Caturday

This is my mom's fake cat:

It meows if someone comes close to it, its eyes blink, its head moves and it purrs when petted. She finds it comforting.

True, That

Every black person watching this 01/06 committee hearing thinking one thing: *If that was black folks out there storming the Capitol, we would be having a totally different discussion. Hundreds of protestors killed by authorities* #January6thHearings

— thefieldnegro (@fieldnegro) June 10, 2022

This was the police presence at the Capitol when there was a BLM protest:

Nothing like that was in place for Trump's Coup.

The Shell Crisis

Nearly four months after Russia invaded, the Ukrainian military is struggling in the artillery war in the country’s east, because it is running short of Soviet-era ammunition and has not received enough from its allies to keep the Russians at bay, Ukrainian officials and artillery officers in the field say.

On the front lines in the Donbas, those shortages have meant that Ukrainian soldiers are conserving their shells and often are unable to return fire one-for-one.

I don't know who makes shells for Russian artillery pieces, so other than handing over stocks on hand, NATO nations would have to supply Western guns and shells. Which means that we all need to ramp up production to get around this current iteration of a shell crisis.

Because It's Friday

A replica Cugnot:

Mechanically-powered locomotion is older than most people realize.

Spraying These Down, Here

Putler the Megalomaniac

Among President Vladimir V. Putin’s motives for invading Ukraine, his view of himself as being on a historic mission to rebuild the Russian Empire has always loomed large. On Thursday, Mr. Putin went further, comparing himself directly to Peter the Great.

It was a new, if carefully staged, glimpse into Mr. Putin’s sense of his own grandeur.

Mr. Putin on Thursday marked the 350th anniversary of Peter’s birth by visiting a new multimedia exhibit about the czar in Moscow. He then held a town-hall-style meeting with young Russian entrepreneurs and opened it by reflecting on Peter’s conquest of the Baltic coast during his 18th-century war with Sweden.

Mr. Putin described the land Peter conquered as rightfully Russian.

“He was returning it and strengthening it,” Mr. Putin said, leaning back in his armchair, before hinting with a smile that he was now doing the same thing in his war in Ukraine. “Well, apparently, it has also fallen to us to return and to strengthen.”

Finland and Sweden, among other countries, should be more than a little concerned about Putler's delusions of grandeur. If anything, this should be used to add stiffness into Western opposition to the rebuilding of the Russian Empire under Tsar Vladimir III. If a weapon does not involve nuclear material to go boom, then it, as long as everything else, should be given to Ukraine. Rockets, anti-artillery radar, citywide air-defense systems, what ever they need. And as for our friends who have been unwilling to help the Ukrainians, well, we should make our displeasure known. (Are you listening, Jerusalem?)

For it should be abundantly clear that the Ukrainians are fighting a war that, if they don't prevail, will eventually spread to the rest of Europe and to Central Asia. CDR Sal had this to say:

...if you desire a long peace in the east you will need to ensure that Ukraine defeats Russia and sends her forces home to deal with their politicians.

Give Russia land or create another frozen conflict and war will be back sooner.

Either way, war will be back. It always is. Just pick your period of peace and your magnitude.

Getting on a Russian (or Belarusian) Registered Airliner Will Be a Very Bad Idea

As Russia’s world narrows with sweeping sanctions, it’s about to take the inevitable step of making about 100 state-of-the-art Airbus and Boeing airliners virtually worthless. The state aviation authority Rosaviatsia has issued production certificates to five Russian companies to start making bootleg parts for the aircraft and more are expected to be approved shortly according to aviacononline. So far, the parts approved are cabin items like seats and galley equipment but even the installation of an unapproved seat can cancel the airworthiness certificate of an aircraft in the rest of the world.

Those airplanes won't be flyable outside of Russia and Belarus, and, possibly, China. But I would not bet much on them flying to China. While the Chinese have been backing the Russians, on more or less of a wobbly basis, they, so far, have been mindful of the risks of getting splashed by the sanctions on Russia.

Aeroflot, back in the days of the USSR, wasn't exactly known to be a safe carrier. It's probably a good bet that the bad old days will return.

The Treason Television Network

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Appliquéing These Down, Here

As If Any of Them Give a Shit

Russia has imposed personal sanctions on 61 U.S. officials including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and leading defence and media executives, the Russian foreign ministry said on Monday.

As if Janet Yellen is going to be upset that she can't vacation in St. Petersburgh. Nobody in their right mind would be visiting Russia, anyway. Russia is becoming like North Korea, but with more nuclear weaons and better food.