Something ain't right about our thoughts about the birth of the universe. Tip to Instapundit.
If polling is true that Biden is extending his lead over Trump, it really is true Democrats have learned they can put a ham sandwich up for election and do well if it has a (D) after it.
Grant me that this is funny. Tip to Instapundit.
Correlation isn't causation, but their argument would work better with a flat line:
The media's strange new respect for protest in the era of the Xi Jinping Flu pandemic.
Something was happening in China in October that could have been the Xi Jinping Flu? Hmm. A lot of people in Michigan seemed to have a respiratory problem in the winter. I know that for basically all of December I had a persistent hacking cough that was different from anything I've ever had. The evidence is circumstantial. And it may be different from the Wuhan Flu. And there is no reason to think my ailment was related. But interesting.
Americans were united in horror at the police killing of George Floyd by police and united in making sure nobody is killed by police because of their race--right up until the left insisted that we have to support rioting and looting rather than protests to support civil rights. Bravo. Way to destroy unity.
New aerial decoys to confuse enemies.
America continues to try to kill Russia's Baltic Sea Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline. Completion of it will allow Russia to cut off Ukraine from natural gas without also punishing Western Europe; and will increase Western Europe reliance on Russian energy. Why would Western Europe cooperate with that?
Jihadis are expanding in Mozambique. Just what the place needs ...
This is an interesting story on Chinese invasion capabilities against Taiwan. But I think it makes more sense for China to go right for the ports rather than conduct beach landings. And I don't think that Taiwan is as capable as the author thinks.
If "Defund the police" doesn't mean abolishing the police, then leftists should say what they really mean. If they don't revise their wording, we can reasonably conclude that they mean exactly what they say. And yet if a Republican proposes to reduce the rate of increase in a spending program, that is "defunding" it.
One would think this would be treated as potential good news. I suspect it will just be ignored. Although I don't go along with using as an excuse for police killings the common observation that African-American men are far more likely to be killed by other African-American men. While that may well argue for better and more policing in African-American areas, the fact is police should not be measured by the standard of what gang members will do. Each is a problem that should be addressed without reference to the other.
I respect Colin Powell. I wrote a resolution of tribute for him on his retirement for the Michigan State Legislature and was proud to do it. But if Powell didn't vote for McCain or Romney, I'm not taking his refusal to vote for Trump as a significant event.
Today is Monday. You know, I'm tired of commenting on domestic political stupidity, including all things looting, rioting, or protesting. They're running out steam, anyway. Although to be fair, I am often prompted to comment by the slanted media coverage rather than the events themselves. But I'm going to try to just ignore all of it on this blog until November. I'm just going to assume Peak Stupid climbs ever higher out of reach, that leftists will be insufferable, that Trump will tweet something I don't like, that the vast majority of the media will continue to be the auxiliary of the Democratic Party, that Hollywood is filled with insufferable morons, and that Democrats in general are going to disappoint me with their 24/7 unhinged turn-the-dial-to-11 Resistance. Let's see if I can refrain for the rest of this week. If I can do that, perhaps the sky's the limit.
Truck-mounted artillery was all fine and dandy when fighting irregulars and insurgents, but I'd think the lesson is clear that unarmored vehicles are way too vulnerable when facing major power surveillance and targeting. So why is China bothering with the PCL-181?
If the temporary suspension of industrial activity during the Xi Jinping Flu pandemic reaction had slowed the rate of CO2 entering the atmosphere, you can bet that this would have been trumpeted as proof of the impact of human-produced CO2. No conclusions will be drawn from the contrary evidence.
China claims that their new security law for Hong Kong maintains the "one country, two systems" promise made in 1997. I suppose that is true. One system is meant to keep the mainland serfs mere subjects of a totalitarian CCP-run state. And the other system for Hong Kong is meant to turn the Hong Kong citizens into serfs who are mere subjects of a totalitarian CCP-run state. Those are way different.
French street unrest is clearly unrelated to American protests. Unless the world is in a general stage of social unrest, most dramatically shown in the Arab Spring and continuing in other locations for various reasons. I really need to get back to reading my old college book Romanticism and Revolt. What my young daughter, Lamb, drew a decade ago as her impression of the news remains a perfectly good social commentary:
Hong Kong democracy advocates marched to commemorate the one-year anniversary of renewed protests against their Chinese mainland overlords.
I didn't think I could think less of the New York Times, but peak stupid continues to accelerate there. Note this is media commentary rather than politics. So new pledge still holding.
While I think the Confederate origin of some Army base names has been nullified by time to make them American symbols, I can't get worked up to defend the names. I would not have supported changing them if asked. But changing the names is not offensive to me. Not that changing the base names will mollify name-change advocates. The descendants of today's critics will find the new names just as problematic one day. Even if the Army renames them to "Fort A" or "Camp 12345."
I have confidence that the Navy will eventually fix Ford's flailing EMALS, but good grief this clusterf*ck of a key components is exasperating.
China's PCL-191 mobile 380 kilometer rocket launcher can provide a surge capacity of missiles to hit Taiwan during an invasion. Or to support a war on any other front, of course. Like India, of course.
It is Thursday and that temptress the Internet drew me back in from my Monday pledge to resist domestic politics. I'm out!
Seriously, how was I supposed to resist sharing this epic insanity of the Resistance? (Direct link to short video here: Ohmygod! People with Trump campaign material! It's ... just ... like ... Hitler.) I think we need to defund subsidized federal college loans and move the money to mental health services. There are serious whackjobs out there, as that young lady demonstrates. Trump doesn't need to hand out Trump hats to reverse-identify Trump opponents for the gulag. You guys with your "Resist" bumper stickers and your Twitter #Resist (Trump is on Twitter, you know) posts already identified yourselves. Which is why I know you don't actually believe Trump is Hitler. Really, I'm still going to restrain myself on domestic politics. But I'm only human. I'm just hoping that woman doesn't live across the street. If this turns out to be a joke, bravo to that young lady.
If these Antifa losers posing as defenders of their little people's republic--CHAZ--were a serious threat, they'd justify use of military personnel to defeat them. But all they need is a serious Seattle government that will send the police to restore order and end their little LARP festival. Without lethal force, of course. Most of the occupiers are likely just stupid rather than dangerous. Or the state government could send in state troopers to clear it out. I don't even think the National Guard is needed for this. Or perhaps a call from the CHAZ LARPers' parents notifying them that they've been ejected from the basement and cutting off their cell phone service would do the trick. But in the meantime, I hope Seattle residents are enjoying their choices for city government--good and hard. Although is their no sympathy for any residents trapped inside CHAZ? Still, grant me that it is pretty funny that leftists are cheering on the CHAZ bullies who have implemented policies that the Resistance in their fevered imagination thinks Trump is going to set up--any day now when he gets tired of "dog whistle" tyranny-lite. Is it just me or is it hilarious that CHAZ built a wall and its subjects are manning it to keep out anybody they don't want in their utopia? Make Seattle Great Again! But we all know how this will end up. I'm inclined not to use federal forces there. Why rescue Seattle's government and let them complain about Trump's heavy-handed approach? Well, not until after the November election, at least!
It is true that China lacks the logistics for global operations. But for the foreseeable future China is looking to dominate waters at the first island chain no farther than the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan. If China can control those waters we have problems. So China's warships can simply sail back to their ports to replenish and return to battle. I'm going to worry about that rather than prematurely worry about China's ability to sustain a war at the Horn of Africa, okay?
In Ann Arbor, Miss Dig marks the underground pipelines that carry Maize and Blue:
Taiwan's wheeled armored infantry carriers are designed to react quickly to PLA landings on Taiwan.
I'm getting some great personal satisfaction from this development regarding J. K. Rowling for reasons I won't get into. Kudos to her for standing up to the mob, I must say. (Although I thought I mentioned this aspect of the issue some years ago--apparently not. Ah, karma.)
I've said it before and I have to say it again, but it is a crime against grammar to think "liberal minded" is a synonym for "open minded." Tip to Instapundit.
You say you want a revolution. Don't you know that you can count me out. You'd better free your mind instead.
If you need to know more about Antifa than they are communist and anarchist scum.
I guess the only question will be whether Jesus' five-year plans will be in the Gospel of Ma Thieu, Mao, Liu, or Jin.
I do believe I've mentioned that researchers will need a uniform definition of who died from the Xi Jinping Flu coronavirus pandemic before we can compare national efforts to each other. Because we don't have that.
I'm glad I have Fawlty Towers on DVD. Anybody who owns digital media that somebody else controls risks losing it at their whim. I've read that digital books can be revised, too. While I will buy digital books for entertainment, nothing I rely on for research is on anything but paper. I used to to do that just for the comfort alone. And only lack of shelf space broke me from paper entertainment reading. But who knows what will be digitally burned in the future?
China builds up ASW capabilities in the South China Sea, which China illegally claims (well, about 80% of it, anyway).
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said his presence at the president's bible photo op was a mistake. He's probably right. Had Trump done something in addition to that photo op, like addressing the nation about the importance of law and order, talking to the security forces on the streets to thank them for their service, or inspecting damage, this would have been an episode of governing and leading that General Milley should have been at. But a photo op alone was just political. That said, it was hardly a constitutional crisis worthy of gnashing of teeth and rending of garments that the Democrats displayed.
The media continues to piss me off. Peaceful rallies by people, some openly armed, in Michigan protesting the lockdown were a threat to democracy and a pandemic threat. Mostly peaceful rallies against the killing of George Floyd that included large amounts of parallel rioting and looting were good and eliminated the worry about the pandemic threat. And Antifa's takeover of a small plot of Seattle territory where the thugs built a wall and brandished guns to control access and shakedown resources is just wonderful--what pandemic? And these media people deny they are biased and essentially partisan auxiliaries of the Democratic Party.
We can't completely cut off China from the global drug supply chain let alone make everything here. So let's have realistic objectives in the whole needed decoupling move.
The Navy is pushing to be better informed on building a future fleet and using it to win control of the seas.
China is stoking division online in America. Decouple please.
Again, it is a crime against language to think "liberal minded" is a synonym for "open minded."
Turkish forces at sea and in the air exercise off the coast of Libya in support of their terror-friendly UN-backed government friends. Egypt and the UAE will need to up their game to slow down the Turkish side.
Iran's fingerprints are all over the drones and missiles used to attack Saudi oil facilities last year. I know. Shocking, eh?
The Chinese ZTQ 15 35-ton light tank is now part of a PLA brigade in Tibet. It has been tested along the Vietnam border as well. I assume this would see action in an invasion of Taiwan, both in initial landings by sea and in small numbers airlifted to captured airfields.
Who knew having a boot stomping on your face--forever--is a core Russian value?
This was a good article rejecting the backassward idea that the West should lift sanctions on Russia to get them to then leave Ukraine. Russia needs to pay a price for breaking the long peace of Europe until that price compels Russia to leave Ukraine--Russian-occupied-Donbas and Crimea--because the price is too great to bear any longer.
Okay, we've had the Xi Jinping Flu pandemic, toilet paper shortages, murder hornets, riots and looting, and now this:
We're clearly living in end times.
Erdogan wants a "new era" in American-Turkish relations? Since Erdogan started the current era with his Islamist-friendly authoritarian government and overtures to Russia, China, and Iran to replace NATO and friendship with Israel, I say let's see what Sultan Erdogan is willing to do to kill the current era he built.
Please be just a normal teething problem of a new weapon. I hope our potential foes have at least as many problems. One problem of perception is that one sees all your own problems (or at least many more) while the problems of others tend to be obscured or hidden.
I'm laughing. But there's a certain dark humor involved:
A French nuclear attack submarine--not a boomer--caught fire in port.
Whew, this one is just purely funny:
North Korea isn't happy about South Korean "balderdash" about insisting that North Korea get rid of its nuclear weapons programs. I was never confident that our outreach to North Korea would change their behavior. I wanted to be wrong. And given that this is 2020, what does Rocket Man think he has to do to make the news now? Still, sending your sister out to issue threats is a bad look.
I've read that Trump is thinking about pulling American troops from South Korea and Japan. I'm not happy about that, although the Japan portion might simply be part of the long-planned move of Marines out of Okinawa to Guam. And if the former is simply a move to Taiwan or the Philippines--or Singapore--that would be okay (pure speculation on my part). But I will say that South Korea is much stronger than the rotting North Korean conventional military threat poses. One day North Korea may be a nice buffer zone between South Korea and China that deters Chinese invasion by its very poverty rather than nukes. If we are going to bring troops home as we have since the end of the Cold War and the evaporation of the USSR, we should at least build the sealift needed to move and sustain military forces around the Eurasian land mass.
For Disney, commentary you don't like is a tragedy that justifies alienating half of America; but millions of Uighurs in Chinese prison camps for being Moslem is a statistic that doesn't matter in the face of a billion customers there. Morality or math?
Well good, the federal government will start rounding up the usual suspects who usually get a free pass for violent acts. I do believe Gitmo facilities are under-utilized. A man can dream, can't he?
Don't worry about the F-35 afterburner issue. My initial shock at the problem was fixed when I found out that it was an afterburner issue.
I really am trying now to avoid commenting on domestic politics. There are issues that are related to politics but aren't really political. Like media bias, economics, trade policy, the Xi Jinping Flu pandemic, or societal issues. After all, defense and national security issues have a political side but those are my lanes. But it is easy to then drift into politics. Now, anyway. When I worked for the state legislature I studiously avoided any domestic issues that could be a state issue, period. And honestly, I recognize that when people on the other side say things that I know are twisted or false, it pisses me off. But when people on "my" side do the same thing, I just roll my eyes and think "Come on guys, don't do that." The disparity in outrage despite the same fact situation indicates to me that I should be careful about posting on those things. I do try.
Putin: Making Russia grate again for 21 years.
The UN appalled by jihadi attacks in Nigeria. It was too close for comfort to UN personnel. When the jihadis kill out of sight of UN people, the level of appalling goes down dramatically.
Sure, Chinese A2/AD weapons that could keep our ships from approaching China are a problem.The range problem for carrier aircraft versus land-based aircraft (or missiles) is not going to end. So sure, that's a problem. But we aren't going to solve that issue. And the idea that our large-deck amphibious warfare ships are significantly harder to find and target than our super carriers is ridiculous.
And June 14th is the Army's 245th birthday. Hooah.
