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bopinion · 1 year

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2023 / 03

Aperçu of the Week:

"A regime that murders its own youth to intimidate its population has no future."

(Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who again summoned the Iranian ambassador to the Foreign Office after the execution of two more protesters in Iran)

Bad News of the Week:

In the 1980s, we took to the streets with the slogan "Make peace without weapons!" Nowadays, it's "We need more guns to keep the peace." Swords to plowshares was yesterday. A beautiful dream from which we wake up startled because a few despots on this planet apparently had a too small shovel in their sandbox. Or a too small penis in their pants. "Geostrategic interests" is the name of the game. The laughter gets stuck in your throat there.

Welcome to a new age of the arms race. Current lowlight: President Emanuel Macron announces that he will invest almost 700 billion in France's military by the end of this decade. Among other things, in aircraft carriers and - watch out! - nuclear weapons. Because "nuclear deterrence (is) an element that distinguishes France from other countries in Europe." So do baguettes and croissants. But they are much more digestible. And, "We see again, in analyzing the war in Ukraine, their high importance." Ooph...

Good News of the Week:

The global community faces a series of interlinked crises. As this year's Global Risks Report explained, a polycrisis. As the summary of the 53rd World Economic Forum in Davos puts it: "The scale of the challenge, the sense of urgency, and the importance of collaboration was a thread that linked all the discussions this week, whether on Ukraine, the climate crises, supply chains, technology and innovation, health, the economy and so much more." In his closing statement, WEF President Børge Brende therefore also says that "in an uncertain and challenging time, one thing is clear: We can shape a more resilient, sustainable and equitable future, but the only way to do so is together."

For years, the Swiss event has been as a gathering of global elites who, far removed from the everyday lives of ordinary citizens of the world, worshipped the capitalist El Dorado of globalization. That is increasingly changing, even if not everyone has realized it yet. For example, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who used his appearance there as an advertisement for Germany as a business location instead of showing internationally long-awaited leadership in crisis management. This year's motto was "Cooperation in a fragmented World", which explicitly does not only mean economic cooperation.

WEF founder Klaus Schwab published the book "The Great Reset" a good two years ago. Conspiracy theorists (mis)understand the positions in it as evidence that a non-transparent neoliberal club is reaching for authoritarian world domination. In fact, it is exactly the opposite: in a disruptive age, the only viable perspective for the global community is to reorient the economy and society. Toward sustainability and social balance instead of profit maximization regardless its downsides.

Once again, it is UN Secretary-General António Guterres who puts it in a nutshell: "There are no perfect solutions in a perfect storm. But we can work to control the damage and seize opportunities. Now more than ever, it's time to forge the pathways to cooperation." Guterres apparently not only has better speechwriters, but also a clearer compass than Scholz. If the physical meeting of global decision-makers in appropriately placarded venues can also be understood as rallying behind the idea in terms of economic policy and aligning their future decisions and actions with it, the world can not only weather the polycrisis, but perhaps even emerge stronger. I hope I'm not being too naive here.

Personal happy moment of the week:

Winter has come after all. Which we enjoyed yesterday on a hike with friends around the Eibsee at the foot of the Zugspitze. As well as with the best pasta I've eaten in a long time. That's how a weekend has to be.

I couldn't care less...

...that French people see it as state overreach that the retirement age is to be raised moderately to 64. In Germany, we are already at 67, and even that will not be affordable in view of the baby boomers who will soon reach that age. To put it another way: the more years you work in the future, the fewer years you will spend in old-age poverty.

As I write this...

...I hope for the better: Today, according to the Chinese calendar, the Year of the Water Bunny begins. A year of hope, as it is called. We can all certainly use that.

Post Scriptum

"The (...) danger assumed on the basis of subjective perception is neither concrete nor present. Whether there will be climate changes is not scientifically proven, causal links between individual human impacts on the environment and climate phenomena are open." What sounds like Joe Manchin is an official pronouncement with which the energy company RWE - that's right: which is currently demolishing Lützerath - has defended itself in court against accepting responsibility for climate change. In 2006!

RWE is the largest producer of carbon dioxide in Europe. And in the next few years, it will earn about half a billion euros a year from coal alone, according to estimates by analysts such as Guido Hoymann, an expert on energy suppliers from Bankhaus Metzler. So money should be there when, hopefully, large-scale lawsuits are finally filed because fossil fuel companies have not only ruined the climate, but also lied about the consequences against their better judgment. The tobacco and fast food producers can sing a song about this.

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amereid1960 · 6 months

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The Geo-strategic Conflict In The Middle East

The Geo-strategic Conflict In The Middle East The Geo-strategic Conflict In The Middle East الصراع الجيواستراتيجي في الشرق الأوسط Authors : Bassemail Abdelkrarim . Abstract In the context of regional studies, the Middle East can be considered a distinct region in global politics because of its geographical and economic characteristics, as well as the nature of local actors and influential…

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#geostrategy; Middle East; conflict; power; war; ; الجيوستراتيجية؛ الشرق الأوسط؛ الصراع؛ القوة؛ الحرب

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alewaanewspaper1960 · 6 months

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The Geo-strategic Conflict In The Middle East

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#geostrategy; Middle East; conflict; power; war; ; الجيوستراتيجية؛ الشرق الأوسط؛ الصراع؛ القوة؛ الحرب

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sahielgr · 10 months

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#geostrategy #politics #economics #technology #video #news #weird #turkey #health #conspiracy

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dissident-33 · 1 year

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Politics of these WEIRDOS 💣🇨🇵

France should not have vocation to make the war in front of the others in such geopolitics outline !!

Do you know that any war depletes the national reserves and increases debts to the point that the country will be on its knees in twenty years for a current European position without interest !!

Especially since our soldiers are so dumb that the investments will not return any cashback but certainly an indefinite chaos !!

REMEMBER:

Already with their crap nuclear power, THE FRENCH ARE SPOILING EUROPE and even Planet Earth !!

BETTER:

LET THE WORLD GREATS DO IT AND STAY HUMBLE with performing well our "SITRAM 🇨🇵" and so forth ...

MACRON MESS ALL UP:

Also Macron remains on his bogus puns that only good complacent grannies cheer up, unawarent that he is advancing straight into THE HOLE with haste and billions wasted in uncontrolled technology and risky investments; yet with our "certified cook pots" (*) we can wisely simmer our new safeguard and sustainable development strategies without any need to shine by costly illusion for keeping within the "top twenty" !!

(*) "cook pots" = "what we know how to do well with efficiency and satisfaction"

#france #europe #economy #politics #war #geostrategy

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tilos-tagebuch · 2 years

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🇪🇺 Dr. Daniele Ganser: Krieg in Europa

Der Historiker und Friedensforscher Daniele Ganser sprach mit Hannes Hörtnagl und Benjamin Deutsch von "Invest in Best" über den laufenden Krieg in der Ukraine, seine Vorgeschichte und den geostrategischen Kontext. Der 🎧 Podcast wurde am 23. September 2022 in Österreich in Tirol im Hotel "Stanglwirt" aufgezeichnet.

#ukraine #europe #germany #russia #geostrategy #podcast #ganser #stanglwirt

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letsflowstudios · 2 years

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#CORONEL #PEDROBAÑOS #STRATEGY #GEOSTRATEGY #POLITICAL #VISION #WORLD #ECONOMY #TRENDS #SPARKUP

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mariacallous · 2 months

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IVALO, FINLAND—Only 20 miles of forest separate the Lapland Border Guard base in the Finnish town of Ivalo from Russia. From here, well above the Arctic Circle, the Border Guards monitor the activities of their not-so-friendly neighbor. And now, after Finland joined NATO in April last year and Helsinki and Washington decided to further strengthen their cooperation by signing a defense cooperation agreement in mid-December, the United States is officially authorized to position troops and equipment at the base.

The United States has similar agreements facilitating military collaboration with the other NATO members bordering mainland Russia: Norway, Estonia, and Latvia. These agreements also specify which of the hosting country’s bases can be used by U.S. forces. After Finland and the United States signed the agreement, Ivalo became the closest base to mainland Russia immediately accessible to U.S. troops.

“It is premature to assess what will possibly be invested in Ivalo, and the criteria are not public,” says Ville Ahtiainen, the deputy commander of the Lapland Border Guard, “but the overall result will be good, and it will deepen the cooperation between our countries.”

NATO’s new 830-mile-long border in Finland draws the alliance’s attention much more to the north, says Kristine Berzina, the managing director of the Geostrategy North program at the German Marshall Fund think tank. The area, she says, has “not received much consideration in the past, especially from a land forces domain.”

This despite Russia’s powerful forces nearby, which include its crown jewels: the Northern Fleet and its nuclear submarines, held in and around the Russian port of Murmansk. The strategic harbor is so close that road signs point to it in Ivalo’s icy streets.

While Finland is counterbalancing Moscow’s superiority in the high north, the enhanced military presence comes with a trade-off. As Berzina notes, the new border also “increases exposure to Russian threats.” After the signing of the December agreement, Moscow declared that it “would take the necessary measures to counter the aggressive decisions of Finland and its NATO allies,” and it has many tools at its disposal. Whether it is weaponized migration, covert operations against infrastructure, or airspace violations, these hybrid attacks are now not only Finland’s problems, but also NATO’s.

In joining NATO, Finland abandoned the policy of military neutrality it had maintained since shortly after World War II. Despite being a NATO partner since 1994, the Nordic country had never been able to count on the protection of allies. Consequently, for decades it took care of its own defense, developing impressive military capabilities and a society trained to fight. According to military experts and security officials, Finland’s presence in NATO brings to the club a sort of Arctic Sparta, a highly trained force that will move the alliance’s center of gravity to the north. (The missing brick in the anti-Russian northern wall is Sweden, which is expected to join the alliance soon, once Hungary gives the green light.)

“Our biggest asset is the concept of total defense that we have developed in all these years,” says Ville Sipilainen, a special advisor to the Finnish defense minister, who closely followed the cooperation agreement’s negotiations. “As a small country, we had to use the entire society for defense. We have very developed infantry, artillery, and of course, the expertise in Arctic warfare.”

On Feb. 11, Finland will go to the polls to elect its new president. The two candidates, Alexander Stubb and Pekka Haavisto, share a decisive anti-Russian position, and no major changes in foreign policy are expected after the vote.

In Ivalo, dozens of young conscripts (usually between 19 and 21) have just arrived and shaved their heads to start military service. They can be seen marching around the base and learning the basic concepts of discipline in the first days. Finland is one of the few EU countries where military service is mandatory, and with 285,000 soldiers ready to be armed, it has one of the largest wartime infantries in NATO. (Around 900,000 people out of a total population of 5.5 million have had military training.)

The Border Guard in Ivalo trains the conscripts especially in reconnaissance along the frontier, where the atmosphere has recently been tense. Last fall, about 1,300 asylum-seekers from countries such as Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Kenya, Morocco, and Pakistan started showing up at Finland’s border crossing points, including the one close to Ivalo. Helsinki has accused Moscow of transporting the migrants to the border and pushing them to seek refuge on the other side, posing “a serious threat to Finland’s national security and public order.” At the end of November, the government closed the entire border, which will remain shut at least until April 14. Also last year, Helsinki started building a 124-mile fence along its eastern frontier.

Weaponized migration is not the only hybrid attack Moscow has been accused of recently. In October, a pipeline connecting Finland and Estonia was severely damaged by what Finnish investigators think was the anchor of a Chinese cargo ship. Rumors of Russian involvement have inflamed the debate in the media since. In the last weeks, GPS disturbances have also affected Finland and the Baltic region, and many Finns suspect that Russia is the source.

During the migrant crisis, the Border Guard received the support of one of, if not the, most skilled Arctic formations in the world: the Finnish Jaeger Brigade. Located in Sodankyla, 100 miles south of Ivalo, it owes its name to a unit of Finnish nationalists created in Germany during World War I, when the grand duchy of Finland was still part of the Russian Empire. For Finland’s NATO allies, the Jaegers and the winter combat course that they organize have become the go-to guys when it comes to Arctic warfare, and Western countries—including the United States—have been sending their troops there to train for years. Since Finland’s accession to NATO, those requests have increased.

The Arctic section leader of the brigade, Maj. Mikael Aikio, 39, has been an instructor at the winter combat course since it was created 10 years ago. Originally from the region, he is a quarter Sámi—an Indigenous people of northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and northwestern Russia. He recently helped design the country-cross skis used by the Finnish Army. This year, he’s teaching 14 Finns and 15 foreign soldiers from the United States, United Kingdom, Estonia, France, and Belgium. “One of the strengths of the Finnish army is that there is a lot of initiative even at low levels,” he says in his office in the Arctic section of the base. “Squads and platoons can make decisions themselves and do things independently. That’s the culture.”

But to make good decisions autonomously, you need skills. While preparing for a day with his students, he puts some newspaper in his boots to absorb moisture. “The devil is in the details,” Aikio says while remembering a training day spent with temperatures that reached 38 degrees Fahrenheit (39 Celsius) below zero.

The brigade’s barracks are scattered across the snow-covered spruce of the Finnish taiga. In mid-January, daylight is less than three hours, but the 29 winter combat course trainees can take advantage of the high latitudes’ long twilights. One of them, Staff Sgt. Cameron Daniels, 29, arrived in Sodankyla at the beginning of January from Fort Drum, New York, where he serves in the 10th Mountain Division. The Finns equipped him with many layers beneath a surprisingly light jacket, three different kinds of gloves, and rubber boots made by a Nokia spinoff company, with a means to attach the skis. “They have excellent gear and great skills I’ll bring back home,” Daniels says, packing his bag. “Their camouflage is great.”

Daniels’s division was founded during World War II, after the U.S. Army observed, impressed, the Finnish feats against the Soviet Union. After signing the nonaggression pact with Germany in 1939, the Soviet Union had launched an offensive against Finland to increase the buffer territory around Leningrad in case of a future attack from Berlin. Then, as in today’s Ukraine, Moscow justified the invasion of the old imperial province by pretending to come to the aid of a minority in Finnish territory. Then, as today, the operation didn’t go as expected. The Red Army suffered huge losses against the Finnish troops, which were much more prepared to fight in the harsh winter conditions. The Finns were particularly effective in small units, and they had some good snipers in their ranks. The most famous of them, Simo Hayha, earned the nickname “White Death” after at least 505 confirmed kills, making him widely considered to be the deadliest marksman ever.

“After the collapse of the Soviet Union, there were hopes that Russia would move closer to Europe,” says Henrik Meinander, a history professor at the University of Helsinki. “Moreover, Finland joined the EU in 1995, and it was expected that a common European defense would be created. Nobody felt the urgency of a NATO membership.” A few steps from the campus, the statue of Tsar Alexander II dominates the capital’s main square. But Russian tourists, the most numerous in Finland before the Ukraine invasion, have almost disappeared. “If Russia had not attacked Ukraine, Finland would not have joined NATO,” Meinander says.

Finland doesn’t just bring massive infantry and ski troops to the table. The country boasts a stronger artillery than any in Western Europe, with about 1,500 weapons and substantial heavy ammunition production. In December, the Defense Ministry announced that it would more than double production to build up its own capabilities as well as to keep supplying Ukraine’s forces. Helsinki recently bought the David’s Sling high-altitude air defense system from Israel and 64 F-35s from the United States. The F-35s purchase brought the country’s expenditure on defense in 2023 above 2 percent of GDP, which is the theoretical minimum required for NATO countries but followed by only a third of the members.

Unlike Estonia or Latvia, Finland will be able to take care of its airspace by itself without the support of NATO allies. According to Sipilainen, the Ministry of Defense advisor, airspace violations from Russia were quite common before Finland joined NATO, but there have been none since then: “Clearly, there is respect for NATO airspace.”

On the other side of the border, Finland’s old enemy is struggling to maintain a solid conventional ground force. The Russian counterparts of the Jaeger Brigade, the 80th Motorized Rifle Brigade and the 200th Motorized Rifle Brigade, have suffered hefty casualties in Ukraine.

“There is not much left,” says Col. Kimmo Kinnunen, the commander of the Jaeger Brigade. “But they have a lot of other capabilities,” pointing to air and naval forces as well as the nuclear submarines based near Murmansk.

In Ivalo, the passage to Murmansk is now closed. Along the border, the situation is quiet, but the Border Guard are tight-lipped about the confrontation with Russia. “We don’t know what will happen, but I hope it will be back to normal,” says a conscript. His superior is in the room, and they exchange glances to be sure he is using appropriate words.

Cpl. Topi Kinnunen, in his early 20s, has just finished his first mandatory six months of service and has now decided to start another six months to train and lead the newcomers. “I chose to come here because it is a tough place, but rewarding,” he says while the recruits come to grips with the Finnish-made RK 62 rifles, designed on the model of the Soviet Kalashnikovs.

Over the past decades, Finland has produced enough to arm its entire reserve. Soon, the armory in Ivalo could also open its doors to weapons from the Pentagon.

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diarrheaworldstarhiphop · 1 year

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is there a progressive agenda to groom children into embracing trans ideology and pedophilia ??

No, the two US parties and their capitalist class benefactors were terrified by the 2020 riots + Jan 6th and wanted to mop up any prevailing violence and insurrectionary inertia against the government and misdirect antagonisms against lumpenproles (transgendereds) like Biden doesn't actually give a shit, he's too busy running geostrategy.

Key point of this Current Thing is that no one is actually driving this apparent conspiracy or agenda to troon out children, just vaguely gesticulating at cultural actors and other such spooks.

Side pot to all this is that it advances the capitalist class's desire to annihilate teachers unions, libraries and privatize the lot of it.

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deuceofgears · 10 months

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overview of the Battle of Myeongnyang

Hey I found this hilarious 2-year-old Reddit thread on Admiral Yi and the Battle of Myeongnyang.

So, some commentary to clarify the matter/in-jokes for the curious! I took a course focusing partly on this war (from Prof. Barry S. Strauss, Cornell U., a classicist and military historian who became interested in Korea - he and his wife adopted two children from Korea), studied this specific battle for that course, and am familiar with a number of the English-language sources. (Notes on sources at the end.)

Incompetence of enemies: This is a little more complicated than that. The Japanese had BY FAR the superior, seasoned land forces after being forged in Sengoku, of which the two main armies were led by Katō and Konishi. (Those two had a rivalry, which was IIRC partly informed by one being a Buddhist and the other a Christian.) Meanwhile, the Korean land forces largely had inept leadership, with a few exceptions.

I want to explain the ineptitude of the Korean (land) forces here, with some context that isn't always known in the West. First, the dynasty of that time (the Yi Dynasty or Joseon Dynasty) was founded by a rebel general. They were paranoid about a repeat performance, so their brilliant solution was to quarter the generals in the capital (Hanyang/Seoul) and leave the armies out in the provinces. Brilliant! Great way to neuter your military!

Cultural factors also: Joseon largely preferred a peaceful existence. If you think about GEOSTRATEGY, the Korean peninsula is stuck beneath China (seriously: Don't Piss Off China is a whole Korean thing) and then there's Japan (multiple invasions during the course of Korean history). As the saying goes, "Korea is a shrimp between two whales" (or "a shrimp among whales," I've seen different translations).

The literati/noble class (yangban) highly valued scholarship and the military was much less prestigious. Yi took the test for military service and actually originally FLUNKED (the cavalry portion, more about that anon) because he fell off his horse and broke his leg. :p

This was also influenced by neo-Confucianism, for which the short explanation is Hi! We will imitate our older brother China! We are going to be MORE CONFUCIAN than the Confucians! Confucianism valued scholarship over the military. This also leads to the interesting interlude where the history of conflict between Confucianism and Buddhism in Korea ("renounce the material world" was seen as threatening to the former) led to super awkward negotiations with the BUDDHIST WARRIOR MONKS AND THEIR ABBOT to help defend the country.

Also in the facepalm realm for Joseon infantry, Portuguese traders did try to introduce muskets to Joseon. The Korean comment was "they look like dogs' legs" and a lack of interest. This was not the case in Japan, where they figured out how to use muskets to advantage.

And the thing is, Joseon had gunpowder, but they were in the realm of artillery, e.g. the terrifying hwacha (multiple rocket launcher; the name literally is "fire cart"), and naval cannon (more below). But not infantry small arms.

Another cultural factor: Joseon had a unified military in terms of branches, which is to say, there wasn't a separate army and navy. They were one service. (Even in the S. Korean military, the word for "admiral" and "general" are the same, ditto down the separate branches, which I believe are modeled after the USAn model because, well, history around the Korean War. See here for Hangeul/romanized rank names.) What makes this interesting is that, essentially, Admiral Yi had no previous specific naval experience before taking command of Left Jeolla (Chŏlla in McCune-Reischauer) and its fleet. He was previously posted to a northern commandery fighting against the Jurchens; did well there. But he wasn't "navy" in the sense of working with ships previously.

Aside: I also find the fact that Joseon had CAVALRY to be hilarious, given the very very very mountainous/cavalry-hostile terrain. (My theory for this, which may or may not be current, is that Koreans are more or less descended from steppes horse people who rode down into the peninsula and couldn't find their way out again; cf. the Silla antler crowns being believed to have a similar heritage to similar Siberian artifacts. I'm sure there are mountainous countries somewhere who have fielded decent cavalry. Joseon flail-wielding cavalry was probably not it.)

In any case, upon being appointed naval CO for Left Jeolla, Yi began preparing for invasion from Japan, including the construction of the turtle ships. One thing people are often confused about - the turtle ships were in fact very impressive, but they were NOT the mainstay of the fleet; those were the panokseon ships.

So, the deal with Japan is: Great infantry! Inferior naval doctrine and ships that did not fare as well in Korea's waters, and certain deficiencies in construction by comparison. I'm oversimplifying here, but Japan's naval doctrine was necessarliy "Sail up to you! Board you with our soldiers!" They had great infantry but their ships carried at best 5 or 6 cannon.

Joseon's panokseon carried 20+ cannon (possibly up to 50) with ranges of 500-1,000 m. Joseon's naval doctrine was "We have cannon! Broadsides from range!!!" Just think about the difference in FIREPOWER.

Added to that, Korean ships were more sturdily built (which allowed them to carry more cannon in the first place). I have never heard that flimsier ships are good for standing up against broadsides. And the Japanese ships were faster in open waters, but the deeper draft meant they suffered in Korean coastal waters even beyond not knowing the coast as well, and didn't turn as well, especially in Korea's coastal channels. The panokseon, better adapted to Korean coastal waters, could turn sharply and more easily.

To be clear, Hideyoshi was aware of the naval issue. IIRC Hideyoshi tried to impress pirates who preyed on the Korean coast/islands because of their knowledge of the local waters.

For Admiral Yi's part, he was not a Jeolla native but he intensively and actively questioned locals about the local waters and enemy activities and evaluated their intel (his war diary will say things like "not entirely reliable report" or whatever). I also tend to imagine that Korean peasants/fishers are probably going to be friendlier about providing intel to a fellow Korean during an invasion but what do I know; as a friend pointed out, the fishers probably also just wanted to go fish and not deal with military people from anywhere. Yi also actively worked to rehabilitate the fleet/build more ships before the invasion came.

Also, Hideyoshi's larger goal wasn't Korea! Ideally he could get Korea to roll over so he could pass his troops through! His goal was China and then maybe, after that, all the way to India! (Hahahah holy logistics NO.) And in fact Ming China sent aid, or "aid," to help defend Korea; I say "aid" because Ming troops often committed atrocities while passing through Korea, including rape; a number of Koreans also raped their own countryfolk under cover of the war. Anyway, Hideyoshi originally sent envoy Sō Yoshitoshi of Tsushima, who was known to Korea thanks to trade agreements, to try to get Korea to knuckle under. Sō dragged his heels about this because this would suck for trade agreement purposes and also, he probably had a much more realistic idea of how the Korean court would respond, which was, to paraphrase, lolnope.

So: Japan rolled Korean defenses up on land. Japan got hosed at sea because somehow the Korean military produced Admiral Yi. Yi's victories at sea fucked up Japan's LOCs over the water.

Meanwhile, Joseon: very problematic king: it sure helped morale when the king fled the capital, not, but OTOH given the general terrible quality of Korea's military leadership…and then, on the other hand, the court was WILDLY fucked up with infighting/factions/politics, Admiral Yi was THROWN INTO JAIL AND TORTURED during the mid-war interlude before the Japanese came back. And then Yi got reinstated AND STAYED LOYAL. The level of virtue/loyalty he showed to the regime is astonishing. Honestly the sources are pretty universal on his levels of humility, loyalty, and filial piety; if you read his papers in Nanjung Ilgi he was VERY VERY CONCERNED about his mom.

The Imjin War is also a weird example where you can say that Yi's leadership singlehandedly made a difference in the war at sea because there's almost a "scientific" test. After Yi's rival Won Kyun took over the Korean fleet from Yi, who had been removed from command, he took the Korean fleet of 200 ships vs. 500-1,000 Japanese ships and lost so badly that only twelve (12) ships remained. (Also, Won Kyun died, GOOD RIDDANCE.)

Admiral Yi was reinstated and fought the Battle of Myeongnyang directly afterward. Thirteen (13) ships in his fleet, last stand, he was outnumbered AT LEAST ten to one; the Japanese had 133 or more ships. Yi inflicted a crushing defeat by exploiting local very weird currents and lost no ships.

Additionally, here's the role of the fishing boats: he rounded up a bunch of them and arranged them in a line at the edge of visibility to confuse the issue by fooling the Japanese into thinking they were a large Korean fleet, and the "actual" fleet of 13 ships was just a squadron.

BTW, if you look at the Wikipedia account of The Battle of Myeongnyang, the article states that the tidal currents shifted every THREE hours, which is incorrect information propagated from the Stephen Turnbull book cited (and what Ken Liu and I have kvetched about); the shifts are every SIX hours. (See end re: sources for more discussion of this.) In any case, these currents went at about 10 knots, which was literally as fast as the Japanese ships could go EVER. (Panokseon weren't all that fast either, but they had CANNON.) Yi exploited the timing of the currents, to basically draw the Japanese into the strait (the currents pushing the Japanese forward) so they couldn't escape or maneuver effectively, and then attacking/advancing against the Japanese when the current's flow reversed and propelled the Korean fleet forward. The narrowness of the strait negated the numerical advantage of the Japanese, so Yi could destroy them a few at a time. Also, remember the advantage in firepower? Yeah.

…whoa wait what Candle Arc is cited (under fictional depictions)?! It's not technically quite true to say that Shuos Jedao is based on Admiral Yi, in that they have EXACTLY OPPOSITE PERSONALITIES. I just stole the tactics.

Anyway! Yi lost zero (0) ships. The Japanese were routed and lost perhaps 30 fighting ships, possibly others.

There are apocryphal stories about a chain across the strait; this is generally regarded as a myth. Admiral Yi's reports and war diary make no mention of such a thing, etc.

I do want to be clear that while Admiral Yi was virtuous by Korean standards, he wasn't a soft cinnamon roll either. He regularly had cowards whipped, or deserters/cowards/etc. beheaded, as one would kind of expect for a military commander of his day.

But yeah. This is widely regarded as the best example of his tactical brilliance. (The other, earlier battle that's highly regarded, although not as ZOMG as this one, is Hansan-do.) Japan's Admiral Togo Heihachiro, after defeating a Russian fleet during the Russo-Japanese War (1905): a colleague compared him to Admiral Nelson and Admiral Yi Sun-shin. Togo's response: "It may be proper to compared me with Nelson, but not with Korea's Yi Sun-shin. He is too great to be compared to anyone." A JAPANESE ADMIRAL.

Although I remember a class discussion on AUs and so on to the tune of, Korea and/or the world may have screwed themselves over by trashing the Hideyoshi's navy so soundly. Because THE JAPANESE PAY ATTENTION TO MILITARY LESSONS. You know what they worked on polishing to a high gloss after that? THEIR NAVY. Cue e.g. the Russo-Japanese War (hugely shocking to the West when the Japanese WON) and, you know, Imperial Japan generally, WWII, etc. :] Tbh if Japan somehow decided that they were going to do the military thing and conquer the world with GUNDAMS, I would be scared out of my mind, not least because all the anime fans would be signing up in droves. I will never forget a ca. 2000 American anime fan's webpage about Robotech and how ridiculous/unbelievable it was that Minmei's singing/"power of culture" could have any kind of real effectiveness. Me: Ah yes, you, an American weeb, obsessively writing about an American cartoon that's a mashup of three Japanese shows, I can't see any "power of culture" here at all, lol, I think the Japanese are winning this.

Note on sources and further reading: the difficulty regarding sources for the English-language (or other) reader: the Korean official records were generally? written in Classical Chinese. I'm pretty sure a bunch of primary sources like the Imjin Changch'o [Admiral Yi Sun-Shin's Memorials to Court] and 난중일기 / 亂中日記 / Nanjung Ilgi [War Diary of Admiral Yi Sun-Shin] have been translated into modern Korean, plus what must be an immense amount of scholarship in modern Korean. In the case of the Imjin Changch'o and Nanjung Ilgi, there do exist English translations from Yonsei UP although they are old and typo-ridden. If you read Korean, you're probably okay for Korean sources. If you read Classical Chinese, even better. (If you're wondering why the romanization of those titles doesn't match modern romanization, the publications are old enough that they're using McCune-Reischauer, not the reformed system that the S. Korean government put into place ca. 2002. Except for the above or for modern people's names, where romanization is at "whatever works" and there is no standardized method, I have used the modern system throughout.)

The older English-language books extant around the time I was reading up on this and/or taking a class on the subject:

- Samuel Hawley's The Imjin War (if you only have time for one book, this is probably my pick - it is the best single-volume introduction and overview, gives cultural/historical context, discusses the roles of the Ming and Japan as well as civilian impact (the war was HUGELY ruinous to the population given how poorly Korea fared on land and, y'know, THREE armies plus looters/rapists), and from there you can go off to argue with him)

- Park Yune-hee's Admiral Yi and His Turtleboat Armada (solid info focused on the military/shipbuilding end, but the title is WILDLY misleading about how many turtleboats there were, it was mostly a panokseon show)

- Michael D. Shin's Korean History in Maps (fun, but supplemental)

- Stephen Turnbull, whose specialty is Japanese military history, has some books from that standpoint, but there are some problems with his account of Myeongnyang. I'm irritated that his inaccurate information on the Myeongnyang tidal current phenomenon keeps propagating in English ALL OVER THE PLACE. Turnbull claims the tidal currents reversed every THREE hours. Korean sources I've checked, e.g. 천체의 궤도 운동 주기 분석을 통한 명량대첩 당시의 명량수도 조류 상태에 관한 연구 (A study on the current state of Myeongnyangsu water at the time of the Myongryang battle through analysis of the orbital motion period of celestial bodies), have it much more logically at every SIX hours. I am of the opinion that Korean scholars are much more likely to know what the hell is going on in their waters than Stephen fucking Turnbull. Also, you know, the way TIDES work on EARTH with its 24-hour rotation and BASIC MATH (I was ??? and ran this by a computational geologist and an astrophysicist for a sanity check, who both agreed that they had no idea how Turnbull arrived at THREE hours; my going theory is Turnbull Cannot Math).

- There are Chinese sources (I am unfamiliar with these, although IIRC Ken Liu was familiar with them last time I talked to him about this a DECADE ago) and IIRC some from European traders who were operating in the area at the time. The Portuguese for sure; I could have sworn the Dutch as well but I can't remember clearly.

- Also please approach the goddamn Wikipedia page on the Battle of Myeongnyang with caution. If you'll look at the Talk page, beyond even the Turnbull error, there is a Japan-vs.-Korea-among-other-things flamewar, as one might expect. It's very entertaining. XD

Some more English-language scholarship has come out on this since then. One of these days I'll have the time to catch up. :)

#long post #imjin war #korea #military history #admiral yi sun-shin #battle of myeongnyang

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bopinion · 7 months

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2023 / 39

Aperçu of the Week:

"I would like to ask you what language the Palestinians speak? Was there a Palestinian coin at some point in history? Is there a Palestinian history or a Palestinian culture? There isn't. There is no such thing as a Palestinian people."

(Bezalel Joel Smotrich, Finance Minister of Israel and Chairman of the right-wing "Religious Zionism" party)

Bad News of the Week:

Serbia and Kosovo. Sadly, proof that the tensions that led to the Yugoslav Wars in the Balkans from 1991 to 2001 are far from over. The conflict over Kosovo is centuries old. The area has special significance for Serbia because it is home to numerous medieval Serbian Orthodox monasteries. Serbian nationalists also see a symbol of their independence in a battle against Ottoman Turks in 1389 in Kosovo. However, the majority - then and now - are ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo. They are mostly Muslims. They regard the area as their country and accuse the Serbs of having oppressed them for decades. Formerly granted special rights have been revoked, for example. In February 2008, Kosovo declared itself independent, and since then the region has been up in the air, with NATO stationing KFOR protection troops there.

Now the situation is escalating again. Already last April, there were clashes when Serbs boycotted local elections in the region. In the process, 30 NATO peacekeepers and more than 50 Serb protesters were injured. The fuse has been smoldering ever since. Last weekend, a conflict broke out between armed Serbs and Kosovar police, ending in deaths. Allegedly, however, this was not an official Serbian military unit, but the private militia of a Serbian businessman. What nobody believes.

Now for days Serbia has been pulling together an unprecedented amount of infantry, tanks and artillery - at 48 points directly on the border. Of course Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, speaking to the Financial Times, denied that his country was planning military action. But John Kirby, the usually well-informed spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, confirmed it. "We are seeing a large Serbian military presence along the border with Kosovo," he said. This includes "an unprecedented deployment of Serbian artillery, tanks, and mechanized infantry units."

It is with some trepidation that I currently pay attention when a "news alert" goes ping. For once again, a cold war may become a hot one. In the middle of Europe. Because of the imperialistic claim to power of one nation against another. Geostrategy and testosterone. Frustrating.

Good News of the Week:

"Judge's ruling on Trump financial empire poses existential threat." was a headline on CNN last Wednesday. Donald Trump and his Trump organization had committed "financial fraud for years." Is that a surprise? No. At least not to Europeans. Who never understood that a windbag like Donald Jessica Trump could get away with such obvious lies for so long in a state of law. And then also leads the forecasts for the upcoming US presidential elections. Excuse me?

Finally, on Friday, Trumpist Scott Hall pleaded guilty to multiple counts of attempted election fraud in the Georgia trial. Trump is among the other 18 co-accused. I can't believe anyone could be so naive as to believe a bail bondsman would have completely independently committed the exact acts that were in Trump's playbook - "I want you to find the votes!"

The GOP seems to be unable to break with the 45th president in U.S. history. Various potential opponents, but especially the powerful super PACs in the background, are increasingly disillusioned that the candidacy is unlikely to be taken away from him. His approval ratings seem rock solid. But slowly I'm getting the sense (or the hope) - from across the ocean - that the legal manifestation of his constant misbehavior is having an effect on the American (voting) people. I've lost track of how many cases Trump is currently charged with in which court anyway. And it's all there: Fraud, Porn Star, bribery, Rudy Giuliani, rape, defamation, fixer, tax evasion - you name it. Seriously, a guy like that couldn't even get himself nominated for the Recording Secretary of a flower growers club anywhere in the world. And yet could become president for the second time in the Land of unlimited opportunities? The supposedly most powerful man in the world?

I fundamentally believe in the good in people. But there are exceptions. Trump is one of them. When I think about which personality would put the greater good above personal ego, I certainly can't think of him. So when there are again and again brave prosecutors and special investigators who stand up to Mar-A-Lago, the Proud Boys and Matt Gaetz, I pay them my respect. And in the end this guy is simply unelectable. Now all we need is for enough hockey moms in the suburbs and used car salesmen in the rust belt to realize that. He's not one of you. He's not anti-establishment. He's a notorious egomaniac. He doesn't have your best interests at heart. But only his own.

Personal happy moment of the week:

Hello again! The coronavirus is back: as soon as it gets cooler, the variant BA.2.86, called "Pirola", starts to spread. With new symptoms, an extensive resistance to the previous vaccines and practically without monitoring - because a test regime or even a data collection does not take place (anymore). The shock was correspondingly great when a colleague first called in sick at the beginning of the week and then submitted the information "COVID infection". I am one of the three colleagues who had the most intensive contact with him in the preceding days. Immediately, a colleague got rapid tests, all of which were negative. A follow-up test two days later also confirms that I got away with it once again. Lucky me.

I couldn't care less...

...about the political future of Rishi Sunak. The British prime minister, in office for less than a year, looks pale and erratic. There is no sign of leadership or vision. There are plenty of headwinds at the current Tory party conference: the Conservatives are 20% behind the Social Democrats in polls. The economy is not recovering, there is no normalization after the Brexit chaos. The migration issue is inflated and not solved. Climate targets are being softened, climate measures put on hold. Rail infrastructure measures are being cut, mobility with automobiles is being supported. His party's populism is becoming more and more right-wing, and increasing radicalism is dividing the country. Soon, Labour may adopt the old Brexiteer slogan "taking back control."

As I write this...

...I am glad that a deal was brokered between the Writers' Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Lasting 148 days, the strike was one of the longest in the history of writers for television and cinema in the USA. So my much liked late night show hosts will soon be able to entertain me with their monologues again.

Post Scriptum

For 40 years there should have been a worldwide holiday on September 26. Because the Russian Stanislav Petrov prevented the third world war in 1983. The computer in a Soviet control center reported an American nuclear attack. However, the responsible officer Petrov believed in a false alarm (in the end, a spy satellite was irritated by reflections of the sun), refused to trigger the nuclear counterattack and thus saved mankind.

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