Sunday, October 31, 2004
Saturday, October 30, 2004
When will the United States return to space?
I don't mean just sending up shuttles, although resuming those launches would be something. Remember the hope we were all fed that a bold new future awaited us? That the US would lead humanity in space exploration. In 2004, there were 3 man launches. One Russian and 2 private, Spaceship I. NASA is in shambles, and their budget has been slashed continually for the past 30 years.
Now I'm not looking for Starfleet, but when the chinese and europeans have had more launches this year than us, then there's a definite problem.
Now I'm not looking for Starfleet, but when the chinese and europeans have had more launches this year than us, then there's a definite problem.
Friday, October 29, 2004
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Russia tied to Iraq's missing arms
Russian special forces troops moved many of Saddam Hussein's weapons and related goods out of Iraq and into Syria in the weeks before the March 2003 U.S. military operation, The Washington Times has learned.
John A. Shaw, the deputy undersecretary of defense for international technology security, said in an interview that he believes the Russian troops, working with Iraqi intelligence, "almost certainly" removed the high-explosive material that went missing from the Al-Qaqaa facility, south of Baghdad.................(more)
[sarcasm]But......I thought Russia was our friend?[/sarcasm]
If this is true, it changes the dynamic of the whole of the war on terror.
John A. Shaw, the deputy undersecretary of defense for international technology security, said in an interview that he believes the Russian troops, working with Iraqi intelligence, "almost certainly" removed the high-explosive material that went missing from the Al-Qaqaa facility, south of Baghdad.................(more)
[sarcasm]But......I thought Russia was our friend?[/sarcasm]
If this is true, it changes the dynamic of the whole of the war on terror.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Monday, October 25, 2004
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Friday, October 22, 2004
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Monday, October 18, 2004
Aquaman Parody
This is an old Ron and Fez parody from the WNEW days. This is created by Dominic Nunziato
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Team America:World Police
In 1988, a friend and I went to the (then) Mid-Island Mall (Now call Broadway Mall) in Hicksville to see The Naked Gun. This movie played well into my sense of humor. I laughed continuously. It was the funniest movie I had seen since Airplane!. A few years later, in 1991, I went with a group of friends to the Hicksville Theater (which is a church now I think) to see The Naked Gun 2 1/2 I can still remember laughing so hard at the opening sequence that I couldn't breathe and I developed a headache. That was the funniest movie I had ever seen.
Until last night. That was when I saw Team America:World Police
Until last night. That was when I saw Team America:World Police
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Friday, October 15, 2004
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Saturday, October 09, 2004
UN panel to frame guidlines for legality of pre-emptive stikes
Members of an international panel studying United Nations' operations say the group hopes to lay down clear rules declaring when it is legal for a nation to use pre-emptive military force in its own defense.
The issue grows out of the international controversy over the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq without a final U.N. Security Council resolution explicitly authorizing the war, said panel member Gareth Evans, a former foreign minister of Australia.
"I expect the panel to be giving close consideration to what those rules are and how they should be applied and whether an effort should be made to identify generally agreed criteria for the legitimate use of force, whatever the context," Mr. Evans said during a recent appearance at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.
He made his remarks before last week's presidential debate in which Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry's call for a "global test" on when pre-emptive action is justified became a campaign issue.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan established the 16-member High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change in November to study ways to reform the 59-year-old organization so it can better address 21st-century threats to security and peace.
But Mr. Evans, currently president of the International Crisis Group think tank, said much of the panel's work has focused on establishing detailed guidelines for the use of military force.
"A central reason for our appointment was concern that the U.N., and indeed the whole multilateral security system, was really at a crossroads with the resurgence of unilateralism from you know whom, and increasing willingness to bypass the Security Council," Mr. Evans said in a clear reference to the Bush administration.
The lone American on the panel, retired Gen. Brent Scowcroft, voiced surprise at Mr. Evans decision to discuss the panel's work publicly and said it was premature to conclude what will be in the final report.
Nevertheless, Gen. Scowcroft said he does not expect that the panel's recommendations will rule out pre-emptive military action.
"I think if we end up dealing with the issue of pre-emption I would speculate that there will not be an attempt to ban it but an attempt to define and set parameters and guidelines," said Gen. Scowcroft, a former national security adviser to President Ford and the first President Bush.
The legality of pre-emptive action has been at issue since Mr. Annan told a British Broadcasting Corp. interviewer last month that he considered the invasion of Iraq to be "illegal" within the context of the U.N. system.
President Bush defended his decision in an address to the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 21, citing a series of U.N. resolutions passed prior to the war that promised "serious consequences" if Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein failed to disarm.
Mr. Kerry, during his debate with Mr. Bush on Thursday, said he supported the right of a president to order a pre-emptive strike but that it must pass "the global test where your countrymen, your people, understand fully why you're doing what you're doing, and you can prove to the world that you did it for legitimate reasons."
Mr. Bush countered the next day that this would give foreign governments a veto over U.S. national security decisions.
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, in an interview at The Washington Times last month, stressed that the U.S. Constitution authorizes the United States to act in its own self-defense without U.N. approval.
Even so, he said, the Iraq war was justified based on Saddam Hussein's numerous "material breaches" of U.N. resolutions on his weapons programs. "What we did was totally consistent with international law," Mr. Powell said.
Asked about a Russian claim that it has a right to act pre-emptively against terrorism anywhere in the world, Mr. Powell said such action "is part of the inherent right of self-defense" enjoyed by every country.
But, he said, "You'll have to make your case — once you've pre-empted something — to the world and to your own people that it was the right thing to do."
The U.N. charter authorizes the use of military force by member nations acting in "self-defense if an armed attack occurs" or when approved by the Security Council.
The U.N. panel is expected to submit its report to the secretary-general Dec. 1. Mr. Annan will decide whether the report will be made public.
Besides its recommendations on military force, the group is expected to call for changes to the Security Council's makeup. Mr. Evans said the panel has discussed recommending that several new countries be granted membership. Currently, all five permanent members have veto power.
"If you want the Security Council to be credible with the world as a whole, it has to reflect the world as a whole," he said.
A major impetus for improving the U.N. system, Mr. Evans said, is to ensure that the United States remains an active participant.
"The exercise is really to make the U.N. work so well in these areas that the U.S. won't be tempted, or tempted as often, to walk away from the system," Mr. Evans said.
By Heather J. Carlson THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The issue grows out of the international controversy over the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq without a final U.N. Security Council resolution explicitly authorizing the war, said panel member Gareth Evans, a former foreign minister of Australia.
"I expect the panel to be giving close consideration to what those rules are and how they should be applied and whether an effort should be made to identify generally agreed criteria for the legitimate use of force, whatever the context," Mr. Evans said during a recent appearance at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.
He made his remarks before last week's presidential debate in which Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry's call for a "global test" on when pre-emptive action is justified became a campaign issue.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan established the 16-member High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change in November to study ways to reform the 59-year-old organization so it can better address 21st-century threats to security and peace.
But Mr. Evans, currently president of the International Crisis Group think tank, said much of the panel's work has focused on establishing detailed guidelines for the use of military force.
"A central reason for our appointment was concern that the U.N., and indeed the whole multilateral security system, was really at a crossroads with the resurgence of unilateralism from you know whom, and increasing willingness to bypass the Security Council," Mr. Evans said in a clear reference to the Bush administration.
The lone American on the panel, retired Gen. Brent Scowcroft, voiced surprise at Mr. Evans decision to discuss the panel's work publicly and said it was premature to conclude what will be in the final report.
Nevertheless, Gen. Scowcroft said he does not expect that the panel's recommendations will rule out pre-emptive military action.
"I think if we end up dealing with the issue of pre-emption I would speculate that there will not be an attempt to ban it but an attempt to define and set parameters and guidelines," said Gen. Scowcroft, a former national security adviser to President Ford and the first President Bush.
The legality of pre-emptive action has been at issue since Mr. Annan told a British Broadcasting Corp. interviewer last month that he considered the invasion of Iraq to be "illegal" within the context of the U.N. system.
President Bush defended his decision in an address to the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 21, citing a series of U.N. resolutions passed prior to the war that promised "serious consequences" if Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein failed to disarm.
Mr. Kerry, during his debate with Mr. Bush on Thursday, said he supported the right of a president to order a pre-emptive strike but that it must pass "the global test where your countrymen, your people, understand fully why you're doing what you're doing, and you can prove to the world that you did it for legitimate reasons."
Mr. Bush countered the next day that this would give foreign governments a veto over U.S. national security decisions.
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, in an interview at The Washington Times last month, stressed that the U.S. Constitution authorizes the United States to act in its own self-defense without U.N. approval.
Even so, he said, the Iraq war was justified based on Saddam Hussein's numerous "material breaches" of U.N. resolutions on his weapons programs. "What we did was totally consistent with international law," Mr. Powell said.
Asked about a Russian claim that it has a right to act pre-emptively against terrorism anywhere in the world, Mr. Powell said such action "is part of the inherent right of self-defense" enjoyed by every country.
But, he said, "You'll have to make your case — once you've pre-empted something — to the world and to your own people that it was the right thing to do."
The U.N. charter authorizes the use of military force by member nations acting in "self-defense if an armed attack occurs" or when approved by the Security Council.
The U.N. panel is expected to submit its report to the secretary-general Dec. 1. Mr. Annan will decide whether the report will be made public.
Besides its recommendations on military force, the group is expected to call for changes to the Security Council's makeup. Mr. Evans said the panel has discussed recommending that several new countries be granted membership. Currently, all five permanent members have veto power.
"If you want the Security Council to be credible with the world as a whole, it has to reflect the world as a whole," he said.
A major impetus for improving the U.N. system, Mr. Evans said, is to ensure that the United States remains an active participant.
"The exercise is really to make the U.N. work so well in these areas that the U.S. won't be tempted, or tempted as often, to walk away from the system," Mr. Evans said.
By Heather J. Carlson THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Friday, October 08, 2004
Thursday, October 07, 2004
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Monday, October 04, 2004
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Shaun of the Dead
I liked it. not only was it a funny comedy, but it was also a decent zombie movie. much better than any of the resident evil films. The scene where David gets torn to pieces alone makes it a viable horror flick. I highly recommend it.
Saturday, October 02, 2004
Friday, October 01, 2004
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