Speed bumps on the way to the China Century. Luckily for us, the Chinese Communist Party values its monopoly on power more that it values a glorious China. Tip to Instapundit.
Based on what I consider my most reliable statistics that I began using in late 2016, 2021 was my highest viewed year. Significantly. And based on an eyeballing of Blogger statistics going back to the latter part of 2010, 2021 was also my highest viewed year. I'm not sure what I'm doing differently other than memes. But it is nice. Still much lower than pre-Twitter days. But still. Nice.
Lying about January 6th. Somehow even as Trump plotted a coup, he relied on "dog whistle" commands to override his statements to go home and stop the riot. Democrats have been unwilling to let go of their insanity. No good can come from this.
Russia does not have a nyeto on NATO. Good news: "President Joe Biden conferred on Sunday with Ukraine’s leader over the Russian troop buildup near its border, promising that the U.S. and allies will act “decisively” if Russia further invades the Eastern European nation." Bad news.
The process for deploying the National Guard to Washington, D.C. was streamlined. So now ignoring leftist riots will be harder to justify. Of course, this obscures the fact that the Capitol Police had more than enough capacity to control the riot, but did not.
Military personnel from around the world went to China for military sports competitions as the Xi Jinping Flu was secretly spreading in Wuhan, infecting those troops who helped spread it abroad. But civilians from around the world are thinking about going to China for the winter Olympics now, as a new strain has arisen? Are people stupid?
The Marines are testing their new anti-ship mission focus with new missiles.
Russia is threatening louder and louder. Russia has a history of bluffing. Whatever Russia does to Ukraine, it will likely be much smaller than their threats promise. Unless Putin is delusional or desperate.
I wonder if China wants to give their vassal Russia a blank check over Ukraine and risk getting dragged into a war with America. Because if Russia and China go to war at the same time, China would be the priority front.
Yeah: "In the Kremlin’s view, everything it does not control can jeopardize the regime." Their actions make sure Russia has vassals or enemies on its borders. Worse, there is no limit to Russia's demands for buffer zones.
The Russian-Chinese alliance is not built on a solid foundation. Frenemies with temporary benefits, I say.
I see that a couple colleges are setting up a Negro League. Ef these racists. If there are any KKK types out there, they must be kicking themselves for not claiming segregation is for helping minorities rather than from hating them. I mean, what's the difference in effect? Tip to Instapundit.
It is understandable that Russia has worries about invasion from the west. It is not understandable for the West to go along with Russian demands that purportedly ease those worries. It is also understandable that America worries about Cuba blocking our Gulf of Mexico trade. Who would understand America invading Cuba to end that threat?
I would think that would be obvious for an independent military service rather than being just another NASA: "Fighting Comes Into Focus for the Space Force in 2022[.]"
There are many ways to burn books.
AOC is clearly out of her boyfriend's league. I think he should worry about how easily she was inspired to fantasize about Republicans having sex with her. Perhaps while her boyfriend has to watch? Look, AOC is a smoke show (although her huge safety goggle glasses ruin the ride). It's a bit silly to deny that. But she's also woke slow.
Reader Brian D (I swear I'm not sock puppeting) sent me this piece, which explains why Putin may think he can bully Europe into submission over eastern Europe. Good point. But what struck me is that while Europe is portrayed as desperate for natural gas, Europe is unwilling to match what China is paying. So who is desperate?
At this point, the woke must be the most fearful of Red Guard cancel culture. Conservatives no longer give a damn. But the woke must be terrified of being expelled from the tribe for random and new heresies.
I'm glad we act to defend our forces there: "The U.S. led-coalition in Syria struck several launch sites for short-range rockets believed to be intended for attacks on an installation used by U.S. troops in eastern Syria[.]" But why are we there?
Huh: "China, Russia, Britain, the United States and France have agreed that a further spread of nuclear arms and a nuclear war should be avoided, according to a joint statement by the five nuclear powers published by the Kremlin on Monday." Doesn't Russia undermine its national survival with that statement? Or maybe Putin scared the crap out of his people with his nuclear sabre rattling.
The annual report on global wars and hot spots. Settle in and digest. The next seven entries are from this link.
We'll see how the Taliban victory in Afghanistan affects this: "Islamic terrorism no longer dominates the news now that ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) has been crushed but not destroyed. Global Islamic terrorism related deaths have fallen by over 50 percent since 2014, when there were 35,000." Will the numbers go down because the Taliban aren't killing as many Afghans? Or will the Taliban generate even more terror?
Delusions of grandeur: "Many Europeans see the EU as an unintended effort to revive a European empire that never really existed ... A growing number of Europeans think this EU Empire sucks ... The imperial officials are not pleased with this ignorance and ingratitude by their subjects and are fighting back in a losing battle to keep their new empire together."
I think this is probably right: "In time covid19 will become known more as the covid19 panic than as a major killer like the Spanish Flu. While an epidemic disease is active the risk is more about what you think it is than what it actually is."
Yes: "The original [Afghanistan] withdrawal plan was for a thousand or more U.S. and NATO
troops to remain to advise and train the [Afghan] security forces and monitor
the corruption. ... The Americans got a new government in early
2021 and that led to fatal changes to the withdrawal plan. Everyone was
ordered out, but was given three additional months to do it. That gave
Pakistan and the Taliban [time] to increase their pressure on the [Afghan security forces], which
now believed the Americans were going to abandon them." And a thousand troops would have allowed contractors to stay. We screwed the pooch.
A victory enough: "Most Iraqis want some Americans to stay, more economic activity with Arab neighbors and an end to Iranian meddling in Iraq."
Morons in Moscow: "China, the only real threat to Russia, quietly makes progress in the east. There China has claims on much of the Russian Far East and is openly replacing Russia as the primary economic, military and political force in Central Asia."
This counts as good news in the multi-war there: "The ruling Assad clan of Syria chose peace over religion in 2021 by quietly abandoning long-time ally Iran for new deals with Russia and the Arab League, as well as Israel."
I will not watch the Chinese Communist Party's genocide winter Olympics.
Destroy the teacher unions and break them up for parts. I'll repeat an illustrative tale from my past. I had to write something to honor a retiring teacher. The two pages of accomplishments provided to me had just one item related to teaching. The rest were union activities. A "teacher."
I felt the Xi Jinping Flu was effectively over for me after I got vaccinated and hoped it would be done for all by September 2021. But surely it can't last much longer, eh? I mean, the Spanish Flu didn't last longer. Tip to Instapundit.
Pakistan is suffering as its jihadi weapon circles back to sink the government. If Pakistan didn't have nukes I wouldn't give much of a damn if it sinks. We'll see if Pakistan values survival more than jihad. I look forward to China paying for its new little friend.
How far will the left go to keep criminals out of jail?
This is certainly the most immediate step NATO should take: "For the Kremlin, a large invasion of Ukraine works only if Russian forces are able to seize and hold Ukrainian territory without sustaining significant and constant casualties. Western countries should act now to equip Ukraine’s military and territorial defense units with additional capabilities that can impose such costs."
Don't over-estimate what "information war" can achieve. Even Putin's 2016 American election propaganda relied on the Democratic Party and their media allies to weaponize, amplify, and spread the small amateurish Russian effort to inflict real damage. If Democrats had been sane, the Russian effort would have flopped.
Russia is a problem. Putin fears regime change as a justification for his aggression. But after decades of not caring about post-Soviet Russia, NATO security may now depend on regime change organically rising up from within Russia.
Iran says they won't stop trying to kill us until Trump is tried for ordering the strike that killed Soleimani. Democrats no doubt agree given their strange love of the terror master. To be fair, Democrats love all Iranian nutballs.
New boss same as the old boss. Via Instapundit.
I guess I was ahead of the curve, having walked away from television in August 2020. I got tired of seeing the crap the left-dominated "news" ladled out. And sports and entertainment, too. And even watching friendlier news highlighted the crap from the left. I have alternatives that don't anger me as much. Reading isn't as infuriating as seeing and hearing.
I swear, Democrats think this is how it works:
Syria is trying to pry Iran out: "One of the problems the Assads have to deal with is that many parts of Syria now controlled by the Syrian government are not obeying the Assads. In these cases, local security is handled by Iran-backed militias, who answer to Iran first and the Assads second, if at all."
Logistics: "Australia and their northern neighbor Papua New Guinea (the eastern half of New Guinea Island) are jointly reviving an old American World War II naval base on Manus Island, which is off the northeast coast of Papua New Guinea." Well, "Australia will have no intention of allowing a Chinese proxy to emerge in the Coral Sea."
You have to admit he got what he deserved for trying to report facts:
Our home port repair capacity is already bad, so let's work on forward repairs: "A navy’s strength lies not only in the number of hulls it possesses, but also in its ability to return damaged ships to combat as soon as possible."
Maybe legislative bodies should repeal criminal statutes for those "minor" crimes that leftist prosecutors won't pursue and police don't bother enforcing. Otherwise they are crimes that sit in reserve to throw at political opponents. Or is that a feature rather than a bug?
After reading this article, I'm reminded that one method of bolstering Ukraine is replacing Ukraine's reliance on Russian energy with Western supplies.
Via Instapundit, Red and Blue America need a divorce to live with each other? FFS, people. We had that with our state-based federal system until we strengthened the federal government and made every Goddamn issue a federal issue. The solution is staring right at us and we don't see it.
E. J. Dionne is still alive? Wow, he's been a loyal Democratic Party media apparatchik for a loong time.
Yeah, Democratic Party claims to be fighting to defend "democracy" is a euphemism for perpetual Democratic Party control of a strong federal government. It is many orders of magnitude more of a threat to actual democracy than "Let's go, Brandon."
A new Xi Jinping Flu virus variant has been identified in France. Symptoms include rudeness and the inability to understand the French language not spoken with a Parisian accent. Tip to The Morning Briefing.
What could possibly go wrong? "Biden is offering to transfer any and all male criminals to women’s prisons. All the men will have to do is say that they feel like a woman, and the Biden administration will take them at their word."
Not bending the knee to Chinese threats: "Australia and Japan are set to sign a treaty to beef up defence and security cooperation at a virtual summit on Thursday, in the latest move to strengthen ties amid China's rising military power and economic clout in the Indo-Pacific region."
Iran continues to wage war on American forces on two fronts: "Military bases in Iraq and Syria that hold American troops were attacked Wednesday, though no US forces were killed in the strikes, according to Iraqi officials and the US-led coalition."
Wait. So who rejects presidential elections?
Terraforming Mars starts with creating a magnetic field. Which is at least technically feasible. Tip to Instapundit.
I was horrified at the January 6th riot. But never worried it threatened our democracy. I've been more horrified at the Democratic Party/media exploitation of the riot. And now I worry there is a threat to democracy from calling the riot an insurrection.
I'm used to fake hate crimes from leftists because of the shortage of real hate crimes. Now the police are in on the action: "At a crucial moment during 2020’s racial justice protests, Seattle police exchanged a detailed series of fake radio transmissions about a nonexistent group of menacing right-wing extremists." Tip to Instapundit.
And a happy freaking new year to you too, Austin.
Oh, I see. Russia has an interest in a Ukraine buffer against fantasy NATO threats that fully justifies Russian aggression. But America has no interest in a cooperative Ukraine as a buffer for NATO against Russian aggression. The ability to rationalize aggression by thug governments is amazing.
Problem: "Small armed devices, often bought for a few hundred dollars online, are a big battlefield problem for the U.S. military[.]" I think the solution for our forward small combat units is a drone combat air patrol over them, as I proposed in Army magazine.
Ukraine is not as prepared as it should be: "Ukraine’s military is much stronger and better prepared than 2014, when it couldn’t resist Russia’s annexation of Crimea. But a lack of weapons from the West and underspending at home has left its troops without even the deep stocks of basic supplies they’d need in a high intensity conflict." I've warned that if Ukraine doesn't control corruption it will just be a smaller and weaker version of corrupt Russia. Progress is too slow.
Democrats think they can rule based on stoking racial divisions but that isn't working out (tip to Instapundit). Despite the efforts of Democrats, America is a nation of ideas and not blood and soil.
MacGuyvering a rebound in the hypersonic missile race.
Honestly, if New York City wants to roll out the welcome mat for their criminals--excuse me, persons of criminality--I say let them experience what they vote for. Just keep it there, please, until they get hit with the clue bat enough to reverse course. I got tired of caring more about them than they do. Tip to Instapundit.
I know I'm supposed to be flattered, but it would be nice if cat domestication evolution would advance enough to end that rather revolting display.
Premature eradication. No worries. The little blue media will keep it up. Via Instapundit.
Sure, it's all fun and cute when a goldfish does it. How long before sharks get it?
So the Democrats are going to go with the notion that the hours-long January 6th Capitol Building riot (with no firearms) was the same sort of "insurrection" threat as the four-year southern secession and Civil War? Democrats are morons. Historically illiterate morons. Morons with power they can't imagine giving up.
What the Hell is going on in China? How do the people endure this kind of dictatorial cruelty? The China Dream is a nightmare for more than just the free West.
Actual attack on Capitol Building. Also. Yawn. I mean, really, 97% of the building wasn't bombed. Tips to Instapundit.
Pretty Privilege is serious. Sure, I enjoy it. But really, it's a burden more than anything.
Let's go, Brandon. And the horse he rode in on: "Indeed, when it comes to melodrama, histrionics, and exploitation of fear levels from the 1/6 riot, there has never been any apparent limit." You don't have to support the riot--and I don't--to be even more angry at the Democratic reaction. Tip to Instapundit.
America has a Space Force. It wants new space rules.
The Air Force is working on a missile for its F-35 to strike Chinese anti-ship weapons.
Learning that talking to China is fruitless.
Personally, I don't rule out that China sold the sub-standard aluminum deliberately.
The Russian Checkmate fighter is a basic plane whose vaporware conceals that the plane really isn't an advanced stealth fighter. I was not worried.
While Australia mobilizes to resist dictatorial China from threatening Australia's freedom, Australia's governments do the job for China. I'm deeply saddened and appalled.
Sadly, blaming conservatives for what leftists do is standard operating procedure for Democrats. Tip to The Morning Briefing.
France: "France's foreign minister said on Friday that Russia was trying to bypass the European Union by holding talks directly with the United States over Ukraine." Well of course Macron is upset.
Interesting footnote: "Kazakhstan also accounts for close to a fifth of global bitcoin "mining", the power-intensive process of recording cryptocurrency transactions, and Kazakhstan's internet shutdown has curtailed the computing power of bitcoin's global network." Especially given the unrest was triggered by rising energy prices.
Huh. What's up with that? "The U.S. has established a forward operating headquarters in Albania and will use the facility in the Adriatic Sea-facing country as a home base for missions in the broader Balkans."
I wonder why Russia is bothering with this mission: "Mali’s army spokesperson has said Russian soldiers have deployed to the northern city of Timbuktu to train Malian forces at a base vacated by French troops last month[.]" Filling vacuums of disinterest hardly seems like strategy.
Canary in the coal mine: "Sweden's security strategy would be entirely undermined if NATO agreed to refrain from expanding further and curb some of its activity in Europe, as Russia has demanded, Sweden's top military commander said."
The other navy: "The Coast Guard has taken delivery of the last Fast Response Cutter the service plans to station in Bahrain." Let's hope they do better than the Navy.
Racism sure has seen a revival these days. Tip to Instapundit.
Investing in China is foolish. Tip to Instapundit.
Good: "NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday ruled out any halt to the continued expansion of the military organization to address Russian security concerns[.]" NATO may never admit Ukraine. But Russia doesn't get a veto. And bringing Ukraine up to standards for NATO admission makes Ukraine a harder target whether or not it ultimately joins NATO.
If I'm to understand Biden's thinking, to overthrow America you need F-15s and nukes or animal-horn hats and zip ties. Well that makes about as much sense as anything else he says. Remember this?
I suppose the key question is do murderers believe TSA security works. Tip to Instapundit.
Japan will bring a rail gun to a hypersonic missile fight.
Well that's not crazy or cruel at all: "A Texas teacher was accused of putting her Covid 19-positive son in the trunk of her car to prevent being exposed to the virus, court documents show." At least the kid knows where he stands now. Seriously, good luck to him. One of those eggs for the pandemic panic porn omelet. Via Instapundit.
How the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) became the Clusterfuck Ship (CFS). The mission module-concept had promise. I guess this is why the Navy went to the Europeans for our new frigate design and haven't managed to move past the last ship it built well--the Burke-class destroyers.
Will "an economic downturn, a burgeoning housing crisis, and rising unemployment" in China constrain Chinese foreign policy in 2022? Sometimes those problems promote aggression.
Okay, I'm going to give Blinken credit for this comment about Kazakhstan that seriously annoyed the Russians: "'One lesson of recent history is that once Russians are in your house, it's sometimes very difficult to get them to leave,' Blinken said."
Coalition forces struck Iran-backed forces in Syria. No word on effectiveness.
Answering the question of why progressives who work for progressive organizations see racism everywhere. Fix yourselves, you racists. Leave me alone. Via Instapundit.
FDR failed to keep the USSR as far east as possible in World War II (via Instapundit). My understanding is that without the trucks we sent to the Soviets that they could not have sustained their offensives at the pace they managed. Every 100 miles further east would have saved lots of people. Although it could have turned out much worse.
I must say I enjoy it when leftists wander into the minefields they planted. Tip to Instapundit.
I just thank God we have a wise Latina on the Supreme Court. To be fair, she's not the only left-leaning justice without a clue on the Omicron toll right now.
Hard to argue with this logic.
Wuhan (October 2019): "A Canadian military officer who fears he was at the 'Ground Zero' of Covid two months before China officially acknowledged the virus has demanded an investigation into the suspicious outbreak of illness there." Through secrecy, incompetence, or malice, the Chinese Communist Party unleashed the Xi Jinping Flu on an unprepared world. But no worries. Go to China for their winter Olympics. Via Instapundit.
Shadow warriors wage shadow wars.
Off they go into the mild grey hangar.
Cooperation can turn to competition at Xi Jinping's whim: "The Chinese-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation has vowed to intervene in the Kazakhstan unrest if needed, but also backed the Kazakh government's actions - a sign of approval for Russia's intervention."
Putin has toned down his nuclear war threats over Ukraine: "Earlier nuclear threats did not go over well in Russia, where public opinion is even more important than during the Soviet period."
The government claim is that this settled the unrest: "At least 164 people have died in Kazakhstan during violent
anti-government protests, according to media reports citing health
officials." Government security forces backed the government, so that is probably accurate. But who knows if reports of quiet mean it is quiet or that reporting is quiet?
Our media can't be trusted, whether it is politics or revenue that motivate their spin. Always treat what you read as a grain of actual event surrounded by convenient spin that must be sifted away.
If NATO promises not to put longer-range offensive missiles in Ukraine and Russia agrees to keep offensive missiles out of Belarus and Crimea, that might be a fine outcome for talks with Russia regarding their threats to attack Ukraine: "A senior Biden administration official on Saturday said the United States is willing to have a discussion with Russia about the placement of missiles in Ukraine and intermediate-range missiles more broadly." Ukraine should be free to deploy what they want unless Russia talks to them separately.
In the past, gas stations took the brunt of anger over higher fuel prices. It strikes me that station owners have an interest in putting those "Biden did that" stickers on their pumps. Conservatives would take satisfaction with that blame and liberals would reject the blame and, at least subconsciously, premise.
Well, they have a republic--if they can keep it in the face of that proven insurrectionist's record.
I think it is BS that Ukraine joining the West fully must lead to this: "Russia would be excluded from the West, ending the historic tension between its westernizing and Slavophile tendencies." Russia's mental health issues must not drive Western policies.
And that's before they get sent on 9-1-1 calls instead of police, as defund-the-police activists want: "Illinois officials are seeking answers after the killing last week of a state child welfare worker during a home visit — the second such tragedy to occur in less than five years."
America's blue city roving bands of barbarians aren't this bad, at least: "At least 200 people in Nigeria's north-western Zamfara state have been buried after a wave of vicious attacks by gangs of [motorcycle-riding] gunmen over several days."
Oh, FFS, rip them out of the walls, now! "A major Chinese phone maker could be putting U.S. consumers, companies, and even national security data at risk, and a U.S. senator wants to know what the Commerce Department is going to do about it."
Well that would make this more complicated, eh? "There is a growing suggestion, our correspondent adds, that the recent violence is linked to a power struggle within Kazakhstan's ruling elite."
I used to struggle to post ahead before I went on vacation to avoid SIGINT advertising when I'm not home. As I've limited my posts over the years that problem decreased. Heck, as I've gone down to one per day I often have posts scheduled for two weeks. I'm getting close to being able to go on an African safari without a worry.
