Monday, July 22, 2024

Election 2024: A Prosecutor Will Now Be Facing the Felon This November...

A digital cover from TIME Magazine showing Joe Biden stepping out of frame and Kamala Harris entering as the 2024 Democratic presidential candidate.

Yesterday, President Joe Biden stunned the American public when he posted a letter on social media announcing his intention to not run for reelection on November 5.

Instead, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris instead...catching Donald Trump's campaign by surprise and galvanizing Democrats throughout this country to rally behind her with less than four months remaining before the U.S. election.

As of this Blog entry, Kamala Harris has raised up to $231 million in campaign donations, and received the endorsement of scores of prominent Democratic figures and officials such as Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Cory Booker, Gretchen Whitmer, John Fetterman, Reverend Raphael Warnock, Mark Kelly and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Harris should officially receive the nomination as the party's presidential candidate before the Democratic National Convention (DNC)...to be held in Chicago from August 19-22.

(Online voting for the DNC's presidential candidate should take place by August 7.)

On the MAGA side, Trump and his supporters were blindsided by Biden's decision—to the point where Trump did not yet know how to attack Harris on his Truth Social account and instead continued to lob pointless attacks at Biden (as seen in the very last embedded post below).

So the November 5th U.S presidential election literally comes down to good vs. evil...with a former prosecutor/attorney general running up against a convicted felon/sex predator. Also, with Biden stepping aside, the mainstream media is now grasping with the fact that Trump (at age 78) is officially the oldest presidential candidate in American history.

Just like what they did to President Biden since his last debate with Trump in late June, it's time for CNN, the New York Times, MSNBC and other media outlets (probably not Fox News—which isn't a real news network anyway) to show some integrity and question Trump's age and mental acuity as well.

If the last embedded post below is any indication, the media shouldn't have a hard time calling Trump out on his tendencies to sound unhinged in rallies and on the Internet over the next couple of months. Also, the media can do the American public a favor and talk about the Republican travesties that are Agenda47 and PROJECT 2025.

Godspeed, Kamala!











Posted by Richard Par at 9:49 PM 0 comments
Labels:

Thursday, July 18, 2024

Remembering Bob Newhart (1929-2024)...

Bob Newhart as Arthur Jeffries, a.k.a. Professor Proton, on the set of THE BIG BANG THEORY...with Jim Parsons (Sheldon Coooper), Kaley Cuoco (Penny) and Johnny Galecki (Leonard Hofstadter) standing next to him.

As a big fan of the popular CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, I'll always remember Bob Newhart for his role as Arthur Jeffries (a.k.a. Professor Proton), Sheldon Cooper's childhood hero and reluctant mentor in the last six seasons of the hit TV show.

Newhart was 94 years-old... May he rest in peace.

Bob Newhart as Professor Proton's Jedi Ghost in THE BIG BANG THEORY.
Posted by Richard Par at 3:17 PM 0 comments
Labels:

Wednesday, July 17, 2024

So I'm QUITE PISSED at NASA (and Astrobotic) Right Now...

Despite its rover being fully assembled at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, NASA's VIPER Moon mission has been cancelled...as of July 17, 2024.
NASA

NASA Ends VIPER Project, Continues Moon Exploration (News Release)

Following a comprehensive internal review, NASA announced Wednesday its intent to discontinue development of its VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) project.

NASA stated cost increases, delays to the launch date, and the risks of future cost growth as the reasons to stand down on the mission. The rover was originally planned to launch in late 2023, but in 2022, NASA requested a launch delay to late 2024 to provide more time for preflight testing of the Astrobotic lander.

Since that time, additional schedule and supply chain delays pushed VIPER’s readiness date to September 2025, and independently its CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) launch aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin lander has also been delayed to a similar time. Continuation of VIPER would result in an increased cost that threatens cancellation or disruption to other CLPS missions.

NASA has notified Congress of the agency’s intent.

“We are committed to studying and exploring the Moon for the benefit of humanity through the CLPS program,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The agency has an array of missions planned to look for ice and other resources on the Moon over the next five years. Our path forward will make maximum use of the technology and work that went into VIPER, while preserving critical funds to support our robust lunar portfolio.”

Moving forward, NASA is planning to disassemble and reuse VIPER’s instruments and components for future Moon missions. Prior to disassembly, NASA will consider expressions of interest from U.S. industry and international partners by Thursday, August 1, for use of the existing VIPER rover system at no cost to the government.

Interested parties should contact HQ-CLPS-Payload@mail.nasa.gov after 10 a.m. EDT on Thursday, July 18. The project will conduct an orderly close out through spring 2025.

Astrobotic will continue its Griffin Mission One within its contract with NASA, working toward a launch scheduled for no earlier than fall 2025. The landing without VIPER will provide a flight demonstration of the Griffin lander and its engines.

NASA will pursue alternative methods to accomplish many of VIPER’s goals and verify the presence of ice at the lunar South Pole. A future CLPS delivery – the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) — scheduled to land at the South Pole during the fourth quarter of 2024, will search for water ice and carry out a resource utilization demonstration using a drill and mass spectrometer to measure the volatile content of subsurface materials.

Additionally, future instruments as part of NASA’s crewed missions – for example, the Lunar Terrain Vehicle — will allow for mobile observations of volatiles across the south polar region, as well as provide access for astronauts to the Moon’s permanently shadowed regions for dedicated sample return campaigns. The agency will also use copies of three of VIPER’s four instruments for future Moon landings on separate flights.

The VIPER rover was designed to search Earth’s Moon for ice and other potential resources – in support of NASA’s commitment to study the Moon and help unravel some of the greatest mysteries of our solar system. Through NASA’s lunar initiatives, including Artemis human missions and CLPS, NASA is exploring more of the Moon than ever before using highly-trained astronauts, advanced robotics, U.S. commercial providers and international partners.

Source: NASA.Gov
Posted by Richard Par at 3:33 PM 0 comments
Labels: , , ,

Tuesday, July 16, 2024

Renew THE ACOLYTE...Now!

Darth Plagueis lurks in the shadows in Episode 8 of THE ACOLYTE, titled 'The Acolyte.'

So a few hours ago, I watched the season finale of The Acolyte on Disney+...and all I can say is— Screw the haters. Renew The Acolyte for a second season immediately!

After viewing Episode 8, titled "The Acolyte," it made me that much eager to see the story of Osha (Amandla Stenberg) continue as (SPOILERS AHEAD) her journey down the path of the Dark Side quickly unfolded once she killed her former Jedi mentor, Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae), upon finding out that he murdered her mother on Brendok 16 years earlier. I want to see what awaits Osha and her cortosis-welding teacher Qimir (Manny Jacinto) after the would-be Sith spared the life of Mae (also played by Stenberg) in exchange for her sister Osha becoming his apprentice instead.

And of course, as shown in the screenshot at the top of this Blog entry, I want to see how Darth Plagueis plays a role in the future trials and tribulations of Qimir and Osha. I expected Darth Tenebrous to show up in tonight's finale instead (I definitely wouldn't be surprised if he made an appearance in Season 2), but it's still awesome that Darth Sidious' former master appeared in this Star Wars streaming series.

And let's not forget the final scene of today's episode...with Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson) meeting a certain green-eared Jedi Master at the Jedi Temple to seek his counsel following the discovery that her former Padawan was still alive after being seduced by the Dark Side of the Force a long time ago. That Padawan, of course, being none other than Qimir.

So yea— If Lucasfilm wants to politely give all the haters the middle finger for review-bombing The Acolyte, Season 1 on Rotten Tomatoes and other sites, as well as continuing the story of Qimir and Osha and revealing how Plagueis and Yoda factor into their tale, then giving The Acolyte at least one more season is the way to go!

We've seen the Old Republic in the Star Wars prequels, the reign of the Galactic Empire in Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, Rogue One and the original Star Wars trilogy, and the New Republic in the Star Wars sequel trilogy (as well as in The Mandalorian and Ahsoka)... Let's see more of the High Republic in live-action through the eyes of creator Leslye Headland!

The Dark Side also continues to beckon.

Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) once again clashes with Qimir (Manny Jacinto) in Episode 8 of THE ACOLYTE, titled 'The Acolyte.'

Osha (Amandla Stenberg) watches as the blade on her lightsaber - which previously belonged to Master Sol before she killed him - turns red after bleeding its kyber crystal in Episode 8 of THE ACOLYTE, titled 'The Acolyte.'

Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson) seeks the counsel of Master Yoda at the Jedi Temple in Episode 8 of THE ACOLYTE, titled 'The Acolyte.'
Posted by Richard Par at 11:59 PM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Monday, July 15, 2024

30 Years Ago This Week: Fragments of a Comet Begin Hitting Jupiter...

A Hubble Space Telescope image showing multiple impact sites created by fragments of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 in Jupiter's southern hemisphere...back in July of 1994.
Hubble Space Telescope Comet Team and NASA

Tomorrow will mark three decades since 21 fragments from the remains of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 (which broke apart in July of 1992) began striking the planet Jupiter...with the celestial event occurring from July 16 to July 22 in 1994.

It was cool seeing a new image of Jupiter with a freshly-formed impact site in its southern hemisphere on the front page of the Los Angeles Times newspaper each day during that one-week span 30 years ago. The summer of 1994 was a tumultuous time for me, personally-speaking (I won't elaborate), and I gotta hand it to the cosmos for allowing this planetary fireworks show to provide some much-needed distraction during that period of time.

Happy Monday!
Posted by Richard Par at 3:49 PM 0 comments
Labels: ,

Sunday, July 14, 2024

Trump's Violent, NRA-Loving Rhetoric Has Come Back to Bite Him in the A...

Donald Trump raises a fist after getting shot by fellow white Republican Thomas Matthew Crooks in Butler, Pennsylvania...on July 13, 2024.

This is all I have to say about Donald Trump getting shot during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania yesterday. Not only is this convicted felon still primed to officially become the Republicans' presidential candidate at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee tomorrow, but media pundits say that Trump has a greater chance of winning the election this November because of the assassination attempt...despite Trump's PROJECT 2025 and him getting shot by a fellow white Republican who used an AR-15, the favorite mass-shooting weapon of choice for U.S. conservatives and the National Rifle Association.

Pathetic.



Posted by Richard Par at 11:25 AM 0 comments
Labels:

Wednesday, July 10, 2024

AOC Wants to Penalize Two Corrupt SCOTUS Justices...

New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has filed impeachment articles against corrupt SCOTUS Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito...on July 10, 2024.
ReallyAmerican.com

Ocasio-Cortez Introduces Articles of Impeachment Against Justice Thomas and Justice Alito (Press Release)

Washington D.C. — Today, July 10, 2024, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) introduced articles of impeachment against United States Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

“The unchecked corruption crisis on the Supreme Court has now spiraled into a Constitutional crisis threatening American democracy writ large. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito’s pattern of refusal to recuse from consequential matters before the court in which they hold widely documented financial and personal entanglements constitutes a grave threat to American rule of law, the integrity of our democracy, and one of the clearest cases for which the tool of impeachment was designed.

"The Constitution of the United States explicitly outlines a higher standard of conduct for the judiciary to meet, far surpassing its existing bars on treason, bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanors for all civil officers: the standard of Good Behavior. Judicial ethics and rules, to which even the lowest level judges are held, make those standards clear.

"The lifetime appointments of Supreme Court justices make enforcement of these standards a solemn responsibility for the protection of our democracy,” said the Congresswoman.

“Justice Thomas and Alito’s repeated failure over decades to disclose that they received millions of dollars in gifts from individuals with business before the court is explicitly against the law. And their refusal to recuse from the specific matters and cases before the court in which their benefactors and spouses are implicated represents nothing less than a constitutional crisis.

"These failures alone would amount to a deep transgression worthy of standard removal in any lower court, and would disqualify any nominee to the highest court from confirmation in the first place.

"Given the court’s demonstrated inability to preserve its own legitimate conduct, it is incumbent upon Congress to contain the threat this poses to our democracy and the hundreds of millions of Americans harmed by the crisis of corruption unfurling within the court. Congress has a legal, moral and democratic obligation to impeach,” she continued.

The first impeachment resolution includes the following impeachment articles against Justice Thomas:

- Failure to disclose financial income, gifts and reimbursements, property interests, liabilities and transactions, among other information.
- Refusal to recuse from matters concerning his spouse’s legal interest in cases before the court.
- Refusal to recuse from matters involving his spouse’s financial interest in cases before the court.

The second impeachment resolution includes the following impeachment articles against Justice Alito:

- Refusal to recuse from cases in which he had a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party in cases before the court.
- Failure to disclose financial income, gifts and reimbursements, property interests, liabilities and transactions, among other information.

The Congresswoman maintains that such conduct—while under a Judicial Oath to “faithfully and impartially discharge and perform” duties and a Constitutional Oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic”—warrants impeachment, trial, removal from office, and disqualification from holding future office in the United States of America.

On June 11, 2024, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and Congressman Jamie Raskin hosted an oversight roundtable with expert panelists and legislators, including Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), entitled High Court, Low Standards, and Dark Money: Flagging a Supreme Court Ethics Crisis in America, to examine corruption on the court.

On June 20, they wrote a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts to learn what immediate action he would take to restore public trust in the Court amidst severe ethical conflicts.

Additionally, on June 25, the lawmakers introduced the High Court Gift Ban Act to prohibit Supreme Court justices from receiving gifts valued at more than $50, bringing them in line with Members of Congress and other federal officials.

Read the full text of the resolution filed against Justice Clarence Thomas here.

Read the full text of the resolution filed against Justice Samuel Alito here.

Source: Ocasio-Cortez.House.gov
Posted by Richard Par at 10:27 PM 0 comments
Labels:

Tuesday, July 09, 2024

ESA's Latest Launch Vehicle Takes Flight...

The European Space Agency's first Ariane 6 rocket successfully launched from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana...on July 9, 2024.
ESA - M. Pédoussaut

Europe's New Ariane 6 Rocket Powers Into Space (Press Release)

Europe's new heavy-lift rocket, Ariane 6, made its inaugural flight from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana at 16:00 local time on 9 July (20:00 time BST, 21:00 time CEST).

Ariane 6 is the latest in Europe's Ariane rocket series, taking over from Ariane 5, and featuring a modular and versatile design that can launch missions from low-Earth orbit to farther out into deep space.

"A completely new rocket is not launched often, and success is far from guaranteed. I am privileged to have witnessed this historic moment when Europe's new generation of the Ariane family lifted off – successfully – effectively reinstating European access to space,” said ESA's Director General Josef Aschbacher.

"An inaugural launch is a huge undertaking from thousands of people who have worked relentlessly for years. To see it perform wonderfully at the first attempt is testament to their dedication and a demonstration of European excellence in engineering and technology. Heartfelt thanks go to the teams at ESA, CNES, ArianeGroup and Arianespace for their hard work to get to this point. I also want to sincerely thank our Member States for having enabled and supported the Ariane 6 programme along the way. Not always easy, but the endurance shown has paid off handsomely today."

This inaugural flight, designated VA262, is a demonstration flight whose aim is to show the capabilities and prowess of Ariane 6 in escaping Earth's gravity and operating in space. Nevertheless, it had several passengers on board.

At 17:06, a little over an hour after liftoff, the first set of satellites on board Ariane 6 were released from the upper stage and placed into an orbit 600 km (373 mi) above Earth. Satellites and experiments from various space agencies, companies, research institutes, universities and young professionals were included on this inaugural flight.

In addition to the rocket, the liftoff demonstrated the functioning of the launch pad and operations on the ground at Europe's Spaceport. The new custom-built dedicated launch zone was built by France's space agency CNES and allows for a faster turnover of Ariane launches.

On the occasion of the launch, Philippe Baptiste, CEO of CNES, said: “With this first successful launch by Ariane 6, Europe has finally recovered its capacity to access space. Beyond the great emotion I am feeling right now, my first thoughts are for all the teams in Kourou, Paris, Vernon, Les Mureaux, Toulouse, Bremen, Lampoldshausen, Liège, Barcelona, Colleferro, Zürich and everywhere else in Europe who made this success possible. I would like to acknowledge the commitment of the employees of CNES, ESA, ArianeGroup, Arianespace and our subcontractors. The last few months have been intense, and I would like to thank them all. Europe can be proud of its space programme, Europe can be proud of its knowledge and expertise. Together, let's prepare the future of launchers and space.”

Ariane 6 was built by prime contractor and design authority ArianeGroup. “With the successful first flight of Ariane 6, the European space industry has moved into a new era,” said Martin Sion, CEO of ArianeGroup. “This historic launch demonstrates the unfailing commitment of our teams and partners, whom I would like to thank warmly for this success, which reflects on the entire European industry. Seeing Europe’s new launcher lift off into space marks the culmination of an outstanding technical and technological adventure, and the beginning of a long history of Ariane 6 operations. The next flight models are already in production and the stages of the second model will be shipped to the Guiana Space Centre this autumn for the first commercial flight of Ariane 6.”

Source: European Space Agency

****

The European Space Agency's first Ariane 6 rocket successfully launched from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana...on July 9, 2024.
ESA - M. Pédoussaut
Posted by Richard Par at 3:27 PM 0 comments
Labels: ,

Thursday, July 04, 2024

Firefly Aerospace Puts On A Pre-Independence Day Light Show Above SoCal...

The bright contrail created by Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket is visible from a window at home in Pomona, CA...on July 3, 2024.
Richard T. Par

Happy Fourth of July, fellow Americans! Just thought I'd share these two pics that I took of Firefly Aerospace's latest launch of its Alpha rocket last night.

Alpha's fifth flight since October 2022 took place from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California, at 9:04 PM, Pacific Daylight Time...carrying 8 NASA-sponsored CubeSats to low-Earth orbit as part of Firefly's Noise of Summer mission (which is officially designated as FLTA005).

I watched the Noise of Summer launch from a window at my house in Pomona, California, just like I did with the very first SpaceX Starlink flight which I photographed back in March. Assuming that the next Alpha rocket lifts off in the evening just like FLTA005, I'll be sure to at least step outside my home to capture images (probably with a new smartphone and not my current Google Pixel 4A) as Firefly's sixth operational launch vehicle soars toward space from the Central California coastline!

Enjoy the fireworks that will occur much closer to the ground tonight, my awesome Yanks.

The 'jellyfish' effect created by Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket is visible from a window at home in Pomona, CA...on July 3, 2024.
Richard T. Par


Posted by Richard Par at 6:19 PM 0 comments
Labels: , , ,

Wednesday, July 03, 2024

The Latest Update on SOLAR PROBE PLUS...

An artist's concept of NASA's Parker Solar Probe spacecraft approaching the Sun.
JHU / APL

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Completes 20th Close Approach to the Sun (News Release)

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe completed its 20th close approach to the Sun on June 30, 2024, matching its own distance record by coming about 4.51 million miles (7.26 million kilometers) from the solar surface.

The close approach (known as perihelion) occurred at 3:47 UTC (11:47 p.m. EDT on June 29), with Parker Solar Probe moving 394,736 miles per hour (635,266 kilometers per hour) around the Sun, again matching its own record. On July 2, the spacecraft checked in with mission operators at the Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland (where the spacecraft was also designed and built), with a beacon tone indicating that it was in good health and all systems were operating normally.

The milestone also marked the midpoint in the mission’s 20th solar encounter, which began on June 25 and continues through July 5.

Parker will fly around the Sun at the same distance and speed one more time this year — on September 30 — before making the first of its three final planned closest approaches on December 24. At that point, with Parker’s orbit shaped by the mission’s final Venus gravity assist-flyby on November 6, the spacecraft will zoom just 3.8 million miles from the solar surface, moving about 430,000 miles per hour.

Source: NASA.Gov
Posted by Richard Par at 6:23 PM 0 comments
Labels: ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)