The last post is the WINNER!

[Stevicus]

U.S. aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan arrives in South Korea for military drills - UPI.com

A demonstration of military might.

BUSAN, South Korea, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group arrived in the port city of Busan on Friday to conduct joint drills with the South Korean navy, in a demonstration of military might and extended deterrence against a growing nuclear threat from North Korea.

The visit to Busan is the first in five years for the 1,100-foot, 97,000-ton Nimitz-class carrier and comes shortly after Pyongyang passed a new law giving it the right to conduct preemptive nuclear strikes.

Pyongyang passed a new law giving it the right to conduct preemptive strikes? Say what?

Last week, the United States committed to deploy "strategic assets" to South Korea "in a timely and effective manner to deter and respond to [North Korea] and enhance regional security." It pointed to the visit of the USS Ronald Reagan as a "clear demonstration of such U.S. commitment" and warned that any nuclear attack by North Korea would "be met with an overwhelming and decisive response."

The allies returned to full-scale field exercises last month for the first time since 2018, drawing a furious reaction from Pyongyang, which has long characterized the exercises as a rehearsal for an invasion.

North Korea has launched a flurry of missiles in 2022 and officials in Seoul and Washington have assessed that the secretive regime is poised for a nuclear detonation at any time.

The nuclear-powered Ronald Reagan last conducted joint exercises around the Korean Peninsula in October 2017, just a month after North Korea's sixth nuclear test.

The forward-deployed supercarrier is based in Yokosuka, Japan with the Navy's 7th Fleet. It has a crew of 4,900 sailors and carries roughly 60 aircraft including F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jets and E-2D Hawkeye early warning planes.

The Ronald Reagan was joined in Busan by missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville and destroyer USS Barry. The destroyer USS Benfold docked in Chinhae, 22 miles west of Busan.

American and South Korean officials did not share details of the joint exercises or the length of the carrier strike group's stay.

At least it's only a drill.

 

[Wu Wei]

Did someone say Drill

 

[Stevicus]

 

[Stonetree]

F Troop....?

 

[Wu Wei]

F Troop....?

 

[Stevicus]

Mountain Goats Are Being Airlifted Out of a National Park Because They Crave Human Pee (popularmechanics.com)

I guess they're pretty pissed off about it, too.

Olympic National Park, located in Washington state's Olympic Peninsula, is faced with a daunting challenge: removing a ballooning mountain goat population that's developed a strong appetite for human pee.

Mountain goats aren't a native species in the park. Since their introduction in the 1920s, their numbers have blossomed into a staggering 700 ungulates. Now, with humans flooding the area and routinely relieving themselves on various hiking trails, the goats have developed an insatiable thirst for urine, which serves as a strong source of salt and minerals.

Acting in concert with the National Park Services (NPS) and the USDA Forest Service, park authorities have begun tagging, blindfolding and airlifting the goats to the nearby forests in the North Cascades via helicopter. Fitted with GPS collars, the goats are ferried in pairs to nine sites in the Mt.Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, per a Motherboard report. The sites should provide a more hospitable environment for the surging goat tribe where they can roam free of human interlopers.

 

[Wu Wei]

Well... I've had enough..... I'm going to bed....goodnight

 

[John53]

I travel the roads and highways of life, breaking hearts wind along the way.

Fixed.

 

[Stonetree]

You've been to the States. I assume you've been to NZ because of your avatar. Ever got near Antarctica?

 

[John53]

You've been to the States. I assume you've been to NZ because of your avatar. Ever got near Antarctica?

Eastern Rosellas are Aussie, the population in NZ are feral and no I've never been there, too many New Zealanders. Closest I've been to Antarctica was Tasmania. We were going to do a cruise there a few years ago but I failed the physical.

 

[Stonetree]

Eastern Rosellas are Aussie, the population in NZ are feral and no I've never been there, too many New Zealanders. Closest I've been to Antarctica was Tasmania. We were going to do a cruise there a few years ago but I failed the physical.

Those Tasmanian Devils remind me of a dog I once had.......

 

[John53]

Those Tasmanian Devils remind me of a dog I once had.......

They were pretty much wiped out when I was there from some disease that causes facial tumours. There's a breeding place for them in the mountains not far from where I live that they hope to replace the wild Tassie population with some day.

https://www.aussieark.org.au/devil-ark/

Devil Facial Tumour Disease

 

[sun rise]

Evening yawning win.

 

[ChristineM]

Ducky poured gin.

Lucky adored Lynn

 

[Stonetree]

Lucky adored Lynn

Lucky Good Morn

 

[Stevicus]

Stuckey stored sin.

 

[John53]

Pie-O-My

 

[ChristineM]

Lucky Good Morn

Only just, 7 minutes to noon at the moment.

And a good whatever time it is where you are to you

 

[ChristineM]

Puppy roared din

 

[ChristineM]

Pie-O-My