The Laughing Wolf – Page 108 – Commentary, Punditry, and More

Two Decent Reads

The good folks at Ammo.Com reached out to me a while back and we’ve had a bit of discussion in e-mails. Two articles at their site are well worth reading for insights into two different subjects.

The first looks at the COVID-19-induced spike in ammunition sales. Some interesting data there.

The second provides some interesting background on China (the Middle Kingdom as they refer to themselves), particularly on the history of Tiananmen Square. Given that China declared a “People’s War” against the United States (as I noted here) more than a year ago, it is timely information.

Also, keep in mind there are several areas that involve China that could use more eyes.

A Rather Sad Commentary

On twitter and elsewhere, there is a lot of well deserved commentary on NBC working with a foreign organization to get two conservative competitors demonetized by Google. None of those involved, including Google, have covered themselves with glory. In fact, Google has opened itself up to some potentially serious charges in regard Section 230 and anti-trust issues. For the rest, there is both anti-trust and possibly even some RICO considerations.

The sad thing is, right now everyone is talking about this in regards The Federalist. There is effectively zero mention of Zero Hedge. Whatever one may think of them, they too deserve mention and protection from this vile and despicable action by NBC. The silence says a lot, none of it good.

The Great Silencing Begins

Several things have kicked off sooner than I expected, using the George Floyd case as a pretext. One is what I call “The Great Silencing” which is an effort to block political dialog and information that is contrary to the goals of the progressive block. I was expecting to see it truly start up around late July/early August, but never let a crisis go to waste…

It’s not just about silencing on social media. It is about shutting down blogs and other alternatives to major social media. It is about discrediting information and sources, or providing a pretext of such so that the mainstream media can use that pretext to deny coverage or to discredit information from individuals and independent sites to shape the narrative.

I see the effort to get Professor William A. Jacobson fired from Cornell as the opening offensive of this operation. As others have noted, he has done important work on a variety of high-profile and important events. His Legal Insurrection Foundation is a novel and needed approach to investigative journalism. I note that I check Legal Insurrection blog daily for the well researched and documented stories they post.

For now, Eduardo M. Peñalver, dean of the law school, is saying his job is safe, though he provided what the progressive’s need both by what the Volokh Conspiracy notes is “an entirely gratuitous, and somewhat unfair condemnation” as well as what could be considered a deliberate mischaracterization of what Professor Jacobson wrote. Even if he does end up keeping his job (something I have doubts about), the media can point to the statement by Peñalver to discredit Jacobson and any/all work from Legal Insurrection.

This is not what some call battlefield-preparation, that’s been going on for years. This is the opening shot in the next major campaign to silence free speech and to censor opinions before the election. You can expect to see a LOT more of this, as the cancel culture is turned on any and all major voices not promoting the party line, especially those opposed to the party line. Any individual or group blog that is in opposition that has anyone who can be gone after will find themselves targeted. Even if they can’t collect a job or otherwise destroy a life, cover will be given so that they can be dismissed in the mainstream media.

Keep in mind that these are people who are going back over years of posts to destroy people for ever having a wrongthought or expressing a wrongposition on any issue. There is no forgiveness, no Grace: a sin is forever (unless you cave to the mob and even then you really aren’t forgiven). They are not doing this just to the prominent, like Professor Jacobson. They are doing it to average people, like this student in Florida.

My advice to all: grow a spine, a pair of reproductive organs of your choice, and stand up to the mob. Embrace the power of “No!” when it comes to demands to kneel, beg forgiveness, and otherwise kowtow to the mob. If you do it there WILL be a temper tantrum as they are spoiled children who have been coddled too long. Let them scream, cry, roll on the ground, and hold their breath until they turn blue. Even if those around you cave (like I expect Cornell and others to cave), even if those you thought friends turn on you (as happened to Professor Jacobson), stand tall, stand firm, and hold on. It is not easy, but also keep in mind that apologizing tends to inflame the mob.

As for what’s next for Professor Jacobson and other targets: Expect to see the firing push extended to getting both him and Legal Insurrection (and all authors there) banned from Twitter and Facebook. While there are alternative outlets (and they are growing), they do not have the marketing push that Facebook and Twitter have. Again, this will happen to all targets. The firing push itself will be expanded and promoted via the media until either Cornell stands firm (unlikely IMO) or caves. Then, they will turn to any and every other facet of his life they can attack, and do so. Cancel Culture is about totally destroying a person and their life.

To that, I can only say: #CancelCancelCulture

Modesto Hats – Highly Recommended

Okay, not the best shot of me but a decent one of the hat. Fact is, I like hats. Had a fedora that lasted around 20 years, a wool felt hat for hiking and such that lasted around 15 years, and a couple of others that gave decent use. Recently, I had the opportunity to wear a Panama Cuenca woven straw hat and loved it. So much so, I went online to find one.

While Amazon came up (of course) the second place in line was Modesto Hats in Ecuador. They had what I was after at a great price (shipping was more), and a nice variety of other hats to choose from. They do things by hand, using traditional methods by hand, and are glad – eager even – to show you how they do things. The customer service was excellent, you can use PayPal (even if you don’t have an account) so that your card is secure, and the hat arrived far sooner than estimated.

I’ve already identified a couple of other hats I intend to save up for and get. Frankly, rather than giving the money to Amazon or a big company that mass produces, I’d rather support a company that seems to be highly committed to doing it right and getting it right.

Rating this exchange: Highly Recommended

Quick Update

Lot’s going on, in the world and here in my life. On the good news front, I’ve been dusting off the outline of a book on practical preparedness and am getting ready to move out on it. Have some other writing in work as well.

In the world, note the announcement yesterday of all the drugs the navy captured in the Caribbean during the lockdown. Then ask, what else was going on as there does appear to be something beyond drugs. As noted before the Korean situation means he wants something, and this is how he usually starts efforts to get what he really wants. There are a number of things going on in Iran, keep an eye on it, Venezuela, and Cuba. There is good reason to believe that Venezuela and Cuba are involved in all that is going on in the Caribbean, and that China is involved with both.

More soon.

Normandy

A view of the commemorative window in the cathedral at St. Mere-Eglise, France honoring the Airborn units that landed and freed the city on D-Day.

I wish I were back again this year. It is humbling to meet those still alive who survived, and an honor to tell a small part of their tales. It is fascinating and awe inspiring to explore all the fortifications that are still there, and illuminating to visit all the museums. It is a pleasure to talk with the locals, who are still very grateful to Americans and other allies for, as one lady put it, “our freedom.”

A view from inside a German gun emplacement at Omaha Beach, Normandy, France

Looking out over a marker describing the Mulberry artificial piers/harbor used at Omaha Beach, Normandy, France

The remains of ships and the supply system sunk just off the coast

My Battlemug at Utah beach, just after sunrise

One of the old German bunkers converted into a home. You see this a lot as they were massive and destroying them is expensive and could do extensive damage to the surrounding area.

These guns survived bombs and heavy shelling. Of the four, only one was destroyed by a lucky shot that got through as the magazine doors were open.

The statue of Major Richard Winters **of Band of Brothers fame**

A British survivor I interviewed (should still be up at Blackfive) who also survived one of the bloodiest battles of the campaign

A survivor of Utah Beach, with his daughter atop Pointe du Hoc. As he and I walked together, he looked around and said “I guess we didn’t have it so bad after all.”

Sunrise at Omaha Beach, our flag flanked by the new Les Braves and the old memorial

Inside the German command post at Quistreham

Outside the German command post at Ouistreham

There are lots more, thinking I need to do a new book…

Would Love More Eyes

Sorry for the lack of posting, but things have been interesting. I’m afraid we do live in interesting times, and the Chinese curse is a real thing. And I’m not just talking about the Chinese Flu/Winnie The Flu.

In this post on Iran, I mentioned that there were a number of sites where the data is making odd and interesting swirls and flows. All of them are tied to the Chinese government, which right now is desperate. Almost all of their recent actions reek of desperation, not strength.

If anyone is interested and willing, here are the areas I’m trying to monitor as much as I can, but can’t do as much as I would like. There are some other areas, but right now they are still small.

Iran I’ve talked about a bit, but beyond the obvious there are several oddities in the South China Sea. Malaysia and Vietnam both seem to be at stronger than normal odds with China, and China is very unhappy with Vietnam in turn. Net result, several oddities in the South China Sea outside of the obvious. Some of them literally in the waters off Vietnam and Malaysia. The obvious continues to be the expansion, but also consider that China is also apparently trying to create a shooting incident with the U.S. (and others).

The Caribbean is another area to watch. There are odd naval movements and sweeps, from the U.S. and others. A lot of the data oddities involve Venezuela (and Cuba), and keep in mind that Venezuela is hand-in-glove with both Iran and China. There is also extensive Chinese influence in Cuba, more than either will admit. Some of the data oddities seem to be headed up and across to Mexico. If it is just smuggling, what is it that is being smuggled?

The Mexican border is the final one for now. Why were Mexican drug cartels smuggling Chinese nationals across the border? What else were they smuggling? Drugs are obvious (if you don’t know why, might want to check where a lot of the fentanyl in the U.S. comes from), but what else? Why does whatever is going on seem to be tied to Venezuela? Why the warnings from Trump to the drug cartels and others?

There are a couple of areas that could clear up or could get worse. Right now, these seem to be the key. Any eyes on them would be appreciated.

The Burning Of Uncle Hugo’s And Uncle Edgar’s

For anyone thinking it was random, it might be wise to think again. There has been intel for a while that certain organizations were developing lists of targets for some degree of wrongthink on the part of the target. Uncle Hugo’s has always promoted good works rather than the right politics — if it was good work, it got promoted and sold even if it wasn’t woke. The question has occurred to me if this was random or not. Right now, leaning towards not.

For anyone wanting to help, here’s the GoFundMe for the stores.

Some Quick Thoughts On Iran

Looking around the world, there are some potentially interesting ebbs and flows in data in various regions. Interestingly enough, all of them have ties to China. I’m leaving out The Hermit Kingdom, as the black hole that is still semi-operational has a lot to do with internal, and there seems to be some confirmation that it may have indeed been an effort to see who was disloyal and/or who the rest of the world sees as replacing him. In the past, those speculated upon usually met grim fates, remains to be seen what happens this time.

I’m going to start looking at some of these interesting places with odd data by focusing a bit on Iran. The mullahs are hanging on, though it may well be by the fingernails. The economy is shattered, COVID has run rampant, and they have so far not been successful in their effort to force the return of the Hidden Imam.

Many in the West, particularly politicians, fail to grasp how important that last fact is to the mullahs. It is both a case of mores, the cultural blinders we all wear though some seem to never take them off, and of a mindset that equates religion with superstition. For progressive and related belief systems, religion is foolish and something to which only lip service should be paid because it is important to the stupid proles. For them, their mores don’t allow them to consider that the mullahs, and many others, take it very seriously and aren’t simply using religion to gain temporary power.

The fact is, the mullahs and those who support them see the power they now have as temporary. The solution lies in past prophecies that state when the Hidden Imam/13th Imam returns, their power will not only be greater, but permanent as his return will usher in a golden age of a world-wide caliphate. Yes, that’s a simplistic statement of the view, but it is accurate for this discussion.

The Iranian Revolution was not just about Islamism, it was an effort to gain the power needed for a particular sect of Shia to bring about the conditions for the return of the Hidden Imam. It has been a driving force behind all efforts, as the right set of conditions has to be in place for that to happen.

What conditions? There are several, but the key one is, there has to be their version of Armageddon. There has to be a major war that sets the mullahs against all other religions. There is a reason the mullahs refer to the United States as The Great Satan.

They need the war, but also don’t want to lose. If they can be attacked, hold their own or not get wiped off the map immediately, then those conditions will bring the return, and the Imam will lead them to victory despite the odds. Again, I’m simplifying things, but it is accurate for these purposes.

Now, nevermind if they provoke the attack, for any response to anything they do counts as an unprovoked attack. Don’t ask me to explain that, it is twisted but it is how they think. I really wish I had been able to get back from Iraq with some of the artwork related to this that we captured on a raid. It would convey a lot if I still had it.

Thus, we have everything from the Embassy Takeover to the efforts to develop nuclear weapons. It is also the reason for the provocations in the Straights; and, it is the reason for the extensive clandestine network and operations that now span the Middle East, parts of Africa, and even into Asia. $130 billion buys you a lot of clandestine activity…

Ironically enough, there is reason for me to believe that COVID came into Iran not by an innocent merchant, but through that clandestine network. Without going into some details, consider a hypothetical.

You are working on nuclear and other weapons, but have been having a rough go of it. Your rockets don’t work reliably and don’t perform as advertised. Your nuclear program has been thwarted, or seriously delayed, by actions from Israel and the United States. Your population is restless, and quite a few of your non-covert operations have ended badly. You need help, and help from an almost neighbor on the nuclear part has, to some extent, dried up. What do you do? Where can you go for help on all the technical and production issues?

Where indeed. Wouldn’t it be very ironic if you had people in for meetings and more in a country where a major epidemic has broken out? And wouldn’t it be even more ironic if your (semi) clandestine air flights brought back more than your people and items?

Is there reason to believe that this could have happened? Yes. Amazing how much info on flights there is out there in the open through sites that track pretty much all flights that leave the ground; and, there is other open-source intelligence as well. Good enough to take to court? No, but interesting none-the-less. Keep in mind that we are limited on humint from China, indeed we have effectively none right now, because the Chinese hacked the allegedly secure server that they were using to communicate with the CIA. They were rolled up and pretty much all are presumed dead at this point.

Now, for fun, look at the spread of COVID-19 from Iran via that same semi-clandestine airline and from covert meetings. As I noted a while back, a good counter-intel type could have a field day with that.

Now, not for fun, look at some sudden improvements to missile and other technology that has come out recently. The largest being that the Iranians just put a satellite into orbit. Why is that important?

First, any rocket that can put a satellite into orbit is by definition an ICBM that can hit almost anywhere in the world. If you start producing large numbers of them, you have a way to deliver nuclear weapons to any target almost anywhere in the world. You are no longer limited the near neighborhood.

Second, you also now have the means to deliver a FOBS strike. The nightmare for most of the Cold War was having a nuclear weapon disguised as a satellite launch exploding over the middle of the United States at high altitude. The resulting EMP burst would disrupt or destroy the electrical grid, most civilian electronics, more military electronics than anyone still wants to admit, wipe computer records even as it destroys the computers. With communications, command, and control severely damaged or destroyed, a first strike would be devastating.

Now, think about how much damage such a strike could do in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. Now, spend a moment thinking about how much more our world depends on advanced electronics, communications, and computing power for everything from our phones and cars to financial markets. Computers run a good bit of our manufacturing, logistics, and even farm operations. Not sure there is a good word other than devastating, but also feel it needs to be taken up a few orders of magnitude.

You want to kick off Armageddon and cripple your enemy with the first blow? FOBS will do it. Provoke an incident in the Straights (or elsewhere), get hit, and retaliate for the unprovoked attack by the Great Satan in a way that could put us back several hundred years in one blow. And, in the process, set the conditions for the return of the Hidden Imam.

What could China gain from helping Iran? Keep in mind, they declared a People’s War against us more than a year ago. If you clandestinely help an enemy of your enemy, surely you can’t be directly blamed for what they do with suddenly improved tech in several sectors.

How likely are the two paragraphs above? They are not improbable. In fact, on some levels they make almost too much sense. Is this what is going on? That remains to be seen. Right now, there is just some strange ebbs and flows in locations on the moving picture of the world. It remains to be seen what happens, but it needs to be watched.

Moroccan Stew

I’ve bought a pressure canner to do some canning this summer, and one of the things I want to can are what I call complete meals. That is, they have everything in them for a complete meal. I’ve also been wanting to play around with some spice mixes that came my way: berbere and Ras El Hanout.

Berbere is Ethiopian and there are possibly thousands of variations. The one I got is not as hot as some, but does pack some nice warmth if not heat on top of some interesting flavors. Ras El Hanout is a Moroccan spice blend (though an Algerian-born acquaintance swears it is Algerian). It has a little bit of warmth to it, and some amazing and exotic (to American palates) flavors.

I’d experimented a small bit with them, when the idea of doing a stew popped into my head. Thus, I did a trial run this weekend and have very much enjoyed the results.

I started by cutting chicken thighs up into cubes, coating them with olive oil, then hitting them with salt, pepper, and a healthy dose of the berbere mix. They went on skewers and into my smoker at 350 degrees to roast.

While that was going on, I diced up a yellow onion and began sweating it in the pot. Once it got where I wanted it (translucent for the most part, bit of caramelization), I added in dice portobello mushrooms, diced zucchini, and diced fire-roasted tomatoes. I then added salt, pepper, and several tablespoons of the Ras El Hanout mix.

Most of the chicken then came off the skewers and into the pot. No, not all of it as I did some quality control, in fact a bit more than normal as it was very, very good. Once in, I let it simmer for a while.

I had it for dinner last night, and it was delicious. Rich, full of flavor, and a decent amount of heat that helped the other flavors pop without being too hot if I share any of it. Three containers (potentially up to six single servings) in the freezer.

The only thing I think I would do differently is to add crushed/minced garlic to the onion as it was sweating. The garlic should work well with both spice blends, and add a bit more depth to an already rich dish.

For now I’m calling it Moroccan stew, but since it is a blend of Moroccan and Ethiopian, need to come up with a better name. Maybe next time inspiration will strike with a name to go with the recipe.