Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black., You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
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July 20, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, helps make sure nothing gets missed.
- A reminder that today is the anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing
Just remember, Americans made it point to “come in peace for all mankind.”
- ESA touts its proposed Argonaut lunar lander, to be launched by its Ariane-6 rocket
No launch date revealed, and in fact, few hard details. This is PR. Jay has doubts it will ever launch, and I tend to agree.
- Video of the Kuaizhou-1A launch today
For some reason the tweet includes a picture of cars parked near the rocket, as if it is also a car commercial. Jay also adds this interesting drone photo of the launch, taken from above.
- NASA project to develop lunar fission power systems faces uncertain future
The politics at NASA and in Congress make funding this project difficult, if not impossible. As Jay notes, “They are gun shy politically on this subject. How many times have they started a ‘NERVA Study’ and just moved the money over to another project?”
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, helps make sure nothing gets missed.
- A reminder that today is the anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing
Just remember, Americans made it point to “come in peace for all mankind.”
- ESA touts its proposed Argonaut lunar lander, to be launched by its Ariane-6 rocket
No launch date revealed, and in fact, few hard details. This is PR. Jay has doubts it will ever launch, and I tend to agree.
- Video of the Kuaizhou-1A launch today
For some reason the tweet includes a picture of cars parked near the rocket, as if it is also a car commercial. Jay also adds this interesting drone photo of the launch, taken from above.
- NASA project to develop lunar fission power systems faces uncertain future
The politics at NASA and in Congress make funding this project difficult, if not impossible. As Jay notes, “They are gun shy politically on this subject. How many times have they started a ‘NERVA Study’ and just moved the money over to another project?”
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, 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 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
Real pushback: Stanford Law forces out administrator who aided and abetted a mob
Stanford’s former administrator Tirien Steinbach:
gone because she was in favor of censorship and
mob rule
Bring a gun to a knife fight: It appears that common sense and civilized behavior at Stanford Law School is finally being considered as the only proper behavior for the future and present lawyers that school is supposed to be training.
This story begins on March 9, 2023, when a mob of students and faculty at Stanford, led by Tirien Steinbach, the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion dean, shouted down U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Kyle Duncan when he tried to give a lecture about the law for the school’s chapter of the Federalist Society.
At the time the school’s response was weak and inconsistent. Though it sent a letter of apology to Duncan, it also equivocated about punishing anyone who had misbehaved. No students were expelled or suspended, and Steinbach was simply put on leave, even as university officials attempted to portray her as the victim. As I wrote then:
[Law School Dean] Martinez still appeared sympathetic to Steinbach, expressing “..concern over the hateful and threatening messages [Steinbach] has received as a result of viral online and media attention.”
Now, four months later Martinez has finally announced that Steinbach is resigning her post, though even now Martinez appeared regretful that this resignation was necessary.
» Read more
Stanford’s former administrator Tirien Steinbach:
gone because she was in favor of censorship and
mob rule
Bring a gun to a knife fight: It appears that common sense and civilized behavior at Stanford Law School is finally being considered as the only proper behavior for the future and present lawyers that school is supposed to be training.
This story begins on March 9, 2023, when a mob of students and faculty at Stanford, led by Tirien Steinbach, the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion dean, shouted down U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Kyle Duncan when he tried to give a lecture about the law for the school’s chapter of the Federalist Society.
At the time the school’s response was weak and inconsistent. Though it sent a letter of apology to Duncan, it also equivocated about punishing anyone who had misbehaved. No students were expelled or suspended, and Steinbach was simply put on leave, even as university officials attempted to portray her as the victim. As I wrote then:
[Law School Dean] Martinez still appeared sympathetic to Steinbach, expressing “..concern over the hateful and threatening messages [Steinbach] has received as a result of viral online and media attention.”
Now, four months later Martinez has finally announced that Steinbach is resigning her post, though even now Martinez appeared regretful that this resignation was necessary.
» Read more
Unknown Mars
Click for interactive global mosaic.
Cool image time! The picture to the right was created from a global mosaic of all the context camera images taken by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) since it entered Mars orbit in 2006. It shows an unnamed 17-mile-wide-depression located only about seven miles south of the southern rim of Valles Marineris.
I highlight this particular depression because, despite seventeen years in orbit, MRO’s high resolution camera has at this time still not taken any pictures inside or around it. This is a place on Mars that remains unstudied in detail, in any way, even though its depth is comparable to the Grand Canyon and its features strongly suggest its is a collapse feature, created when the roof over an underground void gave way. If so, it suggests an origin for Valles Marineris that conflicts with present theories.
» Read more
Click for interactive global mosaic.
Cool image time! The picture to the right was created from a global mosaic of all the context camera images taken by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) since it entered Mars orbit in 2006. It shows an unnamed 17-mile-wide-depression located only about seven miles south of the southern rim of Valles Marineris.
I highlight this particular depression because, despite seventeen years in orbit, MRO’s high resolution camera has at this time still not taken any pictures inside or around it. This is a place on Mars that remains unstudied in detail, in any way, even though its depth is comparable to the Grand Canyon and its features strongly suggest its is a collapse feature, created when the roof over an underground void gave way. If so, it suggests an origin for Valles Marineris that conflicts with present theories.
» Read more
Now available in hardback and paperback as well as ebook!
From the press release: In this ground-breaking new history of early America, historian Robert Zimmerman not only exposes the lie behind The New York Times 1619 Project that falsely claims slavery is central to the history of the United States, he also provides profound lessons about the nature of human societies, lessons important for Americans today as well as for all future settlers on Mars and elsewhere in space.
Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space, is a riveting page-turning story that documents how slavery slowly became pervasive in the southern British colonies of North America, colonies founded by a people and culture that not only did not allow slavery but in every way were hostile to the practice.
Conscious Choice does more however. In telling the tragic history of the Virginia colony and the rise of slavery there, Zimmerman lays out the proper path for creating healthy societies in places like the Moon and Mars.
“Zimmerman’s ground-breaking history provides every future generation the basic framework for establishing new societies on other worlds. We would be wise to heed what he says.” —Robert Zubrin, founder of the Mars Society.
All editions are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all book vendors, with the ebook priced at $5.99 before discount. All editions can also be purchased direct from the ebook publisher, ebookit, in which case you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
Autographed printed copies are also available at discount directly from the author (hardback $29.95; paperback $14.95; Shipping cost for either: $6.00). Just send an email to zimmerman @ nasw dot org.
China’s Kuaizhou-1A rocket launches four satellites
China’s Kuaizhou-1A solid-fueled smallsat rocket today successfully launched what the state-run press said were four weather satellites “belonging to the Tianmu-1 meteorological constellation.”
The launch was from China’s Jiuquan spaceport in northwest China, so the rocket’s lower stages crashed somewhere inside China. No word on where or if they landed near habitable areas.
The leaders in the 2023 launch race:
48 SpaceX
27 China
9 Russia
6 Rocket Lab
5 India
American private enterprise still leads China in successful launches 55 to 27, and the entire world combined 55 to 46, with SpaceX by itself leading the entire world combined (excluding other American companies) 48 to 46.
China’s Kuaizhou-1A solid-fueled smallsat rocket today successfully launched what the state-run press said were four weather satellites “belonging to the Tianmu-1 meteorological constellation.”
The launch was from China’s Jiuquan spaceport in northwest China, so the rocket’s lower stages crashed somewhere inside China. No word on where or if they landed near habitable areas.
The leaders in the 2023 launch race:
48 SpaceX
27 China
9 Russia
6 Rocket Lab
5 India
American private enterprise still leads China in successful launches 55 to 27, and the entire world combined 55 to 46, with SpaceX by itself leading the entire world combined (excluding other American companies) 48 to 46.
Hubble image shows several dozen boulders flung from Dimorphos
Click for original image.
Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have photographed several dozen boulders that were flung off of the asteroid Dimorphos following the impact by the space probe DART. The picture to the right, reduced and brightened to more clearly show those boulders, was taken on December 19, 2022, four months after DART’s impact.
These are among the faintest objects Hubble has ever photographed inside the Solar System. The ejected boulders range in size from 1 meter to 6.7 meters across, based on Hubble photometry. They are drifting away from the asteroid at around a kilometre per hour.
The blue streak is the dust tail that has streamed off of Dimorphos since the impact, pushed away from the sun by the solar wind.
Click for original image.
Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have photographed several dozen boulders that were flung off of the asteroid Dimorphos following the impact by the space probe DART. The picture to the right, reduced and brightened to more clearly show those boulders, was taken on December 19, 2022, four months after DART’s impact.
These are among the faintest objects Hubble has ever photographed inside the Solar System. The ejected boulders range in size from 1 meter to 6.7 meters across, based on Hubble photometry. They are drifting away from the asteroid at around a kilometre per hour.
The blue streak is the dust tail that has streamed off of Dimorphos since the impact, pushed away from the sun by the solar wind.
Leaving Earth: Space Stations, Rival Superpowers, and the Quest for Interplanetary Travel, can be purchased as an ebook everywhere for only $3.99 (before discount) at amazon, Barnes & Noble, all ebook vendors, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big oppressive tech companies and I get a bigger cut much sooner.
Winner of the 2003 Eugene M. Emme Award of the American Astronautical Society.
"Leaving Earth is one of the best and certainly the most comprehensive summary of our drive into space that I have ever read. It will be invaluable to future scholars because it will tell them how the next chapter of human history opened." -- Arthur C. Clarke
The possibility of more than one exoplanet sharing the same orbit
The Trojan debris clouds around PDS 70, as seen by ALMA
The uncertainty of science: Astronomers have detected evidence that suggests the possibility of more than one exoplanet sharing the same orbit around PDS 70, a star 400 light years away.
This young star is known to host two giant, Jupiter-like planets, PDS 70b and PDS 70c. By analysing archival ALMA observations of this system, the team spotted a cloud of debris at the location in PDS 70b’s orbit where Trojans are expected to exist.
Trojans occupy the so-called Lagrangian zones, two extended regions in a planet’s orbit where the combined gravitational pull of the star and the planet can trap material. Studying these two regions of PDS 70b’s orbit, astronomers detected a faint signal from one of them, indicating that a cloud of debris with a mass up to roughly two times that of our Moon might reside there.
The press release — as well as most news reports — touts the possibility that they have found a second planet in this orbit. They have not, and are likely not going to. As noted above, the data indicates the presence of “a cloud of debris”, which is most likely a clustering of Trojan asteroids, just as the more than 12,000 asteroids we see in the two Trojan points in Jupiter’s orbit.
Nonetheless, this is the first detection of what appears to be a Trojan clustering in the accretion disk of a young star.
The Trojan debris clouds around PDS 70, as seen by ALMA
The uncertainty of science: Astronomers have detected evidence that suggests the possibility of more than one exoplanet sharing the same orbit around PDS 70, a star 400 light years away.
This young star is known to host two giant, Jupiter-like planets, PDS 70b and PDS 70c. By analysing archival ALMA observations of this system, the team spotted a cloud of debris at the location in PDS 70b’s orbit where Trojans are expected to exist.
Trojans occupy the so-called Lagrangian zones, two extended regions in a planet’s orbit where the combined gravitational pull of the star and the planet can trap material. Studying these two regions of PDS 70b’s orbit, astronomers detected a faint signal from one of them, indicating that a cloud of debris with a mass up to roughly two times that of our Moon might reside there.
The press release — as well as most news reports — touts the possibility that they have found a second planet in this orbit. They have not, and are likely not going to. As noted above, the data indicates the presence of “a cloud of debris”, which is most likely a clustering of Trojan asteroids, just as the more than 12,000 asteroids we see in the two Trojan points in Jupiter’s orbit.
Nonetheless, this is the first detection of what appears to be a Trojan clustering in the accretion disk of a young star.
NOAA pays smallsat company PlanetiQ $60 million for its weather data
Capitalism in space: NOAA today awarded the smallsat company PlanetiQ a $60 million contract to provide the agency weather data from the company’s planned constellation of 20 satellites.
At present two satellites are in orbit, with more scheduled for launch in 2024. The satellites use data obtained in orbit from the different GPS-type satellite constellations to determine the atmosphere’s temperature, pressure, humidity and electron density.
In 2018 NOAA had awarded PlanetiQ and two other commercial companies, Spire and GeoOptics, small developmental contracts. This appears to be the first full contract, and continues NOAA’s very slow shift from building its own weather satellites to buying data from commercial satellites built by private companies. The agency has resisted this change, but since it can’t get its own satellites built and launched on budget or on time, it is increasingly being forced to do so.
Capitalism in space: NOAA today awarded the smallsat company PlanetiQ a $60 million contract to provide the agency weather data from the company’s planned constellation of 20 satellites.
At present two satellites are in orbit, with more scheduled for launch in 2024. The satellites use data obtained in orbit from the different GPS-type satellite constellations to determine the atmosphere’s temperature, pressure, humidity and electron density.
In 2018 NOAA had awarded PlanetiQ and two other commercial companies, Spire and GeoOptics, small developmental contracts. This appears to be the first full contract, and continues NOAA’s very slow shift from building its own weather satellites to buying data from commercial satellites built by private companies. The agency has resisted this change, but since it can’t get its own satellites built and launched on budget or on time, it is increasingly being forced to do so.
SpaceX gets license to provide Starlink service to Malaysia
According to government officials, SpaceX has now been given a license to provide Starlink internet service to customers within Malaysia, with particular focus in remote areas that presently do not have service.
The deal apparently requires SpaceX to provide Starlink service to Malaysian schools and educational institutions.
According to government officials, SpaceX has now been given a license to provide Starlink internet service to customers within Malaysia, with particular focus in remote areas that presently do not have service.
The deal apparently requires SpaceX to provide Starlink service to Malaysian schools and educational institutions.
ISRO successfully tests propulsion system of Gaganyaan’s service module
India’s space agency ISRO revealed today that it has successfully completed the second phase of static fire engine tests of the complete propulsion system to be used by the service module of its Gaganyaan’s manned space capsule.
The first hot test of the Phase-2 test series demonstrated the integrated performance of the Gaganyaan Service Module Propulsion System. The test, conducted for a duration of 250 seconds, involved LAM engines firing in continuous mode, along with RCS thrusters, adhering to the test profile.
As part of the Phase-1 test series of SM SDM, ISRO had previously conducted five hot tests, totalling a duration of 2750 seconds. The earlier phase involved five 440 N LAM engines and eight 100 N RCS thrusters. For the Phase-2 test series, the current configuration includes the full configuration of five 440 N LAM engines and sixteen 100 N RCS thrusters.
ISRO had been hoping to launch the first manned mission in ’24, but that target date remains very uncertain.
India’s space agency ISRO revealed today that it has successfully completed the second phase of static fire engine tests of the complete propulsion system to be used by the service module of its Gaganyaan’s manned space capsule.
The first hot test of the Phase-2 test series demonstrated the integrated performance of the Gaganyaan Service Module Propulsion System. The test, conducted for a duration of 250 seconds, involved LAM engines firing in continuous mode, along with RCS thrusters, adhering to the test profile.
As part of the Phase-1 test series of SM SDM, ISRO had previously conducted five hot tests, totalling a duration of 2750 seconds. The earlier phase involved five 440 N LAM engines and eight 100 N RCS thrusters. For the Phase-2 test series, the current configuration includes the full configuration of five 440 N LAM engines and sixteen 100 N RCS thrusters.
ISRO had been hoping to launch the first manned mission in ’24, but that target date remains very uncertain.
Scientists discover in archival data a slowly pulsing object that has been beating since 1988
The uncertainty of science: Using archival data, scientists have discovered a previously undetected but very strange slowly pulsing object that has been doing so since 1988.
Astronomers have found an ultra-slow, long-lasting source of radio-wave pulses, and they are perplexed as to its true nature. While “regular” radio pulsars have very short periods, from seconds down to just a few milliseconds, this source emits a brief pulse of radio waves about three times per hour. What’s more, it has been doing this for decades. “I do not think we can say yet what this object is,” says Victoria Kaspi (McGill University), a pulsar researcher who was not involved in the new study.
Natasha Hurley-Walker (Curtin University, Australia) and her colleagues discovered the mysterious source in data from the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) observatory in Western Australia. They carried out follow-up observations with the MWA and with other radio observatories in Australia and South Africa. Known as GPM J1839-10, the tardy blinker is located at a distance of some 18,500 light-years away in the constellation Scutum. Archival data from the Very Large Array in New Mexico and the Indian Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope reveal that it has been pulsating at least since 1988, with a period of just under 22 minutes (1,318.1957 seconds, to be precise).
In a sense, the object is a pulsar, since on a very basic level it does what all pulsars do, send a radio beat in our direction in a precise pattern. The problem is that according to present theories that say pulsars are actually magnetized neutron stars rotating quickly, this object is rotating too slowly to be one.
The uncertainty of science: Using archival data, scientists have discovered a previously undetected but very strange slowly pulsing object that has been doing so since 1988.
Astronomers have found an ultra-slow, long-lasting source of radio-wave pulses, and they are perplexed as to its true nature. While “regular” radio pulsars have very short periods, from seconds down to just a few milliseconds, this source emits a brief pulse of radio waves about three times per hour. What’s more, it has been doing this for decades. “I do not think we can say yet what this object is,” says Victoria Kaspi (McGill University), a pulsar researcher who was not involved in the new study.
Natasha Hurley-Walker (Curtin University, Australia) and her colleagues discovered the mysterious source in data from the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) observatory in Western Australia. They carried out follow-up observations with the MWA and with other radio observatories in Australia and South Africa. Known as GPM J1839-10, the tardy blinker is located at a distance of some 18,500 light-years away in the constellation Scutum. Archival data from the Very Large Array in New Mexico and the Indian Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope reveal that it has been pulsating at least since 1988, with a period of just under 22 minutes (1,318.1957 seconds, to be precise).
In a sense, the object is a pulsar, since on a very basic level it does what all pulsars do, send a radio beat in our direction in a precise pattern. The problem is that according to present theories that say pulsars are actually magnetized neutron stars rotating quickly, this object is rotating too slowly to be one.
SpaceX launches 15 more Starlink satellites into orbit
SpaceX tonight successfully launched fifteen more Starlink satellites into orbit, lifting off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The first stage completed its tenth flight, landing successfully on a drone ship in the Pacific. Both fairings successfully completed their sixth flight.
The leaders in the 2023 launch race:
48 SpaceX
26 China (with a launch also planned for tonight)
9 Russia
6 Rocket Lab
5 India
American private enterprise now leads China in successful launches 55 to 26, and the entire world combined 55 to 45, with SpaceX by itself leading the entire world combined (excluding other American companies) 48 to 45.
An additional note: This was the 100th successful orbital launch in 2023. In the history of space rocketry, reaching 100 launches in a year was generally considered an indication of an active launch year. Now the global rocket industry accomplishes it in just over half the year. Last year set a record with 179 launches. There is now an outside chance of breaking that, topping 200 launches in 2023.
SpaceX tonight successfully launched fifteen more Starlink satellites into orbit, lifting off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The first stage completed its tenth flight, landing successfully on a drone ship in the Pacific. Both fairings successfully completed their sixth flight.
The leaders in the 2023 launch race:
48 SpaceX
26 China (with a launch also planned for tonight)
9 Russia
6 Rocket Lab
5 India
American private enterprise now leads China in successful launches 55 to 26, and the entire world combined 55 to 45, with SpaceX by itself leading the entire world combined (excluding other American companies) 48 to 45.
An additional note: This was the 100th successful orbital launch in 2023. In the history of space rocketry, reaching 100 launches in a year was generally considered an indication of an active launch year. Now the global rocket industry accomplishes it in just over half the year. Last year set a record with 179 launches. There is now an outside chance of breaking that, topping 200 launches in 2023.
July 19, 2023 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast
Embedded below the fold in two parts.
To listen to all of John Batchelor’s podcasts, go here.
» Read more
Embedded below the fold in two parts.
To listen to all of John Batchelor’s podcasts, go here.
» Read more
Priscilla Ahn – The Boobs Song
Ancient lava vent high on a Martian volcano
Click for original image.
Today’s cool image illustrates the once violent and active volcanic past of Mars, now long dormant. The picture to the right, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on May 11, 2023 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). It shows what the scientists label as a “vent and channel” located high on the northeast flanks of the giant volcano Arsia Mons.
The rim around the vent suggests that lava had once bubbled up out of the vent and hardened around it, as most of the lava flowed downhill along the channel. And though this vent appears to be the source of this channel, it is not. The channel continues to the southwest uphill until it reaches the edge of Arsia Mons’ caldera, a region where there are many such vents, many much larger and deeper than this one.
» Read more
Click for original image.
Today’s cool image illustrates the once violent and active volcanic past of Mars, now long dormant. The picture to the right, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on May 11, 2023 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). It shows what the scientists label as a “vent and channel” located high on the northeast flanks of the giant volcano Arsia Mons.
The rim around the vent suggests that lava had once bubbled up out of the vent and hardened around it, as most of the lava flowed downhill along the channel. And though this vent appears to be the source of this channel, it is not. The channel continues to the southwest uphill until it reaches the edge of Arsia Mons’ caldera, a region where there are many such vents, many much larger and deeper than this one.
» Read more
Pushback: Arizona State University loses major donor for its anti-first amendment actions
Bring a gun to a knife fight: In protest of Arizona State University’s anti-first amendment actions, a major donor, Tom Lewis, has withdrawn an annual $400K donation, used to support the T.W. Lewis Center for Personal Development at ASU’s Barrett College facility that Lewis had contributed more than $2 million to found.
His action was prompted by the hostility and opposition to a February 8, 2023 university event by Barrett College’s faculty, including a petition signed by 37 of 47 members, condemning the event, before it had even occurred. From his press release [pdf]:
Because these were mostly conservative speakers, we expected some opposition, but I was shocked and disappointed by the alarming and outright hostility demonstrated by the Barrett faculty and administration toward these speakers. Instead of sponsoring this event with a spirit of cooperation and respect for free speech, Barrett faculty and staff exposed the radical ideology that now apparently dominates the college.
After seeing this level of left-wing hostility and activism, I no longer had any confidence in Barrett to adhere to the terms of our gift, and made the decision to terminate our agreement, effective June 30, 2023.
Adding weight to Lewis’ decision was the fact that several weeks earlier ASU had fired the Lewis Center’s executive director, Ann Atkinson, as well as Lin Blake, the events operator for the theater where the event was held. Atkinson made it clear their termination was retaliation because they had organized the February conference.
» Read more
Bring a gun to a knife fight: In protest of Arizona State University’s anti-first amendment actions, a major donor, Tom Lewis, has withdrawn an annual $400K donation, used to support the T.W. Lewis Center for Personal Development at ASU’s Barrett College facility that Lewis had contributed more than $2 million to found.
His action was prompted by the hostility and opposition to a February 8, 2023 university event by Barrett College’s faculty, including a petition signed by 37 of 47 members, condemning the event, before it had even occurred. From his press release [pdf]:
Because these were mostly conservative speakers, we expected some opposition, but I was shocked and disappointed by the alarming and outright hostility demonstrated by the Barrett faculty and administration toward these speakers. Instead of sponsoring this event with a spirit of cooperation and respect for free speech, Barrett faculty and staff exposed the radical ideology that now apparently dominates the college.
After seeing this level of left-wing hostility and activism, I no longer had any confidence in Barrett to adhere to the terms of our gift, and made the decision to terminate our agreement, effective June 30, 2023.
Adding weight to Lewis’ decision was the fact that several weeks earlier ASU had fired the Lewis Center’s executive director, Ann Atkinson, as well as Lin Blake, the events operator for the theater where the event was held. Atkinson made it clear their termination was retaliation because they had organized the February conference.
» Read more
Stanford president resigns due to research fraud allegations
The president of Stanford University, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, has now resigned because of allegations of fraud and data manipulation in papers published by him and others.
The report finds that overall Tessier-Lavigne “did not have actual knowledge of any manipulation of research data” and “was not reckless in failing to identify” the problems in the papers. Yet it concludes that he did not respond adequately when concerns were raised about the papers on PubPeer or by a colleague at four different points over 2 decades—most recently in March 2021. For example, it chides him for failing to follow up when Science did not publish the corrections he submitted.
The report also faults Tessier-Lavigne for his “suboptimal” decision not to correct or retract the 2009 Nature paper, despite “vigorous discussions” about what to do; instead, he and colleagues published follow-up papers revising the findings. Without “an appropriate appetite” for corrections, “the often-claimed self-correcting nature of the scientific process will not occur,” the report says.
In other words, he too often looked the other way when associates were sloppy or were found to have faked data.
This story is an addendum to one I posted yesterday, where a researcher in 2020 had found 1 in 4 clinical trials to be either unreliable or fraudulent. His revelation however was ignored by the medical community, just as Tessier-Lavigne ignored fraud or sloppiness at his own lab.
Nor has anything really changed in the medical research community. Though Tessier-Lavigne has stepped down, the actual perpetrators of the fraud are facing no punishment.
Despite the findings of data manipulation, the report does not assign responsibility to any specific members of Tessier-Lavigne’s lab or determine whether the data manipulation fit the federal definition of research misconduct, “fabrication, falsification, fabrication, or plagiarism.” Whether the findings should be reported to the federal Office of Research Integrity will be up to Stanford, Filip says.
It appears we can trust little from the modern medical research community. There is certainly good work being done, but telling the difference between the good and the bad is now very difficult, if not impossible.
The president of Stanford University, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, has now resigned because of allegations of fraud and data manipulation in papers published by him and others.
The report finds that overall Tessier-Lavigne “did not have actual knowledge of any manipulation of research data” and “was not reckless in failing to identify” the problems in the papers. Yet it concludes that he did not respond adequately when concerns were raised about the papers on PubPeer or by a colleague at four different points over 2 decades—most recently in March 2021. For example, it chides him for failing to follow up when Science did not publish the corrections he submitted.
The report also faults Tessier-Lavigne for his “suboptimal” decision not to correct or retract the 2009 Nature paper, despite “vigorous discussions” about what to do; instead, he and colleagues published follow-up papers revising the findings. Without “an appropriate appetite” for corrections, “the often-claimed self-correcting nature of the scientific process will not occur,” the report says.
In other words, he too often looked the other way when associates were sloppy or were found to have faked data.
This story is an addendum to one I posted yesterday, where a researcher in 2020 had found 1 in 4 clinical trials to be either unreliable or fraudulent. His revelation however was ignored by the medical community, just as Tessier-Lavigne ignored fraud or sloppiness at his own lab.
Nor has anything really changed in the medical research community. Though Tessier-Lavigne has stepped down, the actual perpetrators of the fraud are facing no punishment.
Despite the findings of data manipulation, the report does not assign responsibility to any specific members of Tessier-Lavigne’s lab or determine whether the data manipulation fit the federal definition of research misconduct, “fabrication, falsification, fabrication, or plagiarism.” Whether the findings should be reported to the federal Office of Research Integrity will be up to Stanford, Filip says.
It appears we can trust little from the modern medical research community. There is certainly good work being done, but telling the difference between the good and the bad is now very difficult, if not impossible.
Astronomers detect white dwarf star with two faces
The uncertainty of science: Astronomers using ground-based telescopes have discovered a white dwarf star in which the surface chemistry of its two hemispheres are very different, one strongly dominated by hydrogen while the other instead dominated by helium.
The team used the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (LRIS) on the Keck I Telescope to view Janus in optical wavelengths (light that our eyes can see) as well as the Near-Infrared Echellette Spectrograph (NIRES) on the Keck II Telescope to observe the white dwarf in infrared wavelengths. The data revealed the white dwarf’s chemical fingerprints, which showed the presence of hydrogen when one side of the object was in view (with no signs of helium), and only helium when the other side swung into view.
The article lists a lot of proposed explanations, most of which suggest the star’s magnetic field is acting to segregate the materials. All assume these observations are certain and that there is no mixing at all, something we should doubt considering the resolution of the data (a mere point that is rotating).
The uncertainty of science: Astronomers using ground-based telescopes have discovered a white dwarf star in which the surface chemistry of its two hemispheres are very different, one strongly dominated by hydrogen while the other instead dominated by helium.
The team used the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (LRIS) on the Keck I Telescope to view Janus in optical wavelengths (light that our eyes can see) as well as the Near-Infrared Echellette Spectrograph (NIRES) on the Keck II Telescope to observe the white dwarf in infrared wavelengths. The data revealed the white dwarf’s chemical fingerprints, which showed the presence of hydrogen when one side of the object was in view (with no signs of helium), and only helium when the other side swung into view.
The article lists a lot of proposed explanations, most of which suggest the star’s magnetic field is acting to segregate the materials. All assume these observations are certain and that there is no mixing at all, something we should doubt considering the resolution of the data (a mere point that is rotating).
Venezuela officially signs onto Chinese lunar base project
Venezuela on July 17, 2023 officially signed an agreement with China to participate in China’s lunar base project.
Venezuela is the first nation, after Russia, to sign on to the project.
Since Venezuela has no space industry and is a bankrupt socialist state that can barely feed its people, this at first glance appears to merely be an effort by China for some international PR. One detail from the article however tells us what the deal is really about: “Venezuela will make its satellite control ground station infrastructure available for lunar missions.” In exchange for providing Venezuela some minor educational aid, China gets use of the ground stations that presently exist in Venezuela, and likely the right to build its own there as well.
Venezuela on July 17, 2023 officially signed an agreement with China to participate in China’s lunar base project.
Venezuela is the first nation, after Russia, to sign on to the project.
Since Venezuela has no space industry and is a bankrupt socialist state that can barely feed its people, this at first glance appears to merely be an effort by China for some international PR. One detail from the article however tells us what the deal is really about: “Venezuela will make its satellite control ground station infrastructure available for lunar missions.” In exchange for providing Venezuela some minor educational aid, China gets use of the ground stations that presently exist in Venezuela, and likely the right to build its own there as well.
Graham Mackenzie – Josh’s Jigs
July 18, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, who acts as a second pair of eyes to make sure we don’t miss anything.
- Insurance rep says Viasat’s $420 million claim for satellite failure will impact other customers
In plain English, insurance companies might have to raise rates to satellite companies to cover Viasat’s claim, an entirely ordinary situation when it comes to satellite insurance.
- Video of NASA press conference in advance of the last Antares/Cygnus launch using Russian engines
The launch date is presently August 1, 2023 at 8:30 pm (Eastern). After this launch Northrop Grumman will not be able to launch an Antares rocket until it gets new engines and first stage from Firefly. In the meantime it will use SpaceX’s Falcon 9 to launch three Cygnus capsules to ISS.
- Another Chinese pseudo-company, Nayuta Space, proposes a methane rocket dubbed “Space Chaser-1”
The company also claims it will have a reusable suborbital launcher that sounds awfully like New Shepard, with variations.
- A new “ultra-high-speed” wind tunnel in China
It appears designed above all to simulate conditions needed for the hypersonic testing.
- Video of first test of SpaceX’s Superheavy launchpad deluge system
It was a partial test, but indicates again that SpaceX will be ready for another Starship/Superheavy orbital test launch in August, as promised. Will the FAA? I remain doubtful.
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, who acts as a second pair of eyes to make sure we don’t miss anything.
- Insurance rep says Viasat’s $420 million claim for satellite failure will impact other customers
In plain English, insurance companies might have to raise rates to satellite companies to cover Viasat’s claim, an entirely ordinary situation when it comes to satellite insurance.
- Video of NASA press conference in advance of the last Antares/Cygnus launch using Russian engines
The launch date is presently August 1, 2023 at 8:30 pm (Eastern). After this launch Northrop Grumman will not be able to launch an Antares rocket until it gets new engines and first stage from Firefly. In the meantime it will use SpaceX’s Falcon 9 to launch three Cygnus capsules to ISS.
- Another Chinese pseudo-company, Nayuta Space, proposes a methane rocket dubbed “Space Chaser-1”
The company also claims it will have a reusable suborbital launcher that sounds awfully like New Shepard, with variations.
- A new “ultra-high-speed” wind tunnel in China
It appears designed above all to simulate conditions needed for the hypersonic testing.
- Video of first test of SpaceX’s Superheavy launchpad deluge system
It was a partial test, but indicates again that SpaceX will be ready for another Starship/Superheavy orbital test launch in August, as promised. Will the FAA? I remain doubtful.
Ohio Attorney General to college administrators: Discriminate and YOU will be personally liable
Making the law mean something again
Bring a gun to a knife fight: In what is certain to become the most powerful deterrent to leftist bigotry in academia, Ohio attorney general Dave Yost has notified the administrators in his state’s public colleges that “qualified immunity” will not be available to them if they are personally sued for discriminating against any individuals and lose.
Employees found guilty of such practices as employing application essays to discern an applicant’s race “might not be protected by qualified immunity, a doctrine that protects public officials from being personally liable in certain situations,” Yost wrote, according to The Dispatch. “Any attempt to invoke that doctrine would likely be frivolous, and my office may be unable to raise any qualified immunity defense on your employees’ behalf,” Yost wrote.
Making the law mean something again
Bring a gun to a knife fight: In what is certain to become the most powerful deterrent to leftist bigotry in academia, Ohio attorney general Dave Yost has notified the administrators in his state’s public colleges that “qualified immunity” will not be available to them if they are personally sued for discriminating against any individuals and lose.
Employees found guilty of such practices as employing application essays to discern an applicant’s race “might not be protected by qualified immunity, a doctrine that protects public officials from being personally liable in certain situations,” Yost wrote, according to The Dispatch. “Any attempt to invoke that doctrine would likely be frivolous, and my office may be unable to raise any qualified immunity defense on your employees’ behalf,” Yost wrote.
Glacial evidence in the dry equatorial regions of Mars?
Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, rotated, cropped, rotated, and sharpened to post here, was taken on June 3, 2023 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). It shows the eastern half of a six-mile-wide unnamed crater with a depth of about 1,500 to 2,000 feet from rim to floor.
What makes this picture significant is the patchy material in the center of that crater floor, some of which looks almost like very old peeling paint. It also resembles the kind of glacial features routinely seen in many craters poleward of 30 degrees latitude on Mars.
Is this another example of such glacial features? If so, its location is what makes it significant.
» Read more
Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, rotated, cropped, rotated, and sharpened to post here, was taken on June 3, 2023 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). It shows the eastern half of a six-mile-wide unnamed crater with a depth of about 1,500 to 2,000 feet from rim to floor.
What makes this picture significant is the patchy material in the center of that crater floor, some of which looks almost like very old peeling paint. It also resembles the kind of glacial features routinely seen in many craters poleward of 30 degrees latitude on Mars.
Is this another example of such glacial features? If so, its location is what makes it significant.
» Read more
The results of one in four medical clinical trials are probably fraudulent or unreliable
In 2020 a researcher in Great Britain decided to analyze the raw data used by 500 medical clinical trials, and found that one in four contained fraudulent or unreliable data.
Carlisle, an anaesthetist who works for England’s National Health Service, is renowned for his ability to spot dodgy data in medical trials. He is also an editor at the journal Anaesthesia, and in 2017, he decided to scour all the manuscripts he handled that reported a randomized controlled trial (RCT) — the gold standard of medical research. Over three years, he scrutinized more than 500 studies.
For more than 150 trials, Carlisle got access to anonymized individual participant data (IPD). By studying the IPD spreadsheets, he judged that 44% of these trials contained at least some flawed data: impossible statistics, incorrect calculations or duplicated numbers or figures, for instance. And 26% of the papers had problems that were so widespread that the trial was impossible to trust, he judged — either because the authors were incompetent, or because they had faked the data.
Carlisle called these ‘zombie’ trials because they had the semblance of real research, but closer scrutiny showed they were actually hollow shells, masquerading as reliable information. Even he was surprised by their prevalence. “I anticipated maybe one in ten,” he says.
There is the real story, however.
Carlisle rejected every zombie trial, but by now, almost three years later, most have been published in other journals — sometimes with different data to those submitted with the manuscript he had seen. He is writing to journal editors to alert them, but expects that little will be done.
In other words, the peer-review medical community continues to allow fake research to be published, even when it has been warned that research is fake.
But of course, we must trust everything they tell us. They are SCIENTISTS, and we must “follow the SCIENCE!”
In 2020 a researcher in Great Britain decided to analyze the raw data used by 500 medical clinical trials, and found that one in four contained fraudulent or unreliable data.
Carlisle, an anaesthetist who works for England’s National Health Service, is renowned for his ability to spot dodgy data in medical trials. He is also an editor at the journal Anaesthesia, and in 2017, he decided to scour all the manuscripts he handled that reported a randomized controlled trial (RCT) — the gold standard of medical research. Over three years, he scrutinized more than 500 studies.
For more than 150 trials, Carlisle got access to anonymized individual participant data (IPD). By studying the IPD spreadsheets, he judged that 44% of these trials contained at least some flawed data: impossible statistics, incorrect calculations or duplicated numbers or figures, for instance. And 26% of the papers had problems that were so widespread that the trial was impossible to trust, he judged — either because the authors were incompetent, or because they had faked the data.
Carlisle called these ‘zombie’ trials because they had the semblance of real research, but closer scrutiny showed they were actually hollow shells, masquerading as reliable information. Even he was surprised by their prevalence. “I anticipated maybe one in ten,” he says.
There is the real story, however.
Carlisle rejected every zombie trial, but by now, almost three years later, most have been published in other journals — sometimes with different data to those submitted with the manuscript he had seen. He is writing to journal editors to alert them, but expects that little will be done.
In other words, the peer-review medical community continues to allow fake research to be published, even when it has been warned that research is fake.
But of course, we must trust everything they tell us. They are SCIENTISTS, and we must “follow the SCIENCE!”
SpaceX to raise another $750 million in stock sale; earnings rise to $8 billion in ’23
According to anonymous sources, a new stock sale at SpaceX is likely to raise another $750 million because of enthusiasm on Wall Street for the stock due to the company’s growing earnings, which are expected to double to $8 billion this year.
Last week, CNBC reported that Elon Musk’s SpaceX valuation reached nearly $150B following an announcement of a stock sale by existing investors. According to a copy of the purchase offer sent by CFO Bret Johnsen, which CNBC obtained, the company has entered into an agreement with new and existing investors to sell up to $750 million in stock at a price of $81 per share. This represents a 5% increase from the previous secondary sale at $77 per share, which valued the company at approximately $140B. SpaceX has not provided any comments regarding the purchase offer.
Though the article does not say, that revenue comes from two sources, SpaceX’s rocket launches and its Starlink constellation. In the first case the company dominates the launch industry, because its launch price is so much cheaper than everyone else. In the second case, Starlink is producing so much revenue because Elon Musk forced the company to move fast and get its satellites in orbit quickly. Though both SpaceX and Amazon announced their internet constellations at about the same time, Amazon has still not launched any satellites, while SpaceX has more than 4,000 in orbit. This active and operating constellation has allowed SpaceX to grab market share that Amazon is now likely never to get, even when it begins launching.
All this makes SpaceX very appealing to investors, which is why its private stock price has gone up. It is also why it has been able to raise now almost $11 billion in private investment capital for building both Starlink and its Starship/Superheavy rocket.
According to anonymous sources, a new stock sale at SpaceX is likely to raise another $750 million because of enthusiasm on Wall Street for the stock due to the company’s growing earnings, which are expected to double to $8 billion this year.
Last week, CNBC reported that Elon Musk’s SpaceX valuation reached nearly $150B following an announcement of a stock sale by existing investors. According to a copy of the purchase offer sent by CFO Bret Johnsen, which CNBC obtained, the company has entered into an agreement with new and existing investors to sell up to $750 million in stock at a price of $81 per share. This represents a 5% increase from the previous secondary sale at $77 per share, which valued the company at approximately $140B. SpaceX has not provided any comments regarding the purchase offer.
Though the article does not say, that revenue comes from two sources, SpaceX’s rocket launches and its Starlink constellation. In the first case the company dominates the launch industry, because its launch price is so much cheaper than everyone else. In the second case, Starlink is producing so much revenue because Elon Musk forced the company to move fast and get its satellites in orbit quickly. Though both SpaceX and Amazon announced their internet constellations at about the same time, Amazon has still not launched any satellites, while SpaceX has more than 4,000 in orbit. This active and operating constellation has allowed SpaceX to grab market share that Amazon is now likely never to get, even when it begins launching.
All this makes SpaceX very appealing to investors, which is why its private stock price has gone up. It is also why it has been able to raise now almost $11 billion in private investment capital for building both Starlink and its Starship/Superheavy rocket.
Rocket Lab launches seven satellites; recovers first stage from ocean
Rocket Lab today successfully used its Electron rocket to place seven smallsats into orbit, lifting off from New Zealand.
The first stage used parachutes to softly splash down in the ocean, where it was recovered for refurbishment and relaunch. As this stage is the first in which this full reuse will be attempted, the ability to refurbish the stage after its salt water swim remains the critical factor. We will not know its state until a complete inspection plus static fire engine tests are completed.
The leaders in the 2023 launch race:
47 SpaceX
26 China
9 Russia
6 Rocket Lab
5 India
American private enterprise now leads China in successful launches 54 to 26, and the entire world combined 54 to 45, while SpaceX alone still leads the rest of the world (excluding other American companies) 47 to 45.
Rocket Lab today successfully used its Electron rocket to place seven smallsats into orbit, lifting off from New Zealand.
The first stage used parachutes to softly splash down in the ocean, where it was recovered for refurbishment and relaunch. As this stage is the first in which this full reuse will be attempted, the ability to refurbish the stage after its salt water swim remains the critical factor. We will not know its state until a complete inspection plus static fire engine tests are completed.
The leaders in the 2023 launch race:
47 SpaceX
26 China
9 Russia
6 Rocket Lab
5 India
American private enterprise now leads China in successful launches 54 to 26, and the entire world combined 54 to 45, while SpaceX alone still leads the rest of the world (excluding other American companies) 47 to 45.
Fatoumata Diawara – Nterini
An evening pause: Diawara grew up in Mali but at eighteen went to France to become an actor and performer.
Hat tip to Tom Donohue, who correctly adds, “Interesting mix of music cultures.”
July 17, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- ULA switches Amazon’s first test Kuiper satellites from Vulcan to an Atlas-5 launching in September
Apparently the customer, Amazon, could no longer tolerate the delays with Vulcan. It has to launch soon, because its license requires it to place a minimum of 1,600 satellites in orbit by 2026. Amazon also probably wanted off that first Vulcan launch because of the risks. Better to launch on the established and very reliable Atlas-5.
- Based on Amazon’s required statements outlining the financial deals it has with Jeff Bezos’ other company, Blue Origin, the launch cost for New Glenn can be estimated to be $100 million
If this estimate is even close to accurate, than New Glenn is a very expensive rocket, as that cost is twice what SpaceX generally charges for a Falcon 9 launch. The cost however will drop if Blue Origin’s plans to reuse the first stage succeed.
The cost won’t drop, however, if New Glenn never flies. And based on Blue Origin’s track record, this cynicism is not an unreasonable position.
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- ULA switches Amazon’s first test Kuiper satellites from Vulcan to an Atlas-5 launching in September
Apparently the customer, Amazon, could no longer tolerate the delays with Vulcan. It has to launch soon, because its license requires it to place a minimum of 1,600 satellites in orbit by 2026. Amazon also probably wanted off that first Vulcan launch because of the risks. Better to launch on the established and very reliable Atlas-5.
- Based on Amazon’s required statements outlining the financial deals it has with Jeff Bezos’ other company, Blue Origin, the launch cost for New Glenn can be estimated to be $100 million
If this estimate is even close to accurate, than New Glenn is a very expensive rocket, as that cost is twice what SpaceX generally charges for a Falcon 9 launch. The cost however will drop if Blue Origin’s plans to reuse the first stage succeed.
The cost won’t drop, however, if New Glenn never flies. And based on Blue Origin’s track record, this cynicism is not an unreasonable position.
Flat-topped Martian mesa
Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, rotated, cropped, and reduced to post here, was taken on April 18, 2023 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). It shows only one of many flat-topped mesas in a chaos terrain region dubbed Oxia Chaos.
The mesa top is about 540 feet above the floor of the canyon to the north, which in turn is about 840 feet below the flat terrain north of it. That flat terrain to the north is not part of the chaos terrain, however, but the northern rim of the plateau that surrounds the chaos. Moreover, this particular piece of rim is separating from the plateau, as shown near the top of this January 16, 2008 context camera image from MRO. At some point in the future it will break off and fall into that canyon and on top of this mesa.
» Read more
Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, rotated, cropped, and reduced to post here, was taken on April 18, 2023 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). It shows only one of many flat-topped mesas in a chaos terrain region dubbed Oxia Chaos.
The mesa top is about 540 feet above the floor of the canyon to the north, which in turn is about 840 feet below the flat terrain north of it. That flat terrain to the north is not part of the chaos terrain, however, but the northern rim of the plateau that surrounds the chaos. Moreover, this particular piece of rim is separating from the plateau, as shown near the top of this January 16, 2008 context camera image from MRO. At some point in the future it will break off and fall into that canyon and on top of this mesa.
» Read more
California Democrats retreat on their effort to defend child slavers
The Democratic Party: caught in the act of eagerly
supporting pedophiles
Pigs fly! After initially killing a bill on July 12, 2023 that would have increased the penalties on child sex traffickers, the Democrats who completely control the California Assembly’s Public Safety Committee reversed course one day later and voted to advance the bill.
With a final vote of 6-0, including two abstentions from progressive Democrats, the bill now moves to the Appropriations Committee, after which, if it is approved, can move the bill to be voted upon by the entire State Assembly. If passed, SB 14 will make trafficking of minors a serious felony that would qualify under California’s three strikes law, which keeps dangerous, serial criminals off the streets, and make individuals convicted of the crime ineligible for early release. [emphasis mine]
I highlight the two abstentions by Democrats. Even after a nationwide uproar over their willingness to block harsh penalties on those who traffic young children for sexual slavery, these two Democrats, including Assembly Majority Leader Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles), still could not bring themselves to vote for the bill.
Nonetheless, the reversal by the rest of the Democrats on the committee marks a major event. » Read more
The Democratic Party: caught in the act of eagerly
supporting pedophiles
Pigs fly! After initially killing a bill on July 12, 2023 that would have increased the penalties on child sex traffickers, the Democrats who completely control the California Assembly’s Public Safety Committee reversed course one day later and voted to advance the bill.
With a final vote of 6-0, including two abstentions from progressive Democrats, the bill now moves to the Appropriations Committee, after which, if it is approved, can move the bill to be voted upon by the entire State Assembly. If passed, SB 14 will make trafficking of minors a serious felony that would qualify under California’s three strikes law, which keeps dangerous, serial criminals off the streets, and make individuals convicted of the crime ineligible for early release. [emphasis mine]
I highlight the two abstentions by Democrats. Even after a nationwide uproar over their willingness to block harsh penalties on those who traffic young children for sexual slavery, these two Democrats, including Assembly Majority Leader Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles), still could not bring themselves to vote for the bill.
Nonetheless, the reversal by the rest of the Democrats on the committee marks a major event. » Read more