That's interesting: "In the last few years, the [Russian] military has quietly stopped accepting many volunteers or conscripts from Moslem areas, especially the Caucasus (particularly Chechnya and Dagestan). The wisdom of this was made clear when Russian intelligence reported that the most effective Russian Moslems who joined and fought for Islamic terrorist groups were military veterans. In contrast, Russian Moslems who had not served in the military were less likely to become Islamic terrorists and if they did, they were used as suicide bombers or support staff, not as long-term fighters." I did wonder how that was working out.
Lithuania wants the battalions in the Baltic states expanded to brigades. I'd support that for Lithuania if it is an honest-to-God armored cavalry regiment. I'll have to think about Latvia and Estonia.
If India is to be able to hold off China's rising military power, India needs Russian ties. Changing that would take time. And if India does that, it ignores India's potential role in flipping Russia from Chinese vassal to Chinese foe.
What are they going to do? Bleed on us? "'We warn that such actions are dangerous,' the [Russian ambassador to the U.S.] said. 'They can lead the U.S. and the Russian Federation onto the path of direct military confrontation.'" It's a provocation that America helps Ukraine resist Russian aggression--not the Russian aggression, apparently. #WhyRussiaCan'tHaveNiceThings
Israel struck Iranian and Hezbollah positions in Syria. Every little bit helps.
Wait. What? Lukashenko thinks Russia is the aggressor? Lukashenko is upset he is considered an "an accomplice of the aggressor". Where'd people get that idea?
Climate change. Is there anything it can't harm? Even during a 7+ year "pause" in rising global temperatures? Tip to Instapundit.
Russia will benefit financially from a new Iran deal--by increasing mullah-run Iran's nuclear knowledge. You don't act against American interests so thoroughly by accident. What is wrong with the Biden administration? " Israel along with Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the other Arab Gulf Oil states is very angry with the Americans because the U.S. is not only offering Iran a revival of the 2015 sanctions treaty, but also a modification of the terms to make it easier for Iran to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. While the talks are currently stalled, the U.S. quietly agreed to allow South Korea to release several billion dollars to Iran while Britain released half a billion to Iran for a payment dispute from the 1970s."
A thorn by any other name. Spoiler alert: It's a navy.
At some level I think this is over-analyzing America's defeat in Afghanistan. As flawed as pretending Afghanistan is a unitary state was, our strategy still could have worked to deny the Taliban victory if America hadn't so obviously abandoned our allies there, which critically demoralized them in the face of Taliban power and influence (bribes and threats). But the point that we can't pretend we won't need to win this type of war in the future is well taken.
Could Taiwan mobilize international support as Ukraine has when it isn't even a member of the international system? Good point. But the world hasn't rallied to Ukraine's side. The West has. The West could rally to Taiwan's side if the Taiwanese resist as hard as Ukraine has. But if Taiwan folds, the West won't mobilize for the harder task of ejecting China.
Germany is thinking about buying Israeli Arrow 3 anti-missile systems.
Let poor people starve to help Congressional elections in the fall or so well-to-do Westerners can feel morally superior with ethanol in their fuel tanks. There's always the healing power of "and". Tip to Instapundit.
When we were told relentlessly by our media about things that didn't happen (Trump-Russia collusion) while being told that things didn't happen that were real (Governor Cuomo's criminally inept response to Covid in New York and Hunter Biden's damning laptop), who am I to say this can't be the opposite of what our corrupted media claims? Tip to Instapundit.
I'm not sure Putin should go along with Lukashenko's defense of Russia's invasion: "He said a 'crushing blow' would have been delivered against Russian territory if the assault had not been ordered." Does Putin really want to say his military is so feeble that if Ukraine had struck first that disaster would have resulted? Think these things through, people.
Good: "[America and India] countries showed willingness to understand their differing stands on Ukraine, and Pratyush Rao, director for South Asia at Control Risks consultancy, says both gave a clear message that their disagreement would not 'derail wider co-operation in the Indo-Pacific'."
Thirteen shot or injured (at least) in Brooklyn subway station but no "active explosive devices" found. Emphasis on "active." Damn "ghost bombs." It is likely that at least two will die. Poor people. I'd feel bad about that quip but Democrats immediately pounced on the crime to focus on guns and not criminals.
Howard Wolowitz wrote the code. Tip to The Morning Briefing.
Please revise all your jokes that have the punchline "Is the Pope Catholic?"
President Biden called what Russia is doing to Ukraine as "genocide." This is simply--and shamefully--political to distract from his own policy unpopularity. Invading Ukraine is wrong even if Russia was obeying the laws of war; and Russia is clearly committing war crimes. But this is not genocide--the extermination of an entire people. Saying Russia is trying to erase Ukraine as a country is not the same thing. And trying to claim it is a genocide insults the memory of real genocide victims.
When Hollywood "won't say 'gay'" its not a cause for woke rage. Tip to Instapundit.
Good. Now prepare the people to act on this: "In Taiwan the government issued a 28-page booklet to all citizens on how to behave if China attacks. The advice was similar to what similar pamphlets in Sweden, Finland and the Baltic States issued before the invasion of Ukraine. The Taiwanese plan to resist, even if some or all of Taiwan Island is occupied. " And for God's sake, don't let the Chinese end a war still on the island.
When your government celebrates lawlessness, expect your citizens to conclude that obeying the law is for suckers. Enjoy what you voted for. Tip to Instapundit.
The Winter War of 2022 does not prove tanks are obsolete. Exactly.
Oh? "Tedros said the world does not give equal attention to emergencies affecting black and white people[.]" Perhaps the head of WHO would have a real point if Middle Eastern or African nations had been so alarmed that they mobilized resources to deal with the tragedies in Africa and the Middle East over the last several decades, while Westerners only shrugged their shoulders.
Advice that would have been useful to Putin before breaking Russia's army by invading Ukraine: "Russia would have to bolster its [nuclear] defences if Sweden and Finland joined Nato, Deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev says." Seriously, if deploying nukes can take care of a new NATO country threat potential, why didn't Russia simply add some nukes to their already massive (on paper) nuclear arsenal just in case Ukraine joined NATO?
True: "Ignore the media geniuses who now declare tanks are dead. They aren't. Twenty-first century main battle tanks are fast, armored, heavily armed and mobile offensive weapons -- if you've got the soldiers who know how to use them and the combined-arms offensive system to support them." As I've argued.
I got this from Google, which owns Blogger: "Due to the war in Ukraine, we will pause monetization of content that exploits, dismisses, or condones the war." Which is confusing. I condone Ukraine's war to defeat Russia, kill Russian troops, and hopefully expel the invaders. Is that problematic? This is the first kind of informational email like this that I've gotten from Google. It's a little worrisome. Not that monetization is a big deal to me even if it was paused--which it wasn't. But what about the next problematic issue?
NATO regains a purpose with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. I never thought NATO lost its reason for existing. When Russia wasn't a threat, it was a useful tool for making sure Western military forces could operate together. Without that, the national militaries would have diverged. Putting together coalitions of the willing for missions outside of Europe would have been more difficult. I also viewed NATO as a bulwark against an imperial EU. And finally, NATO was a good hedge against Russia returning to being a threat. And here we are.
The Navy now has 5 attack submarines home ported on Guam. Which reduces travel time to reach patrol stations.
Good: "Pentagon officials are talking to the leaders of America’s largest defense firms about ways to replenish the U.S. military’s weapon stockpiles, which are being raided to assist Ukrainian forces." Stockpiles are supposed to last until production can keep pace with usage and losses. Wars don't just end when the best weapons are used up. Wars go back in time and get uglier.
Watching France 24's news coverage, the news guy said Macron was "pounding the flesh" in his reelection campaign. One can "pound the pavement" or "press the flesh" in this scenario. But the description used sounds like Macron is bending voters over a couch. But perhaps I share too much.
Leftists freaking out over "freedom of speech" because Elon Musk offered to buy Twitter are confused. Musk owning Twitter would undermine "permission of speech"--speech allowed only if it is permitted by leftists. That's different. Related thoughts.
Libya gets worse. Never say things can't possibly get worse.
Australia debates heavy armor. Not mentioned is that if Chinese light forces land on or near Australia, counter-attacking without heavy armor will be harder.
I saw the video of Biden "shaking hands with nobody." But clearly Biden was signaling to two groups of people to stand and applaud. I'm hardly his defender but there's too much real evidence to pretend everything is a sign of his cognitive decline.
Welp, Putin went and pissed off God: "The Russian warship that was confirmed as sunk on Thursday may have been carrying a holy relic when it went down." And that's assuming the Lord isn't already pretty mad about the killing and raping and whatnot.
There are worse things than the lowest bidder getting the contract to produce your weapon: "Corruption -- in the form of embezzlement or bribery -- can also lead to the purchase of substandard equipment, for example by giving the contract for equipment or maintenance to a less qualified supplier that is more willing to pay kickbacks. Or the person in charge of allocating the maintenance or procurement budget can simply report spending the full budgeted amount on high quality products or services, but then purchase low quality substitutes and pocket the difference."
Wait. What? "Pandemic-related acquisition issues have sparked a backlog in the U.S. delivering $14.2 billion worth of military equipment to Taiwan that the island has purchased since 2019."
In times of tensions and war on Earth, I worry that damage caused by the sun flinging energy at the Earth could be misinterpreted as hostile action. Tip to Instapundit.
It really is horrifying that so many in the media were horrified that Musk might take over Twitter and end the suppression of voices that disagree with the media opinion. Democrat stenographers.
I can't believe this didn't occur to me:
A welcome step toward energy sanity: "The Biden administration quietly announced Friday that it was restarting the sale of oil and gas leases on federal land next week — almost exactly 15 months after President Biden imposed a moratorium on such sales upon taking office." But is this a political step or a decision to again unleash American energy production? Tip to Instapundit.
Remember, Biden has simultaneously demonized Putin and has planned to make Russia the primary nuclear technology partner of mullah-run Iran. I mean, what are the odds that Putin would seek revenge for American aid to Ukraine by making sure Iran gets nuclear missile technology? Ah, Smart Diplomacy.® Tip to Instapundit.
The great-granddaughter of Nikita Khrushchev says Putin could use nukes in Ukraine. But let's go to Khrushchev himself: "At one point Khrushchev said that we built missiles like sausages. I said then, "How can you say that, since we have only two or three?" He said, "the important thing is to make the Americans believe that. And that way we prevent an attack." And on those grounds our entire policy was based. We threatened with missiles we didn't have. That happened in the Suez crisis, and the Iraqi crisis."
Recent law and med school grads the largest beneficiaries of student loan forgiveness. Pay it back, upper class deadbeats. Tip to Instapundit.
You know what's better? Not having any of those cursed social media platforms feeding me news they want to push on me. Via Instapundit.
