XIAM007

Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Wednesday 29 August 2012

In the Event of MOON DISASTER: "The speech the that was never given" -

In the Event of MOON DISASTER: "The speech the that was never given" - 



It’s impossible to mention Neil Armstrong without remembering his most notable achievement as the first man to walk on the moon. Since Armstrong’s death on Saturday, the nation has been recollecting that moment in 1969 when NASA gave the world its first successful lunar landing.

But, what if the first lunar landing had turned out differently? What if the astronauts never made it back? As fictitious as that may seem now, in 1969, it was a keen possibility. In fact, President Nixon’s speech writer, William Safire, created a speech for such a contingency and sent it as a memo entitled, “In Event of Moon Disaster” to Nixon’s chief of staff, H.R. Halderman, just days before the event.

In a 1999 interview with NBC’s Meet The Press, Safire discussed the circumstances surrounding the eerie speech, “At that time, the most dangerous part of the moon mission, was getting the moon module back into orbit and join the command ship.”

He continued, “But if they couldn’t, they would have to be abandoned on the moon, left to die there. And mission control would have to close down communication. The men would either starve to death or commit suicide.”

So, while most of the world anticipated the best case scenario, Safire planned for the worst by providing the president with words that would not only honor the lost astronauts but also give hope for future space explorations.

Although moving, reading the speech today is like glimpsing into an alternate reality where things turned out much differently. It can’t help but make you wonder what might have been.

The full text of the never delivered, “In Event of Moon Disaster” speech is below:

“Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.

These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.

These two men are laying down their lives in mankind’s most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.

They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by the nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.

In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.

In ancient days, men looked at the stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.

Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man’s search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.

For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.”

Read more -
http://www.knuj.net/2012/08/in-event-of-moon-disaster-the-speech-that-was-never-given/

Virgin Airlines says whoever accumulates most frequent flier points over the next year will get a Free Trip to Space -

Virgin Airlines says whoever accumulates most frequent flier points over the next year will get a Free Trip to Space - 



With most frequent flier programs, participants get free flights, access to airport lounges, and free upgrades on their rental cars. But Virgin Airlines just announced that whoever accumulates the most frequent flier points over the next year will get a free trip to space.

Richard Branson's space tourism company Virgin Galactic, which has been planning sub-orbital flights to space since 2004, appears to be ready to start taking space tourists just outside of Earth's atmosphere.

From now until August 7, 2013, Virgin is offering frequent fliers the chance to upgrade to "Galactic" status. Whoever accumulates the most points by that date will win a free flight aboard the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo space plane. The second-place winner will get a free zero-gravity flight aboard a modified airplane here on Earth.

More than 500 people have placed deposits for the $200,000 trip aboard SpaceShipTwo since 2005. Although Virgin has successfully tested the vehicle, it still hasn't flown any tourists to space.

The SpaceShipTwo is designed to carry six passengers, and it's launched midair from another "carrier" airplane. The Federal Aviation Administration has given the company the go-ahead to test SpaceShipTwo in "powered flight" by the end of the year. It has already successfully completed "gliding" tests.

Virgin isn't the only company working on sub-orbital flights. Virginia-based Space Adventures has been planning hour-long trips to 62 miles above the earth's surface at a price of just over $100,000.

Read more - 
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/08/29/save-your-miles-virgin-airlines-offers-top-flier-free-trip-to-space

'Hitler' clothing store stirs anger in India - with a Nazi swastika as the dot on the "i" -

'Hitler' clothing store stirs anger in India - with a Nazi swastika as the dot on the "i" - 


The owner of an Indian clothing store said Wednesday that he would only change its name from "Hitler" if he was compensated for re-branding costs, amid a growing row over the new shop.
The outlet, which sells Western men's wear, opened 10 days ago in Ahmedabad city in the western state of Gujarat with "Hitler" written in big letters over the front and with a Nazi swastika as the dot on the "i".
"I will change it (the name) if people want to compensate me for the money we have spent -- the logo, the hoarding, the business cards, the brand," Rajesh Shah told AFP.
He put the total costs at about 150,000 rupees ($2,700).
Shah insisted that until the store opened he did not know who Adolf Hitler was and that Hitler was a nickname given to the grandfather of his store partner because "he was very strict".
"I didn't know how much the name would disturb people," he told AFP by telephone from Ahmedabad. "It was only when the store opened I learnt Hitler had killed six million people."
Members of the tiny Jewish community in Ahmedabad condemned the store's name, while a senior Israeli diplomat said the embassy would raise the matter "in the strongest possible way."
"People use such names mostly out of ignorance," Israel's Mumbai Consul General Orna Sagiv told AFP.
Esther David, a prominent Indian writer in Ahmedabad who is Jewish, said she was "disturbed and distressed" by the shop, but added that some Indians used the word "Hitler" casually to describe autocratic people.
David said Jewish residents had sought to change Shah's mind about the store's name and told him about the Holocaust.

Read more - 
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/hitler-clothing-store-stirs-anger-india-133743884.html?_esi=1

California bans 'gay cure' therapy as lawmakers urged Assembly members to stand with 'sissy boys' -

California bans 'gay cure' therapy as lawmakers urged Assembly members to stand with 'sissy boys' - 


A bill prohibiting the use of controversial therapy aimed at 'curing' homosexuality on gay teenagers has been approved by California's Assembly, bringing the state a step closer to becoming the first in the U.S. to outlaw the practice.
The vote in the Democratic-controlled Assembly on Tuesday represented a major victory for gay rights advocates who insist that so-called conversion therapy has no medical basis because homosexuality is not a disorder.
Democrat Richardo Lara, one of several openly gay legislators to champion the bill during the debate, urged Assembly members to stand with 'sissy boys'.


Conversion therapy is an attempt to change the sexual orientation of a subject from homosexual or bisexual to heterosexual.
Opponents of the practice say such efforts can cause depression and lead to substance abuse and suicide.
The bill to prohibit children and teenagers from undergoing such therapy was passed by a vote of 51 to 21, a Reuters report said.
'One of our number one priorities in this house is to protect the next generation of Californians,' Mr Lara said in a speech ahead of the vote.
'And some of those are sissy boys. And some of those sissy boys grow up to be Assembly members. And some of those sissy boys need help. And we are here to stand with those sissy boys.'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2195109/California-bans-gay-cure-therapy-lawmakers-say-want-protect-sissy-boys.html

Cops Bust Armed Robber Who Wore Barack Obama Mask During McDonald's Stickup -

Cops Bust Armed Robber Who Wore Barack Obama Mask During McDonald's Stickup - 


An armed robber who wore a Barack Obama mask during a stickup earlier this year at a Florida McDonald’s has been arrested, police reported today.

Marvin McTeare, 22, is facing armed robbery and grand theft charges in connection with the late-January incident during which a masked gunman corralled employees into a rear office and had a McDonald’s manager turn over cash from a safe.

As seen above, one of the Riviera Beach eatery’s surveillance cameras captured the black-clad robber pointing a handgun while wearing a mask depicting a beaming Obama.

Read more - 
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/barack-obama/obama-robber-756901

Bolivian Police Seize 2 Tons of Uranium - in sacks of jute and nylon -

Bolivian Police Seize 2 Tons of Uranium - in sacks of jute and nylon - 



Bolivian police on Tuesday confiscated two tons of uranium that was being stored at a building in central La Paz located near the U.S. and Spanish embassies.
Four people, all of them Bolivian nationals, were arrested while they were transferring the uranium from one vehicle to another, Deputy Interior Minister Jorge Perez said.
The radioactive material was in sacks of jute and nylon, he said.
Since Bolivia does not produce uranium, Perez said, authorities assume the consignment originated in either of two neighboring countries that do: Brazil or Chile.
The commander of the elite police unit that carried out the operation, Col. Eddy Torrez, said the seizure was the fruit of a six-week investigation.
Police pounced when they learned the people in possession of the uranium planned to meet Tuesday with a potential buyer, the colonel said.
Perez said one of the people arrested is an engineer who told police he was holding the uranium for other people, but provided no information on the owners of the cache. 


Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/08/28/bolivian-police-seize-2-tons-uranium/

OOPS - HOT MIC: ABC NEWS employee heard saying Romneys 'happy to have a party when black people drown'... -

OOPS - HOT MIC: ABC NEWS employee heard saying Romneys 'happy to have a party when black people drown'... - 



During live coverage of the Republican National Convention here in Tampa, an ABC News employee provided the perfect example of the pervasive anti-Republican bias Mitt Romney faces in his bid to unseat President Barack Obama.

In video broadcast Monday night by ABC over the internet, an ABC News employee can be heard claiming that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife Ann are unconcerned about the fate of residents of the New Orleans area who are currently being hit by Hurricane Isaac.

“They aren’t concerned at all,” the person says on tape. “They are happy to have a party when black people drown.”

That line elicits laughter from several employees listening in on the joke.

From the audio, it appears the person was talking to an unknown individual named “John” who presumably was making additional jokes at the expense of Ann Romney although such jokes cannot be heard on the clip.



Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-sheffield/2012/08/29/abc-news-romneys-happy-have-party-when-black-people-drown

Rogue rail car rolls undetected across bridge from N.Y. to Niagara Falls, Ont. - across the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge -

Rogue rail car rolls undetected across bridge from N.Y. to Niagara Falls, Ont. - across the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge - 



No one noticed the rogue rail car cross the border from Niagara Falls, N.Y. to Niagara Falls, Ont., in the wee hours of Aug. 12.

Somehow, the rail car left the CSX rail yard on American soil and rolled across the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge before halting in the Niagara Via Rail station, which was closed for the night.

CSX didn’t notice. Neither the U.S. Customs and Border Protection nor the Canada Border Services Agency noticed. The Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, owner of the bridge, didn’t notice.

In fact, the rail car went undetected until Via Rail employees reported the migrant boxcar to authorities when they arrived at work.

And though two weeks have passed, details remain scant as authorities investigate what happened.

“The incident . . . is being treated as an act of vandalism and remains under investigation,” CSX spokesman Bob Sullivan said. He would not elaborate further but said the rail car, which is used to carry finished vehicles, was empty when it rolled across the bridge.

It likely crossed between 1 or 2 a.m., said Brent Gallaugher, the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission’s manager of agency relations and security.

The CBSA refused to say what time it was alerted to the rail car’s appearance because the matter is “under review,” but the Niagara Regional Police Service was called at 12:47 p.m., according to spokesman Const. Derek Watson.

When the CBSA and the police searched the rail car — perhaps as long as 12 hours after it arrived — it was empty.

“The report came in initially as a suspicious runaway box car, but was quickly deemed not suspicious. The box car was empty, and could be described as an open car carrier railway box car,” Watson said in an email.

“We are confident it just got dislodged as cars were being moved into place on the U.S. side,” CBSA spokeswoman Jean D’Amelio Swyer said in an email.

CN Police are also involved in the investigation as CN owns the property where the rail car landed.

Read more - 
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1248438--rogue-rail-car-rolls-undetected-across-bridge-from-n-y-to-niagara-falls-ont

Black CNN employee racially taunted @ Republican Convention - attendee threw peanuts "this is how we feed the animals." -

Black CNN employee racially taunted @ Republican Convention - attendee threw peanuts "this is how we feed the animals." - 



An african American employee of cable news channel CNN was racially taunted during the Republican National Convention.

An attendee of the convention threw peanuts at the CNN employee and shouted, "this is how we feed the animals."

CNN put on this statement.

"CNN can confirm there was an incident directed at an employee inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum earlier this afternoon," the statement read. "CNN worked with convention officials to address this matter and will have no further comment."

Read more -
http://aareports.com/2012/08/black-cnn-employee-racially-taunted-at.html