Anniversaries & Celebrations! – SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR)

Gustave Doré: illustration of the Wandering Jew The Wandering Jew, illustration by Gustave Doré, 1856.

UK: Kartosphilus (Greek) – Cartaphilus (Latin) – Gate-Keeper of Pontius Pilate! (19.8.2026)

19/08/2026 Adrian (釋大道)

The name “Joseph” means “he will add” or “God will increase”. It comes from the Hebrew Book of Genesis and is used in the Greek New Testament to refer to the husband of Mary – the Mother who Immaculately Conceives Jesus Christ (Joshua Ben Joseph). Within the development of the English language, “J” only becomes the 26th letter of the alphabet during the 17th century – often replacing “i” in spellings. As for “Y” – it would appear that Christian missionaries brought this to England during the 7th century – but it was slow to catch-on. For instance, the Hebrew “Yosif” was rendered “Joseph” in English (with an “i”) but was never spelt “Yoseph”. Many centuries later, the “Y” would be completely bypassed and the name would be presented as “Joseph” – where it remains today.

USSR: The 1971 Mars 2 & Mars 3 Missions – Carried the 1st Soviet-Made “Mars Rovers” [PrOP-M]! (18.8.2026)

18/08/2026 Adrian (釋大道)

The USSR and Eastern Europe had been devastated by Hitler during WWII with the Soviets suffering 41 million (killed and wounded) casualties whilst large swathes of the Western USSR was materially devastated. Leningrad, of course, was reduced to starvation by the Nazi blockade (rather like what Trump II is attempting to do to Cuba). Despite suffering that material and psychological devastation – within a few short years of reconstruction directed by Joseph Stalin – the country was able to regroup and direct its resources toward space exploration, a process which sent shockwaves throughout the world of the US, a place which had suffered no material or economic damage during WWII. Make no mistake about, although Stalin passed away in 1953 – everything that unfolded in the USSR from a technological position – manifested from the groundwork laid by Stalin between 1945-1953. This dialectical preparation sustained the country for decades despites its leaders betraying Stalin and taking the country in a Counter-Revolutionary direction. Indeed, the Mars 2 and Mars 3 Soviet fact-finding missions to Mars in 1971 both carried a version of the world’s first “rover” designed to explore the area immediately surrounding the lander (or “Mars Station”). This “Device Assessing [through] Cross-Country Capability-Mars” [Прибор оценки проходимости-Марс – Pribor otsenki prokhodimosti-Mars] or “ПрОП-М” [PrOP-M] was attached to the lander via a 15 metre tethering cable (similar to the first-generation remote controls attached to TV sets and video recorders).

A protest against AI outside OpenAI headquarters in San Francisco, California, on 11 July. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

US: Trump Vows to “Break Wynd” Over AI Row! (17.8.2026)

17/08/2026 Adrian (釋大道)

She said that when she was found guilty, she was “hit with a wave of grief” because she realised her peers “just didn’t get” the danger she believes is posed by the race to superintelligence. But she was beginning to feel “vindicated” as more prominent figures like Sanders were speaking out. She is now braced for the prison experience of an orange jump suit, “horrible food, dirt [and] you can’t sleep”. She has been previously jailed for short periods related to her decades of political activism over causes including Nicaragua, nuclear disarmament, western Sahara and Palestine.

Her message to the chief executives of OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta, which also reported a security incident with its model, was “regain your humanity”. Kaufmyn said her target audience was ordinary people “and the message being: stop the progress of this technology. Let’s get a global ban on the race to superintelligence.”

Prof Stuart Russell, a leading AI academic at the University of California at Berkeley and president of the International Association for Safe and Ethical AI, gave evidence in Kaufmyn’s defence. He claimed OpenAI’s activities “pose an unacceptable risk”, alleging it had deployed AI systems with inadequate safeguards. He said that further development of these systems “must be conditioned on rigorous guarantees of safety, which are currently unavailable”.

Comrade Kim Jong Un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and President of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

DPRK: Comrade Kim Jong Un Receives Greetings from Palestinian President on 81st Liberation Anniversary! (17.8.2026)

17/08/2026 Adrian (釋大道)

You can see the issue. Most in the West do not understand the minutiae of what is happening in Palestine – and mistakenly believe their is a united front. As an aside, the only organisation that attempts a broad united front is the “Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine” (PFLP) headquartered in Lebanon. Meanwhile, PA, whilst collaborating with Israel locally (a point that angers Hamas-supporters), backs the “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions” (BDS) campaign that seeks to economically isolate Israel by encouraging ordinary people in the West not to give their money to Israeli-supporting businesses. PA, therefore, the organisation that has praised North Korea below, advocate collaboration with Israel locally – whilst encouraging those living outside the Middle East to wage an economic war against Israel. Yes – PA complains continuously about the ill-treatment of Palestinian prisoners and the violent behaviour of Israeli-settlers – but does very little about it in practical terms.

Banbury's Prodrive helps smash 400mph hydrogen land speed record

US: British Car & Driver Smash Land-Speed Record [406.320MPH]! (16.8.2026)

16/08/2026 Adrian (釋大道)

Driven by Wing Commander Andy Green OBE, JCB Hydromax completed the record attempt on the Bonneville Salt Flats, setting a new world benchmark for a hydrogen combustion-powered vehicle. The achievement represents the culmination of an intensive development programme that combined JCB’s hydrogen combustion technology with engineering and operational expertise from across the project team.

Following its appointment to the programme this time last year, Prodrive has played a key role, being responsible for vehicle integration and trackside operations, helping prepare both car and crew for the unique challenges of a world land speed record campaign. Working alongside JCB and Ricardo, the company supported the development, testing and execution of the record attempt, drawing on decades of experience operating at the highest levels of international motorsport.

St Paul's Commemorative Coin - 15.6.2026

UK: Climbing the Dome – Surviving the 528-Steps of St Paul’s Cathedral! (16.8.2026)

16/08/2026 Adrian (釋大道)

In fact – although one of the centres of the Church of England (CofE) – there seems to be an element of “Sadomasochism” to it all. As if those Church Authorities watching enjoy the spectacle of the fee-paying faithful (yes – you have to “pay” to voluntarily submit yourself to this madness) – or non-faithful (as the case may be) – inflicting pain upon themselves (a form of self-flagellation). It is the design of this building possesses a nasty side in its design. Who knows – when the Cathedral is closed the Church Fathers might draw pleasure by climbing the steps themselves. Of course, like all things “CofE” – the entire place, although of historical and archaeological importance, is subject to capitalist free market forces. The over-priced gift shop reduces Christianity to fluffy toys and cut book-marks – all over-priced – of course. I suspect that if you actually asked a question about religion – nobody working in there could answer it. Still, history is history, and other than the excessive steps – the history entwined in the stone-work of the building was good for the children to enjoy. At the entry point – the clerk shouted that there was no photography – but then said we could photograph anything we wanted to. So, we never quite worked-out what the rule was – and recorded everything we could see. Finally, when we got to what we thought was the top – it turned out there was actually over another hundred steps to go! In the video I say we had climbed the 528 steps – but I think there was around another 140 to go!

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