Tuesday News and Musing Shoot Around

When the bunny intercepts and distracts Joe, a look comes over the man's face as if to say, 'Man, it's happening again.' This blog believes 'Dr.' Jill* is being groomed for the top slot in the corporation.

This blog would not be the first to point out the nation's gerontocracy. Joe, Nancy, Chi-Fi...It's a bipartisan thing. Chuck Grassley is 88 and running for reelection. Cocaine Mitch is a spry 80 by comparison. 

Speaking of... a great piece at Hot Air on Cocaine Mitch's leadership. This blog agrees with every word in the article. One of the judicial appointments he strongarmed overturned Joe's mask mandate yesterday. Mitch for Majority Leader, 2022! 

Don't get cocky, as the Instapundit says. The House will be a walk, but the Senate will be a slog. Google Herschel Walker and check out his baggage. He has a tough fight ahead. Cautiously though, things are coming together. 

Oh look, we went and got ourselves listed by the indefatigable Sarah Hoyt. A small sales spike follows. Thanks!

We are told by our sources on the ground that Russia's offensive in Eastern Ukraine has begun. The ground should favor Russia, and they have probably learned from mistakes, no? Or dare we say, nyet? So far Russia has shown no ability to adapt. We shall see. Developing....as Drudge used to say. 

Stroock's Books still predicts the war ends with major concessions from Ukraine. These include ceding the east, recognizing Ruski control of Crimea, and a guarantee not to join NATO. All of which could have been accomplished without war. 

Australian Gray Connolly has a twitter story about the New York Times falling for satire. These are the same people that fell for Jussie Smollett. They really think the world works like this. JFC.

We are reading Collapse, the Fall of the Soviet Union. Interesting stuff. Learning tonnes. 

As we have said before, our own Governor Phil Murphy knows how to read a room, 'Gov. Phil Murphy has ended the rule requiring face coverings on NJ Transit, a day after a federal judge voided the national mask mandate covering airplanes and other public transportation.' Smart man. 

Allright, that opening presidential inauguration chapter is really coming together. Haig listening in to the political part, Rumy and Cheney listening to the military part, a foreign leader listening to the foreign relations part...is what we need to write today. We have consulted with some of you people about this. We're thinking starting with the German Chancellor and bouncing over to the French president. That ought to set the European scene, right?

*EDs, not a real doctor.

Will's News Whip Around

Okay...we finished reading World War 1990: The Weser. A couple of beta readers have it now, including a former army tank battalion commander. He's good. This clears the mind for work on The New American Order today and tomorrow. Let's see if we can hit the weekly projected word count. 

After reading Chris Kennedy's Titans (look who reviewed it!), we've spent a lot of time thinking about how to expand our readership.  We looked over sales data yesterday and realized that our fifth best selling market is...Deutschland. The other four are D-Day + Australia. We did some magazine advertising with der Krauts five years ago, and they worked. Not bigly, but we have a small fan base in the Fatherland. Sales in other European markets are very weak though.

This blog believes the best way to get more readers is to write more novels. The best way to expand into Europe, rather than blowing a lot Euros on some magazine ads (man, you should see the rates the Kraut krieg magazines are charging) we should write a novel that would appeal to a European market. [Really? Nederland didn't help you break into the Dutch market, knobhead-Ed]. Still it's worth another try. Maybe the summer sneak in novel should be...Esertcito Italiano. As Spirit said in the island cave with Storm Shadow, we must dwell on this.

Israeli politics makes Italian politics look stable. Says The Times of Israel: 'Idit Silman’s surprise resignation as coalition chair and defection to the opposition is a dramatic turning point for the coalition. The most politically diverse government in Israel’s history had, until Wednesday, clung to power by the slimmest possible parliamentary majority. The loss of Silman marks the loss of that majority.' 

So the Bennett government may collapse leading to...new elections!  This blog would prefer if Naftali Bennett and his center-right coalition survived. That said, Bibi returning to power would piss off all the right people. Heh. As Small Dead Animals likes to say, mischief is important. 

Speaking of bellicose Jews, President Zelensky vows Ukraine will become even more based. The Jerusalem Post reports. 'Ukraine plans to model itself after Israel and not Switzerland in the aftermath of the Russian invasion when it comes to issues of national security, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday. "I think all our people will be our great army. We cannot talk about 'Switzerland of the future' — probably, our state will be able to be like this a long time after," Zelensky said. "But we will definitely become a 'big Israel' with its own face." 

Smart. Of course, reader(s) of this blog know Switzerland is totally based as well. But we all get Zelensky's point. And why wouldn't he point to Israel as an example for Ukraine? The Jews stick together. For the Imams say, the Jew is clever. Five years ago this blog lamented Ukraine's inability to arm itself like it's next to Russia, since it's next to Russia. Now Ukraine is acting like it's net to Russia. The nation's future border along the Dnieper will be much easier to defend.

Moving on to the Continent, France will hold its preliminary presidential election this weekend. Nationalist Marine le Pen is in a virtual tie with current president Francois Macron and will almost certainly face him in the runoff. Vive le Pen! Hmmm...did Orban's landslide victory help le Pen, and since polls underestimated Orban's support are they also underestimating le Pen's support? Pray to the god of your choice. 

The Russian, the Soviet and the Jew

A recent reviewer of World War 1990: Castro's Folly noted, 'I would have dinged a couple more stars last year for how well NATO is doing against the Warsaw Pact in this series. But given how well the Ukraine is doing vis-à-vis Russia, I can now believe it.' Russian/Soviet tactics suck. Russian/Soviet equipment sucks. That said, Stroock's Books admits that it is stunned at the Soviet's level of tactical incompetence. What would be happening now had Ivan's bold airborne assault on Kiev succeeded?

Don't believe this blog. Believe the Israelis. The Jew may be clever, but he is no superman. See also Desert Storm. Also, Arabs can't fight. Why in 1967, after the Israelis fried the Egyptian's falafel, STAVKA called Nasser to Egypt and read him the riot act. 'No, you don't understand,' Nasser said. 'We've studied Russian tactics. We've lured the Jew into Sinai. Now we wait for winter.' Thanks folks! Don't forget to tip you waitresses. [You've told that joke before-Ed] That's what my girls say too. 

Exit Question: What's the last battle the United States lost? Kasserine Pass? Villiers Fussard? I dunno, something in Korea, probably. Anyway, here's the point. The US hasn't lost a battle in a long time, and also hasn't won a war in a long time. Ivan hasn't won a battle in Ukraine but is in danger of winning the war.

Baaaaah...! Yesterday we spent a lot of time staring at the third nuke novel. The theme in three needs to be a bit different than the theme in 75 and 76 no? We're past the devastation and despair stage and into the aftermath stage. What's an interesting issue for a town to be dealing with? What would work for a one-off vignette not necessarily related to the chapter?

What Will's Watching, The Daily Wire's god-king, Jeremy Boreing, gives a state of the company address. DW's taking in something like $10 million a month. Boreing, Shaprio and the rest have big, big plans:

Friday Files

Jomini of the West thinks the Russians have switched to a defensive strategy in Ukraine and are trying to consolidate gains and work out their logistics. The Ukrainian's small, local counterattacks have slowed/stopped the Russian's advance. Well played. This blog believes the Russia/Ukraine war is entering its Yugoslavian phase. We expect sieges and bloody urban fighting. Prepare for the long slog. 

Awake adults shouldn't trust any information coming from the media about the Russian home front. They don't know. A thought on Russian civilian moral. We are comfortable saying that the Moscow/St. Petersburg urban elite and hipsters probably oppose the war. But what about the mechanic, the farmer, the day laborer, the truck driver, the coal miner? Our hunch is that they favor the war.

Once again, this blog can't help but notice that Russia has taken about half of Ukraine east of the Dnieper. The Ruskis also have a massive bridgehead on the west bank. It doesn't take a Napoleon to see Uke forces in the Donbass region are in a terrible position. Which is why we keep saying Russia is losing tactically but winning  strategically. Exit question: is this a first slowly then all at once situation?

Adrenalize, the final word. As we stated before, Adrenalize is a pleasant, harmonic album that plays to Def Leppard's strengths. Those strengths are guitar hooks and great vocals.  Adrenalize's 30th anniversary is next week. In a few months after that comes the 30th anniversary of our high school graduation. For us Adrenalize was a pleasant bit of an otherwise unpleasant time. 

The Critical Drinker (who is always right) talks about George R.R. Martin's inability to finish the Winds of Winter. Reading that, concerned fans of the World War 1990 series are wondering what's happening with The Final Storm. We had hoped to release The Final Storm this summer but...the story just isn't where it needs to be, yet. You people will be getting The Weser this summer instead, followed by The Great Salvation of 1976 which we finished reading yesterday. [But you had a plan-Ed]. What do we say about plans? Fear not. The Final Storm is 70,000 words (and counting). Remember, we spent January and February busting our hump on The Final Storm and will resume the effort...sometime this year. Yes, we know that's worryingly vague. We will have news for the Saturday Update.

What Will's Watching: Bill Maher on Adam Carolla's podcast. Carolla and Maher sit back and have a conversation. While they bash Wokeness, neither strays into actual politics. Maher talks about his life, career and what's happening now. An interesting man, a sensible man with sensible advice on life. We were intrigued by Maher's background story and also his daily routine. Maher has begun his own podcast and his first guest is William Shatner. 4/4

Below, the Friday Flag:

Nuke this Adrenalize Song

 'Hey, Senator, hot down here, isn't it?' Madeline Albright asked John McCain. Madeline Albright was neoliberal-interventionism. The ambassador to the UN and later secretary of state, Albright once asked Colin Powell, 'What's the point of having the world's greatest army if you're not going to use it?' or some such. She was a passionate advocate of the failed Oslo negotiation between Israel and the PLO and constantly advocated 'restraint' as Arafat's* terrorist murdered Israelis.

Click here for this Def Leppard unnamed video. We hate this Adrenalize song so much we won't even name it. The song is stupid and juvenile. The worst song on the album, and the worst song Def Leppard wrote between 1981 and 1992. This song usually makes the live set, sadly. That's when we go get another beer. Reader(s) should watch this live version of White Lightening instead. Note, Def Leppard live sounds pretty much like Def Leppard on the album. 

Bill Roggio, who is much less optimistic about Ukraine than a lot of the media cheerleaders, tweets his latest assessment of the war. 'The Russian advance is slow, but it is advancing,' Roggio says. To our eye, Russia has taken about half of Ukraine east of the Dnieper. Russia is executing large thrusts, successful at the strategic level while the Ukrainians are launching successful localized counterattacks. We remained stunned at Ruski tactical ineptitude. 

We won't comment on events in Russia because we don't know whose info to trust. An anonymously sourced article titled something like, 'Wife mad at Putin over war: report,' or 'Putin advisor tries to resign,' is not to be trusted. And no, we won't ask our KGB handler what he thinks. It's hard to get Russians to talk about anything, and we don't want to put him in an awkward position. Our man in Moscow works for a government publication (like every staffer at NPR or the BBC) and we just don't know what he's comfortable saying. 

Sales of The Great Nuclear War of 1975 have already surpassed books like Seven Stories and A March Through Hell. So 75 is not a flop. Also, 30 + reviews so it doesn't suck. Daily sales are up and down, but we think they'll plateau somewhere below a World War 1990 novel. We had some ju-ju yesterday and should get a scene written in book 3 today. 

*Homosexual. Died of AIDS.

War and Fat Narratives

We haven't quite figured out what to write today, so we're just going to blog during the 9-10 AM hour. 

We did some editing of The Great Salvation of 1976 yesterday (we'll do more today) and brainstormed novel number 3. We came up with some pretty good ideas in consultation with some of you people, and may well write about those further. Some of you people are trying to push me into the writing the novel you want to read, aren't you? Bastards.

What Will's Watching: Stephen Crowder pranks the Fat Studies Conference. It's hilarious. Do click over. This blogger wants to make something clear. Seven years ago we were pushing 270 pounds (19.2 stone for you speech impaired tea drinkers. Don't even ask us to convert to metric. We can't. We won't). We had a triglyceride count over a thousand. The 'fat pride' movement is fucking retarded and dangerous. And yes, we admit to looking at really fat people and thinking, how did it come to this? We think the same with smokers. 

That being said, this gym rat would welcome you to the gym. So would all the other gym rats. We hit the gym three or four times a week with men and women who have the bodies of Greek gods and show it off.  That can be intimidating. But most of the people at the gym are normies like us, just trying to take off a few pounds and stay in shape. So if you're thinking people at the gym are going to judge you and laugh at you behind your back, don't. Everyone at the gym is on your side. 

The media is telling us the Ukraine war is going badly for Russia. It's not going great. Obviously the Ruskis have had tonnes of setbacks. Media airheads probably think Putin is trying to conquer all Ukraine,  like the Krauts with France in 1940, some producer probably told them. No or nyet. The Russian army is trying to isolate and overrun Ukraine east of the Dnieper. They're getting pretty close to mission accomplished, nyet? [Did the GRU pay you to write that-Ed?] Nyet, comrade, nyet. We just don't believe the media narrative. 

Will Makes Excuses for his old Boss

Our KGB handler asked us if we wanted to write some collusive (that's a word? Fuck me). Russian misinformation. We'd love to write some collusive Russian information. We enjoy the gig. But we said nyet. Not while there's a war on. Maybe not ever again. And we told our KGB handler not to worry about paying us for our last three articles. We sigh in the most Russian way possible. We've broken up with publications before. Take Decision Games, who put someone else's name on our work and stiffed us for $400 lousy bucks. Four hundred. Hope it was worth it.

My friend William Katz asks an interesting question: 'Why are we one of the few democracies on Earth that has no mechanism for replacing a clearly failed leadership in times of crisis?...No, I am talking about a Constitutional amendment, precisely and calmly written, that would permit several different entities – Congress, state legislatures, a petition drive, to order a snap election within 30 days, an election that could replace an entire administration, the way any presidential election would. For goodness sake, the Brits can change administrations overnight.' Now that is not a bad idea. 

For the last generation or so, since 9/11 maybe, something's been off about our system of government. This blog has argued that the primary process is broken and limiting the president to two terms was a mistake. Katz' snap election provision should be proposed in and voted on by the House of Representatives. Let's say...60% of congresspersons are needed to call the election. The system needs a valve. As it is Joe is going to be impeached next year. 

It looks to this blog like Putin is slowly intensifying Soviet bombardment of Kiev, Mariupol, etc etc. According to the narrative, Russia is advancing slowly because of harassment by brave and virtuous Uke resisters and logistical woes. Possible. But what if the Ruskis are slowly establishing themselves around Kiev and allowing an exit rout for Ukrainian refugees? Exit question: why wouldn't the Russians allow as many Ukes as possible to flee Kiev? 

The international community is outrage at Russia's missile bombardment of Kiev, but so what? Putin smashed Grozny (good) and no one cared. He certainly recalls NATO's Yugoslavian shame. For younger reader(s), the bastard Serb besieged Sarajevo while NATO, the UN, and the international community did nothing but point to their resolutions, 'See!' they pleaded. The Serb did whatever he wanted. A state can bombard cities all it wants so long as that state is not a Jewish State. 

The UN actually imposed an arms embargo on both the Serbs and the Bosnians. We were a Senate intern in the summer of 1995 (William V. Roth, R DE) when the Serbs kicked UN peacekeepers out of the Srebrenica safe haven and massacred thousands. We watched Bob Dole take to the floor and tell senators to clear their schedules. Dole was pissed. Later that month the Senate debated lifting the embargo. 'A nation has the right to defend itself,' thundered a strangely eloquent Joe Biden. The resolution passed by veto-proof majority. Senator Jessie Helms proposed $50 million for weapons but the Senate said no. Helms was an ardent supporter of Israel, speaking of narrative busting...and on Purim too.

Every Which Way but Will

The View's Ana Navarro wiped the donut powder from her bloated, fat face, belched, and said the Department of Justice should 'look into people who are Russian propogandists and shilling for Putin. If you are a foreign asset to a dictator, you should be investigated.' Lard butt went on to single out Tulsi Gabbard and Tucker Carlson. Unfunny Jewish appropriator and fellow lard butt Whoopi Goldberg said, 'They used to arrest people for doing stuff like this,' then she devoured a 50 pack of Craft cheese slices and flew back to the coven. 

Yeah, I called you fat. Look at me, I'm in shape. 

With the ban on Russia media and the Fed's sanctioning of Russians, including our own Inforos editor, we've been wondering if the Feds or media would look into us.* We've written exactly 100 articles for Inforos/Infobrics and have been quoted in Sputnik. Surely someone with the AP or Yahoo News or something would ask, 'Who is this articulate, intelligent, handsome fellow who writes so prolifically for Russia?' For anyone in the media reading, your request for comment of any kind is denied. Below, visual representation of what would happen if a news van pulled up:

Which brings us to what Will's Watching (again), Every Which way but Loose:  A movie about working class folks, an LA movie, a silly movie with a dark undertone and conclusion. We're just old enough to remember when this film seemed utterly contemporary. Now it's a wonderful time-capsule. Made in 1978, EWWBL feels like the 70s and is charming as such. The men have zero self consciousness about their floppy haircuts and bushy mustaches. This is how people looked. Critics don't like this movie, but we love it. We love everything about EWWBL. Clint Eastwood's comedy turn, Clyde (right turn, Clyde), Geoffrey Lewis as the brother, Ruth Gordon as Ma, the incompetent but lovable bikers getting their asses kicked by Philo, Ma, truckers...4/4 

A European friend sends along this piece in defense of NATO. We urge readers to click on through and read, as the article makes good points and is food for thought. 

Moving on to other crisis...we read various reports that the US is close to some kind of deal with Iran. We laugh. We laugh some more. Meanwhile, The Times of Israel tells us, 'A UAV attack in the middle of February reportedly caused major damage to Iran’s drone fleet, prompting Iran to fire missiles this week at a site in Iraq that it claims was an Israeli intelligence base. Hundreds of drones are assessed to have been destroyed in the attack on an airbase near Kermanshah, in Western Iran, Haaretz reported Tuesday, without citing sources for the extent of the damage.' What part of 'Iran will never have a nuclear weapon do these people not understand?' Sometimes we think the Iranian nuclear program is a bluff, sometimes we think there will be an existential war in the Middle East. 

We've spoken to some of you about The Great Nuclear War of 1975 (best sales day so far, yesterday). Readers report being at once horrified and unable to put 75 down. Which is exactly what we were going for. We've done just about everything we can to The Weser's Part II, for now. Time to get Part III squared away. We're thinking it might useful to postpone submitting the MS to the editor till 15 April.

*We assume our comms are being monitored by an alphabet agency. They spied on Tucker. 

If it's Wednesday, It's What Will's Watching and Other Observations

Okay...KU reads of The Great Nuclear War of 1975 increase with day two doubling over day one and day three doubling over day two as of this morning. Rankings are still meh and may remain so. It's a crowded market. We've gotten a little feedback from a few of you and so far, so good. Things are looking great, gotta wear shades.*

What Will's Watching, Red Rocket: Mikey is a down on his luck 'actor' who returns home to his estranged wife in Texas City. A handsome, likable fast talker, one is never quite sure if one should root for or against Mikey. Red Rocket is an artsy film about mood and place. Director Sean Baker captures both with expertise. This is a good-looking film about uncomfortable subjects; the poor, porn, grooming. Brittany Rodriguez is a non-professional actor, cast off the street by Baker, and plays brilliantly a tough, bourgeoning pot dealer who is strangely likable. 4/4

Numerous sources report that President Zelinsky is willing to negotiate with Putin. He would allegedly concede Crimea and agree not to join NATO.  Crimea is Russian whether Ukraine and the West like it or not. This observer is on record and has written for the Ruskis that Ukraine should not join NATO. Duh. This could be a ruse. Or like this blog, Zelinsky thinks his time and resources are limited. 

Right now the media portrays the Ukes as plucky anti-fascist rebels poking the bear. Readers of this blog should be smart enough to approach the media narrative with great skepticism and caution. Most reports on Soviet casualties come from the Ukrainians. We know nothing about Ukrainian casualties. And please, no more articles about the end of armored warfare. People have written that tanks are finished since the Yom Kippur war. You have man portable antitank rockets, I have the Trophy Anti-Rocket system.

That being said it's undeniable that the Ukrainians have had tremendous success with small anti-tank rocket teams. This blog doubts these are volunteer militia fighters. Those are the guys that die early in a war because they think they're in Red Dawn, or something. Rather, these are professional soldiers who have been training with NLAWs and TOWs for years. 

Help from the West is...unsteady. On the one hand, the US Senate just gave Ukraine $14.1 billion. On the other hand American support is highly symbolic. Artists are flying paper airplanes to advocate for a no-fly- zone.**  On the gripping hand, look at that PR fiasco with Poland offering to send its MiG-29s to Ramstein and the US saying, 'What? Huh? Uhhhh, no.'

Gas here in New Jersey is well above four bucks. Thanks Joe.

*That's an 80's reference most of you won't get. But if you're in the know, you know. Heh.

**We love how a no-fly-zone is the cause celeb for idiot influencer types. Given the effectiveness of Uke fighters and bombers, a no-fly-zone would hurt them more than the Ruskis, no? How do these hashtag activist types even sit the right way on a toilet seat, and who wipes their asses for them? Fuckheads - Huh, spellcheck accepts 'fuckheads' as one word. 

Will Goes the Full Ruski

World War Woke is upon us. The West has cancelled Russian banks, TV channels, yachts, airplanes, gas stations, hockey players, Paralympians, writers, conductors and cats. The silliest, most retarded cancelation was Disney + removing Anastasia from its playlist. That'll show 'em!

This blog thinks it's time Joe intern Russian-Americans. Also the Jews, just to be on the safe side. 

Stroock's Books wonders if/when the cancellers will cancel us because of our Inforos writing. We emailed our KGB handler yesterday just to see how he was doing and also to ask if he or someone he knows wants to write something for Stroocks Books. That alone should warrant a raid by the Feds, no? We haven't heard back. We think he's not talking to us. 

We wrote several sympathetic Russian characters in the World War 1990 series. They better cancel those too. They wouldn't want anything to slip through, would they?

The media war narrative goes as follows. Ukraine's plucky, happy-go-lucky defenders are fending off the slow, plodding Russian bear. Accordingly, Putin's grip on power is slipping. Russians are protesting in the streets. The oligarchs are getting nervous. The Russian Orthodox Church is condemning Putin. We doubt it.

A lot of observers are coming around to our view of the war. Russia has made many missteps and Russian tactics suck.  However, the Russians are advancing and gradually wearing down the Ukes. The Ruskis have taken a fair bit of territory, haven't they? This piece at Zerohedge argues Putin isn't waging war against Ukraine alone, but the West and Davos as well; and is winning. 

Putin Watch: Putin going to his inauguration to the tune of....well, you'll just have to click:

What Will's Watching - The Power of the Dog: Benedict Cumberbatch plays Phil Burbank, a grizzled Montana rancher who knows everything about his trade and is mean as hell to everyone, especially his brother George (played with sensitivity and compassion by Jesse Plemons), whom he calls fatso. When George gets married to Rose (Kursten Dunst) Phil is jealous and resentful, especially toward her teenaged son, Peter, played shy and timid by Kodi Smit-McPhee. Phil tries to break Peter but ends up mentoring him in the ways of the ranch just as the legendary Bronco Henry did for Phil decades before. There's some homosexual tension here. Some have said The Power of the Dog's ending is ambiguous. We saw it right away and we ain't no film guy. Filmed in the beautiful New Zealand countryside looking for all the world like Montana. The dog is Montana and the rancher's way of life. Rewatchable 4/4

Friday Flag, comrades:

Your Combined Russia/Ukraine War and Will's Lipid Panel Update for 3/1/22

Well fuck me. My bloodwork came back with very unexpected results: 

Triglycerides was 634 now 461.

Cholesterol was 240 now 158.

Glucose was 139 now 118.

This calls for a celebratory 80's training montage:

 

Of course Ivan Drago is in that clip. Moving on to other things Russian...

Zuckerberg is kicking Russia off META. Google is banning Russian media advertisements. FIFA has banned Russia from competition. Celebrities are pouring their Russian vodka down the drain and several governors are urging liquor stores to pull Russian vodka from their shelves. If we can all remove Tchaikovsky* and Prokofiev from our playlists, we'll really sock it to Putin. 

Some fools are calling on the West to establish a no-fly-zone over Ukraine. As if the UN Security Council will pass a resolution and *poof* no more Russian aircraft over Kiev. How do these people think Putin will respond to a no-fly-zone? How do these people intend to enforce it? Idiots.

One unexpected Ukrainian tactic: civil disobedience. Civilians have blocked Russian tanks, harassed Russian soldiers and refused to give them food and fuel. So far, the Russians haven't gunned them down. The old Russian army would have. We'll see how long that lasts. Sooner or later the Russian will embrace his inner Cossack. 

[So pessimistic-Ed]

True. Why are we so pessimistic? The Chechens really smacked around the Ruskis in '95. But the Ruskis won in the end. The Russians defeated Georgia in 2008. See also the Hong Kong protests. Again, we just think Russian numbers will win the day. But protests in Russia, you say? Unprecedented? Not so fast. Protests are actually pretty common. This ain't Stalin's Russia. Until we see some evidence to the contrary, and that's not CNN reporting on anonymous sources, we assume Putin has a firm grasp on Russia. 

We are working diligently on World War 1990: The Weser and have completed reading the Intro (20 pages) and Part-I, The Americans (50 pages). We're quite pleased with the 8th Infantry Division's battle. We could have done some more work on Part-I, but feel like that've been over doing it. Work smarter, not harder. Opportunities will present themselves if we put Part-I down for a week. In this case working smarter and not harder means moving on to Part II: The British. Here too we are pleased with the fight between UK 4 Armoured Division and East German 7 Tank Division. Hello Jerry.

*We were listening to Tchaikovsky at the gym yesterday. Is this collusion?

Russia: The Stroock Plan

It is with great sadness that we told our KGB handler in the Kremlin that our relationship is over. We loved colluding with Russia. We did love it so. So much so that by our count we've published 100 articles with Inforos/Infobrics. Click here to see them all. In fact, click here to see our very first piece at Inforos:

With the USSR long gone pushing NATO even further east is a pointless provocation. Those advocating for expanding to Russia’s border forget NATO’s mission, stated clearly in the alliance’s name, North Atlantic Treaty Organization; North Atlantic. NATO links western Europe to North America with Great Britain as the physical and cultural bridge between the two. From Nord Kapp, to the North Sea and down to the Greenland, Iceland United Kingdom Gap NATO protects the Atlantic crossings. The Baltics, Ukraine and Georgia have nothing to do with the Atlantic and should have nothing to do with NATO. Today most American troops are gone from Europe and NATO’s once fine, professional militaries have shriveled. Why poke the Bear?

We knew what we were doing, da. We wrote something we believed. We wrote something that we thought we could get in print with those recidivist commies. Ninety-nine articles later we stand by what we wrote in 2019. Why poke the bear? Look closely at the first vowel in NATO. A is for Atlantic. To be clear, America has no national interest in Ukraine. None whatsoever. We won't die for Donbass.

What should the West have done? The West should have realized that Russia has interests too. Russia has red lines. Russia has pride. The West should have told Putin, 'Fine. You promise not to invade Ukraine, we'll promise not to expand NATO further.' Da? Da.

And the West should have been tougher and clearer. That is, the West should have said to Putin, 'Here are every one of the sanctions we will impose if you invade Ukraine. Here's every one of the weapons we'll send to Ukraine if you do invade. Here's a rundown of the massive NATO fleet exercise we'll hold in the Barents Sea just to piss you off.'* 

What should the West do now? Sanction the Russians all you want. Cutoff Moscow's ability to finance its debt. Kick the Ruskis out of SWIFT. Throw them out of the Olympics and any other international sports org you can think of. Move to expel them from the UN**. Invite Sweden and Finland to join NATO. But remember one thing. Russians don't think like us in the West. As an Indian neighbor who lived in Moscow for several years once told us, 'Russians look like Europeans but think like Asians.' They don't care. 

*NATO used to do that in the 80's.

**Putin chairs the Security Council right now, which is a sick joke.

The Red Army Rolls

Everyone reading this knows by now that Russia has invaded Ukraine. Putin's war message was extremely bellicose, and Russia's efforts aren't limited to the Donbass region. This blog gets the impression that Putin seeks regime change. That strikes us as overreach. We're not qualified to analyze the war. Those interested can follow events at Elint News. 

Reports indicate the Soviets, sorry, Ruskis, have deployed amphibious and airborne forces. Putin is obviously showcasing  Russian military capabilities and this blog is very interested to see how the Russians perform during this war. One observation, Russian missiles seem to be hitting stuff.

Joe Biden has lost two countries inside of a year. Remember  Joe's tough guy act? Remember how Joe bragged that Putin didn't want him to be president? Yeah, no. War rages across Ukraine. Energy prices will skyrocket. The Dow will tumble. We fear Joe and the rest of the incompetent Obama retreads in the regime will fuck things up even more. This blog can't help but notice that Putin didn't pull this crap when Trump was in office. 

Once again European 'soft-power' failed to keep the peace. Forget global power projection, The Europeans can't stop war in Europe. The Europeans couldn't stop the Jugolsav War. The Europeans couldn't stop the Kosovo War. The Europeans couldn't stop Russia from invading Georgia and they couldn't stop Russia from taking Crimea. Brussels couldn't prevent Russia from invading Ukraine. No more lectures, Okay European diplomats? There's not one Metternich or Castlereagh among you.  

And please, no comparisons to President Carter and/or Prime Minister Chamberlain. After the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, Jimmy Carter cancelled SALT II, withdrew from the Olympics and increased defense spending. Carter changed. Is anyone in the Biden Regime capable of change? Neville Chamberlain was a patriot who did everything he could do to maintain the peace in the aftermath of the most destructive war in European history. The Prime Minister's actions were wrong, but entirely understandable. 

Exit question: are we better or worse off with Joe non-compos-mentis?

Russia has Bought off Tucker Carlson...

...and Stroocks Books as well. Why else would Tucker say so many things that the Globalists don't like? Reader(s) of this blog know we are paid handsomely in 100 rubble bills for writing Russian misinformation at Inforos and Infobics.

Tucker Carlson asks why he/we/you/I should hate Vladimir Putin:

Why do Democrats want you to hate Putin? Has Putin shipped every middle class job in your town to Russia? Did he manufacture a worldwide pandemic that wrecked your business? Is he teaching your kids to embrace racial discrimination? Is he making fentanyl? Does he eat dogs? pic.twitter.com/xYEvapjbNT

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 23, 2022

How much of the Ukraine crisis for the Dems is about Trump? Dems think Putin tilted the 2016 election toward Trump. They think Trump colluded with Russia. They impeached Trump over his perfect phone call with Ukraine. Never mind that Trump isn't getting 10 percent from Ukraine like 'the big guy'. The United States is drifting into an economic crisis and possibly a shooting war because of the Dem's bizarre obsession. 

Russia's economy is about the size of Italy's. Russia's population is less than half that of the United States' and declining. Russia can project power into the Norwegian Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean and no further. Russia is no existential threat to the US.

Sometimes this blog wonders if younger reader(s) really know what the Cold War was like. There was constant tension and the threat of annihilation percolating beneath everyday life. There were two superpowers with massive stockpiles of nuclear weapons, armies facing off in Europe, constant air and naval confrontations. In 1985, Russia/USSR truly was a threat. Now? Well, Russia has started a border war with Ukraine. We yawn.

Putin ain't no Cornpop

Yesterday, after reading the update on The Great Salvation of 1976,  a member of this blog's Confederate readership pointed out that Chatanooga's Look Out Mountain has extensive caverns. Just perfect. This detail has been added in a couple of places. Thank you, sir.

We read over 76's military themed chapter yesterday. Cheney and Rumsfeld discuss the state of the US military at the Western DoD in Gillette, WY. The remnants of the Pacific fleet are at Subic Bay. In Belgium, troops embark for home. An SR-71 overflies North Korea. We need another military scene. Doesn't have to be American. Post ideas in comments.

Yesterday we spent a lot of time looking over and unraveling The Final Storm. Our understanding of the MS is much clearer for doing so. This week we are writing The Final Storm's A-6 strike chapters. Squadrons from Task Force 60 off Nord Kapp will fly south, refuel over southern Finland and hit the Kastroma nuclear base northeast of Moscow. 

Putin Watch: We watched Putin's Ukraine speech yesterday afternoon. Putin rambled and went no place. It was a long lecture on the history of Russia, the USSR and Ukraine. We can't vouch for anything we heard. Our man in the Kremlin agrees with our assessment. Putin should have said, 'After consultation with my military and foreign policy team, I have recognized the independences of Donbass and Luhanks...'

So there it is. Putin has recognized the independence of Donbass and Lugansk, two years to the day after Joe tweeted this:

Vladimir Putin doesn’t want me to be President. He doesn’t want me to be our nominee. If you’re wondering why — it’s because I’m the only person in this field who’s ever gone toe-to-toe with him.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) February 21, 2020

Was Putin's timing on purpose, a signal that he's eschewing the delicate kabuki of diplomacy for a deliberate slap in the face? Were this China, we would assume so, no?

That tweet is classic Joe. All tough guy and braggadocio. As Billy Joel once sang, 'You had to be a big shot did yuh?' Real tough guys don't say much because they don't feel they need to. 

Biden's advisors (Samantha Power, John Kerry, Jen Psaki) are the people that couldn't stop Putin from seizing Crimea in 2014 or intervening in Syria in 2015. Their response was to get mad and stomp their feet at the UN and lecture Soviet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about how he and Putin will go down in history. We'd hate to break it to the professional foreign policy failures in the Biden Regime, but Putin doesn't care what they think of him. 

In any event Soviet Russian troops, including amphibious and airborne forces, are on the move. Biden has failed to stop war in Ukraine. That's two nations you lost, Junior.

Friday Flag Follies

As we write this, the Soviet, sorry, Russian embassy in Kiev is burning documents. Russian ground forces are moving toward the Ukrainian border. Airborne and amphibious units are readying. There have already been dozens of cross-border artillery exchanges. Joe is convening an emergency meeting of western leaders today.

The esteemed ZeroHedge writes about the establishment, Russiagate, Russian collusion, Russian actors in Canada and allegations that they're colluding with Russia. 'The Russian collusion story is mostly meant for the political left in order to keep them on the plantation while also to sowing seeds of doubt among moderates and people still on the political fence. The globalists want to prevent as many individuals as possible from moving closer to reality. However, their strategy is rife with confusion. It tells me that they are in uncharted territory and they are falling back on worn out measures and tired schemes because they don’t know what else to do.' Russia! Russia! Russia! The Russia story is meant to distract from the real story, the elites colluding with China. 

What Will's Watching, Margin Call. A film about a securities firm that realizes that its entire portfolio is going to become worthless within days and attempts to sell everything before that happens. Margin Call is also a character study. We were fascinated, interested and intrigued by the late-night business meetings in which the company officers come to grips with what's happening and choose a course of action. And if we liked those meetings, you people like cabinet meetings in the World War 1990 series. Lesson learned. 4/4

Will's Good Idea for the Week of 2/13/22

A light snow this morning.

We got back to the gym yesterday. Just 15 minutes on the treadmill plus some light weightlifting and the rope-pulley. We feel good.

The Great Nuclear War of 1975 proof arrived yesterday. We began reading right away and found only a few typos in the first chapter. The first chapter, the prologue really, read well. We had trouble putting it down. We're enthused. We're just gonna bear down and read the proof till it's done. Which should take a couple of days. It's time for Will to publish. That's our good idea for the week of 2/13/22.

In case The Great Nuclear War of 1975 bombs, we'll have World War 1990: The Weser ready to go for 1 July. Or The Final Storm if it's done. Alert reader(s) will note The Final Storm is the novel that never wants to get done. The Great Salvation of 1976 comes out even if 75 bombs. That's our other good idea.

We probably dismayed a few reader(s) yesterday with idle speculation about splitting World War 1990: The Final Storm in two. It's a thought. The only basis for doing so would be The Battle of the Roki Tunnel. From there we could write about revolts in various other parts of Georgia and the USSR. We had originally planned a lot of Kazakhstan stuff. But we're not feeling any spark, so it's probably not a good idea.

Today is Super Bowl...we're not sure. Is it really a Super Bowl if Tom Brady isn't in it (0-2 against our own Eli Manning and the Giants?) We can't remember a time when we were less enthused about the Super Bowl. Meh. Don't know why.  We'll watch like everyone else, though. We think the Bengals of Cincinatti will win. Again, meh. 

Idle speculation: Putin has privately warned Western governments that they need to get their people out of Ukraine. The Times of Israel report that even Jerusalem is telling its citizens to leave. Note, Putin grew up with a couple of Jewish families and learned piano from an old Jewish woman. He never tolerated antisemitism in the KGB, is more or less friendly towards Israel (while disagreeing on much) and enjoyed cordial relations with Netanyahu. There is something like a million Russian Jews in Israel. Don't underestimate the importance of that connection 

This thing is going down, isn't it? How much of a prick does Putin want to be? If he wants to cause some real mischief he should launch the invasion during the Super Bowl. Heh.

Saturday Updates

This is post 4825.

Stroock's Book's had two guest posts this week and is looking for more. Are you a foreigner? Got something to say? Lemme know at wtstroock@yahoo.com. 

It would seem that war in Ukraine is imminent. The US and UK are warning their citizens in the country that they're 'on their own', and Russia Today reports Moscow is pulling their diplomats. Russia is conducting naval maneuvers in the Black Sea. Joe and Putin are going to speak this weekend, though. Nothing to worry about there. 

We worked our Kremlin sources and they agree that the liberation of Donbass begins shortly. Our editor at Inforos submitted the following for official comment, 'The liberation of Ukraine begins shortly, and soon after all Europe. Seven days to the Rhine, comrades.  Now excuse me while I retire to the Kremlin's GRU built volcano lair.' Expect a lot of pro-Soviet, sorry, pro-Russian content from the blog in the coming weeks. 

Segue...Below is our latest Russian collusion, posted at Infobrics: 'On January 15th Prime Minister Justin Trudeau imposed a vaccine mandate on all truckers crossing the US/Canadian border. Canada and the United States have the longest undefended border in the world through which more than $521 billion worth of goods flow every year. Trucks carry over 2/3rds of those goods. In response, anti-mandate activists in Western Canada organized a convoy of big-rig trucks to protest Trudeau’s edict. The Freedom Convoy, as its leaders call it, travelled from Vancouver, British Columbia 3,000 miles across Canada to Ottawa and occupied the capital. One of the most prominent convoy organizers, Tamar Lich...' Click on through.

The Inforos website is still down. We asked the Politburo what's going on with that and a spokecommunist said, 'It's an IT thing. Now go write pro-Kremlin propaganda or we will release kompromot.' We replied, 'What the fuck do we care if the world knows we like to play with dolls?' Click this link, you won't be disappointed.* Various Twitter based 'dis-info' experts think the GRU has determined that the Inforos brand is damaged and is looking to restart the site as something else. Screw them. The dis-info guys, not you, comrade. 

Okay seriously, we told our editor that if there's war, we will no longer write for him.

Will's dream journal. Last night we dreamt we were hanging out with Representatives Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Nancy Mace. Total hottie, by the way. Nice rack. 

The things:

World War 1990: We spent all week working and re-working the SAS Kremlin attack scene. We think we need one more week. The MS stands at 72,000 words. We think it could hit 80,000 no problem. If the MS gets to 90,000, and it might, we'll consider splitting it in two and adding. We'd be only 30,000 words to another novel. So much for moving on with our life.

We have begun reading a printout of The Great Salvation of 1976. This is the final move before submitting to the editor, which we intent to do on March 1.

The final proof of The Great Nuclear War of 1975 arrives today.

Below is The Great Nuclear of 1975's final cover:

*30 Years ago last fall, we were in a production of Free to Be you and Me.

Wednesday Russia, Canadian Musician, and Sci Fi Round Up

Russia Today tells us that representatives from France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine will be meeting today to discuss the Ukraine situation. Note the absence of the United States. Joe's off eating ice cream. The West is in a bad position here. France and Germany have different agendas, as Macron wants to assert French influence and whomever the German Chancellor is (we don't care, really) wants to keep Russian natural gas flowing to the Wolf's Lair. Well played, Putin. Well played indeed.

Semi-ironically we are still plugging away at our SAS raid chapter. Things are going well with lots of interesting openings. Operation Marsh-Warden.* [How are you able to get all this work done despite being alone with the kids, making dinner, taxing from home to Hebrew school and dance and dance and more dance?-Ed] I am among the best there is at what I do. Dad Score: Superior. 

Hmmmm...

The Baseball Writers Association of America has elected one player to the Hall of Fame this year, former Red Sock David Ortiz. Quite right. The man killed everyone, especially our own Yankees. Speaking of Yankee killers, the tossers in the Association didn't elect another former Red Sock, Diamondback and Philly Curt Schilling, who twice mowed down the Yankees to win a World Series ring. If you don't understand that Curt Schilling is a hall of famer, you should stop watching baseball and start watching something more appropriate, like Antiques Roadshow, Real Housewives, the Bachelorette or Fixer Upper. [You watch Fixer Upper-Ed] Yeah, but that's because Joanna Gaines is a total hottie.

The New York Post reports on actor Michael Rappaport's outrage at seeing blatant shoplifting in Manhattan. 'I can't believe I'm seeing this shit,' Rapaport exclaims in his annoying voice. Seriously, the math checks out, and scientists have concluded it's impossible to have a more annoying voice. Rappaport might not be able to believe what he's seeing but this blog believes. You voted for it, Mikey. You wanted Bill de Blasio. You asked for Bill de Blasio. And you deserved Bill de Blasio. And so far, Eric Adams don't impress us much. [Shania Twain?-Ed] Yeah, that's right.

Sticking with Canadian musicians... Neil Young [He's still alive?-Ed] I know right? He seems nice. Anyhoo, Neil Young has told Spotify that the streaming service can have Rogan or Young but not both. We find Young's terms acceptable. Seriously the last time he had a hit was...? Besides, say it with us...Southern man don't need him around, anyhow. Go back to Canada, shriveled up Boomer Dad.

What Will's watching, The Expanse, season-5. While flawed, season-5 is soooo much better than season-4, which sucked in ways this blog couldn't imagine something sucking. It just sucked. Bland, boring, someone give us another negative adjective that starts with a 'b'. There's some unnecessary melodrama in season-5, but overall plenty of character development, action, and tension. We look forward to season-6. 3/4. There will be another Book of Bobba Fett episode tonight. We're not optimistic. 

*That's a getable reference, but deep nonetheless.

Your Russian News Round Up and Collusion for Monday, 1/24/22

We don't have much to say about the weekend NFL playoff games, except that we agree with a friend's assessment that this was the best playoff weekend ever. Three games decided by a last second field goal and one by a touchdown makes for a pretty exciting round of playoff football. That being said the Chiefs and Bills scoring something like 25 points in the last two minutes of a game is not a good thing. The rules obviously favor the passing game and could use tweaking. Of course the NFL will do nothing because Roger Goodell is....well, not good for the game. 

Semi-ironically we're working on our SAS raid in The Final Storm and will complete said scene by Friday. We are jettisoning most of what was previously written.  If you people haven't figured out what our SAS sub-plot has been leading too, not to mention the general theme of this post...Those of you who know us on FB know where we're headed. Anyone remember how the SAS was in the air, heading for the Polish presidential palace in Polish Storm? If a West Germany teenager can fly a plane to the target, why can't the SAS do the same?

19Fortyfive has a long and interesting piece on the revolution in Russian military affairs, Putin's Syria intervention, and his looming invasion of Ukraine. Author Anna Borshchevskaya goes into some detail about how Soviet doctrine and equipment failed in Desert Storm, exposing the Soviets overall weakness. Something we've shown extensively in the World War 1990 series. Borshchevskaya writes that the Ruskis studied Desert Storm and their plan for an invasion of Ukraine draws on lessons learned. 

Those interested can read our own Russia Rising, a 2008 report on the Russian/Georgian War: 'The Russian military is undergoing a transformation that will fundamentally alter its organization and the way it fights. In the coming decades, the blunt instrument that destroyed the Whermacht, was poised to steamroll Western Europe and utterly annihilated Chechnya will be no more. Under the directorship of Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, the Russian army is becoming smaller, mobile, and professionalized.'

Normally we link to our Russian collusion at Inforos. As the site is still down, this morning we link over at sister publication (and on all kinds of 'misinformation' lists itself), Infobrics: 'During the first half of 2021, Biden enjoyed decent approval ratings. On August 1st Biden’s Real Clear Politics poll of polls had Biden’s approval at 51.3%. The Afghanistan fiasco later in August caused a crisis in confidence among Americans and crashed Biden’s approval ratings. Those ratings have fallen steadily since, and show no signs of improving. A poll taken this week by the Associated Press gives Biden an approval rating of 43%. Another poll this week by Rasmussen Reports has Biden’s approval rating still lower at 40%. Overall Biden’s approval rating stands at 40.9% in the Real Clear Politics poll of polls. An Economist/YouGov Poll shows that 64% of Americans believe America is on the wrong track. And with good reason....' Click on over for a different form of collusion. Okay, we'll admit it. Infobrics is better looking than Inforos. 

We've been listening to Billy Joel's albums of late. Not just the hits but the deep tracks, which we admit to not knowing at all. We have little positive to say about what we've heard. Soft-rocker indeed and a manic-depressive to boot! For Monday (not) Metal, let's synch things to current events and get in the mood . Below, Billy Joel playing Back in the USSR in...the USSR, Moscow, 1987: