Melbourne

Australia is a vast country, about the size of the continental U.S. In fact, it is the only country that occupies an entire continent. But most of the population is concentrated along it's east coast, to the east of the Great Dividing Range. On the other side of that mountain range, the population of the Outback is very sparse.

One thing that Australians are known for is their sense of fairness, making sure that everyone has a "fair go". Another thing that Australians are known for is their friendly sense of humor. If Australians make a joke about you, unlike with many other people, it means that they like you.

Melbourne is the second-largest city in Australia, after Sydney. It is in the far south of Australia and was long the most important city in the country. It hosted the 1956 Olympics, and is today growing faster than Sydney. Melbourne is the real "cultural capital" of Australia, representative of what Australia is all about. Unlike Sydney, Melbourne was founded by free settlers and did not start as a penal colony.

Victoria State is centered on Melbourne, while Sydney is the major city of the state of New South Wales. Like Sydney, Melbourne grew as a result of a Nineteenth-Century gold rush. One disadvantage of being in Melbourne is that it is just so far away from everything, European migrants have a journey to visit back home that is about three times as long as if they were in eastern North America, but yet so many people want to live here.

A good place to begin our visit to Melbourne would be around the the Flinders Street Railway Station. The river is the Yarra River. Notice the bridge with one arch above it, it is of the same design as the one we saw on our visit to "Glasgow", the Clyde Arc Bridge.

There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >. After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

https://www.google.com/maps/@-37.8182629,144.9677545,3a,75y,0.21h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipN-VCunvyj6RnRTk1m8LgLcrrRLkfthPJ70SQdA!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipN-VCunvyj6RnRTk1m8LgLcrrRLkfthPJ70SQdA%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0-ya277.25894-ro-0-fo100!7i5472!8i2736

Here are some more scenes of the central area of Melbourne, beginning on Collins Street. The first three scenes of central Melbourne are from Google Earth. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@-37.8185457,144.9557948,3a,75y,90h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sG9vzdvTBo7yCN3HGbi4FBA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DG9vzdvTBo7yCN3HGbi4FBA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D157.2724%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

The following scenes of Melbourne begin with the Princess Theater on one side and Parliament House on the other side. Parliament House was once the parliament of all of Australia when it served as the temporary capital of the country before the new capital city, Canberra, was built. The first two scenes of Parliament House are from Google Earth and Street View. 

This image of the Princess Theater is from Google Street View. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@-37.8106391,144.9726716,3a,75y,66.68h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sTB4ip3Q_SLJYGjNac12P0A!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DTB4ip3Q_SLJYGjNac12P0A%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D61.377758%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

The following scenes begin inside the old Royal Exhibition Building, where many shows and exhibitions have been held over the years. The first three images of the Royal Exhibition Building are from Google Earth and Street View. I have a feeling that this building was influenced by the former Crystal Palace. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@-37.8047774,144.9717115,2a,75y,174.23h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sZReAOif26m5gUdMXM9ulkA!2e0!3e2!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DZReAOif26m5gUdMXM9ulkA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D175.43576%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

The usual image of an Australian is of being laid-back and carefree, whose main concern is with getting a tan and surfing. There is no surfing at Melbourne because it's waterfront is on Port Phillip Bay, which is mostly shielded from the ocean and it's surfable waves. But Melbourne is shown in these scenes making up for the lack of surfing with motorbike jumping and auto racing, and being promoted by the Melbourne cheerleaders.

https://www.google.com/maps/@-37.8514245,144.9690007,3a,75y,97.49h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipN5qd5kynmD9nxzMLBsqcBmAjEXoBUqFMztP7sW!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipN5qd5kynmD9nxzMLBsqcBmAjEXoBUqFMztP7sW%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya91.54-ro-0-fo100!7i4500!8i2250

Here is the residential area of Cheltenham. We saw the English city of the same name in the visit, "Gloucestershire And Herefordshire".

https://www.google.com/maps/@-37.9661877,145.0664446,3a,75y,98h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s0dY2AFaGqJvoUyMeizZIGg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D0dY2AFaGqJvoUyMeizZIGg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D98.67331%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Niagara's Dangerous River

I would like to express sympathy that there has been another drowning in the Welland River, on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. In the following image from Google Earth the direction of flow of the Welland River has been reversed, so that it brings in water from the Niagara River. The water goes to generate electricity and it has the same strong current as the Niagara River.

The arrow-shaped piece of land is King's Bridge Park. It was formed from artificial fill from the power project to "catch" water from the Niagara River and divert it to generate electricity. The bridge at right is the Weightman Bridge, which kids used to jump off. The park used to be popular in summer but the current is dangerous, and there were often waves from motorboats going by. One day they pulled a victim from the river. It looked like they were trying to surround the body so the children wouldn't see a dead body. 

King's Bridge Park was very important to our family. We started going there when we lived on the Canadian side and continued going after moving to the U.S. side. I did a lot of swimming and jumping off the bridge. I had a diver's mask and explored all around underwater. We still used to go there after the body was pulled out, which happened when I was 14, but a lot of people stopped swimming there after that. 

Don't swim against a current. Go either with the current or across it. If you get into trouble in water just inflate your lungs and relax. You can't drown because your body will be lighter than water. If you do swim where there is a current the best thing is to wear fins, or flippers. They will multiply your swimming power.

The following pic is of me, at right, as a young boy at King's Bridge Park with the Welland River in the background. There was a bay, separated from the rest of the river by a sandbar, where children could swim because there was no current. 

Buffalo Bar Shootings

There might be a reason behind the periodic shootings in Buffalo bars. Maybe the name of the city is a factor. Remember that history and symbolism are powerful forces.

The animal that Buffalo is named for is not native to the area, at least since many centuries ago. But all around Buffalo are statues of it's namesake. The following image is from Google Street View.

In the days of the Old West, Dodge City was right in the middle of the habitat range of the buffalo. Although some of the history has certainly been hollywoodized, disputes in Dodge City were very often resolved with guns. This gives bars in Buffalo a connection to the old Long Branch Saloon. Here is a link to the posting about the Old West: 

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-would-have-been-nation-of-westland.html?m=0

Sydney

Australia's largest city, and the place where the country really began, is Sydney. This city, which is considered as an outstanding place to live with nearly half of it's population having been born abroad, actually began as a British penal colony. In the days when one could be convicted for being unable to pay debts, and when the U.S. gained independence, Australia became the main penal colony. Many low-level criminals and troublemakers were not imprisoned, but were transported to distant lands.

What is now Sydney was developed from there, as were so many other cities in newly-settled lands, by a gold rush. Many people consider the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games as "The best Olympics ever held", and the city is one of the world's most prominent destinations for both visitors and immigrants, despite the inherent Australian disadvantage of being "so far away from everything". The population of Sydney is known to be very well-educated.

The signature image of Sydney is of it's famed Opera House, built in the 1970s near Sydney Harbor Bridge. These five images of the Opera House are from Google Earth and Street View.

Here is a look at downtown Sydney, starting inside the Opera House. Does this remind Canadian readers of Vancouver? There is even a waterfront building in Vancouver, as we saw on our visit there, with "sails" that resembles the Opera House. If you see Government House, resembling one of Henry VIII's palaces, it is Government House from where the state of New South Wales was governed, adjacent to the Opera House. The first three images of Government House are from Google Street View.

There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >. After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.8566998,151.2150716,3a,75y,81.91h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipOxlutsUMk7BaaJWQQmU1_LqWoIyUpTYHui0EjC!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOxlutsUMk7BaaJWQQmU1_LqWoIyUpTYHui0EjC%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya253.143-ro-0-fo100!7i7200!8i3600

Here are some more scenes of central Sydney, starting in Railway Square. When trains were the most common method of travel, this was the focal point of the city. So much in Sydney is named for places in Britain, it is like looking at a map of Britain, except that the landscape of Australia as a whole couldn't be more different. Sydney is in the Australian state of New South Wales, commonly abbreviated as NSW. Remember that we visited the original "South Wales". The first three images of central Sydney are from Google Earth. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.8851082,151.2029497,3a,75y,91.52h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sApOIby4mGCBZ0oupLabsFw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DApOIby4mGCBZ0oupLabsFw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D91.83575%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

A logical place to see Sydney would be from the top of it's tower. The cathedral is St. Mary's. The first image of the tower is from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.870451,151.20876,3a,75y,80.42h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipMJAtyhE7fyjQvBMTaxzsVCp2GAmAb3JeDHaoYK!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMJAtyhE7fyjQvBMTaxzsVCp2GAmAb3JeDHaoYK%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya78.51497-ro-0-fo100!7i5660!8i2830

Here is more of central Sydney, starting in the shopping center known as World Square. The first two images of the shopping center are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.8772372,151.2067974,2a,75y,118.28h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1slI3TKDJlTtbJxaVEXRm73A!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DlI3TKDJlTtbJxaVEXRm73A%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D122.94243%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

This is the area known as King's Cross.

https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.874058,151.2215993,3a,75y,89.53h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sK_MOs8gvWh2_qEtsyaZPYA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DK_MOs8gvWh2_qEtsyaZPYA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D89.427986%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

The people of Sydney are some of the best-educated people in the world. The University of Sydney bears a resemblance to Oxford, that we saw in the visit on this blog, "Oxford, Cambridge And, Imperial Colleges". The first three images of the University of Sydney are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.8879628,151.18713,3a,75y,151.16h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipOOUF5w1W63ktoqOY4PS69EVp-HDKLr7jxCtyXl!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOOUF5w1W63ktoqOY4PS69EVp-HDKLr7jxCtyXl%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya169.4324-ro0-fo100!7i3840!8i1919

Burwood Heights is a residential area away from the city center.

https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.8897372,151.1077137,3a,75y,89.23h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1seXCtCDOGIriXLqDlOMKu3A!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DeXCtCDOGIriXLqDlOMKu3A%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D89.07681%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Here is a look at Roselands, which is another residential area.

https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.9310491,151.0781084,3a,75y,226h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sQj7hxNRTvm3OLobHPsJFlQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DQj7hxNRTvm3OLobHPsJFlQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D226.5%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

The Inverse Topological Rule

There were tornadoes in my local area that is reminiscent of something really interesting about the universe that I cannot see has been pointed out. It is something fairly simple.

We know that there are processes that balance themselves by inducing opposites. One of Newton's Laws is that "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction". When an electric current in a wire or coil induces a current in another wire or coil the induced current will flow in the opposite direction from the original current. When a magnet is used to magnetize another piece of metal it will induce poles opposite to those in the original magnet.

But what about the basic nature of the universe? Topology is about the shapes or forms of objects. Some entities that make up the universe are functions of others, meaning that one must come first before the other can follow. How might this affect their topologies?

The space in the universe must come before any objects. But space has it's topology. The dimensions of space form right angles. We can easily see this by stacking boxes or looking at property lots. The only shape that fits together with no space left over have right angles, most basically squares in two dimensions or cubes in three dimensions. This proves that three dimensional space is cubic, the dimensions form right angles.

If anyone was asked what shape was the opposite of a cube, with no more information added, the logical answer would be a sphere. So if a sphere is the opposite of a cube, and if space was going to induce it's opposite topological form then we should expect to see spheres somewhere in space.

That is exactly what happens when matter collects together by gravity. A sphere is the default geometric form of matter that collects by gravity. All we have to do to see this is look at the sun or moon or a globe of the earth. A gravitational mass is said to form a sphere because it is the three-dimensional form with the lowest energy state, or the lowest surface area per volume. But the topological reason is that matter is a function of space and a gravitational mass takes the opposite topological form from that space.

So if the earth is spherical because it is made of matter, and matter is a function of space, and space is cubic and, according to my Inverse Topological Rule, a gravitational mass of matter had to take the opposite topological form from space, then what about the earth? Does it induce it's opposite topological form into anything?

We are used to opposites coming in pairs, such as left and right, up and down, or negative and positive. Topology doesn't necessarily work in the same way. The topological opposite of a cube is a sphere, but the opposite of a sphere isn't a cube. This is because a sphere contains less information than a cube. A cube has to have it's directional alignment specified but a sphere doesn't. A topological form cannot induce another form with more information so the induced opposite of a sphere must be something else.

The topological opposite of a sphere is actually a pseudosphere. A pseudosphere has a continuous negative curvature, just as a sphere has a continuous positive curvature. This is a pseudosphere, from the Wikipedia article "Pseudosphere".

What do you notice about this pseudosphere? A tornado is caused by the spin of the earth. What form does it take? The form of half a pseudosphere.

Have you ever drained a sink full of water so that the water swirls around into a whirlpool? What form does it take? The form of half a pseudosphere.

What about Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity? There are two theories of Relativity. The first, and the one that I refer to the most here is the Special Theory of Relativity. But there is also the General Theory, about how gravity bends light. A mass theoretically curves space so that an object in orbit is moving in a straight line, but through curved space. That is what gravity is, a mass curving the space around it.

But what form does the curvature take? It takes the form of half a pseudosphere. If we charted the acceleration of a falling object due to gravity it would take the form of a pseudosphere.

A question arises as to why a sphere, the default gravitational form of matter, is the topological opposite of a cube, the dimensions of space, but contains less information than a cube. Remember my cosmology theory. Matter originated from the two-dimensional sheet of space which was scattered by the Big Bang over four dimensions of the background space, one of which we perceive as time. So it's two dimensions against four.

Remember that all around you, every day, are things that no one has ever pointed out.

Remembering Kim Il Sung

This week was the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea. But why should we remember Kim Il Sung? Wasn't he the one that started the Korean War? 

That's just the point. The Korean War, of 1950-53, was the first war in which jet aircraft were widely used. The following decade would see the manned space program with astronauts landing on the moon twice before the end of the decade. It turned out that being a military jet pilot is an ideal background for an astronaut, and most of the early astronauts had been pilots in the Korean War.

It is interesting how history turns out. The V2 rockets, used by the Nazis, could be considered as the first man-made objects to enter space and would provide the foundation for the space program. The war later begun by Kim Il Sung would provide the foundation for the astronauts that would ultimately land on the moon.

Zimbabwe

Until 1980 the country that was once known as Rhodesia was ruled by it's white minority. When the black majority of the country overthrew this minority government, they renamed the country as Zimbabwe. This must have had a great effect on nearby South Africa because the movement for majority rule gained momentum throughout the 1980s, until Apartheid was finally ended in 1994.

One of the leaders of the war to overthrow white minority rule in Zimbabwe was named Robert Mugabe, and he became the first leader of the new country. Zimbabwe was in the global news when Robert Mugabe was forcibly removed in 2017.

Zimbabwe is named for the city known as Great Zimbabwe, which was a very important African city for about five hundred years, during the late Middle Ages, and the capital city of a kingdom named Zimbabwe. 

Great Zimbabwe has long been the center of many legends from around the world, everything from being the actual home of the Queen of Sheba to being the place where the missing Ark of the Covenant, made by the Israelites during their journey to the Promised Land as a kind of portable shrine, ended up after being taken away for safekeeping when the Babylonians destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem.

The following scenes are of Great Zimbabwe. There is the walled compound, known as the Great Enclosure, and other structures outside of this enclosure. The first six images are from Google Street View.

There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >. After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

https://www.google.com/maps/@-20.2729408,30.9344728,3a,75y,118.73h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNfbNEs9zWSzvj9It6Ub2iVri1d0Tr91akC6YNE!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNfbNEs9zWSzvj9It6Ub2iVri1d0Tr91akC6YNE%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya155.30112-ro0-fo100!7i4352!8i1682

Zimbabwe is also known for Victoria Falls. Like Niagara Falls, these falls are on an international border. Zimbabwe is on one side and Zambia on the other. Victoria Falls is about twice the height of Niagara Falls. The first three images are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@-17.9244444,25.8566667,3a,75y,355h,98t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPMki7MoF7r8oFN94z1uDjBqQPtFrN1mQjisp-n!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPMki7MoF7r8oFN94z1uDjBqQPtFrN1mQjisp-n%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi8.041666-ya85.26041-ro-0-fo100!7i6000!8i3000

This is Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe, in the area of the presidential compound. The first image, of the Office of the President, is from Google Street View. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@-17.8143749,31.0560188,3a,75y,181h,88t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNjJ0jPaWVOr18i8P1jw7iuw-1Y6fPRqnK0yoRi!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNjJ0jPaWVOr18i8P1jw7iuw-1Y6fPRqnK0yoRi%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-7.870707-ya181.65073-ro1.1384969-fo100!7i5376!8i2688

Here is the downtown area of Harare. You may notice the lavender jacaranda trees. These are decorative trees that are popular in many parts of the world, which were originally imported from the western hemisphere. The first five images of downtown Harare are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@-17.8286649,31.0510034,3a,75y,121.38h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNDh82XpqXjC1pajz8qqJz4EErOihm1mNJc7TH6!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNDh82XpqXjC1pajz8qqJz4EErOihm1mNJc7TH6%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-10.033266-ya236.8306-ro170.1794-fo100!7i7776!8i3888

This is part of Harare, to the north of the city center. If something seems out-of-place about the traffic, remember that Zimbabweans drive on the left side of the road.

https://www.google.com/maps/@-17.8186394,31.0546099,3a,75y,271h,88t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPPWI3G3pLuwT9k9MQX0fMH1vMUbZ741QKd9xQn!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPPWI3G3pLuwT9k9MQX0fMH1vMUbZ741QKd9xQn%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-4.240678-ya271.11246-ro-7.35529-fo100!7i7200!8i3600

The following scenes are of Zimbabwe's second city of Bulawayo. The first three scenes are from Google Street View. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@-20.1618575,28.5867775,3a,75y,130h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNKtltLnKwBxw9rj6bFcLohNEhN3W0BhKJeyYLy!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNKtltLnKwBxw9rj6bFcLohNEhN3W0BhKJeyYLy%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya130.5-ro-0-fo100!7i5660!8i2830

America's Own Calendar

With the Fourth of July this week see if Americans can believe the following four facts.

1) The earth's orbit around the sun is elliptical. This means that there is a point during the year when it is closest to the sun, as well as a point when it is furthest away. Just by chance the Fourth of July, America's much-celebrated Independence Day, is the day when the earth is furthest from the sun.

2) There are 50 U.S. states, represented by the 50 stars on the flag. If we add the District of Columbia, America's capital district, and Puerto Rico, that gives us 52. There are also 52 weeks in a year.

3) There are 13 red and white stripes on the U.S. flag, which represent the 13 original states. There are also 13 lunar cycles in a year, although they don't fit perfectly with the length of the year. The 12 months are based on the lunar cycle but there are actually 13 in a year. The moon orbits the earth in about 27 days and 8 hours, known as a sidereal month. But because the earth is revolving around the sun at the same time the moon appears to go through it's phase cycle in about 29 days and 12 hours, known as a synodic month. But a year divides into 13 four-week periods.

4) There was once a great supernova, an exploding star, that lasted about two years and was so brilliant that it was visible during the day. The brilliant supernova began on July 4, yes the Fourth of July, in the year 1054. The remnants of that supernova are today known as the Crab Nebula. The Crab Nebula turned out to appear red, white and, blue, the same colors as America's flag. Image from the Wikipedia article "Crab Nebula".

So why doesn't America have it's own calendar? I have long thought that we should name the weeks rather than the months. Ever since the Industrial Revolution the week has been more important to most people than the month. The Gregorian Calendar that we use now is a medieval calendar that preceded the Industrial Revolution, from when most people were working in agriculture.

In the American Calendar the year would begin on what is now the Fourth of July. This is the day on which the earth, in it's elliptical orbit, just happens to be at it's furthest point from the sun. The calendar would thus show where the earth is in it's orbit, in which it moves more slowly the further it is from the sun. This would be ideal for the Space Age.

The 52 weeks in a year would be named for the U.S. states, which are represented by the 50 stars on the flag, plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. To avoid confusion with Washington State, Washington D.C. would simply be listed as "D.C.", or the "District of Columbia".

The present months were originally based on the lunar cycle but got stretched so that there are 12 months in the year. The American Calendar would have 13 four-week periods, based on what the lunar cycle actually is and named for the 13 original states, in alphabetical order, that are represented by the 13 stripes on the U.S. flag. Image from Wikipedia article "Flag of the United States".

Isn't it about time that America had a calendar of it's own? I am sure that Ben Franklin would have introduced this calendar if more had been known about space at the time.

Past U.S. Presidential Campaigns

The analysis of the debate this week between Joe Biden and Donald Trump brings to mind two U.S. presidential campaigns from the 1960s. Many observers of this week's debate thought that Biden is too old to run for another term but replacing an incumbent president that is eligible to run for another term is an unfamiliar process.

THE 1960 KENNEDY-NIXON CAMPAIGN

John F. Kennedy narrowly defeated Richard Nixon to win the presidency in 1960. Public perception became an issue during the campaign. Television was still relatively new. There was a debate between the two candidates that was broadcast both on radio and television. The majority of those listening on the radio thought that Nixon got the better of it. But Nixon had apparently neglected to shave and the majority of those watching on television thought that Kennedy got the better of the debate.

This difference was very much analyzed. It showed how television changed the dynamic. Now it was not just what the candidates said that counted but also their appearance. 

THE 1968 CAMPAIGN 

John F. Kennedy had been assassinated in 1963 and his vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, had been sworn in. Johnson was reelected in 1964, defeating Barry Goldwater. For the 1968 campaign, Lyndon Johnson was eligible to run for another term since he had not served two full terms. When an incumbent president is eligible for another term he is almost always his party's choice as candidate. 

But Lyndon Johnson had become very unpopular over the Vietnam War. Anti-war protestors came up the cheerleader-like chant, "Hey Hey LBJ How Many Kids Did You Kill Today"? 

Johnson surprised the country with a televised announcement that he would not be running for president in the 1968 campaign. Instead the Democratic Party chose the popular Robert (Bobby) Kennedy, the younger brother of John F. Kennedy as it's candidate. But Bobby Kennedy was assassinated while campaigning, supposedly for his support of Israel. It was Hubert Humphrey, Johnson's vice president, who ended up standing for the Democrats in the election, but losing to Richard Nixon.

Recent Repetitions Of History

History is so important because there is a strong tendency to repeat it. Sometimes the repetition is intentional but we often repeat history without realizing it.

IS AND ASSYRIA 

This week was the tenth anniversary of the proclamation of the Islamic State Caliphate. Has anyone noticed how history repeated itself? Here is something that I have never seen pointed out.

IS was known for it's barbarity, brutal public executions and killing people by the dozens or hundreds. But what do you notice? The territory occupied by IS, in Iraq and Syria, is close to being the same territory occupied by the Assyrians in ancient times, who were especially known for barbarism and brutality. In fact the IS Caliphate was announced from the city of Mosul, which was the site of the Assyrian capital of Nineveh. 

Might this be just history repeating itself or might IS have done this on purpose? Knowing that the history of the region goes back to ancient times and that there is a strong sense of history, IS could have been trying to get themselves subconsciously linked to the power of Assyria which was practically irresistible, at least for a couple of hundred years. 

Whether or not IS was linking themselves with Assyria purposely it is not the only such example of history repeating itself in the region. During the Crusades there were Christian orders of knights that protected and assisted pilgrims to the Holy Land. These are the Knights of Malta, the Knights Templar, the Knights Hospitaller and, the Knights of St. John. The Islamic militias in the area, most notably Hamas and Hezbollah, are repeating this history. 

THE FRENCH FAR RIGHT 

The French political far right, led by the Le Pen family, is periodically in the news. It recently won a significant political victory. But why would the far right be so prominent in France, which is generally a moderately socialist country? 

There is a simple answer, and it involves going back into history. France had a royal family for a thousand years. The event that opened the modern political era was the French Revolution of 1789. The king and queen, of the Bourbon Dynasty, were overthrown and guillotined. What ultimately arose out of the revolution was Napoleon, although he had nothing to do with initiating the revolution or executing the king and queen. Napoleon would end up being the prototype of the modern dictator. 

The Bourbon Dynasty made a comeback after the time of Napoleon, this time as a constitutional monarchy bound by the constitution of the republic. The House of Bourbon was replaced by it's cadet branch, the House of Orleans, before the French monarchy was finished for good by the revolutions that swept Europe in 1848. 

But as we saw in the posting "The Theory Of Kings", April 2022, monarchy is the way that society has been run for thousands of years. Kings are not going to just go away. In fact they haven't gone away at all, we just don't usually call them kings anymore. Kings today are often seen as rightward leaders that "act like a king" and typically don't show a lot of respect for democracy. 

The far right that is so prominent in France is effectively the return of the French monarchy. There is the book-length compound posting "America And The Modern World Explained By Way Of Paris", December 2015.

The News

NEW DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE WAR 

U.S.-made missiles are now being used against targets in Russia. After a recent strike using the missiles Russia has promised retaliation. 

TAYLOR SWIFT CAPTURES BRITAIN

The news in entertainment this week was all about Taylor Swift's phenomenal tour of Britain. The royals and the likely next prime minister all wanted to get their pic taken with her. She has bought a home in London and often wears a British flag. She even spoke to her Cardiff audience in Welsh, although the majority of Welsh people don't speak it. 

In "The Royal Story", December 2020, we saw how every royal dynasty has had a connection to a country outside England. Since the beginning of the Tudor Dynasty there has been a new dynasty about every 130 years or so. Could Taylor Swift's popularity be the way a new dynasty might start, with her as it's first queen? She is from Pennsylvania so this time the link would be with America.  

EMPEROR NARUHITO VISITS BRITAIN

Remember that we saw in the compound posting "Investigations", December 2018, section 12) THE PALACE ALLIANCE my reasons for believing that France, Britain, Japan and the U.S. had a secret alliance based on palaces. Akasaka Palace is strikingly similar to Buckingham Palace, although not an exact copy. 

DESCRIPTION OF OUR TIMES 

Remember that, if I had to describe the times in which we live in one sentence, it would be, "We have reached the point where we can change the world faster than we can adapt to the changes that we have made in the world".