Author: adler

A month of increased tensions between the United States and China continues to grow hotter after a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel was temporarily blinded by a “military-grade laser” emitting from a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel in the South China Sea.
The PCG believe that the move by the Chinese ship was intentionally done in order to prevent them from transporting supplies to Filipino soldiers in the area. According to a statement from Philippine military, the Chinese should not attempt such a “provocative act” again.
“The Chinese ship illuminated the green laser light twice toward the BRP Malapascua, causing temporary blindness to her crew at the bridge,” read the statement. “The Chinese vessel also made dangerous [maneuvers] by approaching about 150 yards from the vessel’s starboard quarter.” 
According to Vice News, it is not certain whether the PCG resupply mission was completed or not.
“The deliberate blocking of the Philippine government ships to deliver food and supplies to our military personnel… is a blatant disregard for, and a clear violation of, Philippine sovereign rights in this part of the West Philippine Sea.” 
The South China Sea has been officially renamed the West Philippine Sea by the Philippines since 2012, as their way of establishing sovereign rights over the waters.

Philippine Coast Guard blames China for pointing laser at ship
In addition, the Chinese ship made “dangerous maneuvers,” Manila said in a statement. pic.twitter.com/C2J1WXwOQJ
— BenarNews Philippines (@BenarNewsPH) February 13, 2023

RELATED: Mystery Solved? Astronomers Say Wall of Green Lasers Beaming Over Hawaii Could be From a Chinese Satellite
Continued Provocation
Jose Antonio Custodio, a Filipino military historian and fellow at the Consortium of Indo-Pacific Researchers, said in an interview with VICE World News that this blatant transgression is nothing new from the Chinese.
“I would look at this as one part of the long list of bullying that the Chinese have done to the Philippines in order to indimidate the Philippine government and make it think twice in pursuing its legal rights that China has illegally seized from it,” said Custodio. 
“It’s not going to lead to a war, but it’s part of China’s aggressive acts.”
China’s Foreign Ministry responded in regards to the incident, stating that they “urge the Philippines to avoid such actions, and the actions of China’s staff are professional and restrained.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price spoke on the incident, calling out China’s actions towards the PCG vessel as “provocative and unsafe,” adding that it treaded on the Philippines’ “lawful operations.”
“More broadly, the PRC’s dangerous operational behavior directly threatens regional peace and stability, infringes upon freedom of navigation in the South China Sea as guaranteed under international law, and undermines the rules-based international order.”
Price continued, saying “The United States stands with our Philippine allies in upholding the rules-based international maritime order and reaffirmed an armed attack on the Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft, including those of the Coast Guard in the South China Sea, would invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments.”

Suspected Chinese “environment monitoring satellite” beams green laser from space over Hawaii. pic.twitter.com/VlQcdpzXTp
— JMs_Ultra_LaserEngraving (@Josh714754) February 9, 2023

RELATED: Comedian Tom Green Goes Viral With UFO Distraction Theory Mentioning Epstein, Ohio Train Derailment
Balloons, Lasers, and Now Potentially WWIII
The past month has been full of situations that have forced many in Washington to consider whether we are on a direct path to a force-on-force conflict with China.
Earlier in the month, the Chinese spy balloon captured the attention of the world as it was allowed by the Biden administration to traverse the United States until it was shot down in the Atlantic Ocean after passing through North Carolina. While the Chinese have stated that it was a simple weather balloon that travelled off course, the Department of Defense has stated that it had sophisticated surveillance technology and the ability to maneuver in air. 
Additionally, the White House confirmed that the spy balloon flew over sensitive military installations in order to directly collect information.
To make matters more suspicious, NASA scientists confirmed that a Chinese satellite had also emitted giant green beams over the Hawaiian islands several weeks ago, which were caught on camera. While some experts claim that it was harmless and that this specific satellite was simply collecting information regarding airborne pollutants, the timing, location, and scale of the lasers have alarmed many.
As many pundits and commentators wonder whether or not all of this establishes a cold war with China, a recent interview by The Political Insider with national security expert Kelley Vlahos from the Quincy Institute indicates that if tensions get any hotter, we could be facing a war no side would benefit from engaging in.
“They would be a much bigger threat,” Vlahos warned. “And all of the war gaming that’s been done here in Washington, setting up scenarios between the U.S. and China over Taiwan, we lose big time.”

Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”

The post US Sends Warning to China After Philippines Coast Guard Vessel is Blinded by ‘Military-Grade’ Lasers appeared first on The Political Insider.

Senator Dianne Feinstein of California announced her retirement Tuesday, but the 89-year-old Democrat seemed unaware she had done so just hours later.
Feinstein issued a statement mid-afternoon indicating she would not seek re-election in 2024.
“I am announcing today I will not run for reelection in 2024 but intend to accomplish as much for California as I can through the end of next year when my term ends,” the statement reads.
“Each of us was sent here to solve problems. That’s what I’ve done for the last 30 years, and that’s what I plan to do for the next two years,” she added. “My thanks to the people of California for allowing me to serve them.”
Seems rather definitive, right?

I am announcing today I will not run for reelection in 2024 but intend to accomplish as much for California as I can through the end of next year when my term ends. Even with a divided Congress, we can still pass bills that will improve lives.
— Senator Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) February 14, 2023

RELATED: Feinstein Says China A ‘Respectable Nation’ That Has Lifted Millions Out Of Poverty
Dianne Feinstein Seems Unaware That She Announced Retirement Just Hours Earlier
Feinstein, who has served as the United States senator from California since 1992, is the longest-serving female senator ever and is currently the oldest in office. 
And it sometimes shows.
Hours after issuing a statement announcing her retirement, Feinstein seemed unaware that she had done so in speaking with reporters.
When questioned about it she replied, according to a National Journal reporter, “I haven’t made that decision. I haven’t released anything.”
“We put out the statement,” a staffer advised.
“You put out the statement?” Feinstein replied. “I should have known they put it out.”

Feinstein on her retirement: “I haven’t made that decision. I haven’t released anything.”
Staffer: “We put out the statement.”
Feinstein: “You put out the statement? I didn’t know they put it out.”
— Savannah Behrmann (@SavBehrmannDC) February 14, 2023

Raw Story reports that she was also blissfully unaware of her retirement in an interview they conducted with her an hour afterward.
“Oh, no, I’m not announcing anything. I will one day,” she told the outlet.
Feinstein willbe 91 years old in 2024.
RELATED: Senator Marsha Blackburn Calls For ‘Term Limits For Bureaucrats’
Should She Retire Now?
While it is certainly possible her staff didn’t update her on the retirement statement being published before speaking with reporters, Dianne Feinstein has long been a good example for those arguing in favor of congressional term limits.
The San Francisco Chronicle this past April reported that her Senate colleagues anonymously blasted her as not being mentally competent enough to do her job as a lawmaker.
Retiring in 2024 means she will be in office for another two full years. Two years and her own colleagues thought she was unfit almost a year ago!

San Francisco Chronicle: Colleagues worry Dianne Feinstein is now mentally unfit to serve, citing recent interactions
One lawmaker “had to reintroduce themselves to Feinstein multiple times during an interaction that lasted several hours,” per report. https://t.co/SQpTF8YXgF
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) April 14, 2022

Feinstein, according to a report by the New Yorker in 2020, had been “seriously struggling” with cognitive decline back then.
The report outlined how she “often forgets she has been briefed on a topic, accusing her staff of failing to do so just after they have.”
Here she is repeating the same question at a Congressional hearing twice, word-for-word.

In the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, Feinstein praised China as a “respectable nation” and said allowing Americans to sue the communist nation over the coronavirus would be a “huge mistake.”
Why? Because they’ve lifted “millions of people out of poverty.”

According to Senator Dianne Feinstein, China is “a country growing into a respectable nation,” and holding them accountable for unleashing a global pandemic would be a “huge mistake.”
According to us, Communist China is the new Evil Empire. pic.twitter.com/NUdvO4Lj5f
— YAF (@yaf) July 31, 2020

Representatives Adam Schiff and Katie Porter have announced they will be running for Feinstein’s seat in 2024.

Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”

The post Senator Dianne Feinstein Announces Retirement, Then Seems Unaware She Did appeared first on The Political Insider.

By Casey Harper (The Center Square)
The federal government released its latest inflation data Tuesday, drawing fresh fire for President Joe Biden as the cost of living continues to rise.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Consumer Price Index showing a 0.5% increase in January, part of a 6.4% increase over the last year. This was a larger increase than in December, when prices rose only 0.1%.
Notably, shelter, food and gas costs have risen significantly.
“The index for shelter was by far the largest contributor to the monthly all items increase, accounting for nearly half of the monthly all items increase, with the indexes for food, gasoline, and natural gas also contributing,” BLS said.
Shelter costs rose 0.7% in January and 7.9% in the last year, according to BLS.
Prices have now gone up 14.4% since President Biden took office.
“This past month saw across-the-board increases in shelter, food, and energy costs,” said Sen. Katie Boyd Britt, R-Ala. “Alabama families, retirees, and small businesses are being crushed at every turn.”
The energy index rose 2% in January with a 2.4% increase in gasoline.
Related: Americans’ Personal Finances Worst Since The Great Recession
As The Center Square previously reported, food and energy costs have risen faster than the overall trends, with food costs increasing 10.1% in the last year and energy costs rising 8.7%.
Food costs rose 0.5% in January. Democrats and some experts argue inflation is cooling, pointing out that these increases are smaller than the higher spikes  when inflation growth was at its peak earlier in the Biden administration.
“Democrats continue to assert that inflation under Biden is going down,” said Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo. “Do they understand that Americans don’t get the thousands of dollars back that they spent as a result of their peak 9% inflation? Americans are financially worse off under Biden.”
Biden pointed to the 6.4% annual increase, which has dropped significantly from last year.
“Today’s data shows annual inflation falling for seven months, real wages for working Americans up over that time, and food and gas prices down – getting breathing room to families,” Biden said. “All while unemployment stayed at its lowest level since 1969 and job growth remained resilient.”
As the need for a debt ceiling deal grows, Republicans point to the latest inflation increase as a reason to cut down on federal spending.
“House Republicans’ first step to fighting inflation is to put a stop to the wasteful Washington spending that has robbed workers of two months’ pay and jeopardized America’s long-term fiscal health,” said Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo. “With the ongoing negotiations over the debt ceiling, President Biden and congressional Democrats have an opportunity to come to the table and work with Republicans to find common-sense solutions to root out wasteful spending that is fueling inflation.”
Related: Poll: 60% Of Americans Say Biden ‘Hasn’t Accomplished Very Much’
The Federal Reserve is expected to continue raising rates this year to combat higher prices.
“Markets were warned that the inflation report could indicate that still higher rent prices, coupled with gasoline prices that had edged higher last month would underscore the Fed’s message that more work was needed to tackle inflation,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial. “The futures market understood the Fed’s message and added another rate hike for 2023, with March and May Fed meetings announcing rate hikes.”
Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.
The post Biden Takes Fire As Food, Shelter, Gas Get More Expensive appeared first on The Political Insider.

By Charles Lipson for RealClearWire
Kamala Harris is a living embodiment of the Peter Principle, where people keep getting promoted until they reach jobs for which they are clearly unqualified. More and more Americans think that describes our current vice president.
Harris is deeply unpopular with independents, who are essential for electoral success (fewer than one in three voters view her favorably), and she is losing popularity among Democratic Party leaders. They see her ineptitude, listen to her word salads, and watch the polls with dismay. The latest evidence of Harris’ fading position is a sharply critical article in the New York Times, of all places, filled with anonymous disapproval from senior Democrats, many of whom once supported her. Now, they are worried.
Their fear is that although she’d be a drag on the 2024 party ticket, she’s almost impossible to drop. To win, Democrats need enthusiastic support from African Americans, who are likely to be insulted if Harris is dumped. That problem might be averted if she were replaced by another African American. But there are no obvious alternatives. If Harris is replaced, it would likely be by a white or Hispanic candidate.
Such a change would roil a party deeply invested in the politics of racial and ethnic identity, where losing groups are seen as aggrieved victims, winners as “privileged” oppressors. Those divisions are most virulent when they center on America’s historic wound of race, and they would be turned inward on the party.
Related: Biden Complained That Kamala Harris Is a ‘Work in Progress’
Normally, voters don’t care much about the vice presidential nominee, even when they aren’t wild about the choices, as we learned in 1988 when George H.W. Bush chose Dan Quayle and again two decades later with John McCain’s surprise selection of Sarah Palin. But 2024 is likely to be different if Biden runs again. He is already the oldest person to sit in the Oval Office, and he is showing his age. Although gaffes have plagued Biden throughout his career, they have grown worse in recent years. There’s a reason he refuses to hold press conferences.
Voters are not blind to this quandary inside the White House. It’s a reasonable inference that a man who would turn 86 during a second term in the Oval Office might not be able to finish the job. His vice president would be forced to step in. Polls show voters are not thrilled with the prospect of Kamala Harris doing that.
What’s the evidence voters are unhappy with Harris? The best evidence comes from the last two campaigns, as well as recent public opinion surveys. When Harris ran for president in 2000, she had to drop out before the first primary votes were cast. Despite a glamorous roll-out that included national magazine covers and glowing endorsements, her polling stood at less than 1% in the Democratic primary field. That failure is stunning because her résumé checked all the boxes Democrats love: She was a progressive, a woman, a racial minority (black and Asian), and a senator from a deep blue state, who could raise big money from wealthy California donors. But checking all those boxes wasn’t enough after primary voters got a closer look.
The 2022 mid-terms exposed Harris’ flaws yet again. Normally, the White House dispatches the veep to crisscross the country, appearing with candidates eager to be seen with such a prominent national figure. Not this time. Although candidates wanted her help in raising money, they wanted it behind closed doors. No joint public appearances, please.
Harris was also damaged politically when she was saddled with the informal title of “border czar.” Joe Biden gave her that thankless task. It was his decisions, not hers, that opened the border to record numbers of illegal immigrants, deadly drugs, and Mexican cartels. But Vice President Harris and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have become the public faces of that failed policy. They compounded the problem by denying the obvious. Time after time, they declared our southern border is closed and secure. No one believes them, and for good reason. Not only have illegal border crossings reached record highs, the administration has no solutions.
These cumulating problems have eroded Harris’ popularity. It was over 50% when she and Biden took office. Now, more than half the adults surveyed view her unfavorably, including some 40% who view her “very unfavorably.” The flip side of the ledger is no better. Only 14% say they have “very favorable” views; another 22% are “somewhat favorable.” These bleak numbers are even worse than Biden’s and make her one of the least popular vice presidents in recent history. They also explain why, if Biden runs again, only 39% want her as his running mate.
Harris’ unpopularity is not limited to one or two groups. The latest Quinnipiac Poll shows she is substantially underwater with all demographic groups except one. Among blacks, 62% of registered voters view Harris favorably; only 17% unfavorably.
This racial divergence is the crux of the Democrats’ predicament.
Related: GOP Senators Shocked Over Meeting Where Biden Snapped, Dismissed Kamala Harris
Would this dilemma disappear if Biden chose not to run? Not necessarily. In an open contest for the nomination, Kamala could well lose to another prominent Democrat, such as Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Gov. Gavin Newsom, or Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. If Harris lost after sharp attacks and primary voting split along racial lines, the outcome could pose a problem for Democrats in the general election.
Those troubles would be dwarfed, however, if Harris actually won the nomination and faced a stronger Republican candidate than Donald Trump, without his trainload of baggage.
If Biden does run again, he’s probably stuck with Harris. Democrats have painted themselves into this corner. For decades, they have mobilized voters with identity politics. They have highlighted group differences and amplified their grievances. As Joe Biden once told a black audience, they “want to put y’all back in chains.” Now, that rabid dogma threatens to bite its owner.
Syndicated with permission from RealClearWire.
The post Can Democrats Solve Their ‘Kamala Harris Problem’? appeared first on The Political Insider.

While most of the world seems entranced by the recent unprecedented and historic air strikes over North American soil of unidentified flying objects, the war in Ukraine continues to rage on. Plenty wonder if these floating mysteries are a mere distraction orchestrated to take our eyes off the ball – or should I say, keep our eyes on the skies and away from the mounting conflict in eastern Europe.
No doubt these mysterious objects that have followed the Chinese spy balloon into our territory have some thinking about alien invasion and others speculating on whether these UFOs are just evidence that our near-peer adversaries are upping their passive aggression. One thing is for sure, we are most definitely neck deep in a new Cold War, and Ukraine is at the center.
Can the West continue to support Ukraine in its effort to beat back the Russian aggressor, and to what price are we willing to pay? The NATO Secretary General warns that we may reach the bottom of the weaponry barrel as the war continues.

“It’s urgent to provide Ukraine with more weapons.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged Ukraine’s Western allies to ramp up their military support https://t.co/w3QVaw5j99 pic.twitter.com/0TfL6UyC3S
— Bloomberg (@business) February 13, 2023

RELATED: Why Russia Will Ultimately Win in Ukraine
Supply Chain Woes
While we were all looking to the skies this week, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was busy looking at ammunition supplies.
“The war in Ukraine is consuming an enormous amount of munitions and depleting allied-stockpiles,” Secretary Stoltenberg warned this week.
Singing a tune familiar to us in the United States, he continued, “The current rate of Ukraine’s ammunition expenditure is many times higher than our current rate of production.” Understandably, as it has strained our military-industrial complex, western European countries also feel that strain.
For example, France has sent an additional 12 on top of the original 18 Caesar truck-mounted 155 mm howitzers of its already small inventory of 76. Some smaller western European countries are entirely depleted, such as Estonia, which has sent all of its 24 FH-70 towed 155 mm howitzers. 
Additionally, Britain is postured to send 30 of its 89 AS90 self-propelled 155 mm howitzers. So, just as some have been raising the alarms in our own country, the same is starting to happen in Europe.
“It is practically the entire Danish artillery that Denmark is giving to Ukraine in one blow,” the Danish Broadcasting Corporation pointed out after their transfer of Caesars. 

BREAKING! The US is sending depleted uranium weapons to Ukraine. If you don’t think WE are at war with Russia, you’re wrong. pic.twitter.com/tXmrlpwduB
— Redacted (@TheRedactedInc) February 14, 2023

RELATED: (WATCH) Kelley Vlahos Warns America’s Focus on Ukraine Makes it Susceptible to War With China
An Old Solution
Besides the draining supply of munitions in the West, there is also the added challenge of getting the needed weaponry to the front lines in Ukraine. But there are not-so-quiet whispers that a solution is just around the corner.
British arms executives recently traveled to Ukraine to discuss the possibility of manufacturing British arms and military vehicles in Ukraine itself. With the extended time it takes to get weapons to Ukraine once approved, this could significantly shorten that time gap.
The strategy of cozying up to the UK is calculated as Jeff Hawn, a fellow at New Lines Institute, points out, “The special relationship between the US and the UK will likely have featured in their calculations because getting the UK on board is a way of facilitating the US’s involvement.” The idea here is that if the UK starts the process of manufacturing within Ukraine, the United States will follow.
Mr. Hawn explained that this arrangement would be seen as beneficial for the US, since “It would integrate Ukraine into the western defense sphere and make it more self-sufficient, when arming Ukraine has stretched the US’s own stockpiles far further than it would’ve liked.”
Could this be the answer to what ails the west’s defense machine?
“large-caliber ammunition has increased from 12 to 28 months,” Mr. Stoltenberg continued,”orders placed today would only be delivered two-and-a-half years later.”
That means this war has to extend even further than anticipated, or countries that depleted their supplies will be significantly underprepared to counter aggression on their land.

Awkward. The Armed Forces of Ukraine boast about the use of chemical weapons in Soledar. In the video, they are assembling quadcopters by attaching projectile cans of Hydrocyanic acid to them. Hydrocyanic acid is a weapon of mass destruction first used during WWI. pic.twitter.com/DivxUm8j2j
— David Vance (@DVATW) February 10, 2023

RELATED: White House Denies Explosive Report That the US Sabotaged Nord Stream 2
Normalizing Cold War
It shouldn’t surprise anyone who is a student of history that this proposal to build weapons in Ukraine might be a quality solution. It wasn’t that long ago that Ukraine was a hub for weapons production.
As Mr. Hawn points out, “Ukraine had an extensive military-industrial complex during the USSR, which suffered highly after the Cold War, as it lost its major customer and was then looted by oligarchs – but it still has very good long-term material for a military-industrial base.”
How very convenient.
But building these ammunition factories will take time and presents a significant risk given the current status of the war. Moreover, while Russia isn’t well known for its projectile accuracy, it still can hit targets within Ukraine, as seen daily.
It would be devastating to lose ammunition and weapons factories bankrolled and built by the west at the hands of the Russians. But what can happen now is the slow creep of this complex on the outskirts of Ukraine in neighboring countries.
Huseyn Aliyev, a specialist in the Russo-Ukrainian war, predicts that we should “expect Ukrainian production to start in Poland near the border and then moved to Ukraine when it becomes safer as the conflict moves closer to completion…” And so the ‘new normal’ is just the ‘old normal’ of the Cold War, albeit with a few small branding changes.

NATO’s Stoltenberg: “NATO is not a part of the conflict, even though NATO allies provide advanced weapons systems to Ukraine.”
You can’t make this stuff up. pic.twitter.com/5VVGxrIupw
— Hassan Mafi ‏ (@thatdayin1992) February 14, 2023

Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”

The post NATO Secretary General Warns Ukraine is Blowing Through More Ammo Than the West can Supply appeared first on The Political Insider.

Despite journalists and America’s government insisting that Russia is losing the war in Ukraine, it isn’t. Indeed, Russia is winning and inevitably will emerge as the victor. I served eight years in the U.S. Army Reserve as an intelligence analyst, and here’s why all the hype is nothing more than disinformation.
Each day journalists and government officials collude to saturate America with propaganda portraying the war in Ukraine as one where Ukraine is handing Russia one defeat after another. Only occasionally will the truth slip out. The reasons for this are quite simple.
First, it keeps their fanatical base, Democratic voters, happy. It’s also an attempt to generate public support in general for America’s involvement in the war—even as America has no national security reason to be involved in it (America should focus on its own borders instead) and even as Congress has never declared war or authorized the use of military force.

Biden says Putin has ‘already lost Ukraine’ https://t.co/NuM70MCPxg
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 9, 2023

RELATED: WATCH: Kelley Vlahos Warns America’s Focus on Ukraine Makes it Susceptible to War With China
There Is No Good Intel on the War
The truth, of course, is quite the opposite of what the ruling class wants everyone to believe. And what is the truth? It’s hard to say at the micro level but on the macro level it’s that Russia is winning and that it will eventually emerge as the winner.
The major reason it’s so difficult—impossible, actually—to say what’s happening on the micro level (the tactical and operational levels) is because of the disinformation that saturates the battlefield. And the disinformation—the intentional lies—comes from everyone who is invested in the wars.
For instance, Russian officials, their allies, and their media want to present the take on it that best favors their side. This isn’t to say everything from Russian officials and media is disinformation, but some of it is. That’s the way war works. They want to make their side look good and the enemy look bad.
Ditto for the American government-journalist uniparty. Then there are all the so-called independent bloggers, influencers, and so forth. They are all selling something (mostly themselves) and so if their audience wants to hear that Ukraine is winning, that’s what they’ll tell them. If their audience wants to hear that Russia is winning, that’s what they’ll tell them.

Simply put, when something is high-profile—popular, in a sense—everybody wants to be in on it to benefit themselves, and there are a lot of people out there who are willing to lie for a variety of reasons. So it’s disinformation from America’s ruling class, from Ukraine, from Russia, and even from independent sources that are anything but independent.
Admittedly, this isn’t very surprising. Any time any war or national security issue becomes high-profile the disinformation flows like a river bursting free from a broken dam. At the height of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, there was no shortage of intelligence. And while much of it was undoubtedly good, much of it was undoubtedly disinformation too. After all, the wars were the focus of global attention and competing factions wanted to manipulate them for their own purposes.
On the flip side of things, I contributed to multiple intelligence assessments on target areas that, at the time, were considered to be boring; no one cared about them. Intelligence on them was often hard to come by. But what we did get apparently was good, because events that have occurred since then have shown that our assessments were generally correct.
In short, in order to get solid intelligence on a war or national security issue, don’t wait until people are paying attention to it. Collect the intel when no one cares and then it’ll be quality intel from which it’s possible to generate high-confidence assessments.
But if it’s nothing but disinformation regarding the Russia-Ukraine war, then how is it possible to assess the macro level—that Russia is winning and will win? It’s possible because Russia can fail at a lot and still win. And it’s also possible to make the assessment because America is backing Ukraine, and America has proven that it no longer is capable of winning wars.

RELATED: White House Denies Explosive Report That the US Sabotaged Nord Stream 2
Russia Will Win Because America Can’t
A Russian victory is Ukraine is defined as Russia capturing, holding, and annexing any part of Ukraine. Any nation that can take sovereign territory from another has objectively won. And even now it appears that that has already happened in Ukraine. Russia appears to have permanently annexed parts of eastern Ukraine. It very well could annex more.
On top of this, Russia will capture and exploit whatever American material they capture on the battlefield or through the black market. Kind of like how they very well could (despite official statements) exploit all that material that America left behind in Afghanistan. Captured and exploited material will be a major intelligence victory for Russia and it will have consequences for America for years to come.
All in all, this will be yet another lost war for America. America generally lost in Iraq. (Although it prevented Saddam Hussein from ever reviving his WMD program, it failed to prevent hostile actors such as Muqtada al-Sadr from having influence on the nation.) It also lost in Afghanistan where the Taliban now rule again. (Terrorist organizations have safe haven there and the Chinese are making inroads.) And it lost in Georgia as well. (Russia launched a war in Georgia in 2008 and seized and controls that territory to this day.) America has lost every war of the 21st century and so it’s easy to assess that the side it’s backing in the Russia-Ukraine war will lose too.

Russia has potentially lost up to half of all its operational tank fleet since the start of the Ukraine war, according to information collected by a monitoring group, as its military struggles to meet the goals of Vladimir Putin’s invasion https://t.co/GmTjpjYuNb
— CNN (@CNN) February 9, 2023

RELATED: Report: US Military Has Admitted to Shooting Down a ‘High Altitude Flying Object’ Out of an ‘Abundance of Caution’ Over Alaska
Ruling Class Won’t Acknowledge Its Defeat
This isn’t to say that the American ruling class will acknowledge losing. But that’s because it’s incapable of understanding what victory is. It views victory as defeat, and vice versa. Russia may indeed sustain massive losses of personnel, weapons, and equipment, but, again, if it captures and annexes portions of Ukraine then it will have won. The American ruling class—military and civilian leaders—seems to believe that an ugly win isn’t a win. But that, of course, isn’t true. An ugly win is still a win.
So regardless of what people wish would happen with the Russia-Ukraine war, the outcome of it will be that Russia wins and Ukraine loses. And Ukraine loses because it is dependent upon America, which cannot win a war.
Ignore the disinformation coming out of the Russia-Ukraine war and focus on this key fact. After that, the only question left is what exactly Russia’s victory will look like.

Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”

The post Why Russia Will Ultimately Win in Ukraine appeared first on The Political Insider.

By Bethany Blankley (The Center Square)
In response to Gov. Abbott requesting the state comptroller evaluate Harris County’s budget to determine if it was violating state law prohibiting local entities from defunding police departments, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced Friday that Texas’ largest county was defunding its police and he was imposing restrictions on it as a result. 
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said he “needed to go back to accounting class,” that she was fighting his ruling in court and that the county had actually increased funding. 
On Dec. 14, 2022, Gov. Abbott’s Criminal Justice division requested Hegar’s office to investigate a complaint from Constable Ted Heap of Harris County Constable Office Precinct 5, which alleged the county’s 2023 fiscal year adopted budget reduced the resources available to Precinct 5 by $2,367,444 compared to the previous year.
State law requires the comptroller’s office, when requested by the governor, to determine whether a county has implemented a proposed reduction or reallocation of law enforcement funding without the required voter approval. 
“After careful review, I found that the complaint provides evidence of a reduction of funding for a law enforcement agency when comparing the adopted budget for the current fiscal year to the adopted budget for the preceding fiscal year,” Hegar said.
Related: Texas, U.S. Oil And Gas Industry Cries Foul Over Biden’s Claims
Heap alleged that Harris County’s budget reduced the overall funding for Precinct 5 by $2,367,444.86 when annualized on a month-to-month basis. The comptroller’s office said Harris County “will once again use a convoluted approach with two different multipliers and exclude two pay periods to argue otherwise, yet the math is clear and straightforward. The funding shortfall is $2,367,444.86.”
As a result, he ruled that “Harris County may not adopt an ad valorem tax rate that exceeds the county’s no-new-revenue tax rate until the earliest of the following: my office issues a written determination; the county has resolved the funding reduction; or the funding reduction has been approved in an election.” 
Last fall, two Republican county commissioners were successful in forcing Harris County to adopt a “no-new-revenue” property tax rate for fiscal year 2023 by preventing the court from reaching a quorum. Their actions saved residents nearly a quarter of a billion dollars. However, Democrats redistricted one of the Republican commissioners out of office, who lost reelection last November. With a 4-1 Democratic majority, the court will now be able to meet quorum and pass agenda items without opposition. 
However, “the root cause of that debate” over police defunding “remains unresolved,” Hegar said, adding, “Judge Lina Hidalgo and the Harris County Commissioners Court are defunding the police.” 
Hidalgo’s office posted a statement on social media, saying, “Comptroller Hegar and his allies seem to be struggling with basic accounting. Per Harris County’s 26 pay period accounting, funding for the Precinct 5 Constable’s office increased by almost two million dollars (from $46.6M to $48.5M) between the two budgets in question.”
She also said she looked forward to fighting Hegar’s ruling in court and “in the meantime, Comptroller Hegar needs to go back to accounting class.”
Hegar has suggested that the state Legislature consider if any “further action must be taken to ensure Texas law enforcement agencies and personnel have the resources needed to keep Texans safe.”
Related: Law Enforcement Pushes Back Against Democrats’ Claims About Fentanyl And Southern Border
Gov. Greg Abbott’s press office didn’t respond to requests for comment about Hegar’s findings. However, when he first requested the investigation, Gov. Abbott said, “The dangerous actions taken by Judge Lina Hidalgo and Harris County represent a brazen disregard for the safety and security of the Texans they are sworn to protect. The loss of millions of dollars in funding will endanger public safety across the county at a time when Texas law enforcement is working harder than ever to keep criminals and dangerous drugs out of our communities. 
“Harris County continues to show complete negligence for public safety, as the same county whose revolving door bail program releases dangerous criminals back onto the streets to commit more violent crimes like murder. While Harris County politicizes the public safety of its citizens, the State of Texas will ensure our brave law enforcement partners have the resources necessary for this solemn responsibility.”
Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.
The post Texas Comptroller Says Harris County Is Defunding Police, County Says It Isn’t appeared first on The Political Insider.