Little David (Zelensky) is now battling the Goliath Twins (Putin ‘n Trump).
Little David looks like he is showing Trump Goliath how to actually make a Deal—whilst under a Physical attack from Putin Goliath, and a demoralizing Mental mind game threat attack from Trump Goliath!?!
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is reportedly not ready to sign a controversial minerals deal with Donald Trump that may see him give away billions in critical elements and revenues.
***
It comes after Zelensky angered Trump so much during negotiations that the president threatened to completely pull US funding from Ukraine…
American negotiators said they may cut Kyiv’s access to Elon Musk’s Starlink, which has been heavily relied on for civilian and military use, if it did not agree to the mineral rights deal.
During the meeting, Ukraine was told it faced imminent shutoff of the service if it did not reach a deal on critical minerals…
***
Zelensky had apparently worn out his welcome with the entire American negotiating team – which included the president, JD Vance, Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz – in the span of a week. (ME: looks like the Goliath Twins need lots of backups against Little David)…
***
‘Yes, he has been brave and stood up to Russia.
‘But he would be six feet under if it wasn’t for the millions we spent, and he needs to exit stage right with all the drama.’
Quick, someone give Little David this bucket of stones—he’s gonna need more than just that one!
Article also has a poll – Did Zelensky make the right move?: Yes @ 58%, No @ 28%, and Not sure @ 13%.
Neo, I have seen a number of very well done videos where just the face is brought to life with a smile and/or a nod of the head. These full body ones are a step beyond that. Here is a link to full body motion done to some paintings from the past.
At the time of our founding the U.S. was an overwhelmingly agricultural society, and our history and our national character emerged from that society, and it’s down to earth values—hard work, planning ahead, conservatism, thrift, independence, self-sufficiency, the Christian religion and it’s moral code, face-to face relationships, honesty—etc.
Over the last several decades large scale industrial farming and the shift of population from small towns and family farms to our cities, and from production to service industries, has essentially destroyed that traditional, agricultural way of life, and with it, the values it taught and emphasized are now seen as “old fashioned,” “naive,” and “out of date,” and have been drowned out by the cacophony and glitz of our current “modern” and supposedly much more “sophisticated” society.
The very unsatisfactory result of this transformation can be seen everywhere and all around us.
Here is Victor Davis Hanson talking about this theme.*
“Recent revelations go beyond the imaginations of what many knew but could seldom prove. USAID has become an out-of-control agency spending billions a year in bloated crony contracts, rotten from top to bottom with systemic fraud, corruption, and politicization. USAID has a budget roughly triple the official budget of the CIA, and has become an unaccountable slush fund for a left-wing political machine. For decades, that slush fund paid the salaries and projects of activist consultants, policymakers, lawyers, journalists, entertainers, organizers, think tanks, universities, and NGOs.”
Many here are likely familiar with Douglas Murray. If not, here’s a chance to get to know him a bit. You’re going to like him. Interview in today’s WSJ.
Educated at Eton and Oxford, Mr. Murray is the sort of silver-tongued Englishman who bowls Americans over with his lightly worn smarts. He divides his life between London and New York, where he is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, and he spends a great deal of time in Israel, of which he is a forthright, sometimes blistering, advocate. His next book, due in April, is “On Democracy and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization.” It asserts that “evil does exist as a force in the world. Indeed, it is the only explanation for why certain people do certain things.”
Speaking of the WSJ, not linking to Peggy Noonan’s column this week, but in it she quotes at length neo’s favorite scene from “A Man for All Seasons.” Hmm…I wonder if she’s been lurking here.
Oh, and spring training games are fully underway now. So, there’s that.
Thinking about neo’s recent, excellent post about Germany and the upcoming election and J.D. Vance’s recent speech in Europe I thought how Eloi-esque Europeans have become since WWII.
And now the siren wails and the Morlocks who have labored underground are in their midst.
The Eloi are humanlike creatures who are small, unintelligent, uncurious, weak, and also, importantly, benevolent and happy. They are the evolutionary descendants of the British elite, who exploited the British poor for so long that the poor evolved into a race of humanoids called the Morlocks.
Speaking about baseball, this is for Mike, Sdferr and other fans. Now that Mt McKinnley, Fort Bragg and others have been renamed what are the chances for the Indians to regain their rightful moniker? I am a Tigers fan myself, but the Gardians? That’s akin to renaming the bengals the pussy cats. I do not understand how any self respecting Cleveland fan could abide such a travesty.
Another interesting conversation on All-In podcast with the founders of Stripe.
(0:00) The Besties welcome John and Patrick Collison!
(4:28) Stripe’s business evolution: $1T in volume/year, stablecoins, challenging the Visa/Mastercard duopoly, publishing economic indicators
(20:31) Jamie Dimon’s leaked rant on remote work and bureaucracy (34:22) DOGE for Defense: Trump ordered the Pentagon to look at cutting the defense budget by 8%/year over the next five years
(43:51) Crypto Corner: Milei’s Memecoin embarrassment
(1:00:18) John and Patrick break down the Arc Institute and its new Evo 2 AI model
(1:18:04) Grok 3 takes the LLM lead, lessons learned from Elon’s Colossus scale
(1:30:22) Science Corner: Asteroid update
(1:35:42) Why Stripe hasn’t gone public yet, despite great metrics
All interesting– millionaire/billionaires chewing the fat about stuff. Evo 2 AI model, the speed at which Grok 3 has become the major player in AI with its 100,000 GPU Colossus (soon to be 200,000 GPU), and what may become a huge problem for Argentina’s Milei. Trump’s call for 8% cuts to the defense budget will no doubt have conservative’s pulling their hair, but there is no doubt enough fat to make those kinds of cuts. We may need to rethink our reliance on incredibly expensive weapons as our edge when their advantage might be diminished by sheer overwhelming numbers of cheap counter weapons.
Guardians? An abomination. Pure and simple.
Brian E,
For just one example in the defense budget, it’s hard to imagine the usefulness of an aircraft carrier in 2025.
The Internet says an ICBM can travel from New York to Moscow in 20 minutes. We have smart missiles that can target with near pinpoint accuracy. Drones are proving every bit as effective as manned fighters, maybe more so. Top speed on a carrier is 30knots. So, to reposition one 1/4 of the way across the globe takes over a week.
An aircraft carrier seems like a sitting duck in today’s military. A very expensive sitting duck. They cost $5Bn – $10Bn to build and over $1Bn per year to maintain. And what is the cost to build the fighter jets that sit on its deck?
Couldn’t we easily take out a Russian or Chinese carrier with a few of our smart missiles?
The Ukrainians have shown how clever use of technology can be very effective against conventional weapons. I think manned fighters and the men and women who pilot them are an exceptional example of human ingenuity and ability, but are manned fighters needed any more?
Take out a carrier with a few smart missiles. A few? Probably nope. A torpedo from a nuke attack sub? Maybe.
Does a carrier sail alone? Nope.
Have there ever been weapons systems and counter weapon systems?
The “American Mind” piece on USAID that Cornflour linked is a good read.
Created to fight Marxist subversion, it became a slush fund for Marxist cadre-building.
om,
I know carriers travel with other ships to protect them, but if they had never existed, with today’s technology and looking at the globe and various scenarios, would we create them now?
What’s the best use of $10Bn to achieve the missions a modern aircraft carrier would do?
Snow on Pine, thanks for the VDH link. I bookmarked American Essence; it has many other interesting articles about our history.
——————————————————————-
“Now that Mt McKinnley, Fort Bragg and others have been renamed what are the chances for the Indians to regain their rightful moniker?”
Good idea, which led me to read about the Atlanta Braves’ Chief Noc-A-Homa, who set his ceremonial tipi on fire, blaming the fire on sabotaged smoke bombs. Levi Walker, Jr., who played the Chief, said “I think Indians can be proud that their names are used with professional sports teams,” after Russell Means filed a $9 million lawsuit against the Cleveland Indians for their use of “Chief Wahoo.” Walker was a Native American. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Noc-A-Homa#
Should’ve called ‘em the Cleveland Engines of Progress!!
(Short firm: N-jinns…)
How bad are DEMs doing—besides David Hogg being vice chair of DNC & American sports television personality, sports radio host, and sports journalist Stephen A. Smith eyeing a run for DEM Presidential candidate in 2028?
Former Clinton pollster Mark Penn said Friday evening on Fox News that the Democratic Party’s support from voters appears to be “falling off a cliff.”
Democrats have struggled to find a unifying message since the party’s historic loss to President Donald Trump in November 2024…
“Well, I’ve got some new polling coming out Monday that I’ve just looked at. Frankly, the Democratic Party is falling off a cliff,” Penn said. “The ratings, which were in the high 40s, are gonna be like 35%.”
Democrats are doubling down on left-wing gender ideology despite their viewpoints being increasingly unpopular with the average American.
Why Guardians?
The team’s name references the Guardians of Traffic, eight monolithic 1932 Art Deco sculptures by Henry Hering on the city’s Hope Memorial Bridge, which is adjacent to Progressive Field. The team’s mascot is named “Slider”.
Yep, sure do feel sympathetic toward those Indians fans, caught between a rock (their woke ownership) and a hard place (their own woke-broken brains).
Ahahahahahahahahahaha.
No, no I don’t, the jerks.
A good many appearances of Douglas Murray on youtube. Worth every minute.
Aircraft carriers are part of taking care of business short of full-scale nuclear exchange. Different critters.
From what I’ve read, the Ashkenazi bottleneck was a savage culling. They are said to have a higher rate of cerebral issues at birth, many leading to death. Very good in verbal skills and numeracy, probably last on Earth in spatial orientation.
And the Redskins used to be the Boston Braves as i say first world problems specially how poorly they have been performing
Whether it is a tank or a ship, the race right now is building effective anti missile defense systems for those platforms. For the aircraft carriers it is multi layered defense systems. But guess what, stationary, land based fire bases and forward landing fields also face enemy missiles and drones.
Moreover,
Their Time Is Up The murder of the Bibas children caps off an 18-month catalog of horrors that has told us exactly who our Palestinian neighbors are. Backed by a friend in the White House, Israel must secure its future through strong unilateral action.
Time to make the rubble bounce.
I wonder if eventually you will see the naval equivalent of ” slat armor” on ships ?
Rufus T Firefly:
Being able to bring airpower to bear for warious (sic) and sundry reasons throughout the world is their main reason to be IIRC. If that hadn’t proved to be a usefull capability they would be gone by now (ground pounders and flyboys/misslemen want that budget).
Now has the CCP been able to push back the operational theater of the aircraft carrier strike groups relative to China? Seems so. Does the US Navy realize this is s problem? Some do. Is it more of a problem than DEI or Climate Change? Yes, at least since January 20, 2025.
cdrsalamander has commented frequently that carrier based planes have a serious problem in that the aerial refueling capability is inadequate and the current planes have too limited range without refueling. Drone aerial tankers are being worked on IIRC.
It seems the aircraft carrier situation is just one of many challenges facing the Navy regarding China.
Perkins seems to be fading away, as is Friendly’s. Missing Lum’s, Arthur Treacher’s, and Ponderosa.
I reject the notion that Combined Arms Warfare is no longer viable. The Russians and the Ukrainians are partly at an impass because neither side has true Combined Arms capacity when you throw in the threat of drones and modern missiles. The times are changing, but I think the anti- drone , anti missile defense systems will eventually catch up somewhat.
Pew, pew, pew or zzzzz, zzzzz, zzzz drones fall from the sky.
Since I see Turtler is commenting, I’ve got a question for him.
Recently the discussion whether Yanukovych’s removal was constitutional, Turtler said this:
There was and is only:
A: Formal impeachment.
and
B: Removal for incapacity.
A I think would have been preferable, but I have heard conflicting reports such as that they did not have the votes and it was felt it would take too much time to get them. So they went for an approach involving B, where the vote threshold was lower, and which basically involved reading Yanukovych’s willful withdrawal from Kyiv into a foreign country as equivalent to him being comatose or the like.
This was dodgy and playing fast and loose with the rules, I’ll freely admit that, and I also believe that going for a formal impeachment (even if it would take a few more days) was probably the better option legally. But fortunately or unfortunately parliamentary systems like what Ukraine has and elsewhere generally give their parliaments much more leeway in making and interpreting the law than the US Constitution does (indeed this was something the American Founders pointed out as a problem), and that includes in Ukraine.
But is no provision in the constitution for “Removal for Incapacity”.
Are you claiming because of the somewhat parliamentary nature of some of the constitution’s provisions they had the right to remove him for a provision not spelled out in the constitution?
Here’s my problem with this:
1.The President wasn’t any part of a parliamentary system, as the President is elected by the citizens, not the legislators.
2.If the Rada established an “extra constitutional” way to remove a President because there was a crisis, that didn’t follow the provisions of impeachment (specifically failing to meet the 3/4 vote provision), what is to prevent a future Rada to declare a crisis and remove a President they don’t like with a simple majority vote?
And was there really a crisis that couldn’t have survived a few days delay to follow the impeachment route? Russia wasn’t threatening them. The only threats were coming from the ultra-nationalists.
“And the Redskins used to be the Boston Braves as i say first world problems specially how poorly they have been performing”
Actually they played much better this year until they ran into the Eagles in the playoffs who apparently were not to be denied, crushing both the Commanders/Redskins and the defending champions KC Chiefs.
Before getting their new, approved name Washington was actually called “Washington Football Team” for a couple years, abbreviated to WFT but often misspelled as WTF.
Turtler, I misread what the part of your explanation I copied from a previous discussion.
You were using the health clause and trying to make “incapacity” fit. The problem with that is the Rada didn’t follow the provisions of Article 110 which requires a petition to the Supreme Court and a medical opinion.
Article 110
The inability of the President of Ukraine to exercise his or her powers for reasons of health shall be determined at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and
confirmed by a decision adopted by the majority of its constitutional composition on the basis of a petition of the Supreme Court of Ukraine – on the appeal of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and a medical opinion.
Thanks Karmi!
Brain E delves deep into the history of the Ukranian constitution and citing the Ukrainian Federalist Papers and what the Ukrainian Founding Fathers said and discerns that Yanukovich fleeing Ukraine to the Russian Federation would not in any way lessen his capacity as the President of Ukraine. Quite the contrary, since he was now in even closer communication with the saviour of Ukraine, Vladimar Putin?
Brain E has previously justified Vlad’s seizure of parts of Donbas and Luhansk after the fully capacitive President Yanukovich left Ukraine for Russia. Sounds like Yanukovitch lost some charge in that move to Moscow.
My daughter who lives in suburban northern Virginia reports that locals still call them the Redskins.
om, I think the law matters. The Rada removed Yanukovych as President (unconstitutionally) on Feb. 22 2014.
He left Ukraine for Russia on either Feb. 23 or Feb. 24.
He was still in Ukraine when they removed him. Why didn’t they take the extra time to impeach him and follow their constitution?
This really has little to do with Yanukovych. He was as corrupt, likely more, as the previous presidents. It’s about the rule of law vs. mob rule.
This really has little to do with Yanukovych. He was as corrupt, likely more, as the previous presidents. It’s about the rule of law vs. mob rule.
==
The mob in question was the national legislature and his own party would not stick up for him.
==
Since every other official remained in office and he was within a matter of months replaced by another elected president, your fixation on this is amusing. Blow ups like Euromaidan occur in Latin America every few years and we don’t have alt-right / palaeopests obsessing over them.
In February 2014, the Revolution of Dignity culminated with the flight of then-President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych to Russia. There were no articles of impeachment brought against Yanukovych, as the impeachment process laid out in the Ukrainian Constitution was not designed to deal with the president abandoning their post without warning. Instead, the Verkhovna Rada voted on February 22, 2014 to “remove Viktor Yanukovych from the post of president of Ukraine” on the grounds that he had withdrawn from fulfilling his constitutional duties, and to hold early presidential elections on May 25. The exact wording of the title of this resolution was “Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine: On self-removal of the President of Ukraine from the exercise of constitutional powers and appointment of extraordinary elections of the President of Ukraine.”
On Friday 21 February 2014, Yanukovych and the leaders of the parliamentary opposition signed an agreement to bring about an interim unity government including the opposition, reinstatement of the constitution of 2004 and early elections before December at the latest. That day, the Ukrainian parliament voted 386–0 to reinstate the 2004 Constitution of Ukraine. During the afternoon, police abandoned central Kyiv, allowing protesters to take control. Yanukovych secretly fled the city that evening without signing the measure that would reinstate the 2004 constitution he agreed to ratify in the EU-brokered agreement.
On Saturday 22 February, Yanukovych could not be found, and parliament was not informed of his whereabouts. Parliament held an emergency session. TheChairman of parliament, Volodymyr Rybak, resigned that morning. Parliament then elected Oleksandr Turchynov as chairman. Under the 2004 Constitution, which since the day before was again in force, the President’s powers would transfer to the chairman in case the President should resign or be unable to fulfill his duties. The later constitution had stated the President’s powers would transfer to the Prime Minister. The acting prime minister, Serhiy Arbuzov, was also missing.
Pro-revolution activists outside parliament on 22 February 2014.
In the afternoon, the Rada voted 328–0 (about 73% of its 447 members) to remove Yanukovych from his post and to schedule an early presidential election for 25 May. The resolution stated that Yanukovych had withdrawn from fulfilling his constitutional duties, “which threatens the governance of the state, the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine”, and cited “circumstances of extreme urgency”. The resolution to remove Yanukovych was supported by all opposition parties: 86 deputies of Batkivshchyna (Fatherland Party), 41 deputies of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR), 36 deputies of Svoboda (Freedom Party), 30 deputies of the Communist Party, as well as 99 independents. Furthermore, 36 deputies of Yanukovych’s Party of Regions voted for his removal. There were no votes against. Of the remaining deputies, 115 were absent and 6 did not vote. Under the 2004 constitution, parliament chairman Turchynov became acting president.
The vote came an hour after Yanukovych said in a televised address that he would not resign. He subsequently declared himself to still be “the legitimate head of the Ukrainian state elected in a free vote by Ukrainian citizens”, and maintained that his removal was a coup d’état.
… Parliament did not vote to impeach the President, which would have involved formally charging Yanukovych with a crime, a review of the charge by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, and a three-fourths majority vote in parliament—at least 338 votes in favor. The Ukrainian Constitution at this time (like many other constitutions) did not provide any stipulation about how to remove a president who is neither dead nor incapacitated, but is nonetheless absent or not fulfilling his duties. The lack of such provisions was a lacuna.
Jon Baler, Naval Ships use to have an anti-torpedo belt of thick steel. Not now though (I think). Slat Armor is now really the array of ships in a Fleet. After the Falklands, some change made in what metal to use.
Carriers project Power. If they were useless, why is China embarked on building them?
What is all this talk about Carriers suddenly being obsolete as if they were previously unsinkable????
According to Wikipedia, the US lost 12 Carriers outright or scuttled after enemy attack in WW2. !!!
Bismarck Sea
Block Island
Gambier Bay
Hornet
Langley
Lexington
Liscome Bay
Ommaney Bay
Princeton
St Lo
Wasp
Yorktown
Precisely Neo. They did not impeach Yanukovych. By what authority could they remove him with a resolution and only a majority vote?
What prevents a future unpopular president from being removed by a resolution claiming a crisis and a simple majority vote?
“The resolution stated that Yanukovych had withdrawn from fulfilling his constitutional duties, “which threatens the governance of the state, the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine”, and cited “circumstances of extreme urgency”.” -from the article Neo cited
Article 83 lists the duties and authority of the Rada. 10. removing the President of Ukraine from office in accordance with the special procedure (impeachment) established by Article 111 of this Constitution;
Article 105 grants the President immunity during his term. The only recourse to remove him was impeachment.
Article 106 lists the duties and authority of the President. Which of these duties which he wasn’t fulfilling by leaving Kyiv “threatens the governance of the state, the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine” even in “circumstances of extreme urgency”?
Article 105
The President of Ukraine enjoys the right of immunity during the term of authority.
Article 106
The President of Ukraine:
1. ensures state independence, national security and the legal succession of the
state;
2. addresses the people with messages and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine with
annual and special messages on the domestic and foreign situation of Ukraine;
3. represents the state in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the State, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties of Ukraine;
4. adopts decisions on the recognition of foreign states;
5. appoints and dismisses heads of diplomatic missions of Ukraine to other states and to international organisations; accepts credentials and letters of recall of diplomatic representatives of foreign states;
6. designates an All-Ukrainian referendum regarding amendments to the
Constitution of Ukraine in accordance with Article 156 of this Constitution,
proclaims an All-Ukrainian referendum on popular initiative;
7. designates special elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine within the terms established by this Constitution;
8. terminates the authority of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in cases specified
this Constitution;
9. puts forward, upon the proposal by the parliamentary coalition formed in the
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine as provided for by Article 83 of the Constitution of
Ukraine, the submission on the appointment by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
of the Prime Minister of Ukraine, no later than fifteen days after the receipt
such a proposal;
10. puts forward to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine the submission on the
appointment of the Minister of Defence of Ukraine and the Minister of Foreign
Affairs of Ukraine;
11. appoints to office and dismisses from office the Procurator General of Ukra
with the consent of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine;
12. appoints and dismisses one-half of the composition of the Council of the National Bank of Ukraine;
13. appoints and dismisses one-half of the composition of the National Council of
Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting;
14. puts forward to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine the submission on the
appointment to office and dismissal from office of the Head of the Secu
Service of Ukraine;
15. suspends the operation of acts by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on grounds of their inconsistency with this Constitution and challenges concurrently the constitutionality of such acts before the Constitutional Court of Ukraine;
16. revokes acts of the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea;
17. is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; appoints to offi
and dismisses from office the high command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine a
other military formations; administers in the spheres of national security and
defence of the State;
18. heads the Council of National Security and Defence of Ukraine;
19. puts forward to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine the submission on the
declaration of a state of war, and, in case of armed aggression against Ukraine,
adopts a decision on the use of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military
formations established in accordance with laws of Ukraine;
20. adopts a decision in accordance with the law on the general or partial
mobilisation and the introduction of martial law in Ukraine or in its particular
areas, in the event of a threat of aggression, danger to the state independence of Ukraine;
21. adopts a decision, in the event of necessity, on the introduction of a state of emergency in Ukraine or in its particular areas, and also in the event of necessity, declares certain areas of Ukraine as zones of an ecological emergency situation — with subsequent confirmation of these decisions by the Verkhovna Rada;
22. appoints and dismisses one-third of the composition to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine;
23. establishes courts by the procedure determined by law;
24. confers high military ranks, high diplomatic and other high special ranks and class orders;
25. confers state awards; establishes presidential distinctions and confers them;
26. adopts decisions on the acceptance for citizenship of Ukraine and the termination of citizenship of Ukraine, and on the granting of asylum in Ukraine;
27. grants pardons;
28. creates, within the limits of the funds envisaged in the State Budget of Ukraine, consultative, advisory and other subsidiary bodies and services for the exercise of his or her authority;
29. signs laws adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine;
30. has the right to veto laws adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (except for laws on amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine) with their subsequent return for repeat consideration by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine;
31. exercises other powers determined by the Constitution of Ukraine.
The President of Ukraine shall not transfer his or her powers to other persons or bodies.
The President of Ukraine, on the basis and for the execution of the Constitution and the laws of Ukraine, issues decrees and directives that are mandatory for execution on the territory of Ukraine.
Acts of the President of Ukraine, issued within the limits of authority as envisaged in subparagraphs 5, 18, 21, and 23 of this Article, are co-signed by the Prime Minister of Ukraine and the Minister responsible for the act and its execution
Great, it worked – thanks for the update Steve! 🙂
BrianE:
It’s pretty simple. The constitution and impeachments did not cover the situation they faced when he fled the country.
He had virtually zero support, by the way.
Neo,
Thank you so much for those wonderful photos brought to life.
It’s altogether too easy to forget that our ancestors were just people too.
He really appears to be that slow.
The Russian information war is and has been that the government in Ukraine since 2014 is illegetimate and lately that Zelinsky has a 4% approval.
That is quite shocking given the universal approval of Vlad, Savior and Restorer of Greater Russia! (sarc and contempt)
But Brian E is fixated on his perception of the Rule of Law for Yanukovich but somehow whistles past the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. To say nothing of earlier Russian attacks on Ukraine.
John Baker:
The US Navy carriers lost in WW2 were of many sizes from very small excort (jeep carriers) to large fleet carriers. Some were sunk by submarines, some by aircraft, some by kamakazis, some sunk by the US Navy after damage by the IJN.
They were tiny to relatively small when compared to current US Navy carriers. Even so US WW2 carriers proved to be remarkably tough. More recent experience with the USS Bonhome Richard was concerning; a fire on board that severely damaged that amphibious landing ship (like a small carrier) while it at anchor in a US port (IIRC). Deeply concerning because damage control and fire fighting training was the strength of the US Navy in the past.
Drachinifel is a excellent resource for WW2 carrier naval history.
On the Edwardian photo transformations, I thought the head nodding and turning and smiling was a nice touch, but the extra body motions became too much. Especially when applied to two examples one right after the other.
We don’t expect people from that era to start dancing the Macarena, do we? 🙂
Now,… a waltz turn or two …
Next someone needs to do Lincoln!! Perhaps reading his 1838 Lyceum address?
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Little David (Zelensky) is now battling the Goliath Twins (Putin ‘n Trump).
Little David looks like he is showing Trump Goliath how to actually make a Deal—whilst under a Physical attack from Putin Goliath, and a demoralizing Mental mind game threat attack from Trump Goliath!?!
Zelensky ‘refuses to sign’ Donald Trump’s ‘problematic’ minerals deal amid tensions between world leaders
Quick, someone give Little David this bucket of stones—he’s gonna need more than just that one!
Article also has a poll – Did Zelensky make the right move?: Yes @ 58%, No @ 28%, and Not sure @ 13%.
Neo, I have seen a number of very well done videos where just the face is brought to life with a smile and/or a nod of the head. These full body ones are a step beyond that. Here is a link to full body motion done to some paintings from the past.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ1vqir8X4E
At the time of our founding the U.S. was an overwhelmingly agricultural society, and our history and our national character emerged from that society, and it’s down to earth values—hard work, planning ahead, conservatism, thrift, independence, self-sufficiency, the Christian religion and it’s moral code, face-to face relationships, honesty—etc.
Over the last several decades large scale industrial farming and the shift of population from small towns and family farms to our cities, and from production to service industries, has essentially destroyed that traditional, agricultural way of life, and with it, the values it taught and emphasized are now seen as “old fashioned,” “naive,” and “out of date,” and have been drowned out by the cacophony and glitz of our current “modern” and supposedly much more “sophisticated” society.
The very unsatisfactory result of this transformation can be seen everywhere and all around us.
Here is Victor Davis Hanson talking about this theme.*
* See https://www.americanessence.com/historian-victor-davis-hanson-on-the-farmers-virtues_9550.html
Yesterday, “The American Mind” published a good summary of the shocking corruption that prevailed at USAID. It’s a quick read and worth the time.
Here’s a link: https://americanmind.org/salvo/gutting-the-usaid-industrial-complex/
Here’s a sample paragraph:
“Recent revelations go beyond the imaginations of what many knew but could seldom prove. USAID has become an out-of-control agency spending billions a year in bloated crony contracts, rotten from top to bottom with systemic fraud, corruption, and politicization. USAID has a budget roughly triple the official budget of the CIA, and has become an unaccountable slush fund for a left-wing political machine. For decades, that slush fund paid the salaries and projects of activist consultants, policymakers, lawyers, journalists, entertainers, organizers, think tanks, universities, and NGOs.”
Many here are likely familiar with Douglas Murray. If not, here’s a chance to get to know him a bit. You’re going to like him. Interview in today’s WSJ.
https://archive.md/Ovwt0
Speaking of the WSJ, not linking to Peggy Noonan’s column this week, but in it she quotes at length neo’s favorite scene from “A Man for All Seasons.” Hmm…I wonder if she’s been lurking here.
Oh, and spring training games are fully underway now. So, there’s that.
Thinking about neo’s recent, excellent post about Germany and the upcoming election and J.D. Vance’s recent speech in Europe I thought how Eloi-esque Europeans have become since WWII.
And now the siren wails and the Morlocks who have labored underground are in their midst.
https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-time-machine/characters/the-eloi
Speaking about baseball, this is for Mike, Sdferr and other fans. Now that Mt McKinnley, Fort Bragg and others have been renamed what are the chances for the Indians to regain their rightful moniker? I am a Tigers fan myself, but the Gardians? That’s akin to renaming the bengals the pussy cats. I do not understand how any self respecting Cleveland fan could abide such a travesty.
Another interesting conversation on All-In podcast with the founders of Stripe.
(0:00) The Besties welcome John and Patrick Collison!
(4:28) Stripe’s business evolution: $1T in volume/year, stablecoins, challenging the Visa/Mastercard duopoly, publishing economic indicators
(20:31) Jamie Dimon’s leaked rant on remote work and bureaucracy
(34:22) DOGE for Defense: Trump ordered the Pentagon to look at cutting the defense budget by 8%/year over the next five years
(43:51) Crypto Corner: Milei’s Memecoin embarrassment
(1:00:18) John and Patrick break down the Arc Institute and its new Evo 2 AI model
(1:18:04) Grok 3 takes the LLM lead, lessons learned from Elon’s Colossus scale
(1:30:22) Science Corner: Asteroid update
(1:35:42) Why Stripe hasn’t gone public yet, despite great metrics
All interesting– millionaire/billionaires chewing the fat about stuff. Evo 2 AI model, the speed at which Grok 3 has become the major player in AI with its 100,000 GPU Colossus (soon to be 200,000 GPU), and what may become a huge problem for Argentina’s Milei. Trump’s call for 8% cuts to the defense budget will no doubt have conservative’s pulling their hair, but there is no doubt enough fat to make those kinds of cuts. We may need to rethink our reliance on incredibly expensive weapons as our edge when their advantage might be diminished by sheer overwhelming numbers of cheap counter weapons.
Guardians? An abomination. Pure and simple.
Brian E,
For just one example in the defense budget, it’s hard to imagine the usefulness of an aircraft carrier in 2025.
The Internet says an ICBM can travel from New York to Moscow in 20 minutes. We have smart missiles that can target with near pinpoint accuracy. Drones are proving every bit as effective as manned fighters, maybe more so. Top speed on a carrier is 30knots. So, to reposition one 1/4 of the way across the globe takes over a week.
An aircraft carrier seems like a sitting duck in today’s military. A very expensive sitting duck. They cost $5Bn – $10Bn to build and over $1Bn per year to maintain. And what is the cost to build the fighter jets that sit on its deck?
Couldn’t we easily take out a Russian or Chinese carrier with a few of our smart missiles?
The Ukrainians have shown how clever use of technology can be very effective against conventional weapons. I think manned fighters and the men and women who pilot them are an exceptional example of human ingenuity and ability, but are manned fighters needed any more?
Take out a carrier with a few smart missiles. A few? Probably nope. A torpedo from a nuke attack sub? Maybe.
Does a carrier sail alone? Nope.
Have there ever been weapons systems and counter weapon systems?
The “American Mind” piece on USAID that Cornflour linked is a good read.
om,
I know carriers travel with other ships to protect them, but if they had never existed, with today’s technology and looking at the globe and various scenarios, would we create them now?
What’s the best use of $10Bn to achieve the missions a modern aircraft carrier would do?
Snow on Pine, thanks for the VDH link. I bookmarked American Essence; it has many other interesting articles about our history.
——————————————————————-
“Now that Mt McKinnley, Fort Bragg and others have been renamed what are the chances for the Indians to regain their rightful moniker?”
Good idea, which led me to read about the Atlanta Braves’ Chief Noc-A-Homa, who set his ceremonial tipi on fire, blaming the fire on sabotaged smoke bombs. Levi Walker, Jr., who played the Chief, said “I think Indians can be proud that their names are used with professional sports teams,” after Russell Means filed a $9 million lawsuit against the Cleveland Indians for their use of “Chief Wahoo.” Walker was a Native American.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Noc-A-Homa#
Should’ve called ‘em the Cleveland Engines of Progress!!
(Short firm: N-jinns…)
How bad are DEMs doing—besides David Hogg being vice chair of DNC & American sports television personality, sports radio host, and sports journalist Stephen A. Smith eyeing a run for DEM Presidential candidate in 2028?
DOUBLE WHAMMY bad!!!
1) ‘Never Seen Anything Like This’: Fmr Clinton Pollster Says Dems’ Support ‘Is Falling Off A Cliff’
2) It Appears Democrats Have Finally Picked A Hill To Die On
Why Guardians?
My first thoughts were of Guardians of Our Democracy, and White Castle burgers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Guardians
Yep, sure do feel sympathetic toward those Indians fans, caught between a rock (their woke ownership) and a hard place (their own woke-broken brains).
Ahahahahahahahahahaha.
No, no I don’t, the jerks.
A good many appearances of Douglas Murray on youtube. Worth every minute.
Aircraft carriers are part of taking care of business short of full-scale nuclear exchange. Different critters.
From what I’ve read, the Ashkenazi bottleneck was a savage culling. They are said to have a higher rate of cerebral issues at birth, many leading to death. Very good in verbal skills and numeracy, probably last on Earth in spatial orientation.
Modern forensic pathology vs primitive barbarism:
Remains of Shiri Bibas Returned to Israel as the Cause of Death of Her Two Children Shocks the Nation
And the Redskins used to be the Boston Braves as i say first world problems specially how poorly they have been performing
Whether it is a tank or a ship, the race right now is building effective anti missile defense systems for those platforms. For the aircraft carriers it is multi layered defense systems. But guess what, stationary, land based fire bases and forward landing fields also face enemy missiles and drones.
Moreover,
Their Time Is Up
The murder of the Bibas children caps off an 18-month catalog of horrors that has told us exactly who our Palestinian neighbors are. Backed by a friend in the White House, Israel must secure its future through strong unilateral action.
Time to make the rubble bounce.
I wonder if eventually you will see the naval equivalent of ” slat armor” on ships ?
Rufus T Firefly:
Being able to bring airpower to bear for warious (sic) and sundry reasons throughout the world is their main reason to be IIRC. If that hadn’t proved to be a usefull capability they would be gone by now (ground pounders and flyboys/misslemen want that budget).
Now has the CCP been able to push back the operational theater of the aircraft carrier strike groups relative to China? Seems so. Does the US Navy realize this is s problem? Some do. Is it more of a problem than DEI or Climate Change? Yes, at least since January 20, 2025.
cdrsalamander has commented frequently that carrier based planes have a serious problem in that the aerial refueling capability is inadequate and the current planes have too limited range without refueling. Drone aerial tankers are being worked on IIRC.
It seems the aircraft carrier situation is just one of many challenges facing the Navy regarding China.
Perkins seems to be fading away, as is Friendly’s. Missing Lum’s, Arthur Treacher’s, and Ponderosa.
I reject the notion that Combined Arms Warfare is no longer viable. The Russians and the Ukrainians are partly at an impass because neither side has true Combined Arms capacity when you throw in the threat of drones and modern missiles. The times are changing, but I think the anti- drone , anti missile defense systems will eventually catch up somewhat.
Pew, pew, pew or zzzzz, zzzzz, zzzz drones fall from the sky.
Hm
https://x.com/DefiyantlyFree/status/1893205773662199872
Could someone tell me how to get text to appear in a centered box with a gray background? And, how did you know to do that?
Carriers project power but hypersonic missiles mitigate their effectiveness
Steve – does this pic help?
HTML code
That bottom covers gray quote.
Since I see Turtler is commenting, I’ve got a question for him.
Recently the discussion whether Yanukovych’s removal was constitutional, Turtler said this:
But is no provision in the constitution for “Removal for Incapacity”.
Are you claiming because of the somewhat parliamentary nature of some of the constitution’s provisions they had the right to remove him for a provision not spelled out in the constitution?
Here’s my problem with this:
1.The President wasn’t any part of a parliamentary system, as the President is elected by the citizens, not the legislators.
2.If the Rada established an “extra constitutional” way to remove a President because there was a crisis, that didn’t follow the provisions of impeachment (specifically failing to meet the 3/4 vote provision), what is to prevent a future Rada to declare a crisis and remove a President they don’t like with a simple majority vote?
And was there really a crisis that couldn’t have survived a few days delay to follow the impeachment route? Russia wasn’t threatening them. The only threats were coming from the ultra-nationalists.
“And the Redskins used to be the Boston Braves as i say first world problems specially how poorly they have been performing”
Actually they played much better this year until they ran into the Eagles in the playoffs who apparently were not to be denied, crushing both the Commanders/Redskins and the defending champions KC Chiefs.
Before getting their new, approved name Washington was actually called “Washington Football Team” for a couple years, abbreviated to WFT but often misspelled as WTF.
Turtler, I misread what the part of your explanation I copied from a previous discussion.
You were using the health clause and trying to make “incapacity” fit. The problem with that is the Rada didn’t follow the provisions of Article 110 which requires a petition to the Supreme Court and a medical opinion.
Article 110
The inability of the President of Ukraine to exercise his or her powers for reasons of health shall be determined at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and
confirmed by a decision adopted by the majority of its constitutional composition on the basis of a petition of the Supreme Court of Ukraine – on the appeal of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and a medical opinion.
Brain E delves deep into the history of the Ukranian constitution and citing the Ukrainian Federalist Papers and what the Ukrainian Founding Fathers said and discerns that Yanukovich fleeing Ukraine to the Russian Federation would not in any way lessen his capacity as the President of Ukraine. Quite the contrary, since he was now in even closer communication with the saviour of Ukraine, Vladimar Putin?
Brain E has previously justified Vlad’s seizure of parts of Donbas and Luhansk after the fully capacitive President Yanukovich left Ukraine for Russia. Sounds like Yanukovitch lost some charge in that move to Moscow.
My daughter who lives in suburban northern Virginia reports that locals still call them the Redskins.
om, I think the law matters. The Rada removed Yanukovych as President (unconstitutionally) on Feb. 22 2014.
He left Ukraine for Russia on either Feb. 23 or Feb. 24.
He was still in Ukraine when they removed him. Why didn’t they take the extra time to impeach him and follow their constitution?
This really has little to do with Yanukovych. He was as corrupt, likely more, as the previous presidents. It’s about the rule of law vs. mob rule.
This really has little to do with Yanukovych. He was as corrupt, likely more, as the previous presidents. It’s about the rule of law vs. mob rule.
==
The mob in question was the national legislature and his own party would not stick up for him.
==
Since every other official remained in office and he was within a matter of months replaced by another elected president, your fixation on this is amusing. Blow ups like Euromaidan occur in Latin America every few years and we don’t have alt-right / palaeopests obsessing over them.
It’s about Putin rule. Are you that slow?
Brian E:
Take a look at the timeline and the facts.
See this:
You’ll find more here:
Jon Baler, Naval Ships use to have an anti-torpedo belt of thick steel. Not now though (I think). Slat Armor is now really the array of ships in a Fleet. After the Falklands, some change made in what metal to use.
Carriers project Power. If they were useless, why is China embarked on building them?
What is all this talk about Carriers suddenly being obsolete as if they were previously unsinkable????
According to Wikipedia, the US lost 12 Carriers outright or scuttled after enemy attack in WW2. !!!
Bismarck Sea
Block Island
Gambier Bay
Hornet
Langley
Lexington
Liscome Bay
Ommaney Bay
Princeton
St Lo
Wasp
Yorktown
Precisely Neo. They did not impeach Yanukovych. By what authority could they remove him with a resolution and only a majority vote?
What prevents a future unpopular president from being removed by a resolution claiming a crisis and a simple majority vote?
“The resolution stated that Yanukovych had withdrawn from fulfilling his constitutional duties, “which threatens the governance of the state, the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine”, and cited “circumstances of extreme urgency”.” -from the article Neo cited
Article 83 lists the duties and authority of the Rada.
10. removing the President of Ukraine from office in accordance with the special procedure (impeachment) established by Article 111 of this Constitution;
Article 105 grants the President immunity during his term. The only recourse to remove him was impeachment.
Article 106 lists the duties and authority of the President. Which of these duties which he wasn’t fulfilling by leaving Kyiv “threatens the governance of the state, the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine” even in “circumstances of extreme urgency”?
BrianE:
It’s pretty simple. The constitution and impeachments did not cover the situation they faced when he fled the country.
He had virtually zero support, by the way.
Neo,
Thank you so much for those wonderful photos brought to life.
It’s altogether too easy to forget that our ancestors were just people too.
He really appears to be that slow.
The Russian information war is and has been that the government in Ukraine since 2014 is illegetimate and lately that Zelinsky has a 4% approval.
That is quite shocking given the universal approval of Vlad, Savior and Restorer of Greater Russia! (sarc and contempt)
But Brian E is fixated on his perception of the Rule of Law for Yanukovich but somehow whistles past the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. To say nothing of earlier Russian attacks on Ukraine.
John Baker:
The US Navy carriers lost in WW2 were of many sizes from very small excort (jeep carriers) to large fleet carriers. Some were sunk by submarines, some by aircraft, some by kamakazis, some sunk by the US Navy after damage by the IJN.
They were tiny to relatively small when compared to current US Navy carriers. Even so US WW2 carriers proved to be remarkably tough. More recent experience with the USS Bonhome Richard was concerning; a fire on board that severely damaged that amphibious landing ship (like a small carrier) while it at anchor in a US port (IIRC). Deeply concerning because damage control and fire fighting training was the strength of the US Navy in the past.
Drachinifel is a excellent resource for WW2 carrier naval history.
On the Edwardian photo transformations, I thought the head nodding and turning and smiling was a nice touch, but the extra body motions became too much. Especially when applied to two examples one right after the other.
We don’t expect people from that era to start dancing the Macarena, do we? 🙂
Now,… a waltz turn or two …
Next someone needs to do Lincoln!! Perhaps reading his 1838 Lyceum address?