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One of the most well-connected spaceflight journalists, Eric Berger, has bumped his earlier 50/50 coinflip prediction of the possible cancellation of SLS up to 75% likely. This is certainly due to Trump nominating Jared Isaacman to be his NASA Administrator. Isaacman is the rich guy who's flown twice on SpaceX's Crew Dragon on privately-contracted flights, not through the NASA astronaut corps. He was also the guy who did that suit-test spacewalk a few months ago on one of those private flights. Isaacman won't have the authority to cancel SLS on his own but it's definitely a capital-M Message to the US senate to fall in line. It's probably the most of moments, because fuck SLS.

There have been 14 Administrators and only 3 have ever flown to space. Richard Truly, Charles Bolden, and the current one Bill Nelson. Bolden was Obama's pick. He has expertise and flight experience, but his whole management style at NASA was "don't rock the boat even when the boat needs to be rocked". Nelson deserves an asterisk on his "spaceflight" record, he only did it once on the Space Shuttle, and it was basically a political publicity stunt as he did no actual work on the flight. In NASA's astronaut corps Nelson's nickname is "Ballast". Nelson has been merciless in helping Biden and the US senate cut NASA's science program budgets.

Isaacman is a very interesting pick. I was expecting someone much worse, like some flat-earther or a climate change denier or just some idiot Trump ally looking for a cushy job to coast in. Isaacman is none of those things. He's someone with a very high level of technical knowledge and personal spaceflight experience doing actual work in space (the aforementioned suit tests, which are neither safe nor easy). He's popular in NASA's Science Directorate because for years he's been penning letters to US politicians to increase funding for existing and planned science missions. One of the most notable was his letter directly to Biden to try to reverse cuts to the Chandra space telescope program. Chandra is a very special kind of orbiting telescope. It sees in X-rays which our atmosphere blocks. There's not many orbiting X-ray telescopes, and Chandra is one of the best of them. Chandra is vital for observing very high-energy events and objects. It's still fully functional and likely will be for another 10 years. The budget cuts were just plain bureaucratic cruelty.

For those unfamiliar with SLS, it's the US senate's ongoing project to keep sending billions in cash to the former Space Shuttle contractors. It's a dreadful rube-goldberg of a rocket with Boeing as the prime contractor. It's made from leftover Space Shuttle components and tooling, like the RS-25 main engines, the solid rocket boosters (the kind that killed the Challenger crew), the big orange hydrogen/oxygen propellant tank, etc. SLS is the 2nd attempt at this sort of rehash program. The earlier cancelled Ares rocket series was the first attempt. SLS has an expected per-launch cost of about $4 billion (on top of the $20 billion and counting development costs), with a construction rate of about one every 18 months. And it has less payload capacity than the original Saturn V. You can easily play spot-the-similiarities between the three launch systems. The US senate micromanages NASA's budget. "Space is expensive" because the US defence contractors paying US senators' bribes want it to be expensive.

The Syrian government has reportedly rejected an Iranian offer to send two brigades of regular troops into Syria, out of fear that it would 'tarnish Assad's domestic support' and that it would 'provoke Israel to enter Syria'. Iranian personnel inside Syria, claims that Russia has assessed the situation, and it believes that an HTS takeover would not necessarily endanger their interests in Syria because they perceive HTS as 'anti-American'. Apparently, Iran has also assessed the situation, but came to the opposite conclusion, which has led to a rift between the two countries on the matter of Syria.

He also says Bashar al-Assad is much more receptive to Russian influence than Iranian influence, and that the Russians are currently involved in intense negotiations with him, while Iran is encouraging him to stand and fight, even offering to send forces. The analyst also claims that Iran is slightly annoyed with Syria, because Assad allegedly refused to open up the Golan front against Israel, and I quote: 'Assad has been less and less willing to spend money or attention on the Axis of Resistance, he became less cooperative, prioritizing Syria's own interests first, being enticed by economic proposals from the UAE and other Gulf States.'

The Syrian Arab Army says citizens of Homs and Homs countryside will witness 'large convoys of friendly units and equipment in the coming hours and days', and tells people not to take photographs or videos of the columns, in order to not put the lives of the soldiers at risk

Parliamentary resolution to dissolve martial law passed - what happens now? https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20241204006100001?input=tw

South Korea ~~used to~~ be a dictatorship ~~until~~ basically yesterday

in a move surprising absolutely no one

Lmao South Korea failed to do what Bukele did with popular support

Druze militants in Suwayda have taken the whole region, no sign of the SAA there too. Rural areas in Quneitra and Daraa under previous reconciliation agreements have also fallen. Areas in Rif Dimashq including Qalamoun have also fallen. SAA have also handed over the entire desert to the SDF and vanished. It's just funny at this point, hoping a for quick bloodfree entry of HTS into Damascus at this point, there's no point in delaying the inevitable. I called my cousin who lives on a farm in Rif Dimashq and he was just laughing, people aren't even worried anymore.

A settler in Eilat posted a video on TikTok where he takes an Ethiopian child and spits in his face while saying, "My favorite animal is a n*****." Major CW: Child abuse and racism

South Korea opposition formally present President Yoon impeachment bill to parliament - Live TV

South Korean defense minister offers resignation over martial law controversy. South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun apologized on Wednesday for causing public concern following President Yoon Suk Yeol's attempt to impose martial law, offering his resignation.

The decision came after Yoon declared emergency martial law in an unexpected late-night statement but subsequently lifted it hours later as the opposition-controlled National Assembly voted to reject it, News.Az reports, citing Yonhap. "I have offered my will to resign to the president, taking responsibility for all the turmoil caused by the emergency martial law," Kim said in a statement sent to reporters.

He was the guest of honor, but South Korea's leader wasn't supposed to deliver the performance of the night, too. President Yoon Suk Yeol stole the show at Wednesday's White House state dinner with a rendition of his favorite song, "American Pie." President Joe Biden led the acclaim for his counterpart's musical abilities, telling Yoon he had “no damn idea” he could sing.

South Korea: Employees of the Ministry of National Defense, who were previously called in for an emergency, are now being sent home as the emergency call-up has been lifted.

Is it Yoonover again?

Some Syria news for today.

In order to concentrate Syrian defensive forces in the western part of the country (currently under al-Queda “HTS” attack), Damascus reached an agreement with the Kurdish-dominated “SDF” groups and withdrew from Deir ez-Zor, Mayadin, and Albu Kamal (in eastern Syria): https://southfront.press/kurdish-forces-enter-deir-ezzor-under-deal-with-syrian-army-videos/

Apparently, the agreement with the “SDF” also helps relocate Syrian troops to defend Palmyra (in eastern Syria): https://tass.com/world/1883689

The Syrian military and Russian Aerospace Forces continue striking the terrorists in Hama and Homs provinces (note, I’ve read elsewhere that allied forces eliminated another 300 Western-backed terrorists and 35 armored vehicles (including seven tanks) over the past 24 hours): https://tass.com/world/1883269

The Syrian military repelled a terrorist attack on Latakia province: https://tass.com/world/1883259

The Western-backed terrorist onslaught has now displaced over 280,000 civilians in northwestern Syria: https://sputnikglobe.com/20241206/over-280000-people-flee-their-homes-due-to-crisis-in-syria---un-1121104228.html

An Iraqi spokesman stated that Iraq does not seek military intervention in Syria. However, he warned that the division of Syria is a red line for Iraq (at this point, we should not fully rule out the possibility of Iraq and Iran sending regular troops (not just volunteer units), if it becomes absolutely necessary): https://ina.iq/eng/36861-al-awadi-iraq-does-not-seek-military-intervention-in-syria.html

So the feds aren't telling him the truth right

❗️US President-elect Donald Trump posted on his Truthsocial account:

"Opposition fighters in Syria, in an unprecedented move, have totally taken over numerous cities, in a highly coordinated offensive, and are now on the outskirts of Damascus, obviously preparing to make a very big move toward taking out Assad. Russia, because they are so tied up in Ukraine, and with the loss there of over 600,000 soldiers, seems incapable of stopping this literal march through Syria, a country they have protected for years. This is where former President Obama refused to honor his commitment of protecting the RED LINE IN THE SAND, and all hell broke out, with Russia stepping in. But now they are, like possibly Assad himself, being forced out, and it may actually be the best thing that can happen to them. There was never much of a benefit in Syria for Russia, other than to make Obama look really stupid. In any event, Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!"

“After the Muslim Brotherhood succeeded in coming to power in Syria, we reiterate our message to them:

Gaza is still being violated, and today you have a historic opportunity to fulfill your jihadi duty, as does Turkey. We pledge that we in Yemen, Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon will stand by your side and overlook all our differences with you, just as we previously did with Hamas.”

— Mohammad Al-Bukhaiti, member of the Ansarallah Politburo, Governor of Dhamar

Thoughts???

This is the Resistance's Korea moment (and even more important than Korea), but Iran is just sitting back and chilling. True Promise 3 is still nowhere to be seen.

Buzzkill: "World's Best Honey" Award Cancelled Over Fakes

This year’s World Beekeeping Awards in Copenhagen will not crown a "best honey" due to fears of widespread honey adulteration, which has made it nearly impossible to guarantee the authenticity of competing entries.

According to an EU study, 46% of honey imported to the bloc could be fake, often bulked up with cheap sugar syrups. A spokesperson from Denmark's Beekeeper's Association has stated that the fakes have become so good that it is impossible to taste the difference. While Western actors are quick to blame China and other non-EU scapegoats, they remain quiet about the role of Western importers and the potential for fraud closer to home.

The sticky situation is hardly new, back in 1269 the legal code for the city of Ribe ordered that merchants who were caught selling counterfeit honey should be decapitated and their fake goods ceremonially burned. Today medieval gore has been swapped for bureaucracy, in an attempt to cut down fraud though greater transparency the EU's new “breakfast directive” requires honey labels to clearly indicate their origin and importers of non-EU honey to be registered.

• Source: DR (state media), December 4th 2024

How does the collapse of Syria impact Lebanon? Presumably Iran has their hands tied now, but Russia can play a larger role in Latakia and open a new avenue that way?

Surprised the Kurds haven’t taken this opportunity to strike at HTS while they’re in chaos and institute a proper US puppet.

I've seen some silver lining takes, one that a weak Assad barely holding things together was more in the interests of the west than what just happened, and another that Israel's invasion past the Golan heights will over-extend them even more. IDK what to think of that, but could it be possible?

I hope Russia, China and Africa are ready for what's coming.

do you think the dictator willl relent or do we have to send Al-Quaida ?

Oh we're doing missiles again? Great!

There's one thing that was bothering me about the small speculation of what the actual damage at that Dnipro plant might have looked like. ~~Years~~ Decades ago I sat in a lecture by some NASA engineer who'd worked on the Deep Impact probe where they blasted a comet with a small impactor and looked at the resulting cloud or something. His main point was that above a certain speed that's sometimes (but not always) reached by a comet crashing down on Earth every impact is going to look pretty similar because it's basically just like an explosion on the ground. So no matter the impact angle or shape, above some speed you always get an explosion crater, or rather these typical meteor craters like this one:

(could you tell which direction that meteor hit the ground from?)

Now I've looked it up and apparently there's this thing called a "hyper-velocity impact" which seems pretty consistent with what's written above, and which starts to occur at around Mach 11. That would also be the main damage-doer those Rods from God things. So my take on what the Oreshnik damage might have looked like would be a lot of little explosive craters, since the actual payload and hence energy on these 36 impact vehicles was probably not too big, and the velocity they travelled at was very close or equal to what a "hyper-velocity impact" would require.

Of course, all these assumptions might be wrong just as well and it actually was just little holes and huge explosive cavities below, who knows.

Just wanted to write this down, now I've got closure. Thanks for reading!

Absolutely fucked trans rights decision inbound!!! https://bsky.app/profile/esqueer.net/post/3lcigrws4hs24

The Iranians are now pushing for the issue of preserving the Seyyidat Zeynab quarter for themselves. Iranian diplomatic missions have already taken the majority of their workers either to Iraq or to the so-called Alavistan (Syria and Tartus).

Russia maintains a presence in Latakia and Tartus, and their transformation into separate state entities with a Shiite population is likely. Russia remains the guarantor of peace in these territories and takes direct control. Iraqi and IRGC forces left Al-Bukamal and withdrew from Deir ez-Zor province. The government of Bashar al-Assad will fall within 72 hours at the most.

From Telegram, we will see if Assad goverment will survive or fall soon

South Korea ex-defence minister arrested over President Yoon's martial law

The AES: out. A new day is dawning in Africa.
Nigeria: https://xcancel.com/african_stream/status/1865384093350813875

As more African nations sail away from French neocolonialism and chart new, sovereign routes, Nigeria is bucking the trend - choosing to anchor itself ever more closely to Paris. The latest example: joint navy drills in and off Lagos.

If Assad falls the Turks are gonna sic this massive mercenary army against the Kurds, or at least Turkey is gonna try, because I don't think Erdoğan that filthy watermelon seller realizes the monster he's creating and how deep the Qatari money flows into HTS

The jihadists 100% want to replay the 2014 ISIS blitzkrieg back into Iraq, they have an ideological obsession with conquering Iraq for the dumbest theological reasons known to man

The US and Israel may pressure or bribe them to attack Lebanon again, but they're still traumatized by the beating Hezbollah gave them on the slopes of eastern Lebanon, many of their fighters used to bring it up in interviews, about how they dreaded facing Hezbollah, which makes the Iraq ploy even more likely since the ISIS seizure of Mosul plays such a romantic role in their imaginations

Damn, shame cdu polls so well (fucking boomers) and left so shittily, they can’t crash into french situation. Year of no governments would be exactly what europe needs

According to the Suriyak map, that SAA counteroffensive I posted about to Al-Safirah fizzled out. Supposedly a lot of equipment was abandoned along the road.

Hama seems to have fallen

TikTok is even worse, fuck you mean free Syria with a Palestinian flag in bio (I know what they mean, im aware of Hamas supporting the rebels, I’m expressing myself)

Does anyone know how useful forensics would even be in this sort of scenario? I don't know much about the subject, but I feel like if your hand is brushing against a table or something that's gonna be heavily diluted by all the other people that are also touching everything given it's a public space with a bunch of foot traffic?