Putin’s army is dwindling and other commentary – New York Post

War watch: Putins Armys Top-Down Woes

Russias lost at least five generals fighting in Ukraine in less than a month thanks to communications failures and a lack of discipline among ... conscripted troops thatve made it more difficult to communicate orders to the front lines, Jack Detsch reports at Foreign Policy. Whats likely the highest death rate of Russian general officers since World War II makes the military less able to operate and more bogged down. The invasion marks the largest deployment of Russian forces since the USSRs fall, larger even than the Soviet war in Afghanistan. And Russia relies more on stringent top-down command ... than Western militaries, involving high-ranking officers in the nitty-gritty of tactical decisions. Says US Adm. (ret.) James Foggo, Theyre kind of winging it. This is breaking down into an undisciplined rabble.

President Biden was never circumspect about wanting to destroy Americas energy sector, recalls Spectator Worlds Matt Purple, and when he was elected, he nominated people like John Kerry who sought to do just that. But after canceling the Keystone pipeline and freezing fracking on federal lands, Biden whirls around and says: Change of plan! The man who once harangued the oil companies for peddling fossil fuels is now haranguing them for charging too much for fossil fuels. Its like Carrie Nation sauntering into a saloon and wondering why there arent more Kentucky single-malts. Why the panic over prices? America is and always will be a car culture, and filling up the tank is a regular and visceral punch. With midterms months away, even Team Biden understands this.

Far beyond its losses in Vladimir Putins Ukraine invasion, Russia in the long term say, a generation from now is really, really screwed, notes National Reviews Jim Geraghty. Its population dropped by 1 million in 2021, a stunning figure that reflects a team-up of an aging population, a low birth rate and the pandemic. Add the ongoing exodus of Russians who can emigrate, including more than 200,000 since the invasion started, and estimated war losses already of 7,000 to 15,000 ... young men who will not be returning home and starting families. And climate change threatens the regions where a lot of Russias oil and natural-gas exports originate. In all, on a variety of fronts, the Russia of 2030 is likely to be weaker than the Russia of today, and the Russia of 2040 weaker still.

I have no prejudice against men who wish to identify as women, writes Ayaan Hirsi Ali at UnHerd, but that doesnt mean biological women should be forced to accept the participation of trans women in their sports competitions. There are more than 3,000 genes that contribute to muscle differences between human males and females, and many developments from puberty are permanent. No wonder University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, who transitioned to female mid-career, finished 65th when competing in the mens 500-yard freestyle but leapt to finishing first when competing against women. We need a Trans Olympics to allow such individuals to compete with appropriate peers. Otherwise, biological women may find themselves squeezed out of sport altogether.

COVID itself is fading but the idiocy is not, laments Bill Maher on The Adam Carolla Show. I still see people with masks, young people, outside, the people [who say,] The Science. Well, theres no science for that, you moron. Youre not going to get [COVID] outside. And youre young. And the thing is mild now, and its f--king over, almost. Yes, therell be another variant; its how viruses work. And yes, we should have compassion for the people whove suffered from it. But the insanity of it when people are scared, when you induce this mass hysteria, which is what we did. ... Boy!

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Putin's army is dwindling and other commentary - New York Post