The Little Rovers That Could

I frankly thought that NASA was paving the way for an announcement that the two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, would not survive the huge Martian dust storm that enveloped the planet when they announced this.

The storm presents perhaps the rover team's biggest challenge, NASA said in a statement today. Scientists said the storm, which has been brewing for nearly a month, is blocking around 85 to 90 percent of all sunlight to the surface.

The rovers, Opportunity and Spirit, rely on sunlight to charge their solar panels, and one or both rovers could be damaged permanently or even disabled by the limited solar power, officials said.

SPACE.com reported the storm's fresh severity earlier today.

Scientists fear the storms might continue for several days or weeks. If the sunlight is further slashed for an extended period, the rovers will not be able to generate enough power to keep warm and operate at all, even in a near-dormant state, the statement said.

That was on July 20th. Today, however, NASA announced that both rovers managed to make it through the storms and are still functional - albeit with a very much depleted energy supply. Not bad for two devices that were originally only supposed to run for a few months. More than three YEARS on, and they are still plunking away.

With skies gradually brightening, the solar-powered rovers Spirit and Opportunity recently resumed driving and other operations that had been suspended during the dust storm.

"The rovers are in good health and in good shape," said John Callas, the rover project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. "Things have improved from the more dire conditions that were existing previously due to the dust storm on Mars."

During the storm, each of the rovers spent a couple of weeks sleeping most of the time.

"They were in sort of a hibernation state where we were only communicating with them every few days," Callas said Friday. "The rovers would only be awake a very short amount of time each day to save power."

The major concern was whether the rovers would have enough energy to keep sensitive electronics at proper temperatures on the frigid planet.

"At the darkest part of the storm, Opportunity had only 128 watt-hours of energy. Today, it has about 350 watt-hours of energy, so almost three times as much now," Callas said. "The most energy that the rovers have ever seen in their 3 1/2 years on Mars is about 900 watt-hours of energy."

Spirit, especially, is in a bit of trouble. It is really struggling with power - perhaps its solar panels are fouled with dust. It may not make it through the Martian winter. But who knows with these rovers. They have been astounding all of us for years now.

Anticlimax

Mike Nifong, the disgraced and disbarred former District Attorney who ruined himself by trying to railroad innocent young men into prison, will have to spend a day in jail after being found guilty of criminal contempt of court.

DURHAM, N.C. - The prosecutor who led the now-discredited rape case against three Duke University lacrosse players was held in criminal contempt of court Friday for lying to a judge when pursuing charges against the athletes.

Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III sentenced Mike Nifong to a day in jail. The former Durham County district attorney, who was already stripped of his law license and had resigned from office, had faced as many as 30 days.

"If what I impose with regard to Mr. Nifong would make things better or different for what's already happened, I don't know what it would be or how I could do it," Smith said.

Nifong showed no visible reaction when Smith handed down the sentence, and he left the courtroom with his wife, Cy Gurney.

Reading his decision from the bench minutes after the end of two days of testimony, Smith said Nifong "willfully made false statements" in September when he insisted he had given the defense all results from a critical DNA test.

Smith found that Nifong had provided the defense with a DNA testing report that he knew to be incomplete. The omitted data contained test results showing that DNA of multiple men, none of whom were lacrosse players, was on the accuser.

Smith said his decision was aimed at "protecting and preserving the integrity of the court and its processes." He said truthfulness is especially important when it comes to the rights of the accused to a fair trial.

In the end it was Nifong, not the three victims he willfully persecuted for political gain, who goes to jail, even if only for a day. A pathetic end to the media circus and legalized lynching that he rode to brief fame on. Now, how about the academic lynch mob of professors at Duke? How about they answer for their behavior? Oh, never mind, Duke already dodged that particular bullet didn't they? But the professors who demanded the persecution of the three young men are - and should be - objects of derision, regardless of the legal protection their institution bought for them.

UPDATE: Durham-In-Wonderland has transcripts of Nifong's testimony. Best capsule summary of the whole thing from DIW:

It’s nice to see that the lead investigator for the case casually admits to not reading the relevant documents.

Kind of wraps it all up, doesn't it?

Dirtier And Dirtier

I mentioned in my post Hsu's On First that I thought the government should be taking a wee bit of interest in exactly where Norman Hsu (who turned himself in on his 15-year old felony warrant today) was getting all that lovely cash he was donating to Democrats. Guess what? They are. It is a LOT of money and things are about to get very interesting because there is a lot of dirt about to be exposed.

Same m.o., different Clinton campaign. The WSJ reports in an online article dated Sept. 1 that the Justice Department is now looking into Norman Hsu’s possible straw campaign donations as a result of the paper’s investigation published earlier this week:

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating possible campaign-finance violations by top Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu, according to people familiar with the probe.

Ready for the complaints from Asian-American groups about being “profiled?” They’re coming, I promise you.

What say you, Hillary? Nothing:

Mrs. Clinton’s campaign declined to comment yesterday. The New York senator, along with other Democrats, has said she would turn over donations received from Mr. Hsu to charity.

But Mr. Hsu’s legal woes are a political blow to the many prominent Democrats who accepted his funds, in particular Mrs. Clinton. While there is no sign any of them were aware of Mr. Hsu’s actions and prior record, they could be embarrassed by the probe of his fundraising.

How bad is this going to get? Well, there is at least $1.3 million in play here, spread across:

65 Democratic candidates (even one Republican(!), though he lost…) running for everything from State Assembly to President. You’ll find them running in 32 states. You’ll find 9 Democratic campaign committees and 10 Democratic state parties in the mix…With the state-level data added, we’ve now shot past $1.3 million.

Suitably Flip has compiled a huge amount of data from public records to get to those numbers. You know the Dems would love for this to go away, but it appears to be too big and smelly a fish for even the MSM to avoid. And that could upset a few apple carts. There is a lot of very murky money in play here and it is about time to start asking where it is all coming from.

Bearifying Incident

Well, so much for the advice from the bear lady. Earlier we reported on her outrage that a family had hidden in a bedroom rather than face a bear. Her advice:

"The thing that gets me is the family was too afraid to approach the bear - they were scared, so they hid in the bedroom. It's shameful," Bryant said. "That's what is happening in the basin. People are being kept in fear by (NDOW and the California Department of Fish and Game) because they're telling them it's OK to be afraid. It's just shameful.

"That's why this bear was needlessly shot. Because the family was to afraid to yell at the bear to 'get out' and stand its territory."

Well, a man in Maryland did just that. This, however, did not discourage the bear. In fact, it enraged the bear.

NRP Sgt. Ken Turner said Friday that the husband and wife heard commotion outside their house and then saw a bear trying to get at two penned goats.

“The man said he shouted at the bear and the bear turned and ran toward the couple. He told the investigating officer that he was glad nobody was seated on the porch because the bear moved so quickly that they would not have had time to get into the house,” Turner said.

The bear then attempted to pull an air conditioning unit out of the window frame as the wife held onto the unit from inside.

The husband grabbed a shotgun, loaded it with No. 4 pellets and shot through the window at the bear, according to Turner.

The couple called Maryland State Police at 7:30 p.m. and at 8 p.m. a NRP officer arrived to find the bear struck in the head and neck area and lying, still alive, in the yard. Turner said the officer then put the bear down.

“We were not dealing with a typical black bear, it seems,” Turner said, referring to the aggressive actions of the animal.

There is speculation that the bear may have been previously injured by a car, but that may or may not have any bearing on the events, even if true. The point is, there is no "one-size fits all" solution to any bear encounter. This time, the man acted exactly as he should have - and authorities will not be charging him since they concur. (I personally wouldn't use #4 buckshot on a bear, but then I live in a state where 00 buckshot is legal. It is not in some states. Of course, one of these would be nice to have when you really need it. If you didn't hit the bear, you'd still scare it to death.)

Democracy By Lottery

Pete du Pont manages to floor a person who is arguing that there should be limits on the amount of money that can be contributed to - or spent by - a political campaign.

"But what would you do about all this horrible fund-raising and spending that goes on in campaigns?" she asked. With a cheerful smile (and tongue in cheek), I suggested we get rid of all campaign spending by returning to the Pericles plan of the Golden Age of Greece 25 centuries ago: Instead of electing House and Senate members, have them chosen by lottery from people of constitutional age (25 in the House, 30 in the Senate) in each district and state.

Such a lottery democracy would not only end the campaign contribution corruption that had been discussed in the debate, it would make Congress look like America. Instead of just 16 women in the Senate, there would be about 53; there would be more blacks, Hispanics and younger people and fewer millionaires and senior citizens. And it would allow the billions of dollars now spent on campaigns to be used for other things.

In the astonished silence that followed my response, I could hear the coffee brewing. One thing is certain: we won't be hearing Lottery Democracy argued in next summer's community center debate. Hopefully we will also be spared hearing any more about efforts to erode our First Amendment Constitutional rights either.

It's a pretty interesting read. Du Pont discusses the problems inherent in any attempt to cut off the amount of money spent in campaigns. He makes some strong arguments. I would only suggest that it would be a very good thing to require any advocacy group that publishes "issues ads" to fully and transparently disclose where every dime they spend comes from. That, I think, is something that is past due. Let us see who is really paying to influence an election - right up front. Spend what you like, but tell the people where it came from. Simple, isn't it?

Very Superstitious

Very superstitious, writings on the wall,
Very superstitious, ladders bout to fall,
Thirteen month old baby, broke the lookin glass
Seven years of bad luck, the good things in your past.

When you believe in things that you dont understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition aint the way
(Stevie Wonder, Superstition)

Michael Fitzpatrick, a doctor in Britain, writes a strong condemnation of the reckless, unproven theories that the MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccine causes autism. There has been a sharp drop in the number of parents allowing their children to get the MMR vaccine and that is now paying dividends: there is a burgeoning measles epidemic in Britain.

How do I know that the Government isn’t hyping up this measles scare to compensate for the fall in vaccination resulting from its cover-up of the autism link?”

This was the question put to me by a father this week at my surgery, still holding out on giving his daughter MMR (the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine).

In Hackney we know that the measles outbreak is real because we have seen 150 cases over the past three months and ten have been admitted to hospital with pneumonia – the greatest number of cases I’ve known in the 20 years I have been here. The high fever, the hacking cough, the sore eyes, the blotchy rash, the inconsolable misery – all these features of the infant with measles had become a distant memory.

The recent upsurge in measles cases in Britain is a sad tribute to the climate of irrationality. Despite all the paranoid conspiracy theories, there has never been a cover-up of the link between MMR and autism. In ten years those promoting this autism link have failed to produce convincing scientific evidence while numerous laboratory studies and epidemiological surveys have upheld the safety of MMR. Yet uptake of MMR has dropped and, though it is recovering, it has still not reached its level of a decade ago and is still well short of the level required to guarantee herd immunity…..

…….As doctors, we are grappling in our surgeries with fear and confusion, exacerbated by an apparently endless series of health scares and panics. A campaigner came to me convinced that a local mobile phone mast was causing her breathing difficulties; later she admitted that she smoked 30 cigarettes a day. A young man, committed to the “near-death” experiences offered by inhaling the veterinary tranquilliser ketamine in the course of weekend clubbing binges, inquired whether I would check his serum cholesterol level to assess his long-term risk of coronary heart disease. Patients who consume vitamins, antioxidants and herbs by the bucketful commonly refuse to take medication recommended for high blood pressure or some other condition because they “don’t want to get hooked on tablets”. Some patients even refuse chemotherapy for cancer in favour of homoeopathy, acupuncture or aromatherapy.

Fitzpatrick closes with the chorus of the Stevie Wonder song I opened this post with. He's exactly right. The mega-hyped scares about many different things are nothing more than superstition masquerading as science. It has become a common technique - hype up a panic about some health scare (or virtually anything else *cough* AGW *cough*), assert that you alone know the truth and allege a conspiracy to cover up the truth from the public. This in turn leads to bad public policy, bad personal choices and still more scares and hypes. ("What the hell, that one worked, let's try another.") There have been outbreaks of the mumps across the Midwestern United States and now a measles outbreak in Britain.

Superstition aint the way.

Fitzpatrick closes with the chorus of the Stevie Wonder song I opened this post with. He's exactly right. The mega-hyped scares about many different things are nothing more than superstition masquerading as science. It has become a common technique - hype up a panic about some health scare (or virtually anything else *cough* AGW *cough*), assert that you alone know the truth and allege a conspiracy to cover up the truth from the public. This in turn leads to bad public policy, bad personal choices and still more scares and hypes. ("What the hell, that one worked, let's try another.") There have been outbreaks of the mumps across the Midwestern United States and now a measles outbreak in Britain.

Superstition aint the way.

Terror Charges

Well, a Federal grand jury appears to have been able to cut through the confusion surrounding the two men arrested in South Carolina with what were identified by police as pipe bombs. They have indicted both men on terrorism-related charges.

WASHINGTON - Two Egyptian students at the University of South Florida were indicted Friday for carrying explosive materials across states lines and one of them was charged with teaching the other how to use them for violent reasons.

Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, 24, an engineering graduate student and teaching assistant at the Tampa-based university, faces terrorism charges for teaching and demonstrating how to use the explosives.

It would appear that whatever they had in their car was not intended for model rocketry. The details that have been slowly leaking out made it appear as if there was something more sinister going on.

Others: Michelle Malkin, Riehl World View, Hot Air, Blackfive, The Jawa Report, Atlas Shrugs, Captain's Quarters, The American Pundit, Junk Yard Blog (with an interesting catch, by the way),  

AHA! We Caught Him!

We here at Blue Crab Boulevard have been documenting the savage aerial attacks of armor-plated prehistoric cruise missiles on the Suwannee River. The flying sturgeons have been rampaging down there for some time now, causing numerous injuries. We now have proof of who is behind this senseless violence. And it is not pretty, folks. You thought the Cold War was over, didn't you? Well, as if the recent resurgence of Russian bombers flying into British and American airspace wasn't provocative enough, we now know that Vladimir Putin is behind the savage sturgeon of the Suwannee!

MOSCOW (AFP) - Politicians love to be shown kissing babies, but Russian President Vladimir Putin took on an altogether more slippery customer Friday by puckering up for a fish.

The Kremlin leader, who is due to step down at the end of his second term next March, looked every bit the seasoned campaigner when he lifted the sturgeon at a fish farm in southern Russia and gave the creature a peck on the head.

Master Criminal Slips Through Russia’s Fingers

Here is an update on the master criminal I wrote about earlier in the week:

A University of Missouri-St. Louis graduate student must pay a fine of about 600 U.S. dollars, but otherwise has been cleared of charges and can leave Russia after a 76-day ordeal.

Roxana Contreras, 29, said by phone that she was exhausted, but relieved, and hoped to return to St. Louis by early next week.

"I'd rather not pay anything, but it's better to pay $600 than going to jail," she said.

She has been stuck in Voronezh, a city in southwestern Russia, since mid-June when airport officials stopped her when they found old coins and military medals in her suitcase. She had bought the souvenirs, valued at about $30 U.S. dollars, from a street vendor. She said she did not know it was illegal to buy them or to leave the country with them. She could have faced a seven-year prison sentence.

Her supporters grew upset when her case dragged on for weeks without a court hearing. They also said she was being unfairly treated for a fairly minor infraction.

Her court trial this week lasted for three days. Contreras said the prosecutor ended up dropping the contraband charges against her for trying to leave the country with the items. But she still has to pay the fine of 15,000 rubles for buying the items.

…

Sonya Bahar, Contreras' advisor and an UMSL professor, said today that she is thrilled by the news that Contreras was coming home.

"I can't possibly say how happy I am," she said. "It's the most wonderful thing in the world to have some sort of justice. But I can't completely rejoice until we have her back."

Bahar expressed dismay at the whole ordeal. "It does seem as if they were deliberately tormenting her," she said.

I suppose Russia didn't want Iran to be the only place imprisoning academics from America for no good reason. 

On the other hand, Russia taught us all a very important lesson: Don't spend a single tourist dollar in Russia. Ever. It's now on my "not-to-do" list.

Hsu’s On First?

Mystery money man Norman Hsu appears to be even more mysterious as each day passes. On top of the outstanding bench warrant and the murky financial dealings, there appear to be multiple odd missing portions of his history. There also appears to be no visible means of him obtaining the large sums of cash he has funneled to Democrats. This is getting somewhat ugly - and the Los Angeles Times appears to be bulldogging the story, surprisingly.

WASHINGTON — Money has brought both trappings and trouble for Norman Hsu. Major contributions to the campaigns of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and other candidates have made the apparel executive an insider in elite political circles. He shows up in cozy pictures with politicians, at lavish fundraising events, and on the boards of prestigious organizations.

But Hsu's history includes more unsavory episodes and associations. In 1990, he allegedly was kidnapped by Chinese gang members in San Francisco as part of an apparent effort to collect a debt. A year and a half later, he pleaded no contest to a charge of fleecing investors in what authorities called a Ponzi scheme of fraud. Along the way, he left a bankruptcy filing and bitter investors who accused him of making off with their savings.

Hsu is now at the center of a political scandal, with Sen. Clinton (D-N.Y.) and others rushing to return his contributions and sever embarrassing ties to a man still wanted on an outstanding warrant for the fraud case in California. Hsu could turn himself in as early as today in San Mateo County, where a hearing on the matter has been scheduled………

…….Hsu's Washington-based attorney, E. Lawrence Barcella Jr., said Hsu was in Hong Kong from 1992 to 1996. Barcella said Hsu did not remember pleading to a criminal charge that included jail time and thought he had agreed to a settlement with creditors. At the time, Hsu was going through a separate bankruptcy proceeding.

Hsu has not responded to requests for an interview. Barcella said Hsu returned to California in 1996 and made a series of successful investments in Silicon Valley — which accounts for Hsu's ability to contribute so heavily to Democratic causes in recent years, Barcella said. Hsu also continued to be involved in the apparel business, Barcella said.

But details about Hsu's activities since 1996 are elusive. Unlike in the 1980s, when Hsu's name appeared in a flurry of business and court records, there is scant evidence that he was actively launching businesses or making contributions to politicians.

At some point, Hsu began spending at least part of his time in New York City, where he appears to have pursued a private yet lavish lifestyle.

Hsu was affiliated with two businesses — Components Ltd. and Coopgors Ltd. — that have listed addresses on Fifth Avenue. But the building actually houses luxury apartments, not commercial offices, according to a doorman, who has worked there for the last 15 years. The doorman said Hsu lived in the building for a few years but moved out about four years ago.

(Do read the whole thing, there is even a kidnapping.) How does a man with no apparent means of support give a million dollars to Democratic politicians? Where is Hsu's wealth coming from? These are very serious questions that really need to be answered. And shouldn't the government be taking an interest to see if Mr. Hsu has been paying taxes on what appears to be a very hefty income - from somewhere? Jim at Gateway Pundit has been collecting a lot of interesting blog coverage about Mr. Hsu - who's name has turned up in some ugly places.

Head-Banger Deer Turns Home Into Personal Mosh Pit

A couple in Massachusetts is waiting for the insurance adjusters to arrive after a visit by a "deranged" deer. The deer, obviously a fan of heavy metal and punk rock music, started head-banging then decided to mosh in the couple's home.

METHUEN - Don Brouck was home alone Wednesday afternoon when he heard a funny noise on the back porch.

"I looked out and there was a full-size deer banging his head against the window," Brouck said.

The head banging was just the beginning. Seconds later, the disoriented deer burst through a glass door, launching a path of destruction in the Broucks' home of 37 years.

In the end, Methuen police shot and killed the deranged deer, and Brouck and his wife were left with thousands of dollars in damage and a big, big mess to clean up. Tables were toppled, glass was broken and blood was smeared on walls, floors, fences and doors. Some of the damaged items, including quilts Linda Brouck made, were destroyed.

The house is "completely trashed," the mother of two grown children said yesterday. She sat on the front porch as a Servicemaster crew was cleaning inside. The couple were waiting for insurance adjusters to come by and assess the damage.

"I don't know what the bottom line is going to be," Don Brouck said.

We've documented deer dancing before. Usually the dancing is done on beagles. We here at Blue Crab Boulevard blame Led Zeppelin for starting all this.

Another Bearglary

We here at Blue Crab Boulevard issued a calm warning about bears just a few days ago. We pointed out that a bear had unlocked the secret of frozen treats and cautioned that the bear would gossip about it to his bear buddies. Ahem. Told ya so.

A Crystal Bay Cove resident returned home Sunday night to find that a bear had made itself at home in her condominium.

Lee Cunningham spent the evening out at Sand Harbor State Park, enjoying the Midsummer Nights performance with friends. She arrived home at 10:30 p.m. to find a bear entered her home through a screened-in window. Two refrigerators were open and food was all over the floor; the bear left her kitchen a mess.

Cunningham raises Burmese kittens and her first thought was that they had created the mess, but she thought better and wondered if someone had broken into her home.

She then found a business card from the Washoe County Sheriff's Office and called. Cunningham found out that her next-door neighbor heard the bear enter her house and called the sheriff to take care of the situation.

The responding officer hit the bear with a number of rubber bullets to scare it out of the home.

Load up, load up, load up the rubber bullets. Now the bear bolted when the bullets bounced, but still managed to carry off the woman's full cat food bin.

The Perfect Wall Hanging

Obviously, we don't get out enough. We had no idea this item was up for auction. Furthermore, we never even knew such an item existed at all. (And we were much happier when we didn't.) An auction house in California has just completed the sale of a rather unusual item - at a lower than projected price. Why it's a real bargain. Where else could you get a mummified walrus penis bone for $8,000?

BEVERLY HILLS (AP) — A fossilized penis bone from an extinct walrus isn't the usual kind of artifact to hang above the mantel.

Maybe that's why it sold at auction for $8,000, far below the expected price.

The 4½-foot-long item, covered with weathered skin and dry muscle tissue, was sold to the company that runs the Ripley's Believe It or Not museums, said Josh Chait, director of operations for the I.M. Chait Gallery, his family's auction house…..

…..The fossilized baculum, or penis bone, is from a species of walrus that went extinct 12,000 years ago. It was found preserved in permafrost in northern Siberia.

The auction house said it was believed to be the largest known mammal penis fossil.

I dunno if fossilized is the right word or if it is mummified - both terms are used in the story.

On Goldfish Pond

A heartwarming story out of Britain today about Sid. Sid really enjoys goldfish. All Sid needs to make life perfect is a bit of tartar sauce and he would be one happy snake.

A couple in Kent are begging authorities to help rid them of a pet-eating predator.

A 3ft grass snake nicknamed Sid has been diving into their 15ft by 6ft pond and steadily picking off its 200-strong population of goldfish.

“We just don’t know what to do,” said Valerie Bell, 60. “Sid is always there and I don’t really like going out into the garden.

“Maybe the RSPCA could help or some other animal welfare group. We don’t want him here any more. It’s beyond a joke.”

Ms Bell recently saw the snake trying to swallow a large goldfish whole, and forced the reptile into retreat with a beanpole.

“It’s pretty common, especially at this time of year,” said Helen Briggs, from the RSPCA. “Grass snakes frequently eat fish, frogs and newts as well. Garden ponds offer a wealth of meals, and the snakes are quite happy to swim, so it’s easy for them to pinch food from people’s ponds.”

Ms Briggs said the RSPCA would not be able to do more than provide advice.

Funny how people just love animals until the animals act like animals rather than Disney characters, isn't it? (You have GOT to see the picture at the link. That is one ambitious snake.)

China Breaks Up Another Smuggling Ring

Authorities in China continue to be plagued by reptile smugglers. This time they have broken up a turtle smuggling ring. The turtles, cleverly disguised as ordinary boxes, were attempting to get from Hong Kong to mainland China when they were intercepted.

HONG KONG - Hong Kong police have arrested two men accused of trying to smuggle more than 7,000 live pet turtles to mainland China, the government said Friday.

Marine police intercepted the two men Wednesday as they were loading about 300 cartons onto speedboats, a government statement said. The cartons were filled with clear plastic containers containing the tiny dark green turtles, each smaller than a human palm, a photograph published in the Ming Pao Daily News showed.

The turtles were seized along with counterfeit computer video discs. Together the turtles and discs were worth a total of $820,000, the statement said.

They always blame the human hirelings in these cases. But the turtles, primarily from North American sources, are the real criminals. Meanwhile, the authorities are celebrating their victory with a banquet. The soup is delicious.