On Past, Present And Future

Gateway Pundit Highlights Democrats FARCing Problem

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 06:24:00 +0000

The Democrats have another terrorist problem, not only are they having relationship problems with Al Qaeda now they are having to explain their links with Colombia's FARC group.

It appears the laptop that Colombian forces captured in their raid that killed the senior FARC commander in Ecuador is just full of documents linking FARC to our very own Democratic party. Check out Gateway Pundit: Captured FARC Documents Link Democrats to Terror Group:

What Colombian investigators found on the FARC terror leader's computer:

-- FARC connections with Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa
-- Records of $300 million offerings from Hugo Chavez
-- Thank you notes from Hugo Chavez dating back to 1992
-- Uranium purchasing records
-- Admit to killing the sister of former President Cesar Gaviria
-- Admit to planting a 2003 car bomb killing 36 at a Bogota upper crust club
-- Directions on how to make a Dirty Bomb
-- Letter to Libya's Moammar Gadhafi asking for cash to buy surface-to-air missiles
-- Meetings with "gringos" about Barack Obama
-- Information on Russian illegal arms dealer Viktor Bout who was later captured
-- FARC funding Correa's campaign
-- Cuban links to FARC
...And, more.

Captured FARC terrorist documents link US democrats to the Colombian terrorist group. 16 documents were posted this weekend in the Spanich Semana magazine. One of the documents mentions that US Democrats were trying to organize meetings with the FARC.
The AP reported:

New docs detail Colombian rebel ties

The 16 documents were published Sunday by the news magazine Semana. They also detail previously unknown relationships held or sought by Latin America's oldest and most potent rebel force, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

Another discusses an apparent effort by U.S. Democrats to have celebrated novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez mediate talks with the insurgents — possibly with former President Clinton's involvement.

There is no evidence the FARC ever obtained surface-to-air missiles, however. Attempts to reach Clinton and Garcia Marquez were unsuccessful.

Now if we could just get the MSM to actually cover it, maybe we could get some congressional hearings on something with more substance than whether a nearly retired baseball player used HGH ten years ago to help heal a arm injury!

MIT Gives Six Million Dollar Man His Eyes

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 06:00:00 +0000

Six Million Dollar Man took one step closer to reality today, check out Engadget's Bio-electronic implant seeks to restore partial sight:

We've seen initiatives all over the globe created in an attempt to beat blindness, but researchers based at MIT are feeling fairly confident that their development is within a few years of being able to "restore partial sight to people who have slowly gone blind because of degenerative diseases of the retina." The bio-electronic implant, which is about the size of a pencil eraser, would actually sit behind the retina at the back of the eyeball, and images would be transmitted to the brain "via a connector the width of a human hair." As it stands, an FDA grant application is already in the works, and the scientists are hoping to have it implanted in an animal as early as this summer. Still, the solution only works for folks who "were once able to see and have partially intact optic nerve cells" -- those who were blind from birth or suffer from glaucoma are unfortunately ineligible for the procedure.

Now all they need is bionic ear's and limbs and he'll be all ready to go. I'll bet they are nearly ready and they may be ready for the next Para-Olympics, it will be neat to see them do things the normal athletes can't!!

While The Stock Market Falls, The Clean Energy Markets are Expanding Rapidly

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 04:48:00 +0000

While the worlds stock markets have taken it in the shorts so far this year, Mainly under the pressure caused by increasing energy demand and costs, there are markets, clean energy markets that are expanding faster than ever before. Alternative energy markets expanded 40 percent last year alone. Check out what GoodCleanTech has to say about the hot new markets in Clean Edge: Clean Energy Markets are Expanding Rapidly:

The leading clean-tech research and publishing firm Clean Edge has just released its annual Clean Energy Trends report, which finds that alternative energy markets are on the rise. It concludes that revenues in four benchmark sectors, including biofuels, wind power, solar photovoltaics, and fuel cells, has shown a rapid, 40 percent expansion from $55 billion in 2006 to $77.3 billion in 2007.

The 2008 edition shows that for the first time biofuel, wind and solar technologies have each surpassed $20 billion in revenue. In fact, in 2007 the overall clean-tech market has reached $77 billion and is projected to grow to $254 billion by 2017.

"Clean energy has moved from the margins to the mainstream and the proof is in these numbers," said Clean Edge co-founder and principal Ron Pernick. "Amid last year's plummeting housing prices, rising foreclosure rates, and record high oil prices, clean energy continued to provide a bright spot in an otherwise sluggish economy."

The complete Clean Energy Trends report is offered by Clean Edge at no cost can be downloaded here.

I'll bet the biggest players in these new markets are the global warming leaders/exploiters like Al Gore.

Konarka says Ink Jet 'Printed' solar cells coming soon!

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 04:24:00 +0000

While GE is showing off how they are going to light our homes with inkjet printed lighting sheets, another company by the name of Konarka is showing off how they are going to use similar inkjet printing technology print solar collectors that will capture the electric power needed to power GE's lighting sheets.

Check our Crave's 'Printed' solar cells coming to windows, clothing:

NEW YORK--Solar company Konarka wants to bring plastics to life with the sun.
Konarka has developed technology to create rolls of plastic that can convert light to electricity--a design that will result in solar power being embedded in everything from flashing Coke bottles to wireless sensors, the company claims.
Earlier this month, Konarka said that it has demonstrated the use of inkjet printing to manufacture its solar cells. And at a recent investor conference here, chairman and founder Howard Berke described Konarka's longer-term plans to embed small solar plastic cells in hundreds of products.
In the second half of this year, Berke said, Konarka will make its first shipments to customers and will announce the location of a factory.

Initially the company intends to make portable solar chargers for gadgets as well as self-powered sensors, lights, and smart cards. Farther down the road, it plans to make solar windows and power-generating cloth.
In four years, Berke said, the company intends to have products for the building-integrated photovoltaics (PV) market with "bifacial cells," for placement on windows, that can convert electricity from both sides.
It is also working on a project, sponsored by the Department of Defense, to make fibers that can be woven into clothing, he said.
"You'll be able to wear, carry, integrate PV," said Berke. "Wherever plastics occur, you'll have PV."
But some solar industry watchers have become skeptical about whether this technology will ever live up to its promise. Konarka, founded in 2001, has raised several rounds of capital and taken government grants but still doesn't have a commercial product.
Plastic solar cells have the advantage of being flexible, unlike traditional silicon, but they're not nearly as efficient as rooftop panels.
Konarka's cells, which are made with a roll-to-roll manufacturing process, convert about 5 percent of the light that hits them into electricity, whereas typically solar panels with silicon cells are 16 percent to 20 percent efficient.
But its organic photovoltaic cells can convert low light, can be tuned for specific wavelengths, and can work even when the light hits at a low angle, Berke said.
"We see this as next-generation thin-film PV technology and not competing with silicon," he said.

GE create inkjet printable, flexible OLEDs for lighting our future

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 04:09:00 +0000

For everyone wondering what your going to do for decorative lighting once incandescent bulbs become illegal in a few years, General Electric is up to. Think what you could do with wallpaper paper flat lighting that can be molded into just about any shape imaginable. For more read Engadget's GE researchers create printable, flexible OLEDs:

"Researchers at GE have created the world's first roll-to-roll manufactured OLEDs -- a newspaper printing-like process that is the first step to plentiful, cheaply produced, flexible lighting. Production of the thin, organic materials in this manner could lead to a wide array of innovations in the use of lights, sensors, and displays, and could make a noticeable impact on the efficiency and environmental performance of lighting and electronics. The company envisions a new playing-field for businesses, architects, and lighting designers who need access to cheap, energy-conscious materials, and see this research as a first step to an emerging field of commercialized OLED lighting. Yes, a new vista of discovery, wealth, and prosperity awaits those who take this bold step into the wide, wonderous, and uncharted worlds of scientific research and prototyping -- let's just hope it doesn't end up all Bioshock-y and weird."

And from the Register there is more Boffins demo OLED-on-a-roll production process:

"General Electric scientists have worked out how to manufacture OLED displays on a roll, a process that they hope will one day allow panels to be punched out cheaply and cut to size like cloth.

So far, GE's researchers have simply demonstrated such an approach is possible. But they believe that, with further development, the technique could soon result in vast sheets of OLED materials flowing out of production plants and wrapped onto large rolls ready for shipment.

OLED panels sandwich organic compounds between two electrodes. When a charge is placed across the electrodes, the organic compounds emit light. Different compounds produce different colours of light, and by building cells out of these structures, it's possible to build a full-colour display.

It's a technology widely seen as the successor to today's LCD and plasma screens. OLED produces bright colours and uses much less energy to do so. However, big OLED panels are very costly to produce and right now don't last as long as LCD and plasma before their image quality degrades.
...
The company's vision is to replace lightbulbs and fluorescent tubes with light-emitting sheets that, because of their size, deliver more light but at much lower power than today's lighting systems eat up.

Four years ago, GE demo'd a 60 x 60cm OLED panel capable of producing as much light as a modern incandescent bulb. It wants to begin commercializing such products in 2010."

Is It Cold, or Is It Just Me

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 04:41:00 +0000

After several years of warmer than average winters, this year winter has been distinctly cooler than normal here in Lee's Summit, and I for one am ready to see it come to an end. As I write this, the local weather forecasters are predicting yet another round of snow.

The truth is the Midwest isn't the only area of the country suffering from a cooler than normal winter, according to the U.S. National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) many American cities and towns have suffered from record cold temperatures in January and early February. According to the NCDC, the average temperature in January "was -0.3 F cooler than the 1901-2000 (20th century) average." In the same report the NCDC reported that snow cover over North America and much of Siberia, Mongolia and China is greater than at any time since 1966.

The Ice that was supposed to have disappeared from the Northern Ice Cap is back and it is actually 10 to 20 cm thicker in many places than at this time last year according to Gilles Langis, a senior forecaster with the Canadian Ice Service in Ottawa.

So it appears that the entire Northern Hemisphere is suddenly in the deep freeze so surely if the Global Warming crowd is correct then the Southern Hemisphere should be just burning up, right? Wrong, both Argentina, and Brazil had much colder than normal winters this year. On November 15 of last year, springtime in Argentina, Buenos Aires recorded the coldest temperature in 90 years, roughly just 36 degrees Fahrenheit.

What we should draw from this, is that maybe we don't know all that we think we do when it comes to weather. Whether or not man can actually cause an increase in Global Warming is still open to debate, but one factor in our weather is beyond dispute, even by the most hardened scientists and meteorologists. That undisputable factor is that our Sun or specifically the sunlight we receive from it is and always has been the main driver of the earth's weather.

According to the Canada's National Post, Kenneth Tapping of Canada's National Research Council, who oversees a giant radio telescope focused on the sun, is convinced we are in for a long period of severely cold weather if sunspot activity does not pick up soon.

Professor Tapping maintains that the last time the sun was this inactive; the Earth suffered what is known as the "Little Ice Age". The Little Ice Age lasted nearly five centuries and just ended in the 1850's. During that period crops repeatedly failed from killer frosts and drought, sparking famine, plague and war. Imagine the effect on today's economy if Boston and New York Harbors froze solid as they did as recently as in the winter of 1779/1780.

If Professor Tapping is correct and we are in for an another "Little Ice Age" will Al Gore and the environmentalists who maintain that mankind has increased Earth's temperature through increased pollution tell us to buy and drive our SUVs, remove our catalytic converters and cut down the nation's forests so we can soften the blow of the new "Little Ice Age" on mankind. No, I doubt they are really that interested in looking after our best interests even if mankind did have the power to affect the earth's weather. Instead they would claim that we need to wait for more data to be collected before we make a rash decision, either that or they will find some way of making the decrease in solar radiation a result of man polluting the earth atmosphere.

It's Cold Out There, If Pollution Causes Global Warming, Get Out There And Pollute

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:09:00 +0000

I don't know if you've noticed but this winter has been about the coldest one I can remember, so if pollution really warms up the environment then get out there and pollute...

Now from the UK Daily Express there is empirical proof, check out THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS - UK Daily Express: "GLOBAL WARMING? IT'S THE COLDEST WINTER IN DECADES":

UK Daily Express: "GLOBAL WARMING? IT'S THE COLDEST WINTER IN DECADES"Note that the "Express" story below is about winter ice while the Greenies have been gloating about summer ice. Nonetheless, if all the summer loss is replaced in winter the Greenies have only got theory to hang their hats on.

Also note that -- according to paleoclimate research -- the earth never loses its polar ice, not even during eras of extreme global warming. So the whole Greenie gloat is sensationalism, not science.

Note thirdly that the article below is from the mass media but the truth behind it can be seen from the scientific graphs below -- the first of which shows the extent of the antarctic sea ice right now -- which is SUMMER in the Antarctic. Instead of being minimal, the area of ice is greater now than it has ever been in the period graphed.

(Bigger version of the graph here)

The same thing is even clearer in the Anomaly graph ("anomaly" means "deviation from average"):

(Bigger version of the graph here)

And it's not only the Antarctic. The graph below is of the Arctic anomaly. Look at the tail end of it and you will see that after the big melt of 2007, the ice area has popped back up to normal

(Bigger version of the graph here)

The "Express" article:
New evidence has cast doubt on claims that the world's ice-caps are melting, it emerged last night. Satellite data shows that concerns over the levels of sea ice may have been premature. It was feared that the polar caps were vanishing because of the effects of global warming. But figures from the respected US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show that almost all the "lost" ice has come back. Ice levels which had shrunk from 13million sq km in January 2007 to just four million in October, are almost back to their original levels. Figures show that there is nearly a third more ice in Antarctica than is usual for the time of year.

The data flies in the face of many current thinkers and will be seized on by climate change sceptics who deny that the world is undergoing global warming.

A photograph of polar bears clinging on to a melting iceberg has become one of the most enduring images in the campaign against climate change. It was used by former US Vice President Al Gore during his Inconvenient Truth lectures about mankind's impact on the world. But scientists say the northern hemisphere has endured its coldest winter in decades. They add that snow cover across the area is at its greatest since 1966.

The one exception is Western Europe, which has - until the weekend when temperatures plunged to as low as -10C in some places - been basking in unseasonably warm weather. The UK has reported one of its warmest winters on record. However, vast swathes of the world have suffered chaos because of some of the heaviest snowfalls in decades. Central and southern China, the USA and Canada were hit hard by snowstorms.

Even the Middle East saw snow, with Jerusalem, Damascus, Amman and northern Saudi Arabia reporting the heaviest falls in years and below-zero temperatures. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan snow and freezing weather killed 120 people.

In Britain the balmy February weather came to an abrupt halt at the weekend as temperatures plunged to -10C in central England. Experts believe that this month could end up as one of the coldest Februaries in Britain in the past 10 years.

The freezing night-time conditions look set to stay around -8C until at least the middle of the week. A Met Office spokesman explained: "There has been little or no cloud cover across England and Wales. So there is a capacity for a fair bit of heat to be able to escape at night. "It has been warmer in Scotland but that's because it has been cloudy there. "Until the weekend the temperatures were in the 14s and 15s, and we will see a return to that later this week, though it will look grey and overcast when the clouds return." But he added that there was little chance of snow. He said: "When the rain comes it will get warmer."

McCain will draw both Hillary's and Obama's supporters in the General Election

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:00:00 +0000

The PrairiePundit has a post speculating that McCain will get some Hillary voters of Obama is nominee and I have to agree, I think more than a few of Obama's supporters are really anyone but Hillary supporters and when given a clear choice will choose McCain easily over the inexperience of Obama. Check out his post:

Froma Harrop:

Despite the hard contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, party leaders keep telling Democratic-leaning voters that they have two good candidates. They are right, but one of them may well be a Republican.

Far from the pumped-up Obama rallies, centrists who voted for John Kerry last time now say they are considering John McCain — especially if the Democrat is the vaporous Obama. At least that's what many are telling me — and I'm telling myself.

One friend said he'd vote for the New York senator, and if she's not the candidate, then McCain. When I reminded him that he doesn't like Hillary, he shrugged. Another acquaintance e-mailed, "Hillary is to me extremely unlikable, but I do not regard likability as a qualification."

The notion that many Clinton voters cannot be easily transferred to Obama contradicts much "expert" opinion. But a Super Tuesday exit poll suggested there is something to it. While 52 percent of Obama's supporters were amenable to a Clinton candidacy, only 49 percent of Clinton voters said they'd be happy with the Illinois senator, according to the survey by Harvard University's Institute of Politics.

And at that time, the news media were still lavishing love on Obama. That situation is about to end. "He's the fashion plate of the moment," an editorial page editor remarked, "but fashion week is over."

Sophisticated commentary now notes the growing creepiness of the Obama campaign: Its aversion to substantive policy discussions. The sermonizing — "In the face of despair, we believe there can be hope." And the messianic bit — "At this moment in the election there is something happening in America." (That would be he.)

Volunteer trainees at Camp Obama are told not to talk issues with voters, but to offer personal testimony about how they "came" to Obama. Makes the skin crawl.

Centrists generally do not find cults of personality entertaining. The mass hypnosis reminds them of the mortgage frenzy — all these people buying into a dream and not caring about the fine print.
...
Obama's magic is fading. Whether it will fade in time to save Hillary is another question, but it will probably fade in time to save McCain. While Obama has had some appeal to moderates and independents, they will be the first to abandon him when it gets to the specifics of his real agenda.

Magnetized Target Fusion Power In Five Years!, Wal van Lierop Says It Is Possible

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 05:15:00 +0000

I've covered many of the alternative energy technologies here, Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Hydrogen, among others but one I haven't covered is what I feel may be the technology that will ultimately will resolve our energy issues, just is it is the ultimate source of energy on our earth.

Fusion is the source of energy for our sun and the stars above, and if you believe statements made in EcoGeeks - Fusion Power in the Next Five Years!, Fusions "Time in the Sun", pardeon the pun is is sooner rather than later. The article states that:

In a world where we're all used to hearing that "Fusion power has been twenty years away for twenty years" hearing that it's five years away is pretty remarkable.
General Fusion hopes to create small fusion reactors that cost around $50 million a piece and generate roughly 100 megawatts allowing for roughly 4 cent / kwh electricity. That's about the same cost as coal.

The fusion system the use, called Magnetized Target Fusion which uses lithium as a fuel. The lithium is heated and mixed with intensely pressurized plasma. The lithium then breaks down into tritium (hydrogen with two neutrons), which is then mixed with deuterium (hydrogen with one extra neutron.) In the high energy environment, the tritium and the deuterium fuse to form helium, and create a whole lot of heat.

The heat captured is significantly greater than the energy used to run the device and the only byproduct is helium and other harmless gas.

I hope the are right, but there are people in the know, notably, Wal van Lierop, CEO of Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital who are convinced that a five year estimate is not that far out of reach. Check out what he has to say about Magnetized Target Fusion in C/Nets - Nuclear fusion is coming, says noted VC:

"Within five years, large companies will start to think about building fusion reactors. In three to four years, scientists will demonstrate results that show that fusion has a 60 percent chance of success."
....

Other notes from van Lierop:
• Although onshore wind power is mature, companies building offshore wind turbines have to figure out a way to deal with corrosion and maintenance. It is going to be a big problem that we will hear more about in the next few years.
• Municipalities will soon begin to explore solar microgrids. In this scenario, neighborhoods will get a substantial portion of their power from local solar plants. By delivering power locally, utilities will save on the costs of transporting power.
• Tax breaks and tax holidays may replace solar subsidies in some areas. Electricity is taxed, but utilities offer subsidies to those who install solar power. By switching to microgeneration, cities will find it easier to just forgo taxation rather than try to run a subsidy program.
He's not a big fan of corn ethanol. "Corn ethanol is a scam," he said.

Putin Plans On Using Oil Wealth To Fund New Military Arms Race

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 20:01:00 +0000

According to Indian News outlet ANTARA News flush with newly found oil revenue Russia plans to channel billions of dollars into developing a new generation of military weaponry to match anything that we currently have, and quite possibly triggering a new worldwide arms race.

Based on comments made in Moscow by Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday, check out this except of the Antara News - Putin warns of new worldwide arms race:

"Unfortunately, this does not depend on us. It is not our country that started it," said the president, who will step down after eight years in office following the March 2 presidential elections.
Putin said the developed countries, relying on their technological superiority, are channeling billions of dollars into the designing of the next generation of defensive and offensive weapon systems.

"Their allocations in the defense sector exceeded Russia's allocations dozens of times," he said.

He said that growing military-political threats are forcing Russia to take adequate measures to safeguard its national security, adding that Russia is to respond to these challenges by developing more high-tech weapons.

"Russia has and will always have a response to these new challenges," said Putin.

"Over the next few years, Russia will start production of new types of arms, with the same or even superior specifications compared to those available to other nations," he said.

However, Putin stressed that Russia would not be drawn into the new arms race and exhaust its economy and resources.

"Finances made available for these purposes should always be commensurate with the country`s capabilities and should not be made at the expense of socioeconomic priorities," he said.

He pointed out that Russia needs an "innovation army," which could meet modern standards.

The president called for the development of Russian science, including nanotechnology, which could be used to develop new types of weapons. . .

We need to not only match the Russians moves in sponsoring scientific research in to these new areas, but fully fund research into eliminating the Russians new oil wealth. We can do this by making ourselves and our friends oil energy independent.

Unfortunately, that is something unlikely to happen given the current crop of presidential candidates from both parties, in fact I doubt current levels of research spending will be maintained in the next administration.

Five undersea fiber optic cables cut, Is it Godzilla or is it the Chinese?

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 04:31:00 +0000

What is going on with the Middle East's undersea fiber optic cables, in the past two weeks at least 5 of the cables have been cut. The first two were first attributed to ship anchors being pulled over the cables, but that explanation has since been discounted.

Is Godzilla planning on attacking the Middle East? Have unemployed computer programmers declared war on the outsourcers, and are using remote controlled mini subs to cut the cables? Is this a rouse by the U.S. Navy in preparation for invading Iran?

I don't think so but I do have a rumor of my own I would like to throw into the mix. The Chinese have been showing off their new submarines as of late, recently leaking their plans for a submarine based anti-satellite missile system. And in November they even shadowed the Kitty Hawk which had been dispatched to the Taiwan Strait to observe their missile tests.

Perhaps these cable cuts are another way of letting the U.S. know that cutting sub sea fiber active cables is among their new found capabilities, in addition to shooting down our spy satellites and using cyber attacks against our computer systems.

I don't have any proof to support my allegations so maybe it is Godzilla, but one thing is for sure the odds are pretty long that five cables could be cut in any one region of the world in just two weeks by accident.

Hydrogen From Water With Solar Energy? Nanoptek says YES!

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 07:13:00 +0000

Technology Review has a really interesting post about some solar research being funded with grants from NASA and the Department of Energy (DOE).

Nanoptek, based in Maynard, MA has a found a possible solution to how to store solar energy for our use during those times when the sun doesn't shine, like nighttime.

Their solar process actually uses a cheap and abundant material called titania to split water into hydrogen and oxygen when exposed to light. Once split, hydrogen can be burned to heat our home or stored in storage tanks for later use.

Sounds to good to be true doesn't it, but if we are to believe the Department of Energy (DOE) they are making progress since the DOE recently renewed their grant for further development of the process.

If the Carbon Tax is passed by the current congress or a future congress, going to pure hydrogen sounds like a really good idea, and hydrogen can also be used to generate electricity via fuel cells, and power cars. Even if the collector looks like we trying to track Sputnik or find E.T.

From Technology Review - Cheap Hydrogen:

Nanoptek's approach uses insights from the semiconductor industry to make titania absorb more sunlight. Guerra says that chip makers have long known that straining a material so that its atoms are slightly pressed together or pulled apart alters the material's electronic properties. He found that depositing a coating of titania on dome-like nanostructures caused the atoms to be pulled apart. "When you pull the atoms apart, less energy is required to knock the electrons out of orbit," he says. "That means you can use light with lower energy--which means visible light" rather than just ultraviolet light.

The strain on the atoms also affects the way that electrons move through the material. Too much strain, and the electrons tend to be reabsorbed by the material before they split water. Guerra says that the company has had to find a balance between absorbing more sunlight and allowing the electrons to move freely out of the material. Nanoptek has also developed cheaper ways to manufacture the nanostructured materials. Initially, the company used DVD manufacturing processes, but it has since moved on to a still-cheaper proprietary process.

NREL's John Turner says that Nanoptek's process is "very, very promising." And Harriet Kung, the acting director of the DOE's office of basic energy sciences, which has funded Nanoptek's work, says that the strained-titania approach is "one of the major exciting advances" since titania was first discovered to be a photocatalyst in the 1970s.

If it works as expected, the technology could help address one of the fundamental problems with using hydrogen as fuel. Hydrogen is attractive because it is light, and burning it only produces water. But today most hydrogen is made from natural gas, a process that releases considerable amounts of carbon dioxide. The other main option is electrolysis. But even if it's powered by clean energy, such as electricity from photovoltaics, electrolysis is inefficient and expensive. Guerra says using strained titania, and Nanoptek's inexpensive manufacturing process, makes the process cheap and efficient enough to compete with processes that create hydrogen from natural gas. What's more, Guerra says, the Nanoptek technology can be located closer to customers than large-scale natural-gas processes, which could significantly reduce transportation costs, thereby helping make the technology attractive. And if in the future carbon emissions are taxed or regulated, Nanoptek's carbon-free approach is another advantage.

Turner says that in addition to making hydrogen for fuel-cell vehicles, Nanoptek's process--if it is indeed efficient and inexpensive, as the company claims--could also be important for large-scale solar electricity. If solar is ever to be a dominant source of power, finding ways of storing the energy for night use will be essential. And hydrogen, he says, could be a good way to store it.

I wish Nanoptek Godspeed in their efforts, the faster we find the anwser to fossil fuel addiction the better for all of us. I really would love to tell the Middle East to keep their oil where it belongs, buried deep in the ground.

Mehmet Celebi Another Anti-American Hillary Lowlife Contributer

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 03:56:00 +0000

The Gateway Pundit has a post detailing yet another anti-American lowlife donating to Hillary's campaign this one is the producer of the Anti-Semitic, Anti-American film "Valley of the Wolves Iraq" .

Now that Hillary is so desperate for money that she had to give her campaign 5 million dollars of her own money, you have do wonder who would be unacceptable now, when she takes money from lowlifes like Mehmet Celebi, and others like Norman Hsu when she wasn't desperate.

Check out Gateway Pundit - Shocker!... Clinton Holocaust Denying "Hillraiser" Is Producer of Virulent Anti-Semitic, Anti-American Film:

"Valley of the Wolves Iraq" was an anti-Semitic, anti-American film featuring American actor Gary Busey as a Jewish U.S. army doctor who cuts out the organs of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib and sells them to wealthy foreign clients.
It also set box office records in Turkey.

In "Valley of the Wolves, Iraq," American soldiers are portrayed as, "violent, brutish, trigger-happy, civilian-murdering, hyper-religious, sadistic gun-nuts." And, that is just for starters... Never mind the evil Jewish doctor selling body parts from Abu Ghraib prisoners.

The Kurdish News reported that the producer of one of the most hostile anti-American films made in Turkey "Valley of the Wolves-Irak" is a Hillary Clinton mega-donor and bundler and was appointed a delegate by Hillary Clinton to the Democratic National Convention later this year.

...

Mehmet Celebi co-owns BMH Worldwide, which produced "Valley of the Wolves-Irak."
Mehmet Celebi is a Hillraiser for the Clintons.
Hillary Clinton accepted over $100,000 from this Holocaust denier.
Don't expect this to make any headlines.

More... Debbie Schlussel has more details on Mehmet Celebi.

Previously on Shady Clinton Donors:
Surprise!... Lawsuit Ties Clintons to Shady Marketing Firm
Hillary Implicated In "Largest Election Law Fraud in History"
WANTED: Major Hillary Campaign Contributor & Swindler
WANTED: Another Hillary Donor- This One Is Sought By FBI!!
More Bum News For Hillary... Hsu Named in 1996 Communist China Donations Scandal
Democrats Hit By Hsu-nami... Hillary Donor Case Goes to Court!
Hsu-nami News: Norman Hsu Linked to China Missile Trader
Woops! Another Illegal Donor For Hillary Clinton- From Japan
Norman Hsu Skips Bail Hearing Today! New Warrant Issued!
MISSING HSU FOUND ON TRAIN! Dem Donor Busted... Update: FBI Report
Norman Hsu SHOCKED That He Was Being Picked On!
Chinese Gangster "Shrimp Boy" Chow Comes Clean on Hsu
HSU SOCKED IN SLAMMER!!
A Few Thursday Morning Hsu-Strings...
Round the Hsu-Horn: Hillary Campaign Blames Obama
Bill Clinton Cabinet Member Linked to Hsu Scandal?
Pardongate- The Sequel... It's Payback Time
Another Clinton Donor Scandal Complete With Groping

Repeat After Me!
Anyone but Hillary!
Anyone but Hillary!
Anyone but Hillary!
Anyone but Hillary!

Clinton Campaign Operatives Disenfranchise LA Voters?

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 03:37:00 +0000

Oh, It can't be can it? The Clinton campaign wouldn't be involved in a campaign to disenfranchise the minorities in Los Angeles just because they don't pole very well there, could they??

They could, would and probably have, check out the details in L Aist: Los Angeles = Voting Problems Everywhere?*

*UPDATE, 5:33 P.M.: More problems continue throughout LA County at the beach, in Santa Monica. At Los Angeles City Hall, two City Councilmembers had an emergency press conference telling voters to pay attention when voting and Dharma & Greg Actor Mimi Kennedy explains what's going on in a video interview with LAist. Also, Hillary Clinton answered our interview questions.

We're getting reports of problems from readers, writers and the media. John Ennis, one of the founders of Video the Vote, gave LAist this update. Most of the confusion today is over people who are not registered as Democrat or Republican who want to vote in the primaries. The issue might be that they moved and they thought they were up to date. If you are a non-partisan voter, all you have to do is go to either a Democratic or Republican voting booth. Other than a few precincts not opening on time, Ennis says things seem to be running smooth, but it's early in the day he warned. To report a bad voting experience, call Video the Vote at 866-OUR-VOTE
Here are some other comments we've heard around the interwebs, if you have any stories to tell, let us know in the comments!

"The board of elections failed to deliver voting equipment to polling places ALL OVER LOS ANGELES... Developing..." [Drudge Report]

"Neighborhood friends and I voted this AM over at the Fairfax Library Branch. There was a delay because the machine that "counts" our inked up ballots was on the fritz. The staff was overwhelmed and frankly didn't know what to do. Two folks said 'Get a Mac.' It was funny and sad, and scary. I thought the machine was a Diebold and therefore our Demo votes would somehow toggle over, or just toggle off—but after some research, this is what that machine is: http://www.inkavote.com/precinct_ballot_counter.htm" [Reader submitted]

"The Inkavote ballot verification machine doesn't work at my poll place at Elysian Elementary, Baxter/Valentine in Echo Park. I was casually told that the Inkavote ballot verification machine was not working and the poll worker took the ballot and said she would put it in the box herself. NOT COOL!" [LAist News Editor, Andy Sternberg]

"There was no line at my polling place, very smooth. And there was no line at In-n-Out in Sherman Oaks. Very odd!" [Reader submitted]

"My Brother-In-Law just came back from voting this AM -- he's registered Independent and wanted to vote in the Primary. I'd told him he could just request a ballot to do so. They told him he could not vote for a candidate. He said he thought he could, but they said because he is IND, he can't vote. That is an outright lie! I've tried to reach the Country Register to get someone over to straighten those people out -- as who know how many votes they are effecting! It's in 91342 at the American Legion in San Fernando... Please remind the independents that they CAN vote in the Primary and not to accept anything to the contrary and if ANYONE is near the American Legion in San Fernando -- please go in and explain voting rules to the people 'in charge.'" [Reader Submitted]

Note: The Independents rule is explained here: 'Independents' Can Vote for Democrats but Not Republicans in California Primary

Liberal Loony Policies Now Treaten Califorinia Blood Supply

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 02:05:00 +0000

I'm glad I don't live in California, especially I wouldn't want to get sick or have an accident in California, because today their is a movement within the Liberal community in California to ban blood drives because the FDA prohibits blood donations from gay men because they are deemed high risk for HIV infection, the liberal community sees this as discrimination and should be outlawed.

San Jose State has gone as far as banning blood drives on campus, not thinking about the consequences to the blood supply if groups throughout the state followed suit. This is one case (of many) where I hope California is not a bellwether for the rest of the country, the FDA needs to be about to do anything they see fit to protect the nations blood supply.

Redstate has more the the story in Redstate - Progressives ban blood drives

Blood is a constant need for those with medical emergencies or chronic problems, and the only way to get blood to those who need it is for people to donate their blood.

However, in order to ensure the safety of those who receive blood, there are a number of restrictions on those whose donations are accepted. Conditions that make blood medically useless include Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease, leukemia, lymphoma, hepatitis, AIDS, infections, malaria, syphilis, gonorrhea, sickle cells, and tuberculosis. To give a person blood from someone who has one of these conditions could be life threatening, and so the FDA requires that organizations take a list of precautions to prevent such diseases from getting into the blood system.

Progressives at San Jose State University are banning blood drives anyway, though. They have decided that the anti-HIV precautions are unacceptable, and so would rather not give blood at all, in order to attempt to bully the FDA into compromising its scientifically-sound, safety-first blood donation protocols.

President Bush's Final State Of The Union Address Will Be Remembered

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 21:10:00 +0000

Dee over at Conservatism with Heart has a post covering President Bush's Final State of the Union Address last night.

I agree with Dee that when history looks back at President George W Bush it will look back fondly.

President Bush's legacy will be written some twenty years or so from now and will include that he was one of the few American Presidents that felt freedom really was worth fighting for, and put his money where his mouth was, so to speak.

They will remember that he freed 50 million souls from brutal dictators, stood up for the rights of women, when the women's movement was not to be found, and last but not least got the Democrats to admit for the first time that tax cuts stimulate and grow the economy.

Check out Dee's post at Conservatism With Heart: I Adore President George W. Bush!:

"Others have said they would personally be happy to pay higher taxes. I welcome their enthusiasm, and I am pleased to report that the IRS accepts both checks and money orders."

"We must do the difficult work today, so that years from now people will look back and say that this generation rose to the moment, prevailed in a tough fight, and left behind a more hopeful region and a safer America."--President George W. Bush, January 28, 2008

Bush came out shining and strong last night with his last State of the Union Address! I was so proud of him. I have to say that I have never felt so strongly about what a wonderful president he has been. IMHO, no matter who wins the Republican nomination or who wins the presidency this fall, it will be a lesser man that takes office next year.

How Are The Lefties Going To Cover This One Up

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 05:50:00 +0000

The Gateway Pundit, is reporting that the popularity of our current course in Iraq has undergone a massive change over the last few months. 40 percent of Americans now believe that the Surge is Working, another 21 percent either are sure or don't want to admit reality and yet another 12% believe the surge is making things worse, clearly they are either are smok'n Obama's stuff or they are rooting for al-Qaeda, which is more likely than not.

Check out his post in Gateway Pundit: Ruh-Roh! Surging Iraq Poll Numbers May Spell Doom for Cut & Run Party:

Melanie Morgan at World Net Daily reported on this poll:

It's a huge, stunning shift in the polls that is undoubtedly going to shake up the 2008 elections.
From down 21 percent to now up by 6 percent the new polls (just released) show the swing in momentum, one that has been remarkable by the media's silence on the matter. The tectonic swing in public opinion is taking place under radar and no one is talking about it...

But month after month of progress by U.S. and Coalition troops have managed to pierce through the lies of the liberal mainstream media, and the American people are learning the truth: Our troops are winning in Iraq.

While the September 2007 CBS/New York Times poll showed that more Americans thought 'the surge' was making 'no impact' (51 percent) than thought the surge was making things 'better' (30 percent), the outlook today is much more promising.

Check out the comment Anonymous left...

Do you guys have any idea about the difference between "the surge is making things better" and "we should stay in Iraq forever?"

Actually, the last year has disproven one of the favorite right-wing talking points, that Americans don't want to leave Iraq, they just don't want to "lose." The MSM's "surge is working" mantra has convinced more Americans that the surge has made Iraq better (in fact, it made Iraq worse and the lowered violence came in September 2007, for other reasons), but there has been no shift in the polls on the question of whether we should start a phased withdrawal. Most Americans understand that we cannot "win" in Iraq and that it is in America's interests to set a timetable for withdrawal, regardless of whether or not the surge is "working."

Also, it's hilarious that Barnes's article a) Quotes Bush as saying that things were OK in Iraq in 2005 and early 2006 (of course, Iraq was in hell in 2005-6, and the Samarra bombing merely made it harder to deny what was already true). No wonder Bush thinks that the reduction of violence to hellish 2005 levels means that the surge is working; b) Admits as an aside that political reconciliation "hasn't amounted to much," which means that Barnes admits that the surge has failed (since Bush announced it as a way of creating political reconciliation).

But hey, at least you can be happy that the MSM buried the fact that the recent de-Ba'athification legislation will actually make political reconciliation harder. The MSM will continue pushing the storyline that the surge is great and we ought to stay forever, and normal people won't care - because unlike Bush, who cares more about his legacy than about America, normal people care more about doing what's right for America and getting the hell out of Iraq.

They believe things aren't getting better in Iraq, or that the real causes of problems in are not Iraq is al-Qaeda and Iran, but the U.S. military.

If the leftists really believe that the American Public wants to "Snatch Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory" in Iraq then they are sadly mistaken.

I for one would love to make that the defining issue in this fall's campaign. I doubt that the Dem's leadership will be that stupid.

For the latest numbers on just what is happening in Iraq check out Redstate - Meanwhile, back in Iraq:

It has the numbers and graphs detailing the continuing decrease in Civilian Causalities, increases in Electrical Generation, which are now above prewar levels, increases in Oil Output, now above prewar averages and nearing a record 2.5 million barrels per day, and last but not least, Oil Revenue is now triple what it was before the war, that is right Oil Revenue is triple what it was before the war.

China Preparing For Cyber War, Watch Out Taiwan

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 02:54:00 +0000

China Preparing For Cyber War, Watch Out Taiwan

I'm not sure why the e-News media has pretty well ignored the news that Russia plans a policy of preemptive nuclear strikes, but now all of a sudden are threatened by the Chinese hacker probes of the U.S and other western countries power grids. They care about power grids but not about nuclear strikes or Chinese hacker probes of our Defense Department computers. Some how I think the concern while warranted is a bit misplaced.

One further point, Chinese are also planning to deploy submarine base anti-satellite missiles so that they can take out our satellite based military functions, and they are worried about power grids.

Here is a sampling of what is being said.

THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS - UPDATED CIA says Hackers caused Power Outages (A Lesson in Comparative Values)

UPDATED CIA says Hackers caused Power Outages (A Lesson in Comparative Values)
To say that this is disturbing is an understatement; it doesn't exactly lead to a high degree of confidence that America can protect its infrastructure from a coordinated attack; and don't think that the Russians, Chinese, North Koreans, Syrians, Iranians are not cognizant of that fact.

I am with Purple Avenger on this one:
Anyone who allows any physical connection between critical grid controls and the internet is a moron. Let's just say that is beyond ordinary stupid and well into the realm of criminally negligent stupid.
People need to get over this idiotic notion of hooking the internet to every fucking thing on the planet. Not only is it unwise for critical infrastructure, anyone with the slightest bit of technical savvy knows it is unwise. The internet is about as trustworthy as a crackhead jonsing for a rock. Would you hand your car keys to a crackhead loitering outside a fancy restaurant and expect it to be there when you came back?

Protecting our infrastructure it is quite simply a Homeland Security "must-have"--if America cannot pony up the capital needed to protect its own ELECTRIC GRID from foreign interference, then it damn sure has no business whatsoever investing in a bottomless pit Government-run Socialized medicine boondoggle.

Yet here we are; a 50/50 nation--a house divided over the rational vs. the insane. And therein lies the enormously critical difference in values between the Left and Right. Socialists want more and more power over every aspect of your lives, and the only way for them to achieve this is to get more of your income and regulate more of your rights to do and say as you please. It touts what is good for the "collective" but that implies above all a "God complex" State empowered to make all decisions about right vs. wrong for you and yours.

The Left's single-minded purpose is and always has been to make every single human being in the US (legal or illegal) completely and utterly addicted and dependent on Government. Its method of doing this is to create "Entitlement" programs to serve humanity's every "need" (like the need to not have a moment of reflective silence in your schools... or the perceived need of some interest groups to not have their tender sensibilities and feelings hurt...)

Socialism will not only destroy America's economy, growth and jobs, it will leave so little money for doing what must be done to protect us and our aliies in today's hostile world, that we will be as defenseless as we were during the deepest "malaise" of the Carter years.

On the other hand are the Conservatives; "movement Conservatives" in fact are the closest thing remaining in the US to the "Classical Liberalism" of its founders. These are people who love this place, and who understand and believe in the vision of the brilliant Renaissance men who crafted the most revolutionary and enlightened document in the history of the world: the United States Constitution. This Constitution--this noble experiment by enlightened men-- changed the world, forever. Because of America the planet as a whole is more wealthy and prosperous that it has ever been.

Movement Conservatives understand and recognize the profound sacrifice that countless men and women have given for that grand vision. And they can't even begin to comprehend the mentality of those who want to do away with all that in the name of some false utopian notion of "equality of result".

When new soldiers are sworn in to our Armed Forces, they take virtually the same oath as the President: not to preserve, protect and defent the Government of the United States--but to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

And therein lies the difference between the two major forces competing for our votes today: the Left wants to chunk the Constitution in favor of Big Government, power over every aspect of your lives. The Left believes it has the "right" to as much of your income and your property as they want--and that non productive citizens in our society have the right to vote themselves more of your income.

The Left also believes in the right of unelected, unaccountable to anyone judges-for-life to decide on a "whim" that the Constitution does not really mean what is actually written down, but rather some derivation germane to the elites' mood of the moment, or whatever the Georgetown cocktail set thinks is "enlightened". This is not only not Constitutional, the Constitution was written in order to prevent this very thing. Anyone who thinks otherwise needs to read The Federalist Papers. Hell, I think that book should be required reading for any graduate of our schools, and for citizenship for those not born here. Because that book not only explains what the Constitution contains, it explains why it is so important that it is written that way.

But the Socialists care not a whit about the vision of the founders nor the Constitution which is the social contract between our government and the governed. The elites (even Democrat friends of mine...) scoff at this document and comment on how the founders lived two hundred years ago--what do they know, etc... In this, they show their ignorance of all of the carnage and tyranny of all human history, and also of the very basic tenets underlying the reason the United States came into being in the first place.

And so these slaves to our sick popular culture would not lift a finger as our Constitution gradually becomes diminished, until it no longer is even worth the paper it is written on--all in the name of their God-given right for these "enlightened" fools to determine how the rest of us are supposed to live, what we are supposed to say and not say, and what we can and cannot listen to on the radio or television.

And in the process these Kool-Aid drinkers would ruin our economy, destroy the best medical care system on Earth, and sentence a great majority of our citizens to the mediocrity of the "lowest common denominator"--the bare necessities of life. They gladly will steal your money in the name of "equality" of result, never mind that some people are more talented and driven than others; they would steal your money in the name of "saving" a planet that is not dying; they would dilute American patriotism to the point that being an American citizen is no better or worse than being a Luddite anywhere else on Earth. That is, those citizens left who did not suffer the misfortune of being vaporized in an Islamic mushroom cloud, die of radiation poisoning or a bioweapon, or else were assimilated into the one misogynistic religion on Earth whose core philosophy (at least to the great majority of its fundamentalists) is: submit to Allah or die. Because these same Leftists are pretending that there is no Islamic threat out there, and their incredible denial of this truth is going to someday cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

Meanwhile the Marxism and Collectivism now en vogue with the leadership of the Democrat Party has never led to a thriving economy...anywhere. In attempting to impose upon free peoples a system that runs completely contrary to human nature, Marxists have murdered over 200 million people in less than 100 years. They have always used cheap emotion, envy, class warfare, identity politics, and tyranny to impose their will. And yet we see their candidates today, still using the same morally bankrupt tactics.

And on the other side of the divide is...well look around. The so-called "poor" in the US have it better than 9/10 of the undeveloped world. People literally risk their lives to get here--even illegally if necessary--because this is where the opportunity is. Why?? Contrast this with the Berlin Wall, which was built to keep the people of Eastern Europe IN. Why do you think that the Socialists felt compelled to build that wall? And why do we today have this enormous immigration problem (speaking strictly from a "desirability" angle)?

Is there any question?? The answer is: it is because of what the Constitution of the United States gave us: Freedom. Opportunity. The chance for anyone to make it big, and for most to make it better here than they could anywhere else. The chance to try something, fail, then try something else. And to say what we want without fear of arrest or censorship.

The reason for the incredible American success story is because its government was founded on the principles of leaving its people alone to pursue what they want to pursue and to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Its citizens were allowed to use its labor to purchase property which cannot be taken from them. That is what freedom is. And it is fundamentally incompatible with Socialism.

The United States of America is the greatest force for human good that has ever existed on this third rock from the Sun. This is a fact for one reason and one reason only: the document that was the culmination of some of the most brilliant thinkers who ever walked the Earth, the Constitution of the United States. That the Constitution has lasted this long is why we are so prosperous, so powerful, and so desirable to oppressed people everywhere.

We have seen the economics of an Islamic world that is still mired in 9th century fundamentalism. We have seen the results of economies where half of the workforce (women) are only utilized as veiled baby machines. Now religious zealots in that part of the world threaten us all, because they are working tirelessly to acquire weapons which could kill millions in one flash. They want the weapons because the zealots running the show in some of these places (Iran, Syria) believe that dying for Islam is the desired goal. That is what the Koran says! They not only desire to sacrifice themselves for Allah, but they also believe that the more "infidels" these zealots can take out with them, the greater their heavenly reward.

Right next door to these destitute economies, stands Israel, which has adopted the enlightened Western capitalist model. It is like the hope diamond sitting next to a cesspool (but for oil Saudi Arabia would be as destitute as Zimbabwe...). And Israel is the envy and bane of every anti-Semitic young man who is ready for that "ticket to heaven".

With all of these truths so clear to me, it is astounding that we live in virtually a 50/50 country, where we are so easily divided along the lines of emotion vs. rationality, "progressive" vs. actual Progress, race and gender-based special interest politics vs. a color/gender-blind society based on merit, creativity, and ambition. It is astounding that any educated person with a conscience, a sense of history, and an understanding of the most rudimentary elements of economics, could possibly vote for Democrats and Leftist candidates, who have been promising utopia for almost 100 years now, and who have yet to deliver on their false promises.

It was Republicans who provided the majorities needed to get Civil Rights legislation finally enacted here in the '60s. It was a Republican President who preserved the Constitution and freed the slaves. It was a Republican who stood up to the Socialists in the Soviet Union and freed all of Eastern Europe from tyranny.

Meanwhile it was a Democrat who imposed the ponzi scheme known as Social Security. It was Democrats who have bankrupted this country with Medicare and many ill-advised welfare programs that served only to give people an incentive to remain idle and lazy. It is Democrats who want to act like no one out there will bother us if we just "play nice", despite at least 10,000 years of bloody World history to the contrary.

This is how I see the great divide in this great country. It is getting worse, not better, and it will continue to deteriorate until we have a Reaganesque Conservative majority in this country which will fight to preserve the vision and promise which have made the United States so successful, so wealthy, so generous, and the envy of the rest of the planet.

We can preserve the vision of those brave men who stood up to England in the 1700's, but if we don't start now--if we squander this opportunity now--what once was the "Last Best Hope on Earth" will become a only a distant memory.

Are we going to allow this to happen?

Speaking only for myself: over my dead body.

Gizmodo - Outage: Hackers Are Going After Power Grids:

According to Tom Donahue, a CIA official, hackers have recently infiltrated various power grids outside the US, and in at least one instance, caused a power outage in multiple cities. We don't know much else: the when, where, how and who were all left for guessing only. But we know that the attacks were done remotely (through the internet) and that current Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems (that, as we understand it, represent many of the world's infrastructural networks, software and databases) are sadly out of date.
At the hacking convention DefCon, security firm Tipping Point gave a presentation outlining various SCADA vulnerabilities, and others in the know are claiming that these vulnerabilities are leading to major electronic extortion of utility companies, to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Meanwhile, the CIA is questioning whether or not SCADA is the vulnerability in question.

I'm just hoping that said hackers live next door to me, and that therefore my power is safe and sound. [forbes]

PrairiePundit - Hackers attacking foreign electric utilities:

Hackers attacking foreign electric utilities

Washington Post:

In a rare public warning to the power and utility industry, a CIA analyst this week said cyber attackers have hacked into the computer systems of utility companies outside the United States and made demands, in at least one case causing a power outage that affected multiple cities.

"We do not know who executed these attacks or why, but all involved intrusions through the Internet," Tom Donahue, the CIA's top cybersecurity analyst, said Wednesday at a trade conference in New Orleans.

Donahue's comments were "designed to highlight to the audience the challenges posed by potential cyber intrusions," CIA spokesman George Little said. The audience was made up of 300 U.S. and international security officials from the government and from electric, water, oil and gas companies, including BP, Chevron and the Southern Co.

"We suspect, but cannot confirm, that some of the attackers had the benefit of inside knowledge," Donahue said. He did not specify where or when the attacks took place, their duration or the amount of money demanded. Little said the agency would not comment further.
...
Over the past year to 18 months, there has been "a huge increase in focused attacks on our national infrastructure networks, . . . and they have been coming from outside the United States," said Ralph Logan, principal of the Logan Group, a cybersecurity firm.

It is difficult to track the sources of such attacks, because they are usually made by people who have disguised themselves by worming into three or four other computer networks, Logan said. He said he thinks the attacks were launched from computers belonging to foreign governments or militaries, not terrorist groups.

Over the past 10 years, electric utilities, pipelines, railroads and oil companies have used remotely controlled and monitored valves, switches and other mechanisms. This has resulted in substantial savings in man power and other costs.

But to do that, the companies have installed wireless Internet connections to link the devices to central offices.
...
My speculation is that it is the Chinese who are responsible. This would be consistent with their strategy of making the US and its allies blind by taking out satellites and attacking the electrical grid could also make the command and control of our forces more difficult. Novels about terrorist attacks sometimes suggest such attacks on infrastructure to make it more difficult to respond to an attack, but most terrorist are not that sophisticated. The Chinese definitely are.

They are and I'm sure that they are preparing for something big, watch out Taiwan.

Bill Gertz Reports China Deploying Anti-Satellite Submarine launched missle system

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 02:39:00 +0000

Bill Gertz is reporting in his column in the Washington Times that:

Pentagon officials are increasingly worried that China's military is advancing its clandestine anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons program by building a submarine-launched direct-ascent missile system.
New information indicates the secret ASAT program, which Chinese leaders refused to discuss in recent meetings with visiting U.S. military leaders, will involve a space-capable ASAT warhead for the new JL-2 submarine-launched ballistic missile. The new missile is being readied for China's new ballistic missile submarine, called the Jin-class, or Type 094. The ASAT submarine will provide the ultimate in stealth weapons and could cripple U.S. satellites.
The reports about submarine ASAT basing followed comments by Gen. James E. Cartwright, the former U.S. Strategic Command commander and current vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who told Congress last year the U.S. military is prepared to use conventional missile strikes on land-based Chinese ASAT launchers if Beijing began shooting down U.S. satellites.
China successfully tested a direct-ascent ASAT missile from a mobile ground-based launcher a year ago, sending thousands of pieces of debris from a destroyed weather satellite into low Earth orbit and threatening U.S. satellites and others.
The new information bolsters theoretical writings by Chinese military officials, which were disclosed in a report to Congress last year by Michael Pillsbury, a former Reagan administration defense official and specialist on China.
Mr. Pillsbury stated in his report, "An Assessment of China's Anti-Satellite and Space Warfare Programs," that China's sea-based and submarine-based ASAT were mentioned in 2004 by Liu Huanyu of the Dalian Naval Academy.
"Nuclear submarines are not only well concealed but can sail for a long period of time," Mr. Liu said. "By deploying just a few anti-satellite nuclear submarines in the ocean, one can seriously threaten the entire military space system of the enemy."

Since we are the only power that uses satellites for military purposes, you can only assume that this weapons system is directly aimed at creating a way to blind our military forces from the concealment that only a submarine based attack can afford.

Taiwan had better watch out I think the Chinese are making plans.

For more check out PrairiePundit: China building sub launched anti satellite missile

Cold War Returns? USA Today says, Russia leaves door open for pre-emptive nukes

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 01:43:00 +0000

I wonder why this hasn't made a bigger splash? After 20 years or so of not having to worry that someone will make a stupid mistake, either here or in Russia and melt us all in milliseconds in a nuclear firestorm.

Now, if this news account is accurate, those old cold war fears are beginning to return, not a pleasant thought.

Russia leaves door open for pre-emptive nukes - USATODAY.com:

Russia's military chief of staff said Saturday that Moscow could use nuclear weapons in preventive strikes in case of a major threat, the latest aggressive remarks from increasingly assertive Russian authorities.
"We have no plans to attack anyone, but we consider it necessary for all our partners in the world community to clearly understand ... that to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia and its allies, military forces will be used, including preventively, including with the use of nuclear weapons," Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky said.

The comments from the hawkish Baluyevsky did not appear to mark a policy shift for Russia, whose leaders have stressed the need to maintain a powerful nuclear deterrent and reserved the right to carry out preventive strikes to counter existential threats. But in most of their public remarks about preventive strikes, President Vladimir Putin and other officials have not specifically mentioned the use of nuclear weapons.

Baluyevsky made his remarks at a time of increasingly strained relations between Moscow and the West, which are at odds over a range of issues. They are embroiled in persistent disputes over U.S. plans for missile defense facilities in former Soviet satellite states that have joined NATO, as well as alliance members' refusal to ratify an updated European conventional arms treaty.
Like most saber-rattling by Putin and other Russian officials, the chief of staff's remarks appeared aimed at least in part at the United States, which Moscow accuses of endangering global security through aggressive actions such as the invasion of Iraq.

Coskata/GM Backing Process To Produce Ethanol For $1 A Gallon

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 23:06:00 +0000

The EcoGeek is reporting that GM and Coskata are readying a waste gasification/ethanol demonstration production plant at a GM manufacturing plant. The waste gasification plant will highlight GM and Coskata efforts to develop a process that will be able to produce ethanol at far lower costs that oil based gasoline production using a highly variable source of raw materials and contributing to a zero landfill waste production facility.

Coskata process does not use genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in this process, and because these bacteria are anaerobic, if accidentally they were released into the atmosphere, they would quickly die off because of the atmosphere's oxygen content. Coskata's research has been to identify suitable natural strains of bacteria that work well in their process and then selectively breed them to produce "thoroughbred" strains.

One of the grips the Green movement has against ethanol is that it normally takes 3 to 4 gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of ethanol. Coskata's process uses less than 1 gallon of water to produce 1 gallon of ethanol using 50% less energy and it doesn't need to use corn or any other food crops to do it with.

If this one holds up, I'll trade in my gas burners for ethanol burners tomorrow.

For more on the process check out EcoGeek article EcoGeek - Technology for the Environment:

The Coskata process that GM is promoting can use a wide range of different feedstocks to produce ethanol. Materials ranging from agricultural waste to purpose grown crops that can be raised on marginal lands (switchgrass being the most widely known example of this) to waste materials such as old tires and even municipal waste streams can all be used as the raw materials that can be turned into ethanol with very little to zero landfill waste.

The Coskata process is fundamentally a biological reaction that takes place inside a specialized reactor (which is simply a vessel to contain the microbes and keep them in an environment where they are happy to live and produce ethanol). Anaerobic bacteria are fed carbon monoxide and hydrogen (known as syngas), which are produced by gasification, which can be done a number of different ways, depending on the feedstock material.

The reactor for this process is a sealed plastic tube filled with millions of filaments on which the bacteria live. Having bacteria living on the filaments provides an enormous amount of surface area for them to live on in a very concentrated volume. The syngas is passed through the reactor, and bacteria feed on the carbon monoxide and hydrogen and produce ethanol.

Other methods for ethanol production typically use enzymatic reaction to break down materials which are then fermented and turned into alcohols by microorganisms. Coskata's process uses gasification to directly convert raw materials into syngas (which is mostly carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas). This makes Coskata's process more efficient than vat-type bio-processes, and leads to less waste produced.

The process of plasma gasification which we wrote about last year is another one of the potential front-end methods that could be used, particularly in conjunction with more variable sources of raw materials such as municipal or factory waste streams. (In fact, this is one area GM and Coskata have talked about working together; expect to see a waste gasification/ethanol production plant at a GM manufacturing plant in the near future as a pilot demonstration of the process working with a highly variable source of raw materials and contributing to a zero landfill waste production facility.)

Coskata has taken pains to note that they are NOT using genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in this process, and that the microbes they are using are not pathogenic. In fact, because these bacteria are anaerobic, if there was a breakdown and they were released into the atmosphere, they would quickly die off, just as we would if we wandered into a roomful of carbon monoxide. One part of Coskata's research has been to identify suitable strains of bacteria that work well in their process and then selectively breed them to produce "thoroughbred" strains that work better.

Coskata's process is also significantly less taxing on water resources. While other current methods of ethanol production take 3 to 4 gallons of water for each gallon of fuel produced, the Coskata process needs less than a gallon of water per gallon of fuel.

Hillary and MSM rewite history again, claim credit for Iraq Surge Success

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 02:50:00 +0000

As usual Hillary and the Democrats are depending on the short memories of the American Electorate and their dependence on the MSM.

They are depending on the American people forgetting what really happened last year, and depending that they will believe what their allies in the news media report as the facts.

The MSM will never tell the actual story, Hillary and the Dems would have retreated from Iraq, leaving it for Al-Qaeda and Iran to divide up the remnants of our attempt at democracy.

If it was up to the Democrats, Iraq's 25 million people would have continued to live under the same fear and terror as they did under Saddam and not under hope and freedom under a freely elected government.

Shame on the Democrats and shame on the MSM for not doing a daily series on what is happening right now in Iraq post surge, as they did when the abu ghraib story broke.

For more on the latest historical rewrite take a look at Gateway Pundit - It Has Begun, Hillary Takes Credit For Surge She Opposed!!:

Judith Apter Kliinghoffer at the History News Network posted this amazing attempt by Hillary Clinton to take credit for the success in Iraq even though she opposed the Bush Surge that brought about this success:

MR. RUSSERT: If General Petraeus says, "Senator, in September you called the surge the suspension of belief. It has worked, and you know it's worked"--let me finish--"you can see on the ground. I'm saying to you, Senator, or president-elect Clinton, don't destroy Iraq. It's working, the surge is working. Keep troops there just a few more months to get this reconciliation complete."

SEN. CLINTON: ...The point of the surge was to quickly move the Iraqi government and Iraqi people. That is only now beginning to happen, and I believe in large measure because the Iraqi government, they watch us, they listen to us. I know very well that they follow everything that I say. And my commitment to begin withdrawing our troops in January of 2009 is a big factor, as it is with Senator Obama, Senator Edwards, those of us on the Democratic side. It is a big factor in pushing the Iraqi government to finally do what they should have been doing all along.
Amazing!She voted to surrender Iraq with the rest of the Democrats and now she wants to take credit for its success!

Truly, amazing!

Democrats Need to Rewrite Their Iraq Position Again

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 00:50:00 +0000

The Democrats need to start rewriting their Iraq position again, because the political progress that they have claimed was missing after the Surged has started to happen.

The Iraqi parliament unanimously adopted a bill outlining the reinstatement of thousands of former Baathist government employees, the bill is one of the key benchmarks sought by Congress as a indication they were indeed moving toward Democracy. General David Petraeus stated that after the surge too hold then and only then would the Iraqi Government follow and the Democrats for weeks have said that the Surge was a failure because little political progress had been achieved even after violence has dropped dramatically.

Here is what the web thinks of the news -

FOXNews.com - Iraqi Lawmakers Pass Key Benchmark De-Baathification Law:

BAGHDAD — Iraq's parliament adopted legislation Saturday on the reinstatement of thousands of former supporters of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to government jobs, a key benchmark sought by the United States as a step toward easing sectarian tensions.

The bill, approved by a unanimous show of hands on each of its 30 clauses, is the first piece of major U.S.-backed legislation approved by the 275-seat parliament. Other benchmarks languish, including legislation to divide the country's vast oil wealth, constitutional amendments demanded by minority Sunni Arabs and a bill spelling out rules for local elections.

The bill approved Saturday, titled the Accountability and Justice law, seeks to relax restrictions on the rights of members of the now-dissolved Baath party to fill government posts.

It is also designed to reinstate thousands of Baathists dismissed from government jobs after the 2003 U.S. invasion — a decision that deepened sectarian tensions between Iraq's majority Shiites and the once-dominant Sunni Arabs, who believed the firings targeted their community.

The strict implementation of so-called de-Baathification rules also meant that many senior bureaucrats who knew how to run ministries, university departments and state companies ended up unemployed in a country where 35 years of Baath party rule and extensive government involvement in the economy had left tens of thousands of party members in key positions.

That, coupled with the disbanding of the Iraqi army, threw tens of thousands of people out of work at a critical time in Iraq's history and fueled the burgeoning Sunni insurgency.

Traveling with President Bush in Manama, Bahrain, White House press secretary Dana Perino said the legislation, coupled with a pension measure approved by the parliament, "is important especially not just for the Iraqis but it shows the American people that our troops and Americans that are there working hard to help them get this to the point, are doing the job, they are fulfilling their mission. It also shows the region that they should have some confidence in what is happening in Iraq."

The Bush administration initially promoted de-Baathification but later claimed that Iraqi authorities went beyond even what the Americans had contemplated to keep Saddam's supporters out of important jobs.

With the Sunni insurgency raging and political leaders making little progress in reconciling Iraq's Shiite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish communities, the Americans switched positions and urged the dismantling of de-Baathification laws.

Later, enacting and implementing legislation reinstating the fired Baath supporters became one of 18 so-called benchmark issues the U.S. sought as measures for progress in national reconciliation.

The legislation can become law only when approved by Iraq's presidential council. The council, comprised of Iraq's president and two vice presidents, is expected to ratify the measure.

The draft law approved Saturday is not a blanket approval for all former Baathists to take government jobs.

The law will allow low-ranking Baathists not involved in past crimes against Iraqis to go back to their jobs. High-ranking Baathists will be sent to compulsory retirement and those involved in crimes will stand trial, though their families will still have the right to pension.

The Baathists who were members in Saddam's security agencies must retire — except for members of Fidayeen Saddam, a feared militia formed by Saddam's eldest son, Oday. They will be entitled to nothing.

Inside parliament, when the Kurdish lawmakers raised their hands in favor of the article that the members of Saddam's security bodies should be sent to compulsory retirement, the Sunni Arab parliament speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, told the Kurds: "Now you raise your hands in favor of sending Saddam's security men to retirement, while earlier you reinstated the Kurds who collaborated with or worked for Saddam to government jobs in Kurdistan."

Al-Mashhadani spoke of "donkeys," a term used by Kurds to describe the Kurdish people who used to collaborate with Saddam. They were pardoned by Kurdistan officials after 2003 war.

"Are your donkeys better than our donkeys?" al-Mashhadani asked, referring to Kurds who used to work for Saddam's security operations.

ABC News was a bit more reserved in their reporting of the new Pro-Baath Party Law which doesn't surprise me much.

ABC News: Iraqi Lawmakers Pass Pro-Baath Party Law:

Iraq's parliament adopted legislation Saturday on the reinstatement of former Baath party supporters to government jobs, a benchmark sought by the United States as a key step toward national reconciliation.
The voting was carried out by a show of hands on each of the law's 30 clauses. The bill, officially called the "Accountability and Justice" law, seeks to relax restrictions on the right of members of Saddam Hussein's now-dissolved Baath party to fill government posts. It is also designed to reinstate thousands of Baathists in government jobs from which they had been dismissed because of their ties to the party.

The dismissal of thousands of Baath Party supporters from these jobs had deepened sectarian tensions between Iraq's majority Shiites and the once-dominant Sunni Arabs.

PrairiePundit - Iraq vote bad news for Democrats:

The Fidayeen Saddam were mostly foreigners who probably became part of al Qaeda in Iraq's core group. They were thugs who abused the ordinary Iraqis by cutting off their tongues and throwing them off buildings in order to intimidate and cow the population into letting Saddam stay in power.

This law is one of the "bench marks" the Democrats claim is important to reconciliation. In fact the reconciliation has been happening without the benchmark legislation, but it does give the Democrats one less arrow in their shrinking quiver.

Catholic Saints Were Psychotic Per "View" Host Joy Behar

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 04:13:00 +0000

The liberal spokesmodels on The View are now attacking the Catholic Church and Christians in general.

This could be an opening salvo of a demonization job by MSM and Democrats on all Christians prior to this years election.

One thing the majority of leading Republican candidates, both presidential and congressional share is a strong Christian faith.

And what better way to strike out at Republicans than to strike at something they all share, their Christian faith.

Make Christian saints psychotics and you place the fear of that all strong Christians are a little psychotic as well, including our Republican candidates.

If we see more of these Anti-Christian attacks by the MSM we'll know that the game plan for the 2008 election.

Check out what the Gateway Pundit has to say about their attack in Gateway Pundit: "View" Host Joy Behar Says Catholic Saints Were Psychotic:

Those liberal gals at The View were back at it today this time bashing the Catholic Church.
After commenting on how "King George the First put stupid Dan Quayle on the ticket", View host Joy Behar later explained that the saints of the Catholic Church were pshychotic.

Carbon Offseters May Not Be All They Say, FTC Investigating

noreply@blogger.com (Steven Ashley) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 21:57:00 +0000

Carbon Offseters May Not Be All They Say, FTC Investigating

Who didn't see this one coming, the FTC is checking into reports of companies selling carbon offsets to polluting but green friendly companies and individuals. By selling a carbon offset these companies are promising to do something environmentally friendly, like planting trees, to make up for the sins of the polluting company or individuals.

Problem is the trees or other environmentally friendly acts are never performed.

For more see, Tech Policy Summit blog: FTC Scrutinizes Green Marketing:

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is in the process of updating its guidelines for environmental marketers, hosted a workshop yesterday to look into some of the claims surrounding carbon offsets and renewable energy certificates (RECs).

As efforts to "go green" become more mainstream, individuals and companies concerned about climate change are increasingly looking for ways to reduce their impact on the environment. For some, that means trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by becoming carbon neutral.

We've written about tools designed to help consumers calculate the amount of carbon dioxide emissions produced by their daily activities. The next step for many, who find it impractical or undesirable to change their habits, is to purchase carbon offsets or renewable energy certificates to mitigate their impact. For example, instead of cancelling your flight plans, you might purchase an offset that promises that a new tree will be planted on your behalf.

For the rest of this post, please visit the Tech Policy Central site.