Study from Tokyo shows Ivermectin show antiviral effect against Coronavirus.

 A study from Japan shows that the anti-parasite drug Ivermectin may have an antiviral effect against Coronavirus. Reuters. The study said that the drug was tested against Omicron and other Coronavirus variants. The drug has long been promoted as a possible treatment for the Coronavirus pandemic, but its usage has been condemned by the FDA and other medical authorities. 

My Comment:

This is a very rushed post for some news that I didn't see until now. Apologies in advance for not having a picture or a longer summary. 

I would note that one study doesn't prove anything. After all there are studies that show pretty much anything. But this study does match other studies that have found the same thing and anecdotal evidence that people have shown improvement on the drug. It's not absolute proof but I think it's enough to authorize emergency treatment with the drug. After all, it's one of the safer drugs out there and has been used for years. 

I've been skeptical of Ivermectin in the past. I know India had good results using it but I always thought that was probably because many of the people that were infected with the Coronavirus were also infected with parasites. That would obviously increase survival but might not translate to other countries well given the third world status of India. 

But this study was conducted in Japan and that means one of a few things. The first is that the drug actually is effective against the virus. That's certainly possible, but I wonder how it would work. The second is that the virus really isn't effective against the virus but is effective against parasites and bad outcomes with the virus are more related to coinfections with parasites. The other possibility is that the study is just flawed. 

If Ivermectin is effective than a lot of people are going to be exposed. The drug has been demonized to the point where people think it is dangerous. Indeed, I fear that some people that have a legitimate need for the drug won't take it because the media and FDA lied about how dangerous it is. The same thing happened with hydroxychloroquine and it's a crying shame. 

US governors say that it's time to move on from Coronavirus restrictions.

 

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson (R) and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D). Yahoo News/Getty.

US Governors are saying that it is time to move on from Coronavirus restrictions. Yahoo News. The calls are coming from both sides of the political spectrum with both Republicans and Democrats speaking out about restrictions and refusing to implement new ones. After a meeting with Joe Biden, Governors Asa Hutchinson (R) of Arkansas and Phil Murphy (D) of New Jersey called for a return to normality. Last December Jared Polis of Colorado refused to implement new restrictions. 

My Comment:

Actions are better than words and the governors in this article haven't removed all Coronavirus restrictions in their state. They have the power to remove these restrictions so it's fairly hypocritical to call for a return to normalcy. Other than the few remaining federal restrictions, they are what is standing between normalcy in the first place. 

It really is amazing to me how different the restrictions are in other states. Here in Wisconsin things have been normal for about a year now. The only place I have had to wear a mask (outside of work) since last year was the clinic and even then it made sense because I was sick. There aren't really any restrictions here and if it wasn't for the news coverage and the few people I know that got sick during the Omicron wave I wouldn't even know there was a pandemic here. 

Speaking of Omicron, one thing I have mentioned since the variant arrived is that it is the perfect offramp for coronavirus restrictions. The variant is much weaker than even Delta and hardly kills anyone. Most of the people that are recorded as Coronavirus deaths are people that died with the disease from other causes, not from the disease itself. 

Indeed, globally many countries are using the variant in that way. We have already seen countries like the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and Finland lift their remaining restrictions. They have reached the reasonable conclusion that not only is the pandemic burning out, the remaining restrictions are pointless. 

I also think that people have reached their limits when it comes to the virus. Keep in mind, if the virus was so bad then their wouldn't be any disagreement about restrictions. But it has been clear for a long time that the virus is not that bad and the restrictions are not worth it. People aren't afraid of this virus and don't understand what the point of anything is anymore. 

And they are reacting against it. We have seen major protests rock the world, with many of these protests having thousands of people. None have been more impactful than the freedom convoy in Canada which has mostly shut down the Canadian government. 

I also think that the places with restrictions are seeing less compliance. People simply don't care anymore and the ones that are going along with it aren't really doing it because they believe the threat is real, they just don't want to be punished because of it. There are a few people out there that treat the virus like it's the plague but those people are growing fewer in number and losing influence as their case becomes impossible to defend. 

In the United States I think a lot of this is being driven by the 2022 midterms. The Democrats are seeing the writing on the wall and understand that if they don't change course they will be wiped out. They probably will be anyways but if they want any chance at all they have to pull back on this nonsense. Same with the Republicans that still support this. Everyone is going to have to back down unless there is some change in the virus. 

Houthi rebels fire another ballistic missile at the UAE while the President of Israel was there.

 

Israeli President Isaac Herzog. The Hill/AP.

Houthi rebels have fired another ballistic missile at the UAE while the President of Israel was there. The Hill. The UAE was able to destroy the missile, which landed in an unpopulated area. It is unclear what the target of the missile was. The launch happened hours after the arrival of Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Herzog was there for the first visit to the country by Israelis since the normalization of relations under President Trump at the Abraham Accords. Herzog condemned the attack and said he supported UAE's security efforts. The attack marks the third missile attack on the UAE from the Houthi rebels in recent weeks.

My Comment:

This looks like it was a very poorly executed assassination attempt by the Houthi Rebels. Given the inaccuracy of these ballistic missiles and the fact that the Houthis probably didn't have an exact location for Herzog, not to mention the UAE's air defenses, it had almost zero chance of working. 

But I don't think that it was a coincidence that the Houthis launched this missile while Isaac Herzog was there. The Houthis hate Israel as much as their Iranian sponsors do and if they had managed to kill or injure him it would have been a propaganda coup for them. They failed but they had to take the chance on it. 

And I wonder if the Iranians didn't order this attack specifically. The Iranians are the ones that are supplying these weapons to the Houthi rebels. And they obviously hate the Israelis. Their proxy war isn't just with Saudi Arabia it's with Israel as well. 

Indeed, it was Iran and Yemen that helped create the Abraham Accords in the first place. The Sunni Muslims have not had good relations with Israel since the country was created. But the fact that the Iranians have caused and made worse the war in Yemen united the Sunni Gulf States and Israel. 

As for the UAE, they better hope that the Houthis run out of ballistic missiles before they run out of interceptor missiles. I get the feeling that the Biden administration does not want to help them in their fight against the Houthis. Indeed, I doubt Biden is even aware that there is a war in Yemen. 

Speaking of Yemen, it sounds as though there is an offensive going on against the Houthis by the Yemeni government. That might be why the Houthis are trying to attack the UAE. They might be losing the bases that launch these missiles soon so they are using them as fast as they can. Perhaps, I am certainly not an expert on what is going on in Yemen. 

Anti-mandate freedom convoy arrives in Ottawa Canada as Prime Minster Justin Trudeau flees the capitol.

 

Some of the protesters in Ottawa. BBC/AFP.

The anti-mandate freedom convoy has arrived in Ottawa. BBC. The protest, which formed when Trudeau implemented a vaccine mandate for cross border travel for truckers, formed in Western Canada and spent most of last week traveling to the capitol. The protest raised over $7 million through GoFundMe and has remained peaceful so far.  The protesters are now demanding the removal of all mandates related to Coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Prime Minster Justin Trudeau has fled the capitol. Business Insider. Though the protest has remained peaceful with zero arrest having been recorded, Trudeau was moved to a secret location citing "security concerns". 

This is the scene in Ottawa as the Trucker Freedom Convoy makes their arrival.

Justin Trudeau has left Canada’s capital city.

So much for “small fringe minority”. pic.twitter.com/uHe5KRBEaX

— Benny (@bennyjohnson) January 29, 2022

 

Freedom Convoy 2022 Ottawa

The place is PACKED.#freedomconvoy22 @BananaMediaQ pic.twitter.com/WUAIFUQkDL

— WorldWideNews24 (XII) (@News24Wide) January 29, 2022

 

Mainstream media caught trying to downplay the support for the Canadian convoy for freedom pic.twitter.com/rcf1VNhRES

— Denise Sosa (@DeniseS0718) January 30, 2022

 

Freedom Convoy Arrives and now we occupy Parliament Hill Jan 29, 2022 peacefully until all federal government mandates are lifted and freedom is restored to all Canadians! ❤️❤️❤️❤️🚛🚚@TheoFleury14 #EndTheMandates #freedomconvoy22 #AbLeg #CanadaTruckers pic.twitter.com/g2GmY2q0t8

— Ted Bach (@TedbachTed) January 30, 2022

My Comment:

Fairly impressive protest in Canada. Looks like thousands of people and trucks showed up to protest these vaccine mandates. It seems clear to me that people are sick and tired of vaccine mandates and that these people had nothing left to lose so why not protest? 

I can't say that I am at all impressed with Justin Trudeau's response to this. I have never been a fan of him and consider him to be everything that is wrong with the modern Western rulership class. He's vain, racist, totally out of touch with the common man and more prone to preaching than even the pope. In short, I consider him to be garbage. 

But even I expected more from him than this. These aren't violent people that are attacking him, like Antifa and Black Lives Matter did to the White House back when Donald Trump was still president. These are peaceful protesters yet Trudeau still cut and run to some bunker somewhere. What did he think was going to happen, these middle age Canadians were going to pull him out of his house and Gaddafi him? (though I personally wouldn't mind if they did).

So far Trudeau hasn't backed down, but I can't see that lasting much longer. The groundswell of opposition here is pretty impossible to deny. If he doesn't do something soon, he risks any remaining credibility his government has. I think many of these people are in this for the long haul so Trudeau has limited options. 

The best for everyone is if Trudeau just lifts the mandates. He even has precedent now since many European countries, including the UK, are lifting their restrictions. Indeed, just across the border in the United States, many of the border states have either lifted their restrictions entirely or are limited. Sure, the feds are still screwing around with their mandates but even there the tide has turned. Doing so would cause Trudeau to lose face and anger some of his supporters.

I don't think cracking down on these protesters is an option. The protest has remained peaceful but it would remain so for long if the cops started cracking heads. That's how civil wars start, just look at the Arab Spring. Trudeau reminds me a lot of Joe Biden though, a man who always makes the worst choice, so I could see this happening. 

But I think the most likely outcome is Trudeau just trying to wait the protest out. Most of the protesters are working class people who do not have the funding to just protest indefinitely the way Black Lives Matter and Antifa do here in the United States. Sure, they raised more than $7 million but that goes fast when you have to feed and house so many people. The protesters have an advantage in that many of them brought sleeper cabs but even then, time is on the side of the government. It will be interesting to see if they can keep the energy and anger up long enough to outlast Trudeau. 

I do think that this is the beginning of the end for Coronavirus mandates. Setting aside the efficacy of the vaccines and the weakness of the Omicron variant, it's clear that people have reached their limit of what they are willing to accept, at least in the working class. And this is coming from, for a lack of a better term, the most cucked country on earth. If people in Canada are upset enough at their government that they would basically take over the capital totally organically, what must the leaders of other countries be thinking? 

My guess is that they are finally realizing that the juice just isn't worth the squeeze. Omicron was always the off road for the pandemic and I am guessing that other governments will start to take it. Some of the more authoritarian governments, most notably Australia, will take longer than others, but I am guessing the worlds leadership is watching this protest and realizing that the gig is up. 

What really gets me is how completely unnecessary this whole thing was. Closing the borders to unvaccinated truckers never made any sense given how important free trade and the movement of goods is. Even assuming getting people is a legitimate goal (and I'd argue it might have been last year but is absolutely not now), the marginal returns you would get from this compared to the major economic damage is just stupid. Especially considering that traffic was moving just fine between the two countries even during the worst days of the pandemic. 

US Navy confirms viral video and photos from F-35 crash are real.

 

A screengrab from the video (left) and one of the viral photos. Task and Purpose. 

The US Navy has confirmed that viral video and photographs showing the crash of an F-35 in the South China Sea are real. Task and Purpose. The F-35C was on approach to the carrier USS Carl Vinson when it crashed. Seven sailors were injured in the crash including the pilot who managed to eject. Photos show the crashed F-35 floating in the water before it sank. The cause of the crash is unknown with the Navy saying there is an active investigation. The Navy will also attempt to salvage the aircraft. 

My Comment:

I am guessing that if the Navy finds out who leaked these videos and pictures they are going to be in big trouble. They have little tolerance for leaking secrets in the first place but in this case the incident is probably somewhat embarrassing to the Navy. The book will be thrown at them if they are found. 

I have no idea why this F-35 crashed. It could be anything from a mechanical failure, to pilot error to a bad gust of win. Carrier operations are always fraught with danger and losing aircraft is not that uncommon. It is, after all, extremely difficult to land a plane on a moving object. 

Much of the media coverage of this case says that the Chinese are going to try and salvage the wreck though they have said they have no plans to do so. I tend to believe that since they probably have all the technical data and information on the F-35 they need. After all the J-31Gyrfalcon is already a rip-off of the F-35, only with a second engine as an improvement. Why secure a crashed model of a plane that is arguably worse than your own homegrown model? 

The only other thing I have to say with this one is that I am glad that the video and photos leaked. Even though the sailor(s) who released it will almost certainly be in trouble it is important for Americans to see what there tax dollars are going to. The F-35 has been a boondoggle from the start and we should be asking questions about that. Perhaps this crash was related to that and perhaps it is not but more data is always welcome... 

The Russian perspective on the Ukraine Crisis...

 

Ukrainian military vehicles. RT/Getty. 

Russia says that war between the country and Ukraine is unacceptable. RT. Russia said that they did not want war with Ukraine and neither did Ukraine and blamed Ukraine's foreign sponsors for increasing tensions. Russia also said that they have no intention to attack Ukraine. They cited evacuations of diplomats and weapons shipments as examples of Western aggression and also said that critics of Western actions are being silenced. Russia also called for NATO to pull back forces and stop interfering with Ukraine. 

My Comment:

With the hysteria coming from the Western media and our governments, I thought it would be helpful to have a different perspective from the Russians themselves. You obviously shouldn't trust RT and the Russians but I would say that if you don't trust them but also do trust western media and our government than you are a fool. 

So are the Russians right? Do they want to avoid war? I think that they do. Going to war over Ukraine is not something that they should want. Not only do they risk taking heavy casualties they would face major economic damage, even ignoring any sanctions brought on by the United States. I think there is even a possibility that they would not win the war or, even worse, they could be caught up in an Afghanistan style insurgency. 

I think what Russia wants is pretty obvious. A federal solution to the Ukraine civil war and for closer ties with the Ukrainian government. I don't think they want to take over the entirety of Ukraine. They do want to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO of course. 

I also don't think Russia is in any way ready to invade. The time is not right. They don't have all their forces in place and I can't imagine that any country would want to invade Ukraine in the middle of winter. Plus, the Olympics are coming up and though they have done stuff during the Olympics before I can't see them doing it this year. 

The biggest sign that Russia isn't ready for war and is probably trying to avoid it is that they haven't used any of their leverage against Europe yet. All they have to do is cut off natural gas from the continent and it would be brought down to its knees. I know the United States has said they would make up for that but from what I understand there isn't enough natural gas in the entire world to supply Europe's needs. 

I personally don't expect war. I think Ukraine is going to make a deal with the Russians. They may want a closer relationship with the west but they also realize that nobody is going to go to war with them. Ukrainian President Zelensky was elected on a mandate to end the war and he will likely finally do so, leaving the Biden administration in the lurch... 

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to retire, Biden will nominate a black woman for the post.

 

Associate Justice Stephen Breyer. Fox News/Reuters.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has announced he will retire and Joe Biden has said he will nominate a black woman for the post. Fox News. Breyer will step down and the end of the current session which ends at the end of summer. Breyer was 83 and there was much speculation that he would retire before the 2022 elections so Biden could replace him with another liberal justice. During his campaign Biden promised to put a black woman on the court, regardless of other concerns. 

My Comment:

I am not surprised that Breyer is retiring. I am guessing he learned something from Ruth Bader Ginsberg's death. Ginsberg died near the end of President Trump's last term and was famously replaced by a conservative. I doubt Breyer wanted the same thing to happen to him after the 2022 election when the Republicans look good to take back both the house and senate. Him retiring makes sense from his point of view. 

What is disturbing is that Biden will replace him, supposedly with a black women. This is pure racism without a doubt. Instead of evaluating candidates based on their qualifications Biden will be picking someone based on their gender and the color of their skin. That kind of affirmative action is how we get Kamala Harris as Vice President... I would have nothing wrong with a black female candidate but only if they are the best person for the job. But that is NOT what Biden is doing here. 

It will be difficult to find a qualified candidate to replace Breyer. There aren't that many black women in this country, they make up only 6% of the population. There are a few that are judges but how many of them are good at their job? I am sure there are some of them out there.

But I am also sure that Biden won't pick one. We won't get a female version of Clarence Thomas. Instead we will get a black Sonia Sotomayor. She's the other diversity hire on the court and she has not impressed me. Her comments on the recent vaccine mandate case showed she didn't even have the basic grasp of the issues. I am sure that whoever Biden's picks it will be similar to Sotomayor. 

I have heard that Kamala Harris might be the choice. That would solve two problems for Biden. First it would remove Harris from the White House. Harris is even more unpopular than both Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, a feat I would otherwise consider impossible, so getting rid of her might help Biden somewhat. 

2nd, Harris is endlessly ambitious and I consider her a major threat to Biden and his continued existence. Shipping her off to the Supreme Court would help keep Biden safe and remove an unpredictable possible foe from the board. She would be a terrible choice as a Supreme Court Justice but she was also a terrible choice for Vice President. 

I don't know if the Republicans can do much to stop this. It's a 50-50 tie in the Senate so there is very little they can do. I have heard that they can make things miserable for the Democrats by not letting the nominee out of committee but I am not sure if that is true. 

If anything does torpedo whoever Biden picks it will be Democrats in the Senate. Both Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema have been doing so for Biden's agenda and I could see it happening again, perhaps just out of spite. I don't think either would have any actual objections to Biden's pick but they could leverage the power they have to get concessions from the Biden White House. I do think that if anyone in the Democratic Party would have a problem with hiring a SCOTUS judge based on their race and gender it would be Joe Manchin... 

The good news is that even with a terrible hire it won't do too much damage. The court will still be a 5-3-1 split with Roberts being his corrupt self. The only problem is that the new justice could be there for a long time. But it will basically be status quo ante. 

Major trucker protests in Canada targeting vaccine mandates.

 

Stock photo of a truck. The Hill/iStock.

A major trucker protest is being organized in Canada targeting trucker vaccine mandates. The Hill. A GoFundMe for the project has raised more than $2 million for food, fuel and lodging. The truckers say that the vaccine mandate will lead to higher inflation and shortages. Both Canada and America have put into place a vaccine mandate for drivers that cross the border. The protesters will be heading to Ottowa and are expected to reach there on January 29th. 

Driver says there are supporters cheering on the freedom truck convoy on nearly every overpass between Vancouver and Chilliwack in British Columbia.

The convoy is making its way across the country to Ottawa for next weekends protest against mandates.https://t.co/oH67s3uRAB pic.twitter.com/5dkvDaPvl9

— Marie Oakes (@TheMarieOakes) January 23, 2022

 

Freedom Convoy Telegram 2022 - THE OFFICIAL Freedom Canada;2022 freedom Convoy Location updates; GTA (Vaughan Mills) Convoy to Ottawa
Truck Drivers are the blood line of Canada giving hope to every Canadian HOLD THE LINE in Ottawa No Retreat No Surrender - we are behind you 100% pic.twitter.com/iancG7mkAZ

— Corrado Brancato (@CorradoPpc) January 24, 2022

My Comment:

It is unclear how big this protest is but from the social media posts I have seen it seems to be sizeable. Thousands of truck drivers and other supporters are heading to Ottawa to protest these vaccine mandates. It's one of the largest protests I have seen against Coronavirus restrictions, and unlike other protests I think it has a good chance of succeeding. 

Truckers have a huge amount of leverage that other people simply do not have. Without truckers the country grinds to a halt as needed fuel, food and goods simply can't move without them. There isn't an alternative as other forms of transportation are at capacity and are also reliant on trucking. If truckers all decided to quit than the country probably wouldn't last a week.

And that is during normal times. These are not normal times. Canada is already seeing shortages of food and supplies due to the vaccine mandates and the general logistical nightmare that all countries are facing now. Having tens of thousands of truckers deciding to protest will cause these problems to get much worse. Not to mention that there is already a world wide trucker shortage. It's not like these people can be easily replaced. 

This will put a huge amount of pressure on Justin Trudeau and Canada's government. If there is one thing that destabilizes a country it's a lack of food, fuel and goods. And that is going to happen now no matter what Trudeau does. My guess is that he will have to back down, or face chaos that hasn't been seen in a western country in a long time. 

Of course, I have to point out that the vaccine mandate is utterly pointless. Not only is the pandemic all but over, but the vaccine doesn't do much to stop the Omicron variant in the first place. Plus it's idiotic to put it into place now since the border has been open to truckers for two years now. 

I work with truckers every day and I have to say that they are at extremely low risk of getting or spreading the virus. They tell me all the time how stupid our own restrictions are. They tell me that they hardly see anyone while doing their jobs, other than at the shipper and receiver. Treating them like they are all "Typhoid Mary's" is patently ridiculous. 

I do have to say that even if the truckers succeed they will still have problem that the restrictions are still in place in the United States. And Canadian truckers have almost no leverage on the United States. They would need some kind of similar movement in the United States to put pressure on Biden. I know if that did happen I would support it. 

ISIS continues fight to secure prison in Syria in the biggest battle since 2019.

 

An ISIS flag and other captured supplies in Syria. CBS News/AP.

ISIS has spent three days trying to secure a prison in Syria in the biggest battle involving the terror group since their defeat in 2019. CBS News. The prison, Gweiran in al-Hasakah, housed 3500 ISIS fighters. ISIS attacked the prison with at least 100 fighters and coordinated with fighters inside the prison. Video posted on social media showed ISIS fighters executing prison guards. The battle has continued for three days with hundreds of prisoners escaping. The United States has launched air strikes and there are reports of Bradly Fighting Vehicles manned by US soldiers near the fighting. 

SDF says they so far killed 175 ISIS members (160 attackers & 15 prisoners who tried to escape) & the Al-Sina'a prison is under its control. SDF also says 27 of its fighters lost their lives pic.twitter.com/aC8PM31kK2

— Mutlu Civiroglu (@mutludc) January 23, 2022

My Comment:

I've been aware of this story for a couple of days now but I didn't have a good source to write up a post. That changed now. My guess is that the situation became bad enough that the Western media could no longer ignore it. 

The situation seems to be fairly fluid with the Kurds and ISIS fighting it out. It's unclear at this time who is winning but regardless it's a major battle for ISISI which is supposed to have been destroyed in Syria.  Both sides have taken heavy casualties, with many dead. 

ISIS biggest problem is a lack of fighters. The vast majority of their fighters were killed or captured and they have not been able to recruit any new fighters to replace them. That leaves few options, and taking back prisoners is one of the few ways to get reinforcements. 

 There is a real danger here. With hundreds of new fighters ISIS may be able to take and hold territory again. Or they can use these new fighters to regroup. If ISIS ends up with more fighters than they had when they started than this attack was a success. If they manage to take and hold territory that's even better. 

I'm not impressed with the SDF, the local Kurdish fighters, performance here. ISIS gave them a bloody nose and were able to get hundreds of their fighters out of prison. That's not something that should happen if these folks were competent. Given that the ISIS fighters inside the prison were able to coordinate with the fighters outside, it doesn't say much good about their prison administration either. 

Will ISIS become a major threat like they were back in the day? Probably not. The Syrian Civil War is not in the same place it was back then. The government there isn't crippled by the rebels and there are already American forces in the area. I don't see them taking major swaths of territory like they did back in 2014. And any violence that does happen should likely stay contained to Syria and won't spread to Iraq like it did last time. 

The real danger is that this battle will inspire new fighters and terror attacks. ISIS has been seen as a group of losers for awhile now since they lost all their territory in Syria and Iraq. With a new victory on their belt it may inspire more terror attacks from lone wolves inspired by them. And it's possible that some of the prisoners released in this raid will make their way back to western countries (most of these fighters are foreigners). 

I do have to say that this is more bad news for the Biden administration. They have been lucky that ISIS has been on the back burner for awhile. With this new raid, ISIS is back in the news and there may be a wave of terror attacks that will follow. Given that Syria has been an afterthought for the Biden administration, they will bare the blame. 

Dozens killed in Saudi airstrike in Yemen

 

An aerial view of the damage. BBC/Reuters. 

Dozens have been killed in a Saudi airstrike against a Houthi rebel controlled prison in Yemen. BBC. The exact number of wounded and killed is unknown but the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) aid group said that at least 70 people died and 200 were taken to the hospital with both numbers expected to rise. Saudi Arabia has increased their bombing campaign against the Houthi rebels since a major drone attack hit their allies in the UAE. The prison was located in the Houthi stronghold of Saada. 

My Comment:

Bad mistake by the Saudis. They already get bad press for their war against the Houthi rebels. I don't think it is always deserved, as at the very least the Houthis are as bad or worse than the Saudis, but this airstrike is not going to help their case at all. 

I am not sure why the Saudis would target this prison and none of the articles I read seem to know either. I don't see any reason to hit a prison since it would provide no strategic value whatsoever. My only thought is that the Houthis were using the prison as a base for something else and tried to use the prisoners as human shields. Even if that was the case I am not sure that would justify this airstrike. 

Without any justification offered I can't help but consider this a war crime. Again, there seems to be no strategic value in blowing up a prison. All that accomplished is to kill a bunch of people that had nothing to do with the war. That's the very definition of a war crime. 

There is a possibility that this was just a tragic mistake. It could have been that their weapons simply missed or that there was an intelligence failure that made the Saudis think this prison was something else. Mistakes are always possible in warfare but given the use of precision weapons in modern airstrikes it seems unlikely. 

The Saudis did have to respond to the attack on the UAE. That strike did damage to the countries oil production and anything that damages oil production in the Gulf is a bad thing for the Saudis. But I still don't understand why they would target this prison. Unless there is something major we are all missing it was not a military target. 

As for the war in Yemen, I see no end in sight. Most countries don't care about it at all and neither the Sunni Gulf States or the Iranian backed Shiite militias are in a position to win the war militarily. I think the only solution is some kind of negotiated settlement but I can't see that happening anytime soon. 

Even so, the Saudis need to conduct themselves better than this. I know civilian casualties are inevitable during a war and mistakes happen, but this attack seems beyond the pale. The Saudis need to stop doing things like this and stop doing it yesterday or they will lose any and all sympathy they may have had. 

Federal appeals court rules California's closure of gun stores unconstitutional.

 

A gun store. The Hill.

A federal appeals court has ruled that California's closure of gun stores during the 2020 stage of the pandemic unconstitutional. The Hill. Lower courts had ruled that two counties in California were allowed to close gun stores as a anti-coronavirus measure. Both of those rulings were rejected by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The court found that it was a clear violation of the 2nd Amendment from banning people from purchasing firearms and ammunition as well as banning shooting ranges. The court also pointed out that the counties had allowed bike shops to remain open while banning gun stores. 

My Comment:

A major victory for gun rights. These two counties obviously violated the 2nd amendment and had no right to ban access to firearms. The obvious argument is that if they can ban the sale of firearms during a pandemic they can do it anytime they want. An emergency order could be offered on pretty much any grounds. Too much crime? Ban firearms. Natural disaster? Ban firearms. War breaks out? Ban firearms. And once put into place the order might never be lifted. 

I generally don't think the government has a right to shut down business like this in the first place. I could see them making some restrictions but I can't approve of them shutting down businesses entirely. Perhaps some compromise could be made, like a drive through gun store? Who knows?

I do have to say that banning firearms during a pandemic is just evil. Given how good gun sales did during the pandemic, obviously a lot of people felt that they needed firearms for protection. And given the riots that broke out during 2020 they had a point. Back when this order was made we also didn't know how bad the pandemic was going to be. At that point we didn't know if the country would collapse or not. People needed to have access to their firearms. 

It's unclear if the ruling will stand. It is always possible that the counties will appeal the appeal and it could even go to the Supreme Court. I have no idea what would happen at that point. The current court is still a mystery on gun rights. They have taken up a case but haven't actually ruled yet and it's possible that they would not rule the right way in this case. 

Rating Joe Biden's 1st year...

 

Joe Biden. White House photo.

As you may know, tomorrow marks the 1 year anniversary of Joe Biden being inaugurated as President. I thought that it would be a good idea to review his performance. Though I despise the man I do hope to keep this as objective as possible. That will be difficult because on any level, Biden has failed in this first year. 

About the only thing I can say that is good about Biden is he hasn't yet gotten us involved in a new war. The current high tensions with Russia may change that in year two but at the current moment, he has not gotten us into a new conflict. Indeed, if he manages to do that for his entire term that would be an aspect of his presidency that I would like. 

But I can't say much good about his foreign policy. Those current tensions with Russia I mentioned? Entirely the fault of his policy. We have no interest in bringing Ukraine into NATO and Russia is justifiably upset about it. Biden hasn't even tried to explain why defending Ukraine is in our interests at all or why we are focusing on Russia, a toothless joke that poses little threat, when China is actively screwing us over. 

Even more critically Biden utterly failed during his withdrawal from Afghanistan. I would give him credit for actually following through, we needed to end our mission in Afghanistan, but his execution was absolutely terrible. He didn't help keep the Afghan government standing, killed a bunch of civilians and let ISIS kill some of our troops and even more civilians. People won't forget our troops running away with our tails behind our legs or people falling off of our evacuation airplanes. 

Domestic policy has been terrible as well. His legislative agenda is pretty much dead. He did get an infrastructure bill passed, but I don't think anyone actually wanted that. Things like his stupid build back better bill and the election voter fraud bill did not survive due to Biden's ability to herd the Democrat cats. 

The major bills he did pass has caused massive economic damage. The Coronavirus relief bills and the infrastructure bill was paid for by printing new money. This obviously caused inflation. Even worse, Biden's energy policy, where he banned drilling and new pipelines, caused oil and gas prices to explode with no sign of coming down. 

There has also been a huge logistics nightmare that has been caused by the Biden White House. Hundreds of ships are still stacked up off of the coasts and we have all been seeing empty shelves at our grocery stores. 

What is causing all of this? It's mostly Biden's Coronavirus pandemic. Biden famously promised this summer that we had beaten the Coronavirus and then both Delta and Omicron proved him to be a liar. But it was his insistence on a vaccine mandate that has done more damage than anything else. Inflation, logistics, even the pandemic itself has been made worse on his insistence that vaccines should be mandatory. Even the Supreme Court saying he far exceeded his powers did not change his mind at all.

This has resulted in millions of people either quitting their jobs or getting fired for a medical policy that not only was unethical but didn't work. We saw both with Delta and Omicron that using a vaccine that was designed for the original virus didn't stop the spread. Some people may have been helped by the vaccines but they were by and large not the people that these mandates effected. And businesses, hospitals and even the military lost many of their best workers. That made just about every problem our country is facing worse. 

Biden's biggest problem is legitimacy. He never even tried to convince the American people that he was legitimately elected. We never got a day in court and none of our concerns with the fact that voting laws were illegally changed. Not to mention the obvious voter fraud that likely pushed him over the edge. 

Another problem for Biden is just basic competence. He is not in a good mental state, with the signs of dementia becoming even more clear. He hasn't been able to send any message out there at all and he hasn't been able to stop Democratic infighting. And his approval ratings have shown that America is sick of him. 

Can Biden turn it around? I guess it is possible but I don't see how. He has always doubled down when he has made mistakes and I can't see that changing. And year two may prove to be even worse for him than year one. He might get us into a war, the logistics crisis is getting worse and he's likely to lose control of the house and senate in the elections this year. 

The only thing that might help him is that I think that the Coronavirus wave is almost over. Omicron seems to be peaking and an infection seems to be a better vaccine than the actual vaccines. I am guessing that we are near the end of the pandemic. If Biden is even remotely smart he will back down on the virus restrictions (like the UK is doing now) and it might help his approval rating. But my guess is that he will continue to double down...  

Oil prices increase after Houthi rebels launch drone strikes on oil facilities.

 

Houthi Rebels in Yemen. CNBC/Reuters.

Oil prices have reached a seven year high after a major drone strike launched by Houthi rebels hit oil facilities in the United Arab Emirates. CNBC.  The attack occurred yesterday and killed three people. The attack caused a major spike in oil prices, which have already been driven higher by inflation and concerns about a conflict with Ukraine and Russia. The attack was the most significant against the UAE, who has joined the war against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, along with Saudi Arabia. However, their involvement has been limited since 2019.

My Comment:

I am not sure why the Houthis launched this attack, though they may have been directed to do so by their Iranian sponsors. The UAE has not been a major participant in the war in Yemen for a while now and if anything would draw them back into war this is it. Given how the war is going fairly well for the Houthis it makes little sense to bring them back into the war. 

Of course the war in Yemen is largely irrelevant. The killing has gone on for awhile now and outside of Yemen and Saudi Arabia I doubt too many people care if the UAE joins the war again. Other than a few bleeding hearts and people concerned about the proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. 

But oil prices? That's a huge problem. Gas prices are already high enough but any more damage to Saudi Arabia or the UAE's oil production could make them explode. Even a major expansion of the war in Yemen could lead to this outcome. In short, nothing good can come from the Houthi rebels actions here. 

The big winners here are Iran and Russia. Iran has largely been sanctioned out of the international oil markets and higher prices could break that. Plus they get to humiliate their Gulf State enemies with more strikes like these. They almost certainly provided the drones that caused this strike in the first place. 

Russia wins as well. They are in a major diplomatic row right now over Ukraine, a situation I still believe has been massively overblown. Higher energy prices give them more leverage and helps their economy quite a bit. 

But the biggest losers, not counting the people that die of course, is normal Americans and Europeans. Gas prices are a huge burden to consumers and the cost of energy increases prices for pretty much everything. Any event that causes disruption to oil supplies, or even spooks investors, makes everything you buy more expensive. Expect higher prices at the pump soon...    

North Korea finally opens their borders.

 

The train station in Pyongyang. The Guardian/Reuters.

North Korea appears to have opened their land border with China with reports that a train has arrived from the isolated nation. The Guardian. North Korea closed their borders with China in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. The country supposedly has had zero cases of the virus. This has largely cut off aid for the country, though some has come through seaports. It is likely that the train will be bringing back supplies for the country. 

My Comment:

It's been awhile since we have heard much from North Korea, but they seem to be making it back to the news. In addition to this story, North Korea has been launching missiles into the sea of Japan again. For a country that essentially disappeared for several years, this is a big change. 

I don't believe for a second that North Korea did not have any Coronavirus cases. Given their proximity to China I am guessing that they had it sooner than everyone else and it burned through them just like it did for everyone else. There is a chance I am wrong about it and they did close the borders in a successful effort to control the virus, but I don't believe they would have been successful in that effort.  

So why close the borders? Probably to keep the impact of the virus a secret. If it was known how damaging the virus was to North Korea it could embolden the countries enemies, at least that's probably what the North Korean government was thinking. 

The decision had major impacts on the country. It cut off the vast majority of trade and aid that the country relies on to survive. They likely had major food issues and have likely impoverished their country even further than normal. They had to open their borders eventually or risk the stability of the country. 

I also think that it's additional proof that the Coronavirus pandemic is near an end. North Korea's reaction to the Coronavirus was the most paranoid and extreme in the world, even compared to Australia. But now, they are confident enough to open their borders, despite the "threat" from the Omicron variant. If even North Korea is giving up on restrictions that means the pandemic is all but over. 

Glenn Youngkin sworn in as Governor of Virginia.

 

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin. Fox News.

Glenn Youngkin has been sworn in as Governor of Virginia and has already made several executive orders. Fox News. Youngkin was the first Republican Governor of the state since 2009 and rode a wave of discontent against the Democrats actions in schools. It is little surprise then that Youngkin took action against some of those concerns, including ending the highly controversial use of critical race theory in schools. Youngkin also ordered an investigation into Loudon County, where a non-binary student was convicted of sexually assaulting to girls, including one incident in a bathroom, with the school board being accused of covering it up. Finally, he took actions on the Coronavirus, making masks optional in schools and rescinding vaccine mandates. 

A full list of Yongkin's orders can be found here.

My Comment:

Just a quick follow up post, since I covered the Virginia election extensively. Glenn Youngkin is now governor and it already seems he is addressing the issues that brought him into office. Youngkin made his name by calling out these things and it seems like he will be taking steps to actually fix them. 

I also think that Youngkin's strategy worked fairly well and could be a blueprint for other elections in 2022. Focusing on education was a huge win for him and I get the feeling that people are indeed tired of what is being pushed in schools. Be that critical race theory, transgender bathrooms or coronavirus restrictions, people are fed up and it is a big opening for the Republican Party. 

The media liked to point out that Youngkin tried to distance himself from Donald Trump, but I don't think that's why he won. It may have helped a little, Virginia is the home of the RINO's of course, but I think he actually focused on the issues that mattered for the people of Virginia. I don't think anyone there really cared if Youngkin was too much like Trump, or not enough for that matter, they were just sick of how the Democrats were acting. 

Time will tell how successful Youngkin will be. Making a bunch of orders is one thing, actually carrying through with them is another. Some of the orders, like pulling the vaccine mandates, are pretty easy, but how do you get rid of Critical Race Theory in schools? Most teachers believe this crap, do you simply fire all of them? It's a tough problem to say the least. 

Still, it's nice to see a governor elected in a formally blue state that actually is taking these issues head on. Politics is culture war right now and it's good to see Republicans actually fighting for once. We have no reason to simply concede the field of education to the Democrats and Youngkin is a good example of how to fight back. 

Massive volcanic eruption and tsunami hits Tonga

 

Satellite image showing the size of the eruption. Japan Meteorology Agency/AP. 

A massive volcanic eruption and tsunami has hit the island nation of Tonga. AP. The massive explosion was visible from space and ash steam and gas have exploded from the volcano. The eruption caused a tsunami that hit Tonga itself. Other countries were not strongly effected by the waves. Tonga's king was evacuated and many people were able to get to higher ground. It is unclear if there have been any injuries or deaths from the explosion and tsunami. 

An undersea volcano eruption sent large tsunami waves to the Pacific nation of Tonga, forcing people to rush to higher ground. pic.twitter.com/2rbiQl2QrZ

— DW News (@dwnews) January 15, 2022

 

Acid rain could be the next threat Tongan 🇹🇴 residents face in the coming days after the volcanic eruption wreaked havoc on the island yesterday. pic.twitter.com/WiYGiRQUje

— Jese Tuisinu (@JTuisinu) January 15, 2022

 

This family were in church. They’d just finish having choir practice and the tsunami hit 😩❤️🇹🇴 pic.twitter.com/DLLFRJ9BAc

— KNOWKNEE (@JohnnyTeisi) January 15, 2022

My Comment:

A fairly major natural disaster hit Tonga this morning, so I thought it was worth a quick post. From what I understand that volcano that blew up was partially underwater which explains why there was a tsunami associated with it. It was a truly massive explosion that was seen from space. From what I see on social media people were able to hear the explosion as far away as Australia and New Zealand, which is just insane. 

I don't think the casualties will be that high. The volcano is far enough away from any populated area that it will not kill or injure anyone itself. Indeed, people are near it with ships and they are fine. The Tsunami is the real danger but it seems like only Tonga itself will be affected. The video I have seen makes it look serious but not on the scale as the tsunamis that hit Indonesia in 2004 and Japan in 2011. Most people probably had enough time to get to higher ground, like the king of Tonga. 

The economic cost will be high. I know hardly anything about Tonga but I imagine that a lot of their infrastructure is near the coast and a lot of it will have been damaged or destroyed by the tsunami. It didn't look like buildings were getting swept away but damage is going to be done. 

The other problem is that the situation is not over yet. There could be follow up eruptions that could be almost as large as the first. That doesn't seem too likely as I am guessing a lot of the pressure has been released. The other problem is that there could be follow up earthquakes but that too seems fairly unlikely. Hopefully this event is over now. 

It's unclear to me how big this event is. Given the force involved here and the power of the explosion I wonder if enough ash has been put into the atmosphere to effect the weather? I know major volcanic eruptions can cause colder winters and delayed summers but I am not sure if this eruption was that powerful. From the satellite views the explosion was very impressive but not so much from the video show by people near the volcano.  

Tsunami Warning Issued in Oceania as Waves Crash Into Tonga from Giant Underwater Eruption pic.twitter.com/PohU02Kd9a

— RT (@RT_com) January 15, 2022

The Supreme Court quashes Biden's vaccine mandate but keeps health care vaccine mandate.

 

Joe Biden. Foxe Business/LA Times/Getty.

The Supreme Court has quashed Biden's vaccine mandate for businesses but kept his mandate for health care workers. Fox Business. The OSHA rule said that businesses with at least 100 employees were required to mandate vaccinations or weekly testing for unvaccinated employees. The Court said that the rule was far beyond the powers of OSHA. But the Court left in place a rule that forced health care workers to get the vaccine if their employers took federal funding. The OSHA case was ruled in a 6-3 manor while the other case was ruled 5-4. 

My Comment:

This was a very bad day for the Biden administration and a very good one for America. Not only did Biden lose his stupid vaccine mandate he also lost any chance of passing his new voter fraud bill. Not to mention the inflation news that dropped yesterday and the record low approval ratings that Biden has. 

I have mixed feelings. The vaccine mandates were in both cases a huge overreach by the federal government. The government has no business mandating a vaccine. Indeed, they have no business at all with private health care matters. 

The Supreme Court made the right decision in the OSHA case. It was obvious from the start that OSHA had far exceeded its powers. OSHA is supposed to protect people from work hazards, not more general hazards. OSHA is right to regulate things like mechanical hazards but something like the Coronavirus, that is a threat outside of work, are beyond their scope. 

I don't agree at all with the ruling in the medical workers case. Like I said they had no right to regulate a person's private health care. From what I understand they left the door open for lower courts to push back on this case but for now it's a defeat. 

I think it is going to have major implications for US healthcare. There is already a nursing shortage and having major problems staffing our hospitals. This mandate will make these problems much worse as thousands of doctors and nurses will be fired. This will lead to more delays in treatment and even deaths. 

The worst part of this is that it's become obvious that the vaccines no longer work as intended. They are basically worthless against the Omicron variant, which evades vaccines to the point where even Pfizer says that two shots doesn't provide any protection. 

Of course the Omicron variant is basically a cold for most people who get it. In a sane world the entire discussion would be moot as the pandemic is no longer a threat for the vast majority of people. Indeed, the main threat the virus poses now is the fact that a whole lot of people will be out of work at the same time. And that's mostly due to our reaction to the virus instead of the virus itself. 

But what does the Biden administration do? Double down, like always. They are already recommending that businesses ignore the ruling and impose mandates anyways. It doesn't matter that the virus isn't a threat anymore or that they just got chastised by the Supreme Court. It doesn't matter that what they are doing is wrong both in the moral sense and against their own best interests. It's all Biden knows how to do. 

Inflation skyrockets again in December, highest rate in 40 years.

 

File photo of a gas sign. ABC News/AP.

Inflation has skyrocketed again in new data from December, with the highest rate in 40 years. ABC News. The Consumer Price Index jumped 7% in the past 12 months, the highest rate since 1982. The index increased by .5% in December, a slight decrease since November when it went up by .8%. Energy prices went down a bit, probably due to winter driving. The Fed has said that they will likely raise interest rates to help slow inflation sooner than expected. 

My Comment:

Just a quick post on this one as I have covered inflation many times before on this blog recently. I do have to say that I did find it hilarious that Biden was trying to take credit because the rate of inflation wasn't quite increasing as fast as it had been. It's still totally out of control but that's how desperate Biden is for a win. 

I honestly haven't seen lower gas prices. Indeed, they just went up the last time I got gas, which is more than $3 a gallon here in Northeast Wisconsin. It was a bit lower in December, but not by much. It wasn't something that really helped me in any way so I don't think Biden can take any credit for it. Plus the prices are pretty much guaranteed to rise over the summer. 

I have seen higher prices for pretty much everything. My weekly grocery shopping has increased quite a bit, even though I haven't been buying more expensive stuff for the most part. In years past I would average between $65 and $75 but now? $90 every time and often times more than $100. That's a huge increase in just a couple of years. 

I guess I am lucky though as my wages have increased quite a bit in the past two years, enough that I have a cushion against inflation. But other people? If you didn't get a major pay raise in 2021 or even if you got a small one, you are probably behind the eight-ball right now. 

The worst thing about this is that the factors that are causing inflation are entirely under the control of Joe Biden. The energy crunch was especially avoidable as all he had to do was keep the status quo ante of new drilling and new pipelines. Instead he banned both and now we are paying a whole lot more for everything given how energy is the lifeblood of the economy. 

Outside of energy prices, much of the inflation is due to the massive stimulus payments given to just about everyone. That stimulus was paid by printing new money and that is the other major reason why prices have gone so high. It's amazing to me that the Democrats haven't realized that these massive spending bills have drawbacks. 

Kazakhstan unrest seems to fade as the president says he survived a coup attempt.

 

Kazakh security forces in Almaty. BBC/Reuters.

Kazakhstan unrest seems to fade as the president says he survived a coup attempt. BBC. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the unrest came from a single center while Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the country had been targeted by international terrorism and said Russia would not tolerate new "color" revolutions. Rioting broke out after a major increase of fuel prices and left several people dead. However the government says that they have stabilized the situation and are now in a clean up phase. 

My Comment:

Looks like whatever was happening in Kazakhstan has failed. It seems that the government, along with the help of Russia and its allies, has held back the massive wave of riots and protests. Given how widespread and violent these protests were that is a major accomplishment. 

With that being said, I am not sure I trust the government of Kazakhstan when they say the situation is under control. I remember seeing a lot of weapons being stolen and I doubt they have been recovered yet. With those weapons unaccounted for the violence could certainly continue. But it does sound like many of the rioters have been arrested. 

I still think that this was an organic protest against a government that stopped caring about its people. They didn't do anything to stop the massive increase in fuel prices and in a country as poor as Kazakhstan that's a huge deal. People were right to be upset. 

But I doubt Russia or Kazakhstan believes that. It really doesn't matter if it is true or not, they see this as a failed attempt at a color revolution, like the ones that hit Ukraine and Georgia in the past. They have a right to be suspicious, after all, Ukraine was obviously a CIA operation.  

I don't think this was a color revolution. The violence erupted too fast for this to be a CIA thing. Plus, the CIA is not anywhere near as competent as they used to be. Given how progressives have captured the agency I can't see them successfully pulling off anything, let alone a coup attempt like this. 

Russia doesn't know that and it is not a good thing as tensions are already extremely high. They feel pressured on all fronts and are facing a President in Joe Biden that hates them and wants war. They are going to be paranoid, and for good reason, that a color revolution is going to happen in Russia. 

That is the one thing that scares Vladimir Putin. I am sure he remembers what happened to Mummar Gadhafi and Saddam Hussein. He's afraid he will end up like them, either at the end of a rope or getting raped to death by terrorists. It's not a fate he cares for and I see him doing anything he can to avoid that fate. 

With that being the context, I don't see much happening with talks between the United States and Russia. It's clear at this point we have backed Putin into a corner and even though we should back down I don't see Biden doing it. When offered a choice he always chooses wrong... 

Get ready, the Omicron variant will cause supply chain issues, but not for the reason you think.

 

Stock photo of empty shelves. 

Yesterday, I got called in to work on my day off because someone was out with Coronavirus. This is not to unexpected but it did get me thinking, and it seems a lot of other people are thinking the same thing. Right now #bareshelvesBiden is trending and people are showing pictures of empty shelves across America. 

We are on the verge of major supply chain issue. This has many causes. The first is that our supply chains never actually recovered from 2020. We have exhausted much of our backlog for food and other supplies in 2020 and we didn't actually ever resupply it. That means that when any shock to the system happens we end up with bare shelves. 

Of course this is going to be complicated by the idiotic, unconstitutional and just plain evil vaccine mandate. These idiotic mandates are causing a lot of people to lose their jobs and many of these jobs are not being refilled. We were already in a major worker crisis in the first place but this is making everything worse. It's the worst thing we could be doing but so far the Supreme Court hasn't reigned in the Biden administration. 

Omicron is the shock to the system that could really screw things up. There are a lot of people that are going to get sick with Omicron. Essentially everyone will get the virus at some point given how fast it is spreading and how little both natural immunity and vaccination seem to be doing against it. 

The good news is that Omicron is very mild. Very few people are getting seriously ill with the virus, let alone dying or being hospitalized. Everything I have heard is that Omicron is somewhere between an easy cold or easy flu in terms of how sick you can get. And many, if not most, people will get the virus and never know that they had it. 

The problem with that is that we are still treating the virus like it's the original Wuhan strain of the Coronavirus. Omicron isn't anything like the old virus in terms of risk but we are still treating it like it is a plague. People are being sent home for at least five days, perhaps more, and nobody is being allowed to work through the infection. And if you test positive and have no symptoms and your workplace finds out about it you are out of work too. 

That means a whole lot of people are going to be out of work at once. It could be in the millions and that will make a huge amount of trouble for everyone. I work in the food industry and I can tell you we probably could have 10% of our workforce out without too many problems. But after that it gets a lot more difficult to the point where we could end up shutting down. 

What is annoying is that this is all unnecessary. If it wasn't for the stupid vaccine mandate we would have some wiggle room but all these people are out of work now. Plus, if we were reacting to Omicron based on its actual threat instead of panicking about it for no reason, we wouldn't have to send all these people home. 

Keep in mind that we are in the middle of winter and there is always a chance of severe weather making things even worse. What happens if there is a major blizzard that further disrupts transportation and production? We could be heading to a very dark place. 

I also don't think that this is a short term problem as well. Even if the problems were solved today, it takes a long time to work through the supply chain. The system is already in trouble and adding this additional pressure will make things so much worse. Am I worried that the system will collapse? Not really, but I do think the next couple of months will be bad. 

Most critically, this will likely lead to even more inflation. The demand for food will not go down but the supply absolutely will, which will lead to higher prices. And that's just for food, any product that has production in the United States will have increased prices. Plus transportation will be affected as well. 

I think one man is responsible for this and that's Joe Biden. Omicron isn't his fault, not entirely, because it was always going to happen. The vaccine mandate though, that's 100% on him. It's an absolute disaster that could have been easily avoided. And it's also on him that he hasn't pulled back on Coronavirus restrictions. He's going to make this situation so much worse than it had to be. 

If there is any good news it's this, Biden's going to be finished after the 2022 midterms. Even if the Coronavirus is nothing but a bad memory by this fall, and it seems like it will be, the problems caused by Biden's policy on the issue will be long term. The economy will suffer for this and the average person will have a lot less money to spend and nothing to spend it on in the first place... 

Russia has deployed troops to Mali

 

The Russian flag flies next to the Mali flag. DW.

Russia has deployed troops to Mali to help the country deal with an Islamist insurgency. DW. As many as 400 troops are in Timbuktu. This does not include troops from Russia's Wagner Group company of mercenaries, which Mali has been criticized for allowing in their country. Mali denies that Wagner is operating in the country. France is especially upset as they have 5000 troops stationed in Mali also assisting in the fight against Jihadis. But France has been pulling back from North Africa, leaving a vacuum for Russia to fill. Mali is a fairly unstable country with an Islamist insurgency and multiple coups occurring since 2012. 

My Comment:

Looks like Russia has colonial ambitions of their own in Africa. China is famous for investing millions of dollars into Africa and has essentially taken over several countries in the region. It looks like Russia is gearing up for the same play. Today it's just a small amount of troops but who knows what tomorrow will bring? 

Of course if France hadn't started to pull out of North Africa there wouldn't have been a window for Russia to climb through. France seems tired of their own colonial adventures in North Africa and have scaled back their involvement. That of course left a power vacuum and it's not surprising that Mali asked Russia for help.

It's too bad as well, as France has had some success in defeating Islamists in North Africa. Their victories haven't been as extensive as the ones America had in the Middle East, but they have greatly reduced the leadership and troops of these terror groups. To pull back now when it seems like real progress is being made was a mistake. 

It is interesting that the Wagner Group has come up again. Unlike other people I don't really think that Wagner is under the direct control of Russia. Why? Because Russia didn't seem to care too much that we destroyed an entire companies worth of mercenaries during the Syrian Civil War. The Russian government probably does have some influence with them, but I don't think they are officially sponsored. 

I don't think the small amount of troops that Russia is sending will be enough to do much. 400 troops is nothing and I don't know how much they can accomplish. I am sure Mali is grateful for the help but in the end it's going to be Mali itself that defeats the insurgents... or not. 

Kazakhstan falls into chaos as massive protests break out over fuel prices, Russia to send in troops.

 

Protesters in Almaty. Newsweek/AFP.

Kazakhstan has fallen into chaos as massive protests have broken out over fuel prices while Russia is preparing to send in troops. Newsweek. Members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which includes Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Kazakhstan has blamed outside interference for the protests. Protests in Kazakhstan have been common since 2018 when Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took power. However, massive protests have broken out due to a major increase in fuel prices. These protests have involved disarming police and soldiers, tearing down statues and destroying buildings. 

My Comment:

The situation in Kazakhstan has descended into chaos very quickly. I had just heard about protests yesterday and today it seems likely that the government will fall. People are extremely angry in Kazakhstan. 

Though protests have been been happening in Kazakhstan for awhile now due to a poor economy, the increase in heating fuel prices are the major reason this is happening. The country is not a rich one and people cannot afford these higher prices. They are going to be bankrupted by these higher prices and it's little surprise that they have started to riot. 

The Newsweek article didn't really explain too much on how bad these riots really are. People are disarming cops and soldiers, raiding armories and getting into shootouts. People have died and more will continue to do so. The government does not seem to be in control anymore and it's not a surprise that Kazakhstan is asking Russia to bail them out. 

Kazakhstan is blaming foreigners for this, probably the CIA. I do admit that it is the CIA's playbook to destabilize former Soviet nations. That is how Ukraine went down so I am not surprised that they are claiming this in Kazakhstan today. 

I really don't see it. For one thing, I don't think the CIA is that competent anymore. They have been captured by progressives and if there is one thing progressives are not it's competent. Plus, these protests broke out too quickly for that to have been likely. They certainly look organic to me. 

As for Russia, this isn't something they want and I think they should possibly reconsider sending in troops. The last thing they need right now is getting bogged down in a possible civil war. Plus they might have difficulty trying to win any war. A guerilla war on their border could do massive damage to their military and have them be bogged down for years. 

I do have to point out the irony here. Twitter is basically unusable and I can't imagine how bad national news media is right now over the supposed January 6th "insurrection". January 6th was of course a nothingburger with absolutely nothing of note happening other than the murder of Ashlie Babbit. ANd here are the Kazakhs showing how it is actually done. It's why I don't think this story is really getting the coverage it deserves. 

What happens next? Nothing good. I think it's already past the point where the government could do anything to stop this. And deploying troops will likely lead to open warfare. That means a whole lot of people will die.

I do think that this should be a warning for all western governments. Inflation is out of control and they need to do something about it now or what is happening in Kazakhstan could happen anywhere. If people are going bankrupt just heating their homes than people aren't going to stand for it. Governments globally need to avoid policies that lead to inflation, especially in food and energy, if they want to avoid the same fate that Kazakhstan is facing now. 

Two drone attacks foiled in Iraq

 

Wreckage of one of the drones. Reuters via Iraqi government. 

Two drone attacks in Iraq targeting US troops have been foiled in the past 24 hours. Reuters. Both attacks involved a pair of explosive laden drones. The first was at Baghdad International Airport while the second was targeting the Ain al-Assad airbase. Separately, an airstrike was launched against targets in Syria due to an imminent threat. Troops in Iraq and Syria have been on high alert as Iran has made threats to attack them in revenge for General Soleimani, who was killed in 2020. Iran has said that unless President Donald Trump was arrested and convicted for the killing  they would take revenge. 

My Comment:

Pretty pathetic attack by Iran. Those drones got shot down by US forces and did not cause any damage. This is somewhat strange because Iran has launched successful drone attacks before, most notably in their proxy war in Yemen with Saudi Arabia. 

It makes me wonder if the United States has developed more effective countermeasures against drones. It's hard to tell from the pictures but it seems like the drones were pretty small but that could just be a lack of perspective. Either way, both attacks were foiled pretty easily. 

Even though these attacks were foiled fairly easily we should take Iran's threats seriously. They have a lot of experience with terrorism and non-conventional warfare and can carry through on their threats. Just because we dealt with these attacks fairly easily, that doesn't mean we would do so again. 

Obviously Donald Trump is not going to be arrested anytime soon for killing Soleimani. I am sure some Democrats would approve of that, but it wouldn't be based on anything but petty revenge. Soleimani's killing was obviously justified due to his terrorist actions and it's insane to demand Trump's arrest. And obviously the political ramifications of doing so are extreme. If Biden were to try and arrest Trump for Soleimani it would not go well for him to say the least. 

I don't think these attacks are really about Soleimani. Iran is trying to leverage the United States into a new nuclear deal. The old one was canceled by President Trump, another reason that Iran hates him. The sanctions put into place have hurt Iran's economy and they want the international cover to develop the weapons without the threat of being attacked by the United States. I don't think that they will get what they want as Iran isn't even on Biden's radar right now. 

I do have to wonder why we still have troops in Iraq and Syria. The troops were deployed there to fight ISIS but ISIS is long gone. They are not really a threat anymore in Iraq and Syria and I don't see them coming back anytime soon. My guess is that they are there to deter Iran and that clearly isn't working. If it were up to me I would pull these troops out.