Meme Scholar with Madness (PhD)

[EndtheMadnessNow]

Pulsar Time Computer Calculator was the world’s first commercially available wristwatch with a built-in calculator. The exclusive version in 18-karat yellow gold was produced in very limited numbers and represented the absolute cutting edge of electronic watchmaking when introduced in 1975, just in time for Christmas sales. The first models featured 18K gold cases and sold for $3950. By spring of 1976, a stainless steel model like this one was available for about $500.


Pulsar Calculator Watch


Dec 22, 1975: President Ford signs the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) into law, authorizing the creation of the Strategic Patroleum Reserve (SPR), in response to the 1970s energy crisis to establish a reserve up to 1 billion barrels of oil. Maintained by the United States Department of Energy (DOE), it is the largest publicly known emergency supply in the world; its underground tanks in Louisiana and Texas have capacity for 714 million barrels.




"Heave to and prepare to be boarded!" Brings back memories of my search & seizure days...


I was never concerned with getting shot or blown up, but more about falling overboard, drowning and never to be seen again. Most people have no idea how extremely dangerous a mission like this entails. Before all this search & seizure adventures started on the high seas the band of brothers I was in all made a blood pact that if any one of us should not make it back we would take care of their family. Luckily that never came to be.

My captain at the time was partial to old 70s classics and would blast music just as we were coming up alongside her to board and seize to get us all pumped up. Good times!

Sometimes a ship would refuse to "Heave to" which only got us even more pumped when the order, "Lock 'n load" was given followed by a few shots fired over her bow. The music would change, then get louder & louder, & LOUDER...




You can run but you can't hide...


U.S. Coast Guard Pursues Oil Tanker Linked to Venezuela


President Donald J. Trump will unveiled plans for a new fleet of large warships that will be referred to as "Trump-class" battleships during today’s announcement on shipbuilding from Mar-a-Lago, alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, part of his vision for a new “Golden Fleet,” according to a U.S. official and another official familiar with the discussions who spoke to the Wall Street Journal.

POTUS: "As Commander-in-Chief, it's my great honor to announce that I've approved a plan for the Navy to begin the construction of two brand new very large battleships... They'll be the fastest, the biggest, and by far — 100x more powerful than any battleship ever built. They'll be the most sophisticated lasers in the world - will be on the battleships. Also will carry nuclear-armed cruise missiles that are currently under development." With a total of ten ships set to be built and two claimed to have so far been approved to begin construction at shipyards in the United States.

Trump on the defense prime contractors focusing on Wall St instead of production:

"We’ll be discussing executive pay, dividends, CapEx and buybacks. I don’t want them buying back their stock. I want them putting the money into Plant and Equipment."

The lead ship of the class will be named USS Defiant.



I'm not so sure bringing back Leviathans is the right strategy in this new world disorder. But, in the meantime it'll create a lot of new jobs.


Knew I heard of this "Defiant" name before...

Though written from a distinctly Australian perspective, there is a great article from the Australian Naval Institute, Pax Americana to Pax Sinica, that would be a great way to start your week.

What I find most useful is that it efficiently outlines why, from Washington, to Brussels, to Canberra, serious people should not simply shrug their shoulders as the U.S. Navy, foolishly, has allowed itself to become the world’s #2 navy, and fading.

It should give you a few strong point to respond to people who don’t want to take the time to fully understand what it would mean for the People’s Republic of China to put its stamp on the world’s oceans that have been given a uniquely productive status by the firm, but gentle hand of Anglo-Saxon power at sea for the better part of two centuries, first by the United Kingdom, then the United States.

If we could get a copy of Geoffrey Till’s Seapower: A Guide for the Twenty-First Century, that would help everyone, I believe.

Till’s emphasizes the relational character of maritime power[ii]; he argues the sea is not merely a physical domain but a political medium where the balance of naval capabilities determines the viability of norms. He identifies two conditions that sustain maritime order:

Stable Naval Balances – Naval balance does not necessarily mean parity. Rather, it describes a situation in which the distribution of capabilities discourages unilateral coercion and maintains predictability among actors.[iii] Stability in naval power relations generates restraint, reducing the risk of escalation.

Freedom of Navigation – Freedom of navigation is the practical expression of the openness of the maritime commons. Till notes that while international law codifies this principle, its enforcement depends upon naval capability.[iv] The ability to contest blockades, challenge excessive maritime claims, and guarantee passage is therefore central to its preservation.

In Till’s conception, navies thus play a dual role: they are both guarantors of security and arbiters of access. Maritime order emerges when balances are perceived as legitimate and when freedom of navigation is respected in practice. Conversely, disorder ensues when power asymmetries tempt coercion or when norms of access are challenged by restrictive interpretations of law and sovereignty. This framework provides the lens through which the shift from Pax Americana to a potential Pax Sinica should be understood.

This is a point that navalists understand as second nature, but we seem to keep to ourselves. We think it is self-evident, but like we discussed with John Kuehn on yesterday’s Midrats, we have not been selling the largest benefits of American sea power and the fact that it is a strengthening thread woven through everything the West assumes is part of the natural order. Nothing is granted. Each generation must ensure a stewardship of those positive things previous generations have bequeathed to the future. We are failing at that, and I don’t think we fully appreciate the second and third order effects.

    The ability to act without fear of maritime challenge reinforced the perception that American hegemony was both natural and enduring. The US Navy became synonymous with American capacity to intervene worldwide, an essential feature of Pax Americana. As Mearsheimer observes, ‘the stopping power of water’[viii] makes maritime dominance crucial for hegemonic states, and the U.S. Navy’s carrier fleet overcame this barrier by extending airpower globally. The casual presidential question reveals that even at the highest levels, the carrier was seen as the default instrument of U.S. geopolitical leadership.

    Unlike Pax Americana, which upheld freedom of navigation as a universal norm, the emergence of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a major maritime power and the green shoots of Pax Sinica risks privileging selective access and hierarchical arrangements. In this order, China could condition access to sea lanes or regional cooperation on political compliance, undermining the universality of maritime openness perceived by the drafters of UNCLOS.

    The rapid modernisation of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA-N) has altered the dynamics of the Indo-Pacific maritime order. Within two decades, China has transformed from a coastal defence force into a blue-water navy. It now boasts the world’s largest fleet by numbers, including aircraft carriers, nuclear and diesel submarines, advanced surface combatants, and amphibious platforms.[ix]

    As the PLA-N expands beyond its near-seas focus to embrace expeditionary operations in the Indian Ocean, the South Pacific, and beyond, Beijing promotes an alternative vision of maritime order—one that privileges sovereignty, restricts access, and increasingly contests the universality of freedom of navigation.

Australia is a large landmass, blessed with riches, with a small population. That gives her a special perspective.

The Australians Give a Sober View of American Naval Decline


If you never seen the series I recommend spending the holidays watching Black Sails (2014–2017), the Golden Age of Piracy. I rank it 5 golden stars.





<stares in Australian>


Justice Department Sues the District of Columbia for the Unconstitutional Ban of Semi-Automatic Firearms


One year ago vs today:

https://x.com/60Minutes/status/1870994879314038938
Former agents from Israel's Mossad detail how they built and sold explosive pagers to Hezbollah terrorists

"50 years of ‘Gold Standard’ reputation" my arse!

Bari taking this lesson to heart: "We create a pretend world. We are a global production company: We write the screenplay, we're the directors, we're the producers, we're the main actors. And the world is our stage." — Anonymous guy on 60 Minutes.

BUT, the report has reached a worldwide audience anyway. Blame Canada, or thank Canada. The 60 Minutes INSIDE CECOT segment was shown on Canada’s GlobalTV app. Someone uploaded a copy to Archive.org. Assume it's the 60 Minutes edited version as it's only 13 minutes.


Get in Rogues, we're going places...