Politics

[Hunt anything]

Some fish and crustaceans graze....just saying

Yea, but most of the fish we eat out of the Gulf of Mexico are apex type predators. Some like the mullet are shit eaters but taste good fried or smoked and the crabs and shrimp eat damned near anything even pulled some 10-12 count shrimp out of a body one time.

 

[spike.t]

Yea, but most of the fish we eat out of the Gulf of Mexico are apex type predators. Some like the mullet are shit eaters but taste good fried or smoked and the crabs and shrimp eat damned near anything even pulled some 10-12 count shrimp out of a body one time.

Yup

 

[NE 7x57]

Wars that are easily prevented or stopped are needless. My definition. Your may vary.............FWB

Obviously the war in Ukraine was preventable, Putin could have kept his army at home, but he didn't. Once he made that decision war was no longer preventable and Ukraine was forced to fight or die.

 

[spike.t]

But then again I support Ukraine..Israel..Myanmar rebels taiwan etc etc....so am obviously a psychopath.....

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For people that don't know where the Kent beaches are...South East Coast of England.....

 

[jpr9954]

But then again I support Ukraine..Israel..Myanmar rebels taiwan etc etc....so am obviously a psychopath.....

View attachment 571927

Imagine if Texans lined the banks of the Rio Grande like that.

 

[John Wasmuth]

Henry Kissinger passed away today. RIP.

 

[jpr9954]

Henry Kissinger passed away today. RIP.

I didn’t always agree with his policies but we will never have a Sec of State like him again.

 

[Brent in Az]

 

[John Wasmuth]

Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Conner passed away today. RIP

 

[Red Leg]

This has likely caused Jake Sullivan to soil his panties.

Apparently Ukrainian SOF teams managed to blow up two trains carrying fuel on the primary Russia to China rail lines over the last two nights. The first was inside the long Severomyuski rail tunnel, and the second while a train was crossing a long trestle bridge on a route that could serve as a bypass line for the tunnel route. Both locations are in eastern Russia thousands of kilometers from Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1730596415712219144

Ukraine conducts new attack on Russian railway deep in Siberia - source

Ukraine's domestic spy agency has detonated explosives on a Russian railway line deep in Siberia, the second attack this week on military supply routes in the area, a Ukrainian source told Reuters on Friday.

www.reuters.com

 

[fourfive8]

I just noticed that the Philippines is beefing up one of their "observation" outposts on an atoll in the outer Spratlys in the South China Sea. Don't blame them as it is at their back door and is, in fact, one of the key strategic zones of SE Asia. A fact that apparently the idiots pair, Blinken/Brandon, don't acknowledge or even recognize... as they are too busy playing footsie with Xi Ji or salivating about the future voters they are ushering in on our southern border.

 

[Red Leg]

I just noticed that the Philippines is beefing up one of their "observation" outposts on an atoll in the outer Spratlys in the South China Sea. Don't blame them as it is at their back door and is, in fact, one of the key strategic zones of SE Asia. A fact that apparently the idiots pair, Blinken/Brandon, don't acknowledge or even recognize... as they are too busy playing footsie with Xi Ji or salivating about the future voters they are ushering in on our southern border.

U.S. Navy Destroyer Conducts Freedom of Navigation Operation in the South China Sea

On November 25, USS Hopper (DDG 70) asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands, consistent with international law. At the conclusion of the operation,

www.cpf.navy.mil

 

[fourfive8]

So a US destroyer cruises around the Parcel Islands of the South China Sea as various attachments of the 7th Fleet always have, since WW2 I guess. That "news" is released to the press by the Navy (Brandon admin) for public consumption and is supposed to impress the CCP or anyone else?

 

[Red Leg]

So a destroyer cruises around the South China Sea as various attachments of the 7th Fleet always have, since WW2 I guess, and that is supposed to impress the CCP or anyone else?

It would at least make me look foolish, if I had been declaring the area territorial waters. After all, that destroyer just proved not only that they weren't, but that China didn't dare do anything about it. But I am interested in any alternatives. From a military perspective, what exactly should the US do differently in the South China Sea?

 

[Wheels]

China's financial markets are shaky and their economy depends on being able to export to America. If China makes a move on Taiwan, their potential downside is much greater than Americas. That's not to say that Xi won't try to drum up national sentiment if the economy starts falling apart and he finds himself in political hot water. A periodic show of force by America is always a good thing.

 

[Red Leg]

China's financial markets are shaky and their economy depends on being able to export to America. If China makes a move on Taiwan, their potential downside is much greater than Americas. That's not to say that Xi won't try to drum up national sentiment if the economy starts falling apart and he finds himself in political hot water. A periodic show of force by America is always a good thing.

A destroyer is a good choice for these missions. Were a local commander to go rogue and launch an attack, the odds are pretty good an Aegis missile destroyer could defeat it. On the other hand, should China make the strategic decision to go to war with the US over its South China Sea claims and launched an overwhelming attack we would not be losing a significant portion of our retaliatory capability as we would if the at risk vessel were an aircraft carrier or even an Aegis cruiser.

 

[Doug3006]

It’s really hard to come up with a scenario where China prevails in a shooting war with the U.S. Their Navy possesses a lot of vessels, but has limited range. Our submarines may be more valuable than our aircraft carriers, which China has focused most of its military investments to counteract. A submarine blockade of China’s ports would pretty much tank China‘s economy in a few months if not weeks. China‘s invasion of Taiwan would come at a high cost in men and capital equipment. But it would not be an existential threat to America. A US naval blockade of China would be cheap compared to the daunting task of China taking Taiwan, and would absolutely threaten China with economic collapse and an attendant famine.

Which means China will probably pick a fight with us! They have a history of choosing the worst possible option.

 

[wesheltonj]

Even if you were to cut off all trade with China, you would be still trading with China. They are everywhere in Southeast Asia - Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam.

 

[Doug3006]

I’m sure they have their fingers in a lot of pies. But shut down their main ports, and they lose most of their GDP. There’s no surviving that, even with the remaining trade from their satellites.

 

[Wheels]

It seems the US Navy could shut fuel supply off to China pretty easily. If it came to a war in the South China Sea, transportation on the mainland would come to a standstill as soon as reserves ran out.