Saturday Is Old Radio Day: Escape "Three Skeleton Key" with Vincent Price

Happy Halloween!

Friday Film: "5 Ladders to the Bridge" (1960s)

Recurring Item: "China Threatens"

Shannon Tiezzi reports at The Diplomat Xi Warns That China Will ‘Use War to Prevent War’: China's 

Chairman "President" Xi rattles the Korean War as a victory for China and suggests it as a lesson for the U.S.

Xi’s speech echoed – but greatly expanded on – the themes of his remarks on October 19. First, he emphasized the Korean War as a David-vs-Goliath struggle, with China standing up for justice against a far more powerful enemy. In his words, the war started when the U.S., acting from its “Cold War mentality,” “interfered” in the resolution of the Korean civil war (translation: North Korea invaded the South, and the United States intervened).

In this “extremely asymmetric” war, Xi said, China won with “less steel, more spirit” against an enemy equipped with “more steel, less spirit”: “The forces of China and North Korea defeated their armed-to-teeth rival and shattered the myth of invincibility of the U.S. army.”

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But Xi also tries hard to paint this as a victory not only for China, but the world. According to his speech, the end of the Korean War was a triumph for “peace and justice” and a blow to “imperialism.” He claimed that the war “greatly encouraged” the trend toward Asian countries’ independence and liberation from colonial forces.

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But Xi also warns that “the road ahead will not be smooth,” and advises China that it will need the martial spirit of the war to overcome today’s challenges. “It is necessary to speak to invaders in the language they know: that is, use war to prevent war… and use a [military] victory to win peace and respect,” Xi said.

In the last 70 years, one side's ally on the Korean peninsula has prospered and its people are free from repression and it's not the one on whose behalf China intervened.

Just sayin'

NASA image from 2014

I wouldn't be too proud of a war "victory" that leaves my ally looking like that at night, Mr. Xi.

Carrier-Based Navy F-18s May Get Hypersonic Cruise Missiles

DoD Kicks Off New Hypersonic Program; F-18 To Get Hypersonic Cruise Missile Breaking Defense reports:

USAF photo

One hypersonic program that Bussey revealed is already in the works would eventually put a hypersonic cruise missile on a carrier-based F-18.

She said the effort, which is being run by the Air Force Research Lab and has been contracted to Boeing, is developing a dual mode scramjet design. “We’re doing this so that we can have an option for the Navy that is compatible with F-18 based on carriers. We hope to have that testing wrapped up in time to support any decisions that either the Air Force or the Navy will end up making in terms of future hypersonic cruise missile activities.”

Earlier in the piece is this-

Universities in the US, Australia, the UK and Canada are eligible to work on the DoD program, said Gillian Bussey, head of the Joint Hypersonic Transition Office. But Bussey added Texas A&M has strict counterintelligence protocols in place, and the Pentagon will have strict rules for who can participate in the often classified work. The team in particular wants to ensure “we’re not training Chinese scientists that are going to go help their programs for example.”

Way cool!

On Midrats 25 October 2020 - Episode 564: Pre-election Melee

Please join us at 5pm EDT for Midrats Episode 564: Pre-election Melee

We don't do politics here ... but we do touch on how politics can impact national security issues ... so here we go!

Why has national security almost been a non-issue this election?

What to expect if Trump gets a second term.

What and who will come to the front if Biden is elected.

What will drive the challenge regardless of who gets elected?

Come join us for the full hour as we discuss this and more with an open chat room and open phones if you want to join in.

If you use Apple Podcasts, and miss the show live, you can pick up this episode and others and add Midrats to your podcast list simply by going to here. Or on Spreaker. Or on Spotify.

Saturday Is Old Radio Day: "War of the Worlds" (1938) - Orson Welles

Friday Film: What We Missed Out On- Hydrofoils

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) for 17 September -14 October 2020

U.S. Navy Office of Naval I... by lawofsea

Saturday Is Old Radio Day (Sunday Edition) - Suspense "One More Shot" (1960)

On Midrats 18 October 2020 - Episode 563: The Middle East's Future Imperfect with Steven Cook

Please join us at 5pm on 18 October 2020 for Midrats Episode 563: The Middle East's Future Imperfect with Steven Cook

In a very rough year, there were sprinkles of renewed optimism about the Middle East as Israel established relations with a few of the Gulf Arab nations, but the Middle East is, and has been, always about more than Arab-Israeli relations.

From North Africa across the Mediterranean coast to Syria and across the Arabian Peninsula to Yemen, what is the state of play in the Middle East as a whole, and where are the trends taking the region?

Our guest this Sunday, October 18th for the full hour to discuss than and mor will be Steven A. Cook.

Steven is Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He is an expert on Arab and Turkish politics as well as U.S.-Middle East policy. Cook is the author of False Dawn: Protest, Democracy, and Violence in the New Middle East; The Struggle for Egypt: From Nasser to Tahrir Square, which won the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s gold medal in 2012; and Ruling But Not Governing: The Military and Political Development in Egypt, Algeria, and Turkey.

He is a columnist at Foreign Policy magazine. He has also published widely in international affairs journals, opinion magazines, and newspapers, and he is a frequent commentator on radio and television. His work can be found on CFR.org. Prior to joining CFR, Cook was a research fellow at the Brookings Institution (2001–2002) and a Soref research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (1995–1996). Cook holds a BA in international studies from Vassar College, an MA in international relations from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, and both an MA and a PhD in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. He speaks Arabic and Turkish and reads French.

If you use Apple Podcasts, and miss the show live, you can pick up this episode and others and add Midrats to your podcast list simply by going to here. Or on Spreaker. Or on Spotify.

Ain't Gonna Work on the Twitter Farm No More

Well, Twitter once was a useful tool, but . . . So long, farewell, adeui, bye-bye, adios, etc. You might find me over at Parler as @lawofsea

China Games: "Pakistan politicians fear losing strategic islands to China"

From Nikkei Asia, a report of how China seems to be seeking strategic ports in Pakistan and near India and the vital oil lanes from the Strait of Hormuz: Pakistan politicians fear losing strategic islands to China

Pakistan's federal government has triggered a political uproar after taking direct control of two islands previously under the regional government of Sindh province.

President Arif Alvi signed the Pakistan Islands Development Authority (PIDA) ordinance last month to facilitate reclamation and urban planning on Bundal and Bhuddo islands, which are located south of Karachi. Both islands are some eight kilometers across, and the largest along Sindh's coast.

Government officials say PIDA has been created to develop the islands as commercial zones. Imran Ismail, Sindh's governor, has claimed that Bundal on its own can take on Dubai and attract investment of $50 billion -- equal to the amount already tagged for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a key component in President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

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The ordinance is helpful to Beijing's expanding economic ambitions in Pakistan. Last month, it nominated Nong Rang as its ambassador to Islamabad. Unusually, he is a political appointee well versed in commerce and trade, and analysts believe this portends increased commercial and BRI activities.

Mohan Malik, a visiting fellow at Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, said the sudden way in which the two islands near Karachi have been placed under federal control shows that something is afoot. He told Nikkei that the ordinance's stated goals of developing the islands for trade, investment and international tourism "seem to have been taken straight out of Beijing's BRI playbook."

 

Interesting,

Happy Birthday, Navy!

So, what did you get the Navy to celebrate 245 years of service to the country? Or did you forget again this year because you suffer from "sea blindness" and don't know what the Navy people out there are doing to protect your freedom, free and open seas, and working with willing allies to bolster the world's economy?

Cakes are nice, but how about a round of applause and a request to your elected representatives to support the fleet?

Happy birthday, NAVY!

And thanks to all you sailors, asea and ashore, present and past.

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) for 10 September -7 October 2020

U.S. Navy Office of Naval I... by lawofsea

Sunday Can Be Old Radio Day: Orson Welles on Cavalcade of America- "Admiral of the Ocean Seas" (1942)

Saturday Is Old Radio Day: Our Miss Brooks "Halloween Party" (1949)

Friday Film: "Relative Motion and the Maneuvering Board" (1957)

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) for 3 - 30 September 2020

Of particular interest:

 

U.S. Navy Office of Naval I... by lawofsea

On Midrats 4 October 2020 - Episode 561: Missile Barges and the Modern Auxiliary Cruiser with Chris Rawley

Please join us at 5pm on 4 October 2020 for Midrats Episode 561: Missile Barges and the Modern Auxiliary Cruiser with Chris Rawley

Turning merchant ships in to warships is a story as old as mankind. From war canoe to privateers to auxiliary cruisers fo the modern era - they always fit a certain niche in the drive to control the seas.

What of today? What options are there if we need the ability to get as much "national will" downrange and over the horizon as soon as possible? Combine that question with a new one, "Where are all the VLS cells we need?" - and you have a great episode of Midrats.

Returning to Midrats to discuss these and related issues will be Chris Rawley.

Captain Chris Rawley is Reserve Chief of Staff for Commander, Naval Surface Forces, helping to oversee 3,800 reserve sailors supporting fleet units around the world. During his 28 year military career, Rawley has filled a variety of leadership positions in naval, expeditionary, and joint special operations units afloat and ashore. He has deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, throughout Africa, the Persian Gulf, and Western Pacific. Rawley has a degree from Texas A&M University, earned an MBA at George Washington University, and is a graduate of the U.S. Naval War College and Joint Forces Staff College. In his civilian role, Chris is the CEO of Harvest Returns, a platform for investing in agriculture.

  

  If you use Apple Podcasts, and miss the show live, you can pick up this episode and others and add Midrats to your podcast list simply by going to here. Or on Spreaker. Or on Spotify.

Saturday Is Old Radio Day; Fibber Mcgee and Molly "Uncle Dennis Disappears Parts 1 and 2" (1942)

These shows are from late May and early June of 1942 - about 6 months after the U.S. entered WWII.

PART 1

PART 2

Friday Film: How to Signal (1943)