FYI - The state of emergency which was declared on September 11, 2001 is still in effect, having been renewed annually since it was enacted.
To blame Trump for what is now happening is a bit ridiculous, since Congress has had plenty of opportunities to stop him and his predecessors. At least he's doing out in the open what they all did in secret.
For this reason, I don't support the "No Kings" protests.
I would, however, support "No King But Jesus". Send me the link if you know where it is.
We go up, we go down, we don't even screw around (an old submarine ditty).
You may have seen this discussion of submarine-related threats made by President Trump and assorted Russians leaders:
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/medvedev-again-trolls-trump-us-submarines-black-cat-dark-room
Here is another report which is potentially more significant:
https://www.techinasia.com/news/chinese-scientists-ai-cut-submarine-survival-5
If what the Chinese claim is accurate, this would be a serious threat to our most important nuclear weapons capable platform.
Submariners, beware. They're comin' to git ya.
The current "shutdown" and other shenanigans going on in DC remind me of something which happened in the early days of our republic:
The United States Constitutional Convention was a gathering of delegates from 12 states in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 25 to September 17, 1787, to address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
Presided over by George Washington, the convention ultimately discarded the Articles and drafted the U.S. Constitution, establishing a stronger federal government with a system of checks and balances. Key compromises, such as the Great Compromise (or Connecticut Compromise), resolved disputes over state representation, leading to the creation of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Purpose and Context
Weak Government: The existing government under the Articles of Confederation was too weak to effectively govern the new nation, leading to issues like economic instability and unrest, such as Shays' Rebellion.
Revision vs. New Government: While initially called to revise the Articles, many delegates, including James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, recognized the need for a completely new framework for government.
(h/t Google AI)
Sound familiar? Today's quandary also reminds me of these lyrics from the song "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who:
We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgement of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song
I'll tip my hat to the new Constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
Don't be surprised if the new revolution / second civil war predicted by so many ultimately results in the US Constitution getting thrown in the trash by the New Founders of the Untied States of America. Any new constitution they intend to write will (in my opinion) be an absolute abortion (no pun intended).
And keep these song lyrics in mind, too:
Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss
If you think "King Trump" is bad, wait until you see his replacement.
Following the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island in 1979, the US more or less gave up on building new nuclear power plants. I think it's fair to say that no one wanted one in their backyard (NIMBY).
But now, for some reason, the powers that be are pushing the idea that everyone should want a nuke or two in their neighborhood (Please In My BackYard, or PIMBY):
https://studyfinds.org/nuclear-backyard-tiny-reactors-could-power-towns-campuses/
I worked for military, commercial, and government entities in the nuclear field for 25+ years and another 10 years in a state environmental agency, and trust me when I say the concept discussed in the above report is one of the worst ideas I have ever heard. I say this for multiple reasons, including but not limited to the following:
I'm sticking with the conventional wisdom (NIMBY). Had you seen what I have inside this industry, I think you would too.
By the way, all those radioactive shrimp now being removed from your store shelves probably got their Ce-137 from a nuclear power plant somewhere (Fukushima?). They are a warning of possible worse things to come, and I strongly recommend we heed that warning.
According to this report, the EU is "openly" considering space mining:
To secure its long-term supply of raw materials, Brussels wants to extract strategically important minerals from the moon. The impetus comes from a recent report by the EU Commission in light of growing dependence on third countries. (Google translation)
Dear EU, this makes about as much sense as not wanting to find out who really destroyed the Nord Stream pipelines.
You have neither the equipment nor the expertise for large scale space mining. Perhaps Elon Musk could help you overcome these obstacles.
Anyway, good luck. You'll need it.
This essay presents several disturbing observations and questions about political assassinations and terror attacks in the US:
https://www.unz.com/runz/israel-charlie-kirk-and-the-911-attacks/
The official stories about these events are riddled with holes and inconsistencies. They really make me wonder just who the hell is behind them and what their motives were.
No disrespect intended, but Charlie and his family deserve better than this.
In fact, we all do.
Hey, have you seen this warning?
https://www.azerbaycan24.com/en/nuclear-shrimp-warning-issued-in-us/
All the versions of it I have seen do NOT speculate about the location of the source of the Ce-137, which most likely is a nuclear power plant (or two).
There are no nuclear power plants in Indonesia. There is, however, a system of currents known as the Indonesian throughflow which could be bringing the waters off the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station down to the island nation.
As you may know, the Fukushima accident in 2011 damaged several of the reactors there, and the melted fuel which escaped into the earth (leakage of which has made it into the ocean) contains LOTS of Ce-137.
I read one report which mentioned the isotope can be used to irradiate food for sterilization purposes, but that is done with sealed sources which are not likely to contaminate the food.
Whatever the case, keep all this in mind when your country starts to build dozens (hundreds?) of "advanced" reactors willy-nilly all over the place to power the data centers which will enable the firing of most workers in nearly all occupations around the world. There might be more radioactive food in our future.
