I don't want to hear another word about the "party of science:""A birth coach has been ‘ostracised’ by her professional organisation after transgender activists branded as offensive a Facebook post in which she said that only women can have babies." The Dignified Rant has exclusive video of the conversation leading up to the resignation:
I'd give good money if the birth coach had asked if the fetus will gestate in a box. It took 40 years for a joke to become a firing offense, basically. I blame the Romans.
I think we should all be able to agree that the people at the New York Times who gave us the 1619 project are just horrible people. America was founded on freedom and not on slavery. It took us a long time to make significant progress in making that foundation real for African Americans, but our promise of freedom and equality was the foundation of the struggle for equality.
Situation desperate but not serious in Congo: Extremists oppose medical intervention to stop Ebola.
I don't worry too much about the DDG-1000 itself. But I worry that it shows that the Navy can't build ships effectively enough to face a peer competitor as sea. Assuming China is building their ships on time and with advanced technology that works. Do we know that? Work on shipbuilding and until that is fixed make sure our training is better.
Protests in Hong Kong continue. When you hear that Hong Kong has limited democracy for a few more decades, this is one aspect--China has to approve candidates who run for office.
I do worry a lot about a potential India-Pakistan war that could escalate to nuclear weapons. And I worried quite a bit about the February crisis noted in the next article. But the idea that India might "start" the next crisis in the region that spirals out of control kind of ignores that Pakistan's support for terrorism in India is kind of the basis of the ongoing crisis, isn't it? Why is Pakistan's support for terrorism that kills Indians seen as the steady-state normality? And yeah, I worry about India's developing Cold Start Doctrine if it settles into a pattern that the Indian military wanted many years ago.
I would like to again commend Democrats for their ability to make Trump--as tremendously flawed as he is--the clearly superior choice to giving them the keys to the national car in 2020 after watching them chug socialism like it's water.
When the Soviets crushed the dream of freedom (for more than 30 years) in Hungary. You wonder why East European countries wanted to join NATO and the West in general?
Communism dies in darkness, I suppose.
"Endless war" is a meaningless term and those who oppose it (and who really supports endless war?) simply seem to mean they don't want Americans in certain places exposed to theoretical danger. I was getting at that point with my post on rebranding the "global war on terror" as the "global troubles" to step back from the war prism when we are really in a stage of minor direct combat while supporting allies who are in far more combat against our common enemies. How is that deal not the way to go to protect our interests and people from direct threat at home?
Islamist scum are marching in Pakistan. Pakistan worries the Hell out of me. They have nukes and play games with jihadis in the belief that the jihadis are a weapon that the government can point at enemies or holster at will. What happens when the Islamists and jihadis want to be the government? Sadly, the protesters are right--the government is quite corrupt.
Related to the "endless war" entry, remember that nearly two years ago I argued that we needed to figure out why we might be willing to fight and die to stay in eastern Syria once ISIL's caliphate was destroyed. And well before the latest Turkish invasion to establish a buffer zone in northeastern Syria at the expense of the Kurds, I noted that the Kurds had to come to a deal with Assad because eventually Syria would be strong enough to move into eastern Syria despite our small presence. We risk a Mogadishu or Beirut disaster if we stay on autopilot unsure of what we'd die to defend. Five years ago I argued that the post-ISIL objective should be the removal of Assad, but we never built up Syrian opposition forces that could achieve that. So here we are, arguing about whether we should or should not abandon the Syrian Kurds when that decision was made long ago.
The American space race begins.
No! Way!
There was panic that Trump was abandoning Syria's Kurds. We didn't, of course. We still have troops there. We simply refused to go to war with Turkey over the Kurdish border area. And so, 3, 2, 1 ... Trump is expanding our mission in Syria by protecting the Syrian Kurds' oil revenue! Is it even legal!! Note that the revenue is going to the SDF, and not to America.
The Russians continue with their caviar foreign policy despite their Cheez Whiz finances. Syria will cost them bigly.
The United states is training allies to operate in the Persian Gulf region to escort oil exports in the face of Iranian threats. It is proper that allies who actually import oil from the Gulf step up. And it is right for us to train our friends and allies while being prepared to back them up if Iran goes kinetic. And Operation Sentinel has officially begun. Will Iran test it?
I'm sure this Russian trade restriction won't drive Kazakhstan into China's arms.
Thoughts on Germans fleeing a dictatorial state and the end of that nightmare 30 years ago. Here, nobody who pledged to flee America after Trump was elected president have made good on their pledge based on stated fears that he would impose a dictatorship here. I wish the Germans had the heart to defend their unified democracy and the West that achieved that. The author is a fool to think that Europe without America and Britain will defend European values. Well, they won't defend the America-imposed Western values that created the free and democratic Europe the author wants to preserve.
#liberalprivilege
I really don't get why so many conservatives seem to have a soft spot for Gabbard. Tip to Instapundit.
I honestly don't understand (sorry, the update video in that post died) why anyone would trust Marie Harf. When Fox News hired her, I established the practice of turning off the TV whenever she was on.
No state health care for racists? Okay. There will probably be a definitions problem, but let's stipulate it is accurately assessed. Now do Islamists. Not that I don't have a lot of sympathy for staff who are verbally abused by patients and contempt for those doing the abusing.
Is it just me or does Representative Swalwell seem like an exceptionally moronic Congresscritter?
I do worry about having enough attack submarines. Will we be able to extend the service life of our Los Angeles-class boats until this can be straightened out?
The French 2013 intervention in Mali stemmed the tide of Islamist conquest there, but the jihadi problem persists. Jihadi hate and government corruption are a terrible combination.
Statistics of site usage got more confusing. I assumed that my Statcounter reports are more accurate than my Blogger statistics that are more than 10-20 times higher than the former. Although I can tell that the two differ in how they register links from Facebook, for example. And since I started Game Night Blog that replaces my former internal email newsletter, I've been able to see that the Blogger statistics very accurately track the usage from friends who are on the game night mailing list. So there is no statistics inflation there. It is very confusing.
No! Way! "Whistleblower" doesn't seem as accurate as "infiltrator."
South Korea is opting for the F-35 and may send them to sea, as well. The early reports of pilots praising the plane will sell more. Which is good given the Russian effort to sabotage the plane with propaganda before it could be built and sold.
As Iran makes hints of its nuclear weapons potential if we don't return to the horrible 2015 Iran nuclear deal (wait, Iran denies ever having a nuclear weapons program--are they threatening us with cheap nuclear-generated electricity?), America updates its GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator designed to destroy deeply buried targets.
The Chinese marine force is expanding. This author notes their use for Taiwan invasion scenarios but notes they will be more useful in peacetime power projection missions in the Indo-Pacific region. I think he is right. The marines aren't needed to invade Taiwan (although they could be helpful) and I'm more worried about the role of airborne forces.
The Army is working on robots that can follow orders issued in the field.
The idea of a bed and breakfast revolts me. But if I ever did go that route, Airbnb seems more risky than I'm willing to try.
Can Republicans relearn to accept outcomes of elections they don't like? WTF? "What in holy hell is the Washington Post’s Paul Waldman talking about?" It's as if the Resistance and impeachment efforts didn't begin about 3 hours after Trump won three years ago. And did I miss something or have Republicans accepted the results of the 2018 Congressional election that gave the House to Pelosi without a single denying hashtag? What election have Republicans failed to accept? What kind of partisan fool could write the article under that headline?
"Journalism." Trust but verify, as a great man once said.
Eventually, the kulaks will learn to be scared of Bernie, too. Remember to check the "definitions" section, as I annoyingly say so often. Based on inflation, it's possible everyone in Venezuela is technically a billionaire.
Those Extinction Rebellion loons are certifiably nuts and I guarantee they'll go from predicting extinction to trying to carry it out. Give them time. The tension of not seeing actual human extinction will be too difficult for these Fruit Loops to accept. And they will kill to "save the planet." Guarantee it. Laugh at their idiocy. But worry about their fanaticism.
Bad stuff is happening in Bolivia. I don't know whether loons are refusing to accept an election loss or whether ruling thugs are denying an election loss to remain in power. Tip to Instapundit.
Remember that the Trump administration actually sent weapons to Ukraine which was a change from the Obama administration which refused to send weapons to Ukrainians resisting the Russian invasion. Not that training and logistics aid was worthless. But we have in fact stepped up our assistance to stop the Russians. Tip to Instapundit.
Thirty years ago this month the Berlin Wall came down, ending the Soviet empire in Eastern Europe and eventually breaking the USSR itself two years later. Although Hungary should get credit for getting the ball rolling in the previous summer by opening their border with Austria. I had enlisted in the Army National Guard in 1987 because of the Soviet threat. And in related news, a month later I'd have my master's in history and remained grateful I had not majored in Soviet studies for my bachelor's degree--I considered that too pessimistic about the longevity of the USSR. I had no idea... But I would like to protest this: "The collapse of the Berlin Wall was brought about largely by peaceful protests and a stream of people fleeing East Germany that piled pressure on the country's Communist government to open its borders to the West and ultimately end the nation's post-war division." [emphasis added] No, the Berlin Wall came down because of decades of American leadership of a sometimes reluctant West to resist Soviet communism in Europe and globally. Our efforts finally broke the Soviet economy and will to kill to maintain their imperial control over non-Russians.
A UN-sponsored 45-member committee of Assad's people and opposition people are working on a new constitution. As if Assad will agree to give up power after killing so many people to remain in power. It will meet and meet and meet while no progress is made. Except that the opposition members will either mysteriously pull an Epstein or get bought off one by one. This is a prime example of the futility of UN action.
It sounds like the American presence in eastern Syria to protect oil production facilities for the Arabs and Kurds there could eventually be a mechanized infantry battalion (800 troops). I say again, before we have a Mogadishu or Beirut barracks incident that exposes how little we are willing to suffer to remain there, what are we willing to fight and die for in eastern Syria?
The entire Russian takeover and annexation of Crimea from Ukraine is illegal, but Ukraine contents itself, close to 6 years later, with a legal victory in one small and narrow legal aspect of the Russian conquest. Ah, international law.
Democrats have introduced articles of impeachment against every elected Republican president in the post-World War II era (Ford was not elected and merely served out the remainder of Nixon's second term, while losing to Carter in 1976). Fancy that. With collateral damage to the reputation of Snopes, of course. Tip to Instapundit.
The Iranians let the facade slip a bit in their ongoing effort to pretend they are continually developing new and advanced weapons. I guess even the Iranians are getting bored with passing off ancient F-5 retreads as new and locally developed.
So this might happen:
I'm sure I'm not the first to think of this. But it's still true as the non-socialists in the Democratic Party get more desperate for an alternative to the flawed Biden. Although the reality is that Bloomberg doesn't have the appeal to get more than a longing glance that will simply poison relations between Democrats and Biden.
I certainly hope that Prime Minister Johnson is engineering Brexit on acceptable terms and that this author isn't just whistling past the graveyard. My fear has long been that pursuit of the perfect would kill the good (or adequate) Brexit. Getting out was the key, I thought, and worry about fixing flaws once out. But maybe I'm wrong and Johnson will win and keep rule of law in Britain intact. I hope so. Tip to Instapundit.
Democrats went from denying the "deep state" to boasting that the deep state is all that is protecting the republic. I think my observation in this data dump that the "deep state" was initially just normal bureaucratic resistance to change that could hurt it (admittedly motivated by partisanship that bent and broke laws to lead that Resistance) that became self aware of its power to be the Deep State explains that shift in Democratic thinking.
Russia isn't going to keep its reputation for supporting scumbag rulers no matter what with this discovery. Apparently the Estonians and Czechs discovered that the Russian hacker group Turla infiltrated the Iranian hacker group labelled APT34 and launched attacks for 18 months disguised as Iranians. So the Russians wanted other countries--mostly in the Middle East--pissed off at Iran. Perhaps the Russians went to Arab countries and promised to get "Iran" to stop their cyber-attacks?
Under the terms of the 1994 peace deal between Jordan and Israel, Jordan has refused to renew a lease that allowed Israel to continue to farm some agricultural land that Israelis had farmed for 70 years. This is being called a sign of worsening relations. Sure. But it was part of the deal. Who knows? Perhaps in the future the lease will be reopened after proving the point that Jordan wanted to make.
Widespread protests against the Lebanese government continue.
So Arnold is now teaming up with eco-scold Thunberg? Of course he is. Skynet needs to cripple humanity's capacity to fight the robots. And sending that vintage T-800 model on one more mission must show how desperate the AI is.
The Kurds are playing hard ball with the Europeans, threatening to release jihadis from European countries unless the Europeans get tougher on Turkey. The Europeans would prefer the Kurds to hold on to those "European" jihadis. Which is kind of funny when you consider how emphatically the Europeans condemned our Guantanamo Bay detention facility for captured jihadis. Of course, Erdogan has the option of unleashing Syrian refugees into Europe in response to any European actions against Turkey.
Iran could respond to America's expanding sanctions by (again) using military force. I did warn about that. And Iran has threatened America and our allies recently.
The good news is that Iran has discovered a "massive" oil field, meaning that Iran no longer needs to alienate the United States by so aggressively and single-mindedly pursuing safe and clean nuclear energy!
If the Democrats are hoping their non-stop impeachment effort launched about 5 hours after Trump won in 2016 will induce "Trump fatigue" and give them the White House next year they are way off base when it comes to me. I'm outraged at the Democrats for their Ahab-like obsession with the Great Orange Whale. That has been the primary source of the constant turmoil at the national level. I blame Democrats (and their media allies) and not Trump. And I have a long history of intensely disliking Trump! I didn't even vote for him in 2016. But now I will figuratively (that's for you, Biden) walk across broken glass to vote for Trump in 2020. So Bravo Democrats. Well played.
The Japanese are continuing their effort to use lithium-ion batteries in their submarines. Japan won't build nuclear subs but those two Soryu-class boats might be the closest you can get to the ability of nuclear boats to operate submerged indefinitely.
The Norwegians have declared their first F-35s to have initial operational capability. So they aren't fully working and integrated but can be used in combat.
The United States government should not be shy about condemning the Iranian-backed militias that appear to be responsible for the killing of Iraqi protesters.
What could possibly go wrong? It is dangerous that the auto makers are so desperate to get customers. If the Goddamned cars weren't so Goddamned expensive (every bloody thing is standard equipment now, it seems) this pyramid scheme of financing wouldn't be necessary to move cars. Tip to Instapundit.
