Team of Drivels (tip to Instapundit.): "Last week was another bad one for the continually disappearing Biden administration." Is anybody competent over there? They keep saying that if they had more power they could plan everything. But their ability to plan with the power they have suggests we'd be better off firing 2/3 of every department and agency. Except--so far--the military. These people have too much time on their hands to limit themselves to carrying out core missions. They'd rather focus on "climate change" which can't be judged for a century. How convenient. But we know why.
Well yes, Britain's strategy is undergoing a naval tilt. Which understandable. But I'll miss the British Army of the Rhine.
When Trump left the White House, the left didn't stop hating his voters. The left simply hated his voters for a different reason--not taking the Xi Jinping Flu vaccine. And this hatred is white hot despite the fact that certain categories of minorities resist the vaccine at higher rates than Trump voters. Will that wide net of hate cause collateral damage the next time everyone has a chance to vote?
Russia can't build large warships and can barely upgrade them. The fact that the Russian fleet is a Red Storm Writhing is a horrifying fact when Russia looks east and seas better ships and better crews: "Russia looks on in envy, and fear that those ships could one day be used to regain the Chinese territories taken by the Russians in the late 1800s. China and Russia went to war over this once before, in 1969. China backed down but never forgot, or withdrew those claims." Yes, the claims. And yes, the fear.
If I saw hope that personnel might be policy to swing Chinese focus inland, the policy is still focused toward the sea. Perhaps policy will change in time?
Getting what you wish (and vote) for, good and hard. And I simply no longer care. Seattle rejected federal help when Trump offered it. Now they can enjoy their sanctuary from reality. The really funny part is that the urge to reduce a police presence may just lead to a military presence if the state calls up its Army National Guard to step in. Reality-based community, indeed.
Colin Powell, former secretary of state and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, passed away./NOTHING FOLLOWS/
There is a difference between free market capitalism and state-directed capitalism.
Yearning to be free citizens and not deferential and obedient subjects. Tip to Instapundit.
I'm very impressed with "hearts of Romaine lettuce". It's the greatest marketing success since scrap chicken parts were coated with spices and rebranded as "buffalo wings". For the lettuce, processors stripped off the outer green leaves--the part with the nutrients--for bagged salads and other purposes, I assume. They discovered that they had the crappy part left. What to do? Well, call them the "heart" of the lettuce. Hahahahahaha! And people fall for it. It's like coring an apple for the apple flesh and selling the core and the bits of apple flesh as the "heart of the apple." I stand in awe.
Ignore Steele's lies in his public claims. We already know that people involved in the Trump-Russia collusion hoax make radically different claims in public than they do in private under oath. He may still be on Hillary's payroll.
Let's hope it doesn't come to war, because Biden will lose the entire southwest to the cartels if he uses force: "Texas National Guard soldiers on the southern border were fired on Thursday by suspected cartel gunmen from Mexico, authorities said Friday."
That Marine officer who angrily reacted to the flag officers' lack of accountability for losing the Afghanistan war was slapped on the wrist. And the judge slammed how senior officers treated the officer. Hopefully this is the beginning of flag officer accountability. The Marine should face consequences for undermining his chain of command. But I credit him for taking fire to fight for the objective of an officer corps that fights and wins our nation's wars.
Russia and China conducted joint naval maneuvers in the Peter the Great Gulf off of Vladivostok: "The exercises Joint Sea 2021 kicked off with a ceremony on Thursday in
Russia’s Peter the Great Gulf and will run through Sunday." Why on Earth would the Russians encourage the Chinese to get used to projecting naval power to Russia's Far East?
Hopefully the Iraqis execute him.
I hope all the Brandons in Canada file a class action suit. Perhaps we need to return to the traditional "I Have Truly Found Paradise."
A bubble around ships to protect them from small drones.
I'm worried about three-time insurrectionist Moqtada al Sadr doing well in Iraq's elections. He spent a lot of time in Iran and I don't trust him. But Strategypage says he is anti-Iran. I still don't trust Sadr. On the bright side, the voting appears to have been honest.
So why isn't Russia's good "ally" China doing anything to help Russia? "Russia registered another daily record of coronavirus deaths Tuesday as rapidly surging infection rates raised pressure on the country’s health care system and prompted the government to suggest declaring a nonworking week." I mean, sure, China wouldn't give the West a head's up on the virus that started in Wuhan, China. It's almost as it China doesn't see Russia as an ally.
The European Union explains to Poland that there are two major rules in the EU: The EU makes the rules; and the members obey. If Poland tries to exit, it may find the Russians with their tanks and secret police easier to eject than the EU with its ten thousand cheese regulations binding Poland's legal system to the EU in knots.
Are technology, recruits, and public support key weaknesses that will threaten our military? The recruiting base is a problem. And public support is shaky now--with good reason given our flag officers. But is technology really going to fail us?
Britain will, for the first time, sell arms to Ukraine: "The Ministry of Defence is in talks with its Ukranian counterparts about
the supply of surface-to-surface maritime Brimstone missiles and
air-to-surface Brimstone missiles, according to a report in The Times." I guess Britain didn't take Russia's provocative Black Sea boasting as well as Moscow hoped.
The Air Force can turn a C-17 into an airborne "auxiliary cruiser" capable of launching missiles. The Navy should build on its mission modules for the troubled LCS class of ships to make actual modularized auxiliary cruisers. Also, note to Army: with this capability, don't count on the Air Force to have sufficient airlift to move significant numbers of that craptastic light tank you want.
That's neat. And useful. Especially if GPS is jammed. But unless we fix our flag officer problems One World Terrain will simply allow us to know exactly where we experience our next defeat in a war.
I remember Fractional Orbital Bombardment Systems during the Cold War. Nobody deployed them. I assume because they were considered too destabilizing and perhaps not worth the cost. Is China really going to build them? Are they more useful now that there are fewer strategic nuclear weapons to knock out with a first strike? I just don't know. Tip to Instapundit.
Sometimes I think that the left is the most pro-capitalist faction in our country. They think they can do whatever they want to it and yet still free market capitalism will save them from the damage they inflict. It's magical thinking, actually. They view our economy as a money tree that they can pluck without restraint and without any need to water and tend it--and simply let it grow.
Why yes there is an auto parts shortage (via Instapundit). My car has been on a dealer's lot waiting for a chip-enabled part to repair it for two months now. I'm fourth in line which may mean I get my car back by December. At least I was lucky when my 12-year-old computer monitor got the white screen of death the other day. I had an old smaller monitor sitting in the closet that I hooked up and I can keep going.
The Russians were too eager to exploit America's defeat in Afghanistan: "Ukraine’s defense minister fired back Tuesday at Russian predictions that the U.S., in light of its rushed exit from Afghanistan, will eventually abandon Ukraine." Wait. What? Abandon Ukraine to who? To Russia? Which totally isn’t waging war on Ukraine in the Donbas according to the Russians? Somebody didn't think through their threat to Ukraine.
American troops will continue to train Georgian troops to resist another Russian invasion.
Five contenders to replace the Bradley fighting vehicle display their concepts. I wonder if there will be an infantry vehicle and a cavalry vehicle like the Bradley?
What a shock that Taliban 2.0 is just as awful as the original Taliban. But the fiction was useful even for a short time to lose the war while pretending it would all work out fine.
If not her, just who should be locked up for this gross interference in the 2016 election? "The indictment of Hillary Clinton lawyer Michael Sussmann for allegedly lying to the FBI sheds new light on the pivotal role of Democratic operatives in the Russiagate affair. The emerging picture shows Sussmann and his Perkins Coie colleague Marc Elias, the chief counsel for Clinton's 2016 campaign, proceeding on parallel, coordinated tracks to solicit and spread disinformation tying Donald Trump to the Kremlin." Tip to Instapundit.
Defending the Aleutian Islands radar and airfield facility on Shemya.
I'd been meaning to do it, but this line--" ... a bug-eyed bridge troll like Lori Lightfoot"--got me to pull out my credit card and subscribe to Jim Treacher.
I guess I'll get the Xi Jinping Flu booster. The Johnson & Johnson shot worked for me as I've gotten back to a normal life. And shot side effects were brief and tolerable. I won't risk getting a different company's shot on the assumption if the shot I had didn't cause more harm than it prevents it is more likely to work again. The question is when I get it after it is formally approved. That said, the massive hate-on that the left has for those who don't want to be vaccinated is infuriating. Suddenly--after Biden won--the "dangerous and rushed Trump vaccine" is required to participate in American life? I don't worry about the unvaccinated. I'm vaccinated! That's the bloody purpose, right?
Israel broke into the NATO air defense market.
Threats: "A boast by the leader of Hezbollah that he commands 100,000 fighters came as a surprise to many Lebanese, not least because it was addressed to a domestic audience rather than the militia's archenemy Israel." Although I don't think most Hezbollah fighters--and you may need to count all potential civilian militia members to get 100K--are eager to fight after their heavy losses supporting Assad at Iran's orders.
Yes: "Punishing India For Buying Russian Weapons Would Hurt America And Help China". India has a history of buying Russian weapons. Which helps India's defenses. Which increases Russia-China friction. Which nudges Russia into realizing that China is the true threat to Russian territorial integrity. Biden should not sanction India for this. Have a little Goddamn common sense. And I do have some small amount of hope that the Russians aren't too stupid to understand the true threat.
Don't panic. But without "welcoming the competition", work the problem of China's potential hypersonic nuclear weapon capability with common sense. Our missile defenses can't handle more than a small ICBM strike, anyway. Even if everything works right on our end.
Can the Navy repair its leadership to correct problems that led to this? "A Navy report has concluded there were sweeping failures by commanders, crew members and others that fueled the July 2020 arson fire that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard, calling the massive five-day blaze in San Diego preventable and unacceptable." I worry that the ships at sea are just as at risk as the ship in port under repair.
Facebook wants a new name (via The Morning Briefing). Is Panopticon taken?
Here's hoping we've reached Peak Woke. America can't afford the repeated blows to our figurative head without risking permanent damage that enemies will exploit. Of note, "progressive whites, notes the Atlantic,
are the most intolerant of all Americans, led by those in the Boston
area, while people in smaller towns and cities seem far more open." And here's a timely piece on the distinction between leftists (or progressives) and liberals. It is all too easy to condemn liberals given that racist and hateful leftists act in liberals' names without evident opposition. Will that change?
Moving forward to Australian SSNs.
Getting away with murder in Britain: "A possible act of Islamic terrorism takes place, and the chattering classes gab about how horrible Twitterstorms are. What is going on?" The idea that the solution to fanatical Islamist murderers--the latest by a "known wolf"--is to crack down on the online words of non-stabbers is insane.
The Chinese Communist Party just forced Hollywood to kowtow to CCP propaganda in order to learn how to make their own blockbusters. In the meantime Hollywood alienated huge segments of America. Tip to The Morning Briefing.
I am not required to celebrate your differences. I am required to tolerate your differences. The distinction is that me tolerating you requires me to leave you alone. But making me celebrate you requires you to impose your standards on me. I'm happy to tolerate you. It's a free country. But I will not celebrate you just because you tell me to.
Taliban 2.0: "The Taliban praised suicide bombers who died during the war against the former government and its Western allies and offered their families sums of cash and promises of land, the movement's interior ministry said in a statement."
Oh Holy Hell: "A global shortage of magnesium could result in a near-total shutdown of the auto industry — one that experts say could come by the end of this year." Tip to Instapundit.
We're from the government, and we're here to regulate you. Regulators in government are mostly captured by the regulated. And information is shared quickly via the Internet to expose bad actors. Given those trends, is government regulation helping or harming people? There was once a case to make for government regulation for safety. Those days are long gone for most of our economy.
Oh, they'll wash that strange taste of "integrity" out of their mouth well before the 2022 elections.
The French army practiced operating helicopters off of coordinating French Navy ships. America has done this. And the British used an amphibious carrier during the Libya War for attack helicopter strikes.
Well, yes, America and our allies need secure sources of rare earths. China can't be trusted.
The Pentagon talked Trump out of sending troops to the Mexico border to protect it and attack Mexican drug cartels? Well, we did something similar a century ago. So I won't say we will never have to do that again. But Mexico is friendly now unlike a century ago, so we can cooperate with Mexico before it gets to that kind of crisis. And the current crisis doesn't make Trump seem like he had an "obsession," does it? I'd settle for Biden being "mildly interested in" border security.
Life works out for me. Supply chains in the automotive industry are broken and crippling production and repair of existing vehicles. And gasoline prices are rising significantly. But the supply chain has put my car out of action for the last two months so I haven't bought any gas in quite some time. I am a glass half-full kind of man, eh? Although I might have wanted to be more exact in my wish expression.
Clap louder comrade! Chairman Stalin might get the wrong idea about you! Tip to Instapundit.
My mail carrier vigorously informed us that if people at our complex don't put names on their mailboxes that the carrier would not deliver mail to those boxes. Fine. I did that quickly. But why am I continuing to get mail for people whose names I did not put on my mailbox?
Is Katie really the Hill that Democrats want to die on?
The State Department celebrates "Why America Gets Its Ass Kicked Day". I'm pretty sure that the Taliban arrest and execute anybody who uses alternative pronouns.
Taiwanese guided rockets and missiles could be effective against a Chinese invasion flotilla. Assuming the rocket launchers aren't knocked out en masse wherever they are parked before they disperse to firing positions. Taiwan needs them, but I wouldn't count on that shield. What does Taiwan do if the PLA gets ashore through the deadly gauntlet? Taiwan doesn't have a silver bullet that lifts the burden of being able to fight through all stages and aspects of a Chinese invasion.
Yes: "The U.S. Navy Surface Fleet Needs Distribution, Not 'Death Stars[.]'" The author is preaching to the TDR choir on this issue.
Let's explore how successful the Fuck-Up Fairy has been in the Biden administration. Looks like systemic incompetence to me. But leftists say the problem is not them but systemic Americanism that must be destroyed with their fundamental transformation plans.
Yes, Russia and China are frenemies: "There is a growing trend in the West towards treating Russia and China as some single, threatening ‘Dragonbear’ (a reference to the two countries' national animals). This underrates the very real tensions between Moscow and Beijing, but risks pushing them even closer together." Can Russia avoid vassal status under China? We should be striving to split them apart at their fissures.
Yes (via Instapundit), Democrat vaccine mandates are imposing a new Jim Crow.
I read that if inflation was calculated the same now as in 1980, our inflation rate would be shockingly high instead of merely disturbingly high.
Say, here's a troubling thought that came to me. More than fifty years ago the USSR allegedly approached America to launch a joint nuclear strike on China. Is Russia's build up of shorter-range nuclear weapons--rather than being a bluff--designed to conduct a unilateral nuclear strike on China? And is China's sudden nuclear expansion a response to the Russian threat? After all, Russia has not built up enough conventional power to hold its Far East as it hoped it would by now. And if Russia strikes before China can use the missile defense technology it extorted from Russia, the technology won't matter. Sheer speculation, of course.
An American outpost in eastern Syria was hit with rockets. We need to decide if Syria is where we will fight and die.
But how will Manila respond when missiles are used? "The Philippines has issued a diplomatic protest over Chinese vessels challenging its ships patrolling the South China Sea with sirens, horns and radio communications, its foreign ministry said on Wednesday."
American logistics are not up to an extended fight against a peer competitor.
And magically, Democrats no longer think dissent is the highest form of patriotism: "Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-The Moon) made the Democratic position clear Thursday: If you’re not with us, you’re terrorists." Tip to Instapundit.
Oil prices are rising and Biden unsuccessfully asked OPEC to raise production. Biden cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada. And ... "The Willow Master Development Plan has been abandoned by the Biden administration though the administration previously defended the oil and gas project in Alaska." Huh. Tip to Instapundit.
Exhibit X for why I mistrust the media. Via Instapundit.
There is no pan-Arab nationalism. If it existed the always self-destructive Palestinians wouldn't be the skunk at the garden party in the Arab world.
How to make an economic clusterfuck.
Russia's decline is a myth? Seriously? It has shrunk a great deal since it was the USSR. While Russia has regained some of its military power since its post-Soviet nadir, Russia remains a regional power in strength yet has continents-spanning defense needs. Without nukes and bluster, we'd see Russia as a state only able to threaten neighboring and weaker targets. With that understanding, yes, Russia is a threat we need to deal with. But it is a far cry from the threat that could have crushed NATO by marching to the Rhine River.
A Target store in San Francisco is closing because it is a target for massive shoplifting. Good. Residents need to see cause and effect in action for voting for the politicians who have essentially decriminalized shoplifting. Enjoy. I don't care. Tip to Instapundit.
Lock them up. I hope they enjoy the consequences of their trust fund insurrection. Honestly, I'm shocked they are being punished.
Enes Kanter will not kneel before Xi Jinping. Tip to Instapundit.
Oh, I suppose Science! deniers are going to dispute this? "Wesley Muhammad believes that the U.S. government and the Jews are using marijuana to make black men gay. The “Pot Plot” is a popular theory in Muhammad’s Nation of Islam cult." Big, if true, as the saying goes. Also, he's a lecturer at an American state university. Naturally. Tip to Instapundit.
Sure, Biden's town hall meeting was a shockingly faded facade of a real town hall meeting with a real president. But I don't think it reflects a declining America. I think it reflects a declining ruling elite that we will eventually discard. I don't know what price we will pay to get through this period. But we will. Don't write America off prematurely.
That would be helpful: "The United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands – what Carter called 'the Quint' – 'are focused on the region' and the changing maritime security conditions in the Arctic. Those nations are also working with Estonia, Lithuania, Iceland and Latvia on building maritime capability for deterrence in the Baltic Sea. Russia maintains a naval enclave in Kaliningrad on the Baltic."
Small loitering attack drones.
Heh:
The war oddly goes on despite "ending" it by losing Afghanistan: "The U.S. military says it killed a senior al-Qaida leader in an airstrike Friday in northwest Syria."
There, I fixed the story by making it journalism instead of political advocacy: "Republicans have succeeded this year in passing a range of voting [INSERT "FRAUD"] restrictions in states they control politically, from Georgia to Iowa to Texas." And journalists wonder why they aren't trusted. Right up until Biden won in 2020 Democrats said the election would be rigged via hacking voting machines and because of stolen mail boxes. But now it is crazy to worry about voting security.
Here's more of that restoring our norms and institutions I heard so much about: "The White House said Friday that President Joe Biden would speak in the coming weeks about moving to 'fundamentally alter' the filibuster or even eliminate the legislative roadblock that empowers the Senate minority as he aims to pass sweeping voting laws and secure the nation's credit." If any random Democratic senator is going to abandon the Democratic Party, this would be the time to do it.
Paranoid, aggressive, nuclear sabre-rattling Russia has no clue why NATO has awoken from its post-USSR slumber: "The Kremlin said on Friday that NATO's adoption of a new Russia-focused strategy confirmed that Moscow's decision to sever ties with the bloc had been correct." Will no advisor tell Putin he is effing up royally? #WhyRussiaCan'tHaveNiceThings
America must reinvent our alliances? Well, we are strengthening bilateral alliances in Asia, where a single alliance cannot hope to attract members devoted to far-flung allies. And NATO simply needs to get back to its core function of keeping the Russians at bay. Which mostly means don't let the EU get its own military to reduce the power of NATO.
Biden makes the "okay" sign at a town hall dumpster fire, and suddenly the fact checkers say it actually isn't a white power symbol. Tip to Instapundit.
Yes, are the Aztecs really the indigenous peoples hill the left want to die on?
Russia's revolutionary armored vehicles and the updated reality the troops actually use.
This is odd, because Iran claimed it had no nuclear weapons program in order to get the 2015 deal: "Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, warned that Iran was 'getting close' to a point at which simply returning to the 2015 deal would be insufficient 'because Iran has been using this time to advance its nuclear programme in a variety of ways.'" Funny that the deal didn't degrade Iran's ability to simply advance its nuclear program so easily. Or perhaps just do it publicly to extort money from the West in exchange for doing their nuclear work in the shadows again.
What possible harm could come from the Biden staff erasing Biden's statement of defending Taiwan by instead essentially declaring Taiwan outside of America's defense perimeter?
Sensitive much? "Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that he had ordered 10 foreign ambassadors who called for the release of a jailed philanthropist to be declared persona non grata."
It's only crazy conspiracy talk when a Trump supporters says a fraudulent election denied their candidate victory. Tip to Instapundit.
May the New York Times rot in Hell. Tip to Instapundit.
To Hell with the Taliban. Let China and Pakistan pay to save Afghanistan from a humanitarian crisis. It's not our job any more. The Taliban will benefit from humanitarian aid and I see no reason why America should do it.
Well, I'm not shrinking my data dump entries nearly as much as I intended. I like more than a link most of the time. So my time
spent blogging isn't going down as much as I hoped in order to spend time on
publication writing. This is a work in progress.
