Iran Has Nukes? NASA's "Homophobic Telescope," Computer Chip Production Moving to the US? NASCAR Driver Murdered Near Homes of the Mega Rich (The Five for 07/19/22)
Hey, welcome to The Five.
Before we dive into the news, a quick product recommendation.
Much of my summer time is spent walking the dog, taking Ava to the playground, running errands etc.
As convenient as flip flops are…my feet normally hurt after walking an extended distance in them. And although Crocs are back in style…I find them to be pretty uncomfortable for much more walking than just taking the trash out.
I discovered the Merrell Hydro Moc by accident, and they’re now almost my only summer footwear outside of the office. There’s still plenty of summer left (particularly here in Missouri, where temps stay up around 90 until October), so next time your flip flop strap breaks…you might give these a try. I prefer these to athletic shoes for walking the dog a mile or so, because they’re so lightweight and still offer shoe-like support.
Best purchase this summer.
OK, let’s do the news stuff.
[one]
Iran, the world’s top sponsor of terrorism, appears to have broken it’s treaty with the U.S. from the Obama era and is close to building a nuclear bomb.
Iran is technically capable of making a nuclear bomb but has not decided whether to build one, a senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Qatar's al Jazeera TV on Sunday.
Kamal Kharrazi spoke a day after U.S. President Joe Biden ended his four-day trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia, vowing to stop Iran from "acquiring a nuclear weapon." read more
Kharrazi's comments were a rare suggestion that Iran might have an interest in nuclear weapons, which it has long denied seeking.
"In a few days we were able to enrich uranium up to 60% and we can easily produce 90% enriched uranium ... Iran has the technical means to produce a nuclear bomb but there has been no decision by Iran to build one," Kharrazi said.
Iran is already enriching to up to 60%, far above a cap of 3.67% under Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Uranium enriched to 90% is suitable for a nuclear bomb.
[two]
Former NASCAR driver Bobby East, 37, was stabbed to death in one of the most affluent counties in America.
NBC News reports:
Police were called shortly before 6 p.m. to a gas station in Westminster, an Orange County city, and found East with a stab wound to his chest, the department said in a statement.
East, 37, was taken to a trauma center, where he died of his injuries, officials said.
Westminster police detectives identified a parolee from Orange County, Trent William Milsap, as the suspect.
When the West County SWAT Team went to an Anaheim apartment complex Friday to serve an arrest warrant, Milsap "became confrontational," a police dog was deployed and Milsap was ultimately killed in a shooting with police, the department said.
The motive for the attack that killed East was not known, police said Saturday.
This is tragic, but there’s more ging on here than just a one-off murder.
A. Five of the 20 wealthiest cities in America are in Orange County, CA.
B. The policies of California are drawing an increasingly greater number of vagrants every month, particularly to San Francisco and LA. (Orange County is a suburban area of the greater LA metro).
C. And these individuals are moving into increasingly wealthy areas to camp out, panhandle and consume drugs in public.
D. As covered in the last issue of The Five, there’s a trendy new movement NOT to treat individuals with psychotic episodes in favor of “acceptance.” This theory is being pushed by outlets like the New York Times.
E. The problem with that is…a small number of people with psychosis can murder others at the drop of a hat. The info is still coming in, but East’s murder fits the description of an episode psychosis, considering there was no monetary or personal motive.
F. While I’m pretty open to testing alternative ideas to helping individuals with drug addiction, it’s becoming clear what happens when a society allows individuals with psychosis to “just live with it.”
We get more murders with no clear intent.
[three]
In 2006, California offered heavy incentives to get residents to install solar panels.
Now, those early panels are at the end of their life cycle, leaving a massive solar panel garbage problem.
It’s not just a problem in California but also nationwide. A new solar project was installed every 60 seconds in 2021, according to a fact sheet published by the Solar Energy Industries Assn., and the solar industry is expected to quadruple in size between 2020 and 2030.
Although 80% of a typical photovoltaic panel is made of recyclable materials, disassembling them and recovering the glass, silver and silicon is extremely difficult.
“There’s no doubt that there will be an increase in the solar panels entering the waste stream in the next decade or so,” said AJ Orben, vice president of We Recycle Solar, a Phoenix-based company that breaks down panels and extracts the valuable metals while disposing of toxic elements. “That’s never been a question.”
The vast majority of We Recycle Solar’s business comes from California, but the company has no facilities in the state. Instead, the panels are trucked to a site in Yuma, Ariz. That’s because California’s rigorous permitting system for toxic materials makes it exceedingly difficult to set up shop, Orben said.
In other words, California won’t allow the recycling of decaying solar panels that California incentivized…in California.
Instead, these aged-out producers of “green energy” are hauled to Arizona…using fossil fuels.
Which is about the most California thing I’ve ever heard.
[four]
Those incredible new photos of the universe are now wrapped up in new accusations of homophobia over the name of the James Webb Space Telescope.
From IntoMore:
The JWST first came under controversy last year when it came to light that its namesake, James Webb, oversaw the Lavender Scare during his tenure as NASA’s second administrator. The Lavender Scare was a McCarthy-era moral panic in which suspected queer employees were exposed and purged from government positions.
Of particular concern was the firing of NASA employee Clifford L. Norton as a result of “‘immoral conduct’ and for possessing personality traits which render him ‘unsuitable for further Government employment.’” This took place after the Lavender Scare, while Webb was still administrator in charge of these kinds of security investigations.
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, assistant professor of physics at the University of New Hampshire, explained to NPR, “Either [Webb] was a wildly incompetent administrator and didn’t know that his head of security was interrogating employees in NASA facilities, or he knew exactly what was going on and he was in some sense party to overseeing the interrogation of someone for being gay.”
Prescod-Weinstein has since become the face of the effort to rename the telescope. While the “Just Wonderful” telescope has been a popular alternate name, she has championed naming it after Harriett Tubman. Although not an astronomer (and neither was Webb), Tubman used the night sky to navigate the Underground Railroad. “When we’re talking about sending something that represents humanity into space, we should be thinking about sending…something that represents our very best,” Prescod-Weinstein argued in a documentary on the JWST name.
Despite the controversy, NASA has declined to rename the telescope. “We have found no evidence at this time that warrants changing the name of the James Webb Space Telescope,” Bill Nelson, NASA’s current administrator, told NPR.
In other words, James Webb was in management at a time when something very bad happened, but we don’t have evidence that Webb knew about (or condoned) firing employees over their personal lifestyles.
Perhaps NASA could do something to tell the story of those employees who were unjustly terminated. But “cancelling” Webb without hard evidence is pretty pointless, unless the purpose is to avoid the social media mob.
Which is a pointless move, because the social media mob can never spill enough blood to quench their thirst.
Oh, and I shouldn’t have to say this…but unless a telescope becomes a sentient A.I. that discriminates against LGBT NASA employees…a telescope cannot be homophobic.
It is an inanimate object with no thoughts or free will. Sheesh.
[five]
Well, there’s good news and bad news about Nancy Pelosi’s latest stock purchase.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could be poised to cash in upcoming legislation meant to bolster the U.S. semiconductor industry, after her husband exercised shares worth as much as $5 million in a California company that stands to reap subsidies.
Paul Pelosi, who was arrested for allegedly driving drunk in May, exercised 20,000 shares in Nvidia, a Santa Clara company. The move was revealed in a disclosure Nancy Pelosi filed to the House of Representatives last week and first reported by the Daily Caller.
“Obviously, Speaker Pelosi would be aware of the timing of this legislation over in the Senate,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) told the Daily Caller. “On the heels of that vote, for anyone in her orbit to purchase seven-figures worth of stock of an U.S.-based chip manufacturer just reeks of impropriety.”
A year ago, Paul Pelosi bought up millions worth of Nvidia shares as the Senate mulled subsidies for the U.S. semiconductor industry, but the House never took up the legislation.
Twitter accounts following the stock purchases of members of Congress are starting to predict the way votes will go. From the Pelosi stock tracker account:
I’ll never be happy about insider trading, but incentivizing domestic chip manufacturing is a major win for National Security.
Until the next one,
--sth