the cars in Iowa

 

 

Comrades,

Once you let the nuclear genie out of the bottle, that's it. There is no putting it back in. It's on the loose, and if yr not very very careful, it has a tendency to get right away from you. Like every anti-nuclear activist from way back, I was simply horrified by the nuclear submarine deal that gives the unsuspecting world AUKUS, and fundamentally changes geo-politics. The French, of course, were blindsided and mightily indignant about being ratfucked by the Australians, and who could blame them? So many acres of old growth forest have been felled for commentary on the atomic submarine switcheroo, I won't subject you to more. Suffice to say, Le Kid President Macron is up for re-election in six months time, and will probably win with the weight of incumbency, so of course he's quite right the French have been outrageously insulted, and Gallic Pride is something that is not to be messed with, oh no siree. They have very long memories, too, and Emmanuel will take great pleasure in cocking his not inconsiderable snoot at ScoMo for evermore. You can also read all about how former Defence Minister David Johnston said back in 2014 "I wouldn't trust the Australian Submarine Corp to build a canoe", and draw yr own conclusions. You can thumb your way through endless reports on the Collins class sub being a slow, noisy dog of a boat if you want, back to the years when we had less than one of the six Collins' in seaworthy order at any one time, let alone finding a crew. And, among the general public, nobody gave a shit then, just as they don't now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fprYfInkErg

DJ Albo was as flummoxed by this one as anyone and had to look up the Labor Party platform to get a handle on it (which is, most unfortunately, just go with the flow). PJ Keating - who well remembers the days of the Three Mines Policy - was spot on - we give up our sovereignty for a very expensive, dubious defence asset that we then have the privilege of paying for, and what with variations and what not the final chit will be well north of $100B. Kevin07 just called it unnecessary "chest-thumping". The Greens "floating Chernobyl's" analogy didn't fly (do yr research: every nuclear reactor built since 1986 has been designed to make another Chernobyl impossible - it was a once off that can never be repeated that way again), but that said, you wouldn't be too certain that the average punter in Sydney would be all that thrilled to find nuclear reactors floating around on the Harbour in some grim dystopian future. Surely Lucas Heights is enough to supply nuclear medicine? Of course these ships that our Great & Glorious Leader has signed up for are not nuclear armed, but come on, are we are buying silent long-range  weapons platforms to just launch conventional shooters? If so, just what are they good for then? The Poms run nuclear subs for the sole purpose of delivering The Bomb. There is no other way they can drop The Big One - and their submersibles can carry up to 36 nuclear tipped warheads. Now, that's what you call clout.

None of the above really bothers me, except for the nuclear bit. Back in the day, we would've taken to the streets en masse in 'waddawe want? No nukes! Whenawe wanit? Now!" protest marches, but the anti-nuclear movement in Australia - such as it survives - has barely raised a whisper or whimper of discontent. Never mind that there is no enthusiasm for the Ban the Bomb folks anymore despite the Maralinga debacle and howling shitfight that went on what seems like eons ago now, the Yoof of Today (i.e. anyone under 60) never experienced their parents having a genuine fear of The Bomb. One split atom is one too many for mine, but no-one gives a shit about that anymore, and that's what shits me to tears about the whole damned brouhaha. The righteous outrage seems to have gone away, replaced by fascists, neo nazi's and stark raving lunatics masquerading as builder's labourers. Learning from the past so you can clearly see the thin edge of the wedge seems to have gone right out of fashion.

But you can just imagine the cars in Iowa bouncing along nicely and being furiously tumbled end-over-end on the crest of the shock wave and ending up with a dent in every panel - what a ride! Ma, Pa and the kiddo are doing the right thing with their backs to the blast, but they all have that "we're seriously fucked here" look on their faces. As you would: