12 Aug, 2023

China makes weapons ‘breakthrough’ (Maui?)

Beijing’s military scientists have claimed success in enabling high-energy lasers to operate “indefinitely” without overheating

Chinese military scientists have reported a research breakthrough that could make it possible for Beijing to develop high-energy laser weapons that can shoot for as long as their operators desire, without interruption and without any degradation in performance.

Scientists at the National University of Defense Technology in Changsha, China, published the results of their research earlier this month in Acta Optica Sinica, a peer-reviewed Chinese journal. They claim to have developed a new cooling system that makes it possible to operate high-energy lasers “indefinitely,” without any effects from overheating.

“This is a huge breakthrough in improving the performance of high-energy laser systems,”the team said in its research paper. “High-quality beams can be produced not only in the first second, but also maintained indefinitely.”

The cooling system controls gas flows to remove heat from inside a laser weapon, preventing vibration and disruptions in performance. It can enable longer operation, increased range and greater firepower, the scientists said. They noted that 60 years on from the invention of the first ruby laser, weapons developers haven’t been able to create “death rays that can instantly kill targets.”

Some of the most high-profile US laser weapons projects have been canceled, despite shooting down targets in testing. “The true reason for the cancellation of these projects was that their destructive power did not meet expectations,” the Chinese scientists said. Longer, continuous operation times are needed to extend the range of laser weapons beyond a few kilometers, they said.

Such weapons generate high-energy beams that heat up the gas in their path as they pass through the air, creating turbulence. This effect can distort the beam, diminishing its accuracy and strength. The heated gases can also contaminate the mirrors in a laser weapon, reducing performance and potentially damaging a system.

The Chinese researchers said they developed a system that blows gas through the weapon to remove waste heat and keep the mirrors clear. Their technology is already being used in a number of laser weapons that the Chinese military has under development.

Beijing reportedly intends to use such weapons against drones, missiles and aircraft. They also could be used to target satellites, disrupting enemy communications, navigation and surveillance capabilities.

https://www.rt.com/news/581201-china-makes-weapons-breakthrough/

Rosendale: Over $100 Billion Sent To Ukraine, Yet OUR Border Remains Unaided By The Biden Regime

9:29

https://rumble.com/embed/v349bbn/?pub=4

Rep. Matt Rosendale Demands Border Security In Any Continued Resolution Proposed

4:52

https://rumble.com/embed/v3498ln/?pub=4

Eight GOP Candidates Meet Debate Qualifications – President Trump Unlikely to Attend

August 12, 2023 | Sundance |

According to most media presentations of the performance, eight GOP candidates have qualified for the debate though some have not yet signed the required private corporate RNC loyalty pledge.The debate qualifications are:

(1) Must have at least 40,000 unique donors, with at least 200 unique donors from each state. (2) Must reach at least 1% in three national polls that meet the RNC’s requirements or at least 1% in two national polls and in two polls from separate early voting states. (3) Must sign the RNC’s “Beat Biden pledge” – a commitment to back the eventual Republican nominee.

The candidates who have met the first two qualifiers are, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, Doug Burgum, Chris Christie and somehow Mike Pence. Trump, Christie and Pence have not signed the loyalty pledge.

Presumably donor threshold verification is a part of the RNC requirement to share donor information with the corporation in order to be considered a “Republican.” It’s a little funny, in a revealing sense, that collecting donor information is a priority – but ballot harvesting, not-so-much. Go figure.

•The DNC wants power. The RNC wants money.

• The DNC uses money to get power. The RNC use power to get money.

• The ideology of the DNC drives their corporate donor activity. The ideology of the corporate donors drives the RNC.

This is the essential difference in their corporate business models. Other than that, on a policy perspective -much like the candidates within the corporation- they are the same. One big uniparty club; each subsidiary, DNC or RNC club division, with their own priorities.

The business end of UniParty politics has many base voters questioning just about everything now, and rightly so. From my own review, it’s all suspect now. The social and cultural ideology of the left-wing is clear; they are pushing ideology. However, when you look at the right-wing corporate response, notice the focus is on money. The left is pushing a cultural revolution; the right is seeking to gain money in (a) corporate alignment, or (b) velvet-gloved combat against it.

The leftist ideology advances. Notice there is no ideological pushback against the cultural revolution from Congress. Why?… Money

Democrats know if they want to advance ideology, simply find a mechanism to pay Republicans. Easy peasy.

♦ Ukraine. IDEOLOGY: The agenda of the left-wing (Dems) is clear; they are pushing for an expanded totalitarian globalist agenda. MONEY: The right-wing response to the Ukraine ideology, is money. Congress funds the industrial military machine, the military contractors. The contractors repay politicians.

The globalist ideology advances. Notice, there is no ideological pushback against the White House and U.S. State Dept foreign policy from Congress.

Why?… money.

If you are an institution (or individual) and your enterprise needs power to advance your interests (think Big Tech), you align with Democrats. If you are an institution (or individual) and your enterprise needs money to advance your interests (think Wall St), you align with Republicans.

The left-wing wants power to advance ideology. The right-wing wants money. That’s why the Republicans never stop any of the Democrats’ ideological gains.

♦ Elections. IDEOLOGY: The ballot-harvesting agenda of the left-wing (DNC/dems) is clear; they have thousands of networked groups funded by donor activity (Zuckerbucks etc.), organized in every community to assemble ballots. MONEY: The right-wing response is to see the opportunity for fundraising…. Meanwhile, a massive network known as True The Vote, Catherine Englebrecht, with an army of skilled voter integrity grassroots operations, easily retooled to a ballot collection network, sits untapped.

This is the nature of the system that distracts us. Two wings of the same vulture. This is the inherent nature of U.S. politics in the big picture, and I can get as granular and specific as anyone might need – including the propositions for why club candidates are selected within the ‘illusion of choice’ game.

When asked the question of should President Trump debate the GOP contenders, it seems silly. There is only one candidate with an America-First outlook to withdraw from foreign conflict, focus on the interests of American citizens first, build a self-sustaining Main Street economy, grow the domestic economy to meet entitlement needs, tax imports to incentivize domestic production, and control immigration with a border wall.

Donald Trump is the only candidate who holds those views, he’s essentially a third-party unto himself, so what is there to debate?

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2023/08/12/eight-gop-candidates-meet-debate-qualifications-president-trump-unlikely-to-attend/

12 Aug, 2023

Ukrainians paying up to $10,000 to escape draft – FT

Thousands of Ukrainians have managed to dodge conscription thanks to various schemes in a corrupt system, the newspaper reports

Thousands of Ukrainian men have paid large sums in bribes to avoid getting drafted during the ongoing conflict between Kiev and Moscow, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.

The news comes as Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky launched a massive military purge, sacking all of the regional military conscription officials and citing the multiple corruption scandals rocking the country. The recruitment officials are set to be replaced by combat veterans, according to Kiev’s plan.

Over the course of the ongoing conflict, thousands of Ukrainians have managed to escape the draft through various schemes in a culture of corruption. Kiev banned men aged between 18 and 60 from leaving the country when it first introduced martial law in February 2022, but the move only fueled more corrupt practices. One of the most popular options was simply buying medical exemption papers for some $6,000 on average, the FT reported, citing the findings of a probe into corruption by Ukrainian authorities.

Thousands of Ukrainian men have also attempted to leave the country illegally, with some 13,600 caught near border crossings and another 6,100 apprehended at checkpoints with fake papers, the FT noted, citing the latest official figures.

The head of the Odessa regional recruitment center Evgeny Borisov, who was arrested last month, turned out to be one of the most ‘prolific’ officials involved in draft-dodging rackets. The official is now suspected of bagging more than $5 million in bribes, charging from $2,000 to $10,000 per person for various ‘options’ to escape the draft. Borisov is believed to have been using the ill-gotten money to fund a posh lifestyle, with his family procuring a €4.2-million ($4.6-mn) villa in Spain last December, as well as other luxury assets, according to Ukrainian investigators.

Apart from the ongoing corruption scandals, the Ukrainian draft effort has also been marred by the violent actions of conscription officials. Numerous disturbing videos highlighting certain Ukrainian draft techniques emerged online in recent months, as Kiev struggled to compensate for its reported heavy battlefield losses.

Multiple videos show conscription officers chasing random men in the streets to give them a draft notice, violently detaining and even beating up the would-be soldiers. Many of these conscripts were reportedly killed on the frontline just days after getting ‘drafted’ in such a fashion.

https://www.rt.com/russia/581193-ukraine-draft-corruption-scandals/

12 Aug, 2023

Poland brands Belarus a ‘hostile’ state

The call to mend ties between two nations, voiced by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, met a mixed reaction in Warsaw

Belarus must fulfill a list of Poland’s demands to mend relations with the country, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski said on Saturday. The remarks came in response to a call for improving ties between the two nations, voiced by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko.

Jablonski expressed skepticism over Lukashenko’s statements, suggesting the call made by the Belarusian leader was actually nothing but "empty talk."

"At the moment, as we are speaking, attacks on the Polish border are underway. This is empty words, once again we hear such statements, but there is no substance behind them," Jablonski told local media.

The deputy minister claimed Poland neither sought to have bad relations with Belarus, nor was the one behind their current state. If Belarus was actually "serious" about mending ties, the way to fix them was actually very "simple," the diplomat went on, rolling out a list of demands for Minsk to fulfill.

"Stop attacking our border, release Andrzej Poczobut and over a thousand political prisoners from jails," Jablonski said, referring to a Polish-Belarusian journalist and activist who was jailed early this year for eight years on extremism charges. Apart from that, Minsk should stop carrying out its allegedly ongoing "campaign of hatred, attacks, this hybrid war against Poland," the diplomat added.

Lukashenko expressed readiness to mend ties with the EU and Warsaw in particular on Friday, describing Poles as "our people, the Slavs," and not some "stupid" people. The president said that he understood that Poland has been merely acting on the US' behalf and "aggravating" the situation between the two countries.

The ever-complicated relations between Belarus and its Western neighbors drastically deteriorated in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential elections, whose outcome was contested by the opposition and prompted mass protests. The EU openly supported the opponents of Lukashenko, with Poland becoming one of their most active supporters.

The ongoing conflict between Russia, the main ally of Belarus, and Ukraine has apparently damaged the strained ties even further. Poland has angrily reacted to the deployment of Russian nukes, now hosted by Belarus, and, in recent weeks, repeatedly sounded the alarm over the alleged activities of the Wagner Group private military company.

The Russian PMC ended up being re-deployed to Belarus in the aftermath of its botched insurrection in late June. The alleged activities of the PMC near the border alarmed the Polish leadership, with PM Mateusz Morawiecki claiming they were "undoubtedly a step towards an upcoming hybrid attack on Polish territory." Minsk had dismissed such claims, with Lukashenko stating Warsaw had"gone mad" over Wagner rumors.

(It really sounds like Poland wants a war. It’s bizarre to think Wagner or Belarus would start a fight with Poland.)

https://www.rt.com/news/581200-poland-belarus-hostile-state/