#from that 80s russia performance

[orcinus-veterinarius]

Are dolphins still being captured for aquariums/parks and is it ethical (or complicated?)

Thanks for the ask! Yes, captures unfortunately do still occur in unregulated countries, though far less frequently than in the past. One of the most infamous examples is the annual dolphin drive in Taiji, Japan. While the main purpose of this hunt is to kill animals for meat, a small number of young, attractive dolphins are kept alive each year for sale. Nowadays, only unaccredited institutions purchase these dolphins, and even the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums now prohibits its members from acquiring captured dolphins. Although Taiji is the most well-known, the majority of cetaceans captured from the wild in the 2000s/2010s came from Russia, which recently prohibited the practice.

Western parks and aquariums have not purchased wild-captured cetaceans in decades. The last captures in US waters occurred in 1989, and the last foreign imports were in the early 1990s (long before widespread public sentiment turned against dolphinariums). I do not believe the practice was ethical, and almost all my colleagues would agree with me. Some of them were indeed brutal affairs, such as the infamous Penn Cove captures, in which several young Southern Resident killer whales (including the famous Tokitae) were taken. Multiple animals were inadvertently killed, and the hunters clumsily attempted to hide the deaths by stuffing the whales’ corpses with rocks. The bodies resurfaced, and following public backlash orca captures were no longer performed in the US.

As awareness of animal welfare grew amongst scientists and the general public in the 70s and 80s, collections of smaller cetacean species became considerably less vicious. They were typically supervised by a veterinarian, and care was taken to ensure animals were not physically harmed. However, these were still undeniably stressful to the animals.

I’m glad the practice stopped. Dolphins are not endangered, and I don’t think we can justify the trauma of removing healthy young animals from their pods. Of course, I make exceptions for individuals that are ill, injured, or a danger to themselves or humans (like Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s Izzy)—and these situations are never taken lightly. And if a species ever became endangered (highly unlikely for bottlenose, but a possibility for belugas), that would also be cause for reevaluation.

Dolphins do quite well in modern accredited aquariums. In the United States, all managed dolphins were either born in human care or have been out of the wild for over 30 years (excluding non-releasable rescues). While there are valid concerns about cetacean captivity, ongoing wild capture is not one of them.

#honestly I find the claim that accredited aquariums fuel taiji #to hold the same merit as claiming accredited zoos fuels the illegal pet trade #anyway thanks for reading! #this was longer than I intended #orcas #killer whales #belugas #dolphins #cetaceans #marine mammals #animal welfare #answered asks #anonymous

[afeelgoodblog]

These are The Best News of Last Week

1. Brazil’s new president Lula vows to halt Deforestation.

For many Brazilians, Bolsonaro’s defeat represents a rejection of the explicit anti-Indigenous, anti-environmental agenda he enacted while in office.

Lula has promised to update Brazil’s climate goals to steer the country back in line with the Paris Agreement. He has also committed to a list of climate proposals put forth by Marina Silva, the most prominent environmental activist in Brazil who served as his former environment minister. In his first speech as president-elect late Sunday night, he reiterated his strong support for zero deforestation in the Amazon. “Brazil is ready to resume its leading role in the fight against the climate crisis”

2. All-terrain wheelchairs arrive at U.S. parks: ‘This is life-changing’

For anyone who has to use a wheelchair, the state says it will soon be easier to be able to enjoy several parks, historic sites and wildlife centers because these locations will provide free all-terrain wheelchairs.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources said it has partnered with the Aimee Copeland Foundation to provide high-mobility, all-terrain track wheelchairs at 10 different locations across the state. DNR said the initiative “encourages those with mobility impairments to reconnect with nature, explore nature trails, go fishing and attend adaptive hunts.”

3. Electricity-generating windows? Swiss scientists design more efficient transparent solar panels

All that natural light flowing through your windows may one day do much more than brighten your mood. Scientists in Switzerland have reached a new efficiency record for transparent solar cells, paving the way for electricity-generating windows that could help power our homes and devices.

Also known as Grätzel cells, dye-sensitised solar cells (DSCs) are a type of low-cost solar cell that use photosensitised dye attached to the surface of a semiconductor to convert visible light into energy.

4. In France all new large parking lots must now be covered in solar panels starting in july 2023

The new provisions are part of French president Emmanuel Macron’s large-scale plan to heavily invest in renewables, which aims to multiply by 10 the amount of solar energy produced in the country, and to double the power from land-based wind farms.

Starting July 1, 2023, smaller carparks that have between 80 and 400 spaces will have five years to be in compliance with the new measures. Carparks with more than 400 spaces have a shorter timeline: They will need to comply with the new measures within three years of this date, and at least half of the surface area of the parking lot will need to be covered in solar panels.

5. Car horns replace gunfire as Ukraine’s troops return to jubilant Kherson

Ukrainian soldiers swept into the southern city of Kherson on Friday, seizing a major symbolic and strategic prize from the retreating Russian army and dealing a bitter blow to President Vladimir V. Putin.

Just weeks after Mr. Putin declared the Kherson region a part of Russia forever, his troops were forced to abandon its capital city, their third major retreat in the war. The setback further dented the once-formidable reputation of an army that has mismanaged logistics and sent unprepared and unmotivated soldiers into battle.

Jubilant crowds poured into the streets, greeting Ukrainian soldiers and waving flags

6. Lab-grown blood given to people in world-first clinical trial

Tiny amounts — equivalent to a couple of spoonfuls — are being tested to see how it performs inside the body. The bulk of blood transfusions will always rely on people regularly rolling up their sleeve to donate.

But the ultimate goal is to manufacture vital, but ultra-rare, blood groups that are hard to get hold of. These are necessary for people who depend on regular blood transfusions for conditions such as sickle cell anaemia.

7. A pod of dolphins got stuck in the mud at low tide — here’s how a N.S. community saved them

According to the Digby Fire Department, there were 16 Atlantic white-sided dolphins, of various sizes, stranded. People of all ages rushed to the scene in Digby on the afternoon of Nov. 4 after it was discovered that 16 dolphins were stranded in the mudflats of an area known as The Joggins.

“We are happy to report that all 16 dolphins eventually were ushered into the water,” the department posted on its Facebook page late in the afternoon. “We are hopeful once the tide keeps rising, they will safely make their way back out to sea.”

- - -

That’s it for this week. If you liked this post you can support this newsletter with a small kofi donation:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Have a great week ahead :)

#best news of last week

[deadpanwalking]

Have you been reading any good books (and/or essays) lately?

I just read Lyudmila Ulitskaya's Paper Theatre: Non-Prose‚ which is a collection of selected plays, journal entries, essays, and autobiographical writing centered around the concept of life as theatre. In the United States, Ulitskaya is known for her novels and short fiction, but in this book, she demonstrates that her range has always been absolutely remarkable.

The title refers to miniature theatres, while also being a “play” on words—a blank page functions as a miniature stage for every writer, no matter what form their writing takes. It also (albeit, indirectly) evokes the “paper architecture” conceptual design movement of the '80s, which was conceived as a form of political protest against Soviet dehumanization, as embodied by the concrete Stalinist and Brutalist architecture. In these examples you can see the paper architects are envisioning a reactionary aesthetic for post-Soviet Russia: beautiful grotesques that are impossible to build.

Ulitskaya transliterates that concept into her own kind of paper architecture—Ciao, Chow!, a closet drama (a kind of play written to be read but not performed) about 19th century Russian cosmism where the dialogue is limited to things the cosmists actually said; the script for The Sisters Liberty, a tragicomic Soviet Pygmalion story that, stripped bare, made me forget the mediocre film from 1990; the story of how her writing career literally began in theater—Ulitskaya lost her job as a geneticist for circulating samizdat and was forced to change professions, so her friends at the Jewish Chamber Musical Theatre arranged for her to become a dramaturg.

Unfortunately, there's no English language translation yet, but I'm hearing P&V are working on a larger collection that includes a lot of this—my guess is that it will hit the shelves in '26 or '27.

#there is one script called bosch's children that absolutely NEEDS to be made into a movie #i should to go to lunch now but let me just say it would do numbers with die girlies auf star trek threshold day #lyudmila ulitskaya #anonymous #assbox

[usafphantom2]

USAF U-2 Avionics Technician tells why S-300 and S-400 SAMs would not be able to shoot down the SR-71 Blackbird

The SR-71 Blackbird

The SR-71 spy plane, the most advanced member of the Blackbird family that included the A-12 and YF-12, was designed by a team of Lockheed personnel led by Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, then vice president of Lockheed’s Advanced Development Company Projects, commonly known as the “Skunk Works” and now a part of Lockheed Martin. The Blackbird completed its first flight on Dec. 22, 1964.

SR-71 T-Shirts

CLICK HERE to see The Aviation Geek Club contributor Linda Sheffield’s T-shirt designs! Linda has a personal relationship with the SR-71 because her father Butch Sheffield flew the Blackbird from test flight in 1965 until 1973. Butch’s Granddaughter’s Lisa Burroughs and Susan Miller are graphic designers. They designed most of the merchandise that is for sale on Threadless. A percentage of the profits go to Flight Test Museum at Edwards Air Force Base. This nonprofit charity is personal to the Sheffield family because they are raising money to house SR-71, #955. This was the first Blackbird that Butch Sheffield flew on Oct. 4, 1965.

The SR-71 was designed to cruise at “Mach 3+,” just over three times the speed of sound or more than 2,200 miles per hour and at altitudes up to 85,000 feet.

During its 24 years of service, the SR-71 Blackbird gathered intelligence in some of the world’s most hostile environments. The Blackbird evaded all the missiles fired at it and, to this day, remains the only USAF aircraft to never lose a crewmember associated with it; whether in the air or on the ground.

But could the SR-71 be shot down by missile systems such as Russia’s S-300 or S-400?

SR-71 Blackbird Vs S-300 Vs S-400

But could the SR-71 be shot down by missile systems such as Russia’s S-300 or S-400?

‘Looks like I’m going to give the only “no” answer so far,’ Damien Leimbach, former USAF Avionics Technician on U-2 aircraft, says on Quora.

‘The S-200, S-300 and S-400 are amazing platforms, and given their stated performance, the 300 and 400 could probably hit a target at the Sr-71’s speed and altitude. But that is not the same as hitting an SR-71.

‘Now, could those missiles shoot down the version of the SR-71 that existed in the 70’s or 80’s? Sure.

USAF U-2 Avionics Technician tells why S-300 and S-400 SAMs would not be able to shoot down the SR-71 Blackbird

S-400 SAM

‘But the question was could it shoot down the SR-71 if it were still in service, and if it were still in service, it would have received the same jamming and Electronic Warfare upgrades as other planes have.

‘Would these EW jammer upgrades make the plane immune from those missiles? Yes it would.

‘How do I know? Well, because I spent 6 years, recently, working on the sibling of the SR-71, the U-2 and as an electronics specialist I was directly responsible for installing and maintaining the AN-ALQ 221 jammer that made our high flying (but slow moving) plane immune to those missiles as well.

‘The U-2 and the SR-71 don’t just take pictures. They listen to cell phones. They monitor radios. And they also listen to, record and analyze the frequencies, pulse rates, variable modes and power outputs of enemy SAM systems like the S-200, 300 and 400.’

Knowing everything about S-300 and S-400

He continues;

‘We know everything about them. We know how they work, so it’s very easy to design systems to defeat them. The -300 is 1970’s Russian technology, which makes it about as sophisticated from an electronics standpoint as 1950’s American tech. The 400 is just an upgraded version of that. But we’ve had a long time to study them and build electronic countermeasures.

‘When the Berlin wall fell in 1989, and East and West Germany reunified, the very first thing NATO did was go in and scoop up all the Russian military tech it could find. We got T-80’s, We got Fulcrums and we got entire missile battalions worth of S-300 missiles.

SR-71 print

This print is available in multiple sizes from AircraftProfilePrints.com – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS. SR-71A Blackbird 61-7972 “Skunkworks”

‘When other very poor nations like Belarus and Moldova split away from the USSR, we bought other stuff, like Flankers, Hinds, and more missile systems.

‘Only Russia, China and India operate the -400, but as much as they want access to American markets, I’m more than sure we’ve been allowed to peek at the equipment, and a missile or two may have fallen off a truck somewhere.

S-300 and S-400 could not shoot down the SR-71 Blackbird

‘Maybe its cheating a little, but buying out the competition is the American way. The point is, we know exactly what their missile systems can do and we’ve known for a long time. We build those upgrades into the U-2 and if we still flew the SR-71, we would build them into it as well.’

Leimbach concludes;

‘So, no, if modern weapons can’t even take down the U-2, they could not shoot down the SR-71.’

@Habubrats71 via X

[mapsontheweb]

Map of percentage of people with European* ancestry, largely based in Ethnic self identification in censuses and in a broad ethnoreligious approach.

The very concept of "European peoples" is contested. "Europe" itself is not a geographical accurate term, given the fact that the borders between Europe and (specially) Asia are historical, cultural and political more than physical. Read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundaries_between_continents#Europe_and_Asia

In the latest version of this map I'm considering all ethnic groups with an European homeland since at least several centuries as "Europeans". So all North Caucasus peoples, Bosniaks, Albanians are considered Europeans.

Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Cyprus and Israel are shaded in turquoise due to lack of consensus in their "Europeanness".

Some groups in the Ural/Volga border as the Nenets and the Kalmyk peoples are not considered Europeans due to their strong historical ties to Siberia and Mongolia, but this is debatable.

West Afroasian Christians as Egyptian Copts and Arab Christians are not considered European.

Mixed race people: different criteria so explanations are given. Mixed race people are often counted separately in  many censuses and follow the one drop rule (one drop of non European blood means that people is out of the European ancestry group and into the Mixed ancestry or even African/Asian group). Whenever this is the case, I just follow the census country criterion. For example, the USA follow the one-drop rule, so African-Americans with 20% African ancestry and  80% European would count  as 0% European ancestry in this  map). Given the fact "Mestizo" and "Colored" are separate categories in many censuses (in Latin America or South Africa) from "White" or "European", I'm considering those 0% European ancestry despite the fact those people probably have European ancestry, because of lack of genetic data (the answer to questions like "are Mestizos 10% European or 90%?" is really hard to find in many countries, so I'm being conservative). Other issue can be found in how people identify themselves in Latin American and other mixed-race countries: a 80% Amerindian 20% European mixed race population self identified as "White", "Caucasoid" or "European" is counted as 100% European ancestry in this map. So numbers are sometimes inflated, and sometimes reduced to some point. Obviously no massive DNA analysis are performed in censuses so we rely on the information they gather based in self identification and this map has to be read in that way. Anyway, I'm not using the one-drop rule, but the genetic admixture rule, in some  cases when the census is not explicit about this and I have to take a decission  AND I happen to have genetic precise data: for example, mixed Asian-European groups in Russia (like Mari people) are counted as (for example) 30 to 70% European ancestry following genetic studies on Mongoloid admixture (which I managed to find) in every Eurasian ethnic group . Also check the sources for more information, a lot of data is gathered from the European Diaspora article so I'm not deeply following every link, but just assuming that data is acceptable and accurate in a broad sense. Ask the original editors of this article for further information. Anyway, numbers and percentages probably  don't change so much after all these calculus, so the map is correct in general (maybe take a +-10% error in Eurasia and +-20/30% in Latin America, where ancestries are much more mixed). In Chile, lack of self identification ancestry in censuses led me to search genetic data as well.

This is NOT a map of the White race, just an "European ancestry" map. Thats the reason North African, Middle Eastern and Indo-Iranian peoples majority territories are not shaded. Anyway, some countries don't specify the origin of "White people" in their censuses so I'm taking "Caucasian" and "White" self identified people in censuses mostly in countries in the Americas as having "European ancestry", so Lebanese ancestry people in Colombia or Morocco ancestry people in the USA are counted as "European ancestry" peoples in this map because of lack of data. Despite of that, numbers and percentages wouldn't be so different considering those details and I encourage everyone who is reading this to do the math and realize these facts.

To sum it up all, generally conservative criteria are taken: the geographical criterion (Middle Eastern Christians and Indo-Iranians are not considered European because their historical roots are in zones of the Asian continent) or the census one-drop-rule criterion (Mixed race peoples with lack of genetic data are not considered European). With other and broader criteria, the map would be completely different and it could be redrawn.

Kurds, Iranians and Kazakhs are not considered here Europeans as ethnic groups that are related or belong to Asian territories.

Source base map: File:Blank_Map_World_Secondary_Political_Divisions.svg

My original sources were a mixture between data in the article ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_diaspora ) where the map is, and in countries where the information is detailed enough are taking numbers from censuses from the Russian Wikipedia for all the provinces, oblasts, autonomous regions, etc(see below), censuses from the USA 2010 (numbers listed in https://www.census.gov\/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-05.pdf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_American ), Australian 2011 census http://www.abs.gov.au/census , and Canada (numbers listed in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Canada ), and taking into account the number of non-European migrants in the countries of the EU https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Europe .

Kazakhstan: Each province was searched, I went to the russian article where ethnic compositions are given (in Russian). For example, the Akmola region: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regions_of_Kazakhstan https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BA%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C Same with the rest (take all the provinces, look for them in the Russian wikipedia, etc): https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BA%D1%82%D1%8E%D0%B1%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C I continued with the rest. Russia: http://pop-stat.mashke.org/russia-ethnic2002.htm  Brazil: File:People_of_European_Ancestry_in_Brazil.png

Bosnia-Herzegovina:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina

Kosovo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Kosovo#Religion

Albania:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Albania

Venezuela: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuelan_of_European_descent#White_Venezuelan_population_by_Venezuelan_state

Colombia: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etnograf%C3%ADa_de_Colombia#Blancos

This numbers are for "blancos+mestizos", as Brazil and Venezuela separate White and Mixed peoples in  separate categories, I do the same here correcting this numbers using a 0,43 coefficient according to "The 2018 census reported that the "non-ethnic population", consisting of whites and mestizos (those of mixed white European and Amerindian ancestry, including almost all of the urban business and political elite), constituted 86 percent of the national population. The 87 percent figure is subdivided into 47 percent mestizo and 40 percent white " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_Colombia#cite_note-3

Mexico: Censo de 1921 http://www.inegi.org.mx/prod_Serv/contenidos/espanol/bvinegi/productos/censos/poblacion/1921/EUM/RCGH21I.pdf

Quite old but good approximation, mixed race people is excluded as in Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia due to lack of genetic data. Modern Mexican censuses do not provide ancestry data.

Bolivia: http://bolivia.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/Censo_Poblacion_1900_T2.pdf

Old Census but the last one including ethnic selfidentification, probably numbers are not so different today.

Cuba: http://www.one.cu/publicaciones/cepde/cpv2012/20131107resumenadelantado/tablas/4.pdf

Peru: http://espejodelperu.com.pe/Poblacion-del-Peru/index.htm

guided by http://www.forosperu.net/temas/composicion-etnica-y-racial-del-peru-por-departamentos-actualizado.210657/

Ecuador: http://www.ecuadorencifras.gob.ec/resultados/

Chile: http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-98872014000300001&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en

Turkey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Turkey

Azerbaijan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_minorities_in_Azerbaijan

Argentina:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317552097_Admixture_in_Argentina?_iepl%5BviewId%5D=7mgiM9aS1rLkhmJH6Fx6jHsg&_iepl%5BprofilePublicationItemVariant%5D=default&_iepl%5Bcontexts%5D%5B0%5D=prfpi&_iepl%5BtargetEntityId%5D=PB%3A317552097&_iepl%5BinteractionType%5D=publicationTitle

#maps #europeans #ancestry

[pwlanier]

Yashin B. M. (1951)

September

Russia, 2008. Oil on canvas. 80 X 100 cm. Signature in the lower right corner. In the frame.

Yashin Boris Mikhailovich (born in 1951) - monumental painter, member of the Union of Artists.

Born in the city of Bryansk. He received his first visual skills at the Bryansk Palace of Pioneers (teacher N.S. Gridnev). He was engaged in the folk art studio of the Palace of Railway Workers named after V.I. Lenin at the Honored Worker of Culture of the RSFSR V.V. Vorobyov. 1977 - graduated from the Kharkiv Art and Industrial Institute as a monumental artist. 1977 - 1979 - service in the Soviet Army. Since 1980 he has worked in Bryansk art workshops. 1981 - member of the Union of Artists of the USSR. Participant of regional, zonal, regional exhibitions. Performs monumental works in the city of Bryansk, Bryansk region, city of Orel, g. Kaluga. Works in the field of monumental art (stained glass, paintings, mosaics, sgraffito), in easel painting, refers to still life and genre painting: "Dinner on the field camp" (1985), "Ave the Desna. Svensky Fair" (1993). Preference is given to a landscape in which nature and man are inseparable in their unity, organically coexisting and filling the surrounding space with the meaning of life. He has been participating in exhibitions since 1979

Auction House 1

[kleenexwoman]

WIP Title Ask Meme

Steve Rogers Reactions to the 20th Century in Real Time

Here's what happens:

Peggy's baby gets Super'd thanks to Vita-Ray exposure, she gets sick, and they have to abort. Zola is the only SHIELD doctor who is willing to have his team perform the procedure. Steve freaks out about Zola, which drives him and Peggy even farther apart.

Peggy doesn't bother to be nice about shit any longer. Their fights escalate. Steve goes fishing with Arnie Roth a lot.

It's the 50's! Peggy gets pregnant again, and it's that Sousa dude's, and at this point Steve is like, "This might as well happen" and wishes Sousa luck.

Howard flies them all to Reno for the divorce, then Vegas for the wedding. He takes Steve to a female impersonator review to see how Steve will take it.

It's Loki singing "Ain't No Rest For the Wicked" in a spangly green dress, heartbroken after having been engaged to some Midgardian prince to seal the course of a war. Confused that Steve recognizes him, he agrees to call the Norns to see if they can return him to his time.

The Norns don't work like that, but they'll answer three questions so Steve will leave them alone. No, there's no way to "get back fast". No, he can't undo his mistake. Yes, he can liberate his one love (Bucky) but it will cost him dearer than that (a young Tony being shot by a faceless HYDRA mook instead of Howard and Maria getting shot).

1963, the Kennedy assassination. Steve saves Kennedy from the bullet. Peggy calls him and asks him how he knew, and Steve lies and says he's been tracking the Winter Soldier. Peggy asks him to work for SHIELD, and Steve accepts, then immediately talks JFK out of Vietnam.

JFK dies of a mysterious illness anyway. Nam happens. Steve spends the 60s in and out of Russia trying to track Bucky down while Howard sinks deeper into decadence.

Tony is born, and suddenly Steve is determined to be the stable thing in his world at all costs, because nothing else is. Tony is brilliant and empathetic and Steve has to teach him how to be a decent person in spite of Howard's determination to ruin everything good he has in his life, including Tony. He can see Howard's nihilism and addiction to pleasure infect Tony, no matter how hard he tries to show Tony how to be a better person.

Bucky doesn't shoot Ronald Reagan because Nancy is a witch who flings his assassin ass into Steve's arms with her mind. An ailing Zola explains that of course he put a witch in charge of the Free World; she's going to make sure it's his actual soul in his big 80's computer instead of just punch cards, after all. So yeah, Steve can have the Winter Soldier finally -- he'll have to be his handler, because his brain is refrozen mush, but at last he'll be with his bestie again. Steve realizes at this point that there's no running off into the sunset away from everyone. The only way to get Bucky back is use the SHIELD technology they have to try to heal him, and it's a slow process.

Then there's the Gulf War and it's all just over oil and Howard is making so much money again, and Tony comes up with this idea for free energy so they don't have to do the oil thing anymore. Howard has to explain to Tony that the oil is just a mechanism for control over there, that the scarcity is the point. Tony doesn't buy it.

Howard tells Steve they gotta kill Tony.

Steve knows if he doesn't get Bucky to kill Howard before he gives the order, Tony is going to die.

#stony fic

[theheroheart]

Finally saw Chess in Oslo.

Here are lots of observations, mostly on staging/acting and things you don't get from the cast recording. Somewhat in chronological order, except for overarching stuff. (Some observations dip into deeper analysis, oops.) Some things you might know if you've seen Svenska Chess.

CAST:

First of all I got alternate (Sanne Kvitnes) and Arbiter (Cornelia Børnick). Florence was absolutely fantastic, she killed it. Easily could've been main cast. Arbiter was absolutely solid, but she didn't blow me away - but then it's kind of hard to do that as the Arbiter. Think I like both of them better than main cast, but it's hard to judge fairly without having seen them.

Rest was as expected. Adored Freddie, but I already did. Anatoly is fantastic. Svetlana surprised and impressed me, her acting improved my opinion of her. Molokov's great, but less notable. Ensemble was solid, there's a few notable ones that delighted me.

TRANSLATIONS:

Since I'm one of the only really avid Chess fans who's also Norwegian, I feel like I should comment on this.

I think the translation is fantastic. It flows well, it's overally very intelligible, it's emotive, it uses some fucking fancy words like "polemic", it's the right level of cheesy...

Adaptation-wise they also did a lot to make the story as clear as possible, adding context when necessary. Without delving too deep in the broader political context, which they don't lean as heavy on.

There's bits I would change, but overall it's really solid.

OBSERVATIONS:

ACT ONE WOO

They did such a good job establishing the shitty homelife of the Sergievskies - not in the relationship way, but that they live in a tiny apartment, and Anatoly does so much for Russia that he never gets to see his family. They even list things: tournaments, performances, greeting and handshaking workers and students, political functions... It illustrates his struggle much way than just making vague statements.

Properly showing Anatoly's homelife at the beginning is also such an improvement to just off-hand mentioning it in a way you don't really feel it.

Related: it's really obvious how much Anatoly is controlled. They make unspoken points of the passports several times. And Molokov always keeping a watchful eye. KGB guards everywhere, and blocking reporters from approaching him.

The 80s costuming is a delight. The wigs and mustaches are wild. I need to draw Freddie's sparkly party shirt cause it was insane.

I knew Freddie spilled wine all over Anatoly, but I did NOT know that that he grabs a (male) reporter's face with both hands and plants a big kiss on his lips. Barely a minute after he comes onstage.

The Hungarian revolution flashback is heartbreaking. The ballet is lovely and sad, but what's notable is that while it's happening, Florence is sitting on the stairs and crying her eyes out. Like she's having a PTSD flashback.

What's interesting is that this Freddie's rudeness feels less spiteful/defensive, and more... like a controlled performance? He's very intentionally disrespecting them. This Freddie doesn't lose his temper.

Of course, then they go to the opening party, and Freddie very clearly flirts with (or lets himself be flirted with) two ladies. (Listen, the man desperately craves approval and attention from women. Mommy issues.)

Florence goes outside to get away from the party, and to have a smoke. That's when she sings Nobody's Side. Can't remember for sure, but I think this scene has lots of focus on hotel staff in the background.

Notably there's two hotel staff that have an ongoing background romance most of the show??? They slow-dance while tidying a hotel room. They smooch every now and then. And then much later on, when Florence shows her heartbreak at the waitress, the waitress gets notable stage attention in also reacting to the heartache? (Then when Anatoly shows up, said waitress immediately steals Florence's coffee and gives them both wine, which was absolutely hilarious.)

One detail I REALLY enjoyed about the actual chess match, is that they both note down the moves in their notepads after each move. This is a big chess thing I can't remember ever having seen in a production.

And then Freddie leaves the match. Which he does by.... very calmly standing up, picking up the tiny Russian flag, then gently placing it in the middle of the board. Then he slowly walks away from the table. Takes his jacket. Calmly walks away. It's the least dramatic walk-off I've ever seen, and it was kind of a delight. And goes back to what I said about Freddie's carefully controlled performance.

Quartet is still a great song but man I remember nothing about the staging because it was very unremarkable. Florence is fucking pissed at Molokov though, and it DOES really show off what Freddie says about Florence hating Russians.

Also the Arbiter is such a bitch and I love her.

And then in the hotel bar again, Anatoly approaching Florence and she's so uninterested. And then he starts weirdly quoting Dostoevsky, and she has the biggest WTF face, and it's hilarious.

They did do a good job of showing Anatoly actually proving to Florence he's not awful, by him talking about how he heard about the Hungarian revolution, and implying some unkind things about the Russian government. And then he asks about Freddie and she's like "None of your fucking business" and he apologies and leaves, but then she's like "ACTUALLY I'M LEAVING HIM."

And then she sings "Not Me" (rewritten Someone Else's Story), explaining her frustration with her relationship with Freddie, directly to Anatoly, which I also did not expect. (This will happen multiple times in this show!)

And then ofc when Anatoly flees with Florence to defect, we get back to more proof of Svetlana's sucky life. We see her visiting a church with Micha, and being escorted out of there by armed guards. Who pack her suitcase for her. And then when she sings Where I Want To Be Reprise, she crumples and cries over her suitcase, and it's so heartbreaking.

And then we get to the fancy party, and apparently Freddie is from Pennsylvania? Lol ok. And Arbiter is partying with the head of the police.

There we this one reporter I absolutely adored. Comedically hilarious, and the 80est 80s. Real impressive mullet.

And then Florence and Anatoly invidually dealing with the press on each side of a room, singing Mountain Duet in a very different context that I'm used to. Also enjoyed how every time each one sang, their respective journalists would freeze-frame to show it's internal monologue only.

And then there's the headline of "Anatoly's defecting, and he's in love again", and THEN YOU SEE FREDDIE WALKING THE STREETS, HOLDING THAT NEWSPAPER.

And then he sings the Pity The Child prequel, and fucking breaks my heart. He's bitterly critizes them, but then also says "Is this true? Did I deserve this? Truth is, she was my only friend... Now I'm left lonely on my own again." WHY IS THIS NOT ON THE CAST ALBUM.

Fuck tho, but I love a sympathetic Freddie.

You get more Florence backstory - she fled to the US, but her mother and brother (uncle?? just guessing based on actors) got caught when they tried to flee.

During Anthem, the backdrop has mountains and sky -- which slowly turn to red during the course of the song. Which is GREAT when later on, Svetlana sings her "Who Am I" song and says "He paints Russia's sky red."

ACT 2 LET'S GO

Opening on Argument is such a choice? So wildly different from ONiBangkok. The vibe is extremely different and intense.

Freddie's in the hotel room with the newspaper when she comes back. Also he drinks whiskey. I love this song though, Freddie is SO spiteful - something he didn't really get until Florence appears to be leaving him. Honestly, this Freddie really isn't that much of an asshole TO FLORENCE. Until she hurts him first.

But what really hurts is that when the argument ends, he just sits down on the bed while she packs her suitcase...

And he sings Pity The Child to her. This makes me absolutely feral, let me tell you. The way he turns to look at her when he sings "Just in case they said no". The way she gradually becomes sympathetic while he opens up, about how his parents abused him. (They are explicitly abusive and violent, not just neglectful.)

And then when he gets to "I was only her son", he breaks down and cries, and Florence walks over and sits down next to him, and he cries into her lap, desperately clinging to her. And then as she comforts him, he tries to kiss her - and she pulls away. And gets up, grabs her suitcase, and leaves.

And then he continues the song, sitting there alone. FUCK ME UP, CHESS.

And then Svetlana appears, still closely controlled. Micha is taken to a different room and there's nothing she can do about it.

And then you get Endgame prequel! Anatoly's "you all think you see a man", they just like, put here. And you know what, it works great? Because it's when he's been dragged back by the KGB, and he's calling out their opinion to them.

And then he walks into the hotel room and Svetlana goes to embrace him and he PUSHES HER ASIDE, and starts ripping into her about how she's "letting herself be used as a tool". She is VERY JUSTIFIED in calling him out, because yeah, they've made it really obvious she's been forced to come here. And somehow HE'S complaining? I love her calling him out here.

And Micha comes in and hugs Anatoly - and Svetlana goes to hug Micha as well, but Anatoly turns, pulling Micha away from her. Ugh.

And then Svetlana leaves and sings her heartbreaking song about how she's a powerful woman who's been loyally waiting, and for what? She's on a bench, and she collapses on the ground crying. And Florence walks by (not knowing who Svetlana is), and gives Svetlana her handkerchief for her tears. CHEKOV'S HANDKERCHIEF, this will come back later on.

And then Florence alone in the cafe, breaking my heart with Heaven Help My Heart. (Also the waitress's heart, as previously mentioned.)

And then Anatoly shows up and we get Merano reprise (yeah that's a thing now). And then Freddie shows up, VERY DRUNK, and we get Totally-Not-The-Deal. Which is just Freddie calling Florence out, pubically saying awful things about her. Freddie's lowest point, right here.

Freddie throws like, peanuts at Florence or something by the way. It's funny as fuck. He grabs a reporter's camera. AND HE SHOVES THE LOVELY WAITRESS SO SHE FALLS OVER, which, Freddie, please. He's actually kind of grabbing Florence at this point.

And then when Anatoly and Florence both call him out on his shittiness, after the song Florence just stares Freddie down, until he dejectedly walks away.

(WHY IS THE DEAL NOT ON THE CAST ALBUM???)

And then we get everyone panicking about Micha being missing. Except for Molokv, who has taken Micha out and has given him a yoyo and a glass coke bottle. Amazing. (He also leaves an envelope inside a newspaper on the bench. The Arbiter's lesbian lover assistant will pick this up.)

And then you get Florence and Anatoly undressed in the hotel room, and EXCUSE ME, WHY IS YOU AND I NOT ON THE CAST ALBUM? I mean it's a short version, less than 2 minutes, but I love a completionist cast album.

Lyric appreciation: "You and I, shaking like leaves. Whirling along the path of hope. Standing in the middle of the storm. We're woven together, now and forever." That's some evocative, descriptive language, right there.

Arbiter reprise: The reunion of the chess players. FREDDIE IS SO POLITE, smiling, offering his hand to Anatoly, taking pictures with him. Honestly, Freddie's ability to keep it together in these situations makes it SO MUCH MORE INTENSE when he does fall apart.

And then Florence and Svetlana get to meet, and guess what, THEY SING "I KNOW HIM SO WELL" TO EACH OTHER, I told you this would happen a lot. And it's fantastic, instead of two isolated viewpoints, Svetlana's first opening up to Florence, then it's them having a disagreement. It changes some lines, when Svetlana says "he'll choose his own way and leave you", she's saying it to Florence, not to herself. And Florence says, this is what she wanted to avoid.

Anatoly tracks down Molokov, demanding to see Micha. And then calling Molokov out hard, saying they've known each other 15 years, and listing examples of his loyal service that are despite the fact he still lives in a tiny apartment and can barely support his family.

And then Anatoly calls Molokov a bachelor and says he's not allowed to criticize his family. AND THEN of course we get Molokov's backstory song.

Which I'll admit I always feel weird about, but it was way better in context. Molokov using it to give Anatoly insight into what he's sacrificed. (And the lovely ballet dancers acting out the failed relationship helped.)

And then when he's calmed Anatoly down, of course he GOES STRAIGHT INTO THREATENING HIM. Saying he's going to play his last chess match ever, and lose. And then he'll be admitted to the hospital in Moscow. And then he'll release a statement saying his attempted defection was done after taking large amounts of pills and alcohol. And that he regrets the problems he's caused his family and country, and recinds the defection. And Florence will be kept under close watch, but that's it.

"What will happen to your family if you choose to stay in the west, I don't want to get into right now."

And as Molokov is saying this speech to Anatoly, there's this quiet ominous background hum that just gets louder and louder and more intimidating, and it was actually really effective and REALLY making you see the threat and the control.

And then you get a very cool scene as Endgame starts. Anatoly standing there in a spotlight, back against the audience. In the distance, the choice is lit in evil red. As they start listing grandmasters at him. You see him crumpling under the pressure - at "Capablanca", he falls to his knees.

I thought this would be GREAT if Anatoly chose to win. You don't have Talking Chess, but you have these grandmasters calling to him, like the true "win for chess" moral. But if he loses, are they judging him? Saying he's failed?

Endgame staging is actually real simple, everyone lined up. Awesomely backlit choir in the far back. Then the board is taken out, and the last match begins, and it's very intense. Freddie looks focused - not as laid-back as earlier. Anatoly looks harrowed.

I especially loved when Freddie and Molokov share the line "The clock is ticking down the minute - the circle is complete". And everyone is singing - this final move, will he resign?

And nearing the end of Endgame, Anatoly is describing the different pieces desperate attempts ("The pawn wants to be sacrificed, rook at the end of the line, a weaked knight galloping towards the king's court"), and as he does, Florence/Svetlana/Molokov all shouting at him, and he holds up his hands against each one when they yell, like he's trying to shut them out.

And then.... he picks up his king, and he lays it down. Resigning. How do they make a chess match feel this dramatic?? It's really good.

And then You And I Reprise. And during one moment, you can see Freddie in the back (back to the audience), surrounded by people, wearing a giant wreath and holding a trophy proudly.

As Florence and Anatoly draw closer, they ALMOST kiss, it looks like they'll be together - but Micha runs in and hugs his dad. And oof, man. He asks Florence to forgive him and that he loves her - IN FRONT OF SVETLANA AND MICHA BTW, who start walking away when they hear this.

And then as they part ("You and I, shaking like leaves. Whirling along hope's path. We stand in the ruins. We're woven together -- parted forever.") Anatoly goes back to his family. And get this, Svetlana walks across the stage and HANDS FLORENCE BACK HER HANDKERCHIEF. Absolutely ruthless. I adore it.

The next part is all Story Of Chess reprise. Freddie gives Florence her suitcase, and tries to get her to leave with him. She refuses and pointedly walks the other direction.

The Arbiter's lesbian lover assistant gives her the envelope full of cash, but Arbiter lets her keep it I guess. But then Molokov shows up and gives Arbiter a briefcase? The fuck does this even mean, I don't know.

Final 'You And I' now. Florence: "Is my fate controlled by someone other than me?" Anatoly: "Do we have free will? My answer's clearly no."

And you see Anatoly in his depressing Moscow apartment. And Florence in her own apartment, and oh yeah SHE'S PREGNANT. In case you hadn't heard about that little tidbit.

CONCLUSION:

This is the most downer Chess. What's even the moral? Shit sucks? Don't count on love, you'll only be hurt? It's awful.

HERE'S THE THING: STILL FUCKING LOVE IT THOUGH. It was a fantastic ride. I enjoyed the downer ending. Even if I can't possibly argue for why it should be that way.

I feel like it does "show, don't tell" better than a lot of Chess versions. It doesn't just state things, it shows you why/how. It made me feel for Svetlana in a way I haven't been able to before.

It provided that fantastic fresh intepretations/stagings of songs I've never seen before.

And it showed a version of Freddie I almost never see - way less chaotic and volatile than I'm used to.

It's interestingly very light on literally anything American. Anatoly's defection never really happens, Walter doesn't exist, there's no politicians or delegates... The only American seems to be Freddie. If anything, it's more against Hungary vs USSR. It feels decidedly Eurocentric, which I guess makes sense given it's Norwegian and based on the Swedish adaptation.

Anyway I adored it. Probably new favourite version???

Glad I've already got tickets for 3 more performances before it closes. Trying to resist getting ticket for yet another one. But I might give in if I get on at a great seat.................

ANYWAY BYE, HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS RAMBLY MESS.

EDIT: Forgot to mention Florence's full name is Florence Csilla Vaszi. Which is pretty awesome.

Anatoly (spelled Anatolij in this) and Molokov call each other Tolya and Sascha, which also shows how long they've known each other.

#chess #chess the musical #chess på norsk #norwegian chess #chessoslo

[prismaticpastry]

.... may I ask about you about figure skating?

So turns out when faced with such a broad question I completely freeze up for hours congrats on discovering the one thing that would shut me up about figure skating. asking about figure skating

…Anyway. I will do a little(lie) intro to a couple of my favourite current skaters from Team USA!

First, light of my life Jason Brown.

To properly appreciate Jason's skating you would need to be a figure skater yourself (which I am not. fake fan alert) But even if you are me his unparalleled skating skills are easy to see compared to just about everyone else.

Here is my favourite program of his, Sinnerman, which he performed at the Beijing Olympics. (That is not this performance. But can't find an unblocked one of the Olympic version.)

The fact that he broke 100 points in the short without a quad is a testament to his quality. Very few men, even at the top of the field, can break 100. (my very favourite men's skater only just managed to do it this past season)(and it was the competition with notoriously inflated scores)(it was well-deserved though and he should have broken 100 way sooner)

He is just completely captivating. The footwork he does is light years ahead of everyone else in the field. His spins are gorgeous. His jumps, though lower in technical merit than other top men, are fantastic. The split jump into the skid spiral is flawless. Literally no one does it like him. He even forces judges to give him some 10's in PCS (program component score, the part of the score that is most easily manipulatable in an extremely corrupt judged sport). It is extremely rare to get 10's, even more so for men who don't have a quad. (quads shouldn't affect PCS. but they do.)

Oh, and he's an absolutely wonderful human being. He is pure joy and sunshine. He is that first day of spring where you don't have to wear a jacket. Everywhere he competes he'll do a charity drive for Ronald Mcdonald Children's House. He is solely responsible for like 80% of my charitable donations because every time he skates I black out and throw money at them. He's even learned some Japanese because he has a lot of fans in Japan. (Japan is like, the number one figure skating nation in terms of fandom. Close to Russia but their audience is way better.)

Also he did a program to a Backstreet Boys medley. WHICH I GOT TO SEE IN PERSON I WON'T GET OVER IT

(the audience here was WAY BETTER than the one I was at 😞)

In team competitions, he is Team USA. His joy makes me proud to be American (I am not American)

Anyway, he's semi retired -- last season he only competed at Nationals and Worlds (the US men's field is pretty thin right now, their top skater is a homophobic teenager who I could do an entire writeup about on his own) He's hinted that he's considering doing the same for the upcoming 2023-2024 season. I am going to Worlds so please cross all your fingers that he will be there.

Unfortunately, since he lacks a quad, there's almost no chance he'd see the podium. He has medalled before, but never at a major competition in the individual event. But winning really, really isn't everything in this hellsport.

But sometimes winning is something. My second highlight is Starr Andrews!

Here she is as a baby, apparently this video went viral back in the day.

(Going through this I realise that these videos were actually posted in real time. #oldmoment)

Anyway, this is probably my favourite program of hers.

Oh, and the singer for this program? Is her. Multitalented queen

In the 2022 off-season, she underwent heart surgery and came back with a vengeance.

Such a vengeance, in fact, that she did this at Skate Canada:

And captured SILVER!!!

With two stellar programs she became the first American Black woman to medal at a Grand Prix event*, and the second ever! (The first was Surya Bonaly, a French skater famous for doing a backflip at the Olympics)

I'll admit that the program I linked there is not my favourite, but it got her the win so hey. (AND I WAS THERE TO SEE IT HAPPEN. BTW.)

Oh, and her costumes are always flawless. As are her nails. She often has my favourite costumes in a competition, or up there at least (sorry but no one can beat the Korean women for dresses). Yes, that is Important. If you skip to around the seven minute mark you can see her reaction to her score and realising she podiumed. As well as a small glimpse of The Nails. ISU if you're reading this please do nail cams next season tyia

So there are two amazing members of Team USA!

Since it is pride month I'd also like to give a shoutout to pairs skater Timothy Leduc, the first out non-binary athlete at the Winter Olympics. (They recently retired but still including them for the nb pride. it's my post.) Jason Brown came out as gay last year. Amber Glenn came out as bi/pan last year as well. In some competitions, especially US Nationals, the audience will bring out a sea of rainbow and bi flags for Jason and Amber and it just warms the soul idk. I wish I could make gifs so I could capture it.

ok post over (:

*the figure skating Grand Prix comprises of six qualifying competitions, followed by the Grand Prix Final. Unfortunately Starr got walloped at her other GP event, NHK Trophy in Japan, but she made a lot of mistakes in the free and was up against a very tough field including the current World Champion.

#long post #figure skating #jason brown #starr andrews #USA! USA! USA!

[mariacallous]

In the closed town of Sarov, roughly 350 kilometers east of Moscow, scientists are busy working on a project to help keep Russia’s nuclear weapons operational long into the future. Inside a huge facility, 10 stories high and covering the area of two football fields, they are building what’s officially known as UFL-2M—or, as the Russian media has dubbed it, the “Tsar Laser.” If completed, it will be the highest-energy laser in the world.

High-energy lasers can concentrate energy on groups of atoms, increasing temperature and pressure to start nuclear reactions. Scientists can use them to simulate what happens when a nuclear warhead detonates. By creating explosions in small samples of material—either research samples or tiny amounts from existing nuclear weapons—scientists can then calculate how a full-blown bomb is likely to perform. With an old warhead, they can checkthat it still works as intended. Laser experiments allow testing without letting a nuke off. “It’s a substantial investment by the Russians in their nuclear weapons,” says Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear nonproliferation researcher at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California.

Until now, Russia has been unique among the best-established nuclear powers in not having a high-energy laser. The United States has its National Ignition Facility (NIF), currently the world’s most energetic laser system. Its 192 separate beams combine to deliver 1.8 megajoules of energy. Looked at in one way, a megajoule is not an enormous amount—it’s equivalent to 240 food calories, similar to a light meal. But concentrating this energy onto a tiny area can create very high temperatures and pressures. France meanwhile has its Laser Mégajoule, with 80 beams currently delivering 350 kilojoules, though it aims to have 176 beams delivering 1.3 megajoules by 2026. The UK’s Orion laser produces 5 kilojoules of energy; China’s SG-III laser, 180 kilojoules.

If completed the Tsar Laser will surpass them all. Like the NIF, it’s due to have 192 beams, but with a higher combined output of 2.8 megajoules. Currently, though, only its first stage has launched. At a Russian Academy of Sciences meeting in December 2022, an official revealed that the laser boasts 64 beams in its current state. Their total output is 128 kilojoules, 6 percent of the planned final capability. The next step would be testing them, the official said. 

When it comes to building lasers to cause nuclear reactions, “the larger, the better,” says Stefano Atzeni, a physicist at the University of Rome, Italy. Larger facilities can produce higher energies, meaning materials can be subjected to higher temperatures or pressures, or that larger volumes of materials can be tested. Expanding the limits of experiments potentially gives nuclear researchers more useful data.

In experiments, these lasers blast their target materials into a high-energy state of matter known as plasma. In gases, solids, and liquids, electrons are usually locked tight to their atoms’ nuclei, but in plasma they roam freely. The plasmas throw out electromagnetic radiation, such as flashes of light and x-rays, and particles like electrons and neutrons. The lasers therefore also need detection equipment that can record when and where these events happen. These measurements then allow scientists to extrapolate how a full warhead might behave.   

So far Russia’s lack of such a laser hasn’t been a great disadvantage in ensuring its weapons function. That’s because Russia is committed to continuously remaking plutonium “pits,” the explosive cores found in many nukes, named after the hard centers of fruits like peaches. If you can readily replace old explosive pits with new ones, there’s less need to use lasers to check how much they have degraded over the years. “In the US, we would be remanufacturing our nuclear weapons too, except that we don’t have the capacity to produce large numbers of pits,” says Lewis. The largest US production facility, in Rocky Flats, Colorado, closed in 1992. 

Researchers have used lasers in nuclear weapons testing since at least the 1970s. At first they combined them with underground tests of actual weapons, using data from both to build theoretical models of how plasma behaves. But after the US stopped live-testing nuclear weapons in 1992 while seeking agreement on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, it switched to “science-based stockpile stewardship”—namely, using supercomputer simulations of warheads detonating to assess their safety and reliability.

But the US and other countries following this approach still needed to physically test some nuclear materials, with lasers, to ensure their models and simulations matched reality and that their nukes were holding up. And they still need to do this today. 

These systems aren’t perfect. “The models they use to predict weapons’ behavior are not fully predictive,” says Atzeni. There are various reasons why. One is that it’s extremely hard to simulate plasmas. Another is that plutonium is a weird metal, unlike any other element. Unusually, as it warms up, plutonium changes through six solid forms before it melts. In each form, its atoms occupy a very different volume than the preceding one.   

Nevertheless, aside from actually detonating bombs, laser experiments offer the best way of predicting how nukes will perform. The US completed the NIF in 2009 and started shining its beams on thin, poppy-seed-sized plutonium targets in 2015. That allowed scientists to understand what was going on inside a weapon better than ever before. 

Laser experiments can also show how materials located near the radioactive pits in warheads degrade and react over their many-year lifetimes. Information from experiments can also help reveal how these materials perform in the extreme temperatures and pressures of a nuclear detonation. Such experiments are “indispensable” for designing and engineering components of nuclear weapons, says Vladimir Tikhonchuk, emeritus professor at the Center for Intense Lasers and Applications at the University of Bordeaux, France. 

Tikhonchuk has been following the Tsar Laser’s progress since he saw it presented at a conference in 2013, the year after it was originally announced. He last spoke to scientists from Sarov at a summer school in nearby Nizhny Novgorod in 2019. He’s skeptical that Russia will complete the laser.

Russia certainly has the scientific pedigree. It has experience as a partner in building large scientific facilities, such as the multibillion-dollar ITER experimental nuclear fusion reactor in Cadarache, France, Tikhonchuk notes. Russia also contributed components to two facilities in Germany, the European X-Ray Free Electron Laser in Hamburg and the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research in Darmstadt. And scientists at Russia’s Institute of Applied Physics developed the fast crystal growth technology used in the lenses at the NIF and “in the construction of all big lasers,” Tikhonchuk says.  

But Tikhonchuk believes that Russia will struggle now because it has lost much of the expertise needed, with scientists moving overseas. He notes that the Tsar Laser’s beam arrays are very large, at 40 centimeters across, which poses a significant challenge for making their lenses. The larger the lens, the greater the chance there will be a defect in it. Defects can concentrate energy, heating up and damaging or destroying the lenses.

The fact that Russia is developing the Tsar Laser indicates it wants to maintain its nuclear stockpile, says Lewis. “It’s a sign that they plan for these things to be around for a long time, which is not great.” But if the laser is completed, he sees a sliver of hope in Russia’s move. “I’m quite worried that the US, Russia, and China are going to resume explosive testing.” The Tsar Laser investment might instead show that Russia thinks it already has enough data from explosive nuclear tests, he says. 

WIRED approached the NIF and ROSATOM, the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation, for this story, but they did not comment.

[beardedmrbean]

A damaged ego is usually the worst injury a chess player can come out of a match with. But in Russia, a seven-year-old child playing with a robot was forced to interrupt the game when the machine suddenly snapped one his fingers, breaking it.

The incident, on July 19, was reported by state-owned news agency RIA Novosti and shared on Telegram by channel Baza, which quoted the vice president of the Chess Federation of Russia recalling what appeared to happen.

According to Sergey Smagin, the chess robot broke the boy's finger when the child went for a swift move without waiting for the necessary time for the machine to complete its action.

"The boy is all right. They put a plaster cast on the finger to heal faster. Yes, there are certain safety rules and the child, apparently, violated them and, when he made a move, did not notice that he had to wait. This is an extremely rare case, the first I can recall," said Smagin.

Baza reported that the child's finger was fractured and scratched.

"The robot did not like such a hurry —he grabbed the boy's index finger and squeezed it hard," said the Russian news website. "The people around rushed to help and pulled out the finger of the young player, but the fracture could not be avoided."

In a video shared by the news website, the boy appears to have his finger trapped by the robot's hand for a few seconds before a woman rushes to help him and pull at the robot to get the child's finger free. Three men intervene shortly after and manage to get the boy's finger free of the robot's hold.

They were then shown bringing the boy away from the chessboard.

According to Baza, the seven-year-old is called Christopher, and he's among the 30 strongest chess players in Moscow aged up to nine years old.

That makes him very good, in a country where chess has become something of a national source of pride and obsession. For 80 years, the best players in the world were Russian (or Soviet), with the Soviet Union being considered a chess powerhouse in the world.

It's not uncommon for chess players to start playing at a very young age. In 2020, the video of three-year-old chess prodigy Mikhail Osipov crying after losing to chess world champion Anatoli Karpov made the rounds online.

According to Baza, the chess robot had already played three matches on the day of the incident before playing with Christopher.

Baza's report on the incident ended with a cryptic line wondering "whether the robot will be put to sleep" after breaking the child's finger.

But Smagin, talking to RIA Novosti, specified that the incident was "a coincidence," stressing that the chess robot is "absolutely safe."

"This robot is unique, it performed at many open areas, where there were much more people. It happens, it's a coincidence. Apparently, children need to be warned. It is extremely strange that this happened, but it happened, it happens," he said.

"The robot has a very talented inventor, it may be necessary to install an additional protection system," he added.

#nunyas news #hmmmmm

[themovieblogonline]

Tetris at SXSW is Exciting, Complicated Tale

Tetris, the film helmed by Scottish director Jon S. Baird and starring Australian actor Taron Egerton (“Kingsmen: The Secret Service”), screened on March 15th at SXSW, telling a complicated story of how the Russian game Tetris became a worldwide sensation. Henk Rogers, the Dutch-born American who secured the rights to the game over a period of a year and a half was at SXSW. While dealing with cut-throat competitors and the corrupt Russian governmental system, was onstage at SXSW after the film screened to a standing ovation and said, “It captured a year and a half in my life in two hours.” The scriptwriter, Noah Pink, described a once-in-a-lifetime scenario where his script happened to be on the right desk at the right time and the rest is history. Brian Grazer and Ron Howard produced, and everyone wondered how this complicated story of international intrigue and double-dealing had remained hidden for so long. The cast included Russian actor Nikita Efremov, who portrayed the original Russian creator of the game, Alexey Pajitnov. At the film’s end, the two men embraced onstage and described the film as, “Really, a story about the friendship of two guys.” Alexey is aided in fleeing Russia by his American partner. The ins and outs of the plot are so complicated that even attempting a brief synopsis is a Herculean task. Suffice it to say that the synopsis on IMDB says: “The story of how one of the world’s most popular video games found its way to players around the globe.  Businessman Henk Rogers and Tetris inventor Alexey Pajitnov join forces in the U.S.S.R., risking it all to bring Tetris to the masses.” Following the screening, Director Jon S. Baird said, from the Paramount stage, “It’s been a quite overwhelming reaction from the audience,” which gave the film, at its conclusion, a standing ovation.  Of the film’s success he said, “For me, it’s all in the performances.  We had amazing Russian actors.  Steven Spielberg said 80% of a film’s success was casting the film properly. The cast was amazing.” He went on to praise the performance of Taron Egerton in the lead role of Henk Rogers. On Egerton’s part, he felt that the theme was quite universal and was “Really a story about the friendship of two guys.” The film releases on March 31st nationwide. Read the full article

[ukrainenews]

Daily Wrap Up June 24, 2022

Under the cut: Ukrainian forces are moving back from Severodonetsk so they can avoid being encircled; Ukraine says Russian forces are attempting to surround the embattled city of Lysychansk; Russia condemns Ukraine and Moldova being granted candidate status; European Council on Friday has approved 9 billion euros of financial aid to Ukraine; The UN nuclear watchdog has said it is increasingly concerned about the welfare of Ukrainian staff at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

“The last Ukrainian forces fighting in the heavily contested eastern city of Sievierodonetsk have been ordered to withdraw in order to avoid being encircled, as fears grow that the neighbouring city of Lysychansk could also fall to Russia within days.

The anticipated loss of Sievierodonetsk is the latest battlefield reverse for Kyiv after its defeat in the port city of Mariupol. According to some estimates about 12,000 civilians remain in Sievierodonetsk, out of a prewar population of 160,000.

All three bridges offering escape routes west over the Siverskyi Donets River to the twin city of Lysychansk have been destroyed in fighting, and the mayor, Oleksandr Striuk, says the humanitarian situation is critical.

The Luhansk governor, Serhiy Haidai, said on Friday: “The situation right now is as such that staying at these destroyed positions just for the sake of being there doesn’t make sense.” He said Ukrainian forces had “received the order to retreat to new positions and continue fighting there”, but did not give further details.

Russians were also advancing toward Lysychansk from Zolote and Toshkivka, and Russian reconnaissance units had been conducting forays on the city edges but were driven out by its defenders, he added.

Haidai said Sievierodonetsk had been “nearly turned to rubble” by continual bombardment. “All critical infrastructure has been destroyed. Ninety per cent of the city is damaged, 80% [of] houses will have to be demolished.””

-via The Guardian

“Ukrainian forces moving back from Severodonetsk are “putting themselves in a position where they can better defend themselves,” according to a senior US defense official.

“The Ukrainian armed forces are performing a professional, tactical retrograde in order to consolidate their forces in positions that they can better defend themselves,” said the official in a background call with reporters.

The official also said Russian forces are still “just eking out inch by inch of territory” in Donbas and characterized the Russian move on Severodonetsk as a “very small, very incremental gain.”

However, the official said they did not want to minimize the “significant” percentage of territory Russia does control in Ukraine or the loss of Ukrainian lives.”

-via CNN

~

“Ukraine says Russian forces are attempting to surround the embattled city of Lysychansk in eastern Ukraine and are mounting assaults on its sister city of Sievierodonetsk to establish full control, Reuters reports.

Ukraine’s defence ministry spokesperson, Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, declined to comment on the governor’s earlier remarks that Ukrainian troops would “have to be withdrawn” from Sievierodonetsk. Information was “closed to the public”, he told reporters.”-via The Guardian

~

“Russia has condemned the European Union’s decision to accept Ukraine and Moldova as membership candidates.

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry said, “With the decision to grant Ukraine and Moldova the status of candidate countries, the European Union has confirmed that it continues to actively exploit the CIS on a geopolitical level, to use it to ‘contain’ Russia,” referring to Russia’s sphere of influence within the Commonwealth of Independent States consisting of former Soviet states.

Although it could take years for the countries to join the European bloc, the decision to accept them as candidates is a symbol of the EU’s intention to reach deep into the former Soviet Union.

“They are not thinking of the negative consequences of such a step,” she added.

By expanding to Ukraine and Moldova, two former Soviet republics, Zakharova said, the EU was sacrificing its democratic ideals at the expense of “unrestrained expansion and the political and economic enslavement of its neighbours.””-via The Guardian

~

“The European Council on Friday has approved 9 billion euros of financial aid to Ukraine.

In a statement made by Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki at the European Council summit in Brussels, he said, “There is a war in Ukraine, and there is nothing to pay nurses, teachers, police, border guards, or many other public services.”

Morawiecki added that European countries such as his are continuing to provide military assistance to Ukraine.

“The advantage [of Russia] in artillery, according to the allies and our own sources is 1:8, 1:10. How difficult it is to fight such an overwhelming enemy force. That is why Poland, as well as the United States, Great Britain, and the Baltic States, are doing everything possible to help Ukraine get the weapons,” he said.”-via The Guardian

~

“The UN nuclear watchdog has said it is increasingly concerned about the welfare of Ukrainian staff at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said: “The IAEA is aware of recent reports in the media and elsewhere indicating a deteriorating situation for Ukrainian staff at the country’s largest nuclear power plant.”

Reuters reports it added it was “increasingly concerned about the difficult conditions facing staff”.

It said two units at the plant had been refuelled in recent months, and this would require a physical inspection.

Ukraine has previously objected to the idea that the IAEA might visit and inspect the plant, Europe’s largest, while it is under Russian occupation, because of the legitimacy that would confer on the current operators.”-via The Guardian

#Daily Update #Ukraine #Russia #War in Ukraine #Severodonetsk #sieverodonetsk #Lysychansk #EU #European Council #UN #Zaporizhzhia

[lindsaywesker]

Good morning! I hope you slept well and feel rested? Currently sitting at my desk, in my study, attired only in my blue towelling robe, enjoying my first cuppa of the day. Welcome to Too Much Information Tuesday!

Sweet potato ranks No. 1 in nutrition of all vegetables.

Paris has a ‘hospital’ for neglected houseplants.

Daydreaming is good for your brain.

A litre of beer or a litre of coffee is as hydrating as a litre of water.

Cremation causes silicone breast implants to explode.

40% of working Britons have less than £100 in savings.

The IATA airport code for Sioux City, Iowa is SUX.

Your motivation to "get up and go" starts to fail at around 54 years old.

One-third of entrepreneurs think their chance of failing is zero.

In Russia, it is illegal to tell kids that gay people exist.

Microscopic mites are currently living and having sex on your face.

The baby name ‘Karen’ is on the edge of extinction.

Only 2% of the world's population has green eyes.

80% of the world's population have never been on an airplane.

Your nipples are as unique as your fingerprints.

In 1976, more than 100 marijuana plants sprouted in the Anaheim Stadium playing field in Los Angeles after The Who performed there.

In 2014, German police issued a fine to a one-armed cyclist for cycling with one arm.

Humans spend 13% of their lives not focusing on anything in particular.

Men appear in the newspapers three times as often as women and have done since 1800.

In 2017, the US secret service advertised for a 'social media sarcasm spotter'.

Sometimes, creating a little distance will help people recognize how much you actually mean to them.

A study by Wijnand A.P. Van Tilburg and Eric R. Igou has shown that adding a middle initial to your name makes you seem smarter. This status is brought to you by Lindsay J. Wesker.

A moose can dive underwater down to nearly twenty feet in search of food. This makes killer whales their biggest predator.

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, has towns called Intercourse and Paradise. It takes six minutes to get from one to the other.

Male ladybirds can spend up to four hours mating with a dead female before realising something is wrong.

Greenland lost so much ice in the 20th century that it changed the angle of the Earth’s rotation.

A sex manual in Qing dynasty China outlined 48 different ways to fondle a mutilated foot.

In December 2020, a man from Kazakhstan legally married his sex doll after 2 years of dating.

Crocodiles are fast on their feet but cannot turn very well. If one is chasing you, run in zig zag lines.

In 2013, Bill Gates said that the Ctrl+Alt+Delete command was a mistake and could have been just a single button.

4.8 billion people own mobile phones whereas only 4.2 billion own a toothbrush.

“The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick” is said to be the toughest tongue twister in English.

A python from Australia became addicted to meth after living in a drug lab and was sent to rehab for seven months.

You have a better chance in getting into Harvard than becoming a Delta Airlines flight attendant.

It's ok and "I'm fine" are the two most common lies spoken in the world.

Men spend almost a year of their lives staring at women, a survey found.

According to Psychology people are constantly wishing for something, whilst overlooking that they already have.

Admit it when you're wrong and shut up when you're right. This is a simple way to drastically improve the quality of your relationships.

According to one survey, 95% of people claim they get nervous when they hear the words, “We need to talk.”

When you become really close to someone, you can hear their voice in your head when you read their texts.

No one really knows who invented the fire hydrant, its patent was burned in a fire.

Parents of newborn babies lose about six months of sleep during the first two years of their child's life

After drummer Pete Best was fired from the Beatles, he released an album called ‘Best Of The Beatles’. Buyers were disappointed to find out it was not a Beatles compilation album.

Humans are deuterostomes which means that, when they develop in the womb, the anus forms before any other opening. This means that, at one point, you were nothing but a bum hole!

When Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba, he ordered all Monopoly sets to be destroyed. Some believe the decision was because it symbolises capitalism but close friends believed it was because he always lost.

On September 11th, 2001, Roselle, a guide dog, saved the life of her blind owner by leading him all the way down from the 78th floor of the burning Twin Towers. The descent took approximately an hour in total and both safely made it out.

According to a study, male owners of luxury cars behave aggressively on the road not because of a corrupting effect of wealth, but because men who are self-centred and unempathetic are much more likely both to be drawn to high-status cars and to break traffic laws.

In the 1640s, the Dutch inhabitants of New Amsterdam built a 12-foot wall to protect the city. In 1664, the British bypassed the wall and took the city by the sea. The area is now called New York. They took down the wall and built a street now known as Wall Street

And, finally, it’s never too late to follow your dreams. Romanian ruler, Vlad The Impaler, didn’t start impaling people until his thirties!

Okay, that’s enough information for one day. Have a tremendous and tumultuous Tuesday! I love you all.

#mixcloud #mi soul #dj #music #new blog #lockdown #coronavirus #books #weekend #democracy #brexit #cronyism #election #tuesdaymotivation #radio

[usafphantom2]

How many B-21 bombers will the U.S. need? Experts say more than 100

The U.S. Air Force originally wanted to build 80 to 100 bombers when the aircraft was first announced. But the world of 2023 is much more dangerous than the world of 2016.

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 12/13/2023 - 08:51am Military

The original number of bombers would have difficulty fulfilling conventional and nuclear missions in a great war.

The B-21 Raider bomber, which has been under secrecy since 2016, made its long-awaited first flight on November 10. Now that the bomber is really flying, it is worth asking: how many stealth bombers does the United States really need?

With China, Russia, Ukraine, Iran and North Korea dominating the headlines for one reason or another, the 80-100 bombers that the U.S. Air Force originally wanted to build now seem like a mere starting point.

The B-21 Raider bomber was announced in 2016 with great fanfare and should replace the B-1B Lancer bomber and the B-2A Spirit bombers. In 2023, the average age of the B-1B bomber fleet was 34.5 years, while the average age of the B-2A fleet was 27.35 years. Both bombers have been out of production for a long time, and the B-1B, in particular, suffers from maintenance problems, since the contractors who originally supplied spare parts are no longer on the market. There is also the issue that planes suffer from outdated technology that makes them less able to penetrate enemy airspace as originally intended: bomb a target and then flee.

The B-21 will serve alongside the B-52J, an updated version of the B-52 Stratofortress bomber, 76 of which are still flying. The B-21 was originally designed as the penetrating bomber, while the B-52J was the non-penetrating bomber that could bomb targets in a permissive environment (think: Afghanistan or Iraq), or launch salvaes of long-range conventional or nuclear missiles beyond enemy radar and the range of air defense missiles.

Since 2016, the rivalry between China and the United States has become more intense and China has doubled the number of nuclear weapons installed. The United States is also involved in a direct war with Russia, imposing strict sanctions on Moscow as a result of its invasion of Ukraine; a new Cold War with Putin's Russia seems almost inevitable. At the same time, North Korea now has intercontinental ballistic missiles that can hit the United States, while Iran uses its representatives in the Middle East to attack American targets, while continuing its nuclear weapons program.

Throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East, long-term peace prospects have not improved since 2016 – they have worsened substantially. Assuming that all this changes the strategic calculation and that we need more bombers, how many do we really need?

How many bombers for a nuclear war?

Let's examine the nuclear mission first. Many of the U.S. Air Force bombers perform conventional and nuclear functions. A B-2 bomber, for example, could launch JASSM-ER cruise missiles with conventional warheads against Chinese targets on a day and launch B83 gravitational thermonuclear bombs on Russian targets the next day. Still, only a subset of the U.S. Air Force heavy bomber force has a nuclear function: although all 20 existing B-2s have nuclear capability, none of the remaining 45 B-1B Lancer bombers and only 40 of the 76 B-52H bombers can carry nuclear weapons. This leaves 60 of the 141 bombers for nuclear missions.

If the U.S. goes to war with Russia, or with China, or with Russia and China, it must contain a series of bombers and keep them on alert 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, armed with nuclear weapons and ready to fly. A conventional war between nuclear powers could quickly turn into a nuclear war, and bombers on conventional combat missions would probably not be able to return in time to rearm them with nuclear weapons. By the time they flew back to the continent in the United States, there may be no more base to return.

In 2023, Russia deployed 1,674 nuclear weapons, while China deployed about 410, and North Korea between 35 and 65. China is currently embarking on a nuclear construction that the Pentagon believes will raise the total number of nuclear weapons deployed to 1,500 by 2035. North Korea is probably expanding its nuclear arsenal, although, being a poor country, there will eventually be a limit to the number of weapons it can use at the same time.

Sixty nuclear-capable bombers is presumably the minimum number that the USAF considers necessary to face nuclear war scenarios involving Russia, China and North Korea. The U.S. Air Force should also consider the possibility, however small, that, at some point, it may be forced to fight Russia and China at the same time. If the Chinese arsenal increases by 66 percent, we may need a corresponding increase in the minimum number of bombers, in addition to a handful of extras. As a result, we may want to increase the number of nuclear-capacity bombers from 60 to 90, with all 40 B-52J and 50 B-21 placed on nuclear alert.

How many bombers for conventional warfare?

In a conventional war, Air Force bombers would be used as missile carriers, launching missiles against long-range enemy targets. All existing U.S. Air Force bombers - a total of 141 B-1, B-2 and B-52 - can perform conventional combat missions. Most of today's bombers, such as the B-52H and B-1B, are better off launching cruise missiles against enemy targets, while the B-2 can still penetrate enemy airspace.

If we assume that the USAF replaces the B-1 bombers with B-21 bombers on a 1:1 basis, this gives us a need for 45 B-21. Once again, we may have to wage a conventional war against Russia and China at the same time or, at least, wage one while deterring the other. We could consider increasing the number of B-21 for conventional operations by 50%, giving us a total of 67 B-21.

This is not an excessively high number, but to launch a key in this, the U.S. Air Force also stated that the B-21 was built with other missions in mind, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, and electronic attack. Some studies predict it with a maritime attack role in Asia-Pacific, sowing minefields near mainland China and hunting Chinese navy warships. We could add ten more bombers per mission, totaling 97 B-21 for conventional missions.

In total, our approximate calculations reveal that the U.S. should buy about 147 B-21 Raider bombers, plus 76 B-52J, for a total of 223 heavy bombers. This is significantly higher than the 80-100 B-21s launched when the bomber was first announced, but less than the 290 bombers that the U.S. Air Force intended to have at the end of the Cold War.

The conclusion

The world of 2023 is more dangerous than the world of 2016. The world of 2029, exactly when the first B-21 enter service, can be even more dangerous. The first mission of the bombers should be to stop the war; the second mission should be to fight if the deterrence fails. Fewer bombers in peacetime makes sense, but more bombers in times of tension to deter opponents and make war less likely also makes sense.

Source: Popular Mechanics

Tags: Military AviationB-21 RaiderUSAF - United States Air Force / U.S. Air Force

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has work published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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[jhtitta]

Liya silver feet

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