Of course masks work. Within their design limits considering the level of the threat. So the type of mask matters, too. I would not expect to be able to sit masked with a surgical mask in a Xi Jinping Flu hospital ward all day and not get infected. But I would think my chances very good if I spent half an hour in a store shopping where there may be one or more sick people in there with me. And you have to consider user skill and discipline. A mask worn improperly or handled improperly will not be a barrier to getting or spreading Covid-19, or will be less of a barrier than its design can provide. The Cold War-era Army spent a lot of time teaching me how to protect against nerve gas. I guess that left some influence on my attitudes. We could only dream of a vaccine to protect against that. Which we have with the Xi Jinping Flu. So now, I consider the threat level too low to require a mask. These days the only place I go to that still requires a mask is the bulk food store I like for certain snacks. But it has a lefty vibe to it, so I guess the customer base expects that. What worries me is that the local Kroger now "strongly recommends" masks. They'll have to ask me personally if they start requiring masks again. I'll comply to shop. But I'll make them ask.
The Abrams tank evolves to the M1A3, which--if replacement plans pan out (they haven't so far) will mean the basic design will have served for half a century. Please don't ignore the top-attack vulnerability.
I see the latest Firefox update has restored its stability problem. Well at least the browser is upgraded to restore the last unexpectedly closed session.
I'm so old I remember when these kinds of people were considered to be right-wing nuts. Tip to Instapundit.
America didn't reach Biden's July 1 goal for vaccinations. Remember when the Biden administration dismissed merely making a vaccine--which was done in the Trump administration--and said the job of getting vaccines into arms was the important part? Yeah, that's not being mentioned much now, eh?
The pandemic war's over, man: "Fact is, as a society, we have to move on — and not be paralyzed by the vax-resistant or those demanding zero risk. The good news: Most of us are moving back to normalcy already." Democrats have to stop acting like Japanese soldiers holding out for years in island caves. Tip to Instapundit.
Seventy years of Chinese Communist Party oppression and subliminal ethnic cleansing in Tibet.
Does the Biden administration approval of the NordStream 2 Russian Baltic Sea energy pipeline to Germany "redefine Europe" as one unable to oppose Russian aggression or resist efforts to gain influence in western Europe? That's probably the smart way to bet. But maybe Democrats are over their sudden and unnatural hatred of Russia. There is a chance that Biden's people think they can "flip" Russia by giving it enough security to turn against China. We'll see. Although I didn't think we needed to offer Russia concessions to get Russia to act sane about NATO and see China as the real threat to Russia. I really try not to reflexively condemn anything I see Biden doing. I've done the same with every president since I started blogging, as well as not praising something because I supported a president.
How liberals learned to love a murderous dictator.
I now hate, hate, hate teacher unions for their refusal to let teachers teach our children in classrooms on the pretext of Covid-19 fearmongering. Ef the unions and may they just die with festering boils.
At what point is the pandemic panic porn "consistent with" (to use weasel words that our Obama intelligence people used about all things related to Trump) a foreign information war operation designed to harm America?
Why American feminists aren't the most hard core anti-jihadi warriors is beyond me.
If the insanity over a new push to mask vaccinated people--for the sake of un-vaccinated people, we're told--wasn't such an outrage, I'd be amused at the Democrats wanting a return to lockdowns and isolation until they say it is safe. I mean, it wasn't so long ago that Democrats said Trump screwed up the response. They would fix it all. I guess not, according to them. This is over for all practical purposes. It will linger on and fade but we've really done what we can. We've already inflicted too much collateral damage on our elderly, school children, and blue collar people. We need to get on with our lives and cope with the lingering effects. The un-vaccinated overwhelmingly have the option to vaccinate. Let them make that choice. Without demonizing them. This is a free country and the virus is relatively weak. They will either get vaccinated or get sick but overwhelmingly recover--and become immunized that way. I'll take a booster shot when the time comes. That's how I'll cope. Stop the insanity. And make China pay for inflicting this pandemic on the world, one way or another. Tips to Instapundit.
Biden calls on Governor Cuomo to resign. Why?
Did the Iranians board and seize the ship Asphalt Princess near the Hormuz Strait? A bit later I read that the armed men left. Mistake or signal?
I'm sensing a pattern. And this is just from recent data points. After an investigation, in 2016 the FBI says that Hillary Clinton absolutely hid her official communications illegally while secretary of state with a bathroom server--but won't file charges. In 2019, after extensive news coverage of his wearing of black face or a KKK robe (Governor Northam wasn't sure which one was him) and an admission of guilt for violating the biggest taboo of the Democratic Party, Northam was quickly rehabilitated out of fear a Republican could replace him. After an investigation, in 2021 the New York attorney general says Governor Cuomo absolutely abused and harassed women in unlawful manners--but won't file charges. After an extensive and well-funded investigation, the Justice Department founds zero evidence of Trump-Russia 2016 election collusion--but Pelosi impeaches him twice:
I think it is a bit much to say that Britain "kowtowed" to China by not conducting a FONOP near Chinese-occupied territory in the South China Sea. The mere presence of the carrier task force was a warning to China. Not every deployments has to be a FONOP.
Never say it can't possibly get worse in Washington, D.C. Obviously the solution is to mask up and social distance. Tip to Instapundit.
Embracing defeat (via Instapundit). Can the normals win the Islamic civil war if we retreat from the fight? And do we really think we can go home without the bloodthirsty jihadis following us home? I also worry about our civil liberties by letting this war drag on, especially when our first line of defense is right here. As I've said repeatedly, we aren't "ending" the war on terror by retreating from the fight. We're just deciding not to fight it over there.
I look forward to the first civil rights suit against a Democratic-run city when we find that a vaccine passport disproportionately bans minorities from public places. The left says segregation "minority safe spaces" are a good thing for minorities. And now apparently it is safer for non-minorities (tip to Instapundit). How is this not racist, according to the left? Enjoy the rules you wrote, Democrats. Minorities are starting to realize that the modern Democratic Party is no friend of minorities.
Marine Security Augmentation Unit (MSAU) can quickly reinforce American embassies at the first sign of trouble. Although those few running to the sound of the guns would need more help if the gunfire begins (although note that the details of the fight in Benghazi were still inclear when I wrote that post).
Russia is improving its submarine force. But this caveat is key: "If Russia can keep up the pace of construction, it could have a very powerful and very deadly submarine force very soon." Spoiler alert: they can't and they won't. I'm just not worried about a sustained Russia blue water threat. I assume the Russian submarine revival is all about building SSBN bastions for a survivable nuclear deterrent and defending them.
Tamyra Mensah-Stock has single-handedly removed the vile taste of these woke-infested Olympics games from my mouth. America can be proud to have such a citizen and athlete:
It is interesting but irrelevant that Texas and Florida have a third of the current Xi Jinping Flu cases in America. One, the denominator is so much smaller now than the past. A third of a much smaller problem is a relatively small problem. Two, there may be regional differences--like seasonal weather--that account for current numbers in Texas and Florida, which are populous states. As I've said, judge at the end. With uniform definitions. Across many factors. Three, the death rate is lower even as the Delta variant is more contagious. And four, how much of the Texas problem comes from illegal immigrants? Get a grip, people.
Crime and--to my shock--punishment: "A man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for shooting at two Minnesota National Guardsmen in April. "
Huh, the "news" buried this context. Which really undermines what they told us happened in Central Park that day. I knew the buried details. But I thought that since it was ignored it must not have been relevant given the apparent weight of the rest of the story. Silly me, I thought their "one job" was to inform me. Even though I know their true calling is backing their leftist political allies to the hilt. Oh well, sacrificing Amy Cooper for the "greater good" is acceptable collateral damage in that war, I guess. Tip to Instapundit.
Iran continues to stoke violence and humanitarian crises in Yemen. Fighting Arabs using Arabs as Iran's cannon fodder is working well there. Other than giving Saudi and UAE pilots combat experience and confidence.
Staying awake in the military.
Why will property owners rent homes when the federal government is willing to simply decree that landlords can't collect rent? Who will risk owning anything but high-end rentals where people are unlikely to lose their jobs or ability to pay rent? How is it not blindingly obvious that the Biden administration is crippling affordable housing in the future for political gain right now among the woke leftists?
After the cleanest and most honest presidential election ever in 2020, 90% of poll respondents are concerned about election cheating and 74% support showing ID to vote. Huh. Tip to Instapundit.
"Act East" is put into effect: "India is sending a naval task force to the South China Sea this month to expand security ties with friendly countries, officials said on Wednesday, signalling its intent to play a bigger role in regional efforts to counter China." You may recall this policy development.
The Biden administration approved its first weapons sale to Taiwan. China is predictably upset.
Does the Navy now have a quantum leap in defensive and offensive electronic warfare? Fingers crossed.
Biden is dumping illegal aliens with Covid in Texas? If so, I guess Biden learned from China, which dumped the virus on the world to plague its enemies.
The Syrian multi-war grinds along at low level. Mostly remnant jihadis holding out in Idlib and ISIL trying to regroup in eastern Syria. The rivalries of the major intervening powers are cropping up. With an odd man out: "For centuries Turkey, Iran and Russia were all antagonists, not allies and their seeming “alliance” in Syria was all a mirage. All three of these allies are scheming against their allies. ... Dealing with Iran has been a headache for Turkey and Russia for centuries while the Arabs have several thousand years of bad experiences with the Iranian threat. In other words, Iran is difficult to deal with, something everyone can agree on." I've recently addressed this. And I've wondered just what Russia gained by intervening in Syria.
Iran is organizing and arming the Afghan veterans of Iran's Syria intervention to guard western Afghanistan. So there you go.
Did this reporter piss himself, too? Jesus. When I had my limited Army service, I remember worrying that in a world of artillery, tanks, and A-10s, my little Mattel toy was nearly as worthless as carrying a pointy stick. I am far from a firearm enthusiast. But I enjoyed the one time I was able to fire live rounds from an M-60 machine gun. There was no feeling of meteor impact even with that. Sheesh. Tip to The Morning Briefing.
The Taliban seized their first provincial capital in the southwestern Nimruz province. This is Pushtun territory far from the center of power, so while bad news is not necessarily a sign of government collapse. But it is definitely a sign that without Coalition help, the government's power is not strong enough to hold outlying areas more sympathetic to the Taliban.
Can you imagine the 24/7 coverage about "destroying our democratic norms and institutions" if Trump had stated he couldn't suspend evictions because of a Supreme Court ruling and then did exactly that? To be fair, Biden follows the example of Obama who said the same thing about the illegal immigrant executive order he issued. Biden knew the media would applaud almost as hard, in fear of being the first to stop.
I mentioned this exercise before, which did this: "The U.S. Air Force made history Thursday after intentionally landing six
aircraft on a Michigan highway during Exercise Northern Strike -- the
annual multi-national military event hosted by the Michigan National
Guard." Who knew we had a stretch of highway without pot holes?
Jen Psaki on Taliban violence and murder: "'Our view is that, if the Taliban claim to want international legitimacy, these actions are not going to get them the legitimacy they seek,' White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a press briefing." And if the Taliban wanted something other than victory and power, that might be a really good point. When blood thirsty jihadis are coming after you, stern words of admonishment aimed at the killers from our press secretary are valued more than air strikes, ammunition, and logistical support, apparently.
Are the insurgents in Mozambique jihadis or just screwed by the government? If the former, find them and kill them. If the latter, deal with them and significantly reduce how much they are getting screwed. Or risk the latter becoming the former over time.
We'll help Afghan mechanics maintain their aircraft via email, text, and Zoom. On the bright side, our people will be able to advise without their pants on.
This multinational exercise in Georgia will have applications in the NATO Baltic states should the Russians invade: "The special operations training scenario focused on enabling a Georgian resistance force in the event of invasion by an overwhelming enemy force, he explained — such as the Russian armored columns that poured into the small country during their 2008 war."
Well, Ghani isn't wrong: "The Afghan president on Monday blamed the American troops’ speedy pullout for the worsening violence in his country and said that his administration would now focus on protecting provincial capitals and major urban areas in the face of the rapidly advancing Taliban." With a strong assist from Pakistan which allows the Taliban to have a sanctuary in Pakistan. Although Ghani expresses confidence that the government over the next 6 months will ride out the incoming tide and strike back. If the Taliban take heavy casualties as they have been; and if the government forces sustain their morale, he could be right.
If some fringe Palestinian groups firing at Israel from Lebanon hope to drag Hezbollah into war with Israel, as I observed recently, they're off to a good start: "The militant Hezbollah group fired a barrage of rockets toward Israel on Friday, and Israel hit back with artillery in a significant escalation between the two sides." Interestingly enough, some of the local residents were less interested in dying for that cause: "Hezbollah fighters who fired rockets towards Israeli forces from Lebanon on Friday were intercepted by locals afterwards, the group said, a rare challenge to the Iran-backed Shi'ite movement as its members passed through a Druze area of the south." I hope those local residents don't suddenly all commit suicide.
No! Way! "The Taliban commander overseeing an assault on the key southern city of
Lashkargah is one of 5,000 former prisoners released by the Afghan
government last year under pressure from the U.S., Afghan and Western
officials say." And here I naively thought the Taliban were our peace partners!
Let's see what the Biden administration's priorities are in its battle against Covid-19, the Xi Jinping Flu. The Biden administration will require European tourists to show proof of vaccination to enter America. But illegal immigrants flooding across the southern border are welcomed with open arms and no check on vaccination status. Add to this the urge to require vaccine passports to participate in public life and use public spaces. Which disproportionately stops people of color from participating in public life and using public spaces. Oh well. I guess that is all acceptable collateral damage in the Biden war on rural Trump voters. Tip to Instapundit.
Teacher unions are just awful and should be crushed. Their behavior and demands to loot the treasury during this pandemic crisis demonstrates that even if they aren't evil, it's close enough for government work.
American air strikes are supporting Afghan forces alongside Afghan air force strikes.
Reminder: "Most Gaza residents are hostile to Hamas, which now depends on Iran for most of its financial support. Iran is officially at war with Sunni Arabs, which is what most Palestinians and Israeli Arabs are." You'd think Israeli information operations could highlight how Iran expects to fight Israel to the last dead Arab.
I see the pandemic panic porn dial has been turned to 11.
The U.S. Army in Europe will retain some bases previously scheduled to be closed. This is a move by Biden, reversing a Trump decision, that I endorse.
The United States wants to have a robust semiconductor industry.
Sounds right: "Left-leaning journalists know they can nudge this administration in the direction they want it to go with their tweets. The trouble is, not many more people besides self-promoting journalists have dominant voices on Twitter. There’s an insular bubble in Washington DC containing the blue-checks and the administration. Who knows how their shared policy vision will sit with the people outside it?" I believe I called this:
This author thinks the Taiwanese will fight hard if China invades them. I hope so. I read things both ways. And I don't know if the stories about poor Taiwanese will to fight are Chinese information war or dire warnings that more must be done to bolster that will to fight. Still, the author's contention that the Taiwanese will fight long enough to allow America to mobilize forces and allies to get to Taiwan in time isn't as comforting as the author thinks. Taiwan must do more than hang on until America arrives. What happens when America and our allies arrive? Stop the Chinese drive on Taipei? That's not enough. The Chinese bridgeheads must be eliminated and the PLA driven into the sea, as I argued in Military Review.
What is Biden's major malfunction?? This is just sick.
To be fair to the Michigan Daily, if it had published all the facts of the assaults on women it might have prompted the largely left-wing faculty, administration, and activist groups to go on an anti-Black racist rampage. Can't risk triggering such latent racist sentiment in such systemically racist institutions, eh? Still, it is more important to note, as the article did, that in Ann Arbor the suspect wore a University of Michigan cap. That detail will narrow down the suspect pool by at least 10%. Tip to Instapundit.
I assume this American and Japanese exercise is designed to reinforce the Japanese Senkaku Islands quickly in the face of Chinese threats or to counter-attack if China gets to some of them first.
Playing "what doesn't belong here" in space. Tip to Instapundit.
Five years ago the real insurrection against our democracy and norms and institutions began. This was banana republic stuff and yet in response we elected President Chiquita. Via Instapundit.
If Palestinians tried to prosper half as hard as they tried to kill Jews, they'd be living pretty well: "Israeli warplanes struck two targets in the Gaza Strip early Saturday, the Israeli military said, in response to incendiary balloons launched from Gaza into Israel."
It looks like the J & J vaccine may be more effective against the Delta variant than the original. Well, good.
Let's add Washington state to the places I just don't care about. People who live there or visit there have nobody to blame but themselves for voting for or spending money in that dystopia candidate. If they don't care, why should I worry about them any more?
For want of a second engine manufacturer the F-35 is lost--about fifty percent of the time. It's a good plane if these problems are ironed out to get them in the air.
