Weekend Data Dump

Studying war in space.

The accusation of Russian links to Western European parties is not exactly a wild accusation given that the Soviets had links to Western European political parties in the Cold War. And controlled the American communist party, I should add.

Where money and hope go to die.

The U.S. is looking at alternatives to Turkey's role in the F-35 production chain. Good. The Turks can't be trusted with any aspect of the plane--whether producing parts for the plane, operating the plane, or maintaining the engine.

Good grief people, Floyd was not threatening anybody with shooting. It's a commitment to defending America thing, hard as that may be for some to comprehend. Tip to Instapundit.

The United States continues to mow the jihadi grass in Somalia.

This article has some interesting angles on the China-Taiwan problem. I'm not sure what I think of all the angles, but it is worth reading.

Can Algeria and Sudan overcome "the power" that has denied Arab people their persistent desire for something other than autocracy or mullahcracy? Who knows? But the persistent desire demonstrated in the 2011 Arab Spring despite the overall success of "the power" does persist, at least we know.

I seem to recall a story about the mystery of who is emitting ozone-damaging chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) chemicals that atmospheric measurements showed were spiking despite global agreement to get rid of them. Apparently a country ruled by reasonably enlightened green proponents is responsible.

Yet somehow Senator Feinstein didn't attract a tsunami of media attention calling her actions collusion with an enemy that has killed many hundred of Americans while committing other acts of war; nor will the media accuse her--who already is known to have had a Chinese spy for a couple decades on her staff--of colluding with a hostile foreign power. Membership has its privileges.

American special forces would love the light attack aircraft that the Air Force seems to lack enthusiasm for. My view is that the Air Force championed the light attack plane only to kill the A-10. Perhaps special operations command should be allowed to accept the plane into its command rather than rely on drones and helicopters.

Africa is rapidly urbanizing, which will require infrastructure that a rural population didn't need. New American counter-terrorism centers--one in East Africa and one in the Philippines--should have a heavy emphasis on urban tactics and strategy, as the 5-month battle to reclaim Marawi from Filipino jihadi terrorists shows is needed.

The summit for Peak Stupid keeps getting pushed higher.

Ten reasons a super carrier is the safest place to be in a war? Um, no. Rather than respond to this, let me link to my post the last time that author threw his panties at the aircraft carrier. That author often has a lot of good stuff, but he has a blind spot when it comes to carriers. Remember, big carriers are both incredibly useful and incredibly wasteful, depending on the enemy.

Republicans like to say the Democratic House of Representatives hasn't done anything so far. That's true but unfair. Republican control of the Senate means there is little point in passing anything other than bipartisan bills. I'd like to point out that the same was true in 2017-2018 when the Republicans controlled the House because Senate Democrats were numerous enough to prevent most bills from passing because of the need to have 60 votes to get a bill to a vote. So it is a also unfair to complain that the Republican House lost their opportunity. I think they could have done more. I certainly complained. But to be fair, there were limits.

Uh,  no. Is this a trick question?

I'm pretty happy that Congress may make it harder for the United States to pull out of NATO. I don't think there is any danger of Trump pulling out of NATO given that he is strengthening the alliance. But getting Democrats on record in support of NATO while we can is brilliant. Their sudden hatred of Russia won't last forever. Some Republicans object that this kind of Congressional action would give the wrong impression that Trump wants to quit NATO. Trump should fully endorse the provision to nullify that worry.

I'm still hearing from Democrats that Russians stole the 2016 election for Trump. Russia's propaganda effort was so small that President Obama dismissed it out of fear of giving Trump an excuse for losing to Hillary Clinton, the assumed victor; and did nothing to counter it. Trying to elevate the amateurish online ads that weren't even nearly all pro-Trump is just a sad excuse that there is no reason any rational person should believe.

The great thing about "microaggressions" is my ability to micro-care about them and the people who get so worked up about them. If microaggressions even exist, of course. Which is a problem with studying something so small that your micro-radar is probably providing false positives. Tip to Instapundit.

What is wrong with people wondering about an American withdrawal from NATO when there is zero chance of Trump ordering it?

I don't have anything to say about the controversy over pardoning individual troops accused or convicted of crimes in war. Because the UCMJ isn't about justice for individuals. All I want to know is whether the convictions or pardons will help make the military a more effective fighting force. That's the brutally honest purpose of military justice. And in a timely article to support my view, this author notes that the objective is "the good order and discipline of the military." Yes.

The history of smaller boom bombs.

Will robots end the need for spacewalks? Maybe. But if things like this are tweaked a little, troops in space will still be needed.

What is the major malfunction of these people?! (Tip to Instapundit.) Smells like woke spirit, if you ask me. The common response should be that the online Red Guards can all just eff themselves.

Prime Minister May announced her resignation effective June 7th.  I take no joy in this. She faced hurdles with an EU that wanted to punish Britain for trying to leave the EU and she faced perhaps a majority of MPs--even in her own party--that resisted leaving the EU in meaningful terms. But May had one job--execute the wishes of the majority to exit the European Union, and she has failed. She has failed so badly that I have no idea if the Remainers will be able to nullify the election results--and never allow a never vote of the people about the EU again.

Perhaps the Army is more survivable in INDOPACOM than Air Force and Navy assets. But that assumes that any Army units surviving on land aren't isolated by enemy air and naval power to wither on the vine.

So Los Angeles is now worried about Typhus?  Good Lord. If that wall of trash gets any higher, migrants from Third World Hell Holes will wonder why they take the dangerous and expensive trip north just to live in a similar hell hole. And then we won't need a border wall. While it is nice that some problems are self correcting over time, don't we elect people to figure out shortcuts for solutions?

The war on the American media.

Russia continues to violate international law by holding Ukrainian sailors prisoner in a dispute that pits Russia against the norms of civilization. So nothing new to report on the Moscow front.

In these tense nuclear-tinged times, can we not come together with the healing power of "and" by accepting that both sides are correct?

It really pisses me off when human rights people focus so much on Western democracies because it is so much easier and safer to pick on Western countries with minor quibbles on human rights that depend on twisted definitions of human rights. They never seem to really work up any anger over actual scumbag despots.

Seriously, would we have let the KGB provide us with telephone service during the Cold War?

Warships from America, Japan, Australia and South Korea exercised together near Guam for the first time.

I was pretty darned sure that there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians to influence our election. It made no sense to me. But I couldn't say that Trump's stellar character meant it was out of bounds to think it might have happened. So while I hoped I'd be honest enough to change my mind after the lengthy investigations if they found something, I was relieved they found nothing despite the massive effort to find anything at all. Mind you, Russia did interfere--like they have for decades. And Obama did nothing to stop it. Now, more and more I think that Democrats conspired to nullify the lawful 2016 presidential election. But I'd very much like to be wrong. But it really doesn't look like I'm wrong so far. We'll see. And I'll wait for the results.

Trump denies moving USS McCain out of his sight while in Japan. But I have to tell you, if his staff didn't want her out of the line of sight of reporters who would have loved to get a picture of Trump with McCain in the background, they aren't doing their job. Or have you forgotten the grief Bush 43 was given for appearing on an aircraft carrier after major combat operations in Iraq were concluded with the banner "mission accomplished," which the carrier commander had put up to signify the end of their mission?

Well, it would be nice to settle the Saudi-Qatari dispute. Qatar hosts a large base of ours, but I would be happier if Qatar was less friendly to Iran and Sunni Islamists.

I spewed my beer on my computer screen when I read this. It is almost as ludicrous as Biden speaking at a babysitting best practices conference.