Caption: Don’t worry. Be happy.
Hypothetical:
Chew the scenario over and tell me what you think. Pakistan, tired of the presence of its Chinese overlords, ejects the PRC from its country.
China responds (hysterically) since it considers Pakistan a satrap. Pakistan can secure its nuclear arsenal for now, but who knows how many of its key people are on the Chinese payroll? What does India do? Does it come to Pakistan’s aid? (The enemy of my enemy is my friend) What does the United States do in light of another Ukraine scenario playing out? Or do you think it’s farfetched?
The Pakistani military is one of the largest in the world, with about 660,00 active duty and 291,000 paramilitary troops. The reserves number around 550,000. This makes it the sixth-largest army in the world. The Pakistan Army itself is the largest component of the military, with approximately 560,000 soldiers.
China and Pakistan also have a substantial bilateral trade relationship, with the total value of goods reaching US$23.1 billion in 2024.
China has invested over $65 billion in Pakistan, primarily through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). This investment includes projects in energy, infrastructure, and the Gwadar port. It is a Chinese gem within the One Belt and Road Initiative.
Some say that Pakistanis are happy in their role as Chinese slaves. If you ask Pakistanis, there is a different opinion.
Pakistan’s government is controlled through a combination of elected officials and significant influence from the military. The country operates under a parliamentary system, with the Prime Minister serving as the head of government and the President as the head of state. The President’s role is mainly ceremonial. The military’s influence on policies, politics, and legislation is formidable, and it operates with a degree of impunity. Many assert that the Pakistani military is the only element in the government that counts. How completely has the PRC co-opted the military?
LA Sheriff’s Department Gang Map
If we increased the population of El Salvador proportionately to the decreased gang population in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Compton Station, would you be unhappy?
Alberta, Canada
Premier Danielle Smith boldly signals a potential referendum on Alberta’s separation from Canada, declaring that in the coming weeks and months, Albertans will seize the opportunity to debate the province’s future, explore decisive options to break free from Ottawa’s overreach, and chart an independent path forward.
Alberta’s potential as an independent nation is highlighted, boasting significant advantages in land, GDP, and farmland compared to many global nations.
A 40% GDP boost is projected for Alberta if it were to separate from Canada, surpassing the national average and aligning with the prosperous economies of other regions.
A majority of Albertans support independence, reflecting growing sentiment for separation.
The Alberta Separation movement outlines a 10-step plan for sovereignty, beginning with the replacement of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and culminating in a referendum.
Bullet Points:
** Come back with your shield or on it. (left)
** When leftist mobs, in the name of Hamas and Palestine, are searching out Jews, and decrying that the police are keeping them from the Jews (so they can attack them), how is that all that much different than 1920s/early ’30s Germany?
** Is the KF-21 good enough? It’s not a fifth-generation fighter, but it is a very good platform. When paired with the best AAW weapons, it is solid in anticipated peer-to-peer warfare against the UAE’s anticipated adversaries. (h/t Claudio)
** Will the Hog survive? A candidate who failed to win a Democratic National Committee leadership role is challenging her defeat — the first threat to DNC Vice Chair David Hogg since he vowed to keep backing some primary challenges to incumbents. The DNC’s credentials committee will meet virtually on May 12 to consider the challenge from Kalyn Free, a Native American attorney and party activist who lost a vice chair spot to Hogg at the party’s Feb. 1 meeting.
** Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a Somali-born Dutch-American writer, activist, conservative thinker, and former politician. She is a critic of Islam and an advocate for the rights and self-determination of Muslim women, opposing forced marriage, honour killing, child marriage, and female genital mutilation. She believes that the EU (for the most part) has lost the war against Islam, and the UK may be beyond the tipping point. (more here)
The Ukraine Deal
Ownership and control over subsoil, companies, and resources are in Ukraine. The fund is shared 50/50; Ukraine owes nothing, and the path to the EU is open. We explain in short, accessible terms what the agreement with the United States on minerals contains.
In addition to the above points:
1. Equal partnership. Neither the US nor Ukraine has a voting advantage.
2. No privatization. The agreement does not cover state-owned enterprises – they remain in state ownership.
3. No debts. The Fund is an investment platform, not a lending platform.
4. Everything is in accordance with the Constitution. Ukraine’s path to the EU is open.
5. The money comes only from new licenses. The fund receives revenues from new fields, not from existing ones.
6. Laws require almost no changes—a few technical issues in the budget code.
7. The United States will help attract investment. Through the DFC agency, both from the United States and the European Union.
8. The fund is exempt from taxes so that the money can work effectively to achieve the desired result.
Now, how the agreement will work:
The United States provides funding and assistance, including air defense, and Ukraine invests part of the profits from new fields. By a joint decision, they agree on which projects to invest in, exclusively in Ukraine. These include production, infrastructure, oil, and gas.
It should be noted that for the first 10 years, profits are not shared; the money is allocated solely to rebuilding Ukraine.
And most importantly, this is not just a financial deal. The United States recognizes our contribution to global security, including our renunciation of nuclear weapons, and promises support, agreeing to continue our cooperation.
Identify the Aircraft
1
11 Built
2
3
Identify the Feature Film
4
hint: Under the cover of a rescue operation, a US submarine is sent to the Arctic, which is gripped by a massive once-in-a-lifetime storm, with the secret mission of also recovering satellite information.
Parting Shot
Amelia Earhart’s navigator and copilot was Fred Noonan. They were together during her attempt to circumnavigate the globe in 1937, when their Lockheed Electra plane disappeared over the Pacific Ocean near Howland Island.
End
4 is Ice Station Zebra based loosely on the book by Alistair MacLean. Owned the book for a few years before the movie came out. The book is better.
Yes, the book was better. Good movie too, though.
Yep on both.
Patrick McGoohan after being Danger Man/Secret Agent was an attraction also.
He was a great actor. I liked him in The Prisoner (#6).
I watch it sometimes just for the music. Amazing theme by Michel Legrand.
I just binged all the Danger Man on Amazon.
Really good plot and characterization.
Now I know what you do all day.
Identify the Aircraft:
1. Rogožarski IK-3
2. Ryan PT-22 Recruit
3. Vought SB2U Vindicator
Identify the Feature Film:
4. Ice Station Zebra
Excellent!
The Ukraine Deal (“our renunciation of nuclear weapons”)
please sharpen (to finer than a razor edge) the blade with which this deal asks me to cut my own throat
Don’t bleed all over the pavement while dying, Ukraine.
.
Will any former Ukrainians (who were able to flee) return to the workers’ paradise and take up the shovel?
The Ukraine Deal
Does this supersede the deal little Z inked with the UK? When will money start coming back to the US Treasury? Does this look like Trump’s airline? Am I too cynical?
——–
Picture #2
Pity the enlisted swine that had to line up all those aircraft.
——— Canada
Looking at an election map the prairie provinces all went Conservative. Outside of Vancouver, so did B.C. Carney is talking of closer ties with China. Best of Canadian luck with that.
There’s a lot of graft (contributions) to be had from China, thus the Carney’s interest in friendship.
*
Zskyy wants to remain in power and I think that he’d sell your dog, Banner (to the highest bidder) in order to remain in charge. If the US is out, Russia is in. Zskyy may be a tranny entertainer who is able to play the piano with his penis, but he knows which side of the bread has the butter on it.
Larry,
Why you so supportive of the Uko-Nazi regime?
Luther’s Turd
BTW, the point of my reading Virtual Mirage every morning (or as soon as I can get to it) is not only to get (fresh, unbiased – or at least with a bias similar to mine) international news (and the status of our country in relation to same), but to read the comments from readers (who are far more aware of these and similar problems than I)
They’re a sharp bunch. Though, it’s like herding cats.
Mr LL
Speaking of,
is anyone here familiar with
https://unherdablecats.com/
Juan
Now I am.
Very well stated Boron
Juan
Fred: turn left.
I imagine Pakistan’s military is more compromised than the U.S. military. Large sums of money go much further there, and with the largess of U.S. officials over the last few years, the Chinese have a good sum that isn’t out of their pocket. Whether it leads to problems with the ranks will be known by future events. It’s hard to lead soldiers intent on causing discord, or not trusting their leaders due to egregious intentional errors.
If I had to guess about future events, Pakistan will be subjected to violence by Chinese funded subversive instigators, the military will be called away from protecting the borders, and chaos will lead to a civil unrest large enough to either reduce the power of the military, or martial law that will horrify the tender hearted. Of course, the Chinese don’t care about the collateral damage. They’ll either punish, or profit.
The Chinese would kill every single Pakistani if they thought they could get away with it. As it is, they’re displacing the Pakistani workforce with Chinese slaves (convicts) because they’re free and they have to pay the Paks some sort of survival wage and don’t want to be out the money.
“The Chinese would kill every single Pakistani if they thought they could get away with it”
Maybe so, but I think sub-Saharan Africans are in front of Pakistanis on The List. Pakistan is useful to F with India, if nothing else. SSAs are simply not useful in any meaningful way. The notion (that the usual suspects like to blather — not the usual Usual Suspects) that China wants to enslave the negroes is ridiculous. They don’t even want them for labor. They just want them gone.
—
Hmm. What’s Chinese for “lebensraum?”
Rebensraum.
I kind of love the idea that LASD spent all that time making a map, w/o arresting the
depicted organizations. I understand that Cali would refuse to prosecute, though.
*
I would be thrilled to see the membership go to El Salvador, or Hell.
– Kle.
They’ll take over Hell, which is a reason not to go there.
There are solutions…other than drawing a map, good to know “where” but without action (yes, super dangerous but hey, send in CNN to film SWAT at 3AM on these punks instead of dragging a Christian man out of bed for praying publicly).
–
Half the 48 hours et al type shows, “He was just released”, or, “He is well known to police”, or, This kid has a rap sheet a mile long”, or, He was a good kid (who brought a 9mm to a party)…or worse…”Let out within hours with no bail”. Aaannnd, they all look like one would expect.
> LASD Compton Station Gangs
.
That’s an endangered species tracking map — only 500 breeding pairs in the wild! Conserve the genetic diversity before it gets too small! The wildlife service could not do better. Which streets are designated as wildlife corridors?
Ukraine Deal: Yes, but is it good for the Zelenskyys?
—
“2. No privatization. The agreement does not cover state-owned enterprises – they remain in state ownership.”
And there’s your answer. It’s not good for the Zelenskyys.
—
Questions that should not be asked:
1. Who benefited the most from “privatization” of Russian state assets post-USSR? Who were the majority of the first wave post-privatization oligarchs? (The new dvoryanstvo are not the same as the original dvoryanstvo.)
2. Why the slavering Putin-hate in the totally fair, balanced and objective “Western” press after creaming our jeans over Gorbachev and even poor sodden Yeltsin? Maybe the new dvoryane are just as jealous of their privileges as the old dvoryane. (But more resentful, vengeful, and cruel.)
3. How is it that Election-free (apart from the one) autocratic Zelenskyy = brave plucky little freedom fighter. Repeatedly elected (dubious elections or not) autocratic Putin = dwarfish crimes-against-humanity dictator.
There used to be a lot of love between Hillary, Barack, Putin, Lavrov, and Medvedev.
Proof?
The West dispises Putin and exercise Russaphobia becasue:
1) Old hatred by the Kegan neo-con clan.
2) Desire to seize and control Russian resources.
3) Lastly, and most importantly, Russia, despite having diverse culture/ religons is a Orthodox Christian country. (Please refer to number 1 for context.)
Parting Film: First thought was The Thing, but no Kurt Russell in that promo shot.
***
Ukraine- Timw to end this idiocy, people are being killed every week over nothing…yet The Dems and MSM cry rivers over one illegal criminal (bad in every way) deported to his home country while never once bringing this reprehensible mess to light…because it doesn’t matter to them anymore (no more Ukraine lapel pins pr money laundering).
Seems like a ‘lot’ more gangs than I remember seeing on a similar map in the late 90s… And I wonder how many of those PT-22s in that photo survived pilot training?
The Sheriff calls them gangs. The woke call them social clubs.
The MSM is calling them “LA Man Clubs”where these upstanding “non-citizens who deserve Constitutional rights reserved for actual citizens” exchange lawn fertilizing and cutting techniques while making birdhouses to raise money for local community charities.
Don’t forget, Tarlov says the tat’s don’t mean what they symbolize no matter what law enforcement gang experts say…and we should believe her.
Tarlov is a moron. She should live in a ghetto (inner city environment) as a poor person rather than as a woman of privilage (WOP) for three months. After she’s been mugged and raped a few dozen times like the local women who also work a night shift turning burgers she may have a new appreciation for her life as the wife of a hedge fund manager and Fox News contributor.
Exactly. She’s a Paid Shill to foment an opposing view…nice gig if you can get it, just have to sell your soul first.
Juan Williams old gig.
Ah, the good old Hardware/Software gambit.
An old friend of mine applied to a tech PR firm in London in the early mid ’90s and was told, “Go away and come back and explain the difference between hardware and software.” So he did, exclaiming to the interviewer PR, “This is hardware,” as he put on a construction hard hat, “And this is software…” pan to my pal putting on a Basque beret he’d bought in Bilbao with my sister.
He got the job. The man who hired him, a larger than life friend, told me over lunch one day, “I had to hire that guy.” We’ve had a lot of fun over the years.
Then there’s the gangs. Maybe they’ll have fun in Alcatraz.