Bullet Points:
** What has EdB been doing at the Obama Presidential Library? Oh, yeah, we have proof. Virtual Mirage, the most trusted name in news!
** CDRSAL discusses de-Norkification. How big is your rack? As SAL points out, it’s not just the gongs themselves but the ribbons and other uniform bling that are getting out of control in the US military. The question of whether more bling gets you laid (better, longer, prettier, etc.) remains open. It worked for General Petraeus—Paula Broadwell, I guess. It looks good on your retirement wall, but what does it really mean?
** The Janus faces of the mainstream media. What do they mean when they worshipfully extoll far-leftist candidates like Mondami, but in the next breath, tell Democratic candidates they need to tack to the center away from far-left positions??!!
One commentator probably was right when she concluded, “The editorial is not calling for the radical Leftist politicians to stop being radical Leftists, it is just telling them to stop telling the voters just how crazy radical they are: “Go back to lying to the voters, and once the rubes elect you, then go full on commie once you are in office.”
(I personally wouldn’t call most far-left Americans “communists “ because most of them are ignorant of the social and economic tenets of Marxism (as erroneous as those tenets are!). However, they are “neo-Marxists” in the modern sense of the word in that they seek to tear down or disrupt social norms, institutions, and values by any means available, including infiltration, indoctrination, and subversion, to name a few. )
** Love is a many-splendored thing. Bernie went to Moscow on his first honeymoon. Will he go to Caracas on his second?
** You knew that it would happen.
** Russian Healthcare – (strategypage h/t Claudio) The invasion of Ukraine led to unexpectedly high Russian casualties. Russia had to conscript more medical personnel to provide its troops with adequate care, at least by low Russian standards. The unexpected conscription of medical personnel caused many to leave the country, as they could earn a better living in the West after recertifying their licenses to Western standards. The Russian government has attempted to address the exodus of medical personnel. However, factors such as relatively low pay in Russia, government efforts to transfer medical personnel to rural provinces with limited medical services, and the military’s increasing medical needs have led to a growing number of Russian medical personnel leaving their homeland.
** Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, already worth over $3.9 billion from his position as an heir to the Hyatt Hotels Corp. and career as a venture capitalist, added another $1.4 million to his net worth last year from gambling, according to reports.
** In West China – China’s domestic economy is wrestling with several deep-seated challenges. These include a substantial debt burden, downward pressure on prices (deflation), significant excess industrial capacity, and a rapidly aging population, all of which are shaping future growth constraints.
Efforts to shift the growth model—from an export- and investment-driven model to one led by household consumption—have largely flopped. The erosion of household confidence, particularly due to the bursting of China’s property bubble and volatile capital markets, depresses spending.
New home prices have fallen continuously for over 2 years, reflecting weak domestic demand. Retail sales growth is sluggish and cooling, while goods inflation is negative (i.e., deflation).
The country’s banking system has expanded loans to record heights (~US $38 trillion) while new lending growth is dropping. Interest rates remain very low, and the stock market has been volatile and broadly stagnant over the long term.
East China (Taiwan) seems to be doing much better. Maybe that’s why West China wants to invade them and destroy (unify) them?
** US/AUS rare earth trade deal signed.
Are Cables Targets?
Vodafone Group and Vodafone Ukraine are planning a Black Sea cable to bypass Russia. The cable, built by specialist Xtera, is expected to have its first landing in Bulgaria in 2027. Given its prominence as a gateway to the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea is currently home to surprisingly few submarine cables.
Here’s the region’s subsea cable infrastructure at a glance from Telegeography’s subsea cable map. Along the west coast runs Turk Telecom’s KAFOS cable (purple), connecting Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey. On the East Coast, there is a system known as the Georgia–Russia cable (orange), built by the two nations’ operators to connect the countries in 2000.
The only cable currently spanning the Black Sea is the 2008 Caucasus Cable (pink), linking Bulgaria to Georgia. Another route crossing the sea – a joint energy and telecoms system called the Black Sea Submarine Cable (BSSC), running from Georgia to Romania – was announced last year.
Finally, the tiny cluster of dots at the north of the picture, at the entrance to the Sea of Azov, is in fact two cables: Russian telco Miranda Media’s Kerch Strait (blue) and Energy Bridge (orange) cables.
The question of why there are so few Black Sea subsea cables. Firstly, the digital economies in South and Southeast Asia have grown far more rapidly than their Central counterparts. – As a result, routes passing along Asia’s south coast and through the Red Sea have become highly developed, reducing the need for a Black Sea crossing to Europe. Secondly, the Black Sea’s geopolitical sensitivity has made building routes difficult, presenting projects with a myriad of complex regulatory and security challenges. For the Kardesa cable, on the other hand, geopolitics is a significant motivator. The cable will offer regional traffic a route that does not pass through Russian territory, which Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said he hoped would help “establish Ukraine as a key hub for internet traffic between Europe and Asia, bypassing Russia”.
How long after the cable has been laid will the Russians wait before they destroy it?
Outsourcing
(h/t Claudio, VM and others) The Twelvers in Islam – Twelver Shia Islam is the largest branch of Shia Islam, representing about 85% of all Shia Muslims. Its followers are known as Twelvers and are concentrated mainly in Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, and Bahrain, with significant minorities elsewhere. The name “Twelver” refers to their core belief in a line of twelve divinely ordained imams as the rightful successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Twelvers believe that after Muhammad’s death in 632 CE, the spiritual and political leadership of the Muslim community was passed to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, his cousin and son-in-law, and then to a succession of eleven of his male descendants. The Twelve Imams are considered infallible, sinless, and divinely appointed leaders who have the sole authority to interpret Islamic law and the esoteric meaning of the Quran.
The twelfth and final imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, was born around 870 CE. Twelvers believe he went into a state of “occultation” (divine concealment) in 874 CE shortly after his father’s death. He is not considered dead but is believed to be still alive and will reappear at the end of time to bring justice and peace to the world. This belief creates a messianic element that is central to Twelver eschatology.
Over the past decade, Western and regional intelligence assessments have documented how the Iranian Twelvers have increasingly relied on criminal organizations to conduct abductions, targeted killings, and covert operations abroad.
This shadow strategy allows Tehran to outsource violence and conceal its hand behind layers of deniable actors. In the past, Iran primarily used Hezbollah’s external security apparatus and specialized IRGC-Quds Force units operating under diplomatic or commercial cover to eliminate dissidents, intimidate exiles, or strike strategic targets in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
In recent years, this operational ecosystem has evolved into a more fragmented and transactional structure—one that incorporates transnational organized crime groups capable of executing assignments but motivated by profit and protection.
This network has expanded into Latin America, where Iranians and their proxies are reportedly forming tactical alliances with both emerging and established criminal syndicates. Among these, El Trende Aragua —a Venezuelan-origin criminal organization with a growing footprint across the continent—has allegedly provided logistical corridors and local facilitators for illicit movements and covert activities.
In “my day,” which makes me sound old, thirty or so years ago, Iran and the Palestinian Liberation Organization both sponsored Colombian revolutionary/terrorist groups, including the National Liberation Army (ELN), FARC dissidents like the FARC-EP and Segunda Marquetalia, and criminal organizations like the Gulf Cartel. The FARC were also historically designated as terrorist organizations, though the former demobilized after the 2016 peace agreement and is now primarily represented by its dissident factions. When FARC demobilized, they left behind significant cash in clabos (hidden storage) that represented the proceeds of drug sales in the USA. Foreign political/terror money was not their only source of income.
USGOV is now trying to unwind these groups that are loosely or directly (based on the specific circumstance) funded or influenced by the twelvers, among others. It is a monumental undertaking, and in most places (including the US), there is a place where drugs, terrorism, and politics meet.
Identify the Aircraft
1
h/t Max
2
3
4
A radial engine fighter that was introduced in 1946. The aircraft had an all-metal construction and a laminar flow wing, which in turn gave the aircraft improved fuel capacity and the ability to carry a larger weapons load. Powered by a Shvetsov ASh-82FN air-cooled radial engine that generated 1,850 horsepower, it had a top speed of 428 mph and a range of 1,077 miles. It was armed with four 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannon.
1,559 built.
5
6
The nose housed an SV-25 armament installation designed by Afanaseyev and Makarov, which comprised three 23 mm TKB-495 cannons that could pivot a range of 27 degrees.
Parting Shot
End
Identify the Aircraft:
1. Short SC.7 Skyvan
2. Lockheed SP-2E Neptune
3. McDonnell XF-88B Voodoo
4. Lavochkin La-9 Fritz
5. Short Stirling
6. Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17SN
Slap!! Excellent
2 is Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune. US Navy
4 is Soviet Lavochkin La-9
Just checking in
It has been confirmed that long-bodied l-shaped urinal for sitzpinklers with a sharp edges was originally designed by a woman or a he/s tohe, not precisely known.
Just thought you’d like to know
Good to know….
1 – Short SC.7 Skyvan Taco Tuesday
2 – Lockheed P-2V Neptune
3 – McDonnell XF-88 Voodoo
4 – Soviet Lavochkin La-9
5 – British Short Stirling
6 – Soviet MiG-17SN
Very good
I like that skyvan!
– Kle.
So do I.
Kle, as a Mexican food addict, I can tell you that flying in a taco truck would be an act of mercy in a land with out enchiladas.
I’m trying to figure out the ROI.
ROFL!
You’d think the major airlines could do at least this well, but apparently, no.
*
Maybe Emirates?
– Kle.
That was supposed to be he/shes.
The answer to the De-Norking of medals and ribbons is… rather simple. What are the top 12 awards short of the MOH? Those are the only ones to be allowed on a day-to-day uniform. Top 24 on full mess dress. Full board only at funerals. ONLY AT FUNERALS. The rest of the jewelry? Things like sharpshooter and CIB and such for enlisted only. That’s it. Am I wrong? Would Patton and Eisenhauer and Nimitz and Halsey and Dewey and Decatur and Washington and Grant and Lee agree?
I commented at Sal’s that it seemed odd that the lapel corner should be allowed to cover the ribbon display. It sends a contradictory message.
Cut off the lapels or allow them to pin medals to the lapels. It’s a waste of fabric to leave them empty. Ask the Norks. They know!
Or, here’s an idea and don’t laugh, reduce the cabbage field.
CIB, President’s Hundred and Distinguished badges worn by anyone who earned them. Otherwise, in agreement with HE Beans.
.
President’s Hundred may be the hardest marksmanship award out there. After the CIB and Combat Action medals, of course. No second-place winners with those……
Regarding Russia, boo-friggin-hoo. They’re also bleeding all sorts of skilled trade workers. Russia no longer has more people than they need, and can’t absorb the losses like in the good old days. Don’t care. Did it to themselves.
–
We see the same thing in Chi-Com-Land. The population is olding rather rapidly, has been over-reported for decades and is short on marriable and viable females. Every time something starts going sideways we see a spate of young people leaving as soon as they can.
As to Chi-Com-China, well, they’re not quite repeating what the Soviets did. Instead they’re going down the drain in a completely different way. Bwahahahahahahahaha…
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Weird that the only ‘successful’ ‘communist’ government is… survey says… Vietnam. Sure as poop it isn’t West Taiwan. Bwahahahaha.
1. An infamous aircraft used by the Argentine Military Junta during their “dirty war.”
I wonder if Governor Pritzker won that money while playing on one of the x-ray tables that the Mafia just got busted for using in yesterday’s FBI arrests? He already fits the image of a “whale”.
Argentina military junta; Any operational books to recommend from reading lists or collections?
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Ratings on the movie, Kingsman, the secret service? They used a skyvan.
https://youtu.be/FIruscdmHFs?si=8lfYzHOqCf4WCLA4
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/111290.Literature_about_Argentina_s_Dirty_War
“A coincidence? I think not!”
Odd the two reports come out within days of each other.
Dear beans
I am in hospital and because of what they may have put me on have absolutely no idea what I am saying.
My friends from the service and those seem to be my only friends these days look at all the ribbons and wonder how many butts they’ve kissed getting from first lieutenant to Captain. The top line ribbon is a different story entirely.
If they want to look silly let them look silly
I have a tee shirt that says “I Blame it on the Chemo!”.
I am back in for the weekend for a Chemo treatment.
I missed why you are back in.
They missed you that much Ed. Take it as a compliment that they called you back.
Being stuck in the hospital for longer than 24 hours sucks. Longer than a week, Hell on this Earth. My wife suffered under hospital un-help for 45 days one time until blood tests showed she was worse off than when she came in, and was bloating because she was lacking in most proteins from food (food was that bad…) She got sent home, my cooking got her values up to normal and the 100lbs of water out in a week.
I hate hospitals. Sorry you’re trapped.
As to them looking silly, our military should be the complete opposite of silly. Even the file clerks should have that cold-dead killer stare, let alone actual shooters and killers.
It’s like an airline pilot or, well, a doctor. Do you want your doctor or pilot to be silly looking or just a cold-stone mother-humper? I prefer my professionals to be competent over having personality.
Skyvan taco truck; Found a double sope de birria at a Maverick fuel stop a couple days ago in Idaho. The unique corn masa flavor was a rare treat compared to a Mcmuffin. Do the Britts enjoy English Muffins or are they an Americanization?
–
Eds donation to the ” library”; A neighbor in Oregon has a tri out behind his shop. He’s Stripped it to the hull. He begged me to haul it off to resist the temptation of another project. I suggested using my sawsall or relocating it, filling it with sand as a sand box for the grandkids. Presently my neighbor is pursuing fabrication of a cycle cart. ( 50cc + 17″ moto rims racing class) The corpus remains waiting it’s fate.
I’m looking for a damaged hull to saw a portion off to use as a part of my dock diorama in front of my house.
I once bought a fiberglass cuddy and trailer just to get the motor for my boat.
I was going to donate the boat to the school to half-bury as a playground item.
Not approved. Unsafe. I remember how we used to play on/in abandoned vehicles on farmland as kids. Or monkey bars.
Fortunately, I found a taker and did not have to scuttle it.
Correction; double sope is a pupusa. Will try harder!
–
Disclamer, almost senior moment. Not quite yet qualified for the 3 day allowance.
I taught for a year at USMA, and got a “Commander’s Award for Civilian Service.” Nice little bit of brass on a green ribbon. I think I got it for not knocking over a liquor store or knocking up a cadet during the year I was on the Hudson. It means nothing in the grand scheme of things, but it’s probably the only gong I’m ever going to get, so it is sitting in its box in a drawer in my office. If I remember, I pin it on my professorial gown for university cap and gown functions, but I usually forget.
I’m not anti-gong. I’m really not. The question is whether more than two rows of ribbons are necessary for a uniform. Call it the top two and leave it at that for less than full dress uniforms, when you can Nork out or look like a Russian veteran. I was part of a command where the CO (decorated) wore one row of ribbons. They were significant and for valor, but he wore one row. Everyone else followed suit. Three or four rows of “I was there” ribbons looked silly next to the CO’s one row of valor. The qualification badges (see Navy in particular, but the USAF is catching up) need to be moderated as well.
Predator trailer. CGI tour-de-force. I can’t watch that stuff anymore. Inside of 15 minutes I am exhausted.
—–
Bling rack. Various bits are ferrous. Can you take out a high command gathering with a giant magnet?
—–
Early in my Army hitch, our Support Command CO (BG) came through our maintenance company. He stopped and spoke briefly with each individual. The single ribbon he wore on his khaki uniform was the NDSM.
Pritzker – or as Watters calls him – “Ribs”…he seems to be right up there with the boys scamming the NBA with their [illegal] gambling ‘program’. Thing is, no one is really looking into his “gee, I must be lucky” winnings. But hey, what’s a few more zero’s over what Pro Poker Players get in a single Vegas visit…nah, nothing to see here folks, move along…JB is busy attacking PDJT and ICE Agents upholding Federal law and that’s more important.
Can you see Pritzger in the next remake of Casino Royale?
The Woke version of Casino Royale.
😁
Hahah…no kidding. Wait!…JB’s not a black lesbian 2-spirit…altho AI does wonders these days.
Now I need to re-watch Casino Royale just to get the image outta my head.
Just got an account update from the bank saying I’ve been automatically enrolled in an account updater. Looked online and saw lots of glowing reports, from big banks, saying how wonderful it is. Makes me want to opt out of it. Anyone here run into this?
What specifically happens when an account is updated?
Looks like any time you change the card that is associated/attached to the account, any merchant getting paid through it will automatically get the new account number. As I don’t use automatic payments and pay cash for 99.99% of purchases (how un-American of me) it doesn’t provide any useful service. It does look like an easy way for businesses to keep billing you without any fuss or bother on their end. Had one autopay a long time ago, and getting the business to discontinue the service and stop pulling money from the account was a several month process, so I have no interest in a repeat performance.
I don’t do automatic payments for anything, prefer to handle bills directly, whether in person on online….once automatic payments start it’s often a chore to remove/stop them. Same goes for automatic account updates, prefer my own account stewardship over some nebulous entity. Not everything is convenient for us, the consumer…but it is just terrific for the other transaction side of the fence.
The more I read about the concept behind it, the clearer it becomes that it was created to exert control—economically, militarily, politically, and socially—across any society, culture, or country.
With Ebbinghaus in mind, the concept evolved and adapted over time until it proved effective, at which point a compelling narrative was crafted to ensure its eternal endurance.
X2
The P-2 is actually an SP-2H, also known as a P-2V7. It is a VP-7 bird, from the late 60s