[War on the Rocks] In a recent editorial in Le Monde, French journalist Christophe Ayad draws disturbing parallels between the French military operations in Mali — which will reach their five-year mark in January — and America’s involvement in Afghanistan. At first glance the comparison is compelling, and in some important ways, accurate. Yet these two interventions present some fundamental differences that make the Afghanistan case likely more intractable than Mali’s, and give reason for optimism in France.
Ayad’s argument relates to the course of the wars and the apparent bind in which the American and French militaries now find themselves. Ayad observes that in both cases a lightning offensive gave way to a grinding counter-insurgency. In neither case can one now discern an alternative to continuing indefinitely to pay in blood and treasure to prop up governments that frequently act in ways contrary to good sense or good strategy. One can, in fact, blame those governments, as many critics do, but Ayad insists on Western militaries’ fundamental inability to do what they’re being asked to do in countries like Afghanistan and Mali.
They have, he argues, neither “the mandate, the vocation, nor, finally, the qualifications for reconstructing the States in which they are intervening.” They “no longer know what to do” and have to choose between hunkering down in bunkers to prevent useless losses while becoming an army of occupation, or conducting raids to intimidate the enemy but risk accidents and ambushes like that which took the life lives of four American soldiers in Niger in October. Winning “hearts and minds” through civil-military engagements is supposed to be a third option, but, Ayad asserts, this is not really the job of soldiers, “as we saw in Afghanistan, where dozens of billions of dollars were spent for nothing.”
#2
"bystanders", "arrested for proximity to the riots".
Lying MFers
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/03/2017 8:12 Comments ||
Top||
#3
I'm guessing the police would have issued an order to clear the street. If they did, anyone on the street was participating in the riot.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/03/2017 11:06 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Our sovereign lord the King chargeth and commandeth all persons, being assembled, immediately to disperse themselves, and peaceably to depart to their habitations, or to their lawful business, upon the pains contained in the act made in the first year of King George, for preventing tumults and riotous assemblies. God save the King.
The pains mentioned include death without the benefit of clergy.
h/t Instapundit
In case anyone still doubts it, the deep state is real.
That doesn't mean people in public life still don't do dumb things. It also doesn't mean unqualified people don't, either by appointment or through election, get into positions of power and authority. But you don't have to be a raging paranoid to believe it exists, is active, and has more to say about what the government does than we do.
The federal government is unaccountably large. Whatever accountability people think exists is largely a fiction maintained not by the rule of law but by the actions of men. Friday's news that former White House national security adviser Mike Flynn has pleaded guilty to a single count from among the charges brought against him by former FBI Director Robert Mueller and his merry band of cutthroats should make that clear.
Perhaps Flynn did break the law. He's admitted as much ‐ but why? Did he do it because he was guilty (and agreed to say anything) in order to avoid having his life ruined by crushing legal expenses and in order to see his son remain at liberty?
...There are lots of powerful people in both political parties and around the globe who didn't want Trump to win the election. They were afraid, and rightly so, that he meant it when he said he would pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accords and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.
...We're approaching a constitutional crisis that gets at the essence of self-government. Should "We, the people" be in charge of the U.S. government or should that role be ceded even further to the career bureaucrats, members of the Foreign Service, Capitol Hill staff, K Street lobbyists, media stars and others who make up the permanent government? The day of reckoning is coming, something the president could bring about sooner rather than later by ‐ now that he has pleaded guilty to something - pardoning Flynn in order to destroy Mueller's ability to put pressure on him. It would be something to see, watching the special prosecutor and his minions try to move ahead in their effort to construct a semblance of proof the Trump campaign coordinated activities with the Russian government to the detriment of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign without being able to squeeze a key player in this fantastic fantasy. It's not a matter of Flynn not being able to talk as much as it is liberating him to talk about the pressure applied to him by the prosecutor ‐ which, if past behavior is any indication, probably should itself constitute some kind of a crime.
#3
Government has always been just about determining who gets to give the orders & who must take the orders, who must pay taxes & who gets to spend that money. Then there's Somalia...
'Tis the season of gift giving, so I am going to mix this up a little bit, and cover a series of coffee table books.
But first, wife is getting into the season and asked me the other day, "What is your favorite Christmas story?"
Being me, and as quick as a cat knocks over your favorite coffee mug, I replied (George) Washington crossing the Delaware (River). The good news is that extra piece of coal goes towards the next BBQ.
If you read anything written by David Hackett Fischer:
Paul Revere's Ride is fantastic, and I am about two-thirds of the way through Albion's Seed and pleasantly surprised by its easy reading about what some would consider a very dry subject. Mr. Fischer is just a fantastic writer and a dedicated researcher, a rare combination.
But for the coffee table:
The Book of Five Rings
Miyamoto Musashi
translated by William Scott Wilson
Shambhala, 2012
This book was recommended to me by a friend I respect; he took an old file, forged it into a blade, and hilted it with a deer antler. Scabbard is hand made from tanned deer hide. Gift to my wife, which I adore both of them for. Let me categorize this as a philosophy book where the topic is martial arts. Miyamoto was a very successful samurai who lived in the 1600s and after retiring, chronicled his thoughts. A person should be into both subjects to really get the most out of Miyamoto's work.
Page 34: (concerning use of the sword)
Use of the Feet: In the carriage of the feet, you should float your toenails a little and step strongly with your heels. In the use of the feet, you should walk as usual, whether the case calls for large, small, quick, or slow strides. Feet that seem to fly, float, or be immobile are, all three, undesirable.
There is something important in this Way called the Yin-Yang Foot, and it is considered essential. The Yin-Yang Foot means never moving just one foot. With Yin-Yang, you step right and left, right and left, whether striking, pulling back, or parrying a blow. I repeat: you should never step with just one foot. You should investigate this thoroughly.
Before you go, "Hey Kansas, swords are Florida Man stories." Consider an improvised sword in self defense, such as a billiard cue. At any rate, it is interesting to be privy to the thoughts of a master.
For the most part, a collection of insults during the age of Samuel Johnson, born in 1709, a professional commentator in England. Some words are recognizable, some I wish still were. Mr. Lynch does discreet yet effective work on the etymology of selected words.
Page 58
Nidget [corrupted from nithing or niding. The opprobrious term with which the man was anciently branded who refused to come to the royal standard in times of exigency.] A coward, a dastard.
There was one true English word of greater force than them all, now out of all use; it signifieth no more than abject, baseminded, false-hearted, coward, or nidget. Camden.
The word actually comes from an idiot. In the sixteenth century, speakers detached the n from an and moved it to the beginning of the next word, so an idiot became a nidiot and then a nidget
Rounding out, this Thoughts of Masters in their Trade:
This is a collection of yarns by a LEO in the Texas Panhandle. Being in the region, I get the sense of humor and had an absolutely great time reading this book, even the tough recollections. Some stories had me chuckling so loud the kids stopped over to ask me what was so funny. Other stories, well they are real. Lawdog has a very soft and fluid way of writing and the pages seemed to turn themselves; in fact I had to pace myself to not finish the book in one setting.
Page 83
Mesquites have very long thorns, and they grow very low to the ground and very close together. In addition, mesquite thickets are the favored lairs of ticks, no-see-ums, wheel bugs, tarantulas, fire ants, red ants, spiders, and pasty-faced men with chainsaws. Not to mention cactus, jumping-getcha, devil's claw, and other antisocial plants also like thickets.
The wind doesn't ever seem to get into the mesquite thickets, but the humidity does. And the heat. And here's our critter, in his black no-dye tissue-thin batik cotton drawstring drawers and his politically correct black hemp guayabera shirt and his black cordura sandals.
Anyhoo, Bubba and I sat there juggling a can of Deep Woods Off for about twenty minutes before hearing this blood-curdling yodel, and we saw Todd the Revolutionary, black bandanna pulled up bandit-style over his lower face, burst forth from the mesquite in a buzzing gray cloud and sprint for the open driver's door of the Mustang, ululating every step of the way.
We watched him cover the hundred or so feet at a dead sprint, and then Bubba casually reached over and pushed the door closed, causing Young Toddy to ricochet off the closed door and into the dust, much to the delight of the mosquitos.
I waved the car keys at him. I supposed I needed to read the Anarchist Handbook because this was apparently a gross violation of the rules of the game. All five foot, six inches, 130 pounds of halitosis and macrobiotic methane jumped to his feet, struck a bee-yoo-ti-ful tai chi stance, and proclaimed, "It took six LAPD pigs to take me to jail. I'm not afraid of you!"
*snort*
He went to jail.
The book is a great read, like watching a fantastic knuckleball pitcher having the game of his life.
Take a commercial break today, or right now, and go make sure your water pipe valves close, are closed, and open back up. Add it to the Daylight Savings Day house-check of smoke detectors and battery check of electronic safes and such, especially if you have water that is tough on the plumbing. I shit you not, water out here from a drippy faucet will make a stalactite. Those working valves have saved my ass many a time.
For those of you who get cold, vehicles should be winterized at this point. Wiper fluid filled, emergency kit has a blanket, battery inspected and terminals cleaned, de-icer and scraper, all that good stuff. Anyone know of something to drink that has a very low freezing point which I can throw in the car? Other than schnapps. Which I absolutely do not have in the car next to the jumper cables.
Links to books are in the book title and go to Amazon. Title link also goes to Amazon, but to re-usable heat pads. After use, throw them in a pot of boiling water to re-charge them, very handy.
#2
25 years ago I read similar about checking home water shutoff valves. I tested my main valve, it failed immediately. It wouldn't shut off the supply and started leaking a fair amount around the handle that nothing could stop. I did this on a weekday at 0900, so I had the time to track down a plumber, contact the city water service & do all necessary to get the bad valve out and a good valve in. Additional advice: Everytime you leave your house overnight or longer, shut the main valve off. That way makes it less likely you will, say, return home and find your basement turned into a swimming pool while you were away. That actually happened to several families I knew.
#3
Just about happened to me recently. I'm not talking some random pipe on Dungeon Level III requiring a saving throw, it was easily inspected and look fine, other than the baby kraken nested inside. Working valve kept a souumbbitchk moment from becoming a Jaques Coustou special. 'ere, we ave ze plesiosaur in itz glory, in ze basement of swksvolFF.'
#4
I tested my main valve, it failed immediately. It wouldn't shut off the supply and started leaking a fair amount around the handle that nothing could stop.
The way they build houses in SoCal, everybody should check for this. The handle on my valve was so rusty it was about to fall off. Cheap, third rate parts. The builder cut corners in every legal way and some that probably weren't. The main water valve still worked though. I learned that when the valve on the pipe that leads into the toilet broke the first time I tried it. But I had them both fixed.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/03/2017 11:18 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Still enjoying 'Horse Soldiers'. Thank you.
Anyone know of something to drink that has a very low freezing point which I can throw in the car?
In my early Chicago sub-arctic winter years I carried fortified wines and/or Orange Vodka. Either of which would work well in the windshield washer to breakup ice spray or make slushies with a cup full of snow.
Now it's more 'near beer' which may turn to a slushie but does not freeze and burst, yet.
#6
I once accidentally left a carton of Bud out in the car on a subzero night. Brought it in, beer appeared to be liquid somehow. I popped one open & was delighted to see the beer flash freeze on the sudden change in pressure in the bottle. The icy slush slowly oozed out of the bottle. While the bottle didn't break, I don't know. The rest of the beer I carefully set down on the kitchen floor to slowly warm it. No bottles broke.
#7
--- My car emergency kit includes a polyester filled sleeping bag rather than a blanket, works better to keep you warm.
--- I always carry a small bottle of propane, one of those cheap screw-on camping propane burners, a metal camping pot with lid and several cheap butane lighters -- all this stuff is lightweight, cheap and not bulky and will not freeze above about -45 deg F. You can melt snow or ice this way, and even heat up the inside of your vehicle if you take great care to allow the fumes to exhaust & new O2 to get in - otherwise fumes and low O2 can kill in confined spaces.
I once used this equipment to brew a desperately needed cup of real coffee on the shoulder of a Texas highway in the middle of nowhere. Just dumped the ground coffee in the pot of boiling water & drank the "supernatant" as we used to say in chemistry class. Best coffee I ever had!
#8
Cheap, third rate parts. Years ago my electric service panel caught on fire when I reset a tripped circuit breaker. Turned out corrosion accumulated over decades had built up on the aluminum buss bar to which the ends of the circuit breakers are attached. This was hardly visible. Somehow a spark created by resetting the circuit breaker ignited either/or the plastic of the circuit breaker or the aluminum tabs of the buss bar -- all hidden under the other parts. Fortunately I stopped the fire by quickly switching off the main breakers at the top of the panel. Discussed this later with an electrician. He said this only happens with aluminum buss bars & not with copper ones. Sometimes fires would start spontaneously in the panels. Copper costs $5 or $10 more for the average home service panel.
#9
Favorite Christmas book, below review from Amazon
Using glowing, hypnotic images and a funny, provocative text, the narrator relives his father's most amazing childhood Christmas. A moody young boy living with his aunt on an island, "Red" Breathed sees himself as the "Red Ranger from Mars", his hero from the movie serials, and cannot picture life without the gift of a Red Ranger bicycle. Red is far too "swanky a human being" to believe in Santa Claus, but nevertheless he pays a visit to the aged island hermit, Lord Sander Clos, rumored to be the legendary man himself, now living in lonely, joyless retirement. This meeting triggers an emotional response within the self-absorbed Red and leads to the most remarkable bicycle ever delivered on Christmas morning. This book represents Berkeley Breathed at the top of his form.
#10
I just finished The Desert Column about the Australian light horse in WWI.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/03/2017 13:55 Comments ||
Top||
#11
For those interested in reviewing swksvolFF’s past emergency preparedness columns, the Rantburg Search function at the top of the page will get that for you. Type “emergency preparedness” in the box, and then again in the box in the ‘Burg Search screen that pops up, changing the start date to January 2016. That will give you the comments as well.
#12
Seconding the Lawdogs book. I also picked up his book of Africa stories (which weren't all from Africa). There seem to have been points of difference between facilities available for an engineer's son and those available to a missionaries' son.
Posted by: james ||
12/03/2017 18:19 Comments ||
Top||
#13
Glad you like the book Skid.
I have The Lion's Gate by Steven Pressfield on my short list. The Desert Column sounds interesting.
Thank you for all the help TW.
I really want the Africa Stories; last I checked it is electronic only.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[War on the Rocks] In a recent editorial in Le Monde, French journalist Christophe Ayad draws disturbing parallels between the French military operations in Mali — which will reach their five-year mark in January — and America’s involvement in Afghanistan. At first glance the comparison is compelling, and in some important ways, accurate. Yet these two interventions present some fundamental differences that make the Afghanistan case likely more intractable than Mali’s, and give reason for optimism in France.
Afrika stories...?
