The Weekly Watch

Constantly Escalating?

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More war, more indictments, more sanctions, more currency creation, more accusations, more coups...we're caught in an expanding aggressive cycle and all we seem able to do is double down on stupid. What goes up, must come down, and the bigger they are, the harder they fall...and an eventual fall is inevitable. My hope is we don't take the biosphere down with the empire's collapse. Notice how mention of nuclear weapons is becoming more common? Naturally we project the use of nuclear weapons on the Russians and Chinese, but not ourselves? My memory is that the US is the only nation to have used atomic bombs in war.

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Perhaps this is on my mind because we went to see Oppenheimer with some friends last weekend. First time we've gone to a movie theater in years, and I must admit I prefer watch a film at home. The sound effects were too loud and the dialogue was hard to understand. The creation of this weapon of mass destruction is a compelling, and to my mind, sad story. And afterwards, the race was on...more countries, bigger bombs, more powerful fusion bombs.

Ray McGovern was telling the story about Reagan watching the film, The Day After, which inspired him to create and sign nuclear arms agreements. (2 hours)

"The Day After" is a thought-provoking and emotionally charged film that explores the devastating consequences of a nuclear war. Released in 1983, at the height of the Cold War, the film was a wake-up call to the world about the dangers of nuclear weapons and the need for disarmament.

The story is set in Lawrence, Kansas, and follows the lives of several characters in the aftermath of a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. The film depicts the chaos, confusion, and destruction that follows a nuclear blast, as well as the struggles of the survivors to cope with the aftermath.

The film is not an action-packed thriller, but rather a sobering and realistic portrayal of the aftermath of a nuclear war. It focuses on the human toll of the disaster, rather than the political and military aspects. The acting is superb, and the characters are well-developed, making it easy to empathize with their struggles.

The cinematography is excellent, with the use of bleak and desolate landscapes and haunting music that adds to the overall atmosphere of the film. The special effects are also impressive, especially for a film made in the early 80s.

Overall, "The Day After" is a powerful and important film that is still relevant today, as the world continues to grapple with the threat of nuclear war. It is a reminder of the catastrophic consequences of such a war and the need for peace, diplomacy, and disarmament. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the subject matter, as well as fans of thought-provoking and emotionally charged cinema.

I suspect it would have been far worse than the film exposes, but the message is important. If we keep pushing war this may be our fate. This is what we should avoid, but our leadership class is inept and drunk on power.

The US Proxy War with Russia...

Scott Ritter is all over the alternate media promoting nuclear disarmament...

Arms Control & Nuclear Disarmament Needed Now w/Scott Ritter fmr UN Weapons Inspector (25 min)

He does a weekly interview with Garland Nixon too
SCOTT RITTER - RUSSIAN TANK'S DEFEAT OF UKRAINIAN ARMORED COLUMN SHOWS COMBINED ARMS WARFARE (1 hour)

On redacted he discusses the current terrorist strategy Ukraine is using.

(about 15 min)

Col. MacGregor had many interviews this week.
He had a good conversation with Jackson Hinkle
He was on Ron Paul's show
'Make Peace, You Fools!' - With Special Guest Col. Douglas Macgregor
Plus his weekly interview with the Judge.

24 min

For those who want to delve into the weeds here are a couple of long conversations.
Ukrainian Offensive Or Defensive | USA | CHINA| RUSSIA (1.8 hours)
Patrick Lancaster - Renowned Journalist and Conflict Analyst
Brian Berletic - Geopolitical Expert from The New Atlas
Alex from Reporterfy - Investigative Reporter and International Correspondent
Angelo Giuliano

The New Atlas LIVE: The Duran on Ukraine's Offensive, NATO's Plan B + More... (91 min)
Alex, Alexander, Brian and Angelo

Gonzalo Lira was discussed at the beginning of the previous clip.
Brian put out a dedicated clip on Gonzalo's situation. (13 min)
Gonzalo Lira's Attempted Escape from Ukraine: What's Happening & How to Help
Gonzalo Lira, an American/Chilean citizen was detained by the Ukrainian SBU last year, and arrested very publicly again this year. He had since disappeared until this week, admitting he had been in prison awaiting trial, tortured, and extorted. He had gotten bail, and attempted to flee into Hungary for asylum and hasn't been heard from publicly since.
To help Gonzalo, the public must continue placing pressure on the US government and Western "human rights" organizations who have so far, very deliberately, ignored his case.

Julian was also in the news this week.
Wait, Australia did WHAT to Julian Assange? (14 min)
Australia has reportedly asked the U.S. to stop persecuting Julian Assange, which in and of itself is surprising because Australia has had amnesia about Assange for over a decade. The U.S., predictably, says that it can’t do that. The U.S. seeks to punish Assange for publishing true information about the government’s own war crimes. This will have serious implications for journalism in the future. Assange is a fly in the ointment of the U.S.’ plans to increase the “tempo” of visits of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia plus expand the Aukus treaty for Australia to host weaponry for the U.S. and U.K.

Australian MPs Blast Blinken Over Assange
The MPs called the U.S. secretary of state’s remarks that Julian Assange threatened U.S. national security “nonsense” and said the U.S. is only bent on revenge, reports Joe Lauria.

There a peace conference in Saudi Arabia this weekend
Saudi Arabia has kicked off a weekend summit in Jeddah, in which senior officials from some 40 countries – but not Russia – will aim to draft key principles on how to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

What a joke...

US-Saudi-Ukraine peace summit, doomed to fail (16 min)
Basically it is the US telling other countries the peace deal they want. More US diplomacy through arrogance.

A Brief Neocolonial History of the Five UN Security Council Permanent Members
... the use of U.S. military force has consistently been abused since 1945. The historical legacy of Western imperialism and interventionism has helped explain why Western calls for global solidarity with Ukraine have often fallen on deaf ears today.

Niger is an excellent example of of Africa rejecting western control...

France desperate to hold on to Niger, and its uranium (13 min)

It's the Economy Stupid...
Anti-China hawks' drive to expand NATO into Asia may destroy Western military alliance cued to the last 25 min but the entire conversation is interesting. The focus of the conversation is new means (currencies) of international trade. The escalating conflict is economic in part.

Political economists Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson are joined by geopolitical analyst Pepe Escobar to discuss how the war hawks' drive to expand NATO into Asia to contain China may destroy the Western military alliance.
Transcript here.

Meanwhile back on the home front...
We have more indictments.

This timeline is actually incredible. I mean come on.

3/17 - Hunter admits laptop
3/18 - Trump indictment news

6/8 - FBI doc alleges Biden bribe
6/9 - Trump indicted

7/26 - Hunter plea deal collapses
7/27 - Trump indicted

7/31 - Devon Archer testifies
8/1 - Trump indicted

The evidence of the Biden crime family continues to grow. This week we had Hunter's business partner testify and was on Tucker's twitter program.
Jimmy explains...
Absolute Proof Joe Biden Involved In Hunter’s Dirty Business Deals! (20 min)
Hunter Biden’s longtime business partner Devon Archer recently testified to Congress behind closed doors about international deals he and Hunter were involved in and whether Joe Biden had any participation. Even though the mainstream media is spinning the testimony as exonerating the President, the reality is that Hunter was clearly trading on his father’s name and that Joe actively involved himself in his son’s business.

More from Jimmy....
The REAL REASON For Trump’s Latest Indictment!
Donald Trump has been indicted yet again, and this time it’s not about secret payments to a porn star or mishandling of classified documents. No, this indictment is over Trump’s alleged involvement in fomenting the January 6 “insurrection” and other various efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.


Tulsi: “Trump Indictment Is A Political Hit Job!”
(6 min)

Feds Criminalized Trump & MAGA Protesters To Stop Him From Running Again!
(2.5 min)

Matt had an excellent summation of our situation...
Matt Taibbi: Campaign 2024, Officially Chaos
Prosecutors keep applying new charges to him like leeches on a medieval convalescent, and news audiences need a CNN case tracker to follow Trump’s charge count (76, with more on the way). The punchline? The man facing death in prison is in the strongest position of the major candidates.

Don't worry if people see through the narrative, just trot out some aliens and UFO's, and indict Trump again.

Copenhagen_Metro_escalators-59a7c61baad52b00118b37fc-2682713683_0.jpg

There's no reverse gear, it is constant escalation. I think there's more on the horizon. The climate "emergency" will be used like COVID to control and shape society. CBDC (digital currency) will be used to shape purchases and wealth. Endless war propagated to promote patriotism. I'm sure you can contribute some other ideas below.

I had a bit of disaster this morning when I went to publish. I forgot to save my morning additions and lost them. I've reassembled most of it, but it was a bit haphazard. None the less I hope you found some items of interest.

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you have the wrong date on the WW Lookout. If readers are like I am, they may miss your entry.
Sorry things were discombobulated due to the evil intertubes eating your post. I hate that when that happens.

I have not read a bit of your contribution this morning, but it is on my to-do list. Smile
Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

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Lookout's picture

@randtntx

I forgot to save my morning edits and it posted at the time when I last worked on it...Yesterday. I've got a note in to JtC who can magically set a new time stamp. I can't.

We're getting a much needed rain this AM so not all is bad...Looks like TX is still under a heat bubble. Take care and be well!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout
that happens from time to time. Check your PMs.

If that ever happens to anyone else contact me and let me know.

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Lookout's picture

@JtC

...and for all the other stuff you do too make this community such a great site!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

enhydra lutris's picture

Thanks for the WW and the OT, LO.

So, Trump (asshole that he is).
The impeachments were fraudulent.

The charges based on paying a porn star to keep quiet are bogus and ludicrous.
The charges about documents are totally selective enforcement, but, sadly, the prosecutors at all levels engage in selective enforcement all the time, calling it "prosecutorial discretion". They are likely to stick.

The charges based on January 6, when all the chaff is winnowed out, boil down to one question. Should Trump have known in advance of the fact that his rhetoric would cause the "lawbreaking" that occurred, especially taking into the account that it was fueled and exacerbated by the usual agents provocateurs of the nation's full time professional crime creation and management department, the feebs. I think one could and really should argue that the likelihood that Trumps words and actions would lead to what happened with sufficient certainty that we can assume he clearly at least should have and probably must have known that the "rioting" etc. would occur must be considered in a vacuum, with no regard for what really, in fact happened, because nobody should be held to account for the willful and wanton criminality of the feebs, regardless of how devastatingly sleazy they are known to be.

Ukies - the world's worst global terrorist, the USofA, used the Ukies to try and destroy the Rus, which now, in keeping with it's empolyers' (the Brits too) primary fallback option and openly and brazenly resorting to ever more terrorism because their ability to succeed at actual warfare against the Rus jhas been negligible ab initio? Suprise? Anybody?

Really have too much on my personal plate for all this. They will or will not blow up the world and, at this exact moment I am very ill equipped to interfere, so, in the classic words of goddess only knows whom - Fuck it, I've got work to do.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Lookout's picture

@enhydra lutris

What the hell can any of us do about it anyway?

Don't worry the Trumpster will pardon himself after he's inaugurated, unless Biden pardons both Trump, himself, and his family...or so suggests Robert Barnes.

Good luck with your chores. Rain has stopped and the sun is out here, so I'll go out directly and get into something.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

ggersh's picture

Wallace certainly knew what was about to come to amerikkka
and here we are today.

This article is from KARLOFI substack, the same karlofi who also shares his views quite often
at MOA.

https://open.substack.com/pub/karlof1/p/revisiting-henry-wallaces-centur...

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I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

Lookout's picture

@ggersh

...that Wallace was removed from the ticket and Truman installed because he was much easier to manipulate into dropping the bomb and creating the CIA.

Thanks for the Wallace quote!

The autoearth had some good stuff today. I liked Matt's included piece...
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/taibbi-successful-prosecution-would-...

Enjoy your cool spell. Not too bad here either.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

ggersh's picture

for it seems like nothing ever happens in our politics
unless tptb don't want them to.

The Taibbi piece was good, "it's only true if they
tell us it's true" is what's happening here for sure

Jimmy has a piece about GE letting the truth actually
slip out

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8 users have voted.

I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

Lookout's picture

@ggersh

Too true to be broadcast. Amazing they managed to one time.

Matt's piece on the 2024 election is funny and good too.
Two candidates wearing ankle bracelets...good call, Matt.

Raining here again. Hey we need it. This time of year you take it when you can get it. A inch already today.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

ages 71 and 72, lived in a mobile home with their dog, lost a/c for 3 days. They died from the heat.
I cannot describe what it feels like to walk in the driveway in 104 deg. heat. In just a few minutes, I start to feel dizzy and weak. This heat dome will sit on us for at least 3 more weeks. I know of 1 local guy in his 20s that died from heat stroke while working on a utility line. He told his boss he was dizzy, the boss told him to quit complaining and get back to work. It was only 102 deg. that day. Gov. Abbott overturned all city ordinances that mandated outdoor workers have dedicated water breaks because it was an undue burden on the companies to keep up compliance when each city ordinance was different. Poor, poor companies! It is more profitable to replace dead workers than to read a 2 paragraph ordinance.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Lookout's picture

@on the cusp

...and it is a mess. Climate is a real issue, and it will continue to evolve.

Wishing you all the best. We were under a heat bubble in 2016 with no rain. Grass was brown and crunchy, and trees lost leaves in August. It was weird here in the forest.

Y'all take care and be well. Stay cool!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@on the cusp , to outlaw mandatory water breaks for people working in this extreme heat. It is also crazy that we even need such a mandate, but unfortunately we do.
Here's more on this for people who don't live in a weird place like this and so can't even imagine such a law being enacted. https://www.texasobserver.org/water-break-thirst-strike-osha-biden/

I also think that a 10 minute break every 4 hours is not anywhere near enough.

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Lookout's picture

@randtntx

early in the morning when it is really hot...and we've only seen low 90's F this year. The humidity is oppressive here when it is bad and I bet so in TX too. I'm not complaining....this year.

Again wishing you and yours the best!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout , ...work outside in the morning... and then in the evening. It has not been cool in the evening and so I don't do much outside until about 7:30 pm because by then at least the sun isn't beating down.

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@randtntx in 5 or more cities with Democrat mayors or city councils. It affected very few companies or areas, but, hey! Killing some people to show those Democratic officials the old "what for" works for Abbott, amirite?
The obvious trail of pressure/donations/profits is always to "follow the money". Don't expect the companies being awarded contracts with cities to donate to any mayoral or city council campaign fund that diminishes their profits.
I haven't bothered with a garden for years. I helped my brother plant his. He got zero yield. A total waste of time and money. Hundreds of dollars for nothing.
It could be my aging that makes it impossible to be outside in the summer, even watering the flower beds. I can't tolerate it. Or, it just could be this heat is different, somehow. So intense, hard to explain. What I do know is my water bill jumps up steeply when I try to help the flowers,bushes, and trees. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
This is not how I grew up.
Well, chica, how's this?
Stay cool!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Lookout's picture

@on the cusp

Hope things improve!

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5 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@on the cusp , it stays hot for longer throughout the season and the nighttime temperatures are hotter as well. So I don't think it is just us getting old (although there is that).
So many challenges from little prosaic things, like trying to grow a few veggies, and trying to stay cool...who knew...

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@randtntx 103 deg MTW, 1o4 deg T and F.
We will be headed to cooler climes come Friday morning. We will get some relief for 9 days.
Come on, autumn! Hurry!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

@on the cusp , is much the same and will be between 105-106 for the rest of the week.
Enjoy your cool temps for your 9 days of escape! Sounds like a much deserved respite.

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Lookout's picture

@on the cusp @randtntx

It was 70 this AM and just 83 now at 1 pm. But the humidity is brutal. Dew pt is like 77. However, rain is on the way. No need for AC for the last few days.

Wish all of our friends the best, and hoping the brutal heat breaks out west.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

The Grayzone article is quite revealing

The beginning of the article and is worth reading all of it.

From Chi-Town bagman to ECOWAS chairman: meet the former money launderer leading the push to invade Niger.

Since the overthrow of Niger’s US-friendly government, West African nations of the ECOWAS bloc have threatened an invasion of their neighbor.
Before leading the charge for intervention, ECOWAS chair Bola Tinubu spent years laundering millions for heroin dealers in Chicago, and has since been ensnared in numerous corruption scandals.

Hours after Niger’s Western-backed leader was detained by the country’s presidential guard on July 28, Nigerian President and chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Bola Tinubu leapt into action, warning that the group of nations “will not tolerate any situation that incapacitates the democratically-elected government.”

“As the Chairperson of ECOWAS…I state without equivocation that Nigeria stands firmly with the elected government in Niger.”

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Lookout's picture

@humphrey

...Niger.
https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/senate-votes-against-military-action-in-...

Good grayzone piece...

ECOWAS chair Bola Tinubu spent years laundering millions for heroin dealers in Chicago, and has since been ensnared in numerous corruption scandals.

Thanks for the tweet or is it X now?

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@humphrey is an eye-opener.
Just wow.
I used to be a France sort of fan, but got over it.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Lookout's picture

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

soryang's picture

The focus in the last week or so on the anniversary of the first use of nuclear weapons in war prompted me to recall (again) an article I read a few years ago on the fas.org website which described the new W-76-2 nuclear warhead carried on "one or two Trident missiles" aboard our strategic ballistic missile nuclear submarines. Ostensibly they are "tactical nuclear weapons." The authors suggested that the warhead was intended for tactical use in a regional conflict. I think the relevance of the article is more critical than ever because many critics believe that particular low yield nuclear weapon has lowered the threshold for nuclear war and was therefore even more dangerous. Here's an excerpt from the article:

The NPR explicitly justified the W76-2 as a response to Russia allegedly lowering the threshold for first-use of its own tactical nuclear weapons in a limited regional conflict. Nuclear advocates argue that the Kremlin has developed an “escalate-to-deescalate” or “escalate-to-win” nuclear strategy, where it plans to use nuclear weapons if Russia failed in any conventional aggression against NATO. The existence of an actual “escalate-to-deescalate” doctrine is hotly debated, though there is evidence that Russia has war gamed early nuclear use in a European conflict. (my emphasis)

Based upon the supposed “escalate-to-deescalate” doctrine, the February 2018 NPR claims that the W76-2 is needed to “help counter any mistaken perception of an exploitable ‘gap’ in U.S. regional deterrence capabilities.” The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has further explained that the “W76-2 will allow for tailored deterrence in the face of evolving threats” and gives the US “an assured ability to respond in kind to a low-yield nuclear attack.”

Consultants who were involved in producing the NPR have suggested that “[Russian President] Putin may well believe that the United States would not respond with strategic warheads that could cause significant collateral damage” and “that Moscow could conceivably engage in limited nuclear first-use without undue risk…”

There is no firm evidence that a Russian nuclear decision regarding the risk involved in nuclear escalation is dependent on the yield of a US nuclear weapon. Moreover, the United States already has a large number of weapons in its nuclear arsenal that have low-yield options – about 1,000 by our estimate. This includes nuclear cruise missiles for B-52 bombers and B61 gravity bombs for B-2 bombers and tactical fighter jets.

US Deploys New Low-Yield Nuclear Submarine Warhead
HANS KRISTENSEN & WILLIAM M. ARKIN* Jan 2020
https://fas.org/publication/w76-2deployed/

I think the relevance of the article today, even though it is more than three years old, is evident from its open discussion of the role of this weapon system and "tactical nuclear warhead" in the NATO v. Russia context. At the same time, it has become clear, the presence about two weeks ago of the USS Kentucky SSBN in Pusan, South Korea, was related to this mission of regional nuclear war against North Korea. The authors of the article above openly referred to the contemplated use of such weapons in the context of a war with Iran or North Korea. North Korea has also made it plain that any US attack aimed at the destruction of its command leadership would result in a nuclear response.

Though almost all of the discussion about the new W76-2 has focused on Russia scenarios, it is much more likely that the new low-yield weapon is intended to facilitate first-use of nuclear weapons against North Korea or Iran.

It seems logical that the dubious theory of the use of such weapons would also be applied to US war with China scenarios or the use of other similar low yield nuclear weapons delivered by cruise missiles or tactical aircraft.

I had this in the back of my mind since I saw the USS Kentucky docked in Pusan in various news videos. In spite of some critics justifiably questioning why a strategic nuclear weapons platform key to the US strategic deterrent force would expose its location during a deployment, I had forgotten the logical or illogical reason, if you will, which I had explored in a post I wrote three years ago.

It's quite likely that a target of the new "tactical" nuclear warhead on the submarine launched ballistic missile is North Korea. The weapon appears to be specifically designed to destroy a deeply hardened target in a tactical environment. The US conventional military tactic of “decapitation” of North Korean leadership has been discussed openly in South Korean media in recent years. It never seemed practical, a special operations tactic to resolve a strategic problem.*

I go on to explore the "game theory" behind the use of the W 76-2 in the North Korean context, and the likely North Korean response. To cut to the chase here's the punch line-

Conclusion, a “decapitation” attack with a “smaller” tactical nuclear warhead by the US would likely eventuate in a series of nuclear weapons detonating in the region.

The new W76-2 low-yield Trident submarine warhead and North Korea?
https://civilizationdiscontents.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-new-w76-2-low-y...

According to FAS, the Biden administration no longer responds to FOIA requests about the inventory of US nuclear weapons. This in spite of US hypocritical appeals for nuclear transparency.

https://fas.org/publication/while-advocating-nuclear-transparency-abroad...

How many nuclear weapons does the US have?

At the beginning of 2023, the US Department of Defense maintained an estimated stockpile of approximately 3,708 nuclear warheads for delivery by ballistic missiles and aircraft. Most of the warheads in the stockpile are not deployed but rather stored for potential upload onto missiles and aircraft as necessary. We estimate that approximately 1,770 warheads are currently deployed, of which roughly 1,370 strategic warheads are deployed on ballistic missiles and another 300 at strategic bomber bases in the United States. An additional 100 tactical bombs are deployed at air bases in Europe. The remaining warheads – approximately 1,938 – are in storage as a so-called hedge against technical or geopolitical sur-prises. Several hundred of those warheads are scheduled to be retired before 2030.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/00963402.2022.2156686?needA...

Brian Berlectic analyzes Blinken ASEAN presentation-

Great Weekly Watch thanks Lookout!

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語必忠信 行必正直

Lookout's picture

@soryang

and terrific links/articles. Nukes are nukes. I'm not anti-nuclear but I can understand those who are. Lovelock inspired me as a young man and continued to do so till his recent death
Lovelock on climate and nuclear energy 11 min

I also like his out of the box thinking on using diesel fuel in jets to put sulfur high in the atmosphere to prevent heat gain, similar to ozone. There are way to mitigate, but if they don't pay, they don't stay.

Thanks for coming by and adding to the conversation!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

usefewersyllables's picture

@soryang

are "dial-a-yield" weapons, with boosted fission primaries. The final yield of the device is determined by the amount of 50/50 mixed deuterium/tritium gas injected into the primary just before lighting the fuse: the more the merrier. Give them a little squirt, and you get a teeny little 9kt tactical weapon. Give 'em a big squirt, and you can get up to 100kt.

We built ~3400 of them, and they are old as the hills at this point, well past their 30-year initial life. Presumably, the folks at Pantex are refurbing them as fast as they can go. That's gotta be a wild gig.

They have a reputation for being a little unreliable, and have some problems which might cause them to underperform- which is not what you really want in these devices. So I suspect that when we use them, we'll just juice them up to the max, as the default. Because nobody wants a dud, amirite?

Not a fan.

If we fight a war and win it with H-bombs, what history will remember is not
the ideals we were fighting for but the methods we used to accomplish them.
These methods will be compared to the warfare of Genghis Khan, who ruthlessly
killed every last inhabitant of Persia.

Hans A. Bethe, The Road from Los Alamos: Collected Essays of Hans A. Bethe

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Twice bitten, permanently shy.

soryang's picture

@usefewersyllables I don't pretend to technical expertise on the inner workings. I took the description in the FAS article pretty much as face value to describe my understanding of the W76-2 warhead's probable role in one North Korean war scenario. Certainly, the possibility of a dud, just reinforces my great concern about the reckless nature of both the decapitation strategy and the use of one or two or even more low yield nukes in such an approach. The strategy would serve to elicit the very response the US claims it is trying to prevent.

Usefewersyllables you are fortunate to have the technical knowledge. It can only help people's understanding. I think it would be best for people who understand physics and engineering to have much more public discussion of nuclear issues, peaceful uses, environmental concerns, arms limitation, and proposed military uses. I feel as if there is a void in this area. I think people view it as "rocket science" and shy away from it. The amount of money the US will spend on nuclear weapons and delivery systems over the next ten years is enormous. The same holds true for peaceful uses of nuclear power Lookout mentioned. Frankly, I don't think government or industry really wants public discussion of these issues.

I've posted some on the Fukushima issue to relate what some South Korean experts say about ALPS and the potential risks of dumping the treated water into the Pacific. I always say I'm not a scientist. There is the fear element on the part of the public, that obviously affects the seafood industry/way of life in the far east, but I think scientists and engineers from other interested states should be able to monitor and sample the output and publicly disseminate what they don't like about the process, procedurally and technically. I've also posted elsewhere about the South Korean Wolseong nuclear reactor site, based on South Korean reporting. These issues are always going to have a political side as well as the technical issues. I won't bother going into that further.

Thanks for your response Usefewersyllables and to Lookout as well.

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語必忠信 行必正直

usefewersyllables's picture

@soryang

I've been a student of the Cold War for a very long time, primarily because it has haunted my life and dominated my dreams since the very early 60s. My thought was always that, since we always fear that which we do not understand, coming to a technical understanding would help manage that fear. And perhaps it has, to the extent possible...

It certainly informed my career choice, once I got to the point of making that decision in college. Discovering that the whole "atoms for peace" schtick was mere window dressing, lipstick propaganda applied to the pig of cold war weapons production, permanently eliminated nuclear engineering from my choices. So electrical it would be.

And now we have to manage the genie that we've let out of the bottle, in our insatiable pursuit of world domination. Or, perhaps we really don't: the entire concept of the nuclear triad, and our current propaganda efforts to make the gullible believe that we would only "get our hair mussed a little" in a "limited" nuclear exchange, has led me to believe that our current government really is sufficiently nihilistic that they might try to pull off a little decapitation here or there. You know, just for the sport of it, as one does on an otherwise boring afternoon.

Oh, well. At least I've had some fun with it. That picture I posted of my drum kit road cases, right after they were recovered from our house fire?

cases.jpg

The sharp-eyed retired Air Force weapons tech will recognize those as the shipping containers used to transport the birdcage with the physics package from the long-retired B43 warhead. I opened them up in the surplus store where I bought them and found the inscription "Contains 10 Curies of Tritium As A Gas", and padding custom fit to one of these M102 birdcages:

Let's hear it for fire-resistant cases! My tax dollars at work- got 'em for $25 each. Decontaminating them took a little doing, though.... Never let it be said that the cold war didn't do anything for me!

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5 users have voted.

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

Lookout's picture

@soryang @usefewersyllables

The cases look like those for instruments and/or sound system stuff. Toted many over the years. Now we only have sloch plastic totes with camping stuff. Much easier.

Hope all is well in y'alls world. I can't complain with 70 F temp his evening with a light drizzle...who could order up better in an August AL evening?

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4 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

usefewersyllables's picture

@Lookout

The Air Force blue base paint is original, but all those stickers and a lot of the beating-up have been administered by me dragging that gear all over for the last 40+ years. Those were pretty pristine when I bought ‘em. They’re downright trashed now after the fire, but boy, have they ever *lasted…*

The “fragile” stickers say “Just because this equipment is already beat to shit doesn’t mean you get to finish it off!” I put those on there in 1995…

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3 users have voted.

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

soryang's picture

@usefewersyllables i guess its amazing what you can find in the second hand store.

@usefewersyllables
@Lookout

I have memories from the old days working with the pilots. There were a lot of aircraft accidents and "mishaps." I'm sure those pilots who survived went on to long and successful careers. They had the "right stuff."

In my discussion above about possibly using one or more of these weapons on North Korea, I became even more certain that is what the US-ROK "nuclear consultative group" talks about. But that's just speculation. Perhaps part of it is the "crazy uncle" psychological warfare.

I do fear that the US might take these matters far too lightly and kill more millions of people. Of course there is always the possibility of miscalculation, mistake, etc., leading to conflict. We won't get away unscathed either. I always hoped that their would be a peace agreement in my lifetime, and that we could go back to Korea and visit Gumgangsan and Bektusan without the dmz and the scary North Korean thing going on. What's going on in S.Korea is scary too. Look's like Yoon was drunk at the boy scout convention, he had trouble standing up and was laughing stupidly when he fell. This is the guy responsible for the safety of his people?

I like to listen to and translate a good Korean song to soothe my mind. I've particularly enjoy the music selection by others here although I don't mention it enough. Got a surgical consult tomorrow. Not that serious but I think it's gonna be an inconvenience. Looking for the doctor to confirm the date soon. Don't want Ms So to miss her trip home this fall.

불후의명곡 Immortal Songs 2 - 하동균 - 바람의 노래.20180428

바람의 노래 Wind's Song

In my lifetime, some day, will I hear the song of the wind?
As time goes by will I come to understand the reason flowers die?

The people who leave me and the people I will meet, too
Passing relationships and longing, all going to some place

With little insight how can I possibly know?
I just know a way of getting by

More times of distress and failure
Unavoidable things, we realized

Yet, if one says the answer is love
I will love all the things in this world

This is an oldie originally sung by the great Jo Yong Pil. This the best video performance, by Ha Dong-hyun, on youtube, because it was professionally produced for tv. Writer Kim Soon-gon; Composition, Kim Jung-wook; Arrangement, Go Tae-yeong.

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3 users have voted.

語必忠信 行必正直

QMS's picture

It is a challenge to re-build an OT whilst lost in the ethers.
Wouldn't have known, your content is always engaging
even if it is v.2 or v.3.

Insofar as the rulers' lack of a reverse gear, or even a
braking mechanism, it is a bit troublesome. There comes
a point in time when we need to check momentum. So as
to not crash into the dock or rocks. This full speed ahead
B.S. may serve to keep the current criminals ahead of the
consequences, but somewhere along the line,
there will be hell to pay.

enjoy your day!

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8 users have voted.

question everything

Lookout's picture

@QMS

Once the flow goes out, it's hard to find it again. It is what it is, and it ain't the first time I F...ed up saving my piece. I finish composing and think ok...publish, but not having saved it publishes the draft I saved and am working on. I know better. Done it before, but sometimes learning requires repetion. May be others will benefit from my mistake.

Hope all's well in your world. Raining again here and this time of year that's a good thing!

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9 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout , loosing your work into the void is a royal pain. I've done it as well...not fun. So double thanks for your double work on this column.

I'm listening to the Scott Ritter clip you posted. I wish more people would listen to what he says about nuclear war and understand what he is saying. It seems that many don't understand that using nuclear weapons means the end of civilization and probably the end of all life on the planet. It doesn't matter who strikes first and the notion that 'decapitation' will prevent a retaliatory strike is bogus because there are too many fingers on the crucial buttons in too many countries. That means that too many people in subordinate positions have the capability to launch a nuclear strike. There is no such thing as deescalation once we start down this path with this particular adversary. This is what Daniel Ellsberg's book The Doomsday Machine tells us. Ellsberg continued to warn us about this fact in his speeches and public appearances right up until his death which he knew was imminent. Just the fact that he used his precious time to warn us is incredible.

Yes, the heat bubble is still here in South-Central TX. I saw an interesting article in the Tx Observer about the extreme heat across the southwest. I may have posted it before since it's from July 17th. A few points jumped out at me, one of them being that the body has trouble adjusting to this onslaught of heat even years after exposure:

And that’s not the only worry. A long stretch of triple-digit days can make it harder for the heart to pump blood and the lungs to circulate air, leading to flare-ups of cardiovascular disease and lung disease. Even for people who spend most of their time indoors with the air conditioning on, prolonged heat can lead to dehydration, irritability, confusion, and dizziness. For vulnerable populations like elderly people and those with obesity, health effects can recur for years.
“The body loses the capacity to self-regulate,” Declet-Barreto said of temperatures above 105 degrees F. “This is even truer for populations of advanced age, people with physical or mental disabilities who may not be able to communicate their level of discomfort, and people with less resources [who] are going to be hard pressed to run the AC.”

https://www.texasobserver.org/heat-wave-phoenix-texas-temperatures/
The whole article is worth a read, plus it's short.

I wish we could borrow some of your rain Lookout, we sure could use it. Hope you have a great week.

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5 users have voted.
Lookout's picture

@randtntx

We've had 3 0.5" rains so far today. I'd be willing to donate some, but it just doesn't work that way.

Ain't it funny how life is feast or famine. Be well!

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5 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout , 3.5''...that sounds lovely. Thanks for the offer of some of your H₂O and the good wishes.
Good wishes to you as well.

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2 users have voted.
Lookout's picture

@randtntx

three separate 0.5" rains, but I would still gladly donate some if I could. Still drizzling so I'm not complaining!

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3 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Lookout's picture

...with this one which George kept suggesting today...one my crowd used to sing on the regular.

They are nowhere...

He's a real nowhere man
Sitting in his nowhere land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody

Doesn't have a point of view
Knows not where he's going to
Isn't he a bit like you and me?

Nowhere man, please, listen
(Aah, la, la, la)
You don't know what you're missing
(Aah, la, la, la)
Nowhere man, the world is at your command
(Aah, la, la, la, la, la)

He's as blind as he can be
Just sees what he wants to see
Nowhere man, can you see me at all?

Nowhere man, don't worry
(Aah, la, la, la)
Take your time, don't hurry
(Aah, la, la, la)
Leave it all 'til somebody else lends you a hand
(Aah, la, la, la, la, la)

Doesn't have a point of view
Knows not where he's going to
Isn't he a bit like you and me?

Nowhere man, please, listen
(Aah, la, la, la)
You don't know what you're missing
(Aah, la, la, la)
Nowhere man, the world is at your command
(Aah, la, la, la, la, la)

He's a real nowhere man
Sitting in his nowhere land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody

Have a great night. See you tomorrow!

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7 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

QMS's picture

morning glories this morning

20230806_111834.jpeg
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5 users have voted.

question everything

No morning glories here, but I do see this flower. The humming birds seem to enjoy it as well.
Thanks QMS and for the good old Cat Stevens tune too! (I don't know his new name off the top of my head.)


Malvaviscus arboreus aka Turk's cap.
wikimedia commons

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3 users have voted.