Congratulations, Nebraska.

You did well in elections. What a nice Senator. 

No comments are needed.
 

In Related...

 ... developments. 

Japan and the US are in discussions on joining forces to develop interceptors capable of shooting down hypersonic weapons, Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada has said. Hamada made the announcement at a press conference after talks with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Tokyo on Thursday. “Regarding defense equipment and technology cooperation, we’ve agreed to deepen cooperation and to advance discussions on unmanned aerial vehicles as well as the possibility of joint development in the future of an interceptor to counter hypersonic technology,” he said.

Or, as Derek Zoolander would say...

... continuing talking about this conversation will, certainly, ensure the advancement in this field as long as it suits US military contractors. Japan, for all her magnificent robotics, cars and other consumer technology is not big on military rocketry, being a recipient of the American air defense systems for decades. While Congo-class Aegis equipped DDGs of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force are good ships, they still are the carriers of same ol' SPY-1D radar and a variety of SM-3 missiles honed (allegedly) for anti-ballistic missile defense. Considering a dismal performance of US made air defense complexes in the last decade one can easily conclude a very low level one has to start from in order to create something capable of going full Monty against straight flying hypersonic weapons. Against violently maneuvering ones? Good luck with that...

Meanwhile, the never-ending story...

May 30—WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin's F-35 engines are being overworked and could lead to an extra $38 billion in overhauls in the next few decades to help cool radar and other components of the fighter jets, according to government auditors. "The cooling system is overtasked, requiring the engine to operate beyond its design parameters," the Government Accountability Office wrote in its 91-page annual report released Tuesday. "The extra heat is increasing the wear on the engine, reducing its life, and adding $38 billion in maintenance costs." Unless there is an effective fix, engine overhauls might come sooner than expected and add another item to the Pentagon's $1.7 trillion estimate to operate and maintain the fleet until its operational end in the late 2080s. 

Boy, this (barely) flying embarrassment of a combat aircraft just cannot get out of a forest of problems. I am sure NATO countries and America's lapdogs in Asia will be happy to get this lemon. After all, as "sources" continue to report:

The GAO's report disclosed that the cost of the Block 4 upgrade has grown by an additional $1 billion to $16.5 billion, and half of Lockheed's 2022 aircraft deliveries were late. However, the demand for F-35s has grown internationally. Global interest in the fighter jet has increased since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and tensions with China have increased. 

Ah, yes, F-35 is a good match against SU-35 or SU-57, wink, wink. I wonder what will Turkiye decide on her indigenous fighter and what may become a stop-gap measure for Turkish Air Force in coming years. Something tells me it will not be F-35. At this stage combat proven packages such as SU-35 with R-37 or same for SU-57 look extremely attractive for many. F-16 is nearing a complete obsolescence in the modern battlefield with supersonic speed and now that Erdogan secured his Presidential tenure things may start happening pretty fast.

A Bank Teller Boy...

... discovers for himself the existence of the reality independent of wishful thinking. He still didn't get it fully, but he is on the road to recovery once he puts two and two together. With Paris Nanterre University behind him, I am sure he can do it. Macron suddenly recognized... 

ПАРИЖ, 31 мая. /ТАСС/. Президент Франции Эмманюэль Макрон заявил, что Россия использует информационное поле для продвижения своих позиций гораздо более эффективно, чем Запад. Такое мнение он высказал в среду на международной конференции по безопасности Globsec в Братиславе. По его оценке, "Россия использует информационное поле для того, чтобы играть на усталости от войны и ослаблять поддержку Украины"."Это происходит через социальные сети, и эти социальные сети используются сегодня Россией гораздо более эффективно, чем это делаем мы", - считает французский лидер.

Translation: PARIS, 31 May. /TASS/. French President Emmanuel Macron said that Russia uses the information field to advance its positions much more effectively than the West. He expressed this opinion on Wednesday at the international security conference Globsec in Bratislava. According to him, "Russia uses the information field to play on war fatigue and weaken support for Ukraine." "This happens through social networks, and these social networks are used by Russia today much more effectively than we do," he said. French leader.

I can disclose a secret why Russia is so much more effective in this field--because she doesn't spread BS and can account for every annihilated Ukie (NATO, really) piece of hardware and formation. Moreover, Russians know that many in the West's "elite" know it and because of Russian information being reality-driven it is so effective. The West, on the other hand, lies non-stop and even manages to cross into the fairy tales territory, sometimes so risible that even Western media-whores have to slow down. If before Western "journos" have been viewed with contempt by people of decent moral qualities, soon they will be called to their faces who they really are--whores--and, eventually, people will spit into their faces and deservedly so. I do not advocate violence against them, though; but letting some editor from BBC, Bloomberg or NYT, among many others, feel as a cheap whore, who most of them are, that is a good idea. 

As for Macron, boy, so much to learn in this life. For example, that France is economic and military pip-squeak. But I have something to say about dog breeds tomorrow, in my next video. Don't miss it, I do give a short introspective of one nation having excruciating phantom pains. Meanwhile, Joey absolutely nails it--the revenge of the nerds. Or, more appropriately Beta-males. Or, even more clearly--the guys with low fuckability index.

And yes, they are not "tech-people". Social media corps are to real tech as I am to North Korean Space Agency. In the end, for shits and giggles, this is the rag from Soros-funded Quincy Institute. LOL)))

NATO members mull secret plans for responding to Russia attack. Most were drawn up behind closed doors by the permanent alliance representatives in Brussels and not seen by elected bodies.

Read the author's C.V. And recall what I state ad nauseam--we have "elites" most of who are academic frauds and morons. In general, most "peace", "security" and other similar "foreign affairs" programs in the West are machines for production of brainwashed credentialed imbeciles none of who have even rudimentary intellectual tool kit for understanding anything not related to celebrities, expensive lingerie and writing necrologues in the county newspaper.

Open Thread.

 Go at it.

Larry's Excellent Piece...

 ... on uniformity. 

The strength of any army is the principle of uniformity. Here is a Captain Obvious moment — the reason that a military organization sports a uniform is to ensure that troops in the heat of battle can easily identify their fellow fighters. Can you imagine an army that would grant each soldier or sailor or Marine the option to choose their own wardrobe? While you might get some fabulous fashion choices, allowing such diversity would undermine the operational effectiveness of that organization in combat. The concept of uniform in the military extends beyond what men and women wear. How about training? An effective military organization relies on standard operating procedures in order to ensure that even the least mentally competent member of a unit knows the policies, procedures and tactics he or she must perform under stress. One of the critical objectives in basic training is to teach new recruits how to communicate and how to act on orders. If a military organization incorporates different units with different methods of communicating the odds of confusion on the battlefield increase dramatically.

Read the whole thing at Larry's blog.  

Meanwhile, Russia openly states what Washington wants:

The US has been inciting Ukraine to strike Russian territory, despite claiming the opposite, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said on Wednesday. Antonov argued that Washington’s statements in response to the recent drone raid on the Russian capital “sound like an encouragement for Ukrainian terrorists.” “Doesn’t the [US] administration understand that no one believes their slogans about non-support of Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory?!” the diplomat said, according to a statement on the embassy’s Telegram channel. Antonov’s remarks came after a White House spokesperson told reporters that “as [a] general matter, we do not support attacks inside of Russia.” The goal of the drone attack was to “sow fear among Russians” and undermine trust in the authorities, he said. “The Russian Federation has been sentenced to ‘capital punishment’ in the [West] long ago. But simply, they don’t have it in them to achieve this goal,” the ambassador stated. 

But read the last, highlighted, phrase by him--exactly, the US is not the same league and Washington knows, or at least begins to recognize it, and, as an axiom goes: terrorism is a weapon of the weak. This is how bluffs are called. In the end, they do not check the credit history in banks for nothing. Where is the US warfare credit history? You know the answer...

Somebody, Please, Educate "Valdai" Boys...

Because RT continues to publish opinions of Moscow's beau monde boys, like Ivan Timofeev's platitudes and cliches ridden piece on "ending unipolarity". Read my lips--"political scientists" everywhere, including Russia, unless they have serious military background, are utterly unqualified for uttering any kind of opinions on modern balance of power. Mr. Timofeev demonstrates it fully (here is his very telling bio, BTW). He concludes:

In terms of the distribution of military capability, the world has been multipolar for quite a while. Critics can argue that the US is still ahead of all other states collectively in terms of its military spending, can project its power across the globe, and has the best-trained military armed with the most advanced equipment. At the same time, the US is not at liberty to start a military conflict against a number of countries without running a risk of huge and unacceptable losses. China is rapidly building its armed forces and would be difficult to defeat, even if nuclear weapons were not involved. While it is possible to imagine China suffering a local defeat, its complete destruction is unthinkable. A conflict with Russia would be no walk in the park either, even if all of NATO’s offensive capabilities are deployed. Indeed, this could actually quickly turn into a nuclear exchange.     

Somebody, please, educated Timofeev on:

1. The real balance of power mover is NOT nuclear, however extremely important for enforcing prematurely buried by many MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction), but conventional forces. Only through them the real geopolitical status of the nation is obtained;

2. It is the US which is nuclear-biased nation, not Russia, and this is true precisely for the reasons of the US being by far NOT the best conventional (namely ground forces) power. It, indeed, could turn fast into nuclear exchange INITIATED by the US precisely because it cannot match Russia's conventional capability. I warned about this for many years. Now respectable American military professionals openly admit this reality. Timofeev forgets to point out this crucial distinction, while describing escalation scenario he has no clue about and probably picked up as a rumor on one of Valdai's soirees. Here it is:

If faced with NATO aggression, Moscow would no doubt resort to tactical nukes and would be prepared for further escalation towards the strategic level. Even attacking weaker adversaries such as the North Korea or Iran would be likely to result in significant losses for the US. Pyongyang could well use its nuclear capability even if it risks being completely destroyed by a counterstrike. Iran could be bombed, but an attempt at occupying it like the US did with Iraq would claim too many lives.

"No doubt" by who? By Mr. Timofeev? Did Mr. Timofeev ever hear of mobilization potential, of how combat effectiveness of armed forces are calculated, or about how doctrine describes criteria for the use of nuclear weapons? Of course not, they don't teach those things in "politology". As per US "power projection", Timofeev better learn about the number of wars (all of them "power projecting" and expeditionary) the US "won" in the last 75 years before stating that "power projection" even possible against "near peer"--a condescending term issued by Pentagon--let alone "peer", let alone power which simply beat the US across multiple "domains", especially in strike weapons and air defense. 

I personally am on record for at least 3-4 years now that the US lost the arms race and some gaps will not be closed for many years, maybe ever, and we see it in real time now in SMO in 404. But what is most important and the body of empirical evidence to support this statement is overwhelming: political "science", or what passes for it, CAN NOT and DID NOT produce in decades, especially in the West, any competent specialist on issues of strategy, balance of power and modern operations. None, zilch, nada and Timofeev's statements like that:

The Russian case is more complicated. The country has access to abundant natural resources, and it remains one of the world’s top ten economies despite sanctions (being as high as sixth, when measured by purchasing power parity). While Moscow cannot boast a level of technological development on a par with the US, it still has critical military technologies at its disposal, including nuclear, missile, and space capabilities. However, one of the country’s biggest vulnerabilities is its industrial and human potential. Closing the industrial gap would take time and require tremendous willpower and a concentration of resources. In spite of its leadership in natural sciences, the country has an acute shortage of engineers and skilled industrial workers, which is compounded by the brain drain of the early 1990s and the recent wave of emigration in 2022. Low management efficiency and stubbornly high corruption remain a problem.

... demonstrate his complete loss of contact with reality, especially that of the United States. But it is highlighted in yellow which completes exposure of WHO Mr. Timofeev is and why I am on record that these types should never be allowed anywhere near governing and their ideas of modern geopolitics should be completely discarded as white-board pretentious doctrine-mongering, which is the essence of most modern humanities degrees which do not require serious intellectual and practical effort when speaking about military-industrial complexities of modern world, let alone warfare of the 21st century. And that brings another question of why the RT continues to publish this pseudo-academic drivel. Hey, at least I do not offer my services to open heart surgeons, I know my limitations.

PR, Again.

Knee jerk "discussions" on "war on Russia" after attacks on Moscow residential areas is just that--knee jerk media fodder. I reiterate again--Russia is at war with NATO whose proxy, a Nazi Kiev regime, is based on "Ukrainstvo"--a concept discussed so many times that I am not even going to bother. Russia is filled with refugees from 404 and among those people there are very many who are fanatical Ukies and SBU/GUR/CIA/MI6 assets. Judging by the look of those drones (see the video where S1 Pantsir takes one out) those are relatively small short range drones launched either inside or slightly outside of Moscow. 

Tuesday’s failed drone raid on Moscow was an attempt at payback by Kiev for Russia’s latest airstrikes on a Ukrainian decision-making center, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has claimed. This comes after the Russian Defense Ministry reported that eight plane-type UAVs were shot down near the Russian capital. “It is clear that we are talking about the response of the Kiev regime to our very effective strikes on one of the decision-making centers. This strike took place on Sunday,” Peskov told journalists after the attack. President Vladimir Putin later confirmed that Russian forces struck Ukraine’s military intelligence headquarters in Kiev “two or three days ago.” Peskov stated that he was not aware if the drone launch sites had been determined, but argued that the attack “once again confirms” the need to continue the military operation in Ukraine until its goals are achieved. The spokesman also said the authorities and military personnel in Moscow and Moscow Region had carried out their duties properly and that the air defense systems also “worked well.”

It is pure terrorism (see definition of terrorism) which is directed against civilian targets and civilians. It is MO of the 404 special services "trained" by CIA/MI6 and some other foreign "special services" who excel in matters of terrorizing civilian populations. I guess when one consistently gets its ass handed to it, this is the only thing which is left to do. In general, and it is axiomatic, the terrorism is a weapon of the weak. And when one looks at such specimen as Lindsey Graham, who is a certified supporter of terrorism, among many others who exist in the corridors of power in the West, one gets to know everything one needs. I reiterate--the only war combined West is capable of conducting is PR. Terrorist actions are the part of this war and have a tacit support among Western political "elites" and media. And yes, they are desperate.

Following the raid, Putin stated that “Kiev’s attack on civilian targets in Moscow confirms what method Kiev uses,” calling Tuesday’s incident “terrorist activity.” Russian officials have suggested that the goal of the drone raid was to spread panic in Moscow. “Ukraine and its Western handlers would certainly like to see lines of cars leaving Moscow, closed shops, and demonstrations,” the deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense, Aleksey Zhuravlev, said, noting that Kiev had ultimately failed to achieve its goal of spreading panic and that the attack has not affected life in the capital in any way.

Everything one needs to know. I have nothing more to add. Now it is a matter for FSB and MVD to deal with the issue, but since Russia allowed millions of 404 refugees, such actions will continue, because NATO cannot fight and win at the real battlefield. Knowing who runs modern West--I am not surprised.