I wrote a rant a while ago about how the Russian invasion of Ukraine has developed into a very different war with drones of various types forming a huge part of the Ukrainian arsenal. This was by way of introduction to a story about the development of unmanned underwater vehicles, one of which will be entering service with the Royal Australian Navy in early 20261.
Everyone knows that politicians and their supporters lie. Not long after I began this blog in early 2017, I wrote a piece about how politicians lie and I gave some examples of the different types of lying. They include such types as barefaced lies, butler lies, coverups, lying by omission, false advertising and several others1.
In March 2018, David Roberts wrote a piece in Vox bemoaning the state of the op-ed page of the New York Times; the main thrust being that these pages do not have enough diversity of opinion, but particularly, he stated that while it carries some conservatives, these authors do not reflect the madness of US conservative politics; they are “alienated from the animating force of US conservatism, which is Trumpism”1. One of the paragraphs that struck a chord with me was the following:
Before and during the First World War, members of the German armed forces had sworn an oath of allegiance to the Kaiser. This changed after Germany’s defeat, and the establishment of a democratic Weimar Republic. Not only did the political leaders of the new Weimar Republic seek to democratise the military by changing its social makeup but also by changing the oath of allegiance.
Unfortunately for the US, the Mango Paedo was allowed to give a speech at the UN1. Most of it was self-aggrandisement, lies and stoking the fear of foreigners he relies on to obtain votes from the gullible. To read it is like reading a story from a child with little or no concept of truth.
It has been said to me by more people than I can remember, that ‘laughter is the best medicine’. In the past, I have often wondered if indeed it is true to some extent. However, given the appalling injustice in the world these days with the continuing war in Ukraine and the genocide in Gaza, I can attest that it certainly does help in retaining your sanity; in fact, I suspect I am depending on it.