclear reactor, thereby saving time and money while avoiding the risks and concerns for use of a nuclear power source.
Simple rovers – Through the use of relatively simple rovers, designed to conduct basic settlement construction prior to human astronaut arrival, saving both time and cost.
No new developments – The entire plan revolves around the use of existing, validated technology
No politics – Suppliers are chosen on a balance of price and quality, not through political or national preferences.
Emigration to Mars
A central point to Mars One's mission is the emigration of the human astronauts. Mars becomes their new home, where they will live and work for what will likely be the remainder of their lives.
While it is possible that, within the lifetime of the early settlers on Mars, there will be opportunity to bring one or more back to Earth, it cannot be anticipated nor expected. Consider the following fact: to return a human to Earth, a fully assembled and fueled launch vehicle (rocket) must be available, capable of escaping the gravitational field of Mars with ample, on-board life support systems and supplies for up to a seven months voyage, and the capability to either dock with a space station orbiting the Earth, or perform a safe re-entry and landing on Earth.
Not one of these is a small endeavor, each requiring substantial technical capacity, weight, and cost.
Furthermore, there is a point in time after which the human body will have adjusted to the 38% gravitation field of Mars, and be incapable of returning to the Earth's much stronger gravity. This is due to the total physiological change in the human body, which includes reduction in bone density, muscle strength, and circulatory system capacity. While a cosmonaut on-board the Mir was able to walk upon return to Earth after thirteen months in a weightless environment, after a prolonged stay on Mars, the human body will not be able to adjust to the higher gravity of Earth upon return.
By assuming human astronauts are permanent residents on Mars, the challenges are reduced to providing the astronauts with the foundations for a new life: safe living facilities, clean air and potable water, food rations until plants may be grown in green houses and hydroponic facilities, and the essentials for intellectual stimulation on a planet which is cold, desolate, and without many life giving qualities.
While complex, the Mars One Mission is possible now. The science and technology required to place humans on Mars exists today. Much of what we have learned from the Skylab, Mir, and the International Space Station (ISS) have given us imperative data, experience, and know-how--all of which are applicable to living on Mars.
In addition, the basic elements required for a viable living system are already present on Mars, resulting in the need to send more tools and machines then raw elements. For example, the location Mars One has chosen for its first settlement contains water ice in the soil, which can be extracted through the application of heat. This water may be used to drink, bathe, raise food crops, and, through electrolysis, create oxygen. In addition, Mars has ample natural sources of nitrogen, the primary element (80%) in the air we breathe.
Certainly, for a long time, there will be need for new supplies such as computers, clothing, specialty foods (chocolate, coffee, and tea), and complex spare parts which cannot be readily reproduced with Mars based 3D printers and computer aided mills. However, soon after the first humans arrive, it is expected the astronauts will be able to create and improve their own habitation using local materials.
The Mars One settlement will be powered by solar (photovoltaic) panels. This is possible because Mars One does not require the production of fuel for a return journey to Earth. The solar panels selected for the Mars One mission are thin film, which, while slightly less efficient then those more commonly used in aerospace, are extremely light and easily transported. The first Mars One Settlement plans to install approximately 3000 square meters of power generating surface area.
As Mars is further from the Sun than Earth, the solar gain is reduced. But, as the atmosphere is far thinner, the amount of solar radiation that reaches the surface is greater then if Mars contained a thicker atmosphere. As a result, the average total solar gain on the surface of Mars is 500 Watts per square meter, which is roughly ½ of the average 1000 Watts on Earth.
In the early years of the project, the solar panels will be placed directly on the ground, as this reduces the materials brought from Earth and requires minimal effort from the rovers prior to arrival of the humans. When the build-up of dust and sand reduces the total power output, a rover or astronaut will clean them accordingly.
Simple Rovers
Mars One has opted for the deployment of relatively simple rovers, which require the astronauts to continue to wear their pressurized Mars Suits. While a pressurized rover is ideal - one that offers breathable air and a small living quarters for longer surface exploratory missions - the cost of transport to Mars is currently prohibitive. Furthermore, at this time, there exists no transport vehicle that can carry such a rover to Mars.
While the rovers Mars One has selected are capable of driving more than 200 kilometers, the comfort of the astronauts suits will likely limit total travel to 8 hours / 80 kilometers per day. The rovers are able to drive across the Mars terrain at roughly 10 kilometers per hour when they are under the direct control of a human, and slower when driving autonomously. While not an incredible distance, this does equate to an available area surrounding the settlement of roughly 5000 square kilometers.
No New Development
Mars One has designed a mission that uses components made exclusively by existing suppliers, and has received confirmation to develop all major components through letters of interest. While most of the components required are not immediately available with the exact specifications required, at this time, there is no need for radical modifications to the current component designs. All suppliers have confirmed their ability to build what is required--and they can do so now.
No Politics
Mars One is a non-governmental company, and, as such, apolitical in its function. Mars One is choosing to work with the best suppliers the world has to offer, regardless of their geographic location or national affiliation. Mars One is only concerned with the quality of the products and fairness of the price used to make the Mars One Mission possible. The astronaut selection process will engage tens, even hundreds of thousands of applicants from dozens of countries world-wide. Each team selected for settlement on Mars will be comprised of four people, each from a different nation on Earth. From start to finish, from Earth to Mars, Mars One is dedicated to an international, intergenerational effort to take the human species on an incredible journey.
The Mars One Project is connected to the non-profit Mars One foundation, and the for-profit company Interplanetary Media Group.
The Interplanetary Media Group is a for-profit company which can secure investments, and manages the broadcasting rights of the training and launch of the astronauts, and their residence on Mars. Currently, investors hold less than 10% of the shares in IMG. IMG has the exclusive rights to use the mission to Mars to generate revenues. These revenues can, for example, be generated through the sale of broadcasting rights, or advertising. In return for these exclusive rights, IMG will pay a license fee to the Mars One foundation.
To pay for the Mars mission, the Mars One foundation receives revenues from the license fee from the Interplanetary Media Group, sponsors, donations and the sales of merchandise. When the media interest grows, a large fraction of the revenues will come from the license fee that IMG pays to the Mars One foundation. The Mars One foundation currently holds about 90% of the shares in IMG. This means that the Mars One foundation will receive 90% of the profit of IMG besides the license fee - all funds that will be spent on the Human Mission to Mars.
The Mars One foundation will be the owner of the Mars settlement, the simulation outposts on Earth, and it will be the employer of the project management team of the mission, and the Mars astronauts. The Mars One foundation owns a majority share in the Interplanetary Media Group (IMG) - the company which manages the media associated with the human mission to Mars. Furthermore, the Mars One foundation is the sole supervisor of the operations of the Interplanetary Media Group.
About Mars One | Team | Advisers | Ambassadors | Suppliers | Contact Mars One
Bas Lansdorp
Bas Lansdorp, M.Sc., Co-Founder & General Director (Netherlands)
Bas Lansdorp has never been one to let bold ventures intimidate him. A born entrepreneur, he sees potential and opportunity where others shy away. Gifted with an articulate vision and genuine enthusiasm, he moves people with his passion for science and the human mission to Mars.
Lansdorp received his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Twente University in 2003. For five years Lansdorp worked at Delft University of Technology and in 2008 founded Ampyx Power in order to develop a new, viable method of generating wind energy. Lansdorp sold his majority interest in Ampyx in 2011 in order to launch Mars One, Lansdorp's dream for many years.
"Since we started Mars One in March 2011, we received support from scientists, engineers, businessmen and –women and aeropace companies from all over the world. The announcement of our plan in May 2012 resulted in the engagement of the general public, and the support from sponsors and investors. To see our mission evolve this way feels like my dream is becoming a reality."
Arno Wielders
Arno A. Wielders, M.Sc., Co-Founder & Technical Director (Netherlands)
Arno Wielders received his Master of Science in Physics from the Free University of Amsterdam in 1997. He was soon hired by the Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, to work at Dutch Space in the Very Large Telescope Interferometer Delay Line project. In 2002 he received his TWAIO (two years, advanced graduate research) certificate and started as a research scientist at the Space Department of TNO TPD in Delft. At TNO TPD he was involved in the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) project launched by NASA. In 2005 he founded Space Horizon and investigated the concept of a suborbital spaceport on the Dutch island of Curacao.
In his work with the European Space Agency (ESA), Arno performed in the following capacities:
BepiColombo (mission to the planet Mercury) science team as instrument scientist (2005-2007).
Payload study manager for the mission studies Cross Scale, a constellation of satellites orbiting the Earth for magnetosphere research (2007-2009).
Payload study manager for the mission study JUICE, mission to Jupiter (2009-2011).
In addition, Wielders participated in the Human Exploration Architecture review of ESA and in 1998 co-founded the Mars Society Nederland (part of the international Mars Society) with the intent of promoting and supporting a human mission to the Red planet. Currently he is a volunteer for the Planetary Society and organises, together with the Netherlands Association for Spaceflight many space related events.
He currently divides his time between Mars One and working at the European Space Technology and Research Centre (ESTEC) of the European Space Agency as a payload study manager for new planetary mission studies and as a payload systems engineer for the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission.
"I believe mankind is destined to be a multi-planet species, to move beyond the confines of our home planet. To work with Mars One is to be a living part of this incredible undertaking."
Bryan Versteeg
Bryan Versteeg, Mission Concept Artist (Canada)
Bryan Versteeg has worked for over 20 years in the graphics industry, specifically 15 years as a conceptual artist in the architectural and engineering fields.
For the past six years, Versteeg has worked as an independent artist and in 2011 founded Spacehabs.com in order to focus on the conceptual visualization for space exploration. Versteeg is responsible for all the beautiful animations and illustrations on the Mars One website.
"I'm extremely excited about this project. I have always worked in the architectural field, but my passion is with design for space missions. Mars One struck me as technically feasible and financially sound. I am proud to be a part of this exciting company."
Suzanne Flinkenflögel
Suzanne Flinkenflögel, M.A., Director of Communications (Netherlands)
Flinkenflögel graduated in 2005 in International Business Communications and Spanish at the University of Nijmegen. Flinkenflögel brings to Mars One her working knowledge and experience in online marketing, social media and web analytics.
Before Mars One Flinkenflögel worked as a Marketing Manager for Dutch hosting provider Byte Internet. In her spare time, she works as a voluntary coach at the 1%Club, a crowd-sourcing platform that connects smart development projects third world countries with people, funds, and knowledge around the world.
"I realized this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I just decided to go for it! I mean, seriously, could you say no if you got the chance to become involved in organizing a manned mission to Mars?! I'm looking forward to each and every step on the way to the first human arrival on Mars--would love for you to get involved and share this adventure!"
Norbert Kraft
Norbert Kraft, M.D., Medical Director (USA)
Norbert Kraft, M.D., USA. Dr. Kraft received the 2010 Award for "Outstanding Accomplishments in the Psychological and Psychiatric Aspects of Aerospace Medicine". He has over 17 years of experience in aviation and aerospace research and development. His primary area of expertise is developing physiological and psychological countermeasures to combat the negative effects of long-duration spaceflight. Dr. Kraft's experiences span Europe, Asia, and the United States, where he has worked for several international space agencies, including the Russian Space Agency and the Japanese Space Agency.
Dr. Kraft completed a 110 day isolation chamber project as commander of an international mixed gender crew and a spaceflight simulation experiment in Moscow, Russia. Since 2002, Dr. Kraft's research at NASA has been developing new approaches to enhance team performance for exploration missions, to enable distributed crews to respond to unanticipated problems and to collaborate effectively under task stressors associated with space missions. Dr. Kraft is an author of over 40 papers in the field of aerospace medicine, including a seminal paper on intercultural crew issues in long-duration spaceflight. He has an M.D. from University of Vienna, Austria, and is a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association.
For Mars One, Dr. Kraft will be instrumental in shaping a world wide selection procedure that will result in the best candidates for the settlement on Mars.
"Through Mars One, the world will be given the chance to fulfill it's space exploration dreams and to do something that has not been done since humans set foot on the moon. Mars One is going to provide an opportunity for scientists worldwide to work together and to achieve what previously has seemed impossible: to travel to Mars and to settle there. It is a privilege to join the Mars One team and I look forward to help this outstanding endeavor forward."
Eiso Vaandrager
Eiso Vaandrager, MSc, MBA, Director of Finance and Investor relations (Netherlands)
Eiso Vaandrager has 12 years of tech & finance experience, including 6 years of entrepreneurial experience and 4 years of venture capital experience. Vaandrager is a principal at the cleantech fund of Wermuth Asset Management, he has worked as an investment director of e2 Cleantech1 since April 2008, sourcing deals, conducting due diligence, providing finical and strategic support to portfolio companies and supporting additional fundraising rounds.
While joining e2 Cleantech1, Vaandrager was finalizing his MBA at the Rotterdam School of Management with an exchange to Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley. Prior to that, Vaandrager was a shareholder and a commercial director of Formula Zero, a start-up company focussed on developing the first fuel cell powered go-kart competition.
He studied Industrial Design Engineering at Delft University of Technology and graduated at Shell Global Solutions. During his studies Vaandrager was a part of the core team that built the first Dutch solar car, which won the World Solar Challenge in 2001. Vaandrager has been a team member of TEDxAmsterdam since 2009, and was one of the acton leaders at TEDxSummit in Doha. In his spare time Vaandrager builds rockets at the Tripoli High Power Rocket association.
"I believe that we can only solve the challenges on our earth by dreaming big. While the previous generation had the moon landing as a defining moment, we only have a new iphone to look out to. Mars One has the potential to bring together the whole human race and make us rise to the challenges ahead with curiosity, creativity and mutual respect."
Marieke Wagensveld
Marieke Wagensveld, MA, Communications and PR (Netherlands)
Marieke Wagensveld is a recent graduate from Utrecht University. In addition to a major in American Studies, she has studied journalism for two years, and completed minors in world history, history of science and several languages.
Wagensveld provides Mars One with extensive writing experience, a critical eye and a good dose of enthusiasm. In addition to her work at Mars One, Wagensveld is citizen councilor at the city council of her municipality.
"Sometimes, the actions of a small number of people can change our world. If you and I want to achieve something, we have to start by looking at what we can do ourselves. This is the foundation Mars One is grounded on. The technology to travel to Mars and build a base are already available. We should not wait for politicians to decide if we want to go to Mars, we should look at ourselves and see what we can do to make it possible. Or, in the words of Einstein: "You never fail unless you stop trying.""
About the Advisers
The Advisers are industry and scientific experts who bring real-world experience to Mars One. Their input and guidance are imperative to the short- and long-term success in establishing a settlement on Mars.
Tanja Masson-Zwaan, LLM (NL)
Tanja Masson-Zwaan is Deputy Director of the International Institute of Air and Space Law at Leiden University, where she teaches in the advanced Masters programme (LLM) in air and space law and she is President of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL). Tanja carries out research and gives lectures on space law all over the world, advises national and international bodies on matters relating to space law. She is, inter alia, board member of the Netherlands Space Society, advisory board member of the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), and was on the founding board of Women in Aerospace Europe.
Brian Enke, M.Sc. (USA)
For over ten years, Brian Enke has researched Mars, lunar, and asteroid science as a Senior Space Research Analyst at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, USA. His research topics include hardware/software integration, artificial intelligence algorithms, simulations, image feature recognition, space mission planning, and the analysis and simplification of complex systems using the Deming Model.
Prof. Pascale Ehrenfreund, PhD (USA / NL)
Prof. Pascale Ehrenfreund, PhD, USA / NL, is currently a lead investigator with the NASA Astrobiology Institute. Her research experience and interests range from biology to astrophysics, with special emphasis on the search for life on Mars. During the last 15 years she has contributed as Principal Investigator, Co-Investigator, and Teamleader to experiments in low Earth orbit and on the International Space Station, as well as to various ESA and NASA missions (astronomical and planetary), and to Mars analogue research. Her activities in space policy are dedicated to support international space cooperation.
Gino Ormeno, M.D. (Peru)
Dr. Ormeno is an Aviation Medical Examiner with a 10 years experience in aviation and occupational physiological researches and aeronautical medical examinations. Dr. Ormeno has a background of multiple cooperative studies with NASA and directed assessment of impact on schedule changes and resulting fatigue of pilots and flight attendants for major South American airlines. Dr. Ormeno has a postgraduate degree in Aviation Medicine from Otago University, New Zealand.
Steve Carsey (UK)
Steve Carsey is a UK television executive with a reputation for creating, developing and producing successful formatted entertainment, factual entertainment and event based programming for the international market – as well as overseeing and driving the management of the creative process for some of the UK's most successful independent production companies. In a career spanning more than twenty years, Steve has been responsible for dozens of successful cross platform formats. Most notably he led the development and production of three of the UK's most successful and highest rated event driven entertainment shows of all time.
Prof. Raye Kass, PhD (Canada)
Dr. Raye Kass, Professor of Applied Human Sciences at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, currently spearheads group theory courses in both the undergraduate and graduate level. Known for her contemporary, cutting edge, and timely research style and results, Dr. Kass has been highlighted frequently by both national and international press agencies for both her space sciences and group theory research. Dr. Kass has also been invited to be involved in numerous space research projects in conjunction with the Canadian Space Agency and NASA.
Prof. Thais Russomano, M.D., PhD (Brazil)
Prof. Thais Russomano has over 20 years experience in Aerospace Medicine, Space Physiology and Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, and Telemedicine & eHealth research and development. She has participated in two parabolic flights campaigns, investigating CPR performance in microgravity and the validation of a device for the safe collection of arterialized blood in space. Her research includes studies related to space motion sickness, microgravity, hypogravity and hypergravity simulations, and the use of Lower Body Negative Pressure boxes, having developed the first LBNP box in Brazil.
Christopher P. McKay, PhD (USA)
Dr. Christopher P. McKay, is a Planetary Scientist with the Space Science Division of NASA Ames. His current research focuses on the evolution of the solar system and the origin of life. He is also actively involved in planning for future Mars missions including human exploration. Chris was a co-investigator on the Huygens probe to Saturn's moon Titan in 2005, the Mars Phoenix lander mission in 2008, and the Mars Science Laboratory mission in 2012.
Prof. John D. Rummel, PhD (USA)
Dr. John D. Rummel is the Director of East Carolina University's (ECU's) Institute for Coastal Science and Policy. After beginning with NASA as a postdoc at the Ames Research Center in California, he went on to serve twice with NASA in Washington, D.C.—from 1986 to 1993 as (among other things) Exobiology Program Manager and Manager, Life Support Systems Integration, and from 1987 to 1993 and 1998 to 2006 as NASA's Planetary Protection Officer. In addition, from 2006 to 2008 he was NASA's Senior Scientist for Astrobiology, responsible for all of NASA's efforts in astrobiology.
Prof. John W. Traphagan, PhD (USA)
Dr. John W. Traphagan is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Centennial Commission in the Liberal Arts Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Traphagan's research interests revolve around the intersection between culture and science and he has explored issues such as the cultural construction of illness in Japan, concepts of autonomy in biomedical ethics, and the relationship between culture, religion, and science in the scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
James R. Kass, PhD (Canada)
Dr. Kass has been working in the field of human spaceflight for more than 30 years. He started his studies in the field of physics gaining a BSc, MS, and PhD in physics (Canada, USA, and England) inspired by the first ventures of humans into space in the 60's. He was an investigator, part of the European scientific team, on the first Spacelab mission in the early 80's in the field of neurophysiology. In the decade following, he gained industrial experience at several aerospace companies in Germany, before joining the European Space Agency at its research and technology centre, ESTEC, in The Netherlands.
Jamie Guined, M.Ed., MBA (USA)
Jamie Guined currently serves as an Exercise Scientist within the Exercise Physiology Laboratory at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Jamie conducts and supports physiologic, medical requirements, and human performance testing and research of International Space Station crew members in all phases of training and flight. Jamie and her colleagues also conduct countermeasures research at the NASA Flight Analogs Research Unit.
Prof. Stefano Stramigioli, M.Sc., PhD (IT / NL)
Stefano Stramigioli received both his M.Sc. degree (in 1992) and his PhD degree (in 1998) with honors (cum laude). Between the two degrees he worked as a researcher at the University of Twente. Since 1998 he has been faculty member and he is currently full professor of Advanced Robotics and chair holder of the Robotics and Mechatronics group at the University of Twente. He is a member of the ESA Topical Team on Dynamics of Prehension in Micro-gravity and its application to Robotics and Prosthetics.
Günther Reitz, PhD (Germany)
Dr. Günther Reitz is the head of the department of Radiation Biology of the Institute of Aerospace Medicine of the German Aerospace Center. He received his Diploma in Physics and Thesis in Biophysics at the University in Frankfurt. The prime objective of his work comprises research on the radiation field in space especially for manned missions and its biological effects with the goal to provide an accurate assessment of the radiation exposures of astronauts to recommend radiation protection measures which pave the way to other planets.
Prof. Leo F.M. Marcelis, PhD (NL)
Prof. Marcelis is professor in Crop Production in Low-Energy Greenhouses at Wageningen University, The Netherlands. He is leading the research team Crop Management, Physiology and Modelling of Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture, a research unit of 120 researchers within Wageningen UR that focusses on innovation in protected cultivation. He has over 25 years of experience in experimental and simulation research on plant growth in controlled environments such as greenhouses and climate rooms. He has (co-) authored more than 120 scientific articles.
Prof. Takeshi Naganuma, M.Sc, PhD (Japan)
Prof. Takeshi Naganuma received a M.Sc. in Microbiology and PhD in Microbial Ecology from University of Tsukuba in 1986 and 1989. He is an Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Biosphere Science, Hiroshima University since 1994. He is also a Visiting Researcher in the National Institute of Polar Research of Japan since 2005 and a Visiting Researcher of the Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo since 2001.
About the Ambassadors
The Ambassadors spread the word about Mars One, supporting the ambitious endeavor it has undertaken.
Prof. Dr. Gerard 't Hooft
Prof. Dr. 't Hooft is a Nobel Prize winning theoretical physicist with a long record of accomplishments and honors. He was given the Nobel Prize for physics in 1999 in recognition of his work to clarify the quantum structure of electro-weak interactions. In addition to this accolade, he has also been awarded the Spinozapremie prize and has a number of honorary doctorates. There is a planetoid named after Prof. Dr. 't Hooft, for which he wrote the humorous Constitution and Bylaws. He is currently a senior lecturer of theoretical physics at the University of Utrecht, Holland.
Paul Römer
Paul Römer is the co-creator and very first producer of the national and international versions of 'The Big Donor Show' and the phenomenon that is 'Big Brother'. 'Big Brother' is of course a massive global success; an unprecedentedly popular television show that completely changed the way we think of reality television. 'The Big Donor Show' won an Emmy. He is currently the Director of Dutch broadcaster NTR.
Writer Mary Roach has sold over one million books worldwide, and has been published in 26 languages. She deals with unique and intriguing topics, approaching them with a mix of curiosity, skepticism and humor. Among her bestsellers are Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (2003), Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife (2005) and Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void (2010).
Gerard Blaauw, PhD
Dr. Blaauw has years of professional experience and an extensive network within the space sector. Currently the Chairman of the Netherlands Space Society, he has previously also been Director of Space at TNO from 2003 to 2010, and was a Board member of SpaceNed for many years as well. He has been on early retirement since 2011, and currently uses his expertise working as a freelancer in the space sector alongside his NVR duties as Chair.
Prof. Dr. Ir. Boudewijn Ambrosius
Prof. Dr. Ir. Boudewijn Ambrosius has been working at the Delft Technical University for over 40 years. He started in 1971 as a research assistant and is currently the chairman of Astrodynamics and Space Missions at the university's aerospace faculty as well as the Space Engineering department's chairman.
Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor
Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor is a Fellow Researcher at Institute of Space Science National University of Malaysia UKM, orthopaedic surgeon, motivational speaker, and astronaut, the first from his country to venture into space. Dr. Sheikh was selected from 11,435 candidates at the beginning of 2006 for the Malaysian Angkasawan spaceflight program. He came on-board the International Space Station via a Russian Soyuz vehicle with the international Expedition 16 crew on October 10, 2007.
Humankind on Mars
Say someone were to tell you: we are going to build a human settlement on Mars. After you have laughed a bit, only to be met with a serious face, you might ask:
How is this possible?
Will the astronauts come back?
How will the astronauts prepare for a life on Mars?
What will the journey from Earth to Mars be like?
What will it be like to live on Mars?
To learn more about the technical challenges of a human mission to Mars, read The Technology and Is this really possible? sections of our website.
A one way trip has obvious technical advantages, but what does this mean for the astronauts themselves? That depends on who you ask. You could say that most people would rather lose a leg then live the rest of their life on a cold, hostile planet, having said goodbye to friends and family forever, the best possible video call suffering from a seven minute delay—one way.
However, there are individuals for whom traveling to Mars has been a dream for their entire life. They relish the challenge. Not unlike the ancient Chinese, Micronesians, and untold Africans, the Vikings and famed explorers of Old World Europe, who left everything behind to spend the majority of their lives at sea, a one-way mission to Mars is about exploring a new world and the opportunity to conduct the most revolutionary research ever conceived, to build a new home for humans on another planet.
Mars One will offer everyone who dreams the way the ancient explorers dreamed the opportunity to apply for a position in a Mars One Mission. Are you one for whom this is a dream?
Years of Training
Before they leave the Earth's atmosphere to travel to Mars, each astronaut will be put through the required eight years of training. They will be isolated from the world for a few months every two years in groups of four in simulation facilities, to learn how they respond to living in close quarters while isolated from all humans except for the three crew members. In addition to the expertise and work experience they must already possess, they have to learn quite a few new skills: physical and electrical repairs to the settlement structures, cultivating crops in confined spaces, and addressing both routine and serious medical issues such as dental upkeep, muscle tears and bone fractures.
The Journey to Mars
The flight will take between seven to eight months (depending upon the relative positions of the Earth and Mars). The astronauts will spend those seven months together in a very small space—much smaller than the home base at the settlement on Mars—devoid of luxury or frills. This will not be easy. Showering with water will not be an option. Instead the astronauts make do with wet towelettes (wet wipes) as used by astronauts on the International Space Station.
Freeze dried and canned food is the only option. There will be constant noise from the ventilators, computer and life support systems, and a regimented routine of 3 hours daily exercise in order to maintain muscle mass. If the astronauts are hit by a solar storm, they must take refuge in the even smaller, sheltered area of the rocket which provides the best protection, for up to several days.
The journey will be arduous, pressing each of them to the very limits of their training and personal capacity. But the astronauts will endure because this will be the flight carrying them to their dream.
Once they arrive on Mars, the astronauts will begin making use of their relatively spacious living units; over 50 m2 per person, and a total of more than 200 m2 combined interior space.
Within the settlement are inflatable components which contain bedrooms, working areas, a living room and a 'plant production unit', where they will grow greenery. They will also be able to shower as normal, prepare fresh food (that they themselves grew and harvested) in the kitchen, wear regular clothes, and, in essence, lead typical day-to-day lives.
If the astronauts leave the settlement, they have to wear a Mars Suit. However, all living spaces are connected by passageways, in order for the astronauts to move freely from one end of the settlement to the other. As the rovers have done much of the heavy construction prior to their arrival, it will not take the astronauts a long time to find routine in their new life, moving into carrying out valuable construction works and research.
Construction & Research
Several new components will be delivered to Mars while the first group of four astronauts are settled. In preparation of the arrival of the second group of four astronauts, the components will include a second living unit and a second life support unit. With use of the rovers, the astronauts will connect these units to the main base. When this task has been performed, the first crew has prepared the settlement for the arrival of additional astronauts, and, in the meantime, the astronauts will enjoy more room for themselves and extra security as the duplicate living environments provide back-up life support systems.
When the second crew of astronauts lands, the first crew will have already applied technology and physical labor to the construction of additional living and working spaces, using local materials. Mars One is working on concepts, such as the inclusion of tunnels and domes made from compressed Martian soil, which may be able to hold a breathable atmosphere for the astronauts to live in.
There will be a great deal of research conducted on Mars. The astronauts will research how their bodies respond and change when living in a 38% gravitational field, and how food crops and other plants grow in hydroponic plant production units. Research will include extra-settlement exploration to learn about the ancient and current geology on Mars. Of course, much research will be dedicated to the determination if life was once present or now exists on Mars.
Reports from Mars
The astronauts will not only submit routine reports, but will also share all that they enjoy and find challenging. It will give the people on Earth a unique and personal insight view of life on Mars. They could answer intriguing questions like:What is it like to walk on Mars? How do you feel about your fellow astronauts after a year? What is it like living in the reduced Mars' gravity? What is your favorite food? Do you enjoy the sunsets on Mars?
Future Expansion
A new group of four astronauts will land on Mars every two years, steadily increasing the settlement's size. Eventually, a living unit will be built from local materials, large enough to grow trees. As more astronauts arrive, the creativity applied to settlement expansion will certainly give way to ideas and innovation that we cannot conceive now. But we can expect the human spirit to continue to persevere, to even thrive in this challenging environment.#
Mars One has developed a mission to establish a human settlement on Mars built entirely upon existing technology. While the integration of systems proven in prior missions does greatly improve the chance of success, it by no means eliminates the risk or challenge of such an incredible endeavor. Sending humans to Mars remains a phenomenal undertaking by all standards and, as such, presents very real risks and challenges.
United States President John F. Kennedy said in his famous Rice Moon speech "We choose to go to the Moon, not because it is easy, but because it is hard".
Mars One takes on the challenge of establishing a settlement on Mars with the same frame of mind, knowing all great endeavors, especially space exploration, incorporate risk of lost time, resources, ... and sometimes lives. Venturing to Mars is no exception.
The challenge is to identify the risks in every step of the ten year Mission, from astronaut selection through training, from launch to living on Mars. Mars One has incorporated into its Mission plan a detailed risk analysis protocol, built by highly experienced individuals, some of them with experience at NASA and the ESA. Ever evolving, ever improving, Mars One is constantly working to reduce the risk of delay and failure at every level.
For example, the Mars lander will be tested eight times prior to the landing of the first crew, using identical vehicles. As is standard in the aerospace industry, every component will be selected for its simplicity, durability, and capacity to be repaired using the facilities that are available to the astronauts on Mars.
An important aspect of risk management is for quality information to be shared between suppliers and made readily available to all parties. In the case of the Mars One Mission, this includes sponsors, investors, aerospace suppliers, and of course, the astronauts themselves. Because the Mission is ultimately funded and supported by the global audience, Mars One also desires for the general public to have a sense of what the risks are and how Mars One is working to mitigate them.
Mars One identifies two major risk categories: the loss of human life and cost overruns.
Human space exploration is dangerous at all levels. After more than sixty years of humans leaving the far Earth below, the risk of space flight is similar to that of climbing Mount Everest.
Mars is an unforgiving environment where a small mistake or accident can result in large failure, injury, and death. Every component must work perfectly. Every system (and its backup) must function without fail or human life is at risk.
With advances in technology, shared experience between space agencies, what was once a one-shot endeavor becomes routine and space travel does become more viable.
Cost overruns are also not uncommon in large projects in any arena. The risk for cost overrun in the Mars One Mission is reduced by using existing technologies, and by the fact that about 66% of the cost is associated with launch and landing--both of which are well understood and proven variables.
The proposed Mars One budget includes a large safety margin to take into account significant mission failures as well as smaller but costly failures of components on Mars.
Mars One has developed a detailed risk analysis profile which guides both its internal technical development as well as the relationships it builds with its aerospace suppliers. This risk analysis profile will continue to evolve and improve over the years prior to the first humans walking on the planet Mars.
Press Releases Mars One
11 March 2013: Mars One Contracts Paragon For Life Support Systems
29 January 2013: Mars One Secures First Investments
8 January 2013: Mars One Issues Requirements For 2013 Astronaut Selection
3 January 2013: Mars One Welcomes Eiso Vaandrager As Director of Finance & Investor Relations
4 December 2012: Mars One Will Take Humanity To Mars As A Not-For-Profit Foundation
4 October 2012: Mars One Welcomes Medical Director Norbert Kraft M.D.
3 October 2012: Mars One Welcomes Astronaut Sheikh Muszaphar as Ambassador
17 September 2012: Former Super Computing CEO Joins Mars One
29 August 2012: Mars One Gains First Sponsors
31 May 2012: Mars One will settle men on Mars in 2023
18 February 2013: Internship Web Development (Amersfoort, the Netherlands)
13 February 2013: Mars One banners for websites, blogs, and emails
9 January 2013: Vote for your favorite Mars One banner
8 January 2013: New information regarding the Astronaut Selection Program
27 December 2012: Mars One Visits Suppliers
20 December 2012: Mars One is looking for Design Volunteers
18 December 2012: Prof. Leo F.M. Marcelis, PhD Becomes Advisor of Mars One
12 December 2012: Dr. Günther Reitz Becomes Advisor of Mars One
10 December 2012: Stefano Stramigioli, M.Sc., PhD Becomes Advisor of Mars One
5 December 2012: Mars One now accepts private donations
28 November 2012: Jamie Guined, M.Ed., MBA Becomes Advisor of Mars One
5 November 2012: Dr. James R. Kass Becomes Advisor of Mars One
30 October 2012: Dr. John W. Traphagan Becomes Advisor of Mars One
11 October 2012: Dr. John D. Rummel Becomes Advisor of Mars One
1 October 2012: Dr. Christopher P. McKay Becomes Advisor of Mars One
25 September 2012: Mars One supporters show their Mars One T-shirt
19 September 2012: Prof. Thais Russomano Becomes Advisor of Mars One
3 September 2012: Mars One is a Challenge Partner in the Asian Space Challenge 2012
23 August 2012: Official Mars One T-shirt
16 August 2012: Dr. Raye Kass Becomes Advisor of Mars One
16 August 2012: Mars One Auditioned to Speak at TED2013
7 August 2012: Steve Carsey Becomes Advisor of Mars One
7 August 2012: Dr. Gino Ormeno Becomes Advisor of Mars One
4 July 2012: Prof. Pascale Ehrenfreund Becomes Advisor of Mars One
28 June 2012: Brian Enke Becomes Advisor of Mars One
28 June 2012: Tanja Masson-Zwaan Becomes Advisor of Mars One
28 June 2012: Dr. Norbert Kraft Becomes Advisor of Mars One
11 June 2012: Mars One Introduction Video with Subtitles
30 May 2012: Mary Roach becomes Ambassador of Mars One
16 May 2012: Prof. Dr. Ir. Ambrosius becomes Ambassador of Mars One
28 April 2012: Prof. Dr. Gerard 't Hooft becomes Ambassador of Mars One
28 April 2012: Paul Römer becomes Ambassador of Mars One
2 April 2012: Dr. Gerard Blaauw becomes Ambassador of Mars One
March 2013: Mars One in the Media
February 2013: Mars One in the Media
January 2013: Mars One in the Media
December 2012: Mars One in the Media
November 2012: Mars One in the Media
October 2012: Mars One in the Media
September 2012: Mars One in the Media
August 2012: Mars One in the Media
July 2012: Mars One in the Media
June 2012: Mars One in the Media
May 2012: Mars One in the Media
29 May 2013: Bas Lansdorp presents at Innoversum, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.
6 May 2013: Bas Lansdorp is panelist on the Habitation, Life Support, Mobility, and Spacesuits Panel at the Human to Mars Summit in Washington DC, USA.
19 April 2013: Bas Lansdorp presents at LOGIN Tech Conference, Vilnius, Lithuania.
10 April 2013: Bas Lansdorp presents at the British Interplanetary Society in London, UK.
5 April 2013: Bas Lansdorp presents at Edinburgh International Science Festival, Scotland, UK.
4 April 2013: Bas Lansdorp presents at GOTO Night at Trifork, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
14 February 2013: Bas Lansdorp presents at Rockstart Accelerator: 'Think big: setting up the first colony on Mars', Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
11 February 2013: Bas Lansdorp presents at Van Hier Naar Daar, Pakhuis de Zwijger, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
The following are a few of our favorite on-line resources for information and education about Mars and the exploration of space.
www.SpaceDaily.com
www.SpaceflightNow.com
www.NewSpaceWatch.com
Sen.com
Space Agencies
Роскосмос (Roscosmos)
Complete list of Space Agencies on Wikipedia
Mars Programmes
Mars Exploration Program - NASA
Mars Science Laboratory - NASA
ExoMars - ESA
Space Advocacy
Cosmos Education
Woman In Aerospace
Mars and the Mind of Man: Sagan, Bradbury and Clarke (1971)
About the Suppliers
Mars One has visited several major aerospace companies around the world to discuss its plan, and the hardware components that are needed to implement the plan. For each component, Mars One has found at least one potential supplier. Mars One has visited the companies below, and has received letters of interest from them.
Astrobotic Technology
Astrobotic Technology Inc. is a Pittsburgh based company that is pioneering affordable planetary access and mobility solutions that promise to spark a new era of exploration, science, tourism, resource utilization and mining in the solar system. Astrobotic is flying a mission to the moon's pole in 2015 to find water ice.
"Exploration, settlement and utilization of the solar system is mankind's next giant leap. Mars One exemplifies the human spirit and its limitless curiosity."
John Thornton, President Astrobotic Technology
ILC Dover is the frontrunner in the softgood industry for current and near term space programs and is very supportive of commercial space activities across the globe. ILC Dover is one of the few companies in the world that can claim to have products on both the Moon and on Mars. They have contributed to the Apollo spacesuits and the three-airbag landing systems that helped land the NASA rovers on Mars' surface.
"The Mars One Mission is a bold and exciting step for the future of human exploration beyond Earth. Mars One has put together a supplier team with the right level of experience and proven space flight technologies that can make this mission a success. ILC Dover is excited to be a part of this grand adventure!"
Cliff Willey, Program Manager Inflatable Products, ILC Dover
MDA Corporation
MDA Corporation is a worldwide provider of information systems and is an established provider of custom space systems to government and commercial markets internationally, from earth orbiting infrastructure and spacecraft servicing to deep space and planetary exploration. Provider of the robotic systems aboard the Space Shuttle and Space Station as well as robotic systems and science instruments successfully operating on the surface of Mars , MDA's exploration heritage traces back over three decades of human spaceflight and Mars exploration. Today MDA proudly supports US, Canadian, European, Russian, Japanese and commercial space programs from operating units across Canada, the US and Europe.
Paragon Space Development
Paragon Space Development Corporation provides environmental controls for extreme and hazardous environments. Paragon designs, builds, tests and operates premier life support systems and leading thermal control products for astronauts, contaminated water divers, and other extreme environment adventurers, as well as for unmanned space and terrestrial applications.
"Mars One is established to execute the first fully commercial campaign of human exploration and development of Mars. I believe that the endeavor holds great promise and Paragon is prepared to manufacture and integrate the Mars One life support, thermal control, and space suit systems."
Jane Poynter, President, Chairwoman, Paragon Space Development Corporation
Space Exploration Technologies has developed a family of launch vehicles and spacecraft that increase reliability and reduce the cost of both manned and unmanned space transportation, ultimately by a factor of ten. As the first rockets developed in the 21st century, the Falcon series take advantage of the latest technologies, as well as 50 years of "lessons learned" in the aerospace industry. SpaceX is demonstrating that through simplicity, both reliability and low cost can be achieved in commercial space flight.
Surrey Satellite Technology is the worldwide leader in the construction of small satellites. The British company provides a range of affordable satellite solutions to a variety of customers in the fields of Earth observation, science, technology demonstration, telecommunications and navigation.
"SSTL believes that the commercialisation of space exploration is vital in order to bring down the costs and schedules. Mars One is an imaginative venture making use of existing technology and SSTL is highly motivated to support this initiative."
Sir Martin Sweeting, Founder and Executive Chairman, Surrey Satelite Technology Ltd.
Thales Alenia Space has an enduring history in building habitable systems and has successfully developed a large number of pressurized elements for the International Space Station, including Node 2 & 3, Cupola, Columbus and ATV Cargo Carriers. Thales is also currently developing the pressurized cargo carriers for the Orbital Cygnus vehicle in the frame of the NASA Commercial Resupply Services initiative.
Silver Sponsors Mars One
Mars One is very grateful for the support we receive from our Silver Sponsors. These companies make it possible for Mars One to continue their efforts to establish the first human settlement on Mars. If you would like to join us in making this mission a reality, please contact us at sponsoring@mars-one.com This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Byte Internet
Byte Internet is a webhosting provider for professionals with a strong focus on service, technology and reliability.
The company was founded in 1999 and with a fast growth over the years, it is a renowned and stable player in the Dutch webhosting market.
Byte offers fast, reliable and scalable webhosting. Specialities are advanced cluster hosting and optimized Magento hosting.
Aleph Objects, Inc.
Built upon the philosophy of freedom, Aleph Objects, Inc. is transforming the 3D printer industry. Starting with the LulzBotTM AO-100, recipient of the Respects Your Freedom certification from The Free Software Foundation, this high-quality, cost-effective solution embodies the free software movement.
Complete with designs, software, documentation, source code and specifications, customers can continually improve their printer. From short-run manufacturing to rapid prototyping---this technology allows users to design and manufacture virtually anywhere, even Mars.
Verkkokauppa.com is Finland's 2nd largest consumer electronics retailer. The company sells computers, home-electronics, toys, gaming and navigation products through its network of three stores, 2000 post-offices and 500 R-kiosks.
Verkkokauppa.com was founded in 1992 and it has 400 employees in four locations. The company headquarters are in Helsinki, Finland.
The Earth-Mars Chronicles
What are The Earth-Mars Chronicles? A series of four books written by Gerald W. Driggers, about settling Mars and how a new branch of humanity emerges to become the children of Mars, eventually facing conflict with their own cousins on Earth. "Vol. 1 Hope For Humanity" is available now in e-book and paperback formats:
Amazon: The Earth-Mars Chronicles: Vol 1 - Hope for Humanity [Paperback and Kindle e-book]
Barnes & Noble: The Earth-Mars Chronicles: Vol 1 - Hope for Humanity [Paperback and Nook e-book]
Kobo: The Earth-Mars Chronicles - Vol. 1 Hope for Humanity [e-book]
Contributors Mars One
Mars One is very grateful for the support we receive from our Contributors. These companies make it possible for Mars One to continue their efforts to establish the first human settlement on Mars. If you would like to join us in making this mission a reality, please contact us at sponsoring@mars-one.com This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Mars One's Red Planet Colony Project (Gallery)
Ind. man with 47 guns arrested after school threat
CEDAR LAKE, Ind. (AP) — A northern Indiana man who allegedly threatened to "kill as many people as he could" at an elementary school near his home was arrested by officers who later found 47 guns and ammunition hidden throughout his home.
Von. I. Meyer, 60, of Cedar Lake, was arrested Saturday after prosecutors filed formal charges of felony intimidation, domestic battery and resisting law enforcement against him. He was being held Sunday without bond at the Lake County Jail, pending an initial hearing on the charges, police said in a statement.
Cedar Lake Police officers were called to Meyer's home early Friday after he allegedly threatened to set his wife on fire once she fell asleep, the statement said.
Meyer also threatened to enter nearby Jane Ball Elementary School "and kill as many people as he could before police could stop him," the statement said. Meyer's home is less than 1,000 feet from the school and linked to it by trails and paths through a wooded area, police said.
Police said in the statement that they notified school officials and boosted security at all area schools Friday — the same day 26 people, including 20 students, were shot and killed at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.
On Saturday, officers served warrants at Meyer's home and arrested him. The statement said police had learned that Meyer kept many weapons in his older, two-story home and "is a known member of the Invaders Motorcycle Gang."
Officers searched the home, finding 47 guns and ammunition worth more than $100,000 hidden throughout the home. Many of the weapons were collector's guns.
Cedar Lake is about 45 miles southeast of Chicago.
A dispatcher with Cedar Lake Police said that the police chief was not available for interviews until Monday.
Lake County police spokeswoman Patti Van Til said Sunday that a SWAT team from the department assisted in serving Saturday's warrants.
Jacintha Saldanha's Death: Australian DJs Behind Royal Prank May Face Police Probe
The two Australian DJs who pulled the prank call on the U.K. hospital where Kate Middleton was staying are now in hiding and may soon have to face police after the death of a nurse caught in the hoax.
Kate Middleton and Indian-born mother-of-two Jacintha Saldanha, 46, is thought to have taken her own life.
2Day FM hosts, Michael Christian and Mel Greig.
Questions have been raised by members of the Australian public whether MI5, MI6 and/or their well known murder partners Mossad where involved somehow in the death of Indian-born mother-of-two Jacintha Saldanha, 46, who the UK media are claiming that she took her own life...
and it is noted that all media reports coming from the United Kingdom only ever call it a suspected suicide... but was it a murder by MI5, MI6 and/or their well known murder partners Mossad
to make and example of the nurse who gave out the private information about Kate Middleton who was in a U.K. hospital...
Australian readers of INLNews.com and awn.bz who have read all about the murder of Thomas Allwood,
INL News Under-Cover Investigative Journalist and co producer with Stephen Carew-Reid and the INL News Group of Fringe Shows Have Talent TV Shows Have, on the 21st June, 2012 in Broxburn Scotland which is about an hour's drive from Edinburgh... and how the Scottish Lothian Borders Police and the Scottish Prosecution known in Scotland as the Procurator Fiscal's Office and the world's media are clearly not looking closely enough the evidence brought out at the recent trial of Kyle Montgomery heard from the 19th November to the 26th November 2012 in Scotland's High Court in Livingston, who had been charged by the Scottish Lothian Borders Police for the murder of Thomas Allwood ..the evidence clearly indicates strongly that Thomas Allwood was not murdered by Kyle Montgomery who locals in Broxburn say is a well known local mentally depressed Scitzophrenic at around 2.20am on the 21st July, 2012 ... as implied by his father John Montgomery in his sworn evidence at by Kyle Montgomery's trial... when the much more believable independent evidence from two next door neighbours who have a common wall with John Montgomery's house in Galloway Cresent, Broxburn was produced at the trial that say they both heard and felt an enormous bang on their bedroom wall that felt like their bedroom wall was about to cave in...coming from John Montgomery's house at about 3.15 am on the 21st June, 2012.... which was the loudest bang that they had ever heard coming from John Montgomery's house which they stated was like living next door to a pub with drinking, shouting, arguing and fighting went on all the time all hours of the day and night... they said in evidence that before the enormous bang there was loud shouting, screaming, arguing and fighting coming from John Montgomery's house... however as soon as the enormous bang happened that felt like their bedroom wall was about to cave in... there was complete silence coming from John Montgomery's house... and then they heard the back door quietly open and close ... which was first time that that door was ever opened and close without being slammed for the last couple of years since they lived next door to John Montgomery's house..... John Montgomery had given sworn evidence at his sons trial that after his son grabbed a bread knife from his kitchen draw and ran out the back door after Thomas Allwood, who was unarmed when he left the house a few minutes before, and that his son Kyle Montgomery came back into the house a few minutes later with blood on the bread knife admitting to his Dad, John Montgomery, that he had just done something bad... John Montgomery then said he took to bread knife with blood on it from his Son, Kyle Montgomery and calmly placed it back into the draw still with the blook on it... then Kyle Montgomery left the house and John Montgomery calmly had another drink and then fell asleep on the lounge and did not wake up until the police turned up and arrested him at about 5 am on the 21st June, 2012... another person who was at John Montgomery's house that early morning on the 21st June, 2012 was a lady known as Maggie whose name is Margaret Shedden (Galloway being her birth name- a very well connected and influential family in Scotland with a famous politician George Galloway and a Freemason Scottish Police Officer Hugh Galloway of 7 Tower Place Johnstone Renfrewshire Renfrewshire 791 being member of the family)...John Montgomery's family also are well connnected and respected in Scotland with war heros in the family and a Freemason Police Officer Alexander Montgomery 51 Parkhead Rd Glen Village by Falkirk Stirlingshire 484
also a member of the Montgomery Family.... so it does not seem believable that John Montgomery would not have been awake and/or woken up with the enormous bang coming from his house at about 3.15 that the next door neighbours say was the loudest bang they had ever heard from John Montgomery's house and felt like their bedroom wall was going to cave in... so this clearly indicates along with other evidence that John Montgomery had lied on the witness stand and in doing so has implicated his Kyle Montgomery as the person who was likely to have made a fatal six inch stab wound in the right chest of Thomas Allwood through cloths with a bread knife that would have cerated edge and no sharp point for stabbing anyone through clothing which is only suitable for a sawing acting rather that a stabbing action...however at the same time implicating Kyle Montgomery as the likely person who made the fatal six inch stab wound in Thomas Allwood's right chest that cut through a main archery causing the death of Thomas Allwood... John Montgomery gave evidence which is believed by the jury could get his son off the murder charge his Son Kyle Montgomery was facing and to try and convince the jury that his son
Kyle Montgomery was only guilty of culperable homicide... which is like an accident homicide crime that resulted in the death of a person without intent in a drunken fight that got out of hand ... even though the bar maid gave evidence at the trial that Thomas Allwood was only drinking soft drinks that night... and Kyle Montgomery had been alcohol drinking heavily since about 1pm on the 20th June, 2012.....and so was his father John Montgomery drinking alcohol heavily since at least 8pm and likely most of the day since he received his government benefit cheque that day... in fact the jury based mainly on his father's evidence... very conveniently for all those Scottish Government officials involved in the investigation into the murder of Thomas Allwood.... and others... found Kyle Montgomery not guilty of the murder of Thomas Allwood and found Kyle Montgomery guilty of the lesser charge of Culperable homicide (accidental death) of Thomas Allwood....now the evidence that came out at the trial of Kyle Montgomery seems to clearly indicate that there were at least four people... maybe more in the house of Kyle Montgomery from 10pm on the 2oth June, 2012 and about 3.30 am on the 21st June, 2012... and in fact at least voices coming from John Montgomery's house that night and early morning were heard by the next door neighbours ....these seem to include...Thomas Allwood, John Montgomery, Kyle Montgomery and Margaret Shedden (Galloway being her birth name) and maybe others who did not want to make themselves known and kept reasonable quiet while at John Montgomery's house... the evidence seems to clearly indicate that at 2am to 2.30 am on the 21st June, 2012 when John Montgomery states was the time frame when his son Kyle Montgomery was meant to have gone out the back door and meant to have stabbed Thomas Allwood with a bread knife and came back with blood on the knife admitting he has just done something bad...making it fairly obvious to the at least three people left at the house which at the least included John Montgomery, Kyle Montgomery and Margaret Shedden (Galloway being her birth name)... that Kyle Montgomery had just stabbed Tomas Allwood outside in the back yard and/or a nearby street .. and that Thomas Allwood would be likely have been badly hurt from a stab wound and would have needed urgent medical attention.... regardless if was considered that stabbing of Thomas Allwood by Kyle Montgomery deliberate and/or in self defense... either way it would have been clear to these three people and anyone else that may have been at John Montgomery's house at that time, that they should call an ambulance and the police immediately to make sure that Thomas Allwood obtained urgent medical attention which if had been done then could well have saved the life of Thomas Allwood... sure the fact that neither of these people bothered to ring the police and/or an ambulance to try and get urgent help for Thomas Allwood at around 2.20-2.30 am...if what John Montgomery says id true.... they all should be charged with being responsible for the murder and/or death of Thomas Allwood as they seemed to just let him die on the street or the back yard.. and under Australian law could well be charged as accessories after the fact and at least charged with some serious charge that resulted in the death of Thomas Allwood... very similar to walking away from a serious car accident where it is clear someone had been seriously hurt and not calling the police and/or an ambulance....
Now... when one looks at the evidence of the two next door neighbours that say they both heard and felt an enormous bang on their bedroom wall that felt like their bedroom wall was about to cave in...coming from John Montgomery's house at about 3.15 am on the 21st June, 2012.... which was the loudest bang that they had ever heard coming from John Montgomery's house... then the more believable truth is that at about 3.15 am Thomas Allwood was king hit by someone and/or some people with either a fist or fists and/or a hard object that was enough to knock out Thomas Allwood.. then the body of Thomas Allwood was carried outside while Thomas Allwood was still unconscious ...then someone stabbed Thomas Allwood... not with a bread knife but a sharp pen knife which made the deep six inch stab wound into the right chest of Thomas Allwood that cut a main archery so that Thomas Allwood was never wake up and would bleed to death... and then quietly they carried Thomas Allwood body to the next streets Clarkson and Pyothall Roads and quietly left the body there at about 3.30 am where the body was found at about 4.45 am by three boys walking past at that time...the neighbour that had a window open looking right over where Thomas Allwood's body was found says you can hear a pin drop in her street and there was not one sound or noise in her street that early morning... and the only noise that was heard was the sound of the police at about 5am looking at the body and the murder scene... so it is clear that there was not fighting in her street that morning at 2.00-4.00 am where the body was found that morning and so screaming or cries for help from Thomas Allwood in her street that morning at 2.00-4.00 am where the body was found that morning.. why?... because Thomas Allwood was obviously carried and left there and was already unconscious having been knocked out before he was stabbed with the six inch stab wound and then stabbed and then carried to to the next streets Clarkson and Pyothall Roads and quietly left there... private investigators employed by friends and family of Thomas Allwood have a strong belief that the evidence clearly suggests that Thomas Allwood was not murdered and/or even killed by Kyle Montgomery with a bread knife but was murdered by a contract killer well trained to know where and how to stab a person with one six inch stab wound with a very sharp and pointed pen knife which is designed to be able to kill some with just one stab wound.... the people in the world that are well known to be able to know how to murder someone with just one stab wound are agents and/or assets of MI5, MI6 and Mossad... and it is well known they work as agents for the state of the United Kingdom and the UK Prime Minister's Office to carry out murders of people like Thomas Allwood who was an undercover INL News Investigative Journalist who was working on a story to expose state of the United Kingdom and the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron and their Treasury Solicitors and Barristers for knowing being involved with having a false and fraudulent UK Border Agency document and having that false and fraudulent document presented to the High Court of Justice to stop Thomas Allwood from successfully claiming £500 million in damages claim for the wrongful arrest of USA Comedian Ronnie Prouty by the UK Border Agency on the 27th April, 2011 as a favour for the powerful Rupert and James Murdoch and their all powerful media group News Corporation as a way of commercially sabotaging the planned filming of the pilot fo the Fringe Shows Have Talent TV Show in Edinburgh in April- May 2011 being co-produced by Thomas Allwood, Stephen Carew-Reid (the author of the well known bboks The Triumph of Truth -Who Is Watching the Watchers? and the original founder of the INL News Group-formerly known as the Australian Weekend News Publishing Group) and the INL News Group to create an international showcase of talented entertainers that perform at the 60 year old Edinburgh Fringe Festival each year... which has become the biggest arts festival in the world with over 3,000 Fringe shows being performed during August each year in Edinburgh....
Below is some the transcripts of what was said at a court hearing in London's High Court of Justice heard on the 24th July, 2012 where applications were originally listed to be heard by Thomas Allwood prior to his murder on the 21st June, 2012 in Broxburn, Scotland for criminal contempt applications to be heard against David Cameron the UK Prime Minister, George Osborne, the UK Chancellor, the UK Government, the UK Border Agency and their treasury solicitors for knowingly having prepared a false and fraudulent UK Border Agency document and presenting such false and fraudulent UK Border Agency document to the High Court of Justice to try to stop Thomas Allwood from suing David Cameron the UK Prime Minister, George Osborne, the UK Chancellor, the UK Government, the UK Border Agency for £500 million in damages caused to the filming of the Fringe Shows Have Talent TV Show by the wrongful arrest of USA Comedian Ronnie Prouty on the 27th April, 2012 at Heathrow Airport as favour David Cameron and George Osborne's good friends at the time...Rupert and James Murdoch and their all powerful multi- billion media group known as News Corporation..the murder of Thomas Allwood on the 21st June, 2012 meant that would stop Thomas Allwood continuing with his criminl contempt applications against suing David Cameron the UK Prime Minister, George Osborne, the UK Chancellor, the UK Government, the UK Border Agency and their treasury solicitors and well as other criminal contempt applications taken out against barristers and solicitors involving another legal fight Thomas Allwood and his de-facto partner Valerie Butler where involved with at the High Court of Justice in their fight over their 25 acre family farm known as Haywicks Farm, Haywicks Lane, Hardwicke, Gloucester in the UK... where Thomas Allwood alleged that powerful and well connected s Freemason solicitors and barrister in Gloucester that Thomas Allwood called the Gloucestershire Legal Mafia (GLM) were involved with the preparing a false will in the name of Valerie Butler's father Herbert Butler and presenting that false will for a wrongful grant of probate so that partners of the Gloucestershire Legal Mafia (GLM) could wrongly obtain the title deed of their 25 acre family farm known as Haywicks Farm, Haywicks Lane, Hardwicke, Gloucester in the UK which they had planned to turn into a multi-million luxury real estate development ... Thomas Allwood also had a firm belief and was not scared to openly say...that Valerie Butler's father Herbert Butler was also murdered as part of the conspiracy he alleged to defraud his de-facto partner Valerie Butler of her rightful ownership of Haywicks Farm..
Some of the reasons why the Private Investigation Team employed by friends and family of the late Thomas Allwood to investigate who and why Thomas Allwood was murdered on the 21st June. 2012 in Broxburn, Scotland strongly believe that the powerful agents of the State of the United Kingdom such as MI5, MI6 and/or Mossad and/or some other professional contract murdered was and/or were involved in the murder of Thomas Allwood on the 21st June, 2012 include:
1. The Scottish Lothian Borders Police and the Scottish Prosecution known in Scotland as the Procurator Fiscal's Office and the world's media are clearly not looking closely enough the evidence brought out at the recent trial of Kyle Montgomery heard from the 19th November to the 26th November 2012 in Scotland's High Court in Livingston, who had been charged by the Scottish Lothian Borders Police for the murder of Thomas Allwood ... seem to be risking their worldwide good reputation by quite openly protecting those at the house of John Montgomery on the evening of the 20th June, 2012 and the early morning of the 21st June, 2012 who according to the evidence of John Montgomery, and including John Montgomery knew that Thomas Allwood was likely badly wounded from a stab wound at about 2.20 am and did niot ring the police of an ambulance and simply went to sleep and left Thomas Allwood to die on the road just a street away from John Montgomery's house
2. Why is there a complete worldwide media block out.. except for one lone Scottish Journalist Vic Roderick who was the only journalist to cover the trial... who has now been silenced by the world mainstream media with what is called a "D Notice" on the reporting of the murder/death of Thomas Allwood who was an undercover INL News Investigative Journalist, Poet and TV Shows producer of the Fringe Shows have Talent TV Show...
3. Why is the a mentally sick person such as Kyle Montgomery whom the locals say is a well known Scitzophrenic which is capable to believing and/or repeating any story he is told is the truth.. being made a patsy for the death of Thomas Allwood.. .at about 2.20 am when the evidence clearly indicates that Thomas Allwood was knocked unconscious in the house of John Montghomery at about 3.15 am on the 21st June, 2012 and then carried out of the house and then stabbed with a six inch wound in the right chest cutting a main archery nd then carried to be let to die on Clarkson and Pyothall Road, Broxburn
With the more believable truth is that at about 3.15 am Thomas Allwood was king hit by someone and/or some people with either a fist or fists and/or a hard object that was enough to knock out Thomas Allwood.. then the body of Thomas Allwood was carried outside while Thomas Allwood was still unconscious ...then someone stabbed Thomas Allwood... not with a bread knife but a sharp pen knife which made the deep six inch stab wound into the right chest of Thomas Allwood that cut a main archery so that Thomas Allwood was never wake up and would bleed to death... and then quietly they carried Thomas Allwood body to the next streets Clarkson and Pyothall Roads and quietly left the body there at about 3.30 am where the body was found at about 4.45 am by three boys walking past at that time...the neighbour that had a window open looking right over where Thomas Allwood's body was found says you can hear a pin drop in her street and there was not one sound or noise in her street that early morning... and the only noise that was heard was the sound of the police at about 5am looking at the body and the murder scene...
so it is clear that there was not fighting in her street that morning at 2.00-4.00 am where the body was found that morning and so screaming or cries for help from Thomas Allwood in her street that morning at 2.00-4.00 am where the body was found that morning.. why?... because Thomas Allwood was obviously carried and left there and was already unconscious having been knocked out before he was stabbed with the six inch stab wound and then stabbed and then carried to to the next streets Clarkson and Pyothall Roads and quietly left there... private investigators employed by friends and family of Thomas Allwood have a strong belief that the evidence clearly suggests that Thomas Allwood was not murdered and/or even killed by Kyle Montgomery with a bread knife but was murdered by a contract killer well trained to know where and how to stab a person with one six inch stab wound with a very sharp and pointed pen knife which is designed to be able to kill some with just one stab wound.... the people in the world that are well known to be able to know how to murder someone with just one stab wound are agents and/or assets of MI5, MI6 and Mossad...
Part of the transcripts of hearing before Justice Vos at High Court of Justice in London on the 24th July, 2012
Miss Love: The Border Agency matter.
Mr Justice Vos: I know, but I do not have any of the core papers in the Border Agency matter. What is the action no?
Miss Love: My Lord, it is HC11C04395
Mr Justice Vos: You see that is why, I have been through all the cases, and I do not have any papers in that except your letter and the correspondence.
Miss Love: Right
Mr Justice Vos: If I just pick it up. I have this much stuff on the UKBA, but it really is just your letter and a lot of historical material, and material concerning the famous INL News Group.
Miss Love: Mr Lord, we can remedy that situation _ I am sure your Lordship does not particularily want further copies of the correspondence, but certainly of the original claim form_
Mr Justice Vos: That is what I would like. So there was an application, was there, in that matter that was returnable today?
Miss Love: There was....
Mr Justice Vos: To do what?
Miss Love: If I could just start the procedural history, the claim by Mr Carew-Reid, which in essense was apparently a claim for damages in respect of treatment by the UK Border Agency of an individual known as Mr Prouty was issued on 9th December, 2011...
Miss Love: as you will see, it appears to be some hybrid of striking out and appealing the order of Master Bowles, an application for the cross-examination of myself and Mr Spanton, who was acting Treasury Solicitor and a generalised, if I might respectfully say so, rather difficult to grasp criminal contempt application..
Mr Justice Vos: It is another criminal contempt
Mr Geis: But the point was that Mr Prouty was refused entry into the UK and I've seen the forms that Mr Carew-Reid had, and there was one form which did not have a signature on. Now, I think this does cause for a bit of alarm and I think you should carefully consider this point and. if necessary, make an adjournment.
Mr Justice Vos: Thank you, Mr Gies...
Miss Lean: My Lord may have seen in the more recent correspondence from Mr Reid and INL that clearly they have concerns that this was a murder effected by MI5 or Mossad and/or other agents of the State, but as far as we are aware it is being dealt with as a criminal murder charge (murder of Thomas Allwood)
Mr Justice Voss: Yes, and who was Mr Allwood- apart from being a party to litigation, did he occupy some important position?....
Miss Lean: My Lord, for completeness, I should mention I am afraid among the many letters and emails from members of the INL News Group I do not have that one. I think I have seen some reference in the correspondence to Mr Allwood being involved with the INL News Group in some capacity so that may be the...
Mr Justice Voss: Right, but he was a associate and friend of Mr Carew-Reid, that is what it comes to?.... Right, thank you. Well Mr Carew-Reid himself says he was a friend of Mr Carew-Reid's side, I do not think we need to go further than that.....
This morning, there are also new questions about whether DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian, radio shock jocks at Sydney's 2Day FM broke laws after they recorded the private conversation when they pretended to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles.
British police have also contacted Australian police about a possible probe into the prank call, The Associated Press reported Sunday.
Rhys Holleran, CEO of Southern Cross Austereo, the parent company of Sydney's 2Day FM radio station said no laws were broken. The prank had been cleared by the Australian radio station's lawyers. Holleran said the DJs followed the company's procedures before broadcasting the call. "I think the more important question here is that we're very confident that we haven't done anything illegal. Our main concern at this point in time is what has happened is incredibly tragic and we're deeply saddened and we're incredibly affected by that," Holleran said Saturday. The hoax has caused public outcry after the death of a nurse, Jacintha Saldanha, who connected the pair to the Duchess' room.
Saldanha was found dead Friday morning after police were called to an address near the hospital to "reports of a woman found unconscious," according to a statement from Scotland Yard. Circumstances of her death are still being investigated, but are not suspicious at this stage, authorities said earlier. Lord Glenarthur, the chairman of King Edward VII's Hospital, the U.K. hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was receiving treatment, condemned the prank Saturday in a letter to the Max Moore-Wilton, chairman of Southern Cross Austereo, the Australian radio station's parent company.
Glenarthur said the prank humiliated "two dedicated and caring nurses," and the consequences were "tragic beyond words," The Associated Press reported. Max Moore-Wilton, the chairman of Southern Cross Austereo, said in a letter to Lord Glenarthur Sunday that the company is reviewing the station's broadcast policies, the AP reported. "I can assure you we are taking immediate action and reviewing the broadcast and processes involved," Moore-Wilton said in the letter. "As we have said in our own statements on the matter, the outcome was unforeseeable and very regrettable." Saldanha came to England from India nine years ago, with her husband and two children. On Facebook, her 14-year-old daughter wrote this weekend, simply: "I miss you, I loveeee you."
Saldanha worked as a nurse at King Edward VII private hospital for four years. Her family lives 100 miles away in Bristol, but while on shift she slept in a residence for nurses. With no receptionist on duty overnight she answered the prank call and put it through. The hospital called her a "first-class nurse" and "a well-respected and popular member of the staff" and extended "deepest sympathies" to family and friends, saying that "everyone is shocked" at this "tragic event."
The duchess spent three days at the hospital undergoing treatment for hyperemesis gravidarum, severe or debilitating nausea and vomiting. She was released from the hospital Thursday morning. The hospital apologized for the mistake.
A man who stabbed a photographer to death in a drunken street brawl was caught after police found a blood-stained knife in a cutlery drawer.
http://local.stv.tv/edinburgh/203156-killer-who-stabbed-man-to-death-had-bloody-knife-in-cutlery-drawer/
Kyle Montgomery, 24, denied murdering Thomas Allwood after a late-night drinking session but was found guilty of culpable homicide by a jury on Wednesday.
Jurors at the High Court in Livingston took four and a half hours to return a guilty verdict on the lesser charge.
Sentence on the first-time offender, of Winchburgh, West Lothian, was deferred until December 20 for background reports.
Mr Allwood, a 56-year-old photographer who worked for the Australian-based INL News Group, was stabbed in the chest during an incident on June 21.
Giving evidence in his own defence, Montgomery claimed he grabbed the knife to frighten Mr Allwood after being attacked by him at a house in Broxburn, West Lothian.
He said the killing was an accident and that he did not know the blade had sliced through the victim's chest and severed a major artery as he struggled with the victim.
Police who were called to the scene followed a trail of blood from Mr Allwood's body to Montgomery's father's home. They found the knife, still stained with blood, in a cutlery drawer.
Montgomery was detained as he returned to the house from a nearby shop.
Mr Allwood was a photographer with the Australian-based INL News Group. Although he was born in Scotland, his family emigrated when he was a child and he spent most of his live in Australia.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/murder-trial-told-dna-of-victim-1453803
Murder trial told DNA of victim and alleged killer found on kitchen knife
THE knife was found in the kitchen of the dad of Kyle Montgomery, who denies murdering Thomas Allwood.
THE DNA of a murder victim and his alleged killer were found on a kitchen knife, a court heard yesterday.
The High Court in Livingston was told the odds of the DNA matching anyone other than the deceased, Thomas Allwood, were 28,600,000-1.
Blood samples lifted from the blade were a billion-to-one match for 24-year-old Kyle Montgomery, who denies murdering Thomas in Broxburn on June 21.
The knife was found in Montgomery's dad's kitchen.
Forensic scientist Kirsty McTurk told the jury: "The findings are consistent with Kyle Montgomery having assaulted Thomas Allwood."
The trial was adjourned until Monday.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/scottish-news/top-stories/man-caused-stab-death-by-accident-1-2664172
Man 'caused stab death by accident'
Published on Wednesday 28 November 2012
A MAN accused of murdering an Australian journalist has claimed he must have stabbed the victim to death by accident.
Kyle Montgomery admitted that he armed himself with a kitchen knife and squared up to 56-year-old Thomas Graham Allwood.
He claimed in evidence at the High Court in Livingston that the blade was for his own "protection" and he had no intention of using it.
After being attacked twice by the victim, he said he just wanted to "scare him off" with the knife.
He struggled with Mr Allwood, who was armed with a metal pole or iron bar, but said he was unaware of inflicting the fatal blow which severed the main artery above his heart.
Montgomery, 24, from Winchburgh, West Lothian, denies murdering Mr Allwood in Broxburn on June 21.
In his closing speech yesterday, advocate depute Martin Macari asked the jury to convict Montgomery of murder. He said: "Whatever happened between those men, Kyle Montgomery had returned to the house to get a weapon."
Derek Ogg QC, defending, said: "If he didn't realise he'd caused that injury, he could not and did not have any criminal intent towards Mr Allwood."
Judge Lord Doherty was due to deliver his charge to the jury this morning.
Comment from INL News Reader: Mary Gleeson
I have read all the published stories on the trial of Kyle Montgomery who was charged with the murder of INL Journalist Thomas Allwood, and all other previous media reports I could find on the web since Thomas Allwood was first reported on the BBC website on the 22nd June 2012 that he had been murdered in Broxburn, Scotland and that Kyle Montgomery was charged with Willfull murder of Thomas Allwood... and I have come to the conclusion that the way the evidence has presented at the trial of Kyle Montgomery and what evidence has been given by the witnesses the dots simply do not add up... and the trial has created more questions than answers..... when it seems clear that this Maggie lady, described as a female friend of Thomas Allwood and tJohn Montgomery, the father of the accused ..according to John Montgomery's evidence were in the house when Kyle Montgomery deliberately went outside to chase after Thomas Allwood with a bread knife... rather than jut locking lall the doors and windows of his father's house t make sure Thomas Allwood can not get back into their house....because they were meant to be in fear of him... then ring the police and say that Thomas Allwood was threatening Kyle Montgomery and had attacked Kyle Montgomery in John Montgomery's house ( all according the John Montgomery) and was continuing to bang on their door ... then the police would have come around immediately and arrested Thomas Allwood... who would then have spent the night in the police lock up.... where he would have woken up the next morning alive and be able to explain to a magistrate and/or the police what happened that night... no it all did not happen that way... John and Kyle Montgomery both claim that having removed Thomas Allwood from John Montgomery's house.... and expecting Thomas Allwood to have been unarmed....deliberately ran out of the back door of the house to the back garden for the purpose to chase Thomas Allwood with a bread knife in his hand.... instead of staying safe in his dads house and ringing the police.... now I read in the above article the unbelievable claim by Kyle Montgomery that Thomas Allwood "was armed with a metal pole or iron bar" and thus was acting in self defence after delieberately going outside to look for Thomas Allwood to attack him with a knife... other purpose would he have grabbed the knife and run outside with it for... it can only be to stab Thomas Allwood who he thought was unarmed... now Kyle Montgomery seems on the evidence had been drinking heavily since bout 1pm at his dads house and would have been very drunk by 2am the next morning and Thomas Allwood looks like a big man and Kyle Montgomery looks like a small thin boy... and thus could easily be over powered by Thomas Allwood even without Thomas Allwood have a metal pole or an iron bar to defend himself with from a vicious knife attack... we also heard from John Montgomery who said that Thomas Allwood had his son Kyle Montgomery pinned on the floor with his foot on his chest... which shows that Thomas Allwood had no problem in over powering Kyle Montgomery without any weapon of any sort.... then se have the unbelievable story of John Montgomery that at the same time the Thomas Allwood had his son Kyle Montgomery pinned to the floor by having his foot on his chest... Thomas Allwood was meant to have his hands around Kyle Montgomery's throat trying to strangle Kyle Montgomery... this is simply physically impossible for a tall big man to do at the same time as standing up with his foot on the person's chest....it is simply also unbelievable that that Thomas Allwood was armed outside with a metal pole or iron bar because if that was the case having already being told by John Montgomery that Thomas Allwood had no problem about being able to overpower Kyle Montgomery without any weapon, the how the hell is Kyle Montgomery going to be able fatally stab Thomas Allwood with just one six inch stab wound with a bread knife ( bread knife do not have pointy tips and just a cerated edge for a sawing action for bread or meat but not a stapping action) through clothing knowing the exact place to stab (single handed) a big man to kil him with one stab wound in the front chest ( not in the back) who is well aware that of the identity of the attacked and that the attcked is likely to attack because of a previous disagreement in the house.... and Thomas Allwood is also now armed with a metal pole or an iron bar.... which in one swing would have knocked small frail drunk Kyle Montgomery for six ... there is no way Kyle Montgomery is going to have any chance of being able to make that one fatal stab wound all by himself.... no normal jury is going to beleive this story.. so there seems no doubt what ever happened that morning Thomas Allwood must have been unarmed and Kyle Montgomery would have have to hav had some helpers... if it was really Kyle Montgomery that handed the fatal stab wound on Thomas Allwood...at about 2.15 according to the timing given by his father John Montgomery... then John and Kyle Montgomery and the lasy Maggie have to explain what the enmormous bang against the wall of the next door neighbours bedroom that cam from John Montgomery's house at about 3.5 to 3.15 am that felt to them that their bedroom wall was abourt to cave in... then after there being constant arguing, shouting and fighting etc before this enormous bang at about 3.05 to 3.15 am on the 21st June 2012.. everything from John Montgomery's house suddenly went quiet and for the first tikme ever... the back door was opened and wht and the door was not slammed which indicated clearly that someone or some people went out the door of John Montgomery's very silently and quietly... and the only logical deduction as to what the enormous bang against the wall was just before that nearly push the wall in from John Montgomery's side... was someone king hitting Thomas Allwood with a fist or a heavy object.. making him unconscious....then carrying Thomas Allwood out the door while he was unconscious... then may be making soem more bruses on his boy and then the one fatal stab wound ... all while he was unconscious.... and then carrying the body of Thomas Allwood quietly to where he was found on Clarkson/Pyothall Roads... at about 4.45 am by passers by...
However if one is to discount that theory and ignore the enormosu bang at 3.05 to 3.15 am coming from John Montgomery's house... and just still to what John Montgomery sated on the witness stand under oath.. that his sone Kyle Montgomery grabbed a bread knife from the kitchen draw and ran out the back door( obviously to go to try and stab Thomas Allwood or at least chase after himw ith the knife) then coming back ten minutes later with blod on the knife and admitting he had done something bad... and John Montgomery not asking any more questions and calmly oputting the knife woth the blood on it back into the draw... having one more drink,,, the son leave the house and he falls asleep on the lounge...and is woken uop at about 5am by the police arresting him... so why didn't John Montgomery, Kyle Montgomery and/or Maggie ring the police and/or an ambulance at about 2.20 am which would haved saved the life of Thomas Allwood..
http://www.lbp.police.uk/information/latest_news/news_archives/2012/november_2012/man_convicted_of_thomas_allwoo.aspx
Man convicted of Thomas Allwood death
A man who stabbed his victim in the chest, resulting in his death has today been convicted.
At the High Court in Livingston today, Kyle Montgomery was found guilty of culpable homicide after killing 56-year-old Thomas Graham Allwood during a disturbance in Broxburn in the early hours of Thursday 21st June.
Members of the public found Mr Allwood's body in Clarkson Road and alerted police who launched a major investigation to identify his killer.
Detectives quickly traced and arrested Montgomery and charged him in connection Mr Allwood's death.
The 24-year-old is due to be sentenced on Thursday 20th December at Edinburgh High Court.
Detective Inspector Stuart Houston, who led the investigation said: "It is my sincere hope, that following today's verdict Mr Allwood's family can begin to move on with their lives and put this horrendous ordeal behind them.
"I would also like to thank the members of the community who came forward and assisted with this investigation.
"Lothian and Borders Police are committed to tackling violent crime and by working closely with our partners at the Crown Office, ensure that offences of this nature are investigated thoroughly and those responsible are removed from our communities."
Thomas Allwood was born in Scotland but spent most of his life in Australia
First offender Kyle Montgomery will be sentenced next month for the killing
http://www.s1broxburn.com/news/broxburn-killer-montgomery-convicted--1.html
Broxburn killer Montgomery convicted
by Rebecca GarrettWednesday, 28 November 2012
The monster who stabbed Thomas Graham Allwood in the chest in Broxburn, which resulted in his death, has been convicted.
Kyle Montgomery was found guilty of culpable homicide the High Court in Livingston. He killed 56-year-old Allwood during a disturbance in the early hours of Thursday, June 21.
Members of the public found Mr Allwood's body in the Clarkson Road/Pyothall Road area and alerted police. A major investigation to identify his killer was launched.
The 24-year-old is due to be sentenced on Thursday, December 20 at Edinburgh High Court.
Detective Inspector Stuart Houston, who led the investigation, said: "It is my sincere hope, that following today's verdict Mr Allwood's family can begin to move on with their lives and put this horrendous ordeal behind them.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-20526345
Kyle Montgomery found guilty of killing journalist Thomas Allwood
A man who stabbed a journalist to death in West Lothian has been convicted of culpable homicide.
Kyle Montgomery, from Winchburgh, denied murdering 56-year-old Thomas Allwood in Broxburn in June.
A jury at the High Court in Livingston took four-and-a-half hours to find the 24-year-old guilty of the lesser charge.
Sentence was deferred until 20 December at the High Court in Edinburgh for background reports.
Montgomery had said he grabbed a knife to scare off Mr Allwood after claiming he was attacked by him at a house in Broxburn.
He said the killing was an accident and that he did not know the blade had sliced through the victim's chest and severed a major artery during the struggle.
After the attack, Mr Allwood, who was a journalist with the Australian-based INL News Group, was found on Clarkson Road by members of the public.
Police who were called to the scene followed a trail of blood from his body to Montgomery's father house.
They found the knife, still bloodstained, in a cutlery drawer. Montgomery was detained as he returned to the house from a nearby shop.
Mr Allwood was born in Scotland but his family emigrated to Australia when he was a baby and he spent most of his life there.
He was involved in producing a TV show called Fringe Shows Have Talent, to showcase entertainers performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Det Insp Stuart Houston, who led the Lothian and Borders Police investigation, said: "It is my sincere hope, that following today's verdict Mr Allwood's family can begin to move on with their lives and put this horrendous ordeal behind them.
Killer who stabbed man to death had bloody knife in cutlery drawer
STV 28 November 2012 16:45 GMT
Associated Press/Carolyn Kaster, File - FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2012, file photo, President Barack Obama acknowledges House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio while speaking to reporters in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, as he hosted a meeting of the bipartisan, bicameral leadership of Congress to discuss the deficit and economy. Admnistration officials say President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met Sunda, Dec. 9, 2012, at the White House to discuss the ongoing negotiations over the impeding "fiscal cliff." Spokesmen for both Obama and Boehner said the two men agreed to not release details of the conversation, but emphasized that the lines of communication remain open. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
Stock market is a wild card in fiscal cliff talks
By By CHARLES BABINGTON | Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress and the White House can significantly soften the initial impact of the "fiscal cliff" even if they fail to reach a compromise by Dec. 31. One thing they cannot control, however, is the financial markets' reaction, which possibly could be a panicky sell-off that triggers economic reversals worldwide.
The stock market's unpredictability is perhaps the biggest wild card in the political showdown over the fiscal cliff.
President Barack Obama's re-election gives him a strong negotiating hand, as Republicans are increasingly acknowledging. And some Democrats are willing to let the Dec. 31 deadline pass, because a rash of broad-based tax hikes would pressure Republicans to give more ground in renewed deficit-reduction negotiations.
A chief fear for Obama's supporters, however, is that Wall Street would be so disgusted or dismayed that stocks would plummet before lawmakers could prove their newfound willingness to mitigate the fiscal cliff's harshest measures, including deep, across-the-board spending cuts that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says could significantly damage the nation's military posture. SomeRepublicans believe that fear will temper the president's insistence on a hard bargain this month. Obama and GOP House Speaker John Boehner on Sunday held their first meeting between just the two of them since the election, and spokesmen for both emphasized afterward their lines of communication remain open.
The so-called cliff's recipe of major tax hikes and spending cuts can actually be a gentle slope, because the policy changes would be phased in over time. Washington insiders say Congress and the White House would move quickly in January or February to undo many, but not all, of the tax hikes and spending cuts.
Financial markets, however, respond to emotion as well as to research, reason and promises. If New Year's headlines scream "Negotiations Collapse," an emotional sell-off could threaten the president's hopes for continued economic recovery in his second term, even if Republicans receive most of the blame for the impasse.
"Nobody can predict the markets' reaction," said Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn.
Some Republicans are surprised that the White House has not made clearer efforts to reassure Wall Street that if the Dec. 31 deadline is breached, the worrisome pile of tax increases and spending cuts would not hit all at once.
A few liberal commentators are making just that case.
"If we go past the so-called fiscal cliff deadlines and all the resulting budget cuts and tax increases come into force, the administration can minimize the damage," Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne wrote last week. "Obama can publicly announce he is delaying any cuts, on the theory thatCongress will eventually vitiate some of them. And he can make sure the bond markets know of his plans well in advance. ... Everyone (especially Wall Street) should calm down."
Some financial bloggers agree. "Although it would be bad to let the spending cuts and tax hikes fully go into effect, if this thing is addressed in early January, things will be okay," wrote Business Insider's Joe Weisenthal.
So far, the stock markets have stayed calm. The S&P 500 index is up 12 percent for the year.
That might be because investors agree that a temporary trip over the cliff wouldn't be too harmful. Chastened lawmakers, the thinking goes, would quickly minimize the economic damage with a deficit-reduction compromise that eluded them in December.
Or, it's possible that investors view the most pessimistic tones surrounding the fiscal cliff talks as posturing that will give way to a last-minute deal. If that is the thinking — and if the Dec. 31 deadline instead is breached — Obama's fear might come to pass: The expectation of a deal might produce a significant decline in stock prices if it doesn't occur.
As bad as that sounds, some liberals think it will be necessary to force many Republicans to drop their opposition to higher tax rates on the wealthy that Obama says are crucial to trimming the deficit.
Rep. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat who says temporarily going over the cliff wouldn't be so bad, noted what happened on Sept. 29, 2008. The House surprised investors by rejecting a proposed bailout of the crisis-stricken financial sector. Republicans strongly opposed the plan despite then-President George W. Bush's support. The Dow plunged 777 points, its largest one-day point drop ever. Four days later the House, shaken by the market reaction, passed a slightly modified bailout bill.
Welch said a similar market meltdown next month, in the event of a fiscal cliff impasse, "is what will force members of Congress eventually to act." Few lawmakers in either party are eager to predict how the stocks and bonds markets would react to a failure to reach a fiscal cliff accord by year's end. "Let's not pretend the markets fully understand the politicians, or the politicians fully understand the markets," said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., who has served in Congress for 37 years.
Follow Charles Babington on Twitter: http://twitter.com/cbabington
How the 'Mayan Apocalypse' came from a New Age magic mushroom trip
The 'prophecy' does not stem from the Mayans at all. Instead, the beliefs come from two New Age books in the Seventies and Eighties, says a British academic.
Jose Arguelles, author of The Mayan Factor (Image: Wikimedia)
The so-called 'Mayan' prophecy actually comes from New Age writers in the Seventies and Eighties (Image: Rex)
People who are expecting the world to end on December 21 - the so-called 'Mayan Apocalypse' - should be in for a pleasant disappointment.
The 'prophecy' does not stem from the Mayans at all - or date from thousands of years ago.
Instead, the beliefs come from two New Age books in the Seventies and Eighties.
The two books predict outcomes as surreal as a 'upgrade' to human consciousness predicted by a spirit from the seventh century. The date itself comes from a prophecy based on a magic mushroom trip.
"December 21st will be just another Friday morning," said Andrew Wilson, Assistant Head of Social Studies at the University of Derby. "A hippy guru called Jose Arguelles associated the date with the Mayan calendar in a book called The Mayan Factor in 1987. But it's an obsolete form of the calendar, which had not been used since the year 1100AD."
"He claimed to be channelling various spirits, including the spirit of a Mayan king from the seventh century. He predicted a 'shift in human consciousness' - mass enlightenment."
The actual date of December 21 first appeared in an earlier work - a 1975 book by Terence McKenna, a writer known for his descriptions of "machine elves" seen while under the influence of drugs.
The date appeared in McKenna's 'Timeline Zero' prophecy, and was based on McKenna's own mathematics, the Chinese I Ching and a magic mushroom trip.
McKenna later met Arguelles and the two became, Wilson says, part of a circle of New Age authors who cited each other's work, lending the 'prophecy' an air of believability.
"The significance of December 21 2012 in 'New Age' circles emerged from the work of 'ethnobotanist' Terence McKenna as he travelled deep into the Amazon in the 1970s," says Wilson. His calculations of a 'zero time wave' suggested the world would go through a large change on December 21."
"Arguelles, who had a long-held interest in Native American spiritualties, was inspired by McKenna's work. He popularised the date in connection with the 'long count calendar' of the Mayan people in his new-age circles."
As the belief has evolved, it has become associated with other, wilder predictions - such as the idea that Earth will be hit by a 'rogue planet', Nibiru, or swallowed by a black hole.
"There is no central belief," says Wilson, "It varies from the ideas that Earth's magnetic poles might shift, to the idea of a 'galactic council' visiting Earth. There's no one, definite idea - it mirrors the New Age beliefs from which it comes."
"It's become part of a lot of religious movements. For instance, 'The Galactic Federation of Light' believes that 'Planet X' will make a close pass by the earth in 2012 – causing a deep transformation of human life on Earth.
"What this and other apocalyptic dates have in common across new religious movements is that they are often predicted to occur within a believer's lifetime - making their beliefs urgent and important," said Wilson.
"However, most people who believe in the significance of December 21 2012 have tempered their predictions of an apocalypse to, instead, signifying some significant change in humanity. Whether that is a change in culture or a world-wide event - most believers in an apocalypse won't be preparing for an earthly end but looking forward to an imminent transformation."
"A lot of people look to this story for reassurance - about the financial climate, or even about fears of, for instance, the Large Hadron Collider."
"What's been popularised is the dramatic stuff - but I am definitely still doing my Christmas shopping as normal this year."
Wilson's paper, 'From Mushrooms to the Stars', will be published by Ashgate in 2013.
Georgia details nuke black market investigations
By By DESMOND BUTLER | Associated Press
This June 24, 2012 photo shows the Hotel L Bakuria in Batumo, Georgia, Black Sea coast near the Turkish Border. In April 2012, three men gathered in secret at the hotel to talk about a deal for radioactive material for sale. The Georgian seller offered cesium, a byproduct from nuclear reactors that terrorists can use to make a dirty bomb.But one of the Turkish men made it clear he was after something much more dangerous: Uranium, the material used to make a nuclear bomb. The two Turks and the seller businessman Soslan Oniani, were convicted in September, 2012 in a Georgian court, according to officials, and sentenced to six years in prison each. Despite years and hundreds of millions of dollars spent in the fight against illicit sale of nuclear contraband, the black market remain active in the countries around the former Soviet Union. (AP Photo by Desmond Butler)
This undated handout photo provided by the Georgia Interior Ministry shows components for four cylinders containing radioactive substances seized in Batumi, Georgia on April 10, 2012. Police, who have been tracking Georgian Businessman Soslan Oniani, for over year, monitored him in a hotel room meeting with two Turskish citizens, trying to sell to sell the cylinders with the materials which included cesium-137 and strontium-90. The two Turks and the seller, Oniani, were convicted were convicted in September, 2012 in a Georgian court, according to officials, and sentenced to six years in prison each.
Associated Press/Georgia Interior Ministry - This undated photo provided by the Georgia Interior Ministry shows part of a seizure of radioactive substances including iridium-192 and europium-152. Police in Kutaisi, Georgia arrested two people involved in the smuggling in February 2011. The investigation led police to track a third man, Soslan Oniani, who would be arrested in April 2012 trying to sell radioactive material to two Turkish men. Despite years of effort and hundreds of millions of dollars spent in the fight against the illicit sale of nuclear contraband, the black market remains active in the countries around the former Soviet Union. The radioactive materials, mostly left over from the Cold War, include nuclear bomb-grade uranium and plutonium, and dirty-bomb isotopes like cesium and iridium. (AP Photo/Georgia Interior Ministry)
BATUMI, Georgia (AP) — On the gritty side of this casino resort town near the Turkish border, three men in a hotel suite gathered in secret to talk about a deal for radioactive material.
The Georgian seller offered cesium, a byproduct of nuclear reactors that terrorists can use to arm a dirty bomb with the power to kill. But one of the Turkish men, wearing a suit and casually smoking a cigarette, made clear he was after something even more dangerous: uranium, the material for a nuclear bomb. The would-be buyers agreed to take a photo of the four cylinders and see if their boss in Turkey was interested. They did not know police were watching through a hidden camera. As they got up to leave, the police rushed in and arrested the men, according to Georgian officials, who were present.
The encounter, which took place in April, reflected a fear shared by U.S. and Georgian officials: Despite years of effort and hundreds of millions of dollars spent in the fight against the illicit sale of nuclear contraband, the black market remains active in the countries around the former Soviet Union. The radioactive materials, mostly left over from the Cold War, include nuclear bomb-grade uranium and plutonium, and dirty-bomb isotopes like cesium and iridium. The extent of the black market is unknown, but a steady stream of attempted sales of radioactive materials in recent years suggests smugglers have sometimes crossed borders undetected. Since the formation of a special nuclear police unit in 2005 with U.S. help and funding, 15 investigations have been launched in Georgia and dozens of people arrested. Six of the investigations were disclosed publicly for the first time to The Associated Press byGeorgian authorities. Officials with the U.S. government and the International Atomic Energy Agency declined to comment on the individual investigations, but President Barack Obama noted in a speech earlier this year that countries like Georgia and Moldova have seized highly enriched uraniumfrom smugglers. An IAEA official, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to comment, said the agency is concerned smuggling is still occurring in Georgia.
Four of the previously undisclosed cases, and a fifth — an arrest in neighboring Turkey announced by officials there — occurred this year. One from last year involved enough cesium-137 to make a deadly dirty bomb, officials said.
Also, Georgian officials see links between two older cases involving highly enriched uranium, which in sufficient quantity can be used to make a nuclear bomb. The AP's interviews with the two imprisoned smugglers in one case suggested that the porous borders and the poverty of the region contributed to the problem. The arrests in the casino resort of Batumi stand out for two reasons: They suggest there are real buyers — many of the other investigations involved stings with undercover police acting as buyers. And they suggest that buyers are interested in material that can be used to make a nuclear weapon. "Real buyers are rare in nuclear smuggling cases, and raise real risks," said nuclear nonproliferation specialist Matthew Bunn, who runs Harvard's Project on Managing the Atom. "They suggest someone is actively seeking to buy material for a clandestine bomb." The request for uranium raises a particularly troubling question. "There's no plausible reason for looking for black-market uranium other than for nuclear weapons— or profit, by selling to people who are looking to make nuclear weapons," Bunn said.
Georgia's proximity to the large stockpiles of Cold War-era nuclear material, its position along trade routes to Asia and Europe, the roughly 225 miles (360 kilometers) of unsecured borders of its two breakaway republics, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and the poverty of the region may explain why the nation of 4.5 million has become a transit point for nuclear material. Georgian officials say the radioactive material in the five new cases this year all transited through Abkhazia, which borders on Russia and has Russian troops stationed on its territory. Abkhazia's foreign ministry said it has no information about the Georgian allegations and would not comment, but in the past it has denied Georgian allegations.
Russia maintains that it has secured its radioactive material — including bomb-grade uranium and plutonium — and that Georgia has exaggerated the risk because of political tension with Moscow. But while the vast majority of the former Soviet Union's nuclear arsenal and radioactive material has been secured, U.S. officials say that some material in the region remains loose. "Without a doubt, we are aware and have been over the last several years that not all nuclear material is accounted for," says Simon Limage, deputy assistant secretary for non-proliferation programs at the U.S. State Department. "It is true that a portion that we are concerned about continues to be outside of regulatory control."
U.S. efforts to prevent smuggling have prioritized bomb-grade material because of the potential that a nuclear bomb could flatten a U.S. city. But security officials say an attack with a dirty bomb — explosives packed with radioactive material — would be easier for a terrorist to pull off. And terrorist groups, including al-Qaida, have sought the material to do so. A study by the National Defense University found that the economic impact from a dirty bomb attack of a sufficient scale on a city center could exceed that of the September 11, 2011, attacks on New York and Washington.
The U.S. government has been assisting about a dozen countries believed to be vulnerable to nuclear smuggling, including Georgia, to set up teams that combine intelligence with police undercover work. Limage says Georgia's team is a model for the other countries the U.S. is supporting. On Jan. 6, police arrested a man in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, and seized 36 vials with cesium-135, a radioactive isotope that is hard to use for a weapon. The man said he had obtained the material in Abkhazia. In April, Georgian authorities arrested a group of smugglers from Abkhazia bringing in three glass containers with about 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram) of yellowcake uranium, a lightly processed substance that can be enriched into bomb-grade material.
"At first we thought that this was coincidence," said Archil Pavlenishvili, chief investigator of Georgia's anti-smuggling team. "But since all of these cases were connected with Abkhazia, it suggests that the stuff was stolen recently from one particular place. But we have no idea where. " Days later, more evidence turned up when Turkish media reported the arrest of three Turkish men with a radioactive substance in the capital, Ankara. Police seized 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram) of cesium-135, the same material seized in January in Tbilisi.
Georgian officials said the suspects were residents of Germany and driving a car with German plates, but that the material had come from Abkhazia. Turkish authorities said the men had entered Turkey from Georgia. Information provided by German authorities led to the arrest in June of five suspects in Georgia with 9 vials of cesium-135 that looked very similar to the vials seized in January. The Batumi investigation started after the arrest of two men in the city of Kutaisi in February 2011 year with a small quantity of two radioactive materials stolen from an abandoned Soviet helicopter factory, according to Georgian officials. The men said that a businessman, Soslan Oniani, had encouraged them to sell the material. Police interviewed Oniani and searched his house, but found insufficient evidence to arrest him, according to officials. Still, they kept monitoring him through phone taps and an informant. Georgian officials say Oniani was a braggart, who played on his relationship with his cousin, Tariel Oniani, a well- known organized crime boss convicted in Russia of kidnapping.
Early this year, Soslan Oniani started talking about a new deal. Through surveillance and phone taps, police learned of the meeting in Batumi and monitored it. While no money passed hands, the men discussed an illegal deal, which is sufficient for prosecution in Georgia. Tests by Georgian authorities later revealed that one lead cylinder held cesium-137, two strontium-90, and the fourth spent material that was hard to identify. All are useful for making a dirty bomb, although the material in the cylinders alone was not enough to cause mass casualties, according to data provided by Georgian nuclear regulatory authorities. The arrested Turks denied knowing they were negotiating for radioactive substances. They claimed to be musical instrument experts, who had come to Batumi seeking to buy violins. A skeptical interrogator asked them if they were familiar with the famed instrument maker Stradivarius.
One man said he had never heard of him. The two Turks and the seller, Oniani, were convicted in September in a Georgian court, according to officials, and sentenced to six years in prison each.
The Georgian smuggling cases suggest that the trade in radioactive materials is driven at least in part by poverty and the lingering legacy of Soviet corruption in a hardscrabble region. Georgian officials say that because of U.S. backed counter-smuggling efforts, organized crime groups seem to have concluded that the potential profit from trade in these materials doesn't justify the risk. But individuals sometimes conclude they can make a quick buck from radioactive material. For instance, in one newly disclosed case last year, authorities arrested two Georgian men with firearms, TNT and a lethal quantity of cesium-137. One was a former Soviet officer in an army logistics unit, who told police that at the end of his service in the early 90s, he had made a second career stealing from the military.
"He openly said: 'I was a logistics officer and my second duty was to steal everything possible," according to Pavlenishvili. The man kept the cesium for years before he and a relative tried to sell it last year to a Georgian undercover officer. He did not try to sell the weapons or explosives. Poverty and corruption also appear to have played into three smuggling incidents in 2003, 2006 and 2010 that involved bomb-grade highly enriched uranium.
In 2003, an Armenian man, Garik Dadaian, was arrested when he set off a radiation detector provided by an American program at a checkpoint on the Armenian-Georgian border. Days later, the man was released and returned to Armenia under murky circumstances.
Dadaian's name resurfaced in 2010 on a bank transfer slip in the pocket of the two smugglers arrested with highly enriched uranium. The men had obtained the material from Dadaian and were offering it as a sample of a larger quantity. Police say forensic analysis suggests the uranium may have come from the same batch seized in 2003. Russian investigators suspected Dadaian got the nuclear fuel from a manufacturing plant in Novosibirsk, Russia, where several disappearances of material have been documented. Pavlenishvili said Dadaian bribed prosecutors to win his release and take some of the uranium. The two smugglers in the 2010 case were Sumbat Tonoyan, a dairy farmer who went bankrupt, and Hrant Ohanian, a former physicist at a nuclear research facility in the Armenian capital of Yerevan. The AP interviewed both at a prison about 25 miles (40 kilometers) outside Tbilisi, where they are serving sentences of 13 and 14 years.
In separate interviews, each man blamed the other for the idea of smuggling uranium, and talked of financial hardship. Ohanian said his daughter needed urgent medical care that he couldn't afford, and Tonoyan said a bank had seized his house after his dairy factory collapsed. "I didn't have a job and I couldn't pay the bank," he said in Russian through an interpreter. The men also claimed they believed the material they were selling was to be used for scientific work, not nefarious purposes. Ohanian said a Georgian contact, who was also arrested, told him relations with Moscow were so bad that Georgian scientists could not get the uranium they needed from Russia on the open market. "I feel guilty because I behaved like an idiot," he said. "I should have known and I would never do something like this again."
Follow Desmond Butler at http://twitter.com/desmondbutler
INL News Under-Cover Investigative Journalist and co producer with Stephen Carew-Reid and the INL News Group of Fringe Shows Have Talent TV Shows Have, on the 21st June, 2012 in Broxburn Scotland which is about an hour's drive from Edinburgh... and how the evidence brought out at the recent trial of Kyle Montgomery,
who had been charged by the Scottish Lothian Borders Police for the murder of Thomas Allwood seems to clearly show that the Scottish Lothian Borders Police
and the Scottish Prosecution known as the Procurator Fiscal's Office and the UK Government are:
not interested the fact that their own prosecution witnesses agree that they did not ring the police and/or an ambulance when it was discovered that Kyle Montgomery has allegedly placed a 6 inch knife wound into the right chest of Thomas Allwood allegedly at about 2.15 am on the 21st June, 2012 ... and just let Thomas Allwood blead to death until he was found by three boys at 4.45 am two streets away...
David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (whom he and his treasury solicitors was about to be exposed by Thomas Allwood at a High Court of Justice hearing London on the 24th July, 2012 for criminal comtempt of court); the Scottish Lothian Borders Police and/or the Scottish Prosecution known as the Procurator Fiscal's Office and the UK Government have not offered any official statement saying how sorry they are that Thomas Allwood was murdered on the 21st June, 2012..if fact they seem to be celebrating Thomas Allwood's death having appeared to have branded Thomas Allwood an enemy of the United Kingdom just for wanting the truth to be publicly known and for people who have wrongly victimised by the law obtain some fair justice...
None on the main stream international media have bothered to even report the murder of Thomas Allwood, INL News Under Cover Investigative Journalist, poet and co-producer of the Fringe Shows Have Talent TV Show and other feature films....as there seems to be a "D Notice" stopping them reporting the murder of Thomas Allwood... which is usually issued when sectret service organisations such as MI5, MI6 and/or Mossad are involved with the murder of someone that is declared an enemy of the state as it seems that Thomas Allwood was... just because he was prepared to speak the truth and wanted the public to know the truth..
Thomas Allwood was murdered for exposing the truth and fighting for truth and justice for the ordinary people like Janice Pritchard ans her son Robert Carter who had their family home taken from them in a very wrongful way and put on the street in a very wrongful way by power powerful property developers and their even more powerful legal teams that had the power and influence to be able to tell a justice in the High Court of Justice what orders they wanted and such orders were always granted regardless of the rights and wrongs of the case presented to the judge hearing the case..
Investigators doing a two year undercover investigation into the running of the High Court of Justice have stated in their report that the London's High Court of Justice is one of the most corruptly run courts in the world...where the odds of a litigant in person who does not have formal legal representation getting fairness and justice are a million to one....where judges, justices, masters and adjudicators simply do not bother on most occasions to closely read legal and factual submissions and statements made by litigants in person and only closely read legal and factual submissions and statements filed by the licensed solicitors and barristers that are representing the other side of the legal argument....the way it works is that when a litigant in person issues a claim and/or application in the High Court of Justice without using a licensed solicitor or barrister... the judges, justices, masters and adjudicators simply do not bother on most occasions to closely read the litigants in person's legal and factual submissions and statements and as a matter or routine simply rule against the litigant in person with an ruling that their case has no merit... whether in fairness the case had merit or not... which it may have merit but just not written in the formal legal way a licensed solicitor or barrister would have written their claim or application form... and then once one or two claims or applications have been unsuccessfully made and they are ruled as having no merit.... then a civil restraining order is made against the litigant in person to hinder them from issuing any further claims or applications to have their legal grievances aired in the courts...and thousands of pounds of legal costs are issued against them..so that their opposition solicitors and barristers sue the litigant in person for these court costs to make sure theydo not even trouble them again and/or obtain a court order that until the unfair court costs are paid that no claims and/or applications can be made by them... as another method to bury the truth...it has been found by the two year undercover operation compiled with the help of Thomas Allwood, INL News former head undercover investigative reporter, that on many instances the solicitors and barristers deliberately present false and misleading information to the court and deliberately withhold material information from the court... to obtain the court orders they require from the court... and what is even more shocking..... what Thomas Allwood and his investigation team found stated is even more shocking is that where judges, justices, masters and adjudicators are well aware that when the solicitors and barrister deliberately present false and misleading information to the court and deliberately withhold material information from the court... they simply condone such wrongful and illegal behaviour and help the solicitors and barristers cover this all up and make sure any complaint about their behaviour is completely buried by striking out any complaint made formerly to the court in a criminal contempt application and without reading the details of the complaint..strike out the criminal contempt application as having no merit and rule thousands of pounds of court costs against the litigant in person for daring to try to bring the court's attention to this wrongful and illegal behaviour ... and sometimes as in the case of Thomas Allwood have the litigant in person murdered and organise the police and prosecution to cover up who really murdered the litigant in person and why he was murdered by trying to convince the public into believing it was just an accidental death as a result of some drunken argument, and not a planned and calculated murder.... so the person that has wrongly been blamed for the death is only found guilty of being officially being involved with an accidental death... and being a person not mentally well and being a
Scitzophrenic with mental depression will simple spend a year or so in a luxury mental institution and then be let out to live a normal life taking medication... which they were taking anyway before the death of the enemy ( the litigant in person)... and the real professionally trained killer who works for some state secret service organisation like MI5, MI6 and/or Mossad is never looked for and never charged.. so he or she can be available when needed by state secret service organisation like MI5, MI6 and/or Mossad is never looked for and never charged.. so he or she can be available when needed by state secret service organisations like MI5, MI6 and/or Mossad for thei next murder assignment...
Kate Hospital: Nurse's Family Pays Tribute
The family of nurse Jacintha Saldanha have thanked people for their support and messages of condolence.
Speaking on their behalf, Keith Vaz MP described Mrs Saldanha as a "loving mother and a loving wife".
"This is a close family, they are devastated by what has happened, they miss her every moment of every day," he said, as he stood beside Mrs Saldanha's husband Benedict Barboza and her two teenage children.
"They are really grateful for the support of the British public and the public overseas for the messages of support and kindness," he added.
The post-mortem for the nurse, who put through a hoax call made about the Duchess of Cambridge's medical condition, will take place on Tuesday.
Mrs Saldanha took the initial call from Australian DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian who posed as the Queen and the Prince of Wales when they rang the hospital where Kate was being treated for acute morning sickness.
Believing it to be genuine, she put the call through to another colleague who was duped into describing the duchess' condition in detail.
Mrs Saldanha was found dead days later, having apparently taken her own life.
Her post-mortem will take place at Westminster Mortuary.
Prime Minister David Cameron spoke of his "shock" at Mrs Saldanha's death.
He said: "I thought it was completely shocking ... I heard about the suicide of this nurse, who worked incredibly hard and obviously was incredibly dedicated.
"I feel incredibly sorry for her and her family. It is an absolute tragedy that this has happened and I am sure everyone will want to reflect on how it was allowed to happen."
It comes after the boss of Sydney radio station 2Day FM said five attempts were made to contact London's King Edward VII's Hospital about the prank call before it aired.
"Following the hoax call, the radio station did not speak to anyone in the hospital's senior management or anyone at the company who handles our media enquiries," a hospital spokesman said.
Earlier, Rhys Holleran - head of the station's parent company Southern Cross Austereo - said he was satisfied that the appropriate checks were carried out before the pre-recorded segment was broadcast.
"It is absolutely true to say that we actually did attempt to contact those people on multiple occasions," he told Fairfax Radio, an Australian broadcaster.
"We rang them up to discuss what we had recorded ... we attempted to contact them on no less than five occasions ... we wanted to speak to them about it."
Britain's Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has told Sky News the nurse's response to the prank call does not point to a widespread breach of procedure.
Asked what lessons needed to be learned, he said: "I think we need to make sure that the right safeguards are in place, that the right training is in place, but I think it's too early for me to say whether this is something which is just an individual prank that went horribly wrong and it was an isolated breach or whether there are more widespread issues.
"My instinct is that this was an isolated incident with very exceptional circumstances."
Labour MP Mr Vaz, who visited Mrs Saldanha's family in Bristol on Sunday, has called on the hospital to hold an inquiry and provide more support to the relatives.
"What is needed, clearly, is an inquiry by the hospital into what has happened.
"The hospital has sent them a letter, which I have seen, but I'm surprised that nobody has made the journey to Bristol to sit with them and offer them the counselling that I think they need."
He said the family was in "terrible distress", adding: "More support in my view needs to be given."
A statement from King Edward VII Hospital said chief executive John Lofthouse had offered to meet Mrs Saldanha's husband.
It said it had also offered to establish a memorial fund in her name.
The statement read: "We hope that everyone will focus on doing all they can for the family of Jacintha Saldanha at this terrible time."
Royal hoax pranksters break silence
The two young 2Day FM hosts at the centre of the controversial Royal prank have broken their silence on the call that had such tragic repercussions.
Martin Frizell weighs in on royal hoax
Headlines and commentary in the UK have condemned the two young radio hosts at the centre of 2DayFM's tragic prank call.
After the stunt received international coverage, the nurse who answered the call, 46-year-old Jacintha Saldanha, took her own life.
How much the prank had to do with the tragedy is open to conjecture, but what is certain is that Michael Christian and Mel Greig are two young people under unimaginable pressure.
Though they both say that they are emotionally stable in talking about the events, both Christian and Greig appear visibly distraught.
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When Greig describes hearing the dreadful results following the days after the prank she says "unfortunately I remember that moment very well because I haven't stopped thinking about it since it happened, and I remember my first question was 'was she a mother?'"
On hearing that Saldanha had indeed been the mother of two children, Greig says she was "very sorry and saddened for the family. I can't imagine what they'd be going through."
Christian says he is "gutted", "shattered", and "heartbroken".
He says "we're still trying to get our heads around everything. Trying to make sense of the situation."
According to Greig the whole tragedy doesn't even seem real. "It doesn't seem real because you just couldn't foresee something like that happening from a prank call. You know it was never meant to go that far. It was meant to be a silly little prank that so many people have done before. This wasn't meant to happen," she said.
When asked whether, in hindsight, they would they do something like that again, Christian says "I don't think that anyone could have predicted what could've happened. It was just a tragic set of circumstances. I don't think anyone could have thought that we'd be here."
Today Tonight's latest celebrity stories
So how did the idea of the prank first come up? Both Christian and Greig are clear that the idea was the whole team's - that there is no single person that can or should be blamed. "Everything's done as a team," the said.
When asked whether there was legal advice or guidance from senior staff on how best to tackle the call, both Christian and Greig are clear on the fact that the call was never meant to be more than a silly joke.
"The call to begin with wasn't about speaking to Kate. It wasn't about trying to get a scoop or anything. The call was just – I mean we'd assumed that we'd be hung up on and that'd be that," Christian said.
Indian-born mother-of-two Jacintha Saldanha, 46, is thought to have taken her own life. Photo: Supplied
However when the two weren't hung up on during the call last week, the prank was certainly treated as a scoop. The hosts were both shocked and amused when they were put through and given information about Princess Kate's health.
According to Greig "the accents were terrible. You know it was designed to be stupid. We were never meant to get that far - from the little corgis barking in the background – we obviously wanted it to be a joke."
Christian echoes that "the joke was always on us, not anyone else. It wasn't about trying to fool someone. I mean we just assumed that with the voices that we put on, you know, we were going to get told off and that was the gag – in us."
More stories from reporter Clare Brady
Asked whether Austereo provides any coaching or training about the legal and ethical implications of what is put on air, Christian is clear that his role is as a presenter and that there are others who make the tough calls.
"This phonecall is the same with any phonecall, with any prerecorded segment that goes to air. There's processes in place and people that make those decisions," he said.
"There are people that make those decisions for us."
2Day FM hosts, Michael Christian and Mel Greig. Photo: Supplied
Greig echoes the sentiments, saying "it went through the processes of every other recorded bit that we do – from interviews to you know anything at all that gets recorded and passed on to the appropriate people, goes through the process, and we're told whether it's yes or no to play."
While the powers that be made the decisions about whether to air the segment, the two DJs were certainly giddy that they'd pulled off such an unlikely prank.
"We couldn't believe that it had worked, absolutely. You didn't expect it to. We thought a hundred people before us would've tried the same thing. We just did not see that actually working," Greig said.
Yahoo!7 News: Sydney station tried to contact nurses
Christian is careful to reiterate that the point of the prank "wasn't to get something that no one else had. It wasn't about getting (information)."
However they did try to get a medical condition update - and the medical condition of a Royal at that.
Greig explains that "we didn't actually want that. We just wanted to be hung up on. We wanted to be hung up on with our silly voices and wanted a twenty second segment to air of us doing stupid voices."
Police officers stand outside the King Edward VII's hospital following the death of a nurse who took a hoax call concerning the Duchess of Cambridge's treatment on December 7, 2012 in London, England. Photo: Getty
The two didn't identify themselves at the end of the call (though today station management said that they'd tried to contact the two nurses who were part of the call a number of times before the segment went to air).
"That's where the process comes in. We just record everything and pass it to the team. That's what we do," Greig said.
"And again the call itself is – there's no malice in the call. There was no digging. There was no trying to upset or get a reaction," Christian reiterated.
Yahoo!7 News: Royals close ranks as radio station defends conduct
The extreme vilification of the two DJs by the UK media looks like a witch hunt - there are those that want someone to pay. At the same time hackers here are threatening to shut down the radio station and hack into the whole system if the two young DJs aren't sacked.
In tears, Greig says "there's nothing that can make me feel worse than what I feel right now. And for what I feel for the family. We're so sorry that this has happened to them."
Though both DJs are being given counseling and support from Austereo, they say their priority is that the family of the nurse gets the support and care they need.
"I care more about the family. I want to know that they've got the support that they need and that the public are, you know, being respectful of their privacy," Greig said.
She has not made contact with the family, deciding that it was no appropriate at this time.
"I don't think it's an appropriate time to do that yet. But this is where we want to say that we are thinking of you and if we could call you we would want to reach out to you."
So if they could turn the clock back, would these two DJs make the same phonecall?
"If we played any involvement in her death, then we're very sorry for that. And time will only tell," Christian said.
However he does maintain that "these are prank calls. They've been around for as long as radio's existed, and they're done by every radio station."
And while that's certainly true, the results of this specific prank call are horific. Christian is clear that "no one could have predicted this result."
What does the future hold for the two DJs at the centre of this disaster?
"I don't want to think about that right now. There's bigger, more pressing issues and that's making sure that family gets through this tough time. You know our careers aren't important at the moment," Greig said.
With Scotland Yard now involved, there is eery chance that they two will be called to an inquest, which will probably be in London, where they'll meet the family face to face. Are they prepared for that?
Not ready to look at the future just yet, Christian says "right now we're trying to wrap our heads around what's happened."
Greig assures that "if that's going to make them feel better then I'll do what I need to do, absolutely. If that's something that they want to do, to get some closure, then I'll do that."
Both Greig and Christian have a lot of support. A poll out today of 11,000 people, had two thirds saying they feel the two DJs are not to blame for this horrible result. However the other side are horrible comments in mainstream media and on Twitter saying they've ruined many lives, 'shame on you', and 'you've got blood on your hands'.
Christian says that that's not what they are focusing on.
"What's important right now is you know, that the family of Jacintha are getting the support and the love that they deserve. And I mean that's what's important here. You know, it was, it is, nothing more than a tragic turn of events that no one could have predicted and, you know, for the part that we played, we're obviously incredibly sorry."
"If we had any idea that something like this could be even possible to happen, you know, we couldn't see this happening. It was meant to be a prank call," Greig said.
When the phonecall first aired, Greig said it was the 'highlight of her career' - incredibly excited to get the call through. But of course, as she keeps repeating "we couldn't foresee what was going to happen in the future."
"The call itself was not malicious and no harm was intended on Jacintha, or the other nurse, or Kate, or Prince William, or anyone. It wasn't – from start to finish – there was no harm intended. And obviously, you know, we're incredibly sorry for the harm that we may have helped contribute (to)," Christian concluded.
Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifelineon 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.
First Picture Of Kate Hospital Hoax Nurse
The first picture has been released of a nurse who apparently
Sky News –
The first picture has been released of a nurse who apparently committed suicide after being duped by a prank call.
Nurse Jacintha Saldanha was found dead days after taking the hoax call from an Australian radio station and putting it through to a nurse on the Duchess of Cambridge's ward, who divulged private information about her treatment.
The body of the 46-year-old mother-of-two was discovered at an address near King Edward VII's hospital in London - where she had worked for four years - on Friday morning.
Kate, who is understood to be well under 12 weeks pregnant, was admitted to the hospital on Monday with severe morning sickness and released again on Thursday.
INL News Picture of the Month December 2012
Snow on the beach after a cold snap
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-01-01/japan-earthquake/52310810/1
Japan Earthquake 2012: 6.4 Magnitude Quake Strikes Off Southeast Coast
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/17/japan-earthquake-2012-southeast-coast_n_1604183.html
Reuters | Posted: 06/17/2012
TOKYO, June 18 (Reuters) - A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Japan early on Monday
tp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-20526345
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/scottishnews/4671404/Nailed-for-Australian-guest-knife-kill.html
Nailed for Australian guest knife kill
The Sun -Thursday. November, 2012
A KNIFE thug was found guilty yesterday of stabbing an Aussie guest to death in a drunken brawl.
Kyle Montgomery, 24, was convicted of culpable homicide after he denied murdering Thomas Allwood, 56, after a late-night boozing session.
Montgomery stabbed the journalist as they battled in the street following a row at his dad's house in Broxburn, West Lothian.
He told the High Court in Livingston he grabbed the blade to scare off his victim after being att-acked and killed him by accident in the struggle.
The fatal blow sliced through Scots-born Mr Allwood's chest, severing a major artery.
Police called to the scene in June this year found a trail of blood leading from Mr Allwood's body to the house.
The bloodstained knife was found in a cutlery drawer. Montgomery, of Winchburgh, will be sentenced on December 20.
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/scottishnews/4671404/Nailed-for-Australian-guest-knife-kill.html#ixzz2DcTDCyDz
http://www.ukcourtsnet.co.uk/uk-courts-p3?sort=size
http://www.ukcourtsnet.co.uk/courts-of-scotland?language=en
Journalist's killer found guilty
20 hrs ago | bbc.co.uk
First offender Kyle Montgomery will be sentenced next month for the killing A man who stabbed a journalist to death in West Lothian has been convicted of culpable homicide. Kyle Montgomery, from Winchburgh, denied murdering...Read more...
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/scottishnews/4669456/Australian-guest-knifed-by-accident.html
Australian guest knifed 'by accident'
The Sun Published: 28th November 2012
Victim ... Thomas Allwood
A MURDER accused told a trial yesterday he stabbed an Aussie house guest by accident.
Kyle Montgomery, 24, said he picked up a knife for "protection" in dad Robert's kitchen when a boozy row with Thomas Allwood erupted in violence.
The High Court in Livingston heard he hoped to "scare off" Mr Allwood, 55, after the journalist attacked him.
Montgomery, of Winchburgh, West Lothian, said he had no memory of striking the fatal blow during the bust-up in Broxburn in June.
He told a jury: "My intention was to get him away from the house."
Montgomery denies the murder of Mr Allwood. The trial continues.
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/scottishnews/4669456/Australian-guest-knifed-by-accident.html#ixzz2DcVoomKb
http://www.glasgowwired.co.uk/news.php/1466752-Kyle-Montgomery-found-guilty-of-killing-journalist-Thomas-Allwood
Published: 28th Nov 2012
Daily Record : dailyrecord.co.uk
Convicted of killing journalist
Montgonmery_Guilty
29th November 2012 by Vic Roderick
A man who knifed a journalist to death in a drunken street brawl was convicted of culpable homicide yesterday. Kyle Montgomery, 24, of Winchburgh, West Lothianm had denied murdering Thomas Allwood, 56, after a booze session on June 21.
A jury at the High Court in Livingston took four-and-a-half hours to find him guilty of the lesser charge. Sentence was deferred until December 20 for reports.
In evidence, Montgomery claimed he'd grabbed the knife to scare Thomas off after being attacked by him at a house in Broxburn.
He said the killing was an accident and that he did not know the blade had sliced through the victims chest and severed a major artery as he struggled with him.
Scots-born Thoma's family emigrated Down Under when he was a baby.
Murder victim tried to strangle accused in fight over a woman
20 November 2012 STV
http://news.stv.tv/scotland/201672-murder-victim-tried-to-strangle-accused-in-fight-over-a-woman/
Thomas Allwood: The 55-year-old was found dead in Broxburn earlier this year.
A father has told a murder trial that a man he invited home from the pub tried to strangle his son during an argument about a woman.
Robert Montgomery said he threw Thomas Allwood out of his home minutes later, but his son Kyle followed him armed with a bread knife.
He returned a short time later with the blade covered in blood, the High Court at Livingston was told on Tuesday.
Kyle Montgomery, 24, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Australian journalist Mr Allwood, 55, on June 21.
Montgomery, from Winchburgh, West Lothian, denies assaulting the deceased, repeatedly punching him on the head and body, pursuing him with a knife and striking him on the body with a knife.
Mr Montgomery, 65, a self-confessed alcoholic, told how he had gone drinking in a local pub that night after his son gave him £20 for Father's Day. He befriended Mr Allwood and his girlfriend Maggie in a pub in Broxburn, West Lothian, and invited them back to his house for a drink.
When they got there, Maggie sat down beside the accused while Mr Montgomery and the Australian sat talking on another couch. He said he felt uncomfortable because he thought the woman, who was in her 40s, was behaving "inappropriately" towards his son, rubbing his hand and putting her head in his lap.
He asked Mr Allwood "are you going to do something about that?" and he responded - "he can have her".
Mr Montgomery went upstairs to the toilet at around 2am and returned a few minutes later to find his son pinned to the floor by Mr Allwood. He said the Australian had his foot on the younger man's chest and both hands clamped around his neck "strangling him".
He told the jury: "I could see the fear in Kyle's eyes. I told him (Allwood) to get off and he ran out the back door. He came back about 10 minutes later. He was banging on the back door real loud. I opened it and he tried to come through the door like a raging bull, going for Kyle. Kyle got up, pushed me out of the way and pushed him out into the back garden." A few minutes later his son also left the house, but returned shortly afterwards, pulled open a kitchen drawer and grabbed a bread knife.
He said: "Kyle was really furious at that point. I tried to take it (the knife) from him but he held it up above his head. He's a lot taller than me. He went out with it."
Mr Montgomery said he did not hear or see anything happening outside because he remained inside, sitting on the sofa.
Advocate depute Martin Macari asked him: "What's the next thing you remember happening?"
He replied: "Him (Kyle) coming back in again about five minutes later. There was blood on the knife."
He said his son, who seemed angry, was holding the weapon in his right hand with his arm out by his side and the blade pointing away from him. Asked what he did next, he said he took the knife from his son and put it back in the cutlery drawer.
He told the jury: "I said 'Have you done something bad?' He said 'Yup'."
Mr Macari said: "Did you ask him what it was?"
He replied: "No. I found it very traumatic."
Mr Montgomery said his son left the house without saying anything further. He fell asleep on the sofa and was wakened by police who handcuffed him.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel Derek Ogg, Mr Montgomery confirmed he had told police the Australian man had said something like "I'll kill him" as he was throttling the accused.
He added: "Kyle was really scared and wasn't fighting back."
Mr Montgomery said his son had been treated for depression after being bullied at school for having an English accent. He described the accused as a "sensitive" character, who was a "brilliant" chess player.
The case continues.
Man in court over Thomas Allwood murder
Thomas Allwood was found lying in the road
A man has appeared in court charged with murder following the death of a 55-year-old man in West Lothian last week.
Thomas Allwood was found by members of the public lying across Pyothall Road in Broxburn at about 04:45 on Thursday.
Kyle Montgomery, 24, of Winchburgh, appeared on petition at Livingston Sheriff Court.
He made no plea or declaration and was remanded in custody for further inquiries.
http://www.twylah.com/BBCScotlandNews/tweets/217293627293044736
Man in court over Broxburn murder
A man has appeared in court charged with murder following the death of a 55-year-old man in West Lothian last week. Thomas Allwood was found by members of the public lying across Pyothall Road in Broxburn at about 04:45 on Thursday. Kyle Montgomery, 24, of Winchburgh, appeared on petition at Livingston Sheriff Court.
Australian visitor died in the street after being stabbed in chest
STV 19 November 2012
http://local.stv.tv/edinburgh/201510-australian-visitor-died-in-the-street-after-being-stabbed-once/
Thomas Allwood: The 55-year-old was found dead in the street.
An Australian visitor to Scotland died in the street of a small town after being stabbed once with a knife.
On Monday, a jury was told Thomas Allwood's body was found in Broxburn, West Lothian, in the early hours of June 21 this year. At the High Court at Livingston, the prosecution and defence agreed the cause of death was a single stab wound to the 55-year-old investigative journalist's chest. Kyle Montgomery, 24, is on trial after pleading not guilty to murdering Mr Allwood. Montgomery, from Winchburgh, West Lothian, denies assaulting the Mr Allwood on various occasions on the night he died, repeatedly punching him on the head and body, pursuing him with a knife and striking him on the body with a knife. The attacks are alleged to have happened in Galloway Crescent, Clarkson Road and elsewhere in Broxburn. Mr Allwood was found by members of the public lying in Pyothall Road, near Clarkson Road, at about 4:45am. June Douglas, 44, who lives next door to Montgomery's father Robert in Galloway Crescent, said she saw the accused in the street at around 1pm on June 20 carrying a bag which she assumed contained alcohol.
A few minutes later she saw him at the door of his father's home trying to get in. She told the court her neighbour
was a known alcoholic and frequently caused a nuisance. In the early hours of the following morning
she said she was startled by a loud bang on the wall of her bedroom just after 3am.
She said: "It was as if somebody was going to come through the wall. It gave me a start - I'd never heard anything like the bang.
I just took it that they were fighting and banging off the walls. It was something that happened all the time."
Under cross examination by defence advocate Derek Ogg,
Ms Douglas agreed Mr Montgomery's house was "used like a drinking den". She added: "It was like living next door to a pub."
Her friend Christopher McDonald, 31, who was staying with her at the time, said loud music, banging and the sound of raised voices had continued long after Ms Douglas had gone to bed. He was also startled by the loud noise at around 3.15am.
He said: "The bang was the one thing that was out of the ordinary. I just assumed they were fighting again.
The whole house shook."
He said he identified the sound of four voices in Mr Montgomery's one-bedroom maisonette that night.
Things went quiet after the bang, then he said he heard someone leave by the back door.
He told the jury: "Someone went out quietly. The door was never closed quietly.
What drew my attention was that it wasn't slammed. Later - after 5 0'clock - I heard really loud voices from the garden.
"I got really angry at that point. I pulled aside the curtain and I was ready to go mental, but the police were there."
Earlier barmaid Lisa Feenan, 30, said the accused's father Mr Montgomery had left the Badger's Brook pub
in Broxburn just after 10 pm on June 20 with a man she knew only as "the Australian".
She said Mr Montgomery had been drinking Guinness in the bar for an hour and a half but the Australian visitor,
who was with a woman she knew as Margaret, had only taken soft drinks.
In a joint minute of agreement read to the jury, the Crown produced technical evidence,
including records of mobile phone calls by the accused, his father Robert and Tina Borst.
CCTV footage from cameras in Broxburn Main Street and the Badger's Brook pub was lodged as evidence along with a recording of a 999 call made by witness James McMillan on the morning of the incident.
A till receipt for cigarettes and a lighter from the Costcutter store at Fairfield Service Station along with CCTV film captured just before 5am have also been lodged.
Submariner Admits Official Secrets Act Breach
by Darren McCaffrey, Sky Reporter | Sky News
A former Royal Navy submariner has admitted collecting secret coding programmes that could be useful to an enemy of the UK.
Petty officer Edward Devenney, from Northern Ireland, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to gathering details of encryption programmes in breach of the Official Secrets Act.
The 30-year-old also admitted a charge of misconduct in a public office in relation to a meeting with two people he thought were from the Russian secret service.
He said he had discussed information relating to the movement of nuclear submarines with the pair.
They turned out to be British agents who carried out a sting operation in January of this year.
The Official Secrets Act charge was collecting information for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state between November 18 last year and March 7 this year.
Devenney gathered details of "crypto material" - programmes used to encrypt secret information - which could be useful to an enemy.
He denied a second count of communicating information to another person and this will not be pursued by prosecutors.
The Ministry of Defence has said no classified information was ever passed on to the Russians or any other countries.
It has described Devenney as somewhat of a Walter Mitty character - referring to the fantasist character in James Thurber's book The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
The judge, who said it was a highly unusual case, adjourned sentencing until December 12.
Some of that hearing will be held in private as the information relates to current British naval operations.
Devenney has been remanded in custody.
I am not in love with David Petraeus': Paula Broadwell's bizarre denial during interview filmed five months into her affair with disgraced CIA boss
by Daniel Bates
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2231990/Paula-Broadwell-claims-love-David-Petraeus-interview-filmed-months-affair.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
'I am not in love with David Petraeus': Paula Broadwell's bizarre denial during interview filmed five months into her affair with disgraced CIA boss
by Daniel Bates 12 November 2012
The woman who had an affair with David Petraeus denied she was in love with him in a bizarre interview she gave in the midst of their fling.
Speaking in an interview while promoting her book in February, Paula Broadwell said without prompting: 'I am not in love with David Petraeus', in what was something of a Freudian slip.
By that stage their affair was around five months having started when he became head of the CIA in September last year. It ended around July, according to reports.
Freudian? In an interview with Arthur Kade, Paula Broadwell let slip: 'I'm not in love with David Petraeus'
In the interview Broadwell, who is married with two young sons, revealed that she had sent Petraeus' wife Holly a copy of her her fawning biography of her husband - and claimed that she loved it.
The disclosure could reignite the debate about what information she was given access to
If Petraeus, 60, was prepared to show her his intimate correspondence with mentors then he may have allowed her to see classified information too.
Affair: Former CIA boss David Petraeus is pictured with Paula Broadwell, his biographer and alleged mistress
Controversially, Broadwell even claims that it was Petraeus' idea, and not hers, to turn her dissertation project on military leadership into the book it became: 'All In: The Education Of General David Petraeus'.
The interview was carried out by Arthur Kade, a former financial advisor turned humanitarian who also conducts celebrity interviews.
He and Broadwell sit in front of an open fire for 13 minutes during which she speaks at length about the book.
Broadwell says: 'I conducted over 700 interviews, you can appreciate how time consuming that is, and to transcribe then and I was trying to do this all on my own as a dissertation project.
'But when I realised the opportunity I had to present this portrait of strategic leadership - you know it's not a hagiography, I'm not in love with David Petraeus, but I think he does present a terrific role model for young people, for executives, for men and women.
Betrayal: Broadwell has two children with her radiologist husband, Scott, pictured left. Petraeus has been married to his wife Holly, pictured right, for 38 years and they have two grown children together.
Look of love? A photo in June 2011 shows Broadwell watching as Petraeus and Holly arrive for a Senate Select Intelligence Committee hearing on Petraeus' nomination to be director of the CIA.
'There's a great role model there who is values oriented, who speaks the truth to power, who shows great example of taking initiative and other qualities we should be all be interested in ourselves and promoting in others.
Broadwell said that she had presented Petreaus with a copy of her book but added that 'he says he hasn't read it'
She said: 'I sent him and his wife a copy and I know his wife, Holly Petraeus, read it and she had great things to say.
'He's tracking how the book is being received and as an academic mentor of mine, if you will, he's proud of me.
Insistence: Broadwell made the bizarre claim about not loving Petraeus while promoting his biography, 'All In'.
He agreed, gave her a business card and she made multiple visits to Afghanistan to interview him - before romance finally flourished.
Turning to their relationship, Broadwell said in the interview: 'Our rapport increased and he decided to make it more of an official relationship, treating me like a biographer.
'I was able to look through correspondence he exchange with his mentors over three decades as a young captain and major and I was able to trace how he was thinking, the evolution of his thought about counterinsurgency, about how forces train and equip and fight and on leadership.
'I was particularly interested in leadership'.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2231990/Paula-Broadwell-claims-love-David-Petraeus-interview-filmed-months-affair.html#ixzz2C7gC9Itk
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U.S. Gen. John Allen
top commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, during an interview with The Associated Press
Associated Press/Musadeq Sadeq, File - FILE - This July 22, 2012, file photo shows U.S. Gen. John Allen, top commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, during an interview with The Associated Press in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Pentagon says Gen. John Allen is under investigation for alleged "inappropriate communications" with Jill Kelley, the woman who is said to have received threatening emails from Paula Broadwell, the woman with whom former CIA Director David Petraeus had an extramarital affair. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says the FBI referred the matter to the Pentagon on Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012. Panetta says he ordered a Pentagon investigation of Allen on Monday. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq, File)
General investigated for emails to Petraeus friend
By ROBERT BURNS | Associated Press
PERTH, Australia (AP) — In a new twist to the Gen. David Petraeussex scandal, the Pentagon said Tuesday that the top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, is under investigationfor alleged "inappropriate communications" with a woman who is said to have received threatening emails from Paula Broadwell, the woman with whom Petraeus had an extramarital affair.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in a written statement issued to reporters aboard his aircraft, en route from Honolulu to Perth, Australia, that the FBI referred the matter to the Pentagon on Sunday.
Panetta said that he ordered a Pentagon investigation of Allen on Monday.
A senior defense official traveling with Panetta said Allen's communications were with Jill Kelley, who has been described as an unpaid social liaison at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., which is headquarters to the U.S. Central Command. She is not a U.S. government employee.
Kelley is said to have received threatening emails from Broadwell, who is Petraeus' biographer and who had an extramarital affair with Petraeus that reportedly began after he became CIA director in September 2011.
Petraeus resigned as CIA director on Friday.
Allen, a four-star Marine general, succeeded Petraeus as the top American commander in Afghanistan in July 2011.
The senior official, who discussed the matter only on condition of anonymity because it is under investigation, said Panetta believed it was prudent to launch a Pentagon investigation, although the official would not explain the nature of Allen's problematic communications.
The official said 20,000 to 30,000 pages of emails and other documents from Allen's communications with Kelley between 2010 and 2012 are under review. He would not say whether they involved sexual matters or whether they are thought to include unauthorized disclosures of classified information. He said he did not know whether Petraeus is mentioned in the emails.
"Gen. Allen disputes that he has engaged in any wrongdoing in this matter," the official said. He said Allen currently is in Washington.
Panetta said that while the matter is being investigated by the Defense Department Inspector General, Allen will remain in his post as commander of the International Security Assistance Force, based in Kabul. He praised Allen as having been instrumental in making progress in the war.
Spotlight on second woman in General David Petraeus Scandal
New details emerge about the woman who allegedly got menacing emails from the general's mistress."
Associated Press/Cliff Owen, File - FILE - In this June 23, 2011, file photo, Gen. David Petraeus, center, walks with his wife Holly, left, past a seated Paula Broadwell, rear right, as he arrives to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee during a hearing on his nomination to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency on Capitol Hill in Washington. Petraeus quit Nov. 9, 2012, after acknowledging an extramarital relationship. As questions arise about the extramarital affair between Petraeus and his biographer, Paula Broadwell, she has remained quiet about details of their relationship. However, information has emerged about Jill Kelley, the woman who received the emails from Broadwell that led to the FBI's discovery of Petraeus' indiscretion. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
Spotlight on 2nd woman in Petraeus case
New details emerge about the woman who allegedly got menacing emails from the general's mistress.
By ADAM GOLDMAN, ANNE FLAHERTY and KIMBERLY DOZIER | Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — As questions swirl about the extramarital affair that led to the resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus, the retired general and his biographer, Paula Broadwell, have been quiet about details of their relationship. However, information has emerged about the woman who received the emails from Broadwellthat led to the FBI's discovery of Petraeus' indiscretion.
A senior U.S. military official identified the second woman as Jill Kelley, 37, who lives in Tampa, Fla., and serves as an unpaid social liaison to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, where the military'sCentral Command and Special Operations Command are located.
In a statement Sunday, Kelley and her husband, Scott, said: "We and our family have been friends with Gen. Petraeus and his family for over five years. We respect his and his family's privacy and want the same for us and our three children." The military official who identified Kelley spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation. He said Kelley had received harassing emails from Broadwell, which led the FBI to examine her email account and eventually discover her relationship with Petraeus. The FBI contacted Petraeus and other intelligence officials, and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper asked Petraeus to resign. A former associate of Petraeus confirmed the target of the emails was Kelley, but said there was no affair between the two, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the retired general's private life. The associate, who has been in touch with Petraeus since his resignation, said Kelley and her husband were longtime friends of Petraeus and his wife, Holly.
Attempts to reach Kelley were not successful. Broadwell did not return phone calls or emails. The Petraeus news caught much of Washington by surprise and members of Congress said Sunday they want to know more details about the FBI investigation that revealed the extramarital affair between Petraeus and his biographer. They questioned when the retired general popped up in the FBI inquiry, whether national security was compromised and why they weren't told sooner. "We received no advanced notice. It was like a lightning bolt," Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on "Fox News Sunday." Petraeus, 60, quit Friday after acknowledging an extramarital relationship. He has been married 38 years to Holly Petraeus, with whom he has two adult children, including a son who led an infantry platoon in Afghanistan as an Army lieutenant.
Broadwell, a 40-year-old graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and an Army Reserve officer, is married with two young sons.
Petraeus' affair with Broadwell will be the subject of meetings Wednesday involving congressional intelligence committee leaders, FBI deputy director Sean Joyce and CIA deputy director Michael Morell.
A rare fish taken off Cabo San Lucas ends up getting stolen in bizarre tale
By: David Strege Saturday, November 10, 2012 11:00pm PST
A fish rarely seen by humans and weighing in at 300 pounds became the center of a bizarre fish story in Cabo San Lucas, where the "mystery" fish wound up getting stolen.
The fish was described by the Pisces Sportfishing Fleet blog as having a dorado-shaped head, tuna-type body, wahoo tail (with half of it missing) and a snapper color. Pisces eventually identified the fish as a louvar or Luvaras Imperialis, a species last seen in Cabo waters some 22 years ago.
The boatful of fishermen who captured the rare beast knew it was something special, yet it became the fish that got away--stolen from under their noses.
As related by Capt. Josue Moreno to Pisces, the Marina II headed out for a half day of fishing when the crew and fishing tourists came across a huge fish circling on the top of the water.
"I thought it was a red snapper or tuna," Moreno told Pisces. "So we went over to investigate and saw this really weird fish, like something we had never seen before. It was still alive, but almost dead, struggling to breathe. So we gaffed it and had a really hard time getting it onto the swimstep. The tourists on board were amazed and kept asking us what it was, but we had no idea."
The Marina II was said to have stopped to catch a few dorado before heading in to have the big, mystery fish weighed and filleted.
Only that's not exactly what happened.
As Pisces Sportfishing Fleet found out on Tuesday, the tale Moreno told was a lie.
The real story surfaced when Pisces spoke with angler Joe Estrada of San Antonio, Texas. He and some friends had chartered the boat Dr. Pescado II. Less than four miles from the Lighthouse off Cabo, theyspotted the mystery fish circling on top of the water, they gaffed it and they tied it onto the swimstep.
"We wanted to head back with the fish," Estrada told Pisces. "We knew it was an unusual catch." But the captain said, "the dorado bite is good, let's stay and fish and I will find somebody to take it back."
So, not wanting the fish to sit out in the sun while they were fishing, the captain radioed the Marina II, and its captain agreed to take the fish in.
"Our skipper, Oscar, told the other skipper to take it back for us and put it on ice. You can hear him saying that on our video," Estrada told Doug Olander of Sport Fishing.
The video below shows how the fish was transferred from one boat to the other. The fish was hooked to a buoy. The Dr. Pescado II left it floating for the Marina II, which scooped up the fish and headed in to port.
It was the last Estrada and his fishing group saw of the fish. As you can see in the photo above, Capt. Moreno had a photo taken with the fish before immediately filleting and distributing it to people around the marina. When the Dr. Pescado II returned to port to check on the fish, it was long gone.
"I like the fact that everybody was fed," Estrada told Pisces. "I hate to see fish go to waste and I am glad that so many families got fed."
But he sure wishes he had been able to take a few fillets home with him.
"I found out that they are really good eating," Estrada told Sport Fishing. "And I love to cook fish. That was heartbreaking."
Estrada told Pisces that his skipper Oscar "felt betrayed," though we can't help but wonder if Oscar might have gotten any of those fillets. Hmmm.
See Estrada's entire YouTube video here. We start the video below at 1:25, right when they describe how they're going to hand the fish off. "Let it be known we found the fish...We caught this fish, the rarest fish in the world," you can hear someone say. And, appropriately, you also hear, "Adios."
www.piscessportfishing.com
We started off as a family owned and operated business out of the City of La Paz, Baja, Mexico in 1978 with one 28 ft boat. A couple of years later we moved to Cabo and since then we have grown to be the largest and most respected charter fleet in Mexico. To keep pace with the growth of a more sophisticated market we gradually added more vessels and can now offer everything from the basic Baja Panga to mega yachts. Still, the favorite of most Cabo visitors(28-31ft) standard cruisers, seaworthy, clean boat, with very experienced crews which are great value for money. Slightly larger(32-48 ft), newer model, vessels with more comfort like salons and air-conditioning. Over 50 ft Sportfishers usually being new high tech vessels with great speed and more range. Last but not least, the Luxury Yachts, most being multi-purpose - fishing, cruising, snorkeling, diving -ideal for those want to be pampered with the very best. What sets us apart are the relationships we form with our clients, long-term; our focus is service, value for money and experienced crews. We have a proven track record that keeps our guests returning year after year.
We have not seen one of these strange fish in twenty two years and back in those days we were baffled having no idea what it was, but described it as "having a dorado shape head, tuna type body, wahoo tail and snapper color". Now we know that this fish is a louvar or Luvaras Imperialis. Not much is known about this elusive fish and it is rarely seen by humans and it is extremely rare to see a live specimen, as this one was. Captain Josue Moreno, a twenty year old native of Cabo San Lucas and captain of the 28 ft cruiser Marina, left the dock this morning with some tourists he had signed up for a half day of fishing. They headed out to the Pacific in hopes of catching some dorado and were six miles off of the Old Lighthouse, when they spotted something big on the surface of the water "I thought it was a red snapper or a tuna" he told us, "so we went over to investigate and saw this really weird fish, like something we had never seen before. It was still alive, but almost dead, struggling to breathe. So we gaffed it and had a really hard time getting it on to the swimstep. The tourists on board were amazed and kept asking us what it was, but we had no idea". Once secured on the back of the boat, they carried on fishing and picked up a few doardo before heading back to the marina at 11.30. The fillet guys knew what it was; they remembered the one from years ago and wrote up the photo board with the correct name for the captain to get his picture. After doing a bit of research we see that his 300 lb specimen is about as big as they get and learned that the flesh is delicious being compared to halibut and even swordfish. This species spends its entire life in the open ocean with jellyfish being its main diet.
How to Devise Passwords That Drive Hackers Away
By NICOLE PERLROTH | New York Times
It is absurdly easy to get hacked. All it takes is clicking on one malicious link or attachment.
Not long after I began writing about cybersecurity, I became a paranoid caricature of my former self. It's hard to maintain peace of mind when hackers remind me every day, all day, just how easy it is to steal my personal data.
Within weeks, I set up unique, complex passwords for every Web site, enabled two-step authentication for my e-mail accounts, and even covered up my computer's Web camera with a piece of masking tape — a precaution that invited ridicule from friends and co-workers who suggested it was time to get my head checked. But recent episodes offered vindication. I removed the webcam tape — after a friend convinced me that it was a little much — only to see its light turn green a few days later, suggesting someone was in my computer and watching. More recently, I received a text message from Google with the two-step verification code for my Gmail account. That's the string of numbers Google sends after you correctly enter the password to your Gmail account, and it serves as a second password. (Do sign up for it.) The only problem was that I was not trying to get into my Gmail account. I was nowhere near a computer. Apparently, somebody else was. It is absurdly easy to get hacked. All it takes is clicking on one malicious link or attachment. Companies' computer systems are attacked every day by hackers looking for passwords to sell on auctionlike black market sites where a single password can fetch $20. Hackers regularly exploit tools like John the Ripper, a free password-cracking program that use lists of commonly used passwords from breached sites and can test millions of passwords per second.
Chances are, most people will get hacked at some point in their lifetime. The best they can do is delay the inevitable by avoiding suspicious links, even from friends, and manage their passwords. Unfortunately, good password hygiene is like flossing — you know it's important, but it takes effort. How do you possibly come up with different, hard-to-crack passwords for every single news, social network, e-commerce, banking, corporate and e-mail account and still remember them all? To answer that question, I called two of the most (justifiably) paranoid people I know, Jeremiah Grossman and Paul Kocher, to find out how they keep their information safe. Mr. Grossman was the first hacker to demonstrate how easily somebody can break into a computer's webcam and microphone through a Web browser. He is now chief technology officer at WhiteHat Security, an Internet and network security firm, where he is frequently targeted by cybercriminals. Mr. Kocher, a well-known cryptographer, gained notice for clever hacks on security systems. He now runs Cryptography Research, a security firm that specializes in keeping systems hacker-resistant. Here were their tips:
FORGET THE DICTIONARY If your password can be found in a dictionary, you might as well not have one. "The worst passwords are dictionary words or a small number of insertions or changes to words that are in the dictionary," said Mr. Kocher. Hackers will often test passwords from a dictionary or aggregated from breaches. If your password is not in that set, hackers will typically move on.
NEVER USE THE SAME PASSWORD TWICE People tend to use the same password across multiple sites, a fact hackers regularly exploit. While cracking into someone's professional profile on LinkedIn might not have dire consequences, hackers will use that password to crack into, say, someone's e-mail, bank, or brokerage account where more valuable financial and personal data is stored.
COME UP WITH A PASSPHRASE The longer your password, the longer it will take to crack. A password should ideally be 14 characters or more in length if you want to make it uncrackable by an attacker in less than 24 hours. Because longer passwords tend to be harder to remember, consider a passphrase, such as a favorite movie quote, song lyric, or poem, and string together only the first one or two letters of each word in the sentence.
OR JUST JAM ON YOUR KEYBOARD For sensitive accounts, Mr. Grossman says that instead of a passphrase, he will randomly jam on his keyboard, intermittently hitting the Shift and Alt keys, and copy the result into a text file which he stores on an encrypted, password-protected USB drive. "That way, if someone puts a gun to my head and demands to know my password, I can honestly say I don't know it."
STORE YOUR PASSWORDS SECURELY Do not store your passwords in your in-box or on your desktop. If malware infects your computer, you're toast. Mr. Grossman stores his password file on an encrypted USB drive for which he has a long, complex password that he has memorized. He copies and pastes those passwords into accounts so that, in the event an attacker installs keystroke logging software on his computer, they cannot record the keystrokes to his password. Mr. Kocher takes a more old-fashioned approach: He keeps password hints, not the actual passwords, on a scrap of paper in his wallet. "I try to keep my most sensitive information off the Internet completely," Mr. Kocher said.
A PASSWORD MANAGER? MAYBE Password-protection software lets you store all your usernames and passwords in one place. Some programs will even create strong passwords for you and automatically log you in to sites as long as you provide one master password. LastPass, SplashDataand AgileBits offer password management software for Windows, Macs and mobile devices. But consider yourself warned: Mr. Kocher said he did not use the software because even with encryption, it still lived on the computer itself. "If someone steals my computer, I've lost my passwords." Mr. Grossman said he did not trust the software because he didn't write it. Indeed, at a security conference in Amsterdam earlier this year, hackers demonstrated how easily the cryptography used by many popular mobile password managers could be cracked.
IGNORE SECURITY QUESTIONS There is a limited set of answers to questions like "What is your favorite color?" and most answers to questions like "What middle school did you attend?" can be found on the Internet. Hackers use that information to reset your password and take control of your account. Earlier this year, a hacker claimed he was able to crack into Mitt Romney's Hotmail and Dropbox accounts using the name of his favorite pet. A better approach would be to enter a password hint that has nothing to do with the question itself. For example, if the security question asks for the name of the hospital in which you were born, your answer might be: "Your favorite song lyric."
USE DIFFERENT BROWSERS Mr. Grossman makes a point of using different Web browsers for different activities. "Pick one browser for 'promiscuous' browsing: online forums, news sites, blogs — anything you don't consider important," he said. "When you're online banking or checking e-mail, fire up a secondary Web browser, then shut it down." That way, if your browser catches an infection when you accidentally stumble on an X-rated site, your bank account is not necessarily compromised. As for which browser to use for which activities, a study last year by Accuvant Labs of Web browsers — including Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Microsoft Internet Explorer — found that Chrome was the least susceptible to attacks.
SHARE CAUTIOUSLY "You are your e-mail address and your password," Mr. Kocher emphasized. Whenever possible, he will not register for online accounts using his real e-mail address. Instead he will use "throwaway" e-mail addresses, like those offered by 10minutemail.com. Users register and confirm an online account, which self-destructs 10 minutes later. Mr. Grossman said he often warned people to treat anything they typed or shared online as public record.
"At some point, you will get hacked — it's only a matter of time," warned Mr. Grossman. "If that's unacceptable to you, don't put it online."
Proud to Be One of the World's Worst Hotels
By DRAGANA JOVANOVIC Nov. 12, 2012
The good news? This hotel is a bargain, no room costs more 25 euros per night. The bad news: You get what you pay for. It may be the worst hotel in the world.
The people who own the Hans Brinker Budget Hostel in Amsterdam wrote the book on the subject with a simple idea in mind: If you were warned in advance, you can't complain after you arrive. Some of the Hans Brinker's advertising slogans include: "It can't get any worse. But we'll do our best" or "Improve your immune system – stay at Hans Brinker!" And this "honest" humorous approach works, if you judge by the high percentage of the hotel's 511 beds in 127 rooms that are occupied these days.
The hotel's target clientele are mostly students and backpackers, who can appreciate the sarcastic humor and the price. The Hans Brinker ads make extremely modest claims: "Now with beds in every room" or "Now more rooms without a window," to go with the modest rate. And cheapness isn't the only virtue on display at the Hans Brinker Budget Hostel, there's also so-called ecological correctness. So the hotel's broken elevators becomes an "eco-friendly elevator"-- the stairs. No hot water in the shower? It keeps water consumption environmentally sound. No towels? Drying yourself off with the curtains saves on washing and helps save the planet. "It's an experience," says Tijmen Receveur, a manager at Hans Brinker. "Most of our guests are pleasantly surprised when they arrive at the hotel. They love our humor and sarcasm and they have diminished their expectations to less than nothing." A "legal note" posted on the hotel's website states that guests book there "at their own risk and will not hold the hotel liable for food poisoning, mental breakdowns, terminal illness, lost limbs, radiation poisoning, certain diseases associated with the 18th century, plague, etcetera."
"I've stayed in a lot of crummy places, but I like to think the Hans Brinker is the best of the worst," says Eleonor, a Belgian student, who stayed there recently. "It's the perfect place for teenage travelers or people in their twenties, who are likely to fall asleep in one of the bars around the corner anyway." Still, wacky humor can only take you so far, and recent comments on TripAdvisor indicate some guests may have forgotten the basis of their bargain: you get what you pay for, even or especially, at "The Worst Hotel in the World." Recent comments range from "For the reputation of the world's worst hotel it wasn't as bad as I thought. Pretty scabby still, very basic. The bathroom was atrocious! The winner for it was the location though. I wouldn't say don't stay there, but I would never stay there ever again" to the more flattering "Hans Brinker is a fun filled hostel with great facilities, friendly staff and great location. You will not be disappointed!"
Either way, you've been warned.
Colorado investigating reports of machines changing Romney votes to Obama
The Republican party of Pueblo, Colorado, has begun an investigation into reports that voting machines have been switching voters' selections.
The Pueblo GOP received at least a dozen complaints about voting machines changing votes for Mitt Romney, Republican nominee, into votes for Barack Obama, the incumbent.
Speaking to local media outlet, KRDO, Gilbert Ortiz, Pueblo County clerk and recorder said:
"..Just like when you're texting on your cell phone or using any other touchscreen technology, there's a chance that you might think your finger is touching one area and it's actually touching another...."
Interactive: US inner circles of power
Meet the top consultants, advisers, and pollsters behind Barack Obama and Mitt Romney's candidacies.
Mohammed Haddad and Hasan Salim Patel Last Modified: 31 Oct 2012 10:45
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2012/10/2012103165340619675.html
US votes in tight presidential race
Long lines reported in some states as millions of voters take to the polls after a grueling campaign.
Last Modified: 06 Nov 2012 20:20
After a seemingly endless presidential campaign, voters in the United States are going to the polls to decide whether to give president Barack Obama a second term or replace him with his Republican challenger, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
Voters in dozens of states were lined up before dawn, with lengthy lines and hour-long waits reported in many places. In New York and New Jersey, eastern states battered last week by Hurricane Sandy, voters queued outside of tents and other makeshift polling places.
There were scattered reports of irregularities across the country, particularly from voters who said they were asked to show identification while waiting in line. In Pennsylvania, a judge ordered Republicans to stop demanding ID from voters outside a polling station.
Voting machines also broke down in a number of polling stations. One man in Pennsylvania posted a video of a machine which did not let him vote for Obama, apparently a malfunction.
Romney voted on Tuesday morning near his home in Belmont, Massachusetts. From there he planned to hit the campaign trail, a rarity for presidential candidates on Election Day; his campaign has scheduled events in Pennsylvania and the battleground state of Ohio.
Obama voted more than a week ago in his hometown of Chicago, part of a campaign to encourage his supporters to take advantage of early voting. Some 30 million Americans have already voted, a record number.
The president plans to spend the day at his headquarters in the city, and has no plans to hit the campaign trail, though he did make phone calls to volunteers.
"[I] want to say to Governor Romney, congratulations on a spirited campaign," he told reporters on Tuesday morning. "We feel confident we've got the votes to win, but it's going to depend ultimately on whether those votes turn out."
His vice president, Joe Biden, cast his ballot in the early morning hours in his home state of Delaware. He will travel to Chicago in the afternoon to watch the results with Obama.
Tuesday's vote caps off a grueling campaign that became the most expensive in history: Candidates and outside groups spent some $2.6bn on the presidential race alone.
Both candidates have spent the last few weeks barnstorming the handful of "swing states" which will decide the election. Obama made campaign stops on Monday in Wisconsin, Iowa and Ohio, while Romney visited New Hampshire, Florida, Ohio and Virginia.
Obama used his final campaign stop to remind voters of his accomplishments: the economy's slow recovery from recession, the rescue of the American auto industry, and the end of the war in Iraq, among other things.
He sought to sharpen the contrast between his policies and those of his opponent.
"It's not just a choice between two candidates and two parties, it's a choice between two different visions for America," he said.
Obama has not laid out a detailed agenda for his second term, and Romney has seized on that in his final speeches, warning voters that the president will simply repeat his policies from the past four years - which the Republican nominee described as a failure.
"His plan for the next four years is to take all the ideas from the first term - the stimulus, the borrowing, Obamacare, all the rest - and do them over again," Romney said, referring to the president's $787bn economic stimulus package and his health care reforms.
"He calls that 'Forward.' I call it 'Forewarned,'" the former governor quipped.
Polls positive for Obama
The last round of national polls heading into the vote were good news for the president. A Pew Research Center poll showed him leading Romney by three points, 48 per cent to 45 per cent. The same poll had them tied last week.
Two other polls showed a closer race: A Washington Post-ABC News poll had Obama leading by one point, 49 per cent to 48 per cent; and a CNN poll had the candidates tied with 49 per cent of the vote.
All three of those results were within the polls' margins of error.
But the popular vote will not decide the outcome. States are apportioned a number of electoral votes based on their population, and the candidate who wins a majority - 270 - becomes president. And the final state polls showed the president leading in most of the crucial swing states.
Surveys in Ohio have had Obama leading by anywhere from three to five points. A victory there would mean Romney would have to win at least six of the remaining eight battleground states, which seems unlikely: Obama led every poll conducted in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, Virginia and Wisconsin; Romney's lone bright spot was North Carolina, where he looks poised to win by a narrow margin.
The other two battlegrounds, Colorado and Florida, seem too close to predict, with polls showing a range of possible outcomes.
In Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, a small village which traditionally opens its polling places just after midnight - the first vote in the nation - Romney and Obama tied, 5-5. It was the first tie in more than 50 years of midnight voting in the town, which is not a bellwether for the national result.
Scenes from Election Day: America heads to the polls
By Liz Goodwin, Yahoo! News | The Ticket
A polling station in Los Angeles, California Tuesday. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) Obama mural in Philadelphia. (Tim Miller)
The most expensive presidential race in American history—some $2.6 billion was spent—is finally coming to an end. The barrage of political ads is quieting, and voters now have the chance to speak.
Polls close in Virginia, Indiana, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina and Vermont at 7 PM ET, with other states following close behind. Alaska's polling stations, the last to close, finally shutter at 1 AM Wednesday. In the meantime, we'll be gathering all the latest news about the candidates, polling stations and swing states here.
3:01 PM: If you thought it was a hassle for you to vote today, we'd like you to meet Galicia Malone. The 21-year-old first-time voter from Illinois managed to cast her ballot today even though she was in labor.
3:00 PM: A Washington, DC woman posted this photo of someone dressed in a full-body Big Bird suit waiting in line to vote.
2:50 PM: Check out this series of photos of voters in Queens, who took a break from trying to salvage their Sandy-hit homes to vote in makeshift voting stations today.
2:40 PM: Guess they're not too nervous for a big lunch. Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney grabbed lunch at a Wendy's in a Cleveland suburb after stopping by a campaign office. Here's a photo of them greeting the staff. Joe Biden, meanwhile, grabbed lunch at a local restaurant in Sterling, Virginia, where he had a Cobb salad.
2:38 PM: For the third day in a row, Joe Biden and Mitt Romney's planes passed each other on the tarmac. This time, in Cleveland.
2:30 PM: A judge has ordered officials to cover up the Obama mural in a Philadelphia polling placethat raised controversy earlier today.
1:45 PM: NBC has confirmed that an electronic voting machine in Pennsylvania changed a vote from Obama to Romney earlier today. The machine has been taken out of service.
1:20 PM: An estimated 50 million eligible Americans will not vote today. Here's why.
1:00 PM: Better late than never? Google searches for "who's running for president" spiked in November.
12:25 PM: You might want to think twice before posting your filled out ballot to Facebook, Flickr, or Instagram. Propublica reports that some states have laws that prohibit people from showing their ballots to anyone. Violating the rule can result in having your ballot thrown out. See if it's legal in your state at the Citizen Media Law Project site.
12:18 PM: In Washington D.C., There are reports that some lines are so long at polling sites that people are giving up on voting. How was your polling place? Let us know in the comments.
12 PM: Republican National Committee official Tim Miller is complaining on Twitter that a Philadelphia polling place has put up voting booths right next to a mural of Obama. The location of the polling site is 35th ward-D18 Franklin School, according to the Weekly Standard. Miller wrote that the Pennsylvania GOP has filed a complaint. Electioneering is not allowed within 10 feet of a polling place. The Philadelphia City Commissioners' office is looking into the complaints.
11:40 AM: Elections officials in Pinellas county in Florida mistakenly sent hundreds of robocalls telling voters they had until 7:00 PM Wednesday to vote, the Tampa Bay Times reports. (The last polls close at 8 PM Tuesday in the state.) Elections officials sent a second message to alert voters who received the calls of the mistake. A majority of the county voted Democratic in 2008.
11 AM: A Chrysler official wrote on Twitter that the car company has given its entire workforce the day off to vote. (He added that the auto workers union and Chrysler, GM and Ford have agreed that workers get the day off to vote for years.) Late last month the company had strongly denied the accuracy of an ad from Mitt Romney's campaign stating that the automaker was moving its Jeep production to China. The company, in fact, said it recently added 1,100 jobs in the swing state of Ohio, where one in eight jobs is connected to the auto industry.
10 AM: All four major candidates have cast their ballots. President Barack Obama voted weeks ago in Chicago as part of his campaign's push to get their supporters to vote early in states that allow it. Voting on Tuesday: Vice President Joe Biden, at a Wilmington, Del., high school; Gov. Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, near their Belmont, Mass., home; and Paul Ryan cast his ballot in his hometown of Janesville, Wis.
9:40 AM: The first election results are in—and it's a tie. In New Hampshire, Dixville Notch's 10 registered votes split evenly 5-5 between Romney and Obama. The small village has cast its ballots at midnight since 1960, giving political junkies an early look at how candidates are faring in the Granite State. President Obama carried the small village in 2008, but Dixville Notch went to George W. Bush in both 2000 and 2004.
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Confession No.9: Will America Rise Up Against Jesuits, Vatican And New World Order Tyranny?
by Greg Szymanski, June 18, 2006
Last Updated: Sunday, June 18, 2006 10:05:52 AM
As the question lingers will Americans sit back and allow the 'powers that be' to refer to them as 'useless eaters' or will they rely on past history to uncover and remove the real culprits behind the destruction of America.
Greg Szymanski
he term "useless eaters" was first used by Nazi doctors, referring to their concentration camp victims. It was later used by former CIA director William Colby, referring to the Mexican people.
Now it used in the inner circles of the Illuminati and the dungeons of the Vatican when referring to the people of the United States.
And the reason Americans are now considered "useless eaters" is they are being set-up by the spiritual controllers of the New World Order -- the Jesuits -- for mass eradication like the 22 million Russian citizens slaughtered during the failed fascist offensive at Stalingrad, as well as numerous other genocides orchestrated by fanatical elements in the Vatican.
As we move on with Confession No. 9 in our search for the true spiritual controllers of the New World Order by the shores of Brushy Creek, according to researcher John Judge the Vatican's dirty work through the Jesuits can be traced to the creation of the communist Soviet Union, as well as backing Nazi Germany's terror campaign.
In a lengthy article connecting the dots of the Vatican, the Illuminati and the impending destruction of America, Judge wrote:
"A group of the most fanatically conservative elements of the Catholic Church, men who still supported the inquisition in Spain and who used flagellation as prayer, formed a lay order known as Opus Dei, the Works of God.
"These were joined in rank by the ancient military order of the church ' the secretive Knights Hospitallers, or the Knights of Malta. Their ultimate objective was the downfall of the new Soviet government. No method or means was too extreme, so these forces backed and helped to create Franco in Spain, Mussolini in Italy, and Hitler in Germany. Some of the U.S. firms continued their financial trade and support of the fascists throughout all of World War II, with Russia as the target.
"But the fascist offensive failed at Stalingrad, though the cost had been enormous, with 22 million Soviet citizens dead. At this crucial turning point, they retreated and retrenched, adding to their ranks the embittered revanchists of Eastern Europe, the "cold warriors" and Klansmen of America, and even worse elements.
"From 1943 forward, plans began to escalate the "cold war" of propaganda and paramilitary spying into the nuclear exchange of World War III.. Still, no other goal was so important as the "recapture" of Mother Russia into monarchist and fascist hands. But now they had also added the perspective of the eugenicists and the "scientific" racists of the Third Reich, who saw most of the non-white world as expendable."
Judge's well researched article is a piece of lost history, highlighting the secret assassins from the World War II era who escaped justice, formulating the basis of the fascist movement now destroying America with the full cooperation and assistance of the Vatican through the Jesuit Order.
The following portion of the article reveals the names of the men most responsible for the establishment of the New World Order as well as naming those who worked together with them to determine how America is being undermined today.
Judge said the following is based on his own research and that of Mae Brussell, and the few researchers looking into the truth of what became of democracy in America:
Add to this international fascist cabal the following sources of power: Kameradenwerk, Die Spinne and Odessa -- the secret webs of Nazi SS men and mass murderers who escaped justice after the war and found a home in Europe, South America and the obliging United States.
Project Paperclip -- A successful American operation which brought to the U.S. literally hundreds of top aerospace and munitions experts from Nazi Germany to form the corporate leadership and the expertise behind the technological and military advances of a growing military-industrial I complex.[]
Belarus Brigade -- The dreaded combined forces of Nazi and White Russian troops in Byelorussia during World War II, a counter-revolutionary stronghold since World War I and a Nazi-infested army against Russia. The top government officials, nearly 300 of them, were brought to the
United States and given important government and intelligence jobs by our thankful CIA and OSS.
Dictatorships -- Arisen in South America and throughout the world whose fascist rhetoric and genocidal direction come directly from Nazi collusion and training, not historical chance.
The Gehlen Network -- A black orchestra of spies whose infamous dealings during World War II had put the Nazi spies in bed with every major intelligence network in the world from British M15 and M16, to the American OSS and the heavily infiltrated KGB,] Under the evil genius of Allen Dulles, whose espionage attacks on the Soviet Union date back to the 1920's, $200 million in Rockefeller and Mellon funds was directed into the hands of Hitler's spymaster Reinhard Gehlen and his 350 Nazi spies, who formed and founded our Central Intelligence Agency in 1947.] Later, these same forces created post-war European intelligence , our Defense Intelligence Agency, our National Security Agency, and covert groupings here and abroad whose very initials are considered classified information.
Assassins -- An international fascist network of terror, congealed in the grey underworld of Mafia murders, drug trafficking, gun smuggling and political murders worldwide. These mercenary armies still draw their ranks from the refugees encamped everywhere, still operate with names like Alpha 66 and Omega 7, ] AAA or DINA, the Kuomintang of Chiang Kai Shek, the Somocistas along the Honduran border now, the Hmong peoples of Laos and the reactionary ranks of the Vietnamese, the Phalangists in Lebanon, and even the Grey Wolves of Turkey whose members include Mehmet Ali Agca, the attempted assassin of the Pope now so falsely accused of working with the Soviet KGB.
Interpol -- An international police intelligence agency begun at the end of World War II in collaboration with Nazi war criminals and our own J. Edgar Hoover of FBI fame.[19]
These elements meet internationally under the aegis of organizations like the World Union of National Socialists, the Asian People's Anti-Communist League, and the World Anti-Communist League. Their cover is provided by "journalists" like Claire Sterling, [20] and Marvin Kalb of Opus Dei.[21] Their legitimacy and recruiting is aided by evangelical fronts like "World Vision," which runs many of the refugee camps and includes John W. Hinckley, Sr.[22] They draw their funds from the illevl and profitable world heroin and cocaine trade, [23] and their training from CIA experts like Mitch WerBell, Edwin Wilson, Frank Terpil and unreconstructed Nazi torturers who provide 'lechniques." [24] Their weapons come from an equally lucrative gun smuggling trade, assisted by intelligence agencies.[25]
This is the real historical framework of current events, that follow from "cold war" to "COINTELPRO" and "CHAOS," [26] from the framing of the Rosenbergs to "Operation Garden Plot," [27] from Alger Hiss to the "Houston Plan," [28] from McCarthy to "MK-ULTRA," [29] from the Third Reich to the Fourth. What the demon Dulles brothers engineered, [30] the massive cold-war lie [31] that justified any excess in the direction of fascism, is the root of Malcolm X's statement on Vietnam, that "the chickens are going to come home to roost." Under the current rubric of the World Anti-Cummunist League," [32] the Solidarists, the Nazis and other fascists, the reactionary forces in every part of the globe unit to bring us a legacy of deception and murder, of war profits and starvation, of open dictatorial rule. Their now three-quarter-century-old goal of crushing the Soviet revolution has brought us to both financial and physical ruin, and to the brink of World War III.[33] To attain that goal, fascism has come home to roost.[34]
During World War II, the Nazis in France gained collaboration and capitulation by going first to the task of corrupting the courts, compromising the judges, and turning the slim hope of judicial justice into a political weapon.[35] In our own country, the most respected Justice of the Supreme Court was unable to solve the obvious case of conspiracy in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The primary role of the state police has become spying and suppression of legitimate attempts to challenge the undemocratic and secret rule of the national security state.[36] The purpose of the law now is to put the protection of profits above people at all costs, even to the point of police destruction of the evidence necessary to reconstruct the crime.[37] Do you think we are in some better or more holy condition in our own courts today? What special sort of American chauvinism leads us to blindly assert "it can't happen here?" For it has.
In a recent editorial in the Boston Globe, dated February 14, 1983, we can see the delayed reaction of the established press shortly after the extradition of Klaus Barbie, [38] the Nazi "Butcher of Lyons," from Bolivia to France:
Barbie is only one of many notorious Nazi leaders who were welcomed like prodigal sons into service with Western intelligence agencies after the war. Their unspeakable crimes against humanity were implicitly forgiven and conveniently forgotten. They were paid and protected so that they could return to active duty in the anti-Communist crusade which their fuhrer, Adolf Hitler, had temporarily discredited with his extremism.
Their names compose a rogue's gallery of fascist thuggery. Hitler's master spy, Reinhard Gehlen, was made chief of the Western German intelligence agency (BND) and shared his Nazi intelligence data with his protectors in the CIA. Otto Skorzeny, a Nazi specialist at organizing terror networks in occupied countries, was employed in the U.S. Army's historical division, which served as a way-station for former Nazis who would go on to serve in the Gehlen-CIA intelligence network. Skorzeny used his tacit immunity to shepherd old Nazi comrades out of Europe, working through cover organizations, known as Odessa, Kamaradenwerk, and Die Spinne.
As the years went by, Gehlen, Skorzeny and their network of old-boy collaborators accumulated enormous influence both In Europe and Latin America. Skorzeny shuttled between Franco's Spain and Peron's Argentina, where he served the Argentine dictator as a gray eminence. His goal was to foster the growth of a fascist Fourth Reich centered in Latin America.
He could count on such loyalist operatives as Josef Mengele in Paraguay, on Adolf Eichmann and Hans Ulrich Rudel in Argentina; on Walter Rauff in Chile; and on Klaus Barbie in Bolivia.
Rauff, who is charged with sending 97, 000 Jews to their death, has served as a revered adviser to the fascist dictatorship imposed on Chile by Augusto Pinochet after the overthrow of Salvador Allende, and was instrumental in setting up the infamous Chilean secret police agency known as DINA. Barbie, in Bolivia, organized paramilitary death squads and drug smuggling networks for a succession of military r6gimes.
To grasp the full meaning of Barbie's belated appointment with justice, his career may be seen as an emblem of the unchecked metastasis of fascism. It is particularly mortifying for Americans to be reminded that our government put Barbie on its payroll a few years after he worked for Hitler.
Erhard Dabringhaus of U.S. Army Intelligence sheltered this mass murderer, paid him $1700 a month to run a spy network in France, and helped him escape to South America. "I am a good American of German extraction and I did my job," he said recently from his position as a German history professor at Wayne State University.[39] These people, and those who aided them, have names, addresses, and connections to the top levels of the United States government. They figure prominently in the hidden history of our police-intelligence state, and in the rash of political assassinations and other crimes that keep it in place. The names of the men most responsible for bringing them here read like a roll call of the world establishment, and those who collaborated with them fit together like pieces of a puzzle in decoding events since World War II.[40]
Allen Dulles -- Who collaborated with Gehlen's spies, headed the CIA, and later sat on the Warren Commission investigation of J.F. Kennedy's death.[41]
John J. McCloy -- A High Commissioner of Germany after the war who pardoned key Nazi criminals like Krupp, Abs, Dohrnberger, Schacht, and others.[42] His long career has made him a "Godfather of the American establishment." He sat atop the World Bank, directed construction of the Pentagon, worked with Earl Warren to set up the Japanese concentration camps in America, blocked any military attacks on the Nazi death camps as Assistant Secretary of War. He stopped the summary execution of Nazis in favor of the Nuremberg Trials which he later thwarted, and also sat as a member of the Warren Commission.[43]
General Lucius Clay -- The military commander of Germany at the end of the war, Clay helped undermine the prosecution of Otto Skorzeny, and later worked with Nazi generals at Oberammergau to train Eastern European revanchists, Nazis and American GIs into the 5,000-strong "Special Forces" against communism. This team later became our Green Berets.[44]
Henry Kissinger -- Worked with General Lucius Clay at Oberammergau, and then with key stateside Army Intelligence and CIA units responsible for bringing in the Nazi spies.[45] Kissinger, who came from Germany to join U.S. Army Intelligence during World War II, had as his "mentor" the mysterious Fritz Kraemer.[46] Kraemer's 30-year silent career in the Pentagon plans division includes the prepping of Alexander Haig.[47] It may also conceal his real identity -- prisoner #33 in the dockets at Dachau, the special Lieutenant to Hitler, Fritz Kraemer.[48] Mr. Kissinger still relies on his advice, and did so while Secretary of State.
C.D. Jackson -- Joined Nelson Rockefeller and Richard Nixon in the scheme to bring the Byelorussian government here. He worked for the Henry Luce publishing empire, and for Life magazine when they published the doctored photos of Lee Harvey Oswald holding a rifle. Both Time and Life were owned by Luce, and were responsible for much of the cold-war propaganda that allowed the national security state and the Pentagon to grow untouched.[49]
Richard Milhous Nixon -- Former President whose work with Navy Intelligence at the end of World War II included the importation of Nazi criminals through the Gould family estate on Long Island. Among them was Nicolae Malaxa, whose collaboration with Hermann Goering was apparently no problem for Nixon, who defended Malaxa's U.S. citizenship.[50] In fact, a special bill was introduced in Congress to secure the citizenship by Senator Pat McCarren of Nevada. McCarren and Senator Joe McCarthy later introduced legislation to set up "detention and internment camps" in the U.S. in times of war or national emergency for "internal security." [51]
Other figures involved in this dirty little secret connect to the highest levels of our government and intelligence agencies. The solemn pledge to end the Nazi r駩me was completely betrayed.[52] Instead, the British and American spies saw a more important function, that of finding a new common enemy. The cohesiveness and control offered by this scenario seemed to urgent and so appealing that they even considered creating the illusion of an enemy from outer space.[53] For the less inventive, the communist revolution still served as suff icient scapegoat, and historical target.
Frank G. Wisner -- An official of the OSS and a CIA veteran who brought the Byelorussian government here, the Latvian Thunder Cross, the Hungarian Arrow Cross, and the Roumanian Iron Guard among others. As many as 5,000 came to work at Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, the CIA, the Voice of America, the Defense Language Institute, "for the United States in defense of liberty.[54] Allen Dulles said of Gehlen, "He's on our side now." Bobby Inman of the NSA and CIA networks today admitted recently that these fascists were "the bedrock" of covert operations in Europe in the 40s and 50s by the CIA, and molded the anti-communist policy there.[55]
J. Peter Grace -- A scion of the Grace fortunes, he is currently head of Reagan's commission to study domestic economic cuts.[56] For 30 years his company employed Otto Ambrose, a Nazi war criminal from the German drug cartel I.G. Farben. Ambrose, a chemist, developed "Zyklon B," the actual gas used in the chambers to kill the Jews and others deemed "inferior." [57] The German steel group, Flick, which has extensive Nazi ties in the past and whose scandals are rocking German politics today, hold a controlling stock interest in the Grace company.[58] The Grace family is intimately involved with the formation of the anti-Communist American Institute for Free Labor Development (AIFLD).[59] AIFLD played a key role in the Kissinger plan to overthrow Allende in Chile, and insert the ruling fascist Pinochet.[60] After the coup, which involved American Green Berets, [61] Kissinger sent a Mr. Rauff from the State Department to advise the newly formed Chilean secret police (DINA). Rauff had been in charge of the "mobile ovens" used to kill Gypsies and Jews, homosexuals and political dissidents in Eastern Europe for the Nazis.[62] These same forces were later involved in the assassination of Chilean diplomat Orlando Letelier in Washington, D.C.[63]
Helene von Damm -- Personal White House appointment secretary long-time personal secretary to Ronald Reagan, she stands to be appointed Ambassador to Vienna, and controls all cabinet level appointments in the Reagan administration.[64] She came to the United States in the 1950s in the company of Albrecht Otto von Bolschwing, and worked for him as a translator.[65] Von Bolschwing gave the direct orders to Adolph Eichmann in the dread Eisenstatz, group, the SS killers.[66] Helene's husband, Christian von Damm, ran the Bank of America in La Paz, Bolivia, which defaulted on a huge U.S. loan.[67]
Errol Flynn -- The famed actor, whose exploits included meetings with Nazi sympathizers, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and Nazi spymasters during the late 30s. His roommate and constant coM anion at the time was actor Ronald Reagan.[68]
Anna Chenault -- A Nixon confidant, and head,, of the old "China Lobby" that got us involved in both Korea and Vietnam.[69] Her husband, General Claire Chennault, formed the Flying Tigers in World War II, which later flew heroin for the CIA from Vietnam as "Air America." [70] She sits on the board of 20th Century Fox with Henry Kissinger, William Rogers, Gerald Ford, and until recently, Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco.[71]
Evita Peron -- Once a ruler in Argentina, Evita got her funds from the Nazi treasuries stolen by Martin Bormann at the end of the war, and put hundreds of millions in the "Evita Peron Foundation" and Swiss bank accounts. This money aided war criminals like Josef Mengele, Heinrich Dorge, Hjalmar Schacht (who had worked under Herman Abs at the Reichsbank), Rudolf Freude, Dr. Fritz Thyssen Dr. Gustav Krupp, Otto Skorzeny, and others.[72]
Peter Drucker -- Well-known industrialist who began the multinational corporation concept, he was responsible for bringing Nazi leader Fritz Kraemer from Frankfurt to the Pentagon.[73]
General George Patton -- An American hero of World War II, whose credit for invading Sicily was later tarnished by the Kefauver commission study suggesting that he traveled into friendly Mafioso villages as part of a secret deal between Navy Intelligence and mobster "Lucky" Luciano.[74] In his assignment to construct a history of the war, Patton assembled Nazi Army officers and had "admiration, affection and sympathy" for them. He picked the "best brains," Von Manteuffel, Brandenberger, Count von Schwerin and Fritz Kraemer.[75] After the war, Patton worked closely with John J. McCloy. In relation to Russia he said, "Anyone who says there won't be a future war is a goddamn fool.[76]
George Bush -- Former head of the CIA who employed, among others, U.S. Army officer, Capt. William Rhine of the Bay of Pigs operation. Rhine is really top SS spy Helmut Streicher, who worked directly with Hitler, Gehlen, Otto Skorzeny, and then U.S. Army Intelligence from October, 1945 on.[77]
General Douglas MacArthur -- Another World War II hero, he helped to cover up Japanese war crimes involving chemical and biological experiments on American_prisoners so that we could use the secret results.[78] This operation and others directly involved MacArthur's chief of staff, Colonel Charles Willoughby, who is in reality a Nazi criminal, Kurt Weidenbach.[79]
J. Edgar Hoover -- Who formed the FBI, and without whose help Nazi criminals could never have entered the U.S., worked in Interpol with founder Reinhard Heydrich, SS head of Nazi police from 1940 to 1942, and his successor, SS officer Ernst Kaltenbrunner, later hanged at Nuremberg.[80] Hoover's career involved extensive mob connections, [81]and his death has yet to be fully investigated.[82]
Thomas Dewey -- The "gangbuster" New York prosecutor who put Luciano in jail, and then later petitioned for his release and deportation to Italy in honor of his "wartime services." [83] In 1948, Dewey ran for President in a close race with Harry Truman. Dewey's vice-presidential candidate was Earl Warren and his campaign manager was Allen Dulles.[84]
Historically interconnected with the Solidarists and the fascists, powerful elements in the Vatican continued their work through high church officials, Opus Dei, and the Sovereign Military order of Malta, the Knights of Malta.[85]
Monsignor Montini -- An OSS operative in Southeast Asia at the end of World War II, he was later appointed Pope Paul VI. He used Caritas International is, a welfare organization, to provide refugee travel documents to such Nazis as euthanasia killer Hans Hefelman and Hitler's secretary, Martin Bormann, aiding in their escape to Argentina.[86]
Pope John Paul II -- Worked at Auschwitz in a rubber plant run Nazi financier Hermann Abs for Solvay Drugs of I.G. Farben.[87] Farben, which also employed Fritz Kraemer, has 750 subsidiaries worldwide, including U.S. firms.[88] In the wake of the recent Vatican Bank scandals, Pope John Paul I I appointed a four-man committee to study and run Vatican finances, which included Hitler's personal banker and the pontiff's old boss, Hermann Abs.[89] Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal protested this recently.[90] The Pope also elevated Opus Dei, with 72,000 members in 80 countries, to the status of a religious order.[91]
Cardinal Spellman -- Religious leader in New York, he was a proteg頯f Cardinal Pacelli, Pope Pius XII, who is often accused of collaboration with the Nazis.[92] Spellman is the U.S. spiritual leader of the Knights of Malta.[93] He is responsible for introducing Ngo Dinh Diem to Allen Dulles, and then proposing his presidency of South Vietnam to President Kennedy.[94] When Diem resisted the introduction of American troops into Vietnam, Dulles told General Westmoreland to go ahead anyway, and our CIA helped to kill Diem.[95]
Father E. Walsh -- His Georgetown University Center for International Affairs and Strategic Studies became the first major CIA training center.[96] This Jesuit priest was the motivating force behind Joe McCarthy's campaign against "communism" in the 50s, and he is a long-time member of the Knights of Malta.[97]
Avery Dulles -- Son of John Foster Dulles, then Secretary of State, and a nephew to Allen Dulles, then CIA director. Avery worked with Martin Bormann to help his escape to Argentina, and is now working as an advisor at Georgetown University. He also is a member of the Knights of Malta.[98]
Roy Cohn -- The key lawyer in the prosecution of the Rosenberg case the alleged "Atom Spies" executed in the 1950s, [99] he worked with Joe McCarthy and David Schine to spread the "Communist Menace" lies. He currently sits on the board of the anti-communist Western Goals Foundation, and his law partner, Tom Bolan, is a member of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.[100]
Alexander Haig -- A long-time protege of the Pentagon "Iron Mentor" Fritz Kraemer, [101] Haig extended favors and NATO links to the fascist cell in Italy known as P-2 or Propaganda Due, whose "puppetmaster," Licio Gelli, worked with Franco and Mussolini and shares dual citizenship in Italy and Argentina.[102] The involvement of high government officials in this secret order of Free-Masons scandalized and rocked the whole Italian government, and opened the ensuing scandal of Banco Ambrosiano and the Vatican Bank's missing billions.[103] Many of the key figures are either imprisoned (Licio Gelli and Michele Sindona, former head of the Vatican Bank) or dead (Roberto Calvi, known as "God's Banker," found hanging beneath Blackfriar's Bridge in London.) [104] Haig has just been knighted into the secretive Knights of Malta, which includes his brother, and prestigious members like William Colby (CIA), William F. Buckley (CIA), J. Peter Grace, John McCone (CIA), General Vernon Walters (Reagan's "roving ambassador"), James Angleton (CIA), and others.[105]
Charles G. Bludhorn -- The founder and chairman of Gulf and Western conglomerate, he came from Vienna in 1942. He worked closely with Michele Sindona and his boss, Licio Gelli, had secret dealings with Antonio Guzman of the Dominican Republic, and knew Vatican Bank scandal figure Archbishop Paul Marcinkus.[106] Bludhorn bought Music Corporation of America (which gave Reagan his start), Madison Square Garden, and much more. His financial manager, Kirk Kerkorian began with a $50,000,000 loan from West German banker Otto Schoeppler to buy MGM. Alexander Haig was soon on the board.[107]
Michele Ledeen -- Reagan's appointed state department official is the unofficial source for the "Bulgarian Connection" like about the KGB role in the shooting of the Pope. He is the major source on "Soviet terrorism" misinformation to Claire Sterling, who deftly covers up fascist terrorism and state terrorism alike.[108] Ledeen has close ties to Alexander Haig, the Georgetown University grouping, Henry Kissinger, Licio Gelli Opus Dei, and the P-2 Masonic Lodge scandal.[109] He is also close to Francesco Pazienza, suspected to have set up "God's Banker" Roberto Calvi for murder.[110] At the time of his death, Calvi was director of Banco Ambrosiano, and his family members openly claim he-was killed by Opus Dei.[111]
Joseph Lehman -- A brother to John Lehman, currently Secretary of the Navy. John Lehman is involved in a growing scandal involving contracts between the Pentagon and the Abingdon firm (a front for Lockheed and Boeing), which employs Joseph, Christopher and other Lehman family members.[112] A cousin of the family, Princess Grace Kelly, was knighted into the Sovereign Military Order of Malta shortly before her death, and her home at Monaco was a center for fugitive Nazi activity for many years.[113] The Lehmans have worked openly to curb the Catholic bishops who favor a nuclear freeze, scaring them with the "KGB shot the Pope" nonsense.[114] In this effort, Christopher Lehman works closely with Senator John Tower of Texas. Senator Tower's brother-inlaw is Samuel Cimmings, a CIA gun runner to international fascist terrorists, including "Carlos," Frank Terpil, Ed Wilson, Gregory Korkola, and others.[115]
Once the cast of characters is clear, the interconnections continue. One of the front companies used by Wilson and Terpil in California, TCI, was founded by Helene von Damm and Otto Albrecht von BoIschwing.[116] The relative importance of von BoIschwing cannot be underestimated. He was placed in charge of the Gehlen-CIA network in the United States when Gehlen returned to Germany to set up their post-war intelligence agency.[117] Many of the people mentioned already have direct or indirect links to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, later political murders, and their coverups.[118] Others make the connections of the international fascist cabal very clear in the murder of John F. Kennedy and many more progressive leaders.
Werner von Braun -- Whose infamous "Rocket Team" developed the first intercontinental missiles at Peenemunde, and were then brought here to develop NASA rocketry, and the growing aerospace industry.[119] The NASA security teams are implicated in several sources in connection with the murder of John F. Kennedy.[120] The actual physical capture of von Braun, who had used slave labor to build the rockets, was done by American,; troops in Switzerland led by Clay Shaw, later charged by District Attorney Jim Garrison for his role in the Kennedy killing.[121]
General Walter Dohrnberger -- A Nazi murderer convicted at Nuremberg for working with the "Butcher of Auschwitz" to kill 6,000 Jews, he was scheduled to be hanged according to British prosecutor Shawcross.[122] He had been a "mentor" and friend to Von Braun throughout the war, getting materials and labor denied at times by Hitler for the rocket works. Von Braun refused to work on NASA rockets unless we intervened to save Dohrnberger. Of course, we did, and a full pardon was arranged by John J. McCloy.[123] General Dohrnberger came to the United States, worked at NASA briefly, and then became director of the Helicopter Division, Bell Aerospace, in Dallas and Houston, Texas.[124] He still trains pilots abroad, working with dictators like the Shah of Iran. Dohrnberger employed topranking military intelligence agent Michele Paine, who housed Marina Oswald in his home in Irving, Texas.[125] Marina, who married Lee Harvey Oswald in Russia, lived in Minsk, Byelorussia, and was the niece of the top officer of the NKVD, the Soviet secret police.[126] Her family was openly anti-communist.[127]
George de Mohrenschildt -- His whole family was Byelorussian, and rabidly anti-communist after their fortune was lost to the revolution at the Nobel family oil fields. They moved to Germany and worked with the Nazis during World War II. George was a spy, carrying papers from Nelson Rockefeller after the war, and his cousin Baron Meyerling was a Nazi film propagandist. His brother, Von, was put to work at the Pentagon after the war, and now sits on the CIA's Tolstoy Foundation. His wife was related to CIA and OSS employees, and her father ran the railroads in China before Mao took power. George later lost another oil fortune of his own in Cuba following the ouster of Batista by Fidel Castro.[128] He was the contact for the Oswalds to the White Russian Solidarist community in Dallas, and the CIA "babysitter" and best friend to Lee Harvey Oswald. De Mohrenschildt introduced the Oswalds to the Paines, and it was Ruth Paine who got Oswald the job in the Texas School Book Depository, and lied to the Warren Commission about "Oswald's rifle" and set him up as the patsy in the Kennedy assassination.[129]
Leon Jaworski -- Considered by some to be "the most trusted man in America" due to his role as special prosecutor in the Watergate and Koreagate scandals, he spent 20 years with the CIA's M.D. Anderson Foundation.[130] A lawyer at the Nuremberg trials, Jaworski undermined prosecutions, then worked with the Red Cross international rescue division to move the Nazi Odessa network around the world.[131] He was later Special Liaison between the Dallas police and the Warren Commission.[132]
Otto Winnacker -- The actual author of the Warren Commission Report, he was taken away from his job as an official Pentagon historian (recall that the U.S. Army historical division was the way station for the Gehlen operation), and he had come to the United States after years of faithful service as one of Hitler's official historians of the Reich.[133]
Believe it or not, these are only a few of the thousands of connections that history has hidden, only a few of the thousands of fascists brought to light, their worst crimes still unexposed.[134] This is the dirtiest secret of post-war America: our vast intelligence networks were a haven for, and eventually a tool in the hands of international fascism. The increasing challenge to simple Constitutional rights is a direct result of the legislative and political role, played behind the closed door of "security" by these elements. The growing threat to the already damaged economy by the military-industrial complex is out of control. All is geared to a new world war, a bloodbath in section of the Third World, a reduction of population worldwide.
The attacks in Congress and the courts on rights are the prelude to open martial law and fascist rule in America -- a new "final solution." [135]
"When they came for the Jews, I did nothing for I am not a Jew . . . when they came for me, who was left to defend me?" asked Martin Niemoller of Germany in the 1940s. The continuing murders of labor leaders, musicians, political dissidents, progressive thinkers, Black and Hispanic leaders, and others here in the United States parallels the hundreds of political murders in the late 20s and early 30s in Weimar Germany that preceded Hitler's rise to power.[136] When the came for the socialists and communists in the 1950s, the targets of the Smith Act and other repressive treatment, many of us did not act since we were not members of such organizations.
Will be make the mistake twice?
Hanging solemnly over the mass murder at Jonestown, Guyana, was the George Santayana quote, "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." [137] We are not far from the open collusion of the courts in all aspects of state repression. Recent events must be seen for what they are, an attack on us all, spearheaded by the very forces of reaction that threaten life and freedom worldwide, hiding beneath the cloak of anticommunism. To sit back now will put us in a category akin to Klaus Barbie's Army Intelligence contact, Ernst Dabringhaus. Will we be "Good Germans of American extraction" and "do our job," or will we rise?
For references given in the article, go to http://www.ratical.org/ratville/JFK/JohnJudge/GoodAmericans.html
Greg Szymanski Greg also has his own daily show on the Republic Broadcast Network. Go to www.rbnlive.com Greg Szymanski is an independent investigative journalist and his articles can been seen at www.LewisNews.com. He also writes for American Free Press and has his own site www.arcticbeacon.com
Listen to my Radio Broadcast live Monday night at 8pm Pacific time on LewisNews, returning Jan. 1 2006 Radiohttp://webs.lewisnews.com/radio/index.htm. Greg is also regular on Rense.com the first Thursday of every month at 9-10 pm pacific time.
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Werner von Braun -- Whose infamous "Rocket Team" developed the first intercontinental missiles at Peenemunde, and were then brought here to develop NASA rocketry, and the growing aerospace industry.[119] The NASA security teams are implicated in several sources in connection with the murder of John F. Kennedy.[