Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Majority still oppose gay marriage in U.S.

Majority still oppose gay marriage in U.S.

Published: May 24, 2010

PRINCETON, N.J., May 24 (UPI) -- A majority of Americans still are against legalizing homosexual marriage, a poll released Monday indicates.

The Gallup poll found 53 percent oppose same-sex marriage

and 44 percent favor allowing it.

The polling firm said 68 percent were opposed and 27 percent in favor when it first surveyed Americans about gay marriage. The latest numbers, Gallup said, were tied for the lowest opposition but slightly below the highest ever support -- 46 percent -- in 2007.

Among Democrats questioned, a majority favor legal gay marriage, with 70 percent identifying themselves as liberals expressing support.

Those surveyed who say religion is "very important" in their lives oppose legal same-sex marriage by 70 percent to 27 percent. On the other hand, those who say religion is not important to them support gay marriage by just as wide a margin, Gallup found.

The telephone poll of 1,029 adults was conducted May 3-6 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/05/24/Majority-still-oppose-gay-marriage-in-US/UPI-42351274738431/


******Air Force to Test Supersonic Missile Tomorrow, Space Plane's Mission Revealed

Air Force to Test Supersonic Missile Tomorrow, Space Plane's Mission Revealed
Jason Mick (Blog) - May 24, 2010 5:32 PM

The Air Force's latest toy appears not to be a weapon of destruction, but rather one of intelligence

The Space Shuttle may be dead, but the Air Force is looking to pick up the slack.  Last month they launched their secret space plane, the X-37B, from a base from Florida.  The spacecraft is currently on the first part of a top secret nine month mission that will end with a soft landing in California.

So is the X-37B the Air Force's first foray into creating the world's first starfighter?  Absolutely, not says the Air Force.  Gary E. Payton, under secretary of the Air Force for space programs says that the plane carries "no offensive capabilities."  He states, "The program supports technology risk reduction, experimentation and operational concept development."

These claims seem to be supported by new data from amateur star watchers.  Ted Molczan, a member of a skywatching team in Toronto, was among those who spotted the secret craft and analyzed its course.  They found that like the Space Shuttle, it flew at a pretty typical altitude of 255 miles above the Earth's surface and circled the Earth every 90 minutes.  Its course takes it as far north as 40 degrees latitude, just below New York City.

The interesting thing that Molczan noted was that the craft was passed the same point exactly every four days -- a typical format followed by spy satellites.  And its trajectory took it past interesting locations, including Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and North Korea.  Thus Molczan and other amateur observers are saying that the Air Force is probably being honest about the craft's lack of weapons, and it's probably testing high tech surveillance equipment.

If the X-37B indeed does 
not hold space weapons, fans of high-tech weapons can soften their disappointment with the news that the X-51A Waverider hypersonic missile will conduct its first test flight tomorrow.

The new missile is designed to have a unique profile from traditional ICBMs, to prevent nuclear powers like China and Russia from mistaking the missile for a nuclear warhead.  The missile is to be launched from a B-52 Stratofortress bomber.

The almost wingless craft will use atmospheric oxygen to burn a mix of ethylene and JP-7 fuel initially, before transitioning to pure JP-7 fuel.   This is different that previous attempts, such as the X-43A, which used hydrogen fuel.  By ditching the need for hydrogen the hypersonic platform becomes more promising logistically.  The new platform employs a bleeding edge Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne SJY61 scramjet engine and also employs advanced thermal protections.

The missile will climb 70,000 feet before descending at speeds in excess of Mach 6.  Four test vehicles currently exist -- there are no plans of recovering the missile after the initial test.  The hope is that it will keep transmitting data though until impact.


The X-37B space plane is reportedly on a top secret surveillance mission for the U.S. Air Force.  (Source: U.S. Air Force)

The X-51A missile is designed to hit targets at hypersonic speeds without being confused with a nuclear warhead.  (Source: U.S. Air Force)

The X-51A hypersonic missile will take flight tomorrow.  (Source: U.S. Air Force)
The Air Force's latest toy appears not to be a weapon of destruction, but rather one of intelligence

The Space Shuttle may be dead, but the Air Force is looking to pick up the slack.  Last month they launched their secret space plane, the X-37B, from a base from Florida.  The spacecraft is currently on the first part of a top secret nine month mission that will end with a soft landing in California.

So is the X-37B the Air Force's first foray into creating the world's first starfighter?  Absolutely, not says the Air Force.  Gary E. Payton, under secretary of the Air Force for space programs says that the plane carries "no offensive capabilities."  He states, "The program supports technology risk reduction, experimentation and operational concept development."

These claims seem to be supported by new data from amateur star watchers.  Ted Molczan, a member of a skywatching team in Toronto, was among those who spotted the secret craft and analyzed its course.  They found that like the Space Shuttle, it flew at a pretty typical altitude of 255 miles above the Earth's surface and circled the Earth every 90 minutes.  Its course takes it as far north as 40 degrees latitude, just below New York City.

The interesting thing that Molczan noted was that the craft was passed the same point exactly every four days -- a typical format followed by spy satellites.  And its trajectory took it past interesting locations, including Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and North Korea.  Thus Molczan and other amateur observers are saying that the Air Force is probably being honest about the craft's lack of weapons, and it's probably testing high tech surveillance equipment.

If the X-37B indeed does 
not hold space weapons, fans of high-tech weapons can soften their disappointment with the news that the X-51A Waverider hypersonic missile will conduct its first test flight tomorrow.

The new missile is designed to have a unique profile from traditional ICBMs, to prevent nuclear powers like China and Russia from mistaking the missile for a nuclear warhead.  The missile is to be launched from a B-52 Stratofortress bomber.


http://www.dailytech.com/Air+Force+to+Test+Supersonic+Missile+Tomorrow+Space+Planes+Mission+Revealed/article18469.htm

Poland receives US Patriot missile battery

Poland receives US Patriot missile battery


2010-05-24 20:30:00

A US Patriot missile battery has arrived in Poland to be stationed at a military base and provide training to Polish soldiers, the US embassy in Warsaw said Monday.

'An American Patriot Air and Missile Defence Battery arrived Sunday at Morag, home of the 16th Mechanized Battalion of the Polish Land Forces, located in northeast Poland,' the embassy said in a statement. The mission in Poland was to conduct joint training and exercises with the Polish air defence, the embassy added.

The battery comes after Poland's parliament approved in February an agreement that specifies conditions for the stationing of US soldiers as part of revamped plans for a US missile shield.

The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) gives the green light for some 100 US soldiers to be stationed in Poland as part of the shield, which will include Patriot missiles and SM-3s.

Russia has been critical of the US-Polish agreement, which places the missiles in Morag, a town some 60 km from Kaliningrad, Russia.

US President Barack Obama announced Sep 17 that the US would drop former president George W. Bush's plans for a long-range system in favour of a short-and medium-range system to counter Iran's ballistic missile programme. It was agreed that Poland would still get the Patriot missile battery.

The battery will be manned by some 100-150 US soldiers, who will be based in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Officials will unveil the battery at an official ceremony Wednesday.

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123205676

Radical Islamic Terrorists and America’s Immigration Crisis

Radical Islamic Terrorists and America's Immigration Crisis

by Marinka Peschmann

At a press conference last Wednesday with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, President Barack Obama said his administration was taking a "very close look" at Arizona's new anti-illegal immigration law, "for any implications, especially for civil rights."

ObamaCalderon.JPG

So while the Obama Administration looks at civil rights implications, the big question to ask is will they also look at the implications of the radical Islamic terrorists in America—including those who have taken advantage of the broken U.S. immigration system?

What? Radical Islamic terrorists are in America?

According to a previously disclosed 2009 Virginia Terrorism Threat Assessment, the answer is a resounding yes, and among them are members of; Al-Qa'ida, Al-Shabaab, HAMAS, Hizballah, Jama'at al-Tabligh, Jama'at ul Fuqra, Lashkar-e Tayyiba, the Muslim Brotherhood, Sunni Extremists, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Islamic Jihad Union, and the Taliban.

This information you will not learn from the Obama Administration's Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who considers acts of terror to be man-made disasters. The same Secretary Napolitano, who quickly condemned the Arizona immigration law (intended to do the job the Federal government failed to do), even though she had not read it.

Nor would you know that Islamic radical terrorists have taken advantage of America's immigration crisis by listening to Attorney General Eric Holder either. Instead, for instance, he obfuscated then refused to identify radical Islam as the motive behind the failed Times Square terrorist attack earlier this month, after Faisal Shahzad, a naturalized U.S. citizen (via marriage) from Pakistan, who returned to the States after five months of terror training in Waziristan, was arrested. Holder is considering suing Arizona over their immigration law even though, as he admitted last week, he had not read it either.

For unknown reasons the Obama Administration has deliberately refused to publicly address the clear and present danger of radical Islamic terrorists and the immigration crisis. As previously reported here, Terrorists have applied for Green Cards, and as the 215-page 2009 Virginia Terrorism Threat Assessment confirms, "The international terrorism threat to Virginia and the nation as a whole stems from several radical Islamic militant groups…."

Moreover, as the threat assessment documents, there is a connection with radical Islamic terrorists and immigration:

Marriage fraud is a common method of facilitating the extended stays of foreign
terrorists in the U.S….Known cases of sham marriages exist involving al-Qa'ida, Hizballah, and individuals with radical ties. Fraudulent marriages have enabled individuals affiliated with al-Qa'ida, Hizballah, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad to remain in the U.S. One regional example is the Charlotte Hizballah cell, where a key figure "helped secure three fraudulent visas and three sham marriages for the purpose of 'legally' bringing in the United States his brother, his brother-in-law, and sister so that they might become legal permanent residents…

… one Virginia-linked case occurred in which a Norfolk police officer testified against an Ohio-based Jordanian man who had tried to recruit him online for a terrorist cause. Subsequent federal investigation showed this subject likely entered the U.S. through a fraudulent marriage to a Kansas City woman in 2001; the marriage was annulled five months later…

… Many individuals enter the U.S. on student visas and never enroll in school… [or] individuals may enroll and seem to be legitimate students but may still be working as operatives. The three categories of nonimmigrant student visas monitored and tracked by DHS are F visas for academic study, M visas for vocational study, and J visas for cultural exchange. Such visas can be exploited by terrorists not only as a method to legally penetrate the borders, but also present a legitimate opportunity to study technical fields which may be of use in future attacks.

One of the FBI's most wanted subjects, Aafia Siddiqui, who has ties to al-Qa'ida, entered the U.S. on a student visa and lived in the country for over a decade while studying and teaching at Brandeis and MIT… she was found with handwritten notes referring to a 'mass casualty attack' at various prominent locations in the U.S., such as the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, and the Brooklyn Bridge… Separate FBI reporting advised that an individual in the U.S. had sponsored several individuals from Egypt to enter to the U.S. on F-1 student visas. This individual had an identified contact at Strayer University who prepared and filed the visa paperwork through the University… The sponsor and the university contact allegedly hold radical Muslim beliefs…

Borrowing from Secretary Napolitano, the immigration crisis is a federal government-made disaster that occurred under both Republican and Democratic leadership. The consequences of the unsecured borders and the broken, backlogged United States Citizenship & Immigration Services do not exclusively adversely and dangerously affect Arizona– but the nation. It's time for the Obama Administration to stop deflecting reality and tell the truth about the threats facing America.

Cross-posted at marinkapeschmann.com


http://biggovernment.com/mpeschmann/2010/05/24/radical-islamic-terrorists-and-americas-immigration-crisis/

Satanic cult teens 'sacrificed' victims then ate them

Satanic cult teens 'sacrificed' victims then ate them

Seven young members of a satanic sect have gone on trial in Russia accused of four gruesome murders in which they "ritually sacrificed" their victims before cooking and eating parts of them.


Andrew Osborn in Moscow
Published: 7:21PM BST 24 May 2010

Prosecutors say the murders took place on 29 and 30 June 2008 in a remote forested area close to Yaroslavl with two victims killed per night.

The self-styled devil worshippers, which included a young teenage girl, lured three girls and a boy aged from 15 to 17 to the spot by plying them with alcohol and inviting them to sit round a bonfire.

They then killed them in a sacrificial ceremony, stabbing them 666 times each in homage to the so-called Number of the Beast.

Prosecutors say the young killers then dismembered their victims' bodies and cooked certain body parts such as the hearts and the tongues before consuming them.

They buried the rest of the remains in a giant pit which they marked with an inverted cross topped with a dead cat. Investigators say the sect was formed in 2006 and gleaned its knowledge of Satanism from the Internet, initially killing cats and dogs before graduating to homicide.

The case has shocked inhabitants of the historic city of Yaroslavl some 150 miles north-east of Moscow which is one of Russia's 'Golden Ring' tourist destinations and better known for its beautiful churches and monasteries than grisly ritual killings.

The defendants' young age - four of the accused were under eighteen at the time of the murders - and the sheer cruelty of their crimes combined with the fact that none of them came from poor families has left many locals struggling to understand their motives.

The case is being held behind closed doors but local media say all seven defendants admit their guilt. They are officially charged with murder, theft and the desecration of human remains.

They would typically be jailed for life but the fact that four of the defendants were minors at the time means they are likely to get off more lightly.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/7760270/Satanic-cult-teens-sacrificed-victims-then-ate-them.html