News

THE ORIGIN OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES 

With the move toward electric vehicles always in the news, why don't we remember where they originated? The first electric vehicles that the world became familiar with were the "Lunar Rovers" that were used on the moon in the latter Apollo missions. The vehicles had to be electric because there is no air on the moon for a combustion engine. The following image is from the Wikipedia article "Lunar Roving Vehicle".

THE DIFFICULTY OF USING PARATROOPERS 

This week was the 80th anniversary of Operation Market Garden, with a reenactment. The use of paratroopers in wartime is complicated and risky, and usually only done when the enemy has a strong front line. In my opinion the primary value of having paratroopers is the enemy knowing that we have them forces them to guard their entire territory where they might land. So why then did Russia use paratroopers early in the war with Ukraine? With all of Russia's tanks it was both militarily unnecessary and unwise. Could it be that the real purpose of the war in Ukraine is to incite the emergence of the Antichrist, who will seem to have all of the answers that the world needs, followed by the Apocalypse? The use of paratroopers is what I believe to be the prophecy in the Book of Ezekiel about "a cloud that covers the land", in the final series of wars. 

WARS REPORTED IN THE NEWS 

One thing that we do not seem to be paying enough attention to, or any attention to, is that enemies, or potential enemies, are reading and watching our news. This doesn't mean spying or hacking, just reading ordinary news. If the news reports that soldiers are short of supplies, ammunition, manpower or, morale, you can be sure that they are watching. During the Tet Offensive, in the Vietnam War, America's best-known reporter, Walter Cronkite, expressed the opinion that "The war is now unwinnable". Can you imagine how much confidence that must have given the enemy? After 9-11 I didn't know what to make of those color-coded alerts about the level of possibility of an attack. All the potential terrorists had to do is wait until the possibility was low, and then attack. We act as though our enemies are not watching. There must be a careful balance. A news cannot lie or, omit things that should be reported, or people will lose confidence in it. Honest reporting shows that the country is a democracy. But it must be remembered that potential enemies are watching.

SYMBOLISM AND ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS

Remember that symbolism is a powerful force. All around Buffalo are statues of buffalo and I am campaigning to have it replace the eagle as America's national symbol. Image from Google Street View.

The two would be assassins of Donald Trump were just like eagles, perched just out of sight and just waiting for the right moment to unexpectedly nail their prey. Wouldn't America be better with the buffalo as it's national symbol? 

UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

This week is the U.N. General Assembly, with the resulting gridlock in traffic. What would the Buffalo Niagara region be like if the U.N. had been located here? The original plan was for it to be located on Navy Island. This is the island in the Upper Niagara River that Canada was going to donate for the U.N. 

The following image from Google Earth shows Navy Island. Mainland Canada is at left, Grand Island is to the right, the city of Niagara Falls NY is at the top.

THE MUSIC OF 1969

I am not sure how many readers there are who can remember the music of the legendary summer of 1969. Those who do will know what I am referring to. It is really something to celebrate that we have come 10% of the way to the Year 2525.