NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) will shut 21 branches of First Republic Bank by the end of the year as it integrates the failed lender into its operations, a JPMorgan spokesperson said on Thursday./n https://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-jpmorgan-close-21-first-133159881.html

John Fisher, it turns out, has made numerous negative comments against Blacks while growing up. His high school and college friends will attest to this. And further has used the word “nigger” on more fingers and toes you can count. If he takes a polygraph and clears, maybe that is some exoneration. But outside of that, you are dealing with a Racist silver spoon white supremacist who hates Blacks. As people already know, his companies of the Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic also make it a point to use labor from third world countries to pay them 30 cents per hour. It is a documented part of his companies’ business plans to leverage human capital to create the biggest profit margins for him and his family. A simple review of his companies’ financials spell this out. In effect, this guy is bad news. It is amazing MLB and it’s owners coddle him. It should make people think and wonder about other owners and what they deem acceptable. Finally, look at, adjusted for cost of living, what he and his companies and A’s have NOT done for the Black community and communities he and his companies have exploited over the years. The press really should look at this and just realize the disparate impact of what he has not provided - even compared to Charlie O. Finley who, despite what Steve McCatty once said, actually has a heart for minorities and underserved of the East Bay. Oakland. BlackLivesMatter. BLM. Baseball.

Table of Contents

1. Russo-China rejects Biden
2. ZNPP as potential Chernobyl
3. Biden's Ukraine is desperate enough for scorched-earth tactics
   1. Battle of the Bulge at Bakhmut
   2. Fresh meat
   3. Teixeira leaks
   4. BRICS vs NATO
4. ZNPP's weak point is diesel fuel
5. Ukrainian saboteurs caught by ZNPP
6. BB / Red Skull / Inb4source / Q
   1. BB sent Q
   2. BB warns Zaporizhia is pivotal
   3. RS gives ZNPP sabotage warning
   4. Ukraine HVT: Nuclear tit for tat
   5. Inb4source / Red Skull 4chan posting history

Note: links redacted. See bottom for link to original.

Summary

Ukraine has allegedly sabotaged Zaporizhia to melt down like Chernobyl, to stop the Russian invasion and justify NATO peacekeepers.
Here's Biden's plan to avoid another Kabul:

• NATO operators sabotaged the ZNPP backup diesel generator fuel storage, causing it to leak.
• NATO is targeting diesel fuel shipments. See captured Ukro saboteurs with NLAWs.
• When diesel reaches zero, Ukros will shell the lone power line, breaking it for the 8th time.
• Up to 6x Chernobyl meltdown ensues. Territory Russia captured is ruined.
• NATO establishes "no-fly zone" and sends "peacekeepers".

Russo-China rejects Biden

"Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to fuck things up." – Barack Obama
Clearly we underestimated him. Americans can hardly believe that Biden blew up Nord Stream 2, essentially attacking our colony "ally" Germany. Perhaps they're still reeling from Kabul falling faster than Hanoi.
Normally Russia endeavors to cooperate with the sitting US president. However, Russian state media has begun airing the Hunter Biden laptop images, of Hunter engaged in drugs and pedophilia with preteen girls. This is retaliation for Biden crossing Russia's red line by repeatedly trying to sabotage Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). That's why Russia is willing to assist in the impeachment of a sitting US president, which is obviously an extreme step to take between two countries with enough nukes to blot out the Sun.
Rumor has it that China has also turned on Biden, which would make sense: China's economic backing allows Russia to survive US sanctions. China wants Taiwan, and Russia wants East Ukraine. They would be stupid not to cooperate.

• SHOWTIME FORMOSA; SMART MONEY IS SELLING TAIWAN EDITION pol BB May 17
• China Calls Biden a Fake President and Lloyd Austin a Fake Defense Secretary Michael Baxter May 30
• China declines US request for a meeting between defense chiefs Reuters May 30
• Xi Jinping tells China’s national security chiefs to prepare for ‘worst case’ scenarios CNN June 1

ZNPP as potential Chernobyl

A Redditor explains:

Kawaii-Gopnik Russia really needs that powerplant without any leak, to provide industry of surrounding regions with energy, but very few people understand contexts of the current situation: Soviets built complicated and very well ballanced energy system, including not only NPP, but also cascade of hydro power plants. Donetsk, Dnepr, Zaporozhe and Kharkov regions are just one big power hungry plant. NPP itself is reliant on hydropower and quality of water in Dnepr river. In case of really bad "accident" Russia will forget about development of the newly accuired regions, lack of energy produced by NPP is significant, nearly 30-40%. Accident will affect south of Ukraine with russian majority. It will also be also disaster for ecology of the WHOLE Black Sea. Rose of winds will spread nuclear dust to the West - Poland, Romania, Czechia and further. Nuclear zone will stop russian army from further territorial expansion. This will be border formed by Dnepr and nuclear zones.

The basic facts are documented by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Even while shut down, ZNPP needs external power grid or diesel to prevent its reactors from overheating.
Russia controls ZNPP. A nuclear "accident" would give NATO pretext to intervene, so Ukraine keeps trying to cause one.
How bad is this? Well, Chernobyl is in Ukraine. That was a 1k MW reactor. ZNPP has six. It is the 9th largest NPP in the world.
Hopefully the containment response would be much better than Chernobyl's, but that's hardly something to count on during WW3. Russia's nuclear doctrine includes pre-emptive strikes; who knows what they'd do. The USSR nearly launched twice during the Cold War.
Imagine if China assisted Texas in seceding from the USA to rejoin Mexico, and then caused a reactor meltdown at Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant when the USA retook it. A lot of Southerners would want to lob a few nukes back at China. They might demand it.
It is foolish to assume WW3 will not happen because it hasn't happened yet. One should look instead at the historical record of continual warfare, and the difficulties in preventing WW3 so far:

• List of nuclear close calls Wikipedia
• WW3: Historical close calls Wikipedia

Thus one cannot rule out a radiation release 6x as bad as Chernobyl. Not that Ukraine needs anything so dramatic. It merely seeks a pretext to justify direct NATO intervention to "protect" ZNPP. A small leak will suffice.
Even if there is a major radiation leak, it will occur in Russian-annexed separatist territory, and help Ukraine defend her new border. Scorched earth is a valid tactic, whether the fire is conventional or nuclear. Ukraine survived Chernobyl and knows it can survive ZNPP too.

Biden's Ukraine is desperate enough for scorched-earth tactics

Battle of the Bulge at Bakhmut

"We have been working on the counter-offensive with Ukraine for 4-5 months." – Victoria Nuland
Why is Ukraine so desperate?
Ukraine depends on NATO aid to fight Russia. NATO aid depends on Democrat willingness. Democrat willingness depends on US public support. Therefore the illusion must be maintained to the American public that Ukraine is winning. For this reason, Ukraine has committed its reserves to a costly failed counter-offensive. Bakhmut fell regardless.
James A. Donald summarizes the strategic picture:

So, bright new plan. "The Greatest Ukrainian Offensive". The Ukraine would build up a big reserve of fresh troops, then suddenly hurl large chunks of them at particular points on the front. They would, the Americans planned, cut through a point in the front lines, penetrate to Russian rear areas, wreak havoc on those areas, and force Russian troops in danger of being encircled to hastily retreat from territory that had been slowly gained at enormous cost in grinding attritive warfare. I do not know how big the Ukrainian strategic reserve was, but if it was two hundred fifty thousand, they have now committed most of them to grinding attritive warfare, and cupboard is looking as bare of men as it is of artillery and rockets.

The USA expected to break Russia economically; China's economic support prevented that. Despite PMC Wagner's heartfelt complaints, Russia is unlikely to run out of convicts anytime soon. Russia is rotating divisions through Ukraine, seasoning reservists for a looming WW3. Russia's historical appetite for losses is much higher than its current losses. This is essentially a civil war, and the Russia bear considers being carved up an existential threat. By underestimating Russia's resolve, NATO is repeating the error of Napoleon and Hitler.
Despite having plenty of weapons, Ukraine's military manpower is exhausted and demoralized. Raw conscripts are thrown at the front lines with minimal training. Medvedev predicts that the Ukraine will cease to exist; half its people have already fled.

Anonymous Sat 27 May 2023 04:59:49 No.428438077 Report 428437208 Yeah, the killing has been excessive since they pretty much destroyed 95% of Azov fags and assorted true believers in the first 200k dead, now they overshot it by 100%. About 12% of the non-Russian speaking population's prime military aged men in Ukraine are dead or crippled. 12-20% of the same demographic has fled the country. It's over, desu. They are seeing much more of the polish and romanian mercs now, since they literally lack the manpower.

Western mass media wrongly assumes that Russia is losing because it does not take the entirety of Ukraine in a blitz, as the USA did to Iraq. However, Russia does not want West Ukraine; the people there do not like Russians. Russia has captured the territory it wants, and is now using the rest of Ukraine as a kettle or cauldron, in which to conveniently destroy whatever NATO wishes to send. This is a good way for Russia to gradually learn how to fight NATO armies in a low-risk environment.
The Spartans had a rule never to war too often against the same enemy, lest they train up a nemesis. It was foolish of NATO to believe that Russia had forgotten the lessons of attrition warfare that it learned so recently in Afghanistan.

Nehming Names 9h Russia's prudent caution in directly engaging the West is bringing dividends in perhaps unexpected ways. Russia is gaining strategic knowledge of the actual capabilities and weaknesses of our weapon systems and military tactics, with our supply of munitions draining to militarily unsustainable levels, as it engages allied forces in Ukraine. Russia is aware of the continuing progress of the Great Awakening in the West, that is, the knowledge that Western governments, military, and institutions are run by an elite hostile to their heritage populations, and therefore expects to see declining support of Western governments by their citizens. Russia can also see the precipitous decrease in every societal metric in the West: social cohesiveness, general morality, public health, financial stability, military readiness, etc.With these three degradative processes in play, the most strategic thing Russia and China can do is to bide their time, as time itself will act to sap the strength of the West to militarily engage their foes.

Fresh meat

Russian conquest of Kiev would air Biden's dirty laundry to the world, from Burisma kickbacks to pedophilic field trips and worse. This would result in US "regime change". A distant Chernobyl is a small price to pay, for top Democrats to avoid the hangman's noose.
Poland is itching to invade. Victoria Nuland is scheduling NATO air exercises. USAF propaganda asserts that Russia's air force is a joke. The question is, do Americans still believe Biden's false prophets of victory?
If not, they just need a little "encouragement": 9/11, Gulf of Tonkin, Pearl Harbor, Lusitania, Remember the Maine… Keep those rural Whites busy lest they make trouble at home!
Most Americans cannot find Ukraine on a map. (To be fair, it hasn't been on the map very long.) However, the architects of Biden's Ukraine policy, such as Victoria Nuland, Jake Sullivan, Antony Blinken and George Soros, tend to have grandparents of Eastern European origin. I am sure for them it feels important. There's no place like home.
A Redditor explains:

tinglevibestoo I listened to a former CIA agent talk about Ukraine the other day. He said that Ukraine is running out of time. It's not that they don't have the weapons. We've sent them a ton of weapons. It's that they don't have enough troops and they're running low on troops. That's how Russia will win. Ukraine can't sustain the manpower. It totally makes sense to use a nuclear false flag as a reason to bring in the extra manpower. Everyone would deem it justified too because it's a threat to the neighboring nations and it'd be an environmental (climate change) catastrophe.

Teixeira leaks

Some will bring up the US intelligence leaks by Jack Teixeira to support the idea that Russia rather than Ukraine is desperate. Unlike Snowden, Teixeiera was obviously a major security risk for patriotically-motivated leaking, with numerous red flags in his previous and ongoing behavior. Therefore Teixeira was probably a deliberate leak by US intelligence, using a patsy to generate the initial leak and then add whatever extra info they wanted released in the resulting confusion.

• Jack Teixeira Wikipedia
• Discord member details how documents leaked from closed chat group Washington Post

Teixeira's leaks served several purposes for the Biden administration:

• Allowed the mainstream media to walk back their false forecasts of Ukrainian victory.
• Provided a right-wing scapegoat for Ukraine's defeat.
• Justified increased social media monitoring and censorship.

Most importantly, it mitigated the potential political fallout from another catastrophe like Kabul, should Kiev fall.
The 4chan leaker BB/Inb4source asserts Teixeira was a patsy.

BRICS vs NATO

The foundation of the US empire is the petrodollar, which allows the USA to tax the world via digital debt seignorage. This is why the creation of BRICS as an independent financial and trading system rendered war between NATO and BRICS inevitable, as Kim Dotcom predicted. The US republic is a thalassocratic empire as arrogant as democratic Athens, and it is addicted to financial plunder. The Empire cannot afford to lose the USD's reserve currency status.
Reserve currencies and empires both have lifespans, and the USA has reached the end of both. It is at the stage where hubristic foreign misadventures prove fatal, and Ukraine and Taiwan will prove too much for the American eagle to handle. This is no longer WW2; the USA cannot win a two-front war against BRICS.

• Gold Reserve Fiat Currencies Monetary Gold
• World Reserve Currencies last on average 100 years. The US dollar has been the reserve currency for 76 years. Satoshi Chris

That is why Biden's NATO is desperate; the Empire is unravelling as the European Union and other allies such as Turkey and India lose their faith in NATO.
The fact that none of this is common knowledge speaks volumes about who controls public schools and owns mass media corporations.

ZNPP's weak point is diesel fuel

The situation at ZNPP is tenuous and grim, workers report:
Europe’s largest nuclear power station is on the frontline of the Ukraine war. SkyNews Twitter
The fact that the backup diesel reactors have not been maintained is particularly concerning, considering they have already been used 7 times.
UN nuclear chief raises alarm over Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia plant Al Jazeera
Ukraine keeps trying to force a crisis at ZNPP to justify NATO intervention. In other words, Ukraine keeps shelling ZNPP to cut the one power line that still connects it to the grid.

Atlas

This is extremely dangerous, external power is required for reliable cooling of the reactors and pools containing spent nuclear waste. Western media spent months last year pretending Kiev wasn’t shelling ZNPP.
Notice that the Russian side keeps ZNPP connected to the power grid, while the Ukrainian side pretends it cannot until the Russian invasion ends:

• Update 153 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine 2023 April 13
• Update 159 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine 2023 May 22
• Russian nuclear terrorism in action: ZNPP switches to emergency generators for the 7th time Ukrainian World Congress
• Kiev blocked all IAEA’s initiatives on ZNPP security — Russian Foreign Ministry
• Grossi says Zaporizhzhia principles 'step in right direction' IAEA

As you can see, Ukraine is not interested in being reasonable. Russia is happy to leave the NPP free of heavy military equipment, but Ukraine demands the removal of all troops and landmines from ZNPP as well. That would leave the plant undefended, which is obviously unacceptable.
(This is how perverse incentives work. A little ally with nothing to lose can start a world war. It's almost like dividing the world into two hostile nuclear alliances is a bad idea.)
When ZNPP loses external power, huge diesel generators automatically switch on to keep the reactors cool. How much diesel does this consume? Truckloads per day:

Anonymous Sat 27 May 2023 05:18:50 No.428439721 Report Quoted By: >>428463646 428436425 Still easy to transport diesel enough to keep them going In what? If NATO ops and Mercs are sabotaging trucks coming in, what do you think they are gonna carry diesel in to the plant? Is Russia gonna pack in rotopack Jerry cans on their back. Fill a truck up with 5 gallon cans and hope they make it past the snipers and sabotage? Do you have any clue how much fuel those big generators suck down in a day? Those generators to run the plants during shut down or failures are huge 500kw or bigger they are the size of whole 18 wheeler trailers. Those things will drink 50 gallons an hour. You gonna haul in 2.5 gallon rotopacks one at a time to keep it going?

Nuclear power plants have tough shielding. Allegedly the diesel generators are hidden underground. However, the diesel fuel supply is still vulnerable.
Normally the diesel generators have enough fuel for 10 days. However, ZNPP's diesel stockpile recently dipped to 4 days, according to 4chan leaker Inb4source.

Ukrainian saboteurs caught by ZNPP

On May 27, Ukraine accused Russian of planning to cause a leak at ZNPP:

OSINTdefender The Main Directorate of Intelligence for Ukraine has announced that the Russian Military is preparing for Large-Scale Provocation in the coming hours at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Southern Ukraine that will reportedly Simulate an “Accident” at the Plant causing the Emergency Leak of Radioactive Substances which will be Blamed on Ukrainian Forces.

Then Russia announced it had caught saboteurs (presumably Ukrainian) in ZNPP's city:

Saboteurs who were preparing terrorist attacks on the NPP were detained in Energodar. They had with them maps and schematics of the nuclear power plant with marks for strikes that could lead to a nuclear catastrophe. The suspects are involved in collecting and transmitting information about the facilities of the Zaporozhye NPP on the instructions of the Ukrainian authorities. To communicate with the curators, they used foreign satellite systems, as well as foreign weapons for strikes and equipment for conducting reconnaissance and sabotage activities.

• Translated source message is from Telegram group Slavyangrad Chat.
• Original source message is in Russian from Telegram group WarDonbass, sent May 28 at 23:12.

Enerhodar is the city that contains the ZNPP: See Enerhodar Wikipedia
Some object that the footage is "staged". Of course it is staged. The primary consumer of the helmet-cam footage is Russian military intelligence. The evidence shot was staged for their benefit. The short edited video that was released to the public has distorted voices, and avoids showing any faces. Thus even if the footage is authentic, it is still "staged".
The ZNPP maps displayed in the video don't appear to match the announcement text. The maps could simply show where diesel fuel trucks need to go. Russia does not wish to advertise the specific nature of ZNPP's vulnerability.
The saboteurs appear to be 3-man team, equipped with 3 rifles and 3 NLAW missile launchers.
The saboteurs had 5 frag grenades. Normally soldiers carry 2 or 3 grenades, but heavy weapons soldiers don't have to. The three smooth grenades are RGD-5s, a cheap outdated Russian model. The Russian troops removed the fuses from the grenades on the evidence table to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Some object that Ukrainian saboteurs wouldn't be so careless as to have printouts of the reactor map. However, the saboteurs' presence in Enerhodar already makes their target obvious. Presumably multiple teams were sent to intercept Russian diesel shipments.
The Enerhodar saboteurs would've been notified when satellites spotted their target. Until then, they should hide in the safehouse behind blackout curtains to avoid detection. The fact that these saboteurs were caught napping suggests a degree of incompetence, compared to other teams who presumably either avoided detection or fought back. One can assume that Ukrainian specops have suffered extreme casualties.

BB / Red Skull / Inb4source / Q

BB sent Q

Qanon has lost a tremendous amount of popularity, as patriots grew disillusioned with the slow pace of the promised Great Awakening. They did not understand that Q is subordinate to a higher power with an agenda that does not necessarily include their survival.
Q aimed to help Trump save the USA. Q was sent by "Burning Bush", whose agenda is judging humanity, on the eve of WW3 and runaway de-terraforming. BB's personas started posting to 4chan's pol by 2016, whereas Q started in October 2017. (4chan is like the wild west of the Web: The world's spooks congregate there to exchange intelligence.)
BB goes by several nicknames; he began posting anonymously as "Inb4source" in 2016. A recent message implies the USA/Israel is Babylon the Great, and God (meaning him) has returned to judge her:

The world has turned it's back on *od now *od Is turning His back on the world. He Who Lets has been REMOVED. THE ANGEL OF DEATH HAS COME THE HARVEST OF THE TARES HAS BEGUN. And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. (Earthquake Lights) And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. (nothing ever happens) Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, inb4source

BB claims responsibility for the historical pendulum swinging rightward, via figures such as Elon Musk. His method of influence is the butterfly effect.
"Burning Bush" claims to be God. One can think of him as the God of the Old Testament, or as a pagan god like Zeus, or as merely a transcendent extraterrestrial. However, he also claims to inhabit a human-looking body, lives on a ranch in the USA, has children, caught COVID19, etc.
Whatever one's theology, the relevant portion of BB's message is that the USA did not sufficiently embrace the opportunity offered by Q. Anyone who has read the Old Testament knows what happens next: Ignore the prophet, reap the consequences. Thus Q's slogan "Nothing Can Stop What Is Coming" should be understood in the Biblical sense, like Noah's flood: The Ark is optional.
(As far as I know, Q is still posting to Truth Social. I don't follow that site.)
Paul Furber is the chief priest of BB. Before that, he was a major early proponent of Q. See Furber's book for many verifiable examples of fulfilled predictions and proven scoops.
BB normally identifies himself by the unique image hash of his burning bush picture. (Nobody can generate that hash unless they possess the original image.) However, BB also posts as an anon users nickname "Red Skull", for his signature images of red skulls. As Red Skull, BB avoids the extravagant Biblical claims of BB, but the style and modus operandi and interests are obviously the same – as are his implied godlike powers.
I recommend focusing on facts and trying to prevent nuclear WW3, rather than getting hung up on theology. BB is not asking anyone to worship him or sacrifice chickens. He does prescribe prayer and a life of action governed by virtue.
I certainly do not recommend taking everything anonymous spooks say at face value. If you are, like most people, unable to think in shades of gray between binary true and false, this essay is above your reading level.

BB warns Zaporizhia is pivotal

BB has repeatedly warned that keeping Zaporizhia intact is critical to the survival of NATO citizenry:

the Ukrainians attacking the Nuclear Power station in the hands of the Russians spewing radiation over enough territory that the Russians will turn Kiev into a furnace.

– BB 2022-9-24
Find other warnings by searching for keyword "nuclear".
Those who find it difficult to believe that nuclear weapons would be used in WW3 as in WW2 should note that COVID19 is already a bioweapon WMD deployed for WW3.

RS gives ZNPP sabotage warning

On the morning of May 27, BB's persona Red Skull leaked that NATO specops had sabotaged external power to ZNPP.
His scenario is plausible and severe enough to warrant investigation.
Here are relevant posts, datestamped 2023 May 27 0300-0500:

it's a little less than ten days… Until Nato SpecOps melt down the Uke Nuke plant and blames it on you.

He continues:

Nato SpecOps have sabotaged power to the nuke plant. As of this posting, 6 days of diesel fuel remain to provide power to pumps to cool the plant and spent fuel pool. Diesel shipments are being targeted and terminated.

He adds:

So now I need to tell you Russia intends a pre emptive strike if nuclear capable F16's are delivered.

On the evening of May 27, Red Skull updated:

Doesn't look good at Nuke Plant. Russia has 4 days to get more fuel to the generators. They are working on clearing a flight path. Ukraine will try to stop them on orders of U.S. Uniparty.

Sounds like a severe leak, to lose 2 days of fuel in under 24 hours.

Ukraine HVT: Nuclear tit for tat

On 28 May Red Skull asserted that:

• Ukraine just did an underground nuclear bomb test in a borehole, to contain the radiation.
• Russia may retaliate with a pre-emptive strike at any time, against 1-2 high-value targets.
• West Ukraine may be reduced to the stone-age.

Red Skull approved of this anon's summary:

Nuclear warheads that USA/UK sent. Specifically for the purpose of being exploded in Ukraine. The false flags will never stop until all out WW3 is declared, or until you root out the pedophile demon cult that is running the show and sending you monkeys to war. War for really no good reason at this point. The cities are destroyed, just withdraw. Ukraine is a kettle right now, a kill box. Do you understand what that means? And it was created on purpose.

On May 30, Putin announced that Russia had destroyed the Ukrainian military intelligence headquarters. Photos confirm the damage.

• Putin confirms strike on Ukrainian military intelligence HQ RT
• Putin Strikes Back - Destroys GUR Bunker? Simplicius

Intelligence chief Kyrylo Oleksiyovych Budanov may have died in the strike.

Inb4source / Red Skull 4chan posting history

Inb4source has posted on 4chan since 2016, but he doesn't always use an image hash identifier, making it impossible to verify the identity of all of his early posts. As his popularity grew, others began adopting his catchphrase ">inb4source".
18016 posts on pol contain ">inb4source".
The first page of results suggests Inb4source is a pro-Trump military intelligence officer. He began posting in Aug 2016, before Trump's inauguration.
Another early Inb4source catchphrase is "I AM The Source." This has a double meaning, both theological and journalistic.
The catchphrase doesn't appear in every Inb4source post. Searching for it yields 437 results, too many of which are irrelevant results.
Searching for both phrases together yields 50 results that look to be mostly legitimate. One could then search for additional posts by each unique ID from a session.
Searching for image hashes is a reliable method of ID verification, assuming no one else has the image. I know of two such images that Inb4source/BB uses: both are red skulls, giving him the nickname RS.

• 325 results
• 314 results

RS just announced that his devices (phone, computers) have been compromised, casting doubt on the legitimacy of future RS posts. This may be a response to my publication of his warnings regarding Zaporizhia onto Reddit and Gab; the timing is suspicious. I first mentioned Inb4source on Reddit 7 days ago, and Red Skull on Gab yesterday (as of morning June 3). I do not know of any other analysts writing about him or connecting him to his BB persona.
When evaluating his warnings and predictions, remember that publishing info about ongoing events can affect the outcome, and is often intended to do so. Unlike the concept of Biblical prophecy, the future is mostly probabilistic. However, he is certainly good at scooping the news.
Someone else can do an in-depth Q-proof style analysis of his accuracy; my focus here is Zaporizhia.
Read original with links here.

Date: 06/02/2023
Reading time: 3 minutes, 739 words

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ArmRadio

Team Telecom Armenia is undertaking its initial public offering (IPO)

“Telecom Armenia" OJSC has issued and is allocating stocks through a public offering. The company plans to allocate 40 million stocks with a total volume of 8 billion 240 million drams. The offering will be carried out from 7 June to 31 October of this year inclusively.

Armenpress

Ground broken for new checkpoint on Armenia-Iran border

Ground for the new facility was broken today in a ceremony attended by representatives of international structures and other state bodies. The reconstruction and modernization of the Meghri border crossing point is being carried out with credit and grant funds provided by the EU and the EBRD.

ArmRadio

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Armenian Wounded Heroes
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Today, I received some surprising news that by the end of this month I will be let go from my current position. I work for a contractor company, and the feedback provided by the client was that they are cutting off personnel, without providing any specific feedback. The timing of this announcement feels particularly strange, as I recently had a meeting with HR where I mentioned that contractors from a different company, working with the same client, are making triple the amount that we, the contractors from my current company, are making.
The main reason this situation feels strange to me is that I've seen people being let go from this project before, and the client never gave any notice. So, why are they giving me a month's notice? I don't know. One part of me entertains conspiracies, while the other part thinks it could be because I've been working on this project for over two years and the client wanted to handle the situation more decently (I know, right?).
I'm reaching out to all of you for some guidance on what to do next. I'm contemplating whether I should go the extra mile in the hopes that the client notices my efforts and has a change of mind, or if I should focus on myself, spend time practicing LeetCode and actively applying for jobs.
Additionally, could you recommend any reliable platforms or websites where I can find remote positions? I live in the Dominican Republic and I'm specifically interested in remote job opportunities. Here's my CV
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DmLx1JN3iyMLRedJd5knDI6v3yMGtodZx73jPpRL2ZA/edit?usp=drive_link
I'm open to any advice, personal anecdotes, and suggestions you may have to improve my CV. Thanks in advance.

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 14%. (I'm a bot)

A march in support of Bulgaria's future as a parliamentary republic and a member of the European Union and NATO took place in central Sofia on Friday evening.
The march started from the President's Administration building, proceeded to National Assembly Square and blocked traffic at the Eagles Bridge.
They carried Bulgarian, EU and Ukrainian flags and displayed placards reading "Radev, feel free to fade in the East", "Radev - national traitor", and "79 years are enough".
The chants and placards were against Russia's influence in Bulgaria and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, whom politicians and observers describe as a conduit for such influence.
In front of the protesters, Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria MP Yavor Bozhankov said that Bulgaria should remain a member state of the EU and NATO. This is the second protest against President Radev within a week.
On May 30, several thousand opponents to Radev's allegedly pro-Russia stance gathered in front of the President's Administration building in central Sofia.

Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: Radev^#1 President^#2 Bulgaria^#3 protest^#4 member^#5
Post found in /worldnews.
NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 78%. (I'm a bot)

Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman are reportedly forming a joint naval force, as the Qatari news website Al-Jadid reported on June 2.
Positive relations have been maintained with both the Islamic Republic and the United Arab Emirates by the Sultanate of Oman, which is a member of the GCC along with Saudi Arabia.
According to the website of the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on May 31, UAE withdrew from the United States-led Joint Maritime Forces operating in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.
It further states that UAE withdrew its participation in the Joint Maritime Forces two months ago due to ongoing assessments of the efficiency of security cooperation with all its partners.
To ensure the safety of shipping and to fight piracy in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, the Joint Maritime Forces are comprised of 34 different states in addition to the United States Fifth Fleet.
The GCC countries include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The timeline for the creation of a joint fleet and a unified naval command has not yet been determined, but member states of the GCC are already holding meetings to discuss technical matters, according to Majid Abdel-Aziz al-Turki, who served at the time as an advisor to Saudi Arabia's Minister of Islamic Affairs and Diplomacy.

Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: State^#1 United^#2 GCC^#3 Arabia^#4 Saudi^#5
Post found in /worldnews.
NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 78%. (I'm a bot)

Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman are reportedly forming a joint naval force, as the Qatari news website Al-Jadid reported on June 2.
Positive relations have been maintained with both the Islamic Republic and the United Arab Emirates by the Sultanate of Oman, which is a member of the GCC along with Saudi Arabia.
According to the website of the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on May 31, UAE withdrew from the United States-led Joint Maritime Forces operating in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.
It further states that UAE withdrew its participation in the Joint Maritime Forces two months ago due to ongoing assessments of the efficiency of security cooperation with all its partners.
To ensure the safety of shipping and to fight piracy in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, the Joint Maritime Forces are comprised of 34 different states in addition to the United States Fifth Fleet.
The GCC countries include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The timeline for the creation of a joint fleet and a unified naval command has not yet been determined, but member states of the GCC are already holding meetings to discuss technical matters, according to Majid Abdel-Aziz al-Turki, who served at the time as an advisor to Saudi Arabia's Minister of Islamic Affairs and Diplomacy.

Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: State^#1 United^#2 GCC^#3 Arabia^#4 Saudi^#5
Post found in /worldnews.
NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.

The European League of Football

Founded in 2020, the European League of Football (ELF) is a professionalized American Football league that kicked off in June 2021. Unlike the former NFL Europe the league focuses on local talents. The league does not consist of clubs, as is common in Europe, but of franchises similar to the NFL.
After the first strong season with eight teams in two Conferences, another even stronger season followed with 12 teams in three Conferences. The upcoming season will start tomorrow on June 3rd 2023 with 17 teams from nine countries.

The Franchises

The third season will have 17 teams from nine countries divided into three Conferences.
https://preview.redd.it/lyy7v8o6gn3b1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=181992c1514dfe2e16429a9e2ba712853f816b16
Western Conference:

• Cologne Centurions [Germany]
• Frankfurt Galaxy [Germany, Champion 2021]
• Hamburg Sea Devils [Germany]
• Paris Musketeers [France]
• Rhein Fire [Germany]

Central Conference:

• Barcelona Dragons [Spain]
• Helvetic Guards [Switzerland]
• Milano Seamen [Italy]
• Munich Ravens [Germany]
• Stuttgart Surge [Germany]
• Raiders Tirol [Austria]

Eastern Conference:

• Berlin Thunder [Germany]
• Fehérvár Enthroners [Hungary]
• Leipzig Kings [Germany]
• Prague Lions [Czech Republic]
• Vienna Vikings [Austria, Champion 2022]
• Wrocław Panthers [Poland]

Notable facts about the franchises:

• Former NFL Coach Jim Tomsula is the current Head Coach for Rhein Fire.
• A US group of investors led by former NFL Player Malcolm Smith acquired 60% of the Barcelona Dragons franchise.
• NFL Hall of Fame OT Joe Thomas is part of the Munich Ravens.
• Due to financial struggles the Istanbul Rams who participated in 2022 will not take part in the 2023 season - that why we have an odd number of franchises this year.

​
Thanks to a cooperation with the NFL the ELF is allowed to use the names of old NFL Europe teams. The NFL has no shares or other financial interests in the ELF, they don't own a franchise or something like that. This prevents a situation where the NFL suddenly pulls out and the whole league collapses.
In the next few years the ELF wants to have 24 franchises from more than 10 European countries. The league already announced a new franchise for the 2024 season located in Madrid, Spain.

The games & rules

Every team will play 12 games in a span of 14 weeks with six teams moving on to the playoffs where the champion will be decided in the championship game. The championship game will take place in Duisburg, home of Rhein Fire and the 31.500 seat stadium is expected to be sold out.
In order to promote and support the local players every franchise can only sign 4 US-Players and only 2 of them can be on the field at the same time. There is also a salary cap in order to keep the competitive balance.
The games will be played with NFL Rules with a few exceptions. The league uses the college overtime rule and the XFL Kickoff Rule.
You can find out more about the rules [here].

European League of Football Subreddit: elf

We are a steadily growing community about everything ELF related. We have a good relationship to players, to the league and are a key community when it comes to the ELF.
Throughout the season we will provide Gamethreads as you know them from NFL and similar sport subreddits. We also have User Flairs for each team so you can show everyone who you are rooting for. There will also be AMAs every now and then.
Tomorrow we will have our very first Gamethreads of the season. The first thread will go online at 4PM CEST(GMT+2).
I hope we can welcome some of you over at elf and talk about American Football in Europe.

Where can you watch the ELF?

With the ELF Gamepass you can watch every game of the ELF from all around the world. The league has a cooperation with Endeavor Streaming, who also provide the Gamepass for the NFL, WWE & UFC.
Games will also be broadcast on free TV in some countries.

Region	Broadcaster
International	ELF Gamepass
Austria	ProSieben Maxx / Pro7, ran.de, More Than Sports TV
Germany	ProSieben Maxx / Pro7, ran.de, More Than Sports TV
Switzerland	ProSieben Maxx / Pro7, ran.de, More Than Sports TV
Czech Republic & Slovakia	O2 TV Sport
Hungary	Arena4+/Net4+
China	iQIYI Sports
Poland	Polsat Sport, Polsat Sport News
Spain	Esport3 (not live)

If you want to learn more check out our subreddit and make sure to take a look at the schedule on the league's website: [Schedule]

The European League of Football

Founded in 2020, the European League of Football (ELF) is a professionalized American Football league that kicked off in June 2021. Unlike the former NFL Europe the league focuses on local talents. The league does not consist of clubs, as is common in Europe, but of franchises similar to the NFL.
After the first strong season with eight teams in two Conferences, another even stronger season followed with 12 teams in three Conferences. The upcoming season will start tomorrow on June 3rd 2023 with 17 teams from nine countries.

The Franchises

The third season will have 17 teams from nine countries divided into three Conferences.
https://preview.redd.it/lyy7v8o6gn3b1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=181992c1514dfe2e16429a9e2ba712853f816b16
Western Conference:

• Cologne Centurions [Germany]
• Frankfurt Galaxy [Germany, Champion 2021]
• Hamburg Sea Devils [Germany]
• Paris Musketeers [France]
• Rhein Fire [Germany]

Central Conference:

• Barcelona Dragons [Spain]
• Helvetic Guards [Switzerland]
• Milano Seamen [Italy]
• Munich Ravens [Germany]
• Stuttgart Surge [Germany]
• Raiders Tirol [Austria]

Eastern Conference:

• Berlin Thunder [Germany]
• Fehérvár Enthroners [Hungary]
• Leipzig Kings [Germany]
• Prague Lions [Czech Republic]
• Vienna Vikings [Austria, Champion 2022]
• Wrocław Panthers [Poland]

Notable facts about the franchises:

• Former NFL Coach Jim Tomsula is the current Head Coach for Rhein Fire.
• A US group of investors led by former NFL Player Malcolm Smith acquired 60% of the Barcelona Dragons franchise.
• NFL Hall of Fame OT Joe Thomas is part of the Munich Ravens.
• Due to financial struggles the Istanbul Rams who participated in 2022 will not take part in the 2023 season - that why we have an odd number of franchises this year.

​
Thanks to a cooperation with the NFL the ELF is allowed to use the names of old NFL Europe teams. The NFL has no shares or other financial interests in the ELF, they don't own a franchise or something like that. This prevents a situation where the NFL suddenly pulls out and the whole league collapses.
In the next few years the ELF wants to have 24 franchises from more than 10 European countries. The league already announced a new franchise for the 2024 season located in Madrid, Spain.

The games & rules

Every team will play 12 games in a span of 14 weeks with six teams moving on to the playoffs where the champion will be decided in the championship game. The championship game will take place in Duisburg, home of Rhein Fire and the 31.500 seat stadium is expected to be sold out.
In order to promote and support the local players every franchise can only sign 4 US-Players and only 2 of them can be on the field at the same time. There is also a salary cap in order to keep the competitive balance.
The games will be played with NFL Rules with a few exceptions. The league uses the college overtime rule and the XFL Kickoff Rule.
You can find out more about the rules [here].

European League of Football Subreddit: elf

We are a steadily growing community about everything ELF related. We have a good relationship to players, to the league and are a key community when it comes to the ELF.
Throughout the season we will provide Gamethreads as you know them from NFL and similar sport subreddits. We also have User Flairs for each team so you can show everyone who you are rooting for. There will also be AMAs every now and then.
Tomorrow we will have our very first Gamethreads of the season. The first thread will go online at 4PM CEST(GMT+2).
I hope we can welcome some of you over at elf and talk about American Football in Europe.

Where can you watch the ELF?

With the ELF Gamepass you can watch every game of the ELF from all around the world. The league has a cooperation with Endeavor Streaming, who also provide the Gamepass for the NFL, WWE & UFC.
Games will also be broadcast on free TV in some countries.

Region	Broadcaster
International	ELF Gamepass
Austria	ProSieben Maxx / Pro7, ran.de, More Than Sports TV
Germany	ProSieben Maxx / Pro7, ran.de, More Than Sports TV
Switzerland	ProSieben Maxx / Pro7, ran.de, More Than Sports TV
Czech Republic & Slovakia	O2 TV Sport
Hungary	Arena4+/Net4+
China	iQIYI Sports
Poland	Polsat Sport, Polsat Sport News
Spain	Esport3 (not live)

If you want to learn more check out our subreddit and make sure to take a look at the schedule on the league's website: [Schedule]

Official Reddit Community of KFA UK- Korean Friendship Association . Real News and Stories from the DPRK Democratic People’s Republic Of Korea 🇰🇵, Juche Idea Study and Songun politics. KFA aims to shine a light on the DPRK revealing the truth that Western propaganda machines won’t tell you. We are followers of the Juche Idea and Socialism! Please be respectful in this group , No spreading propaganda / fake media . No NKnews articles or fake news about the DPRK People’s Korea. Manager of KFA UK reddit Daniel J Mower Chairman of KFA Yorkshire Branch, Manager of KFA UK Instagram, Facebook and Telegram.

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 52%. (I'm a bot)

The Republic of Ireland's domestic economy recovered strongly in the first quarter of 2023, official data suggests.
Output, as measured by modified domestic demand, expanded by 2.7% compared to the final quarter of 2022.
It had fallen in the third and fourth quarters of last year as the impact of inflation hit the economy.
However gross domestic product, a measure which is heavily distorted in Ireland by the activities of US multinational companies, contracted by 4.6% in the first quarter.
In 2017 Ireland's statistical agency, the CSO, acknowledged that GDP and GNP had become so distorted that they no longer provided a sufficient understanding of the country's domestic economy.
Mr McGrath said the "Strong increase" in domestic demand was broad based and that incoming data suggested momentum has continued into the second quarter of the year.

Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: domestic^#1 economy^#2 quarter^#3 Ireland^#4 GDP^#5
Post found in /worldnews.
NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.

Here is the most important information, and related articles, from this article.
Published on 2023-06-02 at 14:00, this article is written by emmet lyons and published by cbs news. (4 minutes)
Save 4 minutes of reading with this summary:

The "Starvation Mobile Justice Team team," from the Global Rights Compliance human rights law firm, which is working in partnership with the office of Ukraine's prosecutor general, said Friday that its investigation had focused largely on "starvation tactics" allegedly used by Russian forces in Chernihiv, a northern region that came under siege during the first three months of the invasion. "From our initial investigations into Russia's starvation crimes in Ukraine, the evidence is pointing towards a deliberate plan carefully designed to undermine and attack the very foundation and societal fabric of Ukrainians, subjecting them to inhumane living conditions," said Catriona Murdoch, a British lawyer who led the team. Russia has previously been accused of deliberately targeting Ukrainian food supplies and production, including during the siege of on the key port of Mariupol, and Murdoch told CBS News her team's findings were "just the tip of the iceberg in Putin's calculated plan to terrorize, subjugate and kill Ukrainian people." Murdoch told CBS News her team had analyzed high quality drone imagery of the area from just before the attack, and "you can see very clearly the queuing up of civilians, that they clearly look like civilians — they don't look like a military formation — you can see very clearly that this was a clear distribution point outside of a supermarket." "It is imperative that these crimes are fully investigated so that we can create a bedrock of truth and a historical record which can be used both to counter Russia's lies, and to find justice for Ukraine's victims and the survivors of these crimes," she told CBS News.

Keep reading with 3 related articles: CBS News (2022-05-07 at 15:43) How Russia is using hunger as a weapon in Ukraine CBS News (2022-04-05 at 17:00) Bucha massacre: CBS News finds evidence of atrocities near Ukraine's capital as Russia is accused of war crimes CBS News (2023-05-23 at 13:14) Russia's Wagner Group accused of using rape and mass-murder to control an African gold mining town
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This mini series of sort is inspired by a few sources, most notably the "Alien invasion" things made by a few Pivot Animators as well as Warhammer 40K in some way that will become apparent later.

Date: April 6, 2408 POV: Ambassador Ra-Kakon of the 6th Cigadreth Dynasty [Description of the Cigadreth: Reptilian, 3.11 ft tall average, 20~ kg average, bright yellow to dark red colored scales, 2 side facing eyes, bipedal with long tail for movement support and balance] Location: Andromeda Galaxy

10 years ago, we have started to recieve some weird transmissions and signals from the Western fringe of the galaxy. A Kolshif colony, which was the closest to the origin of the signals was ordered to keep listening to them and report on their findings. The signals was so garbled that it was almost as if it was written by a Cigadreth hatchling. [Description of the Kolshif: Insectoid, 4.10 ft average, 40~kg average, yellow to red head carapace, purple to velvet thorax and mid carapace, 4 eyes(2 side facing, 2 front facing), quadrupedal(4 legs and 4 arms)]
We brought this up with the Graddath Council, a galactic organization that consists of 20 space faring species, and after much deliberation and squabbling, we ordered the colony to keep on listening but it took us a few weeks to realize that, 'maybe a sub-par reciever of a colony world is not the best equipment to use in this endeavor.' and so we decided to start construction of a listening post. The station itself was not that big, only being about 100 x 200 x 100 meters big but it will do the job once it was finished which took about 3 years due to unexpected delays and random budget cuts by sector officials.
When the station was done and activated, the first signal we recieved shocked us.

"???: Andromeda Expeditionary Force, status update.
"AEF: Doing good Sol, colony reached 1 billion inhabitants a few weeks ago. Grandbattlefleet Acasta is detecting more signs of extraterrestrial life that isn't just plants, wildlife and flat-out hostile.
"Sol: Avoid initiating First Contact, let them come to us first. Last time we did that it plunged the Milky Way into war.
"AEF: We observed them making a listening post because of us flinging transmissions to God knows where. We'll report on any activity from these natives.
"Sol: Acknowledged. Make hell if they fire first. End conversation."

They knew! They knew all along! Its a good thing that the whole galaxy was listening in on the situation, its hard to cover up the sudden construction of a station near a colony world of 14 billion, let alone the random signals they were flinging into the void. Now we can't just stand there and do nothing.
An emergency meeting was called into session with all representatives of the council.
"Due to sudden events and findings from LP-4," High-Speaker Kohdrin of the Sal'reth Empire began "What is our course of action? Should we send them a greetings or should we leave them be?" [Description of the Sal'reth: Avian, 3.9 ft tall average, 30~ kg average, bright blue to dark green colored feathers(royal purple for nobles), 2 side facing eyes, long beak with colors ranging from charcoal black to metallic gold, bipedal]
There was a long silence with only a few murmurs between allies and the occasional exchange of looks between representatives. Even the Kolshif guards themselves look angsty by their nervous swaying and movements.
"What shall we do fellow representatives?" Kohdrin said suddenly, quickly stopping the murmuring in the chamber "Shall we send a signal of greetings?"
"I say we shall, High-Speaker." Ambassador Nihje of the Shai Republic "After all, they already know that we exist and it seems like they have been waiting for some time now." [Description of the Shai: Mammalian-Feline, 3.8 ft tall average, 50~ kg average, yellow to red orange short fur with with black or red rings, 2 front facing eyes, quadrupedal/bipedal, long tail for balance]
"Any objections?"
The chamber was silent.
"No words from the Fal'riths? Not looking for a squabble Suler?"
"I uh... N-no High-Speaker." Fal'rith Representative Suler replied "For all we know, the aliens are probably listening in on us right now. No need for a petty squabble that will lead to nowhere!" [Description of the Fal'rith: Aquatic based species, 6 tentacles, colors vary from family to family, though nobles are always a tint of yellow, 4 eyes(positioning doesnt matter because the author is one tired bastard)]
This kind of surprised me. You see, Suler was always that kind of petty bastard who likes himself a good screaming match. Almost everything brought up in the chamber is somehwat influenced by him. I leaned my head onto my right arm as I look at my pad to see if there were any updates to the station, but like the old days in school, the High-Speaker took notice like my history teacher.
"Anything you want to say Ra?"
"No Kohdrin, just seeing if there were any updates on LP-4."
Almost as if on cue, all of our pads lit up in unison. It was a message from LP-4.
"Khodrin, may I read it aloud?" asked Ambassador Kal'Re of the 2nd Rakatoth Republic. [Description of the Rakatoth: Rodent, 2.10 ft tall average, 60~ kg average, dark brown to orange fur, 2 front positioned eyes, short snout, quadrupedal]
"Go on," replied the High-Speaker "Read it louder for the others at the back."
"Very well," he replied. He stood up on his two hind legs and read the message for all of us to hear.
"Dear representatives of the council, we apologize for interrupting your meeting for there is some urgent news. The aliens have been detected slowly moving towards us, almost as if like they are getting ready to do a warp directly into the capitol system.
"We beg of you for the lords on high for speedy decision making in order to defuse the situation and seek for a more peacful route in this quagmire of a galaxy. Also its a contingent of 2 humongous ships and they look like they are itching to pull the trigger."
When the last word was said, Kal'Re was still standing to see the reactions of everyone present, there was a few seconds of silence as we are digesting the information fed to us.
The short few seconds felt like an eternity and once that was over, everyone in the chamber started talking erratically.
"What do they mean by 'humongous'?" Nihje said confused at the situation.
Normally, the High-Speaker would bang on the gavel for silence in the chamber, but the situation was so surreal that she watched in stunned silence seemingly forgetting her position in the council. After a while and the talking starting to get louder, Khodrin remembered where she was and squawked "Silence!"
"My fellow Ambassadors!" I spoke aloud, "Make your decision for this situation is starting to go sideways!"
"Ra is right!" said Ambassador Lilia of Curtel Prime from inside her shell, "Leaving them alone is soon going to be an impossibility because they are slowly moving towards us!" [Description of the Curtels: Mollusk, 1 ft tall average, 30~kg average, dark green to light yellow shell, 2 side facing "eyes" on a small "head" from within the shell)
"Its better now than later!" Nihje chimed in "Later is looking sketchy!"
"All in favor of sending a message of peace?" Suler said, surprisingly.
The whole room errupted in confirmation and with a few button presses from Khodrin the message was sent.
I hope it makes it to them before it they make it to us. I thought to myself, Hopefully we continue the 100 cycles of no needless bloodshed.
We recieved a message from the Cigadreth colony world Za-Kai 2 about how "2 oddly shaped large cargo haulers failed to respond to the hails". We recieved a follow up message that the 2 ships stopped beyond the orbit of the Gas Giant designated 'Ra-998b'. Scans to reveal more about the ships were unsuccessful due to some "weird electronic interferences".
Everyone let out one shaky sigh of relief, though the ships stopped, they were still in council territory. We recieved another message from the colony stating:

"Forwarded from one SVS-Living Litany:
"Dear representatives of the Graddath Council, we are humanity. This is Rear-Admiral Johnathan Beckett. We would formally like to invite all of you aboard the SVS-Sol's Might for a diplomatic meeting and proper introduction of all the species in your care.
"Terra Lives On."

The High-Speaker opened her beak once more to speak but before anything came out a violent shaking rocked the station. This kind of shake was no meteor strike or some ambassador's transport bumping into the station, this was like-
"A SHIP HAS WARPED IN CLOSE PROXIMITY WITH THE STATION!" Shouted a Kolshif guard on the PA system.
Rude.
I helped Nihje get up on her feet and as I was dusting her off, a few of the council started murmuring profanities at the event that happened. We heard a scream from a Rakatoth staff member down the hall, we saw her running by the doorway and before a brave Kolshif can investigate, 5 aliens came into view.
They looked like they were bipeds, clad in grey armor with grey helmets and blue visors as well as pouldrons varying from white with blue trim to purple with blue trim. Their chest piece displays a blue and green marble(which I assume is their cradle world) surrounded by a blue ring and a golden laurel. Each step they take into the council chamber is taken with pride and confidence.
One of them stands out from the others. It has a purple pouldron and its main armor is like that of the ontourage but it wears a sache colored with blue, red and white with a roundel leading to the shoulder. It does not carry any visible weapon. The ontourage carry weapons of unknown class.
The Kolshifs were aiming their weapons at them yet the aliens look like they don't care at all. The High-Speaker ordered them to stand down but they never took their hands off their pulse rifles.
The aliens stood in front of doorway. The one with the sache turned its head slowly from one end of the chamber to the other, and once it was done it spoke. We heard its real voice, loud, almost like a roar though muffled by its helmet. Then the translator cracked to life.
"My name is Ambassador Wilhelm of the Terran United Federation. 11 years ago, we sent a colony fleet to this galaxy for better pastures for our own galaxy is growing smaller for our explorers and more hostile to its inhabitants. We only ever encountered another extraterrestrial race though when we approached them first, it sent our galaxy spiraling into a hundred year long war that saw said race be wiped from the universe." It spoke in Graddath Standard.
Right, don't tick them off. I thought to myself.
"They used to call themselves Ostrens, and when we first saw them we were happy and relieved to know that we were not alone in this universe. That joy and excitement was quickly snuffed out when they attacked one of our colonies. We are once again happy to know that there are more intelligent life in the nearest galaxy over, but due to lingering xenophobia, we never made the first move until one Rear-Admiral Beckett decided to push his luck by moving both of his large ships closer."
Ah, that's nice. Big boys with big toys. Better make sure this Beckett doesnt touch our things.
"We would like to apologize for the inconvenience that those ships may impose on that colony, but we would also like to know if all of you would join us aboard the TIES-Endurance."
We all looked at each other to see who would make the first move. It was then I felt the Kolshif Ambassador, Indrex, slowly push me towards the aliens. I cursed under my breath and as I slowly walked towards them, it felt like it was warmer. When I closed the gap, Ambassador Wilhelm suddenly extended his hand towards me, realizing what he did, he quickly put it back to his side.
"Sorry," he spoke softly, almost like a whisper "force of habit, never met another culture that didn't take the gesture as a sign of peace and greeting."
Damn, I should've took his hand, now I kind of feel bad.
One by one the other ambassadors took up the invitation, a Rakatoth had to carry Lilia because of the fact she had no limbs for movement. Wilhelm almost seemed happy and relieved when the last of us finally joined in.
"Very well then," Wilhelm said startling a few of us "follow Sargeant Macaraig over there. Macaraig, show us the way."
Macaraig nodded and lead the way, the station guards were trying to stop them but seeing as we were willingly following them they decided to stay. We all shared nervous glances with one another, its not everyday we get to encounter intelligent life, let alone an advanced one at that. The silence in the hall where we walked was almost deafening, only broken by the clanking of the alien soldiers' armor and sabatons.
It was then we saw their ship on the window. It was huge, probabaly bigger than the station itself. Its guns were bristling with energy and they made no attempt to hide the cannons. A wierd bulb was mounted at its bottom, it didnt look like it served a purpose. An alien saw my confusion and shook its head.
What? Why? It doesnt look like a weapon. I thought to myself, Better ask questions later.
We arrived to a docking airlock which was seemingly blasted open. Wilhelm saw what we were looking at and assured us that "some idiot got lazy and used an explosive instead of opening it manually." I gulped nervously, Nihje was suspicious at their intentions judging by her nervous tail swaying, Khodrin was a little worried with a few of the feathers on her back seemingly ruffled, and Suler was growing anxious.
When we took a look inside the airlock, we saw an alien with a black mask next to a weird trapezoid shaped object with a blue light flickering on top of it. The alien seemed to be doing something judging by the fact that both its hands are sticking into an opening. This alien was not wearing any armor and instead some thick, heavy fabric covered in oils of some sort. Wilhelm coughed which made the oily alien flinch.
"Is it done lieutenant?" Wilhelm said calmly.
"Just a few more minutes," the alien replied "some bits of shrapnel are jammed in the inner workings. Nanites are helping me so it should work as it is intended to."
Nanites? How advanced is this race we are facing?
The lieutenant closed the opening on the trapezoid object. He took a look at all of us. I'll admit, it was a little uncomfortable. He then took a look at the object and let out a groan. He kicked said object and the light on it turned green.
Almost in an instant, I saw the alien guards dissappear with a green flash, and then Wilhelm, then us. I was the last to go but before then I tried to run, with my instincts taking over.
I felt myself slamming on a cold metal floor.
LP-4: Listening Post - 4 SVS: Sol's Venerable Ship TIES: Terra's Indefatigable Escort Ship [Note from the Author: First time poster here, some gaps may have formed whilst writing this, so ask in the comments for clarification. Will probably attach an illustration to each story of this mini series when I see it fit and the situation calls for it or when I feel like it lol.]

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Chapter 41
Subject: Ship-Head Uleena
Species: Urakari
Description: Reptilian humanoid, no tail. 5'3" (1.6 m) avg height. 135 lbs (61 kg) avg weight. 105 year life expectancy.
Ship: RSV Lowelana {Fights with Honor}
Location: Sol
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"It's been more than three hours, ship-head. When can we stand down?" asked Kriin.
"We'll be able to stand down when they tell us to stand down, sister," replied Kraan in my stead.
Kriin made a face and hissed softly at him. This playful exchange did a lot to ease the tension that had settled over the bridge as time had dragged on. It even got a smile out of Liwna.
It was still unnerving to be on standby so long after the battle had ended, though. I'd asked for an explanation but received no response, which indicated something was happening or had happened. The OU had consistently increased their numbers with each wave, so I desperately hoped it wasn't going to be another attack. Maybe we'd received orders from the Republic to go home. One could dream.
A soft bing from my terminal nearly made me jump. All heads turned to me as I opened the message, desperate to know if we were in the clear. I nibbled my tongue as I softly pressed the notification to open the message.
--
Ship-Head Uleena
RSV Lowelana and her crew are to stand down but remain in a state of readiness. You are summoned to meet with Admiral Heckett and myself. A guide will meet you in the bay.
Fleet Leader Onaya
--
I looked around at the faces of my bridge crew. They were all hoping I would be giving the order to stand down, to tell them we were in the clear. The anticipation was brutal, and I found myself considering a little prank. If I were to simply say that the message was nothing, the looks of disappointment would be pretty great. Although, the fleet leader wouldn't appreciate waiting...
"Stand down, but stay ready," I said and then sighed audibly, "I'm off to meet with command."
"You have my sympathies, sir," Liwna said.
"I'm sure it won't be that bad, ship-head. Maybe they want to give you a medal," Kraan said cheerily.
"Don't get your hopes up, sir. We didn't really do anything medal-worthy. But maybe we'll get to see one of the planets we've been protecting," Kriin said excitedly.
"That's one way to look at it. Another way to look at it is 'one of the planets we put at risk'," Kraan replied with air quotes.
"That's rich, coming from the cloaca that put the planets at risk in the first place!"
"Hey! I was following procedure! Why don't you..."
"That's enough," I interrupted, trying to keep a straight face. "I'll go find out what they want. You just stay ready for our next move."
I stood and left as the two siblings began whispering insults at each other. As I exited the ship, I wondered how long I'd have to wait for the guide. To my surprise, the guide was actually waiting for me. A seven foot tall human wearing olive drab armor and carrying a rifle that was the size of my leg. That's a bad sign.
"Ship-head Uleena. This way please," the marine gestured.
"Of course," I said as I began to follow.
We walked past a crew of gont engineers and one of them waved at me. I waved back. Must be Plinas, but it's hard to tell them apart at a distance. We continued into a corridor and I began to have questions. I worked up my nerve to ask the giant death machine that was guiding me to my destination.
"So, why isn't Tim guiding me this time?" I finally asked.
"I don't know, sir," he replied.
"Do you know Corporal Simmons and Lance Corporal Johnson?"
"I know a few Corporals named Simmons and a few lances named Johnson, sir."
"They're the ones who were assigned to our rescue detail."
"Oh. Then they're probably part of a ship crew. Or maybe MARSOC," he said. "So I probably don't know them."
"What's MARSOC?"
"Marine Special Operations Command. It's special forces. They get assigned to whatever needs a specially trained marine, and usually whatever's closest to wherever they happen to be."
"So they probably wouldn't still be on the Thanatos, then?"
"Sir, I'm not qualified to even begin to wager a guess," the marine said with a chuckle. "There's plenty of MARSOC marines aboard, but I'm not one of 'em. Just a home-grown, corn-fed grunt, at your service."
"Corn?" I asked. "What's corn?"
"Huh?" He stopped to look at me. "Oh, right. It's a type of vegetable that's kinda sweet. Small yellow kernels that grow on a cob are the edible part, but some people use the leaves to store their food for some added flavor."
"I see... So you eat a lot of corn?"
"Yes, sir. It's good for muscles if you have it with meat," he said as he began to guide me again. "The phrase corn-fed refers to someone who's normal, though. Like, there's nothing special about them."
"But aren't you one of those... um..." I said as I struggled to remember the term.
"A gen-alt? Nope," the marine replied with laugh. "Believe it or not, some of us humans naturally get this big."
"Really?" I asked, my eyes widening in shock.
"Oh yeah. The genetic augmentation just swaps around certain genomes that we all already have, or something like that," the marine said. "Technically, every human has a chance to be born with all the benefits of being a gen-alt. It's a pretty low chance though."
It was with this shocking information that we boarded a bus. The ride was spent in silence as I digested what I had just learned. Humans were odd, to be sure. Despite their soft skin and disarming features (which I'm pretty sure has a lot to do with how much of their face actually moves), they were a warrior race.
I remembered how nervous I had been to meet my first Isolan. Now THEY look the part of a warrior race. Muscles that ripple and bulge with every movement, a natural scowl, and elongated canines that can definitely tear into most throats with little to no effort. Their military was very disciplined as well, to the point that horror stories about disciplinary action have spread throughout the fleet. Still, the Republic would have been able to handle the Isolan without much problem if they went rogue.
I can't say the same about humanity, though. Maybe if the Republic had found them early on in their development, we could have taken them. On the other hand, I get the dreadful feeling that we would have lost a lot of people in the attempt. I couldn't help but imagine what life would have been like if humanity had joined the Republic without a fight, though. We'd have a lot more in the way of technology, that's for sure.
They like to give a lot of credit to the knuknu and the gont for their current level of tech, but it's obvious that the majority of it comes from humans. The other species likely sped things along, but humanity would have gotten to the point they are now on their own eventually, and still much faster than us. Although I wonder how much of that is due to their bloody history, and how that history would have changed as part of the Republic.
"We've arrived, sir. Just inside those doors is where the debrief is," the marine gestured.
"Understood, thanks," I replied.
I stepped towards the doors and they opened with a slight hiss. Inside the room was a table with plenty of chairs and several US and Republic officers. I immediately recognized Reynolds and Wong, as well as fleet-leader Onaya. I snapped to attention.
"Ship-head Uleena reporting as ordered, sirs!"
"Sit down, Uleena," Onaya said with smiling eyes.
I took my seat as introductions went around the table. Most of the people here were higher officers of the fleets protecting Sol, but there were also a couple of diplomats from both sides. Not my sister, though. Thank the sun. I'm sure she tried to be here, but I'm willing to bet that our father blocked her attempts. Far too dangerous.
"There's one more that we need to introduce, but he's been delayed somewhat," Admiral Heckett said as the doors hissed.
I turned to look and saw a short human in the black directorate armor with two marines flanking it. It took me a second to realize that the human looked short because the marines were so damned tall. I'll never get used to that.
"What impeccable timing," Heckett said with a grin. "Everyone, meet Director 3. I'm sure he already knows who you are."
"Correct," Director 3 said as he took a seat. "Ship-head Uleena, pleasure to see you again."
"Likewise," I replied.
"Oh, hey Uleena!" one of the marines said with a familiar voice. "Good to see you again."
"Simmons, we're on duty. We can say hi later," the other marine said.
I smiled and replied, "Hi Corporal Simmons and Lance Corporal Johnson. Good to see you too."
I was glad to see the two of them alive and well. So glad that I almost didn't notice the rest of the Republic officers giving me a sideways glance. As I deflated slightly under their gaze, I noticed that the human officers were doing the same to the two marines. I guess we're more alike than I thought.
"Okay. Well, with all of the pleasantries out of the way, I'm going to turn things over to Director 3," Admiral Heckett said.
"Thank you, Admiral," Director 3 said with a nod before turning to look at the Republic side of the table. "The invasion of the Omni-Union stronghold was a success."
Clapping and some light cheering erupted from both sides of the table, but Director 3 quickly held up a hand to quiet things down.
"That's the only good news, I'm afraid. What I am about to tell you has already been relayed to the Republic's senior leadership, and they will be communicating with you in regards to whether they consider the information classified or not. Until they do so, I recommend treating it as classified," he said.
After a round of nods, he continued, "First, some of you may already know this, but we have a superweapon called the USSS Nidhogg. It's a dreadnought class ship that has the capacity to destroy a solar system by causing a star to go supernova."
"What?" one of our officers asked in shock. Several senior officer's eyes immediately darted towards the offending individual, who quickly quieted down.
"Your shock is understandable. To clarify, the Nidhogg was built in response to our conflict with the Daluran, as a deterrence to any further xenocidal action taken against the United Systems and its member species. Frankly, many of us hoped to never use it. But we were forced to use it against the Omni-Union during the invasion."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was like the room got smaller somehow. A superweapon that can destroy an entire solar system, something the likes of which the Republic would likely never get close to. And they USED it. Wait hold on, did he say...
"Apologies, Director, but what do you mean you were forced to use it?" Fleet-Leader Onaya asked.
"Exactly that. One of our AI infiltrated their planetary systems, as planned, and retrieved mission critical intelligence. The next step of the plan would have been to cripple the OU's planetary activities by any means possible and move on to the next planet," Director 3 said. "However, it turned out that the planet wasn't actually a planet at all. It was a massive machine containing an Artificial Intelligence of unknown origin. And it was heavily armed."
Silence filled the room as images taken from US ships began to display. A planet filled our view. It looked like any other planet, but something was off about it. The images scrolled until they reached a short video of the planet firing, and two US ships exploding. My blood ran cold. Two US ships, ships with the most advanced shielding and hulls that I've ever seen, with one shot.
As much as I hated to admit it, I was grateful that they had that superweapon. The Republic was pursuing an offensive war against the Omni-Union even now, and if we would have run into this thing... Sun preserve us.
"This AI was called Prime 29 and the machine itself is a Mobile Prime Platform. During the confrontation with our AI, Prime two-niner was able to extract actionable intelligence from the AI. Thankfully, prior to this confrontation our AI managed to disable their communications which prevented Prime two-niner from being able to communicate said information with the Omni-Union. We were able to keep it trapped in the system using our own warp-jamming technology," Director 3 said. "The reason that we used the Nidhogg was to make certain that it didn't have enough time to eliminate the warp-jammers or escape their range."
"If we had tried to eliminate that thing with standard tactics, our casualties would have been in the tens of thousands," Admiral Heckett said. "As it stands, we lost 2,316 ships and more than one million marines."
"The Republic's casualties would have easily exceeded one hundred thousand ships. If we were even able to take it out at all," Fleet-Leader Onaya said, looking somewhat deflated.
"Was this the only Mobile Prime Platform, sir?" I asked, knowing damned well what the answer would be.
"No," Omega said, his avatar appearing where the images were previously. "We found intelligence in the form of a list that shows a total of 114 Mobile Prime Platforms. The intel indicated that at least one was damaged beyond repair prior to Prime 29's destruction, and that one is currently being built. Since we couldn't confirm if the other four planets in the stronghold system were MPPs or not, we will go on the assumption that there are now 111."
"Why don't we know if the other four planets are MPPs?" Onaya asked. "They didn't attack, so isn't it likely that they weren't?
"I suspect that the platforms require immense amounts of power, and so they stay in a sort of hibernation until something forces them out of it. Since the OU didn't awaken the MPP, it's reasonable to assume that they might not be able to. Prime 29 also had its communications cut, so it wouldn't have been able to wake them up, either," Omega said. "We had to go on the assumption that the other four planets were also MPPs, which is why we utilized the Nidhogg."
"So what's the plan to deal with them?" I asked.
"We're working on that," Director 3 interjected. "Obviously, we don't want to be running around causing supernovas everywhere."
"I guess it's time to come up with another 'bigger gun', eh?" Tim asked.
"Or a lot of little ones," John replied, appearing next to Omega.
A lot of our officers began to look nervous. Until very recently, AI was seen as the enemy and it's hard to kill old habits. They all looked to fleet leader Onaya to judge what their reactions should be. He didn't react, so they didn't either.
A bigger gun, or even a lot of little ones, would probably take quite a while to come up with. The US has amazing manufacturing procedures, but not nearly as many shipyards as the Republic. It was arguable whose engineers were better. The US had come up with some amazing things, but they had the benefit of necessity driving their creativity. Our engineers came up with what they created out of pure speculation. If the two worked together...
"Omega, if I may ask, how long would it take the US to create a new fleet?"
"One of ours or one of yours," the AI asked with a hint of smugness.
"One of yours," I replied.
"Factoring in material procurement, at least a year and a half. Assuming everyone working at capacity and nothing went wrong, which isn't a very realistic assumption," Omega said.
"What about us, fleet leader? How long to manufacture five million ships?" I asked.
"Or primary delay would be material procurement, but we managed to do eight million in seven months at the beginning of the OU war," Onaya replied.
All of the US officers eyebrows rose at this. I took a little pleasure at being able to surprise them, for once. Our manufacturing capability was borne from nearly every species already having at least one shipyard prior to joining the Republic, and maintaining those shipyards even now. If we were able to apply US manufacturing standards to those shipyards, the OU wouldn't stand a chance.
"We have a lot more shipyards than the US does," I began. "If the US were to make use of those shipyards, both sides would benefit massively."
"While that may be true, there's always the risk of us turning on each other after the OU is dealt with," Omega said.
"That's a bit pessimistic," John said.
"But historically accurate!" Tim cheerily exclaimed.
"That may be the case, but there are ways to prevent that. Bolstering the US fleet and shipyards to meet the same size as the Republic's, for instance. It would take quite a while for the US to catch up to the Republic's ship count on its own, and we've got barely any chance of catching up to your tech on our own," I said, holding my hands up to quiet the AI.
"This is true," Onaya began, "and your corporations would even fall in line. Greed is their primary motivator, and this deal would require a lot of trade and chance for profits."
Director 3 looked deep in thought before he finally spoke up, "Is this something that the Republic would agree to?"
"Probably," I said. "I'm not an official diplomat so I can't say with 100% certainty, but the US is more likely to say no than we are."
"I'll bring it to the Directorate, and we'll convince the senate of the necessity," Director 3 said with a nod.
"And I'll get have the diplomatic corps draw up an official agreement, and I'll push the proper buttons to get the votes on our end," Onaya said with smiling eyes. "Also, Uleena, you actually are an official diplomat now. The RSV Lowelana is our first armed diplomatic vessel. The decision came down yesterday."
"What?" I asked in shock.
"Your temporary post as liaison has become a permanent one. You'll be starting your training as soon as we can spare you. Same with your crew," Onaya said, the smiling eyes turning ever so slightly malicious.
Ah, I see. The Sun has forsaken me for some grave, unknown sin. Woe be unto me.
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