via TFN News Services

In 2009 I was writing my first book ‘1000 Summers’ on militarism, as speculative fiction, the setting being USA 2016. In it I did have Justin Trudeau as the Canadian PM, and Barrick Obama was the US President, in his last days in office. The US had defaulted on its bonds, the USD was in free fall. Entire stock markets were closing.

I pick up the story here:

At the White House the Secretary of the US Navy privately asked the President about the ‘Navy rumor’.

Obama did not immediately respond.

"Let's discuss practical matters then," replied Leeman.
"My read is that you've been in discussions with the United Nations toward re-commissioning the Nimitz as a disaster relief vessel, along with a transport task force to support it. Is my information correct?"
"Preliminary, but correct. The assault ships are in there too. We have to do something symbolic to indicate that we are going to comply with the provisions of the 4N boycott. The Pentagon itself has acknowledged that carriers are just too large a target for any kind of major power in combat anymore, within current modeling. I have negotiated a deal with Ban whereby we would be credited with two full years’ contribution to the UN if we convert and assign such a task force to Singapore. It’s like we’re running a set of books with the UN now, because we are. We pay them taxes, send them invoices, it’s a new game. More than one carrier, by the way, more like six and why not? It would be the flagship deal if you like, that will lift the boycott for us. Provided of course that we schedule the phase-out and elimination of nuclear weapons in concert with the other major powers, concurrently."
Leeman looked at him like a weary old bloodhound with no emotion left to give.
"Well, as long as you're selling it to Congress, Mr. President," he said "I can pretend to know nothing about it,” he said resignedly. "From now on I'll just say “You’ll have to speak to the President about that.”
"Works for me," Obama granted, "it's not going to be a state secret much longer."
The two men agreed to reconvene again by the middle of the month.

In a later chapter Obama would hand over the Nimitz as a donated helicopter and hospital ship, renamed UNS Florence Nightingale. Its first mission would be to Haiti.

By profession I have been a network designer, and I abhor primitive, wasteful, non-optimal infrastructure - like the US military since WW2. (I write this Substack to advocate for the BB-H-EG network solution for death). So in ‘1000 Summers’ I thought in terms of the UN paying the annual budget of the Pentagon, and the interest on the national debt (today about $1T on $31T of treasuries).

Where did/would the UN get the money? In my thinking any member nation was assessed 50% of its defense budget. The US too, paid for collective security, on an agreed GDPxPop formula.

So overnight the US was financially reborn, and was no longer the World Cop. With 4% of the human species, and most of its debt - it was to rebrand militarism as Humanism.

Which I expected Obama to do, but he became enthralled by Predator drone assassinations and hunting down Osama instead. He was in charge when the US decided to convert the Minsk Accords into a proxy war with Russia in 2014. Don’t give your heart away.

Imagine 700 overseas US bases - repatched with UN insignia - their countries building the coastal vessels guarding their fisheries - that make more sense than nuclear submarines. The Pentagon dissolving into a benevolent security blanket, staffed by every canton.

And for the US network to become re-dedicated security for our entire species, integrated by a welcoming UN consensus. That’s a clean upgrade!

Are we waiting for a nuclear fart from Ukraine, first? Let’s not, and empower the United Nations - as generations of our forbears have pledged.

Looking at my watch…

The Human Franchise

United Nations Would Lease US Navy, Base…