The Palestinians Suffer Badly In This Pandemic

 

AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST

Preexisting Conditions

Palestinian authorities declared a public health disaster on Nov. 23. Hundreds contract Covid-19 every day but there is nowhere to treat them. The region’s infrastructure has been crumbling for years amid an Israeli economic blockade, terrorism and violence, incompetent and corrupt local leaders and political fragmentation between the Fatah movement in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“We have entered the catastrophe stage and if we continue like this, the healthcare system will collapse,” Dr. Fathi Abuwarda, a health ministry official, told Al Jazeera. “The best solution is a full lockdown for 14 days, which will allow medical teams to control and combat the virus, with only shops that provide food supplies kept open.”

The pandemic is likely to further reduce the capacity for recovery in Palestine. Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat died from the coronavirus recently, for example, the Guardian reported, robbing the Palestinian cause of an advocate who has been serving his people since the 1990s.

More than 100,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon – some have been living outside their homeland for more than 70 years – also have few resources as the virus rips through their communities, openDemocracy wrote. Covid-19 has also ravaged war-torn areas in Syria like Idlib, where an unstable ceasefire in the Syrian civil war has been in effect, noted Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

As the poorest and most vulnerable communities in the Middle East are facing challenges in dealing with the virus, it is no different in most of Africa, where healthcare systems are crumbling alongside plunging state revenues and increasingly burdensome public debt, the Washington Post explained. Displaced populations, violence, hunger and famine are, in a sense, preexisting conditions when assessing the health of the public, one might argue.

Africa has managed to blunt the scale of the pandemic, according to Voice of America. Sometimes that meant authoritarian governments could mandate mask-wearing and other measures that help stop the spread. The continent’s governments also coordinated their responses well.

Still, experts expect a second wave that will have dire consequences, the Associated Press warned. High levels of diabetes and other health ills also leave an increasing number of Africans more vulnerable to the virus, Quartz added.

Countries like South Africa, despite impressive lockdowns and other efforts, have also found it difficult to control infections because hundreds of thousands of people live in poverty in densely packed slums where social distancing is near-impossible, National Public Radio reported.

When the second wave passes, the poverty, the wars and the violence, the corruption and poor governance will still be hallmarks of many countries in the Middle East and Africa. But most people there will be worse off.

W

A Miracle During The Vietnam War

       I have a very special neighbor named Frank Nash. He is 89-years of age. When I return from my 5-mile walk each morning, I encounter him starting his walk. We sometimes have lively conversations. Yesterday morning he told me an incredible story about the Vietnam war.

      Each company of US Marines has a US Navy Corpsman assigned. This person has the official title of Pharmacist's Mate. Each man and now woman is trained to the level of a paramedic. When a US Marine gets wounded in combat, the Corpsman does everything that a paramedic would do to stabilize a patient for transportation to a field hospital.

    

      This person wears a big red medical cross. According to the Geneva Convention, these people are not to be fired upon. In reality they suffer terrible fatality rates. Enemy forces want to kill them first. In that way when soldiers get wounded, combatants will have to stop fighting and take care of the wounded.

     

      A Chinese-American Corpsman was treating a wounded soldier during a battle in Vietnam. Suddenly the battle field went quiet. The Corpsman looked behind him. His US Marine Company had retreated. He was alone. He looked in front of him and saw a company of North Vietnamese soldiers walking towards him.

       

     He reached for his pistol. It was gone. He had no way to defend himself and his patient. He calmly stood up and stoically awaited his fate. Most likely, he would have been shot dead. With some luck, he would have been captured. Years of confinement under very unpleasant conditions would follow.

        

       The North Vietnamese officer in charge approached him. He made no effort to reach for his weapon. He took note of the fact that the man facing him was Asian. He started to speak Vietnamese to the frightened Corpsman. His tone of voice indicated that he was joking and even being social. He then made hand signals telling the Corpsman to get his patient stabilized. He pointed to a certain direction. He was telling the Corpsman where to safely exit the battlefield. The North Vietnamese Army unit quietly moved on.

    

       The Corpsman helped his patient and fled. He later brought other US Marines back to retrieve the wounded man. To this day, the Corpsman swears that being Asian led the North Vietnamese to spare his life.

     

       There is an important moral to this story. When you are in a hopeless situation and all seems lost; do not despair or give up. God does provide. Miracles do happen!!!!

Be careful out there!

The Israeli Mossad Carries Out A Brilliant Operation

 

Iran's chief nuclear Moshen Fakhrizadeh was just assassinated in a brazen attack near Tehran. Here are some details on this man:

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/27/world/middleeast/iran-nuclear-scientist-assassinated-mohsen-fakhrizadeh.html

    I have no doubt that the Israeli Mossad pulled off this attack. Many of you readers already know that from July of,1995 to July of 2005 I worked on the biography of a Mossad agent. One of my great achievements in life was getting the book published.

     Over the ten years working on the book, I came to admire, respect, and even love the men and women who work at this intelligence agency. They do not have big budgets like the US, Russia, China, etc. This agency is still "flat out" the best intelligence agency on planet earth!!!

     The state of Israel does not have capital punishment as a part of its criminal justice system. However, if a very-dangerous terrorist (for example) or some party or parties seriously threatens to destroy the state of Israel, capital punishment can be carried out in an extra-judicial manner.

      When I was researching the Mossad, its headcount was roughly 1,200 men and women. Only 12 of these employees had the legendary license to kill that the famous novel and movie secret agent James Bond had. These men and women were organized into 4x 3-person teams known as Kidon teams. Kidon is a Hebrew word that can be translated several different ways including arrowhead, spear, or perhaps Buffalo's head.

     The State of Israel is a Democracy governed by rule of law. An extra judicial killing is a very serious matter. It can have devastating domestic and international consequences. Vladimir Putin learned this well when several of his attempted "hits" failed.

    A death warrant must be personally signed by both Israeli's Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of the Israeli Supreme Court (robo signatures are not accepted.) Once this is done, the target is located. A Yarid Team or teams is dispatched. The subject is placed under surveillance. This can last up to several months. By the time this surveillance is complete, the Israelis know the subject just as well as the people who live with this person. They know all the weaknesses in security measures to protect this subject.

      The Kidon Team moves in to carry out the death warrant. In the case of the Iranian scientist I have no doubt that the US intelligence apparatus knew of this plan. They helped the Israelis with spy satellites, signal intercepts, and super-advanced computer technology.

        The Iranian leadership is shaken right to its core. The frightening thought goes through their minds: "If they can get him, they can get any of us." There is also rage as Iran has been made a fool of in front of its own people and the world.

        There will be calls for revenge against Israel and the US. We could spend pages talking about what form the revenge would take. One thing that I have no doubt of is that any revenge would get retaliation from President Trump in the form of a bomber and/or stealth missile attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. The escalation that followed would shut down the transport of Iranian oil to customers all over the world. Iran's economy is weakened by sanctions and the devastation of Covid-19. The loss of oil revenues will lead to an economic collapse. Most people in Iran will hate the US and Israel. I will leave you to reflect on what happens next. It will not be a happy ending.

Be careful out there!

 

Turkey Gives 2500 Life Sentences Based On The 2016 Coup Attempt

 

TURKEY

Cleaning House

A Turkish court sentenced more than 300 military officers and civilians to multiple life sentences over their involvement in the failed 2016 coup, the BBC reported Thursday.

In one of the biggest trials linked to the coup, nearly 500 defendants were accused of attempting to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and seize key state institutions.

The trial mainly focused on a group of air force pilots and military commanders, who allegedly conducted their plot from the Akinci airbase near the capital, Ankara.

The court also indicted US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Erdogan has accused of masterminding the plot, a charge Gulen denies. The president has demanded his extradition.

More than 250 people died and more than 2,000 were injured when thousands of civilians supporting Erdogan confronted the rogue soldiers.

Following the coup, Erdogan conducted a massive purge of state institutions: More than 100,000 public sector employees, including teachers and judges, have been suspended or fired over alleged links to Gulen’s movement.

Since the coup attempt, numerous trials have been held and judges have issued more than 2,500 life sentences.

I

Switzerland Gets Progressive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

SWITZERLAND

The Politics of Granularity

A few months ago, Swiss voters rejected a referendum on restricting free movement with the European Union.

Now the rich Alpine nation, which is not part of the bloc, is again asking citizens to decide on important issues on Nov. 29.

One initiative would compel Swiss companies to prove whether they, their subsidiaries and their business partners, are complying with international human rights and environmental standards, the Local reported. Those who flout the standards would face penalties.

Proponents say the measures are critical, that it is time businesses take responsibility. Critics say the proposal is potentially unworkable.

“A cursory look at the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights gives a rough indication of the ungainly spreadsheets hapless junior auditors will be completing to assess whether countries have, for example, freedom of movement, thought, speech, religion and assembly,” wrote Andrew Isbester, a Hong Kong-based Swiss journalist at finews.asia.

But one can imagine why some Swiss might back imposing this burden on their companies. Once a haven for illicit money and tax cheats, Switzerland has caved to pressure from American and European officials to open up its banking system, as Reuters explained. The ex-American banker, whistleblower and convicted felon who helped end the country’s notorious banking secrecy policies, Bradley Birkenfeld, recently penned a book, incidentally, about his experience.

Today, many Swiss are questioning the benefits they have received from financing unsavory international schemes or harboring the ill-gotten gains of violent dictators and oppressors. A recent inquiry in Zurich discovered that Alfred Escher, a beloved son who founded banking giant Credit Suisse, was also a slave owner and trader, wrote the Guardian.

A second referendum would, if approved, ban all financing for the arms industry, prohibit loans to weapons makers and make it illegal to hold shares or invest in military hardware. The Swiss National Bank invested $1.3 billion in nuclear weapons production in 2018, for example, noted SwissInfo.ch, a state-run news service.

The government’s official position is that both referendums go too far. They note that Switzerland already places strict environmental rules on corporate behavior and the arms industry.

But voters appear to want the opportunity to ask themselves these kinds of questions. One planned referendum would ban Indonesian palm oil.

Organizers also hope to add a ballot question that if approved, would give every Swiss citizen around $8,400. Forbes described how such a referendum would help devalue the Swiss franc, which has swelled in value because it is seen as a safe haven for traders during the Covid-19 pandemic. An injection of cash would also help local economies that are struggling amid a surge of coronavirus cases, Foreign Policy magazine added.

While some believe the Swiss’ penchant for referendums – and the questions they decide – goes too far, others these days are wondering: Maybe granularity preserves democracy.

How To Properly Prepare A Turkey For Cooking

 

Bird Science

On Thanksgiving, a dry, tough turkey is the nightmare of many a holiday chef – to avert that catastrophe, cooks have been submerging the bird in salt baths known as brine overnight to tenderize in a tradition that goes back centuries.

There’s a complicated chemical process behind the simple practice, according to Discover Magazine.

Casey Owens, a food scientist, explained that brining causes chemical and structural changes in the meat that encourages it to soak up more moisture. Once salt dissolves in water, it creates sodium and chloride ions – positively or negatively charged atoms – that become attracted to the charged regions in the muscle cells of the meat.

As a result, the meat will absorb the dissolved salt and then the water: The negatively charged salt ions will attach to the muscle fibers and eventually repel each other.

This push will open up tiny gaps in the muscle tissue for water to enter –making the meat juicier once it’s cooked. The brine also softens the muscle tissue and makes the meat easier to chew.

Owens said to properly cook a turkey, the meat needs to be brined for eight to 12 hours in the fridge and be cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit in its thickest parts, like the thigh or breast.

Then, some say, comes the best part – the gravy and the stuffing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Scotland- The World's First Period Law

 

UNITED KINGDOM

‘Period Poverty’

Scotland became the first country in the world to make feminine sanitary products available for free to help girls and women struggling during the pandemic, Politico reported Wednesday.

Under the new law, known as the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act, passed late Tuesday, local authorities and educational institutions must ensure free access to tampons, sanitary napkins and other products.

Scottish Labour lawmaker Monica Lennon, who introduced the bill in April 2019, said that menstruation should “never be a barrier to education or push anyone into poverty.”

According to a study in May by NGO Plan International UK, about 30 percent of girls between the age of 14 to 21 have struggled to access sanitary products during the lockdowns in the United Kingdom.

While Scotland is the first jurisdiction in the world to make feminine hygiene products free, some countries have banned the “tampon tax” – the value-added tax imposed on sanitary products.

In Europe, Ireland is the only country with no tampon tax. Hungary imposes a 27 percent tax rate on tampons, the highest in the bloc.

Jack's Thanksgiving Message 2020

 

     I want to talk about being thankful. Excuse me, for one moment I need to talk about a very unpleasant subject-being under hostile fire in a war zone. Most war movies do not get it right. The most terrifying part of the experience is the incredible noise level from weapons firing and jet aircraft launching attacks overhead. Every now and then, an AK-47 bullet comes so close to you that you can literally feel the wind off it. What I felt in moments like that went beyond fear. For me, it was the most inadequate feeling that I could have as a human. One has to be stoic. One has to practice incredible self-discipline. If you panic, you die.

    At the end of the patrol when I was back in my cubicle in the barracks, reality set in with the following words:

     "Oh my God there was someone out there with a real gun firing real bullets at me."

       I was emotionally devastated and drained after that. One night after a patrol I was standing up and urinating. I fainted.

       After what we have gone through in this year, the same words go through my mind again. Elena and I did not get infected this year. Elena and I did not lose our employment. Elena and I did not lose our house. Oh, thank you God for protecting us from all the awful things that have happened to millions around the world!!! I suspect that most of the rest of you were blessed and protected by God in whatever form this deity takes for you.

    I will leave you to reflect on this!

Jonathan Pollard Is Finally Being Allowed To Move To Israel

 https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/intelligence/2012-12-14/jonathan-pollard-spy-case-cias-1987-damage-assessment-declassified?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=bac820f2-ef5e-4e1a-9306-9eb202a70196

A Secret Meeting In The Saudi Arabia Dessert

 

SAUDI ARABIA

Shh!

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Sunday in Saudi Arabia, a first meeting amid US attempts to normalize relations between the longtime foes, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Two Saudi officials told the Journal that Netanyahu and Mossad director, Yossi Cohen, secretly met with the crown prince and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

The leaders discussed a myriad of issues, including normalizing ties and how to handle Iran’s role in the region.

While the meeting was heavily reported on by Israeli media, Saudi Arabia officially denied it ever took place.

Israel normalized ties with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan earlier this year after a push by US President Donald Trump to elevate the status of the Jewish state in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia has previously said it is open to creating a relationship with Israel but only after the establishment of a Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem.

If Saudi Arabia and Israel agree to normalize relations before a Palestinian state is established, it could create a shakeup in the region and upend decades of Arab state policy, the newspaper said.

What A US Invasion Of Cuba Would Have Faced

 

Thierry Etienne Joseph Rotty

·

October 26

Is it a fact that if the U.S invaded Cuba in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, they would have confronted four times the 10,000 Soviet troops the CIA estimated there was at the time in Cuba?

No.

Operation Anadyr [a river] was made up of the following elements:

1. Four Motorized Rifle Regiments (without divisional structure): 302nd, 314th, 400th, and 496th.
2. Two Anti-Aircraft Missile Divisions: the 10th and the 11th. The 10th had anti-aircraft guns, the 11th 144 S-75 SAMs.
3. A Fighter Aviation Regiment, the 32nd Guards flying 40 MiG-21F-13, and 6 MiG-15UTI.
4. The 51 Consolidated Missile Division consisting of the 79th Missile Regiment with 16 launchers and 24 R-14 (SS-5 Skean) missiles and the 181st Missile Regiment with 24 launchers and 36 R-12 (SS-4 Sandal) missiles. All carried nuclear warheads.
5. The 134th Separate Aviation Squadron with 17 transport aircraft.
6. The 437th Separate Helicopter Regiment with 33 Mi-4 (Hound) helicopters.
7. The 561st and 584th Cruise Missile Regiments with 16 launchers for the FKR-1 cruise missile with a nuclear warhead. The 584th was also responsible for the 3 Luna (FROG-5) rocket detachments with a nuclear warhead as well (16 launchers and missiles).
8. The 759th Mine and Torpedo Aviation Regiment with 33 Il-28 (Beagle) bombers. They had 6 nuclear warheads.
9. The 5th Fleet with the 18th Naval Divison (2 cruisers (Project 68-bis (Sverdlov Class)), 4 destroyers ( 2Project 57-bis (Kanin Class) and 2 Project 56 (Kotlin Class)), and 12 missile boats (Project 183R (Komar Class)), and the 211th Submarine brigade (11 submarines: 7 Project 629 (Golf Class), one with three R-13 (SS-N-4 Sark) SLBMs, and 3 Project 641 (Foxtrot Class) submarines), 2 Project 310 floating bases, and six auxiliary vessels. Most surface vessels neer reached Cuba, the Komar Class missiles boats were an exception.
10. Support units include three field hospitals (600 beds), a sanitation and anti-epidemic detachment, a base maintenance company, 7 storage depots, and a field bakery.

The total number of Soviets troops, all branches, on Cuban soil numbered 50,874 and 3,000 civilian personnel attached to the Soviet Group of Forces in Cuba (official designation).

57 Years Ago Today A Brilliant Light Was Extinguished

 

     57 years ago today at 11:00 AM Pacific time, John F. Kennedy was shot dead by Lee Harvey Oswald. It broke my heart when I got the news. The US came to a stop for several days as we all grieved. It never should have happened. John F. Kennedy was 46 years old and appeared to be in excellent health. In reality, he was a sick man who I do not believe would have lived out a second term as president from 1964 to 1968. He had severe back problems and wore a back brace. The first bullet hit him and wounded him. Any other person would have fallen over. A possibility of a second fatal head shot would not have existed. Kennedy's back brace kept him upright. Oswald was able to fire the fatal shot to the head.

    Oswald should not have been at the scene of the assassination that day. Oswald was a mentally unstable ex-USMC sniper who defected to Russia and returned to the US with his Russian bride Marina. He went to Mexico City to the Cuban Embassy. He applied for permission to live in Cuba. His initial application was turned down by Cuban authorities. Shortly before the shooting, the Cubans changed their mind. Oswald was given permission to emigrate to Cuba and live there. Had Oswald's initial application been approved, he would have been in Havana on the day that Kennedy was shot.

     The US Secret Service also failed to look at Oswald as a person of interest and a potential security threat to the president.

      This tragedy shook the Secret Service right to their roots. Since then, no US president has been killed. Only President Reagan was shot and wounded.

       To all my readers, please observe a moment of silence for John F. Kennedy. He had an incredible intellect, compassion for people, and saved us from a nuclear war in October of 1962.

 

A Czech woman is held at U.S. Immigration, the day her boyfriend plans t...

Attacking The Iranian Nuclear Enrichment Facility At Natanz

 

This morning let us play a war game. Ladies, I promise you that I will not put you to sleep. Some years ago, I was part of a study group led by a Chilean man named Gonzalo Lira. He is a Dartmouth graduate and a bright man. We studied various scenarios for a war with Iran. One segment concerned attacking Iranian nuclear facilities. Here is a report on the nuclear facilities that Iran has:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_facilities_in_Iran

     

       Known only to few people is that Iran is the best maker of concrete in the world. All the facilities are well dug in and fortified. Iran has a superior air defense system provided by the Russians.

     In the last few days there has been a discussion about a US attack on the uranium enrichment facility located at Natanz, Iran. Let us look at how an attack would play out. A conventional bombing attack with stealth bombers would not do much damage to this facility. There is one conventional weapon that would do the job. Its official title is GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator. This bomb weighs 30,000 lbs. It has the explosive power equal to the primitive nuclear bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Here are some details on the bomb:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massive_Ordnance_Penetrator

    

     B-2 stealth bombers were retrofitted to carry 2 x 14,000 lb. MOP bombs. If planned and carried out right, a stealth bomber should be able to defeat the Iranian air defenses and deliver two bombs that would severely damage this facility. Such an attack would release radioactive materials in the area of the city of Natanz. Civilian casualties would be inevitable.

    One of my brightest readers claims that an attack would lead to World War III with the Russians. I have studied Russian history for five decades. I spent years doing business with major Russian companies. I have many Russian friends. Russian people are cautious and pragmatic by nature. One of their best characteristics is that they think long and carefully before making a serious move.

      Putin would protest loudly and growl. At the same time, he would,  as the saying in English goes: "Be laughing all the way to the bank." He would sell billions of dollars in military equipment to the Iranians. As oil prices went up, he would make profits selling oil. (We will talk further about this in a minute.)

        Conventional wisdom says that the Iranians would move immediately to close the Straits of Hormuz and disrupt oil flow to India, Japan, and China. If they did this, another old English saying comes into play: "They would be cutting off their nose to spite their face." They would lose their number-one source of revenue. The Iranian navy would make life "hell on earth" for the US Navy in the area. The US would get hit with some serious cyberattacks.

     The oil flow would be cut by nervous insurance companies that would withdraw insurance cover from oil tankers operating in the Straits of Hormuz. India and Japan would be hurt badly. China has "a backdoor deal" with Russia. Russian oil would be supplied to the Chinese over land with no need to use the sea lanes or oil tankers.

    Such an attack would set back the Iranian nuclear program a couple of years at the cost of huge damage to financial markets and a serious loss of life.

 

Denmark Is Culling Minks

 

DENMARK

The Culling

Danish lawmakers approved a decision to cull the country’s 15 million minks over concerns that a mutated version of the coronavirus is spreading among the animals and to humans, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

The legislation would allow for the culling of all minks, including those outside of northern Denmark where infections have been found.

The mutated version discovered in infected minks can be transmitted to people but there is still no evidence that it is more dangerous or resistant to vaccines.

The Danish government reported that more than 280 farms have recorded infections and 265 have culled their animals. They added that more than 200 people working in six mink pelting companies have tested positive for the virus.

There are more than 1,100 mink farms in Denmark that employ about 6,000 people. Denmark accounts for 40 percent of global mink fur production and is the world’s biggest exporter, with most products going to China.

A Star Trek actor tries to one-up his co-star in his return to Hollywood...

A Memory Of The SpaceX Factory

 

History was made late in the afternoon when 4 astronauts blasted off in a Space-X rocket and went into orbit. Today they will dock with the International Space Station. Almost 6 years ago, Elena got a "once in a lifetime birthday gift." She got a tour of the Space-X factory in Hawthorne, California.

            This huge factory started life as a Boeing facility that assembled 747's. When Boeing no longer needed the facility, a young and unproven rocket company named Space-X bought it for a bargain price. Space-x turned it into a rocket factory and its corporate headquarters. To get a tour of this factory, one must be personally invited by Elon Musk or a Space-X employee. I had a friend who worked as an engineer there. I asked him to help me give Elena a birthday present like no other. He had a date that night and had to keep his fiance waiting while he gave us a tour of the factory.

      Tours always take place on a Friday night. You are not allowed to announce in advance on social media that you are making the tour. One is required to report to the facility at six in the evening. We arrived in a Lyft vehicle. It was pitch dark. The factory does not have much exterior lighting. There is an airfield next door with planes landing and taking off all the time. It is a surreal feeling like being in a science fiction movie.

        As our driver pulled into the parking lot, a golf cart with two armed guards pulled up. We were asked what we were doing there. I responded that we had come for the tour and mentioned the engineer's name. A quick call was made to verify our story. We were told to report to the company snack bar. After a short wait, we were taken to a reception area. We had to fill out a long questionnaire on an IPad and give a thumb print. We had to turn off our mobile phones and all other mobile devices. No cameras were allowed. We were sent to a waiting area.

       The inside of the factory was well-lighted and full of life. My friend came and we began the tour. It was amazing and we were dazzled. There were some surprises. Rocket engines are not "stamped out" as would be the engine for your car. Some of the parts are made on machines. The engines are then assembled by highly-skilled technicians. Elena got close to a Falcon-9 booster. What truly amazed her was that its skin was about the thickness of a beer can. She was amazed that such a frail cylinder could support so much weight and endure stresses of flying at up to 18,000 miles per hour.

     Yesterday as I watched the liftoff, I thought back to our tour of the factory.

 

The Ultimate Supersonic Interceptor - F-106 Delta Dart

Can Trump Pardom Himself?

 Learned Counselors:

     This question has intrigued me for some time. It also intrigued the MSNBC news network. They went to a Constitutional Law Specialist at Harvard Law School.

    He researched the matter. Nothing turned up in US legal precedents going back for centuries. He had to go back 410 years ago to a British Common Law case that addressed the issue of the right of a sovereign (king or queen) to issue a pardon.

   The British High Court ruled that the sovereign had the power to pardon anyone except himself or herself. The court reasoned that when a defendant applies to the sovereign for a pardon, the sovereign assumes the position like a judge in a court case. The nature of the crime and the particulars of the defendant are considered by the sovereign as if he or she were a judge in a court. The justices reasoned that a defendant cannot act as his own judge in a trial or court action.

   Trump will need to resign and allow Pence to become president and issue the pardon.

--

CISA Rumor Control Website

 https://www.cisa.gov/rumorcontrol

Escaping The Pandemic

 

      Yesterday was a beautiful day here with sun, warmth, and no clouds in the sky. After fixing lunch, I spent a lot of time up on the deck relaxing and looking at my beloved Pacific Ocean.  ("The Pac.")

         There is only one good way to escape the harsh realities and limitations of this pandemic. Be in nature. You can relax. You can dispense with your mask, gloves, face shields, etc. You do not have to be looking around all the time to make sure that you maintain proper social distancing. It lowers your level of tension. It gives you perspective. It makes you feel wonderful to be alive. When you are in nature, do not look at your phone. You do not want to be reminded of more bad news about the pandemic.

Cassandra Peterson aka Elvira Behind The Velvet Rope with Arthur Kade

Ethel Rosenberg Was A Lead Person In The Atomic Spy Case

 

Patrick Quinn

·

Updated May 16

amateur and professional student of the krimiverse.

How are Julius and Ethel Rosenberg regarded by historians? Is there a significant difference in how they're regarded outside the United States? Is the consensus as to whether she was guilty?

The FOIA documents released in the ‘80s/’90s make it clear that Ethel was a no-shit threat to US national security, an honest-to-goodness Atomic Spy, and that Julius was very likely a (somewhat unwilling) participant bullied into the gig by a strong-willed spouse.

After the sentences, the government had no special interest in actually killing either one of them, as the atomic spooks were regarded as excellent likely sources for scads of information about how GRU/KGB was conducting their US operations. Julius was viewed, probably correctly, as a potential fountain of information about Soviet intelligence ops in the US, while the FBI conceded that tough ole Ethel was never, ever going to give up anyone.

The capital sentences were 1) entirely legitimate, and 2) a heavy-handed Justice Department play intended to crack Julius, the thinking being that the poor sap was so completely in love with his formidable wife that he would do everything in his power to divert her from the death chamber. But Ethel was stout all the way to the end and managed to sufficiently buck up Julius that he kept his mouth shut right to the end.

If prosecuted today, Ethel would still catch a death sentence and Julius probably life without parole, but they were both guilty, as guilty as poor old Alger Hiss, and all the public outrage in the world wasn’t going to change that.

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