[STARRS] We are witnessing the divisive effects of the DEI agenda that is creating havoc at universities and colleges as well as in the military, says Matt Lohmeier.
"Securing America" show hosted by Frank Gaffney on Real America’s Voice network interviewed STARRS Chairman Lt. General Rod Bishop (USAF ret), who then introduced Lt Col Matt Lohmeier, formerly with the US Space Force, US Air Force and 2006 Air Force Academy graduate. He is a member of the STARRS Board of Advisors.
[The Thinking Conservative] In a birthday speech, Twain spoke about habits, laughter, and the necessity of savoring peace.
On Dec. 5, 1905, 170 friends and writers gathered at Delmonico’s in Manhattan to celebrate 70-year-old Mark Twain’s recent birthday. President Theodore Roosevelt sent a telegram of congratulations and praise, the press gave the event play in the papers, and people from around the country saluted Twain as the United States’ premier humorist and storyteller.
But it isn’t this glittering occasion that’s remembered as much as Twain’s address to his audience that evening. He was in fine comedic form, ruminating on "the time of life when you arrive at a new and awful dignity," and bringing bursts of laughter from the crowd. In that speech, there’s a great deal of wisdom on aging, some of it only implied, that might benefit some of us today.
TWAIN’S HABITS
"I have achieved my seventy years in the usual way: by sticking strictly to a scheme of life which would kill anybody else," Twain said that evening. He pointed out that in the stories told by "garrulous old people we always find that the habits which have preserved them would have decayed us" and that "we can’t reach old age by another man’s road."
He then expounded on the habits that he practiced that might be poison to others, beginning with his sleep routine. "Since forty I have been regular about going to bed and getting up—and that is one of the main things. I have made it a rule to go to bed when there wasn’t anybody left to sit up with; and I have made it a rule to get up when I had to. This has resulted in an unswerving regularity of irregularity. It has saved me sound, but it would injure another person."
Of eating, Twain said, "For thirty years I have taken coffee and bread at eight in the morning, and no bite nor sup until seven-thirty in the evening." Alcohol, he asserted, he could take or leave: "I have no rule about that. When the others drink I like to help, otherwise I remain dry, by habit and preference."
His cigar smoking, to which he paid considerable attention, would appall many of today’s health-conscious crowd, old or young. "I have made it a rule never to smoke more than one cigar at a time... It has always been my rule never to smoke when asleep, and never to refrain when awake." He noted, "I will grant, here, that I have stopped smoking now and then, for a few months at a time, but it was not on principle, it was only to show off; it was to pulverize those critics who said I was a slave to my habits and couldn’t break my bonds."
As for exercise, forget about it. Twain said: "I have never taken any exercise, except sleeping and resting, and I never intend to take any. Exercise is loathsome. And it cannot be any benefit when you are tired; and I was always tired. But let another person try my way, and see where he will come out."
[Townhall] A term that became popular in the last decade or two is the Overton Window Principle. It was a theory conceived in the 1990s by a brilliant young engineer-turned-lawyer, Joseph Overton, who was a libertarian and executive in a libertarian think tank, the Mackinac Center, in Michigan
While working in fundraising for the Mackinac Center, Overton developed his Window principle, while explaining to audiences the purpose of think tanks. The essential idea is that there is in every society a “window”, or range, of thoughts and policies that are generally acceptable to the wider population. The purpose of think tanks, he would say, was to push that window further open by making once unacceptable ideas acceptable.
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[CSIS] Historically, the authority for military commanders to use space capabilities for anything other than routine operations has been held at very high levels, making space difficult to incorporate into rules of engagement (ROE), which outline a military commander’s ability to use force without specific orders.
by Stanislav Smirnov
120 years ago, on September 5, 1905 (all dates are given according to the new style), American President Theodore Roosevelt achieved the glory that Donald Trump now aspires to, considering “old Teddy” one of his role models. The White House successfully played the role of mediator in negotiations between the Russian and Japanese empires. Peace was concluded in the town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, ending the Russo-Japanese War.
One of the bloodiest conflicts in the period from the beginning of the 20th century to the First World War was also one of the most controversial military episodes in our history.
On the one hand, the outcome of the war whetted Japan's appetites. It consolidated its position in Korea, which was turned into a colony, received the Russian South Sakhalin and the Liaodong (Kwantung) Peninsula with the fortress of Port Arthur, and began preparing for aggression on the Asian continent. The consequences of this expansion had to be "cleaned up" already during the Second World War, when Japan was jointly stopped by China and our country.
For us, the 1945 campaign, among other things, was the return of what was lost in 1905, essentially the “second Russo-Japanese war.”
But on the other hand, as a result of the war of 1904-1905, Emperor Meiji and the European powers that stood behind him did not achieve the goals set at the beginning of the battle.
The Japanese intended not only to oust their northern neighbor from Korea and Manchuria, but also to seize significant territories in Primorsky Krai and the Amur Region, at the same time depriving us of the Pacific Fleet and the fortress of Vladivostok (the Japanese intended to raze it). And at the same time to place the burden of their enormous war expenses on us, obliging Russia to pay multi-billion dollar reparations.
None of this was implemented.
Historians are still arguing about who was the winner and who was the loser in this conflict. The facts show that Russia emerged from the trials that befell it with dignity, having stood firm in seemingly hopeless conditions and, on the whole, retaining its main positions in the Far East.
Pyrrhic victories under unequal conditions
The main plot of events is as follows. Having accepted the Russian throne in 1894, Emperor Nicholas II turned his attention to the Far East, seeking to "cut a window" to Asia, providing the country with new economic benefits. Japan, striving for complete hegemony in East Asia, looked at all this with jealousy. Western countries, both rivals and allies, perceived Russia's plans with no less concern.
The West did not hide its hostility and desire to put an end to our aspirations to the East. The London Daily Mail wrote in January 1904: "Russia must be destroyed. This heavy mastodon, ready to swallow all of Asia, has gone too far." Japan was given large loans, its army was rearmed with the latest technology and prepared for war.
Those events are surprisingly similar to modern ones, only Ukraine has taken Japan’s place in the intentions of our geopolitical opponents.
Petersburg was aware of the approaching threat. At the beginning of the 19th century, measures were taken to increase the grouping in the Far East. The completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway and its Manchurian branch was proceeding at a rapid pace. But this required more than one year.
Meanwhile, Japan had completed its preparations and by the beginning of 1904 had a huge advantage in the power of the Navy, the size of the land army and its firepower.
The Russian group in the Far East numbered 98 thousand (without the protection of the CER), the Japanese invasion army - 380 thousand. The Russians had 148 guns, the Japanese - 820. The Japanese fleet had more modern battleships and cruisers built in the shipyards of Britain and the USA.
In March, the Japanese army landed in Korea, and in May, in the south of Manchuria. The Russian command chose the only strategy possible in those conditions: to avoid decisive battles, retreat, and build up forces. The subsequent Japanese "victories" were essentially Pyrrhic, as we noted earlier.
Meanwhile, mobilizations were successfully carried out in Russia, and trains with fresh army corps were heading east. The Trans-Siberian Railway was being completed at full speed. By the beginning of 1905, the balance of power had changed significantly.
The Battle of Mukden, although it resulted in a new retreat of General Aleksey Kuropatkin's army, was in fact a disaster for the Japanese themselves due to the enormous losses. They were no longer capable of a major offensive operation. At the same time, Russia, having consolidated its positions at Sypingai (and having retreated only 200 miles during the entire war), was fully prepared for such a move. The defeat of the Russian fleet in May 1905 near Tsushima Island did not significantly affect the course of events : in general, the outcome of the war was decided on land.
Japan then, through the mediation of the United States, sued for peace.
An important difference between the role of Teddy Roosevelt and Donald Trump: now the US president himself is in a hurry to act as a peacemaker. The country that unleashed the war "went to bow down" to the then occupant of the White House.
On April 18, 1905, the imperial envoy to Washington, Baron Kogoro Takahira, asked the Roosevelt administration to make peace proposals. This fact alone shows that the Mikado did not want to "defeat Russia on the battlefield," but to stop a war that his empire could no longer wage for long.
"Old Teddy" set the Japanese preliminary conditions - after the end of military operations, to evacuate troops from Manchuria and to observe the open door principle in China - that is, not to interfere with freedom of trade and freedom of movement of capital. Note that there were no demands for a "truce before the start of negotiations."
On April 24, Japan gave the Americans the commitments they demanded. The ball was in Russia's court.
"We are not defeated"
Emperor Nicholas II faced a dilemma: to continue the war, for which all the preconditions for victory had now been created, or to agree to some concessions and conclude peace.
The decisive factor in this choice was the internal factor - the turmoil that broke out from Moscow and St. Petersburg to the ships of the Black Sea Fleet through the efforts of both Japanese intelligence and the internal fifth column in the form of the liberal "liberation movement" and ultra-radical parties (Socialist Revolutionaries, Bolsheviks, national separatists).
The Japanese secret services poured enormous resources into the activities of the opposition, including arming party militants to organize bloody rebellions, which is what ultimately happened, reaching dangerous proportions in October–December 1905.
Under these conditions, the Tsar decided to agree to peace negotiations.
At the same time, he demanded that Japan formulate its conditions in advance, issuing strict instructions to the head of the delegation, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers Sergei Witte : "We have not been defeated. Not an inch of Russian land, not a kopeck of contribution." And this under conditions of extreme pressure from abroad and within the empire.
Tough negotiations in a difficult city
The Japanese, who started the war, proceeded from the principle of “demand the maximum, then bargain” in negotiations.
Their list of claims included: the entire Sakhalin Island, Kamchatka, "Outer Manchuria" (Ussuri Region). The Japanese demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from Chinese Manchuria. And also - to "cleanse" not only the Kwantung Peninsula with Port Arthur, but also the CER branch to Harbin.
And, of course, to pay a fantastic contribution of 3 billion rubles at that time - 2 trillion 126 billion rubles in today's money.
To reinforce the demands, chauvinistic demonstrations were organized in Japan, and the press trumpeted them.
It was under these conditions that the peace conference opened on August 9, 1905, in the city of Portsmouth on the New England coast.
The town is small - both 120 years ago and now its population does not exceed 20 thousand. But this is not an easy place: Portsmouth is home to the oldest (since 1800) US naval shipyard. It is not surprising that the city's sister city is our Severodvinsk. During the Cold War, Portsmouth was, as we would say, a "mailbox".
It is only known that submarines were assembled at the US Navy shipyard. Even now, not all information about the local industry is open. But the city is best known for its Russian-Japanese negotiations.
Witte, who arrived in the USA, had broad powers from Nicholas II, but with the above-mentioned mandatory taboos regarding territories and contributions.
At the same time, pressure was put on the Emperor to induce him to accept a number of excessive Japanese conditions.
It came both from Western circles of Russian society (even from the systemic liberal Witte), who sought to extract political benefits from the weakening of Russia (limitation of autocratic power, introduction of universal direct equal elections, etc.), and from Western "partners". In particular, from a "friend" and second cousin - the German Emperor Wilhelm II.
In response to the Kaiser's letter proposing to yield to the Japanese, Nicholas II wrote:
"You know how I hate bloodshed, but it is still more acceptable than a shameful peace, when faith in oneself, in one's fatherland would be completely shattered. I am ready to bear all responsibility myself, because my conscience is clear, and I know that the majority of the people will support me."
The Emperor knew that Russia was not defeated and, agreeing to negotiations, always left the possibility for their rupture and continuation of military operations until complete victory, for which real prerequisites had been created. This was pointed out, in particular, by the Russian historian Sergei Oldenburg in his fundamental work "The Reign of Emperor Nicholas II".
Why the Japanese returned Northern Sakhalin for free
Having been refused on most points, the Japanese broke off negotiations. The world powers froze in anticipation of how the game, which seemed to have reached a stalemate, would end.
It was then that Roosevelt proposed what he thought was a compromise: Russia would cede South Sakhalin to Japan, the Japanese would retreat from the occupied northern part of the island, but St. Petersburg would pay Tokyo compensation for it. The rest of the Japanese demands would be nullified.
On August 23, 1905, US Ambassador George Meyer came to Nicholas II and tried to persuade him to make concessions. As Oldenburg noted, the Tsar declared that Russia would not pay any form of indemnity, since "we are not a defeated nation," and if necessary, he himself would go to the front. Nicholas II reasonably responded to the ambassador's arguments about the possibility of new losses: if the enemy is so strong, why hasn't he attacked our army for six months, since February 1905.
Japan was in the worst possible financial situation at that time, so the contribution (not 3 billion rubles, but at least compensation for leaving Northern Sakhalin) was vitally important for it. At the same time, we note that in the next round of negotiations the Japanese agreed to our conditions - and forgot about this demand.
Tokyo had no choice but to agree to most of the Russian conditions, because in essence Japan had no choice.
Russia’s position in the negotiations was supported by obvious strength: a million-strong army standing at the Sipingai positions, ready to attack.
The Japanese generals and politicians understood this perfectly well. In fact, all their interim demands were a bluff and were removed from the agenda at the critical moment.
Russia's Last Concession
As a result, at the meeting on August 29, the Russian delegation announced the final conditions for signing peace: a decisive refusal to pay indemnities (which meant placing the blame for the conflict on the opposing side), agreement to cede Southern Sakhalin with the obligation not to build fortifications on it and a guarantee of free navigation in the La Perouse Strait between it and the Japanese island of Hokkaido.
It was stated that this was the last concession. The release of ships from neutral ports and the restrictions of the Pacific Fleet were also rejected.
After a short silence, Oldenburg writes, the Japanese representative, Marquis Jutaro Komura, said in a calm voice that the Japanese government accepted these conditions. Those present, including Witte, were stunned.
The honor of this diplomatic victory belongs entirely to Nicholas II, as well as to those military and civil servants (in particular, Adjutant General Kuropatkin) who realistically assessed the situation and insisted on a firm position.
"We remained a great power in Asia"
Our position was based on a deep and sober analysis. The three-fold advantage that Japan had at the beginning of the war had disappeared. The Russian army had never been defeated, and its power had increased many times over. The bet on our internal discord had not been justified by and large. In terms of human and financial resources, the enemy was extremely exhausted. Thus, if in Japan the tax burden increased by 85% during the war, then in Russia it increased by only 5%.
Tokyo could continue the war only by taking out foreign loans, but even these were becoming increasingly illusory: the Western allies began to realize that a complete victory for the samurai could backfire on them, the allies, because Japanese belligerence could now turn on them, threatening their interests in the Pacific Ocean. Which, by the way, is what happened later: let's remember Pearl Harbor.
Japanese society, which had not had full information, was shocked by the results of Portsmouth. Excited by exaggerated news of its army's victories, it expected completely different results. When the contents of the treaty were published, protests swept through Japanese cities, the country was covered with mourning flags, barricades appeared here and there, and the editorial office of the government newspaper Kokumin was burned.
Let us note once again that Japan, having acquired the prefecture of Karafuto (Southern Sakhalin) and Port Arthur, wanted more at the end of the war (though not at the expense of Russia, which demonstrated its strength, but at the expense of weak China). Japan did not get what it wanted, thanks to the intransigence of the Russian side. As a result, as Oldenburg noted, “Russia remained a great power in Asia.”
That is, in the status that our country confirmed following the Second World War and is now returning to itself, including in alliance with China, which does not forget about the Japanese aggressors.
#1
The consequences of this expansion had to be "cleaned up" already during the Second World War, when Japan was jointly stopped by China and our country.
C'mon on. I thought we talked about this yesterday. Try to keep up, Smirnov.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
09/06/2025 12:24 Comments ||
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[Townhall] Every week, President Trump is putting America first on the world stage, cutting tougher trade deals, squeezing NATO freeloaders, and making sure foreign governments finally pay their bills. Now Congress is stepping up to back him.
Right before the August recess, lawmakers tucked language into an appropriations bill blasting foreign governments that have been stiffing U.S. businesses and taxpayers. Now that they’re back, they’re ready to turn up the heat.
At the top of the list? Kuwait.
When most Americans think of Kuwait, they appropriately think of the small country where the U.S. Military spent treasure and blood to protect and liberate from an invading despot. However, for many American businesses, Kuwait has become an "investor beware" place to do business. During COVID, the Kuwaiti government ran up $677 million in unpaid medical bills at American hospitals by sending its citizens to the U.S. for treatment—and then dragging its feet on paying up. Hospitals only saw the money after banding together with the backing of Congress to pressure Kuwait into coughing it up. To this day, Kuwait allegedly owes American firms for unpaid bills related to the construction of the Al-Zour refinery, one of the biggest in the Middle East, among other outstanding debts.
Kuwait isn’t alone. Also mentioned in Congress’ report is Honduras, which still owes $215 million for infrastructure projects, part of a whopping $20 billion in total claims. Corruption and lawlessness are so bad in Honduras now that the U.S. International Trade Administration openly warns American companies that doing business there is like walking into a rigged game.
This is hardly unique to Honduras or Kuwait. American investors, contractors, and even small businesses often run up against foreign corruption. From Venezuela expropriating U.S. oil infrastructure to China stealing U.S. intellectual property, the world too often skims off America’s top. However, when American "allies" like Kuwait or Honduras take advantage of American businesses, it is even more egregious. These are countries American taxpayers provide generous sums in assistance and even military protection.
Mexico is another big offender that’s currently in the legislative branch’s crosshairs.
State-run Pemex is the most indebted oil company in the world, sitting on $101 billion in red ink. American contractors alone are owed at least $1.2 billion. Even Mexico’s water bill is overdue—under a 1944 treaty, it owes the U.S. 1.14 million acre-feet of water, leaving South Texas farmers high and dry. The company did recently turn over a small fraction of the water after President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio applied pressure but the country’s water debt remains a serious problem that contributed to a recent drought in South Texas that’s affected millions of Americans.
The good news: the House appropriations bill for the State Department makes clear that this treatment of American businesses and interests should not be tolerated any longer. But Congress shouldn’t stop there. Lawmakers should continue to use their oversight and power of the purse to press foreign governments, particularly our "friends," to pay their bills and treat American interests fairly.
And the message shouldn’t stop with Kuwait. For too long, countries from Latin America to the Middle East to Asia have treated U.S. companies like piggy banks they never have to repay. That ends now.
President Trump campaigned on putting America first, and Congress is giving him backup. It’s time to tell the world: if you do business with the United States, you pay your debts. Period.
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09/06/2025 00:00 ||
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Can someone explain the point of sailing to Gaza when every charity in the world coordinates with Israel to deliver aid? @GretaThunberg your luxury cruise is pure virtue signaling, disgusting and immoral. You’re not saving Gaza, you’re just saving your relevance. pic.twitter.com/t0vnUFKZaB
[Jerusalem Post] A new scientific study has shed fresh light on one of Europe’s most important human fossils, the Petralona cranium, discovered in a cave in northern Greece more than six decades ago. Long the subject of debate, the fossil’s true age has now been pinned down with unprecedented precision, offering crucial insights into human evolution.
Researchers from France, China, the UK, and Greece used advanced uranium-series dating techniques to analyze calcite that had formed directly on the skull. Their findings, published in the Journal of Human Evolution, reveal that the Petralona cranium is at least 286,000 years old, placing it firmly in the Middle Pleistocene era. Earlier attempts at dating had produced wildly conflicting results, ranging from 170,000 to nearly 700,000 years.
“This fossil has always been central to discussions of European prehistory,” said lead author Christophe Falguères of the Institut de Paléontologie Humaine in Paris. “For the first time, we have a reliable minimum age that allows us to place Petralona in its proper evolutionary context.”
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Jerusalem Post] A new scientific study has shed fresh light on one of Europe’s most important human fossils, the Petralona cranium, discovered in a cave in northern Greece more than six decades ago. Long the subject of debate, the fossil’s true age has now been pinned down with unprecedented precision, offering crucial insights into human evolution.
