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Friday, December 31, 2004

Predictions for 2005 

Random Predictions
A major scandal will erode support for Vice President Cheney, possibly forcing him to resign.

Pope John Paul II will finally die at the age of 85. As the Catholic Church scrambles to find a successor, it will be torn in various directions by conservative and liberal factions. The situation is ripe for a major schism within the church.

Afghanistan / Global War on Terrorism Predictions
After more than three years of livng as a fugitive, Taliban commander Mullah Omar will be captured or killed. His demise will not be a major tactical victory, as the Taliban is in its death-throes anyway. Many Taliban fighters will surrender during 2005, while the most dedicated Taliban fighters will form splinter groups to continue the "Islamic revolution." Osama bin Laden will remain a fugitive, although he will not be capable of directing further attacks against the U.S.

Iraq Predictions
Attacks will generally decline in the period from January through early March due to the cold weather. This trend will be bucked around January 30 to disrupt the Iraqi election. The Iraqis will be forced to settle for a disputed election due to attacks aimed at intimidating Shiite voters. Ayatollah Sistani's coalition will still prevail, though, and Iraq will seek better relations with Iran.

The United States will see an escalation in attacks by Sunni insurgents by mid-March unless it goes on the offensive in Mosul and areas of Baghdad like Haifa street where insurgents find their support. Maintaining America's election-eve strength of 150,000 personnel in Iraq will be critical to establishing some stability. Foreign support will also be essential to building a competent Iraqi army.

Moqtada al Sadr and his Mahdi Army will cause more unrest in Iraq. al Sadr's history shows that he consistently exploits moments of weakness on the part of the U.S. and its Shiite allies to rally his militia to action. al Sadr will likely use any chaos during or after the election to criticize its legitimacy and launch another offensive.

Space and Technology Predictions
The Space Shuttle will fly twice during 2005 after some delays. NASA will realize that the shuttle's days of safe flight are numbered, though, and reduce its flight schedule (and remove elements from the Space Station) to allow for a safe flight rate before the vehicle's retirement in 2010.

DVD recorders will begin to fly off store shelves as the format wars settle down and the prices of recorders and media drop.

Burt Rutan will make major revelations about his spacecraft for Virgin Galactic, as well as his "Tier Two" orbital spaecraft.

Sports Predictions
The Pittsburg Steelers will win Super Bowl XXXIX.

The acquisition of Randy Johnson will help the Yankees win the World Series for the first time since 2000. (Poor Yankees fans, having to wait five years for another World Series win...)

An Immigrant's Tale 

One of the big national stories has been the fate of Ibrahim Parlak, a Kurdish immigrant who may be deported because he was a member of the PKK, a Kurdish militant group, in the 80's. Mr. Parlak's predicament looks like the result of an employee at the Department of Homeland Security who thinks he's going to get a promotion for getting a middle easterner deported. At the heart of the matter is a man who has embodied the American dream, moving up from being an immigrant to a bus boy to a restaurant owner and a father. If he is deported to his native Turkey, he may be persecuted again, as he had previously been jailed for "separatist activities."

The U.S. supports the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdish Democratic Party, two militias who opposed Saddam Hussein. Yet it does not show the same courtesies towards the PKK because the PKK fights the Turkish government. Most Americans who are aware of the Kurds and their plight sympathize with them; in spite of the persecution and political repression they have faced, the Kurds stubbornly hang on, practicing their culture and earning a reputation for being fierce and motivated mountain-warriors.

One of the goals of American foreign policy should be the self-determination of all Kurdish peoples, whether they live in Iraq, Turkey, or elsewhere. Hopefully Tom Ridge or his successor will step in and end this foolishness. Mr. Parlak is a decent man who is not a threat to this country. The DHS needs to focus its attention on real Islamic militants rather than people who fought against their old governments for the right to speak their own language and practice their traditions.

The Heroes of 2004 

Since 1927, Time Magazine has honored a "Person of the Year" to reflect on the single individual or individuals who have made the greatest impact on the news during the previous year. The "Person of the Year" is not necessarily somebody who is supposed to inspire us. Granted, many of them have-such as Rudolph Giuliani in 2001 and the American soldier in 2003. In other instances, Time has selected nefarious scoundrels and despots for this honor, such as Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, and the Ayatollah Khomeni. Time has even made some downright silly choices for its "Person of the Year" in order to make a statement. Does anybody remember the whistleblowers of 2002? Or "endangered earth" from 1988?

This year, Time has selected President Bush as its Person of the Year. Yet the year 2004 has given us plenty of other people to truly inspire us, and they deserve mention too. Not because they need to be shamelessly promoted, but because we can all benefit if we know what they have done and try to be more like them. They may not grace the cover of Time when the annual "Person of the Year" issue comes out, but they are worthy of recognition nonetheless.

Lance Armstrong immediately comes to mind when people think of heroes. He beat cancer (despite his odds of survival being less than fifty percent) and eventually won the Tour de France. With each time he wins the prestigious bicycle race, his legend grows. Lance won his sixth Tour de France this year, and promises he will compete at least one more time. But for Lance Armstrong to simply be a great athlete isn't enough to make him a hero. Lance Armstrong's hero status comes in part from his Lance Armstrong Foundation, which represents cancer patients, conducts research, and creates cancer awareness. Lance Armstrong is just one cancer survivor who found success. Because of his organization, countless other cancer patients will also survive and find success.

Ken Jennings, the Jeopardy whiz who pocketed over $2 million in his 75 appearances on the game show, is also an inspiration. How often is it that a humble software engineer from Salt Lake City, Utah becomes a household name? Ken Jennings carved out a niche with his vast wealth of knowledge, particularly his fanboy-like understanding of movies and comic books. What's more surprising is not what Ken Jennings accomplished, but how people reacted to Ken Jennings. Ken became a hero, and not because he could throw a ball or look good on a movie set. Very rare is the person who becomes a pop culture hero because of his or her intellect, but Ken showed the world that maybe it needs a few more intellectual giants to inspire us.

Sadly, the year would not be complete without mention of Pat Tillman. His story of heroism began back in 2001, when he left the National Football League to become an Army Ranger. This April, Pat Tillman's life came to an abrupt end when he was killed in action in Afghanistan.Pat Tillman knew where his priorities in life were, and he gave every ounce to fulfill his duties. When he played at Arizona State, he excelled as both a linebacker and a student, graduating with a marketing degree and a 3.84 GPA while earning the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year award. He stayed with his team, the Arizona Cardinals, even though the St. Louis Rams had offered him a better contract. When the United States was attacked on Sep. 11, 2001, Tillman decided that the Rangers was the team he wanted to play for.Pat Tillman recognized that duty, not money, should be his motivation in life. He gave up a secure lifestyle of fame and fortune for a cause he believed in. The armed forces are filled with people who, like Tillman on a smaller scale, have made great sacrifices because they believed their cause was just and needed to be backed up by action.

Burt Rutan garnered a significant amount of press coverage during 2004-and with good reason. His company achieved the impossible by building a space plane and flying it beyond the earth's atmosphere three times. Burt would probably acknowledge the contributions of the entire team behind SpaceShipOne and the X-Prize: money-man Paul Allen, astronauts Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie, X-Prize founder Peter Diamandis, and the Ansari family (the X-Prize's sponsors,) to name just a few. Yet Burt Rutan has spent his entire life as somewhat of a "mad scientist," coming up with unconventional aircraft and achieving the impossible, including a flight around the world. The recognition that came with SpaceShipOne's flights of fancy vindicated his entire career as a miracle worker in the aerospace engineering field.With his dream of spaceflight now in the record books, it would be easy for Burt Rutan to retire now. Yet Burt believes that he, and not NASA, will open up space to the masses. He's already working on a tourist version of SpaceShipOne, while an orbital spacecraft and even voyages to the moon and beyond are in Rutan's plans for the future. Burt Rutan is nowhere near finished, but what he and his team have accomplished over the course of this year has taken us one giant leap towards building a space-fairing society.

No person has seen the highs and lows that Thomas Hamill experienced during 2004. It's no everyday that a dairy farmer from rural Mississippi finds himself driving fuel convoys in Iraq. On April 9, Hamill was abducted by insurgents during a fatal convoy ambush. He had been shot in the arm, and the airwaves were soon filled with the haunting image of Hamill being threatened with death by his captors.Although Hamill's captors never made good on their death threat, time was working against the unlikely hostage. His wounded arm was infected, despite the field surgery to remove the bullet. Hamill also knew that his life was in the hands of masked men with murder on their minds. He made one escape attempt, but could not gain the attention of friendly military forces. So he patiently waited, biding his time so he could make another escape attempt that had a better chance of success. Thomas Hamill bided his time with the solid conviction that his God would deliver him from his captivity. On the 24th day of his ordeal, Hamill escaped a second time and got the attention of a U.S. patrol, earning his freedom. Hamill can certainly say he was lucky to have escaped, when so many other hostages have been executed. But his desire to see his family again, his guile in escaping, and his belief in his ultimate deliverance played no small role in his survival.

There is plenty to be gained from identifying and studying the heroes of 2004. The point is not to place them on the pedestal of idol worship. But they are nevertheless worth studying. If we learn from them and take their lessons to heart, maybe we can be heroes for 2005 and beyond.

Thursday, December 30, 2004

Media War 

A good article about the al Hurra television network, our weapon for winning the hearts and minds in the battle with militant Islam.

Tsunami of the century 

I'm worried about the effect that this terrible Tsunami will have on Embry-Riddle. We have so many students and faculty from the affected countries, particularly Sri Lanka and India.

As Americans we are fortunate that our geography geography protects us from disasters. Tsunamis, monsoons, and volcanic eruptions are almost unheard of here. Even when we do have hurricanes or earthquakes, our ability to predict them and survive them allows us to ride them out without killing more than a handful of people. Yet we do not live in a vacuum, and the sufferings of the world trickle back and hit home.

Insurgents vs. democracy 

Right now I am working on an essay discussing the relevance of middle eastern despots and whether their presence fuels the Islamic militant movement. But I found an interesting quote in this article about an attack on Mosul. It should leave no doubt as to how the Islamic militants feel about democracy, and refutes the idea that Muslims will flock to bin Laden and company because of US support for Hosni Mubarak or the house of Saud.

"Democracy is a Greek word meaning the rule of the people, which means that the people do what they see fit," the statement said. "This concept is considered apostasy and defies the belief in one God - Muslims' doctrine."

Monday, December 27, 2004

Scrooge strikes the NFL 

The Bears game got me really mad yesterday. Not because of the Bears' pitiful performance, but because the game's outcome was clearly decided by hometown referees. I mean, they called Jerry Azumah for bumping a Lions receiver within five yards of the line of scrimmage, but they wouldn't call the Lions for knocking down Bears receivers as they went deep.

The last straw came in the last two minutes, as Chad Hutchinson hit Berrian with what would have been the game-winning TD pass. Yet the refs called it "incomplete." They even reviewed the play before announcing some bullshit about the receiver losing the ball, which clearly wasn't the case.

I wished death upon the ref and I guarantee that if I saw his zebra-striped ass walking the streets, I would cut his head off and shout "Allah akbar" while severing his spinal cord and drinking his blood. Maybe I should contact Ralph Nader, who has frequently complained when poor officiating decides the outcome of sporting events.

Ultimately, this was a meaningless game for a team that had no hopes of the playoffs or a winning record. The entire NFL was impacted by the premature death of Reggie White, a legendary player and a great man. To lose somebody at age 43 is a tragedy; to lose Reggie White is beyond words. Godspeed, Reggie.

Christmas slaying 

When we returned home on Christmas eve, we discovered that one strand of our outdoor Christmas lights had been snipped. We don't know the exact time or day the snipping took place, but it's clear that our house gets vandalized quite a bit. Father froze his bum off while splicing the wires back together. One of these days I will stake out the house all night and shoot the first trespasser I see. It's something I've always wanted to do, and snipping the Christmas lights was the last straw.

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

Delta Force? 

I've been informed by Buckeye Flyer that the anticipated Delta IV Heavy rocket launch occurred yesterday. I feel disappointed that the mainstream media didn't inform me of this, but it's not unexpected.

Despite Boeing's claims of success, I have to categorize this launch as a failure for Boeing. The first stage depleted its fuel too quickly (for yet-unknown reasons) and left the demonstration satellite in an orbit with a perigee that's way too low--by about 10,000 miles.

Boeing has launched three Delta IV's (using a single booster core) since October 2002. I recall all of these missions having delays, and the first mission saw a hydrogen leak on the first stage engine. By contrast, the Atlas V has had more missions and no apparent signs of trouble.

I feel a bit uneasy that our space program has turned its attention to using the Delta IV Heavy to launch the future Crew Exploration Vehicle, or that the Air Force wants the Delta IV Heavy to replace its Titan IV. Maybe everybody needs to cooul their jets and wait for Lockheed Martin to build and fly their Atlas V Heavy. A flyoff between the two is the only way to go.

A rocket or a suicide bomb? 

That is the question being faced by military investigators after the attack in Mosul that killed 22 people including 13 soldiers. The photos seemingly reveal a classic mortar attack. There's a large hole in the ceiling of the flimsy tent, and shrapnel sprayed everywhere. But there are now reports that a torso and suicide vest from a jihadi were found in the debris. If true, I hope they douse the torso in pig's blood before further desicrating it.

Either way this looks like an inside job. Either the insurgents had an artillery spotter inside the camp, or a suicide bomber struck his way in. The first indication of a suicide bomber came from Jaish Ansar al Sunnah's declaration of responsibility, although the group is not above taking credit for attacks committed by others.

The problem with our Iraq strategy is that we are not going on the offensive. As a culture we are too averse to taking casualties, so we have taken defensive positions in Iraq. As a result, the insurgents have taken the initiative and forced us to react. I thought we had learned our lesson in October and November when we started offensives in Samarra, Fallujah, and the "Triangle of Death" south of Baghdad. But when it became clear that insurgents were turning up the pressure in Mosul, we stayed on defense. Yesterday's horrible attack should be a wakeup call that we have to stay on offense.

The lesson of the Filipino insurgency is that you have to stay on offense to beat insurgencies. Deny them safe havens and their support will dry up. You have to keep on holding territory. Will that require more men on the ground? Maybe it will. But we have to keep on fighting insurgents in their power bases, and we need the right numbers and types of forces to hold that territory after we've taken it back.

Stench Bird 

Since Saturday evening, the fridge has been filled with "stench bird." Mother made a Turkey that night, but it came out of the oven too late to be served at dinner. So she shoveled the turkey and stuffing, still piping hot, into the refrigerator. The fridge reeked that night. The smell has gone down over the past few days, but sister still complains about it.

There is no worse dinner in the world than re-heated turkey. I will eat stench bird meat over my dead body.

The Three Stooges 

Brig. Gen. Simon Worden, the choice of Robert Bigelow and Sen. Sam Brownback to be the next NASA administrator, has some choice words for the big aerospace contractors. He's referred to Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Boeing as "the three stooges" and 'the DoD design bureaus.'

After nearly fifteen years of mega-mergers, I would tend to agree. Lockheed Martin is about far more than aircraft, missiles and space. This is doubly true for Northrop Grumman, which has recently purchased Aerojet, TRW, Newport News Shipbuilding, Teledyne-Ryan, and Hughes' satellite division. Northrop Grumman hardly builds manned aircraft anymore, aside from being the major subcontractor on the Super Hornet. It's become a monster defense contractor that would probably make the company's namesakes, Jack Northrop and Leroy Grumman, roll in their graves.

Only Boeing has stayed true to its aerospace roots. Still, the largesse of being in the big three has corrupted the company. The ramifications of the Darleen Druyun scandal and the corporate espionage that Boeing used to win launches for the Delta IV are serious betrayals of the American taxpayers. Even my beloved McDonnell Douglas (now a part of Boeing) wasn't exempt from corruption. McDonnell Douglas exported sensitive technologies to China during the early 90's, proving that for some depraven individuals, national security has a price.

Simon Worden is making sense. That's why he should be running NASA, and that's why we need alternatives to the three stooges. Companies like SpaceX and Scaled Composites, companies which still follow Kelly Johnson's Skunk Works philosophy, have the inside track in the race to commercialize space.

Father of the Pride 

I finally got to see "Father of the Pride" last night. Buda and The Italian promised it would be funny, and they were right. It seems that only animated shows know how to tickle my funnybone in the right way, and "Father of the Pride" is no different. Unfortunately, the low ratings and the high price of producing episodes will likely mean the end of "Father of the Pride."

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Taylor Dinerman's two-cents 

At The Space Review, Taylor Dinerman offers the best recap I've read about Sean O'Keefe's effect on NASA. I always appreciate what Dinerman has to say, because he clearly has a somewhat conservative (and always pragmatic) viewpoint. Whereas Greg Zsidisin and even Sam Dinkin occasionally offer up some kind of sarcastic rant, Dinerman is always giving us thoughtful analysis and policy recommendations.

Funeral for a friend 

We buried Hungry Hungry Homer on Sunday. The ground was very hard, but at least Father had the foresight to dig the hole the night before, when it hadn't snowed yet. I was still choked up about it, as Father had brought home the photo CD he made of Hungry Hungry Homer and his late mate, Frisky Molly. I looked at the pictures for inspiration when I was trying to think of some words to eulogize Homer. Afterwards, we had to face the reality that Homer's mate, Marge, still needs us to care for her, and she looks like she hasn't been eating. I wonder if losing her mate will hurt her.

Rest in peace, good friend.

Freezer burned 

On Saturday I heard an intriguing computer tip on radio's "The Kim Komando Show." Apparently you can resuscitate a crashed hard drive (briefly) by placing it in a zip-lock bag and placing it in the freezer overnight. I wish I had known this in October-Novemeber 2003 when my brand-new external hard drive crashed. I could have at least gotten it running long enough to back up the data. Instead, I complained to Circuit City, and they gave me a full refund. The irony is that I had already pocketed $100 on a full rebate from buying the hard drive.

So, Circuit City, who's been freezer-burned now?

Between Iraq and a hard place 

The latest news from Iraq has been very depressing, with at least 24 people being killed in a mortar attack on a mess hall at a base in Mosul. Jaish Ansar al-Sunnah is claiming responsibility for the heinous pre-Christmas attack. Almost as revolting was the mob scene in Baghdad on Sunday, when three election workers were pulled from a car and shot at close range.

Sunday's "Meet the Press" was an Iraq roundtable with Senators Warner, Luger, Levin, and Biden. The spin from the media on the roundtable is that Donald Rumsfeld needs to resign. While I think that the criticisms of Rumsfeld have some legitimacy, I think they take a backseat to an observation made by Sen. Warner at the roundtable. He was very disappointed by the Iraqi army, and claimed that officers and non-commissioned officers alike were deserting after they had gotten their training.

The only way out of Iraq is when we create a competent, well-trained, and reliable army to fight the insurgents and take our place. I don't fault Paul Bremer for disbanding the original army, as it was predominatly made of Sunnis who were loyal to Saddam, especially the elite units like the Republican Guard. Iraq needs an army that resembles Iraq. Unfortunately, Iraqis may be too lazy to protect themselves and fix their country; the sad state of their current army may be a relection of that.

Saturday, December 18, 2004

Stone-cold McCain 

Here's another news piece comparing John McCain with his avowed nemesis, Donald Rumsfeld. When will we get a media that won't get hood-winked into this McCain love-fest? The guy is a psycho, but most Americans don't know it.

Friday, December 17, 2004

Airport friends 

There are many different levels of friendship. It begins with acquaintaceship and grows from there, depending on the amount of trust you share with the other person. I tend to think that the strongest level of friendship accompanies the amount of trust you would place in someone if you needed that person to drop you off at the airport or pick you up from the airport.

Nate Dogg, thanks for being my airport friend.

Monday, December 13, 2004

NASA's new boss 

This post, like so many others, was inspired by Swervin...

NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe will likely be resigning this week. Swervin and I are sparring over what kind of person should replace him. Swervin wants an astronaut; I want a manager.

If you ask me who NASA's best administrator was, I would say "James Webb." Webb got the job in 1961, as a favor from JFK for being a loyal Democrat. Webb was a manger, yet he clearly cared about the program, and he consistently made sure that the agency got the funding and met the goals for Apollo. Even after the Apollo 1 fire and the congressional demands to end the program, Webb defended Apollo and helped save and improve the effort to reach the moon.

Webb served until October 1968, being one of the longest-serving NASA Administrators.

Sean O'Keefe was a great admirer of Webb's management style, and I see a few parallels between the two. O'Keefe was brought in (as a Republican loyalist) to bring the costs of the shuttle and space station under control, but he quickly developed an enthusiasm for the space business. He also had to get the agency back on track after the Columbia disaster, hopefully setting the tone for a safe, successful conclusion to the shuttle program. O'Keefe was an inspirational force behind the Vision For Space Exploration, which will hopefully get us back on the moon and eventually on Mars.

Now ask me who the worst NASA administrator was, and I'll tell you that it was former astronaut Dick Truly. Dick Truly was truly a dick. He did not support Pres. George H.W. Bush's Space Exploration Initiative, which would have put us on the moon by 2001 and on Mars by 2019. He was happy to see his damned space albatross (the shuttle) keep flying, and he didn't want SEI to get in the way of that.

Right now the rumor mill is suggesting Lt. Gen. Ron Kadish, who used to be in charge of the Missile Defense Agency. Unfortunately, the appointment of a military leader will only strengthen the arguments of the crackpots who think that VSE is just a cover for the weaponization of space. If I had to choose a military leader for the job, it would be Admiral Craig Steidle, because he was done a quality job in charge of the VSE thus far, and can be counted on to support it if he takes the top job.

If we absolutely have to choose an astronaut for the job, it should be an Apollo-era astronaut. The new administrator should have zero emotional attachment to the shuttle and have absolute zeal for going to the moon and beyond while possessing the entrepreneurial sense to encourage private space tourism. Buzz Aldrin would be awesome; sometimes he comes off as nutty, other times he's the only guy making a shred of sense. It would be an interesting ride with Buzz at the helm of the ship.

Or mayb NASA needs someone who'se been both a JPL engineer, CIA analyst, and astronaut candidate to run the agency. I nominate Dr. Hamilton Hagar for NASA Administrator!

Just kidding, Dr. Hagar...

The Spider's Hole 

Exactly one year ago today, Saddam Hussein was plucked from his spider hole. Although the Ba'athist terror did not end with Saddam, the event will allow justice to come for the hundreds of thousands who are dead because of Saddam Hussein. Good riddance.

On a related topic...
This morning I had a nightmare that gave me deep chills. I was in the middle of an abandoned city in Iraq, and the place was crawling with the Fedayeen Saddam. I remember their black masks, concealing their scowls of hate. I remember the black uniforms and the fearsome AK's. It reminds me of a dream from back in early 2001 (when I was reading Tom Clancy's "Without Remorse.") A canvas-covered truck drove through the jungle and stopped near me, with a dozen North Vietnamese soldiers pouring out to hunt me down.

Even in my dreams, war is hell.

Sunday, December 12, 2004

Sunday Night Special 

Tonight I got to be on K-Dog's radio show, "Sunday Night Special." I learned quite a bit about how the show is produced, and I think I made a good contribution as well. K-Dog had been away from his gig for two weeks, so he was initially rusty. I helped pick out some good songs, and used the opportunity to introduce Riddle to the Electric Light Orchestra. A great, highly-nderappreciated band from the 70's, ELO graced the student center with the finals appropriate song "Don't Bring Me Down."

Friday, December 10, 2004

Hungry Hungry Homer 

This afternoon, my father called and informed me that Hungry Hungry Homer, my beloved pet lizard of nearly four years, had passed away this morning.

Homer had been quite ill, probably of old age and respiratory illness combined, for quite some time (ever since I had left to return to school.) He steadily declined, but Father and Sister took the best care of him. He hung on long enough for me to see him again at Christmas.

Over the course of the day, I had been controlled by my anger over other things: the person in the mail room who smashed the Christmas card from my grandparents, how Abhi said that he would cover for me at work but suddenly forgot about it, or how Lou bailed on our design team last night so he could study for the materials test.

I can't think about the anger anymore. All my thoughts are on Homer now, and they're thinking about everything that my family did to keep him in the fight. "Love conquers all" sounds so cliche right now, but in the end it is only the love that we remember. Godspeed, Hungry Hungry Homer. May you spend eternity in a place far happier than this fragile, mortal earth.

...A little help from my friends 

I've been very borderline in Materials class, teetering on the cusp of A and B. Luckily, some great people have pulled through to help me out in my moment of crisis. Nate Dogg volunteered his camera for our corrosion project, despite the professor's refusal to allow him to take part in the project. Then Nate Dogg racks up a $40 ticket for parking outside my dorm for 5 min while he was uploading the pics onto my computer. I feel like I've taken so much from the Nate Dogg with so little I've returned.

Last night, Geoffroy and Massuh Cox gave me a study guide for the final they had been working on. It really saved me because I had been awake until 5 AM working on our Design I presentation. I got about 3 hours of sleep, gave the presentation, and studied some more from my notes and their study guide. I think I did okay on the test; again, it looks like it will still be borderline.

Thursday, December 09, 2004

Stump the Rummy 

A big news item yesterday was a Q&A session in Kuwait between soldiers and the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld. During the session, two soldiers had the backbone to ask Rumsfeld about the armoring of vehicles in Iraq. Rumsfeld handled the question well with his trademark directness and candor.

The story-behind-the-story, according to Matt Drudge, is that the question was prompted by a reporter. This guy has been reporting hearsay stories about the lack of up-armored vehicles in Iraq, and he's never been in country! The soldiers who asked the question haven't gone in country yet, but you get the impression from the media reports that they've directly suffered the result of lacking armored vehicles.

With reporting this good, it's no wonder why people are defecting from the mainsteam media and going to Fox News and the blogs for information.

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

News roundup 

My brief take on a number of current news items:

House, Senate pass "Intel Reform" bill
Yet again, our leaders have chosen a big-government solution where one is not needed. Do we need an extra layer of bureaucracy to help the spy agencies cooperate with each other? The idea is silly, especially when needless buereaucracy hindered CIA-FBI cooperation that could have exposed the 911 plot. The CIA director should receive more oversight over the other spy agencies, but we don't need a new National Intelligence Director.

Alas, we have to press on. Joe Lieberman and John Lehman have both been named as NID candidates, and they both would do a good job. I would prefer Lieberman, because it would make the agency seem more bipartisan, and Lieberman lacks the emotional attachment to the position [first suggested by the 911 commission] that John Lehman would have. I would not send Porter Goss to that position, because I like what he's doing at the CIA (purging the hacks, ending our reliance on foreign intel agencies and defectors)

The National Intelligence Director may not hurt our intel community, but it will make it more expensive to do the same job.

The CIA is leaking like a sieve
How did a "highly classified" cable from the CIA station chief get leaked to the New York Times? Despite Porter Goss's efforts, there are still people within the agency who would leak classified documents (compromising our nation's security) to damage our president and the war effort. Goss needs to really scrub the ranks, making sure that all of his men respect their commander in chief and believe, most of all, in giving him the best intel they have while doing a professional job.

Bush and Blair working on "Kyoto lite"
It's a sensible plan to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions without resorting to the drastic economic damage that would be wrought by the Kyoto Treaty. I have long felt that the U.S. should set realistic standards for its carbon dioxide emissions and should promote the expansion of nuclear power while easing back on fossil fuels. Kyoto placed a high burden on the U.S. while letting India and China off the hook. The U.S. may be "the single biggest polluter," as Agence France-Presse is keen to remind us, but we also produce the manufactured goods the rest of the world relies on. We are taking the share of the world's pollution that they would produce if more of their goods were domestically produced.

Possible split between Boeing and Airbus for new USAF tankers
John Pike is right: the solution is new engines, not new airplanes. The decision to put remanufactured TF33's on the KC-135E fleet (instead of the more efficient CFM56's on the KC-135R's) was penny-wise and pound-foolish. The aircraft were cheaper and were fielded sooner, but their reliability will rise dramatically if they get the CFM56's. If the Air Force had waited longer they could have skipped over the TF33 upgrade entirely.

If the KC-135 airframes will last long enough, fly them into 2040 until they are fatigued out. Then acquire tankers based on the 7E7 or whatever Boeing happens to be building at the time. The Air Force will get better airplanes without rushing a deal like they have over the past three years.

"Experts" want shuttle mission to fix Hubble telescope
Why can't we just let this f***ing telescope die? If NASA wants to fly the new instruments so badly, build another telescope from a spy sat and put the instruments inside. The Hubble lovers would launch a shuttle and an ISS core module just to save the aging telescope.

I can only imagine the difficulties of sending a robot to fix Hubble. Yet the mission would be worth it, regardless of cost or technical risk. You're not putting astronauts in danger, so where's the real risk? The money spent will be worth it, as the robot mission will push the envelope of robotics technology.

They will send a shuttle to Hubble again over my dead body. Every unnecessary shuttle flight puts more astronauts in danger and takes us further away from the 2010 retirement date for the shuttle. We need to move on, retire the shuttle as quickly as possible, and get our butts back to the moon.

Going the distance 

The eloquence of Victor Davis Hanson in How Far We've Come is so beautiful that it makes me teary-eyed. You're right, Victor. Now let's go the distance in Iraq and Afghanistan, and make the world safe from militant Islam.

A Syrian Insurgency 

U.S. generals increasingly feel that the insurgency is being dictated by Baathists hiding in Syria.

I know for a fact that the vast majority of the insurgents (perhaps 80%) fall into the category of "former regime elements." This is a broad category that includes ex-army elements (many of whom fight out of fear of the new government, hatred of the Americans, or for hire,) hardcore Baathists, and tribes that were loyal to Saddam (like the al Douris and al Janabis.)

It's long been suspected that the former regime had strong ties with Syria, beginning after the death of Syrian despot Hafiz Assad in 2000. Odds are good that Izzat Ibrahim and Tahir Jalil Habbush are still there and still funneling their dirty money to insurgents. Saddam Hussein and Abid Hamid Mahmoud likely know where they are located; it's just a matter of torture before they will talk.

If the Vietnam analogy holds water, Syria is the equivalent of Laos and Cambodia. Unlike Vietnam, we will not have to resort to a controversial invasion, if we can get good intel inside Syria. Good intel and special ops work could trace down and assassinate the insurgent leaders inside Syria, while Israeli airstrikes could take out insurgent training camps under the cover story that the Israelis were striking at Hamas or Hezbollah.

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Come together 

Last Friday was a pleasant surprise. All semester, motivation had been a huge problem for our flight. It seemed that nobody would show up to flight events unless there was a gun to their heads. But it all came together for Friday morning's "Competitive Beach Run." Almost everybody was there, and we toughed it out in the various events to win the commander's trophy for the event.

It's sad and scary to think of what we could have accomplished if we had that kind of motivation earlier in the semester.

Saturday, December 04, 2004

Buckeye Flyer 

It's time to welcome Buckeye Flyer into the blogosphere.

When Swervin runs for president in the year 2040, I intend to work for his campaign, and I expect all faithful "Impossible Scissors" readers to do the same.

Friday, December 03, 2004

More fodder for the enemy 

Who the f*** shares these pictures with the rest of the world?

I will say the same thing I said when Abu Ghuraib first broke: 1) our fighting men and women should treat enemy prisoners (whether they are POWs or illegal combatants) with some minimum level of dignity, 2) why in Pete's sake would you photograph your violations of the Geneva convention, and 3) why would you make these photos public? (In this case, the photos went on a public photo webpage.)

I personally want to murder everybody who was involved with blatant abuse and sharingthe evidence with the world.

I also blame AP for breaking this story. Sure, I understand everything about journalistic integrity. But I am an American first and a journalist second. If I know that my actions as a journalist will harm my country and promote violent reprisals against our fighting men and women, I have an ethical responsibility to kill the story. This is a case of journalists influencing the outcome of a conflict, to be sure. Somebody should tell that to Associated Press and that son-of-a-bitch Kevin Sites.

Thursday, December 02, 2004

Iraq, stability, and Saddam 

"By removing Saddam Hussein, we have destabilized the middle east and made the world a more dangerous place."

By the end of his campaign, John Kerry was wielding quotes similar to to the one aboveand sounding a lot like Howard Dean. And the conventional widom on Saddam Hussein is that he was some kind of brutal Titoist, who frightened Iraq's ethnic groups into coexisting with each other and respecting their government.

The truth is that Saddam Hussein's Iraq was much messier than the conventional wisdom has us believe. The amount of anti-regime activity and sectarian violence inside Iraq was hard to judge under Saddam's rule, because he kept such a firm grasp on the state media and very little news slipped out. But considering that Saddam's own son was the target of an assassination attempt by a Shiite militia in 1999, his control over the country was not absolute. Uday was not the only regime figure who was tareted by Shiite assassins during this time period. There are also reports that farmers would launch mortars at Iraqi military bases because the bases were built on prime farm land. So a certain level of shelling should be expected when we are operating out of Iraqi bases.

I don't pretend that Iraq's level of violence today is the same as what it was when Saddam was in power. It's just that the majority of that violence was government-sanctioned. Yes, there was more internal stability under Saddam, at the expense of having the Fedayeen cutting out tongues and throwing people off rooftops. Nowadays, a weak Shiite guerilla movement has largely sat on the sidelines while members of the old regime have unleashed a new, Sunni guerrilla movement. We have not traded stability for chaos; we have traded one group of insurgents for another. Resistance to authority may be the only thing that all Iraqis have historically agreed on.

Marvel comics at war 

Marvel heroes like Spider-Man and Wolverine will have to share the spotlight with a new set of uniformed super-heroes: the soliers and Marines of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

I eagerly await the debut of the comic Combat Zone, written by embedded journalist Karl Zinsmeister. Karl works for the American Enterprise Institute and he is an unabashed conservative. I hope that any tendencies he may have towards pontificating (which did emerge, to an extent, in his book Boots on the Ground) will take a back seat to the real mission of this comic series: telling the true stories of soldiers and Marines. I also hope that the comic is well-received by traditional comics fans, and it doesn't get viewed as some jingoist propaganda magazine. That was the impression I got about The Nam, Marvel's last foray into war comics.

What do I expect from Combat Zone? I want it to be a graphic, realistic record of what these extraordinary folks have gone through in Iraq. I don't want it to carry heavy handed political messages (either for or against the war,) I just want it to be about the real characters.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the best way to honor those who have went to war in this country's name is to preserve the memory and the records of how they served. Don't sugar coat it and don't try to put it into some larger context. If any virtue comes out of war, it is the efforts of the individual in protecting his or her "band of brothers." That's what we should remember, enshrine, and even glorify.

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Kliper ships 

James Oberg writes on the recent unveiling of the Kliper mockup, representing Russia's next manned spacecraft.

Kliper is the right move for the Russians to make, building on the successes of the previous Soyuz capsule and adding an element of reusability. Hopefully they can find the money to build it by 2010. Maybe they can team with Lockheed Martin, and Kliper will also serve as the U.S. Crew Exploration Vehicle. Doing so would save us plenty of money and about four years of time.

James Oberg claims that Zenit is the preferred booster to launch Kliper. Everything I've heard up to now is that it would be launched on Onega, a new verson of the reliable Soyuz rocket with an added liquid hydrogen upper stage. Oberg also says that a third booster type is waiting in the wings.

The story gets more interesting. It looks like the Russians are serious about this program. I hope it doesn't become vaporware like so many other Russian projects and boasts in the past.

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