Bullet Points:
** Haircut – what an improvement.
** (Reuters) The British government said it would purchase a dozen F-35A fighter jets capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons in what it described as the biggest expansion of its nuclear deterrent in a generation. The purchase of the Lockheed Martin jets would allow Britain’s air force to carry nuclear weapons for the first time since the end of the Cold War, Downing Street said. “In an era of radical uncertainty we can no longer take peace for granted, which is why my government is investing in our national security,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement.”
** I’ll bet you can’t spot the trans-person.
** When President Donald Trump ordered precision strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, a familiar chorus of so-called “conservative” and “populist” influencers rushed to declare doom. The strikes, they insisted, would shatter Trump’s coalition. Tucker Carlson raged about “forever wars.” Steve Bannon warned of national unraveling. Candace Owens fretted about betrayal. They weren’t the only ones; not by a long shot. The message was clear: Trump had gone too far, and his base would revolt.
They couldn’t have been more wrong.
** The Trump administration used a new authority to require U.S. financial institutions to cut ties with three Mexico-based banks for laundering money on behalf of cartels.
** Costco vs Sam’s Club – which do you prefer? Given that I have an active Costco card and have never set foot in a Sam’s Club, you can guess my preference. I go back to Price Club (pre-Costco) days, and I’m dating myself in the process.
** If you get on a train in Sweden and ride to the terminus, you (allegedly) can get off.
** (WSJ – from behind the paywall) As Iran reels from its gravest threat in decades, its alliance with China, Russia, and North Korea—an axis that has increasingly alarmed the U.S. and allies—is facing a vital test: Will its partners come to its aid? Beijing, Moscow, and Pyongyang could offer Iran crucial assistance to recover from the damage inflicted by U.S. and Israeli strikes on its nuclear program and arsenal of conventional weapons.
That could strengthen the alliance, sending a powerful signal to potential adversaries in Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula, and Eastern Europe. Indeed, the three powers helped Iran build the nuclear program that the U.S. and Israel have tried to destroy. The Isfahan facility, Iran’s largest nuclear-research complex and a prime target of the U.S. strikes, was built with Chinese assistance when it opened in 1984, according to the nonprofit Nuclear Threat Initiative. Three small, Chinese-supplied research reactors are in operation there.
North Koreans helped design the underground tunnels used in Iran’s nuclear sites. Moscow has said hundreds of Russian atomic weapons experts currently work inside Iran. But China, Russia, and North Korea don’t appear eager to rush to Iran’s side. A big reason: President Trump’s decision to insert the U.S. into Israel’s assault on Iran by striking the country’s nuclear facilities has made helping Tehran recover far riskier and more geopolitically fraught. A failure to come to Iran’s aid would show how divergent the four powers’ interests are, exposing the transactional nature of a coalition that is primarily driven by shared opposition to economic and geopolitical pressure from the West.”
**Ben offers a strategy if you’re driving home drunk… Is it Uber Eats or just some loser?
** I was not aware of this, but it may account for his century-long lifespan and impossibly poor judgment.
** That July 9 trade-deal deadline “is not critical,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during a briefing. “The president can simply provide these countries with a deal if they refuse to make us one by the deadline,” Leavitt said, “and that means the president can pick a reciprocal tariff rate that he believes is advantageous for the United States and the American worker.”
** SCOTUS upheld South Carolina’s ban on spending Medicaid money at Planned Parenthood for abortions.
Radio Shows
Daniel Flynn (The American Spectator): “White House budget director Russ Vought tried to convince senators to support the attempt to codify Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal boondoggles.
“Activists disrupted the hearing to protest the proposed cuts to global health programs and AIDS prevention,” Politico reports.
Radio Free Europe, Radio Asia, Radio Liberty, and the PBS systems are not entirely worthless, but they should be replaced almost entirely by an effective propaganda system. They are Cold War artifacts that could have value in a different shell.
The Russians – Are Coming?
(h/t Claudio) (Strategypage) Earlier this year, Russian losses in weapons and manpower reached the point where recruits could not be equipped with uniforms and guns or given more than a few days’ training before being sent to the front. There, they would get uniforms and equipment taken from dead soldiers. These untrained and ill-equipped civilians were useless as soldiers. There were too few Russian officers left to complain, and Russian offensive operations had largely disappeared. This is made worse by the current practice of separating Russian soldiers into groups of four or five to avoid significant losses from drone attacks.
Russian units are short of all supplies, including food and ammunition. For over a year, Russian soldiers have survived by foraging, but if they stay in one area too long, there is nothing left to steal. Training declined since the Ukraine invasion. Initially, it was at least a month and often several months if time and training staff were available. Early on, Russia sent training center staff to the front to replace mounting casualties. Those training sergeants were never entirely replaced.
Early in Russia, they tried to provide adequate training. For example, in early 2023, Russia had established twelve VOIN centers. VOIN was used to expose teenagers to military life by giving them military uniforms, regular military orientation, and some training to prepare them for joining the military via conscription or volunteering. The VOIN training for teenagers also included a lot of indoctrination on the importance of patriotism and preparing to defend Russia. This is one of the reasons Russia never refers to its invasion of Ukraine as an invasion. According to the government, the fighting in Ukraine is a Russian internal matter to suppress separatist activity by some people in southern Russia who call themselves Ukrainians and are fighting to create an independent country called Ukraine.
Since 2022, VOIN centers have also trained Russian army reservists headed for Ukraine. Recently, the number of reservists called up has overwhelmed the VOIN system, and reservists are sent to Ukraine without much preparation at all. Losses are higher for these reservists.
The Russian government complains that the Ukrainians, whom it calls separatists, have been a problem for a long time, but that now they have massive military support from NATO countries. This fits the government’s claim that the NATO defensive alliance against Russian aggression is a Western conspiracy to surround and subjugate Russia. For centuries, Ukrainians have been fighting Russian efforts to turn them into Russians. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Ukraine finally gained independence. Russia wants Ukraine back as part of Russia. (more at the link)
Identify the Aircraft
1
2
3
4
The Ukes use them for target practice. They only look cool…paper tigers.
4 is Su-34. Lots of targeting electronics but slow.
Yes. And from those the Ukes shot down – they used off the shelf Garmin hand held GPS units for navigation.
Identify the Aircraft:
1. Kawanishi N1K2-J George
2. Douglas TBD Devastator
3. McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle
4. Sukhoi Su-34 Fullback
Yes – and 3 is the F-15 as modified by the IAF. They tend not to go with OEM and start bolting on their own gear.
I was first-hand witness at Edwards AFB to that the Israeli’s did to their early F-16s. Oversize external wing tanks, overwing Conformal Fuel tanks. Full length spine with additional electronics and dispensers. Heavy-weight landing gear.
And I was sort-of on the bleeding edge of their access into the F-35 software suite.
They do some excellent work with a real DILLIGAF attitude.
That’s along the same lines as what I’ve heard. My exposure goes back to the F-4 Phantoms and the Mirage fighters, which were significantly better than their OEM counterparts, and were battle-tested against Soviet equipment that shot back.
Picture #1 looks like a Japanese WWII aircraft and the ground crew looks oriental but both aircraft display US insignia on the bottom of the wings and on the fuselage. I’m so confused!!
Probably the inventory / investigation / test operation during the Occupation,
collecting all the leftover Imperial war equipment and seeing what it could do.
My Dad did a lot of flying taxi work with his TBM after the war, with those teams.
– Kle.
I listened to the Tucker-Cruz argument and I lost respect for Tucker with his imaginary slurs.
Off the rails.
Cruz could have made a clearer argument for his position, but I got it.
Tucker seems to have missed the boat. I know he’s a rich guy who lives in a bubble, but in the world of swings and misses, he’s not connecting well these days.
Sad really, that this AltMedia group who we turned to for clear thinking are scrambling to right their dinghy taking on water, having quickly become “less than” because they gambled wrongly. WTP don’t long-carry grudges on such things as the ONLY judgement call…one error does not make everything that came before suspect. How many of us have said or done something…uh…wrong (or as dad would say in his politest of SE PA terminology, “half-a$$ed”)? Their BEST move would be to do the proper mea culpa and move on. Doubtful that’ll happen, TC can rest on his laurels and be forever comfy in his off-grid Maine homestead. Like the head chef who forgot his signature recipe, time to hang up the apron and put the knives away.
👍
It looks like they felt compelled to say something, instead of thinking about it for a while first.
If so, the Instant Society mindset strikes again.
Bongino Rule: Wait at least 48 hours, if not 72, before saying anything.
And don’t always assume the worst of somebody nominally on your side.
X2 Ed.
As an interesting aside – and in regard the recent SCOTUS decision: Chief Justice John Roberts finally let a female justice—ACB—write a major decision. It immediately turned into a catfight. “We will not dwell on Justice Jackson’s argument, which is at odds with more than two centuries’ worth of precedent, not to mention the Constitution itself. We observe only this: Justice Jackson decries an imperial Executive while embracing an imperial Judiciary.”
.
KBJ replied, “This is why no one sits with you at lunch.”
.
ACB responded, “This is why Roberts makes you write your dissents in crayon.”
.
It will get more interesting moving forward. Associate Justice Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson has a very large black chip on her shoulder.
SCOTUS – With “certain” appointments NOT based in merit but in “other factors”, The Highest Court in the land has devolved into a petty politically driven playground that has lost its chartered focus. That said, I love ACB’s dressing down of a Black Robed immature indoctrinated moron who couldn’t define what a woman is when asked, let alone be a top Constitutional jurist…FOR LIFE (or while on ones deathbed like the last one who had no clue where she was but somehow placed a vote). K-Brown is in over her head but won’t admit it, makes her mailable and a clear and present danger to The Constitution by her handlers.
Bottom line is it is well past time for the rational among WTP to start using the Trump Method when dealing with these types: Calling idiots out on their stupid childish activist behavior, and/or their stupidity, especially those in positions of influence…then marginalizing them if at all possible.
That’s hilarious.
I thought they did a fine job explaining, publicly, to Biden’s DEI hire how things are supposed to work.
Justice Clarence Thomas (long may he live) puts the brakes on Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson’s assertions that it’s a racist court. She could say that it’s a sexist court, too, but there are four women on the panel. Then again despite the fact that she’s a mother of two, she has no idea what a woman is. It speaks to her lack of overall I. Q. and common sense. She does provide comic relief to the high court. Maybe her role as court jester is somehow justified. She is also an actor and performs on Broadway while on the high court.
Then there’s this hot take – that it’s not a cat fight between the two – or not *just* a cat fight – it’s also a smackdown of an entire Marxist school of legal reasoning… essentially, a declaration of war on Critical Legal Studies.
https://x.com/alexthechick/status/1938654656307011740
👍
Brilliant.
Ps. Context matters, whereas the MSM hot take soundbite – or even the entire “report” – is devoid of such detail because while law students were learning such things journalism students (certainly those we see on our TV’s these days) were playing Hacky Sack or Frisbee and working on their tan. No different when there are those still stating to PDJT that the “Hammer Op” wasn’t as successful as he and his team say…it is a quip without any merit or context that they could know, but they say it because they hate Trump…who has interrupted their extracurricular Hacky Sack game for serious matters.
“a dozen F-35A fighter jets capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons”
Who do you give the keys to?
Do we really want to increase the nuke capacity of a Muslim country?
I’m going to go out on a limb and guess “no”.
A good point…
I have no idea who has nuclear release authority in Old Blighty – certainly not the King. It would be the PM, and they’ve been a mixed bag with Churchill and Thatcher being the only reliable hands within memory. We had Biden, which meant that Jill the former babysitter or Hunter, the drug and sex fiend would have the button to push, so I’m not standing on moral high ground as an American. With the Biden Crime Family, it was always the question of whether The Big Guy was getting his cut to distribute among the Biden Cartel.
Pretty sure the Crown has it too, whether or not people want it to.
It’s the “Royal” Navy and Air Force, not the Parliamentary ones,
and all “common tradition” aside, it’s still a feudal society over there.
Pretty sure all those RN and RAF higher-ups swear personal fealty to
the Crown, and I bet a lot of them take it seriously.
– Kle.
There’s a guarded switch marked “Nuclear Consent”. That, and a bunch of crypto codes and keys.
Who has the codes and who has the switch?
The switch is in the cockpit. The codes, that’s an off-board discussion…
I’m sure that the “football” was kept close to Biden, but there are not many instances when it’s evident. President Trump keeps it closer and it’s more obvious.
A dozen to provide a nuclear deterent? By useage calculations, that means that 2 will be useful, 2-4 will be used by training, 2 will be backups to the primary and the rest will either be under maintenance or already crashed.
–
They need 2 dozen, at least. 3 dozen would be a better number.
PDJT had an epic week, even getting the hateful Press Corps wanting to ask more questions in his last impromptu. Respect. The man is on a roll, in his sweet spot, taking no prisoners while owning the room let alone the world…and I am praying for his continued safety with The Lord’s overshadowing protection. Between SCOTUS, ICE, China coming to the table, Iran running around chasing their 7th Century mindset tails, fuel prices dropping while The Market had a solid increase, ZERO border crossings…on an on. America is THE force to be reckoned…again. Like a weight of Democrat Socialist idiocy has been lifted from We The People’s backs in six months of operation, if only a little. But I’ll take a little as a bit of momentum ‘pond ripples’ has to start from somewhere.
X2!
x3!
X3
Er, 4
I am not tired of winning yet.
Amen!
This session of the Supreme Court decisions were a mixed bag. Overall, good for our liberty, IMO.
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Tiresome, the ongoing practice of using the reconciliation bill to slip in pet ideas that would never stand on their own as a separate bill. “We have to pass it to see what is in it” bullshit.
If we were operating with the constraints of a balanced budget, it wouldn’t matter so much but at US$37,000,000,000,000.00 underwater, it’s a different matter.
Ahh, tariffs are having the desired effect, as long as they can stay the course without the Swamp Bugs undermining the positive direction the country is moving — IMHO that puts them squarely in treasonous territory.
Pretty sure the Crown has it too. No, the Crown has no say in the deployment of nuclear weapons. This belongs solely to the elected civilian Government of the day.
It’s the “Royal” Navy and Air Force. So? It’s a title. The Crown has no say in military decisions at all. For example, the Crown may be briefed on an upcoming operation/deployment but this a courtesy only. The Crown does not have a veto.
it’s still a feudal society over there. Lol, no. When were you last over here, 1650?
Pretty sure all those RN and RAF higher-ups swear personal fealty to the Crown. No. All commissioned officers are directed to obey the orders of their appointed seniors, but the Crown is now a figurehead only. Unlike your president, the Crown has no authority to issue orders.
Thank you for the clarification.
I know that’s how it’s supposed to be, but I wouldn’t bet on it in practice.
AFAIK, Crown is still the sole sovereign, and Parliament’s power is still “borrowed”.
Tradition is not the same as law, not that our laws have been effective here in
restraining power, either. It’s just like Canada, where they all think they are an
independent country, but when you read the actual rules of government, it turns
out not to be the case.
*
I know you won’t agree, nobody ever does. But AFAICT, it’s right there on paper.
Not that she ever would have, but I betcha if QE had called in her top “ceremonial
aristocrat” military brass and given them a mission, it would have happened. Quite
possibly not so much with the current guy.
– Kle.
I spilled my drink when I read “feudal” and had to jump in ;-). I’m still chuckling now…
The last thing we need is KC3 sticking his bloody oar in, we’re in poor enough shape already.
As I mentioned, “King Cider” wouldn’t be the sure and firm hand that one would want on the levers of power. We struggle in the US (as everyone knows) – then there’s the Indians and Pakistanis, each of whom would love to wipe the other out if there were no repercussions. It’s amazing that we haven’t killed each other off. Is it more politically correct to call Indians “Native South Asians”?
Who are the oaths sworn to?
– Kle.
I used to shop at Costco, as it had the freshest veg and fruit in the city, and was Real Clear about the day the barge came in with fresh groceries, and when airline flights were bringing in fresh berries and flowers. (Restaurants actually had early hours, so they could get supplies before us hoi polloi. Which led to hot tips on who was going to be doing what for specials, based on what they were buying…)
.
Now I live where the nearest Costco is a 6-hour run, not including shopping time. I miss it. Sam’s is a replacement for Costco like Walmart is a replacement for a high-end grocery store with an outstanding fish counter.
Sam’s is good for what it is, a bulk Walmart. I like it because I can buy 4 lbs of butter for the price I can by 2 at the grocery store. Great deals on good quality meat. A 10lb sack of large potatoes for what a 5lb bag of dinky spuds at the supermarket. $5 for a bottle of 600 Benadryl. I make up my ‘membership’ in savings from OTC meds and baking supplies (bulk yeast, corn starch, baking power and soda) and bottled water.
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That and a $10 bottle of Reisling that’s 2 times the size of a comparable vintage from any other store.
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Yes, it’s fancy Walmart, but it’s still far better than nothing.
Can’t disagree at all there. And I’ll be headed there for bulk paper plates, paper bowls, a gallon of laundry stain remover, and a giant multipack of flonase… that’s the shopping list for now, but it’ll get longer by the time I get there. I’m trying to avoid the 4th of July crowds this weekend and next. Our Esteemed Host asked which we prefer, and I prefer Costco by a country mile… but I’ll not refuse the practical alternative.
.
My darling husband has indeed teased me that when we’re next down in the MetroMess for his kidney removal, I might could vent my feelings by shopping at the Costco cheese counter.
I am sure you don’t have weird Walmartians milling about. I am not sure about Sam’s, Sammartians just doesn’t have the same musical zing…
People at Sams tend to behave because it requires a membership. Which most Walmartians don’t understand.
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As to Costco, I’ve heard stories that make me wish one was here in my town. But, alas, Sams is here and 10 minutes away, though the gas lines are always so long I just go elsewhere for said gas.
–
A whole mega counter of cheese? Aw, man. But that’s what we who have a Publix have, one of the best delis in a supermarket you’ll ever see, so no need for that.
Ukraine . I have tapered off tuning into the UKR /RF War /SMO . But you know what is striking to me that maybe not many people notice , or don’t consider . The Agriculture continues on . As the seasons change you can see row crops planted , growing , growing some more and harvested , then the war is fought in winter stubble , and the fields that were wheat have even been mowed of the stalks , raked , put into wind rows, baled and taken away for livestock bedding etc . , the soybean fields are flat and obviously harvested , and corn stubble an be seen in many videos . Then , like anywhere else , hopper bottom trucks (or dump trailers) are getting these products to bins and onto major distribution point perhaps often under the threat of shooting or being under fire on maybe some messed up roads or perhaps reroutes and by passes . That is some combat farming right there , they are getting it done . Obviously not all areas are under fire , but many of the live videos show the fighting in tree lines between planted , growing, or harvested fields . Imagine chugging along in your John Deere , with missiles , drones, and explosions going on , or. watching a tank ripping through a field just tearing the shit out of your beans . Somebody working them fields . Pretty amazing if you think about it .
Few things are as stubborn as a farmer or rancher. (I say this in respect, admiration, frustration, and bewilderment, season by season.)
Pretty early on there were stories of Uke farmers reutilizing Russian leftovers to work their fields, like a turretless IFV used to pull stuff and such. That which doesn’t get used by the government will get used by the common man.
–
It follows what has been pretty much the way things have been since mechanized warfare came about. FT-17s used as ag tractors or log skidders. After WWII, Bren carriers were a popular ag tool in Canada, Australia and England. So were turretless Stuarts. Reworked Shermans were a cheap vehicle for demolition work or… log skidding. In Australia, a lot of the M3 Grants/Lees that are being rebuilt are from farms. Said M3s had a lot of ‘excess’ stuff removed. Turrets removed, sponson gun removed, extra armor removed.