#our military is shopping for submarines

[dip-the-pip]

wish dnp were real </3

[n2qfd]

Pretty typical for a Thursday evening here MFSK32 did well with text, MFSK64 was losing words and photos I got are as you can see.

9265 Khz AM 0030z broadcast started late at 0333z Friday 6 Feb UTC

@swradiogram

Welcome to program 388 of Shortwave Radiogram.

I'm Kim Andrew Elliott in Arlington, Virginia USA.

Here is the lineup for today's program, in MFSK modes as noted:

1:41 MFSK32: Program preview (now) 2:49 MFSK32: New Shepard mission mimics moon's gravity 5:21 MFSK64: DW report on sabotage on undersea cables 9:53 MFSK64: Images of the week 28:21 MFSK32: Closing announcements

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And visit http://swradiogram.net

We're on swradiogram.bsky.social now

And X/Twitter: @SWRadiogram





From AP via Phys.org:

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin mimics the moon's gravity for NASA experiments during spaceflight

by Marcia Dunn February 4, 2025

Jeff Bezos' rocket company gave NASA a brief taste of the moon's gravity Tuesday, without straying too far from home.

Blue Origin launched the 29 lunar technology experiments to the edge of space from West Texas. The company later confirmed that roughly two minutes of artificial lunar gravity were achieved by spinning the capsule 11 times a minute.

It was Blue Origin's first attempt at mimicking lunar gravity, which is one-sixth that of Earth.

NASA said it wants to test equipment on short spaceflights to weed out any problems before sending them to the moon. The experiments—mainly sponsored by NASA—included ways to keep lunar dust off future moonwalkers' spacesuits and tools.

Mimicking the moon's gravity on spaceflights can accelerate research at much lower costs and future trips can "closely mirror Mars and other solar system gravity environments," Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp posted on X ahead of the flight.

The New Shepard rocket landed as planned following the late morning liftoff. The capsule with the experiments parachuted back to the desert to close out the 10-minute flight.

New Shepard alternates between flying passengers and experiments on short space hops. Blue Origin's much bigger orbital rocket, New Glenn, made its debut launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, last month.

Shortwave Radiogram now changes to MFSK64 …

 tne²iZr yoaid * zaeoue=y@S{R eiDzfcDt*t tP g + 5lwave Radiogram in MFSK64.

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From DeuIte:

How sabotage on undersea cables affects our digital world

Alexander Freund February 3, 2025 Mosbo2Ç msoee a's data travels via ocean cables, which are at risk of frequent sabotage. colains where they lie and how they are protected.

A spate of sabotage attacks on underwater cables, allegedly pertzted by a Russian "shadow fleeta› have shown global telecommunications infrastructure is poorly protected against deliberaj 9g of destruction.

--Different types of underwater cables

Some submarine cables transport high-voltage direct current (HVDC), electrical energy, over long distances, such as between islands or countries. These cables can Mosct offshore wi turbines with onshore sites.

Then there are telecommunications cables. They transmit about 95% of global data traffic, including internet searches, online shopping and phone1” albeit with a slight signal delay, as calling up a US website from Europe takes around 60 milliseconds.

In addition, some cables link data centers and large network nodes, as wmen as those for military communication and research, which are more protected than other cabtas m<4Ý-Satellites are not an alter!i2e»n dnd%water cables

Only a fraction of international communication goes via satellites. Submarine cables can transmit much more data at a lower cost.

Satellite co:norau lower and more susceptible to interference.

Nevertheless, the US and the EU are investing in satellite technologies, such as Starlink and the IRtiRagfnf Cstructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity l4 :eEt"iSU tie) program, to create more secure, alterk tf82munication channels.

--Where do underwater cables lie?

Worldwide, there are about 500 caehos consisting of 1.4 million kilometers of cable. The cables are so lo±othat they could be wrapped around the equator 30 times. New cables are added every year.

Most cable connections are located in thrazmã ic between rope and North America and in the Pacific between the US and East Asia. However, no complete global atlas shows the exact location of every cable.

Platforms such as submarinecablemap.com or TeleGeography offer maps, but without precise location information.

About 90% of data traffic between Europe and Asia runs via 14 cables off the Yemeni coast. In 2024, Houthi rebels attacked three data lines with a hijacked freighter in the region.

--Who lays underwater cables?

In the past, telecom service providers, such as AT&T and China Telecom, dominated the market and ownership of submarine cables.

Now, it's the biTaunnanies like Google, Microsoft, Meta and nmazon investing heavily in submarine cables.

Gooble o six active submarine cables and plans to build more.

Meta has a stake in 16 ex·pÁÐmzàs and plans to make its oeu lenetwork.

--How are underwater cables constructed?

Modern submarine cables consist of several layers of fiber optics that use light pulseflransmit digital information.

uaan surrounded by protective layers of steel wire or steel armor, polyethylene and waterproof materials. These protect against the extreme pressure and conditions m c dFayzeeo^+ensure a lifespan of about 25 years.

Large submarine cables with a diameter of more than 20cm (7.87 inches) can weigh between 40-70 kilograms per meter (88-154 pounds/3.2 feet).

--How are underer cables laid?

Geologists and engineers determine the best locations for cables, considering obstacles such as trenches, eqtynfents, fishing areas and shipping routese

In the North and Baltic Seas, around 1.6 million tons of dumped / aa6om past wars alf &ÃuRtn²eXicant challenge.

In deeper waters, up to about eight kilometers, the risk of damage is lower. The cables are often laid directly on the seabed by speciØi OPe-laying vessels.

The cable tenWNtic eªinltthe laying process. If there is too little tension bhOps might form in the cableeowever, if the cable is too taut, it can make it float and break.

--How do underwater cables get damaged?

Trawl nets and anchors cause mosteage to submarine cables. ButÌ are also damaged through deliberate acts of sabotage: Hybrid warfare attacks have been known since the Cold War. As early as 1959, the Americans accused the Russians of deliberately damaging an undetnyder cable with fishing nets.

Espionage is also a big problem, as submarine cables can be tapped for data.

--How are underwater cables repaired?

Repairing submarine cables is complicated due to extreme underwater pressure and unpredictable weather conditions.

DependingS"outzamage and depth of the cablea¨tKeVut repair cables in dry chambers, or a cable repair ship can carefully lift them to the surface.

On board, technicians replace damaged sections with new ones. After extensive testing, the cable is carefully recessed and laid again.

--How can underwater cables be protected?

Subecs cables are well protected against natural threats but are often inadequately protected againstetberate damage by hostile states, intelligence agencies or terrorists.

Undo rocâfEoustic sensor systems could help to detect potential acts of sabotage atttk ic h x

Some states ’ eloping coordinated provgtion strategies, with close cooperation between the states, submarine cable operators and international organizations. Experts are calling for a new legal framework at national and international levels, especially in the event of war.

https:/1Mww.dw.com/en/how-saRcoHe-attacks-on-undersea-cables-affect-our-digital-stability/a -71494600

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This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64.

PleayM reception report to radiogram@verizKZwo  This week's images

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: Jackson siblings my beloveds -Danny Words: 2,448 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Kids' -by OneRepublic

XIV: 'Not All Men' You're Right, My Brother Percy Would Never

The four of them clamber onto the ship at the same time. Frank rushes down the steps to look for the others while Percy and Hedge collapse on deck. Ara runs to the control board. She keeps her eyes on the monitors and radars until the ship is at a proper distance from the Aquarium. 

"Where are we going?" She shouts.

"Charleston!" Percy yells back, he's still lying on the ground. "Set course for Charleston!"

Leo approaches her holding a cheese-grilled sandwich. "I would ask if you need help, but—is that a shark?" He squints. "And you're blue..?"

"Teal," she corrects him, leaving the controls and returning to her brother. "It's teal..."

"Who was it?" Leo looks at the back of her cloak and grins. "Poseidon! He's officially adopted you too?"

"I already have a dad," Ara laughs, taking off the hat and tossing it to him as she reaches her brother. "But I bet I'll find his blessing most useful."

She looks down at Percy and offers her hand, which he grabs immediately. They look at each other when he's on his feet and share a silly smile. At least now she can confirm quests will never be boring.

"How's that for a flashy trap, huh?" Percy taunts her.

Ara laughs, both their soul-lights are vivid. "Too easy when it's you and me."

Percy high-fives her, then hugs her and ruffles her damp hair.

The group gathers on deck so everyone can hear their story. Percy and Frank do most of the talking during the first half (she wasn't paying attention then), and Ara and Percy narrate the rest with notes from Hedge.

"That's terrible!" Annabeth makes a face when Percy tells them about the sedated creatures. "We need to help them."

"We will, in time. But I have to figure out how. I wish..." he sighs. "Never mind. First, we have to deal with this bounty on our heads."

"This isn't your first time being a wanted demigod," Ara muses. "What's there to talk about?"

"I'm surprised this is your first," he raises a brow. "With the talent you have for exploding monster property..."

"It's always a team effort," she winks.

Annabeth shakes her head. "A bounty on our heads... as if we didn't attract enough monsters already."

"Do we get WANTED posters?" Leo's wearing the hat Ara brought him, which makes him look even crazier than usual. "And do they have our bounties, like, broken down on a price list?"

"What are you talking about?" Hazel scowls.

"Just curious how much I'm going for these days. I mean, I can understand not being as pricey as Percy or Jason, maybe... but am I worth, like, two Franks, or three Franks?"

"Hey!"

"Knock it off," Annabeth scolds him. "At least we know our next step is to go to Charleston, to find this map."

"A map," Piper leans against the control board. "But a map to what?"

"The Mark of Athena." Percy glances at Annabeth. "Whatever that is, we know it leads to something important in Rome, something that might heal the rift between the Romans and Greeks."

"The giants' bane," Hazel says.

"And in my dream, the twin giants said something about a statue."

"Um..." Frank glowers at the Chinese handcuffs he got at Phorcys's gift shop. "According to Phorcys, we'd have to be insane to try to find it. But what is it?"

"I—I'm close to an answer," Annabeth's ears turn pink. "I'll know more if we find this map. Jason, the way you reacted to the name Charleston... have you been there before?"

"Yeah," he takes a furtive glimpse at Piper. "Reyna and I did a quest there about a year ago. We were salvaging Imperial gold weapons from the C.S.S. Hunley."

"The what?"

"Whoa!" Leo exclaims. "That's the first successful military submarine. From the Civil War. I always wanted to see that."

"It was designed by Roman demigods," Jason explains. "It held a secret stash of Imperial gold torpedoes—until we rescued them and brought them back to Camp Jupiter."

"So the Romans fought on the Confederate side?" Hazel frowns. "As a girl whose grandmother was a slave, can I just say... not cool?"

"Hazel, there's no need to get violent!" Ara teases her. "Romans being racist is a surprise? Just take a look at Octavian—"

"Easy with the hate speech," Jason interrupts her. "I personally was not alive then. And it wasn't all Greeks on one side and all Romans on the other. But, yes. Not cool. Sometimes demigods make bad choices... Like sometimes we're too suspicious. And we speak without thinking." 

Jason elbows Leo so he joins in. "Ow! I mean, yeah... bad choices. Like not trusting people's brothers, who, you know, might need saving. Hypothetically speaking."

Hazel isn't entirely happy with the apology, but she takes it. "Fine. Back to Charleston. Are you saying we should check that submarine again?"

"Well... I can think of two places in Charleston we might search. The museum where they keep the Hunley—that's one of them. It has a lot of relics from the Civil War. A map could be hidden in one. I know the layout. I could lead a team inside."

"I'll go," Leo shrugs. "That sounds cool."

Jason turns to Frank. "You should come too, Frank. We might need you."

Frank's so surprised he stops fighting the Chinese handcuffs. "Why? Not like I was much good at that aquarium."

"You did fine," Percy eases him. "It took all four of us to break that glass."

"I'm not so sure," Frank eyes the Jackson siblings standing side by side. "You two were like a force of nature."

"You should see us when we're angry," Ara jokes. Percy hugs her sideways and squeezes her lightly. "But my brother's right, go and have a bonding experience with those two, I promise you'll like them."

Leo scoffs and Piper elbows him.

"Besides, you're a child of Mars," Jason points out to distract Frank. "The ghosts of defeated causes are bound to serve you. And the museum in Charleston has plenty of Confederate ghosts. We'll need you to keep them in line."

"Okay," Frank sighs. "Sure. Uh, how do you—?" He lifts his fingers, still trapped in the small toy.

Leo grins. "Man, you've never seen those before? There's a simple trick to getting out."

"You have to press on them," Ara explains vaguely.

Everyone stays quiet and watches Frank struggle. After a moment, he grows tired and turns into a green iguana.

"Well done, Frank Zhang," Leo says in an almost perfect impression of Chiron. "That is exactly how people beat Chinese handcuffs. They turn into iguanas."

While the group laughs, Ara picks up the Chinese handcuffs and returns them to Frank. She's not sure whether she likes him or not, he's hostile towards Leo, but insecure and struggles with social interactions. He reminds her of Mike a little bit, he's an archer just like he was.

"That looked sorta cool," she whispers with an amicable smile.

Frank smiles back, though it's brief and awkward. "Anyway," he speaks out loud, "the museum is one place to search. But, uh, Jason, you said there were two?"

Jason's expression changes from amused to concerned. "Yeah. The other place is called the Battery—it's a park right by the harbor. The last time I was there... with Reyna... We saw something in the park. A ghost or some sort of spirit, like a Southern belle from the Civil War, glowing and floating along. We tried to approach it, but it disappeared whenever we got close. Then Reyna had this feeling—she said she should try it alone. Like maybe it would only talk to a girl. She went up to the spirit by herself, and sure enough, it spoke to her."

"What did it say?" Annabeth asks.

"Reyna wouldn't tell me. But it must have been important. She seemed... shaken up. Maybe she got a prophecy or some bad news. Reyna never acted the same around me after that."

"That sounds promising," Ara makes a face.

"A girls' adventure, then," Annabeth looks around. "Piper and Hazel can come with us, Ara." 

She turns to her friend. "Say what?"

"You got Poseidon's blessing," Annabeth explains. "If the spirit is close to the harbor, it might be useful to take someone who has some kind of power over water."

Ara sighs. "Could've given me a cake to celebrate, but I guess this works."

"Cheer up, Birdy," Percy pats her shoulder. "You'll have fun."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm not complaining. Who's complaining? Not me."

"So that's settled." Annabeth fixes her posture. "Leo, how long until we reach Charleston?"

"Good question," he mumbles, leaning closer to the intercom. "Festus just detected a large group of eagles behind us—long-range radar, still not in sight."

"Are you sure they're Roman?" Piper leans closer.

"No, Pipes. It could be a random group of giant eagles flying in perfect formation. Of course they're Roman! I suppose we could turn the ship around and fight—"

"Which would be a very bad idea," Jason cuts in, "and remove any doubt that we're enemies of Rome."

"Or I've got another idea," Leo continues. "If we went straight to Charleston, we could be there in a few hours. But the eagles would overtake us, and things would get complicated. Instead, we could send out a decoy to trick the eagles. We take the ship on a detour, go the long way to Charleston, and get there tomorrow morning—" Leo stops Hazel before she can argue. "I know, I know. Nico's in trouble and we have to hurry." 

"It's June twenty-seventh," Hazel presses. "After today, four more days. Then he dies."

"I know! But this might throw the Romans off our trail. We still should have enough time to reach Rome."

"When you say should have enough..."

"How do you feel about barely enough?"

Hazel runs both hands over her face and groans. "Sounds about typical for us."

"Well, we have a deadline expert with us," Piper smirks, locking eyes with her sister. "We'll be fine."

"It'll be fine," Ara assures Hazel. "Nico won't get to say he died on my watch."

Hazel eyes her with concern. "If that motivates you..." 

"Okay, Leo," Annabeth says. "What kind of decoy are we talking about?"

"I'm so glad you asked!" He pressed many—perhaps too many—buttons around the control board. "Buford? Report for duty, please." 

Frank steps back. "There's somebody else on the ship? Who is Buford?"

"Our bundle of joy!" Leo seizes Ara's hand and pulls her away from Percy. "He's the reason we got together."

"Your what?" Percy asks with confusion.

The table climbs on deck whistling and dragging a bag behind it. 

"This is Buford," Leo grins.

"You name your furniture?" Frank raises a brow.

"Man, you just wish you had furniture this cool," the boy scoffs. "Buford, are you ready for Operation End Table?" 

Buford gets closer to the railing, his top splitting into wooden blades that quickly lift him up and away from the ship.

"A helicopter table," Percy whistles. "Gotta admit, that's cool. What's in the bag?"

"Dirty demigod laundry," the boy smirks. "I hope you don't mind, Frank."

"What?"

"It'll throw the eagles off our scent."

"Those were my only extra pants!"

"I asked Buford to get them laundered and folded while he's out. Hopefully he will." He moves and hugs Ara from behind, leaning his chin on her shoulder. Ara's empath touch senses his irritation. "Well! I call that a good day's work. We'll calculate our detour route now. See you all at dinner!"

As the demigods scatter, Ara turns to face him. "What was that?"

Leo shrugs. "You go on one quest with Frank and now you're buddies?"

"Dude. We have to be a team, otherwise we're doomed. You should be nicer."

Leo brushes it aside. "Yeah, alright. If he stays out of my business, I will."

Ara raises her brows. "Your business being..?"

Leo senses he's on thin ice but it's too late to fix it. "I didn't mean—"

"I bet you didn't," she replies a bit harshly. It reminds Leo of the day they met, which is never a good sign. "Next time why don't you try harder and stop those thoughts before they leave your mouth?" 

He gets a sting of annoyance at her tone. "Yes. I'm sorry, General," he mutters, fidgeting with a random nail he pulled out from his tool belt.

Ara sniffs her clothes, gawking at the smell of fish. "Gods, I need a shower..."

"Yeah, you stink." Leo eyes her carefully, a tentative smile on his face. He wants to make her laugh, perhaps in the same way she did a few minutes ago while talking to Percy, he'd never seen her smile like that. "Thank you for the shark hat."

He plants a brief kiss on her lips—doesn't even complain about the fish smell—and Ara playfully pushes his shark-shaped hat over his eyes. 

"See you later, Admiral."

She goes to get a fresh set of clothes and finds a purple octopi plushie on her bed... a backpack plushie. There's a sticky note on it with Percy's handwriting:

'Purple is your color :)'

She grabs the plushie and hugs it tight. The octopi's head lights up in pink and blue, and Ara laughs in childish delight.

"Have any of you seen Percy and Annabeth?"

Clarisse's eyes shine with evil intent. "I think they're in the pavilion."

"I wonder if she's giving him a birthday present!"

Everyone around me giggles. I look at their mischievous faces and know they're all thinking what I'm thinking. I sigh dramatically. "We should check on them, just to be sure they're alright."

Percy and Annabeth have their backs turned when we get to them, so it isn't hard for us to eavesdrop. When they kiss, their scarlet light hurts my eyes a little.

"Well, it's about time!" Clarisse shouts, rushing into the scene.

Everyone follows Clarisse except me, I stay at the entrance smiling, my arms crossed over my chest as I watch. 

"Oh, come on!" Percy blushes so hard that he's the human version of Rudolph's nose. "Is there no privacy?" He raises his voice. "General, control your campers!"

I shrug. "You're the one who's agitating them."

"What!"

Listen, we're all friends here, but that doesn't mean we won't take the opportunity to humble the strongest demigods in camp. "If only you'd pulled your head out of your ass sooner, my campers wouldn't be making such a fuss," I look at Clarisse. "We don't have all night, you know? Get to it!"

"The lovebirds need to cool off!" She laughs, and the campers hoist Annabeth and Percy up in the air at her command. I follow them closely.

"To the canoe lake!" Connor Stoll shouts.

"You'll be next, Connor," I whisper beside him. He blushes and glows silver. "Off to the lake, everyone!"

"You heard the General!" Lily shouts. She fits the role of my second in command perfectly.

We throw my brother and Annabeth into the lake unceremoniously, they glow red the whole way down. Chucking the son of Poseidon into a lake is the opposite of embarrassing him, but of course, I knew that already. I might be the Strategus, but Percy's still my favorite brother.

"Happy birthday, Nemo," I say quietly, walking back to the Big House.

Next Chapter –>

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[mint-moon25]

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SING - DON'T - KNOW - HOW - 2 - SING

YOU'LL - NEVER - SING

BUT - I - WILL - SING - FOREVER - MORE

'FUNNY - FACE'

BARBARA STREISAND

A - JEW - BY THE WAY

I'M AN - ORTHODOX - JEW

TEL-AVIV - ISRAEL - TWICE - THERE

I'M - WEARING - BROADWAY - STYLE

CLOTHES - MAYBE - ANOTHER - HAIR

COLOR - ANOTHER - VERSION OF YES

PINK - I'LL - B - SINGING - THE ABOVE

I - CAN - SING - STREISANDs - RANGE

AS - AMERICAN - BLK - WOMEN AND

BLK - MEN - STALKED - ME - WHEN

I - WAS - SINGING - ALONE

SO - ONE - DAY - BLK - FEMALE WHO

WAS - RAPING - ME - WITH - STRONG

PELVIC - PLUNGES - AS - SHE BASHED

MY - HEAD - ON - THE - BACK - OF THE

WALL - WHATEVER - SHE - WAS - YES

SAYING - HAD - MY - EARS - PLUGGED

WITH - WIRES - BECAUSE

SHEA WHITNEY - SAID WE

RECEIVE - LOTS - OF - RADIATION

WITH - OUR - BLUETOOTH - IN OUR

EARS - BUT - WITHOUT - HAS - NO

VOLUME - SO - U - CAN - HEAR

AMERICAN - OR - KOREAN - ADULT

TALK - WITH - 'F' - 'S' - 'A' - VIOLENT

WORDS - AS - BLUETOOTH - AS - ME

WAS - LISTENING - 2 - MUSIC - THE

WHOLE - TIME - AS - SHE - JUST

BOXED - MY - FACE - AND - KEPT

BOXING - MY - FACE - MIAMI - MALE

HISPANIC - POLICE - AGAIN

HISPANIC - MALES

AS - THEY - SAID - THERE - WAS NO

BLOOD - ON - MY - FACE - WAS

LAUGHING - SAME - MIDGET - WHO

TOLD - ME - 'WRINKLED - PRUNE

BAG - NOT - 2 - COME - NEAR HIM

AND - THEIR -EQUIPMENT'

AS - BLK - FOREIGN - MALE - POLICE

TELL - U - ARMED - 2 - COME - NEAR

THEM - BUT - NOT - THAT - NEAR

WHEN - U - OBEY

ONLY - OVER - 7 MILLION - BLACKS

ON - EARTH - THEY - WILL - B ONLY

5 MILLION - ON - EARTH

BLK - MEN - NO 1 - CRIMINALS - ON

EARTH - BLK - WOMEN - NO 2 - THEIR

MOTHERS - WIVES - SIBLINGS ...

HISPANIC - MEN - NO 3 - CRIMINALS

OF - THE - WORLD - SPANISH - YES

COUNTRIES - NOT - VISITED - BY YES

OTHER - RACES - ILLEGAL

PROSTITUTES - AS - CATHOLICS

NO 4 - THEIR - HISPANIC - MOMS

WIVES - SIBLINGS ...

VICTORIA SECRET - DOLPHIN MALL

HISPANIC - MALE - PERVERT

TAKING - PHOTOGRAPH - OF - YES

POLYESTER - LIKE - PANTY - BACK

WITH - SMARPTHONE - MOST LIKELY

AN - iPHONE

CALLS - 'YEAH - BABY - U - HAVE - TO

WEAR - IT - 4 - HIM - BABY'

THEIR - HUGE - BOOBS - AS - BOTH

NOT - MARRIED - AS - SHE - GOES

UP - AND - DOWN - WITH - BOOBS

AS - HIS - PEE PEE - ALL - STRAIGHT

B 4 - HE - POOPS

HE - WANTS - 5 MIN - OF - HIS

STRAIGHT - PEE PEE - PENETRATING

HER - THEN - SHE - LEAVES

AS - HE - POO POOS - WITH - DOOR

OPEN - IN - HER - APT

SHE - GOT - HIM BECAUSE - SHE HAS

AN - APARTMENT ...

NON-MARRIED - HISPANICS

AS - THEY'RE - INTERVIEWED

OF - COURSE - THEY - LOVE - EACH

OTHER - MARRIED - LOWEST - TAX

PAYMENTS ...

AS - THEY - HAVE - 2 - KIDS ...

AS - HISPANIC - CHILDREN - THEY

DON'T - SMILE - AT - ANYONE - NO

TALKING - 2 - ANYBODY ...

WHY - WE'RE - AFTER - CHILDREN

OF - FRANCE - BETTER - CATHOLICS

FRIENDLIER - SMARTER - MORE

BEAUTIFUL ...

AS - WE - WILL - RESTART - THE

UNDERGROUND

KIDS - 'MUSKATEERS'

TRAINING - THEM - HOW - 2 - FIGHT

'ALICE - IN - WONDERLAND'

SHOWING - THEM - HOW - 2 - PLAY

FRENCH - KIDS DON'T - QUITE - KNOW

THE - JOY - OF - PLAYING ...

SHOWING - HOW - 2 - PLAY - MORE

TEACHING - THEM - MARTIAL ARTS

WHERE - WON'T - AFFECT - HEIGHTS

CAN'T - WAIT

CONTINUING ...

SINGING - ABOVE - REVISED ...

LIVE - SINGING ... BROADWAY - STYLE

INTRODUCING - NEWEST - TINY - YES

SONY - MINIATURE - CDs

U - CAN - WEAR - L ARM

TINIEST - CDs ...

WHERE - U - CAN - VIEW - YOUTUBE

ALSO - MINIATURE - PLAYING

CD - ALSO - TINIEST - BLU RAY

BOTH - AUTO - REPEAT

WATCH - YOUTUBE - CD - BLU RAY

AUTO - REPEAT - LEFT - ARM

LIGHT - AND - TINY

SONY - COMEBACK ...

EXCLUSIVELY - WITH - GBC - FILMS

TANAKA - FILMS - FR - SONY JAPAN

JESUS - IS - LORD - KOREAN - KR JP

[satoshi-mochida]

Guns Undarkness demo launches February 24 - Gematsu

Publisher Kodansha and developer MegaRock will release a demo for stealth-based science-fiction RPG Guns Undarkness for PC via Steam on February 24, the companies announced.

Here is an overview of the game, via its Steam page:

About

A strategy JRPG helmed by lead developer Shoji Meguro (composer for the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei series). Customize your arsenal of unique firearms to dominate the battlefield and forge relationships with your team to bolster your combined abilities during intense turn-based combat.

A turn-based tactical JRPG inspired by games like Metal Gear Solid and Persona.

A relationship system that boosts the protagonist as you grow closer with your teammates.

A story set in a futuristic world on the verge of global and societal ruin.

A meeting of the minds Shoji Meguro (Persona, Shin Megami Tensei), Ilya Kuvshinov (Ghost in Shell: SAC 2045, The Wonderland), and Lotus Juice (Persona series).

Story

The year was 2045 and humanity was in a state of abeyance that allowed technology to flourish, but deepened the social divide between the rich and the poor, the Haves and the Have Nots. Within the ranks of the latter grew a faction who planned the Great Reset–an event steeped in primitivism that would change the course of humanity. The Thousand Plateaus launched two weapons of mass destruction, triggering a worldwide nuclear war. And so, the Great Reset was accomplished. Enter our Protagonist, a rookie member of a private military company tasked with handling the worsening situation. It is up to you to discover the truth behind love in a world wracked by devastation and whether humanity is capable of being revolutionized.

Gameplay

Guns Undarkness is a futuristic JRPG that combines tactical positioning with turn-based strategy.

-On the Field

On the field, the player will control the Protagonist and up to 3 allies.

Use hand signals to instruct your allies to hide at select spots and then order them to cover you. Once you have the highlighted enemy in your sights, it’s time to open fire!

If your team engages the enemy while totally hidden then you’ll activate an attack bonus. The more you fire during this bonus, the more damage you’ll deal before the battle begins.

Hidden or not, once you fire on the enemy your team will leap into a turn-based battle.

Attacks are basic actions that don’t consume SP, while Skills use SP but pack more punch. Attacking from behind cover? Then unleashing your skills with no cost to your SP!

The affinity of your weapon and that of your target’s TAGS (defense suit) will determine how much damage you deal. Manage to strike your enemy in a weak point and you can deal massive damage, while an enemy’s defense value can also reduce the amount of damage they take.

Hit an enemy’s weak point with a normal attack and you’ll be able to duck into cover. All skills are powerful, but there are also guns with special buff / debuff abilities.

-Status Screen

Winning a battle earns your team two types of experience points: Character EXP and Gun EXP. Leveling up boosts a character’s stats and unlocks new skills for guns.

-Off the Field

Off the field, you and Alpha Team will spend your downtime outside of missions in the Maroon, an amphibious submarine that the team uses as their hideout. You’ll use the hideout to accept quests or visit shops and other locations on the world map.

-Gun Customization

You’ll be able to enhance the guns you own by adding parts. You’ll even acquire blueprints and materials that’ll let you build new guns as you progress through the story.

Characters

Led by Commander McGovern, the Alpha Team is one of the offensive units that work for BTI, a large American private military group. The team was originally composed of McGovern, Will and Zach–two men who had been her subordinates back when she was a marine—and Naomi, an advanced combat android. Our story begins with the Alpha Team welcoming in their fifth member—the Protagonist.

Protagonist – The main protagonist, and the player’s avatar. After working his way through the ranks of numerous private military groups, he becomes the newest member of the BTI Alpha Team. Thanks to his exemplary combat ability, he’s the only member of Alpha Team kitted out with the latest TAGS equipment—definitely not something typically gifted to a rookie.

Sofia – A bright and cheerful 17 year old; she’s the only child of the great scientist Dr. Cowen. Despite her uneasy relationship with her father, she chooses to take over his research in the midst of nuclear war with the hope of creating a brighter future for mankind.

Will – Despite his earnest nature making him seem like a softy, he provides serious support to the Alpha Team when equipped with a shotgun. He’s like a brother to the Protagonist, a former U.S. Marine alongside Zach, and once served under the same superior as Alpha Team Commander McGovern.

Naomi – A high-performance combat android, she has no problems conveying emotion or communicating with humans. While Naomi has a gentle, motherly disposition, she’s also a reliable member of the Alpha Team’s offensive, charging across battlefields with her handgun.

Leon – A silent mercenary of mystery. In his younger years, he worked as an assassin until General Zhang, leader of the Thousand Plateaus, hired him to do his dirty work. He has superhuman reflexes that he can use to dodge bullets, which are far more powerful than even state-of-the-art TAGS technology.

The Thousand Plateaus – A far eastern military regime that instigated the nuclear war. Led by General Zhang. In the name of primitivism, the idea of abandoning human technology and returning to the primitive ages, they have set the entire world on a path to ruin. Primitivism gained more and more supporters following the start of the war, until looting and pillaging became rampant across the entire globe. As of now, chaos reigns thanks to them.

Locations

Devastated City – A city with a some technology left where the wealthy settled after the war, subsequently making it a prime target for the primitivists.

West Coast Village – The poor gathered here after the war and formed a group to fight back against primitivist looters.

Research Facility – A large research city once occupied this area before the war. It was abandoned shortly after, but important research materials still remain in the rubble.

Staff

Shoji Meguro (Persona series, Shin Megami Tensei series)

Ilya Kuvshinov (Ghost in Shell: SAC 2045, The Wonderland)

Lotus Juice (Persona series)

Watch a new trailer below.

Demo Trailer

English

Japanese

[creativemorningsvirginiabeach]

Local Artist “Igor” Talks about the CYCLE of a Self-Employed Artist

With a singular name, Igor didn’t quite need an introduction at our last Creative Mornings gathering of the year, but he got one anyway. The reception reflected the energetic community the local artist has helped build; with more than 75 excited guests piling into The Garage, this was our best-attended morning yet!

Growing up in Delaware, Igor was inspired by car culture and by the arts, but he never imagined those two worlds would one day collide.

In the 1980s, Igor became a professional roadie for a metal rock band based in Ocean City, Md., It was in Ocean City that Igor would join the iconic 17th Street Surf Shop as a visual merchandiser, spending a decade working as a creative within the East Coast surf culture and eventually relocating to Virginia Beach.

After more than a decade designing window displays, Igor began searching for his next opportunity. “I knew I had to widen my horizons, but taking that leap was scary.” Encouraged by friends, Igor decided to pursue his pinstriping “hobby” full-time.

Two decades later, Igor has handpainted on motorcycles, helmets, vintage cars, storefronts, murals, banners and more across Virginia Beach and beyond. Ever holiday season, Igor paints hundreds of his iconic XXX balls, depicting irreverent, lighthearted sayings or custom messages.

Igor’s intricate pinstriping and funky lettering has also drawn the interest of national brands and celebrity clients, including Bob Ritchie (a.k.a. Kid Rock), with whom Igor has collaborated for more than eight years. Recently, Redbull Music and Gibson Guitars commissioned Igor to paint 14 custom guitars for a notable group of country music artists, including Brothers Osborne and Shaboozey.

One of Igor’s fondest memories has been presenting a guitar to Derek Wells, an award-winning guitar player for the likes of Post Malone. Inspired by Derek’s passion for wrist watches, Igor painted a Rolex Submariner on the Gibson ES, complete with Rolex lettering depicting the musician’s children’s names.

At his studio and eclectic shop located within The Alley in Virginia Beach’s ViBe Creative District, Igor also houses the “World’s Smallest Museum,” a wall-to-wall collection of some of his most cherished oddities. It was in this local creative sanctuary that Igor dreamed up the vision for The Alley’s beloved VB Flea, a curated vintage and antique market. Now in its ninth year, the VB Flea averages 4,000-5,000 visitors and has a growing waiting list for vendors.

“Part of your responsibility as a creative in a smaller community is to take the initiative and make things happen yourself. If you want to get involved, all you have to do is ask.”

In addition to painting, creating and collaborating, Igor relishes his Brazilian jiu-jitsu practice, which he credits with making him a better, kinder and more thoughtful person. In that spirit, giving back is also central to Igor’s artistic work. Each year, he donates artwork to Nashville’s Tomahawn Charitable Solutions in support of military, law enforcement and special forces operators and their families.

When asked why he has stayed in Virginia Beach when his talent could take him anywhere in the world, Igor responds: “VB is too amazing to leave. I’m way too excited to see this creative community continue to grow.”

_

Written by CMVB volunteer blogger Valeria L. Palmertree

Join us every third Friday in 2025 as we explore, along with 236 other cities in 69 countries around the world, 12 new themes in a face-to-face community format. Past themes have included Rhythm, Endurance, Ritual, Reflection and Vision. January’s theme is JOURNEY, and our speaker will be Raeesah Islam of Utopia Feni.

CM also has virtual field trips and a database of previous talks to enjoy and explore at home.

[cannoli-reader]

Checking Eye of the World really quick and I got:

Two mentions of soft boots, worn by Mordeth & Lord Agelmar.

One mention of thigh-high boots, worn by Lews Therin.

Six descriptions of clothing as embroidered (I did not include the mention of specific embroidered symbols, i.e. the sunburst of the Children of the Light, and the Aes Sedai logo on LTT, because the focus is on the symbol being worn, not the fanciness of the clothing implied in the rules given). The embroidered garb was worn by Mordeth, Paitr, Gawyn, Elayne, Kari & Egwene. Two of those garments were dresses, Kari's & Elayne's.

Basically, there is a reason for each such mention. For Mordeth, the soft boots and embroidered vest is about how strange and out of place his clothing is. For Agelmar, and the Trakands, and Paitr, the point is to emphasize their wealth and nominal status, and in most cases, the incongruity of someone with embroidered clothes accosting Rand & Mat in an inn, or climbing trees in a garden. For Egwene and Kari, the instances are in the vision of Kari being tormented by Baalzamon and the epilogue when Rand is telling Egwene he has to go. In these cases, the point is idealize both women as much as possible to emphasize Rand's loss.

I didn't bother to parse out the other points on the list, because some of them are subjective, and frankly, the readers whine about clothing more than the characters do. I did note that the EotW has a higher ratio of mentions of clothes, clothing or cloth to pages than other books to which I also gave a quick check, namely, Tom Clancy's Cardinal of the Kremlin, Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, and George Martin's A Clash of Kings. However, two of those are set in the real world, where we generally know what people wear from day to day and require less information from the books to set up the scene in our heads. We can probably guess what the military personnel on an aircraft, or a submarine, or the government officials at diplomatic meetings and in CIA offices are wearing, or what they wear at formal receptions. Also, a person's garments will often be described in more specific terms, because the reader knows what one would be wearing with it, i.e. a suit, or jeans. Furthermore, they, and Martin's work, are not about people traveling in unfamiliar lands and meeting people from classes they are not accustomed to. Just about every PoV character in aSoI&F is a noble, and thus fancy clothes are familiar and normal to them. In the parts of EotW set in Emond's Field, there is almost no description or mention of the clothing Emond's Fielders are wearing, unless it comes into action, like Egwene pulling down her hood to show off her braid or the opening wind pulling at the al'Thor's cloaks. The descriptions are of Moiraine's clothing, Lan's cloak, and Thom's signature gleeman's outfit. Things that stick out. The nobles in Westeros mostly talk to other nobles and don't notice the smallfolk, except functionally. They would note their clothes to see who the commoner works for. With their fellow nobles, they take the fancy stuff for granted, and note the colors and imagery utilized, to identify loyalties and allegiances.

In the hands of a competent author, clothing can tell you a lot about the characters or their backgrounds or economic situations. Hell, those other authors I mentioned do it. Just off the top of my head, Cardinal of the Kremlin has a Soviet spy meeting an informant in a clothing shop, and she enjoys shopping there, because of the garments available in the US that are not in the USSR. Her contact, meanwhile, is identified as having a personality type by her clothing choices, which in turn, is a clue to her motivations for spying. There is mention of the appropriate weather garments to be worn in a remote mountain outpost, a disgraced military officer is dressed as a civilian to drive home his disgrace, one spy guesses his contact is a person of importance by her nice clothes that are generally unavailable to ordinary people, Americans are easily identified in Moscow by their clothes, the wife and daughter of a high-ranking defector demand of the captain of a submarine carrying them to the west, that their clothes be laundered, because they are a bit out of touch and arrogant with their husband & father's position. In Gone Girl, Flynn contrasts the characters' lives in New York with the comedown when they move to rural Missouri. One narrator carefully chooses her clothing to hide her appearance when she goes into hiding, another carefully selects things to be worn on a television appearance to send the right message to a particular viewer. Underwear is left in a professional setting to hint at inappropriate activity taking place there. A client meets a famous attorney for the first time, and the lawyer dressing in something other than the common suit and tie sends a message to the reader that this is not your run of the mill lawyer, that he could be an unprofessional idiot or some sort of legal savant who doesn't wear the professional uniform because he doesn't have to, he is just that good. And GRRM is nearly as big on the clothing porn as RJ is. The garments of the people of Qarth characterize their lifestyle, and when Dany decides she's done with the city, she changes into her previous clothes and feels liberated. Sansa chooses her clothing to appease Joffrey and ameliorate her torment at his hands. The clothing Tyrion gifts Shae is part of her compensation for her services, and when she is told to put those garment aside for her own safety she isn't thrilled. Uniforms, livery and cloaks of particular colors symbolize people's status and the rise and fall of their fortunes. Varys is shown to be adept at disguises, and yet he does not fool Shae in one such effort, telling us things about both characters.

And that's the point of Jordan's "clothing porn". It's not porn at all, because it's not gratuitous depiction. It's not just in there for the pleasure of clothing enthusiasts, it has a purpose, to tell you things Jordan wants you to know about the characters. The clothing tells the readers that Moiraine is somehow special and both her kesiera and Lan's cloak tease the fantastic elements of the story. Thom's cloak is described as patched by Bran before he appears, but then Rand notes that the patches are for decoration and the cloak itself is more sturdy and warm than Bran's description led him to think, which is both a hint at Thom's nature and shows how observant Rand is. We know there is something off about the Myrddraal, because its cloak does not move in the wind. Mordeth's clothing is from an entirely different age, in addition to being impractical for the treasure hunter he claims to be. Elayne and Gawyn's rank and class are signaled by wearing clothes fancier than Rand has ever seen, as their casual everyday wear, that they climb trees in, and Elayne uses a scarf that would be a prized possession for a woman of Emond's Field, to bandage his minor injuries. That last denotes, in addition to her wealth, her compassion in prioritizing helping someone over her possessions. Agelmar's clothing is mentioned to contrast with the militaristic surroundings, but as with Thom, it's merely superficial and the fact that his martial nature is readily apparent under the velvet and "soft boots" really emphasizes that aspect of his character.

tl;dr (always an issue with the "too much description" crowd): the clothing descriptions and mentions are a feature of the story, not a bug, not a distraction.

THE ROBERT JORDAN CLOTHING PORN DRINKING GAME

We’ve all jokingly talked about RJ’s affinity for clothing. Now let’s make a drinking game! 

Take a shot if someone’s wearing soft boots 

or thigh-high boots

take a shot every time an article of clothing is described as embroidered 

take two if it’s a dress

take a shot every time a character thinks about clothing 

take a shot every time a character whines about clothing 

take a shot every time an article of clothing is mentioned 

take a shot every for every accessory mentioned 

take a shot every time a character thinks about how his/her clothing affects what other characters think 

feel free to add your own! 

[maggotaur]

Wonderful Baby from Expansions on Vimeo.

Expansions News Podcast 22nd April 2023

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News

newsweek.com/russia-mother-finland-poland-baltics-solovyov-1794101 mediaite.com/politics/get-americans-out-of-ukraine-j-d-vance-assails-the-ukrainian-government-as-the-most-corrupt-in-europe/ newswars.com/zelensky-and-entourage-embezzled-at-least-400m-from-u-s-aid-sent-to-ukraine-seymour-hersh-reports/ newsweek.com/russian-submarines-north-sea-irish-sea-pacific-ocean-ben-wallace-uk-defense-1795357#:~:text=Says,-By%20Ellie%20Cook&text=Russian%20submarines%20have%20been%20traveling,British%20Defence%20Secretary%20Ben%20Wallace. theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/19/australia-would-be-naive-to-think-chinas-new-antarctic-station-not-for-surveillance-analyst-says#:~:text=Australia%20should%20be%20concerned%20about,according%20to%20national%20security%20experts. foxnews.com/media/reporter-says-filmed-hundreds-military-age-chinese-men-heading-toward-us-migrant-groups newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/border-coverage/governor-to-mexico-stop-the-flow-of-migrants-now/ upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2023/04/21/North-Korea-Choe-Son-Hui-nuclear-status-final-irreversible/4711682056615/#:~:text=SEOUL%2C%20April%2021%20(UPI),is%20%22final%20and%20irreversible.%22 foxnews.com/politics/biden-campaign-blinken-orchestrated-intel-letter-discredit-hunter-biden-laptop-story-ex-cia-official-says foxnews.com/politics/residents-erupt-michigan-democrats-approve-funding-for-chinese-backed-green-energy-project-im-angry dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11983217/SIX-Biden-family-members-benefitted-Hunters-shady-deals-Republicans-say.html dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11987675/Oregons-magic-mushroom-experiment-steps-reality.html yahoo.com/entertainment/elon-musk-suggests-doctors-treat-190913115.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKpBTCeUPsF5Zsfwik_APZqqXQKdlvWARwk_n6sC2-UfWFg88mTnjvxjfbFphPGq7c-TZXIKYS6HKjPDMxadQsYuIqE610hWb_2yyo1l6Ox2hUef0qeGKt5M5D96yWJtNermStrb6cxgbxyJD2xUx3BWJdUnvN-tqpAsiGnMxYye theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/17/pope-francis-attacks-insinuations-john-paul-pietro-orlandi dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11972515/Vatican-academy-probe-mystical-phenomena-world.html theconversation.com/dutch-government-to-expand-euthanasia-law-to-include-children-aged-one-to-12-an-ethicists-view-203961#:~:text=Ernst%20Kuipers%2C%20the%20Dutch%20health,terminally%20ill%20and%20suffering%20unbearably. thecatholicthing.org/2023/04/19/state-of-washington-bill-allows-transgender-interventions-on-minors-without-parental-consent/#:~:text=A%20Washington%20State%20bill%20that,Jay%20Inslee. yahoo.com/lifestyle/catholics-line-free-tattoos-austria-051339982.html dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-11970435/Experts-red-alert-mega-earthquake-coast-analyzing-hole-fault-line.html

Links

electroverse.info/snow-alps-april-frosts-sweep-siberia-australia-cools-winter-returns-to-the-u-s/ timesofisrael.com/son-of-last-iranian-shah-to-visit-israel-in-bid-to-renew-ancient-bond/ foxnews.com/media/reporter-says-filmed-hundreds-military-age-chinese-men-heading-toward-us-migrant-groups foxnews.com/media/hunter-bidens-irs-whistleblower-news-draws-intense-twitter-backlash-coverup-biden-family-corruption foxnews.com/politics/dems-ask-greenes-words-stricken-record-she-brings-up-swalwells-chinese-spy-scandal

[theorangelifeofriley]

Honolulu: Pearl Harbor, Punchbowl

July 24, 2021

We were to meet our driver at 8am this morning for our day at Pearl Harbor and the Punchbowl. There was much confusion about what to pack, since Pearl Harbor doesn’t allow bags at all – except maybe a small clear sandwich bag. I brought my home made wristlet – made out of a clear sandwich bag and some duck tape. We all packed things in my little wristlet for the day.

We got down to the little sitting area next to the pull-through driveway and our group was congregated with our guide for the day, Olav. Olav told us that we didn’t actually have anywhere to be until 1:30pm, so we had some time to make sure that we all had what we needed. And also that he would be with us all day and we’d be in the same car all day. He also strongly recommended hats and water bottles. We made several trips back up to the room to grab things. We also learned that Olav is unvaccinated, doesn’t believe in COVID-19, and is a staunch Republican who believes in his “Constitutional rights.” He is also an incredible font of knowledge about Pearl Harbor, and only occasionally threw in some of his slanted views. There is no way I’m going to be able to capture, or remember, all the information he told us – it was a continuous stream of knowledge for about 8 hours.

Eventually, we had all of our stuff, and we walked to the 15-passenger van, parked on the street behind the hotel. After we got settled, Olav took off through the city to the Punchbowl. The Punchbowl is a volcanic crater in the hills surrounding Honolulu. The center is a bowl – the crater – and they punched a hole through one of the crater’s rims to allow entry into the bowl. Hence the name – Punchbowl. Inside the Punchbowl is a national cemetery. There’s a monument at the end of it, and on the steps up to the monument is where Hawai’i holds memorial services for Veteran’s Day and Dec. 7. We’re not allowed to get out inside the Punchbowl, but we can drive through. Lining the driveway in the Punchbowl are Banyan trees donated to the US from China. China was our ally during World War II, and we helped to defeat the Japanese who had invaded and were conquering China. There are 48 trees, which represent the 48 states at the time of World War II. They’re beautiful trees that have been groomed to prevent additional roots from taking root.

The area is quiet and calm, and beautiful. There are no traditional white headstones like in Arlington. Instead, the headstones are flat. They used to be white wooden crosses but were changed to flat stone headstones to respect other religions – and allow for easier maintenance.

From the Punchbowl, we drove to Pearl Harbor, and to the USS Missouri BB 63, which is now a museum. As we drove through the city, Olav pointed out a neighborhood that burned when a bomb went astray on Dec. 7, 1941. He also described in detail what happened on Dec. 7, 1941 – the day Pearl Harbor was attacked. We learned about the SS Cynthia Olson which was sank en route from the mainland and Honolulu by a Japanese submarine on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941. The passenger ship was carrying two soldiers to Honolulu but was a passenger ship. There’s a photo of the Cynthia Olson as it was sinking taken by a Japanese soldier on the submarine. The Cynthia Olson got a may day call out, and another passenger ship heard the call. That second passenger ship confiscated all the passenger’s binoculars and assigned watch duty to the passengers. When that ship landed, the USA government confiscated all of their radio records and logs. Olav believes the records were confiscated because they show the time of the Cynthia Olson’s may day call. If that call happened before the bombing at Pearl Harbor, but was ignored, it would look very bad for the US military command.

As we entered the Pearl Harbor base, we drove to a parking lot and Olav left us to get an officer who cam back and searched our van for bags. Once that was done, we drove over the bridge to Ford Island and the USS Missouri BB-63. BB-63 stands for Battle Boat 63 – the 63rd battleship the US built. This is necessary because there have been four USS Missouri’s. The current USS Missouri is a submarine that was also docked at Pearl Harbor today. Of course you can’t call it BS-63 (battleship 63) – so battle boat 63 it is. The BB-63 was the last battleship built in the world, the most powerful, and the last one to retire. It was launched during World War II, saw battle in the Battle of Okinawa, was where the Instrument of Surrender was signed by the Japanese to officially end World War II, served in the Korean War, was decommissioned in the 60s, then refitted in the 80s, saw duty in Desert Storm, before finally being retired in the early 90s, then being made into a museum. Its parked in Battleship Row – where all the Battleships were anchored on Dec. 7.

Olav told us a lot about how the Pacific Fleet came to be in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7 – but then he seemed to contradict himself. The first story was that FDR ordered the Pacific Fleet to all be at Pearl Harbor as a “show of strength” to deter the Japanese. The Admiral of the Pacific Fleet thought this was stupid, because normally the Pacific Fleet rotated between several locations, and there was not enough of a supply chain, let alone docking berths, to allow the entire fleet to be in Pearl Harbor. He resisted, basically told FDR he was dumb, and lost his job. He had worked on the supply line, though, and worked on the docking situation too – which is how Battleship Row came to be.

As he told this story, I gathered that the next Admiral did as FDR wished and assembled the entire Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor. Olav made a point to say that FDR ignored the military advisors, and his Admiral, and all their knowledge to demand the fleet be in Pearl Harbor. Later, he told us that every year, the Admiral of the Pacific Fleet was required to inspect the fleet in Pearl Harbor. This always occurred on the Monday after the first Sunday in December. In 1941, that was Dec. 8. The Fleet was required to report to Pearl Harbor 24 -48 hours in advance of the inspection. Which then means that the fleet was assembled in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7 in preparation for the inspection on Dec. 8 – which doesn’t seem to have a lot to do with FDR.

The deck of the Mighty Mo is covered in teak, which they did to preserve the steel deck, to lower the temperature inside the boat, and to provide a natural nonslip surface. The teak on the deck has been replaced three times, all using different processes. One time they messed up trying to save money by putting 1 inch of Douglas Fir below 1 inch of team (instead of 2 inches of teak) – not realizing that Douglas Fir rots faster than teak.

During WWII, the Missouri was attacked by a Kamikaze, which was captured perfectly on camera. We saw the place where the Kamikaze’s wing impacted with the Missouri. We also saw footprints on the deck where our personnel stood as they buried the Kamikaze pilot at sea as directed by the Missouri’s captain.

We toured the inside of the ship, which was interesting. They had several displays with stuff from the Missouri, the history of the Missouri, remnants from the Kamikaze attack, etc. We walked through the galley, the kitchens, the offices – including the dental office – the food lines, including the donut shop, the fast food line, and the Truman line, so called because the Truman family visited and used that food line. There were crew quarters everywhere – berths stacked 3 high, and each sailor’s locker. The kitchens were crazy – the appliances were huge, and they had everything you could want! Well, all the kitchen toys you could want. The Missouri was the first ship to have a network of interconnected computers which they called MO-Net. This was all before the internet was created. The inside of the Missouri was extensive – it seemed to go on and on. We saw throughout the ship ammunition chutes. And a couple of places that would be vulnerable to armor piercing rounds which can pierce through 16” of steel – so these areas were outfitted with 17” think steel. The guns on the ship were huge and could take out a target 25 miles away. The guns had to be fired over the water, because the rounds were fired at twice the speed of sound, and the concussion would tear the ship apart if the guns were fired over the ship. Missouri, the state, was responsible for providing the fancy silverware and place settings – which is interesting. There was a great map that showed where all of the different USS Missouris served. We saw the Chief’s lounge, and the Captain’s lounge, which was also used as a war room, and the tables can be used as operating tables in a pinch. It was a great insight into what the ship would have looked like while it was in service.

When we were finished touring the inside of the boat, we went to the deck, and then to the Quarter Deck. On the Mighty Mo, the Quarter Deck has been renamed the Surrender Deck, because it was where the Japanese surrendered to the Allied Forces to end World War II. Olav told a story about how MacArthur stepped out of the navigation bridge to walk down to the Quarter Deck but noticed that the Japanese contingent hadn’t arrived yet. So he went back inside, saying, “I’m not going to wait for them. They will wait for me.” He also told us that the British brought a fancy table they wanted to use for the signing, but the papers they were signing were too large to fit on the table. The Missouri’s Captain ordered a seaman to grab a folding table from the ship, and they used that. One of the Japanese had a false leg, and as he was coming up to sign the papers, he stumbled and hit one of the legs of the folding table. The crew, who knew it was a folding table, held their breath for the rest of the ceremony – hoping that the table didn’t collapse. (It didn’t.)

On the Surrender Deck, there is a plaque where the table was and the documents were signed. There’s also a display with replicas of the documents. On the replicas, you can see that the Canadian representative signed on the wrong line on the first document. There’s a picture of someone making sure that he signed on the correct line on the second copy!

They’ve positioned the Missouri so that the bow of the battleship points to the bow of the USS Arizona. The ship that started the US involvement in WWII and the ship where WWII ended pointing to each other.

We finished on the Missouri, went to the gift shop, got some Dole Whip, and then drove to the Pearl Harbor Memorial area for lunch. Lunch was at a permanent food truck outside, and was decent, although Meg and Marie didn’t like their nachos or hot dog. After lunch, we went to watch a 20-minute movie about the attack on Pearl Harbor, before making our way to the ferry to the USS Arizona Memorial.

Olav detailed how the attack happened but of course I’m not going to remember everything. There were three waves of attacks – the dive bombers, the torpedoes, and the other type of bombers. Eek. They came from different directions, and in two separate waves. There were about… or over?... 300 planes in total. The battle lasted for 2 hours. Most all of the ships that were sunk were eventually retrieved and put back into service, except for the Arizona, the Oklahoma, and the Utah. The Japanese adjusted bombs? Or torpedoes? With an additional fin that allowed them to fun in the shallow waters of Pearl Harbor and hit Battleship row. I think Olav also indicated that the aerial bombers were not the ones that caused the most damage, generally – it was the torpedoes.

The ride out to the memorial was quick – the warnings about not misbehaving on an active Navy boat were almost as long as the ride itself. Once the ferry docks, we disembarked, and headed back to the back room. The memorial itself is a white concrete building. The architect was a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps and wanted to build the memorial to remember the lives that were spent to save and free so many across the world, including in the concentration camps. The structure is a loose U-shape. The low point in the middle represents initial defeat at Pearl Harbor. The inclines on either side represent the slow climb to victory in Europe and the slow climb to victory in the Pacific. There are seven cut outs along either side and the top, which were for structural integrity, but have later been said to represent a 21-gun salute. The structure is situated across the middle of the sunken USS Arizona – the ship heaviest hit by the attack on Dec. 7. 1,177 seamen were lost with the Arizona and never recovered. Another 41 of the survivors, or relatives of those lost, have chosen to be interred in the Arizona.

As soon as I set foot on the dock, I smelled the oil or gasoline from the wreck. You could see it on the water, too. There is oil still leaking from the ship and will continue to leak for decades more. There were a lot of people at the memorial, but it was mostly quiet, as is fitting. We walked right back to the room where the names of those buried here are displayed. It’s made of the same marble as the headstones in Arlington. The room is beautiful but somber.

Just outside of that room is a hole in the floor of the structure that is situated over a part of the ship. I didn’t see much there. Outside, on either end of the structure, there are two white buoys that represent where the bow and the stern of the ship are. There are also pieces of the ship, like the gun turrets, and the flag staff, that are still sticking out above the water. It was a moving experience.

After the ferry back to the main site, we went and toured the USS Bowfin – a retired submarine that is only 27’ in circumference. It was tiny, and holy cow does it seem miserable to have served on it. They call it the Silent Service – the work of the submarines. The Bowfin was launched on Dec. 7, 1942, and was therefore nicknamed The Pearl Harbor Avenger. The kitchen was tiny, and only had minimal toys. Olav tells us that the food was cooked on the mainland, frozen, and placed in the submarine’s freezers.

The worst thing was hot bunking. There were only 36 bunks on board the submarine, but about 86 sailors on board. So they rotated beds – multiple people shared a bed. With the temperatures on the submarine running in the 90s or 100s, the beds were wet with the other guy’s sweat. Yuck.

The doorways between the areas of the ship were so small and short too! It was a workout to squat and contort myself through the doorways.

After the Bowfin, we drove back to the city Olav was kind enough to drive us to Costco. This Costco is the busiest on in America. I didn’t go in, but the parking lot was crazy! Anne, Aimee, and Marie went in to get food for the next few days, and they did a great job! Then, it was back to the hotel, and our time with Olav was over. He is a knowledgeable, talkative tour guide to be sure!

Back in the room, some of us split up for naps and downtime until dinner at 6:30. Rileys, Drew, and Todd stayed at our place to watch the Olympics and drink the 5th of rum we bought the night before. Todd made us a whole series of frozen drinks that were great, and did the job! We had a raucous good time watching Men’s Street Skateboarding, where the athletes wiped out more than they landed tricks. It was brutal!

We had tacos for dinner, and continued watching the Olympics, and the activity on the ocean. From our view from the living room and our balcony, we can see all the hundreds of surfers always hanging out on the water, and the couple that actually make surfing runs. There’s a lot of boat traffic, including a lot of boats that go out to watch the sunset. There’s also a surprising number of large cargo ships that travel pretty close to this beach. It was a great time tonight!

[go-redgirl]

31 Hollywood Icons Who Served in the U.S. Military

On this Memorial Day, millions of Americans across the country are honoring our military heroes, observing, and reflected on those who made the ultimate sacrifice. This list highlights some of the actors, directors, singers, producers, and entertainers who’ve served in the U.S. military.

From Hollywood’s earliest days, artists have served in the U.S. armed forces. Some had broader experiences than others in service to the country And many Hollywood greats served in World War II.

Jimmy Stewart

James Stewart not only joined the US Air Force in 1941, he ended his service in 1968 as a Brigadier General in the USAF Reserves. Stewart’s service was not for show, either. He flew many bombing missions over Germany and Nazi-occupied Europe.

Kirk Douglas

The famed movie tough guy joined the US Navy in 1941 and served as a communications officer in anti-submarine warfare. He received a medical discharge thanks to war injuries in 1944.

Clark Gable

Though he was already a veritable old man in soldier years, Gable joined the U.S. Army Air Corp at 43 and few five combat missions as an observer-gunner. Gable joined after his wife, Carol Lombard, died in a plane crash while flying home after a tour to promote war bonds.

Audie Murphy

Maj. Audie Murphy went into the Army as a private and won many battle field promotions. He is one of the most widely decorated actors in Hollywood history. He is the only actor/celebrity to be awarded the Congressional Medal Of Honor. In addition, he was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, a Legion of Merit with Combat V, and two Bronze Stars with Combat V. He also received several foreign awards were especially impressive. He received the French Forrager, Legion of Honor, and Croix de Guerre with Palm and Silver Star, and the Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 with Palm.

Other stars of the era who served include Jason Robards (Navy 1941), Paul Newman (Navy, 1943), and Mel Brooks (Army, 1944). Then there was singer and dancer Josephine Baker who was a secret collaborator with the French Resistance to the Nazi invaders and was even awarded the Croix de Guerre as a spy for her work to defeat the Nazis. Several others served in the forces of their native nations including David Niven (Royal Army), Sir Alec Guinness (Royal Navy), and Audrey Hepburn (Dutch Resistance), and Star TrekActor James Doohan (Royal Canadian Army). Doohan was part of the D-Day invasion forces, was wounded six times losing a finger in the process, and later joined the Canadian Air Force as a pilot.

Ronald Reagan

Our 40th president, Ronald Reagan, was already a star when he joined the war effort. He served in the Army Air Force during World War II, enlisting in the Army Enlisted Reserve on 29 April 1937 and ordered to active duty on April 19, 1942. Because of his eyesight, he was not assigned to an air crew and instead helped make over 400 training films for the Army Air Force.

Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier, the first black American to win an Academy Award, enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II in November of 1943. He served as a physiotherapist for almost a year, even though he lied about his age, as he was only 16 when he joined.

B.B. King

B.B. King, one of the greatest blues guitarists, was inducted into the U.S. Army in 1944, but was quickly released back into civilian life following boot camp because the government deemed his original profession — a tractor-trailer driver — to be vital to the war economy.

Hugh Hefner

Later to be known as the swinger editor of Playboy Magazine, Hugh Hefner joined the U.S. Army in 1944 after graduating high school. Hef didn’t see any acton, though, and was discharged in 1946 after serving as an Amy newspaperman and infantry clerk.

Tony Bennett

Tony Bennett, the legendary “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” crooner, was drafted during World War II in 1944 and assigned to the 63rd Infantry Division, or “Blood and Fire” division, fighting in France and Germany. Being a “replacement” was not an easy job as the war was winding down in Europe. About half these soldiers died in the months after basic training in 1944 and the end of the war in Europe in Sept. of 1945.

After the big war, many others continued the tradition, of course.

Gene Hackman

The actor, who won an Academy Award for Best Actor in The French Connection, enlisted in the Marine Corps the year after World War Two ended in1946. He lied about his age to get accepted, as he was only 16 when he enlisted.

Willie Nelson

The Always On My Mind singer volunteered for the U.S. Army in 1950. However, he only served nine months and was given a medical discharge due to severe back problems.

Johnny Cash

Johnny “The Man In Black” Cash enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1950. After basic training at Lackland Air Force Base and technical training at Brooks Air Force Base, both in San Antonio, Texas, he was assigned to the 12th Radio Squadron Mobile of the U.S. Air Force Security Service at Landsberg, West Germany. He mustered out in 1954.

Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood was drafted in 1951 for service during the Korean War. Eastwood saw no action, though, and spent his service at Ft. Ord in California, where he was appointed as a lifeguard and projectionist of training films.

David Janssen

Perhaps best known as the man on the lam in the 60s TV series, The Fugitive, Janssen didn’t escape the U.S. Army having served from 1952 to 1954 at Fort Ord, California. He saw no action during the Korean War as he served in the entertainment division during his two-year stint.

Martin Milner

Like his army pals Clint Eastwood and David Janssen, Adam 12 star Martin Milner served a two-year stint in the Army and was based at Fort Ord, California. Also like his buddies Eastwood and Janssen, there he worked in the entertainment sector. He mustered out in 1954 and went right into TV and film work in Hollywood.

Robert Duvall

Robert Duvall enlisted in the U.S. Army after graduating from Principia College in 1953. Duvall has disputed early biographies that claimed he fought during the Korean War, though. He has joked that he “barely qualified” with his M-1 rifle in basic training. He served two years, and never got past the rank of private first class.

Leonard Nimoy

Later to become famous as Star Trek’s half human, half alien Mr Spock, Leonard Nimoy enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve at Fort McPherson, Georgia. He served for 18 months between 1953 and 1955. Nimoy also worked in the Army’s Special Services narrating plays and performing in training films.

James Earl Jones

The voice of Star Wars villain Darth Vader, a man who has been referred to as “one of the greatest actors in American history,” served in the Army during the Korean War, rising to the rank of first lieutenant. Jones missed the war, though, as he started his service in 1953 just as the war was coming to a close.

Alan Alda

Best known for playing an Army surgeon in the TV series M.A.S.H., Alda did serve in the actual military when he volunteered after finishing his studies at Fordham University. He served as a gunnery officer during a six-month tour of duty in the Korean War.

Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman turned down a scholarship for acting and instead joined the Air Force in which he served from 1955 to 1959. He served as a radar technician and mustered out as an Airman 1st Class. Freeman has said that he enjoyed his service experience until, that is, he was being scouted to be trained as a jet pilot. He said the reality that war means killing dawned on him at that time and he began to look for the exit door to get back to life as an actor.

Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley’s drafting in 1957 was huge news and the media followed him throughout his years of service. Elvis honorably served his term and mustered out as a sergeant in 1960.

Chuck Norris

Famed martial artist Chuck Norris joined the U.S. Air Force in 1958 and served his full term, being discharged in 1962. He was ultimately assigned to Osan Air Base in South Korea where he began to develop his signature martial arts style, Chun Kuk Do.

Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix had a bit less gratifying service having been forced into the Army or face jail time for car theft in 1961. He served only one year before being discharged for an ankle injury. Some researchers suggest that the injury was just the Army’s excuse to be rid of the troublesome rocker.

John Fogerty

Singer-songwriter John Fogerty joined up in 1966 when his draft number neared. He signed up for the United States Army Reserve as a supply clerk. However, he was switched to active duty for six months, anyway, but saw no service under fire. He was discharged honorably in 1968.

Tom Selleck

Tom Selleck was already an actor when he was drafted during the Vietnam War in 1967. He served six years in the the 160th infantry regiment of the California National Guard.

Oliver Stone

The famed director of Platoon served during the Vietnam War from 1967 to 1968 and was wounded twice. He earned the The Bronze Star with V’device and a Purple Heart with one Oak Leaf Cluster.

Pat Sajak

Pat Sajak volunteered for the U.S. Army in 1968. While he saw no battlefield action in Vietnam, Sajak did serve as an Army Radio disc jockey and ended up in country, anyway, when he was assigned to host a radio program on Armed Force Radio broadcasting in Saigon.

R. Lee Ernmey

Everyone knows R. Lee Ermey as the intense drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket, but some may not know that he served in the Marines for a decade, was a real Drill Instructor, and saw service in Vietnam in 1968. He started out as a Repair Shop Mechanic and went on to earn the Good Conduct Medal (x2); the National Defense Service Medal; the Vietnam Service Medal with Bronze Star; the Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device; the Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit; Meritorious Unit; the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; and a Meritorious Unit Citation.

Ice-T

Musician, songwriter, and rapper Tracy Lauren Marrow — better known in the music scene as Ice-T and also for his long-running starring role on TV’s Law & Order SVU — joined the U.S. Army in 1979 after graduating high school. He served the 25th Infantry Division for four years.

Drew Carey

TV funny man and game show host Drew Carey served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves starting in 1980. He was honorably discharged in 1986 and he says that he adopted the Marines crew cut and horn-rimmed glasses as his trademark look due to his service.

Adam Driver

Adam Driver, who found fame as Kylo Ren in the Star Wars series, joined the U.S. Marines shortly after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. He was briefly assigned to the Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, before being medically discharged due to an injury.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston.

EntertainmentNational SecurityMemorial Day

[pbandjesse]

Today was awesome. We are still in Myrtle beach. I'm chilling in my camp chair and just finished reading for an hour. Im in a really good mood.

Last night was pretty good. Nothing wild happened. It was nice sleeping with the door open with the net, and our mattress didn't deflate. It was a little warm even. Today would be a very warm day.

Jess woke up a little before me and woke me up so she wouldn't startled me getting out of the car. But that was okay. We would get washed up and dressed and after making slightly better coffee we were both in a better mood. I had a nice little apple and cheese breakfast. And then we walked to the beach.

We stopped at the gift shop and decided to come back later for a t-shirt and a magnet. But first it was time to search for pretty shells and stand in the surf.

Jess did not do that. She was in boots. But I walked barefoot and got my legs wet. And found shells and it was great. We watched the sandpipers and learned about the animals that need the dunes to survive. Specifically turtles! Amazing.

We would come back to our camp site and hang out towels and set up the table with some stuff because we decided to spend to much money and go to the aquarium.

But that would be after lunch. First we went to an open air flea market. And it was fun. Not as flea market as I hoped, more drop shipped stuff. But I had a good time looking. We got some old military pins. Had a really funny talk with the man there. Tried to tell me I didn't recognize a submariners pin but then Mr Military was wrong and I was right!! But he was funny and I enjoyed the talk.

Jess was surprised how much I like just chatting with people. She hates it. I keep telling her she has to say hi to everyone at campsites and she is getting better. But it's like. You need to acknowledge so if something happens they saw you and it is just the polite and kind way to act. She's trying. But I think she was surprised how often I will just have a conversation with shop people.

A lot of people just immediately clocked us as out of towners. "where you girls from?" Was the number one question of the day. But people were so kind. Someone asked me if I like the Ravens when I said I was coming from Baltimore and I got to say I just went to my first football game ever and they were all laughs. It was great.

A woman gave us free charms at one stall. And I got a really cool knife that becomes a 16 inch ruler. It's very cool. After some water ice it was time to go get real food.

We went to the boardwalk and got some food at a grill. We shared. I saved some mozzarella sticks for later. And I bought the stupidly expensive aquarium tickets.

We got the package that you get a second thing. Which ended up being something else that we didn't expect. We thought it was am extra aquarium thing but it ended up being an extra Riplys thing. Because this aquarium is owned by the Ripley's believe it or not people. So the second thing was the odditorium and like it was fine. Not the best I've been to. And was to loud. But the aquarium was on of the best I've been too.

It wasn't even that it was a great aquarium. It was good. But there were almost no people. The tunnel had a moving sidewalk. The touch tank with stingrays was so good. And we got to see a penguin parade!! It was just a really excellent time and I was all smiles. I really loved touching the stingrays and watching the seahorses and seadragons. It was the best.

After walking through a very nice gift shop we went back to the car. Jess changed shoes and we backtracked to the boardwalk to go to the odditorium. Which was fine but parking sucked and someone almost backed their car into us and I had to slam on the horn. I think I saw the odditorium as a very dated sideshow attraction. In a way I haven't before. I don't know if it was this one specifically but it just spoke about things in a way I didn't enjoy and it didn't have some of the more impressive things I've seen at other ones. But it's all good. Still had a nice time.

We left there and went to get a photo booth picture. We shared a dippin dot ice cream. Had our picture and then it was time to come back to the campsite.

We got back here and all our stuff was good and safe. We reset up the bed and everything. And then grabbed snacks and a blanket and headed back to the beach.

We laid in the sand for an hour. Read our books. Ate our snacks. Enjoyed the quiet. Someone walked by and told us Jesus loved us. I said thank you because I didn't know what else to say? But he moved on pretty fast.

We stayed until I finished my chapter. And we got back here with time to shower before sunset. We chatted with our camp neighbor for a minute. He liked our car netting. Its an army surplus cot mosquito net. I think he thought it was clever.

We showered and then tried to cook dinner. But as I was about the light the stove the gas valve broke off and gas was pouring out of the thing. I was able to quickly get it off and no one got hurt. But it was scary. The valve seems to be stripped and doesn't attach anymore. So I think the grill is done for. Shame but honestly it is a little to large for what we need it for. And it's very old. So maybe time to replace? I need to do some research.

We were not able to cook our food. But we had lots of cheese and veg and fruit and other things to make a pretty excellent charcuterie camp experience. So we ate and laughed and got eaten by bugs. But it was a good night.

After teeth brushing we have been giving each other space. A really good and healthy thing we do on vacation together. She is in bed and I'm in my camp chair, reading, watching videos, enjoying some alone time. But I should get ready to sleep soon. We have a very long day tomorrow.

We are heading north again in the morning. We will be driving up to West Virginia for one night before home. But we have a few silly little stops to make before I get back to Baltimore. Starting tomorrow with a 3 hours drive to the Whirlygig museum?? I hope it's excellent.

Wish us luck in a very long day!! Goodnight everyone!!

[mariacallous]

Foreign Policy Situation Report: Biden crosses the pond

By Jack Detsch and Robbie Gramer

Welcome to Foreign Policy’s SitRep! If you’re not feeling spooky enough about Halloween just yet, come join us for FP’s Horror Week, where we’ve been celebrating scary folklore from around the world.

Also, join us for a virtual event tomorrow! Check out our SitRep Live virtual event on Oct. 29 at 11 a.m. We’ll be talking shop on U.S. President Joe Biden’s big trip to Europe and troubles with U.S. allies along with our trusty managing editor, Amelia Lester. Click here to RSVP; we’d love to see you there!

Here’s what’s on tap for the day: Biden faces uphill diplomatic battles during his next trip to Europe, the U.S. Air Force wraps up testing to make F-35s nuclear-capable, and Defense Department office culture is trapped in 1968.

Will Biden’s Big Euro Trip Yield Any Wins?

When Biden began his presidency nine months ago, U.S. partners and allies were still reeling from the images of a pro-Trump mob storming the U.S. Capitol. Even though Biden had friendly ties with many European leaders from his nearly five decades in public service as vice president and the Senate’s top voice on foreign affairs, restoring American prestige looked like a major reclamation project.

It still is. Biden departs Washington for Europe today on his second foreign trip as commander in chief, making a stop at the G-20 summit in Rome before heading to Glasgow, Scotland, for the United Nations climate summit, known colloquially as COP26.

Climate, climate, climate. Yeah, yeah, we know: One of Biden’s first actions as president was to return the United States to the Paris Agreement.

But it’s not as simple as it looks. Even though Chinese President Xi Jinping isn’t likely to show up to the event, Beijing’s carbon emissions—especially from burning coal—are likely to be the talk of the town as Biden looks to get countries to put more legal weight behind the Paris deal’s target to keep the global temperature rise under 2 degrees Celsius, which is above pre-industrial levels.

There are two sides to the Biden administration’s dealings with China though. It’s a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.

As the Washington Post reported on Monday, the desire to seek out a climate accomodation with China has become the cause of significant heartburn within the administration: “Doves” like climate czar John Kerry have sought to find common ground on global issues like climate change while “hawks” like National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and the National Security Council’s Asia chief, Kurt Campbell, want to ramp up the United States’ tough talk on Beijing as China recently used military exercises to threaten Taiwan.

Why can’t we be friends? The trip will also be a chance for Biden to smooth over U.S. relations with France after the so-called AUKUS submarine deal in September caught Paris by surprise and briefly led the French to recall their U.S. ambassador. (He has since returned to his post.) Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron will meet face to face during the trip, and both sides will be looking to carve out a role for France in the Asia-Pacific.

“The recent diplomatic row between Paris and Washington was more than just a dispute over the loss of a lucrative submarine contract,” wrote Pierre Morcos, a French diplomat serving as a visiting fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, in the National Interest this week. “French authorities have seen the Biden administration’s lack of transparency and genuine consultation as a ‘breach of trust’ with broader implications for the transatlantic alliance as a whole.”

With German Chancellor Angela Merkel leaving the European political scene, the meeting will also be a chance for Macron to assert himself as the face of the European Union bloc.

Let’s Get Personnel

Longtime Canadian defense minister Harjit Sajjan is being replaced by Canadian Procurement Minister Anita Anand. Sajjan was appointed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new minister of Canada’s International Development Agency.

Cindy McCain, the wife of late Republican Sen. John McCain, was confirmed by the Senate this week to be the next U.S. ambassador to the Rome-based U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

Other ambassador nominees confirmed by the Senate this week: Former Sen. Jeff Flake to Turkey; former Sen. Tom Udall to New Zealand; and U.S. attorney Victoria Kennedy to Austria.

Dozens of other ambassador nominees remain stuck in the Senate thanks to a blanket hold from Republican Sen. Ted Cruz over disagreements on national security policy with Biden.

On the Button

What should be at the top of your radar, if it isn’t already.

Going nuclear. The Air Force has finalized tests for the F-35 fighter jet to carry nuclear weapons, according to the Air Force Times. Two F-35s conducted flights with test versions of the B61-12 thermonuclear bomb earlier this year, shedding more light on how the U.S. government plans to modernize its nuclear weapons program and nuclear triad.

Unsanctioned. North Korean intelligence services have carried out sophiscated (and unsophisticated) campaigns to hack and snoop on U.N. sanctions experts and other U.N. officials, as our colleague Colum Lynch scoops. Sanctions experts said they receive little, if any, support from the United Nations to protect against such attacks, underscoring how difficult it is for these experts to track and enforce U.N. sanctions on North Korea.

Kingpin toppled. This week, the Colombian government announced its armed forces captured the country’s most notorious and powerful drug lord, Dairo Antonio Úsuga, known as Otoniel. Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez called his capture “the biggest blow against drug trafficking in our country this century” and compared its significance to the killing of drug lord Pablo Escobar in the 1990s.

What We’re Reading

The Pentagon’s office culture is stuck in 1968. FP contributors Zachery Tyson Brown and Kathleen McInnis spit some hard truths about the broken and sclerotic office culture at the Defense Department in a new piece for Foreign Policy: “Between coordinating horizontally with every office that has an ‘equity’ in whatever decision needs to be made and then working through seven or so vertical layers of approval, bold ideas often either suffer death by a thousand paper cuts or are perhaps more benignly just smothered in boredom,” they write.

Put On Your Radar

Oct. 29: The U.N. Security Council convenes to discuss the security situation in Mali.

Oct. 30-31: G-20 leaders meet in Italy.

Oct. 31-Nov. 12: The U.N. climate summit takes place in Glasgow, Scotland.

Split Screen

The Pentagon appeared to have a couple of different messages this week about China’s recent tests of nuclear-capable hypersonic weapons systems.

The Joint Chiefs’s perspective: “What we saw was a very significant event of a test of a hypersonic weapon system. And it is very concerning. I don’t know if it’s quite a Sputnik moment, but I think it’s very close to that. It has all of our attention,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told Bloomberg TV on Tuesday.

The Pentagon staff’s take: “I don’t think it does any good for us to characterize this and put a label on it, this advancement of capabilities,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V. What is European politics without another academic plagiarism scandal? Luxembourg’s prime minister, Xavier Bettel, is under scrutiny after a media investigation found that 54 of the 56 pages from his university thesis 20 years ago were plagiarized. He now admits the thesis “should have been done differently.” You think?

That’s it for this week.

For more from Foreign Policy, subscribe here or sign up for our other newsletters. You can find older editions of Situation Report here.

[swedebeast]

Swedish Military Book club interviews Swedish Vietnam veteran Björn "Swede" Dahlin.

(00:00) Björn Dahlin was born 1941 in Stockholm. He later completed his mandatory military service in the navy. Björn did not know it then, but life in the military would become a career, a choice that made him into one of the very few Swedes that fought in the Vietnam War. Today, 44 years after the battle of Kha Sahn, Björn reflects on his experiences of the war in the jungle through an interview with us SMB members.

(00:20) In frame: Björn Dahlin

(00:28) After serving on Cyprus 1964 in the UN-peacekeepers, you volunteered to the American Marine Corps and later to the war in Vietnam. Why?

(00:35) Good morning. Am I in Sweden? Well, why, that was because - I have to think about it - it had much to do with my troubled childhood, that was a few years ago but that had some influence. I was a frightened little boy, one could say, and when I was growing up I started watching war movies, and a little later I become a bit more of a loner, and then when I become a little older I became, well, I didn't like that communism controlled people, and a little bit of thrill seeking I would think, and maybe the next part is that I had no friends and it wasn't anyone else's fault, it was my fault. So I didn't feel that I fit in civilian life and I had of course read about Marine Corps soldiers and had the desire to be one which I thought was perhaps almost impossible because I was Swedish.

(1:47) How did you experience the Swedish mandatory military service training equated to the demands of war?

(1:50) Well, you know, I didn't have much to compare to because I was in the navy, I wasn't so interested in the military at that time, it was later that happened but I was a good shot, so I continued with that, I was on a submarine base out there. So that training was nothing I could survive on in war.

(2:14) What was the difference in the Marine Corps' training?

Oh yes, it was tremendously hard. It was much harder than I expected. So with that training, so was I, so to say, ready to do something in a combat situation. And that worked pretty automatically because on was trained to react without thinking many times.

(2:44) How much of the Vietnam War have you experienced in literature and on screen? How realistic to you find the movies?

(2:45) Yeah, I have seen a few, I didn't want to see any to begin with but I saw a few, and there were a few more later, I cannot imagine that any were similar to the actual war except for one movie I saw that was called "Plutonen". Platoon it was called here, I think it was the same in Swedish. It was very similar to the real war, one was tense all the time, and it was very nasty for me to watch because one was pulled back to situations there, well, that one had experience very similar.

(3:28) You became a sharpshooter, how did that work?

(3:31) Yes, that depended on the base, the first... What was it called, training that we had when I entered the Marine Corps, there was 2 weeks of intense rifle training. It was really hard training, one spent a whole week to just train different positions with the rifle and the next week one fired 8 hours per day and it was very intensive actually, and on the last day it came to whether you would pass the training and then I actually beat the range record. I shot 236 out of 250 possible. And with that I was picked actually to the Marine Corps firing team. My thoughts were more on the war and to help out in Vietnam, so I applied for during that time, maybe 4-5 months, to enter the sharpshooting training in Pendleton, which is on the west side of America and I was accepted of course and spent my 6 weeks there. We were actually the first group that were trained as sharpshooters in Vietnam, what I heard anyway, so they wanted us to move out right away, there was apparently a need for sharpshooters.

(5:16) In frame: Björn Dahlin.

So we were flown down all the way to Da Nang in Vietnam. And we landed actually during an artillery barrage from the North Vietnamese, so that was more than just a little bit exciting. So all there was to do was to rush out of those planes and into cover. I remember it was like running into an oven, it was incredibly warm. Yes, so you are a team - 2 and 2 - one is a so-called spotter, both are equally trained on the sharpshooting weapon, and both have the rifles but one of the sharpshooters then observe the trajectory of the bullet in the air and many think that it is impossible, but you don't actually see the bullet but you actually the point of the heat wave that the bullet is traveling. And it was the spotters, we were both trained on that, that have to follow the bullet and see where it would go, so there can be a quick adjustment on the scope or the position of the rifle so the next bullet would hit better, and that was the case. And we sneaked in small groups, just 5 or 6 of us, we were all sharpshooters. We carried two weapons, an automatic weapon for close combat and our sharpshooting rifle. And a lot of stuff, and we moved very, very slowly to go inside, between - sometimes the hostile camps that were there, that was the best thing we could find and it sometimes we stayed there a good while before we could find the prominent, the highest officer and then it was to hit it and disappear.

(7:23) How did you handle the heat?

Well, it was rather difficult but one got used to it. And I handled it fairly well in the beginning, but when there was 130-140 degrees Fahrenheit and with the humidity, it got a little bothersome and one didn't care if you got killed or not, it was almost as if you would rather get shot just to -  the heat was so bothersome. So one lost a bit of the edge that one had learned. I got overwhelmed, as one could say, so I was unconscious for awhile and it happened a few times. I came back from combat and passed through rice paddies and there was water there but the water was almost dangerous to drink, so we didn't. But if one got desperate, you drank it anyway.

(8:31) How did you view the civilian population? Was it possible to distinguish "friendlies" and VC?

Yeah, we were in the wilderness but there were a few small villages in the whereabouts, and naturally we knew also that some of the VC - Vietcong - were part of the population and we didn't know who it was, it could be the one that was very friendly and could even speak English sometimes, so one had to be ready all the time, and I remember that we didn't have anyone that cut out hair in the camp we were, so we let the barber - they had a barber - there was no shop, they had a chair out in the open to cut hair but we got the more or less command to, it had happened that one of the barbers was Viet Cong and used the razors, what do you call it, it's not a scalpel but it almost is like a scalpel and had, well, cut the throat of an American. So, after that, we had the finger on the trigger. You never knew who they were, it could be women, could men, could be the young or the old and so on, you never knew.

(10:13) One sometimes read that the M-16 rifle was useless, what do you say about that?

(10:15) Well, we weren't too excited about that one, no. There were several that were found - they found them after combat with their "cleaning rod" - you will have to translate that - to try and remove the cartridge out of the chamber on the M16 that had stuck. It happened often that there was a "malfunction", and in other words could not be fired anymore. And during combat that is lethal. So most carried semi-automatic pistols to make sure they had a chance of surviving, and that was due to a certain ammunition, it was either Lex City or Twin City ammunition that was used which was one thousandth of a fraction too big for the chamber. So when we as sharpshooters, or others even took the AK-47 off a downed enemy and used it and its ammunition because it was more reliable. The only problem with that was that if one used the AK-47 in defense so could one be fired by your own that recognized the sound of an AK-47.

(11:43) What did you know about the public perception of the war, from outside?

I knew that it was negative of course. And when one look back at it, so was the Vietnam War not worth losing so many men - 58,000 men for nothing. So that was completely wrong, but I didn't think politics when I went there, it was more other reasons. And that didn't make it easier for us when you read in the papers that we were so bad and so on, that we had done this and that, and we were called baby killers when we got home because it had happened that civilians with children and women been killed during assaults and so on, but I do not now of any war where that does not unfortunately happen, but it was magnified as today. And then I also personally got to hear that we where fired on by Bofors guns from North Vietnam, and that wasn't very fun, that is what they told me anyway.

(13:25) The Swedish Marine Corps soldier Björn Dahlin succeeded in surviving his tour of duty in Vietnam without physical injuries. But the memories remain and as with so many Vietnam veterans, the memories are painful. It took a long time to process the experiences. SMB gives a warm thank you to Björn Dahlin for taking part in the interview, and reliving these memories.

[fallout4holmes]

Journal 57

Valentine woke me before dawn. “Bad news, Holmes.”

I sat up and saw the Minuteman standing behind him. She saluted briefly, “Sorry to wake you, sir, but it’s urgent.”

I thought I recognized her, “Proceed… Nash, wasn’t it?”

“Yessir,” she smiled at my recollection before somberly stating, “there’s been trouble in Sanctuary.”

She had my undivided attention, “Explain.”

“A squad of Brotherhood camped out in Concord without us knowing. They sent a soldier into Sanctuary for recon, but he was discovered by one of those robots Sturges has been working on. Fight broke out, Minutemen joined the fray, no Brotherhood survivors. Colonel Garvey thinks they didn’t have a chance to send a distress signal. According to the orders present on one of them, they were to wait for Maxson’s signal to attack.”

“He has his people in position,” I sighed, irritated. “We’re out of time."

"The hell we are," Valentine huffed. "There's still a maniac out there setting psychotic robots loose on the Commonwealth, and the Minutemen aren't gonna just stand by and let the Brotherhood walk all over them. We finish the job we started, and take what comes."

"You're right," I jumped up and started getting ready to leave, an urgent energy I hadn't felt in too long surging through me. "Find Ada and wake Cait, we'll breakfast on the road. We haven't a moment to lose."

We hurried north, reaching Goodneighbor a few hours after sundown. Cait requested we stop for a moment so that she could speak with Hancock. I agreed; I also wanted to speak with Goodneighbor's mayor, especially considering the war's imminent arrival.

We found him in his office, as expected. Unexpectedly, he was in the middle of a heated discussion with a visitor.

"Bad enough Diamond City isn’t doing anything, why don't—“

“What am I supposed to do, Piper, huh? Brotherhood come for us, let ’em, we’re ready to defend our walls, but if I lead a crew against a skyscraper full of soldiers, how do you think that’s gonna end?”

“We could use Zhao’s missiles or—“

“I ain’t convinced that submarine’s really going to be able to strike all the way out here, assuming it’s even still there. Ain’t willing to risk my people’s blood on it, that’s for sure.”

Piper groaned, frustrated, “Fine, sit here if you want, but I have to do something, there has to be some way I can help. Blue’s in Jamaica Plain last I heard, maybe I can find him.” She turned and saw us coming up the stairs. To my surprise, her gaze went straight to one of my companions rather than me. “Cait!”

Hancock rushed to the doorway to see for himself. "Well," he grinned, "Welcome back."

Cait was suddenly withdrawn, another stunning development, "Hey."

“You ok?” Piper asked.

“Fine,” Cait shrugged, “Never better, actually. Uh. Thanks, for worryin’.” She huffed and regained her usual confidence, “We can talk an' all later, but Holmes has business with ya, Hancock.”

“Why do I get the feeling this business ain’t the fun kind,” Hancock said with a swagger, “despite what the outfit suggests?”

“Maxson will give the order to attack soon," I said, "possibly in a few days, possibly in a few minutes.”

“C’mon, you ain’t gonna be in character this time? I’m disappointed, Shroud.”

I ignored him. “Did I overhear mention of a submarine?”

“There’s a Chinese sub in the bay,” Piper explained. “It’s been stuck there since the War. The Captain turned ghoul, been living there ever since.”

“We helped get him seaworthy, and for payment we get a single shot of his missiles,” Hancock said.

“You sure you two ain’t been sharin’ a bad batch of somethin’?” Cait asked.

“You know Piper won’t touch chems,” Hancock scoffed.

"I have an idea for how those missiles would be extremely useful," I said.

"Ask me like the Shroud," Hancock broadly smiled, "and we'll see what we can do."

We continued our trip north, this time in the company of Piper. Hancock didn't want to leave his town on the eve of war, and I didn't attempt to convince him otherwise. Cait and Piper continued on toward the airport while Valentine, Ada, and I went to the RobCo Sales & Service Center, where Ada reported the Mechanist’s lair was hidden.

"A robot-building villain hiding out in a run down robot shop?" Valentine commented as we stepped inside and saw a showroom for RobCo-brand terminals, most of which were long destroyed.

"I doubt this was ever simply a shop," I said.

"You mean because the Mechanist had to get the robobrains from somewhere, and they sure weren't selling those to the public?" Valentine asked as he went behind the service desk.

"We should look in the garage and see if there's any indication of a hidden entrance."

"Laser tripwire behind the 'employees only' door seems a good place to start."

I hurried over, Ada following. After disabling the tripwire, we passed through the corridor to a basement area with a blastproof door, a strange device to the side of it.

“Allow me, sirs,” Ada approached the door and activated the M-SAT device Sturges had installed from Jezebel’s plans.

The door opened, and we entered the underground facility.

What we found was the remains of a nightmare. Criminals housed in cells were later operated upon to remove their brains, which were then wiped of memories and run through a series of tests before being mounted to any number of devices. Many brains were still preserved, thus providing the Mechanist with necessary material without needing new subjects. According to the terminals, not all of the memory wipes were successful. Minds that woke, panicked in the dark, were destroyed. One transcript showed a psychopath unconcerned with his new lack of body and firm conviction that every scientist in the facility would be killed was seen as a prime candidate for a tactical team. Even before the War, there were indications of the robobrains misinterpreting orders, the flexibility of the human mind rewiring itself to fit what it thinks is the more efficient option. This place was the perfect example of the military and their scientists being so focused on whether or not they could accomplish their goal, they never stopped to wonder if they should. Then at some point this Mechanist found the facility, and picked up where they left off.

I don’t want to dwell on what we saw down there. I noticed a decontamination corridor as we entered, leading to an elevator with an access terminal requiring voice authorization. Imagining we had no choice, we fought our way past a variety of robots guarding the facility until I was fortunate enough to find holotapes recorded by the supervisor of each department. I hoped that these would be enough to trigger the vocal recognition and unlock the elevator. I was correct.

The elevator took us to a control room with computer banks all along the walls, each terminal manned by a small robobrain that rapidly typed orders to run the facility. The room was filled with the noise of terminal keys clacking, and there in the middle stood a figure in the costume of a comic book character - The Mechanist.

“Well, hell, Shroud, you were right,” Valentine muttered.

“Impossible!” The Mechanist declared as we were spotted, “I control all points of access to this room!”

“You underestimated me,” I said. “The Silver Shroud is no common criminal.”

The Mechanist was confused, “The Silver Shroud?” Confusion turned to disdain, and furthered my suspicion of the Mechanist’s mental instability, “I cannot believe someone so respected, so honorable, would come here and destroy my robots. Your reign of terror ends here, Shroud!”

I had to think quickly, “The Shroud, as always, walks the path of justice. It is you who has fallen, Mechanist.”

“Lies, Shroud! Lies! The Commonwealth has suffered more than its fair share of injustices because of you.”

“The Silver Shroud is no villain. The only guilty here are you and your relentless automatons.”

“My bots would never violate their protocol!”

Valentine had had enough. “Those bots are killing innocent people!”

“My friends were simple traders,” Ada said. “All dead at the hands of your robots.”

The Mechanist was shaken, “No. The robots are programmed to protect. Their subroutines are clean: observe, evaluate, and react accordingly.”

“They're misinterpreting orders,” I tried to explain. “Your own robobrain said as much. They're saving people by killing them.”

“Saving by... killing? I don't believe you. They can't alter their programming. They're programmed to save people, not kill them. And the data! They were always reporting hostiles killed and lives... saved.” The Mechanist paused in a moment of horrible realization. “No, it's... the logic... it's there... I can see it now. I was hoping it was the robobrains, an issue with their memory wipes... but you're right. Their primary directive was flawed.”

“Memory wipes?” Valentine asked.

The Mechanist nodded, “Yes. The human brain has a way of… rewiring itself. If not properly maintained, it can… corrupt.”

"Corrupt?! That's the understatement of the year.”

I tried to keep the Mechanist focused on the truth, “A serious flaw, and a dangerous one at that.”

“It is,” the Mechanist agreed, “but the process is thorough. They're wiped after each mission. They're... I found it's best to not let them recall what they've been through.”

Ada spoke, “The introduction of a human brain creates too many unknown variables. You can’t claim to know them all.”

“There's probably a reason these robots weren't in mass production,” Valentine muttered.

We had gotten through, but the Mechanist was still in denial. “I… I need to think. I took every precaution…”

“You know we are telling you the truth,” I said. “Your robots are dangerous. They had to be stopped.”

The Mechanist shook his head in disgrace, “... the hero unknowingly became the villain. I wanted to help the Commonwealth… and robots are all I know. I found this place and figured I could do my part. I accept full responsibility. I can’t take back what I’ve done or even atone for it… but this doesn’t have to end in violence.”

I was relieved to hear it. I gave the Shroud one final moment; “Though your action initially appeared felonious, your intent was not. Seek redemption, Mechanist. You have much to atone for.”

With a sigh of relief, the Mechanist declared, “Done. Consider it done. And you won't regret this, I promise. None of the Commonwealth will.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” I said, and removed the hat. “Permit me to introduce myself properly. I am Sherlock Holmes, of Valentine’s Detective Agency, and General of the Minutemen. This is my partner Nick Valentine, and our friend Ada.”

The Mechanist, with great trepidation, carefully removed the mask to reveal a young woman. “I’m Isabel. Isabel Cruz.”

“Can I ask why the Mechanist get-up?” Valentine gently asked.

She shifted uncomfortably. “I’m… not good with people. The Mechanist gave me a way to put myself out there without really being out there at all. I grew up on a settlement, I’ve seen how good people struggle against raiders and super mutants. I never wanted to be counted among them. But all my technical knowledge, all of these resources, and I still failed. I only ever wanted to make the Commonwealth a safer place.” She held out a holotape, “Here. Take this. It's the password to the mainframe. Use the password to shut down the security. After that, the base is yours.”

“On the contrary, Ms. Cruz, I think you should stay,” I said.

“What?”

“You want to help the Commonwealth? Work for me as a resource for the Minutemen, and you will have a chance to do just that.”

She was stunned. “The Minutemen? You… you want me to build robots for your army?”

“Units to support troops will be extremely helpful, but primarily I thought you could put your efforts to good use creating defenders for settlements.”

“There are still many rogue robots roaming the Commonwealth,” Ada pointed out. “The Minutemen will need all the help they can get, especially once this war is over.”

Ms. Cruz nervously nodded. “I’ll… I’ll try my best. Maybe I can fix some of the damage I’ve done.”

The facility's security was disabled, and Ms. Cruz gave us a proper tour of her assembly line and her capabilities. She is a nervous young woman, now guilt-ridden, but with determination and drive. I promised she would hear from my Chief Engineer soon.

Ada asked to speak with me. "While not wholly unexpected, that outcome was not the one I believed to have the highest probability."

No, it certainly wasn't. "Are you disappointed I let her live?"

She sounded concerned, "I do have conflicting outlooks, but I trust your judgment. The guilt of her actions is a punishment in itself."

"You don't quite believe that," I observed.

"I do trust your judgement, but yes, I also have doubts concerning Isabel's… potential. She could use a companion she didn't build herself."

"Are you volunteering?"

"Yes, sir. The mission was a success; the Commonwealth doesn't have to fear the Mechanist any longer. I would like to stay and make sure it never does again. She will also need help working for the Minutemen, and I will assist however I can."

"I think that's an excellent idea, Ada. For now, I wonder if we might be able to convince the newly reformed Mechanist to provide a few scrapbots for our use?"

[scribeofmorpheus]

Counterpart [1 / 5]

Pairing: Bucky x Reader x Framework!Steve

A/N: Steve is going to be OOC because in the framework he works for Hydra and they’re kinda like the S.H.I.E.L.D of this world, only still evil. I lost imagination when it came to naming his daughter so I went with his mother’s name.

Warning: NSFW, mild violence, mentions of mental instability, mature themes, etc.

Series Masterlist | A03 | Masterlist

Leave a like, comment or reblog. Ask to be tagged! ☺

PART ONE: SUBMERGED

The record player in your shared bedroom spun an old record seemlessly, the air was filled with the loud music from the retro record player you had bought for Bucky's birthday. Hidden in weaker octaves below the sound of music was yours and Bucky's passionate moans. The two of you tangled together within your summer sheets, early morning sunlight creeping across the ceiling.

Your fingers were knotted around Bucky's as the bed rocked back and forth in a gentle squeak. The vibrato of his moans travelling from his chest to yours as he kissed you deeply. Your lovemaking was slow, purposeful and sensual. The base of your feet moving along the back of his knees as they twitched every time he hit the right spot. His metal arm busying itself between your legs to increase the pressure, vibrating ever so slightly now and again.

You gasp his name as he mumbles yours hoarsely, the creaking of the springs growing louder as his movements become more powerful. And then your womb fills with warmth as both your breaths hitch and you moan into a deep kiss while your muscles spasm orgasmically.

Bucky looked deep into your eyes and you looked back, losing yourself in his warm embrace and heart-melting smile.

"I love you," you kissed the crook of his nose

"I love you too," he said softly just as he disconnected from you.

It was then that noticed the sheets were torn from where Bucky's metal arm had taken purchase towards the end of his climax.

You pouted, "I loved these sheets too, though."

Bucky glanced back at you, eyes falling down to look at the hole in the bedding, "Guess we have to add bedding to the shopping list." He caressed your pout away with his thumb. "Go take a shower, I'll deal with the sheets before I join you."

You stood from the bed on shaky legs, "Don't be long, babe."

After your shower, you and Bucky got dressed and made your way to the large, shared kitchen on the ground floor of the Avenger's compound. You were more than a little self-conscious of the fact your skin was currently sporting the after-sex glow.

"Good Morning," Wanda said as she saw the two of you enter the room hand in hand. "Sam made a fresh batch of coffee before his run if you're interested." She directed that piece of info at Bucky, he nodded in thanks, grabbing his favourite cracked mug he'd bought at some old military vet’s yard sale.

You saw Wanda sip down some tea, the both of you not the biggest coffee drinkers. Wanda said it made her powers go all whacky and you didn't like feeling anxious first thing in the morning.

"Please tell me there is more of that," you pleaded.

"Here, I made you a cup," Wanda tittered before taking down another mug and filling it with the last remnants of tea from the pot.

Bucky stood over the stove, making French toast while you and Wanda brainstormed over how to improve your costume designs since you were both overdue for an upgrade.

"How are my favourite people this morning?" Sam asked. There was a sweat patch on his grey t-shirt from his morning run.

"All good, how was the run?" You replied.

"Looong," Sam's nose took several whiffs. "I smell carbs. Y'all are killin' me with all this gourmet shit while I'm on my juice cleanse."

Bucky laughed with bewilderment at Sam, "I will never understand your strange diets." Bucky commented, less on Sam's current eating pattern and more on the generations.

"Easy for you to say, not all of us got our physique from a serum." He walked to the fridge and took out a pre-made bottle of green juice.

You noticed Bucky's concentration wander out to the empty space of the airfield strip visible through the window opposite him, his French toast burning making your nose crinkle uncomfortably.

"Bucky, babe, everything alright?" You asked from the couch.

He turned to you, "Yeah, just peachy. Why?"

"Your French toast is burnin' man, that's why." Sam slapped Bucky's arm sarcastically.

"Oh, shit!" He swatted at the black smoke.

You stood and walked over to him. Circling your arms around his midriff, placing your chin on his shoulder, needing to stretch on your tippy-toes to do so.

"It's okay to miss him, you know," you reassured him. "I miss him too."

Bucky knew you were talking about Steve.

Steve had been your mentor after he recruited you during the blip. He'd tracked you down after you started to lose control of your powers from accidentally triggering your terrigenesis.

You'd only know Steve for round-about five years. Bucky had known him a life time’s worth, you couldn't imagine how much he missed his best friend.

After the blip was undone, Sam had pretty much taken over as your mentor. Wanda had grown to become your closest friend once Sam decided it was best if someone with abilities similar to yours took you under their wing when his responsibilities as the new Captain America became all-consuming.

"I know," he patted at your hands locked around him. "Toast?"

You looked at the charred breakfast, the stronger burnt smell making your stomach queasy. "No thanks. Eggs and I haven't been on the best of terms lately."

"Oh, I didn't know."

"It's my fault for not saying anything. I'll just make a fruit salad."

Just then the mission alarm chimed and Sam downed his drink, "They're playin' our song!"

"Guess that means I'll have a protein bar," you made your way to the changing rooms.

Bucky sighed and glared at the flashing yellow light, "We can't have one damn, boring breakfast?" He asked himself.

***

"Oh, I see Y/N has an obvious glow," Sam commented while Bucky looked over the monitors on the Quin-jet. Sam was double-checking his ammo stock. "Did you ask her?"

Bucky finished skimming the brief before he turned to Sam, "Not, yet."

Sam looked at him with exasperation, "What's the matter, why are you stallin' man?"

"I'm not stalling!" Bucky said defensively, folding his arms.

Sam let out a sarcastic chuckle, "You are. You're bein' a chicken about this."

Bucky sighed, "I'm waiting for the right moment, is all."

"Right moment? Man, you got an entire jet at your disposal, capable of flying you to some breath-taking places for free, it's like one of the few good perks of bein’ an Avenger, and you’re giving me some bullshit about perfect timing. Admit it, you're just scared."

"Whatever, Bird-man."

"Oh, that's cold, Tin-can."

"Hey, you guys done with your lover's spat?" Wanda teased. "Keep the ring talk down, Y/N is heading this way."

Sam looked at her lack of costume, "You not commin'?"

Wanda rubbed her forearms as though she suddenly grew cold, "I'm… I'm not ready for active duty. Sorry, boss."

"Hey, I don't handle the paychecks, I ain't no one’s boss." Sam put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. It's not aliens or somethin' earth shatterin', just a submarine. We can handle this. Heck, I'm sure Grandpa Barnes over here could handle it himself!"

Wanda laughed before giving the boys a heads up, "Hey, whatever you do, don't comment on Y/N's new suit. She's trying out a new look. It's… different." 

Both men made a zipping shut motion on their lips before Wanda headed back into the compound.

“You think she’s doin’ okay?” Sam asked Bucky.

Bucky turned to look at Wanda’s retreating form, she still had that sadness in her eyes, but Bucky could tell the days passing her by numbed the look away.

“She seems better, I think spending time with Y/N has been good for her. But you can never tell with these things,” Bucky said earnestly.

“Yeah, that’s the bitch of it!” Sam sighed.

~South Pacific Ocean

"It's really beautiful down here," you pointed at the swarming school of glowing fish visible through the deep-sea diver’s observation glass.

Bucky checked his rifle before looking to the same school of glowing sea creatures, "It is. If we weren't on an infiltration mission, it would be quite the romantic setting." He smirked at you, his eyes looking almost wistful.

"Who says it can't be?" You retorted.

"Hey now, kids. Keep the comms clear of all that flirting," Sam said over your earpieces.

"Roger," there was an uncomfortable beat of silence. Bucky’s eye flinched but he tried to hide it by scratching at his beard. "I- err… meant, copy."

"Two minutes until contact and then we breach their hull," Bucky informed Sam. "Going radio silent."

"You know what to do if you need back up," Sam said before the comms went radio silent.

"You ready, doll?" Bucky asked.

You stretched your phalanges and smirked like a cocky son-of-a-bitch, "For anything!"

You stretched out your hand for a fist bump. Bucky hesitated for a moment, face showing clear confusion.

"I know Sam taught you how to do a fist bump, Buck. It's his second most favourite way to greet people, second only to high fives," you pointed out.

Bucky sighed and connected his fist to yours.

"See, was that so hard?" You mocked him.

"Excruciatingly," Bucky admitted freely. He hid his smile by letting his hair fall over the half of his face where his lip curled upwards.

You smiled knowing he wasn't as subtle as he liked to think he was.

"Coming up on the hull," You informed him.

"You know what to do."

You nodded then used your abilities to create a vacuum bubble next to where the ships lasers were cutting a hole through the metal so the submarine didn't depressurise. You put on your helmet over your pressure suit and once the door was opened, the both of you glided across the vacuum stream like astronauts in space.

Once inside the submarine, Bucky turned on the force field generator to block the new hole and you closed the vacuum. You both took off your pressure suits before heading for the control room. All the while staying close to Bucky's six.

After tactfully disarming and dealing with several very angry men with guns, Bucky and you finally reached the control room.

"Sam, we're in the control room," Bucky disabled radio silence.

"What is all this?" You asked as you spun around to get a good look at the room.

There were several sensory deprivation tanks filled with green looking water hooked up to a long row of computers that were running a program in the background. In all the tanks were naked bodies, people, floating about seemingly in a deep sleep. Their vitals monitored by EEG and EKG machines. At the bottom corner of each monitor was a name and a blinking notification saying: Synchronisation to Framework at 95%

"It's a lab," Bucky said coldly. "Some sort of bio-mechanical experiment."

You peered at the words scrolling through the monitors catching sigh of a word that seemed familiar, "Ever heard of the Framework?"

"It sounds familiar, I just can't place it."

"What do you think happens once that loading bar reads a 100?" You pointed at one of the monitors.

Bucky frowned, "I'd rather not find out. Let's see if there's a way to shut this down."

"Good idea," you pulled up a chair and tried to bypass the security measures when an anti-tamper device got set off.

Bucky, having quicker reflexes than yours, heard the click, reached for you and pulled you to the floor, his body covering yours as one of the computers sparked in a miniature explosion.

When he assessed it was safe to get up, he helped you off the floor and cautioned with fear widened eyes, "Exercise more caution, please."

"Let's try that again," you dusted off the pieces of plastic and soldered metal wiring from your jacket.

"Safely," he urged.

You disabled the second anti-tamper device and logged into the computers, your satellite key allowing you to siphon data. However, you didn't have enough time to stop the countdown and as soon as the monitors read 100% each of the bodies in the tank flat-lined. The bodies dying out from a lethal injection of a beta-blocker.

"No, no, no!" You tapped at the keyboard.

Bucky watched on in horror as each tank went dead like a set of unstoppable dominoes.

"It's too late," Bucky said softly. "Come on, let's try to--"

And then the room went white. A hot flash pushing you away in a great rippling effect. The metal walls of the submarine groaned as it was forced apart from the inside, water flooding into the room, causing everything to spark.

Your body was rushed by the powerful waves into the wall, and your head crashed painfully against it, knocking you out.  

***

Sam pulled Bucky's unconscious body out of the water and onto the shore, his GPS sewn into his tactical suit flashing red as a subtle beeping noise sounded out.

Sam cut off Bucky's bulletproof vest with his army knife, but that didn't help, Bucky still wasn't breathing. He checked for the feeling of air coming from Bucy’s nostrils. Nothing. Then for a pulse. It was there, but just barely.

Sam began to frantically administer CPR, "Come on you Tin-can! Don't give up on me!"

After 30 seconds, Sam took out a small metal device and placed it on his palm before connecting it to Bucky's chest, shocking him with volts of electricity.

Bucky gasped for air, "Gaahhhh!"

He looked around frantically, confused for a second. He gripped Sam's arms a bit too hard and shouted in a croaky, waterlogged voice, "Where is she?"

Sam looked down at the sand.

Bucky shook him harder, "Where is she? Is- is she?"

"Her vitals are still online. She's alive."

"Then why do you like someone just ran you over with a truck, Sam?" Bucky growled furiously.

"Her GPS stopped broadcasting. We think whoever blew up the submarine took her with them."

Bucky pounded his fist in the sand repeatedly, "No! No, no, no, no..."

You gasped awake from your nightmare, surprised to find your bedding in one piece. Your lack of clothing was slightly alarming.

The sound of water cascading out of the showerhead filled the room. You peaked through the open door, but the steam was obscuring the body of whoever was in there.

Your skull felt like it was about to split in two.

"It felt so real," you braced the side of your head where a headache was forming.

"Sweetheart, you awake?" A familiar voice called out from the shower.

Unsure of what to say, you played along. "Y-yeah!"

"Why don't you come join me?" the man asked.

The cold feel of metal on your left finger made you look closer at your hand. There on your ring finger was a platinum wedding ring, a large clear diamond shining with the morning light.

Something about the ring on your finger felt odd. You were about to take it off, examine it closer, when a second migraine hammered at your temples.

 Framework>Data Banks> Memories> Memories synchronised: 45%

Flashes of a night in Rome raced through your mind. The colosseum, the smell of rain, a man on one knee. The same voice from the shower speaking out nervously: "Will you marry me?" A red, velvet box. A sparkling ring. A deep inhale of breath. "Yes, yes! A thousand times yes!"

"Ugh," you groaned as you stood to grab your painkillers from your medicine drawer.

On the flat surface of your dresser you saw a framed wedding photo: You and a man who looked eerily like Steve, only his eyes were colder and his hair was darker- less blond and more dusty. Light reflected off the glass and shone directly in your eye, triggering a second hammering pain against your cranium.

 Framework>Data Banks> Memories> Memories synchronised: 45%

The memory of your wedding day coming back to you as clear as day. Your hands held affectionately in Steve’s as he slid the ring onto your finger and you smiled through the veil at your fiancé-soon-to-be-husband. Your cheeks dusted with makeup and sore from all your non-stop smiling.

You gripped the dresser, dropping the leather wallet that was placed there. You waited for the pain to pass before you bent down to pick it up. Curiously, not recognising the wallet, you opened it. Turns out it wasn't a wallet at all but a badge. Your picture showed you with short-cropped hair and a stern scowl. Your name printed as 'Y/N Rodgers'. A watermark of a six tentacle skull caused the ink that spelt out ‘HYDRA’ to bleed a little.

 Framework>Data Banks> Memories> Memories synchronised: 48%

Suddenly, you remembered the day you had graduated from the Hydra academy. Steve dressed in his official uniform, red and black with the Hydra sigil printed on his chest. You had blushed when he had commended you on being valedictorian. Your hand shaking his on a stage in front of thousands of glaring classmates, faces plastered with fake smiles. A wedding band on Steve's finger but none on yours. His wife standing together with the rest of the honorary alumni. That was the first day you met the love of your life.

 The sound of rushing water stopped and the temperature in the room started to drop.

"Hey, Y/N," Steve startled you from your reminiscing.

"Yes, babe?" You looked over at his equally naked body.

"Did you hear what I said?"

"N-no, sorry. I have a hell of a headache this morning."

"More nightmares again?" He asked.

You nodded your head adamantly.

Steve sighed, disappointment on his face. "We talked about this, Y/N. You have to make sure you take your meds."

He handed you a pill bottle from the open drawer.

Your mouth gaped open when you read the label, "These are anti-psychotics."

"The doctor assured us it won't hurt our chances, just take them so I don't have to spend all day worrying you'll get another migraine while at work," He kissed your throbbing temple. "I draw my limit at one injury in the field at the expense of your reluctance to stay on the regimen."

Steve's thumb graced the spot below your breast where a fresh stitch was beginning to heal. The skin still purple and deep red from trauma.

"I don't remember getting this?" Your hand touched the raw skin.

"Doc said memory loss is normal." He made his way back into the bathroom.

You nodded, feeling guilty for making him worry. You popped two pills and swallowed dry. Then all of a sudden a word he used earlier made you ask: "Babe, what did you mean by 'hurt our chances'?"

Steve walked back into the room, toothbrush tucked in his cheek as he stared at you as though you'd said something unbelievable, "For a baby. Remember, we agreed that after the divorce was finalised, and once Sarah was old enough, we'd try."

"Divorce?"

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me. My lawyer called, said to remind you to sign the paperwork he sent over."

"Paperwork?"

"Yeah, since you're going to legally become Sarah's guardian."

You frowned, unable to remember. Your migraine ebbing away into a mild headache since you took the pills.

Steve placed his palm on your forehead as if checking for a fever, "Wow, I haven't seen you have such a bad episode since Budapest."

"I'm sorry, I just need a bath and some breakfast," you reassured him.

Steve swooped you off your feet as he carried you to the bathroom, "How about a massage?"

You giggled at his spontaneity, "You just got out the shower."

"Doesn't mean I can't get dirty all over again," he said passionately as he placed a kiss on his lips, his beard tickling you.

 Framework>Data Banks> Memories> Memories synchronised: 50%

Chapters Two: Doppelgangers

Special mention to @500daysofbecky : Thought you’d love some Steve content to celebrate your b-day week! Sorry it wasn’t fluffy... ☺

AFWHI tags: @fangirl-colo @dormousse @smallmarvel @ren-ni @sargentbucket @nikolett3 @wnygirl2012 @jentismyname @evilgeniuslabz-blog @myrabbitholetoneverland @sleepingspacedragon @500daysofbecky @reidreader  

Permatags: @gruffle1 @thechickvic @notawarriorjustyet @savethehoneeybees 

[everymovie2020]

Godzilla (2014)

Date watched: 1 September 2019

After the 10/10 banger that was Godzilla: King of the Monsters, I decided to revisit the “original” (in this series) Godzilla, which I have only seen one time before.  Ultimately it was a Sunday afternoon and I just wanted something brainless with a bunch of big, scary monsters knocking shit down and this movie really filled that hole in my life.  Also, it helped give some context to what was going on in G:KOTM because I was a bit confused.

Plot:

So the whole idea of this franchise is that there are these big monsters lying dormant under the surface of the earth, just waiting to burst forth and fuck shit up.

Except for Kong – he lives above ground.  He’s chill like that (and trapped on an island). Also, he doesn’t breathe fire or fly like so many of these other creatures do.

In this movie, some miners in the Philippines unleash these mootoos.   And look, I could google what the actual spelling is, but I think it’s funnier for the purpose of this review if I just refer to them as mootoos, like they’re some kind of giant cow creature.

So this one mootoo flits over to Japan where it sets up shop in a nuclear power plant and proceeds to chow down on radiation (they eat radiation.  I don’t really get it).  In the course of this, Bryan Cranston’s wife, Juliette Binoche, dies (they worked at the power plant) and he goes a bit nutso about it.  I mean, seeing your wife die a horrible death will do that to you, probably.

Fast forward some years into the future. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is SUPER HOT and the grown-up version of Bryan Cranston and Juliette Binoche’s son. He’s married to Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, shacking up) and they have a kid who I’m pretty sure is one of the kids from It?  The one with the asthma inhaler?  I’ve definitely seen the kid from this movie in other subsequent movies.  Or TV shows.  He could be one of the kids in Single Parents.

Anyway, ATJ comes home from the navy, then has to immediately leave because Bryan Cranston is up to some fuckery in Japan and has been arrested.  So he goes over there, they break into their old town near the power plant that was mootoo’d, figure out some shady shit is going on, and then the mootoo chooses that exact moment to wake up and head off across the Pacific, not before killing a bunch of people and Bryan Cranston.

So ATJ catches a flight to Hawaii, trying to get back to San Francisco, and wouldn’t you bloody know it, that pesky mootoo has picked itself up a tasty snack in the form of a nuclear submarine (no word on any survivors, I’m guessing no – jfc so many people die in these movies) and is partaking in that tasty snack on Oahu in the mountains overlooking Waikiki.

Because of course.

There are thousands of islands in the Pacific, but it chooses the most populated.  Hollywood just wanted to see Oahu fucked up, I swear to god.  I mean sure it’s less cinematic if they follow the mootoo to some random island and nobody gets killed, but like, the civilian casualties, guys.  Think about the civilian casualties.

So ATJ is on a monorail to the airport (I don’t remember seeing that when I was in Hawaii, but then I didn’t transfer from the domestic to the international terminal), and this kid gets separated from his parents so ATJ is like, I’ll look after you lil’ bud, but then the army pissess off the mootoo enjoying its tasty snack, and it decides to fuck up the airport.  Specifically the airport where ATJ is currently located.

I swear to god, in this movie, ATJ is a harbinger of doom.

Meanwhile, over at Waikiki beach, who should roll in but ol’ Godzilla, bringing with him a tsunami because, of course?  Like I get that you’re a gigantic monster, Godzy, but can you cool it with the tsunamis?

Anyway, the Hilton Hawaiian Village gets fucked up guys, which is disappointing.  Actually, it’s weird watching this now and recognising landmarks?  I don’t think that’s ever happened for me before in a movie set in America.  I was watching it going, hey, I’ve been there!  Look, I was kind of hoping for a shot of Godzilla stomping on the Moana Surfrider (we did NOT like that hotel), but clearly the Hilton had some advertising in this movie because it was getting jacked up all over the place.

So we have a Godzilla/mootoo showdown in the middle of Waikiki, and then the mootoo buggers off and Godzilla is like “grr” “grumble grumble” “grrrrrrr” (insert various Godzilla noises here). And then, for reasons unknown to me, both the mootoo and Godzilla decide to head for San Francisco.

THERE ARE PARTS OF THE WESTERN SEABOARD WITHOUT MASSIVE CITIES ON THEM, YOU STUPID MONSTERS.  I mean, you’re having these fights in the middle of the cities, knocking buildings on each other, like, that’s got to hurt a bit.  I’m just thinking about the wellbeing of the monsters, that’s all.

Meanwhile in Nevada, the other mootoo (yeah there’s another one that can’t fly, is female, is laden with eggs and wants to fuck some shit up) barrels right through the Las Vegas strip because OF COURSE IT DOES, because there’s NO EMPTY DESERT OUT THERE OR ANYTHING.

I mean, I get it, but also at the same time… WHY DO THEY KEEP SOLELY FOCUSING ON FUCKING UP CITIES?

So ATJ gets involved with the army again, and they have this plan to lure the mootoos and Godzilla out to sea with nuclear warheads that they can eat.  But of course the mootoo gets wind of this plan, purely because it’s lurking around waiting for someone to give it a tasty, tasty nuclear warhead, thwarts the plan, steals the warhead and nicks off to San Francisco.

But don’t worry guys, because the military have figured out that Godzilla is actually a good guy.  All three monsters converge in San Francisco – a city they don’t evacuate, by the way, despite knowing the monsters are all headed there – and proceed to have an all-out brawl.  While this is going on, a hero bus driver saves a bunch of children before the Golden Gate bridge is annihilated, Elizabeth Olsen hides underground (don’t really know how she didn’t die, tbh) and ATJ skydives into the city with a group of army dudes to retrieve the nuke and continue with the plan of sending it out to sea.

Actually, the scenes when they’re parachuting in are really spectacular.

But all you really need to know is that our hero, Godzilla, takes out to the two mootoos, has a bit of a snoozle then heads back out to sea, on his merry way, to do whatever it is Godzilla’s do when they’re off the clock.

Other random thoughts:

It felt like this movie was very dark, because all the action happens at night.  I think the scenes in Las Vegas are the only destruction scenes that take place during daylight.

What does Godzilla EAT? He’s a big, rotund boi!

You know how they’re making Gozilla vs Kong, well… whose side am I supposed to be on?  Because they’re both good guys.

I’m probably on Kong’s side.  NGL.

And is ATJ going to be in that movie?  Fingers crossed

Look I just think he’s hot. It was nice to have a bit of eye candy.