Over-zealous General attempts to wrest control of 5G roll-out!

Brig. Gen. Robert Spalding USAF, the senior director for strategic planning with the National Security Council, left the White House this week following the leak of a memo that advocated for a government takeover of development of the nation’s 5G mobile telecom network.

Last week the Wall Street Journal reported some White House officials viewed next-gen 5G wireless service as a “key area of competition,” and saw a potential threat from China as justification for a “moonshot” government effort behind the network’s development. Moonshot in this context being an ambitious, exploratory and ground-breaking project undertaken without any expectation of near-term profitability or benefit and also, perhaps, without a full investigation of potential risks and benefits.

Spalding was the memo's author which irked the telecom industry and irritated the White House according to the Washing Post, but was not implicated in the leak. However it was decided his backing of the potential government takeover of the 5G network exceeded his NSC role.

FCC chairman Ajit Pai told the New York Times that he opposed the idea of a government-built 5G network, and industry group USTelecom said government involvement would likely slow the technology's development.

"What can seem like a logical idea can often be derailed in the way it's presented," said Brigadier General "Whopper" Creedon, USMC, SPEARHEAD Assistant Commander for Intelligence and Information who as a Colonel in 2005 served the NSC as Military Assistant to the Deputy National Security Advisor for Extraterrestrial Encounters. "My proposal for AMDI, the Alien Mothership Deterrent Initiative needed to make it look like it was coming directly from the advisors never by me. If it got shot down - fair enough, if it got accepted - all good but if it crashed and burned it would have been difficult for the advisors to pin it on me without looking like they were idiots for suggesting it."

"One doesn't just suggest taking government control of a new telecommunications standard roll-out! You give the companies 'incentives' to get them all to do the job faster themselves. You have to know how to play the game but more importantly you have to know the players, sadly Spalding was too over-zealous with his proposal for the current administration to handle or likely even understand," said Gen. Creedon.

Source: Fox News / WSJ / NYT / Washing Post

Doctor Pinnochio

During the week the White House physician Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson spoke to the media and gave a glowing report on POTUS45's health. Repeating the word "excellent" more than half a dozen times and uttered statements like "He has incredible genes... He has incredibly good genes, and it's just the way God made him." - God of course having no place in a medical diagnosis, but that's another issue.

Other statements included "if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years, he might live to be 200 years old" which lead the media to question if the man was even a real doctor. Yes he's a real doctor but he's lying.

He's lying because he reported that the president had somehow grown an entire inch in his 70's. He's lying because he reported that the president is just one pound shy of being classed as obese. He's lying because I've stood in uniform and lied to enough people at the behest of a superior to recognise when I see other people forced into doing it too. 

Sadly that's what's missing from the media reports questioning Dr. Jackson's diagnosis. Like it or not POTUS45 is the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces of which Dr. Jackson is a member. Ordering a subordinate to give false statements is not a crime. Giving false statements to the media is not a crime. But I do hope Dr. Jackson is of good enough character to at least loose sleep over what he's had to say...

I know I have.

SPEARHEAD: Zuma not intercepted by aliens. Pentagon says "Ask SpaceX!"

Zuma, a billion-dollar spy satellite built by Northrop Grumman was launched Jan. 7 on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and was reported as "failed to reach orbit." As everything about the mission except the launch itself was secret, few details will be available to the public. Despite the loss SpaceX was quick to assert last week that its Falcon 9 performed as advertised.

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana W. White and Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., Director of the Joint Staff elected not to comment on the launch, and refer all questions to SpaceX. 

SPEARHEAD's Assistant Commander for Intelligence and Information Marine Corps Brig. Gen. "Whopper" Creedon has denied reports that Zuma was intercepted by an Extra Terrestrial spacecraft, answering a reporters question with the word "Bollox".

Source: Space.com

2017 - Those We Lost

We pay tribute to those lost in 2017 including:

Powers Boothe

Roger Ailes (77) American television executive and media consultant. Chairman and CEO of Fox News and the Fox Television Stations Group.

Richard Anderson (91) American actor ("The Six Million Dollar Man", "The Bionic Woman").
Jim Baikie (77) Scottish comics artist ("The New Statesmen", "Judge Dredd", "Star Trek", "Batman")

Chester Bennington (41) American singer, songwriter, and actor. Linkin Park lead vocalist.

Chuck Berry (90) American singer, songwriter, musician. Pioneer of rock and roll music. "Johnny B. Goode".

Jack Blessing (66), American actor (Dulmur in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine "Trials and Tribble-ations").

Powers Boothe (68) Emmy winning American actor ("Tombstone", "Red Dawn", "By Dawn's Early Light", "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.")

Rich Buckler (68) American comic book artist. (Iron Man #196–197) Creator of Deathlok.

Wally Burr (91) American voice actor and director (The Transformers series, Transformers: The Movie and the G.I.Joe series/movie).

Glen Campbell (81) American singer, guitarist, songwriter, television host, and actor. "Rhinestone Cowboy".

Bernie Casey

Bernie Casey (78) American actor and football player. ("I'm Gonna Git You Sucka", "Under Siege", Lt. Commander Cal Hudson in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine).

Captain Eugene Cernan, USN Ret. (82) American astronaut, naval aviator, electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, and fighter pilot. Apollo 17, last person to have walked on the Moon.

Don Cockburn (87) Irish journalist, presenter and RTÉ newsreader.

Fred Cogley (82) Irish sports broadcaster.

Alan Colmes (66) American radio and television host, liberal political commentator for the Fox News Channel, and blogger. Co-host of "Hannity & Colmes".

Mike Connors (91) American actor ("Mannix").

Chris Cornell (52) American musician, singer, and songwriter. Lead vocalist for Soundgarden and Audioslave. Perrformed theme song to "Casino Royale" (2006) "You Know My Name".

Liam Cosgrave (97) Irish politician, Taoiseach (1973–1977).

Alfie Curtis (87) British actor (Dr. Evazan in Star Wars: A New Hope).

John Cygan (63) American actor and voice actor ("Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic" video game series, Dash Rendar in "Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire" and "Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance").

Dick Gautier (85) American actor and singer (Rodimus Prime in "The Transformers" and Serpentor in "G.I.Joe").

Nelsan Ellis (39) American film and television actor and playwright. (Lafayette Reynolds in "True Blood").

Miguel Ferrer

Miguel Ferrer (61) American actor ("RoboCop", "Star Trek III: The Search For Spock", "NCIS: Los Angles").

Neil Fingleton (36) English actor and basketball player. Tallest British-born man. (Mag the Mighty in "Game of Thrones", motion capture for Ultron in "Avengers: Age of Ultron").

Captain Dara Fitzpatrick (45) Irish Coast Guard helicopter pilot.

Sir Bruce Forsyth, CBE (89) British presenter, actor, comedian, singer, dancer, and screenwriter whose career spanned more than 75 years.

Colonel Wesley L. Fox, USMC Ret. (86) Legendary American Marine Corps officer, Medal of Honor recipient.

Jim French (89) American radio host and voice actor (Father Grigori in "Half-Life 2").

Stephen Furst (63) American actor ("Babylon 5", "St. Elsewhere").

Frank Vincent (80) American actor, starred in many mafia tough guy roles.

Captain Richard F. Gordon Jr. USN Ret. (88) American naval officer and aviator, chemist, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. Gemini 11, Apollo 12.

Dick Gregory (84) African-American comedian, civil rights activist, social critic, writer, entrepreneur, conspiracy theorist.

Robert Guillaume (89) American actor and singer ("Benson", Dr. Eli Vance in "Half-Life 2").

Robert Hardy, CBE (91) British actor ("All Creatures Great and Small", "War and Remembrance").

Richard Hatch (71) American actor ("Battlestar Galactica" 1978 / 2004, "The Streets of San Francisco").

Maureen Haughey (91) Irish political figure, wife of Charles Haughey.

Glenne Headly (62) American actress ("Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", "Future Man").

John Heard (71) American film and television actor ("NCIS: Los Angeles", "Snake Eyes", Commander Barry Garner in "Battlestar Galactica" (2004)).    

Hugh Hefner (91) American magazine publisher (Playboy), businessman (Playboy Enterprises) and reality television personality.

John Hillerman

John Hillerman (84) Emmy winning American actor ("Blazing Saddles", Higgins in "Magnum, P.I.").

Skip Homeier (86) American actor (Melakon in "Star Trek "Patterns of Force"" and Dr. Sevrin in "Star Trek "The Way to Eden"").

Captain Thomas J. Hudner Jr. USN Ret. (93) American naval aviator, Medal of Honor recipient (Battle of Chosin Reservoir).

Dave Hunt (74) American comic book artist ("Transformers").

Sir John Hurt, CBE (77) BAFTA winning British actor ("Alien", "1984", "Hellboy", "Outlander").

Captain Arthur J. Jackson USMC Ret. (92) American military officer, Medal of Honor recipient.

Clifton James (96) American actor (Sheriff J.W. Pepper in "Live and Let Die").

Al Jarreau (76) Grammy winning American jazz and R&B singer ("Moonlighting").

Gordon Kaye (75) English actor and singer ("Allo 'Allo!").

Specialist Four Thomas James Kinsman, USA (72) American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient.

General William L. Kirk USAF Ret. (84) American air force officer. Commander in Chief, U.S. Air Forces in Europe/Commander, Allied Air Forces Central Europe (CINCUSAFE/COMAAFCE) from 1987 to 1989.

Sonny Landham

Sonny Landham (76) American actor ("Predator", "48 Hrs.", "Lock Up").

Martin Landau (89) Oscar winning American actor ("Space: 1999", "Mission: Impossible", "Meteor", "By Dawn's Early Light").

Peadar Lamb (87) Irish actor (Fargo Boyle in "Father Ted "Chripy Burpy Cheap Sheep"").

Joan Boocock Lee (95) Wife of Stan Lee (Computer Voice in Iron man (1994)).

Victor Llamas (41) American comic book artist ("Batman", "Star Wars: Republic", "G.I. Joe").

John Mollo (86) British costume designer ("Star Wars").

Lawrence Montaigne (86) American actor (Decius in "Star Trek "Balance of Terror"", Stonn in "Star Trek "Amok Time"").

Mary Tyler Moore (80) 7-time Emmy winning American actress.

Lt. General Harold G. "Hal" Moore, Jr. USA Ret. (94) American army officer and author ("We Were Soldiers Once… And Young").

Sir Roger Moore, KBE (89) English actor ("The Saint", "The Wild Geese",  James Bond in seven movies).

Captain Bruce McCandless II, USN Ret. (80) American astronaut (STS-41-B).

Douglas Netter (95) American television producer ("Babylon 5").

Barry Norman (83) British film critic and television presenter.

Michael Nyqvist (56) Swedish actor ("Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol", "John Wick").

Bill Paxton (61) American actor ("Navy SEALS", "Apollo 13", "Aliens", "True Lies", "U-571", "Twister", "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.").

Michael Parks (77)American singer and actor (Kill Bill movies, "Argo", "Django Unchained").

Lt. General Leonard H. Perroots, Sr., USAF Ret. (83) American military officer, Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (1985–1988).

Tom Petty (66) American Hall of Fame musician and voice actor.

Tim Pigott-Smith

Tim Pigott-Smith, OBE (70) BAFTA winning British actor ("Quantum of Solace", "Flyboys", "Johnny English", "Jewel in the Crown").

Richard Portman (82) Oscar winning American sound mixer ("The Godfather", "Star Wars", "The Deer Hunter").

Oberfeldwebel Willi Reschke (95) German Luftwaffe ace. 26 aerial victories in 70 missions.

Don Rickles (90) American stand-up comedian, actor, and author. ("Run Silent, Run Deep", "Kelly's Heroes", Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story franchise).

George A Romero (77) American-Canadian filmmaker, writer and editor. Progenitor of the fictional zombie of modern culture ("Night of the Living Dead", "Day of the Dead", "Land of the Dead").

Master Sergeant Wilburn K Ross USA Ret.(94) American WWII veteran, Medal of Honor recipient.

Peter Sallis OBE (96) British actor. ("Last of the Summer Wine", Wallace and Gromit franchise).

Sam Shepard (73), Pulitzer Prize winning American playwright and actor ("The Right Stuff", "Black Hawk Down", "Stealth").

Harry Dean Stanton (91) American actor ("Alien", "Escape from New York", "Red Dawn").

Charles P. Thacker (74) American computer designer, co-inventor of Ethernet.

Jay Thomas (69) American actor, comedian, and morning radio personality. (Marty Grossman in "Ray Donovan", Brett Morris in "American Dad!").

Colonel Leo K. Thorsness, USAF Ret. (85), American air force officer and Medal of Honor recipient, member of the Washington Senate (1988–1992).

Private First Class Edward J. Tipper Jr. (95) American World War II veteran (Easy Company), depicted in "Band of Brothers".

Margaret Towner

Margaret Towner (96) British actress (Jira in "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace").

Michael Twomey (83) Irish actor. (Cha and Miah).

Judge Joseph Wapner (97) American judge and television personality ("The People’s Court").

Stewart Wieck (49) American game designer (White Wolf Publishing).

Len Wein (69) American comic book writer and editor (Watchmen, Iron Man #82–85) Co-creator of Wolverine.

Captain Paul J.Weitz, USN Ret. (85) American naval officer and aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. Skylab 2, Commander of STS-6 mission.

Adam West (88) American actor ("Batman", "Family Guy").

Stanley Weston (84) American inventor and licensing agent. Created the G.I. Joe toy line in 1963, as well as the very concept of the action figure.

Lt. General Samuel V. Wilson, USA Ret. (93) American army officer, Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (1976–1977).

Bill Woodson (99) American voice actor (Narrator on "The Winds of War", "War and Remembrance" and "Battle of the Planets").

Captain Jerry Yellin, USAAF (93) American fighter pilot. Flew final combat mission of World War II.

Malcolm Young (64) Scottish-born Australian Hall of Fame guitarist and songwriter (AC/DC). 

May they rest in peace.

Goodbye 2017

2017 was:

Triggering of Article 50 for Brexit

MOAB was dropped

#Resist

Attack in Manchester

U.S. pulls out of Paris Climate agreement and UNESCO

Raqqa is liberated

The North Korean Menace Continues

 Wonder Woman

Mugabe says goodbye

Total Solar Eclipse

Isil attacks Iran

Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, Ophelia

Earthquake in Mexico

The Last Jedi

Bus Éireann strikes

Las Vegas shooting

Catalonia declares independence

#MeToo

Mladić sentenced to life
 Enda says goodbye

Iraq liberated from Isis

Disney to buy Fox

All the best for 2018!

The United States Space Corps - Part XII: The Finale

Continued from Part XI

The Congressional committee reconciling the differences between the House and Senate NDAA versions have finally axed the Space Corps as a provision. While this means that the new military branch will not be created for January 2019 the final NDAA, will contain language for the deputy SECDEF to have a federally-funded research and development centre not affiliated with the USAF  to examine the long-term prospects of creating a military department to deal with space.

There will also be significant changes to the relationship between the Air Force and space as a domain. The NDAA now includes a number of provisions taken from the Space Corps framework to fix what the conference report termed a "broken national security space enterprise." It places emphasis on "streamlining Air Force acquisition authorities, eliminating burdensome red tape, empowering a single accountable organization for space forces within the Air Force, placing renewed emphasis on the organization and management of space in the DoD, and holding the deputy secretary of defense responsible for the full and faithful execution of these improvements."

The legislation also eliminates multiple space authorities, including the Principal DoD Space Adviser and the Defense Space Council, instead consolidating authority within Air Force Space Command. The NDAA also strips Secretary Wilson of her role as primary space adviser to the secretary of defense.

While the dream of a Space Corps is now finished for the time being, there may be nothing preventing it from appearing in the future.

Sources: Space News / The Hill / Popular Mechanics

HAPPY BIRTHDAY USMC

242 years today. Oorah! Semper Fi!

The United States Space Corps - Part XI

Continued from Part X

The NDAA negotiations are now underway. Senators John McCain and Jack Reed met with Representatives Mac Thornberry and Adam Smith, the respective chambers conference committee members who now sit down in secret to discuss and smooth out their NDAA differences.

Before the meeting, McCain cited the House plan to create a Space Corps as one of the biggest nuts to crack. Bill Nelson, a senior Armed Services member who sponsored legislation opposing the move in the Senate, has said the new military service will never happen. Alternatively Mike Rogers, who is spearheading the push for a Space Corps in the House, said he was feeling optimistic. 

Thornberry, HASC chair, pointed out that 79% of House members voted for his $696 billion version of the NDAA and 89% of senators voted for the $700 billion version spearheaded by McCain. “There is a widespread consensus that we need to do better for our military,” Thornberry said. Both Thornberry and McCain were optimistic that the issue would be ironed out quickly even within days, because differences in the bills are small.

Concluded in Part XII

Source: Army Times/ Washington Examiner

SPEARHEAD monitoring "Bigfoot" sighting

SPEARHEAD are currently monitoring reports of a Cryptid 2N-Alpha sighting in the region of Avocado Lake, Northern California.

If you are in the area do not engage, shoot at or attempt to communicate with anything resembling "Bigfoot". If you encounter same, please notify the authorities.

The United States Space Corps - Part X

Continued from Part IX

The U.S. House of Representatives officially approved by unanimous consent a motion to go to conference to reconcile its version of the annual defense policy bill with the Senate’s.

Despite not formally going to conference yet, the so-called “Big Four”: House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, ranking member Rep. Adam Smith, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain and ranking member Sen. Jack Reed met to discuss differences in the bills.

Thornberry has told reporters negotiators hope to resolve all major differences by the end of October, including negotiations to to flesh out is the Space Corps. The House desiring to create the new military branch dedicated to space by Jan 2019, while the Senate bill would explicitly prohibit its creation instead the appointment of a Chief Information Warfare Officer reporting directly to the Secretary of Defense with authority over space, cyberspace, and information programs.

“I don’t meant to be too dismal, but I’ve been in too many classified briefings,” Thornberry, told reporters Thursday. “As I look at what Russia and the Chinese are doing, we don’t have a lot of evolutionary time to sit and hope we kind of drift in the right direction. We are more dependent than anybody else on space.”

Continued in Part XI

 Source: The Hill / Spacepolicyonline /

Discovery continues, better but still not Trek

Star Trek: Discovery is now four episodes in and while I will say that it has immensely improved since the woefully mediocre pilot, it's still missing the Star Trek mark by a long-shot. Nevertheless it's worthy to watch and allow you to make up your own mind. I was somewhat critical of the pilot, yes but my issues were entirely justified. I won't retread old ground with regards to the ridiculously reimagined Klingons or the confusingly anachronistic technology as these elements are here to stay, they distract from the story and remove it from true acceptance as canonical Star Trek and I'll leave it at that.

Episode 3 "Context Is for Kings" was two things: 1. A far better episode of TV than either/both the pilot episodes and 2. It should have been the actual pilot with the previous episodes told in flashback. How cool would it have been instead to reveal Burnham's past than by her invoking Amanda as the person who read her bedtime stories rather than the nonsensical "Hologram Sarek"? Fuller obviously trusted fans to accept the dual mystery of  Burnham AND the Discovery but clearly nervous CBS executives disagreed and wanted something that they could offer half for fee and make people pay for the other half (as is the reprehensible money grabbing all-access situation in the U.S.). It seems that or assumed we would be too dumb to understand and spent several million explaining Burnham's transgressions to us instead.

It's not until this episode that we're actually introduced (quite spectacularly goosebump-worthy I might add) to the titular Discovery, her captain Gabriel Lorca (a possibly insane "warmonger" with one foot in the door of an admiral's office) and a whole plethora of Bryan Fuller mysteries (who are the black badges??) that now sadly, lesser writers have to solve. The episode itself was great, it had technobabble and even some welcome Star Trek staples that harked back all the way to the original series; a redshirt (not that you can tell because all the frikking uniforms are blue), a monster of the week and a terrible disaster that wiped out the crew on another ship that despite there being dozens of different starship designs they used the Discovery's design again as a "sister ship" the USS Glenn.

Episode 4 "The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry" was again better than the pilot(s) but neither better nor worse than last week's episode. This week, we have Burnham studying last week's "monster" and the outcome is certainly in keeping with the principles of Star Trek, albeit not entirely resolved - which is OK as this series is not as self contained as previous shows. The fact that we have the need to check in with the current goings-on in Klingontown every act is a bit too disjointed, especially as they are still following the trope of not speaking English, forcing viewers to read dozens of lines of subtitles. Normally this would be OK as Klingons are more action than talk - except THESE ARE NOT REAL KLINGONS and do far too much faffing about, talking and pledging allegiance to to the memory of their messiah etc. Just shut up and get on with it for fuck sake!!

Another major issue is the characterisations of the personnel on board are not in keeping with humanity as a whole. Roddenberry created a positive vision of the future where human conflict and personal gain were now passe. It was referenced in the original series, fleshed out during The Next Generation and by the time Enterprise was shown, this mentality had been established. However, for some reason here we have Lt. Stamets who is sarcastic to the point of being borderline insubordinate and we have Cmdr. Landry who would seem more at home as the militaristic, trigger-happy henchman of a villain in a Disney movie. These archetypes of characters are great for "The Expanse" or "Battlestar Galactica" but the un-Star Trek-ness of them is distracting and damages both story and the brand.

Despite the myriad of new and old issues, these episodes are a marked improvement over the pilot but still far less Star Trek than is projected by the superior "The Orville" and it would seem most fans agree with me... for now.

Discovery is not Star Trek

First, if this was a new science fiction property I'd say that it was fantastic, and worth watching but I would have said that it "reminded me" of Star Trek yet I'd probably chastise the creators for making the good-guy ships and ray-guns look like Starfleet ships and phasers, (oh and and ripping off the idea of the Vulcan mind-meld) - yet overlook them as being minor rip-offs in contrast to the full-blown Star Trek homage that is Seth McFarlane's "The Orville". If this was the case I'd watch every episode with no apprehension or concern whatsoever.

But no, because this is actually Star Trek and Discovery is carrying the IP name with millions of devotees and a 50+ year legacy that both need and deserve to be respected, especially if intending to frame it within the prime universe (as opposed to the Kelvin timeline of J.J. Abrams creation) and if the first two episodes are anything to go by - that hasn't happened.

The plot here seems to centre on a single character, Commander Micheal Burnham who I'm branding the worst Starfleet Officer, second only to Lon Suder and even gives pre-redemption Tom Paris a run for his money. The idea of giving the spotlight to only a single character, especially one whom is not the captain is a fresh one but fails due to the characterisation, not due to Sonequa Martin-Green's splendid performance.

There was another two characters who appeared that had equally dubious motivations, Doug Jones' Science Officer Saru is a Kelpien, apparently a race with a reputation for cowardice in the Federation. While this justifies why we don't see them in later set series, it doesn't address what the fuck such an obvious coward is doing on the bridge of a Federation starship where he's third in command! It would be akin to making Reg Barclay the chief of security! There was another character, Ensign Nobody who gave a war lament in the middle of a battle "Why are we fighting? We're explorers not soldiers" demonstrating that the criteria for the Starfleet psychological tests slipped somewhat between Archer and Kirk's time.

I did make only one verbal reaction to what was on screen. Remember in one episode of Star Trek Deep Space Nine when they install a holographic communicator allowing Captain Sisko speak with Captain Sanders and Michael Eddington on the bridge of the Defiant? Remember how distractingly shit it was and they used it once more before never mentioning it again? Well remember how it was considered "new technology" then, so it couldn't exist 120 years earlier, especially without the huge holographic ring to power the image and it would be ridiculous to have it as an apparently "normal" feature in standard crew quarters? Well now you can guess why I verbally reacted to the screen. My other non-verbal, but face scrunching reaction was to the obtuse opening titles with a complete failure on Jeff Russo's part to deliver a coherent theme with a line drawing "artistic" montage, something that would be far more appropriate to a documentary on the making of Discovery as opposed to the series itself.

Two elements I was counting on for this Star Trek incarnation to work was (1) a plausible or implausible social, Geo-political or even quasi-biological explanation for the Klingons, why they and their technology look like that and not in keeping with the established canon, and (2) a scientific (in Star Trek terms of the word) explanation for why Starfleet tech and designs on display here in some cases make the Enterprise E seem as advanced as the Searcher from Buck Rogers. But no. There isn't any, no mirror/alternate universes, chronometric distortion, godlike being influencing the natural order - feck it, I'd even settle it for being all someone's "dream" - I'm fine with all changes to canon so long as there's an in-universe reason! But nothing, nada, zilch and the series will suffer because of it because it's just too distracting the way it is. It is possible we'll get some explanation for either before the end but I won't hold out hope.

I believe any other problems delve into spoiler territory so enough now. Overall I think it's pretty solid and works as a show where things explode in space; something that's always welcome on TV. But this is not really Star Trek, it doesn't even feel like Star Trek let alone look like Star Trek. I reckon now they'll only be one season here and that's it. It won't save the franchise. It's too difficult not to draw comparisons to The Orville, which has aired three episodes already, better characterisation, better music (veteran composers) and opening titles (homage to ST: Voyager), better commentary on the human condition and the infusion of optimism at a time when we need it more than ever in our lifetimes - just with the occasional fart jokes! It looks and feels more Star Trek than Star Trek Discovery does and you can quote me on that.

The United States Space Corps - Part IX

Continued from Part VIII

After some tense negotiations, the National Defense Authorization Act cleared the Senate in a 89-8 vote on Monday evening, pacing the way for the collaborative conference with the House Armed Services leaders on the final bill. The $700 billion defense policy bill for FY2018 aims to bolster depleted military forces and includes $640 billion in base funding and nuclear readiness as well as $60 billion for overseas combat operations. The military would get more Navy ships, fighter jets, surveillance aircraft, and troops than requested in POTUS45's budget request and also provides for increasing missile defense to shield South Korea.

However the Senate's NDAA also includes a measure that sets up a debate with the House over the creation of a Space Corps. The Senate legislation sponsored by Sens. Bill Nelson and Tom Cotton prohibits the creation of any separate command to oversee space operations within the Air Force and instead approved the creation of a new chief information warfare office with some authority over space and cyber issues. It is certain to set up a fight with the House during negotiations over a final version of the bill.

Continued in Part X

Source: Washington Examiner / Washington Post / World Bulletin / News Desk / USA Today

J.J. returns to save Star Wars

Well it's not like it needed saving really; The Force Awakens is rated at 90% and made over two billion dollars while Rogue One is considered one of the greatest stand-alone movies ever made and in about 90 days from now we'll have another entry into the franchise but J.J. Abrams is coming back nonetheless.

What he's saving us from is Colin Trevorrow. It had been "concerning" that Jurassic World's director Trevorrow's latest movie The Book of Henry was critically panned and sank harder than the Titanic at the box office because he was slated to co-write and direct Star Wars IX for a Summer 2019 release.

Following the disaster, Lucasfilm enlisted Jack Thorne to "doctor" Trevorrow and Derek Connolly's script of which they had expressed dissatisfaction but possibly stemming from this Trevorrow was becoming difficult to work with and Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy decided to part ways with him as the director. 

Yesterday Lucasfilm confirmed Abrams will replace Trevorrow as director and will co-write a new script the script with Chris Terrio allowing them an additional 5 months with a December 2019 release.

Previously Abrams has told the press that he was kicking himself he didn't opt to direct The Last Jedi, but at least he will be able to bookend the story he began, cementing his position in Jedi religious doctrine forever.

The United States Space Corps - Part VIII

Continued from Part VII

The U.S. Senate plans to begin to discuss it's version of the FY2018 National Defense Authorization Act this week. Its provisions include the creation of a Chief Information Warfare Officer (CIWO) reporting to the SecDef with responsibility for DOD space, cyber and information programs. This contrasts the House-passed plan to create a Space Corps. Should the Senate proposal survive debate, then the debate between chambers will be one to watch.

Sen Bill Nelson, then NASA Payload Specialist

Sen. Bill Nelson, has filed an amendment to scuttle any attempts by the House to create a Space Corps by prohibiting that or any other type of new corps in the services.

Last week Maj. Gen. Earl Matthews U.S.A.F. (Ret.), vice president of DXC Technology‘s U.S. public sector enterprise security solutions group, has said other priority areas for the U.S.A.F. and DoD are at risk of being sidelined due to discussions on the creation a Space Corps. He wrote that developing U.S. space capability should concentrate on situational awareness as the current budget calls for the Air Force to spread its resources across several mission areas.

Former Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said the creation of a Space Corps would lead to “enormous upheaval” without solving the key problems faced by the national security space enterprise today. While she admitted that the U.S.A.F. still has “a long way to go” with regards to efforts to adapt the space mission to current threats, she insisted the formation of a Space Corps would not help any of those efforts.

Meanwhile Rep. Mike Rogers continued to argue that he time is now to create a Space Corps, or something akin to it. “The Air Force is as fast as a herd of turtles as far as space is concerned,” he said, adding that a Space Corps would be a better steward of space matters than the Air Force, because there would be no competing interests as there are now with space falling under the Air Force’s aviation-focused structural umbrella. The Air Force’s inability to put space first has created acquisition and operational problems, he said. “I don’t think the Air Force can fix this. You can’t have two No. 1 priorities. The Air Force is focused on air dominance, as it should be.”

Continued in Pat IX

Sources: Air Force magazine / The Washington Examiner / Space Policy Online.com / Govconwire.com / Spacenews.com / Breaking Defense

SPEARHEAD's Deputy Commander slate announced

The UNSC today announced the slate for SPEARHEAD's two-star commanders, projected to assume office before September 1st 2018. The sixteen general and flag officers of grade OF-7, or non-military equivalent, will occupy the SPEARHEAD Deputy Commander billets of it's senior leadership between the OF-8 SPEARHEAD Vice Commanders and the OF-6 SPEARHEAD Assistant Commanders.

Brigadier General "Tucker" Reid [right], SPEARHEAD Assistant Commander for Training and Instruction will be promoted to the grade of Major General in the Canadian Army and assume duties of the SPEARHEAD Deputy Commander for Manpower and Personnel following the retirement of Major General "Stargazer" Smith from the U.S. Air Force early in 2018.

Two new OF-7 billets of SPEARHEAD Deputy Commander for Operations and Integration one each for the Western and Eastern regions have been created to support Colonel General "Voran" Kerimov, the Vice Commander for Global Operations and Force Integration. Senior Colonel “Besra” Hu, SPEARHEAD Assistant Commander for Air Operations [Eastern] will be promoted to the grade of Shao jiang [Major General] in the Peoples Republic of China Air Force and become the first SPEARHEAD Deputy Commander for Operations and Integration [Eastern]. Brigadier General “Shellshock” Hollister, SPEARHEAD Assistant Commander for Recruitment and Selection will be promoted to the grade of Major General in the South African Army and become the first SPEARHEAD Deputy Commander for Operations and Integration [Western].

Brigadier General "Whopper" Creedon [left], SPEARHEAD Assistant Commander for Intelligence and Information, selected for promotion to the grade of Major General in the U.S. Marine Corps, will become the SPEARHEAD Deputy Commander for Global Security following the retirement of Major General "Jäger" Brandt from the Bundeswehr in 2018.

Counter Admiral "Tridente" Carlos, SPEARHEAD Assistant Commander for Naval Operations [Western] will be promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral in the Spanish Navy and assume the position of Deputy Commander for Global Strategic Plans which was vacated by new SPEARHEAD Staff Director Division General "Faucon" Davout.

Group General "Altísimo" Hernandez SPEARHEAD Assistant Commander for Support and Sustainment is to be promoted to Wing General in the Mexican Air Force and will assume the duties of Deputy Commander for Financial Management following the reassignment of Rear Admiral "Nafasat Pasand" Kundi to the Central Punjab command of the Pakistan Navy.

Commodore "Sextant" White, SPEARHEAD Assistant Commander for Naval Operations [Western] is to be promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral in the British Royal Navy and assigned as the SPEARHEAD Deputy Commander for Civil Affairs. Commodore White has already served in an acting capacity in the role following the unexpected recall of of Division General "Banquero" Ramos by the Venezuelan government in late June.

The SPEARHEAD Judge Advocate General is being elevated to a 2-Star [OF-7] billet. Air Vice Marshal "Magpie" Brown [right], Royal Australian Air Force is to be appointed replacing Sub-Thousandman "tzédek" Levy of the Israeli Defence Force who will remain with SPEARHEAD as Assistant JAG.

Mr. P will assume the duties of the Chief of Shadow Directorate which has been elevated to a non-military OF-7 equivalent grade following the retirement of Mr. G. The changeover is believed to be scheduled between September and December 2017, but this cannot be confirmed or denied.

A number of officers will remain in their currently held positions:

The SPEARHEAD Deputy Commander for Missile Defence [Eastern] Lieutenant General "ракета" Vasiliev of the Russian Strategic Missile Troops and Deputy Commander for Missile Defence [Western] Major General "Rockets" Thompson of the U.S. Air Force will both remain in their roles to support the new Vice Commander for Strategic Weaponry Middle General "Huǒjiàn" Li.

The SPEARHEAD Director for Science, Technology and Research, Dr. "Quantum" Pataal of India will remain in the position held since 2013.

Deputy Commander for Global Logistics and Installations Major General "Sangja" Park of the Republic of Korea Army will remain in the position held since 2015.

Deputy Commander for Global Satellite and Cyber Systems Major General “Circuits” Anderson [left] of the U.S. Air Force will remain in the position held since 2014. 

SPEARHEAD Inspector General Generalmajor "Schakal" Nilsson, of the Swedish Army was appointed earlier this year following the elevation of the position to 2-Star [OF-7].

The SPEARHEAD Surgeon General, Major-general "Scrubs" Janssens M.D. of the Medical Component of the Belgian Armed Forces will remain in the position held since 2014.

Source: UN

Review: Atomic Blonde

After avoiding a tonne of crap at the cinema this year like Life, The Great Wall, Ghost in the Shell, Transformers 5, whatever nonsense Pirates of the Caribbean movie came out and Valerian last week, I didn't want to break my bullet-dodging streak with Atomic Blonde, an action spy movie starring Charlize Theron and James McAvoy when I found out it had a less than stellar opening at the US box office. Despite reservations I said I would chance it as it was from one of the directors of the glorious John Wick, it's set in the closing years of what I like to call "The good ol' days" (The Cold War) and critics was praising the stylised violence despite the daft plot (or lack of it).

Boy was I glad I did! It has five major hooks:

1. Despite the general unrealistic nature of the fight scenes (possibly stemming from it's graphic novel origins) which often involved near-immortal enemies, the various characters use of benign objects like skateboards, garden hoses and shoes to harm foes with is inventive, especially Charlize Theron's use of a corkscrew.

2. Headshots! Painting a nearby surface with the crimson contents of an enemies head due to ballistic projectile forcefully introduced to (preferably) the face, is too often a misunderstood art-form. There's not a huge amount of it here, but adequate and when it happens it's gloriously perfect, truly sublime.

3. A too-short but hot girl-on-girl sex scene with "proper" nudity.

4. Classic 80's era hits on the soundtrack including Queen, Bowie, George Michael and The Clash (remember back when music was good).

5. While Stoli vodka is consumed like water from beginning to end, the winning goal here is that Atomic Blonde is the largest, borderline vulgar, on-screen product placement/advertisement for Jack Daniels I've ever seen on film. One character even referring to it as coming "straight from the Virgin Mary's tit," and let's be honest - he's not wrong.

So basically about as far removed from a John LeCarre novel as you can get while still being a Cold War spy movie. So if none of the above interest you, then avoid this - but if they do, off you go to the cinema.

*****

SPEARHEAD's Vice Commander slate announced

The UNSC today announced the slate for SPEARHEAD's three-star commanders. The four general or flag-officers will be appointed to occupy the billets of it's senior leadership between the OF-9 SPEARHEAD Supreme Commander and the OF-7 SPEARHEAD Deputy Commanders.

Rear Admiral "Smokestack" Henderson [left] U.S. Navy, acting SPEARHEAD Staff Director will assume the role of SPEARHEAD Deputy Supreme Commander in place of Lt. General Sir "Knuckles" McKenzie who has been appointed SPEARHEAD Supreme Commander. Captain Henderson was the UNETIDA Naval Tactical Support officer for the Pacific region until he was appointed UNETIDA Deputy Director in 2009. In 2011, as a Rear Admiral (lower half) he succeeded Royal Air Force Air Vice Marshal "Albatross" Davenport III as UNETIDA Director in an acting capacity until his promotion to Rear Admiral and became SPEARHEAD Deputy Commander for Operations in 2012. Upon the retirement of Air Marshal "Cuckoo" Hawes from the Royal Australian Air Force early this year, Henderson assumed the duties of SPEARHEAD Staff Director. He will assume his new role upon U.S. Senate confirmation of his promotion to Vice Admiral.

The SPEARHEAD Deputy Commander for Global Strategic Plans Division General "Faucon" Davout will be promoted to Army Corps General in the french army and will now serve as the SPEARHEAD Staff Director.

The "U3 - Operations" billet of  SPEARHEAD Deputy Commander for Operations held by Lieutenant General "Voran" Kerimov [right] will now become a 3-Star [OF-8] billet designated SPEARHEAD Vice Commander for Global Operations and Force Integration. The position will initially remain to be held by Kerimov following his pending promotion to the grade of Colonel General in the Russian Aerospace Forces.

The position of SPEARHEAD Vice Commander for Strategic Weaponry has been created to oversee SPEARHEAD's strategic weapon acquisition and control. Middle General "Huǒjiàn" Li of the Chinese People's Liberation Army has been appointed to the role.

Source: UN

The United States Space Corps - Part VII

Continued from Part VI

The House Rules Committee did not approve for floor debate an amendment by Rep. Scott Perry that would prohibit funding for creating a Space Corps. Rep. Mike Turner chair of the Tactical and Land Forces subcommittee, tried to bring the matter to the full House during debate on the bill, but the Rules Committee did not approve this amendment. Thusly the bill, including the Space Corps directive, has passed. The U.S. Senate has not yet passed its own version of the NDAA. This has to happen before two chambers negotiate a compromise before funding can be secured to implement their decisions.

In their latest media volley this week Representatives Mike Rogers and Jim Cooper voiced their anger at the additional delays for the Air Force's FAB-T for another year and the costs of the OCX program, the next-generation GPS operational control system which has now grown to $6bn, with no sign of costs not increasing even more. “Recent news that GPS OCX has blown through the latest schedule and cost estimates … casts greater urgency on the debate on space reorganization,” they said and that the delays in the two programs cast “greater urgency on the debate on space reorganization.”

“The current system is wasting billions of dollars and failing to deliver capability to the warfighter,” Cooper and Rogers said. “Our adversaries have already reorganized their space programs and are reaping the benefits. Those who continue to oppose reform need to explain to the warfighter, the American people, and their elected representatives how the status quo is acceptable.”

Rogers’ and Cooper’s argument is that the Space Corps will go a long way to address the issue of space acquisition, while the crux of Rogers’ arguments in favour of a Space Corps is that Russia and China have reorganized their military space enterprises and have caught up with the United States in many ways in the last few years, and so the U.S. must act.

Continued in Part VIII

Source: Breaking Defense / Defense Times

Knuckles tapped for SPEARHEAD's top post

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Lieutenant General Sir "Knuckles" McKenzie, KCB, CBE, DSO of the United Kingdom as Supreme Commander of SPEARHEAD, to take command in 2018.

 

The appointment will coincide with the retirement of General "Stomper" Santorno, U.S. Army who vacates the position and following Lt-Gen McKenzie's pending appointment to full general by Her Majesty Queen Elizibeth II.

Gen McKenzie brings to the position almost 40 years of international military experience, as well as command and staff experience with both UNETIDA and UNPASID. Before his current appointment as SPEARHEAD Vice Commander in 2014, as an officer with the Parachute Regiment from 1980 to 2000, he was deployed to The Falklands, Northern Ireland and The Balkans. As a colonel, he served as UNETIDA's Director of Personnel (2000-2003) and took part in Operation Telic as Executive Officer of 4 Armoured Brigade (2003-2005). As a brigadier after serving as Regional Operations Commander [Northern] for UNPASID (2005-2008) McKenzie was the Director of Military Operations at the Ministry of Defence (2008-2010). As a major general, he led the Scottish Division of the British Army (2010-2014).

Gen McKenzie is a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States) and a recipient of the Distinguished Service Order, General Service Medal (1962), Special Service Medal (United Nations), Iraq Medal, Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Accumulated Campaign Service Medal.

Gen McKenzie has a master’s degree in national security strategy from the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.  He is a graduate of the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, United Kingdom, and the Army Command College in Nanjing, China.

Gen McKenzie is married and has three children and a granddaughter. He enjoys golf and does a remarkable Sean Connery impression.

Source: UN