Space

Utilizing The Moon

John Marburger made a speech at the Goddard Symposium, in which, as Paul Dietz notes, he clearly gets it:

The Moon has unique significance for all space applications for a reason that to my amazement is hardly ever discussed in popular accounts of space policy. The Moon is the closest source of material that lies far up Earth’s gravity well. Anything that can be made from Lunar material at costs comparable to Earth manufacture has an enormous overall cost advantage compared with objects lifted from Earth’s surface. The greatest value of the Moon lies neither in science nor in exploration, but in its material. And I am not talking about mining helium-3 as fusion reactor fuel. I doubt that will ever be economically feasible. I am talking about the possibility of extracting elements and minerals that can be processed into fuel or massive components of space apparatus. The production of oxygen in particular, the major component (by mass) of chemical rocket fuel, is potentially an important Lunar industry.

What are the preconditions for such an industry? That, it seems to me, must be a primary consideration of the long range planning for the Lunar agenda. Science studies provide the foundation for a materials production roadmap. Clever ideas have been advanced for the phased construction of electrical power sources

Political Commentary

The War On The American People

In continuing to report on the apparent injustice in the case of Cory Maye, Radley Balko reminds us of the ongoing war on our civil liberties in the name of the War on (Some) Drugs:

On my first day in Prentiss I met Debra Brooks, a 28-year-old white woman who says that in March 2004, officers from the Task Force raided her home after a confidential informant said she and her family were running a meth lab inside.

At around midnight, police kicked down her two outside doors without first announcing themselves, then stormed her home when her boyfriend opened the inner door to see what what going on. They trained their guns on the three young children inside, still in their beds, and held Brooks in a bedroom at gunpoint while they searched the house for contraband. They found no drugs, or evidence of meth manufacture. They did find a bong, brand new and unused, and a bottle of vodka, illegal in dry Lawrence County (Lawrence is adjacent to Jefferson Davis County). Police never produced a search warrant.

Police arrested Brooks’ boyfriend at the time, Landas Pate, and her brother, James Wesmorland. Pate would be held in prison for several months before his family could post bond. Wesmorland’s family couldn’t make the $40,000 bond. So he was held in the Lawrence County jail for 280 days, until December 2004. Remarkably, on December 30 of that year, Wesmorland was released. No charges. No explanation. He had been held on suspicion of selling meth and pills within 1,500 feet of a church. Police told him they had video surveillance of these alleged sales. They never showed him any video.

War Commentary

An Iraqi Civil War?

Belmont Club and Trent Telenko weigh in.

Me? It depends on how one defines a civil war. Also, there is an implicit assumption that a civil war in Iraq is a disaster for the US (which is why so much of the Bush-hating press wants to play it up). But civil wars can end, and have outcomes, and the outcome of this one certainly has the potential for continuing to achieve our Middle East goals (in this case, providing a stable source of oil to counter the Saudis, the establishment of a base from which to further pressure Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria).

When I hear the whining and the straw men about how Bush “lied” about how easy this would be, I wonder where they were when he was saying shortly after September 11 that this was a struggle that would take decades, and when Rumsfeld was saying that it would be a long, hard slog. I certainly never had any expectations that this would be easy, or happen overnight. In fact, it’s gone about as well as I expected, and it’s certainly gone much better than many of those who opposed it predicted (oil fields on fire, many thousands of innocent casualties, complete anarchy, Iran and/or Syria taking over, casualties from WMD that he didn’t have, etc.).

And sometime, I need to sit down and write up the likely alternate history had we not removed Saddam. That wouldn’t be a pretty picture, either, for the Iraqis, us, or the world. As the general once said, war is a series of shitty choices.

[Update at 10 AM EST]

Gerard Baker has done exactly that.

Science And Society

No Choice

For people who continue to believe that sexual orientation is a choice:

Deciding to “come out” to your family is still quite an ordeal for gay youngsters in the west, but in the Middle East it can be catastrophic. Having a gay member of the family brings shame on the entire household; it can cause fathers to lose their jobs and make brothers and sisters unmarriageable.

Some families respond to a son or daughter’s coming out with physical violence or by throwing them out of the house. Others send them off to be “cured” by psychiatrists who offer ludicrous remedies and charge a fortune.

Not surprisingly, some gay and lesbian Arabs try to escape these problems by taking refuge abroad. In theory at least, the US, Britain, Australia, Canada and several other countries now provide asylum for those who are persecuted because of their sexuality – but the chances of actually getting it are slim.

Who would “choose” to be this way, given the often horrific consequences?

War Commentary

That’ll Teach ‘Em (Part 2)

Having a Pat Robertson moment (or, more likely, a Pat Robertson life), one of the many irredeemable lunatics that passes for religious leaders in the Middle East claims that bird flu discovered in Israel is a sign of Allah’s wrath. He also “…asked for congregants to ‘pray for Allah to dry out the sexual organs of the Jews with a disease so they won’t be able to reproduce anymore.'” Can’t you just feel the love emanating from the Religion of Peace?

As the article dryly notes, though:

Muhammed made his comments in spite of predictions the virus found in Israel may surface through migrating fowl in the nearby Palestinian territories.

The article also mentions cases appearing in Egypt. What did they do to piss off Allah? Turkey I can understand, what with their satanic secular state and all, but Egypt? What with all of the disasters going on all over the place, it’s apparently pretty hard to stay on his good side, even if you’re a Muslim. Maybe even especially if you’re a Muslim, judging by (for instance) the tsunami last year. If what the moderate Muslims say about their religion is true, I’d be more a little convinced if Allah would start smiting all these false prophets.

War Commentary

That’ll Teach ‘Em (Part 2)

Having a Pat Robertson moment (or, more likely, a Pat Robertson life), one of the many irredeemable lunatics that passes for religious leaders in the Middle East claims that bird flu discovered in Israel is a sign of Allah’s wrath. He also “…asked for congregants to ‘pray for Allah to dry out the sexual organs of the Jews with a disease so they won’t be able to reproduce anymore.'” Can’t you just feel the love emanating from the Religion of Peace?

As the article dryly notes, though:

Muhammed made his comments in spite of predictions the virus found in Israel may surface through migrating fowl in the nearby Palestinian territories.

The article also mentions cases appearing in Egypt. What did they do to piss off Allah? Turkey I can understand, what with their satanic secular state and all, but Egypt? What with all of the disasters going on all over the place, it’s apparently pretty hard to stay on his good side, even if you’re a Muslim. Maybe even especially if you’re a Muslim, judging by (for instance) the tsunami last year. If what the moderate Muslims say about their religion is true, I’d be more a little convinced if Allah would start smiting all these false prophets.

War Commentary

That’ll Teach ‘Em (Part 2)

Having a Pat Robertson moment (or, more likely, a Pat Robertson life), one of the many irredeemable lunatics that passes for religious leaders in the Middle East claims that bird flu discovered in Israel is a sign of Allah’s wrath. He also “…asked for congregants to ‘pray for Allah to dry out the sexual organs of the Jews with a disease so they won’t be able to reproduce anymore.'” Can’t you just feel the love emanating from the Religion of Peace?

As the article dryly notes, though:

Muhammed made his comments in spite of predictions the virus found in Israel may surface through migrating fowl in the nearby Palestinian territories.

The article also mentions cases appearing in Egypt. What did they do to piss off Allah? Turkey I can understand, what with their satanic secular state and all, but Egypt? What with all of the disasters going on all over the place, it’s apparently pretty hard to stay on his good side, even if you’re a Muslim. Maybe even especially if you’re a Muslim, judging by (for instance) the tsunami last year. If what the moderate Muslims say about their religion is true, I’d be more a little convinced if Allah would start smiting all these false prophets.

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!