Chinese satellite-launch capabilities.
I didn't grow more accepting of Trump--who I long despised as a blowhard New York Democrat--until Democrats turned to demonizing his blue collar supporters. I grew up in Deplorableville (Detroit). The idea that these people--my people (and family)--were evil to support Trump was (and is) an outrage. I can't be part of that Detroit world anymore. First in the family to go to college and all that. I'm too different. But I can't reject that world or forget it. And I can't really be part of the sneering world that Ann Arbor--my home these many decades--represents because I am unwilling to reject my background and so earn the approval of those who see high school-educated white people as deplorable and bitter clingers.
Is China building an effective NCO corps while retaining conscription and political loyalty promotion policies? Fancy weapons don't fire or repair themselves, you know.
The Somalia clusterfuck with a UN seat.
Huh. The Marxist whackjobs in Portland are still being violent--although admittedly at a lower level--even though state and local police rather than federal agents are on the street protecting the federal courthouse.
Claiming that America is bungling our response to the Xi Jinping Flu pandemic seems in part to rest on other parts of the world underplaying their counts by ignorance or policy combined with our policies that inflate death counts.
America bent the curve to prevent our medical facilities and staff from being overwhelmed by the Xi Jinping Flu coronavirus. And buying time by delaying when people get the virus to get better treatments options was a good idea. But without a vaccine, it is futile to think that we can stop the virus.
Words escape me to even address the morons who are speculating that Trump won't leave office if defeated in a normal election that we hold every four years and who are wondering who will remove him if he refuses to go.
Well that certainly raises my pucker factor. Tip to Instapundit.
Is Trump's campaign to open up schools and colleges just causing Democrats to reflexively oppose reopening and so harm their most loyal supporters who work for those institutions? I assume this analysis will become science! the day after the election.
China and Iran appear to be ready to conclude a 25-year strategic pact. I don't even need to read it to know Iran gets a willing seller of weapons, a UN Security Council veto, a buyer of Iranian oil despite any sanctions, and a friendly source of influence over Iran's nuclear missile partner North Korea. China gets a buyer of weapons, a seller of oil, Iranian silence on China's near-genocide of its Moslem people, a Chinese vaccine for the Xi Jinping Flu, economic investments, and if China is real good a naval base on the Gulf of Oman. Russia loses out as the potential Iran ally. Although perhaps Iran can use Russia as leverage to get more from China. And maybe Iran isn't convinced that Biden has the election in the bag.
Jonathan Issac demonstrated brave dissent.
MLB and NBA ratings aren't good. Is this because of their official kneeling to the woke mob? I didn't watch them but I don't follow either sport. All I know is that I didn't watch NHL games until I heard they rejected the woke tyranny. In my brief window to watch sports until my cable ends--to reject woke sports and news--it is a welcome escape from the insanity our Left is imposing. Via Instapundit.
I can see the point that face masks can be counter-productive if worn incorrectly or if wearing it makes you take riskier behavior than you should. But I don't make the mistakes noted and so for me it is good.
Erdogan decided to appeal to his followers who also dream of a restored caliphate to distract from Turkey's problems of "the COVID-19/Wuhan virus pandemic, wars in Syria and Libya, a domestic debt crisis and fraying domestic political alliances. Recent polls show Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) is in severe trouble with the electorate."
It's BS, but the left has created the Patient Zero for all the riots who is conveniently a white supremacist. If we start getting Two-Minute Hates for him we can be sure he's Emmanuel Goldstein.
Your feel-good story of the day. Hahahaha!
That's not intrusively spooky at all (via Instapundit). Thank God such a thing could never be used to calculate political reliability.
Corruption in Nigeria continues to be a jihadi ally. Related discussion.
Are we absolutely sure they weren't actually members of the PRESS?
Exhibit N of why "open minded" is not a synonym for "liberal minded."
Wonderful. More jihadis are on the loose in Afghanistan.
Israel faces the powerful non-state actor Hezbollah in Lebanon which is bankrolled and directed by Iran. Israel's front is wider as their successful defense on the Syrian border and on the Gaza border show. Both regions also include Iranian influence and support.
Skyfall. Whatever.
Things are often more complicated than you think. There's a lot of context before the story is picked up by the public narrative. Will murder charges really stick when Floyd appeared to be the perp who cried wolf long before he was on the ground? It's sad, really. Tip to Instapundit.
Was a jihadi effort in Sinai an effort to deflect Egypt from intervening in Libya? And is that linkage pushing Egypt to make the decision to go into Libya? And is Egypt really assisting Turkey's foes in Syria and Iraq?
Strategypage on wargaming. I started playing them when I was 10. I still have my first game (Patton), given to me by a brother.
"U.S. Air Force jets and Navy ships on Aug. 2 held a joint training exercise in the Black Sea near Russia’s borders together for the second time in two weeks, aiming to fine-tune their collaboration in a potential conflict." You have to practice to get a turkey shoot.
A useful reminder that nobody should want a war between America and China. Both sides have to agree, of course. And some luck is useful. So no doubt that while Japan is unhappy with China they don't want to be part of a war if it can be avoided.
Another addition to the "Well, Duh" files. Via Instapundit.
I advise this committee to ef itself. Again, via Instapundit.
Airport TSA security theater could at least fool potential terrorists into worrying about trying and failing; how does the same plan fool a pandemic virus? On the other hand, if covid19 security theater convinces our so-called leaders to let us reopen the economy and schools, I'll put up with it. For a while.
Summer has not proven to be a haven from the Xi Jinping Flu. But Democrats slamming Trump for saying it could just "disappear" are wrong. One, some experts thought it could be lessened in the heat and sunshine of summer. Two, if herd immunity had been achieved by now, it would be dying out. And three, if the coronavirus mutated to a less lethal form that would have helped make the pandemic "disappear" in a sense over the summer. Just stop being so effing difficult. Eventually, the latter two things will make the pandemic "disappear" even if a vaccine isn't developed in time to do the job.
When the woke a-holes who staff our newspapers don't revolt against a headline like this, you know America has a problem. FYI, democracy dies in China. Tip to Stephen Green.
These people vote. Or have the right to, at least.
Tip to Stephen Green.
More for the "Well, Duh" files. To be fair, fifty years ago India was friendly toward the USSR.
"Is Turkey the new Russia? That question is increasingly being asked in European capitals as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan adopts a more aggressive foreign policy. In addition to using migration to threaten and finagle the European Union, Erdoğan has also been deploying military power to expand Turkey’s sphere of influence across the wider region." Could be. But that doesn't mean that Turkey isn't the other caliphate, too. I'm hoping that taking a break can fix the U.S.-Turkish relationship.
No! Way! "Fact checkers" are basically commissars advancing behind the left-wing media line to keep the approved narrative advancing.
Thirty years ago Saddam made his play for regional dominance by invading Kuwait. America--prodded by Britain--formed a huge coalition to reverse Saddam's conquest. Leaving Saddam in power in 1991--and there were good reasons not to--paved the way for round two in 2003. It is hard for me to say whether leaving him in power forestalled Saddam's use of chemical weapons to preserve his regime and weakened him enough to make the 2003 invasion low-cost; or whether the delay in regime change gave Saddam time to bring in lots of jihadis as paramilitaries and which supplied the suicide bombers and other jihadi cannon fodder, and allowed Iran to move into a weakened Iraq more successfully, for the insurgencies that followed regime change.
Britain is forming two 300-strong Vanguard Strike Companies of Royal Marine and army commandos. Plus amphibious assets. They have a long history of raiding. One will be based in Bahrain and one will work with the Norwegians to counter the Russian threat. I assume the former is intended to counter Iran. The one working with the Norwegians could also work in the Baltic Sea in case the Russian threat moves against Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania rather than Norway.
Will the Xi Jinping Flu recession turn into a depression? If there is no vaccine in sight by September, could be. Borrowing money to cover the economic fallout while we avoid the virus can't last long without causing collateral damage. I did argue early on that I was not confident of a V-shaped recovery that seemed to rest on the theory that it is within our power to "re-start" the economy. And if there is a global depression, will political upheaval and war follow? Have a super sparkly day.
I just can't buy Democratic charges of a poor national response to the Xi Jinping Flu pandemic when Democrats worship Governor Cuomo's inept but media-polished response. Via Instapundit.
If our Navy leadership is the problem, our naval superiority might be illusory. But I fear it is given SEAL, shipbuilding, collision, and the Roosevelt fiascos. Let's hope this isn't correct or if it is right--and certainly blaming sailors is wrong--that we can fix the leadership problem. And while we do that let's hope the Chinese don't believe our Navy is already defeated and put that theory to the test. And for added fun, the Chinese leadership could very well over-estimate their strength. Have a super sparkly day.
I don't know if 4,000 American troops in Afghanistan are enough to help the Afghan government defeat jihadi enemies. I have my doubts. And how many coalition troops will leave, too?
There are a lot of territorial disputes in Asia. Funny, the article doesn't mention the elephant in the room.
So a Greek-Turkish war didn't take place this July. So we've got that going for us. Which is nice.
Biden's search for a
If this is played as "and Biden" it will be a disaster for the Democrats.
So what will be the geopolitical fallout of the Xi Jinping Flu global pandemic?
My focus on North Korea's nuclear status has long been whether they have been able to make warheads that can survive and function on a missile. Media reports have almost uniformly ignored that angle. The North Koreans may very well have done that.
My one worry about Trump is that basically he's a big-state liberal moved right by the Republican Party and insane Democratic Resistance. So yeah, I too worry his latest will kill medical and drug innovation in America. If the order on drug prices merely means the companies get the same profit motive but with more uniform prices here and abroad, my worry on that will be baseless. But is that how it will work? And what of the rest?
I guess Georgia didn't commit mass suicide-by-covid19 after all. That's good news, people, not bad news.
A Florida man clung to the hood of a truck for 9 miles on a freeway. T. J. Hooker would be proud:
The CDC says the November election is safe for in-person voting. So sayeth the experts.
Huh. Did Belarus basically take Russian military contractors hostage to sell to the highest bidder? Russia or Ukraine?
Because they're more interested in courting the support of white, middle class leftists?
So what happens after the election in Belarus Sunday? Does Lukashenko crack down after losing the vote to remain in power? As I wrote in February, "Belarusian dictator says Russia wants more integration with Belarus--that is, virtual annexation. I've long worried about an Anschluss like that, which makes more sense--for now--than challenging NATO member states that used to be part of the Soviet system. Belarus is a potential launching pad to hit the Baltic former Soviet but now NATO states." Lukashenko has just one redeeming quality.
In 2016 we chose between a clown and a crook. This year we have a choice between a clown and a--and this is sad for him--corpse. I almost miss the days when we thought we chose from among the "best and brightest" to lead us.
I don't think this is funny. I think it is horrifyingly revealing of how many politicians think that they can't say anything that the person you are talking to might oppose.
Turkey's "Buy Islamic" Marketing.
The media has worked very hard to earn the contempt the public has for them so we should not deny them the fruits of their labor.
America and a mere seven European countries called on Russia to withdraw from occupied Georgian territory. This took place on the 12th anniversary of Russia's Goons of August War on Georgia, which I argued shortly after that post telegraphed Russia's 2014 war against Ukraine.
Gender traitors! Democrats believe treason exists against every demographic group but not against America, it seems. Face it, they believe everyone has the freedom to agree 100% with them.
Journalistic hermaphrodites. Tip to Instapundit.
I say we should follow the example of Europe on this: "Most developed countries, especially in Europe, ban mail-in voting to fight vast fraud and vote buying that had threatened the integrity of their elections, according to an exhaustive review of voting rules and histories in over 30 major nations." Isn't this the kind of sophistication and nuance that Democrats so often say we need to copy from Europe? The sand-pounding stupidity of Democrats who claim that mail-in ballots aren't a potential source of voter fraud is disheartening.
Hahahaha!
Somebody really needs to protect this man:
What with the Xi Jinping Flu pandemic, murder hornets, sharks, riots, and whatever else comes our way the next 5 months, there is no way Father Time is making it to New Year's Eve.
"With its airports closed to commercial flights and its economy tanking, Cuba has launched the first in a series of long-promised reforms meant to bolster the country's struggling private sector." Americans living in a prosperous free market country insist socialism will fix our problems while actual socialist economies have leaders who recognize that free market reforms will help fix their problems. But I'm sure our socialist fanboys will explain that Cuba doesn't have "true socialism."
Nurses--along with blue collar employees, as I've mentioned--had to work during the pandemic, but somehow teachers shouldn't until it is absolutely safe for them--and for every family member that the come in contact with--to return to schools? Must ... restrain .. fist of defunding.
Geopolitics at sea: "Egypt and Greece on Thursday signed a maritime deal that sets the sea boundary between the two countries and demarcates an exclusive economic zone for oil and gas drilling rights." This responds to the deal Turkey extorted out of the nominal government of Libya.
Honestly, can't we just take all the people on Twitter pissed off at each other and set them loose on an island armed with knives and cudgels? I'm really hoping that the divisions in our country are artificially amplified by Twitter.
Biden:
Uh ...
NYT memory holes its collusion.
In California there are ways to get around pesky requirements to ask voters if their taxes should be dramatically increased. But maybe they won't get away with it because of those pesky kids. Tip to Instapundit.
Suing the NRA over allegedly corrupt leadership is fine. But trying to dismantle the organization right as an election campaign kicks in is abuse of government power. I'm sure the Clinton Foundation or SPLC will be next, right?
So is the party line now that Portland rioters will stand down if city police stop protecting facilities?
Huh. That's unexpected good news for the economy during a pandemic. Via Instapundit. And the unemployment rate is down, beating expectations.
The Philippines puts a South Korean-designed and built frigate into service.
Norwegian electronic intelligence ships.
It's dangerous for Democrats when people believe their own lying eyes rather than the fantasy that Democrats and their media enablers are telling them. Although I have no sympathy for Ms. McDougall given her refusal to either embrace the damage she suffered for "her" cause or demand that the government battle Antifa scum.
Yes, the United States military has options to fight the Chinese aero-naval threat. But one option for fighting China is ignored, as I explored in Military Review. Although as I noted earlier in this data dump, our service leadership makes me worry about the Navy. And this failure doesn't increase my confidence that sea control is getting adequate attention.
A "terribly sad story?" It's your feel-good story of the day! Enjoy your revolution cosplay. Let a future Democratic president commute their sentences.
Moving the goal posts. Why?!
I think the so-called "Lincoln Project" of anti-Trump and pro-Democrat "Republicans" is about Lincoln as much as John Wilkes Booth was about Lincoln.
New York City is screening people entering the city? How long before the rest of the country returns the favor?
The Democrats aren't part of the solution to the Antifa rioting problem. It's so cute. The a-hole scum continue to riot even without federal law enforcement officers as a sad excuse. Do Democrats think communists wouldn't kill liberals if the communists had the chance?
Well THAT'S an interesting development.
I wasn't happy with the DACA court decision that said an executive order can't be easily undone if the order leads to significant administrative rules that trigger statutory protections of those rules with repeal procedures. But I figure Democrats would live to regret giving that power to Trump. I don't think Trump or anyone else should have that kind of power. But it is what it is.
Holy cow! Somebody decided they can't afford to keep schools closed until the day after the election. Huh.
The Chinese and Iranians want Biden to be president. That makes sense. But Russia wants Trump to be president? The intelligence community explanations for why seem pretty weak. Have they not noticed that Democrats are traditionally pretty friendly to Moscow and that their anti-Russian attitudes are rather recent and totally reliant on the existence of Trump? If Trump loses reelection it won't be long until it's RESET 2.0 and calls to withdraw completely from Europe. The Russian effort in 2016 was small, amateurish, and ultimately irrelevant. I think their latest effort is more about them feeling like a Big Dog off the porch than it is a serious effort. I'd worry more about the Chinese who already have their arm up the nether regions of Hollywood, our newspapers, the NBA, and colleges to spout the CCP line--and who have experience from the Clinton years supporting Democrats. And don't discount that both simply want to sow chaos, and so splitting up objectives gives everybody in America something to get riled up about. Let's not be useful idiots, okay?
I repeat I would not reduce our small military footprint in South Korea. Even if South Korea is strong enough to fight off a non-nuclear attack by North Korea, our forces there still are needed to oppose a rising China and remnant Russian threat.
Turkey is upgrading their Israeli-upgraded M-60Ts (bigger gun and better passive armor, among other improvements) with Ukrainian active protection systems.
The bright side is that a lot of effort was expended building that tunnel that was never finished to the US side of the border.
Mass voting-by-mail pushed by Democrats will be a clusterfuck and the Democrats will blame Trump notwithstanding his repeated warnings not to do it. Via Instapundit.
It was a Wall of Morons no matter what kind of bricks made them up, backed by a Media of Morons in service of Antifa revolutionary scumballs. Republicans pounce! It is sadly humorous that Democrats are moved to oppose the scumball rioters not because they are rioting but because Republicans might "exploit" the riots by noting how much the Democrats tolerate and celebrate them. Via Instapundit.
Okay this is pretty funny!
Let's keep this week's selection non-political, okay?
But the first one at the source is genius.
Yeah, perhaps Trump is an awful person (but it may just be his public persona) but Obama was an awful president. It is good that Obama represented the first African-American president, but the credit for that milestone lies with the America that elected him. An America now damned as systemically racist to its core. Go figure.
Space Force is organizing itself.
You have to admit that Liberal Privilege is a sweet gig. They can say the most vile things about a conservative African American or woman and never get called racist or a misogynist.
Who? Hahahaha!
No police? Just lie back and think of Wokestan.
Oh FFS. Via Instapundit.
Maybe Russia's Strelets infantry ensemble will be more than a press release. The Russians do a lot of chest pounding and poo flinging to conceal basic weakness. Not that they can't generate combat superiority over weak targets, of course. And some of their nukes no doubt still work.
GCC countries papered over their division over Qatar to voice support for an arms embargo on Iran.
It is disturbing enough for America that a lot of Chinese-made fake driver licenses for young people are being found in America. How many more are undiscovered? But if I was Taiwan, I'd really worry that it is a problem there, too. I've already worried about Chinese "tourists" who are special forces--which Russia has done in Ukraine. How much worse would PLA troops disguised as local Taiwanese be?
Is it just me or is this "outrage" stupendously stupid? Have there really been complaints from the Troll-American community?
FFS, 2+2=4. It's our own fault that morons have any influence at all, really.
