Featured Image: The Thousand Islands region of the St Lawrence river taken from Grenadier Island.
We’re kicking off today’s View with some news out of Ecuador. From Reuters:
Ecuador is reeling from a fresh wave of violence that has shaken the South American nation, with President Daniel Noboa launching a military crackdown on gangs after criminal groups took more than 100 prison staff hostage and armed men dramatically interrupted a live television broadcast.. . .
Police said on Sunday that Adolfo Macias, the leader of the Los Choneros criminal gang, had disappeared from the prison where he was serving a 34-year sentence. Authorities are trying to track him down.
Meanwhile, there were incidents of violence in at least six prisons beginning on Monday. As of Wednesday, more than 100 guards and other staff were still being held hostage by prisoners. In Riobamba, a provincial capital in central Ecuador, 39 inmates escaped from a prison, though some have been recaptured.
Seven police officers were also kidnapped around the country, though three have been freed.
Much of this is being blamed on the Coof and the Ecuadorian response by the ‘experts’. While that may have some effect, it’s really the soft on crime policies and the look-the-other-way attitude towards drug cartels that caused this explosion in violence. And let’s be honest, that part of Central and South America has a unique violence problem and has for a very long time. El Salvador has tried to crack down on criminal gangs this year with some success. That success has not been without detractors, there has been widespread condemnation of potential civil rights abuses. This editor thinks El Salvador hasn’t gone far enough with the punishment for Mara Salvatrucha.
Hunter Biden made a short appearance at a hearing being held in the House. The committee was marking up the charges against him. Nancy Mace, R-SC, laid into the first son:
“My first question is who bribed Hunter Biden to be here today?” Mace said.
“You are the epitome of white privilege coming into the Oversight Committee spitting in our face ignoring a congressional subpoena to be depose.? What are you afraid of? You have no balls.”
Mace added: “I think Hunter Biden should be arrested right here, right now, and go straight to jail.” [….]
“Hunter Biden wasn’t afraid to sell access to Joe Biden to the highest bidder when he was an elected office. He wasn’t afraid to trade on the Biden brand, peddle influence and share those ill gotten gains with members of his family, including Joe Biden,” Mace said.
“He wasn’t afraid to compromise the integrity of the presidency and vice presidency by involving Joe Biden shady business deals with our foreign adversaries. But Hunter Biden, you were too afraid to show up for a deposition and you still can’t today.” Mace added “My last message to you, Hunter Biden, you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.”
He fled the hearing shortly after that exchange.
I have a couple of questions about his appearance at the hearing. First, why didn’t the Chair order the Sergeant at Arms to arrest him on the spot? Before anyone asks, yes, they have that authority. I’ll freely admit it would have been pure political theater, but still.
Second, who on his team thought this was a good idea? Never mind the legal exposure, as if there would ever be consequences. The press lit into Hunter as he left the hearing, and his advisors had to know it would happen. This is the best of the press questions AFAIC:
Anthony Fauci testified to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chaired by Ohio Republican Brad Wenstrup. Here are the highlights of his testimony:
I really hope that odious little gnome gets what he deserves. That said, I’m a realist and know, deep down, nothing is going to happen. And I mean nothing at all. This country, and the entire world for that matter, is no better prepared for a major pandemic now than they were 5 years ago. Hell, they’re probably worse off now. You know, scratch ‘probably’. The way the shot was forced on everyone created more issues than it could have ever solved. Worst among those issues is the heightened hesitancy to get new and novel shots.
A recent intelligence report seems to show the People’s Liberation Army of the CCP has major corruption and readiness issues. The report indicated that instead of rocket fuel, many of the CCP’s ICBMs contained water in their fuel tanks. It also indicated the silo doors on some of the fixed missile installations did not open far enough to launch a missile. There are indications that Xi is undergoing a major purge in the PLA leadership over these and other concerns.
While I have no reason to disbelieve this story, I still remember that the US intel agencies were saying the Soviets were still a major threat right up until the USSR collapsed in 1991. It’s not that I think the PLA is immune from that level of corruption, they aren’t, it’s the fact that Obama’s NSC leaked the identities of most US assets in China and they either got rolled up or got disappeared.
All that said, my opinion of the PLA/CCP hasn’t changed much over the past few years. They’re good at bullying smaller neighbors but that’s about it. Their record of force projection is abysmal. Hell, the Vietnamese kicked the shit out of them in the late 70s/early 80s. Look up the Sino-Vietnamese war if you don’t believe me. Then there’s the shit that’s going on with India in the Aksai Chin region.
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