Some quick X threads and podcasts, mostly about news in National Security. This post also serves as an open thread. I welcome readers to post comments or additional links related to national security or history, even if they are unrelated to the links below.
An observation: Since I have been writing more lately, the traffic on this blog has ticked up considerably, and the two leading countries that read this are the U.S. (naturally) and China (interestingly). On the sidebar, if you click on the main site, there is a Popular Posts column, and two articles have been climbing the list: Visualizing the Fortifications in the South China Sea, January 24, 2025, and Daily Dump: China dominates the Caribbean, Their Own, and Redraws the Map, September 4, 2023. Both are okay, but I find it interesting that those are the two that have been moving up the leaderboard.
Strategic clarity. An excellent podcast. My position is we need capitalism with a conscience, and China simply doesn’t fit in our model. Decoupling is essential, and ideological spheres of influence are the future.
Ayungin Shoal is not a favor from anyone — it is part of the Philippines.
There was no “gentleman’s agreement,” no promise to remove the BRP Sierra Madre, and no change to correct.
The ship was stationed there in 1999 to guard Philippine territory after China’s illegal… https://t.co/F55LNhU2L5
— BRP Sierra Madre (@BRPSierraMadre) November 5, 2025
If you are trying to understand the disputes in the South China Sea… the West Philippine Sea, start here. This is an excellent primer on the situation.
The video unraveling how China is aggressively militarizing the #JohnsonReef (Đá Gạc Ma)!
I don’t know what this text written in Chinese means, but the visuals speak for themselves.
China illegally built communication towers & helipad, etc, to form a complete military base. pic.twitter.com/R9ormSxWn0
— Nguyen Thi hong (@NguyenThih36) November 4, 2025
The video details the scale of the construction. It’s pretty incredible considering the islands don’t even belong to China. For more information and a look at all of the construction, you can go to this article we wrote several months ago: Visualizing the Fortifications in the South China Sea
Palantir CEO Alex Karp on open borders and killing fentanyl traffickers:
“If fentanyl was killing 60,000 Yale grads instead of 60,000 working class people, we’d be dropping a nuclear bomb on whoever was sending it from South America.
“At Palantir, we are on the side of the… pic.twitter.com/d6ym0SDw5r
— Jawwwn (@jawwwn_) November 3, 2025
I don’t know if I think CEO Karp’s sentiment is as noble as he is making it sound, but this is pretty much EXACTLY how I feel. We are at war and are finally choosing to fight.
Lessons from El-Alamein: This week in 1942
When Bernard Montgomery took command of the British Eighth Army in 1942, he inherited a force that had forgotten how to win. Morale was shattered, the officers were cautious, and defeat had become habit. Sound familiar?
His first act… pic.twitter.com/fKuaE6wZPp
— InfantryDort (@infantrydort) November 4, 2025
A history lesson about the British Army in 1942, where the key to success was removing the old guard and embracing a younger, more agile officer corps.
Cows are destroying the planet!” —Bill Gates, who’s invested millions in lab-grown meat while ignoring the real solution.
Turns out, he’s dead wrong.
At White Oak Pastures, regenerative farming doesn’t just offset emissions—it reverses them. Their beef is carbon-negative, with… pic.twitter.com/20VwNpqqcC
— Camus (@newstart_2024) November 3, 2025
I love steaks and hamburgers and cows are a force for good.