RusPutin Got Nukes! (nuclear arms race sitrep - 2015dec12)

Putin's "nuke brandishing" antics first came into the open right after the downing of the SU-24 by the Turks. A prominent ultra-nationalist Russian politician was used as the mouthpiece.

Back then, some netizens pooh-poohed this as that ultranationalist politician's own personal view. I disagreed. I believed that there is no such thing as a national-level "personal view" in Putin Russia (or shall we call her "RusPutin"?). So I made the post below to alert everyone on this apparent major shift in RusPutin's attitude towards nukes.

Unfortunately, it appears I was right.

Buoyed up by the lukewarm global response  to his initial "nuke brandishing" rhetoric, Putin unleashed more "RusPutin got nukes" salvoes:

1. He ordered an attack sub to fire nuclear-capable cruise missiles at Syrian targets;

2. He publicly hinted that he is exploring the possibility of using tactical nukes on the Islamic State; and

3. He ordered his talking heads to publicly gloat on how advanced RusPutin's nukes are compared to the West's.

As expected, he got Uncle Sam's attention.

Here are the recent public statements made by the US State Department on this issue:

"(The major nuclear powers consisting of the US, Russia, UK, France and China) stopped talking about nuclear weapons as a source of national pride.... (Putin) reversed that trend."

“Rhetoric has an effect... Words matter... They make it more likely nuclear weapons could be used. It’s important to avoid that chest-thumping. It is important for leaders not to go down that same path just because Vladimir did.”

Are we seeing the beginnings of another Nuclear Arms Race?

Hopefully not!

But the facts appear to say otherwise...

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Original Post (2015nov24):

Can Putin really Nuke the Turks?

Moscow talking heads have allegedly hinted at the possibility of deploying tactical nuclear weapons to Syria in reaction to the downing of a Russian SU-24 by Turkey.

Is this a not-so-subtle threat by Putin that he will not hesitate to use nuclear weapons against Turkey if the latter further obstructs Moscow's designs on Syria?

In an all-out conventional war with Turkey in Syria, Moscow has very little chance of prevailing. The Turks are well-armed and knows a thing or two about war too. Moscow's only chance is to use nuclear weapons.

It appears that Moscow has come prepared for this eventuality. She has already stationed a Typhoon boomer with 200 ICBM nuclear warheads off the coast of Syria. And I will not be surprised at all if she has already secretly moved a considerable number of tactical nuclear weapons into the country too.

But while the Russian Bear has been noisily trashing the vegetation lately from Georgia, to Crimea, and now Syria, the American Eagle and the British Lion have been considerably more quiet.

Which is a bit unusual considering the overwhelming edge in nuclear firepower they have over Moscow.

And there's the French too. Who has her own stash of nuclear thunderbolts in her closet.

Finally, let us not overlook the Sunni Bomb in the hands of the Pakistanis. They are maybe primitive by Western standards, but they are still Nukes.

So seriously, can Putin really Nuke the Turks and not expect to get vaporized in a hail of retaliatory nuclear firestorms?

I highly doubt it...

Communist China's Nine-Front War against the Western World Order...

The World Order War (WOW) can be divided into two (2) Sub-Wars - the Putin Russia Sub-War, and the Communist China Sub-War.

The Communist China Sub-War has currently Nine (9) Fronts:

1. European Security - Communist China wants to replace NATO with a  New World Security Organization (whatever that means);

2. Middle Eastern Security - Communist China establishes naval facilities at Djibouti to challenge Western Military Power in the Indian Ocean, Red Sea, and Mediterranean;

3. Asia-Pacific Trade - Communist China wants to establish the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) to rival the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP);

4. Global Finance - Communist China establishes the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to rival the Western- established International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB), and Asian Development Bank (ADB);

5. Global Currency - Communist China wants to replace the US Dollar with the Yuan as the primary International Currency;

6. African Trade -  Communist China wants to replace Western aid efforts in Africa with her own package of grants, loans, debt forgiveness, and student scholarships (which would encourage the African Student Elite to learn Chinese language and culture);

7. Northeast Asian Territories - Communist China wants to replace the Western-established territorial boundaries  with her own "ancient historical boundaries" (again, whatever that means), and challenge Japanese Military Power in the process;

8. Western Pacific Security - Communist China establishes a Carrier-Based Naval Force to challenge US Military Power; and

9. Southeast Asian Territories - Communist China invades Philippine territory and manufactures fake islands to replace the Western-established territorial boundaries in the South China Sea with her own self-manufactured and clearly-fraudulent Nine-Dash Line, and challenge US Military Power in the process.

Take note that, of these Nine (9) Fronts, Communist China has been the most successful with respect to Front No. 9...

The Invasion of the Philippines.

The consequences of Putin's Bombing Campaign in Syria...

Here are the consequences (both intended and unintended) of Putin's Syrian bombing campaign (so far):

1. Delay the fall of the Assad Regime;

2. Prolong the Syrian Civil War;

3. Force more Syrians to flee and 

become refugees in the EU (and the US);

4. Provoke more Sunni Muslims to commit acts of Terror (this time, against Russians too);

5. Decrease the Supply of oil;

6. Increase the Price of oil;

7. Increase Russia's oil revenues;

8. Increase Russia's kitty for buying more bombs; 

9. Make the World forget Russia's annexation of Crimea and Eastern Ukraine;

10. Force Western special operations missions to coordinate with Russia (or run the risk of being accidentally hit by Russian ordnance);

11. Increase the casualty count of Syrian Turkmen;

12. Force Turkey to retaliate against Russia to avenge Syrian Turkmen casualties;

13. Divide NATO into Pro-Turkey and Anti-Turkey factions; and

14. Kill some IS Militants, once in a while.

Please feel free to add your own...

Can Putin help solve the Syrian Crisis?

The key Syrian-related events in the last 60 days:

September 30, 2015 - Russian planes start bombing targets in Syria

October 31, 2015 - Terrorist Bomb downs Russian flight to St. Petersburg

November 13, 2015 - Terrorist Wolf Packs attack Paris

November 22, 2015 - Turkish F-16 downs Russian SU-24 which strayed into Turkish airspace

Before Putin directly involved himself in the Syrian Conflict last September, talk was circulating that the fall of the Assad Regime is imminent.

That would have slowed the flow of Syrian refugees into Europe... and enabled the West to redirect the Free Syrian Forces to fight ISIS.

Now, there appears to be no end in sight for Syria... the Refugees... and the ISIS Terrorists...

Can Putin help in cleaning-up this mess?

Of course, all he has to do is go back home to Russia...

Russia and Turkey are evenly matched (conventionally)...

Most of the world must be scratching their heads in disbelief when Turkey shot down that SU-24 a few days ago.

Ankara is challenging Moscow militarily? Has Erdogan lost his Mind?

I myself had my doubts. So I quickly checked what each side has, in case of an All-Out Conventional War.

And surprisingly, they appear to be evenly matched.

But do not take my word for it, judge for yourself. Here are the stats:

1. Fighter Aircraft

    Turkey - 230

    Russia - 880

2. Main Battle Tanks

    Turkey - 1,680

    Russia - 2,270

3. Ground Troops

    Turkey - 395,000

    Russia - 314,000

Now, the above figures are on a total basis. While Erdogan has the luxury of deploying everything he has in a conventional war in his own backyard, Putin has to allocate some of his forces to protect Russia against potential threats coming from Western Europe (i.e. other NATO members) and the Far East (i.e. China).

So if you want to make a realistic comparison, every Russian figure above should first be divided by three (3). This would significantly tilt the odds in Erdogan's favor, in terms of both Main Battle Tanks and Ground Troops.

This is a worrying thought for two (2) reasons:

1. It might tempt Erdogan to send Tanks and Troops into Syria to protect Syrian Turkmen, and;

2. It might tempt Putin to reach for the Nuclear Button once he gets badlly mauled conventionally by Erdogan in Syria.

The US and NATO must quickly find a Win-Win Solution before Czar Putin and Sultan Erdogan can come to blows...

#Turkey

#Russia

#Syria

#SU24Downing

#WorldWar3

#Doomsday

#NuclearArmaggedon

The exploits of the USS Swordfish (SS-193)...

Most Filipinos have probably heard of the USS Swordfish (SS-193).  She is the Sargo-class submarine who evacuated Philippine Commonwealth Pres. Manuel L. Quezon and his family from Corregidor on February 20, 1942... and saved them from the humiliation of Japanese capture.

In view of the anticipated establishment of the Philippine Navy's own diesel-electric attack submarine force, I am presenting the exploits of the USS Swordfish in WWII to give the excited fans of this much-welcomed upgrade in Our Country's naval capabilities, a taste of what wartime attack submarine operations look like:

October 27, 1937 - keel laid down at Vallejo, California

April 3, 1939 - launched 

Early 1941 - sailed for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

November 3, 1941 - sailed for Manila

November 22, 1941 - arrived in Manila

December 8, 1941 - sailed for combat patrols off the coast of Hainan

December 9, 1941 - damaged a Japanese ship

December 11, 1941 - damaged another Japanese ship

December 14, 1941 - damaged another Japanese ship

December 16, 1941 - became the first US submarine to sink a Japanese ship in WWII

December 27, 1941 - evacuated the Submarine Asiatic Command Staff from Manila to Surabaya, Indonesia

January 7, 1942 - arrived at Surabaya

January 16, 1942 - departed for combat patrols at the Celebes Sea

January 24, 1942 - sank a Japanese ship  

February 20, 1942 - evacuated Pres. Quezon and his family to San Jose, Antique (from there, they were subsequently flown to Australia)

March 9, 1942 - arrived at Freemantle, Western Australia after picking up from Manila the High Commisioner of the Philippines 

May 15, 1942 - sank a Japanese ship in the South China Sea

June 12, 1942 - sank a Japanese ship in the Gulf of Siam

February 23, 1943 - returned to Pearl Harbor for overhaul

July 29, 1943 - sailed on combat patrol, to Brisbane, Australia

September 5, 1943 - sank a Japanese ship

December 26, 1943 - sailed for combat patrols at Tokyo Bay

January 13, 1944 - sank a Japanese ship but suffered heavy depth charge damage

January 14, 1944 - sank another Japanese ship

January 17, 1944 - fired 4 torpedoes at the carrier Shokaku, all missed

March 13, 1944 - sailed for combat patrols at the Mariana Islands

June 9, 1944 - sank the Japanese destroyer Matsukaze near the Bonin Islands

June 15, 1944 - sank another Japanese ship

June 30, 1944 - returned to Pearl Harbor

December 22, 1944 - sailed for combat patrols at Nansei Shoto

January 2, 1945 - ordered to patrol at coordinates 30N, 132E

January 3, 1945 - sent her last communication acknowledging receipt of the order

Thereafter, the USS Swordfish and her entire crew were never heard or seen again...

She was presumed sunk by Japanese action (either depth charges or sea mines).  But Japanese war records never confirmed this...

One of the unsolved mysteries of WWII...

To her crew...

Thank you for your ultimate sacrifice boys...

#SubmarineWarfare

#AFPmodernization

#USNavy

#WestPhilippineSea

#ChinaGoHome

Has anything changed for the Filipino Fighter Pilot?

Correction.

It is now 2018.  So it is now almost 77 years.

In the memory of Villamor, Basa, and all those who bravely took to the skies in obsolete fighter aircraft in 1941 in the defense of Our Country, please do something Philippine National Government.

How Manny Pacquiao can defeat Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

I watched for the first time two of Mayweather's most controversial wins (Castillo I and Dela Hoya).

And here are my observations on Floyd:

1. He is a thinking fighter.  He has the capability to learn and adapt during a match.  Which is probably his greatest strength.

2. He tends to defend first. This buys him time to think about his next move (see no. 1).

3. Because of his defensive predisposition, he will always tend to be a low-volume high-percentage counterpuncher (like a dedicated marksman or sniper in the infantry).

4. He always uses a right-handed stance.

5. He likes to defend his left jaw with a left shoulder roll.

6. He likes to defend his right jaw with his right hand.

7. He likes to defend his lower body with a lowered left arm.

8. He is not an exceptional inside fighter.

9. He will first figure-out his opponent in the opening rounds, then make his move in the latter rounds (once he has established the attacking rhythm and defensive gaps of his opponent).

10. He does not have the capability to deliver a one-punch knock-out in the opening rounds.


To counter the foregoing, this is what Manny should do:

1. Deny him the luxury of having the time to think. And the best way to achieve this in boxing is through sheer head-punch volume.  Regular jabs to the head is particularly disrupting to a boxer who likes to think in the ring.

2. Force him to fight outside his defensive comfort zone during certain rounds of the fight.  To do this, Manny must convincingly beat him in  the opening rounds so that he will be forced to play "catch-up" in the latter rounds.

3. If he can maintain his regular punch volume, he will easily outscore Mayweather.  But he should also watch out for a Marquez-like match-ending counterpunch.

4. He should keep moving towards Floyd's left.

5.  Don't target his left jaw.  Target the top left side of his head instead (i.e. left ear, left temple, left eye).

6.  Don't target his right jaw.  Target the top right side of his head instead (i.e. right ear, right temple, right eye).

7. He can only attack Floyd's body once he has hurt Floyd's head. So, hurt that big head in the early rounds.  Then go for the body once that left arm is up.

8. Unfortunately, Manny is not also an exceptional inside fighter.  So fighting inside is out of the equation. 

9. He should vary his fighting style and punching targets throughout the match.  Say, advancing style and primarily headshots in the first 3 rounds (knock-out zone).  Retreating style and primarily body shots in the next 4 rounds (resting zone).  Back to advancing style and primarily head shots in the next 3 rounds (knock-out zone). The choice of style in the last 2 rounds will depend on where the scorecards stand at the end of the 10th round (either insurance or desperation zone). 

10. He should use this window to go for Floyd's head big time.  And this is the main reason why I boldly predicted a Pacquiao win by knock-out in the early rounds.

Although I am obviously rooting for Manny Pacquiao, I also want this to be a fair fight.

So I would hate to see this fight decided by the referee or the judges.

May God let the better fighter prevail...

#PacMay #MayPac #PacquiaoMayweather #MayweatherPacquiao #Pacquiao #Mayweather #Boxing #MGM