#Command and control systems market

[adityarana1687-blog]

Command And Control Systems Market To Reach $61.09 Billion By 2030

The global command and control systems market size is expected to reach USD 61.09 billion by 2030, expanding at a CAGR of 6.8% from 2024 to 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The growing significance of situational awareness in the military, coupled with the increasing need for security and surveillance in law enforcement activities, manufacturing industries, and utilities, is driving the market growth. Moreover, geopolitical conflicts across various parts of the world are stimulating the demand for command and control (C2) systems due to the technological competencies provided by them, thereby positively influencing the market.

Market growth is further driven by the rising demand for C2 technology in the defense and commercial sectors, owing to its ability to combine various disciplines and interconnect them to optimize operations. In the commercial sector, fixed command and control centers are used to monitor and manage vital infrastructure, industrial sites, ports, harbors, and private airports, increasing demand in this segment, and thereby favoring market expansion.

A significant rise in military budgets across various countries and the emergence of cutting-edge defense technologies are major factors expected to boost C2 systems' demand. For instance, in April 2024, the U.S. Marine Corps awarded a USD 25 million contract to BAE Systems plc in addition to the previous USD 181 million contract for Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACVs). ACV-P is the first in a range of four variants to be delivered to the Marine Corps, and its additional variants are comprised of ACV Command and Control (ACV-C), which is currently in production. Such initiatives are creating significant growth opportunities for the C2 systems market.

Growing investments in naval development worldwide, along with increasing global trade activities and the use of cargo ships in maritime trade, contribute to market growth. For instance, in November 2023, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration announced allocating more than USD 653 million to fund 41 port improvement projects across the country as part of the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).

Request a free sample copy or view report summary: Command And Control Systems Market Report

Command And Control Systems Market Report Highlights

Based on platform, the maritime segment is estimated to register the highest CAGR from 2024 to 2030 owing to increasing marine trade, the need for safety and security of shipping operations, and growing investments in naval forces across various countries

Based on solution, the hardware segment accounted for the largest revenue share in 2023 owing to rising demand for robust hardware that enhances the functionality and effectiveness of C2 systems

Based on application, the defense segment dominated the market in 2023 as several governments are aggressively pursuing defense modernization initiatives amid rising security concerns and growing armed conflicts in different parts of the world

In February 2024, Northrop Grumman demonstrated a new software that receives, displays, and shares critical situational awareness data through handheld devices without connecting to a cloud server, protecting warfighters in support of Joint All-Domain Command and Control

Command And Control Systems Market Segmentation

Grand View Research has segmented the global command and control systems market report based on platform, solution, application, and region:

C2 Systems Platform Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

Land

Maritime

Space

Airborne

C2 Systems Solution Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

Hardware

Software

Services

C2 Systems Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

Defense

Commercial

C2 Systems Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

North America

U.S.

Canada

Mexico

Europe

UK

Germany

France

Italy

Spain

Asia Pacific

China

India

Japan

South Korea

Australia

Latin America

Brazil

Middle East & Africa (MEA)

UAE

Saudi Arabia

South Africa

List of Key Players of Command And Control Systems Market

Lockheed Martin Corporation

BAE Systems

Collins Aerospace

Thales Group

Leonardo S.p.A.

Elbit Systems Ltd.

Boeing

Northrop Grumman

Saab

CACI International Inc

Barco NV

Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc.

InFocus Corporation

Activu

Panasonic Corporation

Planar

Datapath Ltd.

Extron Electronics

Matrox

Hiperwall, Inc.

Green Hippo Ltd. (tvOne)

RTX Corporation

tvONE

RGB Spectrum

Userful Corporation

VuWall Technology Inc.

[reports25]

Command And Control Systems Market was valued at US$ 45.89 Bn in 2023, and is projected to reach US$ 71.19 Bn by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 5% from 2024 to 2031.

[sexhaver]

definitely one of the most difficult moments of my professional career was when i was doing tech support for [REDACTED]'s automated biomed research lab and like. hang on lemme greentext this

>tell them i can fix this issue in half an hour with a remote support session (aka Teamviewer)

>"you want to... control our computers???? over the internet????? like some kind of HACKER???????"

>their IT submits my request to upper management and after two weeks they reluctantly allow me to get remote access to their systems

>by logging into a virtual machine using a 20-digit password and then using a specific program inside of that virtual machine

>while sharing my screen with someone from their IT team the entire time

>finally get remote access to the PC with the issue

>go to open log files to start troubleshooting

>ERROR: User does not have read permissions.

>what the fuck

>ask their IT guy why it's saying that

>"...because we don't want you looking at our stuff, duh?"

>take deep breath before calmly explaining that i need to open files in order to fix their problem

>IT guy submits my request to upper management

>after another week i go through the whole process again but can actually open the log file this time

>cool, it's exactly the issue i thought it was and i know exactly how to solve it

>open the relevant settings file, change a single number, hit Save

>ERROR: User does not have write permissions.

>what the FUCK

>ask IT guy how i'm supposed to fix their system if i can't change literally anything on it

>takes 20 minutes of arguing to get him to admit that maybe i need write access

>he submits the request to upper management

>a week goes by

>upper management denies it

>says i can just verbally tell the IT guy on the call what to type and he'll do it for me

>deep breaths. deep breaths.

>start third remote session

>go to open the relevant .log file in notepad, which isn't the default program it opens with for some reason

>they fucking disabled right clicking

>[REDACTED] has a $118 billion market cap btw

>manage to walk the IT guy through using the command line (which he had never seen before and was scared of) to edit the relevant file

>three weeks go by

>new support ticket in my inbox

>"why didn't your fix fix this completely unrelated issue?"

>they still won't give me write access

>VP of [REDACTED] yells at me in our weekly meeting for taking so long to fix a third unrelated issue they never submitted a ticket for and is also not actually an "issue" but an intended feature of our software that they don't like

>i went to college for this

[typewritingyip]

The Arcturus Missions

Part Twenty Seven - Comms System Errors

Part Twenty Six

———

Mecha were designed to resemble humans, not initially, as the original designs were much more utilitarian such as suit eleven, but as they evolved the people behind the designs were alerted to an opportunity. Merchandising.  

It was meant to make them less threatening to the public, to be seen as the protectors of the planet rather than the destroyers fighting the aliens from above. There was also the obvious benefit to the companies who marketed the mech suits in various merchandise. Not around the human pilots, but the suits themselves.

Everything from children’s toys to clothing and everything in between. These massive heroes were easy enough to market and helped the children of the world feel less frightened, at least for a time.

Now that they have to watch some of the longest running suits fall apart from their tv’s while they hide under their school desks, they may start to think otherwise. 

—

All the mecha around him were trying to recover the pieces of what had been their campsite, while he was stuck being looked over by Flatline, who wasn’t terrifying or anything, not at all. 

The flashlight inbedded in the mech’s wrist flashed straight into one of his cameras, making Sunstreaker wince and try to shield his eyes, “God,” “Apologizes.” He was so screwed, whether it was Hound shouting at him, Sideswipe worrying over him, or Breakdown talking about frightening the locals it wasn’t going to be fun to deal with this.

Bluestreak was still worrying next to him staring very intently at his broken face, or well, the shattered glass of his mech’s visor. Most of the helm of his suit was full of the sensory equipment that provided the needed output to control the mech, a shattered visor wouldn’t cause any harm unless it hit one of his cameras. 

But Sunny couldn’t really explain that given the current circumstances, everytime he tried to shut off his external microphone to comm Blue privately Flatline would ask him a question or re-direct him somehow, “Alright, look this way.” Sighing deeply, Sunny followed the direction, turning a bit, grumbling.

It was bad enough that everyone was looking at him, now he was having to go through this circus, “Honestly, I am fine. It doesn’t hurt and I can see, it’s just something I’ll have to get repaired.” Flatline tutted and Bluestreak made a strangled noise, so Sunstreaker stayed put.

Most of everyone was picking up the remains of heaters and the burst supply crates in the distance, Bluestreak was on Sunstreaker duty while Ironhide was speaking with command in the distance. 

—

“To be fair, he handled the Quintessons beautifully. It’s just that he moved into Bluestreak’s second shot.” Ironhide was rubbing his neck, frowning a bit at the screen as Optimus frowned and Megatron’s line whistled lightly from the sand storm, “Are you positive that is what he said though?” Optimus’s voice sounded worried and Ironhide sighed deeply, “Yes, I’m sure.” He glanced over his shoulder to the strange mech.

With a vent, Optimus shakes his head sadly, “We continue to find disturbing things of their kind.” Megatron grunts, “Their plating being stamped with property labels and now lack of pain receptors in key areas, no wonder all Breakdown needed was the limb reattached and some rest.” Ironhide nodded and rocked back on his peds, “Their good mecha that are taking the worst from their kind to save it, were we any different?” Optimus offered a small smile even with Megatron’s angered grunt.

Glancing back to Sunstreaker, Ironhide shakes his head a bit, “It must have been part of that testing they did to become those so called pilots.” Then Megatron broke in, “Testing? They speak of it as if it were torture that they endured for the betterment of their kind. I would not call it testing.” His tone had a bite that almost made ironhide roll his eyes, “We are not waging war for equality on their planet Megatron.” Optimus sounded stern though not entirely convincing.

”If you two are going to flirt by talking about a class war I’m ending this conversation.” Ironhide crossed his arms, scowling at the screen and listening to the long moment of silence, nodding for a moment, “Thank you. So, how’s Hound?” With a hum, Megatron rubs his comm lightly, disrupting the light whistling, “He seems fine enough, Knockout is deeply concerned but Hound claims to be able to handle the issue.” Optimus nodded slowly, before frowning, “What issue?”

Megatron winced, “Ah, right. The rust smell, it’s how we found his stamped plating.” Both Optimus and Ironhide shivered, “Wonderful, now they are smelling of rust.” Rubbing a hand down his faceplate, Ironhide shakes his head, “They reek of rust, can swim in salt water without issue, take damage from our weapons which are not supposed to harm living metal, what else?” Megatron sighs deeply, “They are also seducing our best soldiers.” Ironhide grunted.

Even with burning face plates, Optimus clears his vocalizer, “I would not call what they are doing a seduction.” Megatron chuckles, “Maybe you wouldn’t, but the results speak for themselves.” Optimus makes a weak noise and Ironhide laughs, “Yeah, Bluestreak has yet to leave Sunstreaker’s side. Though I feel those two are significantly closer to the outcome like Jazz and Prowl then Mirage and Hound are or even Knockout and Breakdown are.” Megatron scoffs, “I severely doubt that.” Ironhide smirks.

”You’re just mad that you’re losing. Smokescreen told you it was a long shot, then again you always seem to go for those.” Optimus vented deeply, “Ironhide, now is not the time.” He nodded, “Apologies Prime, I should get back to clear up and comm Skyfire again.” He stands back for a moment before disconnecting his side of the comm. 

Megatron and Optimus were left on the line, staying quiet for a moment, “I take it now could be an appropriate to flirt over a class war?” Optimus’s face burned, “Megatron, you are caught in a sand storm.” He could feel the mechs smirk, “With nothing to do but wait it out.” Shaking his helm, Optimus clears his throat, “I am 82% sure Red Alert is listening and 98% sure Soundwave is.” At which point both mechs got pings, reading the simple line of ‘Switch to personal comm line if this is to be the topic of conversation.’ And Megatron howled with laughter as Optimus’ tried to melt into the floor. 

A moment later they both switched to their personal comms. 

—

Once Flatline left him alone, though on the order to rest, Sunstreaker had disconnected from the chair and gotten on comm with Bluestreak, “I really am okay Blue. See? Not a scratch on me.” Sunny turns lightly, still wearing most of his assistance suit even as he moves over towards his cot.

Bluestreak worries his derma, watching Sunny through his internal comms, “Sunny, I could have killed you if that shot had been lower.” Sunstreaker rolls his eyes, sitting down and removing his assistance suit in pieces, “Oh please, you are the best shot I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen some pretty great soldiers. Your first shot hit the Quintesson and I moved into the second one. It happens.” He stretches, back popping painfully.

He couldn’t help but shake his head, “No, not to me and not to us. I, I didn’t know it would hurt you.” Sunstreaker sighed deeply, “It shattered the tempered glass of my mechs face shield, it’s a common broken part back home. It knocked out a camera or two, these things just happen. Glass breaks.” Reaching under his cot, he pulls out a water pouch along with some of the dried greens Jazz was trying to make, it supposedly tasted like beef jerky though Sunny was not convinced.

Still watching. Bluestreak moves over and sits next to Sunstreaker’s prone suit, taking the mech suits hand carefully, “I don’t know how you can stand it, knowing your death is so imminent.” Sunstreaker stopped, sticky greens stuck to his teeth and nearly caused him to gag.

Pulling the so-called food away from his teeth, Sunny grabbed his case from Earth to dig out a protein bar instead, “The life of a pilot is dangerous, but the integration of our gear decreases our life span by a lot. Even if I stopped being a pilot tomorrow, I’d have at most another twenty years.” He shrugged and tried to wash out his mouth, cursing, “God that’s awful.” He cleared his throat painfully.

Sighing, he looked towards his camera, trying to offer a smile, “I’d rather go out fighting tomorrow then struggling to breath twenty years from now, in some bed rotting. Believe me Blue, I’m content with how things are and everything we’re doing right now is saving lives. Knowing that is enough.” Bluestreak was on the verge of tears, optics dark to hide it.

”I wish you’d never have let your kind do these things to you, you deserve far better than this.” Sunstreaker grinned, “Nah, I don’t, but it’s nice that you think so.” He shrugs a bit and starts eating the protein bar, “So tell me about these special weapons that can’t kill your kind.” Nodding a bit, Bluestreak wipes his optics and leans back, “Well, we just found peace before this war started. We didn’t want to kill each other anymore.” Sunny smiles and listens while he eats. 

—

The sun was finally starting to rise and Hound was asleep, but so was Mirage. Features soft and protected by Hound overtop of him. To be fair, had the storm cleared up yet there would be a significant amount of visual captures for blackmail but no one could see more than a few inches in front of their optics yet.

Hound woke up in a lot of pain, body stiff and uncomfortable, lying long ways across the seat with his knees bent over the arm and back against the other arm, “God that was a mistake,” he stretched painfully before scooping up his helmet and pulling it on. Reactivating his visual feed and frowning as the sand was still blowing across his cameras. 

“Well shit.” He was stuck, holding Mirage’s head out of the sand and knew that once the sand cleared people would be looking for them. In the moment it had seemed like a good idea and now he knew that it was a compromising position no matter what species you were. Sighing slowly, his face burns, adjusting his helmet and getting plugged back into the suit. 

His visor shines bright for a moment and Mirage’s optics online, “Oh Primus,” Hound winces, “Sorry.” He adjusts his microphone and fixes his helmet before taking the controls again, shifting his weight to be on his knees instead of his elbows, the suit sinking in the sand. 

Mirage’s optics cycle a few times, staring through the blowing sand, “Ah, I didn’t mean to fall into recharge.” Hound smiles a bit, face still warm with blush, “Yeah, neither did I, but I think the storm is starting to let up.” With a hum, he knew Mirage was checking his comms, “Yes, Megatron thinks so too. Once it’s clear he wants to speak with us in command.” Nodding a bit, Hound tries to glance up and around, sand blowing everywhere.

They laid there in silence, listening to the wind howl and sand blow every which direction. As the sun rose it was finally starting to clear and the howling started to die down.

Though that’s when the sirens reached their ears and audials, Hound was looking up and around, pulled away from Mirage though keeping a hand on the mech's shoulder. It wasn’t clear enough for his cameras but clearly it was clear enough for optics around them, mecha jumping up or diving for their weapons. Mirage and Hound shared a glance before getting up, running for command.

A large ship overhead and actively scanning the landscape, moving closer and closer to New Kaon. 

—

The damn comm was still pinging on the wall but Sideswipe had gotten his suit repaired enough to climb into it and go over to answer it. 

He bite his tongue for a moment, then answered, “This is Sideswipe,” He bit the inside of his cheek, holding back the sarcastic shit he would say back home, “Sideswipe, just the mech I had been trying to comm for most of the day. Why have you not reported to my mandatory training?” 

He scratched at his face lightly, “Sorry, who is this?” The sigh was deep on the other end of the line, “Elita-One, now, unless I get word from Prowl or Optimus Prime that you are unable to show up, I expect you here five klicks ago. Am I clear?” Sideswipe stared at the comm, glanced around the apartment before smiling a bit, “Be right there.” Before he hung up. 

It took him a bit to get back out of the suit and leave a note for Breakdown, but he was back out the door soon enough. Smiling as he went, not even remotely prepared for training but desperate to leave the metal box. 

—

Command was in chaos, Megatron on comms with his commanders in the city and ordering those who could go underground to go down and those who couldn’t out of the city at the very least.

It was loud, painfully loud but Hound couldn’t turn down his audio receptors any further without seeming deaf to those around him. When the pair of them got into command, Megatron whipped around fast, “Mirage, I need you to take up defensive position six, Hound you’re with me.” Hound glanced at Mirage and watched the mech disappear in front of his eyes before looking back to Megatron, “How did they get here so fast?” Megatron shook his head, “I don’t know.”

Moving across the room, Hound goes up to the projection table and the live projection they got, their current position compared to the enemy. He stared for a long moment, “We need to get them lower if we want to stand a chance without all the seekers.” Megatron hummed, going back to his comm.

Hound worried his lip, tilting his head, watching the ship grow closer, “Fuck.” He watched for a moment longer, looking at Megatron and then outside to the rushing soldiers, “Sir, my orders?” Waving a hand lightly, “You are to remain here, they are to far and high up for you to be much help Hound,” Megatron turned back around and stopped. 

Humans would always be humans, he might have asked for his orders but it was painfully obvious what they were. It wasn’t what he was willing to accept, not after the compromises he’d made. So by the time Megatron had turned back around, he was out the door and half way across what would be the battlefield, assembling his gun with a new practiced ease. 

There wasn’t time to wait around for the right moment and Hound had faced worse odds before. Slamming into a rock formation, he crouches and adjusted his rifle, fixating the scope on it before turning.

He nearly jumped out of his skin, staring at a wide eyed Mirage. Cracking a smile, Hound chuckles, “Come here often?” Mirage smiled a bit, “Can’t say I have.” Turning back, Hound leans forward and adjusts his visual feed to look down the scope, scanning the ship, “Megatron might start yelling for me, ignore it.” Chuckling, Mirage shakes his head.

It wasn’t a ship he’d seen before, not on Earth or Cybertron, not even on any of their neighboring planets. This was something different, something larger, but he could guess why. New Kaon was a very practical jumping point to reach Cybertron just this part of space.

As well as if they took the city, it could give them needed information on how the planet’s buildings or security worked. It’s the same reason why so many costal towns on Earth had been flattened. Rather them be flat and gone then the enemy potentially learn how to reach everything else.

Hound watched, waiting with baited breath before seeing it. A puff of heated air from the ship, then fired on it. A spray of energy blasts struck that part of the ship and a loud explosion rocked it in the air. He couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief, “That’s their engine. Quints will bail before they crash.” Mirage swore loudly as they started doing just that. 

They had seen battlefields of Quintessons, it was the new normal while dealing with the Cybertronian attacks, it had become clear they were still fighting mostly scouts on Earth. Here they were fighting ones ready for combat, they honestly wasn't that different. Still simple enough to eviscerate and destroy, but there were a lot more of them to deal with. 

Dozens of them bailed from their battle bay, falling towards the surface where even if they made an impact they’d just get back up.

Taking slow deep breaths, Hound grabbed some water and what little food was close to hand, disabling part of his suit to get these down. His comm was silent for the moment, muted so that he wouldn’t have to listen to Megatron yelling at him to retreat. 

Mirage was starting to fire on the enemy, rifle booming with each trigger pull, ion rifle painfully loud. Hound leaned back against the rocks, nearly choking on the chunks of space planet and water. Not having the time to deal with them, tossing them both across his cockpit before reactivating his equipment. 

It was one breath, to disable the rifle in his arms back into a handheld blaster before he was up and over the rock formation. A few mechs were already fighting in the distance and it was time to join them. For a moment, he contemplated turning on his comm. Flicking the switch to activate it all it did was screech in his ear.

Hound couldn’t be sure if that was interference or someone’s voice, but now was not the time for distractions. Turning it back off, he connected with a single private come to Mirage, “Watch my six.” He was pushing his mech hard, body painful and skin burning, “I’ve got you Hound, handle business.” He smiled a bit, wanting to glance back for only a second before his gun was up and firing. 

Blowing off a Quintesson tentacle that tried to wrap around a mechs door wind, gun up and firing a constant stream of shots, Mirage’s own rifle booming through the comm line. 

It was really going to be a long deployment. 

———

A/N:

Happy Valentines Day everyone! Also happy birthday to my best friend, you’re fantastic.

So this chapter sorta just happened, I only started it today and just was trying to reach 3k words. Probably not my best work but it’s been a day.

Hope that you all still enjoy it non-the-less.

Tags:

@lunarlei68 @whirlywhirlygig @loop-hole-319 @pixillandjester @alek-the-witch @not-a-moose-in-disguise @goddessofwind8water @neurologicalglitch @dersereblogger @pixel-transformers @mrcrayonofdoom @wireplaces @twilightfreefaller @original-blog-name-2 @devilangel657 @robbin-u @childofprimus @miniartistme @starwold @tea-enthusiasm @valeexpris606 @celticdoggo @bird599 @agentsquirrelsgotrobots @aquaioart @thatwandercat @artdagz @seisha974 @starscreamloverfr @halenhusky309 @leethepiper @cat-cassette @blue-wrens @sirassban @cosmique-oddity @garbageenthusiast @osqindaxend @xervias @azulabutterfly @fryseem @spring-mc @echo-circuit @aghostsnail @wooblewooble @ask-glory-haddock-and-others @nonsscarpheap @magichats @iminahole247 @omgflyingderpywhale @pour1tin @thetrexartist @naaaafam @elegantmantaray @emichusai @waterlilykitty @diabolichare @ham4ponyo @osqindaxend

And once again thank you to @keferon for this amazing AU!

[liesmyth]

Do you think the Nine Houses follow a Marxist, Keynsian, or Austrians economic model

this ask made me SO happy you have no idea! some vague thoughts

The Houses obviously have to do careful resource allocation. I doubt they have a free market economy, at least not on a system-wide scale. I could see some of the Houses — like the Third or Fifth Houses, which are by all accounts wealthy and with a very large population — develop some kind of internal capitalist economy within the House itself. Namely, private actors who control and own properties, wealth accumulation, competitive markets etc. But ultimately I think even those are subject to strong (local) governmental oversight because, again, they live on space installations in a situation of constant resource constraint. I bet there are quotas for everything.

However! No way ALL the Houses have a market economy. I'm thinking especially those Houses that are very small and/or have a "mission" which means that societal development is carefully planned, and probably the economy is also centrally planned. (Ninth, Eight, Sixth, maybe Second and/or Fourth).

On an overreaching scale (within the Home System) I don't think "the Empire" (as in, John) is overly concerned with the yearly economic development of the Houses, partly because he's been historically absent for decades or even centuries at a time. Verging sharply into headcanon territory, I think the closest thing the Houses have to a real centralised government is military leadership (High Command or the Fleet Admiral, who's the head of the Second House) and when it comes to issues that concern multiple Houses but are more "civilian" in nature, is kind of a free-for-all. I'm thinking about how Harrow thought that writing to ask for help would result in the Fifth or maybe the Third cannibalising the Ninth House — it looks like there's an informal council of House leaders, but no properly organised central government.

Trade: travel and commerce between the Houses is regulated. You can't just take a spaceship and move from the Eight to the Second, for example — movement of people as well as goods depends on a ship schedule that runs on "routes" and I'd bet there's an immigration/emigration quota that's maybe decided between specific House leaders, or maybe a third party. My best bet is that one of the Houses (possibly the Third or Fifth) OR an ad-hoc organisation (which includes multiple higher-ups from said well-off Houses) are the ones who regulate shipping and travel, and either have an ownership stake in the shipping system or administrate it in the name of the Emperor.

The shepherded planets: putting the "imperialism" in "Empire". The Houses definitely exploit their colony planet for resources, as per AYU (talking about the "contracts" that the Empire signs with the occupied planets). However, it's also worth noting that 1) for at least 5000 years, the House system was self-sustaining and hadn't made contact with any other population; and 2) stele travel is kind of a hassle, and only seems to be limited to Cohort ships that we know of.

What I'm getting at is that I think the economy of the Houses is not dependent on their war of conquest — imo it's more of a mission of conquest for conquest's sake, see Corona thinking that the economy of the Houses doesn't quite add up, and Augustine talking like the ongoing expansion of the Houses is a whim of John's and little else. Basically, it seems to be a way to oppress the occupied planet for occupation's sake, and I wouldn't be surprised if the resources the Houses extract from the conquered planets go straight into financing yet more war and occupation and very little (if any) of any wealth they may accumulate makes it back to the Houses.

It COULD be that there's a necromantic equivalent of the East India Company, and my bet would be on the Second administrating it — Harrow doesn't seem to rate them at all, which tracks because Harrow's primary concern is Houses that could be a threat to the Ninth, and the Second being focused on exploitation that's external to the Home System could be an explanation for that. I've also seen speculation that making money from colonialism is the Fifth House's purview (*) but EYE think it makes more sense if the House that are more strongly associated with running the war effort are also the ones making money from it. Or it could be a joint operation.

(*) never forget the iconic tag #we regret to inform you that spreadsheets dad is maybe running the necromantic East India Company @katakaluptastrophy here)

Anyway. Sorry I haven't answered your actual question! GUN TO MY HEAD, if I had to pick ONE economic model to map the Houses onto, I wanna say soviet type economy (think: centralised planning, no inflation, little to no unemployment, tendency towards black market, little to no innovation). I have thoughts about what the consumer needs market looks like in the Houses but nobody needs to hear that. Also, it's def very limited

If anyone has thoughts PLEASE feel free to jump in, I'm always thinking about the logistical side of space imperialism in the necro empire!

[milk5]

it's worth noting that discussion of the farm bill is virtually null in leftist circles despite being a rapidly developing topic that commands an extremely large budget that is primarily and overwhelmingly SNAP funding.

repubs have total control over this narrative among rural people; there's an assumption that the urban poor are being propped up and farmers neglected -- within their own bill.

this is not the fault of the rural people; it is the result of democrat/leftist neglect to even attempt to bother discussing the mechanics of the bill. it is not reasonable to expect busy people to be fluent in a rapidly-changing 1,000 page document written in legalese all to inform 1 vote.

the short of it is that YES it DOES support the poor while simultaneously supporting small-scale farmers.

I'm sure that many people have this idea that organic/local/etc food is a stupid bougie luxury and inaccessible to the non-wealthy -- this is true to an extent in many areas, but the SNAP funding in the bill aims to help alleviate this via mediating the small-scale farmers and the poor (which are not inherently two separate classes, mind you) via the establishment of SNAP benefits to vendors like local produce stores and farmer's markets.

my local farmer's market has had such a system set up for some time now; the market staff sells tokens to customers that can be used at any vendor and subsequently cashed in as payment from the market -- SNAP support has integrated a dollar-for-dollar deal that allows customers on SNAP to get a free dollar-equivalent token for each dollar spent, essentially resulting in a 50% discount at every vendor without the vendors being negatively impacted whatsoever. this allows for VERY high-quality fresh food to be competitive with supermarket prices, but without strain to the farmer.

there should be more eyes on this, everyone deserves good food

[reality-detective]

There is going to be a BIG biblical scenario where they make out it's WW3 but really they are activating Militaries then bombing all of these Satanic Luceriferian landmarks. Enacting GESARA funds and We The People rebuild.

THE EVENT. IT IS BIBLICAL.

What are some of the Very BIG Satanic Illuminati landmarks in the world? Q showed us them. Vatican, Buckinghan Palace, Whitehouse x 2 (USA, Germany), 3GD in China. Cern on the Swiss/French Border possible.

Big Pharma in Wuhan = Israel

Israel/Khazarians controls CCP.

The Media etc

34 Satanic Buildings and Dams will Fall. Rods of God/DEW

WORLDWIDE

Planes & Trains grounded

Lights/Power switched off

Changing over to Tesla Free energy

Bitcoin Servers/Data Center hit and turned off for good.

99.5% of Crypto gone China Coins. Enter ISO20022 Coins backed by Precious Metals.

WW3 Scare Event. Nuke Sirens

Water Event

Stock Market Crash

Global Martial Law

CASTLE ROCK -Scenario Julian Assange.

Quantum Systems. Project Odin Switched on.

Nesara/Gesara/RV

Election Flipping via Military Courts - FISA

Military Tribunals/confessions/10 day movie - 3 × 8 hr sessions.

10 countries will be running EBS to cover the whole World.

Reveals.

Inauguration

The ISRAELI MOSSAD control the WORLD's MEDIA out of the US.

Attached is Q1871 outlining this.

Project Odin as mentioned by Ron CodeMonkeyz is a POWERFUL Anti-Deplatforming Tool.

Project Odin is part of Quantum Starlink. Our new Quantum Systems are to be protected by Secret Space Programs out of the Cabal's reach.

Q2337 tells you Mossad Media Assets will be removed. Think people like Alex Jones, Anderson Cooper etc and also Mossad Satellites.

Israeli intelligence - stand down.

[TERM_3720x380-293476669283001]

Media assets will be removed.

This part of 2527 tells you that something powerful is going to knock out Mossad Media Satellites. This will blackout the media worldwide, Switch us over to the Quantum Systems. This is PROJECT ODIN. All in All give the reason to Activate the Military EBS.

If you look up the TURKSAT Rocket that launched from the USA in January you will see it was specifically for MILITARY COMMS to peoples TV's & RADIO's in AFRICA, MIDDLE EAST, EUROPE & CENTRAL ASIA.

THE EVENT has many facets too it.

The WorldWide Blackout to change over to TESLA Energy. Knocking out Media Satellites, QFS, Rods of God on Dams & 34 Buildings & much much more.

34 Buildings will be in the EVENT.

They are very significant.

Ie Whitehouse, Royal Castles, Buckingham Palace, Vatican, Getty Museum, Playboy Mansion and the like.

This will surely make the Stock Market collapse as will Precision Cyber linked to Executive Orders 13818 & 13848. It is all a show.

Swapping from Rothschild's Central Bank Notes to Rainbow Treasury Notes now backed by Precious Metals (Not Oil/Wars)

Are we still comfy?

Or are we scared?

A little bit of both is normal.

Trump keeps his promises.

Have faith in the Lord Our God.

He will comfort you through the storm.

Who saw in January up to 10 countries at once have their power all turned off by the Space Force?

Just before that Israel had that happen for 30 mins too.

If they can turn 10 at once off all together. They can do the whole lot. Welcome to Tesla.

BLACKOUT NECESSARY.

Have a look at all the Global Military "Exercises" now being put in place.

Its all happening in front of you.

It's the largest GLOBAL MILITARY Operation in Planet Earths History.

Transition to Gesara/Greatness.

Now they just have to play out a fake WW3 scenario to ring sirens in every National Military Command Center.

This is to justify to the Whole Entire Planet many things that have been taking place already. The fact that Gesara Military Law has been in place. The Secret Military Tribunals, Confessions etc. The executions the lot. And like all militaries normally do they will help build new things. 🤔

[arctrooper69]

As Iron Sharpens Iron

"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17

Beta-read by @dragonrider9905

Chapter 2:

Previous // Next

Warnings: Jealousy, canon violence.

--------------------------------------------------

Why does she have to come along? You thought bitterly as the ship rattled through the atmosphere.

It was one thing for Phee to come along, but her sister was another story altogether. You had no problem with Phee. She’d proven herself to be extremely helpful when things went south; she was fun and easy to get along with.

Tara, on the other hand, though you’d only worked a job with her twice, seemed to be the opposite. She was nice enough and shared her older sister’s enthusiasm for adventure, but that was where the similarities ended. If Phee was fire, Tara was ice. The others seemed to tolerate her, and you had to admit she was good at her job. Omega enjoyed her stories as much as she did Phee's and for some reason that irked you as well.

She used to come to Hunter for everything.

Hunter and me, you thought bitterly. Lately it was all Tara and Phee who occupied her attentions.

Tara seemed to have a way with people. She’d talk someone up, laugh, and bat her eyelashes, then suddenly the datastick - and sometimes their wallet - would find itself tucked away neatly in her pocket or wherever else she could hide it. Phee spoke highly of her. According to Phee, her sister could draw the attention of a target and sweet talk them into giving her information just as easily as she could disappear entirely in a crowded market - stolen information taken without a hitch. You’d seen the former on the last mission. In just a matter of hours, a few drinks and conversation combined with a pretty dress and tasteful jewelry was all it took for the officer to let slip the location of Cid’s coveted artifact. Even Tech had seemed impressed.

“Good work,” Hunter had said to her, as she made her way back to the ship. His deep, husky voice stirred something inside you even though his words were not directed to you. You’d seen how she’d brushed up against Hunter as she passed him by on the way into the ship. Though Hunter had stepped aside and seemed to pay her no mind, you didn’t trust her as far as you could throw her.

And with how thin she is, I could probably throw her pretty far, you thought with a smirk that quickly disappeared as you looked up.

Hunter currently stood behind her in the cockpit, hand gripping the back of her chair. Her hair brushed across his fingers as he peered over her shoulder at the datapad in her lap.

The ship shuttered and dropped in altitude, ripping you from the jealous thoughts.

Tech, grappling with the failing controls, glanced over at them saying something you couldn’t quite hear over the turbulence.

Another jolt sent you stumbling into a chair, pulling you roughly back to the situation at hand. Hunter grunted at something she said and turned back to the others,

“Strap in,” he commanded, “We’re in for a rough landing.”

You could feel his eyes burning through the back of your head as you fumbled the straps, clipping yourself into place. Undoubtedly he could sense your discomfort, though you doubted he knew the true cause.

He strapped himself into the seat beside you, placing a hand on your knee.

“Relax,” he whispered, “It’s nothing we haven’t done before.”

You froze, staring at his hand on your knee, that strange but familiar warmth burned fiercely through your chest.

He snatched his hand away as though he’d been burned and you found your eyes following the motion as he placed it awkwardly in his lap. He shifted almost immediately to the other seat beside him. Towards her.

The sense of warmth you’d felt evaporated as quickly as it came, replaced with an ache that ran through your body like an icy chill and you shivered.

“The storm is interfering with the navigation systems,” Tech called out, “I am going to attempt a manual landing.”

“Oh boy…” Wrecker’s nervous grip tightened on the shoulder straps that buckled and strained to keep him in place, his fingers finding the well-worn grooves in the metal handle. “We’re gonna crash! We’re gonna crash! We’re gonna crash and die!” he shouted mostly to himself.

You were never sure if he was actually truly terrified or if it was just an involuntary reaction to the adrenaline rush that came with the threat of death.

Probably a bit of both. You found yourself grinning at him, feeling the rush through your own chest - a strange mixture of terror and euphoria that kept you on your toes, ready for anything.

A sharp drop threw you backwards into the seat sending a throbbing ache through your skull, thankfully muted by the protective restraints.

“Ow! Kriff!” Wrecker shouted as his head bounced off the wall, his seat too small to adequately protect his large frame. A loud clatter sounded through the ship, adding to the chaotic clamor of the storm outside.

“No!” cried Tara as the datapad flew from her grasp, sliding across the floor. She reached for her seatbelt.

“Leave it!” Hunter snapped, his hand immediately sliding down to his own safety latch.

Tara shook her head, “We need that information!” She glared over at the fallen datapad with an unyielding determination as she unlatched her straps and staggered to her feet.

“Don’t! It’s not worth anything to us if you’re dead!” shouted Phee as she too reached for her seatbelt, prepared to retrieve her sister. Tara stumbled against the wall as the ship shuttered, sending the datapad further away. She growled in frustration.

“Everybody stay where you are!” Echo’s voice carried over the cacophony of mechanical failure and falling debris, projecting an air of gravity perfected only by an ARC trooper’s experienced command. Phee removed her hand reluctantly from the latch, teeth on edge as she watched her sister stumble to her knees, fingers barely brushing the edge of the datapad before it violently slid away once more. Tara dove after it.

“Almost got it!”

“Tara look out!” Omega shrieked as Gonky came screaming down the short passageway. In a flash, Hunter was out of his seat, tackling Tara to the ground, curling protectively over her as Gonky smashed into the bulkhead where she had been leaning only seconds before.

The ship spun again and Hunter braced himself against a console, grabbing hold of Tara’s arm, dragging her upwards. The datapad slid over and she reached down, snagging it quickly.

“Got it!” She shouted triumphantly, apparently unphased by the fact that she was nearly killed.

Hunter grabbed the datapad from her hand and tossed it to you with a practiced ease as he turned and latched Tara back into her seat.

You gripped the device tightly, watching intently as anger sparked in Hunter’s eyes.

“Don’t ever do that again!” He sank back into his seat and you averted your gaze, staring blankly towards the cockpit where Tech was slowly regaining control of the ship.

“We’re coming in too fast, Tech!” Hunter warned.

“Then I suggest you brace yourselves!” Tech snapped back, brow furrowed in concentration as he pulled the controls with all his might.

“Pull up! Pull up!” shouted Wrecker.

“I. Am. Trying!” Tech grit his teeth.

With one last tug on the yoke, the ship collided with the ground in a wet clatter of fallen tree branches and mud, skidding forward before coming to a roaring halt, just barely missing the edge of a sheer cliff.

Wrecker let out a sigh of relief as he got to his feet, lifting Omega to the ground. You followed Echo as he lowered the ramp and jogged out into the muddy terrain to survey the damage.

He whistled, hand resting on his hip while his scomp arm leaned against the side of the ship. He chuckled, shaking his head as he eyed the mere inches of ground between the end of the ship and the edge of the cliff.

“Cutting it close this time, Tech.”

Hunter grinned, clapping him on the shoulder, “He always does.”

Tech followed him down the ramp, adjusting his goggles, “We survived, did we not?”

“Barely,” muttered Wrecker as he surveyed the cliff and backed up several feet causing Omega to laugh.

“See? I told you we’d be fine, Wrecker.”

Phee’s eyebrows shot up as she joined them on the edge. “Woah! I knew you were good, Brown-Eyes, but this is somethin’ else. Nice landing!”

Tech looked up at her, smiling slightly before turning to glare at his brothers. “At least someone here appreciates the amount of precision and skill it takes to achieve a landing like this.”

Tara was the last off the ship. You handed her the datapad and she cleared her throat,

“Alright, guys. We’ve got a bit of a ways to go, so we should get moving.”

Echo nodded in agreement as Wrecker picked up his pack.

You blinked, not making any move to grab your own pack. Who died and made you squad leader?

Her knack for seizing control of the situation irked you and you found yourself almost unconsciously spinning around to face her.

“Actually, it’s Hunter who gives the orders here, not you.” The words were out before you could even think to stop them. Tara looked surprised. Wrecker froze, pack hanging limply from one shoulder, eyes moving between you, Tara and the rest of the squad. Echo raised an eyebrow. The awkward pause lasted only milliseconds, but to you it felt like an eternity before Hunter stepped in with a sigh, raising a disarming hand. Something indiscernible flashed through his eyes as he looked at you briefly before taking control of the situation.

“Tara’s right…”

The rest of his words were lost to you as a blazing humiliation burned through your chest, mixing strangely with that cold feeling you’d had before.

He took her side. Though you knew Tara was right, it still hurt. No matter how hard you tried to reason with yourself, no amount of logic could relieve the feeling of betrayal. AND I just made a huge fool of myself. Great job….

Wrecker elbowed you, shaking you from your thoughts. Your eyes snapped up and Hunter looked at you expectantly.

“Did you hear anything I just said?”

Kriff. “Y-Yeah!” you stuttered.

He didn’t look convinced but he continued on, addressing the whole team. “Alright then. Let’s get moving.”

Slinging your pack over your shoulder, you began to follow but a nudge from Echo stopped you. He shook his head, looking you over with evident concern written on his face.

“Did you not hear Hunter? You’re with Tech and I. We’ve got to get the ship repaired and primed for a quick takeoff.”

“Right,” you could feel your face warm with embarrassment once more, “Yeah. Guess we should get working then.”

“Yeah.”

Your hands reached for tools, fingers removing and replacing wires, working in a numbing mindlessness on repairs you’d done a thousand times over.

Of course Hunter took her side, idiot! You scolded yourself. She was right. You were wrong.

Tara had her mind on the mission. You had your mind somewhere else, overthinking stupid, impossible scenarios. And yet, you found yourself thinking back to the chaos over and over again - seeing Hunter throw himself protectively over Tara, seeing Hunter’s hand on her arm, hearing his words to her in that deep, authoritative tone: “Don’t ever do that again!”

They were the same words he’d spoken to you just two days ago. The same day you’d seen Hunter in the closet with Tara pressed up against him. The worst part was that you weren’t even sure they were aware that you saw.

So now everyone thinks I’m just crazy. How could I have misread everything so badly!? Was I just seeing what I wanted to see when he had me in his arms?

Though you could’ve sworn that the look in his eyes held something special, it was obvious, now more than ever, that you had clearly misjudged.

--------------------------------------------------

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If you want to be on my taglist, feel free to send me a message! Also, asks are open! Reblogging is very much encouraged and it makes me do a happy dance every time any of my writing gets reblogged 😂❤️

[lunalit-river]

Cultural difference [or, ME puzzled again] when I think of the term "Manipulate" when I read L's personality traits on DN wiki

I think this is a continuation of my notes on cultural differences when interpreting DN

Manipulation. (had to make this bigger)

Until recently, in our society, we only just started to understand what the hell PUA and gaslighting even are. But I suppose these concepts were much more familiar in the Western world? At least, I never once considered L manipulative. In fact—what does manipulation really mean?

When it comes to manipulation in the english meaning to us, it has this scienter meaning (in simple terms: you’re doing something wrong, and you know it, but you still do it on purpose). What comes to mind is market manipulation. But when you translate into 操縱 in Mandarin Chinese, 操作（そうさ）in Japanese, it doesn't accurated describe what the westerners are referring to.

Let’s look at some dictionary definitions. In Mandarin:

操縱:

To drive, to control (a vehicle or machine)

To command or direct → e.g., 「侯能操縱有法，賦辦而民不驚，其賢三也。」 (My crappy translation: “The Marquis commands methodically, assigns duties, and the people are not alarmed—that is his third virtue.”)

It’s a neutral term. It doesn’t imply toxicity.

And it’s similar in Japanese: 操作（そうさ） means operating a machine, a vehicle, or managing data, organizations, or systems. It’s strategic, yes, but not emotional.

They both convey the same message:

It is not typically used to describe emotional manipulation (e.g. gaslighting, PUA, coercion, guilt-tripping).

It doesn’t inherently imply malice, emotional abuse, or sociopathic cunning.

You wouldn’t use it to describe someone playing with another person’s feelings or trust.

In fact, “Manipulation” (操作, Sōsa) is the sixth chapter of the Death Note manga, mostly centered around Light. In Death Note 13: How to Read, Tsugumi Ohba says the chapter name "Manipulation" refers to Light’s experiments on Death Note victims. It’s much more like puppet-play. Once the victims’ names are written down, they lose self-consciousness. They become puppets, with strings controlled by Light. So here, manipulation clearly means control.

Now—when it comes to the image of a detective, it’s totally normal for them to be cunning. (Otherwise, how would they outsmart criminals?) This ties into a broader cultural ideology of “If you’re the best, you can do anything” (as I mentioned in my previous post). And yes—because he’s a man, it’s more accepted. The smartest and most powerful male being cunning? Society often calls that ambition.

Does L control and command? Yes, he is the lead investigator. He is cunning and he lies, which is acceptable (when we think of an image of a detective) and because he's the best, he's a male (yeah this does make a difference) We even think that a male play by fair means or foul to accomplish a goal is a sign of ambition (of course in modern days it depends on what circumstance, but if it's in business or profession, still acceptable) the term manipulation in Mandarin Chinese is almost Justified.

Let’s go back to examples of L being “manipulative” (I literally asked ChatGPT for help on this because I didn’t know where to even start looking).

The Fake L Broadcast (Episode 1 / Chapter 2) He used a death row inmate to bait Light into revealing something. Was it control? Not quite—Light still had his mind. It felt more like a basic trap, a little trick.

Placing Bugs in the Yagami Household (Episodes 3–4 / Chapters 6–9) Totally normal investigator behavior. Illegal surveillance, but no emotional manipulation.

The University Entrance Exam & Tennis Match L said, “I am L,” just to observe Light’s reaction. They were mind-gaming each other, but no psychological control.

Using Misa Amane’s Confinement & Light’s Confinement Again—illegal confinement, yes. But no emotional strings being pulled.

The rest...no.

Now, what kind of behavior does fall into the modern definition of manipulation (the emotional control type)? Yes—Light's actions. (And I’m not saying this just because I’m an L fan. Or maybe I am. Never mind, I’m just rambling—don’t take me too seriously.)

Light’s manipulation is distinct:

He tricks Naomi Misora into giving up her real name.

He makes Misa do things by pretending to love her.

But does L manipulate the task force emotionally? No.

He has authority, yes—but he doesn’t force anyone to stay on the case. (Aizawa left. They tested everyone before revealing L’s identity.) He may push Matsuda to fetch coffee and run errands, but he’s never emotionally coercive. Everyone is free to leave. He even stops Aizawa from going out when Ukita dies. He feels loss. (Okay, now we’re getting back to L as a human.)

Let’s stop here and look at the bigger picture.

In modern terms like PUA and gaslighting, manipulation is about emotional control. But we’ve only recently become aware of this. Why? Because in our society, it’s normal to subtly make people do things without saying it directly.

Under our layers of politeness, we hint, we nudge, we expect others to “read the air” (空気を読む). This is true in Japanese too. We pressure others in silence. It happens in families, schools, workplaces—everywhere. It’s cultural. It’s the norm.

The West also has passive aggression and hints, of course. But they’ve talked about manipulation as a power issue much earlier. In a society where equality is a value, the power balance is watched more carefully.

Meanwhile, in many Asian countries, the hierarchy is still deeply embedded:

Parents > children

Teachers > students

Bosses > employees

Government > citizens

This imbalance is still normal. It’s expected. (And that's why our court decisions are making an effort in breaking such hierarchy)

Compare the timelines:

The U.S. Declaration of Independence, stating "All men are created equal"? 1776.

The French Revolution? 1789, with “Liberté, égalité, fraternité” already in place.

Now let’s look East:

In the 18th century, China was under the Qing Dynasty—absolute monarchy at its peak.

Japan? Still in the Edo period. Hierarchies everywhere. No equality. Toyotomi Hideyoshi banned Western preaching. Later, the Edo government banned more Western influence. So no Western ideology got in.

Japan borrowed ideology from China. And what was China exporting? Confucianism.

Confucianism is built on hierarchy and control. The emperor is elite and rules because of it. And the tool to control people isn’t law—it’s ethics.

I lost my train of thought again.

I guess my point is: I’m poisoned by East Asian Confucian ideology. And maybe that’s why I get culture shock when I see Westerners label L as “manipulative” in a negative sense. In a society that values strategy and hierarchy, L looks like a clever commander—not an emotional puppeteer. In Japanese, L is ずる賢い (cunning, smart in a sly way). But 操作 in an emotionally control meaning which is translated directly from the term "Manipulate" is not a term that would typically describe his actions.

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #54 – The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman

I try to read a piece of somewhat respectable nonfiction every month or so, which means I’m always vaguely on the lookout for titles that seem interesting and which aren’t either inspiration porn or just some random New Yorker’s collection of personal essays. I first heard of Design in an editorial in a local paper, which described it as a ‘seminal read’ – the basic conceit and title both seemed interesting so I through it on the list and, however many months later, finally got around to read with it. It was interesting, but altogether a more dense and technical read than I was at all prepared for when I picked it up.

The book is about what it says on the tin – looking at the processes and practices of industrial design and how it can be best applied to create useful, pleasurable tools. It is very much written for an assumed audience of at least interested amateurs or casual practitioners, with lots of specific practical tips and guidelines for the working designer to apply to their own projects. For the same reason it isn’t at all shy about the jargon or business-school models and charts.

Design, from the book’s perspective, covers an extremely broad field – everything from the physical structure of a tool to the systems and procedures that should be followed for its safe operation to the aesthetics and layout that give the most enjoyable and frictionless user experience handling it. The book considers its principles equally applicable to designing physical products and bureaucratic systems, and is mostly even convincing as it says so. That said, it absolutely assume that whatever is being designed is being designed by a large, multi-team project with budgets and stakeholders, and designed for sale on the private market, both of which do shape the advice given quite clearly (the entire final part of the book is about ‘designing in the real world’ and about these exact conditions).

The prose is written with the precise tone and cadence of an above-average but not great professor giving a long, rambling lecture that illustrates every single point with a tangential personal anecdote – though my mind may only jump to that comparison because that’s basically what this is in book form. It is not, being honest, ever exactly gripping or a page-turner; this was probably the book whose reading felt most like homework of any I’ve opened so far these year. Something not at all helped by the fact that the field of industrial design does the same thing as every other slice of academia and redefines a bunch of very common nouns to be very precise and occasionally very counterintuitive terms of art (though in fairness the book could have been much worse about this).

That aside, I did find the jargon mostly helpful, in terms of clarifying and separating out concepts. The distinction between capabilities (what a given device can be used for) and signifiers (the implicit or explicit ways a device presents itself to be used) is useful and pretty easy to keep in my head, for example.

The initial chapters of the book are primarily about the theory and best practices of designing specific, physical things – for example, how it represents a shameful failure for a door to ever require a sign or instructions on how it should be opened. This was probably the roughest part for me to get through, just because I felt like I should be taking quizzes or filling out worksheets to make sure I remembered everything correctly as I went – the sections get dense. It was fascinating reading to bludgeon through though, if only as a collection of the most practical insights yet provided by the study of human psychology. None of the best practices and recommendations given – never require the user to input more than a few commands without feedback or guidance, map the layout of controls to correspond to the physical ordering of the things they control, mechanical commands should feel like they have some sort of intuitive relationship to their effect, that sort of thing – exactly blew my mind, but it was helpful to see them laid out. Also interesting how much a lot of them contrast so strongly with the minimalist, ‘clean’ aesthetic which actually governs the design of so much these days.

The sections on mistakes and accidents were probably the most interesting and compelling in their own right. Maybe because I found the examples more intuitive, or maybe just because industrial accidents and airline disasters are more attention-grabbing examples than confusing and inefficient light switch layouts. In any case, the typology of mistakes versus errors (basically: whether you are trying to do the wrong thing, or trying to do the right thing and just failing in execution) and their subcategories seem genuinely quite useful, as do the various meditations on how to make both types less common.

This is also the section that has stuck with me in the most detail, if probably just because it seems like it might have some direct relevance to day-to-day life. Most especially the idea that focusing on how to assign fault or blame is the most useless possible thing to do when trying to investigate an accident – it only makes everyone motivated to hide any involvement they might have had, and lets you stop thinking about it as soon as you decide who is responsible without ever digging into the actual causes of the mistake. ‘Human error’ is, in Norman’s view, a mirage – if people are making dangerous or expensive mistakes at any appreciable rate, then that is axiomatically a failure of the systems which should be supporting and guiding them.

The fact that airline disasters are drastically overrepresented in the case studies used because the investigative infrastructure for them is uncommonly (almost bizarrely, really) well-designed and diligently maintained in the US is also just a fun bit of a trivia.

The third part of the book is about the actual process of designing something in a large organization. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this is mostly about bureaucratic politics and navigating frictions between, say, the design and marketing teams – the offered distinction that design is about making things that are useful and good whereas marketing’s input on the process is ensuring it is something that people will be willing to buy is pithy and memorable, if perhaps one that people on the marketing team might not be entirely happy with. This, along with terms like ‘the double-diamond design process’ and the oft-repeated saying that ‘the day a project starts it’s behind schedule and under budget’, and the gratuitous use of Japanese, all left me with the uncanny feeling of walking into an MBA seminar.

This is in fact an extremely famous and successful book – I know, because this is a heavily revised second edition, and the new material never missed a chance to say so. Having come out in 2013, the updated material – overwhelmingly about software UX, the internet, and smartphone design, because of course it is – is already somewhat charmingly outdated. The additions did include a long and very interesting section on changing standards, standardization, and when it is or isn’t worth the massive disruption involved (including a fascinating if probably not entirely trustworthy digression into the history of the QWERTY keyboard), so on the whole I’m happy I got this edition rather than the original from the ‘80s.

Overall, not a book I’m likely to open again anytime soon unless I end up making a dramatic change of careers, but interesting enough that I don’t regret reading it.

[fearfulfertility]

CONFIDENTIAL PROGRESS REPORT

DRC, Insemination Operations Command, Mobile Operations Unit

Date: [REDACTED]

To: Minister [REDACTED], Ministry of State Security

From: Administrator [REDACTED], Mobile Operations Unit

Subject: Cost of Conscripting Youth in Rural Communities

[REDACTED] (Arkansas, FEMA Zone 6) is an outlier for a small rural community with a population of [REDACTED] and a long history in the lumber industry. Of particular note, [REDACTED]% of the 18-25-year-old population has tested positive for high fertility markers and subsequently been conscripted as surrogates. The DRC Planning & Evaluation Office has been monitoring the situation as a case study of the economic impact of forced surrogacy conscription.

Mobile Paternity Units (MPU)

The newly deployed Mobile Paternity Units (MPUs) accelerate conscription rates by conducting field-based surrogate insemination protocols. The MPUs are fully equipped mobile hubs designed to identify, secure, and inseminate fertile surrogates in regions lacking the infrastructure or security to establish permanent paternity compounds.

Currently there are [REDACTED] MPUs in commission, operating in circular routes- - - - -

[SYSTEM RESPONSE]

[AUTHENTICATION PROTOCOL ENGAGED]

[SECURITY LEVEL]: [HIGH]

[USER IDENTIFICATION]: [Executive Level-01A]

[CREDENTIAL AUTHENTICATION IN PROGRESS...]

[ENTER PASSWORD]: [***************]

[PROCESSING INPUT...]

[VALIDATING PASSWORD...]

[█░░░░░░░░░░░░] 10% [███░░░░░░░░░░] 30% [███████░░░░░░] 60% [███████████░░] 90% [█████████████] 100%

[PASSWORD ACCEPTED]

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MPU Background Context

The rural disruption program continues to be a success thanks to the deployment of the MPUs, which have been incredibly effective at deliberate societal destabilization.

As mentioned in last quarter's deployment report, in addition to the direct impact of mass insemination, MPUs employ covert biochemical measures to destabilize social order further. By introducing a cocktail of hormones and aphrodisiacs into the water supply, the MPUs incite heightened states of lust, confusion, and distraction among the population.

Among surrogates, this amplifies the effects of prenatal nymphomania, who, driven by uncontrollable desires, contribute to a pervasive atmosphere of hedonism and chaos. It also magnifies the feelings, thoughts, attractions, and behaviors of the non-surrogate members of the community, who participate in the physical activities with almost primal intensity.

The relentless pursuit of physical gratification prevents the community from focusing on its deteriorating condition, eroding familial bonds, productivity, and any sense of collective purpose. The combination of mass pregnancy, chemical manipulation, and social disarray leaves these towns paralyzed while serving the DRC’s objectives of surrogate acquisition and societal control.

By the time the vast majority of surrogates give birth and the MPUs return to collect the resultant offspring, the workforce is effectively crippled and vulnerable to collapse. Their ability to organize, resist, or rebel against external control diminishes, dependent on external support, unable to mount any meaningful opposition.

The cumulative consequences are both immediate and long-term, unraveling the town’s economic stability, social cohesion, and cultural identity.

I. Labor Market Collapse

As their pregnancies advance, these surrogates are unable to contribute meaningfully to the workforce. Compounding this crisis, the introduction of aphrodisiacs to the water supply inflames the atmosphere of widespread indulgence and physical fixation, leaving critical sectors paralyzed:

Agriculture: Fields go untended as the remaining workforce is too distracted or physically compromised to perform essential tasks.

Retail & Services: Shops and local businesses experience severe staff shortages, with employees increasingly abandoning their posts in favor of personal distractions. Productivity is reduced, and many businesses shut permanently.

Construction & Infrastructure: Public services (water supply, power, policing) are abandoned as skilled laborers become unavailable or uninterested.

This mass disengagement leads to a cascading failure across the economy. The distraction and incapacitation ensures that productivity never recovers.

“It’s like everything just… fell apart overnight. Most of the boys are now carrying these enormous pregnancies, some with 10, 12, or even 16 babies. They’re so big they can barely move, let alone work. My nephew is bedridden, his stomach so swollen and stretched it looks like he’ll burst. Businesses are shutting down left and right. The diner is now it’s closed because the staff is too preoccupied, too exhausted or too pregnant to keep things running.” - Victor Hayes, Charlevoix, Michigan, FEMA Zone 5

II. Population & Social Erosion

The breakdown of social order is exacerbated by prenatal nymphomania. This heightened state of physical fixation pervades the community, undermining traditional values and civic responsibilities:

Educational Decline: Schools lose both students and teachers as attendance drops. Classrooms empty out, and extracurricular programs vanish as the youth prioritize physical distractions over learning and participation.

Community Disintegration: Social events, youth programs, and local traditions deteriorate. The focus shifts away from community-building activities as families experience fragmentation and isolation as personal indulgence takes precedence over collective well-being.

The resulting social decay ensures that the community’s structure collapses from within, leaving it vulnerable and dependent.

“It’s like the entire town has lost its mind. My little brother is one of the surrogates. He’s just 19, and carrying 14 babies. He can barely move now, his belly is so massive and tight with those babies. And it’s not just him — every boy his age is the same. The weirdest part is they used to fight this, but now they seem so into it. And the rest of us? It’s like we’re all under a spell. Nobody wants to work, go to school, or even talk about what’s happening. Everyone’s just chasing some kind of high, day in and day out. There’s no sense of responsibility, no one to keep things running.” - Collin Tanner, Owensboro, Kentucky, FEMA Zone 4

III. Economic Ripple Effects

The economic consequences of the MPU deployment extend beyond immediate labor shortages. As the population becomes consumed by the chemically-inflamed environment, traditional economic functions disintegrate:

Real Estate Market Collapse: The prospect of family life and economic stability vanishes. Young adults are physically incapacitated or disinterested in establishing households or familial units.

Healthcare Strain: The need for prenatal care among the surrogates overwhelms local clinics. Meanwhile, rising cases of substance abuse and physical exhaustion further strain the system. Access to local healthcare diminishes, and locals become dependent on DRC resources.

This economic freefall ensures that recovery becomes unattainable, plunging towns into long-term decline.

“I’m 21, and I’m carrying 15 babies right now. My belly is so huge and heavy, I can barely get out through the front door. I used to work at the hardware store, and I was saving up to get my own place. But that dream’s gone now. Everyone my age is pregnant or taking care of someone who is. I’m too big and too tired to care. We’re all trapped in these enormous pregnancies, and there’s no help coming.” - S???-994-O, Andersonville, Georgia, FEMA Zone 4

IV. Collapse of Social Norms

These combinations contribute to a disintegration of social and familial distinctions, fostering an environment where traditional lines of propriety become increasingly obscured:

Dissolution of Familial Roles: As surrogates’ pregnancies advance and the community’s pervasive fixation on physical indulgence, interactions begin to appear that defy established familial roles. Young surrogates, often confined to their homes due to the extreme size of their pregnancies become focal points of attention in ways that undermine traditional respect and relational boundaries.

Loss of Interpersonal Distinctions: The community’s collective fixation results in behaviors and dynamics that would otherwise be constrained by societal norms. Familiarity within and outside households devolves into ambiguous interactions influenced by heightened compulsions.

The cumulative effect of these blurred boundaries ensures traditional norms are rendered obsolete, leaving the community adrift in a state of chaotic permissiveness.

“It’s hard to explain how things got this way. My cousin is one of the surrogates. He’s only 19, and his belly is just… massive... swollen beyond anything you’d think possible. He’s carrying 14 babies, and the sheer size of it, how tight and stretched his skin is... There’s something about seeing him like that — so heavy, so full — that just draws you in. Now, when I see my cousin leaning back against the couch, his huge belly dominating his frame, moaning as the babies kick and move inside him, I can’t stop myself from feeling drawn in. His body his so full and stretched... it’s mesmerizing.” - Derek Knight, Fulton, Illinois, FEMA Zone 5

V. Long-Term Consequences

The deployment of MPUs and the ensuing mass insemination drive the town into an inescapable cycle of decline:

Economic Decay: With the majority of the workforce incapacitated, businesses fail, infrastructure deteriorates, and investment ceases. The community becomes a “ghost town,” marked by derelict buildings and economic stagnation.

Dependency on External Aid: As self-sufficiency erodes, the town becomes reliant on DRC support. Demoralization set in, deepening the dependency cycle.

Loss of Cultural Identity: Traditions and community legacies fade as the surrogates’ incapacitation prevents participation in cultural life, collective heritage disintegrates into chaotic, aimless distraction.

“It’s like everything that held us together just fell apart. Both my brothers were turned into two swollen balls of babies by the end. Everyone their age was knocked up, fattened, and taken. The whole town looks like it’s been abandoned, a bunch of ghostly reminders of what used to be. We barely survive on government aid, but even that feels like a band-aid on a wound too big to heal. The town feels hollow.” - Jackson Bender, Northampton, Massachusetts, FEMA Zone 1

Conclusion

The deployment of MPUs and the ensuing biochemical manipulation devastate rural communities. The combined impact of enforced surrogacy, incapacitation, and chemically-induced distraction ensures that these towns collapse economically, socially, and culturally.

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[ablogtocheck]

This is such a good article, full of praise for George!!

Translation below (Heads up: I used deepl and didn't double check it)

George Russell's gala performance

Why does Mercedes need Verstappen?

GP Bahrain 2025

George Russell finished on the podium for the third time in the fourth race. The Mercedes driver's second place was a masterstroke in an almost total electronic blackout. Does Mercedes still need Max Verstappen?

George Russell is the best player for Red Bull. If the 27-year-old Englishman continues to drive races like the Bahrain Grand Prix, Mercedes will increasingly ask themselves whether they need Max Verstappen at all, should he be on the market. And Red Bull would have a better chance of keeping its star driver.

Russell got the best possible result from his Silver Arrow in each of the first four Grand Prix of the year. Three of them were podium finishes. Second place in Bahrain was the crowning glory of a flawless season so far. Just the fact that he blasted the two McLaren cars on a track where the Papaya racers seemed unbeatable is worthy of an honour.

But the final stint turned into a horror drive for Russell. Lando Norris in the rear-view mirror, the soft tyres at the end of their service life, and electronics that were gradually giving way. Modern Formula 1 cars cannot be driven without digital support. If the systems log off, then the driver has to be controlled remotely from the command centre.

But the final stint turned into a horror drive for Russell. Lando Norris in the rear-view mirror, the soft tyres at the end of their service life and electronics that were gradually giving up the ghost. Modern Formula 1 cars cannot be driven without digital support. If the systems log off, then the command centre has to control the driver remotely.

Russell activates DRS for 37 metres

It started with difficulties in the timekeeping system. Several drivers could no longer be located due to missing transponder signals. George Russell was the worst case. The Mercedes driver still appeared in the results, but there was a black hole where his lap and split times should have been.

The team could no longer track his driver on the time monitor. At the same time, the functions on Russell's steering wheel screen were logging off one after the other. As a result, he had no information about his own lap times and the gaps to his rivals.

The automated DRS activation also failed. The FIA then allowed the driver to operate the DRS mechanism manually. As other systems failed at the same time, the most important functions were reprogrammed to a backup button. The team instructed Russell to use the auxiliary button from then on, which was used for DRS activation as well as radio communication.

On the back straight, Russell tried to speak to his race engineer on the radio but unknowingly activated the DRS, which was controlled by the same button. He immediately realised the mistake and closed the rear wing again.

According to FIA protocol, it was open for over 37 metres, which gave Russell an advantage of 0.02 seconds. However, he voluntarily lifted the accelerator pedal before the next corner and thus gave away another 0.28 seconds. As a result, he escaped a penalty.

Failure of the brake-by-wire system

The worst part, however, was the failure of the brake-by-wire system twelve laps before the end. This regulates the brake force distribution between the normal brake system and the engine brake. "The brake-by-wire was sometimes there, sometimes gone, the pedal sometimes long, sometimes short.

I never knew when I could rely on it and when I couldn't. It was particularly difficult between turns 9 and 10. In between, I also had to constantly reset the individual functions."Because the brake-by-wire was on the verge of total failure, the engineers advised Russell to switch to the passive BBW system.

This deactivated the engine brake, but at least the driver could now rely on the brake balance again. Even if it was completely different from the first part of the race.

The second driver was spared the worst part of the race: the total failure of the display. ‘Then it really would have been a drive into the dark,’ explained chief strategist Rosie Wait. ‘George wouldn't even have had the LEDs to show him when to change gear.’ Russell added: ‘All the settings on the steering wheel would have been frozen at the level I last activated until the end of the race.’

What exactly caused the blackout could not be determined shortly after the race. Team boss Toto Wolff suspected some kind of bug in the wiring harness.

With old soft tyres against Norris

In addition to all the problems, the soft tyres were at their limit with a remaining distance of 25 laps. Russell got them over the distance with his fingertips. He showed that he can do this at Spa last year. At the same time, Lando Norris tried several times to snatch second place from Russell. In an intact McLaren with the more durable medium rubber.

However, the fourth-placed driver in the world championship fought off all attacks ice-cold. However, he admitted: ‘One more lap and Lando would have got past me without any problems.’ Wolff spoke of a ‘mega race’ by his team captain. "George saved us the podium. The fact that he lost virtually no time despite all the problems he had to manage was an extraordinary achievement."

It is slowly dawning on everyone at Mercedes that a Russell is perhaps just as good as a Verstappen. And even cheaper.

[mariacallous]

South Sudan has once again returned to the brink of war, the United Nations warned on March 24. The country had made international headlines earlier in March after members of an ethnic militia attacked a U.N. helicopter in Nasir, a town rocked by fighting between the South Sudanese national army and a local rebel militia called the White Army. The U.N. peacekeeping mission was trying to evacuate a government army general and his soldiers when members of the White Army—largely from the Nuer ethnic group—shot at them, killing 28 people, including a U.N. crew member.

The South Sudanese government, headed by President Salva Kiir, blamed the attack on Juba’s main opposition party, led by Vice President Riek Machar, and arrested its leadership—including Machar himself—either detaining them or placing them under house arrest.

The event put a spotlight on South Sudan’s worsening interethnic tensions as well as the fragility of the 2018 peace agreement that mapped out a system of shared governance between Kiir’s government—which is largely aligned with the Dinka, the largest ethnic minority in a country of more than 60 ethnic groups—and Machar’s opposition group, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In Opposition (SPLA-IO), the leadership of which largely hails from the Nuer community, the country’s second-largest ethnic minority.

But make no mistake: War never stopped in South Sudan, and the peace agreement was already under threat. Though the recent fighting flared up in the country’s oil-rich Upper Nile region, government military troops have also geared up their attacks on the SPLA-IO in other regions.

In January, displaced people fleeing the state of Western Equatoria reported that government forces had attacked opposition troops there. A month later, they targeted the governor of the SPLA-IO-held state, forcing him into hiding. In February, locals also accused government forces of attacking opposition troops in Bahr el-Ghazal. Kiir’s government has also arrested opposition figures in recent months and been accused of supporting the targeting of non-Dinka communities in both states—violating the power-sharing terms of the peace agreement and leading to renewed fears of broader ethnic violence.

Most recently, in the lead-up to the March 7 U.N. helicopter incident in Nasir—when the White Army killed the Dinka general and U.N. worker, among others—government troops attacked local Nuer market-goers and injured a U.N. peacekeeper in the same town.

The Nuer militia has had a complicated relationship with Machar, who has previously asserted control over the group to boost his profile. Though the White Army was initially founded as a community defense militia, it has offered crucial support to Machar’s SPLA-IO opposition force. Back in 2014, the SPLA-IO leadership even admitted to the New York Times that the Nuer militia had provided up to 80 percent of its troops in the Upper Nile State.

However, since then, the SPLA-IO has ended up with much less control and command over the White Army as it pursued its own agenda of revenge against the Dinka state troops, some of whom killed thousands of Nuer in a massacre in the capital city of Juba in 2013. Meanwhile, Machar’s waning political influence has only diminished his already limited ability to offer the militia crucial resources, such as weapons, ammunition, and coordination with other troops.

Machar’s popularity within the opposition has also declined since 2018 over the lack of implementation of the peace agreement’s security arrangements, which has triggered desertions by SPLA-IO soldiers. Some senior officers have also defected to Kiir’s government over Machar’s choices of political appointees.

Yet with repeated violations of the peace agreement primarily driven by the government, the eventual attack by the White Army on the U.N. helicopter has become a political gift for Kiir. Despite the White Army issuing a statement denying its affiliation to Machar, Kiir and the army have capitalized on Machar’s past claims of control over the White Army to attack him and other opposition members in Juba—in turn blaming them for the collapse of the peace agreement.

Machar’s arrest on March 27 now amounts to his de facto removal from his position as vice president—the ultimate violation of the peace agreement.

The government had already started bombarding the White Army’s strongholds in the Upper Nile region in February. Following the recent flare-ups, the president also dismissed the governor of the state in mid-March. But the situation in Nasir is just one of the factors driving Kiir’s escalation policy.

The regime in Juba is increasingly unstable—threatening the president’s grip on power and prompting attempts to restore control. Kiir’s health has reportedly worsened since 2022, limiting his public appearances. In October, he dismissed his own intelligence chief and competitor, Akol Koor; placed him under house arrest; and replaced Koor with one of his loyalists in a bid to reassert control over Koor’s former agency—the National Security Services, arguably the best equipped and best funded armed force in South Sudan.

This wasn’t the first time that Kiir has sacked a rising competitor he felt threatened by—he dismissed Army Chief Paul Malong, seemingly for the same reasons, in May 2017.

In a major shake-up in February, Kiir also fired James Wani Igga, the second vice president and the secretary-general of his party, the Sudan’s People Liberation Movement—replacing him with Benjamin Bol Mel, a businessman who is also Kiir’s son-in-law.

Bol Mel, who is sanctioned by the U.S. government over allegations of corruption, has been accused of benefitting from government contracts worth tens of millions of dollars. Kiir’s overt promotion of Bol Mel, considered a relatively junior figure also created further political instability by angering many across the army, the National Security Services, and the governing Sudan’s People Liberation Movement, according to a source in the area who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retribution.

Meanwhile, the government only recently paid its public servants, including soldiers, after they had gone without paychecks for more than a year. Following the recent spate of fighting in Nasir, some government soldiers have refused deployment to Upper Nile to fight the White Army, and some have even publicized the decision on social media. Many are deserting their posts.

With conflict raging in neighboring Sudan, the South Sudan’s poverty rate has risen to an estimated 92 percent due to the disruption in oil production, which makes up more than 90 percent of the country’s national revenue.

The people of South Sudan are under no illusion. They know that the peace deal is effectively dead and that there will be no elections as scheduled in 2026. They are increasingly worried about new waves of ethnic killings across the country. The source on the ground, who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, reports that at border points, Nuer men have been prevented from leaving the country, and that government soldiers near recently bombed SPLA-IO cantonment sites have started targeting civilians from non-Dinka ethnic groups that they associate with the opposition.

Increased instability has compelled Kiir to resort to Ugandan troops once again. From late 2013 to early 2014, Kiir had relied on the Ugandan People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) to stop the opposition from descending on Juba and ousting his regime. In July 2016, the UPDF officially evacuated Ugandan citizens from South Sudan but also continued to bolster Kiir’s regime after he orchestrated fighting with SPLA-IO troops in Juba.

Uganda views South Sudan as its backyard and Kiir as its protégé. UPDF chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, boasted in a since-deleted post on X about launching Operation “Mlinzi wa Kimya” (or “the silent protector” in Swahili) in South Sudan. (A separate post, in which Kainerugaba referred to Kiir as Museveni’s “younger brother,” remains up.)

Critics have also accused Kainerugaba of making posts that have incited further ethnic violence in South Sudan. Netherlands-based radio station Radio Tamazuj reported that on March 22, amid UPDF-supported government bombardments on Nasir and its civilian population, Kainerugaba posted on X: “I’m tired of killing Nuer. Tell your leader Riek Machar to kneel before ‘Our’ President H.E. Salva Kiir.” (The posts have since been deleted.)

The regional context only emboldens Kiir, who has used his country’s oil wealth to play both sides of Sudan’s war, a strategy shared by Museveni. South Sudan relies on Sudanese pipelines to export its crude oil from Port Sudan, which is controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces . The Sudanese Armed Forces partly depend on South Sudan’s oil transit fees to fight their rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF). However, South Sudan’s oil is mortgaged to the RSF’s main backer, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), further complicating the situation.

South Sudan has also let the UAE, the country’s largest lender, build a hospital at the border of Sudan that is rumored to be treating RSF soldiers. The government has denied such allegations. But reports recently emerged that the South Sudanese government may have used the RSF to arrest SPLA-IO members in northern Upper Nile and target White Army men fleeing to Sudan. The wars in Sudan and South Sudan are now fully enmeshed.

The UPDF’s deployment since early March and its active participation to the war, bombarding Nasir along government military forces and reportedly using chemical weapons, only escalates South Sudan’s war into a regional conflict.

Kiir has most likely factored in the United States’ laissez-faire approach in his decisions. Back in December 2013, during the Juba massacre of thousands of ethnic Nuer civilians by largely Dinka state troops made up of several security organs, Canadian and American diplomats had played a critical role in saving some dual nationals by putting them on planes that evacuated them from Juba’s airport.

However, the South Sudanese government has recently ramped up its pressure on the United Nations to withdraw its presence from the vicinity of Juba’s airport and move to the far outskirts of the city—preventing the U.N. mission from witnessing as many of the state troops’ actions in the city. This could seriously curb its ability to offer lifesaving refuge to civilians fleeing government killings and debilitate other diplomatic missions’ operations as well.

Meanwhile, foreign governments, including those of Norway and Germany, have closed their embassies in Juba over fears of renewed civil war, and the United States has ordered all its nonessential staff to evacuate the country.

The arrests of prominent Nuer politicians, meanwhile, have reportedly accelerated and have even extended to their relatives in recent weeks.

After openly declaring its intention to dissolve the SPLA-IO and unify it with the government forces, on March 24, the government bombarded an SPLA-IO cantonment site just 18 miles west of Juba, in Wunliet. It reportedly repeated the exercise on Rajab, a training base for SPLA-IO located to the south of Juba, two days later.

In the meantime, Machar published a letter calling on the international community to stop Uganda’s military presence in South Sudan, arguing that it violates the 2018 peace agreement, likely leading to his recent arrest on accusations of attempting to stir rebellion.

History never exactly repeats itself. But there are currently no restraints on the government of South Sudan from returning to a full-blown war, and from targeting civilians based on their ethnicity—both in Juba and beyond.

[justforbooks]

House of Huawei by Eva Dou

A fascinating insight into a Chinese telecoms giant and its detractors

Huawei is not exactly a household name. If you’ve heard of it, you either follow the smartphone market closely – it is the main China-based manufacturer of high-end phones – or else consume a lot of news, because the company is at the centre of an ongoing US-China trade war.

But this enormous business is one of the world’s biggest producers of behind-the-scenes equipment that enables fibre broadband, 4G and 5G phone networks. Its hardware is inside communications systems across the world.

That has prompted alarm from US lawmakers of both parties, who accuse Huawei of acting as an agent for China’s government and using its technology for espionage. The company insists it merely complies with the local laws wherever it operates, just like its US rivals. Nevertheless, its equipment has been ripped out of infrastructure in the UK at the behest of the government, its execs and staffers have been arrested across the world, and it has been pilloried for its involvement in China’s oppression of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.

Into this murky world of allegation and counter-allegation comes the veteran telecoms reporter Eva Dou. Her book chronicles the history of Huawei since its inception, as well as the lives of founder Ren Zhengfei and his family, starting with the dramatic 2019 arrest of his daughter Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer, at the behest of US authorities.

Dou’s command of her subject is indisputable and her book is meticulous and determinedly even-handed. House of Huawei reveals much, but never speculates or grandstands – leaving that to the politicians of all stripes for whom hyperbole about Huawei comes more easily.

At its core, this book is the history of a large, successful business. That doesn’t mean it’s boring, though: there’s the story of efforts to haul 5G equipment above Everest base camp in order to broadcast the Beijing Olympics torch relay. We hear about the early efforts of Ren and his team, working around the clock in stiflingly hot offices, to make analogue telephone network switches capable of routing up to 10,000 calls; and gain insights into the near-impossible political dance a company must perform in order to operate worldwide without falling foul of the changing desires of China’s ruling Communist party.

Dou makes us better equipped to consider questions including: is this a regular company, or an extension of the Chinese state? How safe should other countries feel about using Huawei equipment? Is China’s exploitation of its technology sector really that different to the way the US authorities exploited Google, Facebook and others, as revealed by Edward Snowden?

Early in Huawei’s history, Ren appeared to give the game away in remarks to the then general secretary of the Communist party. “A country without its own program-controlled switches is like one without an army,” he argued, making the case for why the authorities should support his company’s growth. “Its software must be held in the hands of the Chinese government.”

But for each damning event, there is another that introduces doubt. The book reveals an arrangement from when Huawei operated in the UK that gave GCHQ unprecedented access to its source code and operations centre. US intelligence agencies seemed as able to exploit Huawei equipment for surveillance purposes as China’s. While Huawei’s equipment was certainly used to monitor Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, it was hardware from the US company Cisco that made China’s so-called Great Firewall possible.

Anyone hoping for definitive answers will not find them here, but the journey is far from wasted. The intricate reporting of Huawei, in all its ambiguity and complexity, sheds much light on the murky nature of modern geopolitics. The people who shout loudest about Huawei don’t know more than anyone else about it. Eva Dou does.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?