Jihadis, and disunion, and corruption! Oh my. American airstrikes continue to mow the grass there.
The F-35 can fight and the pilots like it. It represents, as I noted, a different way of looking at aerial combat. As long as it can't be hacked, I'm happy. We can be glad Russian propaganda didn't work. Note to self, only the Air Force version has the internal 25mm cannon while the Marine version doesn't have as much room for internally carried weapons.
That restaurant went out of business? Will wonders never cease? It was based on two mistakes. One, a failure to understand that men earn more than women--on average--because men--again, on average--work more than women. And two, failing to understand that men would naturally pay more than women for meals at the restaurant without adding a punishing surcharge because--again, on average--men are larger and so eat more food than women. Tip to Instapundit.
Two American destroyers sailed through the Taiwan Strait which China claims as their waters--along with Taiwan itself, of course.
We aren't bombing Afghan drug labs anymore because it was not cost-effective. The idea that we were using F-22s is kind of ridiculous. Although the experience was good for the pilots and seeing what the stealth plane can do, why does our scarce top-of-the-line fighter need bombing experience?
Russian defense spending is down and they've dropped out of the top 5 spenders. When they have the world's longest land border to defend, that's a problem. Of course, the author of the article oddly notes that tiny Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are increasing defense spending "despite" Russia's decline in spending. Good grief, is the author incapable of seeing that even with declining spending that Russia can overwhelm those three countries before NATO can help?
Soylent Green Compost ... is people!
Modern computers in the "virtual twin" test take up far less space than the ginormous computers installed on our destroyers to run the Aegis radar systems.
That's just wonderful and all that, but if you dropped the young woman into an ISIL stronghold they'd still kill her for being un-Islamic. And don't think I'm not paying attention. I noticed that this magazine went approvingly from exploiting Western women in their swimsuit edition to exploiting all women of all religions in an intersectional backflip that no feminist is questioning.
Army squads are falling short on infantry skills? Fix that. Before long those skills and not marksmanship will be what sets our troops above enemies. The Close Combat Lethality Task Force has a lot of work to do.
Yeah, if Mueller knew there was no Russia collusion well before the November 2018 election, sitting on that fact until this year could have affected the Congressional elections, no? Tip to Instapundit.
It is not accurate to say that American coalition bombings killed 1,600 civilians in Raqqa, especially if the implication is that we committed war crimes. The fact is that it is not a war crime if civilians die in the process of attacking legitimate military targets in a lawful manner. And if enemies use human shields, the death of civilians killed by our forces is legally on the enemy using human shields--which is a war crime--and not on American forces that fire the weapons. This caveat applies to this story that American military operations killed 120 civilians last year.
I assumed the advice would be to campaign in Michigan and Wisconsin. But no, she's an idiot who has no idea what happened.
The idea that the American war effort in Yemen--where we are largely "leading from behind" a Saudi coalition--is illegal is nonsense. War powers are a complicated thing.
I'm going to need to run this by Bill Nye before I accept the science. Just don't call me a science denier until that happens, okay?
No word on whether the terror attack prevented by French authorities was by yellow vest or green crescent varieties of people.
Californians want all of us to have expensive gasoline. Can't they just be happy they have been blessed with the results of their policies?
Sri Lanka had 12 days of warning "in detail" about the Easter Day mass murder of Christians. Mind you, we don't know how many warnings there were that didn't result in any attack. But given the speed with which Sri Lanka rounded up the usual suspects after the bombings, quick action during those 12 days probably would have saved a lot of lives.
The friggin' Nation is turning out to be the sane part of the vast liberal media empire in America. I'm honestly worried this is a sign of the Apocalypse.
Oh good, the Ebola outbreak in Congo is getting worse. Fighters in Congo have attacked and killed health workers trying to contain and stop the disease. People are just effing stupid, as a rule.
Weapons of Moby Dick? Well that's just odd. And that drive for WMD calls into question Russian tales of wonder weapons that will restore them to the heights of glory the Soviet Union reached. Although to be fair, training sea mammals for port defense is something we do with dolphins.
Twenty years ago I was bothered that only the Army National Guard's enhanced readiness separate brigades had roles envisioned for them in war. I wrote about the need to include the ARNG divisions in war planning in "A Total Army for Total War: The Guard Divisions' Role," Army Magazine, January 1999 (sorry, not online). This article advocates for making the ARNG division headquarters capable of wartime tasks.
I can already tell that I will not watch or read much political news from now until the election. Listening to Biden in a speech to supporters falsely say that ordinary people didn't get tax cuts from the Trump-backed legislation that the last Congress passed when the vast majority of people actually did (including me) was just infuriating. But the media has convinced people that the lie is true. If that's how it is going to be they can do it without me and I'll just show up for the voting in 2020. I won't need that kind of "news" to figure out who to vote for.
This is actual resistance to tyranny, for those who need to have their noses rubbed in it.
If true, Mattis was way outside his lane and I think less of him. Tip to Instapundit.
Palestinians are truly determined to keep the title of Most Stupid People on Earth: "In the West bank the Palestinian Fatah government is threatening to cause an economic catastrophe by refusing partial payments from Israel and donor nations unless everyone stops deducting the money Fatah spends on supporting and encouraging terrorist activity." If there is a more self-destructive people on Earth, I am unaware of them. Although during the Iraq War before the Awakening the Iraqi Arab Sunnis made a run at the top slot. But the Palestinians will never be the Queen of the Victims Prom again.
I'm one of the oldest Gen-Xers, and I feel fine. So what's going on?
Well that's inconvenient for the current migration theories. Thirty years ago a colleague in that field described a Clovis mafia that resisted evidence to the contrary. Tip to Instapundit.
Russia is conducting a victory tour over their Syrian campaign. Which did work--along with our parallel campaign against ISIL--to get Assad past the rebellion crisis, to be fair. Although the situation is still complicated and there is no guarantee that Russia can defend their battlefield victory.
About that so-called male privilege. Tip to Instapundit.
The F-35A is getting combat experience in Iraq where it bombed jihadi targets. Obviously the stealth plane is not needed to bomb terrorists. But it is good experience to see how the plane--and the system behind it--operates in a combat theater where Russia and Iran will attempt to watch the plane if not shoot at it.
British environmentalists give Russia a victory. Tip to Instapundit.
If Nazis operated soup kitchens and free abortion clinics, would Nazis be okay?
The British defense minister was fired for trying to defend Britain--and the West--or perhaps just because Prime Minister May thought he did. She can't get Britain out of Europe but she will let China's spies in Britain. America should hire him for just recognizing that 5G is a national security issue.
Could Sudan actually get a constitutional democracy? Experience says no, but success has to start sometime no matter how long the road to rule of law. Getting rid of Bashir who ruled for 30 years isn't the end game. Will the new government send Bashir to stand trial for war crimes and genocide? Will the new government attempt to exact a price for sending him for trial?
That would be a measure of justice. Rule of law matters. Ant the irony is high. Russia may have meddled in our election not just because they could but because they hated Clinton. Yet Clinton and her media allies did more to advance Russia's intent to sow chaos and division in America than any actual Putin puppet could manage.
I really hate the Takl commercial running these days.
Cyber war, with a glossary.
And Western civilization takes another small hit. Eventually the small things add up. Tip to Instapundit.
Trump broke the poor woman. Sad.
Seriously, Trump did not call Nazis "fine people." Keep in mind that the media has one job--to inform us--and they haven't been able to do that on this one easily rebutted charge. They're not the "enemy" of the people. And while they are politically biased I don't think of them as "fake" news. It might be as simple as basically they just suck at their job.
This would be a major victory by India over Pakistan if this FATF gambit pans out.
Okay, thank goodness we know this problem is coming because we really need sonobuoys in our arsenal.
We should really help friends who helped us in Iraq and Afghanistan make it to America.
Refusing to track Taliban versus government control in Afghanistan isn't a good idea even if our goal is to get out with no intent of winning. I mean, without that information how do we know if we will get a decent interval between withdrawal and defeat?
Russia and Syria have resumed heavy bombardments in the rebel-held northwest. Barrel bombs are being used.
So losing your physical caliphate is really a good thing? Sure, you go with that.
Russia and things related to Russia.
I remain perplexed that on the Obama Attorney General Loretta Lynch-Bill Clinton "tarmac meeting" people only ask what they talked about. Consistently we hear that they only had small talk. Nobody asks if information on Hillary and her email violations was exchanged. Talking is not the only way to exchange information. Of course, a more interesting possibility is that all Bill did was chat about nothing with Lynch--for a reason. Sure, it might have been motivated by ego. But if true, then you have to wonder whether the man who knows Hillary better than anybody saved America from that fate. I honestly have no idea which option is more plausible.
Where phones and the Internet help real resistance.
The Confederacy smiles. Tip to Instapundit.
North Korean [who aren't in the ruling elite] are suffering from food shortages.
From the "My how the flighty have fallen" files. Tip to Instapundit.
The New York Times: The Obama administration
Working for the clampdown. Tip to Instapundit.
Yeah, that's "what happened." As I said in the campaign, Democrats nominated the only candidate who could lose to Trump and Republicans nominated the only candidate who could lose to Hillary. With Hillary winning the popular vote but Trump winning the only relevant metric--the Electoral College--I was pretty darned accurate. Tip to the PJ Media Live Blog.
This is a House committee hearing! You can't have science in here!
At this point it is hard to argue against the idea that Antifa is the paramilitary arm of the Portland government.
If you honestly believed the election of Trump would usher in an era of dictatorship and other nasty things, you were wrong. And let me say I knew you would be wrong. Discuss. And get a life.
No word if the "epic" changes at CBS's news operation will include actually reporting news rather than their opinions masquerading as news.
It is a lie that Bill Barr lied to Congress. Barr is just fine. My interest in following the presidential campaign goes down every day. I know who I'll vote for, so why inflict this spectacle on myself? Also, grant me that this is funny: “Barr is investigating Democrats. Democrats call for Barr to resign. According to Nadler, that’s obstruction of justice!”
It is significant that a country as populous as Indonesia has made a lot of progress in getting rule of law. The bad news is they have a long road to to before really defeating corruption. I hadn't heard about this progress until now. And yeah, America should not think we are immune to the problem. Although it is amusing that the author accuses Trump of corruption without even mentioning the Clinton family.
The American unemployment rate is the lowest since 1969, but I will raise the issue of the labor force participation rate as a qualifier. I noted that this statistic undermined the official rate during the Obama administration and I'll caution people to take that into account now.
College students aren't going hungry. The definition of "food insecurity" must be fascinating. I bet by their definition I was hungry in my college years a lot. But the fact is I got by. Even that week (maximum, I was waiting for my next pay check) I used by last cash to buy a bag of potatoes and a bottle of catsup which is what I ate until paid. I lived. I didn't feel food insecure. It was just something I had to do until I had money.
Ukraine's new president is a "rebuke" to Moscow and the election was quite clean. Which is good. And I also learned he was trained as a lawyer. If he can get a parliament to clean up Ukraine, Ukraine can avoid just being a smaller (and so weaker) version of corrupt Russia.
So what? Why do we get worked up by these North Korean short-range "projectile" launches into the sea when they are meaningless to building a North Korean nuclear missile threat? In an army less broken down than North Korea's military is, that would be called "training."
Just ... wow. The X-ray program of a direct path from civilian to special forces. I remember reading about the option but never read anything about how it worked out. Obviously, this isn't a major source of operators. For a long time I thought the nickname "green beret" for special forces had gone into disuse after the Vietnam War. Now I see it used frequently. I suspect that in pre-Internet days I just didn't see it in the sources I had.
Hamas continues to value trying to kill Israelis more important than anything else. And another day. And day three.
Given that only America is a reliable supplier of weapons to Taiwan because of Chinese pressure on other weapons producers, Taiwan is seeking more ability to produce their own advanced weapons. Good idea but I hope it isn't too little and too late.
Australian troops have been told to avoid slang in their training with American Marines deployed to Australia for exercises. That is a good idea. A famous example is a British unit reporting its status during a Chinese offensive in the Korean War with some British understatement. American superiors at higher echelons didn't understand that the British were telling us they were in deep sh*t, and so sent scarce resources to American commanders reporting that they were in desperate need of help.
Lockheed (and I do have a small amount of their stock) says they can fit 2 more weapons into the internal bay of the F-35 with a new rack. I still think we could use some F-15EX (or F-15X) to replace rapidly aging F-15C fighters.
I really need to get back on track reading the Army 2-volume history of the Iraq War. I've been busy and I hate reading lengthy documents online.
It sure seems as if the Philippines is preparing itself to challenge China to keep Pagasa Islands. The Philippines can't defeat China in a full war, but the Philippines has a chance to defeat China in a tiny war--as long as America stands behind Manila to prevent China from going to war.
I apparently outlasted a woman who has fraudulently used me as a credit reference, resulting in at least 15 years of debt collectors calling me about her. No conversation ever convinced anyone I talked to that I should be left alone. I've joked that I'd have to outlive her. Apparently she died recently. I'm between dancing on her grave and mourning the loss of a human life. Leaning well away from the latter. Especially since she reached from beyond the grave according to a letter from the state of Michigan I just received. So I have that to deal with. May she burn in Hell, if that doesn't sound too awful. Or even if it does.
Could the British really come up with a compromise Brexit agreement in a few days? But even if they could, would the EU accept it?
The persistent Air Force pilot shortage.
Russian defense spending is much higher than their spending described in US dollars would indicate. Purchasing power parity is a concept that should be used given that Russian personnel costs are much cheaper and because Russians are buying equipment from Russian companies and not for the most part on the world market (not since 2014 when Russia invaded Ukraine--remember that France cancelled the sale of Mistral amphibious warfare ships to Russia). This is true, but Russia's military and defense industry are still in trouble.
The American electrical grid is still vulnerable to destruction from natural causes or enemy EMP attack. I don't have a lot to add to this other than to say that this is bad and has been a longstanding vulnerability. We need a resilient electrical grid with stockpiled key components that take a long time to manufacture to repair any damage that is done.
Russia's Mig-31 air defense interceptor finally has a new missile for that small fleet of planes. Russia is a vast place to defend from aerial attack.
Via Instapundit, at least they aren't presented after the puppet show. Which is a real morale builder. Yes, Spinal Tap reference.
Jesus Effing Christ, is it truly possible to make every effing thing about Trump?
Bloody heck, 41 dead in a Russian plane accident. My sympathies to the Russians.
