Theresa May Gets Cracking

July 18th, 2016

David Cameron was in a no-win situation after the Brexit vote, but new PM Theresa May is a probably in a no-lose situation. If Brexit is successful, she gets to take the credit. If it fails, she can point out she was a Euroskeptic carrying out the public’s will against her own wishes.

May has named chief Tory Pro-Leave campaigner Boris Johnson as her foreign minister. Michael Gove stabbing Johnson in the back for his own chance at the Downing Street probably doomed Gove’s bid but made Johnson (who the London establishment hates) a more sympathetic figure. May naming him foreign minister not only pleases the Leave faction, it also works as a case of “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

(More of May’s ministerial appointments can be found here, but I’m not even going to pretend I recognize all these names.)

May had already made the laudable decision to to close the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change. (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)

Brexit now has an official deadline of December 2018. It appears that everything is over but the shouting long, draw-out, painful EU negotiations.

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My Thoughts on a Trump-Pence Ticket

July 17th, 2016

With the Turkish coup news, I didn’t have time to post my reactions to Donald Trump tapping Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate.

Here they are:

And this is weirdly apropos:

Trump could have made a lot worse choices, and a lot better choices. This was a safe, non-controversial choice rather than a swing-for-the-fences choice, and I doubt it moves the needle at all.

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An Alternate Conspiracy Theory About the Turkish Coup

July 16th, 2016

The Turkish coup appears to have collapsed almost as quickly as it began, with government forces backing Turkish President (and Islamist scumbag) Tayyip Erdogan in the process of mopping up the last coup forces.

There’s a conspiracy theory floating around that Erdogan staged the coup for his own benefit so he could consolidate his grip on power. This I don’t believe, because the sort of effort required to carry this off (multiple military movements in both Ankara and Istanbul, control of tanks, helicopter and fighter aircraft units, coordination of seizing bridges, airports, TV stations, etc.), plus the significant amount of bloodshed involved, all strongly suggest that it wasn’t staged.

However, the speed with which is was carried out, and the even more rapid way in which it collapsed, suggests a more plausible conspiracy theory: It was a real coup carried out by elements of the Turkish military, but one that was compromised almost from the beginning from Erdogan sympathizers. Erdogan let the coup happen so he could consolidate his grip on power in the aftermath, which is precisely what happened, with purges of the military and judiciary (which doesn’t seem to have had anything to do with the coup).

Some puzzles:

  • Why bomb the parliament building, a target of no military significance with great negative connotations? (See also: Reichstag fire.)
  • How did the military censor FaceBook, Twitter, and YouTube? I can’t imagine that there’s a giant switch in Ankara that says “Censor Social Media.” That’s more a National Intelligence (MIT) function, and presumably Erdogan has a had a chance to install his own people there. So how would the coup plotters infiltrate that, or the telecoms?
  • For that matter, who are the coup plotters? Except for the Emmanuel Goldstein-like character of Fethullah Gulen (who condemned the coup), none have been named. (Supposedly seven have escaped to Greece, AKA Turkey’s traditional enemy. How convenient.)
  • Why was there evidently no attempt made to kill Erdogen? If you have even partial control of the air force (which the coup apparently did), why not shoot him down as he’s flying back? Taking out the head of state is one of the biggest goals of a successful coup, and it doesn’t even seem to have been attempted here.

    • It’s entirely possibly that the failed coup is just what it appeared to be as it unraveled: an attempt by a faction of the military that fell just short of seizing control which was underdone by Erdogan’s remaining popularity among the general populace. But there are still a lot of unanswered questions…

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    Posted in Global Warming, Jihad, Military | 1 Comment »

    Turkish Coup Over? Coup Forces on Bosphorus Bridge Surrender

    July 15th, 2016

    After lots of government claims they were winning against the coup, we now have some hard evidence of pro-coup forces surrendering on the Bosphorus bridge in Istanbul, as shown in this video:

    While the situation in Ankara may very well be different, this is pretty direct evidence that government forces are winning and that the coup has failed in Istanbul.

    Strange that we still haven’t heard anything about who the plotters were, except Erdogan’s assertion that Fethullah Gulen is involved, something Gulen himself (who denounced the coup) has strongly denied…

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    Turkish Coup Updates

    July 15th, 2016

    Random things I’m hearing:

  • Erdogan landed at Ataturk airport in Istanbul, gave a speech, then left again.
  • Large explosions in Ankara.
  • Rumblings that the coup is doomed, but all unsourced.
  • More reports of anti-coup forces engaging coup forces…but all seem to be coming from gocernment sources.
  • Erdogan says coup attempt over…then again, he would.
  • Lots of conspiracy theories that Erdogan launched his own false flag operation to further consolidate power. Like just about all conspiracy theories, it’s unlikely and way too pat. Though bombing the Parliament building did seem a rather heavy-handed “Reichstag fire” moment…

    • Things seem very chaotic…

    Not-so-random links:

  • “Erdogan Has Nobody to Blame for the Coup But Himself”
  • Walter Russell mead liveblog. Seems to think coup may have failed, but fighting continues.
  • Turkey’s opposition parties take unified stance against coup attempt.

    • Not-so-random tweets:

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    Your Obligatory Coup in Turkey Post (With Video)

    July 15th, 2016

    So the Coup in Turkey went from attempted coup to deposed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan being refused landing in Germany in about three hours flat. Nothing says “powerless” quote like issuing calls for resistance on Facetime.

    FaceBook, Twitter, and YouTube are evidently all blocked in Turkey right now.

    The military regime is at least making noises about protecting human rights and the constitutional state, which is a good sign.

    The army already controls the TV stations and bridges, shut down the airport, successfully disarmed police in Istanbul, and are doing low “fuck you, we’re in charge” plane and helicopter passes over Ankara. I’d say it’s probably all over but the shouting and moping up token resistance from Erdogan’s Islamist AKP party, despite Erdogan’s spokesmen claiming that the coup attempt has been “repelled.”

    This is not the first coup in Turkey’s history; indeed, historically they’ve played the roll as a check and balance to Islamic fundamentalism and maintaining Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s vision of a secular Turkish state. Unlike the rest of the Middle East, after a few months or years, the Turkish military relinquishes control back to a (secular) government.

    Erdogan tried to prevent this through repeated purges of the military. It appears that he failed.

    Meanwhile, Obama continues his amazing streak of backing losers.

    The scene there seems a bit chaotic, with intermittent small arms fire:

    If this video is any indication, people out on the streets seem more festive than resistant:

    Video of Turkish tanks (I’m guessing Leopard 2s, the most modern tanks in Turkey’s armed forces) rolling in the streets:

    Here, on the other hand, we see (I think) an M-60 Patton tank just tell protestors “Fuck you and fuck your car” while they beat at it ineffectually with (I kid you not) long sticks (and later an APC does the same thing):

    This “death from above” video is getting a lot of play on YouTube. The title says this is an AH-1 Helicopter attacking a police station, which makes more sense than it being an F-16 (as labeled in other copies of the video):

    Maybe updates as they occur….

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    LinkSwarm for July 15, 2016

    July 15th, 2016

    Enjoy a Friday LinkSwarm, including some recent big stories:

  • Truck plows into Bastille Day celebration in Nice, France, killing at least 84, including a father and his 10 year old son from Lakeway.
  • The murderer is evidently a Muslim from Tunisia. And his name is evidently Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel. Try to contain your shock.
  • The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague rules against China in the South China Seas dispute. Whether China heeds the ruling is another question…
  • Another day, another Democratic congresscritter indicted. “Corrine Brown, the House rep from the 5th District of Florida, was indicted (along with Ronnie Simmons, her chief of staff) on federal charges of mail and wire fraud.”
  • Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are neck and neck in swing states.
  • “The U.S. State Department funneled tax dollars to a group that worked to oust Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a Senate report released Tuesday.”
  • Another ObamaCare exchange shuts down, this time in Illinois.
  • And six of the seven remaining exchanges are in trouble.
  • Philadelphia airport workers to go on strike during the Democratic National Convention.
  • Houston City Councilman calls for segregation in police shifts. Next up: Their own drinking fountains… (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
  • Previously deported illegal alien sentenced to life in prison for murder in Laredo.
  • Following in the footsteps of Annise Parker, Austin City Council wants to silence opponents who speak out on politics.
  • The left’s war on police. (Hat tip: Ed Driscoll at Instapundit.)
  • El Paso police chief Greg Allen calls Black Lives Matter “a radical hate group.”
  • University of Texas to return athletic ticket sales to a group previously proven to be corrupt.
  • Ghostbusters reboot toys already on clearance before the movie’s opening.
  • Strippers, arson and a potato. (Hat tip: Dwight.)
  • Understatement of the Year Award:

    An inspection of the truck’s cargo revealed 169 bundles of marijuana with an estimated weight of 3,996 lbs. were on board.

    The estimated street value of the marijuana is between $1.6 million and $1.9 million. Perez was charged with Trafficking Marijuana in the Superior Court of DeKalb County, Georgia.

    Doraville Police say they are “pretty confident this would exceed personal use.”

    (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.

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    Man Who SWATed RSMcCain Sentenced To Prison

    July 14th, 2016

    Sometimes the good guys win one:

    Mir Islam, 22, of New York, N.Y., was sentenced today to 24 months in prison on three federal charges stemming from a conspiracy to commit various crimes related to the “swatting” and “doxing” of dozens of victims, and from a false bomb threat made against a university in Arizona and a pattern of online harassment constituting cyber-stalking against a university student, all occurring between February and September 2013.

    Mr. Islam and his (thus far unindicted) co-conspirators seemed to target people who wrote about convicted felon Brett Kimberlin.

    Robert Stacy McCain also links to computer security expert Brian Krebs, who goes into more detail on the trial and how Islam et. al. obtained information about their victims.

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    Mike Rowe: “Never Follow Your Passion”

    July 14th, 2016

    Saw this on Ace of Spades HQ a while back, and thought it would make a great space-filler on a day when I was too busy to write something.

    Guess what? That day is today!

    “Just because you’re passionate about something doesn’t mean you won’t suck at it.”

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    This Week in Clinton Corruption for July 13, 2016

    July 13th, 2016

    There’s so much Clinton Corruption news dropping I haven’t had time to sift through it all.

    Take, for example, this 90 page document, evidently compiled by the 4Chan folks from publicly available sources. I’ve only started go through this. (A lot of it looks like unsourced speculation from the Chan Clan, so caveat lector.)

    In other Clinton Corruption news:

  • Christ, is there any Fortune 500 company that didn’t give money to the Clinton Foundation? (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
  • That’s one big reason Wall Street types are skipping the Republican convention. Why be seen with Trump when Hillary is already in their pocket?
  • The 4Chan drop also made me aware of this Clinton Foundation investigation page. Another thing to look through when I have a little more time.
  • What would happen to Clinton if she had broken information secrecy rules while in the military. “To say that Hillary Clinton is unfit to be commander-in-chief is to give her too much credit. It implies that she might be fit for other positions of responsibility. She’s not fit to be POTUS, and she’s not fit to be a private. It’s time for her to slink back to her foundation, make her speeches, and retire to private life.”
  • Hillary loves the Trans-Pacific Partnership, no matter what she’s said on the campaign trail recently. (Hat tip: Zero Hedge.)
  • Maybe that’s why the State Department is tryng to block release of Clinton’s TTP emails until after the election. (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
  • Will Hillary be required to pulling out all the stops to prevent that.
  • Is the Clinton Foundation shoe finally about to drop? (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
  • Slashdot is hardly a hotbed of conservative thought, but look at this thread on Clinton’s statement on H1B visas. All the highest rated comments are how people are fed up with Hillary’s obvious lies and how they won’t be voting for her.
  • Bernie Sanders fans melt down after he endorses Clinton. (Hat tip: Instapundit.)

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