The Iranians accidentally sank one of their ships in a military exercise.
The Russians continue their effort to put a newer Graney-class SSGN in their fleet. The focus on "carrier killer" weapons seems misplaced when defending their SSBN bastions seem a higher priority to me.
China is expanding its Djibouti, Africa naval base.
Sorry, sorry, highly unfortunate, but let's carry on.
Remember that politics is basically about who gets what. And democracy is about making sure that politics is done according to the wishes of the people and rule of law. Experts and scientists should be used to inform democratic politics, but not act as the decision-makers. Experts and scientists may know about their fields (but not always) but they should not be acceptable dictators. Tip to Instapundit.
China uses tunnels to shield their fleet from prying eyes and attack. In the age of precision weapons, are they protection or tombs if weapons can collapse the entry or simply mine the passage out to trap the vessels in their safe place? And seriously, what would missiles with fuel air explosives do to those inside the tunnels if the missiles could penetrate well into the tunnels before detonating?
Law professors want speech control? It's almost adorable that they think that by taking this horrible stand against free speech that they won't be targets if the "Red Guards" take control: "Intellectuals were to suffer the brunt of these attacks. Many were ousted from official posts such as university teaching and allocated manual tasks such as 'sweeping courtyards, building walls and cleaning toilets from 7am to 5pm daily' which would encourage them to dwell on past 'mistakes'. An official report in October 1966 reported that the Red Guards had already arrested 22,000 'counterrevolutionaries'." In addition to the other changes in news "broadcast" I'd add the telegraph.
China seems to have tried to hide the source of the Xi Jinping Flu coronavirus. Yeah, "So a Wuhan lab escape isn't so far-fetched, after all? This doesn't mean it is a bio-weapon, which analysis says it is not. Perhaps China's propaganda effort to blame America was meant to get people to defiantly push back by pointing to the wet markets in order to shield the laboratory. More here." Seriously, f*ck China for their continuing disinformation campaign. Decouple on sight, decouple first, decouple to kill, keep decoupling. China has completely abandoned the fluffy Panda diplomacy.
Heh:
Will Xi Jinping economic dislocations force the Army to defend its landpower role again? The Army faces that problem after every war and the war on this coronavirus may be no different. I've long had to argue for a role for the Army and it doesn't seem to end.
"Obamagate?" Sure, but you really need to be more specific with that term. "Scandal-free" is no way to describe the Obama administration.
Sometimes, as Elon Musk demonstrates, being hit with the reality clue bat works. You must admit that California is persistent in swinging it.
Why does Speaker Pelosi want vote-by-mail in the next Xi Jinping Flu relief spending bill? Because much like Epstein, democracy won't kill itself. Is the need for even needing another relief bill to justify such a horrible proposal the reason why Democrats keep moving the goal posts on what was supposed to be a 2-4 week lockdown to flatten the curve of infections (which we've done)? Note that I don't actually have an opinion on Epstein's means of death. But it is a useful meme.
If federal funds depend on how much of the Xi Jinping coronavirus a location has, of course the number of people with the virus will be inflated. Just for comparison I'd like to see academics look at the global death toll based on a uniform definition--and I don't care what standard you use for the purpose of a comparison--of who counts as dying from the virus rather than just taking announced death tolls from entities with different definitions and comparing them as if that is valid. Russia counts deaths differently (and lower) and defends their practice.
Russia has rather quickly lifted their partial lockdown over the Xi Jinpoing Flu. It seems premature but Russia can afford to shut down far less than more prosperous countries.
So what is going on, Xi Jinping Flu-wise, in North Korea?
I don't know what the heck happened to Bill Kristol. I can understand not liking Trump. Or not thinking he is really a Republican and regretting his effects on the party. Really, I can. What I can't understand is reacting by seeking to elect Democrats who surely are even less like Republicans than Trump and who are damaging our country with their overly enthusiastic Resistance. He should just call himself a Democrat--maybe rebuild that Unicorn of conservative Democrats that used to exist--and be done with it. And the high approval rate of Trump among Republicans indicates that this is unlikely to be more than an AstroTurf group.
Resisting police is too far in defense of that Michigan barber. Civil disobedience requires the willingness to be arrested for an unjust law and counting on public opinion to fight the law--not potentially violent resistance that will only repel most people. I defended the militia's right to protest and noted they hadn't been violent. This is too close to crossing the line. Tip to Instapundit.
Let's all recall that "hug a Chinese person" disinformation campaign to hide the Chinese Communist Party's responsibility for the Xi Jinping Flue pandemic by exploiting political correctness in the West.
You don't have to like Flynn or think his firing by the incoming Trump administration was improper to accept that Flynn's prosecution and conviction made a mockery of rule of law. So what role did the Obama administration have in this and the whole sordid Russia collusion lie that put our country into chaos for far too long? What did Obama know, when did he know it, and what did he order? A healthy ACLU that was interested in fighting for civil liberties rather than being an auxiliary to the Democratic Party would be deep into exposing and punishing what the Obama administration did (and that news in the last link in defense of that statement came well after I wrote the sentence).
The Russia-Turkey-Iran-Assad alliance is breaking apart; and the Turks are finding that pissing off NATO to make friends with traditional enemies Russia and Iran isn't working out one bit. Hopefully Sultan Erdogan pays the price for his two-decade policy of supporting "tame" Islamists. That policy hasn't worked out for Syria, Saudi Arabia, or Pakistan. It won't work for Turkey. As I've said, contain and isolate the damage Erdogan is doing to the NATO alliance and prepare for the day when post-Erdogan Turkey can be trusted again.
The Turks have 8,000 Syrian mercenaries fighting for the Islamist-friendly UN-recognized government in Libya. Libyans are increasingly angry at the Turkish invasion of the former Ottoman province, and the mercenaries are starting to react to their casualty rate that has been the price for checking Hiftar's LNA advance on Tripoli.
An interesting part of the Syria situation is that Russia doesn't want Assad to continue attacking in Idlib province to regain that last bastion of rebellion in the west. I've long said that Russia wants quiet in Syria so Russia can use their Syria bases without worry about threats to them. Russia has no interest in paying the price for Assad getting more of core Syria under his control. Who knows what Turkey might do if their buffer zone in Idlib is threatened?
The last 4 years of Democrats going insane and demonizing Trump supporters (even though I have a long history of not liking him and not trusting him to be conservative) alienated me completely from them. I can't vote for a Democrat for anything now. One day I won't be this angry, but the Democrats' abandonment of civil liberties has eliminated the one thing I had long valued in their ranks. So I don't even need to be angry to never vote for one of them again.
Britain can't afford the military it wants. Leaner? Meaner? Bugger! I've long worried that the Royal Navy would shrink to a carrier battle group and a few SSBNs while the army becomes something the Germans can arrest again if it lands on their North Sea coast. The Royal Air Force wouldn't be much better and much of the planes Britain can afford would go down if their carrier is sunk.
If the pandemic reached Ohio in January, what hope is there that America could have kept the Xi Jinping Flu out of America if we acted early enough? Early enough would have been so early that the charge from Democrats would have been this was an excuse for a xenophobic virtual wall. Admit it. Tip to Instapundit.
Is Russia's pivot to the Arctic working? If China's ambitions are any indication, the Russians might be fighting China there. Although Canada in particular needs to pay more attention to their own Arctic territory. Still, I'll still be surprised if Russia can deploy ground troops actually able to fight in that environment. The particular needs of fighting or even living in that extreme environment makes me want a Polar Command (POLARCOM).
And then cut the pay of half of those remaining in half.
So Sweden in the long run will have carried out the best strategy? We'll see. And are there unique characteristics of Sweden that make their choices non-generalizable? Again, outside of my lane.
Oh why oh why do I think the media is horribly biased and so don't trust without verifying? Tip to Instapundit. Seriously, this is the title? "Flynn case boosts Trump's bid to undo Russia probe narrative[.]" The story is that the narrative itself is unraveling and not that it bolsters Trump's effort to rebut it! They have so many ways to rephrase their "Republicans pounce" slanting.
On the bright side, piracy off of Somalia is largely absent.
I'm no expert and I've just read thinly on the issue, but it seems like the men who killed Arbery while he jogged should be prosecuted for murder of some level. They pursued him and even if he was guilty of the charge, burglary is not a death penalty crime. Photographing Arbery and calling the police--even following him until the police arrived--would have been appropriate. What seems open is whether it was racially motivated. I don't assume the incident was racially motivated. It could be but I don't assume that as a fact. If race had nothing to do with the shooting, what the men did was still horrific.
Essential workers on their morning commute from the creek:
Again, "liberal minded" is not a synonym for "open minded."
I'm beginning to think the only true fact in the whole Russia-Trump collusion hoax/hysteria is that there is indeed a hostile country called Russia. I mean seriously, we don't even know if the Russians hacked the DNC servers (although that's how I'd bet). Democrats and their media allies put America through Hell for three years over bullshit. Tips to Instapundit.
This is the price we have to pay to keep Erdogan from getting the F-35 and sharing/exposing details with Russia: "F-35 program was hampered last year by growing parts shortages from its supply chain that 'increased significantly' and could be further complicated by the U.S decision to expel Turkey from the program, according to congressional investigators." Turkey was responsible for 1,000 parts. Work the problem. It was predictable once we dropped the hammer and refused to sell the F-35 to Turkey over Erdogan's fling with Putin.
A ramjet-powered round would give our 155mm artillery a range of 60 miles.
It sure looks like we are finally going to anticipate the phasing out of aircraft carriers. With service lives of 50 years the phase out will go beyond my lifetime. Which is fine, as I've long argued. Assuming my lifespan is another 40 years or so!
Seriously China, WTF?
I assume that our special operations people hate fighting in a pandemic social distancing environment that requires them to kill our country's enemies with long-range missiles rather than knives.
Yes, people are morons: "Grandma killer is the Godwin of the pandemic." I want to be able to leave my home and I don't want to kill my children's grandparents.
In related news, Governor Cuomo--who is the current crush of the panty-flinging Left--killed grandmas as a matter of state policy. If Cuomo is selected to replace Biden, look for the deaths of grandmas to be framed by Democrats as a matter of "choice."
Is it going to be a long hot summer on the India-China border?
No doubt opening up our lockdowns will increase the number of Xi Jining Flu cases around America. So what? The point of the lockdown was to "bend the curve" of infections to prevent our health care system from being overwhelmed. We've done that. We should celebrate that and based on local conditions begin opening up before lives are ruined by the lockdown.
And speaking of damned moronic posturing, Senator Paul did not "attack" Doctor Fauci, given that Fauci agreed with the point that Rand Paul made. Oh, and Paul is also a medical doctor, FYI.
The Chinese Communist Party is evil. They try to crush freedom in Hong Kong because it is within their grasp. They will try to extend their grasp globally, and beyond:
I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you: "Before the [Americans with Disabilities Act] passed, 59 percent of disabled men had jobs. After it passed, the number fell to 48 percent. Today, fewer than 30 percent have jobs." I don't think that word "help" means what they think it means. Remember, for the party of big government "learned helplessness" is a feature and not a bug.
CNN is hosting a town hall show on the Xi Jinping Flu pandemic. And, I kid you not, one of the panelists selected is teen truant and climate scold Greta Thunberg:
Ah, science! I'm using this gif a lot lately, it seems. Greta needs love and therapy, not child exploitation. What does CNN need?Hillary Clinton's "Onward Together" Resistance group is just a middleman that takes a cut from liberal donations to give inflated salaries to its own "staff" before sending on the remainder of the money to liberal groups that actually do things for liberal causes. Are liberals actually fine with that arrangement?
The Russian Xi Jinping Flu experience and the breakdown of the Russian attempt to ally with
Somebody is cyber-attacking our Xi Jinping Flu researchers and China is the usual suspect. And a reminder that people oddly up in arms about calling it the Wuhan Flu--which follows the traditional pattern--are just the Chinese Communist Party useful idiots: "Why hammer that fact? Because attempting to disconnect the virus from its country of origin -- China -- is a Chinese Communist Party propaganda ploy to shield CCP leaders from taking responsibility for having spread the virus." Also the usual suspects, of course. Oh, and we formally named the usual suspect. I hardly want war with China. But we can't have peace with them, either. Not while the CCP rules China.
Why ISIL attacked a maternity hospital in Afghanistan, killing at least 24 people including several newborn babies and their mothers. I'm content with the short version that they are evil and need to be killed. The Afghan government has cancelled their defense-only order. The Taliban have gone car bomby. Unless this is a clever ploy to discredit the Taliban, I don't know why we think we can get a peace deal with these jihadi nutballs who don't even want to pretend they want peace.
Special forces have concluded that "Iron Man" suits are not technologically feasible yet, so are shifting to digitally connected operators to fight better.
The Xi Jinping Flu and China's role in making their epidemic a pandemic gives me more reason to shun movie theaters. I'd forgotten that China bought a lot of our theaters.
Yes, Turkey's new assault carrier will transform their navy. But the only real target for its use is their technical NATO ally Greece with all its islands in the Aegean Sea that Turkey has claims to. And it will help them restore their faux Ottoman Empire along the southern Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea. I'll not celebrate. Still, it is but one ship.
Japan would be an important ally fighting at America's side in case of a war with China. Indeed. Eight years ago I thought Japan could hold their own against China. I'm sure Japan has lost ground overall since then, but on the other hand Japan is increasingly shifting their focus to fighting China rather than the (former) Soviet Union focus. And if high tech rather than numbers is the key, Japan is in good shape.
Yeah, I'd like Space Force to have a larger version of the X-37B. SMOD can't go to orbit without it! This is an interesting article on its mission of generating solar power (is that really the only mission?) but it hardly demonstrates Space Force utility given that the X-37B is an Air Force craft, as I read earlier. I don't get why it isn't a Space Force craft. Maybe any X class craft is always Air Force at this point?
Holy Cow! College Democrats joined College Republicans to demand that universities shut down their intelligence and propaganda hubs called Confucius Institutes. You may recall that I don't like them.
That would be useful if the theoretical impact of mouthwash works.
Stop resisting her or she'll inflict more pain?
So Brennan suppressed intelligence that said Russia wanted Clinton to win in 2016? I'm not surprised that the Russians would think the corrupt Clinton was more malleable. And if true this revelation rather undermines the whole basis of the Russia collusion nonsense that has convulsed our nation the last three-plus years. I mean, if you really need more evidence of that fantasy. People who led this effort need some prison time to send a message not to get involved in domestic politics. Democrats should agree if they really think they'll defeat Trump this year, shouldn't they?
I'm thinking their should be a reward on the head of Mussaed Ahmed al-Jarrah. Or is that just me? Saudi Arabia is an ally. Not all Saudis are with the program.
I always find it fascinating in an election year to watch the polls go from pro-Democrat when surveying adults, to closer contests when surveying registered voters, to more Republican when likely voters are questioned. I guess we're finally at the registered voter stage.
That was a classy expression of sympathy. And it highlights that it happened, of course.
As I see (and feel) the growing outrage of the departing Obama administration's unlawful sabotage of the incoming Trump administration in 2017 (and which is still disrupting our country), I recall the departing Clinton administration's removal of "W" keys from White House computers in 2001 as a somewhat endearing fraternity prank by comparison.
If only Obama staffers had confined themselves to removing "D" keys. Hell, they could have gone after the "T" keys, too, and I'd have just chuckled. Instead I want them locked up.
God bless the My Pillow Guy for his success, but is it really true he had 14 "near-death experiences" as his book commercial claims? I'm not sure I've had 14 "near-bored experiences" in my life.
Some in the media are trying to peddle the line that unmasking is a normal thing so all the unmasking of Republicans by the Obama administration is no big deal. So it would be normal for Trump to unmask Democrats now? And if it is all business as usual, move along, nothing-to-see-here territory, why are Obama appointees denying that they requested those unmaskings?
China's Beidou is intended to compete with America's GPS, Russia's Glonass and Europe's Galileo satellite navigation constellations.
Seriously? Masks could be counter-productive??! Or is this just BS? Why do we not know if this is true or false by now? Tip to Instapundit.
The T-72 and its many varieties.
Yes, this Biden accusation makes no sense even within the logic of the crazy world where "Wuhan Flu" is racist hate mongering.
I don't understand why wearing or not wearing a mask when outside of your home is a partisan divide. I don't like wearing a mask. But I like the Xi Jinping Flu even less. I didn't consider wearing a mask, glove, boots, and a charcoal-lined hot suit as being pro-nerve gas or giving in to the Soviets. Wear a Goddamn mask if you go in a store. It doesn't make you a left-winger. It might even protect you or your loved one--or even random strangers. And isn't this kind of the price to reopen our country in the short run? Pay the price!
There is some ugly snobbery involved in the pro-lockdown side's view of those who want--and desperately need--the economy to reopen.
I hear people on the left her and abroad saying Trump isn't providing "leadership" on the Xi Jinping Flu. What is he supposed to do? Tell other countries when and now to lockdown and when and how to open up? How to pay for this? Imagine what the reaction would be if Trump tried to "lead" them on these issues? Or is "leadership" just a polite way to say "money"? Is that what this is about? They want money from the American federal government?
Yeah, "whistleblower" just seems like a way to dress up a partisan Democrat attack dog to look respectable. Democrats have ruined trust in a lot of things in their unhinged zeal to get Trump on something--anything.
If the Chinese think that they can exploit the Xi Jinping Flu pandemic--which began in Wuhan, China, and which spread from local epidemic to global pandemic because of Chinese secrecy and lies--to push their neighbors around in the South China Sea, the American military is reminding the PLA that we're still out there watching them.
Is Russia trying to push aside Hiftar (Haftar) as leader of the LNA faction in the Libyan civil war?
China makes it difficult to take a balanced view of what our relations should be. I want to break our dependence on key supply chains from China and focus on China as our most serious military problem; but not ban all trade with them or assume war is coming. China's post-Xi Jinping Flu behavior bolsters the people who think policy closer to the latter is the best option.
Britain warned the EU to give ground in Brexit talks or there will be no agreement. And there should be no extension for the final exit in December, as the British insist. Or are you telling me that the EU negotiators have been pressed into service building ventilators and PPE, and so are too busy to negotiate? Consider that the EU is still giving Britain grief over a trade deal even as the EU is willing to risk Iran's mullahs getting nuclear weapons to preserve trade with Iran. The EU proto-empire is not and cannot be our friend.
If pet grooming but not barber shops are in the next phase of opening up Michigan's economy, I'm going to self-identify as a dog. Don't judge. You hater.
Yovanovitch: Another problem with anti-Trump witness credibility.
Democrats worried about Biden's basement campaign strategy and his faculties have hit upon a unique replacement candidate to transition seamlessly away from Biden while eliminating the touching problem:
Separated at birth!
Too close to the truth to be funny:
I'm guessing that the pro-Democrat bias would be higher if you drilled down and and discovered that all the criticisms about Trump were for being too conservative and that almost all of the criticisms about Pelosi were about ... being insufficiently liberal. Tip to Instapundit.
Syria denies that Iran's forces are being withdrawn. I'd earlier read that Iranian forces are not being replaced while under Israeli attack and so are in effect reducing their presence under that attrition. Although to be fair the Syrian denials are specific enough ("the Syrian regime did not ask the Iranians to reduce their military presence in the Syrian territories, just as the Iranians are not currently planning to scale back their military presence, especially their advisers") to not deny the accuracy of the withdrawal by attrition angle.
Hey! SOCOM likes the Army weapon! For you young people too young to get it:
Say, could we get those factories and SUVs going again? Soon? And tell me that there isn't some unanticipated problem with this shift of the magnetic north pole. With GPS it doesn't matter for our military. But I recall all the maps I looked at had a correction factor to convert magnetic north to true north which was important in using the map with accuracy required for fighting. I assume our military maps are all screwed up. Does that matter?
China doesn't like it that Missouri is suing them over the Xi Jinping Flu: ""Republicans who have been groundlessly accusing China and inflaming the holding China accountable' political farce will face severe consequences, sources said, noting that the aftermath will also impact the upcoming November elections, while business and trade between Missouri and China will be further soured,” the Global Times, a branch of the Communist Party of China's People's Daily, wrote in an article."" It's almost as if China fears the impact of something coming out of some interior region and reaching around the globe to devastate them (literalcoughWuhanliteralcough). I have no idea if suing China is legally or practically possible. But you'd hope that CCP could have a spark of human decency to shut up in recognition of their key role in turning their epidemic into a pandemic that reached Missouri. I wasn't prescient with this China and Missouri reference but the point was valid, if in an unintended way this year.
As I understand it, we actually don't know how many "normal" flu deaths there are each year to compare to the risk of the Xi Jinping Flu covid-19 pandemic. Flu death counts we hear about are based on models that could be wrong with assumptions we have no way of knowing are accurate. How are we supposed to make informed decisions without actual data to guide our leaders? Good grief, we might as well ask the Oracle of Delphi for guidance rather than pretend that Holy Science! is guiding us. Years ago I was told that Chicago's O'Hare airport (and I assume every sizable airport) had on staff a highly paid person whose only job was to decide whether to shut down the airport due to bad weather. By putting that job on one person who wasn't any of the people in charge of running the airport, the "regular" staff shifted the blame to that designated scapegoat who could be blamed and fired for any mistakes that cost the airport lots of money for making the wrong call. Maybe each state, county, and city needs to hire someone expendable to make the calls on opening up the lockdowns.
"As many as 70m pints are set to be poured away as beer goes off while pubs stay shut during the crisis."
"Many Americans are growing tired of the lockdown and want to once again leave their homes and go do things. As many historians note, this is similar to the attitude of genocidal maniac Adolf Hitler." I wish that comparison was just humor.
The smallest recon/strike drones. How do we defend against swarms of them?
I hear that wearing or not wearing a mask outdoors is a liberal/conservative divide. But is it really? When I'm taking a walk around my neighborhood I'm wearing a mask and the clear majority of those I see are not wearing a mask. I sincerely doubt that Ann Arbor is a secret Red bastion.
I have no problem withholding money to places like WHO or the UN Human Rights body to either pressure them to be better or simply to not pay for entities that only our enemies find useful--let our foes pay for them in that case. But we should pay our basic dues to the UN. Giving China a free shot at us for this seems stupid.
I swear this is too close to true for too many:
And based on BS models, as it turns out. It was probably a good idea, or at least it wasn't a horrible mistake to shut down our economies--for 3 weeks give or take a week. But we flattened the curve to prevent Xi Jinping Flu casualties from overwhelming our hospitals. Face it, the pro-lockdown people have moved the goalposts in their huge game of Calvinball. (Covidball?) Move forward. Get the economy opening again and work the problems. Or we're screwed. I don't want to play any part in this national murder-suicide pact. Also, we need to do a better job of distinguishing between science and reading the entrails of chickens.
I find the best response to microaggression nonsense is micro-caring about the issue. Tip to Instapundit.
Oh my God! Anybody who thinks Joe Biden couldn't possibly abuse a woman hasn't seen Biden get Stacey Abrams' hopes up that he was about to announce that he selected her as his running mate only to yank that hope live on MSNBC. That's gonna hurt in the morning.
China's Xi Jinping Flu problem is likely much worse than the CCP claims. I've assumed that. Will we ever know for sure?
McCarthy: "[The Obama administration unmasking issue] is not just about unmasking. It is about how pervasively the Obama administration was monitoring the Trump campaign." Monitoring?! Domestic spying is more like it. How is this acceptable in America? Why aren't people going to prison over this?
Who knew that there are so many red state science deniers in New York City? Because according to the media the only people who want to go outside are grandma killers. Tip to Instapundit.
If sports teams are considering CGI fans in stands on TV broadcasts for the duration of the Xi Jinping Flu, why not sell the "seats" to fans? You could buy an app to control your avatar for sitting, standing, cheering, or booing. Or the wave. Pay extra for a sign or to throw a hat (or an octopus?) on the ice. And heck, sell views from the stands separately. Even if your avatar is in the end zone or whatever, you could pay for a view from a better seat on the phone app while you watch on TV. The closer to the 50 yard line the more the seat costs. And similar deals for all sports, of course. Heck, this could last beyond pandemic at least in part, no?
And so we end my blogging week:
See you tomorrow. God willing.
