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The time has come for my annual short Thanksgiving/Christmas fund drive for Behind The Black. I must do this every year in order to make sure I have earned enough money to pay my bills.

 

For this two-week campaign, I am offering a special deal to encourage donations. Donations of $200 will get a free autographed copy of the new paperback edition of Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, while donations of $250 will get a free autographed copy of the new hardback edition. If you desire a copy, make sure you provide me your address with your donation.

 

As I noted in July, the support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.

 

In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.

 

Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.

 

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Public meeting at White House between Israeli and Saudi, UAE, and Qatari officials

A public meeting today was held at the White House between Israeli and Saudi, UAE, and Qatari officials, aimed at addressing the humanitarian situation at the Gaza Strip.

The summit on Gaza, called by Jared Kushner, the US president’s son-in-law and senior adviser on Middle East peace, as well as Jason Greenblatt, his special representative for international negotiations, marks an unprecedented moment for Israeli diplomacy, as their dialogue with officials from Arab states is publicly recognized for the first time. The Trump administration planned the meeting over the course of several weeks and released a list of attendees the morning of the summit, which also included officials from Egypt, Jordan, Canada and various European countries.

Palestinian Authority officials did not attend the meeting.

“We regret that the Palestinian Authority is not here with us today,” Greenblatt said in opening remarks to the conference. “This is not about politics. This is about the health, safety and happiness of the people of Gaza, and of all Palestinians, Israelis and Egyptians. …As you know, we are here today to consider ideas on how to address the humanitarian challenges in Gaza – a topic that has long been at the forefront of all of our minds,” Greenblatt continued. “It has certainly been on mine.”

Greenblatt and Kushner are putting final touches on a comprehensive peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, of which the resolution of the Gaza crisis is an integral part. At the moment, White House officials are deciding how to rollout the plan within a matter of weeks or a few short months.[emphasis mine]

It increasingly appears that the U.S., Israel, and the Sunni Arab states are going to work out a peace deal that excludes the terrorist and Iran-supported Palestinian leadership. That plan might even require the removal of that leadership, which would only be beneficial to the people presently trapped under their rule.

One more note: This is the first such public meeting between Israel and many of these Arab countries since 1991. In a normal world, this meeting would thus garner major headlines in all the major news sources. It indicates a major change in the relations between these nations. The Sunni Arab nations are getting comfortable with Israel, and are more willing to work with it as a neighbor, in public.

Not in our childish news world today, however, which is more interested in reporting UFO stories and fake Russian/Trump collusion stories.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

5 comments

  • wodun

    Not in our childish news world today, however, which is more interested in reporting UFO stories and fake Russian/Trump collusion stories.

    So you are saying there is a sea change not a see change.

  • wodun: You made me think I had this idiom wrong, and when I couldn’t find references for it one way or the other, I decided to deleted the word “sea”. It isn’t needed anyway.

  • wodun

    Aww, I was just making a pun joke.

  • wodun: Heh. Well, I think you helped improve my writing, so don’t feel bad.

  • Cotour

    The difference between a Kingdom and a Democracy, read a very interesting interview with 83 day detained and released (After everything was straightened out and “confirmed”) Prince Al Waleed:

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-03-20/alwaleed-reveals-secret-deal-struck-to-exit-ritz-after-83-days

    (I highlight some specific and revealing questions and answers, I love reading between the lines in this interview)

    Prince Al Waleed :” I’ll elaborate on that: It’s an ongoing process with the government.” Referring to his forced detainment and his adjustment to the new paradigm. Take a look at some of the pictures of the prince, he appears to be having some PTSD affects.

    Interviewer: “So you were not harmed or mistreated in any way?

    Prince Al waleed: “Not one iota.”

    Prince Al waleed: “All of these points were covered in the confirmed understanding, the agreement between me and the government.” The prince emphasizes that everything is confirmed and understood be tween him and his cousin the Crown prince. Very well understood.

    Interviewer: How would you describe your relationship with Prince Mohammed?

    Prince Waleed: It’s stronger. That’s shocking to many people, even to my people.

    Interviewer: You’ve forgiven him?

    Prince walled: I’ve forgotten and forgiven the whole process completely. It’s behind me.

    Prince Waleed on Crown Prince Salmons plans: Any person who does not support what Mohammed bin Salman is doing right now, I say, is a traitor.

    Interviewer: The crown prince is touring the West. He’s meeting President Trump at the White House, and he’s trying to attract capital to Saudi Arabia. Given your experience at the Ritz-Carlton, how good can you feel about presenting a common front with the government, the very same government that put you in the hotel?

    Waleed: I’m supportive of Saudi Arabia, supportive of my government, supportive of King Salman and Prince Mohammed bin Salman all the way. Before, during, and after detention.

    You get in line and you “confirm” all agreements. Very, very interesting.

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