Ship is to be built by the Chinese state-own CSC Jinling Shipyard and the Titanic II will be built to the same dimensions as it predecessor.

Quote: “It will be every bit as luxurious as the original Titanic but of course it will have state-of-the-art 21st century technology and the latest navigation and safety systems,” Palmer said in a statement, released on Monday. End quote.

Then he added the following, “Titanic II will sail in the northern hemisphere and her maiden voyage from England to North America is scheduled for late 2016.

“We have invited the Chinese navy to escort Titanic II on its maiden voyage to New York.” end quote.

Just weeks after the 100th anniversary of the sinking of Titanic (well, Titanic I now), Palmer launched his plans for the clone ship and his new shipping company to be named, Blue Star Line. The original Titanic was commissioned by the White Star Line and was the largest ocean liner in the world at the time of its April 15, 1912 sinking.

This new Titanic WILL have more lifeboats and other more modern systems to operate a ocean liner in the 21st century. What this blogger is intrigue about is the comment about having a “Chinese Navy” escort on that maiden voyage set for 2016!

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Ref.
1. Breitbart.com. “AUSTRALIAN BILLIONAIRE TO BUILD TITANIC II” by AFP. April 30, 2012. (http://www.breitbart.com/system/wire/CNG—900372705590b12088fe792d15f2c61c—c1). image from foxnews.

A decade into this war and somehow we are to think that our troops, our society has not been changed by it? That we are supposed to be shocked by such displays when the enemy has done worse to our people (Hey – remember the Private Military Company bodies hanging from that bridge in Iraq? No? Well, I guess you don’t need to read the rest of this article).

Below are my references to this incident are good reads. So use the links in the reference section to read each one.

While the official word on such matters is that no soldier is to pose with enemy dead beyond that needed for official documentation of the incident – the “recent” photos coming out this year of our troops posing with the enemy dead, or even worse, urinating on them; has ‘shock’ official society. But what about “regular society? Just a quick talk with my friends about the incident, the conclusion was “This is nothing new.”

Partly motivated my our mainstream news media for more gory details about the war, the troops are being stressed out over repeated deployments overseas in this never ending war.

I’m quoting a article by Bill Ardolino and Bill Roggio entitled “On soldiers posing with corpses,” Quote: One of the best historical resources that delves into the phenomenon is With the Old Breed: at Peleliu and Okinawa, Marine mortarman Eugene Sledge’s history of the Pacific Campaign in World War II.

The behavior is also not unique to the military, as attested to by the tradition of medical students jauntily posing with cadavers:

Taking photos with cadavers is nothing new. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, medical students regularly posed with cadavers. Some took darkly humorous shots with the dead bodies posed or dressed in costumes. Others took serious classroom photos mid-dissection.

Hughes, a recent graduate of the University of Iowa’s medical school, proudly displays a photo in her office of her great-grandmother with a cadaver that was taken in her medical school anatomy class in 1910. But she acknowledges times have changed. end quote.

Misters Ardolino and Roggio also posted links to what our enemies have done to civilians and our prisoners. Al Qaeda death squads beheading 10 civilians in Sabari. Taliban blowing up prisoners with explosives. The Taliban also killed a former ISI officer and then desecrating his body. The poisoning of 170 Afghan women and girls. This part of the story is not getting to the regular news viewer sitting down in their recliner in front of the boob tube waiting on “Dancing With The Stars” to come on.

If it helps the US war effort, don’t show it. That is what this blogger thinks. If it hurts the US war effort, then by all means show it over and over again.

De-humanizing the enemy goes back a long time. As an example, from the Texas Revolution; the Goliad Massacre is a good example.

After having surrendered his surviving troops, the injured Colonel Fannin were waiting to be shipped back to the United States. March 26, 1836, Mexican commander Colonel Portilla received orders from General Santa Anna requiring of him to have the prisoners shot. So on March 27, 1836 (Palm Sunday), the Texans were awaken and lead out of the encampment on different pretexts. Where upon they were shot in groups.

Quote: … Dr. Shackleford, who had been invited by Colonel Guerrier to his tent, about a hundred yards southeastwardly from the fort, says: ” In about half an hour, we heard the report of a volley of small-arms, toward the river, and to the east of the fort. I immediately inquired the cause of the firing, and was assured by the officer that ‘ he did not know, but supposed it was the guard firing off their guns.’ In about fifteen or twenty minutes thereafter, another such volley was fired, directly south of us, and in front.

At the same time I could distinguish the heads of some of the men through the boughs of some peach-trees, and could hear their screams. It was then, for the first time, the awful conviction seized upon our minds that treachery and murder had begun their work ! Shortly afterward, Colonel Guerrier appeared at the mouth of the tent. I asked him if it could be possible they were murdering our men. He replied that ‘ it was so ; but he had not given the order, neither had he executed it.’ ”

In about an hour more, the wounded were dragged out and butchered. Colonel Fannin was the last to suffer. When informed of his fate, he met it like a soldier. He handed his watch to the officer whose business it was to murder him, and requested him to have him shot in the breast and not in the head, and likewise to see that his remains should be decently buried. These natural and proper requirements the officer promised should be fulfilled, but, with that perfidy which is so prominent a characteristic of the Mexican race, he failed to do either ! Fannin seated himself in a chair, tied the hand-kerchief over his eyes, and bared his bosom to receive the fire of the soldiers.

As the different divisions were brought to the place of execution, they were ordered to sit down with their backs to the guard. In one instance, ” young Fenner rose on his feet, and exclaimed, ‘ Boys, they are going to kill us—die with your faces to them, like men !’ At same moment, two other young men, flourishing their caps over their heads, shouted at the top of their voices, ‘ Hurrah for Texas !’ “

Many attempted to escape ; but the most of those who survived the first fire were cut down by the pursuing cavalry, or afterward shot. It is believed that, in all, twenty-seven of those who were marched out to be slaughtered made their escape ; leaving three hundred and thirty who suffered death on that Sunday morning.*

* Number of prisoners at Goliad, on the 27th of March, according to Portilla 445
Major Miller’s command (80)
Physicians and attendants (8)
Escaped from the slaughter (27)= 115 total spared/escaped
Number who suffered death 330
Names of those who escaped, according to Dr. Shackleford : —
New Orleans Grays : William L. Hunter, William Brannon, John Reese, David Jones, B. H. Holland.
Huntsville Volunteers : Bennett Butler, Milton Irish.
Mustangs : William Morer, John C. Duval, William Mason, John Holliday, John Van Bibber, Charles Spain, Sharpe.
Burke’s Company: Herman Eremby, Thomas Kemp, N. J. Devany. Horton’s Company : Daniel Martindale, William Hadden, Charles Smith. Red Rovers : Isaac D. Hamilton, D. Cooper, L. M. Brooks, William Simpson. Company not recollected : N. Rosen, William Murphy, John Williams.
Foote, vol. ii., p. 244.

The dead were then stripped, and their naked bodies thrown into piles. A few brush were placed over them, and an attempt made to burn them up, but with such poor success, that their hands and feet, and much of their flesh, were left a prey to dogs and vultures! Texas has erected no monument to perpetuate the memory of these heroic victims of a cruel barbarism ; yet they have a memorial in the hearts of their countrymen more durable than brass or marble.  end quote.

Can we balance the War on Terrorism without losing ourselves? Since the 9-11-2001 attack, we as a society has traded more of our freedoms to be “safe.” We are asking our troops to trade their humanity for what? The eternal warrior?
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Ref.
1. sofrep.com. “The Psychology of War and Urinating on Dead Bodies” by Brandon Webb. APril 22, 2012. (http://sofrep.com/6015/the-psychology-of-war-and-urinating-on-dead-bodies/#.T5QldAI7ZuM.twitter).
2. Coloring Every Moment. “Response to Marine Urinating Dead Bodies” January 13, 2012.(http://chrisagonus.blogspot.com/2012/01/response-to-marine-urinating-dead.html). image from that blog.
3. Long War Journal. “On soldiers posing with corpses” by Bill Ardolino and Bill Roggio. APril 19, 2012.(http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2012/04/the_la_times_has_published.php).
4. Son of the south. net. “Texas History: Massacre at Goliad”. (http://www.sonofthesouth.net/texas/goliad-massacre.htm).

Plus the added heat that Santorum could have ‘lost’ his own home state of Pennsylvania. Another lost there would have effectively ended his political career.

But Santorum bows out after having won 11 states. Plus gets to make the ‘gracious’ call for Republician unity to defeat President Barack Obama this November.

In his Gettysburg speech, Rick Santorum managed NOT to mention Mitt Romney while going on and on about the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War that took place at Gettysburg. Santorum barely managed to even speak about the need to defeat Barack Obama (according to the Dailymail-see link below in Ref section).

Plus Newt Gingrich has his own problems. Utah has its presidential primary on June 26. He tried to pay his primary filing fee in Utah and the $500 check bounced! Gingrich has until April 20 to get the matter corrected. If not, he will be disqualified and will not be on the ballot.  And he says that he is still in the race.
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Ref.
1. Dailymail. “Graceless: Rick Santorum drops out but fails even to mention Mitt Romney” by . APril 10, 2012. (http://harndenblog.dailymail.co.uk/2012/04/big-mistake-rick-santorum-drops-out-but-fails-even-to-mention-mitt-romney.html). Photo with article from New York TImes.
2. Salt Lake Tribune. “Rolly: Newt Gingrich stiffs Utah” by Paul Rolly. April 10, 2012. (http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/53886982-90/utah-romney-gingrich-campaign.html.csp).
3. Salt Lake Tribune. “Gingrich: Still in, says Romney likely GOP nominee” by Kimberly Hefling (AP). April 8, 2012.(http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/53875813-68/gingrich-romney-campaign-hit.html.csp).

There is no other way to look at it if the Supreme Court rejects the “Affordable Care Act” (aka Obamacare). President Obama will be damaged goods going into the November elections if that happens.

Quote: “Ultimately, I am confident that the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress,” Obama said. He was attending a news conference with leaders from Canada and Mexico.

The key problem of the bill is the requirement that all Americans will have to have healthcare of pay a penalty. Conservatives and Republicans view that clause as a ‘overreach’ by the federal government into people’s lives.

The justices are expected to make their decision by June or July of this year. Right when the 2012 peresidential campaign will be going on.

As for the Mitt Romney campaign, a spokeswoman for the Republican front runner took exception to the use of the word “unprecedented” used by the president. Quote: “What was ‘unprecedented’ was the partisan process President Obama used to shove this unconstitutional bill through despite the overwhelming objections from Americans across the country,” said Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul.

“Even if the law is upheld, Governor Romney will begin the process of repealing it on Day One in office.”

Romney shepherded healthcare reform through the state of Massachusetts when he was governor there. Democrats note that Romney’s law was an inspiration for Obama’s. end quote.

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Ref.
1. Reuters.com. “Obama takes a shot at Supreme Court over healthcare” by Jeff Mason. April 2, 2012.(http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/02/us-obama-healthcare-idUSBRE8310WP20120402).  Cartoon by Henry Payne.  April 2, 2012.

Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum?

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!

Is this the best we can do?!

A successful used car saleman (sorry used car sells persons) and a religous crusader that will go off on a tangent for social issues – but not stick with the main goal of getting Obama out of the White House?!

Readers of this blog will note that I think Newt Gingrich is the cloest candidate in this race that will take the fight to the enemy (i.e. he is the closest thing we have right now to a Klingon warrior in this mess). If Allen West doesn’t get into the mix at the convention Larry, Curly, and yes – even Moe (Newt); then Obama will win re-election and this nation is SCREWED!

Latest point in fact that causes me to be fearful… Rick Santorum promises to crack down on internet pornography if elected.

Quoting the article by Steven Nelson: Although the idea of Santorum vanquishing Internet pornography may seem far-fetched, a serious effort to combat online smut might actually be successful, UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh told The Daily Caller.

“If the government wanted to aggressively move against Internet pornography, it could do so,” explained Volokh. “Here’s the deal: In most parts of the country, a lot of pornography on the Internet would plausibly be seen as obscene.” And then there was this: “It wouldn’t be that difficult to close down a lot of the relatively visible websites that are used for the distribution of pornography, if they’re in the United States.” end quote.

To block foreign websites, special legislative action would be required to allow the use of a “filter” to block obscene websites.

Quote:  “Although the Supreme Court says private possession is constitutionally protected, it has said that private receipt of [pornography] is not protected,” noted Volokh. “You can’t prosecute them all … but you can find certain types of pornography that are sufficiently unpopular” for easy convictions, he explained. end quote.   Then professor Eugene Volokh pointed out that the government would have to find extra money in the budget to hire the extra prosectors needed to go after individual holders of pornography.

Trillons in debt, Rick gives Newt’s Space policy a thumb’s down vote and Rick Santorum is going to go after internet porn procession of companies and individuals!?

Law professor Jonathan Turley of George Washington Universitystated the following: “What constitutes obscenity remains maddeningly vague,” but added that he’s not entirely convinced Santorum would be successful in an attempt to snuf Internet porn. What Santorum would consider obscene is obviously far greater than many Americans,” he said. “Sexual films of consenting adults that are watched by consenting adults are generally presumed to be pornographic but not obscene.” end quote.

Professor Turley went on to say that Federal courts are reluctant to define movies or pictures as obscene based on such different opinions in society. Rick Santorum’s view of what would be considered as standard falls well outside of what is accepted as case law.

Quote: “Santorum’s suggestion of a crackdown also ignores the fact that this material is widely available on the Internet with thousands of foreign sites,” Turley added. “An attempt to prosecute standard pornography would result in bizarrely uneven enforcement.” And this: “In a primary season laser-focused on talk of “job creation,” said Turley, Santorum’s anti-porn proposal would “attempt to criminalize an industry that is supported by millions of Americans.” end quote.

Broker convention… here we come!  That might be the ONLY thing that will save this nation now!

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Ref.
1. Dailycaller.com. “‘Vigorous’ Santorum crackdown may catch Internet porn viewers with pants down” by Steven Nelson. March 14, 2012.(http://dailycaller.com/2012/03/14/vigorous-santorum-crackdown-may-catch-internet-porn-viewers-with-pants-down/2/). AP photo with article.

Why not?

With it coming down to just Mittens being the GOP’s Chosen one (like B.H. Obama became the “Chosen One” for the Democrats), We are going to have to wait another 4 years before we get the white house again (maybe??).  But by then, Obama and his butt kissers will have damaged this nation.  Maybe to the point of even why bother trying to correct things?

By that point, it will be abandon ship time for those who still have enough $$ to escape the red, white, and blue Steel Curtain that will cut off most Americans’ escape route.

Reporting to the Senate Armed Services Comittee in written testimony, Beijing has now developed the missiles, electronic jammers, and lasers for use against orbiting satellites.

Quote: “The space program, including ostensible civil projects, supports China’s growing ability to deny or degrade the space assets of potential adversaries and enhances China’s conventional military capabilities,” Lt. General Burgess said. End Quote.

Back in January 2007, a modified Chinese DF-21 missile was used to destroy a Chinese weather satellite. The resulting blast created some 10,000 pieces of junk that threathen both manned and unmanned spacecraft.

Quote: “China’s successfully tested a direct ascent anti-satellite weapon (ASAT) missile and is developing jammers and directed-energy weapons for ASAT missions,” he said. “A prerequisite for ASAT attacks, China’s ability to track and identify satellites is enhanced by technologies from China’s manned and lunar programs as well as technologies and methods developed to detect and track space debris.” End Quote.

What this blooger in this article perked my attention. North Korea has demonstrated the ability to disrupt our Global Positioning System signals up to 62 miles away using Soviet era made electronic jammers on vehicles stationed near the demarcation line between North and South Korea. I wished the article went into greater detail about that bit of news.

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Ref.
1. Washington Free Beacon.com. “DIA DIRECTOR: CHINA PREPARING FOR SPACE WARFARE. GROWING THREAT TO UNITED STATES” by Bill Gerta. February 23, 2012. ( http://freebeacon.com/dia-director-china-preparing-for-space-warfare/ ).  image found on web about cold war space projects.