Of course he did: "Governor Gavin Newsom has quietly signed an executive order extending California’s ‘State of Emergency’ declaration through March 31, 2022."
Given that Russia has pretty much blockaded the Ukrainian military from entering that body of water, this seems prudent: "Ukraine said on Saturday it would speed up the construction of a naval base at the port of Berdyansk to prevent what Kyiv calls a gradual attempt by Moscow to take control of the Sea of Azov that flows past Russian-annexed Crimea."
Let's see, the left wants to defund the police and send social workers instead for the calls the left knows won't get violent. But in Seattle, "crime has gotten so bad that some public employees now need security to escort them to and from work." But non-police workers need escorts? What about the poor social workers? Tip to Instapundit.
Because winning wars is too easy: "[The Department of Defense] has been perverted into sock puppets that simply regurgitate the Biden
Administration’s claims of an existential climate change crisis[.]" I noted my utter frustration with a Pentagon climate change strategy in the last data dump. Just Control f "climate change strategy" if you are interested.
I have a lot of sympathy for this view on fighting wars as a last resort. What I worry is that we won't do enough short of war because we are as averse to that as we are to open war. And this is revealing in more than one way, "Eisenhower believed in the limits of power. In Korea, he ended the war in a stalemate because he regarded the war as not worth the cost." But Eisenhower didn't walk away from South Korea, either. And in time the stalemate became a victory as South Korea became a modern democracy capable of building its own military.
Russia must be crapping in their pantskies: "China appears to have solved some of its key problems with building high-performance military jet engines. It’s WS-10C engine is now in mass production with factories equipped to build it operating in multiple shifts to deal with the backlog." As I noted oh so recently, "China is using Russia. Have the Chinese mastered jet engine production? If so, the Russians need to worry about the day when China no longer needs to strip post-USSR Russia for high tech parts that China can't make for itself." And yet Russia remains annoyingly aggressive in the west.
Active protection systems for armored vehicles. America is finally adopting them.
That is exactly what I thought when I read about the New York Times collusion and hit piece: "I love how the NYT tries to turn getting legal advice on how not to break the law into something sinister-sounding."
Huh: "Earlier this year, Russia unveiled their forthcoming “stealth fighter,” the single-engine Su-75 Checkmate, with bold claims about its expected performance and capabilities. Now, as the fighter is being displayed on foreign soil for the first time at this week’s Dubai Air Show, formal statements from its manufacturer have called its stealth credentials into question." I was not worried about the Su-75.
This is true: "With no cash reserves and no idea how to govern, with the country’s spectacular fruit crops rotting in transport trucks lined up at closed borders, and the population struggling just to survive, Taliban rule is already tottering. That comedown gives the U.S. and its former coalition partners leverage over the group — leverage of a kind we have never enjoyed before." But rather than using Taliban weakness to back our former allies in a counterattack, I suspect the "leverage" will be used to justify a deal that bolsters the Taliban and lets them continue Allah's work of crushing the Taliban's enemies. The fact that the author boasted of mythical "intrusive inspection" provisions in the Iran nuclear deal--seriously, that description has long been known to be BS--as a defense of the approach fills me with dread.
A new drone design able to operate from forward "austere" fields and to carry 16 Hellfire missiles. Well, set some of those loose on a Russian armored formation and it could get very hairy for the tanks.
The Navy wants another stealth fighter for its huge floating targets. Yes, more expensive eggs for the small number of even more expensive nests rather than more and cheaper distributed surface firepower.
The beatings will continue until vaccine compliance improves.
Um, they had a sudden flash of insight and shame that it was money laundering with a nice frame? Tip to The Morning Briefing.
I don't like mistrusting the FBI. I'm a law and order guy. But the FBI seems to want order without any law other than their power to abuse it. My change of attitude began when Comey laid out the evidence against Hillary Clinton's off-the-books email system that violated security protocols and FOIA/records retention requirements--and then said there would be no prosecution. Because reasons. Then it kept adding up, including the recent all-hands-on-deck Mystery of the Purloined Diary dragnet. I'm sure most FBI agents are honest. But my God, the honest ones need to revolt and repair the damage the leadership has done to the bureau. And later, I see this highly relevant article. We may need to break up the FBI for parts.
Uh oh (via Instapundit): "Earlier this week, the International Space Station (ISS) was forced to maneuver out of the way of a potential collision with space junk." As I mentioned about cleaning up space junk: "I'm just going to say that if space debris is collected in space, it can certainly be stored and released as an anti-spacecraft minefield."
China's economic mobility has stalled and Xi Jinping believes more commie bell is the answer. And can I get a 'heh' from the audience: "If Xi thinks government intervention will actually reduce inequality, he might be a real Communist after all — or a Democrat."
I saw a breaking news banner on Yahoo that said "Trump ally Steve Bannon taken into custody on contempt charges." Why are no Democrats arrested for anything described as Biden allies? Or Obama allies? Or Hillary allies? Hell, they are rarely even identified as "Democrats," really.
I'm just putting this out there as people get upset about Rittenhouse trying to defend against rioters: "The unorganized militia consists of all other able-bodied citizens of this state and all other able-bodied citizens who are residents of this state who have or shall have declared their intention to become citizens of the United States, who shall be age 17 or over and not more than age 60, and shall be subject to state military duty as provided in this act." [emphasis added] This is Michigan, of course. I bet this isn't unique.
Bullshit: "The U.S. military's stepped-up activities around Ukraine have turned into a new "red line" for Moscow that could increase the risk of a large-scale Russian invasion of the country, some military analysts are cautioning as Russian troops mass on Ukraine's border." The idea that potential targets of Russia's loud aggressive intentions can't exercise because it will "provoke" a Russian invasion of Ukraine is such bullshit that I can hardly fathom how analysts can spout that.
Interesting: "Tucked within an icy mountain lies a meticulously preserved World War I bunker. [para] Climate change means we can now see it." But wait. Doesn't it mean that the climate was also warm enough to build and man the bunker more than a century ago? Huh.
So what are the odds that the 25th Amendment has to be used to get rid of Harris? And is it racist for Democrats through their media allies to give the senile white man a pass--for now?--but go after the first woman of color to be vice president? Just asking for a friend.
Some vapid TV host: "We locked you in your homes for a year[.]" [emphasis added] The basic issue logic was absurd. But "We?" Well, siding with the government that locked us down makes sense: "What would they do to me," he asked in confidential tones, "if I refuse to fly them?" "We'd probably shoot you," ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen replied. "We?" Yossarian cried in surprise. "What do you mean we? Since when are you on their side?" "If you're going to be shot, whose side do you expect me to be on?" ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen retorted. So there you go. "We."
Also, media style guide: "When the Republicans fail, it’s the Republicans’ fault. When the Democrats fail, it’s America’s fault." Buying a subscription to our main media organs should be considered a campaign contribution to Democrats, under federal law.
"Beto" O'Rourke still wants to take away so-called "assault" weapons because they "were originally designed for use on a battlefield." So were muskets. And swords. And perhaps fire-hardened pointy sticks, for that matter. Tip to Treacher.
One of the problems with young people panicking over climate change is that they are too young to have seen all the wrong predictions up until now. Apparently, I've survived the end of the world many times. But I have no excuses available for those my age, give or take a decade. Via Instapundit.
If you help somebody even a lot with a particular problem you are awful if you don't solve all their problems, too. Tip to Treacher.
With supply chain disruptions, fights over Black Friday sale items are going to be lit as ef.
Space race: "A report from NASA's inspector general said the U.S. space agency will miss its target for landing humans on the moon in late 2024 by 'several years,' just days after it pushed back its initial target date, citing cost overruns and lawsuits." In this woke age, I imagine NASA thinks that "race" means skin color rather than speed. Tip to Instapundit.
China tests a more kinetic means of disrupting supply chains.
Iran's nutball-dominated theocracy has lots of problems. But while Allah's helping hand is not evident, the nutballs still have hope.
Italy sells some of the rope that China wants to use to hang the West. Tar. Feathers. More tar. More feathers. Via Instapundit.
Cannon fodder: "Last night border security forces in Lithuania, Latvia, and especially Poland reported hundreds of attempts to breach their borders, with migrants pushed by Belarusian security forces, instructed to throw tree trunks and branches at the concertina wire separating the borders, to cut wire fences with wire cutters provided by Lukashenka’s forces, and to hurl rocks at the border guards, police and the military standing their ground on the other side of NATO/EU borders." Will NATO and the EU impose penalties on Belarus and it's patron Russia?
To be fair, the news media has worked very hard to forfeit trust in their integrity. Via Instapundit.
China isn't only trying to gain influence over Washington, D.C.: "Beijing does not limit itself to the national level. Beijing also runs systematic campaigns to influence subnational — that is, state and local — governments."
China will get old before it gets rich. While China will still have the second-largest economy in the world behind America, that won't be enough to fulfill Xi's China Dream of a world-straddling China. And what are the internal implications of the Chinese Communist Party unable to fulfill its promise of ever-expanding prosperity?
#WhyRussiaCan'tHaveNiceThings: "Astronauts were forced to take cover on the International Space Station after a Russian anti-satellite test generated debris, according to the U.S. State Department."
The war against Iran in Iraq continues. Is this a gift to Iran? "Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer set up a vote this week to advance a major defense funding bill and said it will include a provision to repeal decades-old Iraq war powers." The Democrats still get sad thinking about room-temperature Soleimani, I guess. Or just a premature "mission accomplished" statement?
Is Russia really threatening invasion or is this warning issued with certainty that Russia won't? "NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has assured Ukraine of the alliance’s backing amid what he called an 'unusual concentration' of Russian forces in the area."
Is Germany standing up to Russia or is this just Backbone Theater? "Germany's network regulator said Tuesday that it has suspended its procedure to certify the operator of a new pipeline that would bring Russian gas to the country under the Baltic Sea because of an issue with the company's status under German law."
It began like this: "Artillery shells fired by Russian-backed separatists shrieked into this small town deep in the flatlands of eastern Ukraine, shearing branches from trees, scooping out craters, blowing up six houses and killing one Ukrainian soldier." Ukraine fired back with a drone. And then Russia went all berserk because Ukraine dared defend itself. My view is that not enough Russian troops are dying in their war.
Red Guard assholes in action. Tip to Instapundit.
Blatant racism from the progressive left is so casual as to be unremarkable today. Via Instapundit.
Democrats are upset that a young man crossed a state line to protect his community (where his dad lived) from rioters. Yet they think it is fine that hundreds of thousands of young men cross our southern international border without so much as a check for vaccination status. Got it.
Get out of Ethiopia now: "State Department spokesperson Ned Price said U.S. passport holders should not expect a Kabul-style airlift if the fighting reaches Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa."
You may recall that I didn't worry too much about the arsenal we left behind being used by the Taliban. Yeah: "Another item not discussed openly is how Pakistan was able to buy the best American weapons captured by the IEA. The official story is these weapons will be retained by the IEA or sold off to local merchants. No mention of foreigners receiving any of this. Many of the $85 billion in weapons and military equipment the U.S. provided to the IRA forces was gone before the IEA took over." They probably paraded what was left. Lord knows how long they can maintain it.
Background on Ukraine's use of a Turkish-built drone to blow up a Russian artillery piece.
The Congressional Budget Office says that even in the tightly warped parameters of a ten-year window of partial spending and full revenue that the huge Biden spending package will not be paid for. But "Senior administration officials are urging lawmakers to disregard the budget office assessment, saying it is being overly conservative in its calculations." Yeah, our national debt is so unfathomably massive because for decades assessments have been "overly conservative" in their calculations.
This assessment by a Singapore official is BS: "Taking sides regardless of issues and context breeds irrelevance." Australia isn't choosing irrelevance by siding with America against China. The idea that you are relevant if you are willing to switch sides on any dispute assumes you have no real commitment to either side. Australia chooses independence and freedom. Australia is choosing relevance through increased usefulness in a crisis.
Yes, because of Turkey's wavering as a NATO anchor in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, Italy has a bigger role in NATO's Plan B where Greece is the front line.
The European Union dream of its own military founders on one reality: "One of the major obstacles in the creation of such a formation is the very nature of the European Union." That is, the EU doesn't have the unity to have its own military. The author is narrowly right but has the broader issue backassward. The European Union wants the authority to build an "army" not for military power but exactly for the purpose of changing the nature of the EU. The EU is a proto-imperial state that wants to accumulate authority so it can eventually strip away the prefix.
Sure, it was good to investigate the Trump-Russia collusion charges. For about a month, if I'm being generous, until it was obvious that it was a Hillary Clinton smear job on Trump. "Lock her up" looks like justice now, eh?
This is a horrible idea: "National security adviser Jake Sullivan raised with his Israeli counterpart the idea of an interim agreement with Iran to buy more time for nuclear negotiations, three Israeli and U.S. sources tell me." Iran won't agree to a deal that doesn't reward them with money while not significantly stopping their nuclear program. Yet the Biden administration will agree to a deal slanted to Iran, which Iran will be happy to keep forever knowing Biden won't dare end it. The Israelis are right to oppose that. And FFS, the original deal is crap.
The military is supposed to have a climate change strategy because changing climate could affect it. Say, the military is worried inflation will have a bad effect on it. Does that mean the military should have a strategy for fighting inflation? Tip to Instapundit.
Doogie Sullivan put U.S.-China diplomacy in 4 "buckets." Bucket one does not in fact have issues America and China agree on. Bucket two has issues we've both worked on--but China works against American interests (although to be fair, so has America). Bucket three is futile because Taiwan is a core Chinese interest that no Psaki-levels of spin and denial can "manage." And bucket four is simply futile. And honestly, I'll need all four buckets to puke in because of how awful our very own Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne is in advancing American interests.
Hard to argue with this defense of Biden: "In all fairness, though, Biden isn’t the president who chose the worst VP ever. That honor goes to Barack Obama."
The pilot was rescued. But I wonder what happened? "A British pilot flying an F-35B stealth fighter jet off Britain's
flagship aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth was forced to bail out of
the stealth fighter during flight operations in the Mediterranean, the
UK defense ministry revealed Wednesday." I guess the plane was lost. Hopefully nobody else lifts it off the sea floor.
I have no problem with trying to keep extremist views out of our military. But when you muddy the waters with studies that include former military with active duty personnel, how is that related to keeping active duty personnel away from extremism? Honestly, this broadening of the issue seems to indicate the military problem is nowhere near as big as it has been alleged.
The Army expects to field the military's first hypersonic weapon in the next year or two, with the Air Force not far behind. But they are too expensive to make many. And I wonder about their efficiency compared to other weapons that might do the same job.
The United States is committed to selling F-35s to the UAE. I still have no idea why the UAE needs stealth fighters given that Iran is their likely opponent. I'll be more worried about espionage than comforted by the UAE having them to use against Iran. And if Iran initiates war a lot of ballistic missiles will rain down on UAE airfields. Can we sell the UAE a stripped down version without the coatings, software, and electronics that make the plane effective against top tier defenses? Mind you, I felt this way when Trump proposed the sale, too.
That's quite the foundation for strong America-China ties: "China’s Communist Party has been, in a real sense, attacking America. Beijing, for instance, took steps that spread COVID-19 beyond China’s borders; Chinese 'money brokers' are enabling Mexican-based gangs selling China’s fentanyl; Chinese hackers and government agencies are engaging in a determined effort to steal U.S. technology and trade secrets; China’s military, reportedly sending social media riot-instruction videos, fomented violence on American streets. The attack on American society has been relentless and ferocious."
I've expressed my doubts about the usefulness of Chinese ground-based hypersonic orbital weapons armed with nuclear warheads. Here are some doubts.
Are Italian politics really a cause of concern for NATO? During the Cold War, Italian governments seemed to come and go with the seasons yet it still stood strong in NATO. Is it really different now?
China's asset bubble seems to be part of a global bubble. Which isn't nearly as funny.
The headline says Russia is forming a new paratrooper regiment in Crimea. But, "Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu confirmed
on Wednesday that an airborne regiment will be activated in Crimea by
early December. The 56th Guards Air Assault Brigade will be reformed as
the 56th Guards Air Assault Regiment." So a downgraded brigade is being moved. And "likely" absorb a battalion already there. A lot (all?) of news about "new" Russian ground units is just about reorganizations.
Traditionally on this blog I distinguished between leftists and Democrats. Democrats could be wrong but weren't fanatics. Leftists might have been Democrats or not, but they were communist or communist-friendly nutjobs. But the the minority of unhinged leftists have, via social media, taken over the national Democratic Party, making my distinction practically meaningless. I want that distinction to be meaningful again. Tip to Instapundit.
Lies in the service of stoking racial hate and fear. Why make stuff up if reality is allegedly so bad? Tip to The Morning Briefing.
Well somebody has to make up for China's past record of building a coal plant every week: "Beginning this week, a new [Los Angeles] law goes into effect forbidding restaurants with 26 or more employees from handing out ketchup and mustard packets without the customer first requesting them. Come April 2022, it will apply to all restaurants." Tip to Instapundit.
Taiwan has activated a wing of its upgraded F-16s.
The Rittenhouse verdict is not guilty. Will BLM answer the alarm? Or does the legal defense of the right of self defense discourage "mostly peaceful" violent protests by left-wing scum? We'll see if the media that got the law and facts for the case wrong for a year works to incite riots.
Portland had some violence. But it might have been because if was Friday in Portland and not a reaction to the verdict. There were also protests against the verdict that stayed peaceful around the country. Which is disappointing but perfectly legal. But the week is young.
It's funny how Afghanistan is now "on the brink of catastrophe" only after the allegedly awful America abandoned Afghanistan to the Taliban in Biden's skedaddle debacle. Let our enemies pay to save the Taliban government.
The idea that China will be ready to invade Taiwan in a few years may just be a Chinese information war effort to appear far when near. Recall that in 2017 the Chinese planned to be ready by 2020. Did the pandemic throw off China's timetable?
Substandard navigation skills? The Navy has problems.
The American military wouldn't move to the sound of the guns in Benghazi in 2012 but in 2017 would place soldiers into the midst of many more enemies in Niger without proper support? In related news, the Marine mission set up in the wake of the Benghazi debacle is ending. Letting troops with other missions handle that is now the response. What could go wrong?
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is turning Saudi Arabia into a typical autocratic state by attacking rival sources of power. The rival power sources have often been a little too Islamist. So maybe this helps modernize Saudi Arabia and Islam. But it may also make the Saudi government more vulnerable to coups. Which might ease the path for a truly Islamist nutball regime there. Let's hope centralize power moves on to rule of law quickly.
Huh: "all the stuff you see about inflation in the news is driven by rich people flipping their shit because their parasitic assets aren’t doing as well as they’d like and they’re scared that unemployment benefits + stimmy checks + 15 minimum wage + labor shortage is why" To be clear, Sarah Jeong is not the sister of Kim Jong-Un, reportedly tapped to be his successor one day in that inflation-less people's paradise. But she's no way rich, I assume. All I know for sure is that our "journalists" define "the rich" as people who make more than journalists.
"Gallup has reported a trend against gun control." When you tell people that you don't need guns because the police protect you; and then defund the police and refuse to prosecute criminals, what do you expect will happen?
Yes, this has always bugged me about our justice system.
True: "[Putin's Russia] is a regime that thrives on the notion that it’s a 'besieged fortress,' as Carnegie’s Andrei Kolesnikov puts it. Western belligerence merely reinforces its self-belief." But it is also true that lack of pressure will not undermine Russia's notion of being under siege. No amount of buffer zone can squelch that cherished feeling of victimhood. And maybe if NATO was seen as the natural body to oppose Russia, disappointment in the EU record would be moot.
Pay no attention to the Spike NLOS behind the curtain.
I remain shocked that Assad has managed to hold Aleppo. I thought it was too large to control with his manpower. Is it not as quiet as the media shows? If the city is controlled, how did Assad do that?
Even foreigners realize it is easier to manufacture white hate than find it: "[During the 2020 election, Iran] sent thousands of emails purporting to be from the white nationalist Proud Boys group to registered Democrats threatening physical harm if they did not switch parties and vote for then-President Donald Trump, prosecutors said." And they claimed they had evidence of voting system fraud. Stoking divisions is potentially profitable, as the Russians discovered.
Before China invades Taiwan, China's efforts to undermine Taiwanese democracy continue: "'The long-term military threats to Taiwan are increasing,' said Russell Hsiao, executive director of the Global Taiwan Institute in Washington. 'But the more immediate threats are actions taken by China that fall into the realm of hybrid warfare and political warfare aimed at subverting institutions and eroding the psychological resiliency of the people of Taiwan.'" I say Taiwan needs to go on offense over the freedom issue.
Russia is using Belarus to fling Moslem migrant cannon fodder at NATO: "Video footage shows the Belarusian military using vehicles to try to
take down Polish border posts and wire fencing. They have used lasers to
make it impossible for Polish troops to see what is going on, fired
blank rounds and even armed migrants with stun grenades. On Tuesday,
footage showed children throwing rocks at Polish forces." And yes, Turkey did the same thing to Europe years ago on a huge scale. Which I suspect was prodded along by Putin, too. If Europeans--and Westerners in general--had more faith and confidence in their civilization, this tactic to divide Europeans would be futile. The Europeans would defend their border and that would be the end of it. Sadly, too many Westerners hate the West as much as our enemies hate us.
The F-35 faces competition in Europe for sales. I'd guess the Finns go with the Swedish fighter. Sweden gives Finland depth if Russia attacks. Not only can the plane fly from roads, it could retreat to Swedish airfields--even before Russia attacks--and operate from there if necessary in a war against Russia.
Was there a police riot at the Capitol Building on January 6th? The video is only now being seen. Tip to Instapundit.
Witch hunt. What, for God's sake, is their major malfunction? Tip to Instapundit.
Non-lethal weapons deterrence is BS. One, weapons can only be more or less lethal. Two, if mobs want to kill you, using "non-lethal" weapons just lets them know it is fairly safe to charge and count on numbers to get up close and knifey or fisty with you. You might as well issue rifles to your troops or police and body armor to enemies and you'd have the same effect. Tip to Instapundit.
Don't get your hopes up: "France's foreign minister warned Iran on Friday not to come to the next round of talks on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal with a 'sham' negotiating stance[.]" All France wants is for Iran to more credibly pretend it doesn't want nuclear weapons. How can France pretend to believe Iran if Iran is so obviously intent on nukes?
Moqtada al-Sadr: "Iraq’s influential Shiite cleric who emerged as a winner in last month’s general elections on Thursday called on the country’s myriad pro-Iran Shiite armed factions to disband if they want to join his upcoming government." Good, if true. But not sufficient if he only wants a free run at being a Shia dictator. I fear we'll rue the day we let that 3-time insurrectionist live.
Via Treacher, Doctor Fauci was asked why he wasn't wearing his mask at a party in a restaurant: “He said, ‘I just decided that if anyone came up that I didn’t know, I would put my mask on.’” Well, it's just science, you know:
Does America have any reason to look down on Chinese bio lab safety protocols? "Federal health and law enforcement officials are investigating the discovery of several frozen vials that were labeled "smallpox" at a Pennsylvania facility that does vaccine research, authorities said." Tip to Instapundit.
Now this seems like only a really fancy website (via Instapundit): "Caribbean country Barbados plans to become the first nation to set up a
diplomatic embassy in the metaverse, a virtual reality version of the
internet." Call me when sovereignty moves there, too.
At this point because of Chinese secrecy, I assume the Xi Jinping Flu leaked from a Chinese laboratory: "And with the continuing failure to find any evidence of infected animals for sale in Chinese markets, the astonishing truth remains this: the outbreak happened in a city with the world’s largest research programme on bat-borne corona-viruses, whose scientists had gone to at least two places where these Sars-CoV-2-like viruses live, and brought them back to Wuhan — and to nowhere else." Tip to Instapundit.
Could Rittenhouse sue Joe Biden for comparing Rittenhouse to white supremacists given that Biden was a private citizen when he slandered the young man?
God can part the Red Sea and flood the world. I don't think God cares about climate change the way the theologian Pelosi claims: "'For me,' said Pelosi, 'it’s a religious thing. I believe this is God’s creation, and we have a moral obligation to be good stewards.'" Now go and emit no more.
"The Rittenhouse Verdict is Only Shocking if You Followed the Last Year of Terrible Reporting[.]" I guess democracy rule of law dies in darkness. Guess who turned out the lights? Will the media even admit their lies and bias, let alone fix themselves? To Hell with our media. Tip to Instapundit.
Fighting on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.
I'm not shocked that Russia revealed the contents of diplomatic notes between it and the Germans and French. What should be shocking is the amount of faith the Europeans place in holding meetings with Russia to resolve their nearly nine-year old invasion of Ukraine. Body bags going back to Russia are the only solution.
Please note that before the Rittenhouse verdict the state of Wisconsin put 500 Army National Guard soldiers--and not 500 social workers--on alert in case the protests get too burny and shooty.
Good job: "US intelligence agencies found evidence this year of construction work on what they believed was a secret Chinese military facility in the United Arab Emirates, which was stopped after Washington’s intervention, according to a report on Friday." And the UAE wants to buy F-35s from us? If the UAE is hedging that hard I'm thinking that sale is a really bad idea. The UAE denies any base or outpost intent. Well, check the definitions section.
Well that's a bit of good news for the Navy: "The U.S. Navy is satisfied with the solution to its littoral combat ship combining gear woes, having accepted delivery of the first ship to receive the new system, service leaders announced."
House Democrats censured Paul Gosar and stripped him of his committee assignments for his mostly entirely peaceful meme. What doesn't outrage the House Democrats is the real problem.
I don't think an American no-first use policy is a good idea. Our enemies won't believe it. And we will think it obviously makes us safe from nuclear attack.
Birds of a feather: "President Joe Biden on Friday pardoned two Thanksgiving turkeys, saying
that the white male birds were selected based on their 'temperament,
appearance and, I suspect, vaccination status.'"
I was prepared to exonerate Fauci for helping to, through NIAID, fund cruel beagle experiments and edit the meme post to correct the record. This article said the false charge was based on a publishing error of another publication. Well that settles that, eh? That specific allegation is false. But the story was so focused on anti-Republican attacks that I kept reading. And then I got to paragraph 58 of 75 (!): "The congressional letter [attacking Fauci] did not mention the trapped-beagles study but
focused on a different experiment, one the NIAID did fund, in which 44
beagles were injected with an HIV/AIDS drug and euthanized so their
tissues could be examined for toxic effects." So there actually were a lot of dead beagles.
Effing China: "Chinese coast guard ships blocked and sprayed a powerful stream of water at two Philippine boats carrying supplies to troops at a disputed South China Sea shoal, prompting Manila to order Beijing’s ships to back off and warn that its supply vessels are covered by a mutual defense treaty with the United States, Manila’s top diplomat said Thursday." I say the response to China's blockade should be a Berlin Airlift (East).
If conservatives were behind this, it would be called racist ethnic cleansing of our popular culture.
Um, they want territory, fear, and attention? The author's reference to Wellington's campaign in Portugal and Spain to wear out France is actually what the West should be doing to Russia. And I disagree with this assessment: "Putin has a weak hand to play; but he plays it well." Please stop.
Rittenhouse said he "made it through the hard part" after his acquittal. Sadly, no. The media and the left will hound him for the rest of his life for failing to accept either a beating by leftist street thugs or a beating by the leftist media thugs. And coping with the fact that he took two lives--no matter how justified he was--will haunt him. It's better than being dead, crippled, or imprisoned. But he has no easy life ahead of him. And he's just 18. On the other hand, he has time for a lot of libel lawsuits to keep him focused.
Poland and other countries in the line of Russian fire are expanding their ground forces, spending more, and happy to have American tripwire forces. For all the complaints about America: "The United States is the favored source of these armed hostages because the U.S. is a superpower and, compared to all the alternatives, the least likely to take advantage of the situation. " It can get worse for those NATO states.
Guam is important enough to attract a lot of Chinese attention: "Guam 'would absolutely need' the Navy’s SM-6 missile for its defense against a hypersonic missile attack, the program executive for Aegis ballistic missile defense said Thursday."
Oman wants to shift from oil revenue to being a transportation hub for the Persian Gulf. So far it isn't paying off. The port of Duqm has seen the new British carrier group visit. But so far I guess it hasn't attracted the United States Navy as was hoped. But Oman's plan would pay off to bypass the Strait of Hormuz under Iranian threat.
Look, Rittenhouse shouldn't have been in Kenosha armed and ready to defend his city. It was a bad decision. But being there armed was not against the law. And rioters shouldn't have been in the city putting it in need of defense. And the city and state should have provided the protection from the rioters. And rioters with criminal records shouldn't have attacked Rittenhouse. And the media shouldn't have spent a year spreading lies about all of that. The bottom line is you're damned right Rittenhouse exercised his right of self defense.
Peace and the Abraham Accords: "Israel is set to sign a declaration of intent with neighboring Jordan on building a major solar power plant in the kingdom that will be used to generate electricity for Israel, as well as power a desalination plant there to send water onto Jordan, an Israeli official said Sunday."
America, NATO, and Ukraine all seem to be taking Russian actions a little more seriously this time: "Russia has more than 92,000 troops amassed around Ukraine’s borders and is preparing for an attack by the end of January or beginning of February, the head of Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency told Military Times." If true NATO should be rushing anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons to Ukraine before the Russians strike. Russia is trapped between its territorial ambitions in the west and a rising China in the east. Does Putin think NATO will forgive it for western aggression in time to help Russia against China?
The best social justice requires the best loot. I miss the traditional barbarians who stole the livestock.
I'm not sure why conservatives are complaining about the lack of public results for Biden's cognitive test. Come on, man! The doctors were very thorough, even sticking a scope up his butt in a futile search for his brain. And all they found were a couple polyps. FACT CHECK: Results--released.
Wow, I missed the news about the failed terrorist bombing in Liverpool a week ago: "Iraq-born asylum seeker Emad Al Swealmeen, 32, who was a passenger in the taxi, died when his bomb exploded." Thank God Emad found refuge from the violence that drove him from his home country!
The Left in America has gone nuts. Liberals need to purge these nutballs from positions of power and influence in the Democratic Party. Tip to Instapundit.
