While I’ve mainly been focused on the South China Sea as a potential flashpoint, it appears things are heating up in the gulf of Oman. First, several Saudi tankers were sabotaged. Then some Iranian boats caught fire. Now two tankers have been attacked. This could get real hot, real fast.
At this rate, there will be no one left in Venezuela in 8 more years. Something has to give.
This is up in Canada (BC), which is having its own special issues with the housing market, mostly related to foreign money driving a real estate bubble (an now a crash), but this is a microcosm of what was going on all over the US, particularly in FL, AZ, NV and CA in 2007 which led to the great crash of 2008. These people are playing with fire, and because of the government bailout the last time, I fear that no one has learned any lessons. I am not a great fan of increased government regulation, but this is one area where I make an exception.
Looks like the Chinese are doing some missile testing. Possibly a sub launched missile. Possibly hypersonic? The US defense establishment needs to make sure that it doesn’t relax in its own technological development.
Stories like this. Seeing kids die of treatable ailments. Socialism sucks.
Looks like the US Army is getting its tanks upgraded a bit quicker. I, for one, am happy to see that the U.S. armed forces are not ignoring conventional war-fighting. Given our experiences with non-traditional combat (terrorism and insurgency) it would be easy to lose focus on conventional warfare. I am glad we are not.
Its been a while since we reviewed the situation in Venezuela. Frankly, its like passing a car accident on the road. You slow down and look. You don’t want to, but you do. If you are like me every time you do you say a quick silent prayer for the safety of those involved. The same goes for Venezuela. On one level, it is fascinating to watch a country fall apart in real time. Also, while watching it happen, you have to remember that the Venezuelan people got themselves into this mess by voting for “free stuff”. That doesn’t make it any less heartbreaking.
Big cities governed by politicians who are unwilling to enforce laws lead to societal breakdown. This is another indication of such a breakdown. A similar thing happened in 1970s New York. People living in close proximity to each other require a more strict adherence to agreed societal norms backed by law enforcement. See also.
Russia, having previously announced that it was only going to buy 16 Su-57s (after India pulled out of a development deal), has now decided it will buy 76 of the fighters. Given the reported problems with the aircraft, either they have been solved, or, more likely IMHO, this is more of Russia trying to saber-rattle and impress its neighbors.
It may be related to this, where Poland has announced plans to buy F-35s.
