His floor speech. I think that he sounds Kennedyesque:
Full version (37:48):
Short version (4:56):
H/T Group News Blog for looking up the Youtubes.
Month: December 2007
Shuttle Sensor Problem Existed for 26 Years and Could Cause Explosion
It appears that the shuttle fleet is grounded until they can resolve the problem with the Hydrogen engine cutoff sensor. (Paid subscription required)
Basically, if there is a problem and the engine runs out of hydrogen before getting shut down
A cutoff is essential before hydrogen depletion to avoid cavitation in the 39,000-rpm. main engine high-pressure fuel pumps that would result in an explosion.
So this is a MAJOR problem.
But wait, there’s more:
The space shuttle fleet is grounded until technicians find and fix a vexing problem with engine cutoff (ECO) sensors—a component that NASA now realizes has likely never worked throughout the 26-year history of the shuttle program.
…..So why do we need an LH2 cutoff system? Simply put, if you need it and the LH2 tank runs dry with the engines at full power with LO2 still coming in, inevitably a catastrophe will occur. LOX-rich shutoffs are ugly in the extreme. This is a crit 1 situation. And it would occur so rapidly that human intervention is not practical.”
What’s going on here is that the shuttle is in the end of life phase, so the pressure to cover-up problems is decreasing, and so we are seeing long term potentially catastrophic loss of vehicle, crew, etc.
The Shuttle has been a pig since day one, and NASA has seen their job as covering up problems so that they can continue to play Captain Kirk.
Neat Tech: Radio Plasma Drive
NASA Ad Astra Ink Second Space Act Agreement in “Vasimr” Engine (subscription required)
NASA is working with Ad Astra Rocket Co. on it’s Vasimr engine. It uses radio waves to heat electrically charged fluids to extremely high temperatures for fuel efficiency, controlling the resulting plasmas for thrust and insulating nearby structures with magnetic fields.
ISP appears to be in the 5K-12K seconds range (PDF), or more than 10 to more than 30x that of chemical rockets.
Unlike Ion, it’s supposed to support higher thrust levels, on the order of 100+ N, compared to the millinewton levels for Ion drives.
India Expanding Nuclear Arsenal
We now have reports that India is accelerating production of its nuclear capable 3500 km range Agni-III missile.
Additionally, it’s working on a 6000km range missile, and if it can miniaturize its warheads, it can probably get at least 20% more range.
3500 km puts Beijing firmly in range, so we have the makings of an arms race, and Bush wants to sell them nuclear technology.
Just grand.
Japanese Bank on Big Sh%$pile Bailout Fund: F$%# You White Man
It appears that the major Japanese banks are getting government pressure to help bailout subprime financial instruments, and they are profoundly disinterested in doing so.
Japan big banks reluctant to pay for subprime fund
Mon Dec 17, 2007 5:44am ESTBy Nathan Layne and Taro Fuse
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s top three banks are expected to resist a request to put up a total of $15 billion for a U.S.-led subprime rescue fund, a move that could further cloud prospects for the bailout plan.
Sources told Reuters last week that Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T: Quote, Profile, Research), Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (8316.T: Quote, Profile, Research) had each been asked to pony up $5 billion, and to give an answer this week.
…
But the issue could yet become political, the megabank executive said. Japanese banks are eager to expand their presence overseas and will not want to be seen as turning a blind eye to the health of the global financial system.
“What did America do when we had our non-performing loan problem? They just pushed us into the corner. European banks also ran away. Why should Japan now shoulder this burden?” said the megabank executive. “But this is a decision made at a high political level and could end up defying logic.
Part of this is the fact that the rest of the world pretended not to know them during the Japanese crisis, but another, larger part is the fact that the Japanese banks have largely cleaned up their act. The lack of transparency, cozy relationships, and self dealing in the subprime debacle mirror their experience 15 years ago.
What’s more, they understand that this bailout will interfere with reform, because it will largely serve to allow the worst miscreants to dump their investments on someone further down the economic knowledge chain (you know, teachers’ retirement funds, etc).
The Old Negro Space Program
If you are wondering what screenwriters are doing while on strike, some of it is private online projects that are pretty damn good, like The Old Negro Space Program (10:22).
It’s a very funny send up of Ken Burns documentaries (full disclosure, I went to Hampshire College for 2 years, and he graduated from there, though we never met, IIRC, he was up for an Oscar for his Brooklyn Bridge documentary my freshman year).
The movie studios are saying that they don’t need the writers, but it appears that a number of striking writers are in talks to launch Web start-ups, so I’m not sure if it’s not the other way around.
Judge: Hand Over Abramoff Visit Logs
So, a federal fudge, and a Reagan Appointee at that, has ruled that White House visitor logs are public records subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
Basically, the White House claim that maybe, if terrorists take this data, and some other data, and some pixie dust, they could use it for an attack, was dismissed.
The Bush Admin had transferred the records to the White House in an attempt to claim privilidge, but, “But U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth ruled logs from the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney’s residence remain Secret Service documents and are subject to public records requests.”
BTW, one of the kickers is that there is a similar suit before U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer, who Bush appointed, but they decided to consolidate it before Lamberth, despite the fact that Collyer had the older suit, which normally would take precedence.
I think that the judges just told Bush to politely pound sand.
Obama as a Do Nothing?
Steve Clemons compares what Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have done in the senate, and the difference is striking. While neither of them chair a full committee, pretty much every senator gets a subcommittee.
Clinton has the Subcommittee on Superfund and Environmental Health, and Obama has the Foreign Relations’ Subcommittee on Europe.
The Subcommittee on Superfund and Environmental Health last held a hearing on October 17, the Foreign Relations’ Subcommittee on Europe has had no meetings.
None…Zip…Nada…
Let’s be clear, it is a chair of committees that senators get executive experience. What’s more, it where a senator who wants to be president learns how to deal with Congress.
Clemens excuses saying that he’s, “not trying to find a minor, nuanced difference between Obama and Clinton and inflate that to inappropriate levels.” I agree. This is not minor.
Thank You Christopher Dodd!
1000 words on Chris Dodd:
But it appears that he’s won, as Reid is delaying the bill until January.
There was simply too many amendments and too many discussions to get it done by the end of the session, and this is largely Dodd’s doing.
Show him some love, either go to my Act Blue Page, or to his campaign web site.
Put a Fork in Giuliani, He’s Done
Giuliani is cutting back on his New Hampshire ad buy so that he can focus on Florida, where a recent poll has him in 3rd place.
There was always the question as to whether the Republican party would discover what he really was before or after the primaries.
Looks like they lucked out by about 1 month.
Mutiny
Lets be clear, the soldiers in ‘Not us. We’re not going.’ are heros. They knew that if they went out, then they would kill innocent people.
They served the military, the country, and the Iraqi people in the best way they knew.
These guys are heros…Read…And Cry.
Mukasey Covering Up for Bush
Mukasey has told the CIA not to cooperate with any congressional investigation. Congress would, “just have to wait until the joint Justice Department-CIA probe was done.”
This is why, when John Mitchell resigned during Watergate, the Democrats demanded a special prosecutor as a price for approving a new AG.
Bush and His Evil Minions™ to Muzzle JAG Corps
No surprise here, whenever professional standards or honesty get in the way of a Bush administration policy, you can be sure that Bush administration will find a way to punish those who choose to do the right thing.
The former JAG officers say the regulation would end the uniformed lawyers’ role as a check-and-balance on presidential power, because politically appointed lawyers could block the promotion of JAGs who they believe would speak up if they think a White House policy is illegal.
I want my country back.
Majid Khahn’s Lawyers Ask Court to Preserve Evidence
They also want a declaration that he was tortured.
Seeing as how he was in CIA custody for over 3 years, this Ballmur man (he was largely raised in Baltimore) is almost certainly telling the truth on this.
Krugman Goes After Obama
Mark Twain is supposed to have said, “Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel.”
After Paul Krugman made some relatively mild, and completely accurate criticisms of Obama’s health plan, the Obama campaign decided to go with some remarkably bogus oppo research where they selectively quoted, and misquoted Krugman.
Stupid move, but typical of a candidate who has never had a serious electoral challenge from a Democrat.
So, now the most popular, and most widely read liberal commentator in the United States has decided to go further, and criticise the most basic theory of Barack Obama’s campaign, his call for an “end to partisanship”.
It’s no one’s fault but Obama’s. He took a mild difference in policy, and
This shows just how unprepared Obama is for the big time.
Mr. Edwards replied, “Some people argue that we’re going to sit at a table with these people and they’re going to voluntarily give their power away. I think it is a complete fantasy; it will never happen.”
This was pretty clearly a swipe at Mr. Obama, who has repeatedly said that health reform should be negotiated at a “big table” that would include insurance companies and drug companies.
On Saturday Mr. Obama responded, this time criticizing Mr. Edwards by name. He declared that “We want to reduce the power of drug companies and insurance companies and so forth, but the notion that they will have no say-so at all in anything is just not realistic.”
Hmm. Do Obama supporters who celebrate his hoped-for ability to bring us together realize that “us” includes the insurance and drug lobbies?
It gets better. Go read it.
Lieberman Endorses McCain
Of course, the fact that Lieberman promised to endorse a Dem for president won’t be noted by the Washington punditocracy*, because Lieberman is the only honorable Democrat.
*Which might be better described as a Kakistocracy.
Romney Blasts Huckabee Over Bush Criticism
This is only good for Huckabee. His criticism has been very mild, and Bush is not particularly popular with Republicans either. In reminding Republican primary voters that Huckabee is not in mindless lock with Bush, Romney is getting Huckabee more votes, not fewer.
FEC Rules No Matching to Act Blue
You can find the background here, but the bottom line is that The FED has ruled against ActBlue and similar organizations.
By not matching a worderful tool for small donors, this will push candidates off public financing.
Congress Moves to Ban Lead System Integrator (LSI) Procurement
The latest defense authorization bill bans lead LSI contracts:
2008 defense authorization bill includes a provision — section 802 — that would prohibit the Defense Department from awarding new contracts for lead systems integrator functions beginning Oct. 1, 2010. The bill also would place an immediate ban on such arrangements for programs that are not yet in low-rate initial production.
This may seem to be a bit esoteric, but the basics of the LSI arrangement are the idea that the system is so complex that the military cannot contract management and oversight, so it gets handed off to a Lead Systems Integrator.
Shorter version: Fox, here are the key to the hen house.
The results:
- FCS:
The outcome has been less than impressive. In 2003, when the LSI contract officially kicked off, Future Combat was meant to be a $92 billion effort; today, that figures stands at $200 billion, minimum — and maybe more than $230. An operating system that was supposed to require 33.7 million lines of code is now estimated to be 63.8 million lines big. “They’re getting to the point they should’ve been in 2003,” Francis noted.
Hull cracks, bad wiring, insecure network, and (of course) over budget.
- Air Force Transformational Satellite:
Shrinking performance, the LSIs refusing to verify program requirements , and (of course) over budget.
Another Day, Another Halliburton Gang Rape
Raises a chicken-egg question, is this a product of Dick Cheney being CEO of Halliburton, or did they hire Dick Cheney because they were objective pro rape to start with.
In either case, this company is lawless and should be gone after the same way Elliot Ness went after Al Capone.