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MARCH 17, 2022

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

GROWN-UPS AT WORK – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:   The “cancelled” statue of Theodore Roosevelt that was hauled away in the dead of night from the American Museum of Natural History’s steps should be headed for the scrap heap rather than a presidential library in North Dakota, a group of woke academics and artists claims. The bronze depiction of the Rough Rider on horseback flanked by an African man and Native American, which was decried as colonialistic and racist, is slated to go to a planned Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, N.D. It was removed in January and is currently in storage in NYC.
“New Yorkers cannot simply dump their toxic cultural products in other communities,” according to an online petition by the academics started last month. “The city should reject the transfer of its undesirable waste elsewhere. In this case, the monument’s bronze content could be melted down or recycled for a better purpose or simply disposed of.” How very intellectual.  I'm so impressed.  Theodore Roosevelt is generally regarded by historians as one of our best presidents.  I guess he'll now be stricken from the list.

March 17, 2022       Permalink

JAPAN AND RUSSIA – OVERNIGHT:  Russia's Ukraine adventure is being closely watched all over the world.  Nations and political leaders understand that what Russia does today can affect them tomorrow. What is the Kremlin going to do next? What weapons will be used? Who will be bombed and destroyed?  From Fox:

Japan’s defense ministry reported it had tracked four large Russian ships transporting troops through a strait north of the country and heading west.

Officials speculated that the vessels could have charted a course for Europe based on their trajectory. Two ships passed through at around 8 p.m. Tuesday and another two at around 7 a.m. Wednesday.

The Defense Ministry published photos that depicted a vessel identified as one typically used to land expeditionary forces for amphibious assaults. One vessel appeared to have military trucks loaded onto its deck, The Mainichi reported.

A Defense Ministry spokesman said "it is possible" the four ships could be headed for Ukraine. The vessels passed from the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan through the Tsuruga Strait.

The spokesman added that it is unusual for Russian ships to pass through the strait so close to Japanese territory.

Japan recently reiterated its claim over the disputed Kuril Islands, which have served as a point of contention between Japan and Russia.

Russia seized the islands, formerly part of Hokkaido Prefecture, at the end of World War II. Japan has labored in the decades since to secure them again, recently stressing that it believes the islands remain "primordially Japanese" and labeled Russia’s ownership as "occupation against international order."

Japan has supported and enacted strong sanctions against Russia in reaction to the invasion of Ukraine, most notably by joining the U.S. and European allies to remove Russian banks from the international SWIFT financial system in late February.

Japan also froze assets belonging to President Vladimir Putin and other top Russian officials while sending $100 million in emergency humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

"The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a unilateral attempt to change the status quo and the act shakes the foundation of the international order. It’s an outright violation of international law and we strongly denounce the act," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida previously said.

"Japan stands by the Ukrainian people who are fighting hard to defend their sovereignty and territory, their homeland and families."

COMMENT:  Located so close to Russia, and to Russia's ally China, Japan is taking significant risks.  I assume that our inadequate American leadership will show respect for those risks and demonstrate respect for Japan. We haven't exactly covered ourselves with glory in this Ukranian winter, hesitating at every stage to back with mighty strength the Ukranian freedom fighters.  The whole world is watching, and individual countries will decide whether America is an ally worth having.

March 17, 2022     Permalink

MARCH 16, 2022

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

NEW YORK – ON THE FRONT LINE OF NATIONAL DEFENSE – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:  About 400 used bulletproof vests that were supposed to be donated to Ukraine were stolen sometime overnight from a nonprofit organization in Manhattan, police said Wednesday. The vests were being stored at 203 Second Ave. near 12th Street in the East Village and were slated to be sent to the country that has been under siege by Russian forces since Feb. 24.  Somebody called 911 after discovering the heist at 9:19 a.m., police said.  When cops arrived, they found someone had forced their way into the building, police said. The vests were being stored in a hallway and were “visible to the public,” a police source said. The used vests were donated by the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, a police source said. The sheriff’s office said they were looking into the report. The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America and the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America are both listed at the Manhattan address. And if the NYPD catches the perp? This bein' New York, he'll be walking the streets again in about ten minutes Makes you feel more secure, doesn't it?

March 16, 2022     Permalink

RETURN TO MADNESS – OVERNIGHT:   So much for our national unity over Ukraine.  There are more important things to do – like cozying up to the Iranian mullahs so Joe Biden can have his Neville Chamberlain moment. Oh, those boyish dreams fulfilled. From Daily Mail:

The White House on Wednesday blamed former President Donald Trump for the way Iran has made strides towards acquiring atomic weapons, as talks to revive a nuclear deal remain stalled.

Trump pulled the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions.

Since then, Iran has stepped up the production of enriched uranium leading analysts to say Tehran has reduced the 'breakout time - the time to produce enough for a weapon - to a matter of months.

This week Russia said it had received guarantees from the U.S. that sanctions on Moscow won't affect its role in the deal, potentially signaling that talks on renewing the 2015 deal can resume. 

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked whether Washington was prepared to remove Iran's Islamist Revolutionary Guard Corps from the terrorism list in order to secure a deal - and pivoted to blame Trump for the urgent threat now posed to the world.
'The deal is not finalised,' she said.

'What I would note and I would just go back to why we're negotiating this deal. 

And right now we're negotiating this deal because Iran's nuclear gains are threatening U.S. interests. 

'There's urgency to taking steps to contain that, which is why we've been engaged so closely. 

'And that is all the result of President Trump pulling out of the deal and Iran moving closer to having the capacity and acquiring a nuclear weapon and speeding up their breakout time. 

'So we are here thanks to the actions of the last president and the last administration and it is in our interest, it is in the global interest, to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.'

COMMENT: It is absolutely disgraceful to blame President Trump for Iran's nuclear gains.  Those gains were well underway when Mr. Trump, aware of solid reports that Iran was cheating on the 2015 nuclear deal, pulled out of the agreement and imposed severe sanctions on the Tehran regime. Iran is suffering under those sanctions, and is seeking relief.  President Biden seems eager to give it to them – fulfilling the wish of our most leftist president, Barack Obama, to turn Iran into an ally of the United States. The fact that the mullahs who run Iran despise America and all we stand for does not seem to be a problem for the Obama crowd.

March 16, 2022     Permalink