I've had this bookmarked for years because I never trusted the technology in the first place.

How much this has evolved and in who's hands is a guess. I also wonder if there is a way to reverse the science to see/record what happens in the light of one of these systems.

The fact that this hasn't been offered with some kind of commercial slant today leads me to believe it's something to be wary of in our everyday lives, not for everything but under certain circumstances and locations.

No embed available but here's the link. It's a "TED Talk" from 2011 with 2.7 million views....

Wireless Data From Every Lightbulb

I struggled to wonder which forum to post this in, and then it seemed obvious.

Space isn't something limited only to looking up or out.

I remember this little movie as a kid and it blew my little mind. It's been travelling like this ever since and will never stop.

"This film probes the infinite magnitude of space, and its reverse, the ultimate minuteness of matter. Animation art and animation camera achieve this journey to the farthest conceivable point of the universe and then into the tiniest particle of existence--an atom of a living human cell--with a freshness and clarity that would seem impossible with other means of exposition.
Directed by Eva Szasz - 1968"

Enjoy.

I recently came upon an article... written in the vaguest terms possible, about a man who downloaded a couple of billions of dollars' worth of cryptocurrency on a thumb drive, and then slipped town.  I was wondering, because of the lack of 'reporting' detail (dates, times, etc.) if perhaps it was just a story for entertainment... but then I found more searching around ...

I though the tale... amended by the narrative I had just read, made for an interesting exercise in making it unclear as to whose narrative I should believe... the one hashed out in story-telling fashion, or the journalistic article I found later...

Join me...

From: HITB SecNews: He Emptied an Entire Crypto Exchange Onto a Thumb Drive. Then He Disappeared
 

I found this YouTube video from 60 Minutes. 



It's pretty intriguing. I've been interested in this since it started being reported on. I believe that either the Russians or Chinese governments are behind this. What's really scary is that they can do this to pretty much anyone, anywhere. Even where the President of the United States is. There was an attack in Vietnam where Vice President Kamala Harris was.

I posted this at ATS, thought I'd post the same article here.

Back in 1806/1811, the same thing happened then that is happening now.  Two solar eclipses forming a giant X over America and over the New Madrid fault line.  Last time, three months after the X was formed, the New Madrid get extremely active, so active that the earthquakes made the Mississippi river run backwards.  Back then there was even a comet in the mix, Tecumseh’s Comet, just as this time there is a comet, the Devil Comet.

So ... do you think History will repeat itself?   Two eclipses forming a giant X, two comets - one carrying a curse name and the other named for the devil himself.  All over the New Madrid fault line.  Or do you think it's a nothingburger and 'just another eclipse'?  

What Happened The Last Time Two Eclipses Formed A Giant X Over New Madrid Fault Zone

Quote:Could it be possible that history is about to repeat itself?  On April 8th, the Great American Eclipse of 2024 will complete the giant “X” over America that the Great American Eclipse of 2017 started.  Meanwhile, the Devil Comet will be racing through our solar system for the first time in 71 years.  Most of you already know all this.  But what is not widely known is that we have seen this same pattern before.  In 1811, a solar eclipse finished the giant “X” over the heartland of America that a solar eclipse in 1806 had started, and meanwhile Tecumseh’s Comet was making headlines all over the nation as it raced through the heavens.  Approximately three months after the giant “X” over America was completed, cataclysmic earthquakes began erupting along the New Madrid fault.

Quote:A remarkable total solar eclipse crossed the entire continental United States from the west coast to the east coast on June 16th, 1806… That was the first half of the giant “X” over America in the early 1800s. The second half was formed by the path of a “ring of fire” solar eclipse that took place on September 17th, 1811. The paths of those two eclipses intersected in the vicinity of Cleveland, Ohio… Approximately three months after the eclipse of 1811 completed the giant “X” over America, the New Madrid fault zone started to go absolutely nuts. To this day, we have never seen earthquakes of such destructive power in the continental United States…According to the USGS, at one point the geography of the region became so distorted by seismic activity that the Mississippi River actually began to flow backwards temporarily…

I have been wondering where to post this, and decided Cold War would be the bast fit, mods move if not ok.

Harold Holt was the Prime Minister of Australia in 1966/7, and he was an avid spearfisherman--right up until his disapearence, but lets not get ahead of ourselves.

Holt ended what was known as "the white Australia Policy", which was a major change in the demographics of Australia, and spoke of a "cultural melting pot".

He also wanted to take Australia out of Vietnam, which kinda put him in an awkward diplomatic position.

Anyway he "drowns" while spearfishing and his body never recovered.

A disinfo campaign tried to spread roumers he was kidnaped by a Chinese submarine, while other goups claimed it was the CIA and US subs, you can blame aliens if you want, he was gone. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Holt

One of Holts Legacys was having a joint AU-US military based named after him in Western Australia's north west, and one of the bases functions...

Quote: The station is operated and maintained by the Australian Department of Defence on behalf of Australia and the United States and provides very low frequency (VLF) radio transmission to United States Navy, Royal Australian Navy and allied ships and submarines in the western Pacific Ocean and eastern Indian Ocean.[sup][1][/sup]

My personal experience with annual respiratory lung infections as a result of allergic reactions to pollen.


I transferred over from the old school as I was invited by several members and Mods. I wrote some threads on my Covid-19 vaccine jab in September 2021 that I felt like I was going to die. I was later to find out by my PHD Professor brother that feeling ill was a great thing as it meant that my immune system was in great shape, functional and protecting me.

That sounds weird doesn’t it but after he explained I get it. He said that older people typically don’t react to the jab because their immune systems are shot as a result of age. That many of these will receive a jab that actually provides NO protection for them. It’s not a conspiracy it’s just that it would be cost prohibitive as to determine just who has a functional immune system.

I am sort of off topic as this is about my respiratory issues which arise annually as a result of increased pollen. That IMO seems to coincide with a warmer environment. This year in 2024 my lungs are infected so I thought that I would just get a 10 day sleeve of whatever’s from my doctor and that would fix me up as in years past. Nope, not this year.

I just returned from the doctor and he had me get a jab in the arse. The vial was the size of a crayon. That’s a first time ever for me. In addition to that needle a sleeve of [5] antibiotic pills @ a cost of $2 each and a new inhaler. The inhaler is called Dulera. My cost is $137.91. Yikes!!!!!!!!!!! So I looked it up to buy with various coupons. With a coupon it averages around $356 as in wow.

So what the deal? Cost, and I can’t breathe at night and my lungs sound like a harmonica. They make so much noise I wake up at 1:00am. So for the last 7 days I have averaged 3 hours of sleep a day. No, I can’t take a nap as once I am up I am up. I am also a useless adult as I am beat. So do nothing and what? Eventually succumb to an infection and die? No, that happened last year when I was bitten by a Brown Recluse Spider? The sleeves of antibiotics was so strong it blew out my immune system which is now below the low end of normal so I am now at risk.

In my opinion the world is getting warmer. I don’t care to argue about it but it is in my opinion as I live in it. So do you. We are in South Carolina. Maps of the state from the early 1800's delineate that the lowlands are "sickly". It went on to state that many in the summer months die from respiratory ailments. It’s spelled out right on the map from over 200 years ago. The lowlands are the coastal lands along the Atlantic Ocean and go inland about 100 miles.

I live in the Midlands, the center of the state near the capital, Columbia.

I worked my entire life for publically traded corporations and my earning were documented on a W2. In brief there wasn’t much I could do to game or cheat the tax system in the USA. I did my part, paid my taxes and worked.

Now I pay into a system which I feel is fair to me from a health care perspective. However that’s my perspective as I read many stories of others in that same system who say otherwise.

I don’t know so what say you?

This article is not for those who shy away from paranoia...

I've heard many people crowing about how they don't care if mega businesses have collected vast amounts of data about them.  Usually, their dismissal relates to their inability to see how that data might possibly have any meaningful value or represent any realistic danger at all.

I don't bother trying to justify my concerns, and usually just allow them the luxury of considering me paranoid.  Life's easier that way.

From TechCrunch: ‘Reverse’ searches: The sneaky ways that police tap tech companies for your private data
 

This must have happened quite recently, as the report I read didn't even bother to specify a time...

From FOX: Powerful earthquake rocks Taiwan, buildings seen collapsed, causes tsunami warning in Japan
Subtitled: Buildings were seen shaken off their foundations following the quake, which was given a 7.5, according to the U.S. Geological Survey
 

Bird flu confirmed in person who had contact with infected dairy cows
 

What's all the hubbub about the solar eclipse? AP acts as if it's just an abundance of caution, but I don't ever recall all of this BS 

I wanted to drop this here and will add more later 

Seeing areas and organizations declaring states of emergency, seems like a gross overreaction...what am I missing

Various events mentioned 

CERN NASA & State of Emergency during Solar Eclipse.

• Solar eclipse on April 8th • NASA is firing 3 rockets at it • A "Devil Comet" will be visible during it • They’re turning on CERN on for first time since 2022 the same day • "Celestial explosion will briefly create new star in skies" Crazy week!

NASA Director warns of “Unusual Behaviors” during Eclipse and that Solar Eclipses have “Special Power”.

https://apnews.com/article/total-solar-e...3f26234a2e
 

Quote:MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Stock up on groceries. Print off driving directions. And be very, very patient.
Small towns and rural enclaves along the path of April’s total solar eclipse are steeling for huge crowds of sun chasers who plan to catch a glimpse of day turning into dusk in North America.
Tourism and community leaders in the path of totality from Texas to Maine have trucked in extra fuel and port-a-potties, and urged residents and visitors to be prepared. Some counties have issued disaster declarations to get extra help with policing and other aid, similar to the aftermath of severe storms. And in Oklahoma, the National Guard will help.
Because of expected heavy traffic and other disruptions, hundreds of schools are closing or switching to remote learning in states including Texas, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont.
WHY ALL THE WARNINGS?Look no further back than the last U.S. total solar eclipse in 2017 to understand the concern, said Tom Traub, who is part of NASA’s eclipse ambassador program.
That year, he traveled to Beatrice, Nebraska, where the normal population of around 12,000 swelled to around 40,000 as eclipse watchers arrived.

Ever since I was a boy, I had heard that among all the animals in the world, elephants are among the few that seem to mourn their dead.  Not only that, but elephants have been reported to have a 'dying place' where many of their remains can be found... 

But I had never heard of anything approaching a 'ritual' or 'ritualized' handling of the deceased.  In fact, insofar as word of mouth is concerned, there were accounts (verbal only) that in Africa, they did in fact 'handle' their dead calves in a burial fashion.  But it had never been scientifically examined or encountered... 

Now recently in Asia, the burial sites of four calves have been studied...

From Science Alert: Tragic And Mysterious Elephant Burial Ritual Witnessed by Scientists
also from ThreatenedTaxa.org: Unearthing calf burials among Asian Elephants ...
 

Project Sun Streak
Link
 
I will summarize each slide:
 

1. brief overview
   
2. Psycho energetics for intelligence collection. 1 psychokineses 2. ESP/telepathy/ remote viewing
   
3. Since early 1970’s DOD has been experimenting as intelligence gathering tool. Hal Puthoff & Russel Targ at Stanford Research Institute (SRI) has proven success.
   
4. Remote viewing coined at Sri. Acquisition and description by mental process of information blocked from ordinary perception by distance, shielding, or time.
   
5. Pat price and Ingo swann proven gifted in cia remote viewing tests.
   
6. Much detailed accurate information collected and proven accurate. Gained detailed info about Soviet R&D facility.
   
7. Result- focus on remote viewing 
   
8. DIA and military services all at one time or another done tests. 1972 Army published book on Soviets use
   
9. 1976 missile intelligence Agency in US replication of so it work
   
10. Sri developed program for them 1977 were awarded 1 year contract.
    
11. Same time army material systems analysis agency involved with Sri and remote viewing.
    
12. Also 1977 us army intelligence and security command (INSCOM) established program "Gondola Wish”
    
13. Gondola wish to integrate soviet and eastern psycho energetic intelligence collection threat into all-source operations (OPSEC) support scenario at Fort Meade MD (personal note they brought in Robert Monroe and integrated hemi-sync technology sometime about here).
    
14. 1978 army ACSI concluded effective and made comprehensive program. Canceled Gondola Wish, placed complete security envelope over army’s interest and made new program for Remote viewing: Grill Flame. (Personal note - I’ve described it as a shell game for years. Just renaming and moving it but keeping it going).
    
15. Grille flame purpose to use remote viewing as an information collection method - Ft. Meade MD
    
16. Spring 1978 INSCOM selected personnel and began training.
    
17. How accurate? Would intel community accept?
    
18. Sep 4 1979 ASCI tasked to locate missing Navy plane.
    
19. They successfully located it within 15 miles of crash site.
    
20. Successful, they were given more tasks and training stopped prematurely by Dec 1979 and operations commenced. 
    
21. Gale committee formed and issued report dec 1979.
    
22. Findings: continue operations. Find foreign programs. Establish DOD authority to fund and monitor.
    
23. 1980 undersecretary of defense ended other programs but continued remote viewing operations.
    
24. 1981 Grill Flame ASCI transferred to INSCOM. Joint ops with DIA and w year program.
    
25. DIA roles - treat, countermeasures, established psychics, Sri contracts. Army roles - apply remote viewing operations, use assigned personnel, enhance capability.
    
26. Grill Flame Players: Secretary of Army, Army General Counsel, Assistant Surgeon General, Vice chief of staff of the Army, NSA, CIA, Navy
    
27. Joint ops continued until Dec 1982. Senate canceled thinking they were double funded.
    
28. Agreed to let DIA complete 3rd year.
    
29. Grill Flame "terminated" but continued under Special Access Program (SAP) called Center Lane. 1983bUndersecretary of Defense allowed continued funding for program as SAP.
    
30. Oct 1983 DIA published report saying remote viewing and remote action (Personal note, I’ve been dropping hints about this for years) research should be continued under DIA.
    
31. 1984 unit put under DIA. Agreed to Sep 1984.
    
32. Feb 1985 Center Lane transfer to DIA as SAP complete.
    
33. Congress briefed. NFIP Funding restored.
    
34. DoD/DIA collection effort now called Sun Streak. Purpose: undertake operational intelligence applications using remote viewing.
    
35. Location Ft Meade MD.
    
36. Passive intelligence gathering technique, can not be detected when used (personal note - later questioned).
    
37. Chinese claim detection using Children (personal note, they were not only ones using children). Insufficient data.
    
38. Remote viewing is inexpensive. Expense just people.
    
39. No known defence. Time , distance, target, size, or degree of difficulty no apparent effect. Conceptional plans have been collected before use.
    
40. Tasking categories: penetration of inaccessible targets (personal note Ingo Swann liked the word Penetration), science and tech info, cuing other intel collection systems, imminent hostilities, determination of nuclear from non-nuclear targets, human source assessments, accurate personality profiles 
    
41. Training developed from academia, scientific labs, and research establishments around world.
    
42. Consensus was remote viewing facilitated by relaxation and focused attention (ERV)
    
43. 1982 training coordinated with SRI. Ingo Swann CRV trough 6 stages.
    
44. What happens when Sun Streak tasked. First requesting agency gives target.
    
45. A collection plan is made
    
46. Essential elements of information (EEI) listed
    
47. Time window set
    
48. Which remote viewing technique or combination will be used. 
    
49. Remote viewers selected 
    
50. Several sessions conducted to answer EEI
    
51. Session uses monitor to keep viewer on task.
    
52. team effort 
    
53. Remote viewer reports impressions, concepts, sensations, feelings, notions of target and not engage in analytic opinion. (Eg. It feels rubbery, round, bumpy surface, reddish color - not it’s a red rubber ball)
    
54. Documented and info returned to requesting agency.
    
55. After completion evaluation given for improvement 
    
56. This was overview of sun streak, was classified at the time of writing.
    

Hi everyone. I heard about this site on Reddit. Good to see some familiar faces and names.

This is a story about more than just COVID (or the COVID-like vaccine experience) so settle your personal baggage and read on.

First a note about what some doctors are seeing with long-COVID... something most who were infected or pseudo exposed via vaccine may have experienced...

From National Geographic: Long COVID can destroy your ability to exercise. Now we know why.
From Nature: Muscle abnormalities worsen after post-exertional malaise in long COVID

People who suffer long-COVID have been showing signs of problems which seem to defy "healing." 

While many accept and subscribe to the notion that reasonable 'exercise and activity' offers the body a chance to heal and recover from illness.  Some long COVID sufferers are further afflicted by being unable to exert themselves without becoming exhausted and not recovering despite resting... they never recover from the fatigue.  Doctors have now actually identified the physical damage and verified its extent.
 

P Diddy Raping Everyone out here

I piddy da foo

who commits human trafficking crimes and doesnt pay the jedi.

So poop daddy famous, famous uh guy that kinda leeched off of others careers, that guy, poo diddle.

Well he's circling the toilet bowl if you havent heard they raided his homes Homeland Security, apparently he's been being a total turd human and its catching up with him. From raping mfers, to recording sexual encounters for blackmail material. Shooting a mfer in a bathroom, he buck broke meek mills, alegedly. 



Cheeks wuz clapped.

Cheek Mills.

I was digging for a specific video from a Congressional hearing about Climate Change that occurred decades ago. I hadn't run across it yet, but I did find this video reportedly from 1992. 



So, before I get into a lot of this mess, my question for everyone here is can we verify that this video is both real, and took place when it is said to have taken place, then if it is true can we start to hunt down the information reported in it? 

In this video it has Paul Harvey telling a story about climate change and how it is a fraud. Now I'm going to be looking for that Congressional hearing still, but in the meantime for the sake of arguments, I think we can look at this (if real that is) and start to dig apart this scam. It's about how the fragility of Earth is a lie being perpetrated in order to scam trillions of dollars from the global public and force many people of the world into modern servitude. All the while a very real threat of a new Glacial Period is beginning to emerge creating the next big Ice Age.

We are told that shortly before his death on the Cross Jesus cried aloud, quoting the first line of Psalm 22; “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark ch15 v34).

Taken in isolation, this looks like a cry of despair. Indeed David C.K. Watson, in his evangelistic book “My God is Real”, asserts that Jesus did indeed experience a loss of contact with his Father, for the first time in his life, because he was overwhelmed by the burden of “the sin of the world”, which he was now taking on. I remember that argument well, because that page was a key factor in my own conversion to the Christian faith, one night in May 1972. The impact of that concept won me over (intellectually, rather than emotionally).

However, there’s also a lot to be said for not taking that cry in isolation. Another angle worth considering is that quoting the first line of the psalm was a shorthand way of quoting the whole psalm, and the whole psalm should be taken into account as an expression of his meaning.

Psalm 22 can be divided into sections in which “I need God’s help” alternates with “God must help me, God will help me, God has helped me”.

Vv1-2 “I need God’s help.” The speaker cries to God day and night, but finds no rest because God does not respond.

Vv3-5 Yet God ought to help because he has helped Israel in the past. This may be one of the many psalms in which the troubled “I” is actually Israel, speaking as a community, making a corporate appeal in times of national danger. “Our fathers” trusted him and were not disappointed, because he saved them. That is why he remains “holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel”.

Vv6-8 But the speaker’s life is currently in a very depressed state. “I am a worm and no man.” “All who see me mock at me.” They say “He committed his cause to the Lord; let him [the Lord] deliver him.” In fact that is exactly what “they” say in Matthew; “He trusts in God; let God deliver him now” (Matthew ch27 v43). And the gospel narratives describe other forms of mockery around the Cross.

Vv9-10 On the other hand, again, the speaker has been committed to the Lord all his life, from the time of his birth.

Vv11-18 The speaker describes the trouble that is surrounding him, when there is apparently nobody near to help.

He is surrounded by a menacing herd of “bulls of Bashan”. Bashan is a region north-east of the Sea of Galilee. High elevation, presumably good pasture land, and therefore famous as a cattle area. The bulls would be well-fed and strong. The imperious high-born wives of Israel are called “cows of Bashan” in Amos ch4 v1.

Alternatively, he is surrounded by a pack of wild dogs. All dogs are comparatively wild in this culture, which is why the word is an insult. Or, dropping the metaphors, “a company of evildoers”.

“I am poured out like water”. All the strength and energy has gone out of him.
“All my bones are out of joint… my tongue cleaves to my jaws”. This could be a literal description of the experience of crucifixion, in which the actual cause of death is slow strangulation caused by the posture in which the victim is suspended.
“Thou dost lay me in the dust of death”.
“I can count all my bones.” In the psalm, this is probably meant to portray the effects of starvation during a period of famine. No flesh left.
“They divide my garments among them, and for my raiment they cast lots.” This is echoed in the gospel narratives and actually quoted in John ch19 v24.

Vv19-21 On the dual basis of his need to be helped and his right to be helped, the speaker makes his appeal for the protection of his life.

We are told that Jesus “made prayers and supplications… to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear” (Hebrews ch5 v7). Someone might ask “How was he heard and saved, since he died on the Cross?” The answer is that his faith was preserved unto the point of death, and he was raised from the dead. He passed through death and came out on the other side.

That is the promise of “salvation” made for us regarding the tribulation. There is no guarantee whatever that God’s faithful people will escape suffering or even death in the tribulation, but their faith will be preserved and they will be raised from the dead. That is what “coming out of the tribulation” means (Revelation ch7 v14). It means passing through the tribulation and coming out the other side, like canoeing through the rapids instead of by-passing them.

Vv22-31 All this is leading up to the triumphant message that God will be praised. Christ has been raised from the dead.

The speaker will praise him and urges others to praise him, because he has heard the cries of appeal.
This will go out to “the ends of the earth”, because the Lord has dominion over all the nations. All the proud men of the earth will bow down. This is not just for the present but will continue into the future.
“Men shall tell of the Lord to the coming generation, and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn.”

“Why hast thou forsaken me” is not a cry of despair. It is the heading and prelude of a triumphant message about the resurrection of the dead and the proclamation of the gospel.

I had a problem with thread posting last night, trying to get visible text. I will give as much detail as I can to make it easier to analyse the issue.

One possible important clue is that when I first clicked the "post a thread" button, the editing panel showed up for an instant with a black background, before changing to white.

If I type on this screen in the default black, the thread posts as white text on black background. So far, so good.

But last night I was pasting in from a Word document, something I have done a couple of times before. This too appeared on screen as black text on white. But once the thread was posted, it appeared on screen as black text (or at least grey) on black background. Almost unreadable.

I went into editing again for a few tries at sorting it out. Eventually I worked out how to change the colour of existing text (just a matter of choosing "select all" on my browser first), and changed the text to white. The result was a blank white screen. Acting in faith (naturally) I "updated thread" and this turned into white text on black background. That will do.

The catch is that I can't do any further editing, because the editing panel is still white text on white background. I could experiment with red text, which might work both ways, or change back to black text temporarily for editing purposes, but i don't want to mess things up again.

Something for your entertainment The Great Emu War...

Quote:The Emu War (or Great Emu War)[sup][2][/sup] was a nuisance wildlife management military operation undertaken in Australia over the later part of 1932 to address public concern over the number of emus (a large flightless bird indigenous to Australia) said to be destroying crops in the Campion district within the Wheatbelt of Western Australia.

Quote:it has also been argued that some in the government may have viewed the operation as a way of being seen to be helping the Western Australian farmers, as well as to stave off the brewing secession movement.

David was coming to the end of his life and growing more feeble (1 Kings ch1).  
 
Obviously the issue of succession to the throne would have to be confronted. Once again, polygamy would be a major complicating factor. The later Ottoman empire illustrates the problem, showing how polygamy tends to produce too many possible candidates for the throne. Being born from different mothers reduces the sense of kinship among the sons and heightens the sense of rivalry. In fact the competition for the throne becomes an anxious necessity, if they know that the winner of the race is likely to kill his brothers afterwards. 
 
Thus there is no security in the status of “eldest son”. Even their father’s preference may be diverted to a son of his favourite wife. It will be helpful if the candidate is popular among the people, but he needs to find allies in the military leadership, the religious leadership, and the royal household. The household is important partly because those close to the monarch will be the first to know about his death, priceless information which they may be able to keep to themselves until they have perfected their own arrangements. 
 
At first glance, the obvious heir to David’s throne was Adonijah, the fourth of his Hebron sons and probably the eldest surviving son. “His father had never at any time displeased him by asking; Why have you done thus and so?” (v4) He was aware of David’s decline, and exalted himself, saying “I will be king”. He prepared for himself chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run before him.  
 
At the same time, there was also a “son of the favourite wife”. David had already sworn an oath to Bathsheba, that her son Solomon would reign after him. Unfortunately the child was still too young to be a plausible war-leader, which may be one of the reasons why the decision had not been announced publicly. I’m sure Adonijah would have guessed the secret, though. 
 
Adonijah had secured the support of two leading figures. Joab, as commander of the host, and Abiathar, as priest-custodian of the ark, might be seen as the heads of their respective 
“departments”. Yet this combination was not as strong as it looked. Adonijah’s party did not include Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, captain of the king’s bodyguard. Nor did it include the rest of David’s “mighty men”. Where, then, was Abishai, Joab’s elder brother, once “commander of the thirty”? Probably retired or dead, having been active since the very beginning of the reign. It’s likely that the
“thirty” had disappeared altogether. Joab and 
Abishai together had controlled the court. Without Abishai, and in the absence of the host (which had not been called out for war), Joab was an old commander with immense prestige and no soldiers. 
 
There were also other religious leaders besides Abiathar. Zadok, head of the rival priestly line, remained loyal to David, as did Nathan the prophet.  
 
For that matter, there is no sign that Adonijah had been able to suborn anyone surrounding David, within the royal household. This was important, because his prospects would depend upon his timing. If he tried to claim the throne while David was still conscious and capable of making decisions, he would be crushed. If he waited for David’s death to be announced, the king’s chosen successor would be proclaimed at the same time. At the very least he needed a spy, to tell him how quickly the king’s life was ebbing away. The key factor in one of the most fateful days in David’s reign may have been that Adonijah made his move just a whisker too soon. 
 
Adonijah “crossed the Rubicon” by arranging a great sacrifice and feast at En-rogel, just outside Jerusalem. The two things go together, because the guests would be feasting on the sacrificed animals. He invited his brothers (apart from Solomon) and all the royal officials. Presumably the plan was that Abiathar the priest would rise from the table at some point and anoint Adonijah as king. His guests would acclaim him and swear allegiance. By this means, he would have taken over the kingdom. If nothing went wrong. 

A feast planned on that scale could not be kept secret, so his purpose was transparent. While this was happening, Nathan the prophet was in the king’s palace, alerting Bathsheba to the state of crisis. They needed to warn David. Nathan shrewdly managed the affair by telling Bathsheba to make the first approach on her own. He would then follow, giving a second warning to reinforce the first. This would have more impact than a single message given jointly. Between them, they would sting David into action. 
 
In their separate audiences, Bathsheba and Nathan described what was happening across the valley and pleaded for action. “And now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you, to tell them who shall sit upon the throne of my lord the king after him. Otherwise it will come to pass, when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted offenders [and executed]” (vv20-21). 
 
After Nathan said his piece, David recalled 
Bathsheba to his presence and swore an oath to the Lord renewing his previous promise. Escorted by the king’s bodyguard (the Cherethites and Pelethites), Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah the son of 
Jehoiada took Solomon down to the spring of Gihon. Zadok collected the sacred horn of oil from the tent, which must have been close by, and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet and all the people joyfully acclaimed Solomon as king. 
The feasters at En-rogel could hear the trumpet and the clamour in the city, but did not know what it meant. It was Jonathan, son of Abiathar, who came in to report the bad news of Solomon’s elevation to the throne. At that moment, Adonijah knew that his two aces, Joab and Abiathar, had been trumped. The game was up. “Then all the guests of Adonijah trembled and rose and each went his own way.” Adonijah took refuge at the horns of the altar, inside the tent, but Solomon promised him his life, on condition of good behaviour. 
 
“So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon”

[P.S. This is an extract from the newly-published “Prophets, Priests and Politics”, a survey of Old Testament history through the eyes of the prophets.]