Gangale Studios Publicity Photos: Geharis Telemachus Rhade Fainga'a

Copyright © 2016 by Dylan Gangale

@ThomasGangale

Geharis Telemachus Rhade Fainga'a

I love fast food... especially when it is not quite fast enough.

Thomas Gangale's Dogs and Cats: Stories, Songs, and Images

  

Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection, CD2001-4

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.

	Selection	Title	Performer	Release Year
	1	Star Trek: Enterprise - Where My Heart Will Take Me	Russell Watson	2001
	2	Close Encounters	Mogwai	2001
	3	Next in Line	S.P.O.C.K	2001
	4	Satellite	Natalie Imbruglia	2001
	5	Знаете, каким он парнем был? Do You Know What a Guy He Was?	Николай Диденко и Больжой детский хор под управлением Виктора Попова Nikolai Didenko and Grand Children's Choir under the direction of Viktor Popov	2001
	6	Spacecowboy	Red Elvises	2001
	7	Stargate SG-1 Main Title	Neil Norman & His Cosmic Orchestra	2001
	8	Hogyssey	Spacehog	2001
	9	Satellites (Single Version)	S.P.O.C.K	2001
	10	Planets of the Universe	Stevie Nicks	2001
	11	STS-105 - EVA	Mission Audio	2001
	12	Spiral Galaxy [Canterbury Fayre]	Hawkwind	2001
	13	Drops of Jupiter	Train	2001
	14	Заточенный в песках Honed in the Desert	Тарас Ворона Taras Vorona	2001
	15	JT in Space	Thomas Detert	2001
	16	Where Rockets Fly	S.P.O.C.K	2001
	17	Space Trip Steps	Tomoya Ohtani, Hunnid-P	2001
	18	What Planet Is This?	Yoko Kanno	2001
	19	Космическая хора Space Choir	ЗДОБ СИ ЗДУБ ZDOB SI ZDUB	2001
	20	Stargate SG-1 End Title	Neil Norman & His Cosmic Orchestra	2001

Index to Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection

Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection, CD2001-3

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.

	Selection	Title	Performer	Release Year
	1	The Awakening / Reactivated	S.P.O.C.K	2001
	2	I Feel Space	Lindstrom	2001
	3	The Space Age	Lips Vago	2001
	4	Mars	Lori McKenna	2001
	5	Jupiter II	Magonia	2001
	6	Spaceships	Marat Crimea	2001
	7	STS-100 - EVA	Mission Audio	2001
	8	Armstrong	Nanci Griffith	2001
	9	Universes	Neil Norman & His Cosmic Orchestra	2001
	10	Spacebrock [Yule Ritual]	Hawkwind	2001
	11	By the Light of the Polar Star	Royal Artillery Band, John Philip Sousa, Keith Brion cond.	2001
	12	Beneath the Southern Cross	Royal Artillery Band, John Philip Sousa, Keith Brion cond.	2001
	13	Mars and Venus	Royal Artillery Band, John Philip Sousa, Keith Brion cond.	2001

Index to Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection

Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection, CD2001-2

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.

	Selection	Title	Performer	Release Year
	1	Fly Me to the Moon	Heather Wensley Quintet	2001
	2	Star Trek	House of Swank	2001
	3	Back on Mars	S.P.O.C.K	2001
	4	Space Is Deep [Yule Ritual]	Hawkwind	2001
	5	Ionosphere	Herbie Hancock	2001
	6	Men Into Space	Neil Norman & His Cosmic Orchestra	2001
	7	Ghosts of Mars - Main Title	John Carpenter	2001
	8	Марсианка The Martian	Кар-мен Kar-Men	2001
	9	STS-102 - Launch	Mission Audio	2001
	10	Telstar	Laika & the Cosmonauts	2001
	11	Lost in Space	LBG	2001
	12	Мы Дети Галактики We Are Children of the Galaxy	Лев Лещенко Lev Leshchenko	2001
	13	End of the Universe	S.P.O.C.K	2001
	14	Million Miles	Red Elvises	2001
	15	Men in Black	Neil Norman & His Cosmic Orchestra	2001

Index to Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection

Gangale Studios Publicity Photos: Denzel Washington Tongilava

Copyright © 2016 by Dylan Gangale

@ThomasGangale

Denzel Washington Tongilava

Thomas Gangale's Dogs and Cats: Stories, Songs, and Images

  

Look Back in Ankara: A Perspective on the Failed Turkish Coup

Copyright © 2016 by Thomas Gangale

@ThomasGangale

19 July 2016

I am not at all surprised that the attempted coup d'etat in Turkey occurred last week. I have been expecting it for some years now. Historically, the Turkish military has had the mission of safeguarding Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's vision of a secular democracy, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an Islamist who has accumulated ever more power over the past decade, is everything that Ataturk would not have wanted in a leader of the Turkish republic which he founded. So who is the real traitor? Perhaps "traitor" is too strong a word, but Erdogan is certainly subverting Ataturk's vision

The Turkish military executed successful coups in 1960, 1971, and 1980; however, there is little evidence that senior Turkish officers have ever had political ambitions. They have always restored constitutional government after a brief period, during which they sorted out the undesirable elements and banned them from future political participation. Put simply, the Turkish military's job is to push the "reset" button when it assesses that Ataturk's system is about to crash.

A lot of Britons who voted to leave the European Union a few weeks ago out of fear that the United Kingdom would not be able to block Turkish membership and thereby prevent a tidal wave of Turkish immigrants crossing the English Channel have all the more reason to regret the price they will pay for Brexit. The attempted coup and Erdogan's repressive crackdown have set back Turkey's long held dream of EU membership by several decades. The EU is far more than simply a free trade zone; it is a zone of liberal democratic peace, and Turkey has just shown itself to be unqualified to join.

Ataturk's secular republic was a radical break from the Ottoman sultanate, and it was the first political experiment of its kind in the Muslim world. Despite its history of military coups, Turkey is one of the most democratic and least corrupt nations in the Muslim world. The only predominately Muslim states which are rated higher by various sources are: Tunisia, which has certainly had some problems with political stability having undergone a revolution five years ago; Senegal, a small, impoverished West African state; and Indonesia, the most populous Muslim state and one which has ridden the wave of economic globalization very well, but it has had democratic government for only two decades, during which it has been plagued with two secessionist movements. The rest of the Muslim world is a mess: autocratic, repressive and corrupt. There is a strong correlation between how Muslim a state's population is and how bad its government is. So Ataturk's experiment is one of the brightest stars next to the crescent moon in the firmament of Islam. Tragically, it contains the contradiction that the military is obliged to take the helm occasionally to steer the ship of state away from Islam's apparent autocratic tendencies, and although these interventions are far from being the worst deeds to occur in the Muslim world, other democracies shake their heads in disappointment if not outright disgust. It does not measure up to European standards of democracy and political stability. Thus is what keeps Turkey out of the European Union.

Again, I am not at all surprised that the attempted coup occurred last week. I am only surprised that it failed. Given that the last coup was 36 years ago, it is apparent in retrospect that the Turkish military is out of practice. I fear that we are about to find out what happens when Ataturk's system crashes and the military is unable to push the "reset" button.

Worse still, a weakened Turkish military will embolden Kurdish separatists as well as Islamic State terrorists. This is a new "domino theory" for the 21st century Middle East: The Islamic State got control of much of Iraq thanks to the bungled US military occupation, then seized the opportunity to expand into Syria as the Assad regime unraveled; next stop Turkey and the doorstep of Europe.

Furthermore, in the shifting sands of Middle Eastern power plays, it is not inconceivable that the Kurds, who have enjoyed notable military successes against the Islamic State, might cut a deal for these two non-state actors to lay off each other and go after Turkey together. Although the enemy of my enemy may also be my enemy, it may be useful to make him my friend for now.

In turn, this would put the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, of which Turkey is a member, in a real bind. NATO has already been scrambling to find its footing in the face of Russia's increasingly menacing behavior, with the US thumping on the European members of the alliance to ramp up their defense spending. One wonders how prepared NATO would be to stand off the Russians while coming to Turkey's aid in fighting two teamed-up insurgent groups, for make no mistake: repression breeds insurgencies like rotten meat breeds maggots. NATO needs to get its head around the prospect that Turkey is about to tip from being part of the strategic solution to being part of the problem.

Thomas Gangale's Lies and Politics
 

Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection, CD2001-1

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.

	Selection	Title	Performer	Release Year
	1	Star Trek Encounters	Neil Norman & His Cosmic Orchestra	2001
	2	Silver Machine [Canterbury Fayre]	Hawkwind	2001
	3	Astrogirl's Secret	S.P.O.C.K	2001
	4	Fly Me to the Moon	Ana Caram	2001
	5	Космический вальс Space Waltz	Анна Герман Anna Gherman	2001
	6	Initial Orbit	Binary System	2001
	7	Let's Fly This Winnebago to the Moon	Bone Cootes	2001
	8	STS-98 - Launch	Mission Audio	2001
	9	Babylon 5 Main Theme	Neil Norman & His Cosmic Orchestra	2001
	10	Babylon 5	S.P.O.C.K	2001
	11	Space Dreams	Chris Pawlik	2001
	12	Among the Stars	Cyrex Fusion Music Crew	2001
	13	Space Escalator	Drop Trio	2001
	14	Space Harvester	Elephantum	2001

Index to Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection

Gangale Studios Publicity Photos: Denzel Washington Tongilava

Copyright © 2016 by Dylan Gangale

@ThomasGangale

Denzel Washington Tongilava

Thomas Gangale's Dogs and Cats: Stories, Songs, and Images

  

Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection, CD2000-6

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.

	Selection	Title	Performer	Release Year
	1	Tsar Wars	Space Cossacks	2000
	2	Baby You Make Me Crazy	Warp 11	2000
	3	Crusher	Warp 11	2000
	4	One Small Step	Ayreon	2000
	5	Make It So 'TOS'	Warp 11	2000
	6	Deanna What's on My Mind	Warp 11	2000
	7	Ода Байконуру Ode to Bajkonur	Тарас Ворона Taras Vorona	2000
	8	Help Me Spock	Warp 11	2000
	9	Holosuite Woman	Warp 11	2000
	10	STS-92 - Launch	Mission Audio	2000
	11	I Always Knew I Would Die Alone	Warp 11	2000
	12	Montalban	Warp 11	2000
	13	Fly Me to the Moon	Utada Hikaru	2000
	14	Space Opera	Warp 11	2000
	15	Spock Me Shock Me	Warp 11	2000
	16	My House on Mars	Ayreon	2000
	17	Wesley Crusher-Yeah!	Warp 11	2000
	18	Wormhole	Warp 11	2000
	19	Star Trek	Judy Roberts	2000

Index to Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection

Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection, CD2000-5

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.

	Selection	Title	Performer	Release Year
	1	Andromeda - High Guard Theme (Season Two Theme)	Matthew McCauley	2000
	2	Space Brock [Spacebrock]	Hawkwind	2000
	3	Andromeda - Dylan Hunt	Matthew McCauley	2000
	4	Space Cowboy (Yippie-Yi-Yay)	Nsync	2000
	5	Galaxy Detour	Phenomenauts	2000
	6	Andromeda - Earthly Emotions	Matthew McCauley	2000
	7	To the Solar System	Ayreon	2000
	8	Satellite Went Silent	Quinn Fox	2000
	9	Andromeda - Beka Valentine	Matthew McCauley	2000
	10	Komarov	Regis	2000
	11	STS-97 - Launch	Mission Audio	2002
	12	Space Race	Space Cossacks	2000
	13	Andromeda - Rev Bem (Wayist Theme)	Matthew McCauley	2000
	14	Surf Trek	Rubinoos	2000
	15	Space Pilots	Hawkwind	2000
	16	Andromeda - Sara	Matthew McCauley	2000
	17	Zero Gravity Mini-Skirt	Seksu Roba	2000
	18	Andromeda - Rommie's Love	Matthew McCauley	2000
	19	Moon's Theme	Sir Finks	2000
	20	Come and Play in the Milky Night	Stereolab	2000
	21	Andromeda - Season One Closing Credits	Matthew McCauley	2000

Index to Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection

Gangale Studios Publicity Photos: Jack Daniel "Siaki" Fainga'a

Copyright © 2016 by Dylan Gangale

@ThomasGangale

Jack Daniel "Siaki" Fainga'a

We thought he would be with us for many years. Siaki (Jack) was only a year old when he was murdered in the night and eaten by Tongans. One of the perpetrators was brought to justice and paid TOP 2,000 in restitution. It wasn't enough. How could it be?

Thomas Gangale's Dogs and Cats: Stories, Songs, and Images

  

Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection, CD2000-4

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.

	Selection	Title	Performer	Release Year
	1	Red Planet - Only Room for Two	Graeme Revell	2000
	2	Sea of Tranquility	Space Cossacks	2000
	3	Red Planet - Orders to Return	Graeme Revell	2000
	4	Red Planet - The Nematodes	Graeme Revell	2000
	5	O Astronauta Bibaço Astronaut Bibaço	Madmud	2000
	6	Red Planet - Algae Fields	Graeme Revell	2000
	7	Red Planet - Burchenal's Sacrifice	Graeme Revell	2000
	8	Out of the White Hole	Ayreon	2000
	9	Red Planet - The Only One Left	Graeme Revell	2000
	10	STS-106 - Launch	Mission Audio	2000
	11	Red Planet - The Cosmos	Graeme Revell	2000
	12	Fly to the Moon	Modern Talking	2000
	13	Red Planet - Alone	Graeme Revell	2000
	14	Red Planet - Bye, Sweetie	Graeme Revell	2000
	15	Walk in to Space	Nexus	2000
	16	Red Planet - Fuck This Planet!	Graeme Revell	2000
	17	Red Planet - Rendezvous in Orbit	Graeme Revell	2000
	18	Within One Universe There Are Millions	Man or Astro-Man?	2000
	19	Red Planet - Returning	Graeme Revell	2000
	20	Red Planet - Finale	Graeme Revell	2000

Index to Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection

The Films of Dylan Gangale: Worshiping at the Altar of Bastet

Copyright © 2016 by Dylan Gangale

@ThomasGangale

Dylan Gangale

Worshiping at the Altar of Bastet
The Mamma Cat Always Loves You

At least five times a day, Dylan answers the call to prayer of the mau-ezzin. He believes that devotion to the Mamma Cat is the one true religion; however, he would gladly cut off the arm of his cloak (the cat's pajamas) rather than disturb the sleeping Prophet, peace be unto him.

Thomas Gangale's Dogs and Cats: Stories, Songs, and Images

  

Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection, CD2000-3

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.

	Selection	Title	Performer	Release Year
	1	Red Planet - Sunrise	Graeme Revell	2000
	2	Departure	Space Cossacks	2000
	3	Red Planet - Bowman Alone	Graeme Revell	2000
	4	Red Planet - Short Time to Live, Long Time to Wait	Graeme Revell	2000
	5	Earth Jam	Bela Fleck & the Flecktones	2000
	6	Red Planet - Santen's Death	Graeme Revell	2000
	7	Red Planet - The Fight	Graeme Revell	2000
	8	Third Planet From the Sun	Jennifer Avalon	2000
	9	Red Planet - Out of Air	Graeme Revell	2000
	10	Red Planet - We Can Breathe	Graeme Revell	2000
	11	STS-101 - Launch	Mission Audio	2000
	12	Red Planet - Camp Fire, Combat Mode	Graeme Revell	2000
	13	Red Planet - Engine Ignition	Graeme Revell	2000
	14	Life Form [Spacebrock]	Hawkwind	2000
	15	Red Planet - Ice Storm	Graeme Revell	2000
	16	Red Planet - Searching for Ground Crew	Graeme Revell	2000
	17	Hey Gagarin	Jean-Michel Jarre	2000
	18	Red Planet - Ground Crew to Mars-1	Graeme Revell	2000
	19	Red Planet - Mars-1 to Ground Crew	Graeme Revell	2000
	20	Through the Wormhole	Ayreon	2000
	21	Red Planet - Faith	Graeme Revell	2000
	22	Red Planet - The Only Choice	Graeme Revell	2000
	23	Космос Space	Ленинград Leningrad	2000
	24	Red Planet - Bowman & Gallagher	Graeme Revell	2000

Index to Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection

Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection, CD2000-2

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.

	Selection	Title	Performer	Release Year
	1	Red Planet - Mars Red Planet	Graeme Revell	2000
	2	А в небе дым And the Smoke in the Sky	Тарас Ворона Taras Vorona	2000
	3	Red Planet - Mars-1 Day 93	Graeme Revell	2000
	4	Fly Me to the Moon	DeRienzo Brothers	2000
	5	Red Planet - Preparing AMEE	Graeme Revell	2000
	6	Red Planet - Solar Flare	Graeme Revell	2000
	7	Stranded on Mars	Disco Volante	2000
	8	Red Planet - Chantilas Remembers	Graeme Revell	2000
	9	Red Planet - I Got to See Mars	Graeme Revell	2000
	10	Into the Black Hole	Ayreon	2000
	11	Red Planet - Drone Dispatched	Graeme Revell	2000
	12	Red Planet - Crash Landing	Graeme Revell	2000
	13	Cossack Rocket Patrol	Space Cossacks	2000
	14	Red Planet - First Step on Mars	Graeme Revell	2000
	15	Red Planet - Stranded	Graeme Revell	2000
	16	Party on Saturn	Seksu Roba	2000
	17	Red Planet - The Hab	Graeme Revell	2000

Index to Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection

Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection, CD2000-1

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.

	Selection	Title	Performer	Release Year
	1	Mission to Mars - And Afterwards?	Ennio Morricone	2000
	2	Fly Me to the Moon	Blue Eyed Swing	2000
	3	Earth Calling	Hawkwind	2000
	4	To the Quasar	Ayreon	2000
	5	Spaceship	Angie Aparo	2000
	6	Cape Canaveral	Astronaut Wife	2000
	7	Mission to Mars - Ecstacy of Mars	Ennio Morricone	2000
	8	My Planet Rocks	A:xus	2000
	9	STS-99 - Launch	Mission Audio	2000
	10	Beyond the Third Star	Space Cossacks	2000
	11	Beagle 2 (Transmission Remix)	Blur	2000
	12	Fly Me to the Moon	Carol Kidd	2000
	13	Mission to Mars - Where?	Ennio Morricone	2000
	14	Rockin Rocket Ship	Cherry Blossoms	2000
	15	На Марс! To Mars!	Чеврона Рутта Chervona Rutta	2000
	16	The Journey [Spacebrock]	Hawkwind	2000
	17	Mission to Mars - An Unexpected Surprise	Ennio Morricone	2000

Index to Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection

Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection, CD1999-4

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.

	Selection	Title	Performer	Release Year
	1	Galaxy Quest - Prologue	David Newman	1999
	2	Мiй брудний космос My Messy Space	Скрябiн Skryabin	1999
	3	Galaxy Quest - TV Clip #3-Introducing Sarris-Revealing The Universe	David Newman	1999
	4	Falling Star	Kurt Swinghammer	1999
	5	Galaxy Quest - Transporting The Crew-Meet The Thermians	David Newman	1999
	6	Journey to the Stars	Space Cossacks	1999
	7	Galaxy Quest - Crew Quarters & The Bridge-The Launch	David Newman	1999
	8	Aliens Invade From Jupiter	Tangerine Awkestra	1999
	9	Galaxy Quest - Jason Takes Action-Sarris Tortures Captain	David Newman	1999
	10	Love in Space	Hawkwind	1999
	11	Galaxy Quest - Red Thingie, Green Thingie... Run!	David Newman	1999
	12	Outer Space	Vetivers	1999
	13	STS-103 - Launch	Mission Audio	1999
	14	Galaxy Quest - Shuttle To Planet-Trek Across Planet	David Newman	1999
	15	И зовёт нас в дорогу «Спутник» And Calling Us on the Way, Sputnik	ВИА Пламя VIA Plamya	1999
	16	Galaxy Quest - Rolling The Sphere-Pig Lizard-Rock Monster	David Newman	1999
	17	"Космос Space"	"Елена Дединская Yelena Dediskaya"	1999
	18	Galaxy Quest - Angry Sarris-Into The Ducts-Omega 13-Heroic Guy-Reveal Chompers-Opening The Airlock	David Newman	1999
	19	Марсианка The Martian	Жанна Агузарова Zhanna Aguzarova	1999
	20	Galaxy Quest - Goodbye Sarris-Happy Ending	David Newman	1999
	21	They Are Here	S.P.O.C.K	1999
	22	Galaxy Quest - The New Galaxy Quest	David Newman	1999

Index to Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection

A Uterus in the Oval Office

Copyright © 2016 by Thomas Gangale

@ThomasGangale

As Theresa May emerged as the United Kingdom's new prime minister, I posted on Facebook:

"WOW! What are the odds that there might be a female German chancellor, a female UK prime minister, and a female US president simultaneously? Is that hitting the trifecta or what?"

One response was:

"Yes, if you believe the primary qualification for such offices is a uterus. I'd like to think the best person should win and gender does not matter."

I replied:

"As an idealistic proposition, I would also like to think that the best person should win and gender does not matter, and race does not matter, and religion does not matter, and sexual orientation does not matter, and age does not matter, et cetera. I do not think that is a realistic outlook in a heterogeneous world. We view the world differently because of the different people we are according to one measure or another. If this were not the case, there would be no value in diversity. Our ability to understand and to learn from different perspectives makes us as individuals richer intellectually and morally, and perhaps even as a nation stronger economically and militarily. Thus, all other things being equal, diversifying the 228-year history of the US presidency to include one uterus is a good in itself if it happens."

On a lighter note, another person responded:

"You forgot that France has a female president."

I replied:

"Eh? François Hollande est une femme? Dites-le est pas!"

Thomas Gangale's Lies and Politics

Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection, CD1999-3

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.

	Selection	Title	Performer	Release Year
	1	Mariner No. 4	Penetrators	1999
	2	Beach House on the Moon	Jimmy Buffett	1999
	3	Spacewalk	S.P.O.C.K	1999
	4	Beyond the Sky	Judy Collins	1999
	5	STS-93 - Launch	Mission Audio	1999
	6	Улетим на Сатурн We Will Fly to Saturn	Крыс и Шмендра Krys & Shmendra	1999
	7	White Russians	Kurt Swinghammer	1999
	8	Out There	S.P.O.C.K	1999
	9	Alien Lover	Luscious Jackson	1999
	10	See You Space Cowboy	Mai Yamane	1999
	11	Interstellar Hardrive	Man or Astro-Man?	1999
	12	Таких не берут в космонавты! These They Do Not Take to the Cosmonauts!	Манго Манго Mango Mango	1999
	13	Космос Kosmos	ПЕП-СИ PEP-SI	1999
	14	War of the Satellites	Sir Finks	1999
	15	Wolf in the Fold	S.P.O.C.K	1999
	16	Космонавт Петров Cosmonaut Petrov	Red Elvises	1999

Index to Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection

Is Asteroid Mining Legal?

Copyright © 2016 by Thomas Gangale

@ThomasGangale

In his article, Is Asteroid Mining Legal? The Truth Behind Title IV of the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015, Sagi Kfir, General Counsel for Deep Space Industries, writes, "People often ask, 'Is asteroid mining legal, especially considering the Outer Space Treaty of 1967?' The simple answer is: Yes."

Kfir's argument is that asteroid mining is legal because the 2015 US statute invokes the Outer Space Treaty, and in turn, "...it is indisputable under international law that any nation, which is a party to the Outer Space Treaty, has the right as a sovereign nation to interpret and implement its treaty rights on a national level."

This is a very weak argument. It implies that a sovereign nation has the right to interpret a treaty as it pleases, which is incorrect. Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties lays out the rules by which treaties are to be interpreted. Regardless of how clever one's argument may be, black is still black.

The principal point of the controversy over the legality of asteroid mining is the interpretation of Article II of the Outer Space Treaty, which Kfir does not even mention. The real question is whether Article II prohibits asteroid mining, and Kfir does not answer it.

Thomas Gangale in Outer Space!
Thomas Gangale's Lies and Politics
 

The American Plan and the National Presidential Primary: A Perfect Match?

Copyright © 2016 by Thomas Gangale

@ThomasGangale

Rob Richie, executive director of FairVote, today called my attention to an article he published last month,
"The Case for a One-Person, One-Vote National Primary To Nominate Our Presidential Candidates in 2020." I just now wrote a response:

Following up the American Plan process with a national primary is an intriguing idea. For one thing, I certainly don't mind my idea being mentioned in the same breath with Woodrow Wilson's... that's not bad company! (It was Wilson who first proposed a national presidential primary.) If sold as a package deal, your idea simultaneously solves two rather opposite problems: the American Plan, while being a good process, is just complicated enough to make most people's eyes glaze over, which makes it a tough sell; the national primary, as a stand-alone solution, would be horrible, yet it is so simple that lots of people love it. It's a good marriage; each compensates for the other's weaknesses, and they combine their strengths.

One aspect that should not be glossed over, however, is that although the national presidential primary would probably have a large turnout, which would benefit primary races for other offices, turnout for the American Plan phase would likely be depressed because it would not allocate delegates bound to the presidential candidates (it is the national primary which would do this). The American Plan phase might be widely perceived as a nothing more than a series of "beauty contests," although in reality it would serve an important role as the winnowing process for the national primary. Moreover, I suspect that states would not be pleased at the expensive prospect of holding two presidential primaries rather than one (some states hold their Republican and Democratic primaries on separate days, but it's rare). It was for this reason that California moved its presidential primary back to its traditional date in early June, consolidated with the state's other primary races. To avoid this expense, I would anticipate what would occur is a reversal of the 20th century trend of more primaries and fewer caucuses, with the American Plan phase becoming increasingly a caucus-driven process. Growing up in California, which adopted the primary system a century ago as one of its Progressive Era reforms, I was averse to caucuses as weird, old fashioned, and less democratic, so a few months ago I probably would have disliked the prospect of the American Plan process comprising an increasing number of caucuses, but I have recently reassessed my position on caucuses. The argument in favor of caucuses is that the participants tend to be more invested in time and more politically tuned in than the average primary voter who just walks into the polling place and punches a card based on some broadcast political ads. I'd have to do the research, but I suspect that Donald Trump didn't do nearly as well in caucus states as in primary states because he had no organization, no "ground game;" the primary-driven process that has evolved to this day allowed him to get by with just an "air game." Also, I wonder whether some primary voters are victims of a false consciousness, believing that they can be casually irresponsible in voting for a candidate which, if they gave it some thought, they really would be horrified to see in the White House, but it doesn't matter very much since the next state on the primary schedule can vote differently, so they can lodge a protest vote. We may have taken that Progressive Era reform too far. So on that score also I like your proposal of the American Plan process followed by a national primary, in that it might "restore balance to the Force." The national primary would be the last chance for voters to come to their senses. Do we really want to do this? This is not an exercise. On my mark, rotate your key....

Warmest regards.

I'm Tom Gangale and I approved this message.

Thomas Gangale's Lies and Politics