Photo for the Day - February 03, 2012

About today’s Image: Three Generations of Rovers with Crouching Engineers

Two spacecraft engineers join a grouping of vehicles providing a comparison of three generations of Mars rovers developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The setting is JPL's Mars Yard testing area.

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Front and center is the flight spare for the first Mars rover, Sojourner, which landed on Mars in 1997 as part of the Mars Pathfinder Project. On the left is a Mars Exploration Rover Project test rover that is a working sibling to Spirit and Opportunity, which landed on Mars in 2004. On the right is a Mars Science Laboratory test rover the size of that project's Mars rover, Curiosity, which is on course for landing on Mars in August 2012.

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Sojourner and its flight spare, named Marie Curie, are 2 feet (65 centimeters) long. The Mars Exploration Rover Project's rover, including the "Surface System Test Bed" rover in this photo, are 5.2 feet (1.6 meters) long. The Mars Science Laboratory Project's Curiosity rover and "Vehicle System Test Bed" rover, on the right, are 10 feet (3 meters) long.

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The engineers are JPL's Matt Robinson, left, and Wesley Kuykendall. The California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena, operates JPL for NASA.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Israel: On Ground Updates - DoD Secretary Panetta believes Israel likely to strike Iran in coming months - Israeli Defense Minister Barak says world increasingly ready to consider military strike against Iran if economic sanctions don't work

IAF file photo

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Thursday, February 02, 2012

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* Google has the following AP report posted this afternoon and it starts off like this… Capping a day of strident warnings by Israeli officials about the dangers posed by Iran, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Thursday that the world is increasingly ready to consider a military strike against Iran if economic sanctions don't halt Tehran's suspect nuclear program…

Read the rest at link below…

Israel: more world support for possible Iran hit

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* Haaretz.com has this take on today’s news out of Israel and it goes in part like this… "Should sanctions fail to stop Iran's nuclear program, there will be a need to consider taking action," he said… He noted that many analysts believe that confronting a nuclear Iran will be much more complicated and dangerous, and will cost many more lives, than taking action today… "Whoever says 'later', could find that it is too late," he stressed…

Read the full report at link below…

Barak: If Iran sanctions don't work, military action must be considered

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* I’ll end this post with this post on Ynetnews.com and it starts off like this… US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes that Israel is likely to strike Iran in the coming months, [Washington Post columnist David Ignatius said Thursday]… "Panetta believes there is strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June - before Iran enters what Israelis described as a “zone of immunity” to commence building a nuclear bomb," Ignatius wrote…

Read the rest at link below…

'Panetta believes Israel will strike Iran soon'

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  My Take:

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  I’m along the lines of thinking as our DoD Secretary Panetta that Israel is likely to strike Iran in the coming months. That there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June. (Now why he came out and said this in the first place is another matter and up for debate.) I for one would kick this timeframe on into the mid, late summer. Either way… the ENDGAME is closely at hand.

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  Watch for how Iran plays the IAEA Inspectors over the next so many months. These good stall attempts by Iran have already started as you have read over the last so many weeks in the news. Along with, “LET’S TALK!” Yeah… yeah… been there done that… and Israel I’m sure will not let the world go down that track again.

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  Sadly… something no one talks about in the MSM anymore is the possibility of the next major attack… somewhere in the world, in a major population. In my opinion… that attack will be a Dirty Bomb.

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  Iran doesn’t have to make a Nuke, even though it is believed they have enough nuke material now to build 4 bombs if they wish. And still building that stockpile as I type I might add.

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  While we are at it… let us never forget our so-called friends with all their Nukes and such in Pakistan.

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  I can see how some of this material could conveniently walk off from either one of these countries. And more than likely has already done so.

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  Iran has toooo many proxies to mention to slip this material off to and we all know the Pakistanis have been giving the Taliban, (thus in turn we can make the leap to al-Qaeda,) major support for like, ever!

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  Back to the problem at hand… the bottom-line is it’s going to be a LONG SPRING/SUMMER for all our good friends and loved ones in Israel.

    AubreyJ………

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- POST UPDATE -

Iran will help any nation or group that confronts the "cancer" Israel, the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Friday…

Read this AP report HERE

Friday, February 03, 2012

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* JPost.com has this report up early Friday morning and it goes in part like this… [The Jerusalem Post’s Military Correspondent, Yaakov Katz] Katz opines that the international community needs to be cautious about how much faith it instills in diplomacy as a means to prevent Iran from developing its nuclear program. His claim is that Iranians are experts at fooling and toying with the West…

Read the full report/watch the video at link below…

Katz: ‘Israel will take military action on Iran in 2012’

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* Fox News has this report this early Friday morning… U.S. officials say they believe Iran recently gave new freedoms to as many as five top Al Qaeda operatives who have been under house arrest, including the option to leave the country, and may have provided some material aid to the terrorist group… The men, who were detained in Iran in 2003, make up Al Qaeda's so-called management council, a group that includes members of the inner circle that advised Usama bin Laden and an explosives expert widely considered a candidate for a top post in the organization…

Read this repot in full at link below…

US fears Iran's links to Al Qaeda as officials believe country may have provided aid to terror group

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Afghanistan: On Ground Updates - U.S. military said in secret report that Taliban, backed by Pakistan, set to retake control of Afghanistan after NATO-led forces withdraw

U.S. Army file photo by Sgt. Joseph Watson 9-16-11

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Wednesday, February 01, 2012

* The U.S. military said in a secret report that the Taliban, backed by Pakistan, are set to retake control of Afghanistan after NATO-led forces withdraw, raising the prospect of a major failure of Western policy after a costly war… Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, confirmed the existence of the document, reported on Wednesday by Britain's Times newspaper and the BBC… But he said it was not a strategic study… "The classified document in question is a compilation of Taliban detainee opinions," he said. "It's not an analysis, nor is it meant to be considered an analysis."… Nevertheless, it could be interpreted as a damning assessment of the war, dragging into its 11th year and aimed at blocking a Taliban return to power…

Read this somewhat lengthy report by Reuters at link below…

Taliban "poised to retake Afghanistan" after NATO

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* The Guardian reports it this way… A secret US military report says the Taliban, heavily backed by Pakistan, are confident they can win the Afghanistan conflict, and that they are gaining popular support at the expense of the Kabul government…
Read this report in full at link below…

Taliban believe they will take over from US and NATO in Afghanistan - report

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* ABC.net.au has this report and it starts off like this…

A leaked NATO report in Afghanistan says the Taliban are being directly assisted by Pakistan's intelligence service, the ISI, and have widespread support among the Afghan people…

Read this report in full at link below…

Pakistani intelligence helping Taliban: NATO report

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Report says Taliban preparing to retake Afghanistan

About this video: A leaked NATO report claims the Taliban are preparing to retake control of Afghanistan when the alliance's troops leave in 2014.

This news video posted on YouTube by Euronews

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Said more than one time…

What a MESS!

AubreyJ………

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Newt's after the Vote Florida Speech: 46 States to Go!

Florida clarified who the establishment candidate in the race is: Mitt Romney. And who the grassroots candidate is: Newt Gingrich.

This video posted on YouTube by ngingrich

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AubreyJ………

NEWT2012

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Presidential Election 2012 - Florida Primary

Presidential Election 2012 - Florida Primary

Florida Voters Have Spoken in this 2012 Presidential Campaign… Winner, Mitt Romney!

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

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…. File photo by Mitt Romney Campaign Website

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Primary Results:

EARLY Wednesday Morning - 12:55am CST

100% of the votes are in…

50 Total Delegates at stake in this Florida Primary

* Winner Take All!

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1st) Mitt Romney -46% WINNER!

771,842 - 50 Delegates

2nd) Newt Gingrich -32%

531,294 - 00 Delegates

3rd) Rick Santorum - 13%

222,248 - 00 Delegates

4th) Ron Paul - 07%

116,776 - 00 Delegates

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Delegates total to date:

(Note: 1,144 Delegates needed to win Republican Presidential Nomination for year 2012)

Mitt Romney 84 - Newt Gingrich 27 - Ron Paul 10 - Rick Santorum 08

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NOTE: I’ll adjust the above totals midday Wednesday, if need be, so check back!

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But for now, keep up with the latest at link below…

FoxNews.com: Track the race in real time HERE

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Congrats go out to Mitt for another first place finish. Job well done, Mitt. Must say that was a nice comeback from being down as much as you were… being so far behind Newt with his BIG win in South Carolina. Of course it didn’t hurt to be able to outspend Newt 5 to 1 in Campaign bashing… But sadly that is the animal of the game we play.

With that said… It’s on to Nevada folks! Nevada will hold its Caucus this February 4^th. The Colorado Caucuses, Minnesota Caucuses and the Missouri Primary will be held three days later, on February 7^th. Maine’s Caucuses will then follow four days later on February 11th. We end the month on February 28^th with the Arizona, Michigan Primaries.

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Say NEWT… Need to have some GREAT Debates during the ones coming up. Sadly the next one isn’t scheduled until near the end of the month on February 27^th. Get us a few more WINS between now and then, would ya!

Good luck!!!

.AubreyJ………

NEWT 2012

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