Weekend Data Dump

We really do live on a really big and diverse world.

Canada elected a sensitive one-man-boy-band celebrity as their prime minister, and finds that even he can't be sensitive enough for everyone. That really annoyed me when I first heard it. But then I read Trudeau was joking. I laughed out loud. Kudos to a funny joke and I regret assuming he was serious. Although given the state of the debate can you blame me? I assume leftists will now be upset with him.

The Air Force understands it needs to practice in an environment where GPS is denied. Good. Other services should practice that, too. The Army taught me land navigation using a compass, a map, and knowing my pace count (I think 107 paces per 100 yards).

German intelligence says that North Korea is using their embassy in Berlin to ship material for their missile program. But seriously, who is surprised that North Korea abuses international protections of diplomatic missions to ship banned items back home? This is standard operating procedure.

Some (who pay) are more equal than others, comrade. Tip to Instapundit. Something has to be done to secure Detroit. I grew up there. It breaks my heart how far the city has fallen despite all the announced "rebirths" over the decades. But making businesses pay to get timely police help seems very wrong. Doesn't this just give criminals a clue of who they can attack and rob by avoiding the "green light" businesses? It won't be long before businesses not in the program install green lights to look like they are protected. And an even shorter amount of time before Detroit makes unauthorized green lights illegal.

Russia is deploying aircraft to hold islands it took from Japan in the closing months of World War II. Japan and Russia still don't have a piece treaty from that war. I'm just saying that a few aircraft won't stop China from taking bask huge swaths of territory that Russia took from China in the 19th century. And 2021 isn't far away. So kudos to Russia on alienating a potential ally like Japan (on top of their excellent work provoking NATO) against a common foe China by holding on to those tiny and relatively worthless islands. The Russians are worse than hostile. They're morons.

Libya might be getting closer to having a chance to settle down following the 2011 revolution and NATO intervention that got rid of Khadaffi. ISIL continues to find tenuous refuge in the interior of Libya.

Iran says they've imprisoned a spy for sending information on their nuclear program to the West.  If the Iranian nuclear program is peaceful, why would this be a big deal for Iran? The West already knows how to build nuclear power reactors. And if the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is so effective at making sure Iran doesn't have a weapons program, how could spies even find out anything on top of that wonderful verification process? My lack of nuance tells me that the answers to my questions are that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons and that the nuclear deal is a farce designed to help Iran go nuclear in the odd belief that a future "reset" Iran eager to improve their economy and standing in the world will not want to even think of using nukes when they finally get them.

As a federalist I can hardly oppose the right of California to run off the cliff even if I can feel sorry for them. They'll enjoy the thrill of the progressive ride right until impact. And hey, if somehow they prosper because of those policies, that's good to know, too.

The amphibious warfare ship America is being equipped to operate a small F-35B complement. I noted the potential of the class in 2007.

Russia went postal after losing a plane in Syria. A Russian "hearts and minds" campaign consists of breaking hearts and driving minds insane with pain. Assad agrees.

Libya's stockpiles of chemical weapons raw materials have finally been destroyed in a disarmament success. Recall that Saddam's raw materials to make chemical weapons somehow didn't count as a chemical weapons capability according to anti-Iraq War people. Meanwhile, Syria continues to use chemical weapons (with this the latest alleged attack) despite their "disarmament" under a 2013 agreement that we helped put in place.

I continue to believe that the growing power of the federal government to regulate every facet of our lives no matter how local the issue interferes with our ability to get along with people in far corners of our country. Why should I care if California wants to do whatever bizarre thing they think is just grand? What I care about is Californians wanting to make Michigan do that bizarre thing over our wishes. Scale back the scope of federal power and the incentive to control Washington, D.C., which has grown in scale and bitterness as federal power has grown, will recede. We'll all be better off if the federal government restricts its roles to truly national issues, even considering the effects of "social" media that exaggerate the extent of the partisan extremists (on both sides). It's been downhill since the direct election of U.S. senators, in my opinion. Tip to Instapundit.

Note too that after the (truly horrible) nuclear deal of 2015, Iran was still procuring chemical weapons technology (in this case rocket tech from Germany) and providing it to Syria where Assad's forces used chemical weapons. Ah, such a responsible regional power Iran became so quickly, as the Obama administration promised! Tip to Instapundit.

Mattis denied the theoretical distinction between "strategic" and "tactical" nuclear weapons. I'm not quite at that absolute point but he is at least largely right. I noted that issue a couple months ago.

Yet she persists. I'm with her. Are America's feminists with Narges Hosseini? Or with Vida Movahed? Or are "feminists" with their bizarre Handmaid's Tale nightmare fantasy about America truly just the women's auxiliary of the Democratic party, as I think? That's real resistance against a real religious tyranny, people. Tip to Instapundit.

By 2022 the United States may be a net energy exporter--the first time that has happened since 1953. You didn't really believe the mocking claim that we couldn't drill our way to energy independence, did you?

I'm not pining for a military parade. But good Lord stop acting like the suggestion is a preparation for a declaration of martial law, or something. I once drove an Army truck in a parade and managed not to seize power. Try to have an effing normal debate about the suggestion, shall we? We might like it. Of course, it is true that dangerous types advocate for such a fascist display of raw intimidating power.

Russia was banned from the winter Olympics for their massive state-sponsored doping program. But Russia found a way around the "ban" and the world went along with it. We should have learned this from the 2013 agreement Russia co-authored that "banned" Syrian chemical weapons that sill seem to be used. And we'll learn it from the 2015 agreement that Russia is part of that "banned" Iranian nuclear weapons.

The Global Left likes to claim that Israel "blockades" Gaza. They never mention that Egypt controls part of the Gaza border.

Rule of law and peaceful transition of power: they're doing it wrong. This Trump Hysteria Condition is very bad for American rule of law and our soft power appeal abroad. Putin's return on investment on his small expenditures to disrupt our election continues to roll in because of Democrats and the media. Both remain useful idiots. Seriously, is the Left really defending this kind of government behavior as no big deal just as Trump has the power to do it himself? Tips to Instapundit.

No, you ignorant morons, women in America and Iran do not have something in common because in each country there is a "campaign by Muslim women demanding the freedom to wear the clothes of their choice." There is a not insignificant difference between Iran's law requiring the wearing of Islamic head covering on pain of prison time and a perceived social stigma for wearing it in America. External compulsion versus perceived stigma is massively different. Effing idiots pretending they are informing me. They probably try to peel an apple and de-core a banana. Let's see if scaling back the religious guidance in Saudi Arabia lessens the legal requirement or the social stigma. Baby steps. But a step in the right direction.

Border security. Racists. Or so I've been told repeatedly.