One More Reason

Posted on 9 February 2019 by eehines

…for Great Britain to go out from the European Union.

Donald Tusk, European Council President:

I’ve been wondering what that special place in hell looks like for those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan of how to carry it out safely.

To which Guy Verhofstadt, European Parliament representative for Brexit negotiations, added

I doubt Lucifer would welcome them, as after what they did to Britain, they would even manage to divide Hell.

Tusk also said

“our most important task is to prevent a No Deal scenario”, Mr Tusk stressed.
But he said that Brussels would make “no new offer” to the UK….

This is a preview of One More Reason. Read the full post (189 words, estimated 45 secs reading time)

Foreign Meddling

Posted on 6 February 2019 by eehines

More European nations have recognized the Guaidó government as the legitimate government of Venezuela following the passing of those nations’ Sunday deadline for Maduro to schedule free elections with no action by Maduro (though left unaddressed is the conundrum of how Maduro could schedule anything if he’s not the legitimate head of government).

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin demurs.

…domestic issues should be solved by Venezuela and its people. “Attempts to legitimize usurped power” constitute[] “interference in Venezuela’s internal affairs….”

This is a preview of Foreign Meddling. Read the full post (313 words, estimated 1:15 mins reading time)

German Intransigence

Posted on 1 February 2019 by eehines

Last Tuesday, the British Parliament voted to send Prime Minister Theresa May back to Brussels to renegotiate the status of Great Britain’s Northern Ireland border with the Republic of Ireland, which is part of the Brit-EU exit agreement that the Parliament had earlier rejected. The same day, the Parliament also rejected an attempt by Labour to delay by nine months the actual departure of Great Britain from the EU, leaving the date set at 29 March.

European Council President Donald Tusk said through his spokesman

The backstop is part of the Withdrawal Agreement, and the Withdrawal Agreement is not open for renegotiation.

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A Note about a Note

Posted on 29 January 2019 by eehines

Ambassador John Bolton, at Monday’s noon press conference, had two brief notes at the top of his 8.5×11 yellow note pad, written in clear, black lettering. One referenced Afghanistan, and the other said, “5,000 troops to Colombia.”

Naturally, the NLMSM jumped all over that second one and is wondering a) how could Bolton be so careless as to let the press see and photograph such a note, and b) whatever could it mean?

This is a preview of A Note about a Note. Read the full post (209 words, estimated 50 secs reading time)

Progress

Posted on 26 January 2019 by eehines

Even in the midst of the US government’s partial shutdown imbroglio and Great Britain’s Brexit fiasco, the two found time and energy to conduct joint operations training in the South China Sea.

Even though this only involved two ships—the Arleigh-Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell and Royal Navy Type 23 frigate HMS Argyll—it’s a critical beginning (not really a resumption; the last such joint exercise was eight years ago).

We need to expand on this, though. We need, also, to run joint flotilla- and fleet-level exercises in the South China Sea, and then we need to involve Vietnam, the Republic of Korea, and Japan in this sort of joint exercise. In their aggregate, they need to occur a couple of times per year—and they need to include island assault exercises.

This is a preview of Progress. Read the full post (294 words, estimated 1:11 mins reading time)

Hysteria

Posted on 23 January 2019 by eehines

Some Congressmen are working on bills that, in their aggregate, would bar sales of critical computer components to the People’s Republic of China’s communications companies Huawei, ZTE, and other PRC companies caught violating our export laws or sanctions on those companies or companies with which these do business.

The PRC is upset.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said it was all “hysteria,” and

I believe the action of these few representatives are an expression of extreme arrogance and an extreme lack of self-confidence[.]

The PRC’s insults and hysterical response, whether individual or taken together, are sufficient evidence that we’re on the right track.

This is a preview of Hysteria. Read the full post (180 words, estimated 43 secs reading time)

A Telling Interview

Posted on 22 January 2019 by eehines

Progressive-Democrat from Texas, Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke gave a wide-ranging, disjointed, somewhat confused interview to The Washington Post. Here are some highlights.

Beto on the wall:

[It would] cut off access to the river, shrink the size of the United States and force the seizure of privately-held land.
[He] noted that most undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States in the past decade came not over the border but on visas that then expired.
WAPO: So what should be done to address visa overstays?
Beto: I don’t know[.]

This is a preview of A Telling Interview. Read the full post (434 words, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

Russian Acquisitiveness

Posted on 19 January 2019 by eehines

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is insisting that Japan accept the outcome of WWII as a necessary pre-condition to a peace agreement between Japan and Russia and “improved relations,” including trade, between the two.

That outcome includes Russian occupation of Japan’s Northern Territories, islands in the Kurile chain immediately north of the main body of Japan. Russia, which joined the war against Japan only in the waning months after Japan’s war effort was in full collapse, seized those islands and now claims them as “rightful spoils.”

This is a preview of Russian Acquisitiveness. Read the full post (172 words, estimated 41 secs reading time)

In Which the NLMSM and Politicians

Posted on 8 January 2019 by eehines

…of both parties jumped the gun in their blind panic to disparage an actual attempt to end a war. Recall the hooraw over President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw our forces from Syria and from a war with no coherent plan or victory conditions.

Now the facts of the withdrawal start to come out. National Security Adviser John Bolton made these points in Jerusalem while on a diplomatic trip:

the safety of Kurdish allies is being considered as part of its pending withdrawal plan

This is a preview of In Which the NLMSM and Politicians. Read the full post (226 words, estimated 54 secs reading time)

Building a Wall

Posted on 7 January 2019 by eehines

President Donald Trump has floated the idea that he could declare a national emergency and use the military to build a wall. I’m not convinced that’s necessary.

The Navy’s Seabees, the Army’s Corps of Engineers, and the USAF’s Civil Engineers always can use an operational exercise in construction.

Permanent link to this post (82 words, estimated 20 secs reading time)

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