Russia has mastered hybrid warfare...both soft and hard power aspects of it!

The first Il-76 aircraft of the #Russian Aerospace Forces with military specialists and equipment flew from the Chkalovsky military airfield to the #Italian Republic to assist in the fight against #coronavirus#Coronaitaly #coronaitalia pic.twitter.com/DZ78DREFi5

— Sukhoi Su-57 Felon 🇷🇺🇮🇳 (@I30mki) March 22, 2020

Jesus!  You could send the Russians to hell and they'd start making smores.  The crafty bastards are turning the lemons of this pandemic into a win for them.

Italy is suffering...reached out to the EU and got smashed.  We stepped up but not as visibly as the Russians are doing now.

THIS IS HYBRID WARFARE BOYS AND GIRLS!

Its the soft power aspect of it but make no mistake this is hybrid warfare.  It covers all the bases.  Information warfare.  These pics are all over Twitter.  Propaganda.  They're rushing to aid Italy while others sit on the sidelines.  Counter Diplomacy.  We've spent the last 3 years calling them hell spawn and yet now they're acting as angels of mercy.

Throw in the economic woes, immigration crisis and now the pandemic that Italy has suffered and I will find it very hard to believe that they'll freely participate in any vote against Russia in the future after they made such a dramatic show of aid.

The US military is in a huddle getting ready to fan out in the US to keep order (have it on good authority from a variety of sources...National Guard will be the face but active duty will be waiting in the background) so they're not able to respond.

But I wish we could.

Our friends need help.  Real help and we're not doing anything visibly to help (again I know we are in the background but visibility is needed especially to the citizens of the affected nations).

UK's First Fusiliers Battle Group in Estonia...

A beautiful day in Estonia 🇪🇪 @FirstFusiliers Battle Group working hard in the (very) fresh air to get our vehicles packed and ready - all whilst having ramped up our preventative measures (including social distancing) to protect us from COVID 19. #WeAreNATO pic.twitter.com/3hk1oBHLUj

— Chris Head (@ProudFusilier) March 22, 2020

Video showing the inside of a hospital in Spain...Is this our future?

Video of a hospital in Spain. Watch it. Watch it again with the volume up.
Now cancel that brunch.
Postpone that coffee meet-up.
Rain check that dinner with friends.
Sucks doesn’t it? But not as hard as this 👇#COVIDー19 #coronavirus #StayAtHome

pic.twitter.com/LM9BnFQf3E

— Ed Leon Klinger (@edleonklinger) March 22, 2020

Something I hadn't considered.

What do stay at home orders do?

They prevent "average folks" from taking out their cell phones and documenting what they see and sending it out to the world.  Additionally we know of the incestious relationship between the mainstream media and govts.

What if the West Govts are telling the news media to not tell the truth about what's going on?  What if what's happening in Italy is the result of uncensored news and its just as bad or worse in other places?

More to the point?

What if this is our future?

China fears that the Coronavirus is wrecking globalization & its image in the world...

Thanks to JoeCool2501 for the link!!!!

via Real Clear Politics.

While the world fights the coronavirus pandemic, China is fighting a propaganda war. Beijing’s war aim is simple: shift away from China all blame for the outbreak, the botched initial response, and its early spread into the broader world. At stake is China’s global reputation, as well as the potential of a fundamental shift away from China for trade and manufacturing. Also at risk is the personal legacy of General Secretary Xi Jinping, who has staked his legitimacy on his technocratic competence.

----------------------

The communist government instead is claiming that it has largely controlled the epidemic, even as it suspiciously now blames “foreign arrivals” for new cases of virus. Leaked video from China shows huge lines at a hospital in Chongqing, for example, raising questions about just what is happening around the country.

What Beijing cares about is clear from its sustained war on global public opinion. Chinese propaganda mouthpieces have launched a broad array of attacks against the facts, attempting to create a new narrative about China’s historic victory over the Wuhan virus. Chinese state media is praising the government’s “effective, responsible governance," but the truth is that Beijing is culpable for the spread of the pathogen around China and the world. Chinese officials knew about the new virus back in December, and did nothing to warn their citizens or impose measures to curb it early on.

Instead of acting with necessary speed and transparency, the party-state looked to its own reputation and legitimacy. It threatened whistleblowers like the late Dr. Li Wenliang, and clamped down on social media to prevent both information about the virus and criticism of the Communist Party and government from spreading.

------------------------------

Most egregiously, some Chinese government officials have gone so far as to claim that the Wuhan virus was not indigenous to China at all, while others, like Mr. Tedros, suggest that China’s response somehow bought the world “time” to deal with the crisis. That such lines are being repeated by global officials and talking heads shows how effectively China’s propaganda machine is shaping the global narrative.

-----------------------------

Xi’s fears are well founded, as a global reconsideration of China is long overdue. Legitimate criticisms and doubts about China’s governance and growth model were long suppressed by Chinese pressure and the willingness of many to buy into the Communist Party’s public line. Public shaming of foreign corporations, global influence operations, and “elite capture” -- all are policies Beijing has deployed to maintain China’s public image.

That carefully tended image is now cracked. Those concerned with global health issues may wonder why it is that China is wracked regularly by viral epidemics in addition to coronavirus, such as SARS, African Swine Fever, and avian flu (another outbreak is happening right now). Others may begin to look more carefully at China’s environmental devastation and the hundreds of thousands of premature deaths each year from air and water pollution.

On the trade side, many foreign corporations already have been reconsidering their operations in China, due to rampant intellectual property theft and rising production costs; now, they may seriously question how safe it is to continue to do business in China. Not only is the health of their employees at risk, but they no longer can be assured that China will be a stable supplier. If coronavirus becomes a seasonal phenomenon, as some experts predict, then even with a vaccine, new strains of the pathogen will always raise the specter of another out-of-control epidemic overwhelming the party-state’s capabilities and infecting the rest of the world.

More broadly, the pandemic of 2020 has brought doubts about globalization into the mainstream. Decades of open borders, unceasing intercontinental travel, study abroad, just-in-time inventory systems, and the like have created unexpected vulnerabilities in populations and economies thanks to unfettered openness. To worry about such weaknesses is not to adopt a Luddite reactionary stance, but to try and salvage the bases of the post-World War II global economic architecture.  

HERE!!!  THIS ENTIRE ARTICLE IS A MUST READ!!!! 

My thoughts?

1.  I FUCKING TOLD YA SO!!!!

2.  We have China propagandist/apologist on these pages making comments on a daily basis.  Don't be fooled.

3.  This is an inflection point for the world.  We must not waste this tragedy. We must reassess and change our relationship with the Communist Regime in China.

4.  Civil Defense matters!  Personal responsibility matters!  The time for each American to take responsibility for his actions and the defense of the Republic needs to take center stage again.

5.  No more luxury.  No more unfettered consumerism/corporatism.  Its old fashioned and perhaps even quaint but its time for the nation to once again "man-up" and face the future.

No further statement....I do reserve the right to amend and add to this list in the future.

15 Taliban are killed in their own VBIED in Zabul province.

15 #Taliban tactical commanders are killed in their own VBIED in Zabul province. God does listen to the prayers. #Zabul pic.twitter.com/HCx1yfaU9x

— Zia Karimi (@ZiaKarimi2) March 21, 2020

Hmm.  Two thoughts.

1.  Sucks to be them.

2.  Better them than me.

No further statement.

Here comes your Coronavirus induced crime wave...California releases more inmates while advocates agitate for releasing even more...

Thanks to Mobeius2249 for the link!

via Los Angeles Times.

More California counties are releasing inmates to protect their jails against possible coronavirus outbreaks.

In Alameda County, officials announced 247 people were being released from the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. San Diego County officials have announced similar moves, as have San Francisco, San Mateo and other counties.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has reduced its inmate population by 6% in the last three weeks and Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey said her office would consider reducing bail for thousands of nonviolent offenders.

As of Thursday morning, there were no confirmed cases of the virus inside L.A. County jails, where the number of inmates was down to 16,017 inmates from 17,076 on Feb. 28.

Here. 


via The Hill

Legal groups across the country are fighting to protect inmates from the spread of the coronavirus, urging jails and prisons to come up with plans to mitigate the risk to their populations and even calling for the release of the most vulnerable prisoners.

There’s a growing concern about the potential risk facing inmates and the possibility that the virus could spread inside correctional facilities that house inmates that are older or have underlying health issues, factors that make people especially vulnerable to the virus.

Here. 


Be advised folks.

This will be the cause of your next crime wave and forget all the idiocy you've heard about people changing.

I personally know of people that have done state time, were released and then ended back in jail within 6 months of release.

And they were the ones that stayed out the longest.

You're about to see your Coronavirus induced crime wave that will shock the nation.

This is bad stuff.  The intentions might be honorable (MIGHT) but the results will be horrible.

You heard it here first.

Interesting perspective on the "friends & enemies" of Italy during this crisis...

🇮🇹🦠Support/Sabotage/Friends/No comment.... pic.twitter.com/5eZAT57UOb

— Marco Florian 🇮🇹🇺🇸🇪🇺🇨🇾🇬🇷🇮🇱🇪🇬 (@MarcoFlorianMED) March 22, 2020

Interesting.  This is just one person on Twitter so I have to wonder how widespread this belief is.  One thing is certain.  Everyone will reassess everything after this crisis.

International relationships will shift.  Maybe not in plain view but certainly behind the scenes.

We will see a reordering of alliances.  We're witnessing a straining of relationships.

This is a "shatterpoint" (to use the Star Wars term) in societal and international relations. 

Nothing will be the same again.

TRAILER SCORPION

Open Comment Post. 22 Mar 2020

Wuhan is still in lockdown???

Wuhan continues to be in lockdown, apparently for at least another two months. The official figures are to be taken with all the salt in the Dead Sea. https://t.co/g8WPjJ27RQ

— Alex Luck (@AlexLuck9) March 22, 2020

If this is true and if we can take the experience in Wuhan and Italy as examples of what we're facing in the US then major US cities are in TROUBLE!

We can expect New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Baltimore and other large cities to be jacked up till the end of summer.

Just in time for the second wave to hit.

Question.

I've been expecting the lock down to go nationwide at the end of this week. Probably an announcement on Fri and then lock down to take effect the following Mon to last till about the end of the second week in April.

I considered that tough medicine early to prevent totally collapse later.

What if that ain't good enough.

What if we're looking at an extended lockdown that basically does no good?  What if the Brits and the desire to gain herd immunity while distasteful is actually the proper course to take?

This is bigger than I can imagine and not having full information makes it worse.  We (the general public) are operating in a vacuum and trying to make decisions with less than partial info.

Italian Air Force HH-101A's being used for bio-containment medical transport...

View this post on Instagram

The Italian Air Force is using its @leonardo_company HH-101A Caesar helicopters as bio-containment transportation aircraft to assist in the country's ongoing fight against the novel coronavirus. Check out our Instagram story for a link to our coverage of this and other COVID-19 stories. We'll be continuing our reporting throughout the crisis, so let us know how it's impacting you and what stories you want us to cover. And don't worry, we'll also have plenty of "fun" photos and videos to see you through quarantine! Video edited by @lloydhphoto #helicopter #leonardohelicopters #aw101 #hh101a #italianairforce #coronavirus #covid19 #verticalmag #verticalvalor

A post shared by Vertical Magazine (@verticalmag) on Mar 20, 2020 at 5:17pm PDT

Coming to the US military I'm sure.  I wonder what will be the workhorse helicopter in this mission?  Probably CH-47s, CH-53s and MV-22s.  I'm thinking the H-60s will be too small.

Coronavirus News (shits getting real)...DOJ seeks new emergency powers amid coronavirus pandemic

via Politico

The Justice Department has quietly asked Congress for the ability to ask chief judges to detain people indefinitely without trial during emergencies — part of a push for new powers that comes as the coronavirus spreads through the United States.


Documents reviewed by POLITICO detail the department’s requests to lawmakers on a host of topics, including the statute of limitations, asylum and the way court hearings are conducted. POLITICO also reviewed and previously reported on documents seeking the authority to extend deadlines on merger reviews and prosecutions

Here.

Ok.  No one knows what contingency plans are in place or what the modeling they're looking at actually shows but from my chair this means that shit is getting real.

California, New York and New Jersey made the call to have everyone remain at home.

I'm giving the Feds a week to get everything in place and for this to hit sometime this weekend (probably notifying everyone Fri and to make it go into effect the following Mon).

After that we're probably looking at a two week lock down with everyone being slammed, stressed out and looking crazy.

Add maybe another week or two for high population centers to stagger thru all the drama (with fly over country being released from the lock down) and America will be back zooming full strength in May.

Based on this scenario April will be hell.  Get ready folks, this thing is about to get interesting.

Wait. Russia is buillding NEW T-90Ms?

via Reddit...T-90M new production seems to be a reality. Tanks are newly built instead of being simply new turrets on existing hulls.

Wow.

So Russia is building new, not rebuilt T-90Ms?  Amazing.  This is not the kinda news you want to hear after getting the scuttlebutt of the Marine Corps doing away with its armor.

Oh and one other thing.

What does our Ground Combat Element do if APS comes on in a big way? Clear skies might get air involved.  But what happens when bad weather hits? Marine Air will not be able to support.  Haven't heard if we're gonna get more cannons to fill the gap but arty seems to be tilting toward anti-ship work anyway.

We really better hope the Army is available to help out cause the Corps of the future might be too light to fight and will get smashed unless Army Armor is around to fill the gap.

The US military is preparing for a "second wave" of coronavirus cases by next winter

via CNN

Viruses spread more easily in cold weather than hot, which is why winter is peak influenza season.


While it has yet to be seen whether the coronavirus will recede as temperatures increase in the northern hemisphere (and cases in tropical Singapore and southern hemisphere Australia may suggest the virus isn't too sensitive to hot weather), some researchers have warned it could become a perennial winter threat.



Speaking at a Pentagon briefing Thursday, Nelson Michael, the director for infectious disease research at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, said that efforts to develop vaccines and an effective treatment plan might not be quick enough to wipe out the virus before the "second wave" next winter.


"This is a respiratory virus and they always give us trouble during cold weather, for obvious reasons. We’re all inside, the windows are closed, etcetera, so we typically call that the influenza or the flu season," Nelson said.


He predicted the coronavirus may behave like the flu and give us "less trouble as the weather warms up," but, he cautioned, it tends to come back when the weather gets cold again.

Here.

Missed this story from March 6, 2020, but the news is dire.  It also explains why we keep hearing about this being an 18 month problem.

Buckle up folks.

We beat this monster in the Spring 2020 and it might comeback for round two in Winter 2020.

I predicted this but damn, it hurts to be right.  Was beginning to think that I was being pessimistic.  Seems that I was simply being realistic.  Oh and this is without mutation (we think).  What happens when/if this thing decides to HULK up?

With the removal of tanks from the USMC did we fall back to the 3rd most formidable Marine Corps?

With the removal of tanks from the USMC did we fall back to the 3rd most formidable Marine Corps in the world today?

Think about it.

The pics above are from a shoot conducted by the S. Korean Marines using their K1A2s.  We've talked ad nauseum about the strides being made by the Chinese Marine Corps and their Army Amphibious Corps partners.

By casing the colors of the 1st, 2nd and 4th Tank Battalions did we do more than lose direct fire.  Did we also lose our standing in the world?

Norwegian Army K9 VIDAR Self-Propelled Howitzer in Action

Open Comment Post. 21 Mar 2020

MAG-24 Preps for MRF-D....pics by Sgt. Alex Kouns

2nd AAB conducts amphibious training event....pics by Lance Cpl. Patrick King

A basic explanation of why bailouts are so unpopular for corporations (using the Airline industry as an example!)....

Airlines: $35 to put your bag on our plane

Airlines: $16 for bag of chips

Airlines: Sorry you want your *legs* to fit? $75

Airlines: haha, you have to fork over an extra $50 to choose the seat you already paid for

Airlines:

Airlines: Oh no someone help us we r out of monies

— Melanie Schmitz (@MelsLien) March 20, 2020

This is what annoys so many people.  We've watched the stock market zoom to unimaginable and unexplainable levels.  We've watched prices increase (or portion size decrease) over the entire range of items used by the public.

In short we've already bailed out corporations.  We've sat silent while they maximized profits, overshored production and basically acted as if they were guardians of the galaxy.

Now?

Now we have this crisis and instead of setting themselves up to weather the storm they automatically back up to the loan window and expect the taxpayer to ponie up and save them again.

I hear everyone talking about little the old, weak and medically jacked up perish so that we can have herd immunity sooner.

But what about corporations?

If we can be cavalier with the lives of everyday Americans that happen to be elderly then why MUST we save every corporation?

If death is the only fair thing about life (meaning we all have to eventually die) then why are taking extraordinary steps to save corporations that probably should be allowed to die?