On Monday of last week, I indicated that nothing much would happen in world affairs.  Today, I hint that the next five days will probably be more newsworthy. I was planning to feature President Trump and his success at returning to the peace discussions with Iran, but no news about this happening any time soon, so I'll spend this Memorial Day on my topics of interest.  First, I'll continue what I said yesterday about how Ukraine is devilishly now making like uncomfortable for Russia and Putin .  The U.S, has significantly reduced sending aid, but NATO has taken over.  According to Google AI: Ukraine manufactures thousands of drones daily by relying heavily on imported commercial parts (primarily from China), rapid 3D printing, and agile startup ecosystems. European NATO funding and joint ventures play a massive role in scaling this up. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ] Here is how the production and funding ecosystem works: 1. Supply Chain & Manufacturing Commercial Compone...

 First, from Time magazine: According to the biblical account in 1 Samuel 17, Goliath was a giant terrorizing Israel and King Saul’s entire army.  David, although much shorter than Goliath, refused the support of King Saul’s heavy armor. He advanced toward the taunting giant Goliath with only his shepherd's staff, a leather sling, and five smooth stones. David killed Goliath by striking him in the forehead with a stone from a sling. With Russia 28 times the size of Ukraine, but around 60% covered in uninhabitable permafrost and not remotely an economic superpower, we may be witnessing a modern remake of this biblical saga. Even more impressive is the fact that David has overcome so many obstacles to this point. Folk tales do some exaggeration, so there is no surety about the size of Goliath. The Hebrew Masoretic Text indicated 9 feet, 9 inches. The ancient Greek Septuagint and Dead Sea Scrolls showed a height of 6 feet, 9 inches. This latter figure seems reasonable. America...

My first posting on Monday said: Here it is, Monday morning, when I review what happened over the weekend and what is to come this week, and there is almost emptiness. I then went on to write about a non-news item.  Well, I was right.  Nothing much happened this week. Before going on to my topic of this Saturday, I can report that this will be the longest summer ever.  How?  What? Monday, May 25 is Memorial day, which has become the unofficial beginning of summer. Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer will come on September 7. This 105-day period is the longest summer you will ever experience in your life. Of course, if you're old enough, you saw a 105-day summer in 2015. And this happened 17 times more since 1900. Ethel Caterham from the UK is 116 years old. If she is still alive on Memorial Day, this will be her 17th longest summer.  Well, 16th until Labor Day this year. This matter of official summer length is, actually, quite complicated. The astronomical...