When I was a kid in the 50's, blacks were all but invisible. They never appeared in advertising (nor did latinos) and were scarcely present in sports. For entertainment, we had cringeworthy characters like "Rochester" on the Jack Benny Show and, in the 60's, Bill Dana doing his Jose Jimenez routines to wild applause.
The effort for diversity has been a long and hard one. Affirmative action and busing were flashpoints but it is hard to see how another way could have been taken. Appearances mean quite a bit. The denial of racial equality made it extremely difficult for blacks to get into any but the lowest positions of the labor force. I recently took AMTRAK from Chicago to DC and noticed that the "red caps", the porters who help out at the RR terminals, are now fully diverse, not exclusively black as they once were. In like manner, the conductors are diverse and not exclusively white as they once were. That's a sign of progress.
This is a 9/11 idea I never saw or countenanced before Today, but it's feasible.
'Were the 9/11 Aircraft Electronically Hijacked and Remotely Controlled?'
According to the global grassroots organization 9/11 Pilot Whistleblowers website (https://911pilots.org/), there were no Muslim hijackers at the controls of the 9/11 aircraft but that these aircraft were electronically hijacked and remotely controlled through employment of a system called the uninterruptible autopilot that enables a remote source to take complete control of the aircraft autopilot and flight management computer and remotely guide it to its target destination. Once engaged, the pilots cannot disconnect this system.
According to the 9/11 Commission, the alleged hijackers had never flown the sophisticated B-757 and B-767 aircraft in their lives but were mainly trained in light, single engine Cessna 172s and the like.
This would be akin to only having driven your family automobile and climbing into a huge 18-wheeler semi-tractor trailer that you had never driven before, getting it up to a very high speed, and driving it through a garage without scraping the sides of the truck or hopping into a formula one race car that you hadn’t driven before and keeping it on the track at a very high speed.
Just because one can pilot a Cessna 172 does not qualify one to pilot a large commercial jet aircraft at very high speeds. It just doesn’t work that way.
A comparison of the cockpit layout of these types of aircraft will demonstrate the ludicrousness of the official story. There is no way the hijackers could have climbed into the cockpits of the jet aircraft, interpret the instrumentation and flight navigation systems, and fly the aircraft to their designated targets................................................................................
This would fall under the general definition of "Diversity."
'Why Do Americans Hate Putin?'
Democrats in Washington have told you it’s your patriotic duty to hate Vladimir Putin. It’s not a suggestion. It’s a mandate. Anything less than hatred for Putin is treason.
Many Americans have obeyed this directive. They now dutifully hate Vladimir Putin. Maybe you’re one of them. Hating Putin has become the central purpose of America’s foreign policy. It’s the main thing that we talk about. Entire cable channels are now devoted to it. Very soon, that hatred of Vladimir Putin could bring the United States into a conflict in Eastern Europe.
[...] Yes, the media and the politicians have played a big role in the demonization of Putin. But, no, they’re not the main drivers of this smear campaign. That designation belongs to the plutocrats behind-the-scenes who use the media to attack Putin in order to promote their own globalist agenda. That’s what’s really going on; the news is being shaped to advance the interests of elites.
After all, what do the American people really know about Putin? Have they ever listened his speeches or read his statements following meetings with other world leaders? Have they ever tuned-in to his marathon 4-hour “ask-anything” Q&A sessions? Have they ever read transcripts of his interviews where he speaks candidly on critical policy issues, culture or religion?.......................................................................
I have watched Putin Live in his marathon 3-4 hour Q & A sessions and I have to wonder what the US demand for "transparency" really means when Biden walks away after answering just a few questions as the US leads the charge for the US WAR with Russia over Ukraine being in NATO?
Speaking of “war and weapons as investment,” Gee… . Can an “Ice Breaker Gap” with Russia ~ like the “Missile Gap” with the USSR back in the late 50s [see #Note below] ~ be far behind? My neighbors up here in Alaska are already talking about it. And some are even thinking about it… :
PUTIN TOUTS RUSSIA’S ‘ARCTIC POWER’ WITH NEW NUCLEAR ICEBREAKER {Extracts] by Al Jazeera 22 Nov 22
*** ARCTIC EXPERTS HAVE SAID IT WOULD TAKE THE WEST AT LEAST 10 YEARS TO CATCH UP WITH RUSSIA’S MILITARY IN THE REGION, IF IT CHOSE TO DO SO. ***
President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday touted Russia’s Arctic power at a flag-raising ceremony and dock launch for two nuclear-powered icebreakers that will ensure year-round navigation in the Western Arctic.
Presiding via video link from the Kremlin at the launch ceremony in St Petersburg in northern Russia, Putin said such icebreakers were of strategic importance for the country.
“Both icebreakers were laid down as part of a large serial project and are part of our large-scale, systematic work to re-equip and replenish the domestic icebreaker fleet, TO STRENGTHEN RUSSIA’S STATUS AS A GREAT ARCTIC POWER,” Putin said.
THE ARCTIC IS TAKING ON GREATER STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE, AS A SHRINKING ICE CAP OPENS UP NEW SEA LANES.
VAST OIL AND GAS RESOURCES LIE IN RUSSIA’S ARCTIC REGIONS, INCLUDING A LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS PLANT ON THE YAMAL PENINSULA.
“We will increase the capabilities of our nuclear icebreaker fleet,” Putin said.
The 173.3-metre (569 feet) Yakutia, with a displacement of up to 33,540 tonnes, can smash through ice of up to three metres. It will enter service in 2024.
Two other icebreakers in the same series, the Arktika and the Sibir, are already in service, and another, the Chukotka, is scheduled for 2026.
Putin said a super-powerful nuclear 209-metre icebreaker known as “Rossiya”, with a displacement of up to 71,380 tonnes, would be completed by 2027. It will be able to break through ice four metres thick.
“They are needed for the study and development of the Arctic, to ensure safe, sustainable navigation in this region, to increase traffic along the Northern Sea Route,” Putin said.
“THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS MOST IMPORTANT TRANSPORT CORRIDOR WILL ALLOW RUSSIA TO MORE FULLY UNLOCK ITS EXPORT POTENTIAL AND ESTABLISH EFFICIENT LOGISTICS ROUTES, INCLUDING TO SOUTHEAST ASIA.”
Putin, who came to power in 1999 promising to end the chaos triggered by the collapse of the Soviet Union, has quietly strengthened RUSSIA’S PRESENCE IN THE ARCTIC, WHERE RUSSIA HAS MORE THAN 24,000KM (15,000 MILES) OF COASTLINE, STRETCHING FROM THE BARENTS SEA TO THE SEA OF OKHOTSK.
SINCE 2005, RUSSIA HAS REOPENED TENS OF ARCTIC SOVIET-ERA MILITARY BASES, MODERNISED ITS NAVY, AND DEVELOPED NEW HYPERSONIC MISSILES DESIGNED TO EVADE US SENSORS AND DEFENCES.
I've been wanting to write about the topic for some time, primarily to further develop my perspective and organize my thoughts.
One thing I resonated with immediately (aside from the personal history/traits that I share) was the term, "optical diversity". I, too have been troubled for a long time about how the projection of 'diversity' has been used as a mere tool in the hands of cynical people- elected and appointed government officials, NGOs, and especially of course, the marketing types hired by commercial interests.
I don't have an Rx for the problem that is fear of diversity (AKA xenophobia) and the stunted human development that it reflects; though in that vein perhaps a coming-of-age encounter with psylocibyin mushrooms might help. (One of the commonly reported effects of which is the psychic grasping of the notion that we are all connected).
I do, however, make the linkage between the violent acting out of these hatreds and fears and the cultural violence that is embodied within our imperialism and militarism and all the cultural reflections of it, from film to video games. We certainly have become inured to killing and all other forms of violence via our 'entertainment' industry- itself a mere reflection of how our nation acts against any other with whose political choices we disagree.
Perhaps it's time for a society-wide reflection on this nexus?
(There's a lot more to be said about the problems and possible solutions but that's for another space & time. )
Did You ever wonder what the American People think about the amount of money their government spends on national security and defense?
Gallup has asked the following question since 1969: “There is much discussion as to the amount of money the government in Washington should spend for national defense and military purposes. How do you feel about this? Do you think we are spending too little, about the right amount or too much?”
In my understanding, what's developing in Israel with this new government, is going backwards to Old Testament Times. Armageddon is an Old Testament Event in the New Testament Revelation of Jesus Christ.
Armageddon was derived from Har Megiddo located in the Occupied West Bank when Christ Jesus walked the Earth. Israel as a kingdom disappeared from Bible History some 700 years BC.
Who listened when the President of the United States Publicly announced 'we're closer to Armageddon than ever before?'
In the New Testament version it's expressly written, Behold, I come as a thief. (when you least expect it)
Blessed is he that watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
The only way Ukrainians will see anything approximating a holiday season is if a ceasefire can be arranged by New Year’s Day, and it just might happen, regardless of President Volodomyr Zelenskiy’s repeated assertions that there will be no negotiations with Russia until it withdraws all its troops from all occupied territories, including Crimea. There are several reasons for the possible ceasefire.
First, the Russian hammer is about to fall on Ukraine. The gloves are coming off; electric energy stations, bridges, and even ‘decision centers’ such as central Kiev’s government buildings are being targeted. Russia is one or two more massive bombing attacks on Ukraine’s energy and transport infrastructure from permanently disabling Ukraine’s electricity, water, and railroad systems.
With ‘only’ 50 percent of Ukrainian electricity infrastructure knocked out by the first three widespread bombings of electricity grid components, demonstrations are already breaking out in Odessa and other places over the deteriorating humanitarian situation, with Zelenskiy sending the Ukrainian KGB, the SBU, in to break up the protests and banning coverage in media.
The Office of the President was reportedly recently informed by technicians that the electricity system has entered the stage of ‘arbitrary and uncontrolled imbalance,” and one official has urged Ukrainians to be prepared to leave the country in winter. What will the sociopolitical situation be like when these critical infrastructures are in complete collapse and temperatures are 20 degrees colder?
Russia will be moving closer to the strategy of ‘shock and awe’, fully destroying all infrastructure – military or otherwise – as the US did in Serbia and Iraq and will likely take less care now to avoid civilian casualties............................................................................
The Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex [MICC] needs to keep total power so that its leaders and principal players do not end up going to jail. “If the Defense Department can’t get its books straight, how can it be trusted with a budget of more than $800 billion per year?” … :
THE PENTAGON FAILS ITS FIFTH AUDIT IN A ROW by Connor Echols
Last week, the Department of Defense revealed that it had failed its fifth consecutive audit.
“I would not say that we flunked,” said DoD Comptroller Mike McCord, although his office did note that THE PENTAGON ONLY MANAGED TO ACCOUNT FOR 39 PERCENT OF ITS $3.5 TRILLION IN ASSETS. “The process is important for us to do, and it is making us get better. It is not making us get better as fast as we want.”
The news came as no surprise to Pentagon watchers. After all, THE U.S. MILITARY HAS THE DISTINCTION OF BEING THE ONLY U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCY TO HAVE NEVER PASSED A COMPREHENSIVE AUDIT.
But what did raise some eyebrows was the fact that DoD MADE ALMOST NO PROGRESS IN THIS YEAR’S BOOKKEEPING: OF THE 27 AREAS INVESTIGATED, ONLY SEVEN EARNED A CLEAN BILL OF FINANCIAL HEALTH, which McCord described as “basically the same picture as last year.”
Given this accounting disaster, it should come as no surprise that the Pentagon has a habit of bad financial math. This is especially true when it comes to estimating the cost of weapons programs.
The Pentagon’s most famous recent boondoggle is the F-35 program, which has gone over its original budget by $165 billion to date.
One of my comments this morning among several in The Washington Post on 'Western sanctions catch up with Russia’s wartime economy.'
The US introduced Nukes into this Material World and is the ONLY Nation to use 2 of them to burn alive over 200,000 CIVILIANS in WAR.
Since then, the US invaded and bombed ONLY poor, 3rd World Countries and couldn't get a win in any of them with the most expensive Military Force in the History of Nations.
The frantic exit from Afghanistan, one of the poorest Countries on Earth, after the most humiliating US DEFEAT is only the latest example.
On the way out, the US killed a Civilian family of 10 with 7 Children with a remote controlled US drone.
The US is a money loving terrorist nation. Nothing more.
Americans are so brainwashed, they are ignorant of the reality the US is not a Democracy, but an oligarchic Plutocracy.
That will become painfully obvious with the tightening Economic straitjacket on Americans.
This US WAR with Russia over Ukraine in NATO is using Ukrainians as the Sacrificial Lambs offered up on the US altar to the gods of WAR as cannon fodder.
Obviously that caused a furor with 20 different people attacking me as a Russian troll.
Moscow Explains its Ukraine Objectives to the UNSC
Mr.President,
At the outset, let us repeat our position regarding the participation of the president of Ukraine in the meeting via VTC, which happens not for the first time.
As we repeatedly stated, we have nothing against his participation, but he needs to be present here in person.
This is prescribed by the rules that have been regulating the work of the Security Council for the past 75 years............................................................
I set my alarm for 6am to watch the live discussion between Scott Ritter, Mark Sleboda and Tony Kevin on recent events, the current situation and the future of the conflict in Ukraine. The 2-1/2 hour discussion kept my interest.
In Moscow: Mark Sleboda, IR & Security Analyst & U.S. Navy veteran in Nuclear Engineering;
In New York State: Scott Ritter, former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer & U.N. weapons inspector; In Canberra, Australia: Tony Kevin, Retired. Australian ambassador to Poland & diplomat in Moscow.
It's a wonder the US hasn't found the way to silence Scott Ritter as yet for his forceful and persuasive view the US is the primary cause of the War, and going so far in this discussion to say the US is EVIL!
What was that Bullshit Biden was mouthing at COP27 recently? So much for “commitments,” eh?
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION APPROVES GULF OIL TERMINAL OPPOSED BY TEXAS CITY by Zack Budryk - 11/23/22
The Transportation Department’s Maritime Administration formally granted the license Nov. 21, ending a process that began under the Trump administration three years ago. The Sea Port Oil Terminal would be located offshore of Freeport, Texas, with a capacity of 2 million barrels a day. The project would involve two pipelines running through the city of Surfside Beach, where the City Council unanimously voted in opposition to the project in March 2020.
Greenpeace blasted the Biden administration’s approval of the terminal, pointing to an environmental impact statement published in July projecting the terminal would generate 83,000 tons of carbon emissions per year through the construction process alone, with a projected total of 219 million tons a year in downstream refining and combustion emissions.
The environmentalist group also pointed to President Biden’s recent attendance at the COP27 United Nations climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, and the Biden administration’s stated commitment to cutting carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2030.
“When we say oil and gas companies are sacrificing communities to make a buck this is exactly what we’re talking about. We have less than a decade to cut emissions by half. Approving new oil and gas projects is not a bridge, it is an on-ramp to planetary collapse,” Destiny Watford, climate campaigner at Greenpeace US, said in a statement. “It is peak hypocrisy for President Biden and [Transportation] Secretary Pete Buttigieg to shorten the fuse on the world’s largest carbon bomb by greenlighting additional oil export terminals right after lecturing the world about increasing climate ambitions at COP27.”
The Hill has reached out to the Transportation Department for comment.
Now here's a question you're not likely to see on MSNBC etc.: was the recent WalMart killer in Chesapeake a diversity hire? If WalMart records show he evaded normal company disciplinary actions in the name of diversity, would that be grounds for a lawsuit from the families of the victims?
And "The Beat Goes On," as Sonny and Cher once put it… :
U.S. SENDING UKRAINE 200 GENERATORS, ANTI-DRONE MACHINE GUNS With Ukraine’s electrical grid hobbled by Russian drone strikes, the United States is rushing 200 generators to the beleaguered country—along with thermal-sighted machine guns to shoot down the next wave of drones, Pentagon officials announced Wednesday:
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: $400 Million in Additional Assistance for Ukraine Nov. 23, 2022 |
Today, the Department of Defense (DoD) announces the authorization of a Presidential Drawdown of security assistance valued at up to $400 million to meet Ukraine's critical security and defense needs. This authorization is the Biden Administration's twenty-sixth drawdown of equipment from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021.
Capabilities in this package include:
• Additional munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS);
• 150 heavy machine guns with thermal imagery sights to counter Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS);
• Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
• 200 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds;
• 10,000 120mm mortar rounds;
• High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARMs);
• 150 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs);
• Over 100 light tactical vehicles;
• Over 20,000,000 rounds of small arms ammunition;
• Over 200 generators;
• Spare parts for 105mm Howitzers and other equipment.
With Russia's unrelenting and brutal missile and UAS attacks on Ukrainian critical energy infrastructure, additional air defense capabilities remain an urgent priority. The additional munitions for NASAMS and heavy machine guns will help Ukraine counter these urgent threats.
In total, the United States has committed more than $19.7 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration. Since 2014, the United States has committed more than $21.8 billion in security assistance to Ukraine and more than $19 billion since the beginning of Russia's unprovoked and brutal invasion on February 24.
To meet Ukraine's evolving battlefield requirements, the United States will continue to work with its Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with key capabilities.
When I was a kid in the 50's, blacks were all but invisible. They never appeared in advertising (nor did latinos) and were scarcely present in sports. For entertainment, we had cringeworthy characters like "Rochester" on the Jack Benny Show and, in the 60's, Bill Dana doing his Jose Jimenez routines to wild applause.
The effort for diversity has been a long and hard one. Affirmative action and busing were flashpoints but it is hard to see how another way could have been taken. Appearances mean quite a bit. The denial of racial equality made it extremely difficult for blacks to get into any but the lowest positions of the labor force. I recently took AMTRAK from Chicago to DC and noticed that the "red caps", the porters who help out at the RR terminals, are now fully diverse, not exclusively black as they once were. In like manner, the conductors are diverse and not exclusively white as they once were. That's a sign of progress.
This is a 9/11 idea I never saw or countenanced before Today, but it's feasible.
'Were the 9/11 Aircraft Electronically Hijacked and Remotely Controlled?'
According to the global grassroots organization 9/11 Pilot Whistleblowers website (https://911pilots.org/), there were no Muslim hijackers at the controls of the 9/11 aircraft but that these aircraft were electronically hijacked and remotely controlled through employment of a system called the uninterruptible autopilot that enables a remote source to take complete control of the aircraft autopilot and flight management computer and remotely guide it to its target destination. Once engaged, the pilots cannot disconnect this system.
According to the 9/11 Commission, the alleged hijackers had never flown the sophisticated B-757 and B-767 aircraft in their lives but were mainly trained in light, single engine Cessna 172s and the like.
This would be akin to only having driven your family automobile and climbing into a huge 18-wheeler semi-tractor trailer that you had never driven before, getting it up to a very high speed, and driving it through a garage without scraping the sides of the truck or hopping into a formula one race car that you hadn’t driven before and keeping it on the track at a very high speed.
Just because one can pilot a Cessna 172 does not qualify one to pilot a large commercial jet aircraft at very high speeds. It just doesn’t work that way.
A comparison of the cockpit layout of these types of aircraft will demonstrate the ludicrousness of the official story. There is no way the hijackers could have climbed into the cockpits of the jet aircraft, interpret the instrumentation and flight navigation systems, and fly the aircraft to their designated targets................................................................................
https://www.globalresearch.ca/were-911-aircraft-electronically-hijacked-remotely-controlled/5799649
This would fall under the general definition of "Diversity."
'Why Do Americans Hate Putin?'
Democrats in Washington have told you it’s your patriotic duty to hate Vladimir Putin. It’s not a suggestion. It’s a mandate. Anything less than hatred for Putin is treason.
Many Americans have obeyed this directive. They now dutifully hate Vladimir Putin. Maybe you’re one of them. Hating Putin has become the central purpose of America’s foreign policy. It’s the main thing that we talk about. Entire cable channels are now devoted to it. Very soon, that hatred of Vladimir Putin could bring the United States into a conflict in Eastern Europe.
[...] Yes, the media and the politicians have played a big role in the demonization of Putin. But, no, they’re not the main drivers of this smear campaign. That designation belongs to the plutocrats behind-the-scenes who use the media to attack Putin in order to promote their own globalist agenda. That’s what’s really going on; the news is being shaped to advance the interests of elites.
After all, what do the American people really know about Putin? Have they ever listened his speeches or read his statements following meetings with other world leaders? Have they ever tuned-in to his marathon 4-hour “ask-anything” Q&A sessions? Have they ever read transcripts of his interviews where he speaks candidly on critical policy issues, culture or religion?.......................................................................
https://www.globalresearch.ca/why-do-americans-hate-putin/5800014
I have watched Putin Live in his marathon 3-4 hour Q & A sessions and I have to wonder what the US demand for "transparency" really means when Biden walks away after answering just a few questions as the US leads the charge for the US WAR with Russia over Ukraine being in NATO?
Speaking of “war and weapons as investment,” Gee… . Can an “Ice Breaker Gap” with Russia ~ like the “Missile Gap” with the USSR back in the late 50s [see #Note below] ~ be far behind? My neighbors up here in Alaska are already talking about it. And some are even thinking about it… :
PUTIN TOUTS RUSSIA’S ‘ARCTIC POWER’ WITH NEW NUCLEAR ICEBREAKER {Extracts] by Al Jazeera 22 Nov 22
*** ARCTIC EXPERTS HAVE SAID IT WOULD TAKE THE WEST AT LEAST 10 YEARS TO CATCH UP WITH RUSSIA’S MILITARY IN THE REGION, IF IT CHOSE TO DO SO. ***
President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday touted Russia’s Arctic power at a flag-raising ceremony and dock launch for two nuclear-powered icebreakers that will ensure year-round navigation in the Western Arctic.
Presiding via video link from the Kremlin at the launch ceremony in St Petersburg in northern Russia, Putin said such icebreakers were of strategic importance for the country.
“Both icebreakers were laid down as part of a large serial project and are part of our large-scale, systematic work to re-equip and replenish the domestic icebreaker fleet, TO STRENGTHEN RUSSIA’S STATUS AS A GREAT ARCTIC POWER,” Putin said.
THE ARCTIC IS TAKING ON GREATER STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE, AS A SHRINKING ICE CAP OPENS UP NEW SEA LANES.
VAST OIL AND GAS RESOURCES LIE IN RUSSIA’S ARCTIC REGIONS, INCLUDING A LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS PLANT ON THE YAMAL PENINSULA.
“We will increase the capabilities of our nuclear icebreaker fleet,” Putin said.
The 173.3-metre (569 feet) Yakutia, with a displacement of up to 33,540 tonnes, can smash through ice of up to three metres. It will enter service in 2024.
Two other icebreakers in the same series, the Arktika and the Sibir, are already in service, and another, the Chukotka, is scheduled for 2026.
Putin said a super-powerful nuclear 209-metre icebreaker known as “Rossiya”, with a displacement of up to 71,380 tonnes, would be completed by 2027. It will be able to break through ice four metres thick.
“They are needed for the study and development of the Arctic, to ensure safe, sustainable navigation in this region, to increase traffic along the Northern Sea Route,” Putin said.
“THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS MOST IMPORTANT TRANSPORT CORRIDOR WILL ALLOW RUSSIA TO MORE FULLY UNLOCK ITS EXPORT POTENTIAL AND ESTABLISH EFFICIENT LOGISTICS ROUTES, INCLUDING TO SOUTHEAST ASIA.”
Putin, who came to power in 1999 promising to end the chaos triggered by the collapse of the Soviet Union, has quietly strengthened RUSSIA’S PRESENCE IN THE ARCTIC, WHERE RUSSIA HAS MORE THAN 24,000KM (15,000 MILES) OF COASTLINE, STRETCHING FROM THE BARENTS SEA TO THE SEA OF OKHOTSK.
SINCE 2005, RUSSIA HAS REOPENED TENS OF ARCTIC SOVIET-ERA MILITARY BASES, MODERNISED ITS NAVY, AND DEVELOPED NEW HYPERSONIC MISSILES DESIGNED TO EVADE US SENSORS AND DEFENCES.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/22/putin-touts-russias-arctic-power-with-new-nuclear-icebreaker [EMPHASES added.]
Excellent.
I've been wanting to write about the topic for some time, primarily to further develop my perspective and organize my thoughts.
One thing I resonated with immediately (aside from the personal history/traits that I share) was the term, "optical diversity". I, too have been troubled for a long time about how the projection of 'diversity' has been used as a mere tool in the hands of cynical people- elected and appointed government officials, NGOs, and especially of course, the marketing types hired by commercial interests.
I don't have an Rx for the problem that is fear of diversity (AKA xenophobia) and the stunted human development that it reflects; though in that vein perhaps a coming-of-age encounter with psylocibyin mushrooms might help. (One of the commonly reported effects of which is the psychic grasping of the notion that we are all connected).
I do, however, make the linkage between the violent acting out of these hatreds and fears and the cultural violence that is embodied within our imperialism and militarism and all the cultural reflections of it, from film to video games. We certainly have become inured to killing and all other forms of violence via our 'entertainment' industry- itself a mere reflection of how our nation acts against any other with whose political choices we disagree.
Perhaps it's time for a society-wide reflection on this nexus?
(There's a lot more to be said about the problems and possible solutions but that's for another space & time. )
Did You ever wonder what the American People think about the amount of money their government spends on national security and defense?
Gallup has asked the following question since 1969: “There is much discussion as to the amount of money the government in Washington should spend for national defense and military purposes. How do you feel about this? Do you think we are spending too little, about the right amount or too much?”
And got the following answers:
Dates Too little About right Too much No opinion
2022 Feb 1-17 32 34 31 2
2021 Feb 3-18 26 42 30 2
2020 Feb 3-16 17 50 31 2
2019 Feb 1-10 25 43 29 3
2018 Feb 1-10 33 31 34 2
Continued ↓
The data continues thru 1969, and also explores a number of other very interesting security/defense/money questions posed at https://news.gallup.com/poll/1666/military-national-defense.aspx .
It would also be very interesting to see what Gallup would find on this matter today, eh?
On the subject of Diversity what does this header in The Times Of Israel portend for our Common Future?
'Netanyahu puts extremist homophobic politician in charge of Israel’s Jewish identity'
Presumed PM-elect signs coalition deal with Avi Maoz, who holds radical views on non-Orthodox Judaism, LGBT Israelis, Arabs and women
https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-puts-extremist-homophobic-politician-in-charge-of-israels-jewish-identity/
In my understanding, what's developing in Israel with this new government, is going backwards to Old Testament Times. Armageddon is an Old Testament Event in the New Testament Revelation of Jesus Christ.
Armageddon was derived from Har Megiddo located in the Occupied West Bank when Christ Jesus walked the Earth. Israel as a kingdom disappeared from Bible History some 700 years BC.
Who listened when the President of the United States Publicly announced 'we're closer to Armageddon than ever before?'
In the New Testament version it's expressly written, Behold, I come as a thief. (when you least expect it)
Blessed is he that watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
Revelation 16:13-16
The Pope said in August, 'we're already in WWIII'
'The Russian Winter Offensive'
The only way Ukrainians will see anything approximating a holiday season is if a ceasefire can be arranged by New Year’s Day, and it just might happen, regardless of President Volodomyr Zelenskiy’s repeated assertions that there will be no negotiations with Russia until it withdraws all its troops from all occupied territories, including Crimea. There are several reasons for the possible ceasefire.
First, the Russian hammer is about to fall on Ukraine. The gloves are coming off; electric energy stations, bridges, and even ‘decision centers’ such as central Kiev’s government buildings are being targeted. Russia is one or two more massive bombing attacks on Ukraine’s energy and transport infrastructure from permanently disabling Ukraine’s electricity, water, and railroad systems.
With ‘only’ 50 percent of Ukrainian electricity infrastructure knocked out by the first three widespread bombings of electricity grid components, demonstrations are already breaking out in Odessa and other places over the deteriorating humanitarian situation, with Zelenskiy sending the Ukrainian KGB, the SBU, in to break up the protests and banning coverage in media.
The Office of the President was reportedly recently informed by technicians that the electricity system has entered the stage of ‘arbitrary and uncontrolled imbalance,” and one official has urged Ukrainians to be prepared to leave the country in winter. What will the sociopolitical situation be like when these critical infrastructures are in complete collapse and temperatures are 20 degrees colder?
Russia will be moving closer to the strategy of ‘shock and awe’, fully destroying all infrastructure – military or otherwise – as the US did in Serbia and Iraq and will likely take less care now to avoid civilian casualties............................................................................
https://gordonhahn.com/2022/11/22/the-russian-winter-offensive/
The Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex [MICC] needs to keep total power so that its leaders and principal players do not end up going to jail. “If the Defense Department can’t get its books straight, how can it be trusted with a budget of more than $800 billion per year?” … :
THE PENTAGON FAILS ITS FIFTH AUDIT IN A ROW by Connor Echols
Last week, the Department of Defense revealed that it had failed its fifth consecutive audit.
“I would not say that we flunked,” said DoD Comptroller Mike McCord, although his office did note that THE PENTAGON ONLY MANAGED TO ACCOUNT FOR 39 PERCENT OF ITS $3.5 TRILLION IN ASSETS. “The process is important for us to do, and it is making us get better. It is not making us get better as fast as we want.”
The news came as no surprise to Pentagon watchers. After all, THE U.S. MILITARY HAS THE DISTINCTION OF BEING THE ONLY U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCY TO HAVE NEVER PASSED A COMPREHENSIVE AUDIT.
But what did raise some eyebrows was the fact that DoD MADE ALMOST NO PROGRESS IN THIS YEAR’S BOOKKEEPING: OF THE 27 AREAS INVESTIGATED, ONLY SEVEN EARNED A CLEAN BILL OF FINANCIAL HEALTH, which McCord described as “basically the same picture as last year.”
Given this accounting disaster, it should come as no surprise that the Pentagon has a habit of bad financial math. This is especially true when it comes to estimating the cost of weapons programs.
The Pentagon’s most famous recent boondoggle is the F-35 program, which has gone over its original budget by $165 billion to date.
Continued at https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/11/22/why-cant-the-dod-get-its-financial-house-in-order/ {EMPHASES added.]
One of my comments this morning among several in The Washington Post on 'Western sanctions catch up with Russia’s wartime economy.'
The US introduced Nukes into this Material World and is the ONLY Nation to use 2 of them to burn alive over 200,000 CIVILIANS in WAR.
Since then, the US invaded and bombed ONLY poor, 3rd World Countries and couldn't get a win in any of them with the most expensive Military Force in the History of Nations.
The frantic exit from Afghanistan, one of the poorest Countries on Earth, after the most humiliating US DEFEAT is only the latest example.
On the way out, the US killed a Civilian family of 10 with 7 Children with a remote controlled US drone.
The US is a money loving terrorist nation. Nothing more.
Americans are so brainwashed, they are ignorant of the reality the US is not a Democracy, but an oligarchic Plutocracy.
That will become painfully obvious with the tightening Economic straitjacket on Americans.
This US WAR with Russia over Ukraine in NATO is using Ukrainians as the Sacrificial Lambs offered up on the US altar to the gods of WAR as cannon fodder.
Obviously that caused a furor with 20 different people attacking me as a Russian troll.
Moscow Explains its Ukraine Objectives to the UNSC
Mr.President,
At the outset, let us repeat our position regarding the participation of the president of Ukraine in the meeting via VTC, which happens not for the first time.
As we repeatedly stated, we have nothing against his participation, but he needs to be present here in person.
This is prescribed by the rules that have been regulating the work of the Security Council for the past 75 years............................................................
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/11/24/moscow-explains-its-ukraine-objectives-to-the-unsc/
I believe Ukraine and US/NATO lie about the War more than the Russians!
I set my alarm for 6am to watch the live discussion between Scott Ritter, Mark Sleboda and Tony Kevin on recent events, the current situation and the future of the conflict in Ukraine. The 2-1/2 hour discussion kept my interest.
In Moscow: Mark Sleboda, IR & Security Analyst & U.S. Navy veteran in Nuclear Engineering;
In New York State: Scott Ritter, former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer & U.N. weapons inspector; In Canberra, Australia: Tony Kevin, Retired. Australian ambassador to Poland & diplomat in Moscow.
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/11/24/watch-cn-live-whats-next-for-ukraine/
It's a wonder the US hasn't found the way to silence Scott Ritter as yet for his forceful and persuasive view the US is the primary cause of the War, and going so far in this discussion to say the US is EVIL!
Speaking of "diversity"... : https://www.gocomics.com/bloomcounty/2022/11/25
What was that Bullshit Biden was mouthing at COP27 recently? So much for “commitments,” eh?
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION APPROVES GULF OIL TERMINAL OPPOSED BY TEXAS CITY by Zack Budryk - 11/23/22
The Transportation Department’s Maritime Administration formally granted the license Nov. 21, ending a process that began under the Trump administration three years ago. The Sea Port Oil Terminal would be located offshore of Freeport, Texas, with a capacity of 2 million barrels a day. The project would involve two pipelines running through the city of Surfside Beach, where the City Council unanimously voted in opposition to the project in March 2020.
Greenpeace blasted the Biden administration’s approval of the terminal, pointing to an environmental impact statement published in July projecting the terminal would generate 83,000 tons of carbon emissions per year through the construction process alone, with a projected total of 219 million tons a year in downstream refining and combustion emissions.
The environmentalist group also pointed to President Biden’s recent attendance at the COP27 United Nations climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, and the Biden administration’s stated commitment to cutting carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2030.
“When we say oil and gas companies are sacrificing communities to make a buck this is exactly what we’re talking about. We have less than a decade to cut emissions by half. Approving new oil and gas projects is not a bridge, it is an on-ramp to planetary collapse,” Destiny Watford, climate campaigner at Greenpeace US, said in a statement. “It is peak hypocrisy for President Biden and [Transportation] Secretary Pete Buttigieg to shorten the fuse on the world’s largest carbon bomb by greenlighting additional oil export terminals right after lecturing the world about increasing climate ambitions at COP27.”
The Hill has reached out to the Transportation Department for comment.
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/3748603-biden-administration-approves-gulf-oil-terminal-opposed-by-texas-city/
Now here's a question you're not likely to see on MSNBC etc.: was the recent WalMart killer in Chesapeake a diversity hire? If WalMart records show he evaded normal company disciplinary actions in the name of diversity, would that be grounds for a lawsuit from the families of the victims?
And "The Beat Goes On," as Sonny and Cher once put it… :
U.S. SENDING UKRAINE 200 GENERATORS, ANTI-DRONE MACHINE GUNS With Ukraine’s electrical grid hobbled by Russian drone strikes, the United States is rushing 200 generators to the beleaguered country—along with thermal-sighted machine guns to shoot down the next wave of drones, Pentagon officials announced Wednesday:
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: $400 Million in Additional Assistance for Ukraine Nov. 23, 2022 |
https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3227217/400-million-in-additional-assistance-for-ukraine/
Today, the Department of Defense (DoD) announces the authorization of a Presidential Drawdown of security assistance valued at up to $400 million to meet Ukraine's critical security and defense needs. This authorization is the Biden Administration's twenty-sixth drawdown of equipment from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021.
Capabilities in this package include:
• Additional munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS);
• 150 heavy machine guns with thermal imagery sights to counter Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS);
• Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
• 200 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds;
• 10,000 120mm mortar rounds;
• High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARMs);
• 150 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs);
• Over 100 light tactical vehicles;
• Over 20,000,000 rounds of small arms ammunition;
• Over 200 generators;
• Spare parts for 105mm Howitzers and other equipment.
With Russia's unrelenting and brutal missile and UAS attacks on Ukrainian critical energy infrastructure, additional air defense capabilities remain an urgent priority. The additional munitions for NASAMS and heavy machine guns will help Ukraine counter these urgent threats.
In total, the United States has committed more than $19.7 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration. Since 2014, the United States has committed more than $21.8 billion in security assistance to Ukraine and more than $19 billion since the beginning of Russia's unprovoked and brutal invasion on February 24.
To meet Ukraine's evolving battlefield requirements, the United States will continue to work with its Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with key capabilities.
###