BREAKING NOW...Ukraine's President Zelensky will, via Zoom, address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, March 16th at 9am EST.

 

Op-ed:

Air Bursts and Blackmail

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots / Right Side Patriots Radio

As Ukraine stands strong in its defiance against Putin's Russia, certain realities seem to have escaped the public discourse so much so that certain tangibles have been ignored...tangibles that now weeks into the war must be brought to the forefront. And why...because Vladimir Putin is not the madman he's now perceived by many to be, but is a man who sees himself as the ultimate hero of the Communist Revolution...a man he hopes history will show as being the one who succeeded in returning Russia to her former glory after all others failed...failed to bring Russia's satellites back into both “Mother Russia” herself and into the lock-step in unison communist fold.

To a man like Vladimir Putin, and those who have sworn allegiance to him...or at least are pretending to...Ukraine is Russia and Russia is Ukraine. A product of communist indoctrination and harboring a deep seated need to “save Russia's face,” Russia in losing the Cold War, in Putin's mind, is something that he alone has taken upon himself to see undone. Using the old true Cold War mentality of Russia vs. the West has now become Putin's battle plan, for what the breakaway satellite states gained via the fall of the old Soviet Union he now sees as his history making Holy Grail moment...a moment where the day's of the old Russian Empire are reborn even if reborn means talk of possibly using nuclear weapons to help expand and secure Russian borders.

And while said talk is directed at NATO, and most especially at the U.S., what Putin forgets is that Russia has as much to lose as do the NATO nations if nuclear war were to break out, after all, between all the NATO nations combined they and Russia possess enough nuclear weapons that each could wipe the other out. In fact, the Ukraine city of Kharkiv is but five minutes strike time from Moscow...something that goes both ways if need be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

And though Putin might present to the world an evil and villainous must be feared face, the fact is that Vladimir Putin remains a smart and cleverly calculating man, yet he's a man so full of his narcissistic self that he thinks he can manipulate reality. Simply, Putin cannot, but he can and has succeeded in seeing the West cowering in fear of what he will or won't do next...nuclear wise that is...while we forget that Vladimir Putin also has both chemical and bio-weapons at his disposal if he deems need and circumstances be. 

But for now, remember that just a few short weeks ago Putin let it be known that a nuclear strike on Ukraine was not off the table nor was a strike against NATO if NATO dared to get involved in a fight that he said was not their own. Putin then gambled on the fact that while NATO does have a duty to come to the aid of any of its member nations, NATO isn't required to aid a non-member nation, such as Ukraine. And yet NATO made promises to help Ukraine...help them with both military and humanitarian aid...for while Ukraine is not yet an official member, Ukraine has, for many years, been a western ally. But even so there's Putin's pesky little nuclear threat still looming over NATO's head, a tactic that Putin has successfully used to keep our attention focused on him while promised military equipment (especially aircraft) is not reaching Ukrainian hands.

And still, I believe, Putin's nuclear threats are just talk...a scare tactic he's using to his advantage. And why...simply because Vladimir Putin knows well that Russia would be as much a victim of such a war as would NATO and the world's other nations as well. How so? We all know that the nuclear weapons today are not the nuclear weapons of Hiroshima's or Nagasaki's day* for today's nuclear weapons are not only hundreds of times more powerful, but have a much farther reach fallout wise than nuclear weapons of the past. Set off a nuclear bomb...or even a neutron bomb which maximizes direct radiation while minimizing other destructive effects...in or over Ukraine or anywhere in Europe for that matter, and radioactive fallout would also reach Russia in a relatively short period of time.

Here now are the two factors that most folks forget in regards to Putin's threats...the map of Europe itself and what's called the “jet stream”...the so-called “ribbon of air” that steers the weather systems over the entirety of the globe. Now look at the map below and you will see just how close key Russian cities are to Ukraine, in fact Moscow itself is but a mere 500 miles away from Ukraine's border. And while 500 miles might seem a long way away it's not when said “jet stream” comes into play, especially if Putin were to launch an “air burst” nuclear bomb. 

Let me explain. First, remember that it’s usually not the blast itself that kills the most people when a nuclear bomb is set off but the radioactive fallout that does, and said fallout can and will spread around the globe when it enters the “jet stream.” And second, while the “jet stream” is somewhat fluid, meaning it might or might not dip lower at times, the fact is that it always...yes always...flows from west to east and Russia's main cities are all east of Europe, and thus weather wise are affected by the “jet stream.” Set off an “air burst” nuke...one detonated before it hits the ground as opposed to a standard ground detonated fission bomb anywhere in Europe and you will see enhanced global fallout as the blast's radioactivity rises into the stratosphere where it's picked up by the “jet stream.” This means the ensuing fallout will be carried across Russia, including into Moscow itself, probably within but a few hours and work its way eastward over Russia from there.

And while the intensity of radioactive fallout generally does dissipate within a few days to a few weeks time after a ground detonated fission bomb has been set off, while at the same time locally producing significant fallout (depending of course on the size in kilotons of said bomb or bombs), radiation fallout from an “air burst” bomb where the telltale “fireball” never touches the ground, travels world wide on the “jet stream” and for much longer periods of time. And this fact alone allows for many more to become sick and/or die for many weeks, if not months, to come.

Simply, a ground detonated nuclear blast while more contained in scope damage wise has fallout that dissipates rather quickly, an “air burst's” fallout travels on the “jet stream” circling the globe many times over before it eventually dissipates. However, after a ground detonated fission bomb has been set off, the explosion itself forges a huge crater thus forcing tons of soil, rock, and other pulverized material into its rising cloud, with the highly radioactive materials now clinging to these heavier particles which then drop back to the ground. And while rain itself will also wash down particularly large amounts of radioactive material, helping to produce local “hot spots” of intense radioactivity at first, it's the radiation fallout from an “air burst” that is of most concern. And why...because with an “air burst's” radioactive fallout being able to travel world wide on the “jet stream” for much longer periods of time before it eventually dissipates, also comes the fact that the ground...the soil itself...would harbor longer lasting radioactive fallout as well, thus turning once populated areas into “no go zones” for decades to come.

And I guarantee that Vladimir Putin knows these facts well, so the question that needs to be asked is, is Putin's narcissistic driven quest for both personal glory and a new all-powerful Russian Empire worth his going down in history as the man who with a simple push of a button made 20th century mass murderers Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot look like mere amateurs by comparison? Or has just the threat of nuclear war made NATO so afraid that they don't see this truth hidden behind Putin's, what I still consider to be, empty nuclear threats? Only time will tell but know that time is running out, for when someone's hate consumes their very being, as does Putin's, decisions are made not by logic and clear thinking but by emotions teetering on the precipice of insanity. And this is especially true when one becomes a cornered rat with no way to escape.**

So as Vladimir Putin's rage continues unabated towards Ukraine and NATO, we in the U.S. continue to be led by a man so out maneuvered that he, I believe, has become a true danger to not only our beloved America but to the countries of the free world as well. Simply, Joe Biden in but one year has destroyed much that we as Americans hold dear.

And while pressure from both sides of the political aisle finally forced Joe Biden to ban Russian oil imports into the U.S., thus broadening sanctions already imposed on Russia, we now find his administration begging, if you will, for oil to be imported from communist Venezuela, as well as from Saudi Arabia. And word has it that Biden's even trying to secure an oil deal with Iran in exchange for our rejoining Obama's very bad nuclear deal.

So while Joe Biden tried to pat himself on the back when announcing said Russian oil ban with his words that, “The American people will deal yet another powerful blow to Putin’s war machine,” nothing is farther from the truth for what we no longer secure from Putin's Russia oil wise will now monetarily be picked up by China. And with Biden's then adding that, “Americans have rallied to support the Ukrainian people and made it clear we will not be part in subsidizing Putin’s war,” he becomes laughable at best for the past twelve days or so has seen our previous oil purchases having done just that.

And Biden's sudden Russian oil switch brings to mind the phrase, “correlation is not causation” for what we now see unfolding is Biden's fear showing through. Fear that he's been pushed into a corner as his so-called “green policies” are being forced to a sudden halt, for the fact is that America needs and demands the use of energy that's derived from fossil fuels. And while the Ukraine War and corresponding hikes in oil per barrel and at the pump might have a correlation to Biden's sudden switch, in no way is it the cause. The cause is simply his fear of what's in store for both him and his party come November's mid-term election if he didn't acquiesce to the bi-partisan call to ban Russian oil.

And in his acquiescing Biden must now face Putin's anger over his “pen to paper” being the cause of Russia's losing much needed American oil dollars. And don't think that Putin won't retaliate, he will, but it might be in ways Biden doesn't see coming. In fact, I believe, Putin has all the dirt on Biden and son's dirty dealings with Ukraine and might use that as leverage to stop Biden from getting us directly involved in the Ukraine War, keeping us out even if other NATO countries go in. Blackmail if you will, by a chess master playing against a cowardly fool who thinks that our buying foreign oil is okay, but that it's not okay to provide our own oil for our own energy needs.

Increasing our domestic oil production means we will not need to rely on foreign oil ever again, or is it that Biden wants things to get so bad here in the U.S. that people will be begging for his puppet master Barack HUSSEIN Obama's “fundamental change of America”...socialism 101...to be implemented as our country's new economic norm. It just might be.

Simply, it's time to demand that the Keystone Pipeline be reopened and that it's adjunct section be completed, while at the same time fracking continues and new oil wells are drilled, even if it's on government owned lands. Remember, a county that's energy independent controls their own destiny, a country that does not remains at the mercy of others. “Drill Baby Drill”...and Biden be damned. Yet another case closed.

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* The Hiroshima bomb, was an "air burst" detonated 550 to 610 m (1,800 to 2,000 ft) above the ground was chosen "to achieve maximum blast effects, and to minimize residual radiation on the ground" as it was hoped U.S. troops would soon occupy the city. The Nagasaki "air burst" bomb was detonated a1,650 feet at an altitude of 1,650 feet, and was later estimated at 21 kilotons, 40 percent greater than that of the Hiroshima bomb. Today's "air burst" bombs yield an average of 300 megatons. 

** Worth a read: Factbox: The chain of command for potential Russian nuclear strikes 

Copyright © 2022 / Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All rights reserved.  

*************************************************************************************                For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article, Welcome to the New, “New Normal.”

 

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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!

Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 15th from 7 to 8:30pm EST, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori will discuss 'Air Bursts and Blackmail'; 'Welcome to the New, "New Normal"; and the latest news of the day.

Hope you can tune in to RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on https://rspradio1.com. Click 'LISTEN LIVE' starting at 6:50 pm EST with the show beginning at 7pm EST.