Posts Made By: jaroslav zaharchuk

The material that folows is on the internet on several international news services. The source below is from the guardian (UK). Our president sounds like Moses, who just came down the hill with a message from the Big One.

George Bush: 'God told me to end the tyranny in Iraq'

President told Palestinians God also talked to him about Middle East peace

Ewen MacAskill
Friday October 7, 2005
The Guardian

George Bush believes he is on a mission from God, according to the politician Nabil Shaath.

George Bush has claimed he was on a mission from God when he launched the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, according to a senior Palestinian politician in an interview to be broadcast by the BBC later this month.
Mr Bush revealed the extent of his religious fervour when he met a Palestinian delegation during the Israeli-Palestinian summit at the Egpytian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, four months after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

One of the delegates, Nabil Shaath, who was Palestinian foreign minister at the time, said: "President Bush said to all of us: 'I am driven with a mission from God'. God would tell me, 'George go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan'. And I did. And then God would tell me 'George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq'. And I did."
Mr Bush went on: "And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, 'Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East'. And, by God, I'm gonna do it."

Mr Bush, who became a born-again Christian at 40, is one of the most overtly religious leaders to occupy the White House, a fact which brings him much support in middle America.

Soon after, the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz carried a Palestinian transcript of the meeting, containing a version of Mr Bush's remarks. But the Palestinian delegation was reluctant publicly to acknowledge its authenticity.

The BBC persuaded Mr Shaath to go on the record for the first time for a three-part series on Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy: Elusive Peace, which begins on Monday.

Religion also surfaced as an issue when Mr Bush and Tony Blair were reported to have prayed together in 2002 at his ranch at Crawford, Texas - the summit at which the invasion of Iraq was agreed in principle. Mr Blair has consistently refused to admit or deny the claim.

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian prime minister, who was also part of the delegation at Sharm el-Sheikh, told the BBC programme that Mr Bush had said: "I have a moral and religious obligation. I must get you a Palestinian state. And I will."

Mr Shaath's comments came as Mr Bush delivered a speech yesterday aimed at bolstering US support for the Iraq war.

He revealed that the US and its partners had disrupted at least 10 serious al-Qaida plots since September 11, including three planned attacks in the US. "Because of this steady progress, the enemy is wounded - but the enemy is still capable of global operations," he said. He added that Islamic radicals had used a series of excuses to justify their attacks, from conflict with the Israelis to the Crusades 1,000 years ago.

"We're facing a radical ideology with unalterable objectives: to enslave whole nations and intimidate the world," he said.

He conceded that al-Qaida, led in Iraq by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and other insurgents had gained ground in Iraq but the US would not leave until security had been established. "Some observers also claim that America would be better off by cutting our losses and leaving Iraq now. This is a dangerous illusion, refuted with a simple question: Would the United States and other free nations be more safe, or less safe, with Zarqawi and Bin Laden in control of Iraq, its people, and its resources?" Mr Bush asked.

Has anyone had any experience with the use of Hastings aluminum tubing? Can one expect it to be quite round, and not significantly out-of-round? I understand they roll it and then seam/butt weld it from sheet stock. I'm about to buy some to use in making an OTA, in conjunction with a 6.2" f/10 triplet that I obtained here on Astromart a while back. My concern (fear?) is that it might have an elliptical rather that circular cross-section, when it arrives...

In a 3-year study of 30 countries by the OECD, the U.S is third from the bottom, in terms of poverty and gap between rich and poor.

I am sure this will give comfort to some on this forum. See:

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D93UU9980.htm

At least things are better here than in Mexico and Turkey.

This is clearly the result of the policies of President Bush, John McCain, and the republicans during the past 10 years.

I am curious as to the opinions of Astromart politics-forum-subscribers on the following:

Over the past year, over 5000 people have been killed in Mexico in the drug wars. The fighting is over the attempts by various groups/cartels in Mexico and Central America to gain control over the drug traffic to the U.S.

The violence is spilling over into California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Beheaded bodies, burnt human carcasses, hangings, kidnappings, etc., have become commonplace south of the border. Some such occurrences are now beginning to be seen here in the U.S. The Mexican government, internally corrupt to some extent, has been unable to effectively deal with it.

My question is - should the U.S. use Gitmo and the interrogation methodologies employed there by the current administration, as a means to obtain information from drug cartel suspects, to combat the drug cartels?

hi Doug,
The light rays that enter the tube parallel to the optical axis, like the ones in your drawing, aren't the problem. The light rays that come in at various other angles, and bounce all over the place and finally hit the primary and secondary mirrors , and reduce image contrast, is where the problem lies. Baffling will definitely improve the situation, without doubt. If it didn't, then the inside of the tube might just as well have a mirrored (or painted white) surface. As an experiment, you might try lining the inner surface of your ota with sheets of newspaper around and opposite of your focuser (held in temporarily with masking tape) if you still have doubts.
good wishes,
andy z

hi Ivan,
I had the 15X50 IS binos for about a year, after which I sold them. I bought them after having read the reviews in S&T, as well as the reviews on the Todd Gross' web site. They do work as advertised, but in terms of optical performance, I found that they left a little something to be desired. The S&T review alluded to this. They're not up to the same standards (in terms of optical imaging quality) as high-end Nikons or other top-quality binos. I've compared them with the Nikon Astroluxe and Prostar binos, as well as the 10X42 SE, and the Miyauchi 20X77's, all of which I own (or have owned), and the Canon's aren't quite as good on star tests. Star images aren't quite pinpoint, and they have flaring around bright objects such as the moon and planets. For terrestrial/nature viewing however, they're very good, and they're outstanding when used while boating, or on an ocean cruise, as I had the ocasion to do.
-andy z

hi,
You can check out the manufacturer's specs on ...quickset.com. The 4500 isn't listed directly on the web page, but you can download the hercules product specs in PDF format (a few mb.) and there might be more information there. I have a Hercules tripod and dolly, and a pedestal as well. I paid about $150 for the pedestal on an internet auction site, and a little more for the tripod. Also, you can contact them by email if you need replacement parts.
-andy z

Is it on one side only? Does the glare reverse its position if you use the binos in reverse (upside down, using the left bino-half with the right eye, and vice versa)? You may have a defective coating (deterioration) on one of the prisms. If it is only on one side, I'd send them back to Orion. It could also be that it is a problem with the inter-ocular distance at which the binos are set. Try setting them again carefully. Is it possible that this problem was there from the start, and you perhaps didn't notice it initially?
-andy z

the wedge provides the means to use the scope in an equatorial configuration. the advantage is that only the right ascension axis needs to be moved by a drive motor. this provides significantly more accurate tracking, especially important for long duration imaging actvities, such as photography (both CCD digital and film), photometry, spectrometry, or other such applications.
-andy z

Go for the Miyauchis with the 45 degree offset. Save your neck. Also, the interchangeable EPs is another major factor.
-andy z