Weekend Data Dump

I'm so old that I remember when thinking this was true just meant you were a right-wing Islamophobe: "German officials have been left speechless by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s comment that there are 'no-go areas' in the country. The notion there are places in Germany outsiders — including police — can’t visit has previously been dismissed by officials." Huh.

The Marines will have APKWS 2.75" precision rockets for their fast-mover air support. A lot more precision bangs per sortie will be nice with 14 per hard point.

Remember that the "cross-strait military build-up heightens war-risk" because China threatens tiny free and democratic Taiwan with invasion for not wanting to join China's dystopian 24/7 surveillance police state in the making. Don't fall for the idea that resisting China is morally equivalent to China's threats in heightening war risks.

The world really is getting far better despite the far greater ability to know about any problem anywhere in the world in near-real time. Perspective, people. You really want to tear down this progress to "start over" with a clean slate to make things better? Good Lord, we're building paradise and don't even know it.

Trump threatening a trade war if the world doesn't adjust trade rules in our favor is bad only if it leads to a trade war. Of course. I recently heard Scott Adams mention what I knew very well but don't know if I ever mentioned it before on this blog. Namely that post-World War II when America emerged as the only intact power, we made trade rules that benefited our allies in order to get them on their feet and make them better able to be allies capable of defending themselves and buying our stuff (if World War II ended the Depression, the worry was that the end of war would bring back the Depression). That imbalance made sense economically and strategically. It is fully fair to re-examine the trade rules long after our war-ravaged allies have recovered from World War II. So wait before you panic.

Banning things gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to profit by being the middle man for providing the banned thing. Bad people know where to find those entrepreneurs. I wouldn't even know where to start. So people like me end up being the only ones without the "bad" thing. And note that a sentence of probation is no way to deter that kind of activity. Tip to Instapundit.


Without further comment. I kid! I kid! I'm sure President Obama will be thrilled. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

An American carrier made a port visit to Vietnam. Vietnam feels under pressure from China over the issue of the South China Sea.

Unless Russia would behave better if Putin was gone, why would we interfere in Russia's pretend election, as Putin charges? (And notice how thug rulers condemn democracy but always insist on pretending they have elections? Of course, they understand that elections without rule of law make "democracy" meaningless.) Seriously, Putin may get Russia in the news more these days, but what is he really achieving that benefits Russia by working so hard to pointlessly alienate the West?

In a survey of Iran's activities, Strategypage writes that America is staying in Iraq post-ISIL and that Iraqis in general fear Iran's efforts inside Iraq. Which makes it easier for the Iraqi government to support the American military presence that helps Iraq resist Iranian influence operations. Those pro-Iran militias remain a mjor problem. With bonus material on the virtually unknown work of the FATF (Financial Action Task Force). I noted Pakistan has a problem there--although I guess they got a stay of execution to prove their innocence.

"Xi May Scare Asia Back Into Washington's Orbit[.]" "Back?" When did we lose our allies?? Honestly, I didn't feel we were losing allies in Asia under Obama who "pivoted" there. That was more away from Europe and the Middle East, admittedly. But still, a pivot to Asia. And yes, Duterte of the Philippines is something ...  But he seems more like Trump without Twitter in regard to the US alliance. I don't feel either Obama or Trump has lost allies out there. Why not just say Xi may strengthen our alliances in Asia? That would be on solid ground.

Pro-Assad forces are making real progress in taking territory in the Ghouta rebel pocket outside of Damascus.

A new (and improved?) ceasefire in the Donbas region of Russian-occupied Ukraine lasted about as long as you would expect a ceasefire that Russia participates in to last: about an hour.

A Stratfor email notes the steel and aluminum tariffs that Trump has ordered and says "After months spent laying the legal groundwork, the United States has begun making moves against its top strategic competitor, China." I recall that some time ago Trump at least strongly implied that better trade terms could be offered to China if they deal with North Korea before it goes long-range nuclear capable. Is this trade initiative the other side of the coin for China not cooperating enough?

Wow, that's totally weird, huh?

I'm not sure why Turkey would need to mobilize their army reservists unless they plan to drive on Damascus.

Saddam's loyalists looted Iraq when in power, resisted brutally when overthrown, joined al Qaeda and later merged with it, and provided leadership in ISIL. And only now Iraq is getting around to confiscating the wealth of former Saddam officials? Really?

Romania is hosting NATO exercises in the Black Sea. I'm sure Romania looks forward to including the submarines they want to  build that I noted in a previous weekend data dump.

NATO (the non-US countries) will keep troops in Iraq following the defeat of ISIL. Good.

I'm not clear why lack of high-level approval for the Special Forces mission that went awry in Niger is important. Are we back to squad leaders on the Potomac?

Effing bastard Russians, no doubt. One can't assume, of course. But that's the way to bet. Tip to Instapundit. The British are not amused and vow harsh actions if they find Russia is behind it. Looks like a nerve agent. And a British officer is fighting for his life. We'll see.

I don't buy the excuse that most people haven't saved for retirement because they "don't make enough money." What they mean is that they don't make enough money to spend their income on all the things they want to spend their money on and put away money for retirement. Yet I'll be expected to feel sorry for them when they retire without any resources of their own. Sometimes I feel like a sucker for choosing to prepare for retirement and choosing to put away money for my children's college education rather than taking expensive vacations and having all the things our modern prosperous society makes available for purchase.

If the major centrist parties in Europe had been willing to discuss problems of interest to people rather than ruling those concerns "deplorable," alternative parties wouldn't be rising up to oppose the status quo that pushes toward a strengthened EU imperial state and local views be damned. We got President Trump and the near-win of Bernie Sanders (denied because of Clinton-DNC collusion) from outside the two major parties because our ruling classes didn't listen. But at least we don't have fascist and communist traditions that could exploit that justifiable frustration by people who can't get their concerns addressed by the existing parties. So watch Italy with hope that their "surprise" election results get the major parties to address concerns responsibly even as you worry that extremists with long histories in Europe that lacks the civil rights protections and institutional checks and balances that America has could arise. Tip to Instapundit.

Capitalism didn't create inequality. People do. What is unclear about the people who ordered the building of the pyramids and the slaves who built them? What is unclear about Communist Party bosses being more equal than others? What is unclear about the crushing poverty in Venezuela even as the socialist rulers thrive with looted wealth? Capitalism raised the floor of the bottom to spread prosperity and gives everyone a chance to reach the top or at least some step closer to the top. So stop your socialism nonsense as a cure for inequality. You just demonstrate ignorance. Tip to Instapundit.

People said something and authorities did something. Thank God.

Is the Trump White House "in chaos" or is that just the way the media is portraying it? I seem to recall adoring talk of a Lincoln-esqe "team of rivals" about the inability of top Obama advisors to agree on policies. Maybe Trump's team is in chaos. But I think I may prefer that to an executive that does too much.

When Nuclear War joins the #MeToo movement.

I just discovered that the strange bugs I've never seen before in my home are the invasive species the stink bug.  So far just isolated ones every now and then. Luckily I've never smashed one because they are so big that I figured it would leave a mess. I have just picked them up and either flushed them or flung them into the snow. Which was good. Because smashing them stinks.

I won't quibble that the defense of the Baltic NATO states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania requires an improved NATO naval capability in the Baltic Sea, but I don't understand why any of those Baltic states should have more than a coast guard given that the Russians could overrun them in a few days with a serious invasion. What value is a Latvian navy when Russia owns Latvia? Tip to Greta's Gouge.

Nobody cares enough about chaos in Libya to do anything about it (except when jihadis gain ground). Which raises the question of why Europe wanted to oust Khadaffi so much in 2011 and why America went along with it. Not that taking down Khadaffi was immoral--he was a dictator with a bloody past, after all. But I never did see the reason we should intervene given our other problems to deal with. It really did seem like a war of choice to me.

Interfering in American politics didn't start with Russia in the 2016 election cycle. But that's when Democrats started to care.

The (Chinese) sky is falling. On or about April 3rd give or take a couple weeks. Experts confirm bits could land somewhere on Earth. My part of Michigan is in the band of potential impact. They say the odds of me or someone I love being hit is less likely than winning the PowerBall lottery. But I choose not to play the lottery.

One can hope. Not all opponents of the mullah regime are friendly to America, obviously. But ending the mullah-run regime would open up a lot of problems to being solved. Are Iranians sick and tired of this kind of state power yet?

I'm not sure how you design a helicopter this badly.

A laboratory of democracy in action. This should be entertaining in a tragic sort of way. But it is wrong to say California is the future--Venezuela is. And Venezuela didn't deliberately kill their oil industry. Which will reverse the illegal immigrant flow, I admit.

Russian air intercepts near NATO's Baltic states these days don't seem to be a matter of aggressively pushing against borders (as they seemed to be in the past to me).

I don't understand why Westerners so often say that the scale of death in the Yemen civil war, as an aside in an otherwise interesting article on reforming Islam said, "has brought famine, disease and death on a scale that is almost unimaginable." The death toll in nearly 3 years in Yemen is under 14,000 dead. People are dying and suffering, but the scale is hardly unimaginable at under 5,000 per year. Yet Yemen inspires indignant horror in Britain while Syria's 400,000+ dead in about 6 years of serious fighting (the first year seemed more protest based with casualties rather than a civil war it evolved into, to me). Or compare it to the war in Russian-occupied Ukrainian Donbas where about 12,000 had died in nearly four years of war. The world yawns at 3,000 dead per year but 5,000 is unimaginable?

Tainted by close association with a hate group, I'm sure progressives will be sure to condemn the Women's March. Any day now. Yep. No doubt.

More proud association with hate. I'm sure the media will ask these supporters daily to renounce the haters. For Democrats, the man may be an SOB, but he's their SOB. Let the disavowals begin!

Can you admit we might have a problem when candidates for president in Mexico have more incentive to visit California than Republican candidates for the American presidency?

Collusion with Russian propaganda. Optimist that I am, I'm just thrilled our newspapers now insist on being paid to disseminate Russian propaganda.

FLASH OVERRIDE: Effing idiot alert! Noam Chomsky and Danny Glover joined other "activists" to oppose American and Canadian sanctions on Maduro's government because "they hurt the poor and torpedoed political reconciliation." Maduro has hurt the poor--and made more of them through his socialist policies. And Maduro is interested in crushing the opposition--not reconciling with them. My Lord, sometimes people are so stupid it hurts to view them in action.

War on women: responsible regional power edition.

I've made no secret of my disappointment in our once-solid German allies. But they are extending their presence in Iraq and Afghanistan for training missions. So I should thank them for that. And I do.

The Obama doll, kind of like an Elf on a Shelf for the woke crowd.

Will somebody please explain to these idiot employees that perhaps the police won't run as fast they can when the employees have to call 911? Because I'm sure criminals know that. Sometimes evolution takes place right before our eyes.

President Trump put in place steel tariffs under national security statutes. Which means that China could have the tariffs waived in full or in part if they help us deal with North Korea, am I correct?

The Assad government seems to be making real progress in the Ghouta pocket. That would be a significant victory for Assad if completed. Can rebels revert to insurgency there or will they flee to other rebel-held areas?

India has enlisted France to block China in the Indian Ocean. But I assume that France just wants to sell Rafale aircraft to India.

For Democrats worried about what Trump might give away in a meeting with Kim Jung-Un, maybe now you'll have a deeper appreciation for having treaties approved by the Senate rather than whatever the Iran deal and Paris climate accords were considered that just required a pen.