Meme Scholar with Madness (PhD)

[727Sky]

[Bally002]

@"Skye"#109

A fine anthem indeed.

Now where's the fly past.  There's always a fly over and an earth shattering Kaboom.

Cheers and beers,

Bally. ))

[EndtheMadnessNow]

April 21, 1934: The famous "Surgeon’s Photograph" of the alleged Loch Ness Monster in Scotland was published in the Daily Mail. It was taken by Robert Kenneth Wilson who claimed it was the 1st image ever captured of Nessie’s neck and head. In 1994, it is revealed to be a hoax.




Today is National Tea Day. While visiting HMNB Portsmouth in 1949, USS Missouri (BB-63) tried to be a good host to the enthusiastic locals who toured the battleship but the British were horrified when they saw a Navy cook making tea for them by boiling gallons of it in a huge mess cauldron. One of the guests later sent the Missouri's captain a note with instructions on how to properly brew tea using teapots. The note was promptly discarded into the sea.


Americans: fire up that microwave!


Flamingo Hotel Las Vegas - Society of Atom Bomb Watchers
The Mob Museum, National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement

April 21, 1952

I, having read all the dispatches sent out by correspondents and listened to all of the AEC propaganda, sincerely believe in the existence of the A-Bomb.

And with that, you now have become a member of the Ancient and Honorable Society of ATOMBOMBWATCHERS, and may God and Harry S. Truman have mercy on your souls.




Before The Uncanny X-Men there was Children of the Atom (1953) by Wilmar H. Shiras.


The children in the novel are mutants, brought together to explore their unique abilities and study in secret at an exclusive school for gifted children, lest they be hated and feared by a world that would not understand them.

None of the children are given paranormal super powers such as telekinesis or precognition—their primary difference is simply that of incredible intellect, combined with an energy and inquisitiveness that causes them to figuratively devour every book in their local libraries, to speed through university extension courses, and to publish countless articles and stories all over the world, but all done carefully through pen-names and mail-order, to disguise their youth, and protect them from the prejudicial stereotypes that less intelligent adults continue to try and enforce on children.


April 21, 1965: the second season of New York World's Fair opens.




April 21, 1975: The CBU-55, a thermobaric cluster bomb that used propane, the most powerful non-nuclear weapon in existence at the time, is used in combat for the first time as a South Vietnamese C-130 drops it on North Vietnamese positions. An estimated 250 troops are vaporized instantly. A second generation, the CBU-72 was used during Operation Desert Storm.




April 21, 1986: Chicago Tribune TV Week featured Geraldo Rivera: Al Capone's Vaults - Live! Highest-rated program in Chicago TV history since start of overnight ratings in the late 1970s.




April 21, 2025: Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio) died at 88. He was the 1st Pontiff from the Americas, the 1st from the Southern Hemisphere, the 1st Jesuit, and the 1st from outside Europe since Gregory III, a Syrian, who reigned in the 8th century.


https://x.com/VaticanNews/status/1914273634257940588



"My old friend Lucifer came, fought to keep me in chains/
But I saw through the tricks of six sixty-six".



I imagined this conversation.
"Civitas sancti tui facta est deserta."

"Sion deserta facta est."

"Jerusalem desolata est."

"Ne irascaris Domine."

"The city of your holy one is laid waste."

"Zion is laid waste."

"Jerusalem is desolate."

"Do not be angry, O Lord."

The real war at the heart of the Deep State is between the prots and the papists. So is it the prots that think UFOs are demons and the papists that think they’re angels? Or is it the other way around? AFAIK, Catholic doctrine is still vague regarding UFOs. Pope Francis discussed the possibility of alien life but was non-committal beyond saying the universe was created through divine intervention. Various strains of Protestant pastors have made all sorts of claims about aliens being demons/angels/spiritual entities over the last 75 years.



Wow, really? You're telling me the thing that regurgitates whatever you feed it is suddenly obsessed with religious doctrine at the exact moment techies like Peter Thiel are publicly quoting from Revelation? What a coincidence. A number of these techno people went through a New Age phase and are now finding Christianity.


Seeking God, or Peter Thiel, in Silicon Valley

Christianity Was “Borderline Illegal” in Silicon Valley. Now It’s the New Religion


How does one put SKYFALL ahead of CASINO ROYALE?
Squint and you can see The Daily Mail’s 'controversial' top 25 James Bond films.


Daily Down Under Mail

[EndtheMadnessNow]

April 22, 1925: Japan enacts a law making it a crime to form or join an association that goes against the vaguely defined "national essence." The Peace Preservation Law will become the central tool in criminalizing dissent and enforcing nationalistic thought control.

The law aimed at crushing unions and the Communist Party is generated by a liberal ministry. A month earlier the government had won a fight to grant universal male suffrage. The anti-dissent law is a countermeasure for curbing radical influence on this enlarged electorate.

Up to 10 years in prison can be imposed on those who join a group "with the aim of altering the national essence or the system of private property." A "thought section" is established in the police to ferret out what’s called, years before Orwell’s "1984" > "thought crime."


Japan’s territorial expansion into China in the 1930s is matched by an aggressive effort to enforce political conformity at home. Agitating for Communism or the national essence is made punishable by death: by WWII over 70,000 people have been arrested by the thought police. Two nukes later, it was finally repealed on October 15, 1945. Probably explains how their youth became such fearless warriors in WWII.


April 22, 1925: "Modern Babylon" New York is worse even than Paris or Berlin in permitting obscene and salacious material, declares the local Society for the Suppression of Vice. It’s particularly alarmed by an unnamed play—likely "Women of the Evening"—and books with profanity.


They'd be in shock 'n horror, speechless today.


A GATHERING OF EAGLES (1963) Rock Hudson plays an Air Force Colonel who has just been re-assigned as a cold war B-52 commander who must shape up his men to pass a grueling inspection that the previous commander had failed, and had been fired. The final screen credit for Irene (Gibbons) [1901-1962]. The celebrated fashion designer committed suicide on November 15, 1962 by jumping from the 11th floor of the Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood.


A Gathering of Eagles (1963)

Minimum Interval Take Off (MITO) launch of 9 B-52s and 5 Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers from Global Shield exercise circa 1985 flown out of Griffiss AFB, New York. BUFF scramble! I was on the grassy knoll. The noise level is beyond describing even with double hearing protection. From wheels-up they are over my house in less than 30 seconds. The B-52's take-off with minimum fuel to scramble as fast as possible before the Soviet ICBMs hit and are later refueled by the K-135s. If this was a real attack all B-52 crew know that it is a one-way mission. They are not coming back home.




The SAC Song lyrics, by Tom Lehrer

Here at SAC we're filled with pride.

There's just one thing we can't decide:
Which we'd rather get clobbered by,
An enemy attack or an O.R.I.

Our wing commander's got a racket,
Though sometimes it's hard to hack it.
Whenever he gets his wife alone ...
Ding-a-ling-a-ling goes the little red phone.

Oh, we love the seven-day alert.
For a week we will not see a skirt.
But we know it's part of SAC's main goal:
To test our positive control.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Whatever became of the wild blue yonder?
How we wish the good ol' days were back. In SAC!

The Sac Song by Tom Lehrer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRekY8UkC0Q


April 22, 1969: British sailor Robin Knox-Johnston completed the 1st non-stop solo voyage around the world in The Times Golden Globe Race. He set off from Falmouth on 14 June 1968 aboard his yacht Suhaili and arrived back in Falmouth after 312 days at sea.





A Sailing Legend


April 22, 1972: John Fairfax (age 33) and Sylvia Cook (age 31) landed at Hayman Island off the Queensland coast in Australia to become the first people to row across the Pacific Ocean. The journey took 362 days at sea from San Francisco to Australia. Now that is some serious rowing power! John Fairfax (21 May 1937 – 8 February 2012) was a British ocean rower and adventurer who, in 1969, rowed across the Atlantic and became the first person to row solo across an ocean. In 107 years of the History of Ocean Rowing there have been only 100 successful rows across the oceans, completed by less than 170 rowers. 11 names in this list belong to women, and only two of them - Sylvia Cook and Kathleen Saville, have rowed the Pacific Ocean.


Sylvia Cook: I rowed the high seas for love


Happy 88th birthday JACK NICHOLSON, born in Neptune City, New Jersey.




In 1979, following Iranian revolutionaries takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, President Jimmy Carter directed the Immigration and Naturalization Service [precursor to ICE] to go into college towns to "register" 75,000 Iranian students. Iranian students who evaded Carter’s order to register were detained and of the 60,000 Iranian students registered, 430 were deported.

A few years later, Reagan singled out immigrants from 8 Middle Eastern countries—Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Iran, Jordan, Syria, Morocco, and Lebanon—as potential national security threats in the event of US military action in the Middle East. He authorized plans for the outfitting a 100-acre internment camp in Oakdale, Louisiana, where Arab Americans could be round up, detained and deported.


The forgotten government plan to round up Muslims - About two decades later all those FEMA camp conspiracy stories were plastered all over Internet forums.

Mahmoud Khalil is currently being held in Jena, Louisiana, at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center, a private prison run by the GEO Group. (formerly the The Wackenhut Corporation) The facility is actually located only 49 miles from Oakdale, the site of the proposed Arab interment camp.

According to Human Rights Watch, detainees at the Jena ICE prison are routinely subjected to abuse — including being beaten while shackled, forced to kneel for hours, and made to press their faces against walls sprayed with mace until they vomit. Course, that was back during the Katrina days and things are different now, right?




April 22, 2054: after a successful 6 year trial in Washington D.C., a vote will take place on taking the Precrime Initiative national.


BTW Hollyweird, April 22nd 2054 is a Wednesday, not a Tuesday.

[EndtheMadnessNow]

People who have been inside the US government superbunker Mount Weather frequently describe it as like something out of a James Bond movie. Here's Blofeld's lair from YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967). Production Designer: Ken Adam (1921-2016) British movie production designer, best known for his set designs for the James Bond films of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for Dr. Strangelove. His family left Germany in 1934 to escape the Nazis, moving to England. When war came, he joined Britain's Royal Air Force and became their only German fighter pilot, until in 1944, his brother Denis joined the RAF! His nickname was "Heinie the Tank-buster" by his comrades for his daring exploits.
He also designed the famous car for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968).




Are we are getting closer to a peace deal? Doubtful, but who knows.


U.S. proposes recognizing Crimea as Russian ahead of new round of talks

What does Ukraine get? You get to live.



Yesterday, April 20th 2025, was the date in which the first "future" mission in the campaign for Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012) was set, a game whose plot contains U.S. military operations against extremist militant groups in Yemen, the rise of AI and drone warfare, as well as a cold war between the United States and China which eventually leads the Chinese to halt the export of rare earth metals. Thankfully this was just a game and sounds nothing like our current timeline, sigh...




Easter 2025 at the White House...




Surprise kiddies...


Student loans in default to be referred to debt collection, Education Department says


Haze grey, Operation Highmast underway...


U.K. Carrier HMS Prince of Wales Leaves for 8-month Pacific Deployment


Congrats, Aussie boys, you made it through phase I of the toughest school in the US Navy.


First Enlisted Royal Australian Navy Sailors Graduate U.S. Navy Nuke School


I knew AJ could not pass this one up. Figures another German fellow would replace Klaus. This one a water emperor.


https://x.com/RealAlexJones/status/1914731799072399633
Water Rights Confusion


Words...




Wait, wait. Hear me out, everyone:

[EndtheMadnessNow]

April 23, 1348: The Most Noble Order of the Garter was founded by Edward III of England. The Order is the oldest and most senior Order of Chivalry in Britain. The Knights, now both male and female, used to be limited to aristocracy, but today they are chosen from a variety of backgrounds, in recognition for their public service.

In medieval times, King Edward III was so inspired by tales of King Arthur and the chivalry of the Knights of the Round Table that he set up his own group of honourable knights, called the Order of the Garter.

The order's emblem is a garter with the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense (Middle French: "Shame on him who thinks evil of it") in gold lettering. Members of the order wear it on their [Harry Potter] ceremonial garb.

Members of the Order include Emperor Akihito of Japan, Juan Carlos, King of Spain; Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden; and from Arabic nobility. It's a big club and you ain't in it.


The Order of the Garter


Spotlight on Allan Arbus (1918 – 2013) and "Grisly Lobby Display..." exploitation tips from the in the COFFY (1973) pressbook.


Allan wanted to be an actor—he would go on to an off-Broadway and a long television and movie career that included a ten-year run as the psychiatrist Sidney Freedman on the 1970s smash-hit M.A.S.H.

Allan's former wife was photographer Diane Arbus (Nemerov; March 14, 1923 – July 26, 1971; suicide) divorced in 1969. She was best known for unrelenting direct photographs of people who are considered social deviates. Which included strippers, carnival performers, nudists, people with dwarfism, children, mothers, couples, elderly people, and middle-class families. She also portrayed "normal" people in a manner that exposed the cracks in their public masks. She had a keen eye for her stark, documentary style of photography and her most famous images are those of people outside the boundaries of "proper" society.

Born in New York to a wealthy family, Diane thought the wealth to be humiliating. Anxious to leave this type of lifestyle, she married Allan Arbus when she was only 18. During World War II, Allan was trained as a photographer in the Army Signal Corps, and it was Allan who introduced his wife to photography.

After the war, the couple began to work together in fashion photography when Diane’s father asked them to produce advertising for his department store. Their work eventually appeared in magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar. Her daughter, Amy Arbus is also a famous photographer.

When the film The Shining, was released to cinemas worldwide in 1980 and became hugely successful, millions of moviegoers experienced Diane Arbus' legacy without realizing it. The movie's recurring characters of identical twin girls who are wearing identical dresses appear on-screen as a result of a suggestion Kubrick received from crew member Leon Vitali (English actor & Kubrick's personal assistant)


He is described by film historian Nick Chen as "Kubrick's right-hand man from the mid-70s onwards". Chen goes on to reveal, "Not only did Vitali videotape and interview 5,000 kids to find [the right child actor to portray] Jack Nicholson's [character's] son, Danny, he was also responsible for discovering the creepy twin sisters on the final day of auditions. The pair, in fact, weren't twins in Kubrick's script, and it was Vitali who immediately suggested Diane Arbus' infamous photo of identical twin sisters as a point of reference."

The untold story of Stanley Kubrick’s obsessive assistant

In 2004, a print of the photo was sold at Sotheby's in New York for $478,000.
In 2023, it sold for $215,900 and Identical Twins wiki.

Diane Arbus, Master of Photography

Diane Arbus (Wiki page 2 miles long)

In 2001–04, Diane Arbus: An Aperture Monograph (1972) was selected as one of the most important photobooks in history.

A Window into the World of Diane Arbus


Rear Admiral George Stephen Morrison, commander of U.S. Naval forces on Guam, is ordered to "accept, shelter, process, and care for Vietnamese refugees as they are removed from South Vietnam to Guam."

It’s a tall order: between 100,000 and 200,000 refugees will need to be housed and fed for an indeterminate period of time.

The first 13,000 are billeted in apartments.


Morrison witnessed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

In the Pacific Theater he flew combat missions in the Grumman F6F Hellcat for the duration of World War II. He served as an instructor on nuclear weapons programs following the end of the war, while during the Korean War, he served at the joint operations center in Seoul.

November 22, 1963, Morrison took command of the Essex-class aircraft carrier USS Bon Homme Richard, flagship of the First Fleet's Fifth Carrier Division in the Pacific, based at San Diego, California. His first act as the new skipper was to announce the death of President John F. Kennedy. The Fifth Carrier Division was transferred to the Seventh Fleet when sent to the Western Pacific early in 1964. In August of 1964 Morrison was in command of local American forces, including the USS Maddox (DD-731) from his flagship USS Bon Homme Richard making him directly in the chain of command during the Gulf of Tonkin incident.

In 1968, his promotion to rear admiral made him the youngest flag officer in the Navy.

Morrison was the keynote speaker at the decommissioning ceremony for the carrier Bon Homme Richard, his first ship as an admiral, on July 2, 1971, in Washington D.C. His estranged son, Doors frontman Jim Morrison died in Paris at age 27 the following day. In 1990, Admiral Morrison visited his son's grave in Paris, France and had a plaque installed.

Morrison retired from the Navy in August 1975 as a 2-star Admiral.

The Admiral and the UFO

Back in the day, we were sitting around talking about UFOs, Area 51, and all the other lunatic alien legends.  We were laughing about the accounts of people claiming they had been abducted by aliens who then proceeded to fiddle or tamper with them.  The Admiral suddenly pronounced, “I chased a UFO once.”  We sat in rapt silence waiting for the punch line.  His story went like this:

Steve and his fighter squadron were patrolling the skies during the Korean conflict when they saw a silver object at three o’clock moving at a high rate of speed.  Steve radioed for permission to pursue the unidentified flying object.  He and a few other members gave chase for ten minutes.  When they finally got near enough to see more clearly, the object started shimmering in the bright morning sunlight.  It appeared to be picking up speed while simultaneously sending an urgent transmission.

The young aviators were fixing to blow this sucker out of the sky, when Lt. Commander Morrison, who had arrived on the scene first, discovered that the UFO was an escaped shiny metallic weather balloon.

*****

The Admiral was a specialist in electronic warfare. One of his projects was to put the first ever Navy spy satellite into orbit around the earth.  He kept a replica of the hand-sized metal sphere which had five “My Favorite Martian” antennae protruding from its center.  “Back then, that’s all we could throw up there”, the Admiral would say, “and there are still things about the project I am not allowed to discuss.”  He was true blue when it came to the rules.  “Suffer the consequences if you violate the rules.”  He was not a lenient man nor was he harsh in his application of discipline with his children and the men under his command.

Yet there was another side to him.  While the family was driving across the country on one of their many trips connected to tours of duty, the Admiral said, “The rules were made to be broken intelligently.”  I believe there is a part of him that understood that many people cannot function in a gray society or strict environment.  In that belief system, you must challenge the boundaries, but not head on.  In other words, “You must do what you want without appearing to have broken the rules.”  In essence, “Don’t get caught.  If you do get caught, you should not receive special treatment and must be punished under the full penalty of the law.”

REMEMBERING: ADMIRAL GEORGE STEPHEN MORRISON

Short interview with George Stephen Morrison and sister Anne Robin Morrison




This was a real thing back in the 1970's...




April 23, 1991: Wealthy Swiss banker Daniel Cohen had both arms amputated, was shot in the head, and then thrown out of his own private jet. All in a days work for Castor Troy.




On April 23, 1992, the Wall Street Journal published an article by Sen. Joe Biden entitled, “How I Learned to Love the New World Order”. In it, he speaks of “breathing new life into the U.N. Charter.”




Happy 5th Anniversary of Bleach Day to all who celebrate.



Relive the magic here:

Ultraviolet Irradiation of Blood: “The Cure That Time Forgot”?

Ultraviolet blood irradiation (UBI) was extensively used in the 1940s and 1950s to treat many diseases including septicemia, pneumonia, tuberculosis, arthritis, asthma and even poliomyelitis. The early studies were carried out by several physicians in USA and published in the American Journal of Surgery. However with the development of antibiotics, UBI use declined and it has now been called “the cure that time forgot”. Later studies were mostly performed by Russian workers and in other Eastern countries and the modern view in Western countries is that UBI remains highly controversial.

This chapter discusses the potential of UBI as an alternative approach to current methods used to treat infections, as an immune-modulating therapy and as a method for normalizing blood parameters. No resistance of microorganisms to UV irradiation has been reported, and multi- antibiotic resistant strains are as susceptible as their wild-type counterparts. Low and mild doses of UV kill microorganisms by damaging the DNA, while any DNA damage in host cells can be rapidly repaired by DNA repair enzymes.

UV irradiation of blood was hailed as a miracle therapy for treating serious infections in the 1940s and 1950s. In an ironic quirk of fate, this historical time period coincided with the widespread introduction of penicillin antibiotics, which were rapidly found to be an even bigger medical miracle therapy. Moreover another major success of UBI, which was becoming increasingly used to treat polio, was also eclipsed by the introduction of the Salk polio vaccine in 1955 [91]. UBI had originally been an American discovery, but then was transitioned to being more studied in Russia and other eastern countries, which had long concentrated on physical therapies for many diseases, which were more usually treated with drugs in the West.

Happy 7th birthday Prince Louis...




Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth argues the US will no longer be the sole guarantor of European security.


Hegseth Recaps 100 Days of DOD Accomplishments During Speech at War College

[EndtheMadnessNow]

Word of the day that sums up our newspeak.




A matter of generational perception...


In the 21st century, Roseburg, Oregon is a town where kids leave as soon as they graduate high school, especially after 2009. Nice place to visit though. It was the Timber Capital of the Nation from late 30s through the 70s.

Johnny Cash mythologized Roseburg loggers in the 1960 song "Lumberjack”:

"Ride this train to Roseburg, Oregon.
Now there's a town for ya!
You talk about rough...
You know a lot of places in the country claim Paul Bunyon lived there.
But you should have seen Roseburg when me and my daddy come there.
Every one of them loggers looked like Paul Bunyon to me.”



Bobby Henderson is from Roseburg, founder of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.


Disneyland - "Our Friend the Atom" Aired on Wednesday, April 24th, 1957 on ABC.


Youtube removed it, but you can watch it here: https://archive.org/details/youtube-QDcjW1XSXN0


TIME, April 24, 1989: The Rat Race
How America Is Running Itself Ragged
Technology will make our lives easier & happier, they said.




Estonia is obeying US SecDef Hegseth...


Do the peoples of those small Euro countries realize what that is going to do to their economy? Especially those who depend on state services.


Looks like "The Economists" are betting on Beijing, not the USA!




Britain bans Renaud Camus author of “Le Grand Remplacement” (2011), which describes how decades of mass migration have altered his native France, for reasons “conducive to the public good”.


Who’s Afraid of Renaud Camus?


Red Pill of the Day: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth figures out what the Pentagon really needs to enter the XXIst century: a makeup room!



Meanwhile...



Live look at the DOD...

[EndtheMadnessNow]

U.S. top 20 for April 24, 1971. Second of six weeks at No. 1 for "Joy to the World." The next 3 songs on the list all peaked at No. 2 but could not surpass "Joy" during its run at the top.






Yep...




While the media has most everyone busy listening for the "Signal", Trump/DOD has been hammering the Houthis and more reaper losses.

DAY 40 of Operation Rough Rider:







YemenOnline

Houthis have somehow endured air strikes & carpet bombing since 2015 by the Saudis, British, Israelis, USA since Obama era, Biden's Operation Prosperity Guardian (that faded away) and now Trump's Rough Rider.

Funny how the Pentagon's codename was also used for the 1985 Hell's Angels bust.
Or maybe the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, nicknamed "Rough Riders" one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War.
Or maybe the Marines in Operation Rough Rider that went down in Panama back in 1989.


Meanwhile, bombs, lots of bombs...




Maybe it's time to unplug the world...



...before we get an unexpected visitation...



...And the Amish have to rebuild the world in 8 days.

[EndtheMadnessNow]

April 25, 1915: 90,000 Australian, New Zealand, British, and French forces began a large-scale land invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula, the Turkish-controlled land mass bordering the northern side of the Dardanelles.

ANZAC Day just hits differently...

This Friday falls on the 110th Anniversary of ANZAC Day. In honor of our Australian and New Zealand friends and allies, I wanted to take a moment to recognize just one part of their origin story.

Why today?

Well, April 25th, 1915, was the day Commonwealth forces came ashore at Gallipoli.

From their live stream at dawn in Australia:



It is a much more sober holiday than many American holidays. Here’s a sample of how it is reported locally.



Think Memorial Day…but extra…and with a lot more controversy from their left than you find in the USA toward our Memorial Day.

Interest and support for ANZAC Day has waxed and waned with the rise of the Anglospheric self-loathing left, but from what I have been able to tell, that has changed and support is moving back to where it should be.

Australians and New Zealanders have fought and died in other people’s wars out of obligation and friendship over the last century + from the Boer Wars through Afghanistan.

They are not large nations. At ~27 million souls, Australia is a few million people smaller than Texas 30 million. At a bit over 5 million souls, New Zealand is close in population to Alabama.

Why was the Battle of Gallipoli such a moment in time for the people of Australia and New Zealand? That would take a stack of books to discuss, and is best discussed in detail by Australians.

I’ll give you a bit of a perspective, or try. The picture of the top of the post? That is from the Turkish trenches looking towards the Australian trenches in the Battle of the Nek of the Gallipoli campaign.

Below is from Episode 5 of the 2015 miniseries on Gallipoli, from the perspective of the Australian trenches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRKNfN4tpcw

Fullbore Friday



At the 1939 New York World’s Fair, Westinghouse buried a 5,000 year Time Capsule, intended to show the durability and longevity of its proprietary new alloy, cupalloy.

Concurrently, Westinghouse published The Book of Record. It placed copies at institutions and libraries of record around the world - the Library of Congress, the Vatican - where it could be held until it was time to unearth the capsule.

The Westinghouse Time Capsule's Book of Record is a document detailing the contents, purpose, and burial location of the 1939 time capsule. It serves as an official guide to ensure future discovery and understanding, containing instructions, cultural context, and a list of the artifacts enclosed. Published on the eve of World War II, it is a golden, optimistic document cataloging humanity’s triumphs and accomplishments.


The Book Of Record Of The Time Capsule Of Cupaloy

WikiSource  | Wiki



April 25, 1974: Pamela Courson died age 27. She was the long-term partner of Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors. Courson stated she discovered Morrison's body in the bathtub of a Paris apartment on July 3, 1971. She never recovered from his death and died of a heroin overdose. She was later legally recognized as his common-law wife. Another victim entered the 27 Club. Damn, what a sad ending. Like Jim's father, her father was also in the US Navy as a Carrier Pilot, combat action in the South Pacific for 26 months.

Several months after her death, her parents inherited her fortune. Jim Morrison's parents later contested the Coursons' executorship of the estate, leading to additional legal battles. In 1979 both parties agreed to divide the earnings from Morrison's estate equally.



The Doors - Love Street
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pldftoUbM80


"Bella Ciao" - The rebel song that went global from Italian rice fields to resistance as one of the world’s most enduring anthems of protest.

Bella Ciao began as a work song among mondine, women laborers in the rice fields of Northern Italy in the late 19th century. Their version lamented the grueling conditions, long hours, and exploitation they faced.



The original was a cry of fatigue:

"In the morning, as soon as I rise, I must go to the rice field."

These weren’t soldiers, they were working-class women, resisting in their own way. During World War II, Italian partisans, resistance fighters opposing  fascism and the Nazi occupation, adapted the song into what we now know as Bella Ciao!

The partisan version tells the story of someone leaving at dawn to join the resistance. They know death may come, but they go anyway. They ask to be buried in the mountains, under a flower, a metaphor for freedom and peace.

And so it turned from political to personal. At its core, Bella Ciao was about sacrifice, love for one’s land, and the courage to rise against injustice, even when it meant giving up everything.

Two versions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1dkZrpZgjY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lqs2oIBFPxI

Some believe its tune was inspired by a Yiddish folk song. Others point to Eastern European or Italian folk roots. Its evolution through oral tradition makes its origins hard to trace, but that’s part of its power. Bella Ciao spread through word of mouth, gatherings, and protests, not through state approval or official institutions. I assume that is why it resonates so widely across so many cultures...from Euro to the Scots to Americas to the Arabs in Gaza.

After WWII, Bella Ciao became deeply intertwined to Italy's collective memory of resistance and liberation.

It's sung on April 25th.

Italy’s Liberation Day.

Today!


Despite its power, Bella Ciao has always remained, perhaps unfairly, confined to a certain "left", sometimes opposed, loved by some, avoided by others, often politicized, but with a force and impact that has only grown more global.

In modern Italy, some view Bella Ciao as tied too much to the political left. Debates continue over whether it represents all Italians or just partial. But to many, it transcends politics.

Bella Ciao was translated and sung across the world, in Turkey, Iran, India, Argentina, and beyond. Wherever people fought for rights, equality, or liberation, the song often followed.

In the Netflix series "Money Heist", Bella Ciao played a symbolic role. The professor sang it with his brother as a tribute to rebellion, and the world listened. The series catapulted the song into global pop culture. Covers by street musicians, orchestras, techno DJs, and choirs flooded the internet.

Bella Ciao charted in several countries and it became the rare protest song that also worked on a dance floor. Social renditions multiplied and became more imaginative. What makes it timeless?

Its structure is simple.
Its melody is haunting.
Its lyrics are poetic but clear.
It carries sorrow and strength in equal measure.

From muddy fields to global stages, it’s been carried by those who refuse to be silent. Though, quite controversial, it’s been adopted by movements around the world and there are so many versions & adaptions of this song (per country/per culture) it's beyond counting.

After Naval News got a first look at a new airborne laser prototype at Sea Air Space 2025 earlier this month, General Atomics has confirmed the existence of a joint program within the Department of Defense that is looking to deliver airborne laser weapons to the MQ-9 fleet currently fielded in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps.

Naval News received confirmation from a General Atomics spokesperson familiar with the matter. The spokesperson confirmed the existence of a program that is looking to add a new air-to-air laser weapon to the MQ-9 family; part of a joint program that is looking to deliver an airborne laser to provide a persistent counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (C-UAS) presence to the battlespace.


According to General Atomics, core components of the future laser pod have already been tested on airborne platforms. A full test with a flying laser has not been completed but all components have been tested on the ground. General Atomics did not mention when airborne testing would begin.

The spokesperson also confirmed the power level of the laser at 25 kilowatts. The overhead technology used in development of the laser is scalable to 300 kilowatts (kW) but the size constraints imposed by the MQ-9 restrict it to a smaller power level. Battery packs on either wing can power the laser for long durations and act as the buffer between onboard power and the laser itself.

According to General Atomics, the MQ-9, when equipped with the airborne laser pod, could provide 24/7 intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) while simultaneously performing C-UAS missions against targets of interest. General Atomics highlighted an example of a mission set like this in the first island chain at its booth at Sea Air Space 2025.

General Atomics Confirms Drone-Killing Air-to-Air Laser is in Development

Military Recruitment Surges Under Hegseth’s Warrior Ethos

Even the quota increased in Antarctica.




Coast Guard Cutter Kimball (WMSL-756) & Cutter Forward (WMEC-911) bring in a score just in time for the weekend...


US Coast Guard Offloads 19,000 Pounds Of Cocaine Worth $214M In San Diego


When you’re about to fly 8,000 miles round-trip in 24 hours to attend a funeral at a 2,000-year-old church, for the death of the Holy Father of a 1.5-billion-member religion, with 200 world delegations, broadcast live across the globe with cameras filming even from heaven, and you’re in flats, carrying a Hermès bag, and wearing dark sunglasses like the most glamorous Bond girl about to board Marine One and onto Air Force One across the pond — all while knowing that, despite the jet lag, your husband won’t stop talking for even one second. OOof, tough job!

[EndtheMadnessNow]

Sybil Ludington (April 5, 1761 – February 26, 1839) daughter of an American militia officer is celebrated as a heroine of the American Revolutionary War. On the night of April 26, 1777 at age 16, she reportedly rode 40 miles in the hours of darkness to alert Hudson Valley patriots that the British are coming.


Sybil Ludington: Girl power, 1777 style


April 26, 1925: Accompanied by an honor guard, members of the United Daughters of 1812 lay a wreath at the tomb of “Star-Spangled Banner” composer Francis Scott Key in Frederick, Md. This act commemorated Key's contribution to American heritage, as his poem, written in 1814, became the national anthem in 1931. The event reflects the patriotic activities of the United Daughters of 1812, a lineage-based organization dedicated to preserving the memory of the War of 1812.




April 26, 1886: John Tiller created the Tiller Girls dancing group in Manchester. They became the most popular dance troupe of the 1890s and legendary in the 20th century. They were most famous for their thirty-two-and-a-half high kicks a minute in dance routines. Huh, and I had thought the NYC Rockettes were original.

After John Tiller died in 1925, Mary Read (Head Tiller Girl from England who had been one of the 1916 Sunshine Girls in America) signed a very profitable contract with Howard Hughes RKO studios. Many Tiller Girls worked in American films and danced all over the USA. Many girls married and settled in America, most of them dancing and choreographing in American shows.

In the early days the dance group had different names: The Superba Quartet, The Pony Ballet and The Palace Girls. In 1891 John Tiller started a group he called The Tiller Quartette.

His wife had 11 children within 10 years. WoW!


Tiller Girls 1906 souvenir brochure


The Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, an American dance troupe, follow and keep alive the Tiller Girls' tradition of high-kicking precision dancing. Russell Markert, founder of The Rockettes, reminisced: "I had seen the Tiller girls in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1922. If I ever got a chance to get a group of American girls who would be taller and have longer legs and could do really complicated tap routines and eye-high kicks, they'd knock your socks off!" The Rockettes first came to life in 1925 as the "Missouri Rockets" and made their show business debut in St. Louis, the realisation of a long-time dream of their creator, Russell Markert.

Some of the Tiller Girls and American girls who trained with Mary Read also danced in the Rockettes. Lily Smart, who trained with the Tiller School of Dance in Manchester and was with the 1922 troupe in the Ziegfeld Follies, settled in America and joined the Rockettes after leaving the Tiller Girls, performing with them for many years. She was then involved with the training of new dancers. Lily was in constant contact with Bernard Tiller until her death in 2010, at age 106. Lily explained how Russell Markert added his own style to the Precision Dance routines; this found its way back to the Tiller girls in the United Kingdom.


Betty Boothroyd (8 October 1929 – 26 February 2023), first ever woman Speaker of the British Parliament - House of Commons (1992–2000) was a Tiller Girl from 1946 to 1952. A foot infection brought an end to her dancing career and she entered politics, something then unusual, as the political world was heavily male-dominated and mostly aristocratic. Strange: Boothroyd never married nor had children.



April 26, 1947: The Cat Concerto, the 29th Tom and Jerry animated cartoon was released to theaters. Produced by Fred Quimby and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. This short is centered around the musical piece "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2" by Franz Liszt. Quimby was born on the very same day that Liszt died: July 31, 1886.



In June 2017, then 16-year-old pianist Yannie Tan performed the arrangement live in Peachtree Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, Georgia.





Steve and Jeff McDonald of Redd Kross and a Fallout Shelter Sign poster (from the 1973 WHO tour) in the limited release of The SPIRIT OF '76 (1990).


In 2176, a magnetic storm has degaussed all recorded history, causing valuable documents such as the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence to be lost. Three time travelers, Adam-11 (David Cassidy), Chanel-6 (Olivia d'Abo), and Heinz-57 (Geoff Hoyle) are sent back to July 4, 1776, to retrieve America's heritage, but due to an unforeseen time machine malfunction, they end up in 1976 instead, during the United States Bicentennial, while being perceived as aliens.

Wikipedia states: "[Director Carl] Reiner complimented Sofia Coppola on her costuming work for the film, noting that she was only seventeen years-old during initial production. Coppola had to research for the 1970s [without internet] as she had not lived through the period, and also developed costumes for two other periods - the future in the year 2171, and the future after the time-travelers returned home and changed the culture."

Adam-11 complains about being stuck in the '70s and then turns to a Partridge Family lunch box. Adam-11 is played by David Cassidy, who starred in The Partridge Family (1970).

The prop for the time machine was made out of two hot tubs - which was a reference to their popularity during the period.

The number of songs that featured on the movie's soundtrack totaled to twenty-seven!! 23 of the 27 songs listed on the soundtrack list have made it to the top 10 Billboard music chart from the years each of those songs were released during the 1970s decade

The new wave rock band Devo have a cameo as members of the "Ministry of Knowledge." Moon Unit Zappa, daughter of Frank Zappa has a cameo.

The acronym "CIA" stood for "Custom Industrial Appliances". (Sounds like a banner tagline)

Production team includes a number of relatives of famous movie people. Director Lucas Reiner is the son of Carl Reiner and brother of Rob Reiner. One of the executive producers is Roman Coppola (son of Francis Ford Coppola). Sofia Coppola, daughter of Francis Ford Coppola is credited for costume design. Produced/casting by Susan B. Landau (daughter of Martin Landau and Barbara Bain.

Here's a taste of Americana apple pie...for gaining knowledge!



Soundtrack listing that I'm sure you'll recognize::

1.     Average White Band – "Pick Up the Pieces"
   
2.     Chicago – "Saturday in the Park"
   
3.     The Carpenters – "Top of the World"
   
4.     Grand Funk Railroad – "We're an American Band"
   
5.     Starland Vocal Band – "Afternoon Delight"
   
6.     Love Unlimited Orchestra – "Love's Theme"
   
7.     Maria Muldaur – "Midnight at the Oasis"
   
8.     The Hues Corporation – "Rock the Boat"
   
9.     Peter Tosh – "Legalize It"
   
10.     Blue Öyster Cult – "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"
    
11.     Walter Murphy – "A Fifth of Beethoven"
    
12.     Bachman–Turner Overdrive – "Takin' Care of Business"
    
13.     Van McCoy – "The Hustle"
    
14.     Peter Frampton – "Do You Feel Like We Do"
    
15.     Sweet – "Fox on the Run"
    
16.     Eli's Second Coming – "Love Chant"
    
17.     Carl Douglas – "Kung Fu Fighting"
    
18.     Wild Cherry – "Play That Funky Music"
    
19.     Rick Derringer – "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo"
    
20.     Vicki Sue Robinson – "Turn the Beat Around"
    
21.     Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes – "Get Dancin'"
    
22.     Edgar Winter Group – "Frankenstein"
    
23.     The Sylvers – "Boogie Fever"
    
24.     The Trammps – "Disco Inferno"
    
25.     Bay City Rollers – "Saturday Night"
    
26.     Redd Kross – "1976"
    
27.     The Dickies – "Spirit of '76"
    

In the highly controversial animated TV series, "South Park" airs a new episode, "Quintuplets 2000," that is a comedic parody of the Elian Gonzalez scandal. One scene is a shot-for-shot recreation of the U.S. government raid that took place to capture Elian less than four days earlier, which is a speedy turnaround for scripted network television.




The Block Nuclear Launch by Autonomous Artificial Intelligence Act (H.R.2894) was introduced on April 26, 2023, by 20 Democrats, 5 Republicans. The Pentagon already prohibits AI from autonomously launching nuclear weapons, but this bill seeks to codify this rule into law to prevent future changes.
Beware of August 29th.






Trump and Zelenskyy face-to-face today in the Vatican.
Trump: Hitler was from Germany
Zelenskyy: No, Hitler was from Austria
Trump: Then why are there no photos of him with kangaroos?
Zelenskyy: Thats Aust...
Trump: or boomerangs?

[EndtheMadnessNow]

April 25, 2003: the crew of a Chinese fishing boat noticed a strange sight—a periscope drifting listlessly above the surface of the water. The fishermen notified the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) which promptly dispatched two vessels to investigate.

At first the PLAN believed the contact to be an intruding submarine from South Korea or Japan. But when Chinese personnel finally recovered the apparent derelict they realized it was one of their own diesel-electric submarines, the Ming-class 361 named Great Wall #61.



When they boarded on April 26, they found all 70 personnel slumped over and dead at their stations. How they all died has never been revealed, but the best theory is the crew was suffocated by the sub’s diesel engine.

According to Wen Wei Po, 361 was running its diesel while snorkeling when high water caused the air intake valve to close—or the valve failed to open properly due to a malfunction. However, its diesel engine did not shut down as it should have in response. You can find what appears to be a translated version of the article here.


The Chinese are akin to American shipbuilding in 1942.
Chinese shipbuilder Hengli Heavy Industry is looking to hire 30,000 workers, building to 50,000, as it launches a new shipyard, completed in just 153 days on Changxing Island, spanning over 2m square metres of building space across 17 large workshops.

The top three individual shipyards globally in terms of order wins in 2024 were all Chinese, with another four Chinese yards in the top 10.

State-owned Chinese shipbuilder Nantong Xiangyu is to restart the Jiangsu Hongqiang shipyard at Qidong in June 2025, which it acquired in August 2024 after Jiangsu Hongqiang Ship Heavy Industry declared bankruptcy, boosting capacity by 50%.

China to be the next maritime king & WW III in 2030?






Daily Mail
Why not take the boot off the necks of British people? Are there no problems closer to home for you to occupy your mind with? What's with your strange Ukraine obsession? Bloody hypocrite.





IF YOU ARE IN CHINA YOU NEED TO DUCK AND COVER, prepare you emergency shelter, stock dry goods and non-perishables, place the elderly and vulnerable in hermetically sealed rooms. Godspeed comrades...

BREAKING: JD VANCE TO MEET WITH XI JINPING NEXT WEEK TO START TARIFF NEGOTIATIONS!

Source:



Burkina Faso awards gold mine permit to Russia's Nordgold. He convinced Putin to reopen its embassy in Burkina Faso, after 31 years of closure.


Ibrahim Traoré became President in 2022 via a military coup d'état. The landlocked country has had many coup's over the decades.

Burkina Faso is the largest producer of cotton in Africa and the tenth largest producer of cotton worldwide. He has banned the importation of second hand clothes. He believes it’s time for Africans to start wearing African attire.

He drop kicked French troops out and tossed French as an official language out the door, adopting local languages as official languages. As of 2024 Russian troops, including the Wagner Group are now present in Burkina Faso. He opened their first gold refinery in 2024, marking a shift from exporting raw gold to refining it locally. He has survived 18 assassination attempts, allegedly.

Just a spooky conspiratorial coincidence on how the orbit of the flying ORB over the NRO logo, flies right over Magenta, Italy, where the NRO "whistleblower" claims the Vatican helped US retrieve a UFO from Benito Mussolini in 1933.



Magenta, of course, is a color with absolutely no significance in the occult, and pay no attention to the fact that the Italian Tomb of the Magi (who followed a traveling star to Bethlehem) is Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio in Milan, which is 33 km from the town of Magenta.

Y’all magenta-pilled? How about some CAGEy Lovecraftian magenta...


A story of cosmic terror about The Gardners, a family who moves to a remote farmstead in rural New England to escape the hustle of the 21st century. They are busy adapting to their new life when a meteorite crashes into their front yard. The mysterious aerolite seems to melt into the earth, infecting both the land and the properties of space-time with a strange, otherworldly magenta color. To their horror, the Gardner family discover that this alien force is gradually mutating every life form that it touches...including them.


"The Colour Out of Space" appeared in the September 1927 edition of Amazing Stories.


PDF link if you want to read it.


Pot companies want Trump to loosen federal MARIJUANA laws



Is Trump listening? The pot lobby says Trump should with the midterms looming.

Weed is only fully legal in a few states

Banking laws prevent weed companies from having accounts

Sales of weed and its various forms — $40 to $60 BILLION a year.

Pot Inc. tells Trump it’s high time to loosen federal laws

[EndtheMadnessNow]

April 27, 1965: American journalist, Edward Roscoe Murrow, died at age 57. He’s best known for his radio broadcasts from London to USA during WWII and afterward his reporting on the "Red Scare" investigation of Communists led by Senator Joseph McCarthy. He always ended his programs with the words: "Goodnight and good luck."


Really good history, drama-bio film, written/directed/starring George Clooney as Fred W. Friendly with David Strathairn as Edward Murrow and Jeff Daniels as Siegfried Thor "Sig" Mickelson, the first president of CBS News from 1959 to 1961.

Friendly served as president of CBS News from 1964 to 1966.
Murrow and Friendly broadcast a revealing See It Now documentary analysis on Senator Joseph McCarthy (airing March 9, 1954) that has been credited with changing the public view of McCarthy and, being a key event leading to McCarthy's fall from power. In 1966, Friendly resigned from CBS when the television network ran a scheduled episode of I Love Lucy instead of broadcasting live coverage of the first United States Senate hearings questioning American involvement in Vietnam.

This short film by the US Navy, OPERATION SUNSHINE is narrated by Edward R. Murrow. It covers the successful secret mission of Operation Sunshine, code name for the USS Nautilus (SSN-571) voyage from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean via the North Pole.


UK #1 on this day in 1967: Sandie Shaw - Puppet On A String (1967)




This week in 1977: Tom Laughlin's BILLY JACK GOES TO WASHINGTON had its world premiere in Omaha, Nebraska. "The biggest event of 1977."


The limited showing on April 16, 1977 in Los Angeles was a sneak preview, and another sneak was held the next night at the Admiral Theatre in Omaha, NE. The North Central edition of "Boxoffice Magazine", dated May 2, 1977, had an article about the Omaha showing. Originally intended for a December 1976 release.


British scifi children's short film THE GLITTERBALL, directed by Harley Cokeliss (co-director for Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back) premiered in London on April 22, 1977. Two teenage boys (one a lonely RAF brat) try to help a tiny spherical alien get back to its mothership, while the Royal Air Force and a devious petty crook pursue the creature for its wonderful powers. Film plot reference to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).


The truck being used by the Royal Air Force to track the alien is one of the BBC's Dodge SpaceVan TV detector vans, that was used to detect television sets in homes, to locate & target people operating televisions without having paid their TV license fee. Oh, what a horrible crime! LOL.


THE HUNTERS (1979) by Burt Wetanson and Thomas Hoobler


Far from some proto-Predator hack and slash, this is another spin on The Most Dangerous Game, with a crew of almost-human ETs mounting a very civilized big game hunt to rural Montana. The only problem, of course, is that we're the game. The Hunters get as much characterization as the cast of stock 70s humans and while they're a nasty bunch, the authors draw the two groups closer and closer together as the line between prey and predators blurs.

The moral? We're them, they're us.


ALIEN (1977/1980) by George H. Leonard


I wonder if billionaire Robert Bigelow ever read it?


Ancient Aliens in Sin City with your favorite British grifter.




Ghosts of Iron Mountain by Phil Tinline, the Oxford docu guy over at BBC Radio.


NYT Review


UFO Sunday Greatest Hits!


Playlist


April 27, 1986: Tonight for those who were living on the USA east coast & were watching "The Falcon and the Snowman" on HBO might remember this "Signal"...





KABOOM!! Allahu Akbar!
Missile fuel blows up in Iranian port.


A massive explosion at an Iranian port possibly linked to missile fuel kills 25, injures some 800

Possibly Israeli sabotage, or British! Or just plain incompetence.

Helo aerial view video:
https://x.com/farnazfassihi/status/1916173398427795614

The Customs Administration of Iran blamed a “stockpile of hazardous goods and chemical materials stored in the port area” for the blast.

Stored among ordinary goods like baby milk powder.

The strategy of deliberately positioning military assets, combatants, or operations near civilian populations or infrastructure to deter attacks by exploiting the humanity of the enemy means that explosives and hazardous materials will be labeled as "baby milk powder".


A toast with Secretary of State for Defence John Healey aboard HMS Prince of Wales (April 25th) as they begin their long 8 month deployment to the Indo-Pacific as Operation HIGHMAST.

This is to showcase British and NATO maritime power and prestige. Led by the aircraft carrier HMS PRINCE OF WALES, and escorted by British, Canadian and Norwegian warships, this is the highest profile Royal Navy deployment in years – but is it actually worth the effort to show the RN as a truly global force, or is it a Potemkin operation by a failing navy desperate to recall its now long gone glory days?

The goal of the Carrier Strike Group (CSG) deployment is to send a task group, that is intentionally international by design and construct, to carry out a global deployment to work with partner nations and deepen defence relationships.

The last CSG was in 2021, led by HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH and deployed out to the Pacific. This was, candidly, a bit of an odd deployment, in a world gripped by the madness of Covid lockdowns, most port visits were cancelled, and crews unable to go ashore. There were plenty of impressive exercises, but the whole thing was perhaps less impactful than planners had hoped, due to events entirely out of their control. The deployment was notable in that it too was international by design, incorporating US and Netherlands escort ships, and also embarkation of 10 USMC F35s as part of the combined airwing.

The presence of HMS ASTUTE will allow for joint SSN operations with Australia and potentially test the ability of Fremantle to support SSN operations as part of future plans to see an RN SSN near permanently based in the region as part of AUKUS. When added to the opportunities for wider exchanges, particularly with FPDA allies and other partners, there is huge scope here for a lot of good work that will be useful for years to come.

.....

The final big challenge is whether this is the right focus for the UK at a time when NATO is occupying the bulk of MOD interests. It is clear that deterring Russia is a vital mission for the armed forces – there is an argument that could be made that the CSG is a task group that is ideal for the world of 2010, not 2025. In a world where the UK’s security horizon has had to inevitably close in to focus on the near threat, is operating abroad necessary?

To the author, the answer is an unmitigated yes, yes it is. Russia under Putin will not be a threat forever – times change, as do regimes. The nations we aspire to work, trade and engage with globally are open to working with different partners for different reasons. As one player departs, another emerges to fill the vacuum – if the UK does not step up to fill the gaps in western leadership that seem to be rapidly emerging, then other nations more hostile to our interests will seek to fill them in areas critical to our national interests. It is vital that we take a long term perspective, and build relationships now that will last throughout the complex decades to come.

High Hopes for Op HIGHMAST? by Sir Humphrey,Former MOD, former Reservist Officer.

DAWN CHORUS

THIS morning, lying couched amid the grass
In the deep, deep dingle south of Llangwyth's Pass,
While it was yet neither quite bright nor dark,
I heard a new and wonderful High Mass.

The Chief Priest was the nightingale: the lark
And thrush assisted him: and some small bird
(I do not weet his name) acted as Clerk.

My spirit was lapped in ecstasy: each word,
Word after word, thrilled through me like the deep
Rich music of a dream: not wholly asleep
Nor all awake was I, but, as it were,

Tranced somewhere between one state and the other.
All heavy thoughts that through the long day smother
Man's heart and soul with weariness and care
Were gone, and in their place reigned pure delight.
The nightingale, sent from a far and bright
Land by my golden sister, prophesied

Of blessed days to come, in a sweet voice:
And the small bird, responding, sang 'Rejoice, rejoice!'
I heard his little bill tinkle and jingle
With a clear silver sound that filled the dingle.
Heaven is a state wherein bliss and devotion mingle,
And such was mine this morn: I could have died
Of rapture.

DAVID AP GWYLYM (fourteenth century) rendered by JAMES CLARENCE MANGAN, Poems, 1903.

[EndtheMadnessNow]

The Jester (1908) — Early film about a cigarette-smoking jester who makes things appear, disappear, and transform every times she exhales...



She can also make her body spin like a pinwheel and her face revolve like a mask. All 5 minutes here.


Co-star in the movie Viva Las Vegas (1964) with Elvis Presley and headliner in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, singer, dancer, and actress Ann-Margret was born Ann-Margret Olsson on April 28, 1941 in Valsjobyn, Sweden. She came to the United States with her parents after World War II and moved to the West Coast with her singing group around 1959. George Burns helped launch her singing career, and she soon went on to acting, starring alongside big names such as with Elvis Presley, Jack Nicholson and John Wayne, earning an Oscar nomination for Carnal Knowledge.




James Bama (April 28, 1926 – April 24, 2022) an "American Realist" famous for his western paintings that are in museums around the world was previously known as an illustrator of movie posters, illustrations, magazine covers and most notably, paperback cover paintings. He had numerous clients; the New York Giants football team, Baseball & Football Halls of Fame & the U.S. Air Force. Bama did a set of 62 covers for the Doc Savage Bantam Books paperbacks.




BigHorn Galleries

The Daily Cartoonist

Doc Savage Bantam Books Cover Art

An interview with artist James Bama – Part 1 ** (Checkout this site if you're into real art by a true master that no AI can match!)

Sage Grinder




David Bowie’s handwritten lyrics for the single Starman, which was released on April 28, 1972 in the UK. It was his 1st top 10 hit since Space Oddity in 1969 and marked the real beginning of his rise to world wide fame by introducing his androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust.






Finally!!

Warren Zevon Enters Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2025

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame


The conclave to elect a new Pope will begin on May 7 according to the Holy See Press Office. Here’s all the Latin you need to follow the conclave for the election of the next pope.


Also, the word "conclave" means "with the key(s)."


In case you missed it - China in Sinai?

China’s economic relations and large investments around the Suez Canal are not new. Its growing military relations not so well known, which provides added leverage to Beijing over its European targets as well as the U.S. But given the chaos in the region, lots could go wrong and further complicates U.S.-China relations.


China, Egypt hold first joint drill near Israeli border


Had to wait until I could check the NPR transcript to be sure I heard right: "The Migration Policy Institute estimates that the number of arrests is up, but the pace of deportations is, so far, down from the last fiscal year under President Biden".


The Trump administration continues to crack down on illegal immigration


Operation Rough Rider update...


If it's taking two carrier strike groups to bombard 24/7 a small parcel of Yemen territory...the US Navy will need all 11 carrier strike groups + Britain, Japan, France, India, Italy + more not yet built to go after Iran.

[EndtheMadnessNow]

What happened today in Spain and Portugal? Hello?
Part true / part lie.


Massive power outage in Spain and Portugal leaves thousands stranded and millions without light

Spain and Portugal Power Outages: Energy Firm Blames Rare Weather Phenomenon



N Korea confirms it sent troops to fight for Russia in Ukraine war

That whole story is probably a lie, mostly, but who really knows. No mention of how many NK soldiers went AWOL and do they like Russian MRE's?

It was also reported in the North Korea news site
NK News and again today here.

Meanwhile, another famine looming?


Hunger trumps trees: N. Koreans uproot state reforestation for food crops


I did not know Ukraine has an Ice Breaker...


Inside Ukraine’s Antarctic Expedition (penguins inside)

Noosfera (Ukrainian: Ноосфера, lit. 'Noosphere') is a polar supply and research ship operated by the National Antarctic Scientific Center of Ukraine. Until 2021, when it was sold to Ukraine, she was operated by the British Antarctic Survey and named RRS James Clark Ross.

The British Faraday Station (Station F) was established in 1947 and gifted to Ukraine in 1996, and renamed to Vernadsky Research Base after the mineralogist Vladimir Vernadsky (1863–1945) who was the first president of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.


The lesser known Tuning Test. It’s like they’re sneaking AI in just to see how long it can go without anyone noticing.


An AI-generated radio host in Australia went unnoticed for months


We appear to have moved away from key narratives such as "NATO is not a participant in the war" and "the war has made NATO stronger". The media should announce when important facts are no longer "Russian propaganda".




Boy, that pendulum has really swung the other way...



All this talk of round-up & deporting gave me a flashback to...




Michele Obama - hypocrite, liar, traitor, POS.


https://x.com/RT_com/status/1917049439320973776


Got me a new congressional approved fixture...

[BIAD]

Yeah, but what we really want is...

[EndtheMadnessNow]

April 30, 1947: In Nevada, Boulder Dam is renamed Hoover Dam.
Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. Constructed between 1931 and 1936, during the Great Depression, it was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Its construction was the result of a massive effort involving thousands of workers, and cost over 100 lives. Not included in the official number of fatalities were deaths that were recorded as pneumonia.

The "official" number of fatalities involved in building Hoover Dam is 96. These were men who died at the dam site (classified as "industrial fatalities") from such causes as drowning, blasting, falling rocks or slides, falls from the canyon walls, being struck by heavy equipment, truck accidents, etc. Industrial fatalities do not include deaths from heat, pneumonia, heart trouble, etc.

The record regarding the number of fatalities that occurred at Hoover Dam during its construction is just not that clear. However, the following information comes from the Hoover Dam Project History, volumes 1 through 5, 1931 to 1935, and provides the best information Reclamation has available on this subject.
Fatalities at Hoover Dam

Bills passed by Congress during its construction referred to it as Hoover Dam (after President Herbert Hoover), but the Roosevelt administration named it Boulder Dam. In 1947, Congress restored the name Hoover Dam.

Lake Mead Water Level

What's up with those Dam sculptures?

One of the highlights for many of the people who visit Hoover Dam each year is the artwork they find. While most people are impressed by these works, they often ask the question, "What do they mean?"

Much of the sculpture is the work of Norwegian-born, naturalized American Oskar J.W. Hansen. Mr. Hansen fielded many questions about his work while it was being installed at the dam. In response to those questions, he later wrote about his interpretation of his sculptures.

Hoover Dam, said Hansen, represented for him the building genius of America, "a monument to collective genius exerting itself in community efforts around a common need or ideal." He compared the dam to such works as the great pyramids of Egypt, and said that, when viewing these man-made structures, the viewer often asks of their builders, "What manner of men were these?"

The sculptor, according to Hansen, tries to answer this question objectively, by "interpreting man to other men in the terms of the man himself." "In each of these monuments," he said, "can be read the characteristics of these men, and on a larger scale, the community of which they are part. Thus, mankind itself is the subject of the sculptures at Hoover Dam."

Hansen's principal work at Hoover Dam is the monument of dedication on the Nevada side of the dam. Here, rising from a black, polished base, is a 142-foot flagpole flanked by two winged figures, which Hansen calls the Winged Figures of the Republic. They express "the immutable calm of intellectual resolution, and the enormous power of trained physical strength, equally enthroned in placid triumph of scientific accomplishment."

"The building of Hoover Dam belongs to the sagas of the daring. The winged bronzes which guard the flag, therefore, wear the look of eagles. To them also was given the vital upward thrust of an aspirational gesture; to symbolize the readiness for defense of our institutions and keeping of our spiritual eagles ever ready to be on the wing."

The winged figures are 30 feet high. Their shells are 5/8-inch thick, and contain more than 4 tons of statuary bronze. The figures were formed from sand molds weighing 492 tons. The bronze that forms the shells was heated to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, and poured into the molds in one continuous, molten stream.

The figures rest on a base of black diorite, an igneous rock. In order to place the blocks without marring their highly polished finish, they were centered on blocks of ice, and guided precisely into place as the ice melted. After the blocks were in place, the flagpole was dropped through a hole in the center block into a predrilled hole in the mountain.

Surrounding the base is a terrazzo floor, inlaid with a star chart, or celestial map. The chart preserves for future generations the date on which President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated Hoover Dam, September 30, 1935.

The apparent magnitudes of stars on the chart are shown as they would appear to the naked eye at a distance of about 190 trillion miles from earth. In reality, the distance to most of the stars is more than 950 trillion miles.

In this celestial map, the bodies of the solar system are placed so exactly that those versed in astronomy could calculate the precession (progressively earlier occurrence) of the Pole Star for approximately the next 14,000 years. Conversely, future generations could look upon this monument and determine, if no other means were available, the exact date on which Hoover Dam was dedicated.

Near the figures and elevated above the floor is a compass, framed by the signs of the zodiac.

Hansen also designed the plaque commemorating the 96 men who officially died during the construction of Hoover Dam, as well as the bas-relief series on both the Nevada and Arizona elevator towers. The plaque, originally set into the canyon wall on the Arizona side of the dam, is now located near the winged figures. It reads:

"They died to make the desert bloom. The United States of America will continue to remember that many who toiled here found their final rest while engaged in the building of this dam. The United States of America will continue to remember the services of all who labored to clothe with substance the plans of those who first visioned the building of this dam."

The Story of Hoover Dam

David Horowitz spent the first half of his life as a Marxist dropping banger articles for publications like Ramparts (1960s) about how wealth (and the CIA) shaped the post WW2 university system. Of course, in hindsight it illuminates the David Horowitz Freedom Center's obsession with university "infiltration" by radical leftists and Muslims. There is a certain tendency that attracts people to radical ideas regardless of political affiliation and they'll follow it wherever it takes them, even to the ends of Earth.


20 page pamphlet

Longtime Communist activist turned conservative and author of such books as "Destructive Generation," "Radical Son," "Hating Whitey and Other Progressive Causes," "Uncivil Wars: The Controversy Over Reparations for Slavery," "Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam and the American Left," "The Anti-Chomsky Reader," "Left Illusions: An Intellectual Odyssey" and "The Politics of Bad Faith." He is also the editor of the conservative online magazine FrontPage.com and the president of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture.




Space Force's GSSAP 5 (USA 324) reported to be buzzing Chinese military GEO satellites. This the sort of thing that causes DoD officials to issue outraged comments when China does it to ours...


https://x.com/COMSPOC_OPS/status/1917299841039831248

Trump: Outer space is now renamed Space of America.

Is the U.S. prepared for attacks against our space systems?

Big Ideas Lab


John Foster Jr. was an absolute legend in the nuclear weapons & security enterprise.

Something about these Dr. Strangelovian superior intellect types where it either vaporizes you, torments you with parasitic cancer, Or extends one's life. I guess that is why ET has been so damn interested in our nuke R&D. He was a long-serving member of the Defense Science Board.

He followed in his father's footsteps. As you may ponder, he has a long interesting bio and very few know how many secrets he took to his grave...


Visionary LLNL director and national security pioneer Johnny Foster dies at 102

Welp, the folks in Washington today are beyond help. Not sure what's in store for us over the next 5 years.

Norris Bradbury succeeded Robert Oppenheimer, who personally chose Bradbury for the position of director after working closely with him on the Manhattan Project. Bradbury was in charge of the final assembly of "the Gadget", detonated in July 1945 for the Trinity test.


In the 1950s Bradbury oversaw the development of thermonuclear weapons, although a falling-out with Edward Teller over the priority given to their development led to the creation of a rival nuclear weapons laboratory, the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory.

In the mid-1990s, Bradbury had an unfortunate accident with an axe while chopping firewood. Gangrene set in, and his right leg was amputated below the knee. It spread to his left leg, and part of his left foot was amputated, leaving him in a wheelchair. The disease eventually proved fatal, and he died on August 20, 1997.


Final Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Directed Energy Weapon Systems and Technology Applications (Dec 2007) -  97-page report

Obviously, since that report, billions have been dumped into the DEW given what we see today...Drones, fighter & EW jets, satellites, ray-guns, mysterious fires, etc.


A cold chuckle of concern: JASON group physicists, advisors to DARPA all throughout the cold war era until post-9/11. According to DARPA researcher, Annie Jacobsen, when DARPA & the Pentagon wanted to move into autonomonous warfare with hunter/killer self-governing drones AND brain chip implants; the JASON group advised against it. DARPA & Pentagon Strangelovian's replaced the JASONs with an old group called the Defense Science Board (DSB).

Sec of Defense Ash Carter under Obama ordered a program to work on robotics and Ethics. Then it was realized that cyborgs don't have morals so DARPA created a new program focused on "trust" called Narrative Networks or the "N2" program to master the science of propaganda in working with story tellers and anthropologists on how people are influenced by narratives which involves a brain chemical called Oxytocin, sometimes referred to as the brain's moral molecule.

Analyze the neurobiological impact of narratives on hormones and neurotransmitters, reward processing, and emotion-cognition interaction; and Develop models and simulations of narrative influence in social and environmental contexts, develop sensors to determine their impact on individuals and groups, and suggest doctrinal modifications...And that project was from 10 years ago.

So, from DARPA perspective this Oxytocin chemical is what humans use as a trust mechanism and the potential to mass manipulate populations along with DARPA transhumanism for the military. Remember, these DOD types have zero boundaries when it comes to morale & ethics. (NOT the transhumanism flavors you see in msm)

Donald Trump in his first term defunded the JASON group. I'm not sure if that was later reversed or they got re-funded from private interests groups.

Nobody reads these DSB reports except other DOD academics, the Russians, and probably the Chinese.



My Atomic ray gun for restoring peace in the Middle East and dealing with certain EU leaders...


A blast from the Atomic Age! The Atomic Disintegrator cap pistol by Hubley wowed 1950s imaginations with its sleek design and red grips—back when atomic ray guns felt less like sci-fi and more like a real possibility.


Nuclear bomb photo ops like this one crack me up, but it is serious business.
Bomb worshiping photo taken at the Pantex nuclear weapons manufacturer in Texas. Nice touch with the Psalms 91 hoodie. God help us.

[EndtheMadnessNow]

It's National Bugs Bunny Day! After his tribute to the USMC in the 1943 cartoon "Super-Rabbit", Bugs was made an Honorary Marine. By the end of WWII, he had been promoted to Master Sergeant.




April 30, 1975: as Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces, the U.S. Navy carried out an epic evacuation of American personnel and South Vietnamese refugees.


Bravery in the Chaos: Operation Frequent Wind, April 1975



A new era for Light Initiated High Explosives and weapons testing

The W76-1 thermonuclear warhead is part of the nuclear Triad, specifically the Trident II D5 missile onboard Ohio-class boomer submarines. A nuclear triad is a three-pronged military force structure of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and strategic bombers with nuclear bombs and missiles. Current nuclear triads are: USA, Russia, China and India.


Meanwhile, NPR's exclusive headline of nuclear nonsense keeps the fear machine running...


DOGE employees gain accounts on classified networks holding nuclear secrets


This is from 2021, but I just stumbled across it...

Scientists Are Building a "Black Box" to Record the End of Civilization

If — or when — human civilization collapses, what will remain? Maybe parts of some cities. Or the Statue of Liberty, a la "Planet of the Apes." Overall, though, there might not be a lot of evidence left behind about what humanity accomplished — or what resulted in its downfall.

One team of researchers wants to change that. Their solution? A massive, indestructible box that’ll record scientific data to give future civilizations insight on how exactly humanity fell.

The project, dubbed Earth’s Black Box, will be an immense steel monolith installed in a remote location in Tasmania. It’s akin to the black boxes that are designed to survive airplane crashes and provide investigators valuable data on what led to the disaster — except on a planetary scale.

Indestructible Recorder

The project is a collaboration between researchers at the University of Tasmania, marketing agency Clemenger BBDO, and creative agency The Glue Society.

The team is designing the box to record climate data such as atmospheric CO2 levels, sea temperatures, and energy consumption levels. It’ll also gather contextual information like news headlines and social media posts.

"The idea is if the Earth does crash as a result of climate change, this indestructible recording device will be there for whoever's left to learn from that," Jim Curtis, the executive creative director at Clemenger BBDO, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Outlive Humanity

The box itself will be made from three-inch-thick steel and cantilevered off granite. Inside will be a system of Internet-connected storage drives powered by solar panels on the box’s roof.

"It’s built to outlive us all," Jonathan Kneebone, cofounder of the Glue Society, told ABC. "If the worst does happen, just because the power grids go down, this thing will still be there."

The biggest issue for the team now is how to help future civilizations access the information it contains. After all, they’ll just find a mysterious monolith out in the middle of nowhere — and we know how that worked out for us already.

This tale of Armageddon anxiety was penned by country singer-songwriter, Lawton Williams, and released on a 7" by the Mercury label in 1961. Here featured on the just-released various artists compilation album, "Hillbillies In Hell: The Endless Sleep (1958-1973)", available now via The Omni Recording Corporation / The Iron Mountain Analogue Research Facility, Australia.





April 22nd: Spain brags about hitting 100% renewable power.

April 28th: Spain has the nation's largest blackout in history.


The more renewables you have, the more blackouts you get.
This is simple physics.
Its like driving a car without an accelerator.. you are not in control.

Its replaced religion.
It's a belief system, the cult of climate.
We are 'saving the planet'
Mad Miliband is the High Priest.


To make people vulnerable and desperate which leads them to demand the Government tries Marxism "to protect them."

You can demand Marxism but you cannot get out of Marxism without enormous bloodshed.



Solar Farms Failure Behind Spain Blackouts, Grid Operator Confirms – as Tony Blair Turns on Net Zero

Ha, What happened to the "science is settled"?

Blair says current net zero policies 'doomed to fail'


Meanwhile, over on the front lines...


Ukraine said 120,000 useless mortar rounds were sent to its front line after a manufacturer tried to cut costs

Flashback: WWII Congressman (D-Kentucky) Andrew Jackson May who helped create the draft, bragged to reporters that the Japanese were setting depth charges too shallow because they didn't know how deep U.S. subs could dive. VADM Charles Lockwood said the revelation caused the Japanese to make adjustments, costing the Navy 10 subs and 800 sailors; including a bribery scandal where defective 4.2" mortar shells killed 38 soldiers. He was pardoned by president Harry Truman.



China funds its own horde of NGOs, called 'GONGOS' to fight the USAID army of NGOs in struggle for world domination.


At the U.N., China is deploying a growing army of puppet organizations to monitor and intimidate human rights activists

Near as I can tell we have:
British gov't funded NGOs: QUANGOs (Quasi non govt orgs)
USAID funded NGOs: DONGOs (Donor organized non govt orgs)
China funded NGOs: GONGOs (Govt organized NGOs)
and, I hope, Do It Yourself NGOs: DJANGOs

[EndtheMadnessNow]

Happy May Day, Law Day, Loyalty Day, Illuminati Day, Polio vaccine day, Lei Day, Beltane, Samhain (the end of the harvest season in Southern hemisphere), Maharashtra Day, "Mission Accomplished" Day, Elvis Presley married in Vegas day, & "Invisible Aliens living among us".




May 1, 1943: Actress & baker Joy Harmon, 'Lucille' (3 min and 15 seconds of Cool Hand Luke fame 1967), is born in St. Louis, Missouri.


Catching up with the woman behind the famous Cool Hand Luke car wash scene

AUNT JOY'S CAKES


May 1, 1941: Hollywood classic film Citizen Kane, produced, directed, and starring Orson Welles had its world premiere at the Palace Theatre in New York City, USA. In 2015, Citizen Kane was ranked 1st on the BBC’s "100 Greatest American Films" list.


Citizen Kane is frequently cited as the greatest film ever made.[7] For 40 years (five decennial polls: 1962, 1972, 1982, 1992 and 2002), it stood at number one in the British Film Institute's Sight & Sound decennial poll of critics,[8] and it topped the American Film Institute's 100 Years ... 100 Movies list in 1998, as well as its 2007 update. The Library of Congress selected Citizen Kane as an inductee of the 1989 inaugural group of 25 films for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[9][10] The film was nominated for Academy Awards in nine categories and it won for Best Writing (Original Screenplay) by Mankiewicz and Welles.



May 1, 1972: Immigration: Detroit Crackdown
"In an unprecedented official crackdown, agents of the INS have been rounding up foreign students who are working illegally...and those deported have come from Great Britain, Ghana, Taiwan, Lebanon, Mexico, Jordan, Venezuela."




May 1, 1973: The island of Summerisle held their annual May Day celebration. Police Sergeant Neil Howie, who was investigating the disappearance of a child on the island, was invited to join in the celebration.




May 1st: Jack Torrance's shift as caretaker of the Overlook Hotel was due to end, with the hotel re-opening on the 15th.




May 1, 1983: The Invasion Will Be Televised! The original V aired as the 1st part of a 2-part TV mini-series.


The series was intended as a literal retelling of the Nazi takeover of various countries, and the resistance movement against them. However, because of the popularity of the "Star Wars" saga and other science fiction hits, as well as the belief among network executives that U.S. citizens would not believe a fascist takeover, the network executives had the producers change it to a science fiction miniseries. Other ideas were also discussed, but discarded. The Visitors' symbol is actually a modified swastika.

The miniseries is dedicated to the memory of Dominique Dunne, the original actress cast as Robin Maxwell before she was murdered by her boyfriend. The end of the first series was left deliberately open-ended with many unresolved plot threats dangling. This was all in the hopes that a cliffhanger ending would generate interest in either a TV series or a second mini-series; and the producers in fact got both. "V" tv series came out the following year in 1984 and lasted 19 episodes.



May 1, 2011: White House Situation Room...


President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, along with members of the national security team, receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House, May 1, 2011. Seated, from left, are: Brigadier General Marshall B. “Brad” Webb, Assistant Commanding General, Joint Special Operations Command; Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough; Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Standing, from left, are: Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; National Security Advisor Tom Donilon; Chief of Staff Bill Daley; Tony Blinken, National Security Advisor to the Vice President; Audrey Tomason Director for Counterterrorism; John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism; and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.




The Empire State Building, a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Manhattan.
The design planning started in 1929 and was changed fifteen times until it was ensured to be the world's tallest building. Construction started on March 17, 1930, and the building opened thirteen and a half months afterward on May 1, 1931. Yes, that quick.


What to Do if Nuclear War Breaks Out:


A Guide for Civilians in India and Pakistan

[EndtheMadnessNow]

In the silence of the corridors
Within the rooms where secrets dwell
Amid the whispers of cardinals
A name is beginning to emerge

His Beatitude and Eminence
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem

Could he be the next Pope?

What a name, eh.


Pierbattista Pizzaballa was born on April 21, 1965, near Bergamo, Italy.

He was ordained a priest in 1990 and later that year, moved to Jerusalem, where he enrolled at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum. In 1993, he earned a Licentiate in Theology.

After several years learning and teaching the Hebrew language, in 2004, he was appointed Custody of the Holy Land. He distinguished himself for his great diplomatic skills and ability to mediate between Israeli and Palestinian authorities, serving an extraordinary 12 year term.

On June 24, 2016, Pope Francis himself appointed him as the Apostolic Administrator of the vacant See of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, entrusting him with the responsibility of managing internal matters within the Patriarchate.

In 2020, Pope Francis officially appointed him as the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. In 2023, he was also granted the title of Cardinal Priest of Sant’Onofrio; this title was not linked to a specific location, but it gave Pizzaballa the opportunity to be a cardinal and, potentially, the next Pope.


No peace, the war must go on & on...The US is now proposing the sale of tens of millions of dollars in weapons - this is in addition to contracts already drawn up earlier this year by US-based arms manufacturers with European nations who will then transfer the US weapons to Ukraine. And such Victory Day comments will only anger the Red Bear that cannot be contained.




A Trump-appointed judge has barred the administration from removing migrants under the Alien Enemies Act, saying Trump's invocation of that law in the context of Tren de Aragua was illegal. U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez, Jr. says the president's use of the Alien Enemies Act was "unlawful" because there's no evidence Tren de Aragua — as harmful as the gang is — is literally invading the United States, as the law requires.


CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:25-CV-072

Trump’s use of Alien Enemies Act for swift deportations is illegal, Trump-appointed judge rules


May Day, May Day...


The last time an individual held both roles was Henry Kissinger under President Nixon.


May day bomb...




White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor, henceforth known as CHAINSAW.


https://x.com/RealJamesWoods/status/1917995129350308078




‘It’s Really Difficult’: Elon Musk Reflects On Successes, Challenges Of DOGE At 100 Days

Yea, sounds "really difficult".


My new RV sub. Snuck it in on the side of the house. Hope my neighbors don't notice.




CIA recruitment of Chinese posted on May Day, explaining how to contact the CIA "safely."


https://x.com/CIA/status/1917920117968584788




David Schleinkofer, a legendary illustrator, passed away on April 20 at the age of 74 (complications from Lou Gehrig's Disease). Rest in peace. He will be remembered for drawing the iconic 1984 boxart mural showing the Transformers battling in deep space and many other works.


David Schleinkofer Flickr site

[EndtheMadnessNow]

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) final ever dispatch from Virginia City, NV was dated May 2, 1868, and was published in the Chicago Republican of May 31, 1868 in Chicago, IL.

...
NOVEL ENTERTAINMENT

But I am tired talking about mines. I saw a man hanged the other day. John Melanie, of France. He was the first man ever hanged in this city (or country either), where the first twenty six graves in the cemetery were those of men who died by shots and stabs.

I never had witnessed an execution before, and did not believe I could be present at this one without turning away my head at the last moment. But I did not know what fascination there was about the thing, then. I only went because I thought I ought to have a lesson, and because I believed that if ever it would be possible to see a man hanged, and derive satisfaction from the spectacle, this was the time. For John Melanie was no common murderer -- else he would have gone free. He was a heartless assassin. A year ago, he secreted himself under the house of a woman of the town who lived alone, and in the dead watches of the night, he entered her room, knocked her senseless with a billet of wood as she slept, and then strangled her with his fingers. He carried off all her money, her watches, and every article of her wearing apparel, and the next day, with quiet effrontery, put some crepe on his arm and walked in her funeral procession.

LETTER FROM MARK TWAIN

You can listen to the whole letter:




Stars and Stripes, Germany Edition 'KAPUTT'; Mediterranean Edition, May 2, 1945.

Note the headline in bottom left corner. The phrase "Peace Is at Hand" would resurface in late October 1972, as spoken by Henry Kissinger regarding Vietnam.




The 55th and final cover of Nixon on TIME for May 2, 1994:






Julia Parsons, U.S. Navy Code Breaker During World War II, Dies at 104

Valentin-Yves Mudimbe, 83, Dies; African Scholar Challenged the West


R.I.P. Ruth Ann Buzzi (July 24, 1936 – May 1, 2025) actress and comedienne.

Buzzi, who was nominated for five Emmys, was best known for the NBC variety sketch comedy “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,” which ran from 1968 to 1973.  Her TV debut was on “The Garry Moore Show” in 1964. She was also part of the cast of “The Entertainers” in 1965, and appeared on “The Monkees” sitcom in 1967. She made over 200 television appearances during a 45-year career.

Buzzi lived with her husband, actor Kent Perkins, on a 600-acre (240 ha) cattle and horse ranch near Stephenville, Texas. They were avid automobile collectors. Their collection focused on post-war English vehicles, including Bentley, Rolls-Royce, and Jaguar, although it also includes several American convertibles and muscle cars.

Buzzi was named in numerous songs, including House of Pain's "I'm A Swing It", The Bled's "Ruth Buzzi Better Watch Her Back", and the Loretta Lynn/Conway Twitty duet "You're the Reason Our Kids Are Ugly".

Buzzi died at her home in her sleep in hospice care in Stephenville, Texas on May 1, 2025 from complications of Alzheimer's disease, at the age of 88.



Her character, frumpy, bitter, hairnet-wearing Gladys Ormphby, was famous for hitting people with her purse.

Arte Johnson: Do you believe in the hereafter?
Ruth Buzzi: Yes I do.
Arte Johnson: Well then I guess you know what I’m here after.
Don't mess with Gladys...




The CIA is desperate for human intelligence on China? Which is supposed to be its forte...


CIA's Mandarin-language spy recruiting ads mocked in China

I wonder why they’re having trouble gathering human intelligence...


Killing C.I.A. Informants, China Crippled U.S. Spying Operations

The CIA doesn't post much on social media platforms and this seems like a classic Chinese tactic from The Art of War: sowing discord. The CIA likely made the ad look crude on purpose - to spark ridicule and go viral via media and social platforms. While mocking the CIA, people start suspecting each other over spies that may not exist.
If only Guohua were here to comment on this stuff.



The Madness of King Donny...
I thought Only Congress has the power to do this? Then again, we're on a new timeline.




Someone wrote "F-18" on their donkey, and they're bringing it to the main square in Sana'a...


The hashtags translate to:
The slogan is a weapon and a position
Boycott is an effective weapon

The Yemen guy has a Youtube channel of strange shorts.