07/04/09
03:01:24 am, Categories: American Holidays Finally visitors have access to our Statue of Liberty crown—we temporarily lost our head—ignoring some of the cherished principles written into our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.
Statue of Liberty Head1
Res: National Park Service, Statue of Liberty
Web: Statue of Liberty gets her view back
-----notes-----
1. On February 18, 1879 French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was granted an American patent for the Statue of Liberty.
The Statue's head was on display in France before being gifted to America.
07/03/09
09:35:34 pm, Categories: Iran Originally Published June 19, 2009; Updated and Republished June 20, 2009; Updated and Republished June 21, 2009; Updated and Republished June 22, 2009; Updated and Republished June 24, 2009; Updated and Republished June 26, 2009; Updated and Republished June 28, 2009; Updated and Republished June 30, 2009; Updated and Republished July 01, 2009; Updated and Republished July 03, 2009:
Ironically (or shrewdly) Ayatollah Khamenei during his Friday (29 Khordad 1388; June 19, 2009) prayer speech asserts the protesters are supporting a dictatorship and rejecting democracy.
Khamenei sees the hand of the Lord in the ballot boxes. Other Iranians aren't sure whose hand is in the ballot box and they're protesting in the streets until they find out.
Wonder if the Lord's hand will be coming out of the ballot boxes to strike those Iranians protesting in the street?
Nice to read governments1 are summoning Iran's ambassadors to express their expectations for the Lord's hand—since the Lord's hand is ubiquitous its behavior cannot possibly be a solely internal matter for one country alone.
Res:
UPDATED 06/20/2009 Statement from the President [Obama] on Iran
"The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.
As I said in Cairo, suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government. If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion.
Martin Luther King once said - "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." I believe that. The international community believes that. And right now, we are bearing witness to the Iranian peoples’ belief in that truth, and we will continue to bear witness."--United States President Barack Obama
YouTube:
UPDATED 06/28/2009 CNN, Thousands demonstrate silently [some not so silent] in Tehran
UPDATED 06/28/2009 Iranian and American super rock stars Andranik (Andy) Madadian and Jon Bon Jovi perform "Stand By Me":
UPDATED 06/20/2009 Young Woman Mortally Shot During Protest On Saturday:
UPDATED 06/26/2009 Young Iranian doctor who came to Neda's aid tells his story (see video originator BBC World Service Iran: the death of Neda Agha-Soltan or YouTube Video Part 1 of 2 and YouTube Video Part 2 of 2)
Khamenei Friday Prayer Speech:
Web:
- UPDATED 07/03/2009 Anonymous Iran, The Green Brief #17 (July 03).
- The Green Brief #16 (July 02)
- The Green Brief #15 (July 01)
- The Green Brief #14 (June 30)
-
NiteOwl culls various sources and provides a meaningful and useful summary (almost daily) of Iran protest events.
UPDATED 07/01/2009 Guardian, Mir Hossein Mousavi calls Iranian government illegitimate.
Although the protests have yet to deliver credible elections they have conclusively displayed for the modern world’s delight a proud, confident, and determined Iranian people quite capable of eliminating just another unwanted authoritarian regime!
- UPDATED 06/30/2009 NYT, Iran Seeks to Close Door on Further Protests.
UPDATED 06/26/2009 UPI, G8 tells Iran to respect human rights.
Every nation, not just the G8 must demand of every peer nation respect for and adherence to minimal basic human rights, including the right of its people to peacefully assemble and speak freely for the purpose of demanding responsive change from their own government or another nation's government.
"...Their [Iranian protesters] bravery in the face of brutality is a testament to their enduring pursuit of justice,...The violence perpetrated against them [Iranian protesters] is outrageous. In spite of the government's efforts to keep the world from bearing witness to that violence, we see it and we condemn it."--AP, quoting U.S. President Barack Obama @ Merkel-Obama joint Washington press conference--
UPDATED 06/24/2009 Al Jazeera, Iran's Neda killing 'was illegal' to say the least.
Iranian lawyer Shirin Ebadi has expressed a desire to represent Neda in death to ensure those responsible for her murder are held accountable.
Hopefully, each protester detained or charged by authorities will receive independent and vigorous legal representation and defense in accordance with internationally accepted minimum legal standards and the rule of law.
Using Iran's judiciary to "teach protesters a lesson" is inconsistent with internationally accepted minimum legal standards and the rule of law. It also discredits Iran's judiciary and renders its judges little more than buffoons.
UPDATED 06/22/2009 NYT, Former President at Center of Fight Within Political Elite.
- UPDATED 06/22/2009 Time, Top Ten Players in Iran's Power Struggle
UPDATED 06/21/2009 NYT, Iran Tense After Day of Violent Clashes.
Seeing this picture reminds me of the 1975 movie Rollerball (YouTube Trailer) which is a depiction of the 1974 futuristic book Roller Ball Murder.
UPDATED 06/21/2009 CNN, Rallies in France, Germany, U.S. support Iranian demonstrators.
"Now, it's not productive, given the history of U.S.-Iranian relations, to be seen as meddling -- the U.S. President meddling in Iranian elections. What I will repeat and what I said yesterday is that when I see violence directed at peaceful protestors [sic], when I see peaceful dissent being suppressed, wherever that takes place, it is of concern to me and it's of concern to the American people. That is not how governments should interact with their people.
And my hope is, is that the Iranian people will make the right steps in order for them to be able to express their voices, to express their aspirations. I do believe that something has happened in Iran where there is a questioning of the kinds of antagonistic postures towards the international community that have taken place in the past, and that there are people who want to see greater openness and greater debate and want to see greater democracy. How that plays out over the next several days and several weeks is something ultimately for the Iranian people to decide. But I stand strongly with the universal principle that people's voices should be heard and not suppressed."--United States President Barack Obama, June 16, 2009--
- UPDATED 06/20/2009 NYT Lede, Saturday: Updates on Iran’s Disputed Election.
- UPDATED 06/20/2009 NYT, A Struggle for the Legacy of the Iranian Revolution.
NYT, Ruling Cleric Warns Iranian Protesters.
- BBC 'The Islamic Republic would not cheat'. Short video segment of Khamenei's Tehran University Friday prayer speech, with English voice over.
-----notes-----
1. Our president must feel slighted that Britain has now become the external evil against which Ayatollah Khamenei asserts Iran must fight.
It probably doesn't have anything to do with BBC's switching from the jammed Hot Bird 6 satellite to a more jam resistant W2M satellite for its Persian Farsi broadcast into Iran.
However, proving old habits are hard to break there was still plenty of "Death to America" chanting during Khamenei's speech.
06:01:06 am, Categories: GWOT The Washington Post dives into the corruption cesspool provoking outrage over the stench—publisher, Katharine Weymouth has since hosed the newspaper off and begun cleanup, sanitation, and disinfectant operations.
It's unclear who's responsible for launching the now discredited pay-for-chat idea1 at the once iconic newspaper, but given the swiftness and intensity of public outrage it will likely be "a few bad pressmen on the night shift".
Web: NYT, Pay-for-Chat Plan Falls Flat at Washington Post
-----notes-----
1. The so-called salons would have brought reporters, policymakers, and lobbyists together for an intimate evening of beverages, food, and chat.
Individuals and entities could underwrite a single salon (usually focusing on one topic) for $25K or 11 salons for $250K (a $25K volume discount!).
Washington salons are as numerous and routine as the disguised rationale for lobbyists paying bribes to our policymakers. What hasn’t been routine is our newspapers' participation in the corrupt practice of bribing our policymakers.
It will be interesting to discover the extent of the administration’s participation, if any, in the Washington Post salons idea knowing access was being sold?
01:56:47 am, Categories: Government Transparency, Abuse of Power, Government Accountability, Impeachment Originally Published November 21, 2007; Updated and Republished July 03, 2009:
More lying and lawlessness from our criminal, abusive, dangerous, harmful, lying, rogue, arrogant, ignorant, incompetent, and ineffective president—this time personally directing the cover-up and misleading of the public over White House involvement in the outing of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame.
When is Congress going to rid our nation of this criminal, abusive, dangerous, harmful, lying, rogue, arrogant, ignorant, incompetent, and ineffective president and his sidekick Cheney?
Web:
UPDATED July 03, 2009 UPI, Court filing lists Cheney conversations.
The public’s interests are best served when our public officials know that everything they say and do during the performance of their official duties will be 100% transparent.
Arguments about not getting or giving the best advice or candid analysis or cooperation if our government is open and transparent are nonsense, to say the least.
- Bush 'involved' in CIA leak case
07/02/09
Originally Published June 02, 2009; Updated and Republished June 15, 2009; Updated and Republished June 27, 2009; Updated and Republished July 02, 2009:
United States Navy joins the search for Air France flight 447—a debris field has been located—estimated maximum water depth is two miles; sea floor topology very rugged.
Web:
- UPDATED 07/02/2009 BBC, Piecing together fate of Air France jet. Excluding a failure of the "black box" beacon itself (i.e. no acoustic signal), it seems incredible that searchers cannot localize its acoustic signal.
UPDATED 06/27/2009 Scotsman, Search for passengers of Flight 447 ends, race for black boxes goes on.
Earlier reports (6-15 hours) that the flight data recorder (FDR or black box) had been located proved over optimistic—searcher are investigating a sound but are not able to confirm it is the FDR beacon
from the.A typical FAA approved pinger or beacon attached to the FDR will send out a continuous acoustic 160.5dB, 9ms pulse at 37.5 kHz for a minimum of 30 days, usually up to 90 days or longer at a slightly reduced dB level.1
By comparison a dolphin's sonar might click (ping) around 170dB whereas a modern submarine might ping2 at a much higher level of 210 - 220dB.
Every 10 dB increase is like turning up the volume by a power of ten (10, 100, 1,000...)!
Submariners know that sound travels about four times faster in seawater than air (say 1480 m/sec versus 340 m/sec, respectively). In seawater sound speed decreases for about the first 1,000 meters then increases linearly with water depth.
- UPDATED 06/15/2009 UPI, Investigators: No explosion on Flight 447.
- UPDATED 06/06/2009 Times of India, France sends nuclear sub to help find missing plane. The submarine Émeraude S 604.
- UPDATED 06/04/2009 Time, Could a Computer Glitch Have Brought Down Air France 447?.
BBC, Lost jet data 'may not be found'. France sends two deep diving submersibles (perhaps both are Nautiles) to support recovery efforts.
Contrary to current news accounts it’s very likely larger debris items will be examined—if these items (or other information) are indicative of a bomb, debris will be recovered.
- Reuters, FACTBOX: Facts and speculation surrounding Air France crash
Video:
AP, Brazil Confirms Air France Jet Crashed in Ocean:
- Reuters, Air France searchers find debris
Wikipedia: UPDATED 06/06/2009 Air France Flight 447
-----notes-----
1. Based on the Teledyne Benthos TSO-C121 FAA approved pinger.
2. A submarine sonar operator might compare the difficulty of searching for the "black box" to randomly detecting and characterizing a very noisy (160dB) and stationary submarine using a single relatively fast attenuating high frequency (37.5 kHz) tonal.
Now imagine a submarine sonar operator's job if the "black box" were very quiet (100-110 dB), non-stationary, evasive, emitting multiple tonals within a wider frequency spectrum (1Hz - 20kHz) and maybe using counter-measures like decoy tonals, noise generators etc.).
As correctly operated modern submarines approach the practical limits (technical and cost) of very quiet even the most skilled sonar technician, aided by neural network software, and massive computing power will have an increasingly difficult job.
Thankfully, we can leave the experts to openly debate the nonproliferation implications. A future where nations' undetectable and undeterrable ballistic missile submarines are silently driving into each other gives new meaning to the term "silent service". Perhaps there are better alternatives?
Originally Published June 16, 2009; Updated and Republished July 02, 2009:
Reports are necessary but cannot substitute for nations deciding among themselves to unambiguously reject governments that have consistently demonstrated an inability to transparently pursue minimum political, economic, and legal reforms necessary to ensure noncoercive sustainable growth for the benefit of its citizens. Web:
|  |
-----notes-----
1. The article refers to the forcible taking of a Chinese child as "confiscation"—modern, developed, and internationally acceptable legal systems refer to this as kidnapping for the purpose of trafficking in children and enslavement.
China must credibly and objectively guarantee (as in DNA and verifiable non coercive consent agreements) prospective American adoptive parents that the Chinese children they are adopting have not been kidnapped, trafficked, or enslaved.
Chinese parents, adopted Chinese children, and their adoptive American parents must have standing in American federal courts to sue for damages or adoption reversal of non-guaranteed or fraudulent China adoptions. A “damage bond” must accompany all adoption guarantees by the Chinese government.
01:06:14 am, Categories: Nuclear Proliferation Originally Published December 10, 2008; Updated and Republished February 10, 2009; Updated and Republished February 22, 2009; Updated and Republished February 24, 2009; Updated and Republished March 06, 2009; Updated and Republished April 01, 2009; Updated and Republished April 06, 2009; Updated and Republished May 16, 2009; Updated and Republished May 19, 2009; Updated and Republished May 29, 2009; Updated and Republished July 02, 2009:
An international group meets in Paris to renew efforts toward eliminating all nuclear arms—the group has launched the Global Zero campaign.
The group will offer nuclear nation's leaders and individuals worldwide a step-by-step plan for eliminating all nuclear weapons worldwide through phased and verified reductions.
Ground Zero Nuclear Explosion1
Web:
- UPDATED 07/02/2009 BBC, Japan envoy [Yukiya Amano] wins UN nuclear post.(IAEA, Short Bio for Yukiya Amano)
UPDATED 05/29/2009 (05/30/2009 local) IISS Shangri-La Dialogue Singapore, Text of U.S. Secretary of Defense (SecDef) Robert Gates Speech.
It is difficult to image a more apropos speech given current events—it would be most unfortunate for America and others if our SecDef were to prematurely leave his current assignment.
UPDATED 05/19/2009 Reuters, Russia, U.S. hold talks on cutting nuclear weapons.
UPDATED 05/16/2009 UPIAsia, Japan keen to advance nuclear disarmament.
It would be wonderful if Japan would continuously host global nuclear disarmament talks until nuclear disarmament reach global zero.
Under the banner of its profoundly simple three not principle:
not possessing; not producing; and not permitting the introduction of nuclear weapons
- UPDATED 05/18/2009 Nobel Peace winners issue declaration
- UPDATED 04/08/2009 NPR, U.S. to Talk Directly With Iran on Nuclear Program.
- UPDATED 04/07/2009 Reuters, U.S. hints deadline could slip on Russia arms deal.
- UPDATED 04/04/2009 Reuters, Obama to call for nuclear-free world. This bold announcement is long overdue—we are drowning in our weapons grade fissile material—to what end or purpose (UPDATED 04/06/2009 text of speech, courtesy AP & BaltimoreSunTimes).
- UPDATED 04/04/2009 Reuters, Russia says to start nuclear talks with U.S. in April.
PDATED 04/01/2009 NYT, Seeking New Start, U.S. and Russia Press Arms Talks.
UPDATED 03/06/2009 NTI, U.S., Russia Could Set Table for Nuclear Talks Today.
"We're on the cusp of an explosion of proliferation and Iran is now the poster child."--NIT quoting Former U.S. national security adviser Brent Scowcroft--
It is no longer acceptable for nuclear nations to seek unilateral security in nuclear weapons without ensuring and assuring the security of nations not seeking such security in nuclear weapons.
One hopes nations will sooner learn to live without an illusion of nuclear weapons security. But that will require radical changes in the way we currently think about the world and our place in it. How will these changes come about?
Kudos United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov...we look forward to the results and effects of their work product, whatever it is called.
- UPDATED 03/03/2009 NTI, Russia Opposes Simple Extension of START.
UPDATED 02/24/2009 NYT, When Nuclear Subs Collide.
Our mature tridents (hull life in the area of 40 years) can be converted to SSGNs (four already have been converted). Cruise missiles (primarily non nuclear variants2) replace the trident D5 ballistic missiles in the converted SSGNs.
Nuclear non proliferation talks are also timely as America considers the need and configuration of the follow-on submarine platform (SBSD3) for the mature Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine platform (more conversion to SSGNs are likely to continue).
- UPDATED 02/22/2009 UPI, Obama to push arms control agenda. This is as bold and fantastic as it is welcomed—there is not a dearth of nations who've figured out how to war—only nations who've figured out how not to war.
- BBC, Group seeks nuclear weapons ban
Res:
UPDATED 02/10/2009 NAP, Future of the Nuclear Security Environment in 2015: Proceedings. The 2009 publication contains the papers from the November 2007 symposium—requires an email address for the no-cost download.
Papers focus on understanding and enhancing Russia-U.S. cooperation toward furthering their already impressive gains in securing access to fissile material (no easy task) and reducing the nuclear threat.
"Cooperation between Russia and the United States in material protection, control, and accounting (MPC&A) has often been called a successful example of cooperation between the two countries in the area of international nuclear security and in resolving specific tasks aimed at strengthening the nuclear weapons and nuclear materials non-proliferation regime."--Sergei V. Antipov, et al.--
Blog:
- UPDATED 05/07/2009 TimesOnline, The Luckiest or Unluckiest Man in the World? Tsutomu Yamaguchi, double A-bomb victim. Short story on survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombing.
-----notes-----
1. Detonation immediately changes the bomb's core geometry such that neutron collisions are insufficient to sustain nuclear fission.
Physicist Jeremy Bernstein has written a short primer (liberally incorporating Serber's primer), Plutonium: A History of the Worlds Most Dangerous Element, which helps interested non-technical individuals understand some of the proliferation concerns.
Now that the flat earth faithful are leaving office, science, like Lazarus can rise from the dead.
2. There are SLCM cruise missile variants that can carry nuclear payloads (see handy FAS nuclear weapons table).
The boys in blue have their own advanced air launched nuclear cruise missile variant (aka ACM and ALCM) to go with their bombers (B-2 and 52).
3. UPDATED 03/01/2009 Sea Based Strategic Deterrent, which may differ from what has typically been thought of as an SSBN submarine platform. The FY 2009 Defense Appropriation also includes money for a related parallel Undersea Launched Missile Study (ULMS).
07/01/09
Your Cowboy Cousins to the South,
Always Americans
Web:
Originally Published November 30, 2006; Updated and Republished on May 14, 2009; Updated and Republished on July 01, 2009:
Kudos To Arizona State University (ASU) for its recent decision to expand its 100% tuition free (tuition, books, room and board) program for low income students (≤ $25K income). Every university in America should follow their lead.
Additionally, as the 110th Congress revisits and revises our broken and dysfunctional education policies they must focus on ensuring every American has continuous access to no cost or low cost education.1
Offsetting our seniors' social security checks for education costs is not a no-cost or low-cost education policy. Saddling our young under-graduates with $80K in student loan debt is not a no-cost or low-cost education policy. Forcing parents to pay $50K annual tuition or risk disadvantaging their children for life is not a no-cost or low-cost education policy.
While life seems to offer few, if any, panaceas or "silver bullets" education is a good approximation and I venture to say a pre-requisite to their discovery, should they exist.
Web:
- UPDATED 07/01/2009 UPI, New student loan repayment plan outlined.
UPDATED 05/14/2009 NYT, Text: Obama’s Commencement Address at Arizona State University.
The implications of the President's speech are potentially prescient—hopefully our president will continually clarify in the days and months ahead the implications of his commencement speech—operationalize his words, if you will:
"We too often let the external, the material things, serve as indicators that we're doing well, even though something inside us tells us that we're not doing our best; that we're avoiding that which is hard, but also necessary; that we're shrinking from, rather than rising to, the challenges of the age. And the thing is, in this new, hyper-competitive age, none of us -- none of us -- can afford to be complacent...We've become accustomed to our economic dominance in the world, forgetting that it wasn't reckless deals and get-rich-quick schemes that got us where we are, but hard work and smart ideas -- quality products and wise investments. We started taking shortcuts. We started living on credit, instead of building up savings. We saw businesses focus more on rebranding and repackaging than innovating and developing new ideas that improve our lives.
All the while, the rest of the world has grown hungrier, more restless -- in constant motion to build and to discover -- not content with where they are right now, determined to strive for more. They're coming [AND "THEY" ARE NOT TERRORISTS]...We need young people like you to step up. We need your daring, we need your enthusiasm and your energy, we need your imagination.
And let me be clear, when I say "young," I'm not just referring to the date of your birth certificate. I'm talking about an approach to life -- a quality of mind and quality of heart; a willingness to follow your passions, regardless of whether they lead to fortune and fame; a willingness to question conventional wisdom and rethink old dogmas; a lack of regard for all the traditional markers of status and prestige -- and a commitment instead to doing what's meaningful to you, what helps others, what makes a difference in this world."--President Barack Obama, ASU commencement speech May 13, 2009--
UPDATED 02/20/2008 UPI, Stanford waives tuition for middle class. In a move demonstrating just how dysfunctional access to our higher educational system has become Stanford is waiving tuition for those making $100K or less. Additionally, Stanford will waive room and board for those making less than $60K—Kudos to Stanford, but Congress must act.
Hey, Congress how about fixing the dysfunctional and disappearing access to higher education instead of holding hearings into which professional baseball players gave each others steroid shots in the ass!
UPDATED 05/27/2007 Elite Colleges Open New Door to Low-Income Youths
Kudos to the increasing number of schools like Amherst, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, the University of Virginia, Williams and the University of North Carolina etc. for altering their admission policies to ensure America's, bright, economically disadvantaged youth have access to a world class education!
These universities must, also, ensure that our disadvantaged youth have access to the remedial resources necessary to ensure completion of their world class educational opportunity.
Completion, including accessing remedial education, if necessary, is the responsibility of each student, not their professors (unless in the unlikely event their professor is also their remedial tutor) or the university.
- ASU will offer free tuition to its neediest students
-----notes-----
1. We are learning our economic growth heavily depends on the process of accumulating knowledge. For a seminal technical discussion read Paul M. Romer's, "Endogenous Technological Change", Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 98, No. 5, Oct 1990, pp. S71-S102 (some calculus required to understand the aggregate output and production function equations). For a great literary discussion (no math required) of incorporating knowledge into our economic growth models read David Warsh’s “Knowledge and the Wealth of Nations: A Story of Economic Discovery”, 2006.
However, we should not base our education policy on ROI or economic growth (endogenous or exogenous) equations. Instead our education policy must be based on the single and sole fact that we are human beings and all humans require continual education for optimal operation. Focus on the later and the former will come along for the ride.
I have long lamented our United States Supreme Court's failure to declare education a fundamental right.
03:06:46 am, Categories: Economics, Education, Health Care, Pictures, Forty Fourth President, Rebuild America Originally Published March 23, 2009; Updated and Republished April 02, 2009; Updated and Republished April 25, 2009; Updated and Republished May 11, 2009; Updated and Republished June 02, 2009; Updated and Republished July 01, 2009:
YouTube:
Mr. President, if the hurdles get higher we'll get you a pole.
- The President lays out four priorities:
- American leadership in future sources of stable sustainable energy
- Comprehensive, complete, competitive world-class education for all Americans
- Universal healthcare or substantial and irreversible down payment on universal healthcare for all Americans
- Continuous and credible deficient reduction consistent with above priorities
- The President lays out four priorities:
Web:
- UPDATED 07/01/2009 Whitehouse Transcript, Presidential Town Hall on Healthcare, Northern Virginia Community College Annandale, Virginia.
- UPDATED 06/14/2009 President Weekly Address 06/13/2009, President Obama Outlines More than $300 Billion in new Medicare and Medicaid Savings.
UPDATED 06/02/2009 New Yorker, The Cost Conundrum.
"...In fact, the four states with the highest levels of spending—Louisiana, Texas, California, and Florida—were near the bottom of the national rankings on the quality of patient care.
In a 2003 study, another Dartmouth team, led by the internist Elliott Fisher, examined the treatment received by a million elderly Americans dia0
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