When the residents of Willowsgate finally superseded Father Martin's advice and agreed that when the next Midnight Mail
Rider came to their little piece of heaven, any message for a particular type of assistance must hold the caveat that funding
would only be provided after positive results.

The gaunt balding man in the dog-collar had dramatically raised his arms in the act of exacerbated capitulation and warned
his twenty-or-so flock that answers to their current woes will draw all sorts of charlatans to their snowed-in quiet village of
wealthy citizens. Although, the reverend hadn't quite worded that way.

But to inspirit the despondent preacher, the small group of men, women and children did allow that benediction would still
be warranted, but added whatever had killed young Joshua Cutler, Miles Brandreth's milkmaid and two of Percy Pumice's
best oxen needed something a little more trenchant than mere praying.

In his candle-lit nave smelling of freshly-sawn wood, Father Martin finally renounced his remonstrations, blessed his sated
parishioners and watched them file out into the dark graveyard. It seemed to the priest that even though he'd hadn't given
it utterance during their after-prayers discussion -to the adherents of the new religion, the old ways still contained the more
appropriate ordnance of solving matters they believed were supernatural.

On that chilly snowy winter's night of their shared decision, the tiny affluent hamlet of twelve families collectively sighed
with relief as they left the newly-built church and made their way to their respective homes. A smiling Arthur Thurgood
wished his fellow pious followers a safe evening and went about herding his wife and boy towards their recently renovated
cottage.

With a vigilant gaze and a hope that things would get better around here, the grey-haired retired businessman returned to
the introspections that had fluttered quietly in the back of his mind whilst the preacher and his gathering had talked. It had
taken Arthur a long time before fully buying into Elsa's idea of a tranquil lifestyle in such hedonistic a place to see out their
days, but he'd accepted her wisdom and quickly learned that his wife's wants for her man would require him to step up in
the area of social etiquette.

Willowsgate was certainly different from the unpolished thorps where he'd made his money and those he'd just wished an
easy sleep to would never positively appreciate the blue-collar demeanour of the men who'd worked under him. They were
his sort, they spoke his language and he always felt comfortable in their presence. But he'd found that here in the village,
such people of the labouring classes were articulated to in a certain aspect that always rankled Arthur and if it hadn't been
for his better-half's dream of bettering their family, he'd have used a particular dialect that his fellow-proletarians would've
appreciated.

The old Lamplighter appeared from the gloomy alleyway between Martha's Fabric Emporium and one of the two Dry-Goods
Store in Willowsgate and with all of his might, Arthur steeled his heart and only afforded a nod to acknowledge the fellow's
tug of his cap. Apparently, there were borders now and he needed to learn them.

Under the swaying flickering oil-lanterns adorning the stone-surfaced road leading towards the far-end of the village's square,
the once-owner of four large saw-mill companies -and a major contributor to their new chapel, continued his ponderance of
his family's choice to live here among the well-to-do. It was Elsa who had steered the Good Ship Thurgood to where he and
his loved ones currently compressed the drifting results of this morning's blizzard and if it hadn't been for the slayings, Arthur
would have to concede it was his wife's fortitude that had brought them to this would-be safe harbour.

Peering into the silent darkness as they walked, the narrow-shouldered man wondered if the maritime metaphor would stretch
to the term 'Here There Be Monsters'. Fondly patting his son on the shoulder, Arthur decided to change his stream of thought
to a less unnerving theme and wander in the subject that had bothered him since moving here from Bootle Mills.

Thurgood had sworn to himself that if asked, he'd admit he had come from a working-class background -although he'd never
dare to openly confess this to his neighbours without the correct provocation. He'd worked hard to better himself in the purse
and in his deportment with a verve he'd acquired from his late-father.

He'd become -what he guessed his peers would deem successful and if it hadn't been for the woman swishing snow from the
hem of her long dress ahead of him, Arthur knew he would only be rich instead of rich and happy. He also knew now which
eating-irons to use and with assistance from Elsa, his cussing had been curbed to nothing more than a gasp of exasperation.

The snow-covered lane to their restored abode held no such illumination afforded to the main boulevard in Willowsgate and
as the Thurgood family blemished the white surface between the borders of bough-heavy rhododendrons, Arthur continued his
leery watchfulness of the silent shadows. Something was out there picking off the rich people of the fairly-remote community
and hurrying on home, Arthur wondered who these well-heeled notables would acquire to fix their dilemma.

This is just a short view of how our government works. How they work us, and how they do not do what we elect them to do.

Our government is a scam and as corrupt as it can get.

Quote:

Quote:Lesley Stahl’s 2010 report on the battle over taxing the rich. From 2011, Stahl’s report on corporate tax rates. Steve Kroft’s 2011 report on insider trading by members of Congress. And from 2016, Norah O’Donnell’s report on congressional fundraising.

Russia has many different ethnic groups from different provinces (states).. I have wondered at times how integrated and cohesive a fighting force can be with all the ethnic and religious rivalries that IMO run deep in Russia. The following video explains a few things on why Russia has a F*ed up military when it comes up to command and control that is worth a consideration IMO.

Another very very good movie -

What's it about? Well... EVERYTHING!
(Apparently CC closed caption is turned on by default I found it annoying and turned it off in the player settings)

https://theflixer.tv/watch-movie/watch-b...21.5350291

I been thinking about the possibility of a real dark reemergence "Hidden-hand" conspiracy since mid 2020 and so my eyes went wide when I seen the following article:

Quote:The Ukraine crisis seems to be driven by an invisible hand pushing for the protraction and escalation of the conflict, according to China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang.

The “invisible hand” is “using the Ukraine crisis to serve certain geopolitical agendas”, Qin said at a press conference on the sidelines of the country’s annual parliamentary meeting in Beijing, without specifying who he was referring to.

He called for dialogue to begin as soon as possible.

“Conflict, sanctions, and pressure will not solve the problem … The process of peace talks should begin as soon as possible, and the legitimate security concerns of all parties should be respected,” Qin said.

China’s position on the Ukraine war has come under renewed scrutiny in recent weeks amid its deepening relationship with Moscow and concern in Western capitals that it cannot be an honest broker in any potential peace talks when it has refused to name Russia as the aggressor in the conflict.

Russia sent its troops into Ukraine on February 24 last year in what it calls a “special military operation”. The conflict has left Ukrainian cities in ruins, sent millions fleeing abroad and undermined the global economy.

Qin stressed that Beijing had not provided weapons to either side of the Ukraine conflict, amid comments from United States officials on unspecified “consequences” for China should it send lethal aid to Russia.

“[China] is not a party to the crisis and has not provided weapons to either side of the conflict. So on what basis is this talk of blame, sanctions and threats against China? This is absolutely unacceptable.”

In a wide-ranging and lengthy encounter with reporters, Qin also spoke about the US-China relationship, saying he hoped the two countries could find the “right way to get along”.

He stressed that the self-ruled island of Taiwan was central to the conduct of ties between Beijing and Washington, describing it as “the core of the core issues, and the first red line that must not be crossed in US-China relations”.

Beijing claims Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to take control of the island. It has stepped up military and diplomatic pressure on the island since Tsai Ing-wen, who it claims is seeking independence, was first elected president in 2016. Tsai has said the future of the island is up to Taiwan’s people.

The US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.

https://twitter.com/unusual_whales/statu...0601015298







Let's send it to the Ukraine!






I wonder what the Lehman Brothers people are up to these days?

Oh.


SVB Securities



Reykjavik Grapevine



U.S. officials weigh protecting all deposits at Silicon Valley Bank



"It's As Bad As We Thought"

So ask yourself if you had a country where the Cartels control just about anything in your country why would you refuse help from a more technological powered country who wants to help ?

Many years ago a Marine friend of mine had said we kicked their butts once so he thought it would be wise to put the Marines on the border and have them move south until we can get a border we can defend; probably around the Panama Canal..

Many of my Mexican friends said America was the big brother they should listen to.. Once the ego is removed I would not be surprised if many Mexicans would be happy to see the Cartels destroyed... It would have been easier 20 years ago before the Cartels infiltrated just about all facets of Mexican life.
https://lists.youmaker.com/links/cCKQwQq...2JeBafY5tC

Quote:[/url]
Mexican President Threatens Republicans Calling for US Military to Target Drug Cartels
[url=https://img.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2023/03/10/Andres-Manuel-Lopez-Obrador-GettyImages-1246387130-1200x802.jpg]
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador gestures during a press conference in Mexico City on Jan. 20, 2023. (Alfredo Estrella/AFP via Getty Images)

By Joe Gomez
March 10, 2023Updated: March 11, 2023
biggersmaller
Print

0:004:16


Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has threatened to start a public “information campaign” in the United States against Republican lawmakers after several have called on the U.S. military to target drug cartels south of the border.
“I would just like to tell them either they change their treatment of Mexico or from today we will start an information campaign in the United States so that all Mexicans, our fellow countrymen, know about this aggression by Republicans against Mexico,” López Obrador said Thursday during a news conference.
In the wake of the kidnapping of four Americans and the killing of two of them in the border city of Matamoros, Mexico several Republicans in Congress have demanded the United States step up its fight against Mexican drug cartels, even if that means crossing the border to do it.
“The kidnapping and murder of American citizens in Matamoros prove that Mexico is a narco-state,” Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) told The Epoch Times. “President Biden must make it clear that this horrible violence will not go unpunished. If Mexico can’t stop the cartels, then our nation must use any tool in our arsenal to solve it for them.”
Pfluger’s call to action is also shared by Reps. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) and Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), who introduced legislation in January that would create the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) to target Mexican drug cartels in Mexico.
“The cartels are [at] war with us—poisoning more than 80,000 Americans with fentanyl every year, creating a crisis at our border, and turning Mexico into a failed narco-state,” Crenshaw said. “It’s time we directly target them. My legislation will put us at war with the cartels by authorizing the use of military force against the cartels. We cannot allow heavily armed and deadly cartels to destabilize Mexico and import people and drugs into the United States. We must start treating them like ISIS—because that is who they are.”
War of Words
During his news conference, López Obrador specifically called out Crenshaw who posted a video message in Spanish on Wednesday to the Mexican president, asking why López Obrador rejected his proposal for the U.S. military to take action against drug cartels in Mexico.
“Yesterday was the last straw. According to the report presented [to] me this morning, this man, [Crenshaw] dares to say that they are going to use the armed forces of the United States to enter our territory as in an invasion,” said López Obrador.
“We are not going to permit any foreign government to intervene in our territory much less that [foreign] governments armed forces intervene,” he said. “We could go to the U.N. “
As part of the ongoing war of words between Crenshaw and López Obrador, the congressman posted on Twitter “Bring it. Lol,” and told the Mexican president to “get a grip” and start campaigning against the drug cartels not “Americans who want to help eradicate them.”
Kidnapping and Murders
The Gulf cartel has taken responsibility for kidnapping and murdering the Americans in Tamaulipas, where the group has a large presence.
In a letter obtained by The Associated Press through a Tamaulipas state law enforcement official, the Scorpions faction of the Gulf cartel apologized to the residents of Matamoros, the Mexican woman who died in the cartel shootout, and the four Americans and their families.
“We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decision-making and lack of discipline,” the letter reads, adding that those individuals had gone against the cartel’s rules, which include “respecting the life and well-being of the innocent.”
Drug cartels have been known to issue communiques to intimidate rivals and authorities, but also at times like these work with public relations to try to smooth over situations that could affect their business.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The broadcast by 60 minutes Australia quotes some numbers that some may find surprising. I had no idea how many people every second clicked on a porn site..? It would appear there are those who keep pushing to make Porn acceptable to the majority and not something hidden behind some brown paper wrapper... Is this more proof there is a slide to decadence for a human society ?? The religious folks would probably think and say so. I have never been into porn as I seem to have always had a girlfriend/woman that kept me from lacking a sexually fulfilled life.... and in my younger days I was definitely a type "A" personality which means I was in conquest mode !! It helped being overseas for many years, as far as sexual gratification, since a guy could get laid for around $5 if they liked you and $7.50 if they didn't hahahha That was all before AIDS became a thing or just about any of the other "make you Pee Pee turn black and fall off" we hear about today.. Thank heavens !!

March 11, 1958: the Mars Bluff broken arrow occurred over Florence, South Carolina.






"Mars Bluff"? It's like some higher power has a cold sense of humor.

Read an interview with a witness by Cyriaque Lamar:

Quote:On the afternoon of March 11, 1958, Ella Hudson was nine years old and visiting her cousins' home in Mars Bluff, South Carolina. After an otherwise normal school day wrapped up, Ella had the bizarre pleasure of witnessing firsthand the United States Air Force accidentally drop a nuclear weapon — with its fissile material fortunately removed — on the woods near her cousins' house. Hudson spoke with io9 about that fateful day and how she thought the Cold War had heated up an hour outside of Myrtle Beach.

This happened in March. After school, I had gone to play at my cousin's house, the unfortunate location where this happened. It had been a really wet March. That was the reason everybody lived. When the bomb hit, instead of exploding — which it should have done the minute it hit the ground — it went down into the ground and exploded. We were basically protected from the all of the shrapnel. Nobody was killed, which was a miracle.
...
We were then all in the front of the house. We were running, and some guys had seen the mushroom cloud from the highway and gave us a ride to the hospital. I remember thinking, "We had been bombed by the Soviets, and the Americans were too stupid to let us know!"

Quote:Mars Bluff: Aftermath by Charles Glassmire

A SAC B-47 Stratojet bomber crew, on a simulated combat mission out of Hunter Air Force Base Georgia, accidentally dropped a 30-kiloton Mark 6 atomic weapon from its bomb bay. The date was March 11, 1958 over the peaceful town of Mars Bluff, South Carolina, when suddenly a tremendous explosion destroyed the home of railroad conductor Walter Gregg. As described in our last entry, family members were wounded and treated in hospital, and one 9 year old required surgery. The Gregg house was destroyed along with two of his automobiles and a small truck. Ironically, there was no radiation spread from the weapon detonation, since the Plutonium core of the bomb was not inserted. Thus the detonation was only from chemical explosive, but for months afterward the Air Force periodically checked the family and the surrounding land for radiation contamination – and found none.

When the B-47 crew returned to base and landed that day, they found a strange reception. The aircraft parking area was surrounded by Air Police with weapons pointed. The aircrew was required by regulations to carry loaded sidearms; they were immediately disarmed of these and then were taken to, and locked into, a room in the Operations Center of the base. It was suspected that espionage had taken place in a deliberate weapon release. The crew was forbidden to contact anyone, including their families, and was informed they were to remain locked in until further notice. Later that evening, no less a senior staff than General Curtis Lemay, then Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, telephoned and talked personally with the air crew. Satisfied the incident was purely accidental, he ordered their immediate release. They were charged to speak to no one about the event (and later they were all transferred to overseas assignments.)



Cub reporter Thom Anderson had ignored the advice of his preoccupied editors at the Florence Morning News to “check on it in the morning” and had arrived at the farm with a photographer. He diagnosed the event, including pictures, and the following morning the News headlined the story of an atomic bomb destroying the Gregg household. His paper contained four stories on the event, and carried much more coverage than the New York Times, which had to telephone Thom at the paper to try to get some details of the explosion for its New York edition. Thom also fielded inquiry’s from multiple foreign newspapers. He later was to become the Managing Editor of the News. Strangely, coverage of the story by the national press was to virtually vanish after three days, in stark contrast to the media hysteria typical of today’s nuclear coverage.

The Air Force announced they would make a fair settlement with the Greggs. They sent an officer who accessed the house Gregg had built with his own hands at a nominal value. They got no allowance for housing since they had moved in with their relatives. Their belongings were virtually destroyed in the wreckage, and were estimated at their depreciated value instead of their replacement cost. The officer insisted they provide a list of every item lost, together with its purchase date and original purchase price. The Air Force compensated them for a loss of between “6 to 14” chickens which roamed freely over the yard; lacking a body count, some of them were vaporized in the blast. Since Gregg’s vehicles were destroyed by the blast, the officer provided them a rental car for one week – claiming this was sufficient time to process their insurance claim and purchase another vehicle. Overall the Air Force offered them compensation of $44,000, for loss of property and personal injury.

The Greggs declined the offer and asked their congressman for permission to sue the Air Force. The request went to President Eisenhower, who signed his approval and allowed the lawsuit to proceed. Three years later they received $55,000, from which they had to pay their legal bills. The Greggs abandoned farming and moved into Florence- living there in a modest bungalow.

Immediately after the blast, the Air Force sent a special crew to control access to the site and search for any parts of the weapon which were spread over a wide area. After a week they turned over control back to the State Police and announced all bomb parts were the property of the United States government. A nephew of Walter Gregg, Clyde Gregg, allegedly found a piece of the weapon in a nearby field – he never admitted to the location of the piece, but rumor says it was offered for sale on eBay in 2005. Rumor also says Clyde turned down an offer of $6,000 and has stored the piece under a stuffed beaver in his home. It’s also noted the Florence Historical Society Museum contains several pieces on display for the curious to view and perhaps remember.

Now Days nobody talks much about the event in Mars Bluff. If one drives East out of Florence on U.S. 76 to the intersection of East Palmetto Street and University Road, there on the roadside one sees a historical marker titled “Atomic Bomb Accident at Mars Bluff…”.



Asking local teenagers for directions to the atomic bombing site evokes a puzzled stare. There were some directional signs to the “Atomic Bomb Crater Site” but most have been stolen by students from the local college. Walter Gregg was in his 90’s in 2012, and he’s reluctant to discuss the matter anymore. He says the aircrew flying the bomber have all written to the family with their deepest apologies for the event, and some have even visited and stayed over a few days to become good friends of the family.

The Air Force took some preventive measures after the fact. It is said a multimillion dollar upgrade to the nuclear arsenal explosives now surrounding nuclear weapons insures they no longer can detonate from impact, but require a special electrical signal. Flying procedures now require that the safety pin securing the weapons into the aircraft must remain in place throughout the flight until approaching the target area.

Perhaps the citizens of Mars Bluff will sleep a little more securely tonight…

Quote:What is EMP?

In the early 1960’s, after the Soviets abrogated a test moratorium,  the United States began  high altitude nuclear testing (one of which was code named Starfish Prime) to attempt to destroy any incoming ICBM’s. Some of these tests were unique for the detonation altitudes, being above 200 miles, and essentially triggering in space far above any existing atmosphere. The Starfish Prime test, surprisingly produced serious electrical blackouts in cities some 900 miles distant from the explosion. Luckily, in places like Hawaii, the rugged technology of the electric grid was rather ancient, thus subject to less damage, and was eventually repaired and restored to working order.

Scientists running the test were surprised by this consequence, and also noted many of their electrical test instruments were destroyed. The culprit was a large Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) from the burst. This effect had been predicted early on by Enrico Fermi at the 1945 Alamogordo test, but awareness of the effect seemed to fade over the years, mostly because few tests were at high enough altitude to initiate an EMP. Additional high altitude tests were, later on, to shed light on the mechanisms generating this seldom seen effect.



What causes this extremely damaging event? When a nuclear weapon is detonated at altitudes above the existing atmosphere, there is an immense burst of gamma radiation released at the moment of detonation.

Gamma rays are electromagnetic waves similar to radio waves or visible light radiation, but more energetic. After burst, this wave of radiation hits the upper atmosphere with a huge impact, and has energy sufficient to knock off electrons from the air molecules, thus causing charged electrons to separate from the now positive atoms. This effect is simple ionization, but with an enormous energy content.



Now a large wave of negative electrons begins to follow the magnetic field lines of the earth, moving over the Earth’s surface while spiraling around the lines of the Earth magnetic field. This action generates an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) of very high intensity, headed for the surface and expanding outwards in a rapidly broadening wave.

Ninety percent of the energy of this wave is contained in high frequencies, up to about 1 GigaHertz. This very short wavelength allows the pulse to couple easily with electrical systems, including computers, power supplies, semiconductors, alarm systems, banking computers and ATM circuits, intercom systems, life-support system controls, transistorized receivers and transmitters, power system controls, radio and communication links, microwave towers, long electrical lines used for power transmission, etc.

When this pulse hits one of the above, it arrives with a very sharp rise time of only a few nanoseconds! This arrival time is so short that there is not time for any safeguard circuitry to close before the pulse couples in. It is likely that this arriving pulse will destroy any surge suppressors, opening the way for later stages of the pulse to couple into the now unprotected circuitry. E.g. this means that your PC surge suppressor cannot close quickly enough to provide any protection to your computer from an EMP attack.

The EMP propagates towards the Earth’s surface in a radially spreading wave, acting along a line of sight from the burst. Therefore, the higher the burst the greater land mass will be impacted and damaged. “The greatest threat is from a high-altitude EMP detonated at 25 to 250 miles above the Earth’s surface… if even a small 1 megaton weapon was detonated at 250 miles above [Kansas for instance] the resultant pulse could disrupt, disable, and damage electronics across most, if not all, of the continental United States”.

But what about the backup generators? When electric power is lost, critical systems are often designed to automatically switch to local generators for their electric power. This will work as long as the generators are supplied with fuel, such as gasoline or diesel. However, these fuels ultimately must be supplied through the national network of supply trucks. These vehicles also deliver critical items such as food to the local supermarkets. The EMP will shut down most modern engines. They simply stop functioning. Older trucks, with sturdier ignition systems may continue to run but evidence is slim on this point. So – when the trucks stop the generators stop. And the food stops...

(To be continued…)

A monochrome YouTube video of the Starfish Prime event created by Joint Task Force Eight and DSWA, and some other shots in the Operation Fish Bowl series, is available.  Note the interesting color effects which appear near the end of the sequence: http://youtube.com/watch?v=KZoic9vg1fw

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With the modern tech being supplied to Ukraine I would not want to be a Russian flying anything.... or in a tank/APC ... Some day in a future war a Warlord shows up with his 10,000 droids/UAVs and decimates the human enemy.. We may not be that far from that scenario as the puzzle palace boys and girls have all eyes on what is working in Ukraine ? $100,000 Javelin missile (probably cost less than half that to manufacture) against a tank that cost several million ...no contest as tank and crew for the most part are destroyed if the Javelin can get a shot.