nerdgirl

At the risk of trivializing a very serious topic, this thread is just too perfect to pass up the opportunity to post the infamous Nuclear Missile Combat Crew “Death Wears Bunny Slippers” morale patch: “I was an officer in the Air Force for 9 years and... spent 5 years of my time working in the ICBM career field and it is a hotbed of awesomely bad patches so I figured I would share a few of my favorites that have adorned my sleeve over the years. “The ‘Death Wears Bunny Slippers’ patch comes from the notion that the people who are supposed to start WWIII and end the world might just be wearing fuzzy pink bunny slippers when they do it. That's because once you are underground and locked in your 15x10 ft capsule for 24 hours with another officer the uniforms come off pretty darn quick. It's all sweats, PJs and anything else in the comfy clothes category after that, at least until your relief crew arrives the next day.”[/slightly acerbic & marginally silly rant] Air Force Times also ran a more informative – in the sense that it had more information and was longer, which is reasonable giving its readership; it doesn’t seem noticeably more or less “sensationalistic” than the initially cited article -- on the self-reported lapse/violation of Security procedure, “Minot’s latest alarm: napping with launch codes.” [TrophyHusband] - it's cited there: "Two to three hours later, the officers woke up and realized they had violated Air Force procedures, [Air Force Space Command spokesman] Doi said. The airmen reported the lapse to their commanders, setting off several inquiries." Because of the previous flight of six W60 warheads and subsequent major violation of security procedures (i.e., leaving nuclear warheads unguarded) and the Hill AFB incident in which nuclear missile nose cone parts were sent to Taiwan, USAF commands related to nuclear missions are getting extra scrutiny. And they should. Nuclear missions should have extra scrutiny to start and until those responsible with executing the missions demonstrate that the situations that led to the W60s unscheduled flight and the nose-cones sent instead of helicopter batteries are demonstratably changed to meet minimum standards. I don’t see it so much the issue here as “what’s going on with the Air Force?” as (1)”What’s going on with leadership and standards ar Minot AFB?” & the components involved in nuclear-related missions. During the announced recertification test in May of the 5th Bomb Wing, Airmen were observed napping, playing cell-phone video games while on duty, and other more serious, but less descriptive security and procedural transgressions, and (2) on a higher, strategic level, what’s going on with the prominence or lack thereof regarding the nuclear mission and nuclear surety within the USAF? On Friday, the Air Force Times also ran a piece on discussions to revive or recreate something like the old Strategic Air Command in order to address the decreased prominence of the nuclear mission (including surety) within the USAF over the last 15 years. There was a similar article in the 21 July print version of Defense News. VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Mike, On an ideal/simplified/far-end/potential challenge, you are correct. But you’ve missed a few steps. And frankly this is NOT high school government/civics level stuff … altho’ one can argue whether it should be. W/r/t to this specific proposed (or draft) change to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), [SFC] is (more) correct. See pdf copy of the draft Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rule (NB: the draft rule was leaked, therefore you are unlikely to find it on hhs.gov; that source was the first one that I found through Google.) Please note (anyone who doesn’t understand this) that the first paragraph of the proposed regulation references 3 Congressional Acts (the Church Amendment, the Public Health Act, & the Weldon Amendment to an Appropriations Act). Those Congressional Public Laws (they each have PL #’s) authorize the HHS to make regulations, aka “rules”, regarding funding distribution by the Executive Branch. Frequently they are as ambiguous as that. (Btw: HHS does not get Congressional Additions, aka “earmarks”.) Once a draft rule is finalized, it (generally) appears in the Federal Register, as a notice of Federal Rulemaking. This is an Executive Branch function – executing the laws (those PLs) put in place by the Congressional Branch. If Congress was responsible for every rule and regulation, the Executive branch would, completely w/in reason, object. With this bill, rather than using medical definitions to determine a medical state, the proposed regulation suggests that the definition for a medical/physiological condition be based on a (bare minority opinion but plurality) poll: “There are two commonly held views on the question of when a pregnancy begins. Some consider a pregnancy to begin at conception (that is, the fertilization of the egg by the sperm), while others consider it to begin with implantation (when the embryo implants in the lining of the uterus). A 2001 Zogby International American Values poll revealed that 49% of Americans believe that human life begins at conception. Presumably many who hold this belief think that any action that destroys human life after conception is the termination of a pregnancy, and so would be included in their definition of the term "abortion." Those who believe pregnancy begins at implantation believe the term "abortion" only includes the destruction of a human being after it has implanted in the lining of the uterus. “Some medical authorities, like the American Medical Association and the British Medical Association, have defined the term "established pregnancy" as occurring after implantation.” A couple illustrative analogies of why this is severely problematic: this would be like polling the US public on what some percentage thinks qualifies as an “assault weapon” and using that as the definition to guide gun restrictions. Or using a poll to determine requirements for DoD Acquisition Programs. VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Iraq & Pakistan? Did Sen McCain misspeak when he meant Iran or was the context such that he was specifically intending to mean Iraq? Do you have a citation or video on that? Thanks. VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

On what basis do you make a claim for ambiguity rather than precision? Not liking or not agreeing with the results is personal opinion; not liking the results is not bias or "skew." One needs an objective (rather than subjective) reason/rationale ito support such a claim of "skew." A couple folks have noted the rhetorical political context. Others have mentioned technical capability requirements. VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

ALCON: (not anyone in particular), rather than a Speakers Corner referendum on the decision to launch OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom) in 2003, I'm curious ... Or one more way to put it, do you think 550 metric tons of 'yellowcake' represented an immediate offensive nuclear capability? VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

The existence of an Iraqi-led democratic, parliamentary-style federal government based on a civil government (Iraq Constitution) created by Iraqis and approved by referendum (i.e., vote of the Iraqis). VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Fabulous photos and looks like an even more fabulous adventure! Thanks for the pics and the updates. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

I’m curious, as it has now been mentioned in a few threads over the last couple weeks. How many folks think that the 550 metric tons of “yellowcake” – unenriched, milled and leached uranium oxide ore (U3O8) – transferred to a Canadian firm represented evidence of Iraq having an active offensive nuclear weapons program in 2003 ... or being an immediate nuclear weapons threat … or even latent nuclear weapons technical capability/infrastructure in 2003 … or a radiological hazard, e.g., ‘dirty bomb’ or radiological dispersive device (RDD) capable in 2003? Evidence of an immediate threat to the US and allies … not a question of whether Saddam Hussayn wanted Iraq to be a nuclear weapons state in 1981 or 2003. VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

I’ve occasionally been seated next to some very large people on planes. The fattest & largest being one of multiple very large firefighters flying to Appleton, Wisconsin to check out a new ladder truck their department ordered. The only time that the person hasn’t been somewhat embarrassed to downright apologetic was one very large guy on a flight to Colorado Springs. He wasn’t obese; he was just a big guy (not overly tall either). He was halfway into my seat (had to flip up the armrest, kept sticking his feet under the seat in front of me, forcing me to lean forward or against the woman in the window seat, etc), and he was just rude. Somehow it was *my* fault that I got stuck in the middle seat next to him on a full flight. I wasn’t the one who couldn’t fit in my seat. (And my ticket cost more than $300). It got to the point that the flight attendants intervened on their own. He was even moderately belligerent to them. I got a $150 travel voucher from Delta. -- --- --- -- Arrogant, self-righteous, mean people who wallow with pride in their ignorance and people who abuse children, animals, or their spouse repulse me. VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

This 51-yo guy went to Berkeley ... he also was also commander of 8-10 Cavalry, 4BCT, 4ID in northwest Baghdad in 2006 and in Tikrit in 2004. While LTC Gentile's been called iconoclastic, I'm not sure "liberal hippie" fits ... VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

What does a "war on war" mean? Isn't that a bit contradictory? If one is opposed to "war" one should be opposed to all wars. (Yeah, I recognize it's supposed be a meme.) I'm not a pacifist. That does not, however, prohibit or prevent one from thinking seriously about the underlying ideas. Truly committed pacifists are a-political, e.g., the Quakers, the Ploughshares Movement, & the most dedicated members of the Catholic Worker movement. I'm not sure the same can be said for Sam Harris' video. VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

And which one was related to ballistic missiles or nuclear weapons? /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

True. And that would qualify as an intelligence surprise ... but not US or UK. But still not 'pointy things w/fins' nor 'shiny metal death' related. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

The Butler Commission Report -- I'm guessing that's to what this anonymous poster to another forum is referring -- did not do that. It's just wrong. It's like saying that the US Constitution mentions gay marriage. You're quoting from someone else's blog post here that does not understand that the 9-11 Commission Report was about the 9-11 attacks *not* Iraq. Ditto: You're citing someone else's blog post here that does not understand that the 9-11 Commission Report was about the 9-11 attacks *not* Iraq. Here's a link to the 9-11 Commision Report. Check for yourself. Do a search. There's no mention of Joe Wilson and no mention of yellowcake. The title at the top of this blog posting is "The Senate Intelligence Committee Report". This is a jump down the same blog page as the previous link, titled "The Senate Intelligence Committee Report". Which link do you think here indicated something in the 9-11 Commission Report? VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Saying Iraq was going to nuke the world with unrefined ore ... But hey, if raw materials are an excuse to invade a country .... Would you explain how you derived those interpretations from what I wrote? Your comments, to which I replied, were less than clear whether or not you understood/were aware that Iraq had in the early 1980s procured uranium ore and yellowcake (they are not the same thing) from Niger and Portugal. Btw: Iraq also obtained uranium dioxide (low enriched, >2%) from Brazil and Italy (declared one to IAEA but not the other) and and LEU (~20%) from Russia and France for research reactors in the 1980s. During the 1980s, Iraq tried to produce yellowcake from that unenriched uranium ore at Al-Qa’im & Ibn-Sina’. The results were poor to complete failures. Enriched material that was in Iraq was removed by the IAEA through UNSCOM. VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Start of the Korean War? (Which wasn't an intelligence surprise, btw.) How about 18 May 1974 (which was an intelligence surprise) & 22 September 1979? VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Do you dispute that proxies for the US administration are behaving similarly, e.g., Michael Ledeen, "Time to Attack Iranian Terror Camps?": "So says John Bolton, and he's right. As you know, I have been proposing this for years. I always thought it was only a matter of time before we were compelled to take this action, which is a legitimate form of self-defense. And while we're at it, we should do the same thing to the Syrian camps as well. It isn't 'sending a message,' it's acting to protect our guys by fighting back in the proxy war the mullahs have been waging since 1979. Faster, please?" While officially he retired, ADM Fallon's (former CENTCOM commander) removal was largely attributed to his open criticism of the rhetoric of folks like Ledeen and others who advocate for military action. VR/Marg p.s. Yes, I am aware that Undersecretary of State William Burns is being dispatched to Iran as part of multilateral diplomatic efforts. Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

For clarification, in the early 1980s, Iraq did obtain unrefined uranium ore from Niger. FOIA obtained documents. It, combined with additional unenriched uranium ore procured from Portugal, was stored at Tuwaitha. Although technically, unenriched uranium ore and yellowcake (which is *still* unenriched) are subject to international safeguards, at the time Iraq obtained it Niger was not party to NPT and Portugal did not have safeguards. Iraq notified the IAEA of the receipt of the early 1980's uranium ore from Niger and Portugal. That was what was recently shipped to Canada (for whom it was a very good deal, btw). After Gulf War I, the IAEA inspected and had ongoing monitoring through UNSCOM & UNMOVIC. VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Marc - Laying aside, momentarily, the specific assertions, I think you may be confusing the “WMD Intelligence Commission” (aka the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction) with the 9-11 Commission? The 9-11 Commission Report issued by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States doesn’t say anything about Iraq-Niger-yellow cake-Ambassador Wilson. W/r/t the WMD Intelligence Commission’s findings on attempts to procure uranium ore & yellow cake (personally I prefer chocolate cake ) from Niger, most of the blame was directed toward CIA’s WINPAC, which is part of the CIA DI (Directorate of Intelligence). These are the folks who do intelligence analysis on proliferation of WMD & missiles and are the same folks that got the blame for the aluminum tube debacle. Secondary culpability was assigned to CIA DO (aka Directorate of Operations, the ‘spies’ and those who do intelligence collection) and the National Intelligence Officer for Strategic and Nuclear Programs (NIO/SNP). Can you point to a passage in the WMD Commission Report that suggests what you describe? I’m still curious as to the origins of the interpretation and analysis you described? Thanks. VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Taking your statement as literal ... always a dangerous avocation on the internet ... are you arguing for a sexual iconography of the global nuclear weapons complex? Already been done. Otoh, a discussion of the threat of a theocratic, oppressive, state-sponsor of terrorism’s disputed pursuit of an offensive nuclear weapons program and its ballistic missile program, attempts at media manipulation (by FARS), and geo-political ramifications, which may represent the next foreign engagement for the US military, is indicative of “just needs to get laid”? As opposed to, for example, a thread about people who are offended by people who are offended by a cartoon? Wasn’t there another film a few years ago that offered insight on this peculiar paradox? /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

What other (relatively) recent politician had similar characterizations -- both the positive & the critical -- made about him? "Yes, it's the most obvious part of him, and yes, it was mentioned, referenced, alluded to, chatted about, and glossed upon countless times this week. It seems simple enough -- the man was magnetic, charming, soothing, likeable. But try to really get your arms around this part of Reagan, beyond these thin adjectives. ...Charisma has a bad name in the media. It's squishy and suspect, part of the Character Journalism category that various media prudes feel journalists should avoid like a bad infection, especially when it comes to politicians." VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Culled primarily from National Review Online (NRO): Shannen Coffin: "From the first moment of the film, my kids were bombarded with leftist propaganda about the evils of mankind." Greg Pollowitz: "It was like a 90-minute lecture on the dangers of over consumption, big corporations, and the destruction of the environment. All this from mega-company Disney, who wants us to buy WALL-E kitsch for our kids that are manufactured in China at environment-destroying factories and packed in plastic that will take hundreds of year to biodegrade in our landfills. Much to Disney’s chagrin, I will do my part to avoid future environmental armageddon by boycotting any and all WALL-E merchandise and I hope others join my crusade." Glenn Beck: "I can’t wait to teach my kids how we’ve destroyed the Earth. Pixar is teaching. I can’t wait. You know if your kid has ever come home and said, 'Dad, how come we use so much styrofoam,' oh, this is the movie for you." Dirty Harry: "Have we lost Pixar? Have we lost the wonderful studio who brought us The Incredibles and Ratatouille to Bush Derangement Syndrome? Here you have a winning streak going back ten-years, enormous amounts of public goodwill, equal amounts of credibility as serious storytellers, and they stop things cold, yanking you out of the story with the liberal nonsense. Quite a disappointment." Jonah Goldberg: "I agree with the charges of hypocrisy. I agree that the Malthusian fear mongering was annoying." Apparently some disabled people are offended too. And, as I understand, WALL-E's robot companion (?) & carrier of remains on terrestrial life is named Eve ... is that sacrosanct or heretical? Are we now offended that other people are offended? Or are we better than the offended people because we're not offended? Or does it only matter which people are offended? Haven't seen it, don't anticipate renting it ... altho' the controversy might inspire me to watch it ... when it appears as part of inflight entertainment ... maybe. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

And don't forget the Ford Ranger EVs. Folks ended up camping out in Sacramento because Ford recalled them to crush (as in physically destroy), and the drivers wanted to buy them. VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Why? On what basis/suspicion/concern do you come to that initial conclusion? VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

That's interesting proposal, particurlarly the recognition and action to address market accountability. If it can even be done? Re-instatement of the Glass-Steagall Act, as a starting point, perhaps. ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ It’s my understanding that the Federal Reserve Board’s Sunday evening announcement was that they would make funds available if FM/FM needed them – something intended as a confidence building measure – rather than a formal bailout a la Bear Stearns, yes? If the Fed does do a formal ‘bailout’, does anyone have citable figures on how much that is estimated to cost versus the cost of collapse of the two US mortgage backers (~50% of all US mortgage debt, iirc) on the overall US economy? Again, it’s my understanding that in the last 12-18 months the default loan rate has increased from 1% to