And all the sons of Congressmen! And the two adorable 100 Proof Bush daughters! (Ginna and Tonic)

“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people, On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
- H.L. Mencken

“That we are to stand by the president, right or wrong is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
-Theodore Roosevelt

"Actions are held to be good or bad, not on their own merits, but according to who does them.  There is almost no kind of outrage - - - -torture, imprisonment without trial, assassination, the bombing of civilians - - - - which does not change its moral color when it is committed by our side.  The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, he has remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them."
-George Orwell

"Under the Bush administration, openness and accountability have been replaced by secrecy and evasion of responsibility. They abuse their power, conceal their actions from the American people, and refuse to hold officials accountable."
-Senator Edward M. Kennedy

“George W. Bush is deeply interested in Deep Space Exploration. His next project will be to circle Uranus and search for Klingons…..”
-Dallas Herald

“Once a Republican, always a coprophile…:”
-Mother Theresa

“A government official is a man who has risen from obscurity to something worse.”
-Pat Robertson

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

America’s Enemies!

There are four entities who represent the most dangerous enemies to American liberties since George III.

They are:

1.                    The Neocons or Likudists who owe their personal allegiance to another country and now completely control our foreign policy. They lied and deceived us into the Iraq war and are demanding that more and more American soldiers die to preserve their own country and ideals.

2.                    The Christian Evangelical right who is trying to force the United States into becoming a theocracy under their rule. They know in their hearts that they alone can restructure a secular humanist America into their idea of Heaven on Earth.

3.                    An element of American society that call themselves Patriots and are obsessively militaristic and great admirers of the corporate or fascistic state. Many of these have been very minor members of the American military and as a counterbalance to their reserve or rear area tours of duty, are rabidly in favor of draconian military action, the bloodier the better. Usually these drumbeaters are too old, or too fat, to fight and have no sons of draft age.

4.                    George W. Bush, who is the worst president in the history of the United States and directly responsible for the huge death tolls in Iraq, is determined to rule the United States until God puts a stop to him and is even more determined to force the American people into becoming obedient, Christian and self-sacrificing lemmings who worship at his shrine and march in step.

Recommended reading

We gather information, on a daily basis, from many websites. There are a number of publications that are well worth viewing for their intelligent reporting of national and international news. All of those sources, listed below, are daily newspapers with the exception of the Asia Times. The latter is a very well written site with in-depth articles that are worth reading.

The New York Times:  www.nytimes.com
The Washington Post: www.washingtonpost.com
The Christian Science Monitor: www.csmonitor.com
The Guardian: www.guardian.co.uk
Seattle Post-Intelligencer:  www.seattlepi.nwsource.com
Asia Times www.atimes.com

Note: Very little of the information in this edition of TBR news has come from the mainline American media. It is just not there. Most of it has come from foreign sources and the Internet. Most of our sources can be seen on the main page.

The Iconoclast

“Falsehood is an amorphous monster, conceived in the brain of knaves and brought forth by the breath of fools. It's a mortal pestilence, a miasmic vapor that passes, like a blast from hell, over the face of the world and is gone forever. It may leave death in its wake and disaster dire; it may place on the brow of purity the brand of the courtesan and cover the hero with the stigma of the coward; it may wreck hopes and ruin homes, cause blood to flow and hearts to break; it may pollute the altar and disgrace the throne, corrupt the courts and curse the land, but the lie cannot live forever, and when it's dead and damned there's none so poor as to do it reverence.” William Cowper Brann

With Friends Like This, Who Needs Enemies?

October 17, 2005

This week, I will abandon my analysis of the increasingly dysfunctional Bush Administration to discuss another issue of some importance. It appears from a number of sources; the foreign media, technical websites and personal information, that the state of Israel has negotiated a business deal with the PRC to supply spy satellite service to that country, an action relatively unknown to but certainly against the wishes of both the Administration and the U.S. intelligence community. Israel, who possesses the fourth largest army in the world, has become the 3rd largest exporter of weapons in the world selling everything from Uzis to PHALCON airborne early warning systems. UK Defense Ministry figures show Israeli weapons export contracts were worth $4.1 billion . Only the United States with $13.2 billion and Russia with $4.4 billion sold more weapons this  year.

Herewith some background information from various sources: (Thanks to Brian Harring for his technical information. Ed)

The PRC, rapidly expanding its spheres of influence and beginning to take an aggressive stance in its foreign policies, has contracted with Israeli firms to supply spy satellites to effectively watch:

·                     The Spratley Islands, claimed by several countries, including China

·                     Taiwan, against whom China has designs for military absorption into their country

·                     U.S. military moves, both land and naval, in areas China considers to be their sphere of influence

·                     Japanese oil explorations in areas China claims as its own.

The United States has expressed strong objections to any nation that could, or would, supply the PRC with any kind of spy satellites but the Israeli’s contracts with that country are so lucrative that American wishes have been disregarded.

The People’s Republic of China's efforts to launch an optical-imaging spy satellite have been viewed as part of a bid by the PLA to gain the upper hand in information warfare. Recent reports quoting US intelligence officials claimed that a Chinese civilian satellite launched in September of 2000 was actually functioning as the mainland's first advanced-technology spy satellite. The Zi Yuan 2, which reportedly carried a classified name of Jian Bing 3, was capable of transmitting images to a ground station, according to a Washington Times report.

An electro-optical imaging satellite would be more advanced than previous Chinese vehicles, which stayed in space for just a couple of weeks, used film to capture images and crashed to earth so the camera could be unloaded, said analysts. Taiwan defense minister Wu Shih-wen also claimed soon after the September launch that the satellite could have a military application.

Chinese scientists have apparently dismissed the charge. "It is unfair to accuse China of spying because inevitably a satellite image shot from space covers not only China but also its neighboring region," said Professor Liu Jianbo, of the China Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Center in Beijing. "This is a common practice in the international community, and I see no violation of any international treaty." But, if the claims are correct, it would mean that Beijing can now train its own camera on American forces in the region just as US satellites have long been monitoring the movement of mainland forces near the Taiwan Strait.

Xinhua had described the Zi Yuan 2 as a "remote sensing" satellite - rather than reconnaissance - to be used primarily for land surveying, city planning, crop-yield assessment, disaster control and space science experiments. "But the military value is a very significant part of this satellite's job," said David Baker, editor of Jane's Space Directory. He said US intelligence officials would probably be able to determine the dual-use satellite's defense mission by intercepting the images it sent to ground stations.

At the same time, China was also seeking to boost its international prestige and power by establishing itself as a player in the "space club". "It (the launch of the electro-optical satellite) sends a political message that China is moving to establish itself as a world power," Mr. Baker said. Beijing wanted to join the international space-station program, along with the US, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan, said Mr. Baker. Since the 1990s, the PLA has been trying to develop satellites to track enemy submarines in shallow waters, locate ships or large battle groups operating in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and to detect military construction, according to Major Mark Stokes, a former US air attaché in Beijing.

Taiwan's military is moving in a similar direction. It hopes to launch the ROCSAT-3 by 2005. Analysts believe this will have military spying capabilities, although it is officially described as being for scientific and civilian use. Taipei's program has also been delayed by diplomatic interference from China. Pressure was put on Germany to refuse approval for a company to build Taiwan's second satellite - the ROCSAT-2. This is now being built in France and is expected to be launched in 2003.

Taipei was revealed to have agreed a contract with an Israeli company, Imagesat, for pictures of mainland forces. This provoked a diplomatic protest by Beijing. The use of commercial photos frustrated Taiwanese officials because it could take three days to a week before they could be viewed, said Mr. Yang. Images from the Ikonos satellite are also subject to clearance by US authorities, which can veto them on national-security grounds, although the power has not yet been exercised.

China is also reported to have purchased photos from Space Imaging. The PLA is also understood to have been offered the services of Imagesat's Earth Resource Observation Satellite.

Reinforcing the rush by East Asian nations to develop their own eyes in the sky to counter growing security concerns in the region, Japan decided to press ahead with its controversial satellite program after North Korea fired a rocket which passed through its airspace in 1998. Last Monday, Tokyo approved spending 70.7 billion yen (about HK$ 4.6 billion) for the development of four spy satellites scheduled to be launched next year. Responding to fears about the possibility of a military resurgence, Japanese officials have sought to emphasize that the satellite development is "multipurpose" for such "information gathering" as the monitoring of weather patterns, natural disasters and to track the movements of illegal immigrants.

Japan wanted to launch its own spy satellites in order to distance itself from the US in space operations, said Nicholas Berry, senior analyst at the Center for Defense Information in Washington. As well as the North Korea factor, Tokyo was also worried about the rise of China and wanted its own independent intelligence system to track development of the PLA, he said.

"It certainly works for transparency and confidence-building. It reduces the possibility of suspicion and deception," said John Pike, director of the GlobalSecurity.org consultancy. By being able to detect military build-ups or new facilities being built, decision makers would have early notice of potential problems and be able to seek to defuse tensions through diplomacy, he said.

Satellites could help to avoid conflict over the Spratly Islands, a group of reefs and outcrops in the South China Sea claimed by China, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines. Structures built on the reefs by any of the rival claimants could be discovered early during the construction process. At present, occasional long -range reconnaissance flights conducted by aircraft detect the Spratly constructions after they have been built.

But spy satellites also allow military forces to identify targets easily in the event of full-scale conflict. Richard Fisher, an expert on the mainland military, said he was worried by China's development of an advanced spy satellite because of Beijing's links with such states as Iran, which have been accused of sponsoring terrorism. If intelligence about the location of a US aircraft carrier obtained by satellite were passed to terrorist groups, it would be easier for them to attack, Mr. Fisher said.

Israel, like India, has an advanced scientific infrastructure, and this has led to continuing space-related activity. The Israeli Space Agency (ISA) was founded in 1983, and much of the activity focused on basic research and development, in conjunction with the American and European civil space programs. The ISA's formal budget is very small ($6 million in 1993) but this does not include development and operational costs for the Ofeq and Amos satellites. Israel reportedly spent $1 billion through 1993 on the Ofeq satellite program. Other unverified reports claim that the Defense Ministry allocates $20 million a year for Ofeq, although this seems to be an underestimate. (Gross estimates place the cost of development and launch of a first-generation imaging satellite at $400 million. Nevertheless, high costs and budgetary limitations delayed the planned launch of Ofeq-3 for as much as two years.

Like other strategic technologies and weapons, the Israeli government provides little official information regarding space launchers and satellites. However, using available information and drawing logical inferences, the outlines of the Israeli program can be discerned. The Shavit (Comet) launchers are apparently based on what is commonly referred to as the Jericho ballistic missile. According to speculation, the Jericho is part of Israel's assured second-strike nuclear deterrent. The Jericho I reportedly carries a payload of 500kg. to a 500km. range, and the more advanced Jericho-2 (in some sources, Jericho-2B or Jericho  is estimated to have a range of 1450 to 2800km. and a payload of 1000kg.25 The first two solid rocket engines of the Shavit are manufactured by TAAS (formerly Israel Military Industries), and the third stage motor was designed and produced by Rafael (the Arms Development Research Authority). Israeli Aircraft Industries is the prime contractor.

IAI has sought to recover some of the costs of launcher development through commercial booster services, but with little success. Moshe Keret, IAI's president, blames "political issues" for these obstacles, but claims that these have eased with the Middle East peace process. "Now we have a new opportunity to approach the market, so we will renew our booster marketing efforts." However, US missile technology control requirements and the claim that the Israeli launcher is subsidized by the government and military, may continue to block these efforts.

IAI has announced plans to produce the "Next" launcher, which will be able to place a 300kg. payload into polar orbit. Israel is reportedly planning to enter this launcher in the second phase of NASA's ultra light satellite booster competition. IAI has attempted to create links with US firms (Space Vector and Atlantic Research) to market the Shavit. In this partnership, IAI will provide the first and second rocket motor cases, Rafael will supply the 3rd stage, Atlantic Research will load them with propellant, and Space Vector will integrate and launch the vehicle. The NEXT launcher is also being considered for the ELLIPSAT communications satellite system. This 14-satellite system is designed to provide communications for the northern hemisphere. IAI reportedly purchased 10% of the stock in the lead firm, Mobile Communications Holding Inc.

Early warning and real-time reconnaissance have always been of major importance to Israel defense planners in offsetting the threat to national survival posed by the massive conventional forces of the neighboring Arab states. Israeli defense industries developed a number of mini-RPVs for use as overhead reconnaissance platforms, and these were used extensively during the 1982 Lebanon war.

As part of strategic cooperation with the United States, Israel received sporadic access to American satellite information, (including images of the Entebbe airport used in planning the rescue operation in 1976), but this is not consistent or sufficient. Former Chief of Staff Mordechai Gur noted that immediately prior to the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the US withheld critical intelligence information regarding Arab plans to attack. Similarly, Meir Amit, who served as head of the Israeli Mossad, has referred to the 'crumbs' of satellite intelligence that Israel has received, noting that this "is very inconvenient and very difficult".

Israel security concerns extend to the nuclear, chemical and ballistic missile capabilities being developed by Iran and Iraq. The events prior to the 1991 Gulf War demonstrated the failures of US intelligence with respect to the Iraqi missile and nuclear weapons program, and the inability of the United States to locate and destroy the Iraqi Scud missile launchers during the war increased Israeli focus on obtaining an indigenous capability. The Jerusalem Post quoted an Israeli Defense Ministry official as saying that, "For years we have been begging the Americans for more detailed pictures from their satellites and often got refusals - even when Iraqi Scud missiles were falling on Tel Aviv. ...The Americans have also done their best to deny us all help in building our own reconnaissance satellite." After the war, Defense Minister Arens explicitly and publicly declared Israel's intention of launching an indigenous reconnaissance satellite.

In 1988, Israel launched the Ofeq (Horizon) 1 test satellite, using the Shavit (Comet) launcher. The launch site is on the Mediterranean Coast near Palmachim. To avoid flying over other countries, a highly unusual flight path was used which headed northwest over the Mediterranean, placing the satellite into a retrograde orbit at an inclination of 143 . The 156kg. satellite was reported to be a test vehicle designed to lead to the development of an orbital reconnaissance capability, and it reentered Earth's atmosphere in January 1989. Ofeq's orbit limited the satellite's view to areas 37 north and south of the equator. Ofeq 2 was similar in weight and technical characteristics to Ofeq 1. It was launched in April 1990 and had an orbital lifetime of 3 months. Both were spin stabilized.

The Ofeq 3, launched April 5 1995, weighed 225kg. at launch, including a 36kg. payload. Its higher perigee (369km.) and orbital maneuvering capability allows for a longer lifetime (one to 3 years). (According to reports in the Israeli press, this version of the Shavit launcher included a small new IAI rocket engine with 674lb. of thrust. Its orbit will take it over sites in the Middle East, including Iraq, on most passes during the first months of operation. This version of Ofeq has small thrusters for three-axis stabilization and attitude control with an accuracy of 0.1 degree.

Officially, the head of the Israeli Space Agency described Ofeq 3 as "a very sophisticated platform on which many things can be placed". In particular, Ofeq 3 is reported to be a first-generation imaging satellite, including ultraviolet and visible imaging sensors. Reports that this system could "read license plates in Baghdad" are clearly exaggerated, and for an operational system, Israel will need a number of reconnaissance satellites capable of monitoring various targets. In addition, a data analysis unit to interpret images will require a very large budget. The head of the ISA has noted that Ofeq technology would not replace Israel's request for access to US satellites, particularly in the context of a peace agreement with Syria. In addition, the requirement for an early warning satellite for detecting missile launches would require a geostationary orbit, which is far beyond Israel's current capability.

A number of Israeli firms have been developing technology for orbital surveillance, including El-Op (camera to photograph 100km. strips to a resolution of 16 meters), Elisra and Tadiran (communications systems), Rafael (thrusters), Elta (antennas), the Dimona nuclear center (vacuum chambers), IAI/Melam (solar cells), IAI/Tamam (gyros and magnometer). It is not clear which of this technology is incorporated in Ofeq.

In addition to military reconnaissance, IAI and the ISA are also investing in commercial space ventures, (although there are reports that Israel has rejected requests from other states to purchase Ofeq satellites. Aby Har-Even, the head of the ISA, has stated that future commercial versions of Ofeq could include sensors, cameras, and communications equipment. According to unconfirmed reports, IAI is developing the EROS (Earth Resources Orbiting Satellite) with 2-3 meter resolution capability, and has reportedly signed a contract with Core Software Technology to market these images.

In the area of communications satellites, Israel has developing the Amos 1, equipped with 7 Ku-band transponders. IAI has signed a contract with Ariane to place this satellite in geosynchronous orbit in December 1995. Amos is a civil commercial satellite developed by IAI at a reported cost of $150 million. IAI is reported to be interested in selling future Amos satellites and providing operating services to Asian, Eastern European, and Middle Eastern countries. The operating services will be supplied through Satellite Communications Corp. Ltd.

The Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) is also active in space research and development. In 1990, the Technion signed an agreement with the USSR for cooperation in scientific engineering. The Israel Space Agency signed a government-to-government agreement with Russia in 1993, and the ISA's TAUVEX (Tel-Aviv Ultraviolet Explorer) is expected to be launched on Russia's Spectrum-x/Gamma satellite.

On May 28, 2002 on the Israel’s next-generation home-made spy satellite Ofek-5 launched from the Palmachim Air force Base was emitting its first radio signals while climbing to its planned orbit of about 500 km. In three days, the satellite’s all-weather, day-and-night cameras are scheduled to start sending back film in color from space. The 300-kilo satellite was boosted aloft by the locally developed Shavit rocket and will complete a circuit around earth every one and a half hours.

Many of the Ofek-5’s features are secret; four are unique:

1. Its orbital “detuning” ability at great speed and flexibility in obedience to ground signals. This means that inclination orbits can be adjusted in response to special war contingencies.

2. The exceptionally high resolution of its telescopic cameras, which can produce imagery of objects as small as one meter across from an altitude of 600 km.

3. The integration of all the new satellite’s systems, including the telescopic cameras, the transmitter, sensors and the auxiliary engines, all products of Israel’s military industries, El-Op, Raphael and Elisra, in a very light and compact unit at the low cost of INS.60 million ($12 million)

4. The high orbital insertion accuracy displayed by the Shavit four-stage launch vehicle, known overseas as the Jericho, bespeaks a ballistic rocket with a range of up to 7,000 km. Some years ago, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories calculated that an earlier Shavit could transport a nuclear warhead a minimum of 5,300 km, if deployed as a ballistic missile.

Israel has never commented on any of these estimates.

Ofek-5 restores a key Israeli surveillance vehicle missing since its predecessor Ofek-3 burned up in the atmosphere a year ago after four years in the sky. Its sophisticated equipment provides Israel with an invaluable eye in the sky for monitoring the region at an acutely critical period of advanced nuclear missile weaponry activity.

On May 5, Iran launched a nuclear-capable Shehab-3, while Pakistan has just completed a ballistic missile test series.

The launching of Ofek-5 by Shavit demonstrates that Israel is determined to preserve its vital edge in missiles, space and intelligence. The SHAVIT is manufactured by Israel Aircraft Industries /MLM Division.

SHAVIT is a three-stage satellite launcher, powered by three solid fuel rocket motors. The first two stages lift the launcher to an altitude of approximately 110 km. From this point, the launcher continues to gain height while coasting up to approximately 250 km, where the launcher positions itself and ejects the satellite shroud. After the separation of the main instrumentation compartment and while the launcher is spinning, the third stage motor is ignited. Thus, the satellite is inserted accurately into its transfer orbit at an altitude of approximately 260 km.

Utilizing an innovative concept for launch preparation, SHAVIT is relatively independent of the launch site and provides full testing of the launcher on the launch pad. This configuration enables satellite launch from different launch sites, according to customer requirements. Shavit is offered in two versions,

·                     LK-A – For 350 kg-class satellites in 240 by 600 km elliptical polar orbits; and,

LK-1 – a future derivative of the current missile, to be utilized to lift 350 kg-class satellites in 700 km circular polar orbits