Weekend Data Dump

In its eagerness to reject anything that Trump says, the Washington Post writes that under Trump cities are in a "golden age." Tip to Instapundit. Democracy may die in darkness, but apparently cities thrive in it!

Boom! They don't throw any ammunition out and just keep it until they use it or it blows.

Does India's revocation of Article 370 autonomy status for Indian Kashmir deny Moslems rights while allowing Hindu colonization; or enable economic development to decrease jihadi recruitment? I find it hard to believe that the violence won't deter Hindus from moving there, but I don't actually know that. Wait. What? China is complaining about the loss of territorial autonomy? Hello? Xinjiang, Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong? And Article 370 revocation is the straw that breaks the camel's back? Really? With a bonus description of Pakistan's support of terrorism as "hybrid warfare." Which is strangely correct in that my view is that it consists of Country A invading Country B; Country A denying they have invaded Country B; and the rest of the world going along with Country A's lie.

Does the parliamentary election mean Ukraine will actually clean up corruption? Unless Ukraine wants to be a weaker version of Russia--and so lose to the larger Russia--Ukraine needs to get on that.

Post-INF treaty, the US will put intermediate range land-based conventional warhead missiles in Asia. Other than on Guam and Alaska (which doesn't make sense unless we want to target Russia), I wonder where he means given that other significant land is in allied territory. And they'd have to grant permission.

A survey of Iranian activities in the Middle East. Also, thus far Britain and South Korea have agreed to join America in Persian Gulf escort operations.

Iran once again displayed pretend advanced weapons they claim to have built. Do Iranians still believe this BS?

Giving the LCS an anti-tank missile is better than nothing, I suppose. But that is not a blue water combat capability.

Turkey threatens to go after our Kurdish friends along the border with Syria. The Kurds help fight ISIL. America, Britain, and France (and I assume others quietly) have some troops among the Kurds and oppose such an operation despite conceding that Turkey has legitimate security concerns. We hope to work something out short of a Turkish invasion.

A Naruto run at Area 51? Strip club: hold my beer.

If I'm to understand the situation correctly, Trump is a racist dictator; and he should take away all the guns from the people, with only the police and military being armed. I just don't get nuance.

The Saudi coalition continues to win slowly in Yemen against the Iran-backed Houthi; and the UAE, sick of the UN and corruption that promotes a humanitarian crisis, pulled their combat forces out to face Iran. And there are still jihadis running around and Yemen itself is a corrupt mess. But don't worry! The Deeply Concerned can still blame Saudi Arabia for difficulties in getting humanitarian aid to those in need!

Terror attack in Cairo. It sounds like the driver of the car bomb was going elsewhere when an accident led him (I assume) to detonate.

It should be a no-brainer to quickly negotiate and sign a trade deal with Britain to help them get the Hell out of the European Union. And it should be a fair deal despite Britain's need for our help. So we'll see. This issue confuses a lot of Americans who oddly see the proto-empire as something we should promote.

So the left admits that socialism is entrenched mediocrity? I think the professor's employer should pay her minimum wage. Because paying her more would be capitalistic. Tip to Instapundit.

The Mossad has a large net to combat its enemies--including in Venezuela where Hezbollah has long been active.

I have no problem going after white nationalists. War, even, under certain circumstances. Globally, perhaps those scum really are a growing threat. Still, unlike jihadis there is no white supremacist state that can provide logistics and encouragement. So the war angle is tougher to adopt. But by all means, combat them. And let's go after violent Antifa, too, which has the backing of the left.  Funny how that gets less coverage.

If you spread the death toll out over a couple days, nobody notices or cares. Although it is MAGA country according to Jussie Smollett ...

I eagerly await the morally superior Hollywood types to throw away all of their prop guns for making movies.

Red flag laws might be okay to prevent shootings. But I have grave reservations about whether or not the proposed system can be trusted. How do you stop people from harassing political opponents by triggering red flag provisions even though the target is no threat at all? Who do we trust to administer this? The same people who only see motives of shooters that back their existing hatreds? Just what is the experience of states that already have such laws?

You know, I read Gordan Chang on China. But I don't really know how good he is at analysis. I like what he says. But that's about what I'd like and not about what will be--or Chang's ability to analyze China's present and future.

As long as we are talking about red flag laws, how about a First Amendment red flag for Representative Joaquin Castro's abuse of his free speech rights? Like maybe before someone is killed by someone who takes his rhetoric seriously?

There are no problems, you deniers. The cars were sent by God to save us. Tip to Instapundit.

I have to believe that the Antifa morons look down on these Democratic Socialist morons. Yeah, there are no jazz hands in the Revolution. The actual Bolsheviks these morons want to support will kill them all with ice picks when the Revolution comes. Brian Dunn. Ann Arbor. Bite me/screw you. No, thank you comrade.

Watching Iran.

Russia and possibly China are testing nuclear warheads with low-yield tests. We rely on computer simulations. Over time there is a chance that errors in our programs will lead to our nukes being nothing more than inert chunks of expensive components while China's and Russia's work. Let's hope our coding isn't open to hacking, eh?

I've begged for the return of armored cavalry recon into the Army. I'd considered articles on this issue, but Major Jennings seems to own the topic, so I'll just link him again.

Oh what fresh Hell is this? This is why I don't really follow the fighting in corrupt Yemen. They fight. They split. They fight more. They make up. Repeat with different factions. My interests are killing jihadis and preventing Iran from getting a position along the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden shipping routes. But this junk gets in the way. Taking Aden is serious. But at least there was a step back from conflict. Or not. There are problem people in the government coalition between Saudi- and UAE-backed forces, to be sure. But the fracture in the anti-Houthi forces is a gift to Iran. Focus, people. Focus.

A crisis in Kyrgyzstan will "test the stability of Central Asia’s most fragile state." It's fragile. There is no stability to test. I wonder how the Russians and Chinese will react?

Turkey said that it has come to an agreement with America on a "safe zone" along the Turkish border with Syria east of the Euphrates River. Syria condemned the announcement. Although it is unclear what the depth of the zone will be, with Turks wanting way more than the Syrian Kurds seem willing to endure.

Information on mass shootings.

Fulani and Dogon and jihadis. Oh my! Good luck to the French. Mali is a less known front in the war on jihadis.

The Army is working on precision electronic warfare. Which fits the bill for my effects support system.

The next large Navy surface warship might be an even more advanced Burke destroyer. Also, the Navy wants to reverse the ratio of heavy to small ships that is currently way too top heavy. Apparently the Navy has picked a number. Long ago I wrote about this top-heavy situation. The end of history and post-Cold War peace made having fewer but more capable warships optimal. Sea control--whether in blue or brown waters--requires a lot more expendable ships. Note that the LCS did not turn out to be that cheap warship.

There are a bunch of things wrong with this article, but the idea that Iran proved in the Iran-Iraq War that they could endure casualties--and so will again if they fight America today--ignores that the Iranian morale actually broke in 1988. That's why the Iranian mullahs agreed to a ceasefire. Iran is no more willing to die in large numbers today because they died in large numbers in the 1980s than Russia is willing to endure casualties today because they died in horrific numbers in World War II. Neither have the demographics to support human wave assaults any more.

The El Paso shooter's manifesto is way different than what the media says it is. If plumbers were as bad at their job on average as journalists are, we'd all be knee-deep in water in our homes and work places.

The battle for Tripoli has dragged on since April, and the UN calls for a "humanitarian truce." Which will just allow the losing side to regroup and rearm. And because the UN recognizes the government that holds Tripoli, the UN is obviously biased in favor of that government and not Hiftar (Haftar) who controls most of the rest of Libya. In my opinion, as a general rule, a faster victory by the good guys (or less bad guys) is the most humanitarian course to follow. But instead, Libya got some of that false compassion the UN hands out.

Let's get past the grim reality that the Storm Area 51 people will either pass out in the desert trying to reach the fence or starve because there is no nearby Whole Foods Market--or any major grocery chain--to feed them. By giving up the element of surprise and telegraphing the assault, the government has had all the time it needs to move the aliens and their space ships to Area 52.

I not infrequently noted that Vice President Biden was President Obama's assassination insurance. What opponent of Obama would be willing to put Biden in the Oval Office? So don't say you weren't warned. Imagine what he'll do with the POTUS Twitter account?

After all this time, do you still believe Trump called white nationalists and neo-Nazis "fine people?" Here's another effort to debunk. People claim there are so many examples of his so-called racism. Why stick with this one obvious fabrication if that claim is true? In normal times, political people would celebrate that their opponent is kind of a dick. Now that's not enough for some reason.

Significant--if true. Tip to Instapundit.

How can there be a radiation spike with a rocket engine explosion, as happened in Russia? This may puzzle me only because I don't know very much about rocket engines, but isn't the warhead the only part of a rocket that would have nuclear material? But if so, why test a rocket with a nuclear warhead on it? Testing is done with a dummy warhead stuffed with sensors. But this sounds like just an engine test and not a rocket test. And city officials weren't trying to hide it, saying the levels died down to normal. Odd, isn't it? Or not? Oh, a nuclear isotope power source. So there you go.

I have always accepted the global warmers basic position that mankind affects the climate. But I've also said that given the fluctuations in direction of temperatures since 1950 when climate change scientists say humans first did enough to affect the climate, temperatures have gone down, then up, then flattened out. So how can human contributions be decisive compared to natural effects? So yeah, I'm predisposed to a study that says human impact is insignificant.

Let a thousand conspiracy theories bloom. It is odd. And convenient for some. Why didn't police keep a closer watch on such a high profile prisoner? But in a contest between conspiracy and incompetence, I always vote for incompetence as the reason for something. Tip to Instapundit.

Yeah, I'm kind of enjoying seeing women's sports dominated by ex-men. Enjoy your own rules. Women are learning that--as I've long observed--feminism is just the women's auxiliary of liberalism (or extreme Leftism, now), rather than being a true form of equality promotion.

For you morons out there plotting your fight against a non-existent dictatorship from your command posts in organic bakeries, this is Resistance to tyranny.

How ground forces got an air force. Recon and fire support is more responsive this way. I suspect ground forces will need their own air superiority for the "brown skies" above the tip of the spear, as I argued for in this Army magazine article.

Trump may just be massaging Kim's ego by "siding with" Kim on American military exercises in South Korea--if the exercises continue despite Trump's words--but God almighty Trump could so easily lose my support with things like this if the Democrats had the brains that God gave mossy rocks. All they have to do is not act crazy ...

Wow, Iran sure does announce a lot of new indigenously developed advanced weaponry! Odd how they never show up outside of the press conference photo-op.

Here's some more actual brave Resistance to tyranny. Some in Russia still want free and fair elections. Good luck with that.

Some red flags for future violence are completely invisible, apparently.

Michael Yon continues to report from the Hong Kong freedom demonstrations.