“House Republicans are aiming to block the Pentagon from removing a Confederate memorial from Arlington National Cemetery.”

The Democrats’ march to Year Zero continues apace with the Biden regime’s proposed removal of a Civil War Memorial that marks the grave of the memorial’s Jewish sculptor who is buried at its base. The memorial’s removal would also necessarily desecrate the graves of numerous Confederate soldiers buried nearby. //

The memorial is intended to celebrate the post-war reconciliation of the North and South, a celebration of unity that apparently rankles Democrats and their rabid desire for division and destruction.

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-travesty-at-arlington-national-cemetery/

Eye drops are uniquely risky because the eye is an immune-privileged site.

SpaceX also faulted the FCC for relying on Ookla speed tests:

For instance, the Bureau's decision arbitrarily penalized SpaceX—and only SpaceX—for not meeting RDOF speed requirements years before SpaceX had any obligation to do so. The arbitrariness of applying this unstated standard exclusively to SpaceX was only compounded by the Bureau's reliance on Ookla nationwide speed tests without any notice that it planned to use such tests and even though those nationwide averages included areas that would not be served by RDOF. Even so, Starlink likely recorded the fastest speeds of any operator in the locations eligible for RDOF funds... Starlink has also deployed its service in advance of all RDOF deployment milestones and well ahead of most, if not all, RDOF awardees.

An unusual right-to-repair drama is disrupting railroad travel in Poland despite efforts by hackers who helped repair trains that allegedly were designed to stop functioning when serviced by anyone but Newag, the train manufacturer.

Before we go on, let's be clear: No, we cannot “blow up” tornadoes, just as we cannot “nuke” hurricanes. It’s too complex, not to mention the likelihood of collateral damage.

But in a theoretical world without risk to lives or property, could you do it? I still don’t think so. Noted storm chaser Reed Timmer posted on X (formerly Twitter) over the weekend that the “explosion changed the thermodynamic gradients dramatically within the vortex and blew up the Clausius-Clapeyron equation.”

The C-C equation relates saturation vapor pressure to temperature. What is saturation vapor pressure? Vapor pressure is basically just that: What is the pressure of the water vapor in the air? But at a given temperature, there’s a maximum amount of moisture the air can hold. That would give you the saturation vapor pressure. Using C-C, we can determine that as temperature increases, the saturation vapor pressure of the air increases exponentially. In other words, warm air can hold much more moisture than cold air, and the relationship is exponential.

What does this all mean? Theoretically (very theoretically), the heat released from an explosion within the condensation funnel of a tornado would lead to a dramatic increase in saturation vapor pressure, thus decreasing the humidity in the vicinity of the funnel. You’re not adding more moisture to the equation, so all you’re doing is increasing temperature and increasing the air’s capacity to hold water—exponentially. All else being equal, you’ve decreased humidity, and because the air is no longer saturated, the condensation funnel (which you see when the air is saturated) visually disappears.

If the condensation funnel is our visual cue of a tornado and it disappears, then to the human mind, the tornado itself has disappeared. So you can actually blow up a tornado, right? Not quite.

Luke AFB, Arizona-56th Fighter Wing
about 5 years ago

#TBT In 1967, Capt Bob Pardo’s wingman was hit over Vietnam and didn’t have enough fuel to make it to Laos. Pardo told him to lower his tail hook and he pushed him 90 miles over the border where they all ejected and were rescued.

Lt Col Pardo retired from Luke in 1974.

For the whole story click here: https://www.luke.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1397511/legendary-pilot-inspires-new-generation-of-air-warriors/

First up: a fantastic, surreal story about one very cold night, more than 70 years ago, in northern Russia, that leads us to marveling at cosmology, dropping toy horses in test tubes of water, and talking about bacteria. And arguing, for a year. Walter Murch (aka, the Godfather of The Godfather), joined by a team of scientists, leads us on what felt like the magical mystery tour of super cool science.

 Then, in the early 80s, the height of the Cold War, when something strange began happening off the coast of Sweden. The navy reported a mysterious sound deep below the surface of the ocean. Again, and again, and again they would hear it near their secret military bases, in their harbors, and up and down the Swedish coastline. 

After thorough analysis the navy was certain. The sound was an invasion into their waters, an act of war, the opening salvos of a possible nuclear annihilation. 

Or was it? Annie McEwen pulls us down into a deep-sea mystery, one of international intrigue that asks you to consider the possibility that maybe, just maybe, your deepest beliefs could be as solid as...air.

Israel's UN Envoy Ambassador, Gilad Erdan, told the United Nations General Assembly that "murdering Israelis" was more important to Hamas than preserving the Muslim holy sites and it was Israel that was defending the mosque.

He then posted a video which he said showed Hamas firing a missile toward the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa Mosque. //

Iron Dome just intercepted a rocket right over Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Israel is using Iron Dome to protect civilians and Holy sites including in Islam. Where is the condemnation against Hamas for targeting these sites? pic.twitter.com/0ZEOrAaUzG

— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) December 15, 2023

PrivateBin is a minimalist, open source online pastebin where the server has zero knowledge of pasted data.

Data is encrypted and decrypted in the browser using 256bit AES in Galois Counter mode.

This is a fork of ZeroBin, originally developed by Sébastien Sauvage. PrivateBin was refactored to allow easier and cleaner extensions and has many additional features. It is, however, still fully compatible to the original ZeroBin 0.19 data storage scheme. Therefore, such installations can be upgraded to PrivateBin without losing any data.

An advanced and beautiful pastebin written in PHP (Faster IT fork) -

This is the stikked-fit version that has been forked from Stikked 0.14.0 in January 2023 as the repository from Claude Hohl became stale for three years.

Stikked allows you to easily share code with anyone you wish. Based on the original Stikked with lots of bugfixes and improvements.

• A web server: Apache, Lighttpd, Nginx, Cherokee.
• A database: MySQL / MariaDB, Postgres. OR a writable folder on your filesystem for SQLite.
• PHP version 7.0 or newer is required.
• PHP-GD for the creation of QR-codes.

An advanced and beautiful pastebin written in PHP.

Stikked is an Open-Source PHP Pastebin, with the aim of keeping a simple and easy to use user interface.

Stikked allows you to easily share code with anyone you wish. Based on the original Stikked with lots of bugfixes and improvements.

:clipboard: Client-side paste service.

NoPaste is an open-source website similar to Pastebin where you can store any piece of code, and generate links for easy sharing

However, what makes NoPaste special is that it works with no database, and no back-end code. Instead, the data is compressed and stored entirely in the link that you share, nowhere else!

RAMASWAMY: So I think the diversity equity inclusion agenda has been abused. In the name of diversity we have, at many of our universities, totally sacrificed diversity of thought. In the name of equity, we've perpetuated a lot of inequity and inequality of opportunity through affirmative action and otherwise.

In the name of inclusion, we've created a new culture of exclusion where certain points of view aren't welcome. //

RAMASWAMY: So especially in a university setting, what do I care about? Diversity of viewpoint. This is important, actually. I think diversity of viewpoint is part of what this country was built on.

Well, the best way to foster diversity of viewpoint is to screen candidates for the diversity of their views, actually. Many look at the board members of many universities. You got to go through their partisan affiliation. It's not 80-20. It's going to be like 90-10 in the other direction.

That's completely at odds with the representation of this country. //

RAMASWAMY: So do I value diversity of viewpoint? Absolutely. Do I think we're doing a good job of that? No, we're not, and it's not an accident. In the name of diversity, we've actually created a new culture of conformity.

And so I think it's entirely possible to have a group of 10 people who look similar to one another, who have different views. I think it's entirely possible to have a group of 10 people who look different from one another or look the same as one another but have different views or look different from one another and have the same views.

All the programs that were put in place to combat racism actually create more racism.

And so I think the best way to screen candidates for the diversity of their experiences is to actually ask them about the diversity of their experiences. And I think the use of these racial and gender quota systems, I think they have actually created a new form of racism in the United States that otherwise would not have existed. //

It's sad to me. I mean, I've hired -- not because I was thinking about it consciously -- plenty of black women in different positions of authority in this campaign or other companies or whatever.

And I can tell you, it saddens me. When people look at somebody who I hired on the basis of merit, and say that they only got that job because of their race or gender, that doesn't do anybody a favor.

And so I think if we restore true meritocracy in this country and embrace true diversity of thought, chances are we're actually going to have a bunch of different shades of melanin and a range of genders in different positions.

But let it be not the goal. Let it just be a byproduct of actually selecting for people who are the best person for the job, and especially in a university setting, diverse viewpoints as well. //

DEI must DIE.

The point was to end discrimination, not replace it with different discrimination.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 15, 2023

The conditioning is the point. They want normal people to change the way they speak and even the way they perceive things they see in public. With enough beatings over the head, many will do just that. //

Cliff-Hanger
a day ago
LibreOffice. Completely free, of charge and open-source and, most importantly, free of microsoft (funny name for a company founded by a womanizer, ain't it?) though it is available for windows.

The real objective appears to be a test run on shutting down two of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints. Without access to both ends of the Red Sea, a large portion of the world's shipping will be routed around South Africa, resulting in price increases and disrupted supply chains. //

The Houthis are now spreading propaganda about:

“stopping international maritime trade through the Suez Canal” pic.twitter.com/El1KSQ2srB

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) December 15, 2023 //

That this is happening under the nose of two US carrier strike groups is not a good look, but this is the price of Joe Biden kowtowing to Iran. We have within our power the ability to put this nonsense to a halt in short order, but we're not. The Congress should explore that reasoning, but it won't. //

Red is the original BRIC countries, green is the addition of South Africa making BRICA, and yellow is new invitees. Look at the maritime chokepoint map; there are some similarities. Note: Argentina has declined membership. If you look at what is happening in the Red Sea as a dry run for shutting down those checkpoints in case of war over Taiwan, it makes a lot of sense. If you recall, in 2021, the Suez Canal was blocked for six days and cost billions in losses when a container ship, the Ever Given, wedged itself into a critical point in the canal.

The Ever Given was owned by a Taiwanese company called the Evergreen Line. That Taiwanese company had extremely close ties to Communist China. //

In a totally unconnected event, another Evergreen ship, the Ever Forward, ran aground just outside Baltimore Harbor in March 2022.

The US Navy exists to protect the United States and guarantee freedom of navigation in international waters. //

We will be damned lucky to avoid a war with China in the next few years, with 2027 being the most probable. We can be assured that every act the Houthi take is calibrated to test the actions of the US, NATO, and Western commercial interests. What we are teaching China is much more likely to encourage than discourage them.

Filter Media Reference Guide

Filtration Medium Basic Characteristics Discussion

Fleck 5600 Econominder Softener Valve

Installation Instructions & Manufacturer's Manuals
Fleck 5600 Owner’s Manual (pdf)
Fleck 5600 Service Manual (pdf)

Forty-six years ago, the deadliest peacetime aviation disaster in history took place. //

After the crash, it became mandatory for pilots and air traffic controllers in most countries around the world to use standardized, hard-to-confuse terminology. Words such as "OK" were replaced with "Roger" (meaning that the receiving person acknowledges). Phrases such as "We're at takeoff" were replaced with "[Insert Flight Number] is taking off the runway [insert number]" or "[Insert Flight Number] holding short runway [insert number]".

In the moments leading up to the crash, both the first officer and flight engineer were hesitant to question Captain Van Zanten's decision to immediately go for takeoff roll due to his seniority at KLM. In a post-1977 world, airlines began to incorporate playing down the idea of a cockpit hierarchy, choosing to place more emphasis on pilot training based on team decision-making. This idea of "Crew Resource Management" (CRM), has become a mandatory requirement for cockpit crew training in North/South America (FAA) and Europe (EASA) since 2006.

http://www.project-tenerife.com/nederlands/PDF/finaldutchreport.pdf/tenerife-air-disaster-report