June 01, 2015
Oh Good!
I was beginning to think they had just taken our money. That does not appear to be the case.
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Non-Deceptive Headline
The headline:
Wayward pig gets ride in police car, poses for epic photo
The associated photo:
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03:37 PM
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A Necessarily S.W.A.G. Based Overview of the North Korean SSB
Over at Covert Shores, H.I. Sutton has put together an analysis of the North Korean SSB, which is tentatively called the Sinpo class.
The striking thing is how small it is. This, of course, means it has limited capabilities, but even those limited capabilities should give one pause. Furthermore, it also puts such a vessel within the capability of small countries.
It is notable that Iran, which has expanded its sub building capability from costal midgets to mid sized submarines, has an active technology exchange program with the DPRK. Indeed, their domestic submarine industry is largely based on North Korean technology and they have tested a similar launch rig already.
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03:32 PM
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How Times Have Changed
While channel surfing, I recently discovered that Kill-La-Kill is playing on Cartoon Network. Now it's running after midnight, but there seems to be little or no censorship of this show, at least in what I saw.
Those unfamiliar with the show may wonder why this is surprising. For those people, I have linked to this comprehensive and NSFW overview of what Kill-LaKill does not sound like.
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03:27 PM
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And Now For Something Completely Different
The last post was less than uplifting.
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03:16 PM
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Mobile Crematoria and Other Foreign Affairs Developments
It is being reported that Russia has dispatched mobile crematoriums to burn their dead and thereby cover up the casualties they are suffering in East Ukraine from the world and their own public.
Apropos of nothing to be sure, but noting that Putin has gotten very vociferous in his defense of the sanctity of the Russian Orthodox Church, I looked up their views on cremation. Golly....
Biden is saying that direct U.S. arms transfers to Ukraine are still is the cards.
It is unclear what the HELL is actually going on in Kharkov and the Donbass but there are indications that the Ukranians are not collapsing quite yet...
...which may explain this.
Looking askance at these developments, Poland and Lithuania, in addition to massively upping their own defense expenditures, are both offering NATO bases and asking the U.S. to deploy troops there....
...Canada and Germany look posed to step up if NATO decides to accept the bases. More from a Canadian perspective here.
Such developments have some people anxious which no doubt contributed to this tweet going a bit viral...
Of course one tweet by a blogger is nothing to be upset about...unless, for instance, the "blogger" in question is an instructor at the Naval War College with a PhD in History and an extensive intel background who spends time in Europe doing research in circles where he actually talks to NATO GeneralOfficerFlagOfficers.
Fortunately there is nothing else happening in the w....oh wait.
China is putting artillery and jets on the islands that it has, with incredible speed, made out of reefs it stole from the Philippines and Viet-Nam. Even the Guardian is noting that the Chinese island construction project is unprecedented and worrisome.
In response, the US and the Philippines have just signed an agreement setting up a defensive line in the SCS. Of course the most worrisome issue is that after all the redlines, fecklessness and lassitude of the last 7 years, the Chinese reportedly don't think that the US is a concern. This could lead to a considerable miscalculation on their part.
The situation with ISIS/ISIL is...sub-optimal to be sure, but take heart. It could be worse...I mean it's not like...oh wait....
ISIS Isn't Wrong About Being Able to Get Nuclear Weapon From Pakistan, India's Defense Minister Says
Meanwhile the efforts to keep the other denomination of crazy from getting nukes is going about as well as expected. It should be noted that Iran has close technical relationships with North Korea which is already a nuclear power.
North Korea is also facing a terrible drought again which could lead to another round of nuclear rocket testing trying to get food...or it could destabilize a paranoid, insular nuclear power.
Happily, we can all rest assured that none of the above is of any concern, because all of these things are denied the position of "top story" by the fact that Bruce Jenner looks quite hot for a 65 year old in a one piece, presumably meaning that we can now use plastic surgery and photoshop to make the scary stuff go away.
Nothing to see here...Move along.
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12:20 PM
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Two Hours Well Spent
Here is an FPRI panel with three scholars giving talks on on the First World War. The whole thing is worth your time. The first covers just how unexpected the disaster was and why that was. The second talk (25 and a half minutes in) is also quite interesting, with Rutger's Kate Epstein debunking some long held misconceptions about the British Empire's position and strategy at the beginning of the war. To me the third is particularly fascinating. In it, John R. Schindler (who blogs at Double Cross Committee) goes into detail about role Austria-Hungary played in the genesis of the catastrophe. That one starts about 43 minutes in.
I was aware that things went to worms for the KuK early on, but Schindler makes it clear that their setbacks were far worse than is generally supposed, making the fact that held on till the end a fairly impressive feat.
The Q&A is generally worthwhile too.
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Serial Gruberings and Other Worries
Discussions of life's little irritants is below the fold. To keep perusal of this site in the domain of leisure rather than masochism, here is a whopping 35 feet of pulchritude (and an aspie).
more...
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09:04 AM
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May 31, 2015
Well, Damn
There's not much to add to this...
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01:59 AM
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May 26, 2015
Laser Progress
Via Next Big Future comes an interesting article on U.S. Air Force plans to field 100+KW laser cannons on a fighter by 2022.
What can 100-plus kilowatts kill? Hardy was cagey about specific targets, but a study from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments suggests that it could destroy enemy cruise missiles, drones, and even manned aircraft at significant ranges."A 150-200 kW laser could be capable against surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles,†said CSBA’s Mark Gunzinger...
One of the Brickmuppet's Crack Team of Science Babes, is here with an overview of what all this means.
"The fellow doing the analysis of the LASER CANNON is named GUNZINGER! Anime is becoming real!"
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04:06 PM
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May 25, 2015
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May 24, 2015
A Challenge
...has been issued by Steven.
I have been vanquished.
Loyal readers, go avenge me!
I have not seen Rin-Kan previously and dropping uninitiated into episode eight I was initially surprised by the jerky animation and the freaky-deaky see-through hair on two of the young ladies.
"Oh Lord, it's like colored cellophane wigs!"
However, it really was a charming, poignant story.
I guess it is a sign of the times that the McGuffin that allows the non-psychic characters to interact with the supernatural is a smartphone ap. That's one hell of an ap.
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12:08 AM
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May 23, 2015
One of Them Thar 'Propane Accessories' I've Heard Tell of
Via Ace's ONT
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12:03 AM
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May 22, 2015
Signs, Portents and Small Victories
Instapundit is reporting tonight that...
There is an interesting interview with the Latvian Defense Minister here, which discusses amongst other things, that the little country is spending 27% of their budget on defense in light of current events.
Actually, China just dumped $50 billion dollars to help Brazil build infrastructure including a Transcontinental railroad to take Brazilian resources to ports in Peru (for shipment to China). It's unclear what other agreements are involved but with Argentina getting money and military kit gifted to them as well and Namibia getting a Chinese port, the South Atlantic is going to be a darned cozy place for Chinese ships.
Russia is playing chess, China is playing Risk and we are playing golf.
One other minor thing....
...but you already knew that...because Brickmuppet Blog had that story on May Third.
See? There's a bright side to everything.
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11:50 PM
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May 20, 2015
The End Times, They are Upon Us
I had heard this series was in the works, but I did not entirely believe it, and I certainly didn't expect...this...
.
The production values look good and it appears that it it might be pretty faithful to the manga, but....
...Yes, exactly.
UPDATE: It belatedly occurs to me that this blog's review of the manga might be helpful information.
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Bittersweet Victory
Well, my trip to Kafkaland seems to finally be resolved.
This is kind of a shame as I was enjoying both classes. OTOH this is almost certainly for the best as it means I'll be caught up financially in a few weeks (I still need to get a car after all).
In any event, here is something that some of you might find clever.
Art by Ao Usagi
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03:35 PM
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May 18, 2015
A Certain Irksomeness
Since the content below the fold can be nothing but a horrible, horrible warning, we decided to post some positive words to live by above it.
Kaga, Akagi and wisdom by Kuon
more...
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May 15, 2015
We Have Been Diminished
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09:50 PM
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May 13, 2015
Abort Test
Space-X successfully tested its launch abort system recently. Instead of a disposable tower the system uses the landing retro rockets to remove the capsule from an exploding rocket and send it down range.
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09:29 AM
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May 10, 2015
Timing Can Compensate For a Lot
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02:21 PM
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