Journalism in Action: Holding Blinken Accountable on Gaza

A powerful confrontation between journalists and Secretary Blinken reveals the urgent need for accountability in U.S. foreign policy, particularly regarding the situation in Gaza. The episode highlights how challenging narratives can shift discussions and emphasizes the importance of journalistic integrity in the face of state power.

• Blumenthal directly questions Blinken about the U.S. role in the Gaza conflict
• Husseini highlights the importance of journalist accountability
• Insights into the impact of U.S. aid on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• Discussion of the complexity surrounding the potential ceasefire in Gaza
• Reactions to the shifting political narratives in Washington
• The role of media in shaping public perception and policy decisions

Another incipient program doomed to failure, cost ballooning, massive incompetence and buyer’s remorse. The program should be stopped immediately and every flag officer currently serving fired, the Department of the Navy SES structure gutted and cashiered and blow the lid off all the mismanagement and classified hiding schemes of the Navy Operational Test and Evaluation bureaucracy that has been a keen contributor to the absolute failure of all ships built since 1991 with the last successful hull commissioned in the Aegis. The time for creative destruction and absolute disruption of business as usual has to happen.

Stop the madness.

Fire them all.

In a lot of areas, we need a “Program Stand Down.” We cannot afford to be stupid, again, with DDG(X), nor with F/A-XX.

Whatever is making these programs move at the speed of smell needs to be gutted and gibbeted. For 75 years, the Brightest People in the Room™ have been telling us naval guns were obsolete, but in every real world encounter with our messy and unpredictable world, we have needed them.

We no longer live in the post-Cold War land of the Lotus Eaters. Urgency and action. Embrace the good-enough, and publicly damn the pursuit of the perfect and transformational, as that narcissistic folly is what got us in to this mess.

Oh, and put a damn 5” Mark 45 on the front and at least one 76mm like the Italian warship Caio Duilio has two forward, aft.

https://cdrsalamander.substack.com/p/so-were-going-to-screw-up-ddgx-too

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Email me at cgpodcast@pm.me

Ukraine’s Future on the Frontlines: Mike Waltz to Send Ukraine’s Youth to Slaughterhouse

Will Mike Waltz’s Ukraine Strategy LEAD TO DISASTER?

In this episode of The Kyle Anzalone Show, Kyle dives into the shocking remarks made by Congressman Mike Waltz, calling for Ukraine’s youth to step into the frontlines of the ongoing war. Kyle breaks down the implications of Waltz’s controversial stance, examining the human cost of feeding young lives into the so-called “meat grinder” of war. With hard-hitting analysis, he explores the broader geopolitical ramifications, the toll on Ukraine’s future, and the moral questions surrounding the use of young men as pawns in a brutal conflict. Tune in for an unflinching discussion on the realities of war and the reckless political rhetoric fueling the crisis.

Kyle also turns his attention to Israel’s escalating war in Gaza, shedding light on the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the region. He critiques the White House’s push for expedited approval of weapons sales, delving into the courageous resignation of former State Department official Josh Paul, who stepped down in protest of U.S. policy last year.

Lastly, a viral clip from Prof. Jeffrey Sachs was posted by President Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform. Sachs and Judge Napolitano, on his Judging Freedom Podcast, discussed it further. We take a brief look at their conversation and unpack the key points.

Join Kyle for an unflinching analysis of the reckless political decisions shaping global conflicts and their dire consequences for human lives.

Fact is more hilarious than fiction now.

USS Repulse and USS Prince of Wales would be more appropriate names for these missile sponges and future fish apartments.

The sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse by Japanese naval aviation was a naval engagement in World War II, as part of the war in the Pacific, that took place on 10 December 1941 in the South China Sea off the east coast of the British colonies of Malaya (present-day Malaysia) and the Straits Settlements (present-day Singapore and its coastal towns).

In his last week in office, President Joe Biden on Monday named the Navy’s next unnamed future Ford-class aircraft carriers President William J. Clinton. The super carrier that will follow it will be named after George W. Bush. However, it will be years, even under the current plans, before either ship is delivered to the Navy.

Stop building these things.

https://www.twz.com/sea/new-aircraft-carrier-to-be-named-after-bill-clinton

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Navigation is fundamental.

Every ship in the USN should do this yearly.

Advanced, hand-computed celestial navigation is a full-time job. It required both of us to be on (or near) the bridge for approximately 18 hours a day, especially during the morning and evening star fixes. Performing sight reduction by hand required approximately three to four hours per day. Navigators who aspire to conduct a similar voyage may use STELLA to avoid cumbersome hand computations.

The surface warfare junior officers and quartermasters loved this evolution. No longer able to stare at the VMS screen, they were liberated from the temptation to make micro course adjustments to keep the ship perfectly on the electronic track line. Not only did this save fuel, but it also gave the watch officers and quartermasters the freedom to enjoy being what they called “real sailors” as they toiled over a paper plot.

Patience and foresight are required. When a ship configured with GPS and VMS makes a course or speed change, there is immediate feedback. However, with these systems no longer in play, navigation teams must rely on past solutions to predict future success. For example, after plotting an evening star fix and obtaining the ship’s position, we calculated set and drift, noted how far left or right of track the ship was, then chose a course to correct our position in relation to track while compensating for observed set and drift. We were unable to obtain feedback on our decision until after our morning star fix—typically 12 hours later. Since the length of time between observations is so long, solutions must be minor and meticulously considered. For example, using the radian rule, steering 1 degree off base course for 12 hours at a speed of 16 knots results in nearly 3.5 nm left or right of track (565 yards per hour).

Most navigators and senior QMs have the training to complete a similar voyage. Any Surface Navigator/Assistant Navigator Course or QM A School graduate can perform celestial navigation using only STELLA, paper charts, and plotting sheets. However, while being trained in the competencies of the craft, many navigators and quartermasters do not practice celestial navigation regularly in the fleet. Despite the fact that since 2015 the NavDORM requires that each ship conduct a celestial navigation Day’s Work in Navigation (DWIN) daily, Mr. O’Donnell has asked more than 1,000 Surface Navigator/Assistant Navigator students if they had done one and fewer than half said they had, with most admitting that celestial navigation is the first part of their jobs they sacrifice to fulfill their administrative duties. Despite the Chief of Naval Operations’ emphasis on celestial navigation, a culture of using celestial navigation daily has yet to be embraced again in the surface fleet.

https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2025/january/ships-must-practice-celestial-navigation

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