Bullet Points:
** PJ Media (h/t Claudio): The lack of monopoly was the flaw in Tehran’s calculation. Iran saw the Strait as insurance against retaliation, but it did not stop Israel or the U.S. from bombing it. The geography of the Strait only guarantees Iran can hurt others, but it provides no protection from actors that don’t rely on Hormuz.
** Over the transom from Frank.- Education matters (right)
** Old Blighty has a lot of issues to contend with. Jules recommends this edition of the Mike Graham Show for your viewing. It’s very British and is a little windy (long clip) – this is on point from Jules: “I’m sending this because I think it’s quite moving and fitting. -31.37 from the end is where you need to be (though the whole show is great). But the sermon from the bishop here, who comes on regularly, is absolutely wonderful, and I think everybody should hear it. Please share it with your readers.” – shared.
** Hickok45 plays with the FN-FS2000 “rifle of the future” and asks why it didn’t last. I’m not a big fan of the bullpup design. Yes, I know that it has some advantages, but no…
** Canada lost 41,000 jobs in August. The USA found them.
** Argentine President Javier Milei is escalating his country’s claim to the British-controlled Falkland Islands, pledging to use diplomatic, economic, and legal pressure while announcing sanctions against companies involved in offshore oil projects near the disputed territory. We all know who will win the next Falklands Islands conflict. The UK no longer has a credible navy. He characterizes the UK as a nation in decline.
The truth is that the UK Couldn’t defend itself against Nigeria (for example) if they invaded because they have neither the troops nor the war supplies to repel much of anyone. They have a nuclear deterrent that will last a few more years until their submarines retire. They do have parade troops, increasingly consisting of DEI-safe cadre.
** Alzheimer’s disease can now be detected with a simple blood test, and for the first time, two new drugs can actually slow its progression. If you can’t remember simple things like Avogadro’s number or the formula that solves Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation, you might want to get tested. (Fill out the form above – right)
** That time when EdB tells you he’s going ashore for more beer because you’ve run out.
** The U.S. Air Force is accelerating its timeline for a cheaper, more expendable successor to the MQ-9A Reaper, officials said Sept. 3, after combat losses left the service unwilling to wait out the rest of the drone’s life. VM comment – The MQ-9 was never designed to fly over airspace that was protected by modern Russian and Chinese SAMs. It worked well flying over people who couldn’t shoot back. I’m not saying that the Russian and Chinese junk is good, but it’s good enough to drop a slow-flying, hot aircraft that’s orbiting over them.
** (CATO) The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) propose new spending that could more than triple federal outlays. They propose the government pay for health care, housing, higher education, and electricity. Jobs are government-guaranteed, retirement benefits are expanded, paid family leave is universal, fossil fuels are eliminated, and reparations are paid.
The DSA platform claims that the bill for all this will be sent to “the richest individuals and corporations.” Tally up that bill, and it ballparks between $71 trillion and $212 trillion in new spending over the next decade. Confiscating every dollar of high-end wealth and corporate profits would cover only a fraction of those costs. The DSA agenda necessitates high taxes on middle-class Americans. Totaling up nine of the largest proposals on the DSA platform would mean new federal spending between 18 percent and 53 percent of GDP.
** “Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost —taking out three of yours. We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.” — Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander
** On September 4th, Giorgia Meloni became Italy’s longest continuously serving prime minister since Benito Mussolini. Her tenure is remarkable in a country where leaders tend to be as durable as gelato on a hot day in Rome. Since taking office in October 2022, she has watched prime ministers in once-stable Britain, France, and the Netherlands come and go.
Defending Dems & Chicoms
Fox didn’t just lose Maria Bartiromo; they chose the wrong side of the story. John Solomon notes that Maria Bartiromo was not “fired” and that she is actually under contract, meaning she will be paid until 2029.
The backstory is leaking: she wanted to cover President Trump’s declassified material on China’s interference in the 2020 election. A Fox Business executive texted producers that the story “could not go to air.” Sensitivity, they said — Dominion and Smartmatic lawsuits.
Declassified intel from the CIA, NSA, and FBI is not a conspiracy theory you bury because lawyers are still circling. Trump laid out China’s alleged acquisition of tens of millions of U.S. voter files and related activity in that July address. Maria wanted it on air. Fox said no. When the White House asked why the network was sitting on it, reports say she told them the truth and forwarded the internal guidance. That, according to multiple sources, is what ended 12½ years. Fox’s official line is a “business decision.” Of course it is.
Fox paid Dominion $787 million. Smartmatic is still out there. So the network that once sold itself as the alternative decided the safer play was to protect the lawsuit file rather than put declassified information in front of the American people. Some of this new information (if available then) might have changed the $787 payout to Dominion.
Fox appears to be covering for the Chinese Communist Party’s alleged election work because a settlement check still stings. Maria didn’t fall in line. That’s the part that matters. Most of the staff did. She didn’t. She treated the story like news instead of a liability. For that, she gets the corporate thank-you note, and her name is stripped off the shows she built.
We’ve talked a lot about Fox News on the blog. The management is socialist elitist who found a conservative niche that pays them well, but the philosophy (enabling the great unwashed) doesn’t resonate with the BlackRock crowd. Milking the public – yeah, they’re cool with that. I don’t trust Fox.
You know, I trust Musk. I think the guy has his heart in the right place. He started with nothing and, through balls and brains, he became a man of renown. None of it was easy, but he has vision.
Identify the Equipment
1 & 2
Identify the Aircraft
3
Identify the Ship
4
An easier ID if you read Japanese…
End
Speaking of insane DEI, granddaughter is a HS freshman but the the little NH berg we live in has school 1 thru 8. Now tthe nearest HS
that the town will cover expenses for is across the brook in VT. So off we go to register her. Knowing that this is Bernieville some zanis
was onboard as we march thru the front doors into a large vestibule with corridors leading to various dungeons. On the wall straight
ahead where one would expect to see the American proudly displayed you do not. What you see is another proud flag. Having seen many bodies in my life I was able to suppress the urge to puke. We then met with the guidence counselor who was young straight (?), arrainged
Speaking of insane DEI, granddaughter is a HS freshman but the little NH berg we live in has school 1 thru 8. Now, the nearest HS
that the town will cover expenses for is across the brook in VT. So off we go. Knowing that this is Bernieville some medicaments
are onboard as we march thru the front doors into a large vestibule with corridors leading to various dungeons. On the wall straight
ahead where one would expect to see the American proudly displayed you do not. What you see is another proud flag. Having seen many bodies in my life I was able to suppress the urge to vomit. We then met with the guidence counselor who was young straight (?), got her classes set up and then went for tour of the campus. No US flags were detected in classrooms but the English teacher happened by. Once I got by the dangling earrings he (not trained up in proper pronoun use) seemed literate enough. Next nearest school is private, charges $80.000 a session and caters to elitists and Chinese types. Home schooling comes to mind, heavy on math and sciences, and PE classes snapping in on my shooting range.
I haven’t been faced with that problem for my children or grandchildren. I think that I’d figure out a home schooling option or some sort of hybrid homeschool group option. I am not a proponent of home schooling, and feel that the socialization that children receive in school is good for them, but there are limits. I have a nephew who has high school boys in Berlin, NH and he hasn’t reported that sort of problem.
There are online schools, home school co-ops, tutors and books all of which exceed public school results. LL notes socialism issues. Decades of homeschool shows that homeschoolers socialize above, in and below their grade levels, can communicate with adults without problems and are not as prone to picking up a gun and shooting classmates or teachers. Test scores are higher, not because kids only study the test, but that they actually learn reading, writing and arithmetic. As a bonus, they enjoy reading.
Classroom schooling has advantages, but so do other methods. One home school co-op I know of meets once a week with all the students to cover the lessons, answer questions and to set up projects. You can go for just the STEM homeschool or go with classical schooling or mix and match from the multitude of options available. Homeschool Legal Defense is a good back pocket insurance policy for districts that don’t want kids homeschooled.
Start tomorrow, even if it is just books or YouTube and never go back to the public school. Just a Sunday thought.
❤️
💯
Sorry about the double post benzos habe not worn off
(1) ASU-85 and AN-12 Cubs.
(2) Fairchild T-46
(3) IJN Fuji class BB.
– Kle.
Well done!
IDA-
1. Soviet Beriev Be-10.
2. ASU-85 (Aviadesantnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka).
3. Fairchild T-46 light jet trainer.
-STA Lehal
Excellent!
IDS-
1. Japanese battleship Fuji
-STA Lethal
I like Milei, but his obsession with the Falklands is asinine. Chile is a lot
closer to Argentina, why not claim that, too?
*
Of course, might always makes right – but if you;re someplace like Argentina,
you never know if you actually have any might or not. It would be a shame
if he gambled all the improvements he’s made down there on something
stupid and unjustifiable, and came up empty.
– Kle.
Chile is a militant country, and I think they’d wipe out Argentina if given the opportunity. I don’t know how that matchup would go – it’s only an impression. The Falklands are up for grabs because the UK can’t defend them, and there is oil to drill.
Please add some detail to this comment. In the early 2000s a friend with Lloyd’s Bank warned me about the then pending islamic invasion of the UK. He moved to Chile with his wife and kids and seems to be happy there. I am familiar with the ultra conservative past and fights with insurgent communist factions. I really have not paid attention to Chile for years.
I have a brother-in-law who lived/worked in Chile for a few years (speaks fluent Spanish – now with a Chilean accent). He retired and moved to Snowflake, AZ, which is about as far from urban Chile as you can get. Pinochet and Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens’s convenient suicide aside in the 1970s, He said the place is prosperous and conservative, and he liked living and raising children there. Chile features safe tap water, reliable public transportation, fast internet, and advanced healthcare systems compared to many other South American nations. Cost of living and general expenses are 30% to 50% lower than in major U.S. metropolitan areas. His work covered rent in the higher-end Santiago neighborhood of Providencia. You should be fluent in Spanish before you go. Daily life, local bureaucracy, and socializing happen entirely in Spanish.
We have an upcoming VM piece on Peru and Sendero Luminoso. Completely different place. I have a nephew who went to dental school in Peru, married a local girl, and now lives in New Hampshire working as a dentist. (he isn’t mentioned in the VM piece). He’s my brother’s son, not part of the in-law family. It is interesting to compare and contrast Peru and Chile – which is like two completely different sides of the same peso.
PS – He was able to save a lot of money while living at a high standard of living in Chile, which gave him a generous retirement in the US.
Thank you very much. Maybe I will join my friend in retirement.
The winter smog in Santiago is unpleasant, and winter is—winter. Maybe travel there during the best time of the year, and the worst before, jumping ship?
.
I have a long-held practice of walking around and quietly observing in cities I’ve visited outside of the USA. You can do that in Chile without being attacked – not so many US cities.
I agree with Klebert on this one. And the reason he won’t touch Chile is they will fight back and win!
Chile would be a handful.
Identify the Equipment
1 – Soviet ASU-8
2 – 5oviet Antonov An-12
Identify the Aircraft
3 – Fairchild T-46
Identify the Ship
4 – Imperial Japanese Navy Fuji
Outstanding
On Javier Milei’s Falkland stance, I don’t think the UK has the assets to go down there and fight. Isn’t the UK’s navy down to one ship. Losing like that may change things in the UK but I’ve got to wonder if they’re saveable in any way other than total reset. That is, without gallons of blood spilled and the “migrants” sent home.
~~
FWIW, on Giorgia Meloni, one of things that stand out in my mind was when she rescued Biden from wandering off a couple of times. ISTM being “nice” isn’t politically sellable. In the broader view, I haven’t seen anything she has made the news doing that struck me as bad. She seems pretty good.
I have discussed the UK military situation with LSP, who has family in the Irish Guards and other units. Another good friend is a retired colonel with the Royal Marine Commandos, and the consensus is that Old Blighty is past the tipping point. They have two aircraft carriers that may or may not be able to reach the South Atlantic without catastrophic mechanical failures, and I think there is one air wing they share. There is one destroyer again – may or may not be able to get that far (and return home) and a couple of frigates in the same shape that share crews for lack of personnel. Their SSNs are all laid up for long-term repairs. The USA is closer to Argentina than we are to the UK these days, so no help there. The French have a navy, but would they fly British flags for convenience? Doubtful. The British just canceled a military exercise to save money. Best guess, based on the Ministry of Defense, is that they have half of one half of a deployable division, with war materiel, for a week of kinetic combat. So there are a few soldiers and a skeleton navy that would be wiped out by Argentina’s submarines and air force. If they sent ALL of their deployable Army and Marines, they might have enough – if they could get them there on rented cruise ships or something.
I think that Argentina read the tea leaves, and they think that Old Blighty is a paper tiger full of bluster and bluff. And they’d like (a) the oil and (b) payback for losing the previous war.
Giorgia Meloni has not made a single mistake in over twenty five years. This in a political environment where mistakes of any sort are final. Her government will be the first since the founding of the Republic in 1946 to reach its full five year term in October 2027. She not only was the only Western PM to travel to the Gulf in person when missiles were flying, but sent a huge percentage of our ABM radars and missiles to cover our Arab allies there.
Interesting input there, Claudio, so thanks. Being the first government in the history of the Republic to complete its five year term is an impressive milestone.
I was disheartened to read Trump berate her over Iran, having read that it was parliamentary law that forbade her accommodating Trump
Yes, Pres. Trump was wrong. She did what she could.
Her hands were tied, and the massive (on high tech ABM gear, not personnel) deployment was made possible by extensive interpretation of existing parliamentary authorisations and massive internal fortitude on Meloni’s part. I’d also use thewl words toxic masculinity.
DJT’s outburst also disarmed her critics both in Italy and the EU. She can no longer be called Trump’s puppet or catspaw. Pity this sad scene was not arranged: too much political credibility was lost.
“DJT’s outburst also disarmed her critics”
Arranged?
I’d like to say “arranged,” and I speculated in that direction when it happened. But I doubt it. Trump was being Trump.
Before the Falkland War actually started, the RAF sent a Vulcan to the US with a maintenance team onboard. The goal was to visit all the Vulcans on display in museums to see what parts they could cannibalize or if the plane was still airworthy to take it home. The Vulcan at the Castle Air Museum had a wing spar that was too far cracked for flight so they got to keep it.
*****
When the Vulcans flew to bomb during the conflict, it required a minimum of five (5) air refuelings to get there and back as they had no landing fields available. The RAF refueled close to England and the USAF refueled them over the Central and South Atlantic. There is no way that the RAF can provide strategic bombing and tactical planes would have a really tough time getting there and back.
X2 on the spares for the Vulcans.
.
I don’t know if the RAF has enough museum pieces to put together and make flyable aircraft (mid-air refueling by Nimrods brought out of mothballs?).
I certainly agree that the UK is a past tense thing, and they’d have a hell of
a hard time fighting to keep the Falklands. However, they do have allies, and
either France or Italy could easily take the Argies, not to mention the US
or NATO as a whole. There is also the fact that the Brits could always just offer
to vaporise Buenos Aires in exchange for the Falklands, and see how Argentina
likes that trade offer…
*
I really don’t think the juice is worth the squeeze on this issue. Additionally,
if you’re going to rattle sabers, it behooves you to wait until you have something
superior to actual sabers, these days. The Argentine military is not really at a high
ebb, and much of it’s equipment is somewhat more suited to museums. They have
enough trouble patrolling their current EEZs and fisheries zones, expanding them vastly
would not help a lot, even in case of victory.
– Kle.
Laurence Fox was on the UK video around 3:30 or so! Interesting person, loved him in “Lewis,” and have two collections of his music (we used to say CD’s)!
Losing 45 Reapers while taking out most of Iran’s AF and air defenses is hardly tragic. Many of those loses were also on the ground from missile attacks, which simply allowed us to identify and eliminate the launch sites.
They still work for “droning people” in the third world. We’ve had advanced UAVs shot down/captured in Iran that gave away some trade secrets. The RQ-4A Global Hawk (BAMS-D) went down over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran successfully captured a highly classified, low-observable Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel. And there were the more recent Reaper series that were shot down.
And what did we expect in a war with an enemy with any kind of actual air defenses?
Boating with EdB
Running an outboard with the prop out of the water is almost guaranteed to melt the water pump impeller.
And then the engine overheats and seizes, and you need to buy a new one. The transom clean-out plug is another common point of failure for the yachting crowd.
I’ve found them to be forgiving.
Those outdrives were getting intermittent water and I imagine the motor has a high temp shutoff.
It just surprises me that they didn’t send a line to the other guy as they pulled away.
I’m also surprised they made it away without pushing the bow into the wind.
Why didn’t they turn the bow into the surf then push?
FN-FS2000. “You can’t hate an FN no matter what it looks like”. Try me. And I’m thinking that push-in mag release might prove interesting if you suddenly have to go prone.
—
Wise words from Montgomery Scott: “The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain”.
Just for the record, I am not anti FN. One example: I have always had a soft spot for the Sears & Roebuck J.C. Higgins Model 50/51. Built on FN commercial Mauser 98 Actions with barrels by High Standard. Manufactured Pre-1968, so if you’re filling out a form 4473, you can write “NSN”, No Serial Number. It was marketed in direct competition with the Winchester M70, and referred to as “That Cadillac rifle with the dime store pedigree”.
I don’t get the hate on BullPups.
Biggest complaint seems to be the trigger linkage.
I bought an inexpensive ($200) Turkish import 12g bullpup shotgun and the trigger is fine.
Moving around in a room with it and not having it an SBS works for me.
Wish I’d known ahead they were coming out with a mag fed version right after I bought it.
this was the comment I was looking for:
“I have an FS2000. The magazine should drop free if you remove the dust gasket in the magazine well. No plastic magazines for this rifle, they jam. Easy to clean and oil. The reason it failed was FN wanted too much for it. Entry price for the FS2000 was $4000. FN couldn’t sell them, price dropped to $3000 when I got mine. Not really worth it. Only rifle I ever fired that when you held it it hugged you back.”
in re Argentina, Britain, and the Falklands
“The moral of the story is that it was unwise to oppose the major European banks in the mid-1800s (or at any time for that matter). Those who did were rolled.”
“Vengeance and Retribution” by LL
Yes, well, I can’t but agree with the author.
Trust – one site I started visiting a while ago, then Trump was elected the first time and the site owner started showing a bad case of TDS. Most I could find was him saying Trump was all lies all the time. No idea where that came from. Got tired and haven’t returned to it since.
‘Trump lies all the time…’ I so want someone to say that to me, hear it all the time from the Left online, news, etc…my response would be to ask them ‘Name one’. They can’t , it’s a fallacy they use as a smokescreen while confirming their TDS.
President Trump saved the republic. If the whore had been elected, there would have been a genuine insurrection.
Truth…I would call that ‘Democrat Nullification’ (considering for the past two weeks we have been subject to more courtroom drama than any normal person should be)
**The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)**
The communists.
With regards to the Falkland Islands, I agree that the current UK military would have problems. I would add that the Argentinian military is not a finely tuned military machine either, and they still have get there to be a threat.
DSA, clearly a product of our modern ‘enlightened’ edumacation system coopted by the Socialists and Marxists because DSA nutjobs cannot do simple math….but…but…Unicorns and rainbows!
As for their agenda, which includes many within local, state, and federal governments, saw this commentary (in part):
–
So stop telling me about income inequality.
Stop talking about the 1%.
Stop trying to divide us by wealth or race or sex or ethnicity or anything else.
Stop forcing taxes onto people who can pay and squandering it on people who don’t, can’t, or won’t pay – or work for that matter.
Stop telling me how to live my life.
Stop telling me where I can and cannot go and with whom.
Stop telling me I have to respect you.
Stop telling me I owe things to people I never have, and never will, meet.
Stop telling me I have to pay for the sins of someone else’s great, great grandfather.
.
I would add: Stop telling me what I can and cannot do with my property while charging me taxes (rent) for owning it, it’s mine, not yours, you did nothing to gain it…basically, ‘GET OFF MY LAWN!’
Well said.
H/t to Joe over at TheViewFromLadyLake blog…original Jersey Boy so pulls no punches on such things (and hates politics).
On Argentina ,Milea is said to be underwater in the polls ,,and what better way to improve that than war talk. I suspect it is just talk.
The Donald stretches the truth often ,,just one example . He says he is going to punish anyone doing business with Iran. Well except maybe China ,,which would collapse the US economy . Trump would be twice as good if he talked 1/2 as much. Of course that applies to many of us.
For a country that lets a mother kill 3 of her children without convicting her, allows juvenile lawbreakers to be set free without a trial or punishment, a country that thinks it’s OK to abort 800,000 babies a year – why do we care how many Iranian civilians we kill when trying to eliminate the Iranian army, the IRGC, and the mullahs governing Iran? Negotiations with Islamic fundamentalists is seen as a sign of weakness, not compassion or strength.
Where is Chuck the Hammer when we need him?
I agree DonC.
.
In the case of the baby killer, the prosecutor may have overcharged the case. I expect that it will be refiled with what they can actually prove. First Degree Murder requires an affirmative showing of malice, and the standard is proof beyond a reasonable doubt to a moral certainty that there was malice.