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Perimeter Railway for ISS; HETE-1 Comes Down
Quirk writes "The Sydney Morning Herald is touting the mission to start construction of an orbiting railway. Space Shuttle Atlantis will carry the astronauts who will initiate the planned 107 meter rail line along the outside of the International Space Station. The remote controlled train will move at speeds of 2.5 centimeters a second and be able to carry more than 20 tonnes of cargo. Construction is projected for completion in 2004." And B3avis followed up with news about the HETE re-entry: "The pieces of the HETE-1 spacecraft seem to have crashed somewhere in the Himalayas.
"The final notification from Space Command indicates that the debris re-entered at 31.5 degrees North and 92.4 degrees East." says NASA. And they should know."
In the 1920's, American exploration firms discovered the world's largest oil fields under the eastern Saudi desert. As a result, the Saudis and their small neighbors became the richest nations in the world, far surpassing in per-capita product and income long established industrial nations. Not content with this enormous wealth, the Saudis spearheaded the creation of OPEC. It is a price-fixing cartel, which would be totally illegal under U.S. anti-trust laws. This cartel has managed to increase the price of oil by more than tenfold. In doing so, the members of OPEC -- primarily Saudi Arabia -- were able to amass almost unimaginable riches. At the same time, they caused grave economic dislocation to the western industrial nations and brought ruin and famine to many of the so-called third world countries.
What do the Saudis do with all this wealth? Much of it goes to the maintenance of the most extravagant lifestyle of the Saudi "royal" house and hundreds of "princes" and their hangers-on. Some of it goes for ostentatious public projects. But much of it goes to bankrolling terrorists and troublemakers in the Middle East and in the rest of the world. For example, Saudi Arabia is the main support of the terrorist PLO, which would financially collapse were it not for Saudi Arabian aid. Saudi Arabia finances Syria to the tune of $750 million per year. Syria is a close ally of the Soviet Union, a state based on terror, and a sworn enemy of the U.S.
The Saudis have participated in every one of the Arab wars against Israel, since Israel's founding in 1948. They are totally committed to continued warfare until what they hope will be the destruction of Israel and "recovery" of Jerusalem. Saudi Arabia has systematically thwarted any peace initiatives to resolve the Arab-Israel conflict, continues to maintain a state of war with Israel, refused to recognize Israel's right to exist, and perpetuates, through the Arab League boycott, an international economic warfare intended to strangle Israel.
The Saudis clamor constantly for more and more sophisticated weapons from the U.S. They claim to need these weapons in order to protect their kingdom, their oil installations, and the Gulf shipping lanes from the Iranians. They have purchased $2.9 billion of war materials from the U.S. and vast additional quantities from Western Europe. But now that this arsenal is available and could be engaged, do they use it? Of course not! They call on the U.S. for help.
Because of their unwillingness to assist in their own defense during the Gulf war, we had to put over thirty war ships and much other material in the area and thousands of U.S. sailors, whose lives were at risk and quite a few of whom were lost. Why, then, if they refuse to defend their own country, do the Saudis need all this expensive and deadly hardware? To quote the Saudi defense minister: "It is focused on Israel." And he was echoing King Khaled, who said, "When we build our military power, we have no designs on anybody except those who took away our land and holy places in Jerusalem, and we know who they are!" The way things seem to be planned by the Saudis, it may not be too long before their F-15's will join to fight Israel's F-15's in another devastating Middle East conflagration.
Are the Saudis grateful to the U.S. for being so generous with protection? Despite the fact that the U.S. Navy was and still is in the Gulf for their protection, the Saudis have steadfastly refused to put any of their installations and bases at the disposal of the U.S. The cost to the U.S. taxpayer is a minimum of $200 million so far. Will the Saudis pick up any of that tab? Of course not! When the Iraqi fighter plane attacked the "Stark" and killed 36 American sailors, the U.S. urged the Saudis to pursue the Iraqi plane and to bring it down if necessary. What did the Saudis do? They flatly refused!
Saudi Arabia is not "moderate." It bankrolls Syria -- the Soviet Union's ally and client state -- and is the paymaster of the terrorist PLO. Its arsenal is not destined to the defense of its territory against Iran, but for the next "jihad" -- what they hope will be the final war of extermination against Israel. They are no friends of America or of the West. They do not cooperate with us in the defense of our strategic interests-- they single-mindedly pursue their own agenda. As to the "oil weapon," they wield it ruthlessly to amass the riches of the world and to disrupt the economies of the West.
There was a tunnel thing posted here earlier - an elevator from Earth to a space station above.
Wow i need a ticket.
See subject.
260 Days 21 Hours 58 Minutes Until Christmas! Merry Christmas from the Christmas Troll
politechbot.com has less BS and is focused on politics, especially things like the DMCA (in fact, have a look at the DMCA postings there).
Alles schläft; einsam wacht
Nur das traute heilige Paar.
Holder Knab' im lockigten Haar,
|: Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh!
2. Stille Nacht! Heil'ge Nacht! :|
Gottes Sohn, o wie lacht
Lieb' aus deinem göttlichen Mund,
Da uns schlägt die rettende Stund'.
|: Jesus in deiner Geburt!
3. Stille Nacht! Heil'ge Nacht! :|
Die der Welt Heil gebracht,
Aus des Himmels goldenen Höhn,
Uns der Gnaden Fülle läßt sehn,
|: Jesum in Menschengestalt!
4. Stille Nacht! Heil'ge Nacht! :|
Wo sich heut alle Macht
Väterlicher Liebe ergoß,
Und als Bruder huldvoll umschloß
|: Jesus die Völker der Welt!
5. Stille Nacht! Heil'ge Nacht! :|
Lange schon uns bedacht,
Als der Herr vom Grimme befreit
In der Väter urgrauer Zeit
|: Aller Welt Schonung verhieß!
6. Stille Nacht! Heil'ge Nacht!
Hirten erst kundgemacht
Durch der Engel Alleluja,
Tönt es laut bei Ferne und Nah:
|: "Jesus der Retter ist da!"
Grandmother's Southern Fried Okra 1 lb Fresh okra, cut 1 inch pieces 1 lg Green tomato, diced 1 med Onion chopped 1 Clove garlic, minced (optional) 1 Jalapeno pepper halved & sliced, remove seeds if too hot 2 Eggs beaten 1/4 tsp Salt 1/4 tsp Black pepper 1/2 c Milk 1 c Cornmeal 1/4 c Vegetable oil Combine okra, tomato, onion, garlic & jalapeno in large bowl. In separate bowl combine eggs, salt, pepper, milk. Pour egg mix over veggies and toss to thoroughly coat. Gradually add cornmeal until mixture on the okra and at the bottom of the bowl soaked up. Continue to toss till ingredients evenly mixed. Mixture will have a gooey consistency. Heat oil in 10 inch skillet over med. heat until hot. Oil is ready when dash of cornmeal sizzles. Spoon mixture evenly in skillet. Reduce heat to med low. Cover and fry till underside golden brown, 10-15 minutes. Then invert on plate and slide otherside up into skillet and cook uncovered 5-8 min until golden brown. Remove from skillet to paper towels to drain excess oil. Serve hot. Yield: 6 servings
African Tomato-avocado-buttermilk Soup 3 lb Tomatoes, peeled and seeded 2 tbs Tomato paste 1 c Buttermilk 1 tbs Olive oil 1 Avocado, mashed to a puree Juice of 1 lemon 2 tbs Finely minced fresh parsley Salt and pepper to taste Hot pepper sauce Garnish: 1 Cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced, sour cream, plain yogurt, or creme fraiche Puree tomatoes in a food processor or food mill, then press through a sieve to remove seeds. In a large mixing bowl, beat the pureed tomatoes, tomato paste, buttermilk, and oil. Toss pureed avocado with 1 tablespoon lemon juice to hold the color. Add the avocado, remaining lemon juice, and parsley to the tomato mixture; stir to mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and a generous number of drops of hot pepper sauce. Refrigerate several hours before serving. At serving time, taste soup for seasonings. Ladle into individual bowl and have guest garnish their portions with cucumber and sour cream. Pass hot pepper sauce around to add more piquancy. Makes 8 to 10 servings.
Black-eyed Peas With Ham 3 1/2 c Fresh black-eyed peas or Frozen, thawed 3 c Chicken stock or canned low-salt broth 4 oz Ham, finely chopped 1 sm Yellow onion, chopped 2 tb Balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar 3 lg Garlic cloves, minced 1 Bay leaf 1/2 ts Dried thyme, crumbled 1/4 ts Dried crushed red pepper Bring all ingredients to boil in heavy large saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer until peas are tender, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Yield: 6 servings
What's your bra size?
Thank you.
Got my CS degree today.
Cool, huh.