Month: October 2016

Wreckage of German U-boat reportedly attacked by aquatic leviathan in 1918 found off the Scottish coast

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The almost intact wreckage of a First World War U-boat was recently found by cablelayers off the coast of Scotland, prompting speculation that it could be the wreckage of the doomed vessel UB-85.

UB-85 was a Type-III U-boat in service with the Kriegsmarine that was “attacked by a large sea creature” on April 30, 1918.

The legend of UB-85 has been passed down the ages, and maritime lore says that the sub was disabled by an aquatic leviathan, prompting the crew to surrender to a passing British patrol boat.

As the story goes, the British vessel HMS Coreopsis happened across a German sub drifting off the Scotland coast. The Coreopsis crew were stunned by the sight of a German sub on the sea surface, right on the middle of the day, and showing no signs of putting up a fight. The German sailors were quickly brought on board Coreopsis.

Once brought to safety, the sub’s captain, Gunther Krech, reportedly said that UB-85 had surfaced during the night before to recharge its batteries. Then, out of the bottomless fathoms, a ‘strange beast’ leaped out of the water.

Krech continued, saying that the creature “had large eyes, set in a horny sort of skull. It had a small head, but with teeth that could be seen glistening in the moonlight”. He added that its heft was such that it could make the sub list from side to side just by pushing it. According to Krech, the monster attacked the sub’s forward gun, easily tearing chunks out of it and rendering it useless. The crew fired hand-held weapons at the creature, spooking it into sinking back into the depths.

Krech’s tale specified that the beast’s attack damaged the sub to such extent that it could no longer dive, hence its presence on the surface when Coreopsis sailed by.

After picking up the sub’s crew, Coreopsis fired on UB-85, sending it to its final resting place at the bottom of the sea.

Cue to present day, almost one hundred years later, and a cablelaying crew working on behalf of Scottish Power located the wreckage of an almost intact U-boat, prompting rumours that it could be the doomed U-85. Experts have pointed out, however, that it could also be its sister ship UB-22. Both vessels are almost identical, and the only way to tell which one it is would be to mount a deep sea dive and look at the identification lettering on its hull.

The area where the wreckage was found is rife with reports of uncanny sightings, dating back hundreds of years.

Whether UB-85 was indeed attacked by a sea monster, or something more mundane forced the sub to be scuttled, we’ll probably never know.

But it makes for good reading.

Russia deploys missile systems with nuclear capabilities in Kaliningrad as part of ‘exercise’

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In another display of the escalating tensions between the US and Russia, the latter has deployed a battery of Iskander-M missile systems in its Kaliningrad outpost, bordering Poland and Lithuania.

The Iskander-M is a short-range ballistic missile system with an effective operational range of about 500km. Launched from a mobile platform, the weapon can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads. Some modified versions of the Iskander-M ordnance are rumoured to have an extended range of 700km, which would put them within striking distance of the German capital, Berlin.

Kaliningrad was once Konigsberg, the capital of the East Prussia province. It borders with Poland in its southern fringe and with Lithuania on the north. The enclave was recaptured from the Germans in 1945 and renamed ‘Kaliningrad’ the following year.

According to Russian authorities, the deployment is part of an ongoing ‘exercise’, but the move is only likely to exacerbate relations between Russia and the US already strained over the Syrian and Ukrainian conflicts.

Last July, NATO announced that four fresh battallions would be deployed into Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, to reinforce frontline border troops.

The deployment of the missile systems is likely to trigger a NATO-Russia Council meeting to discuss this, and other security issues.

‘Trumpxit’: Or how Donald Trump’s presidential aspirations drowned in a groping quagmire

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Donald Trump is a dead man walking, politically speaking. In fairness, no man dubbed ‘groper-in-chief’ could ever dwell in the Oval Office.

Mr. Trump’s campaign, already tainted in numerous ocassions by lewd, offensive, and inflammatory rhetoric directed at women and ethnic minorities, and particularly Mexicans, has now imploded altogether over his brash comments regarding how he treats women.

‘Grab them by (their genitals),’ Mr. Trump appears to say in a 2005 recording that surfaced recently. ‘When you are a star, they let you do it.’

Mr. Trump appeared to be unaware that his microphone was on as he spoke candidly about his treatment and regard for women. He was on bus alongside TV- and radio host Billy Bush, on his way to the Days of Our Lives set, where he was due to appear in a cameo.

The audio records Trump speaking about his attempt to seduce a married woman. It is unclear when the alleged seduction took place, but the conversation was recorded after Trump married his third wife, Melania.

Trump says “I moved on her, and I failed. I’ll admit it,” talking about the married woman.

After the revelatory audio surfaced, Trump issued a very rare televised apology, in which he says that “I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize.”

In his video apology, he continues “I’ve never said I’m a perfect person, nor pretended to be someone that I’m not. I’ve said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a decade-old video are one of them. Anyone who knows me knows these words don’t reflect who I am.”

The forced apology did very little for Trump, other than reaffirm his own hypocritical view of the world. It looked awkward, stilted, and artificial, and was delivered reluctantly and with as much honesty as a charlatan offering the elixir of life from the back of his one-horse cart.

Staunch, heavyweight Republicans swiftly moved to withdraw their support for the Trump camp. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who took over Trump’s role in The Apprentice, led the way. He publically announced that he “will not be voting for the Republican candidate.’

Former Republican canditate John McCain, and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also announced that they would not support Trump’s candidature.

The ‘groper-in-chief’ himself strenuously emphasized that he will not quit the race after the incrimatory audio surfaced.

He is due to face off against Hillary Clinton in a second live debate later today, but the damage to his aspirations is clear, irreparable, and terminal.

Analysts warn of Third World War fears over escalating tensions between US and Russia in Syria

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The US and Russia have been fighting a proxy war in Syria for some time, using their military might to aid rebel militia and the Syrian Army, respectively.

Not since the bloody struggle in Afghanistan back in the 1980s has the world witnessed such indirect military confrontation between the old foes. Rebel factions on the ground in Syria are receiving CIA-sanctioned shipments of weapons, particularly TOW anti-tank missiles. President Bashar al- Assad, on the other side, has full military co-operation from Russian aircraft and special forces personnel.

The rebels had some initial successes, using the TOW weapon systems to devastating effect against Russian armor, and for a time it seemed that President al-Assad’s grip on power would wane. But then the Russian air force began operations in the area, pounding the rebels from the air. Rebel militia, lacking any anti-aircraft weaponry, were soon beaten back.

The US-supplied equipment had an unintended consequence, also.

The rising Nusra Front faction used American-made armament to gain footholds across northern Syria. This in turn handed the Russians the justification for their intervention. Under the pretense of ‘fighting terrorism’, Russian aircraft began an indiscriminate bombing campaign that has reduced the city of Aleppo to a heap of ruins, and claimed thousands of lives.

The situation has reached a stalemate, and now the US has officially severed ties with Russia over the heavy airstrikes in Syria in recent days, which many international observers have referred to as ‘war crimes.’ Russian aircraft and cruise missiles have targeted five hospitals around Aleppo, for instance, thus depriving the rebel-held areas of vital medical aid.

Some analysts are also expressing concerns that a more direct military intervention by US forces in Syria could trigger World War Three.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is deliberately provoking an US response through its intervention in the Syrian conflict, and with the rebels on the back foot, Putin has now achieved stronger leverage in Syria, and in the volatile Middle East as a whole.

Yet, if the provocation continues with the intention of eliciting a direct military response, US forces may bypass their proxy allies and launch a limited-scale assault against the Syrian army. This action may trigger a counter-offensive by Russian units, acting in defence of their Syrian allies.
The likely outcome of this scenario would be an all out war between the US and Russia, first on the Middle East theater of war. The hostilities may then spread globally.

A recent ill-fated attempt to broker a ceasefire in the region came to an abrupt halt after a convoy ferrying aid into
besieged areas of Aleppo was attacked by Russian warplanes. Over 20 people were killed, and 18 out of 31 trucks were destroyed. This action signaled the continuation of the fighting, with Russian and Syrian Army leading the charge, carrying out savage bombardment on Aleppo.

The US has now broken off talks with Russia over the situation in Syria, and recalled its negotiators back from Geneva. There is a feeling of steady deterioration in US-Russian relations, to a degree not seen since the Cold War era.