[Military.com] "The Pentagon's top leaders said Thursday they can see a "light at the end of the tunnel" of the COVID-19 pandemic and stressed that the U.S. military remains a force in readiness, with fewer than 2,000 cases out of more than two million troops available to support contingency operations.
During an internet broadcast Thursday morning, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley warned adversaries that it would be a "terrible, tragic mistake if they thought that ... [they] can take advantage of any opportunities ... at a time of crisis."
"The U.S. military is very, very capable to conduct whatever operations are necessary to defend the American people," Milley said. "We will adapt ourselves to operating in a COVID-19 environment. We are already doing that." Thank you, Capt. Crozier - without whom this message may not have been necessary.
#2
The 'Terrible, Tragic Mistake' was handing over our manufacturing base to the Chinese some 50 odd years ago. No warning may have been necessary, had that not been done.
#4
The Real The 'Terrible, Tragic Mistake' was American politicians going Insane and shutting down large parts of our economy over (and this is going to sound REALLY COLD)what amounts to a rounding error.
Posted by: Sonny Black ||
04/10/2020 7:23 Comments ||
Top||
#5
GM themselves admitted that 7 out of 10 cars are made in China. Did the UAW help push GM to such an extreme?
[ToloNews] The Afghan National Security Council confirmed on Thursday afternoon that another 100 prisoners had been released. This follows an initial release on Wednesday of the first group of 100 prisoners released by the Afghan government.
Jawid Faisal, the front man for the National Security Council, said: "According to the president's order, 100 Taliban ...Arabic for students... prisoners were released after they pledged not to return to the battlefield, also considering their health status, age, and the length of their imprisonment, and to fight better against coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague) ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... and to make progress in peace talks, they were released."
On Wednesday, Jawid Faisal said these were part of "efforts for peace and containment of COVID-19," he said.
Following weeks of delays, the Afghan government announced the first release of 100 Taliban prisoners presumably as a step to bring the Afghan government and Taliban closer toward intra-Afghan talks.
"The 100 prisoners were on the broader list that the Taliban technical team shared and discussed during meetings with the technical team of the Islamic Theocratic Republic of Afghanistan in Kabul," said the statement by the Office of the National Security Council.
This comes after Waheed Omar, a top advisor to President Ghani, on Tuesday said that the release of Taliban prisoners is a time-consuming process and there is no need to panic. He said that the Afghan government remains committed to the prisoner swap with the Taliban, but in order to make this happen, there is a need for good intentions from both sides about the issue.
Earlier, a three-member delegation from the Taliban arrived in Kabul to discuss the issue of the Taliban’s prisoners. But the Taliban's front man Suhail Shaheen tweeted on Tuesday that the "technical team will not participate in fruitless meetings with relevant sides starting from tomorrow."
The prisoner release is a step outlined in the US-Taliban deal signed in Doha on February 29 and is intended to be a confidence-building measure to pave the way for the intra-Afghan talks.
And what, pray tell, are the Taliban — or this particular group of Taliban, at any rate — doing to build confidence that they can be trusted?
[ToloNews] Jawid Faisal, the front man for the National Security Council, said: "According to the president's order, 100 Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... prisoners were released after they pledged not to return to the battlefield, also considering their health status, age, and the length of their imprisonment, and to fight better against coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague) ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... and to make progress in peace talks, they were released."
But Taliban front man Zabihullah Mujahid said the release of Taliban prisoners was not based on the group's agreement with the United States, and that the process is unacceptable for the group.
"the stalemate will continue to be there if the entire prisoners of the Islamic Emirate weren’t released including the 15 individuals (15 high profile Taliban inmates) who are the disputed ones," said Jalaluddin Shinwari, the attorney general in the Taliban regime.
Although the Afghan government has already released 200 Taliban prisoners, so far it is not clear when the Taliban will release 1,000 Afghan prisoners of war who were set to be released at the same time as the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners.
"As they discussed in the agreement with the United States, it must be implemented and inter-Afghan negotiations must begin and the country must get rid of this crisis," said Sayed Akbar Agha, a former Taliban commander.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pond, the enormous newt was trying to decide if Gloria was edible... Taliban negotiator Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai ...Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, Head of the Taliban political office in Doha. He was a member of Rassoul Sayyaf's group in the war against the Soviets.... in an interview said that Washington and NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... have been defeated in the war in Afghanistan. Stankizai also said that the Taliban does not recognize the Afghan government and that only "one delegate from the government will participate in the potential intra-Afghan talks."
"The Taliban must also show their goodwill, but unfortunately they do not know any word called 'goodwill,'" said Abdul Satar Hussaini, a member of parliament.
[NYPOST] Up to 150 members of the Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... n royal family have been infected with the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague) ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... ‐ striking fear into the hearts of the authoritarian kingdom’s powerful rulers, according to a report Thursday.
Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman ‐ the 34-year-old heir widely considered the real power behind the throne ‐ and his ministers have been placed in quarantine for safety near the Red Sea, while his father, King Salman ...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Lord of Most of the Arabians... , 84, is in precautionary isolation near the city of Jeddah, the New York Times
...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... reported.
King Salman’s nephew Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is confirmed to be in intensive care after contracting the deadly illness, according to the paper, which cited doctors and people close to the family. The 70-year-old is the governor of Riyadh.
Saudi princes are believed to have caught the pathogen while traveling to Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... ‐ and the health calamity likely played a role in the country’s decision to announce a cease-fire in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... Thursday, according to the Times.
Up to 500 beds have been prepared for the royals and people close to them at the elite King Faisal Specialist Hospital as the pandemic rages, a memo cited by the paper says.
"Directives are to be ready for V.I.P.s from around the country," operators of the hospital wrote, adding that sick staff members will now be treated at a less elite hospital to make room for the royals.
A total of 41 deaths from the virus and 2,795 cases have been reported in the country as of Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2020 00:00 ||
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#1
who cares
Posted by: Chris ||
04/10/2020 1:13 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Considering their history of inbreeding and their advanced age ... expect many not to survive. If the new therapies work they will trying them soonest.
Alternatively, will another round of Saudi Survival™ happen with the virus as the scapegoat???
When you invite in a large number of people from another culture, they bring their culture with them.
[KhaamaPress] An Afghan teen was brutally knifed to death in a reception center in a Greek refugee camp, it has been reported.
The local media outlet, Ekathimerini, reported that the 16-year-old Afghan asylum seeker was stabbed by a compatriot, in Moria refugee camp located in the Island of Lesbos.
The 16-year-old was transferred to the hospital but doctors declared him dead. He's dead, Jim! on arrival, the reported said.
The newspaper also added that a brawl erupted in the refugee camp following the stabbing which left four other migrants colonistsmaimed, including a minor, who were hospitalized.
With the reason behind the brawl remaining unclear, Ekathimerini reported that tensions at the camp, which is hosting some 20,000 people, are frequently high.
Excellent! We can sell it on pay-per-view as "Beyond Saganaki-dome - 20,000 men enter, one man leaves". Winner gets asylum and a green card. Have your people call my people. Opa!
The fighter fleet keeps trying to nibble away at the real effective CAS
[AZ Daily Independent] The Air Force plans to retire 42 A-10 aircraft at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson next year, according to a state lawmaker, a move that would cut the base's fleet of the storied "Warthogs" in half.
Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Tucson, identified the proposed cuts in letters to the Air Force and to House committees that said cutting the planes would harm military readiness and "bring serious harm to the economy in the community I represent."
Kirkpatrick, who said she was not briefed on the plan, called the move "inexcusable" in a statement Monday.
"I find it incredibly alarming that the Air Force would put out plans without properly briefing Congress nor transparency about the replacement process and timelines," her statement said. "The A-10 Warthog has a mission to protect our men and women in battle and I am committed to fighting in Congress to protect its mission."
An Air Force spokesman did not comment directly on Kirkpatrick's claim Monday, only repeating earlier statements that the service was committed to a $161 million upgrade of remaining A-10s, "our most effective close-air support platform."
A spokesperson for Davis-Monthan said he had not heard about A-10s at the base being affected, and he said he could not comment.
The Air Force unveiled its plan to reduce the A-10 fleet in the fiscal 2021 budget proposal that was released in February. That document called for the service to retire 44 "of the oldest and least ready" A-10s as the Air Force shifts to newer-generation aircraft.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/10/2020 00:00 ||
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[11127 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
After seeing the effectiveness of the Worts, it seems pretty obvious. They just want to spend money, our money.
#2
Way past time to tell the AF either quit mucking about CAS or we move it to the Army, material, equipment, personnel, and budget. If the Marines can have their own CAS, the Army can have theirs (and end Army attack chopper development as a alternative to the AF mishandling of CAS).
#4
There's an easy solution for the Air force. Inform them that any cuts made to the A-10 will be reflected by an order of magnitude in the entire air force budget. So cut 160 million from the A-10 funds, the air force gets a 1.6 billion dollar cut. Oh and anyone proposing the cuts gets retired to prison for treason.
#5
Of course they want to replace the A-10 'Warthog' with F-35 'Thingamajigs'...
The bean counters™ love the magic-ness of multi-role aircraft that can (supposedly) do everything poorlymediocrely adequately. On paper they can use 50-ish multi-role aircraft to replace an inventory of 70-ish specialist aircraft. On paper. Paper planes don't fail to back because they couldn't perform the basic mission...
#7
Baffling. Not a USAF guy here... can someone pls explain why they're doing this? Isn't the Warthog one of the most successful military aircraft we've ever built?
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/10/2020 13:05 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Lex, it's not sexy like a fighter plane. You could also be snide and say that buying a brand new airframe is good for your post-military career as a "paid consultant". There will be competent, hard working professionals in the US military trying to make the best use of this vehicle and hopefully they will have a better result than the ongoing multi-role "dumpster fire" that is the Littoral Combat Ship(LCS) program.
Have you ever watched The Pentagon Wars(1998)? There is a cutting remark about what the push to make a multi-role APC can do for you: (Wiki)...He delves into the mountains of paper documenting the Bradley's development history and comes to the conclusion that it is "a troop transport that can't carry troops, a reconnaissance vehicle that's too conspicuous to do reconnaissance, and a quasi-tank that has less armor than a snowblower, but has enough ammo to take out half of D.C."
#10
We dug the AD 1 Skyraider in Viet Nam as that thing could loiter overhead with plenty of ordinance...risky was F8 Crusader as first pass was 20 mm strafe,2nd pass was rockets unless he seen you...
Talk about a stain in yer skivies..!!
#13
/\ Wooden Ships and Iron Men ... in many cases it isn't the vehicle but the crew. I think it can be argued that the army that went into the 1991 Campaign was the best trained and disciplined that we have ever had.
[DAWN] Pakistan on Thursday asked Afghanistan to hand over Aslam Farooqi, the leader of the Afghan affiliate of the bad boyIslamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (IS) group, who was arrested by Afghan authorities last week.
A Foreign Office statement said the Afghanistan ambassador to Pakistain was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to convey Pakistain’s views with regard to the arrest of Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) leader Farooqi, which was announced on April 5.
It was emphasised that Pakistain had been expressing its concerns about the activities of ISIS-K, "which were clearly detrimental to Pakistain", the FO spokesperson said, adding that Islamabad's position in this regard was being regularly shared with the Afghan government and others concerned.
"It was underscored to the ambassador that since Aslam Farooqi was involved in anti-Pakistain activities in Afghanistan, he should be handed over to Pakistain for further investigations," the statement said.
The FO underlined during the meeting that the two countries should "coordinate actions against the menace of terrorism, including through established mechanisms", it added.
[Jpost] The Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... -based terrorist organization Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede, launched rockets towards the sea Thursday morning, in an apparent military drill aimed at improving its rocket arsenal, according to a report released by Mako news.
[BREITBART] Western civilization is facing decline and fall as it struggles with the Chinese coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague) ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... pandemic, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini... said on Thursday.
Khamenei made a point of reminding Iranians that the U.S. is the main enemy and mocked Americans who fought over toilet paper at stores and purchased firearms as a sign of Western weakness.
"The problem of corona should not make us ignorant about the plots by our enemies and arrogant powers," he said.
He lamented that "confiscating other nations’ masks and buying guns" as well as fights over toilet paper are the "logical and natural outcome of the philosophy that governs western civilization," the offical IRNA news agency reports.
"Confiscating other nations’ masks, emptying shops, fighting over toilet paper and long lines for buying guns during the coronavirus outbreak are the logical and natural outcome of the philosophy that governs western civilization," Khamenei said in a live televised address which he also relayed on Twitter.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2020 00:00 ||
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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.
[Military.com] "The Pentagon's top leaders said Thursday they can see a "light at the end of the tunnel" of the COVID-19 pandemic and stressed that the U.S. military remains a force in readiness, with fewer than 2,000 cases out of more than two million troops available to support contingency operations.
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
