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Guest posted by:  GruntOfMonteCristo

Fourteen ton spacecraft still has 11 tons of toxic rocket fuel on board…(rollover below)

After a long delay in the posting of the late-Saturday NORAD tracking fit for Phobos-Grunt, internet watchers were beginning to worry that the spacecraft had already broken up in the atmosphere about a day before most predictions.  That vigil ended last night, at around 10:40pm Treehouse time.  One thing that can be concluded from this update, other than the vehicle being intact, is that the orbit decay trends are continuing fairly smoothly.  You probably won’t hear this elsewhere, but that may indicate that the Russian space agency ROSCOSMOS has not been completely straight about the tank material housing the toxic propellants.  If it were aluminum as stated, the tanks likely would have ruptured after more than a day of being engulfed by plasma, especially since the vehicle seems to be flying in a tanks-first attitude.  The propellants would have been scattered by now, dramatically decreasing the mass of the vehicle, and causing a spike in the decay rate.  This apparently hasn’t happened.  The vehicle seems to have held together so far, and that’s a bad sign.  In my opinion, it supports the suspicion that the tanks are really titanium, which will probably survive the reentry all the way to the ground.    (more…)

I stepped out of my car on a sunny 90 degree Phoenix afternoon, but it soon felt closer to 100 degrees by the time I reached the all cement environs of Cesar Chavez Plaza.   A quick scan showed about seven or eight makeshift tents, but I was soon told that these were not really tents.  They were “canopies”, since neither tents, blankets, pillows, or sleeping bags were allowed by the Phoenix Police.  I was most surprised to see only about 40-50 people milling around the site, hardly the numbers nearing the thousand reported on October 15th, the first night of the Occupation.   I’ve since found out the group has several teams of roughly 40-50 people who show up in  planned rotations.  (more…)

Yesterday Steve Jobs’ biological father Abdulfattah “John” Jandali, a Syrian-born Sunni Muslim and current casino executive in Reno, Nevada, told the media he knew of his son’s passing but would not be talking about it.  “I really don’t have anything to say,” said Jandali, 80, “I know the news.”
Last August 27th, Jindali gave an interview to the “The Sun”, telling the paper he feared time was running out and he may never get to meet his son.  Jobs never responded to Jandali’s public request for a reunion.  Jandali would later say that the interview he gave the paper was “a mistake”, and that he would not publicly discuss Jobs again. 
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Through the use of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, it seems the anarchists are determined to bring the Arab Spring to the shores of the United States.  Sites like #Occupy Wall Street, and US Day of Rage have been encouraging the disaffected to seize back control of the banks.   “The Occupation Has Begun!”, states one site…  “Beginning on September 17, we want to see 20,000 people flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street for a few months. Once there, we shall incessantly repeat one simple demand in a plurality of voices.” 
Others like Real Democracy Now!,  herald a world-wide occupation of banks and ‘banksters’, and implore people to take to the streets to send their government a message.  Isn’t it great to know that our government spent millions of dollars to pass out free cellphones to these folks?   (more…)

Remember…these are the same guys that like to hang out in front of polling centers.  They got away with it in 2008…what message do you think that sent them for 2012? 
(The Blaze)…Disturbing new YouTube videos have surfaced allegedly showing notorious New Black Panther Party member King Samir Shabazz teaching “black survival” training to a small audience — with children sitting in the front row.  In each of the three videos, uploaded June 6, 2011, the man identified as Shabazz graphically demonstrates self-defense tactics using a variety of weapons, including a handgun, a machete and a baseball bat:  (more…)

(Moonbattery)…Last year the New York Slimes did a puff piece on left-wing propagandist Christiane Amanpour (formerly of CNN, now ABC), which included photos of her home. Recognize the oversized picture that dominates her favorite room? She says it’s her favorite item in the apartment, because “It gives me joy every time I walk in my door.”
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The date was April 20, 1979, and Jimmy Carter was taking a few days off in Plains, Georgia.  He was fishing from a canoe in a pond, when he spotted the fateful rabbit swimming toward him.  The rabbit was hissing menacingly… its teeth flashing and nostrils flared, while all the time making straight for the president.  An ever alert White House photographer snapped a picture of the encounter for posterity.  (more…)