Bullet Points

In Honor of the day…

Putin’s Tour

On January 18th Vladimir Putin went to St Petersburg and gave several speeches for various groups, including Russian and foreign media. The speeches were all about admitting that Ukraine was a war, not a “special military operation” to liberate Ukraine from NATO control. Putin now says his war in Ukraine is a war and one that must be one to rescue Russia from Western efforts to destroy Russia as a country. While many Eastern Europeans considered that a fine idea, it was also seen as impractical and never seriously considered by any European government. To deal with that reality, Putin describes the Western effort as unpublished in the West and part of a very real conspiracy that Vladimir Putin recognized and is now exposing. (Strategypage h/t Claudio)

Trying to make lemonade out of lemons, while admirable, is not always possible. Putin’s tour to try and rescue the failed invasion makes sense from his perspective but it’s pathetic. A month later the promised Russian offensive has not materialized and while fighting continues, it’s a lot like two punch-drunk fighters.

NATO: “The war in Ukraine is consuming an enormous amount of munitions and depleting allied stockpiles,” Stoltenberg said. “The current rate of Ukraine´s ammunition expenditure is many times higher than our current rate of production. This puts our defense industries under strain.”

Bullet Points: 

**  Jordan Dillon a California movie producer previously pled guilty to “conspiracy to violate the Mann Act for his operation of an interstate prostitution business.” Court records revealed Jordan operated a “high-end” prostitution ring that would provide wealthy clients with women for a charge of $15,000 or above.  Per CBS News, this won’t be Dillon’s first time in prison, previously the disgraced producer spent eight years in a Cuban prison for committing sex crimes.

** https://www.strategic-operations.com/ (realistic training)

** While you watched the Chinese Spy Balloon…

** Washington Post:  “Ukrainian officials said they require coordinates provided or confirmed by the United States and its allies for the vast majority of strikes using its advanced U.S.-provided rocket systems, a previously undisclosed practice that reveals a deeper and more operationally active role for the Pentagon in the war.

The disclosure, confirmed by three senior Ukrainian officials and a senior U.S. official, comes after months of Kyiv’s forces pounding Russian targets — including headquarters, ammunition depots, and barracks — on Ukrainian soil with the U.S.-provided High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, and other similar precision-guided weapons such as the M270 multiple-launch rocket system.

One senior Ukrainian official said Ukrainian forces almost never launch advanced weapons without specific coordinates provided by U.S. military personnel from a base elsewhere in Europe.

** Is NOTHING sacred?  The 27-foot hot-dog-shaped vehicle was in Sin City this past weekend for a series of events tied to Super Bowl weekend, but early Friday morning the Wienermobile’s catalytic converter was stolen, according to Las Vegas CBS affiliate KLAS TV.

** “Be wary of the man who urges an action in which he himself incurs no risk.”

** My friend Ed Keable is the superintendent of the Grand Canyon National Park and sent this picture to me. One of the residents in the park didn’t secure their door and had some unexpected house guests!

Democrats