90 Miles From Tyranny

Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Tunnel Defense: India is Going Underground to Stop Chinese Aggression

Indian military leaders have noted how the Chinese successfully used tunnel defenses against the Japanese forces during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Even as de-escalation talks continue, it appears that the Indian Army is also continuing to dig in—but whether such fortifications will prove useful in a shooting war is another issue. The remote plains of the Ladakh Valley have been described as excellent tank country and the tunnels could be easily flanked like the Maginot Line on the French border with Germany.

After dismissing the news that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) employed microwave energy weapons against the troops stationed near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) earlier this year, the Indian Army announced that it has begun to employ “tunnel defenses” to pre-empt any “transgression” from the Chinese forces.

It was August 29–30 that Indian Army soldiers along with Special Front Force personnel occupied the position at the LAC south of Pangong Tso lake on the Kailash Range ridgeline for the first time since 1962. Despite some claims that the PLA used the microwave energy weapons to drive off the Indian forces, the Indian Army maintains that it not only has maintained its presence at that forward position, but it has taken a page from the Chinese military playbook by digging in.

The Hindustan Times reported that Indian military leaders have noted how the Chinese successfully used tunnel defenses against the Japanese forces during the Second Sino-Japanese War, while also how the Vietcong utilized similar tactics against American forces during the Second Indo-China War (Vietnam War). Tunneling efforts were also employed by the Japanese on Iwo Jima and other islands, while the North Koreans also used tunnels during the Korean War and has continued to build up its Tunnels of Aggression, which feature electrical lighting, weapon-storage and sleeping accommodations.

The PLA has also built tunnel shelters to house aircraft at Lhasa airbase and underground pens to house nuclear ballistic missile submarines in the Hainan Islands in...Even as de-escalation talks continue, it appears that the Indian Army is also continuing to dig in—but whether such fortifications will prove useful in a shooting war is another issue. The remote plains of the Ladakh Valley have been described as excellent tank country and the tunnels could be easily flanked like the Maginot Line on the French border with Germany.

After dismissing the news that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) employed microwave energy weapons against the troops stationed near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) earlier this year, the Indian Army announced that it has begun to employ “tunnel defenses” to pre-empt any “transgression” from the Chinese forces.

It was August 29–30 that Indian Army soldiers along with Special Front Force personnel occupied the position at the LAC south of Pangong Tso lake on the Kailash Range ridgeline for the first time since 1962. Despite some claims that the PLA used the microwave energy weapons to drive off the Indian forces, the Indian Army maintains that it not only has maintained its presence at that forward position, but it has taken a page from the Chinese military playbook by digging in.

The Hindustan Times reported that Indian military leaders have noted how the Chinese successfully used tunnel defenses against the Japanese forces during the Second Sino-Japanese War, while also how the Vietcong utilized similar tactics against American forces during the Second Indo-China War (Vietnam War). Tunneling efforts were also employed by the Japanese on Iwo Jima and other islands, while the North Koreans also used tunnels during the Korean War and has continued to build up its Tunnels of Aggression, which feature electrical lighting, weapon-storage and sleeping accommodations.

Primis Player Placeholder

The PLA has also built tunnel shelters to house aircraft at Lhasa airbase and underground pens to house nuclear ballistic missile submarines in the Hainan Islands in...

TRUMP RALLY LIVE IN DC: President Donald Trump at Save America Rally at The Ellipse 1/6/21

Ossoff proclaims victory in Georgia race as Democrats near sweep of U.S. Senate

Democrat Jon Ossoff claims a win over incumbent Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) on Wednesday morning as Democrats were poised to complete a sweep of the crucial Georgia run offs that would give them control of the U.S. Senate.

The 33-year old documentary filmmaker led incumbent Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) by a margin of just 16,000 votes out of more than 4 million cast.

But the remaining votes were mostly in strongly Democratic areas around Atlanta, meaning Ossoff was a prohibitive favorite to wind up on top.

If Ossoff does maintain the vote lead, Democrats will take control of Congress, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will be displaced by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and President-elect Joe Biden’s legislative standing will benefit as he prepares to take office on Jan. 20.

“It feels like a brand new day. For the first time in six years, Democrats will operate a majority in the United States Senate -- and that will be very good for the American people,” said Schumer on Wednesday morning.

Although the election has yet to be officially called, Ossoff vowed to work in Washington D.C. to beat the COVID pandemic.

“Let’s unite to defeat this virus and to rush economic relief to those who need it now,” Ossoff said

Ossoff paid tribute to fallen civil rights heroes like the late Rep. John Lewis, whom he said paved the way for his win in the Deep South.

“It’s with humility that I thank the people of Georgia for electing me,” Ossoff said. “Whether you voted for me or against me, I’ll be for...

On January 6 (today), We Learn Whether our Constitution Will Hold

And whether congressional Republicans care.

The 2020 presidential election was, in several targeted battleground states, an unconstitutional electoral exercise. Even putting aside evidence of significant fraud, virtually none of which received a hearing by our courts, events leading up to and including the November national election constituted a radical and grave departure from the federal electoral system adopted by the framers of the Constitution and the state ratification conventions. Now, let's be clear: None of this matters to the Democrat Party, since it and its surrogates perpetrated these unconstitutional acts, as I shall soon explain. Nor does it matter to the media, which is utterly illiterate on the subject and unequivocally supports the supposed outcome in any event. But it should be of great moment and concern to the people of this country and especially to congressional Republicans in both Houses, for if the latter do not at least confront and challenge this lawlessness on January 6, when Congress meets to count the electors, it will be the GOP's undoing and, simultaneously, the undoing of our presidential electoral system. Ultimately, it will be the people of the United States who love our republic who will be the losers.

Win, lose, or draw, on January 6, the Republicans must not act as if "the people have spoken" and be cowered into passivity or worse, such as joining the Democrat Party and media hecklers, by insisting that they are part of a lawless party seeking to "reverse the results of the election." Too many Republicans have already buckled, including the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, Sen. John Thune, and Rep. Adam Kinzinger. No doubt others who are unreliable and cowardly when facing the organized mob will follow. But let us not be judged by those who have intentionally and strategically manipulated our politics and the law to undermine our constitutional order. It is they who must be condemned.

Specifically, Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the federal Constitution could not be more explicit. It states, in pertinent part: "Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress ..." This language was purposeful. During the Constitutional Convention, there were various proposals suggested for electing a president. Should the president be directly elected by the people? That proposal was rejected out of concern that such a purely democratic process could be hijacked by a temporary majority. Should the president be chosen in the first instance from within the national legislature? That proposal was also rejected on grounds of separation of powers. Should the judiciary play a role in the selection of the president? That idea was dispensed with as being the most objectionable, as judges were to be the least political of all public officials. The framers deliberatively and with much thought created the Electoral College process, in which the people and their elected legislatures — both state and national — would play important roles. But the electoral process rested first and foremost on the state legislatures directing how the electors would be chosen. The reason: While rejecting the direct election of a president, the framers concluded that the state legislatures were closest to the people in their respective states and would be the best representatives of their interests. At no time did the framers even raise the possibility that governors, attorneys general, secretaries of state, election boards, ...