SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

ANOTHER GREAT MOMENT IN EDUCATION – FROM DAILY MAIL:   Oxford students have voted to take down a portrait of the Queen from their common room because she 'represents recent colonial history' and would make some people feel unwelcome.  Members of the Middle Common Room at Magdalen College - which is made up of graduates - passed the measure by a substantial majority, with one student commenting that 'patriotism and colonialism are not really separable'.  The committee will now explore replacing the portrait with 'art by or of other influential and inspirational people' and subject any future depictions of the Royal Family to a vote.  One student argued that the move was 'about making people feel welcome,' according to committee minutes seen by the Guido Fawkes blog.  It sparked an immediate backlash today, with one royalist opponent saying: 'In an era where debates on no-platforming and cancel culture rage strong, effectively ''cancelling'' the Queen and brandishing her as a symbol of colonialism – so often used as a synonym for racism – sends a dire message that is sure to enrage.  Moreover, it is culturally insensitive for a common room so heavily comprised of international students to seek to remove a national symbol from a British institution.'    Western nations, including the United States, seem to have a death wish.  They may get the wish.  I don't want to live in that society.

IMPORTANT ADVANCE – FROM THE JERUSALEM POST:    An unmanned Boeing aircraft successfully refueled a US Navy fighter jet while in mid-flight for the first time in aviation history.  The combined US Air Force-Boeing refueling exercise demonstrated that the Boeing MQ-25 Stingray can carry out tanker missions utilizing the Navy's probe-and-drogue aerial refueling method, the US NAVAIR Public Affairs office announced in a statement.  “This flight lays the foundation for integration into the carrier environment, allowing for greater capability toward manned-unmanned teaming concepts,” said Rear Adm. Brian Corey. Corey oversees the Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons.  “MQ-25 will greatly increase the range and endurance of the future carrier air wing – equipping our aircraft carriers with additional assets well into the future,” he added.  During the historic June 4 exercise, the Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet warplane made an approach to the MQ-25 T1 test asset and established a tight formation - at points coming in close to 20 feet behind the unmanned drone - to ensure peak "performance and stability prior to refueling," Boeing said.   An important step forward, which will allow aircraft carriers to stay much further away from a target when launching planes against it.  The mainstream media shows little interest in defense developments.  We don't feel the same way here. 

June 8, 2021