soryang

…operating in the Yellow Sea, no problem. Chinese balloon “incursion” diplomatic feathers ruffled even with apology. Any excuse will do.

My understanding of the Gary Powers U2 incident was that the overflight of the Soviet Union was deliberate. The wikipedia write up seems fairly straightforward.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_U-2_incident

In July 1958, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower requested permission from the Pakistani prime minister Feroze Khan Noon for the…

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were prohibited by law after the Sept 1918 military agreements between North and South Korea. A defector group in South Korea began the practice again after the hawkish Yoon administration took power. The US via VOA Korea had promulgated the notion that the statute prohibiting balloon flights over the DMZ was an intrusion on free speech rights.…[Read more]

Otherwise I might have missed it. Glad to see Brian there. I like how he starts out with the “now or never” perception. The historian Adam Tooze talked about this in his book The Wages of Destruction, an economic history of the Third Reich.

…is bs. It’s way more than 5 percent. It’s more like 10 percent, without figuring in any future costs which will have to be committed. However there wasn’t much of that extent anyway. In addition those costs are likely to go up. Those future costs aren’t reduced to current value. One can argue the numbers on an annual basis but the claim…[Read more]

Two of my favorite historians Bruce Cummings and James Bradley appear in it.

Similar analysis from an experienced South Asian diplomat:

JANUARY 18, 2023 BY M. K. BHADRAKUMAR
China’s economy is on a rebound

What Indian analysts in their schadenfreude tend to overlook is that an attitude toward China predicated on that country’s misfortunes and setbacks is a road to nowhere. There are some profound conclusions to be dra…

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https://www.military.com/equipment/m88a2-hercules-recovery-vehicle

http://www.military-today.com/trucks/m1070_het.htm

HEMTT A4 Fuel Servicing Truck (Tanker)

Without the support vehicles, their crews, maintenance, fuel, and spare parts, the M-1s will end scattered and immobile.…[Read more]

…was both informative and disturbing. I enjoyed listening to Betty Medsger’s presentation as well on the FBI break in and COINTELPRO disclosures. I think the presentations clarified some of the distinctions among whistleblowers, hackers (burglars) with a cause, and journalists. Medsger is okay with it all. That’s okay, it’s a legitimate…[Read more]

His earlier article on the Chinese economy relative to its rivals is very insightful. I recommend it. I love this line- “What Indian analysts in their schadenfreude tend to overlook is that an attitude toward China predicated on that country’s misfortunes and setbacks is a road to nowhere.” This is good too- “Recasting the global supply c…[Read more]

I used to see an analyst James Jaspers, evidently a Eastern Orthodox Christian, who used to appear on crossfire from time to time discuss this subject, he made an argument similar to Macgregor, that is western decadence, homosexuality, etc., that contribute to its desire to destroy Russia, I reacted the same way. He’s an obscure pundit who is…[Read more]