Come Fly with me! F-35B and USS Wasp

A sight to behold: F-35B Ship Suitability Testing

LockheedMartinVideos on Nov 4, 2011


This video is fresh (for the public). It was made just six weeks ago in the Alantic, just off Newport News (Hampton Roads), Virginia .

These are the latest sea trials of the F-35B on the USS Wasp. They were very successful, with 74 VL's and STO's in a three week period. The media and the program critics had predicted that we would burn holes in the deck and wash sailors overboard. Neither of which happened. You will notice a sailor standing on the bow of the ship as the jet rotates. That was an intentional part of the sea trials.

The USS Wasp is an amphibious assault ship designed to embark a Marine Expeditionary Unit. It is capable of simultaneously supporting rotary and fixed wing STOVL aircraft and amphibious landing craft operations. For this test deployment the USS Wasp was outfitted with special instrumentation to support and measure the unique operating environment as the F-35B conducted short takeoffs and vertical landings.

No catapult... No hook .....The shape and scope of warfare worldwide just changed.

(H/T DH...lol)

UK Muslim Women get death threats

From The Independant:

The New Muslim suffragettes of the United Kingdom


Charlotte Rachael Proudman

Notebook - A selection of Independent views -, Opinion

An increasing number of Muslim women activists are receiving death threats, fatwas and even hate-mail from extremist male and female Muslims. Their crime: Rescuing fellow Muslim women from violent and life threatening situations.

With heightened media sensitivity surrounding forced marriage, honour based violence and domestic violence we are all too aware of the suffering experienced by vulnerable and marginalised Muslim women. But we know little about the Muslim women activists who risk their lives to fight for the rights of oppressed Muslim women. These women are the New Muslim Suffragettes (NMS) of The United Kingdom.

As wives and mothers themselves, they stand alone in their communities and apart from other prominent Muslim organisations, in offering sanctuary and support for vulnerable and marginalised women. The NMS provide refuge, advocacy and access to the British legal and welfare system for women whose daily lives consist of beatings, imprisonment, torture and even marital rape, as well as the mental health ramifications that unfold over time....

Much more to this must read article here.

H/T JihadWatch

The Eagle Nebula

The Eagle Nebula

Combining almost opposite ends of the electromagnetic spectrum, this composite of the Herschel in far-infrared and XMM-Newton’s X-ray images shows how the hot young stars detected by the X-ray observations are sculpting and interacting with the surrounding ultra-cool gas and dust, which, at only a few degrees above absolute zero, is the critical material for star formation itself. Both wavelengths would be blocked by Earth’s atmosphere, so are critical to our understanding of the lifecycle of stars

Image Credit: ESA/Herschel/PACS/SPIRE/Hill, Motte, HOBYS Key Programme Consortium

In death al Awlaki lives on

From Homeland Security News Wire:

17 January, 2012

Al Awlaki preaches in pre-death video // Source: liquida.it

In a recent security bulletin, DHS is warning local officials that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is still actively seeking to recruit Americans, encouraging them to commit acts of terrorism.

In a posthumous video released in December, the radical American-born imam Anwar al Awlaki, who was killed by a U.S. drone strike last September, continues to spread his ideologies, stating “jihad against America is binding.”

In the security bulletin, security officials warn that the new video “encourages Western-based Muslims to commit violence,” and the “video could inspire violent extremists in the West to conduct attacks.” Officials were careful to note that, “We have no indication that the timing of the video’s release or any content … is related to specific, ongoing plotting against the homeland,” but law enforcement officials should “remain vigilant for signs of terrorist plotting and to report suspicious activities.”...

Much more here.

Are YOU paying attention?

SOPA and PIPA

http://stopcensorship.org/


SOPAblackout.org


End Piracy, Not Liberty


From My Position...On the Way!


Bouhammer

Good information on all the above links.

Be informed.

Wednesday Hero

Capt. Eddie S. Ray
57 years old from Seattle, Washington
Company B, 1st Light Armored Infantry Battalion, Task Force Shepherd, 1st Marine Division


The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Captain Eddie S. Ray, United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving as Commanding Officer, Company B, First Light Armored Infantry Battalion, Task Force Shepherd, FIRST Marine Division, in the Emirate of Kuwait on 25 February 1991. During the early morning hours of G+1 of Operation Desert Storm, an Iraqi mechanized division counter-attacked elements of the FIRST Marine Division in the vicinity west of the flame and smoke engulfed Burgan Oil Fields in Southeastern Kuwait. As dense black smoke shrouded the battlefield, an Iraqi mechanized brigade engaged the FIRST Marine Division Forward Command Post security forces. During the ensuing intense ten hour battle, Captain Ray repeatedly maneuvered his Light Armored Vehicle Company in harm's way, skillfully integrating his Light Armored Infantry weapons, reinforcing TOW's, and AH-1W Attack Helicopters to decisively defeat main Iraqi counter-attacks. Leading from the front and constantly exposed to large volumes of enemy fire, Captain Ray led swift, violent attacks directly into the face of the vastly larger enemy force. These attacks shocked the enemy, destroyed 50 enemy Armored Personnel Carriers, and resulted in the capture of over 250 Iraqi soldiers. Operating perilously close to the attacking enemy, Captain Ray's courage, composure under fire, and aggressive war fighting spirit were instrumental in the defeat of a major enemy effort and the successful defense of the Division Forward Command Post. By his outstanding display of decisive leadership, unlimited courage in the face of heavy enemy fire, and utmost devotion to duty, Captain Ray reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look

This post is part of Wednesday Hero. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Hackers target DoD and Israel

From Israel National News:

Anti-Israel Hackers Hit Yesha and Azerbaijan

by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

Hackers claiming to be from Kurdistan or Iraq invaded the websites of the community of Shiloh in Samaria and of Israel’s ally Azerbaijan, one day after the “Saudi hacker” shut down the websites of El Al and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s information site.

Shiloh is a large Jewish town in central Samaria, north of Jerusalem. It also is the ancient site of the first temple established by Jews after the Exodus from Egypt and before the building the First Temple in Jerusalem.

The hackers left a message that may have contained a typographical error in Hebrew and addressed “managers” instead of “settlers,” which is what would have been written if it were not for a missing letter. They wrote, “Dear Managers. This is not a joke nor a dream. This is the true reality. From Kurdistan or Iraq. Blessings from all of the Kurdish hackers.”

The hacking epidemic against Israel also has reached outside the country. Official websites in the Muslim country of Azerbaijan, an ally of Israel, were hacked on Monday, Now Lebanon reported.

Hackers placed anti-Israeli messages on the sites of the Azerbaijan's Interior and Communications ministries, its governing party and constitutional court. They also replaced the Interior Ministry's homepage with an image of the devil lurking over a picture of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and President Shimon Peres shaking hands.

"You are servants of the Jews," said a message, which also threatened Aliyev to meet the same fate as Muammar Qaddafi and Hosni Mubarak.

The hacking epidemic has prompted the Bank of Israel to consider ordering banks to block access to their website from outside of Israel. The site of The First International Bank of Israel was hacked on Monday.

(c) INN

And the DoD hackers? From Homeland Security News Wire comes this gem:

Chinese hackers target DoD, DHS smart cards

17 January, 2012

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered malicious code developed by Chinese hackers to target the smart cards used by Defense Department, DHS, and State Department personnel.

According to researchers at AlienVault, the code is a newly created variant of Sykipot, a piece of malicious software, specifically designed to target smart cards, which grant government employees access to the most sensitive networks.

Smart cards function as an additional authentication layer beyond employee passwords, but with the new code, hackers now have all the elements they need to infiltrate sensitive government servers.

So far the code is believed to have been used in more than a dozen attacks beginning in March 2011, but it remains unclear what the hackers have stolen or how many computers they infected....

You just know there is more - here.