Space Shuttle Update

All smiles on Discovery and in Houston, where there are no indications of any significant damage to the Shuttle. The robotic arm looked at the underside in more detail today, in addition to the spectacular backflip done yesterday. All indications are that whatever damage present is very minor, and is even less than on other shuttle trips. Tomorrow two astonauts will do a spacewalk to check out the shuttle even better.

Duped!

I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I was so happy to see some Muslim leaders denouncing terrorism flatly, and across the board (of course 'across the board' is meant to include Americans and Israelis, but that's another post). I was of course dubious though, and waited for confirmation of authenticity from our friend Charles Johnson. It turns out that the leaders of the group who did this denouncing are connected to terrorism themselves. It turns out they they were pulling a bait and switch. They duped us - and are still duping many Americans who point to them as true Muslim leaders and blindly accept their "denounciations".

In short, it is a fake fatwa designed merely to deceive the American public into believing that these groups are moderate. In fact, officials of both organizations have been directly linked to and associated with Islamic terrorist groups and Islamic extremist organizations. One of them is an unindicted co-conspirator in a current terrorist case; another previous member was a financier to Al-Qaeda.

I spoke with Judea Pearl, father of murdered journalist Daniel Pearl who told me that the fatwa was “vacuous because it does not name the perpetrators of Islamic terrorist theologies and leaders of Islamic movements like Yousef Al Qaradawi, Osama Bin Laden, Ayman Al Zawahari, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, etc.” Pearl told me that these groups are “trying to perpetrate a deception on the American public.”

Officials of both groups have been linked to various terrorist organizations:

The Chairman of the Fiqh Council, Taha Jaber Al-Alwani, is an unindicted co-conspirator in the case against Sami al-Arian, the alleged North American leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, whose trial began in June 2005 in Tampa, Florida. Mr. Alwani has been named in court documents as an official of several entities in northern Virginia suspected of being connected to terrorist financing. Documents released in the Al Arian trial show that Alwani funded the Islamic Jihad front groups in Tampa.

Another past trustee of the Fiqh Council, Abdurrahman Alamoudi, is serving a 23-year prison sentence for illegal financial dealings with Libya and immigration fraud, has admitted to his part in a plot to assassinate the Saudi Crown Prince, and has vocally announced his support for the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah. Additionally Alamoudi was just named by Treasury as having been a financier for Al Qaeda.

In 1998, Fiqh Council member Sheikh Muhammad al-Hanooti, gave a speech calling for jihad against the United States and the United Kingdom, saying that “Allah will curse the Americans and British” and “Allah, the curse of Allah will become true on the infidel Jews and on the tyrannical Americans.” Additionally, Hanooti is strongly linked to Hamas, having served on the board of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP). A 2002 INS memo extensively documented IAP’s support for HAMAS and noted that the “facts strongly suggest” that IAP is “part of HAMAS’ propaganda apparatus.”

On October 28, 2000, Muzammil Siddiqui, the President of FCNA, at a rally in Lafayette Park in Washington D.C., said, “America has to learn -- if you remain on the side of injustice, the wrath of God will come!"

In the past 4 years, several CAIR officials have been convicted of or charged with various terrorism-related offenses.

CAIR has championed and defended officials of Islamic terrorist groups including Hamas leader Musa Abu Marzook, Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Sami al-Arian, Palestinian Islamic Jihad fundraiser Fawaz Damra, and the radical Egyptian cleric Wagdy Ghoneim.

NoKo Nuke Try Now Prediction

While we're on the topic of predicting things, I predicted back in May that North Korea will conduct a nuclear test by the end of the summer. The clock is ticking Kim!

The Dollar Will Go Down

I just want it on the public record that moi, the business maven (*cough, cough*), hereby predicts that the US dollar will go down significantly versus all other world currencies (heh, even the canadian dollar) in the not too distant future. Is this good, bad, or neither? In general, it depends on the current economic conditions of the US (right now the US benefits from a strong dollar). I'd rather not bore the masses (*cough, cough*) with geek talk, so I'll end this post now (maybe we'll talk about it later!)

Which Side Are the Media On?

ABC News published exclusive photos of the 7/7 London bombing scene as well as photos of unexploded bombs found in a rental car. It turns out that the British police asked ABC not to release the pictures due to "operational concerns" and the damgage that would be done to ongoing cases and prosecutions. Well, ABC politely gave them the finger and ran the photos anyway. Which side are these guys on?

The British police asked ABC News on Tuesday to withhold a report showing images of what were said to be unexploded bombs found in a car used by the July 7 bombers and of the inside of a subway train mangled in the attacks, a network official said yesterday.

The interior of the train between London's King's Cross and Russell Square Underground stations, in which 27 people were killed on July 7, was included in an ABC News report that showed previously unseen images.

But on its "World News Tonight" program on Tuesday, ABC went ahead with the report, which said the attacks might have been part of a wider plot, said the official, Jon Banner, executive producer of "World News Tonight." He said the account was cut from the program when it was broadcast later in Britain by the BBC.

The Metropolitan Police sent an e-mail message yesterday that asked news organizations "in the strongest possible terms" not to replay the images "because they may prejudice both the ongoing investigation and any future prosecutions." The police called the images "unauthorized."

Nevertheless, British broadcasters - including Sky News and the BBC - showed the pictures during the day, and they were distributed by Reuters.

Later yesterday, a police spokeswoman, who spoke in return for anonymity under standard police procedures, said of some news organizations: "Obviously they made their own decision. We asked them to be responsible and they were not." She added, "We still don't want the pictures to be published for operational reasons."

Space Shuttle Blogroll

Professor Reynolds fowards us to three blog posts on the space shuttle talk:

1) Rand Simberg
2) California Yankee
3) Mike's Noise

Here's an excerpt from Mike's Noise:

But here is what no one seems to be talking about - the problems with foam peeling and breaking off the main fuel tank are relatively new. In 1997, NASA bent to pressure from environmental groups and began using a new type of foam on the main fuel tank.

Why all the fuss? Because the traditional foam insulation, the product that had been specified in the 1970 Shuttle designs, the product that was used up until 1997, was made by injecting polymer with chlorofluorocarbons -- "freon" -- compounds whose use was severely limited under the 1991 Montreal Protocol. With the adoption of this protocol by the U. S., the Environmental Protection Agency set target dates for major industries to phase out the use of freon.

After the new foam was used on Columbia mission STS-87 in November 1997, post-flight examination of the craft found that 308 of the special heat-absorbent ceramic tiles that cover the Shuttle's outer skin were damaged. The average number of damaged tiles for previous missions was 40. NASA engineers immediately suspected that the new insulating foam was breaking loose, but NASA supervisors were apparently more interested in impressive, successfully-completed missions than in adequate mission safety. The peeling foam was written off as a negligible risk.

Bloggers Trying to Find a Missing Girl

A blogger is trying to find a girl who has been missing since June. Website here.

Shuttle Fleet Grounded - Current Flight Okay

The current shuttle flight of Discovery is thought to be safe. But future flights of the Space Shuttle will be grounded until this problem can be fixed. Because NASA already thought they had solved the problem, major design changes are sure to be in store for the Space Shuttle fleet and specifically, the external tank. It appears that in the past two years, NASA focused on making the Space Shuttle safe from falling debris from the external tank and did not focus on preventing foam from coming off the tank in the first place. NASA didn't realize how big of a piece can fall off the tank, and no matter how robust you built the Shuttle, getting hit by a two-foot chunk of foam while traveling at 3 times the speed of a bullet will be quite damaging. Read the quotes below for more information.

From Space.com:

NASA officials have grounded the agency's remaining space shuttles after the Discovery orbiter's external tank shed chunks of foam, including one piece more than 2 feet long.

The problem is similar to what occurred in the disastrous Columbia flight in 2003 and was thought to have been fixed.

Space shuttle officials said that while there is currently no indication the foam contacted the Discovery orbiter, the incident should not have happened in the first place and is reason enough to put a hold on future flights.

Images taken of the external tank in orbit identified the foam separation, and also detailed additional areas where the material pulled loose from its tank, they said.

"Until we've fixed this, we're not ready to fly," said Bill Parsons, NASA's space shuttle program manager, during a press briefing here at Johnson Space Center. "You could say that we're grounded."

From Foxnews.com:

"You have to admit when you're wrong. We were wrong," said shuttle program manager Bill Parsons (search). "We need to do some work here, and so we're telling you right now, that the ... foam should not have come off. It came off. We've got to go do something about that."

Since the Columbia tragedy, NASA has spent over $1 billion on making sure shuttles would be safe from falling foam debris.

"We won't be able to fly again," until the hazard is removed, Parsons told reporters in a briefing Wednesday evening. "Obviously we have some more work to do."

Parsons said, "Call it luck or whatever, it didn't harm the orbiter." If the foam had broken away earlier in flight, when the atmosphere is thicker, it could have caused catastrophic damage to Discovery.

From nasa.gov:

NASA's Mission Management Team Chair Wayne Hale said in a late afternoon briefing that according to current data, Discovery is in good shape for a safe return home, the team’s main focus. More detailed analysis will follow over the next few days to be sure.

Commander Eileen Collins and her crew wrapped up the first surveying of the Shuttle's protective skin today. Crewmembers used cameras and a special boom on the robot arm to inspect Discovery's wings, nose cap, and crew cabin. They also used handheld cameras to inspect tiles on the Orbital Maneuvering System pods.

Click here for NASA images of the external tank.

Still No Official Word

Still no official word on the Space Shuttle's health, but there are some great articles out there looking at the big picture of what's going on. James Oberg writes on the new wealth of imagery and what it all means. One line I like:

The more we open our eyes, on shuttle flights and elsewhere in space, the more surprises we experience. But these results should hardly be reason for excessive worry. Keeping new eyes closed, and opting not to look, has always worried me a lot more.

We are bound to see more than we've seen in the past. But is it all bad? Or are we just getting better views of what has always happened in the past? I, too, prefer to keep my eyes open, if for nothing more than the view.

See also Rand Simberg's post and comments.

Nothing Definitive Yet on the Status of the Space Shuttle

Sorry folks, no official news yet on the status of what the press are mumbling about: tiles and foam falling off the shuttle. NASA is actively reviewing the incredible amount of footage from the launch and will know something today, and will tell the rest of us nerds probably tomorrow. To see what all the hulabaloo (spelling?) is about, go here for images of debris from launch. Whether it is bad, good, or neutral debris stil has yet to be determined.

As for the astronauts, they are partying aboard Discovery, reconfiguring it "from rocket to Winnebago", in the words of a former astronaut. It's a lot of work, but I'm sure thy're all high on life right now, so I am happy for them. (Many updates via Space.com)

There are many great video clips of the launch. I recommend this clip shot from a chase plane flying at over 60,000 feet. It is a bit fuzzy, but it is the shot of the launch that you always imagine you'd see - one uninterrupted shot of the shuttle launch, clouds whizzing by as they ascend, becoming a faint dot as always - it's pretty neat (shaky at the end).

Another great shot is the new camera on the external tank. I only found a short clip on the separation of the tank and shuttle, which can be found here (Real Video).

I'll keep you posted.

War Reporting, Even Better Than Before.

Michael Yon sends us another report from Iraq: Empty Jars. His writing and content are simply awesome.

Update: Glenn Reynolds, the famed Instapundit, interviews Michael Yon in his Tech Central Station column.

What Do the Terrorists Want?

Are they just humiliated? Do they just want to be better understood? Are they fighting for a more developed infrastructure? Daniel Pipes writes that it is very clear. Read it, and cringe.

Kristof on the MSM Darfur Silence

Kristof writes on the apalling lack of coverage of a true modern day genocide.

The real failure has been television's. According to monitoring by the Tyndall Report, ABC News had a total of 18 minutes of the Darfur genocide in its nightly newscasts all last year - and that turns out to be a credit to Peter Jennings. NBC had only 5 minutes of coverage all last year, and CBS only 3 minutes - about a minute of coverage for every 100,000 deaths. In contrast, Martha Stewart received 130 minutes of coverage by the three networks.

Incredibly, more than two years into the genocide, NBC, aside from covering official trips, has still not bothered to send one of its own correspondents into Darfur for independent reporting.

The entire article is very compelling and I recommend it.

LA - London Flight Diverted

Via AP this morning:

BOSTON (AP) - A flight from Los Angeles to London was diverted to Boston early Tuesday because three Pakistani passengers were acting suspiciously, but nothing amiss was found and the three were released after questioning, authorities said.

United Airlines Flight 934 landed in Boston shortly before 3 a.m., Logan Airport spokesman Phil Orlandella said. Three people he described as Pakistani citizens were taken into custody and questioned.

All three were later released and no charges were filed, said Gail Marcinkiewicz, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Boston.

"The flight crew made an observation of their behavior which caused the flight to be diverted to Boston," she said. "It's all being resolved. They will be on another flight this morning for Heathrow."

Flight 934 is expected to depart for London later in the morning. Police searched the aircraft and found nothing suspicious, Orlandella said.

State trooper Veronica Dalton said the three passengers had been "acting suspiciously and making the passengers nervous."

"The crew made the determination that they were going to land the plane in Boston," she said. The three passengers were not identified.

I am waiting for eyewitness accounts to surface to better describe their "suspicous" activity. I would like to bet they were not sitting quietly reading the Quran.

Return To Space, Take Two.

The official countdown has begun for the Space Shuttle Discovery's scheduled 10:39 EDT launch this Tuesday morning. You can watch the launch live over the web at NASA TV and at Foxnews.com.

You will probably hear a lot of coverage about NASA's "shooting from the hip", or "going for broke" by launching an impaired shuttle. As your humble aerospace engineer, I can assure you (in a geek-like fashion) that this is not the case.

There is a fuel gauge in the huge orange gas tank (external tank) which signals to the three main shuttle engines when the external tank is out of gas (just like in your car). Proper operation of the fuel gauge is essential for a safe flight. (Please stop me if I get too geeky... too late!) Anyways, because it is so important, you (or I ) would need two identical fuel gauges for safety reasons. That would give you (or me) a "Safety Factor" of two. Got that? You have double, or two times what you would need for a regular flight. To put it in perspective, the aviation industry uses a safety factor of 1.1 for airplane design, or alternatively, 10% safety margin on all designs. Ok, so now NASA has double redundancy. But double safety wasn't enough. NASA required three fuel sensors to be used up until 1986 - a safety factor of 3, or 200% safety margin. After the Challenger disaster, NASA bumped up the requirement to have four sensors. So now each Shuttle flight has a safety factor of four, or four times the amount of sensors necessary for a safe flight (one).

NASA scrubbed the launch two weeks ago because one of these four redundant sensors was acting weirdly. They still had (and have) three perfectly normal sensors ready to do the job of which on one is necessary to do. NASA is unsure of how the fourth one will behave as the problem only crops up in the final hours of a fully fueled, real shuttle launch attempt.

NASA has three working sensors. They only need one to work. Remember that when the news stations gasp at NASA's cavalier attitude at launching astronauts and aging billion dollar hardware. Remember that when those stations preen at the "New" NASA - the new gunslingin' gung-ho wild-west gotta-get-to-space NASA. The astronauts' safety is not appreciably affected in any real way by choosing to launch today.

So NASA has a choice to make this morning - do we keep a decades' old extra safety factor which has no real bearing on the safety of the astronauts? Or do we "resort" to a safety factor of three (still very safe) in order to launch this Return To Space flight, and get back into the history books. I, personally, would choose the latter.

Update: For more, see Rand Simberg's Transterrestrial Musings.

Update: All Systems Go. Weather is good. Soichi Noguchi was having some fun getting into Discovery. Heh.



Update: T-3 minutes.
10:13 a.m. - A pair of WB-57 spacecraft are flying off the coast to provide images of the Discovery ascent that have never been seen before.

Update: SUCCESS!! Space Shuttle Discovery launch successful.

Update: It was successful, but not perfect. Transterrestrial Musings has the update on some foam coming off, whith no damage, though. [P.S., for all your space blogging needs, Transterrestrial Musings will take good care of you.]

Update: Welcome Transterrestrial readers. Feel free to check out my main page, or my most recent space post: Status of the Space Shuttle.

Monday's Winds of War

Winds of Change.NET puts out a comprehensive bi-weekly roundup of the world situation. Monday's edition of the "Winds of War" is now out. It is quite good, and I recommend flipping through the sum-up every once in a while. It's suprising how much is actually going on in the world that the news industry does not report.

The Prodigal Son

I was discussing World War II with a colleague this morning. He was overawed by the incredible sacrifice normal, everyday people gave for this country. I, too, am amazed by the amount of heroic sacrifice that the people of that and other generations gave for the freedom of this country. Here we stand, enjoying that freedom as if it were a God-given right - I’m American, therefore I deserve to be free. Well, most of the world today is not free, and lives under unimaginable oppression. And in this country, our forbears fought and died so we all can be free. This new generation grows up taking this freedom for granted and is using that very freedom to degrade the government and military that gave them that liberty.

It’s like the prodigal son who grows up knowing nothing but immense wealth and all of the luxuries it affords. He is spoiled and spends the money his parents worked so hard to earn. The son even starts to soil his family’s reputation by his stupid antics in public. His parents try so hard to teach him the value of money – how most people in the world don’t have these riches, and how it took years of hard work and sacrifice to achieve that wealth. But the son doesn’t see it. He doesn’t realize the freedom and luxury his money gives him – until it is all taken away. Only then does he realize its worth.

Here is a quote from Zell Miller that always gives me the chills [read with a vivacious, emphatic southern accent for full effect]:

It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the agitator, who has given us the freedom to protest. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who gives that protester the freedom to abuse and burn that flag.

And Then They Came After Us

Victor Davis Hanson comes out and tells it like it is. Please read it, and enjoy!

London Blogger

The beauty of the blogosphere is that we always have correspondents throughout the entire world. The action is in London right now, so I forward you to the Perfect blog updated and live-blogged by Robin Grant. In this post he is live-blogging the recent shooting of a terror suspect and other reactions in London.

Wear Orange

Today I am wearing a bright orange shirt. My blog is also sporting an orange ribbon. We are showing solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Israel who are being threatened to be kicked out of their homes and cities that they built up with their blood, sweat and tears for the past thirty-eight years. There are plans to blow up all of the Shuls and schools. There are plans to bulldoze all the homes. There are plans to lock the gates of their security fences and give the keys to the very murderers who the fence was built to keep out. Our brothers and sisters in Aza have been told that their sacrifice, that their daily risk to life, means and meant nothing. Thanks, but no thanks. Don't worry, they are told, we'll give you new trailers. We'll build you new homes. And in thirty-eight years the cities might reach the same level of bustling life and thriving vibrancy that has embodied the settlements of Aza.

I have not been able to find a larger picture of this scene, only this thumbnail from Arutz Sheva. This picture embodies the Am Kadosh, the Holy Nation, status of the Jews. It exemplifies that we are one nation, Am Echad, whose internal conflicts are addressed using songs, prayers, and tears, rather than hatred, violence, and war. We are truly God's chosen nation, and anyone who doubts that needs to just look at this picture. Look at the protesters and the soldiers charged with their containment praying together, separated only by government policy and higher echelon decrees, not by hatred and disdain. Understand that if it weren't for the physical fence and ethereal commands, both the protester and soldier would dance arm in arm all the way to Gush Katif and protect our holy land of Israel, together.


Update: Thanks to Donuts Mom for a large version of the picture.

War Reporting At Its Best

Michael Yon reports on the Iraq war from the inside - he's there now. He writes amazingly (he has great pictures too). This article had me lost in his descriptions and not wanting to put it 'down'. But alas, I am only a third finished and must move on, but needed to pass on this gem to all of you. Enjoy.

Ahh, Youth.

Wouldn't it be nice to live truly free and not care about the trappings of society and doing what you're supposed to be doing? Like, if you feel like dancing, dance! Most of us used to be this way in our youth - when the sun always shone and the only day that mattered was today. Ahh, youth.

John G. Roberts' [Supreme Court judge nominee] son felt like dancing, so he danced - in the middle of the live nationwide Presidential adress to the nation. He is so cute.

The Eagle Has Landed

Happy 36th Anniversary. Go here for a good story and resource page of Apollo 11 mission (dated one year ago).

I can't wait to go back.

Update: Google now has moon maps for your extraterrestrial travel needs!

Update II: Google's moon maps tell the truth about the composition of the moon. Zoom all the way in. Heh.

Leaked UN Terror Alert System

Chrenkoff has obtained the confidential U.N. color coded terror alert system.

Heh.

Plame Blame Game

I haven't touched the Valerie Plame debacle because it has been a non-issue. I don't even want to go into the nonsensical details that has gotten the MSM up in a tizzy about... absolutely nothing. So in the spirit of "non"-ness, I give you a great quick summary of the non-issue by the great Gateway Pundit:

The non-crime of non-outing of the non-covert spy, who hired her non-impartial spy spouse for a non-fact finding mission in Africa, who as a non-Brit, wrote a non-sensical hackjob opinion piece, in the non-America-backing NYT , disregarding that the president spoke about non-American British sources at the time, and then blamed the Bush Administration for non-outing of his spy spouse wife before attending a non-Republican party was headlined in the non-fair minded MSM again today.

Marine Takes a Bullet in the Chest, Then Helps the Shooter

Our guys sure are menches. Here is a rip from LGF and Michelle Malkin:

[LGF:]Snipers Praising Allah

An amazing video confiscated from Iraqi holy warriors shows a US soldier targeted by a sniper, with an unexpected conclusion: CG Sniper Video. (Hat tip: many LGF readers.)

UPDATE at 7/17/05 2:05:52 pm:

The full story of this incident is even more amazing: Soldier survives attack; captures, medically treats sniper.

During a routine patrol in Baghdad June 2, Army Pfc. Stephen Tschiderer, a medic, was shot in the chest by an enemy sniper, hiding in a van just 75 yards away. The incident was filmed by the insurgents.

Tschiderer, with E Troop, 101st “Saber” Cavalry Division, attached to 3rd Battalion, 156th Infantry Regiment, 256th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, was knocked to the ground from the impact, but he popped right back up, took cover and located the enemy’s position.

After tracking down the now-wounded sniper with a team from B Company, 4th Battalion, 1st Iraqi Army Brigade, Tschiderer secured the terrorist with a pair of handcuffs and gave medical aid to the terrorist who’d tried to kill him just minutes before.

[MM:] MEMORIZE THIS NAME: ARMY PFC. STEPHEN TSCHIDERER

The Army Times reports on an American hero.

Read this account (PDF) of the incident from the 256th Brigade Combat Team.

Watch the incredible video.

Hat tip: Reader Larry S.

T.S.A. - Training Suicidal Arabs

Michelle Malkin forwards our attention to questionable employee choices on the part of TSA.

You've seen some of the news coverage by now of Bassam Khalaf, the self-proclaimed "crazy, suicidal Arabic" rapper fired from his job as a TSA baggage screener.

But did you know that he's not the only Islamist who has been poking through your luggage?

Debbie Schlussel has the lowdown on both.

Repeat: Political correctness is the handmaiden of terrorism.

John Howard

The Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, is one cool dude. He is America's best friend, and the whole world is better off because of him.

MAXINE McKEW: Prime Minister, if as you say you can't rule out that possibility that we could have potential bombers right here in Australia, what if today's announcement, this redeployment to Afghanistan and our continued presence in Iraq is all the provocation they need?

JOHN HOWARD: Maxine, these people are opposed to what we believe in and what we stand for, far more than what we do. If you imagine that you can buy immunity from fanatics by curling yourself in a ball, apologising for the world - to the world - for who you are and what you stand for and what you believe in, not only is that morally bankrupt, but it's also ineffective. Because fanatics despise a lot of things and the things they despise most is weakness and timidity. There has been plenty of evidence through history that fanatics attack weakness and retreating people even more savagely than they do defiant people.

Enough's Enough

Via Debka:

An Israeli woman, Dana Kalkovich, 22, from Kibbutz Brur Hayil, was killed in the five-missile Qassam barrage fired at Moshav Netiv Ha’Asara north of the Gaza Strip. She was visiting her fiancé.

July 14, 2005, 11:27 PM (GMT+02:00)

The attack Thursday, July 14, from Beit Hanoun, was claimed by Palestinian Hamas and Fatah-al Aqsa Brigades. In less than an hour, 16 missiles were fired at Israeli targets on both sides of the Green Line. One volley of four missiles was aimed at Kibbutz Nahal Oz outside the Gaza Strip. Two more landed between Nahal Oz and Alumim. Three were fired at Netzarim, two at Nisanit.

Cursewords Deleted

This almost became my first post with cursewords. It is the only way to convey who these ___________ [colorful adjective] bastards are. They are pure evil murderers who sees groups of school children and knowingly, purposefully, and self-righteously, blow them up and snuff out the little flames of life with so much potential. They are _______________ [colorful adjective] bastards.

They killed 24 children. Maimed 20 more.

"Twenty-four Iraqi children were killed by a suicide car bomber targetting US soldiers as they handed out chocolates in a Baghdad neighbourhood they had entered to warn of a possible attack. Some 20 more children were wounded in the blast, while a US soldier died and three were injured, hospital and US sources said."

Return to Space

The Space Shuttle Discovery is slated to launch at 3:51pm EDT. The NASA website is choppy, so here is a link to follow via space.com. You can watch (in theory) over the web via NASA TV, but that too is choppy, and my success has been limited.

I wish the seven astronauts of Discovery good luck, and Godspeed.

Update: 1:32 p.m. - Launch Director Mike Leinbach has scrubbed the launch for today. One of four low-level fuel cutoff sensors is not functioning properly. Stand by for further information...

Update:

Today's Return to Flight launch of Space Shuttle Discovery has been postponed due to an issue with a low-level fuel cutoff sensor onboard the vehicle. The sensor protects an orbiter's main engines by triggering them to shut down in the event fuel runs unexpectedly low.

Terrorism Pays

From Cox and Forkum:

Their Names

The victims of the suicide bombing outside the Netanya shopping mall Tuesday, July 12, were Avia Lifschitz, 50, and Yulia Walstein, 31, from Netanya and two 16-year old girls from Tel Aviv, Nofar Horowitz and Rachel Avi. Another 61 were injured – 3 seriously, including a 3-year old child who is still in danger.

But None Ever Cried for Me

Written yesterday, before today's terrorist murders and maimings in Netanya. Prophetic, chilling, and true, you must read this article by Isaac Kohn: But None Ever Cried for Me.

Breaking: Suicide Bomb in Netanya

At least two killed in suicide bombing in Netanya
By Roni Singer, Haartetz Correspondent, Haaretz Service, and Agencies

At least two people were killed and 24 others wounded Tuesday evening when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Hasharon mall at the entrance to the coastal town of Netanya.

Six people were seriously wounded in the attack, and 18 others sustained light injuries. The wounded were taken to Laniado Hospital in Netanya, Meir Hospital in Kfar Sava and Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera.

Detroit: a Great Sports City

Here is a great article on the virtues of Detroit as a city of sports. I'm so ferklempt.
P.S. The Baseball All Star Game is tomorrow in Detroit.
(Hat tip: Just shu)

Islamic Robbery Suspect from L.A. Had Military Sites List

Once again, ripped from LGF:

Islamic Convert Had Military Sites List

When Los Angeles police searched the home of an arrested robbery suspect, they discovered an unsettling piece of evidence: Suspect Possessed a Military Sites List. (Hat tip: SoCalJustice.)

It started late Tuesday night, when police closed in on two men they suspected in 10 robberies across the South Bay.

But the case took a strange twist hours later, when a search of one suspect’s apartment uncovered documents suggesting that the men might be targeting local U.S. military facilities, law enforcement sources said Friday.

Now federal and local counterterrorism investigators have joined together to determine why two robbery suspects would have such lists.

Among the items purportedly found at the South Los Angeles home of Levar Haney Washington, 25, was a list of addresses that included the locations of at least one Army recruitment center and National Guard facilities, the sources said.

Why would a suspected robber have something like this? Well, keep reading the article and you’ll find, tossed off in the bottom third:

The two men, believed to be Islamic converts, were arrested about 10 p.m. Tuesday by Torrance police who had them under surveillance in connection with a string of robberies of gas stations and convenience stores from May 30 to July 3.

Set Your Blasters To Stun!

While blasters assuredly are uncivilized weapons, they are coming very close to fruition. This article outlines the status of these "Directed Energy Weapons". Call it what you will, they are still blasters. Shame they're not working on light sabers.

London and Tel Aviv Bombings Connected

Ripped from LGF:

London, Tel Aviv Blasts Connected

Israel’s Ynet reports that the explosives used in the London bombings were made from the same type of military grade material used by the suicide bomber who attacked Mike’s Place in Tel Aviv in April 2003: London, Tel Aviv blasts connected. (Hat tip: LGF readers.)

TEL AVIV – The terror attack in London last week may be tied to a suicide bombing on Tel Aviv’s beachfront in April 2003, German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported Monday.

According to the paper, Mossad officials informed British security authorities that the explosive material used in the Tel Aviv attack on Mike’s Place pub was apparently also utilized to stage the series of bombings in London on Thursday.

Moreover, the Mossad office in London received advance notice about the attacks, but only six minutes before the first blast, the paper reports. As a result, it was impossible to take any action to prevent the blasts. “They reached us too late for us to do something about it,” a Mossad source is quoted as saying.

According to the German report, the Mossad relayed an analysis of the explosives used in the Mike’s Place attack to British security officials. Mossad sources are quoted as saying there is “high likelihood” the explosives used in Tel Aviv were the same ones used in London.

However, the story makes it unclear whether the Mossad is involved in any way in the investigation into the London bombings.

After analyzing the explosive material used in the Mike’s Place attack, the Mossad concluded it was produced in China and later smuggled into Britain, the paper reports. The explosives were apparently stashed by terrorists connected to al-Qaeda who were able to evade raids by British security forces.

According to the newspaper, Mossad Chief Meir Dagan said the explosive in question is very powerful, much more lethal than plastic explosives, and can be smuggled undetected due to its composition.

The Mossad was also able to determine the substance was developed and produced at the Chinese ZDF arms factory, located about 65 kilometers (about 40 miles) from Beijing, the paper reports.

We Are Not Afraid

Michelle Malkin picked a few good ones from werenotafraid.com:

Tons of blogs are linking to this site of photos from people around the world telling off the terrorists. Some of the pics are just way too goofy or profane for my taste, but I did like these:

Credit: Thomas Hoehn


Credit: Sarah Watkins

The Belmont Club

One more great post by The Belmont Club, which I will reprint here in full (to save you all the exercise of another mouse-click.) I was thinking this exact thing this morning...

A Blessing and a Curse

Just a few comments in the aftermath of the attack on London. The first and most important hard fact to grasp is that this Al Qaeda strike, their first against an Anglosphere city since 9/11, has caused much less damage than that on New York. This despite the fact that Al Qaeda has had nearly four years to brood on its humiliations and losses and to plot its revenge. The reasons for this are simple: the enemy is now operating in a much more hostile environment. The accessible methods of mass destruction, such as wide body aircraft, have been secured; not perfectly, but for a defense to work it must only be sufficient to blunt the onslaught of the enemy. Increased surveillance, tighter controls on movement, etc have all played their part. The second reason the enemy is weaker is Iraq. It is widely accepted that thousands of Al Qaeda fighters, the cream of their rancid crop, is fighting to expel the American infidel from the Land Between the Rivers. A moment's reflection will show that if they are there they cannot be elsewhere -- in London, Paris, Rome or Boston -- sowing bombs on buses and trains. Furthermore, fear in formerly smug circles within Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Libya at sharing the fate of Saddam have left terrorists have fewer powerful confederates. Thirdly, allied forces are in contact with the enemy all over the world, buying intelligence with their blood, just as a SEAL team in Afghanistan did. Nothing yields as much information as the act of grappling with the enemy. Liberals often talk about the need to improve intelligence capability without admitting that you can't gather it without being in action against the enemy.

The Al Qaeda have characterized the attack on London as 'punishment' for Britain's temerity to resist the inevitability of Islam. It is the kind of punishment these self-ordained masters of the universe are accustomed to meting out against harem women and insolent slaves. A few administered licks, and no doubt the cowardly kuffar will crawl back to his place. The tragedy is that Al Qaeda's perception is perfectly correct when applied to the Left, for whom no position is too supine, no degradation too shameful to endure; but incorrect for the vast majority of humans, in whom the instinct for self-preservation has not yet been extinguished. It will result in history's greatest case of mistaken identity; the mismatch that should never have happened. The enemy is even now dying at our feet, where we should kick him and kick him again.

More London Resources / Articles

Come along with me for a ride through the blogosphere...

The Counterterrorism Blog

Winds of Change.NET

Debka

Michelle Malkin

And don't forget the powerhouses from my previous post.

In Solidarity

The State Department raised the British flag yesterday - the first time ever a foreign flag has flown over the State Department.

Police officers raise a British flag in front of the State Department in Washington, D.C., Thursday, July 7, 2005, in remembrance of those killed in the London bombings. (AP Photo/Yuri Gripas)

London Attacks Resources

UK Blog Aggregator: http://aggregator.weblogs.co.uk/

Gateway Pundit: http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/

Little Green Footballs: http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/

Instapundit: http://www.instapundit.com/

May God heal the survivors and rest the souls of the murdered.