Red China Blues
In a rare acknowledgment – President Xi Jinping admitted that Chinese businesses are having a “tough time.” The Chinese President made the statement during his New Year’s Eve speech. China, the world’s second-largest economy, is facing a structural slowdown due to weak demand, rising unemployment, and declining business confidence. Virtual Mirage has reported this for quite some time now, and now Pres. Xi is saying the same thing. When China catches a cold, much of Asia catches cancer. The impact of Chinese “restructuring” in the face of 40% unemployment in many sectors and among key demographics sounds bad to American ears. It’s worse than that because those unemployed earners are expected to feed elderly parents who are retired (useless eaters in the parlance of the framers of ObamaCare).
Ho/Hunter, etc.
Court documents from the New York trial of Patrick Ho continue to shed light on who Hunter Biden was dealing with when he entered into business with CEFC, a Chinese energy conglomerate founded by Ye Jianming that would give millions to Hunter Biden and the Biden family.
Transcripts from Ho’s trial show that Zang Jianjun, the person Ho described as the number two executive at CEFC China Energy, was present when the company offered bribes to African officials in pursuit of special oil privileges. Ho was sentenced to three years in federal prison after his conviction, yet Zang was not charged in the case brought against Ho in the United States. (more here)
In Ukraine
It’s another day in the Ukraine War, and yet another previously unknown Russian capability has been exposed.
The Kh-101 cruise missile deploying decoys isn’t new. Other Russian missiles, or at least their ballistic missiles, also have decoys to help them penetrate air defenses.
Penetration Aids (PENAIDS), used by the 9K720 Iskander-M/SS-26 Stone Short-Ranged Ballistic Missile (SRBM), deceive air defense systems and make intercepting them difficult.
The Iskander-M/Stone SRBM is a unique missile that can be armed with conventional and nuclear warheads. The conventional version is actively being employed in the Ukraine theater. The system was exported to Armenia and used in their 2020 war against Azerbaijan. However, the export version didn’t have the PENAIDS unique to the Russian version. The 9B899 decoys are launched from the base of the missiles as they fly on a ballistic path, making it harder for air defense radars to determine which is the actual missile. PENAIDS have been employed on strategic ICBMs and SLBMs in the past, so the concept isn’t new.
As is common in the Ukraine War, this previously secret capability was exposed after the system, or parts of it, in this case, the decoys themselves, were captured by the Ukrainians and revealed to the world. It repeatedly proves that if you employ your latest technology in a war, expect to lose some of your precious secrets.
History from the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Seeing that the construction of Fort Clatsop was nearly complete, the Captains dispatched a small party of men to the Pacific coast on December 28, 1805, to establish a camp and salt-making operation.
The initial three soldiers sent to the ocean were Joseph Field, William Bratton, and George Gibson. According to William Clark’s journal entry, they took five of the largest Kittles with them. Alexander Willard and Peter Weiser went with them to assist in carrying the heavy kettles over the approximately 15 miles between Fort Clatsop and the chosen salt campsite. The personnel would vary from time to time at the site, but typically, the process was manned by three men.
For about 50 days, the fires burned day and night, and seawater was hauled in buckets from the surf to the work site. It’s estimated that at least 1,400 gallons of water were boiled down, leaving about 25-28 gallons of sea salt. It was occasionally hauled back to Fort Clatsop for immediate use as a food flavoring and curing meat. It also pulled moisture out of animal hides in preparation for making new clothing and moccasins. Twelve gallons was set aside at the fort for use during the return journey in 1806, at least to the point of the confluence of the Marias and Missouri Rivers on the other side of the divide where they had cached a supply of salt in early June.
On February 21, 1805, Sergeant John Ordway and party returned to the fort with the final gallons of salt and their equipment – the salt works had been evacuated.
Today, you can visit the salt works site near the corner of Lewis and Clark Way and Beach Drive in Seaside, Oregon.
Image: “The Salt Makers,” an oil painting by John F. Clymer, 1975.
I don’t know how many of this blog’s readers ever cured the hide of an animal they killed, but it’s difficult to do without salt to dry the inside/meat side. Tanning is a separate problem. There are camp tanning processes and more commercial processes, and in the referenced time period, you would either soak the animal’s skin in brain solution, or the brains were made into a paste and rubbed directly onto the fur-less skin or furless side of the skin. Depending on the animal’s size, they were kept overnight or for a few days in this state. Other organs, such as the spinal cord, liver, marrow, fat, and vegetable matter, were sometimes used, but brains were the most important ingredient. The reason for this was to promote softness and pliability later on.
You had to stretch and work the skin in some manner until it was completely dry and soft. Depending on the size of the skin, it could have been rubbed over a stick, a log, or a particular rock. The brains and other softening materials were scraped and rubbed off until the skin was velvety soft and flexible.
Sometimes, the skins were hung up in buildings called smokehouses, which were designed especially for the smoking or curing process. But it all started with salt.
Bullet Points:
** The US Border Patrol has opened an investigation into an agent who was caught illegally turning a family of asylum-seekers who were already in the US back to Mexico, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.
** There is a lot of gun control talk again. I haven’t heard how the government plans to disarm criminals. They only talk about disarming law-abiding citizens.
Identify the Tank
1
Don’t just reply, “It’s a Sherman.” Yes, it’s a Sherman, but this is a special model with a special main rifle (not an M-4).
Identify the Aircraft
2
It’s too easy. You’ll kick yourself if you can’t.
(tank) I think it’s an Isherman (M-51 Super Sherman).
(plane) Tropic Moon B-57 Canberra?
– Kle.
Identify the Tank:
Israeli M-50 fitted with French 75 SA 50 gun
Identify the Aircraft:
Martin B-57G
Points to you both.
Ho boy. Or in this case Zang boy; but the only ring too that is the cash register. Surprisingly not on MSNBC or in the Bezos blog.
10% for the Big Guy.
When I worked for USGOV during the early years of the first Obama/Biden administration in a capacity that I leave to your imagination, I wrote reports about the goings on in the Mexican government as they pertained to drug cartels. Those reports (surprisingly) made it to the White House customer/consumer. Barack never read the National Intelligence Daily, but to his credit, VP Biden did, and he marked this information of high interest as the consumer is able to do. So it filtered back down the chain as requests for more specific information regarding the mechanisms by which MEXGOV politicians were paid and what the quid pro quo was. One question the customer/consumer had was, “How does this differ from what happens in America?” I’m not making this up. And in light of events, it doesn’t seem to differ at all.
Give The Big Guy a little credit for following the science.
The Corps of Discovery expedition wasn’t all shooting elk and relaxing on a long boat ride. One of the things that always amazed me was how many of them survived it.
Biden was probably trying to figure out how he could benefit from it. Or benefit more.
I read his responses to the National Intelligence Daily scoring that he did. They filtered back to me because I was tasked with a vengeance to deliver more information with even greater granularity. Pedo Joe was amazed that the cartel effort was so similar to what he was familiar with in his own back yard.
I’ve tanned a few kangaroo skins over the years. For initial salting down I use generic cooking salt these days. Comes in 2 kilo (4.5) bags for $2.00. Two bags does most animals. Plus about the same for the tanning mix.
There is an English built Canberra (ex RAAF) bomber on private display about 90 minutes drive from home. One of my cousins was in them early in his career then went to F111’s.
I use generic salt as well. It’s inexpensive, as you point out, but if you don’t have access to salt, it can be a greater challenge, as Lewis and Clark discovered.
Ash from cooking fire is another choice for tanning. Salt is better but if you needed to make something without salt it’s a good start.
You can do a lot with ash – like making soap. It’s better with animal bones/fat, but you can do it with ash. It also can be made into a paste to deflect mosquitoes and parasites. There are better ways to do it IMHO, but ash works without other options.
I always thought hides were tanned by repeated blows to the backside with something made of wood.
Or leather.
Interesting bit on the salt-makers. So these guys were leaps ahead of modern manufacturers touting healthy “sea salt” on chips or caramels. I can buy healthy snack alternatives like dried seaweed with sea salt instead of Doritos. Why wouldn’t you? Heck, if California ever gets their collective heads out of…anywho…and creates desalinization plants along their extended coast, everything could have sea salt on it as a byproduct. But that would work…so they won’t do it.
Have no idea on the easy-peasy plane ID, even if I cheated I’d still have to do the honorable thing and kick myself until further notice…unless…hmm, this could work…DEI/Equity kicked instead, meaning I can cheat and still get a prize! Hell, it worked for Haavaahd’s Gay (can her name be real?)…she gets to keep her $900K salary and some?? position for “not plagiarizing” — she only copied someone else’s work like 50 times without attribution…which, according to the modern college indoctrinated…err…educated…CNN chatter’s, is not plagiarism Damnit!…Webster’s is WRONG! they say. Nah, not plagiarism..unless We The unSpecial People did it, then we’d be shown the door and have our “social score” and lives destroyed by people who don’t know us.
All that over an unknown [to me] plane and an historical sea salt operation. Ain’t 2024 great already! (My attitude might have something to do with [the best economy evvaaah] markets being in the red first thing…and I looked. Then again, the day is young.)
Claude Gay (once he got his tuck and roll job) became a champion of DEI. Never mind that he’s just another incompetent tranny that loves Hamas. Don’t you think that he DESERVES that $900K for life? Satan’s Vatican is paying him.
California would rather suffer from water shortages than desalinate a gallon of sea water.
She is a he?! What the hay!…didn’t know that…not that I cared, it was always about what he/she did that showed who he/she is, and the plagiarism is enough to indicate the soul rot is deep.
The 1st Civil War was fought over slavery, the next one (hope it doesn’t happen but what choice are we being given?) will be about Biblical tenets as the foundation of society and all we hold dear. Need to excise the cancer before it further metastasizes beyond cities and urban areas into the rural lymph system.
Every time I see him I think she’s going to say “Did I do that?”.
Another case in point: From Mayorkas, our implanted Homeland Security Secretary, who likely can’t type, so is even more useless as someone “in charge”.
“We have the effects of climate change, poverty, increasing level[s] of authoritarianism. There are very many challenges that are at the root cause of the displacement of people around the world.”
So our southern border is being overrun because of…climate change? Or poverty? None of them look impoverished by the time they get off the Biden/Obama Transport Bus at the Rio Grande after 2000 miles. Ever see an Appalachian Trail Thru-Hiker after their trek…don’t look well fed or that clean.
Didn’t you know that Harvard President Claude Gay is a tranny? I’m sure that he will be replaced by another tranny.
No, didn’t. Freely admit it. Sorta thought maybe, but nope, never followed the insanity that close. Which bathroom did he/she use?
Sure, odd looking, but dang, skinny-a$$ male playing dress up should be in a mental institution not running Harvard. Amazing the original college founders didn’t come back from the dead and turn the place into rubble.
I’m not so sure she’s not a she.
What about Big Mike Obama?
I think that’s a given.
Which is why he/she will never run for President; too much scrutiny whereas now can hide out at various compounds with private “chef’s”.
NGA was there for Lewis & Clark.🤙
My wife was from Seaside so I have visited the salt works sight and Ft. Clatsop. The are both examples of all the huge amount of effort the expedition was. I still am amazed at the amount of effort it took to portage the darn boat across miles of prairie around the Great Fall of the Missouri river. That land may look flat but it is anything but. Amazing men.
Pen aids. Interesting, it seems kind of obvious now, but I didn’t think they were installed on anything but ICBMs.
Thanks, every I see a B 57 I have an earworm for the rest of the day of them winding up on the pad at Malmstrom near my base housing for hours, at night. I believe NASA is still flying some of the long wing versions. Good airplane to hang around in use for that long.
I read the Lewis and Clark boys at 12-15 lbs of meat a day to paddle up the Mississippi. 30,000 + calories a day. Twice the Tour De France riders. They got so strong the became big drinkers and bar fighters when they got back. Not sure how true it is, but it is a good story. Tom
Two RB-57s were very active in hunt for Osama Beluden . I know one of the logistics guys who had a picture from Afaganistan. I used to have the drawing release schedules for some of the early mod work in Fort Worth pre GD days. Tom
When my (Army) son was in Afghanistan he did some level of support with the “Long Wings” to get a flag flown on a mission and a certificate and coin from the aircrew.
I often have to consult sources to “Identify the ….”
Usually those sources are in the first comments.
They’re sharp as needles.
Gun control/citizen disarmament.
We’re seeing how the third branch of government works. The Bruen decision has sparked scores of lawsuits around the country. The (P)regressives are giving a middle finger to the Supreme Court. One YouTube channel does a good job of tracking and explaining what is happening. https://www.youtube.com/@WashingtonGunLaw
Who will prevail? Gun grabbers or citizens?
Will we accept the wrong answer?
History will reflect…
“Cold, dead, fingers” comes to mind when I hear about more gun grabs.
Disarming 2A and the citizenry by the backdoor using actual criminals; they commit crimes, we take it in the shorts.
Not happening.
I’m not ready to take it anymore.
I’m in more of a giving mood.
They disarm the law-abiding, because they see the criminals as their natural constituency, and philosophical brothers.
– Kle.
Kle, Have you read People’s Republic by Col Kurt Schlichter?
Nope, but I recognize the author’s name.
– Kle.
You’ll be surprised, perhaps, to know that I once worked at a skin yard. A lorry would pull up and tip hundreds of warm sheep skins onto the cobbled yard, and we’d get in amongst them with waders and salt and stack the skins. It wasn’t a pleasant job.
Unlike, say, being paid 900K to be a DEI tranny at Harvard.
I caught turkeys once. Thousands and thousands had to be caught by hand and then hurled over high fences on the back of trailers. Catching the flapping and clawing birds was unpleasant. Tossing them 20′ in the air was another trick. The worst was the turkey crap that I inhaled (turkey dust). It made me very adverse to visiting Turkey (the country).
Sometimes you ‘lose’ tech, other times the @#$#@ media ‘outs’ the tech you’re using, and the bad guys promptly change their MOs… sigh
The media just wants a story with a 14 minute lifespan.
Unless it harms their preferred political philosophy.