Sunday, May 13, 2012

Too Long Since My Last Posting....I Need to Fix This

Monday, January 31, 2011

Israel 'needs F-35 to stay on top'

Israel is the front line unit against Iran and Syria. They continuously upgrade, modify and development weapon systems to meet the demands faced in this environment against enemies that are supplied by Russia. The article displays a dire need of Israel to acquire the F35 fighter, Gen5, to keep them on top of the fighter combat role. I never thought the F35 would be the main weapons system of any air force. It is being designed to take on the responsibilities of all aspects of ground to air combat. The Jack Leg of aircraft, can do everything, but master of nothing. This price tag is approaching that of the F22 fighter that Secretary of Defense Gates has stopped production on a while ago. I don't believe anyone will get their hands on this fighter--from Japan to Israel. But, with the F35, formerly known as the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) being the new money maker of our aerospace industry, this new combat jet will be promoted at great cost.

I can see where the software codes and such will held close to the vest for the United States. This software is where the secret lies in the F35s stealth capabilities that does allow it to command an airspace better than most other countrie's jets. Russia, China and India are developing Gen5 fighter aircraft and will compete with the United States 5th generation aircraft somewhere in the world within the next ten years. Who do we trust enough to go against an enemy with our equipment?
....lakotahope
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MilTech
Israel 'needs F-35 to stay on top'

by Staff Writers Tel Aviv, Israel (UPI) Jan 31, 2011 Israel seems determined to acquire a fleet of Lockheed Martin's costly F-35 stealth fighters despite the plethora of problems plaguing the development of the fifth-generation jet.
A new assessment of Israel's defense challenges indicates why: In the face of improving air defenses in Iran and Syria, Israel's main state adversaries in the Middle East, air superiority is vital in maintaining the Jewish state's qualitative military edge.

"Equipping the Israeli air force with the F-35 has strategic importance in terms of deterring the enemy from starting a war and in terms of maintaining Israel's qualitative advantage in the arena," the assessment observed.

The study, written by Gur Laish, an expert on the Israeli air force with the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, added that air superiority is essential for Israel if it is to be capable of striking "choice regions deep inside enemy territory."

Israel has threatened pre-emptive strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities if Tehran doesn't halt its alleged drive to develop nuclear weapons. All the sites are deep inside Iranian territory.

As for Syria, Iran's ally and the most implacable of Israel's Arab foes, the Israeli air force's main targets in the vent of renewed hostilities would be missile batteries capable of pounding key military targets and cities in Israel.
The Israelis demonstrated the potency of their air power on the night of Sept. 6, 2007, when a squadron of Boeing F-15I aircraft destroyed a nuclear plant the North Koreans were building for Syria at Deir al-Zour near the border with Iraq, after first electronically blinding Syrian air defenses.

However, the decision announced by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak last August to buy the F-35 Lightning II has stirred debate, primarily over the cost and whether the jet will ensure Israel's air superiority over the next couple of decades.

Laish argues that Israel needs the F-35, the most advanced combat aircraft in the world, to strengthen the "element of deterrence, central in Israel's security concept" since it can deal with advanced air defenses and existing combat jets such as Russia's MiG-29 or the F-15s and Lockheed Martin F-16s in the inventories of Arab air forces.

The F-35's radar-evading capabilities, he went on, allows it to penetrate deep into enemy territory and attack heavily defended strategic targets.
Indeed, he observed, "the F-35 would be the central component of this capability."
Sometimes, he added, "Israel needs to be able to operate in enemy territory even in the absence of a wartime confrontation." Pre-emptive strikes against Iran's nuclear installations would fall under that category.
Syria and Iran have been building up their air defense capabilities, largely with Russian-made systems, which have eroded Israel's unquestioned superiority in the air, Laish noted.

He maintained that Israel's F-15I and F-16I aircraft, the backbone of its strategic air power, are aging and even the most extensive upgrades won't put them on the level of the F-35.

"An examination of alternatives in the form of surface-to-surface missiles and advanced unmanned aerial vehicles demonstrates that despite their expected contribution they cannot serve as complete substitutes to fifth generation fighter jets," Laish concluded.

However, Yiftah S. Shapir, a colleague of Laish's at the INSS, is more critical.
In a separate assessment, he acknowledged that while the jet has "some unique capabilities that would make every combat pilot's mouth water" -- stealth and the most advanced electronic systems in the world -- it "also has some very important shortcomings."

These, he said, include U.S. refusal of Israeli demands to install their own weapons and electronic systems and access to the aircraft's software codes.
Cost remains a problem. "The original price tag "was estimated at some $50 million-$60 million apiece but delays and overruns … pushed up the price," Shapir noted.

"The final price per unit is still unknown but it is estimated at $130 million-$150 million."
Development delays mean the earliest Israel could expect F-35 deliveries to begin would be 2016 -- well past the date Iran is expected to be able to produce nuclear weapons.

But Shapir concluded that Israeli companies' participation in the F-35 project and maintaining the strategic relationship with Washington "rule out examining other options, such as purchasing European aircraft (or even Russia's fifth-generation combat aircraft)."

Friday, January 28, 2011

India and Russia Combine to Develop Generation 5 Fighter

India is in a partnership with Russia to design and deploy a Gen 5 fighter. They will not be looking into purchasing any U.S.A. fighters like the F-22 or F35 JSF. In this deal they will split the intellectual property rights with Russia and will have total access to items like software codes. These codes are a thorn in the side of a few countries that are in a development partnership with the United States as America doesn't want to share this code with anyone. Hence, the partners will have to ship these aircraft back to the USA for some maintenance gigs. Too bad I reckon, but with Russia, China and now India developing a Gen 5 fighter, what is a adversary to do? Develop something better than a Gen 5.

We all know Defense Secretary Gates axed any further funding for the F22 fighter project, so we had better have superior aircraft if we go toe to toe with anyone else. Just for numbers sake, I reckon our electronics will take care of many threats from newer Gen 5 fighters that will outnumber ours in the long run. But, I am thinking the F22 will be the last American full scale production combat fighter that will be fully manned. The next fighter aircraft we produce may very well be remotely operated. Smarter software/ computers and remote pilots will be a very powerful tool for the future..... lakotahope

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With own 5-Gen fighter project with Russia, India not keen on US jet

Rajat Pandit, TNN, Jan 29, 2011, 04.07am IST
NEW DELHI: India has no plans as of now to either join the US-led joint strike fighter (JSF) programme or buy the F-35 `Lightning-II' fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) when it finally becomes operational.

"We cannot have two types of FGFA. We have already launched preliminary work for our FGFA after inking the $295 million preliminary design contract (PDC) with Russia last month,'' said a top defence ministry official on Friday.

This comes in the wake of comments made by a top Pentagon official, undersecretary of defence for acquisition, technology and logistics Ashton Carter, in Washington that the US was open to Indian participation in its JSF project.

Interestingly, the comments came during a function where an aggressive sales pitch was made for India to select either the American F/A-18 `Super Hornet' ( Boeing) or F-16 `Falcon' ( Lockheed Martin) over their European rivals in the ongoing IAF's medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) contest.

The other 4.5-generation fighters in the hotly-contested race to bag the $10.4 billion MMRCA project, under which 18 jets will be bought off-the-shelf and another 108 will be manufactured in India under transfer of technology, are Eurofighter Typhoon, Swedish Gripen (Saab), French Rafale (Dassault) and Russian MiG-35 (United Aircraft Corporation).

The IAF force matrix for the coming years revolves around the 270 Sukhoi-30MKIs contracted from Russia for around $12 billion, the 126 MMRCA and 120 indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, apart from upgraded MiG-29s and Mirage-2000s.

In the decades ahead, the advanced stealth FGFA to be developed with Russia will be the mainstay of India's combat fleet. "Our FGFA will be cheaper than the F-35. Moreover, the intellectual property rights of the FGFA will equally and jointly vest on both India and Russia, with full access to the source code and the like,'' said another senior official.

With a potent mix of super-manoeuvrability and supersonic cruising ability, the "swing-role'' FGFA will of course not come cheap. The cost of designing, infrastructure build-up, prototype development and flight testing has been pegged at around $11 billion, with India and Russia chipping in with $5.5 billion each.

Over and above this, each of the 250-300 FGFA India hopes to begin inducting from 2020 onwards will cost around $100 million each. In all, India will spend upwards of $35 billion over the next two decades in its biggest-ever defence project till now.

The Indian FGFA will primarily be based on the single-seater Sukhoi T-50, the prototype of which is already flying in Russia, but will include a twin-seater version and a more powerful engine with greater thrust.

"Its complete design will be frozen by the end of the 18-month PDC. Six to seven of its prototypes should be flying by 2017. After that, there will be 2,500 hours of flight-testing over 25 months before the series production begins in 2019,'' he said.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Net Neutrality Challenged by Verizon

Verizon, is saying the FCC overstepped its boundaries by imposing rules that prohibit Internet Providers from favoring certain groups, content and such over other groups. What would be the driving force behind an ISP to favor a business over an individual in providing certain guaranteed speeds or content? Certainly money would be my first thought, but also in that soon we'll have NBC/ Comcast as a major player in providing content and internet services to a greater chunk of America. We will have the other content providers being shuffled to the sidelines by organizations (Verizon) that want to promote their shows, services and name brand ahead of all others.

Will Americans suffer because we don't have laws in place protecting internet content and availability--yes, as this also would keep ISPs from putting low paying option plans in last place concerning bandwidth priority. That means not everyone is created equal when accessing the "free world wide web". ... lakotahope

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Verizon Challenges FCC's Net Neutrality Rules

Published January 20, 2011

| Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Verizon says it has filed a court challenge to new federal regulations that prohibit broadband providers from interfering with Internet traffic flowing over their networks.

A divided Federal Communications Commission adopted the "network neutrality" rules last month. Verizon Communications filed the challenge Thursday in federal appeals court in the District of Columbia, it says.

The new rules prohibit phone and cable companies from favoring or discriminating against Internet content and services that travel over their networks -- including online calling services such as Skype, Internet video services such as Netflix and other applications that compete with their core businesses.

In its court filing, Verizon argues that the FCC overstepped its authority in adopting the regulations.

The new rules are also expected to be challenged by Republicans in Congress.

Friday, January 14, 2011

NASA says it can't afford new rocket, spacecraft

This project was put into play several years ago under President Bush's initiative to retire the Shuttle Fleet and Replace it with the Aries I rockets and the Constellation series. Now I recently read an article that NASA is spending 500 million dollars in production that is not going to be used. NASA is forced to spend this money because these are earmarked funds that favor certain parts of the country that build parts and supply needed assets to this newly canceled Aries/ Constellation program. One half a billion dollars in earmarks to keep people working so they will vote for the House member and Senate members that gave this money up to be used by NASA for these reasons. Is this heavy lift vehicle anywhere in this 500 million dollar throwaway part by Senators and such?

Originally, the Shuttle fleet was going to be ordered to stand down on 2015. The New Replacement Fleet was to carry on from this point until the Space Station retires in 2020. We need to get America's Space Program in Gear and not let it be NON-EXISTENT for years as it happened when the Apollo Moon missions were scrubbed before the Shuttle program was ready to fly. We had nothing flying and now will be begging for seats on Russia's ships for years to come it seems....Damn politicians set their own agendas just to give themselves a pat on their back at the expense of prestige for the USA and $500 Million from the USA. .........lakotahope

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by Staff Writers Washington (AFP) Jan 13, 2011 NASA this week told Congress it cannot afford to build a new heavy-lift rocket and spacecraft to replace the retiring space shuttle program within the timeframe and budget approved by lawmakers.
The plan to make a first launch of a new rocket and space capsule to carry astronauts by 2016 "does not appear to be possible" within the projected budget, NASA said in a report to legislators.
Four members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation shot back that the plan is not optional and that the US space agency must find a way.

"The production of a heavy-lift rocket and capsule is not optional. It's the law," said a joint statement issued late Wednesday by Senators John Rockefeller, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Bill Nelson and David Vitter.
"NASA must use its decades of space know-how and billions of dollars in previous investments to come up with a concept that works. We believe it can be done affordably and efficiently -- and, it must be a priority."

The Senate committee released a copy of the NASA report, which the US space agency had not issued publicly but presented to lawmakers on January 10.
It said that NASA fears it does not have the adequate funds according to budgets outlined in the fiscal year 2011 and President Barack Obama's 2012 budget request.

"None of the design options studied thus far appeared to be affordable in our present fiscal conditions, based upon existing cost models, historical data, and traditional acquisition approaches," said the NASA report.
The US space agency said no structures match the three criteria set out by its administrator for developing a future exploration system that is "affordable, sustainable and realistic."

NASA said it would continue to study the matter and would issue another report to Congress in April.
That report will aim "to update our approach based on the plans described herein and, if necessary, modifications based on the outcome of FY 2011 appropriations and the president's FY 2012 budget request."
The final two -- or if the budget allows, three -- space shuttle flights are set to take place this year, with Discovery scheduled to launch February 24 and Endeavour on April 19, before the fleet is retired for good.
According to expert John Logsdon, the NASA report comes as no surprise, because the US space agency administrator Charles Bolden has already informed top Senators that the plan before them was unrealistic.
"Even if they got more money I don't think they could achieve it by 2016," said Logsdon, former Director of the Space Policy Institute at The George Washington University, adding that 2018 or 2020 might be more feasible.

"Something this big will require more than five years," he said.
Logsdon added that the apparent clash between senators and NASA was actually "the beginning of a dialogue."

"There is no doubt in my mind that NASA wants to build this heavy lift vehicle," Logsdon said. "It's also clear to me that based on NASA analysis they cannot do it under the conditions that have been written in the authorization act.

"So they have to go back and forth for some period of time so that Congress understands the basis of the NASA conclusion."

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Iran Seizes another American on Spy Charges

Why do idiot NON Islamic people go to a country that can seize them and lop off their heads without any remorse? The Islamic religion in Iran and other Muslim countries is not compatible with the Western style countries. After their oil runs out, they will need to be isolated and marooned. Let their religion dictate their future. They will end up killing one another and the West will be more fortunate. I hope.. I see that Iran is a country that needs to protect it's borders. Why can't the USA protect it's borders.........lakotahope
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Iran: American Woman Detained on Spy Charges

Published January 06, 2011

| FoxNews.com

Iranian authorities have detained a 55-year-old American woman on spying charges, a state-owned newspaper reported Thursday.

The daily IRAN said Hall Talayan had spying equipment hidden on her body when customs authorities detained her in the border town of Nordouz, 370 miles northwest of the capital Tehran. The report said Talayan arrived in Iran from neighboring Armenia without a visa. It did not say when she was detained.

Talayan is the fourth American Iran has arrested and accused of spying in less than two years.

U.S. State Department officials could not immediately confirm the report early Thursday.

In July 2009, Iran detained three Americans who were initially accused of crossing the border illegally from northern Iraq and later accused of spying.

The U.S. has dismissed the spying charges and says the three are innocent hikers. Their families have said if they crossed the border at all, it was inadvertent.

One of the three, Sarah Shourd, was released in September on compassionate grounds. Her fiance, Shane Bauer, and friend Josh Fattal remain in prison and could go on trial next month.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Ultra Fast Camera Enhances Understanding Of High Explosive Detonation

I would like to know how this system would compare to those used filming the nuclear detonations that were done above ground in the early days... lakotahope

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Ultra Fast Camera Enhances Understanding Of High Explosive Detonation

Source: Specialised Imaging

by Staff Writers Tring, UK (SPX) Dec 22, 2010 Specialised Imaging has released a new application note that describes how its SIM8 ultra fast camera offers the capability to capture and diagnose the process of detonation of high explosive driven liner. The development of short-duration electrical-pulse detonators such as the exploding bridge wire (EBW) allows initiation of secondary explosives to be done with a higher level of safety, repeatability and reliability than is achievable with hot wire detonators.
With the development of such detonation systems, diagnostic techniques capable of accurately characterising detonator functionality are required.
Application note 14 describes how a SIM8 Ultra Fast Camera running at 1 million frames per second (1360 x 1040 pixels per frame) with 500ns exposures and front lighting was used to record the detonation of high explosive driven liner using a EBW detonator. Initial timing for the detonator and camera were generated using timing from digital delay generators.
Additional synchronization of precise delays to start of frames and flashes were achieved using internal camera timing generators with nanosecond accuracy. Framing data is presented covering the 7.5?s recording period of interest enabling clear diagnosis of how the high explosive driven liner detonates.
Crucial for ultra fast events such as explosive detonation the optical design of the SIM8 provides the choice of up to 8 separate optical channels without compromising performance or image quality. Effects such as parallax and shading, inherent in other ultra fast framing cameras, are eliminated and the high spatial resolution (> 50 lp/mm) is the same from frame to frame and in both axes.
Individual ultra-high resolution intensified CCD detectors, controlled by state-of-the-art electronics, offer almost infinite control over gain and exposure allowing researchers total freedom to capture images of even the most difficult transient phenomena.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Was It A Missile or Just A Regular Jet?

As I find more diverse sources to add to my information on this possible missile launch off of California last week, I am leaning in the direction of the naysayers and say, that this is probably a commercial jet. Some blog sites even list the possible Commercial Carrier and Plane ID number. Given the military has capabilities that Martians don't know of, why couldn't they come up with this type of data from ATC within the first 48 hours. After one day and a half, all they could say was it wasn't a threat to the United States, but we still aren't sure what it is....The military did go so far as to say, this contrail didn't belong to them. Okay.

Now we have here a plethora of data from a guy that has his website geared primarily towards deciphering contrails. So, in the middle of this episode, he has a diagram detailing the effects of an optical illusion, as what this episode is being labeled by the specialists that know rockets and airplanes.

I will modify his diagram with one launch trajectory in red that would also show this as a rocket launch and not an optical illusion (just for kicks--playing the devil's advocate here). Most of the experts say this object was much too slow for a missile, but with this trajectory I laid out, it would give the reason of being slow to an observer, yet still be a missile. ....lakotahope

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FROM CONTRAIL SCIENCE

[This post was originally from Jan 19th, 2010. I've updated it with information about the "Mystery Missile" contrail of Nov 8, 2010, at the bottom of this post. Clearly it's the same thing]
An interesting contrail cropped up off the coast of San Clemente, Orange County, California on December 31st 2009. The curious shape led some people to think it’s a missile launch, which it does kind of look like (all taken from San Clemente)

"Missile-like" contrail. Note this is the Dec 31st contrail, not the Nov 8th CBS one. That's at the bottom of the post.

This kind of contrail confusion is nothing new. This article appeared in The San Mateo Times, Jan 12, 1950:

Here’s some more shots of the same contrail. Click these for larger images:

The idea that it’s a missile launch comes from three misconceptions. Firstly that the trail is vertical – it’s not, it’s a horizontal trail, at around 32,000 feet (about six miles). It’s the same as this:

This contrail is no more vertical than the road is, and nor are the power lines at 45 degrees. Everything is horizontal – it’s the just the angle you are viewing it from. All of these show horizontal contrails.
Secondly there’s the misconception of direction, that it’s flying away from the viewer, when it’s actually flying towards the viewer. This is because the “base” of the contrail seems wider than the tip. Perspective tells the brain that this mean the base is closer. But actually you can see the base has been greatly spread by the wind. Since it’s so far away the effects of perspective are greatly diminished, meaning the actual width of the contrail is what is creating the illusion. Imagine if a plane with a 100 mile long spreading contrail were coming towards you; what would it look like? It would look exactly like this.
Thirdly there’s the idea that it goes all the way down to the ground. Now that might be true if the Earth was flat, but the Earth is round, and things go beneath the horizon eventually, no matter how high they are. A plane 200 miles away but five miles up is always below the horizon. If the horizon is raised (as it is here, with Catalina Island), then the distance is less. Here’s some math:

--------------------------------


Given the same parameters as in the previous diagram, the observer would still see this object going slowly, yet moving away at a speed consistent with a missile/ rocket The plume near the horizon is closer to the observer and according to the average layman, makes some sense. Object closer to observer, bottom of contrail, is bigger. While the object further away, top of contrail with moving object, is further away and therefore, smaller! ....lakotahope


This was definitely a failed rocket launch from the Russians. When they fail, they are spectacular. My point is look at the contrail as it is showing the corkscrew effect of rotation. Burn through of the rocket housing? I dunno, but one specialist said this is typically what it would look like. In the video, there is a partial corkscrew trail.

This diagram is not to scale, but the math is the same regardless. The solid curved line is the surface of the earth. The dot at the top is San Clemente. The little triangle is Catalina. “d” is the distance to Catalina (d=35 miles). “c” the amount of Catalina that is visible above the horizon (c=0.05 miles, really a bit more, but let’s be conservative). “a” is the altitude of the plane, (a = 6 miles). “r” is the radius of the earth (r=3963 miles).
The green wavy line is the contrail. Notice it’s at a fixed height above the surface of the earth, and is going directly towards the OC.
The point labeled (0,0) is the center of the earth. (0,0) means X=0, Y=0, where X is horizontal and Y is vertical. What we want to know is how far away the plane is, the value x. We do this with cartesian geometry, noting that the lowest visible point of the trail is at the intersection of the dotted line, which is a circle of radius (r+a), hence the equation x^2 + y^2 = (r+a)^2 and the line labeled “sight line”, which is has the equation y=r+x*c/d. Combining these equations to solve for x yields a quadratic equation, which we can solve with Wolfram Alpha:
intersection of (y=r+x*c/d) and (x^2+y^2 = (r+a)^2)
and with the real numbers:
intersection of (y=r+x*c/d) and (x^2+y^2 = (r+a)^2) where a=6 and d=35 and c=0.05 and r=3963
Which gives x = 212, meaning that the bottom of the contrail is around 200 miles away. So if the front of the contrail (the actual aircraft) is somewhere above and behind catalina, then that means the contrail is over 100 miles long. At 500 mph, that means it could have formed in 12-15 minutes, which seems consistent with the descriptions in the discussion above. (feel free to play around with the numbers there to see the affect of various assumptions)
Looking at the satellite image for noon on that day (12/31/2009) and the next day (1/1/2010), we see contrails in approximately the same position, and around 100 miles long, showing it’s quite possible, given the right weather.

Really what makes this odd looking is the position of the people taking the photo. Obviously the same contrail would be visible all the way up the coast, however the only people who though it was really odd were those who were lined up with it, in OC. People in LA would see a dramatic looking contrail, but more obviously just a contrail, so less worthy of writing to the newspaper about. I actually saw it myself, but was in a car, and could only get a poor cell-phone snapshot:

And here’s some excellent points from a real rocket scientist, posting as “Michael”:

I’d like to add to all the evidence above that it was just a jet, because the plume is nothing like a rocket plume to the trained eye. I was a rocket safety inspector for 3 years, have seen countless launches and failures, and have a master’s degree in Astronautical Engineering. Here’s why it’s not a rocket:
It’s too slow (<— biggest reason).
There's no engine flare.
There's no expansion of the plume (as the chamber pressure exceeds the atmospheric pressure more and more during flight).
There's no staging event.
There's no sunset striations across the plume (which would look like this: http://tinyurl.com/2vklwu5).
In the wide shot there's two contrails (off each wing!) instead of one.
The plume at the plane is twirling in different directions (very un-rocket-like).
The plume at the plane is twirling too much — that only happens in the case of a motor burn-through, which is a failure mode, meaning it would be seconds from exploding if it were a rocket.
The wind-blown plume is all wrong, vertical plumes go through several different wind shear layers, which makes it look very different than what the video shows.

There is much more from this WEBSITE.
http://contrailscience.com/
For a complete and very informative presentation on this contrail episode and other contrail phenomenon, go to this site. You will not be disappointed. lakotahope

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Unexplained Missile Launch Off Los Angeles

As much as I'd like to believe this was unexpected and unplanned, I will go out on a limb and say, Probably Not! Why? Well, a submarine doesn't surface in those waters and the Navy says, no, not ours. Nope, they would have to cough up this information. Vandenberg base wasn't scheduled to launch anything. This missile went straight out to sea from 35 miles or more from shore according to reports.

What missiles do we have that can be launched by accident or with purpose that followed this missiles trajectory? Several come to mind and more than likely this was either a surface ship or we had a visitor from another nation in the vicinity.

Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Robert Ellsworth commented, that this could have been a demonstration launch in the Pacific, to enhance President Obamas presence while he is in Indonesia.

The USA did a similar launch during the Cold War in the Atlantic to show the Soviets what we had on the table...

We can always assume the worst and say it was an anti-aircraft launch for some important reason.... lakotahope

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Officials 'Confident' Missile Shot Off Los Angeles Not From Foreign Military

Published November 09, 2010

| FoxNews.com

A video that appears to show a missile launch off the coast of California is so far "unexplained" by anyone in the military, a Pentagon spokesman told reporters Tuesday morning, but officials say it does not consider the event a threat to the homeland.

A military official told Fox News that the U.S. military is closer to getting an answer and hopes to have a statement soon.

John Cornelio, a spokesman wiht North American Aerospace Defense Command/U.S. Northern Command, said officials are "very confident" the mystery missile "was not fired from a foreign military, that's not what we are working with.

"If it were an attack we would have known it and we would have done something about it," Cornelio said.

Earlier in the day, Col. Dave Lapan said the military doesn't know exactly what the so-called mystery missile was so can't say it's harmless.

A local CBS affiliate in Los Angeles on Monday evening captured on video the image of the "spectacular" projectile flying about 35 miles out to sea, west of Los Angeles and north of Catalina Island.

The Missile Defense Agency told Fox News it did not launch any test missile Monday night that could explain the dramatic images. The Navy and the Air Force were also unable to offer an explanation.

Lapan said it does not appear that whatever was flying was part of a "regularly scheduled missile test." He noted that before a missile test, notifications are sent to mariners and airmen. This does not appear to be the case here.

At this point, the military is working only with video taken from the local news camera, and NORAD and Northcom apparently were not able to detect the contrail on their own.

It appears from the video, Lapan said, the object was launched from the water and not U.S. soil, though at this point there is no way to be certain.

If a test missile or an accidental missile was launched in the region it would have either come from Naval Air Station Point Mugu or Vandenberg Air Force Base. At sea it could have come from a U.S. submarine or a surface ship. But so far, it all remains a mystery.

Click here to see the video captured by KCBS in Los Angeles.

Fox News' Steve Centanni and Justin Fishel contributed to this report.

rt.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Russia Stops Delivery of S-300 Missile System

Well, once again we see that Russia is partially interested in keeping Iran from developing a nastier militaristic regime. Nuclear capable Islam are hard to figure out. After all, we do support Pakistan, but their foe tends to waffle between Afghanistan, the taliban and China.

The greatest thought from me is Iran would try to wipe out Israel. That will never happen as if there ever is a nuclear confrontation, I am pretty sure the U.S.A. will respond with punishment that will be biblical. The Iranian people aren't the real culprits, but the fundamentalist attitudes of the mullahs are a danger to their own people. .... lakotahope

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Medvedev bans weapon sales to Iran

Reuters

Thursday, 23 September 2010

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev has issued a decree prohibiting the delivery of S-300 air defence missile systems and other weapons to Iran, the Kremlin said yesterday.

The decree will please the Western nations concerned about Iran's military capability. Israel and the United States in particular have long lobbied Moscow to scrap plans to sell Tehran the high-precision missile systems, and Russian officials had promised not to deliver them after supporting a fresh round of UN sanctions against Iran in June.

The move bars the delivery to Iran of "any battle tanks, combat armoured vehicles, large-calibre artillery systems, combat helicopters, military ships" and missiles covered by a UN register, as well as spare parts. It specifically prohibits the delivery of the S-300 – of particular concern because of fears that Iran could use them to protect facilities crucial to its nuclear programme, which Western governments suspect is aimed at developing a bomb.

The decree was announced hours after Russia's armed forces chief of staff said the military was fulfilling government orders not to deliver S-300s to Iran. The timing of the decree could have been intended to appease the West after the start-up of a Russian-built nuclear power plant in Iran last month and the recent announcement of Russia's plans to sell missiles to Syria, which alarmed Israel and the White House. Reuters

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

North Korea warns that military forces will respond if UN condemns it for ship sinking

It appears to me that North Korea is doing everything possible to threaten war with South Korea and the United States. They must be under the assumption that the closer they can get us to an "act of war" declaration, then the American people will cry uncle and submit to whatever demands the little weasel Kim Jung il thinks up for the moment. Maybe, but I don't think that the USA will walk away from the North's declarations and I am pretty sure that this country and Iran need to be met head on in the coming months or years. ... lakotahope

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UNITED NATIONS

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — North Korea is warning that its military forces will respond if the U.N. Security Council questions or condemns the country over the sinking of a South Korean navy ship — an act it vehemently denies.

North Korea's U.N. Ambassador Sin Son Ho told a news conference Tuesday there is "a touch-and-go situation that war may break out at any time" because of South Korean accusations that the North torpedoed the ship and killed 46 sailors.

Sin accused South Korea and the United States of cooking up the accusation against the North and demanded that a military investigation team from Pyongyang be permitted to go to the site of the sinking, which the South has refused to allow.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Oil Shale in Abundance, BUT!

800 Billion Barrels of Oil? Awesome, but the techniques to recover oil from this shale need to be examined as it would really destroy much of this land and leave it looking like the moon. If the companies that get their hands on this acreage would rehabilitate the land after they destroy the top layers, then I would be more than willing to consider such a proposal as shale oil recovery.

We need to do something such as developing hydrogen technology as a major supplier of our countries fuel use. 30% to 55% of our total usage should be alternative fuels, which will double in cost, but eventually, it would enable the U.S. to have unlimited fuel that is already in production for the time that will certainly come, when oil is finished as a power source for the world....lakotahope

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From Consumerenergyreport.com posting

Posted by JAguilar on Thursday, April 29, 2010

Oil locked in shales situated on Federal lands in the Rocky Mountains are not likely to be tapped any time soon.

“I don’t know when we’ll see commercial development on public lands,” Steve Black, counsel for Interior Secretary announced at the Unconventional Fuels Conference. “It’s an industry that is not ready for prime time.”

The Green River Formation in the Rockies reportedly holds the largest bed of shale oil in the world.

A 2005 study by the Rand Corporation estimated that sedimentary rock in the corner where Utah borders Colorado and Wyoming called the Green River Formation contains an untapped 800 billion barrels. That’s three times the size of Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves.

World-renowned geologist Walter Youngquist called the oil beneath the Green River Formation, “a national treasure.”

Nevertheless, in February 2009, Salazar scrapped land leases designed to enable oil developers to tap oil from 1.9 million acres of the range, saying “I am withdrawing that Jan. 14 solicitation because in my view it was a midnight decision, and it was flawed.”

Fuel developers allege that the Obama administration has blocked progress of drilling in the potentially kerogen-rich shale. They believe that the White House is reluctant to endorse drilling for oil generally, and that the Green River Formation shales in particular have been blacklisted.

Yesterday, Black denied that Salazar and President Obama are red-lighting all oil projects. “This administration supports responsible development of all energy resources in the right place and at the right time,” said Black.

“He has never said privately or publicly that his intention is to kill oil shale,” Black added. “We’re not trying to pick winners or losers.”

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Obama Administration May Cancel Ares I-X Project

The following small paragraph is the most heinous of actions to be undertaken by NASA and the Obama Administration. Following the grounding of the shuttle fleet, there is quite a bit of talk and pushing towards abandoning the Ares I-X in favor of commercial start up companies. Allowing the commercial companies to be the sole lifter of materials and 'maybe' humans, without the accompanying NASA main launch capacity is close to being treason. .... lakotahope

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Once the shuttles stop flying, NASA intends to buy rides for its astronauts on Russian Soyuz vehicles until a new service — either commercial or government — materializes.

NASA, courtesy of Scott Andrews

A bow shock forms around the Ares I-X test rocket traveling at supersonic speed during its Oct. 28, 2009 launch from the Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

If this project is canceled, America will probably be last to develop any program to land a settlement on the Moon or putting men on Mars. ... lakotahope

WASHINGTON — As the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama prepares to propose changes to NASA's human spaceflight program in the president's 2011 budget request to lawmakers Feb. 1, an independent NASA safety advisory panel is warning the space agency against abandoning its current plans.

In an annual report issued Jan. 15, the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel cautioned the United States against halting work on NASA's Ares I rocket to fund unproven commercial alternatives.

"To abandon Ares I as a baseline vehicle for an alternative without demonstrated capability nor proven superiority (or even equivalence) is unwise and probably not cost-effective," the report states.

SLIDESHOW: Ares I-X: The Next Generation of American Space Flight

Designed to launch the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle into low Earth orbit, Ares I is a key element of Constellation, NASA's five-year-old effort to replace the space shuttle with rockets and spacecraft optimized for the Moon.

The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel report praises Ares I as a vehicle "designed from the beginning with a clear emphasis on safety" and notes approvingly "that Time magazine cited the Ares rocket as the 'best invention of 2009.'"

The future of Ares I, however, came into question last year when a White House-appointed committee led by former Lockheed Martin chief Norm Augustine urged Obama to consider dropping Ares I in favor of paying commercial firms to transport astronauts to the international space station.

NASA awarded a pair of contracts totaling $3.5 billion in December 2008 to Dulles, Va.-based Orbital Sciences Corp. and Hawthorne, Calif.-based Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) to haul cargo to the space station aboard unmanned vehicles the companies say could evolve to carry people.

SpaceX, in particular, has been urging NASA to commit billions of dollars to fostering development of commercial crew launch services through the expansion of the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) the agency created in 2006 to subsidize development of new cargo delivery systems. SpaceX and Orbital stand to receive a combined $450 million under the COTS program for their competing unmanned systems by the time the two complete demonstration cargo flights.

While the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel report notes satisfication with the COTS program's evolution, progress and demo-first approach, the panel expressed concerns about NASA expanding COTS in the absence of a clear human-rating process for commercial vehicles.

Specifically, it says NASA's current procedures "were not specifically intended to establish requirements for vehicles produced by entities external to NASA, such as COTS firms or international programs."

The panel recommends NASA accelerate its efforts to develop a human-rating process for would-be commercial providers.

"It is the Panel's position that no COTS manufacturer is currently [human-rating-requirements] qualified, despite some claims and beliefs to the contrary," the report states. "Questions that must be answered are: What is the process for certifying that potential COTS vehicles are airworthy and capable of carrying astronauts into space safely? [and] How is compliance assured over the life of the activity?"

The panel also took issue with the Augustine committee's decision to embrace the outsourcing of human spaceflight without having conducted a safety analysis of the commercial concepts SpaceX and others presented to the committee last summer.

"In making this recommendation, the [Augustine] committee also noted that while human safety never can be absolutely assured, safety was assumed to be a 'given,'" the report says. "The Panel believes that this assumption is premature and oversimplifies a complex and challenging problem because there is not a 'cookie-cutter approach' to safety in space."

The report points to the Ares I program as an example of the right way to go about ensuring astronaut safety.

"Its architecture was selected by NASA's Exploration System Architecture Study (ESAS) team because of its potential to deliver at least 10 times the level of crew safety as the current shuttle," the report says. "The launch vehicle configuration has been developed to provide the best possible allowances for crew escape in the event of a launch failure. The independent launch escape system pulls the capsule clear of the launch pad and any attendant explosion or fire. The demonstrated high reliability of the solid rocket booster (SRB) suggests a low likelihood of first stage failure on ascent, but the launch escape system would cover even this low probability of failure."

The panelists warn that switching from a "well-designed, safety optimized" system to commercially-developed vehicles based on "nothing more than unsubstantiated claims would seem a poor choice," according to the report. "Before any change is made to another architecture, the inherent safety of that approach must be assessed to ensure that it offers a level of safety equal to or greater than the program of record."

The report also warned against extending the life of NASA's fleet of aging space shuttle orbiters "significantly" beyond their planned September 2010 retirement absent a thorough vehicle recertification effort.

"With sufficient money, manpower, and recertification efforts, it is possible that the Shuttle could be extended," the report states. "While we are aware of no major systems that are 'on the knee of the curve' of wear out, the funds needed to allow full recertification are substantial, and the probability of finding things that demand even more resources during recertification is very real."

NASA plans to launch five more shuttle missions by October, shut down the program and transfer the three orbiters to museums and science centers.

Once the shuttles stop flying, NASA intends to buy rides for its astronauts on Russian Soyuz vehicles until a new service — either commercial or government — materializes. Space.com

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Medal of Honor Recepient Draws Support for Flag Pole

There are 26 pages of comments and climbing in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. In Richmond, VA, we have a population that appears to be quite patriotic and isn't ashamed to admit that there is a problem with not being able to fly the Flag of the United States of America from a flagpole, rather than from a small stick coming from the front porch. It made Fox News. That’s hilarious. The Board of the HOA that had a law firm notify this Medal of Honor recipient, this man who has had a highway named after him, that he is in violation of a covenant in the by laws of the neighborhood, in which he lives.

The story, he goes out everyday to raise the American flag up the flag pole in his yard, then in the evening he lowers the flag. According to his story, he has always been around the flag, from WWII to Vietnam. That's 3 wars he has been involved with and 3 wars that the flag of the United States has been beside him.

Maybe, just maybe, there should be something in the U.S. Constitution stipulating the right of Americans to display the Flag of the U.S.A. in a manner, which would override a local zoning ordinance or Home Owners Association's (HOA) rules governing how the Flag is displayed.

I can enjoy the fact that we have this many people still remembering what things are great about America. Our men and women who serve in our Armed Forces and the Flag for which they saluted and fought beside. I think the HOA is outgunned and outclassed. But, I can see a future where this may just slip away, quietly after a surrender. ...lakotahope
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Col. Van T. Barfoot, the 90-year-old Medal of Honor recipient who refuses to remove his flagpole from his property, speaks out on what the flag means to him.

RICHMOND, Va. -- A flood of help is building for an embattled Medal of Honor winner in Henrico County who was ordered this week to remove a flagpole from his yard by his community's homeowners association.

From the halls of Congress to the 90-year-old colonel's old infantry unit, a local law firm and scores of service members, help is making its way to Col. Van T. Barfoot.

"He said he was outraged and wanted to help," Barfoot's daughter said yesterday, speaking of U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., who learned of Barfoot's plight on TimesDispatch.com yesterday.

In a five-paragraph letter that he received Tuesday, Barfoot was ordered to remove the flagpole from his yard in the Sussex Square community in far western Henrico County. The decorated veteran of three wars raises the American flag every morning on the pole, then lowers and folds the flag at dusk in a three-corner military fashion.

The Coates & Davenport law firm in Richmond sent a priority-mail letter ordering Barfoot to remove the pole by 5 p.m. Friday or face "legal action being brought to enforce the covenants and restrictions against you." The letter states that Barfoot will be subject to paying all legal fees and costs in any successful legal proceeding pursued by the homeowners association's board.

A Richmond law firm, Marchant, Honey & Baldwin, offered yesterday to represent Barfoot at no cost, partner John Honey said.

In a statement released last night, the association said Barfoot is in direct violation of its board's July decision to deny his request to erect a flagpole.

"This is not about the American flag. This is about a flagpole," the statement reads, noting that many homes in the neighborhood display the American flag.

Margaret Nicholls, Barfoot's daughter, said last night that the statement is using semantics to back up a board decision about the pole that was made on aesthetic, not regulatory grounds. There is no covenant that expressly forbids flag poles, she said.

Warner has known Barfoot for years and has a high regard for him, Warner spokesman Kevin Hall said. "The senator definitely wants to step in to get something resolved."

Nicholls said her father's phone "is ringing off the hook." Members of the 157th Infantry Unit, with which he served, have called along with scores of people concerned about Barfoot's welfare, she said.

Barfoot can't understand why the board allows a flag to hang from an angled pole mounted to the side of a house but disallows a flag flown from a free-standing vertical pole.

"Where I've been, fighting wars, displaying the flag, military installations, parades, everything else, the flag is vertical. And I've done it that way since I was in the Army," Barfoot said.

"Dad sort of feels like this is the end," said Nicholls, who lives a few doors away. But she said yesterday that she and her husband are attempting to generate support for her father's cause, a flag-raising rite that he has undertaken for most of his life.

Barfoot received the Medal of Honor on the battlefield during World War II in Italy and fought as well in the Korean and Vietnam wars. A portion of a highway in rural Mississippi, his native state, was named in his honor this fall. A building at McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Richmond, also carries his name.

Barfoot regularly began flying the flag on Veterans Day this year, after he returned from an extended trip that began in September, despite the Sussex Square board's decision.

He said last month that not flying the flag would be a sacrilege to him.

"There's never been a day in my life or a place I've lived in my life that you couldn't fly the American flag," he said.

Barfoot's neighbors are split, with some saying that the community covenants should have no exceptions, and that Barfoot was given the community's covenants before he bought the property. Others support him regardless.

Sally Hedleston, whose house has a legal flagpole attached, said she has asked board members to make an exception for the Medal of Honor winner.

"Some board members say that rules are rules -- well, how many of them have broken the speed limit every day here?" she asked.

Contact Bill McKelway at (804) 649-6601 or bmckelway@timesdispatch.com .

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Ahmadinejad: Says Israel Cannot Stop Iran From Enriching Nuclear Fuel

The President of Iran is quite outspoken about what Iran will do to its neighbors and what it will do to have "peaceful power" options in place for itself. Stating Israel can't stop Iran from making enriched uranium, Ahmadinejad forgets that the world can stop them and if needed, the United States can and will stop them from producing nuclear weapons. Whether the USA acts after weapons are produced is quite the unknown. As of this time, I believe if the USA discovered Iran had weapons, it wouldn't be long into the future that we would be quite adamant about removing Iran from the nuclear club.

Iran is isolated to the point that only North Korea would support them as Russia recently voted along with the Western Nations in denouncing Iran and its nuclear ambitions. Russia and its sale of the S-300 long range missile system to Iran is still being held up and will be a "large game changer" where Israel and the United States is concerned. . ... Lakotahope

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Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said there isn't a "damn thing" Israel can do to stop its nuclear program, Reuters reported.

"The Zionist regime (Israel) and its (western) backers cannot do a damn thing to stop Iran's nuclear work," Ahmadinejad said in a televised speech, according to Reuters.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday Iran will now enrich its uranium to an even higher level, defying a U.N. call to halt the process due to fears over the country's nuclear program.

Ahmadinejad expressed frustration with negotiations over a U.N.-backed deal to swap Iran's low-enriched uranium for higher-enriched fuel rods to power its medical research reactor.

"I declare here that with the grace of God, the Iranian nation will produce 20 percent (enriched uranium) and anything it needs itself," Ahmadinejad told a cheering crowd of thousands in the southern city Isfahan.

"We told them, give us the 20 percent fuel (in an exchange)," he said. "But then they started adding conditions. So we said, if you want to give us the fuel we'll take it. If not, then fine and goodbye."

The defiant call is similar into tone to the president's announcement Sunday that the country would boost its nuclear activity 10-fold, despite the widespread belief that Iran simply does not have the resources to match its boasts.

Iran currently has one operating enrichment facility, at the central town of Natanz, which has churned out around 3,300 pounds of 3.5 percent enriched uranium over the past years.

The research reactor in Tehran, however, needs uranium enriched to 20 percent.

Enriching uranium even further, to levels around 90 percent, however, results in material suitable for a nuclear war head, something the West feels Iran is striving to do secretly.

The idea behind the swap was to get the bulk of Iran's uranium out of the country so it would not have enough material build a bomb.

Iran denies the charge and insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Navy SEALs Face Assault Charges for Capturing Most-Wanted Terrorist

What knucklehead came up with this plan to admonish troops after they captured a known terrorist that was probably on a "most wanted list". We usually punish errant soldiers when they do something heinous and inhumane--not for something as miniscule as a bloody lip. By doing this type of idiotic prosecution, our troops will not know for whom they fight. Certainly, not their leaders up the food chain.... lakotahope

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Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.

March 31, 2004: Iraqis chant anti-American slogans as the charred

and mutilated bodies of U.S. contractors hang from a bridge over the Euphrates River in Fallujah, Iraq.

The three, all members of the Navy's elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called an admiral's mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.

Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named "Objective Amber," told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.

Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers.

Matthew McCabe, a Special Operations Petty Officer Second Class (SO-2), is facing three charges: dereliction of performance of duty for willfully failing to safeguard a detainee, making a false official statement, and assault.

Petty Officer Jonathan Keefe, SO-2, is facing charges of dereliction of performance of duty and making a false official statement.

Petty Officer Julio Huertas, SO-1, faces those same charges and an additional charge of impediment of an investigation.

The three SEALs will be arraigned separately on Dec. 7. Another three SEALs — two officers and an enlisted sailor — have been identified by investigators as witnesses but have not been charged.

FoxNews.com obtained the official handwritten statement from one of the three witnesses given on Sept. 3, hours after Abed was captured and still being held at the SEAL base at Camp Baharia. He was later taken to a cell in the U.S.-operated Green Zone in Baghdad.

The SEAL told investigators he had showered after the mission, gone to the kitchen and then decided to look in on the detainee.

"I gave the detainee a glance over and then left," the SEAL wrote. "I did not notice anything wrong with the detainee and he appeared in good health."

Lt. Col. Holly Silkman, spokeswoman for the special operations component of U.S. Central Command, confirmed Tuesday to FoxNews.com that three SEALs have been charged in connection with the capture of a detainee. She said their court martial is scheduled for January.

United States Central Command declined to discuss the detainee, but a legal source told FoxNews.com that the detainee was turned over to Iraqi authorities, to whom he made the abuse complaints. He was then returned to American custody. The SEAL leader reported the charge up the chain of command, and an investigation ensued.

The source said intelligence briefings provided to the SEALs stated that "Objective Amber" planned the 2004 Fallujah ambush, and "they had been tracking this guy for some time."

The Fallujah atrocity came to symbolize the brutality of the enemy in Iraq and the degree to which a homegrown insurgency was extending its grip over Iraq.

The four Blackwater agents were transporting supplies for a catering company when they were ambushed and killed by gunfire and grenades. Insurgents burned the bodies and dragged them through the city. They hanged two of the bodies on a bridge over the Euphrates River for the world press to photograph.

Intelligence sources identified Abed as the ringleader, but he had evaded capture until September.

The military is sensitive to charges of detainee abuse highlighted in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. The Navy charged four SEALs with abuse in 2004 in connection with detainee treatment