Ovi magazine; Monday November 8th, 2021

 

The articles, the opinions, the stories, the poems and the cartoons Ovi magazine covers for Monday November 8th, 2021

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Hypersonic Panic and Competitive Terror by Dr. Binoy Kampmark

During his eventful time in office, US President Donald Trump took much delight in reflecting about the lethal toys of his country’s military, actual or hypothetical. These included a hypersonic capability which, his military advisors had warned, was being mastered by adversaries. Such devices, comprising hypersonic cruise missiles and hypersonic boost-glide vehicles, have been touted as opening a new arms race, given their ability not merely to travel at five times the speed of sound – as a general rule – but also show deft manoeuvrability to evade defences.

Undeterred by any rival capability, Trump claimed in May 2020 that the US military had come up with a “super duper” weapon that could travel at 17 times the speed of sound. “We are building, right now, incredible military equipment at a level that nobody has ever seen before.” Ever adolescent in poking fun at his rivals, Trump also claimed that the missile dwarfed Russian and Chinese equivalents. Russia, he claimed, had one travelling at five times the speed of sound; China was working on a device that could move at the same speed, if not at six times. Pentagon officials were not exactly forthcoming about the details, leaving the fantasists to speculate.

Continue reading HERE!

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Wasted my whole life (V 3) #poem #Art #Installation by Amir Khatib

“I hate the clock and can’t stand hearing its ticking.
 I disable it
 Or eviscerate her…
 With this I lost my life!
 I searched for it between my fingers,
 Under my nails soot of ink,
 in bookshelves,
 prevalent words and verbs,
 In the chaos of lines and colors,
 In my pockets full of keys,”

Continue reading HERE!

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Gravitas, Grudges, Grit #ShortStory #Fiction By Ian C Smith

“Alone in the dark hours of morning I computer-track my son’s progress in the Kona Ironman, a thin blue line edging across a screen.  Checking emails, I learn my nephew will drive me later to his boyhood rural hospital.  His aged mother, my only sister, is gravely ill.  A long-legged champion schoolgirl hurdler once, she doesn’t know her Ironman nephew, two generations younger than her in years, doesn’t know much anymore, her ghosts of memory adrift.”

Continue reading HERE!

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A fistful of cactus 21#10 #cartoon by Thanos Kalamidas

For more A fistful of cactus, HERE!

For more Ovi Cartoons, HERE!

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North Korea tests missiles

North Korea has fired three short-range ship-to-ship missiles off its west coast as part of a military training exercise, reports from South Korea say.

A government source was quoted as saying missiles with a range of nearly 50km (30 miles) were fired into the sea west of the North's capital, Pyongyang. The North conducted a similar launch in March in what was seen as a snub to the US and the South's new government.

What remains is to see when the …Americans will test their missiles on the North Koreans!

Nuclear inventory?

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has ordered a full inventory of US nuclear arms after parts of ballistic missiles were mistakenly sent to Taiwan.
He said a report, that would also include checks of related materials, should be completed within 60 days. The US sent nuclear fuse triggers to Taiwan instead of helicopter batteries in 2006. The mistake was only discovered last week.

The arms issue is sensitive as China regards Taiwan as a renegade province. Beijing vehemently opposes US arms sales to Taiwan and has threatened to attack the island if it declares independence.

Right, things like this make me worry, inventory? You mean you re not exactly sure what you have in your storage? Man, we are talking about nuclear, you know …boom …the end!

US reassures Russia on ...cold war

The US goverment has offered Russia assurances over parts of a missile shield it wants to deploy in Europe, the Russian foreign minister has said. In an interview, Sergei Lavrov said the US had agreed to allow Moscow to monitor the missile protection system.

Why do I get the feeling that we are all the way back to the cold war? When I was young I remember doing special exersises at school for the day missiles would fallen upon us and the solutions was ...cover under your desk!!!

However these comments came after high level bilateral discussions in Moscow.Russia has opposed US plans to establish missile defence installations in two central European countries.These currently include some interceptor missiles in Poland and an associated radar facility in the Czech Republic.The US says these are needed to counter a potential threat from Iran, though Moscow fears they could be used against Russia.