Prosthetic Conscience

Caption Pict. — Scenario: You built a time machine that is capable of teleporting you to no-man’s land on the Western Front in France, circa 1917.  (That is where the quantum pairing will take you, nowhere else) Your beautiful assistant encourages you to take the trip, hoping it will be successful. Or does she have other motives, and would getting you out of the way be convenient? Can the machine return you to 2045? Nobody knows. Do you take the trip?

Bullet Points:

** Société pour l’aviation et ses dérivés (left)

** (MSN) The author of this article is a self-identifying “classical liberal Democrat” who addresses the problem of the debilitating failure of “blue”-controlled governments and policies in California. One quote: “The best way for California to effectively resist Trump-style populism would be to create a governing system that works. Democrats can’t point to our state or city governments as an effective alternative. Everything is indeed too expensive here—especially for working people, as Klein notes—and that’s because of regulations and bureaucracies that few Democrats have an appetite to reform.”

** Innovations in airline travel. Does this appeal to you?

** It was not until black imprisonment rates climbed sufficiently that the black homicide rate came down in blighted areas. Note that the declining percentage of young black males in the population because of mothers aborting their babies could have been a contributing factor too.

** Fortunately, with the end of the Biden Regime, the EV death spiral has nearly reached its inevitable, final crash. EVs were never ready for prime time. They were never sufficiently flexible to replace conventionally powered vehicles, particularly for single-car families. They’ve always been a niche product, purchased mostly by the top 7% of households in income, particularly because they were far more expensive than conventional vehicles in the same classes. Those folks had all the conventional vehicles they wanted and could afford expensive, rolling virtue signals. Cajoled and threatened by the Bidenites, American and foreign manufacturers built loads of EVs, and parroted the “EVs are the future” mantra of the Climate Change sect. And they lost truckloads of money on every EV they built, a fact known since the short-lived Chevy Volt, which lost tens of thousands on every unit. With the exception of Tesla, no American manufacturer made a dime of profit on EVs. Even in February 2026, carmakers were writing off at least $55 billion on failed EVs,  and the real number is doubtless higher. Since federal tax credits are no longer available and EV demand has collapsed, some makers, like Ford, are still trying to build new, less expensive EVs. This despite admitting they expect to lose billions on EVs well into the future.

** My girls commented about “life with Dad” yesterday, on Father’s Day. Americana to the max. BBQs and pool parties. Boating at Lake Mead (before Vegas destroyed it), setting off fireworks on the shore and even military-grade simulators.  I raised four girls, and they, in turn, all have children that they are now raising, but they say that they have difficulty topping the 4×4 adventures, the shooting with tannerite, learning how to prime and detonate C-4 with both blasting caps and det cord (learning quad knots, cherry knots, etc. in the desert, family trips to Hawaii, etc. I spoiled them. We always had a boat (ski boat, ocean boat, dive boat, etc.). Fishing meant that I took them out into the ocean, put a black light (chem light) on my dive BC, baited a squid on a hook, and took it down. The black light made the monofilament fluoresce, so I didn’t get tangled in it. I’d find the “right fish” on the edge of the kelp and feed it the squid, and the girls cranked up the fish. Sometimes halibut, sometimes calico bass or a 20 lbs grouper. They went fishing without me later and remarked that they had never caught as many fish as they did when fishing with Dad. Mom didn’t want to unhook the fish, so I’d swim back to the boat to help land it. Then back over. Between all of the girls, they always came back with some mighty fine fish for the freezer. Beach parties on Catalina Island. I’d take some of the catch into shore on the zodiac, and we’d cook them on the coals. The boat would be anchored on the lee of the island. Tent camping, or we’d sleep on the boat depending. – My dad wasn’t a bad man, and he wasn’t a bad father, but my grandparents raised me, and I resolved to do better than he had done. Nobody has an easy life. The only easy day was yesterday for all of us. I think that he had a hard life, looking through the lens of being 8 years older now than he was when he died. He had parents who helped him. I had to start from zero. It may have given me an advantage because I viewed each day as sink-or-swim. Every day I told myself, “No success in life can compensate for failure with your children.” I had a lot of business holidays where I worked in exotic locations, but every holiday from work was spent with them.

** You’re only as good as your last game.

** The Treasury Department announced that President Trump’s signature will appear on future U.S. paper currency this year. This is the first time that a sitting President will ever appear on U.S. paper currency. The purpose of this is to honor America’s 250th Anniversary. Will the democrats burn their money?

** Let’s discuss the Reconquista.

** Some Europeans visiting the US to view the soccer games have discovered parking lots next to where you want to go that are as large as Luxembourg. Then they found the grocery stores. Five of them within one mile. And Costcos, each one the size of an aircraft hangar. Burgers. Steaks. Brisket. Ribs. Pulled pork. Lamb. Veal. Every cut of every animal ever domesticated by human civilization available in one refrigerated aisle at ten in the morning on a Tuesday. The Germans stand in the meat section for forty-five minutes. In silence. Processing. Then there is Bass Pro Shop. (more) In Texas and Arizona, one in every three cars has a firearm in it, and we don’t shoot each other all the time.

** A Frenchman contemplates the American kitchen. And goes on to describe driving in Texas.

** The Canadian dollar is now worth US$0.70. When Alberta leaves, it will be worth US$0.30.

Meme of the Day

At 96

On June 19, 1781, Nathanael Greene called off the 28-day siege of the British fortifications at Ninety Six. He had learned the previous day that the British relief party under Lord Rawdon, numbering 2,000, was only 30 miles away.

By June 10, the third parallel of the Patriot siege line was complete. At 280 feet, the parallel placed the Patriots just yards away from the Loyalist troops commanded by Lt. Col. Cruger inside the Star Fort. But progress was slow, and Nathanael Greene needed more men and time. News of Francis Lord Rawdon’s approach from Charleston added pressure for results. Nathanael Greene ordered Thomas Sumter, Francis Marion, and cavalry under William Washington to stall the British advance. Unfortunately, they were unable to do so, leaving Greene with a choice: continue the siege and risk being trapped by a larger British force, end the siege now, just yards away from victory, or launch an assault to take the fort.

General Nathanael Greene turned toward the soldiers under his command and let them decide the course of action. Despite Greene’s personal concerns, these men called for one last attempt to capture the Star Fort; Greene agreed, and a plan was formed.

With the fire of artillery, the Patriot attack on the Star Fort began at noon on June 18, 1781. Fifty brave men, called the Forlorn Hope, volunteered to lead the attack. They charged with axes, hooks, and muskets, attempting to tear the Fort’s outer defenses of wood and sandbags. The Loyalists protected their position with spears and bayonets, as well as heavy cannon, musket, and rifle fire. Greene halted the final assault an hour after it began. The losses were devastating to the Patriots – of the fifty men who volunteered, thirty were now dead.

The final assault was not entirely a failure for the Patriots. Troops led by Light Horse Harry Lee simultaneously attacked the Stockade Fort (also known as Holmes’ Fort) while the Forlorn Hope attacked the Star Fort. The Stockade Fort guarded the western approach and access to Spring Branch, the Loyalists’ main water source. Lee and his troops breached the stockade walls and captured the area, but their success was short-lived.

The next day, on June 19, Nathanael Greene officially called off the siege. Lord Rawdon, with his 2,000 British troops, was a couple of days away. Even if Nathanael Greene captured the fort, he would then be surrounded by the larger British army. Patriot troops were given orders to abandon all siege lines and the Stockade Fort to prepare to face Lord Rawdon on ground of Greene’s choosing to the north.

The engagement never happened. Lord Rawdon abandoned the Star Fort soon after arriving and returned to Charleston, leaving Nathanael Greene and his army camped in the High Hills of the Santee River. Rawdon would never face off against the waiting Greene as ill health forced Rawdon to give up command and return to Britain in July of 1781. Nathanael Greene then marched upon Charleston, the last British stronghold in South Carolina, where he fought the last major battle of the Southern Campaign at Eutaw Springs on September 8, 1781.

Russian Espionage

(Strategy Page – h/t Claudio) Three years ago, a Russian espionage operation in Britain ran afoul of local incompetence and mixed signals from the FSB/Federal Security Service. It all began in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine as Russia ordered the revival of its espionage network in Britain. The effort was organized by Jan Marsalek, an Austrian businessman living in Russia to avoid prosecution for economic crimes. Marsalek still had numerous contacts in Europe and was able to hire six Bulgarian men to carry out pro-Russian, anti-American operations there. This was meant to reduce support for the war in Ukraine. Marsalek’s plan failed, and his six Bulgarians were arrested in Britain before they could start their campaign.

Some success was achieved via online efforts, but these were redundant because pro-Russian propaganda was already being spread on the internet by Russian citizens and their western fans. This was not the first Russian propaganda effort in Europe, and it was only the latest to fail. Since 2022, Russia has spent over half a million dollars trying to establish espionage and propaganda operations in Europe. Not much success, mainly because the European counterespionage organizations were able to detect and disable Russian operations.

One part of Europe, according to the Europeans, was Ukraine, which Russia considered part of Russia. Since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Ukraine has been subject to an ominously large amount of Russian network reconnaissance of Ukrainian networks and growing Russian Cyber War attacks. None of this was a major news story, and that was typical for the massive Cyber War campaign Russia has carried out against Ukraine in 2022.

Russia has always been considered a major Cyber War threat. Since the 1990s, Russian Internet-based espionage has been very active and effective. That led to fears of a Cyber Pearl Harbor. Russia had hoped for such a daring and damaging attack on Ukraine but was disappointed because Ukraine had looked for and noticed the Russian preparations. Before and after the first Russian attack in 2014, Ukraine had been receiving more military aid and assistance from NATO countries. Ukraine and NATO Cyber War experts agreed that an international effort, including the major American providers of Internet infrastructure and services, had to be involved. This meant Amazon, Cloudflare, Google, Microsoft, and several smaller but essential Internet services or security firms had to be involved.

It is not known for sure if Russia was aware that this international coalition of Internet infrastructure and services was involved in defending Ukraine. This organization came to be known as Cyber NATO because most of its major resources were provided by NATO member states.

Microsoft was the oldest of these Internet giants and the one that pioneered large-scale, organized, and highly responsive efforts to deal with hackers operating at the consumer level or against national Cyber infrastructure. These Internet giants increasingly cooperated in Cyber defense. When the governments of Ukraine and NATO sought help and cooperation from the Internet industry, they found that their inquiries and requests were welcomed. Ukraine took advantage of this in 2016 by establishing its Ukrainian National Cybersecurity Coordination Center. This operation played a key role in coordinating and synchronizing Western efforts and forming a large-scale effort to detect and block Russian Cyber War activities against Ukraine or any NATO nation.

Before 2022, Russia had a reputation as a formidable threat in Cyber War. So far in 2022, Russia’s reputation as a military power has been significantly diminished, along with its standing as a Cyber War threat. While Russian military activities were widely reported on by the media, much less attention was paid to the similar defeats Russia suffered as it sought to carry out major Cyber War campaigns against Ukraine even before Russian troops crossed the border. The Cyber War defeats continued throughout 2022. Russia had a formidable arsenal of Cyber War weapons and pre-planned attacks, especially against Ukraine.

Like many other capabilities, that reputation was tarnished and diminished during the recent war in Ukraine. For Russia, the defeats were frequent and victories few in this network battle space. Russian defeats began the day before Russian troops crossed the Ukrainian border and continued during the first months of the war as Russia unleashed most of its pre-planned attacks designed to do maximum damage to Ukrainian networks and Internet-based capabilities. Ukraine knew its key Internet vulnerabilities and, with assistance from Cyber NATO and major American Internet services and security providers, blocked Russian efforts. China, the other Cyber War threat to NATO and the West, took note.

This sort of large-scale coordinated Internet defense was always theoretically possible, and now the main Cyber War threats, Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran, saw it in action. That changed the Cyber War strategies of all these aggressor nations. At the moment, the best the Internet threat nations can hope for is that the defense coalition grows less effective over time, as defenders might believe they have solved the problem and that major investments of time and effort in defense are no longer necessary. That would be a mistake because the benefits of effective cyberwar weapons expand as more of the world becomes dependent on Internet-based services.

By the end of 2021, Ukraine had created a network of half a million software engineers, information specialists, and other experienced Internet users to deal with Russian Cyberwar attacks and to carry out information campaigns worldwide to let the world know what was really happening in Ukraine. The Ukrainian efforts were successful, resulting in Ukrainian attacks against Russian networks and propaganda. The existence of these formidable Ukrainian Information and Cyber War capabilities is another reason NATO is eager to have Ukraine join the EU/European Union and, after that, NATO. Ukraine is already a founding member of Cyber NATO.

Identify the Aircraft

1

2

630 built

3

413 built

Dolt!

You went and did it. (see caption)

Don’t you recall a single Jody call from basic training – The guy’s been hitting on your lovely assistant for a long time now, and once you’re in the trench in France in 1917, he’s going to cut the cable, disconnecting power to the machine… Jody always steals a deployed soldier’s girlfriend or takes advantage of their absence.

Try to get to a French regiment. They always have a wine ration. You may only live for another day, but a screw-top bottle of what is substantially Old Thunderbird is better than fetid trench water. However, the French rations include monkey meat (viande de singe), which may or may not be made from real monkeys. Stick to the pinard or the vin-o-gel – concentrated wine jello that you could drop into water or eat in its concentrated form. It will help deaden your experience.

Stick to the impact craters and avoid the Spandaus and the shrapnel.  Jody’s having more fun than you are.

End