The secretive X-37B space plane is set to blast off today onboard a SpaceX rocket. Its mission? As ever‚ it’s not quite clear. For its seventh mission‚ the robotic plane will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time‚ according to the US Space Force. The launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida was initially set for December 7‚ but it was postponed until December 11 during a 10-minute launch window that opens at 8:14 pm ET.The lift-off will be live-streamed‚ so keep your eyes out for a video on SpaceX’s account on X (previously Twitter).SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy is one of the world's most powerful rockets in operation and is essentially three Falcon 9 rockets strapped together. It’s not certain why this launch needs the extra oomph of the Falcon Heavy‚ but it might indicate the X-37B is loaded with a heavier payload than previous missions.The US Space Force was typically vague about the nature of its mission‚ noting only that it would be “experimenting with future space domain awareness technologies‚ and investigating the radiation effects on materials provided by NASA.” The X-37B looks a bit like the iconic Space Shuttle‚ albeit a little more beaten up. It’s also much smaller‚ measuring 8.9 meters (29 feet) in length with a wingspan of just under 4.5 meters (15 feet). It’s capable of cruising in low-earth orbit‚ between 240 to 800 kilometers (150 to 500 miles) above the Earth‚ at speeds of up to 28‚200 kilometers (17‚522 miles) per hour.Developed by Boeing‚ the autonomous craft has been the subject of six previous missions since 2010. The last of these concluded in November 2022 and involved its longest stint in orbit yet: a record 908 days.The official line from the US military is that the X-37B performs “risk reduction‚ experimentation‚ and concept of operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies.” However‚ the precise details of its job are not certain. One of the leading theories is that it plays a role in spy craft and reconnaissance. Heather Wilson‚ former US Secretary of the Air Force‚ has previously said that the X-37B spacecraft can also turn and change its course when it’s at a lower altitude‚ suggesting it could be used to meddle with foreign adversaries. "[This] means our adversaries don't know – and that happens on the far side of the Earth from our adversaries – where it's going to come up next. We know that that drives them nuts. And I'm really glad about that‚" Wilson told a panel at the Aspen Security Forum in July 2019.According to a BBC report on an article published in Spaceflight magazine in 2012‚ X-37B's orbit closely followed that of China's former space lab‚ Tiangong-1‚ leading to suggestions that it could have been used for space-to-space surveillance. Other experts have since denied these claims‚ however.A slightly more sober suggestion came in October 2014 when security experts told the Guardian that the X-37B was being used "to test reconnaissance and spy sensors‚ particularly how they hold up against radiation and other hazards of orbit."Well‚ I guess that settles it then...

Thursday’s New York Times featured “Gaza War Widens Gap Between Arab Rulers and Citizens” by Vivian Nereim‚ the Gulf bureau chief for the Times‚ based in Saudi Arabia. Nereim offensively portrayed those Arab leaders who dare agree to accept Israel's existence as pampered and privileged‚ in contrast to the poor citizenry marching in the streets of the Middle East country of Bahrain who proudly and openly support the terrorist assaults and even annihilation of Jews. Nereim couldn’t foster a syllable of criticism against the eliminationist rhetoric emanating from protesting Bahrainians. As the afternoon light softened‚ a man holding a megaphone stepped to the front of a crowd of about 200 people in the Bahraini capital‚ Manama‚ and began to shout at the top of his lungs. The demonstrators‚ waving Palestinian flags‚ repeated his words with gusto‚ imploring their American-allied authoritarian government to expel the Israeli ambassador who was appointed two years ago‚ after Bahrain established diplomatic ties with Israel. “No Zionist embassy on Bahraini land!” they chanted. “No American military bases on Bahraini land!” Less than four miles away‚ American and European men in full military regalia gathered for the Manama Dialogue‚ an annual conference that brings together senior officials from Western powers and the Middle East to discuss regional security. They milled about a gilded ballroom in the heavily guarded Ritz-Carlton hotel just hours after the protest -- largely unaware that it had even occurred. When Bahrain’s crown prince‚ Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa‚ took to the stage‚ he pleased much of the audience by condemning Hamas‚ the Palestinian armed group that runs Gaza and which led the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed about 1‚200 people‚ according to Israeli authorities. The war in Gaza that followed the attack has not only laid bare a chasm between many Arab leaders and their people; it has widened it. …. And in Bahrain‚ protesters said that in addition to feeling a deep sense of shared Arab and Islamic identity‚ they saw connections between Palestinian liberation and their own liberation from political repression. Not treating Israel like a pariah was treated as a cynical move by “authoritarian leaders” in the region‚ eager for “the concessions they might extract from the United States‚ Israel’s top ally.” Nereim treated the annihilationist rhetoric on the streets in Bahrain with cool neutrality. Bahraini protesters said they view Israel as a colonial-style occupying power and a Western-backed project designed to dominate the region. Some said Israel should not even exist. …. Thousands of marchers shouted in English and Arabic until they grew hoarse. “Down‚ down‚ Israel!” “America is the head of the snake!” Some chanted in support of Hamas‚ urging it to bomb Tel Aviv. The reporter leaned hard into a leftist framing of privileged pro-Israel officials enjoying the finest food on the backs of their persecuted‚ silenced Hamas-supporting subjects. When [Saudi royal Prince Turki] finished‚ his guests dined on saffron-poached peaches and chicken breasts stuffed with ratatouille. Speaking on the sidelines of the conference‚ Bahraini officials told participants they were determined to protect their deal with Israel.

The FBI has used Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to conduct warrantless “backdoor” searches of the private electronic communications of American citizens. It has done so‚ moreover‚ not just sporadically and by accident but quite deliberately and on hundreds of thousands of occasions. While the technology employed in those searches may be new‚ the issues surrounding it are not. In fact‚ they have been hundreds of years in the making. Just as Wilkes’ story ended badly for King George III‚ our story will end badly for Congress if it reauthorizes FISA 702 — even temporarily — without fixing it. In 1763‚ John Wilkes — a member of the British Parliament — was arrested and his home subjected to an aggressive search because he wrote and published No. 45 of a periodical known as the North Briton. North Briton No. 45 had infuriated King George III and his ministers because it called out their widespread and unlawful use of “general warrants” — official documents authorizing searches and seizures that were backed by neither evidence establishing probable cause nor a specific description of the intended target. In essence‚ general warrants purported to tell the king’s officers‚ “Go search for evidence of a crime in any home or other place you might expect to find it‚ and then seize it.” Unwittingly proving Wilkes’ point‚ the king’s men used general warrants to search his home and the homes of others suspected of participating in the publication of North Briton No. 45. After spending several days locked in the Tower of London‚ Wilkes returned to his home to find it in complete disarray‚ with many items severely damaged and others missing altogether. Incensed by the injustice‚ he challenged the validity of the general warrant at issue and sued the officers who had conducted the search. Long story short: Wilkes won and was awarded a large sum of money as part of the victory. As word of his victorious effort spread‚ Wilkes’ story quickly became famous on both sides of the Atlantic‚ leading ultimately to the adoption of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The number 45 (referring to the publication that had offended the king and sparked the entire episode) became synonymous with both John Wilkes and the cause of liberty in England and the American colonies. Indeed‚ one might say that “45” became the “Roll Tide” of those who wanted to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. As Wilkes became a cult figure in the colonies‚ a motto of sorts based on the Apostles’ Creed was written and published in Boston. It began‚ “I believe in Wilkes‚ the firm patriot‚ maker of number 45‚ who was born for our good‚ suffered under arbitrary power‚ was banished and imprisoned …” Elsewhere in the colonies‚ Wilkes was honored by the naming of Wilkes County‚ Georgia; Wilkesboro‚ North Carolina; and Wilkes-Barre‚ Pennsylvania. Even George III's own young children caught the Wilkes fever. They sometimes opened the door to their father's room and cried‚ “Wilkes and number 45 forever!” just to prank the monarch. A shameful ploy John Wilkes would be shocked by FISA 702‚ which the FBI has used hundreds of thousands of times to spy on Americans without a warrant. There have been essentially no consequences for the agents and agencies who repeatedly violate the Fourth Amendment. As a lawmaker and an advocate of liberty‚ he’d be appalled that the U.S. Congress is preparing to reauthorize FISA 702 — without a single reform. Congress is making this decision not on its own merits but as part of a last-minute addition to the 3‚000-page National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024. Congress is obscuring its own indefensible actions by hiding this provision in a lengthy “must-pass” bill dealing with other‚ far less controversial matters. Shameful. There are currently two meaningful FISA reform bills before Congress: the bipartisan Government Surveillance Reform Act that I introduced with Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)‚ and the End Warrantless Surveillance Act by U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.)‚ which has already passed the House Judiciary Committee by a vote of 35-2. I humbly implore my Senate colleagues — and our counterparts in the House of Representatives — to remember the lessons learned from John Wilkes and North Briton No. 45. Do not rubber-stamp this continued FISA abuse as part of the NDAA. Warrantless “backdoor” searches of Americans’ private electronic communications under FISA 702 are simply modern incarnations of the general warrants used by King George III. Like general warrants‚ backdoor searches under FISA 702 are carried out without any of the safeguards created to protect life‚ liberty‚ and property from the kind of harm that an unrestrained government is uniquely capable of inflicting. Just as Wilkes’ story ended badly for King George III‚ our story will end badly for Congress if it reauthorizes FISA 702 — even temporarily — without fixing it.

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Pumpkin seeds have the perfect crunch factor for this toasty granola with oats‚ pecans‚ raisins‚ and warming spices.