Bullet Points:
**Italy launched the Herakles Program to develop dual-use railgun technology for hypersonic weapons and orbital launches. In the context of the growing hypersonic arms race, the Italian Ministry of Defense has initiated an ambitious defense technology program called Herakles. Its goal is to develop a new generation electromagnetic railgun capable of not only hitting land and sea targets at hypersonic speeds, but also launching mini-satellites into orbit.
** At what point does the government become a crime syndicate? I do understand that the government has a monopoly on legal violence, but one would hope that the underpinning rules wouldn’t be part of a scam.
** Water in Arizona is serious business (NASA). Decades of satellite observations have shown that the aquifers in Arizona — which supply water to approximately 40 million people — are rapidly losing groundwater. The Colorado River Basin lost about 27.8 million acre-feet of groundwater from 2002 to 2024, an amount roughly equal to the storage capacity of Lake Mead, according to a study by Arizona State University researchers. The research is based on data from the GRACE and GRACE-FO missions, which measure the gravitational pull of water to detect changes in water storage. Two key factors likely explain the acceleration, the researchers said. One reason was a global transition from El Niño to La Niña, which typically shifts winter precipitation patterns in a way that reduces rainfall over the Southwest and slows the replenishment of aquifers. Second, there was an increase in the amount of groundwater being used for agriculture. The study also found some evidence that managing groundwater can help maintain healthier Arizona aquifers. The state recently purchased a massive saline lake in/under Mexico. The water is being pumped north, and nuclear power from the Palo Verde generating station is being used to desalinate it for primarily agricultural uses.
** Things to do and not do in New Orleans (The Big Easy). My friend, the late WoFat, who accomplished some amazing things in his life (he was also a friend of MikeW’s), ended up working at the New Orleans Police Department, where he rose to the position of Vice Bureau Lieutenant — an impressive achievement, considering the job title itself. He had stories, and running and gunning with him behind the scenes was like running and gunning with Sgt. Tom Perdue in San Francisco – back when The City was cool. All gone now.
** The US Constitution – for third graders. The clip explains why it’s essential to use small words for small minds.
** More climate bullshit – DIVERSE VIEWS SHALL NOT BE TOLERATED: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague will reveal proposed penalties the U.N. can implement against countries that defy climate diktats. For the historical record, a mere ten thousand years ago, during the last ice age, a massive ice sheet covered New York, reaching a thickness of roughly 2,000 feet (about 600 meters) over Manhattan Island. This ice sheet, part of the larger Laurentide ice sheet, extended as far south as Long Island, with its terminal moraine (the furthest extent of glacial advance) crossing through Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island. Ten thousand years is not a long time in geological terms. Nobody knows why it melted, but we know that it did (settled science).
** In the news – a 60-sport fishing boat collided with the USS Midway (decommissioned museum) in San Diego harbor. I immediately heard from Claudio, who was concerned that EdB, feeling ill from his medical treatment, may have inadvertently rammed the Midway. Such is the state of mind of so many of us these days. Mishap at sea? Yes, it must be EdB. (I know it rhymes)
** Interactive earthquake browser. Understanding geology helps us comprehend these events better and predict them more accurately. They appear random, but they aren’t. They’re part of the natural process that the planet undergoes.
** People with congestive heart failure, undergoing treatment for schizophrenia, or who have a history of paraphilic disorders will no longer be eligible for a medical waiver to serve in the military, according to new rules issued by the Pentagon on Tuesday. The guidance signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth updates a list of conditions that disqualify potential recruits from serving in the armed forces. The decision comes after the Pentagon announced earlier this year that it would ban transgender troops and review other medical conditions that are currently eligible for a waiver.
** Megafawna – they don’t care about you.
Sunday Sermonette Points:
** A video tour of Milan, Italy. Because it’s your Sunday Sermonette. Aslam o alikum!
** The Grand Mufti (right), Saudi Arabia’s top cleric, commented on the view of an age-old rule that only Islam can be practiced in the region. The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia is the highest official of religious law in the Sunni Muslim kingdom. He is also the head of the Supreme Council of Ulema (Islamic scholars) and the Standing Committee for Scientific Research and the Issuance of Fatwas. A Kuwaiti parliamentarian said last month he wanted to ban the construction of churches and non-Islamic places of worship in the Gulf state. MP Osama Al-Munawer announced on Twitter that he planned to submit a draft law calling for the removal of all churches in the country by fire (burning them to the ground). Only mosques will remain.
The religion of peace and tolerance (Islam) is coming to your city – and may already be there practicing the same convert or die philosophy they’ve had since the days of (the original) Mohammed. That’s your sermonette.
** A religious parade in Barcelona.
** Yes, Mohammed.
** Welcome to Michigan, Home of EdB.
** Welcome to the United Kingdom. The doors are closed and the wall is being completed in the USA, but you will be welcomed, you will be cared for, and given money for nothing (and chicks for free if you join a rape gang) in Great Britain. What’s not great about that? Being a multi-cultural society (turning into one culture) may be the aim. Can the problem be cured? Interview answer.
** In Texas.
** In Australia.
** Tornado sirens? No, you’re just in Minnesota. Aslam o alikum!
Navy Fighter Talk/Bomber Talk
Nobody asked me. And I’m not an expert. I don’t even play one on Fox News.
(first reference CDRSAL) The Navy’s need for a Fleet Defense Fighter and Offensive Fighter/Bomber has nothing to do with what the Air Force wants and will order. It’s apples and oranges and needs to be taken separately, irrespective of the “cost savings” of going joint. The USMC has the F-35B VSTOL, which can remain on their flat-deck amphibious ships. It works well in that role (sort of) except that it’s a maintenance hog and very expensive to operate.
The Navy’s need for a LONG RANGE Fleet Defense Fighter and a LONG RANGE Offensive Fighter/Bomber would look something like a stealth F-14 Tomcat with updated avionics. It needs to be a large aircraft (think Vigilante) because it must carry a substantial amount of fuel and ordnance. The Electronic Warfare (son of EA6B & Growler) needs room for lots of gear. And the CV community groans because that will decrease the number of platforms in the air wing. (but they can cheer because it would have a crew of two). The other thing it needs to be is robust in a maritime environment, which means a new and improved stealth coating and a reliable operational platform that has a high readiness number, unlike the F-35 and the non-Navy F-22, which are great when they fly—but they’re hangar queens.
I agree with CDRSAL’s F/B-XX list of must-haves. I think we may be referring to two different platforms, though. One would be an air superiority fighter/Electronic Warfare platform, and another as a follow-on Vigilante-style bomber that can carry a load of AA missiles if it needs to.
Feel free to disagree (and be wrong) if you must.
Iran
They can’t leave well enough alone. FAFO – again.
The USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) is a Flight I Arleigh Burke-class destroyer commissioned in 1995 and homeported in San Diego, is part of Destroyer Squadron 2 within Carrier Strike Group 3, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln.
On July 23, 2025, at approximately 07:30 GMT, the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) approached waters that Iranian authorities describe as being under their surveillance in the Gulf of Oman. According to the Iranian state media Tasnim, Iran’s Third Naval District responded by dispatching a SH-3 Sea King helicopter, which flew directly over the destroyer and issued a radio warning in English, ordering the U.S. vessel to change its course.
Iranian footage reportedly taken from the helicopter shows the warship at close range, with an audible command demanding that it avoid Iranian-controlled waters. The Iranian accounts state that the USS Fitzgerald threatened to shoot down the helicopter, prompting activation of the Islamic Republic’s integrated air defense system, which declared the aircraft was fully protected and that the destroyer must leave. Iranian sources claim the Fitzgerald subsequently altered its course to the south and departed the area following this combined show of force.
U.S. Central Command firmly rejected the Iranian version of events, stating the encounter took place in international waters and describing it as a “safe and professional interaction.” A U.S. defense official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the Fitzgerald’s mission was not affected and labeled any Iranian assertions to the contrary as misinformation disseminated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The U.S. military stated that there were no threats made toward the helicopter and identified it as an Iranian SH-3 Sea King. The U.S. also denied entering Iranian territorial waters or deviating from standard operating procedures. An article in USNI News cited naval expert Afshon Ostovar of the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, who noted that the Iranian use of a single helicopter in such encounters was consistent with previous harassment tactics, aimed at testing American responses and reinforcing domestic messaging rather than projecting credible deterrence against a ship as heavily armed as the Fitzgerald.
Iranian media described the confrontation as the first direct military encounter between the United States and Iran since the 12-day conflict in June 2025 between Iran and Israel, during which the U.S. conducted a single airstrike on Iranian nuclear infrastructure on June 22. The strike, reportedly targeting three facilities, inflicted significant damage only at the Fordow site, according to post-strike assessments in U.S. media. In response, Iran launched missile attacks against the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, damaging a radar system and briefly disrupting American surveillance. President Donald Trump later called the U.S. operation a “spectacular” success, though Tehran’s leadership has disputed that characterization. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a televised interview broadcast on the same day as the Fitzgerald incident, reiterated that Iran’s nuclear program was strictly civilian, stated that Tehran had no intention of halting it, and warned that the country remained ready for a possible future conflict with Israel. He added that he was not optimistic about the recent ceasefire agreement brokered after the June hostilities.
Statements from Iranian military sources and various state-aligned media reiterated that the USS Fitzgerald attempted a “provocative approach” toward waters under Iranian observation. The helicopter, they reported, repeatedly instructed the ship to move away. Following the alleged threat made by the U.S. destroyer, the Iranian air defense system issued a formal warning confirming the aircraft’s protection. According to these sources, the persistence of the Iranian aircrew and air defense coverage eventually led to the U.S. warship’s retreat from the area. Video aired on Iranian television showed the helicopter’s proximity to the destroyer, with additional narration highlighting Iran’s stated objective to protect its maritime boundaries. The complete timeline of events, based on Iranian sources, spans from 10:00 AM local time until the U.S. ship’s reported southward withdrawal.
The confrontation comes amid Iran’s efforts to institutionalize long-term military readiness following the June 2025 twelve-day war with Israel and the United States. Iranian military leadership, including Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, has publicly stated that the country holds sufficient military reserves to sustain a decade of warfare if necessary.
Iran has also expanded ballistic missile testing, restricted International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections of its uranium enrichment levels, and linked its defense posture to national sovereignty in the Gulf region. The latest encounter at sea reinforces both Tehran’s stated red lines in territorial defense and Washington’s adherence to international navigation rights. Iranian military officials used the event to assert readiness and deterrence, while U.S. military responses emphasized operational professionalism and dismissed the Iranian narrative as exaggerated and politically motivated. Though there were no reports of damage or injury, the incident highlighted the risk of escalation in the Gulf of Oman, as Iran and the U.S. continue to operate near these contested waters, with competing interpretations of jurisdiction and engagement norms. The Fitzgerald episode joins a list of maritime standoffs between the two states, such as the 2023 claim by Tehran that a U.S. submarine surfaced while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a claim denied by Washington.
Identify the Aircraft
1
Cool photo
2
3
4
End
1 is British Avro Anson I
2 looks like Armstrong Whitworth A.W.41 Albemarle
If you really want to make a ship have a bad day , get a whole bunch of polypropylene line (ski rope) which likes to be buoyant (floats on top of water) , find a spot where you know a charted depth and approximate draft of a given ship , use a series weights and floats to make a LARGE grid set at the desired height from the sea bed and sit back and wait . It can , and will, foul the screws on a Navy warship to the point of “dead in the water” , requiring divers be flown/ brought in to manually (manos) cut away said fouling ,,all this at a relatively low cost required . Good thing this has never happened while transiting near Iranian waters (cough,cough) . Nah , just another fishing net gone adrift , a really really big one . Mark that one on your chart .
Great idea! You need to lay it at a choke point, such as a harbor mouth, where there’s a bar that forces a specific course/passage.
Not really a hypothetical L.L. , something that happened on one of my adventures , not something I thought up , nor would I pursue . Have another story among many , about babysitting a dhow full of dates that me (coxswain) and the VBSS boarding party “captured” , waiting for the UAE Navy to come and escort into port because of their point of origin . A CGN pretty much dead in the water , because the UAE was too busy . We were ordered to stay put and wait , so we did ….and gave them , food , sent over the corpsman, sent over engineers to patch up their engine , I think we even sent over the Chaplain for all that was worth . I could lay down some more sea stories , and with the ship pictures you post (Thank You Sir) , I am often tempted to do so. But this is your blogsite and good etiquette dictates that I do not proceed in that manner without clearance of the high command . Oh well …one more , we were tasked with leaving the carrier group to provide (if needed) NGFS naval gunfire support off the coast of Somalia to assist in evacuating NATO forces , “they” always need a name , “United Shield” was this one . We had Boorda’s son on as XO , we did race track patterns as the fore and aft 5inch guns whined and moved to stay on target as the ship moved and turned , they may have been wound up and ready in CIC , but we caught a nice blue fin off the fantail with a Penn open faced reel and an outrigger we rigged up . Joint Meritorious Unit Award , and Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for that one , put it in the sock drawer , takem where you getem . Good Night .
Now I know what to do with that rich kid whose out of state parents bought him a 36 cat with quad yamaha 300s. Fun times ahead.
I was in Sandy’s Eggo the day the USS Midway was struck by the fishing boat. The local news said it was a rental and that the crew had lost control of it.
The news also reported that the damage to the Midway was $110K. That’s some expensive paint!
Identify the Aircraft:
1. Avro Anson
2. Consolidated Liberator I
3. Gloster Meteor
4. Westland Welkin
Well done!
Rail guns seem like a good idea, but when you suddenly accelerate something to multiple times the speed of sound, beside the problem of gravity, friction rears its ugly head and the heat is destructive to the launching device. Maybe Italy will be successful, but I’m thinking not.
The rail guns that were to go on the Zumwalt Class DDGs worked so far as I understood. The problem was the cost of over a million dollars a shot—expensive artillery.
What city is the police shakedown in?
*
I know how to stop the boats, it’s just that nobody will do it.
– Kle.
Govt Crime Syndicate: Asinine…yet proves the “they” we rent from them then enact ordinances to support their overbearing HOA Ninny-State (yes, ninny, which is exponentially more annoying than “nanny”). Clearly the police have nothing better to do, and since when is it an arrest-able offense to mow someone’s lawn? Ah yes, when it interferes with the grifter cheats and their grifter cheat pals. No different when nowadays a little kid sets up a lemonade stand at the end of the driveway (to learn business, money handling, etc) and the Gestapo show up demanding to see the business permit, as if the kid had a clue what that was…because even to a kid it sounds stupid. But for bureaucrat adults in charge it sounds perfectly correct. When mom confronts them they threaten arrest. Happens all the time, so yes, local governments have clamped down on the Mafia because…they don’t like competition. The thing is, WTP are paying for our own fleecing by these bums.
***
Military Entrance Restrictions: Used to be one had to meet standards, otherwise not getting in unless they had a use for ya. Dad had 20/200 vision, needed glasses. He was an excellent shot on the range, but without his glasses was half blind. The Marines let him in (1960-ish, he applied to semi-control the outcome). He could cook tho, so they put him in the kitchen…best we know. The difference is he knew his limitations and didn’t demand others…like the military…to bend to his demand…because there weren’t any. Today, not so much, everyone believes the world should accommodate them so demand a gold star or participation trophy.
The pool of recruits is not that deep these days , body fat % , weed , ASVAB scores low , hope is , and I’ve seem many cases before that turned out well , that the military will whip them into shape , and it beats the F outta going into massive college debt . Shit , more than a few of the guys that bitched and tried to not conform , and swore that they were getting out after four are still in touch today retired as Chiefs , Senior Chiefs , and LDO’s . There is hope , be positive , we’re okay .
At what point does the government become a crime syndicate?
Love YouTube as a place to expose this kind of abuse. Sunlight and ridicule are great sanitizers.
Tasnim report of Gulf of Oman incident in English – for those who may be interested in the Perrsian point of view and do not speak or read پارسی
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2025/07/23/3360807/iranian-navy-helicopter-warns-off-us-destroyer-in-gulf-of-oman-video
in re Iran (Persia):
I’m not old enough to remember (nor was I even born) but I’ve attempted to study the origins of the Second World War; a task not made any easier in that it probably dates back to the early medieval (IMHO).
I did notice, however, that the various post-WWI nations (in all likelihood) had the opportunity in March ’36 to put a crimp in Herr Hitler’s plans at the time of the remilitarization of the Rhineland; their leaders just didn’t have – well, this can be argued and has been many times over.
I now look at Iran’s (Persia) leaders and their attempt (so far highly successful IMHO) to be a major influence (OK! OK! I won’t argue, but, still, it’s a good word) in that part of the world and I’m reminded of the ’30s.
I think they’ve been pushed back.
They are just too stunned to know it yet.
Regarding Mohammed. Fresh stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy_iD6Lf6MY
I need to watch that in it entirety, didn’t realize Smith did that. I always felt it was an inauthentic riff on Jesus and the Bible.
“Water in Arizona is serious business”
When I lived in Tucson in the early 80s, more or less this same story was an issue. CAP was a big deal but too many people, too much waste, “Save The Water”. Yet the golf courses were always green and the orchards were flood irrigated. I haven’t been in AZ for any length of time in many years but it seems AZ still encourages water-heavy industry – the new TSMC fab near Phoenix as one example and it may not even be a relatively heavy user. As far as I can tell, Arizona is creating – and encouraging – its own water problems, probably with the expectation the Feds (meaning taxpayers not in AZ) will save the day.
“Ten thousand years is not a long time in geological terms. Nobody knows why it melted, but we know that it did”
That’s an easy one: Fred & Wilma & Barney & Betty drove too much and worked at carbon intensive industries.
How dare you!
“Welcome to Michigan, Home of EdB” (my home too)
Is EdB old enough to remember Orville Hubbard?
Hubbard was an effective administrator who served 15 consecutive terms while being nationally known as an outspoken segregationist who sought to keep Dearborn free of the perceived social and political ills of neighboring Detroit.
(giggle!)
Orville once gave police protection to the first black occupants of Dearborn.
Flashing police lights in the street, patrol car lights shining on the premises….
Dearborn was also like one big HOA. Somebody once painted there entry door a bright color that the ordinance officer demanded was changed to a more neutral color.
Then the islamic invasion for autoplant work after he died.
Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting… Re the Navy F/B-XX requirement, you are correct, and the USAF is fighting that tooth and nail. They want a ‘consolidated’ bird that ‘they’ control the design of, that will benefit them, while forcing the Navy to do ‘add on’s’ to get what they need, much like the POS F-35…
> At what point does the government become a crime syndicate?
.
A small amount of crime is still crime. There is no axis-crossing sign change to the morality whereby if you only steal a little it becomes a good thing. The underpinning rules are the scam.
True.