Caption Photo: What if Nefertiti were alive today?
She’d likely be wearing a jean jacket, swilling coffee at the coffeehouse, and hanging out like everybody else.
Are you better off now than you were two years ago?
Bullet Points:
** ** Jules discusses whore’s hair in some detail.
** (link) right – Detail from the painting “Night Battle before New Orleans”. Pretty much forgotten event, but not for those involved. Andrew Jackson’s army attacked the British camp the night of December 23rd, 1814. It was a particularly nasty slugfest. Although initially successful, the Americans were eventually pushed back by the British. Each side had over 200 casualties. On January 8, 1815, the main battle took place, in which the British were repulsed. The officer on the left is holding a very nice little brass-barreled Ketland marked pistol I picked up years ago.
** The Iron Beam – in action over Israel.
** They came for vacation. Then the airspace closed, and flights were cancelled. Instead of chaos, the UAE told every hotel: don’t check them out. We’re paying. Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism sent a directive to every hotel in the emirate: extend stays for guests who can’t leave and send us the invoice. Dubai issued a parallel order hours later. The reason? Airspace closures and mass flight cancellations across the Gulf left over 20,000 passengers stranded. The UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority confirmed the state is covering all accommodation and meal costs for affected travelers. Private companies joined in, too – holiday rental firms in Dubai opened apartments for free, and within hours, over 250 hosts followed. No panic pricing. No airport floors. No “figure it out yourself.” Just a government picking up the tab until every stranded tourist can go home.
** The simplest way to explain the behavior of any bureaucratic organisation is to assume that it is controlled by a cabal of its enemies. —Robert Conquest’s third law of politics
** I received a disturbing e-mail from Mike_C, attending a heart failure conference. “A man from China is giving a talk on Chinese-designed LVADs (left ventricular assist device; basically an indwelling pump that augments the native ventricle’s pumping).” The ChiCom need for devices, in this case LVADs, raises a disturbing question. They used to do kangaroo court executions to obtain “donors” for heart transplants. Are they just shooting them – firing squad style now – which requires the devices for the CCP elite whose hearts give out?
** Shiite Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will have a closed-casket funeral.
** VDH – Four days in.
** A message from EdB – it goes along with ammosexuality.
** The DOJ files released yesterday show that $2.3 billion of Epstein’s network ran through Iranian banks. Deutsche Bank. JPMorgan. And Bank Melli Iran — a state-owned bank under Obama’s “nuclear deal” exemptions. Obama didn’t pay Iran to stop enriching uranium. He paid Iran to store the evidence. The server farm. The blackmail tapes. The financial records. All moved to Tehran between 2016 and 2019 — on Obama’s watch, through Obama’s channels, with Obama’s money. Trump just sent the military to recover it. Now Obama needs lawyers.
On the Ukrainian Front
(h/t Claudio and others) Russian propagandists spent two years dreaming of Ukraine freezing without electricity; reality turned out to be much more ironic: the Ukrainian power system is still functioning, while Belgorod has turned into a dark spot on the map. Ukraine’s air defense and energy sectors are working, while Russia’s border infrastructure has died because it relied on German equipment, for which Chancellor Friedrich Merz no longer sends spare parts.
While there is no water, no communication, and no heat in Belgorod, Ukraine is building a logic of war of attrition, where parity in long-range missiles is a matter of the coming months. Its own ballistics are now being tested, and if only Belgorod is having nightmares today, by next winter, the entire “golden ring,” including Bryansk, Voronezh, and Moscow, will be under attack, because Western machine tools and technologies for Ukrainian rocket engines are already operating at full capacity.
Yesterday’s operation by the Special Operations Forces and unmanned systems is a textbook example of how to break through enemy defenses. First, they took out the rare 35N6 Kasta-2E2 radar, which was designed to detect targets at extremely low altitudes, and as soon as a hole appeared in the air defense system, a whole swarm of drones flew in. The result: Crimea went into a blackout for a day, and while the air defense systems there were rebooting, the SBU’s sea and air drones wreaked havoc in Novorossiysk. Six of the seven oil loading stands at the Sheskharis oil terminal were destroyed, effectively halting Russian oil exports through the Black Sea at a time when global commodity prices have skyrocketed due to the war in the Middle East. Add to this the blown-up entry point of the Druzhba oil pipeline in Almetyevsk, where the Urals blend was prepared.
As we previously reported here on VM, China realized that Russia is seriously running out of soldiers fighting in Putin’s war, and for China, this could be a very dangerous signal that more and more Chinese could fall into the trap and become Putin’s cannon fodder. The Chinese authorities have never talked so openly about this issue before, but now it has been discussed nationwide, particularly by many leading media figures. 66,000 Chinese students are studying in Russia; 200,000-700,000 Chinese citizens are in Russia as seasonal workers, running businesses, or just living there. All of them are eligible for the Russian draft.
The Chinese Consulate General in Vladivostok (formerly known as 海参崴) reminded Chinese citizens on Tuesday that male nationals residing long-term in Russia must agree to serve at least one year in Russian military units.
In Iran
The joint campaign by the U.S. and Israel against Iran represents a calculated effort to dismantle military-industrial capacity — not a limited punitive action.
The first move has been to establish air supremacy so that the Iranian military industrial complex could be pounded into dust – literally – ending their capacity to build missiles or nuclear technology. Phase one focused on SEAD/DEAD missions — suppression and destruction of air defense systems. Strikes reportedly span a wide arc: from West Azerbaijan to Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman and the energy-critical Khuzestan province. Reports of U.S. MQ-9 Reaper UAVs operating over Shiraz are especially telling. Shiraz hosts major air force infrastructure and underground missile facilities. Persistent UAV presence behind the Zagros range suggests serious degradation of Iran’s integrated air defense network. Once airspace is permissive, the campaign shifts to efficiency: precision-guided munitions such as GBU-39 SDB and JDAM allow sustained infrastructure targeting at scale.
For months, Israeli aircraft struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Iranian radar operators grew accustomed to high sortie volumes that consistently returned after hitting targets in Lebanon. When aircraft launched again at the outset of this operation, the pattern seemed routine — until flight vectors shifted. This habituation effect likely reduced reaction time at a critical moment. 49 leaders decapitated – ooops.
Precision targeting of underground bases, missile depots, and leadership nodes disrupts command-and-control chains. Reports that the IRGC prioritized internal security deployments during strikes suggest concern over domestic instability. This campaign does not indicate ground occupation. The objective appears to be long-term degradation: weakening production, neutralizing air defenses, and limiting regional projection. Iran’s ability to fund and arm proxies such as Hamas, the Houthis, and Hezbollah will diminish. The regional power structure is being realigned.
Identify the Aircraft/Drones
1 & 2 & 3
End
Chinese hearts – did any of them get the clot shot, and are now in need of replacements? I know TPTB usually don’t go that route, but I wonder if some did this time.
Reshaping Global Power – saw one comment on that site saying others are playing checkers while Trump is playing Chest. Looking at his wife, I can’t blame him…
Sadly, it says the video is gone, for me.
– Kle.
I ran into that with one of the videos yesterday, and one today. The half life of some of those videos might be measured in seconds or minutes.
Ive copied to link to fb and used Google browser when not able to open with duck duck go. Same with Ed’s show. Would get dropped and have to re sign in waam radio till I switched to Google.
The perpetually offended crowd has been remarkably silent on the Iranian action so far. I’m sure that will not last very long. Waiting to see what Jane Fonda, hawk spit, has to say about it all.
It’s hard to be all that offended when the IRANIANS in the US have taken to the streets in support of President Trump.
👍
1 – SU-22 Fitter
2 – Shahed-136
3 – Also a SU-22
Exactly
Better off; mentally and emotionally yes, it is a personal perspective. Health + or – depends how a person looks at. Taking age as a factor. Always reminded of others who have far worse than i do. Economicly, about the same. 2020 was a boon for us, our business was ” essential services”. Same in 2008, remodeling thrived despite the markets. Circa 2019 the employee environment shifted and by 2021 we scaled back, slowed down and enjoyed life much more. WTP need another 7 yrs of good changes. Our generations and society are quick to judge and criticize. If i like the bread should i argue with the recipe? Perfect isn’t happening till Jesus returns.
H/T for the great art creations. Pleasant morning views to muse upon with a cupa.
Ive copied to link to fb and used Google browser when not able to open with duck duck go. Same with Ed’s show. Would get dropped and have to re sign in waam radio till I switched to Google.
As we said in the Nav , “What’s the Plan Stan (in Iran)” ? Trained to go with anything , and do anything with absolutely nothing … I’ll go with your In Iran Plan L.L. , sounds good to me . Not that we have nothing to work with , it was just a saying , kinda like “How’d you do that ?” the answer being “PFM MAN…pure f’n magic” . Glitches and hiccups happen , adapt and overcome , I have faith in our military and the Big Guy in the Sky .
It freaked me out when Bahrain became an accompanied tour , with a lot of wording in the exceptions/ directives , not like an average PCS move . I would never have my family tag along with me if I took orders there , or anywhere in the mideast , place gave me the heeebiejeebies . You are well traveled , and probably don’t get the heebie jeebies . My Father worked for four or five years for a rich Saudi in Jeddah , to kick up his retirement fund , they paid well , he coordinated getting reefer container loads onto ships in Houston , foods that the expats liked , all the expats lived in compounds , that were pretty cushy and had security . They drank homemade sadiqui (?) and occasionally were invited to parties at the embassy/ consulate? where good liquor could be had and good food . He liked it , I visited him there and still got heebie jeebies , the call to prayer still freaks me out , it shouldn’t but it does . Love Your blog !
Saw on news this AM the IRIS Dena an Iranian warship, around 1,500 tons, was sunk by torpedo near Sri Lanka. A mark 48 torpedo vs a small frigate.
Reef building, the envro’s crazies ought to be happy.
Promoted to submarine :)
You know that the US Submarine involved was stoked to the max to fire a live war shot. I wonder if it rode the wire all the way in. (Many modern torpedoes are wire guided)
Read it was a Mark 48 that they shot at it – First ship sunk by a US sub since WWII
The torpedo worked!
(Sorry for the sarcasm- remembering the early WWII torpedo failures)
They were wire guided back i the early 80s, hell i even slept with a few MK 48s.🙂
Anything left of the frigate?
It’s a reef set up to feed the new occupants.
Better off? YES! In every way…and it starts at the top…we have a President who has OUR best interests in mind, loves this country and her people, and puts us first. It really is that simple.
Brothers comment along those lines: “ A I get older, the truth at ‘stuff’ is…this simple. Trump and Bessent…’our economic and military stick is bigger’..”
Just listened to Hegseth…unwavering and to the point, pure warrior mentality…and the Dems and MSM have no clue what is happening or what they are up against as their structures are being ton down and exposed…and have no idea what to do except attack our leadership, “shut down” government entities that they used to promote, hold stupid hearings with the evil Clintons, etc. Jeffries is floundering, actually advocating for Iran. Chuckie ‘No Cheese’ is MIA, Loud Mouth Crockett just lost to a fake preacher…and except for Fetterman, the rest are swinging at air and can’t figure out why. Works for me.
Yes, We The People are better off than 2 years ago…in spades…and anyone not on board with it needs to move somewhere else.
Arrg…iPad typing sucks…brothers text: “As I get older…the truth that ‘stuff’ (not his word) REALLY is…this simple…Trump and Bessent: ‘our economic and military stick is bigger’.”
Yeah, it is…despite getting seriously hamstrung by the weaklings and subversives in Congress who believe We work for them. Best I can tell, that trend is shifting to the other end of the big stick.
Three Questions Concerning Internet Chatter:
1. About 16 days ago, there were unverified comments on other interesting blogs that Iran had purchased either a complete big bomb warhead, or the critical parts required for one, from Pakistan or China. What is the probability of truth in that chatter.
*****
2. LL mentioned that President Sheinbaum was on a boat protected by US assets. Is there more to the story for us coffee drinkers?
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3. Today, LL commented on Obama storing files in Iran and that we would extract them. What is the probability of that being accomplished?
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What ever happened to the easy going life that we were all supposed to have now? No robots or AI helping us in flyover country. Life now is busier now then when the Cold War was boiling.
1. Possible but very unlikely. Meaning the possibility is not zero.
2. US suggested it to her and she took them up on it. In the recent past she has had assistants close to her assassinated by cartels to prove a point. A blend of Mexican and US people can protect her on a Mexican warship. They can’t do it on shore with 100% certainty. Nobody is saying that she DID NOT transfer to a US warship after the publicized arrival on a Mexican warship.
3. Unknown. Maybe 50/50 but it all depends if they were stored in a structure we have already destroyed. USGOV plans to flatten a lot of real estate in Iran. Arc Light is coming.
LL, thank you for your answers. As it should be, there is always so much more communication and agreements in the back channel than ever hits the streets.
I certainly hope that the goods are recoverable. There was lots of talk about how Biden’s vote tallies were managed in Europe to give the sharp increase, but nothing seemed to return that put nails in the coffin.
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Have you or anyone else seen any damage assessment reports on Iranian fast boats and their little subs? There is lots in the news about the capital ships, but not much on the other portions of the IRIN.
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Keep in mind that the BUFF is able to carry a huge load of dumb bombs or mixed smart bombs, missiles, and other goodies. With the IRIAF on the ground, BUFFS can loiter with smart bombs and target as needed or turn targets into dust with dumb bombs.
As I understand it, their Kilo Class boats were sunk at the docks. They were unable to deploy.
.
BUFFs can use JDAMs (dumb bombs with a glide and GPS kit) to function as overhead and on-demand artillery to drop on one target at a time. Those targets are usually laser designated and hit (500lbs, 1000lbs or 2,000lbs bomb) with a few feet of the spot designated. I can’t explain with words how powerful that is in a tactical setting. Enemy tanks can receive a bomb a piece and they’re crumpled into scrap.
We used to watch 3-ship contrails of B-52’s flying toward An Loc and feel the concussions of the Arc Light strikes a-way over yonder. Now they’re using B-52’s for close air support and very precise ones at that. Dang do that make me feel old. But two words that applied back then and I hope still do: “GET SOME!”
Are you better off now than you were two years ago?
No, the communists are in power in Virginia. My family came here at Jamestown. I am leaving.
I had to make a CalExit to leave the People’s Republik of Kalifornia. I haven’t looked back. I still have children there who are locked into jobs there. I understand.
K, I am sorry to hear that you are pulling stakes after generations in the Old Dominion. Sic Semper Tyrannis has faded as have the memories of the state which produced the most presidents, the top generals and statesmen. In Junior High and High School, we memorized many of the speeches and were taught history, good and bad, from Jamestown to the present.
Better off—–way so! Now that we sold sold large country property, house, shop and moved closer to town, things are so much better. Utilities down over 50%. Property tax at least 50%. Insurance. Can’t believe what a difference having a fireplug nearby makes. Account told my wife yesterday that we may get back close to 7 grand. We usually have to pay. Life is good at 81 except for the getting old part.
Read or re-read “Art of the Deal” and Sun Tzu’s “Art of War”. Then you can appreciate Trumpian strategy to take out the Iranian vermin.
Also 81. About the same as last year. Living in Colofornia I take that as a win. My children and grandchildren are struggling. I do think their future may not get worse as it certainly would under Cackles/Stolen Valor.
In general, my day to day is the same.
But I have increased levels of hope for this nation.
Definitely better. We got back about triple what we expected, and I got back all the additional I’d be paying to cover a ‘windfall’ from a pension plan I was in.
The UAE, Abu Dhabi, et al know which side their ‘bread’ is buttered on. That money is pocket change to them, knowing their doing this will leave a good taste in folks mouths about how they were ‘taken care of’, and they will come back and spend more money.