By Chuck Bentley, CP Guest Contributor Friday, June 13, 2025Dear Chuck,My young adult children and their spouses all use these Afterpay plans as if it's no big deal. I try to warn them, but they think…

[View Article at Source]The U.S. must distance itself from an Israeli war of choice. The post This Is Not Our War appeared first on The American Conservative.

One is accused of repeatedly raping his wife and attempting to smuggle her and their children to the U.K.

Site has no Description

Uncategorized Ukraine’s ‘Spider’s Web’ Could Ensnare Kiev and the West Even spectacular operations can lead to more harm than good. Credit: Maxim Voytenko/Getty Images Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called the operation an “absolutely brilliant outcome.” Over 100 Ukrainian-made drones, hidden inside wooden sheds on trucks parked near five airbases deep inside Russian territory, were released and remotely steered into Russian warplanes in an intelligence operation code-named “Spider’s Web” that took 18 months to plan.  Ukrainian officials said that they had verified that 41 Russian planes, including strategic bombers, were hit, and half of those were destroyed or damaged beyond repair. The operation was a PR coup, but it should be judged by its effect on the war, not on public perception. Many of Ukraine’s most stunning operations have been spectacular enough to sell Ukraine’s western partners on the war yet have had a devastating effect on Ukraine’s war effort. The offensive in Russia’s Kursk region was a bold operation that made it look like Ukraine could take the war to enemy territory. But Ukrainians failed to hold onto any land that could be used in negotiations, and the operation failed to divert Russian troops from eastern Ukraine as intended. Instead, it left the Donbas front, where the real war was being fought, weakened and vulnerable, and it cost Ukraine horrific losses of its best trained fighters and most advanced Western-supplied military equipment. As for Spider’s Web, sober accounting suggests an outcome less brilliant than Kiev had claimed. The U.S. assesses that the actual number of Russian warplanes hit was 20 and that the number destroyed was 10. How much of an impact Russia’s loss of those bombers will cause is disputed, but some analysts think battlefield conditions will be mostly unaffected. As Geoffrey Roberts, professor emeritus of history at University College Cork and a specialist in Soviet military policy, told The American Conservative, “As always with Ukrainian actions, there is a theatrical element. I don’t think it has any strategic significance in relation to the course and outcome of the war.” As happened with the Kursk offensive, Ukraine runs the risk that an audacious operation could lead to a Russian response that proves more devastating in military terms. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that, during a recent phone call, “President Putin did say, and very strongly that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has confirmed that Putin told Trump that there would be a Russian response “when and how our military deems appropriate.” Since then, in a series of massive drone and long-range missile attacks across Ukraine, the Russian military has struck workshops where drones and weapons are designed, built, and repaired, as well as warehouses where military equipment is stored. There are also reports that Russian drones have destroyed many of Ukraine’s Western-supplied howitzers, long-range missiles, and air defense munitions that were held in an underground bunker.  And yet, U.S. officials believe that Russia’s promised retaliation “has not happened yet in earnest.” They believe the looming attack “is likely to be a significant, multi-pronged strike” that could be “huge, vicious and unrelenting.” And the danger is not just to Ukraine. Since the planes targeted in the drone attack were no ordinary planes, but bombers capable of carrying nuclear bombs as part of a Russian response to a nuclear strike, the operation poses risks for nuclear arms control. The New START Treaty aims to verifiably reduce the nuclear arsenals of the United States and Russia. It went into effect in February 2011 and was extended until February 2026. It is the last remaining strategic arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia. It contains transparency measures for verifying each side’s compliance with its obligations. An important component of that transparency, per Richard Sakwa, Emeritus Professor of Russian and European Politics at the University of Kent, is that “these strategic bombers have to be kept in the open so that they can be observed from space.”  Keeping the strategic bombers open to satellite imagery was meant to facilitate verification of compliance with the treaty, not to facilitate an attack on nuclear architecture. After Ukraine’s attack, Russia may feel tempted to reconsider its obligations under the New START Treaty. Sakwa says the Ukrainian attack “strikes a blow against the arms control regime.” And that is a danger to the world. Moreover, Operation Spider’s Web, as with many previous escalations in this war, risks drawing the West into a regional war. Given the recent history of the West providing the Ukrainian armed forces with satellite imagery and targeting information, there is the danger that Russia will suspect Western involvement. Following the Ukrainian attacks on two Russian railway bridges just before the attack on Russia’s strategic airfields, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, “It is obvious that everything is being done by the Ukrainian side, but it would be helpless without the support of the British. Although who knows, maybe the US special services are also involved there by inertia, but the British are there 100%.” Operation Spider’s Web exposed serious Russian vulnerabilities. But those vulnerabilities will not slow the Russian advance in Ukraine. The operation will not help Ukraine win the war and may, as with other spectacular operations, contribute to its losing it. And there are the wider dangers of undermining the arms control regime and pulling the West into a wider war. Ukrainian intelligence spun an impressive spider’s web. Now they—and we—risk getting caught in it. The post Ukraine’s ‘Spider’s Web’ Could Ensnare Kiev and the West appeared first on The American Conservative.

Foreign Affairs This Is Not Our War The U.S. must distance itself from an Israeli war of choice. Credit: photocosmos1/Shutterstock As of this writing, Israel is conducting the first wave of significant military action against Iran—“going kinetic,” in the latest phrase everyone in the news business has suddenly discovered. (Why “kinetic,” denoting mere movement? Why not “go dynamic,” denoting the transfer of energy or application of force? Why not “go commotive,” denoting the involvement of very loud noises? Impossible to say.) Directives went out Wednesday for Americans to evacuate the region; it is expected that Iran will include American assets on its list of retaliation targets on the assumption that any Israeli attack, even one that occurs without direct U.S. military support, occurs with the consent of Israel’s biggest sponsor. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement during the Thursday night attacks disclaiming American involvement. It remains to be seen whether anyone will believe him. It’s difficult to escape the sense that it didn’t have to be this way. The U.S.–Iran dealmaking process had shown promise at various points, and it remains obscure what changed between then and now. I don’t know enough about Israeli domestic politics to feel confident in explaining things in terms of Benjamin Netanyahu’s varied fortunes; nor was I in the room when the decision was made to regard limited Iranian uranium enrichment as impermissible. At this point, it begins to seem academic. What will happen next? I doubt that anyone at this point will openly say that the U.S. should commit to an increased troop presence in the Middle East to support Israeli operations against the Islamic Republic; Donald Trump in particular knows that a fresh ground war is political poison. No, we’ll start with air support, and maybe some bunker-busters, because, for all its vaunted military-industrial base, somehow Israel just can’t make a bunker-buster big enough to get to those reactors. The Islamic Republic will, of course, try to rebuild; Israel and its supporters will be committed at first to a policy of “mowing the grass,” of conducting strikes along an indefinite timescale to prevent an Iranian nuclear program. Iran will retaliate in an asymmetrical and ugly fashion, inviting further sessions with John Deere and the Weedwacker and justifying further American commitments of support to Israel. At the same time, Iran will harden its resolve to acquire a nuclear deterrent, leading to more of the same. The ongoing expense and festering chaos from “mowing the grass”—especially if any of Iran’s asymmetric retaliations involve, for example, terrorism in the American homeland—will always tend to encourage policymakers to find a more permanent solution: regime-change. At that point, we will have come a long way from air support and a few loaner bombs.  And if we were to pursue regime-change, who would replace the ayatollahs? The shah, whose family’s police state was so hated that Khomeini seemed preferable? The MEK’s bizarre mix of Islamism and Marxism? A miraculous, autochthonous secular liberal democracy with Western-style human rights norms? None of these options seems both likely and desirable. Each would demand American support up to and including direct military intervention. The notional principal on this course of action also has significant incentives to draw the U.S. into direct involvement. Israel is increasingly diplomatically isolated; this may be just or unjust, but that is beside the point that it is simply true. It is implicated in wars on multiple fronts, none of which seem to have clear ends in sight; these may be just or unjust, but that is beside the point that they are happening. Garrison states rarely do well in the long run. (Has anyone checked in on Biafra lately? Rhodesia? Pakistan?) Add to the difficulties of a permanent war economy the issue of raw scale. Israel is a nation of 9.7 million. Iran is a nation of 90.6 million. Perhaps it is still in Israel’s best interests to fight this war—although we’re doubtful—but it’s a big bite to chew. You’d try to get the U.S. involved, too. And so what? The fact that Iran is on the American periphery (and, relative to the U.S., weak) means that the negative consequences of even direct involvement will come at a lag and at first distantly, much as the negative consequences of the Iraq War did. But perhaps not quite so much of a lag, nor quite so distantly: American might is stretched much thinner than it was in 2003, American society is much less cohesive, and the American Treasury is in much more tenuous condition.  While this situation is not ideal, the U.S. can take steps to ameliorate the damage. Part of statesmanship is accounting for the follies of future leaders and preempting them. Sometimes, getting out of a region can be accomplished only by getting out. Limiting American involvement in Israel’s war effort, including reducing or eliminating military aid, will bring our diplomatic and fiscal exposure more in line with our regional goals, which are poorly served by an Israeli war with Iran—a war that could well set us on the road to further imperial entanglement for years to come. Continuing to reduce the American military footprint in the region will limit our personnel exposure and give weight to Rubio’s claims that the U.S. is not involved in this fight. American national interests in the Middle East remain the same as ever: discouraging the rise of a hegemonic power, discouraging Islamic terrorism, and keeping the Red Sea and Persian Gulf sea lanes free. The use of American resources in the Middle East must be commensurate with these goals. While the course we are on staves off the already distant prospect of Iranian hegemony, it will egg on Islamic terrorism and tempt hostile action on the sea lanes as Iran and its proxies seek leverage against their enemies. If the conflict is inevitable, the American message must be clear: This is not our war.  The post This Is Not Our War appeared first on The American Conservative.

People say having children is like having your heart walk around outside of your body. You send them off to school, practices, or playdates and hope that the world treats them kindly because when they hurt, you hurt. Inevitably, there will be times when your child's feelings are hurt, so you do your best to prepare for that day.But what prepares you for when the child you love so much winds up accidentally healing your inner child. A mom on TikTok, who goes by Soogia posted a video explaining a phone call she received from a parent in her daughter's classroom. The mom called to inform Soogia that their kids had been sharing lunch with each other.Soogia wasn't prepared for what came next. The classmate's mother informed her that her son loves the food Soogia's daughter brings to school and wanted to learn how to cook it, too. "I was like, 'thank you for my food'? Like, what is she talking about? Did she find my TikTok? 'F**k, I"m mortified.' But that wasn't the case," Soogia recalled, hardly being able to get the story out through her tears. That may seem like a small thing to some, but the small gesture healed a little bit of Soogia's inner child. Growing up as a Korean kid in California, Soogia's experience was a bit different than what her children are now experiencing. Children eating lunch together.Photo via Canva/Photos"I guess I just never thought that my kids would be the generation of kids that could go to school and not only just proudly eat, but share their food with other kids that were just so open and accepting to it," Soogia says through tears. "Knowing that they don't sit there eating their food, feeling ashamed and wishing that their fried rice was a bagel instead, or something like that. And I know, it sounds so small and it sounds so stupid, but knowing their experience at school is so different from mine in such a positive way is just so hopeful."At the end of the video, she vowed to send extra food in her daughter's lunch every day so she could share her culture with the other kids. @soogia1 These kids, man. They’re really something else. #culturalappreciation #breakingbread #sharing # Soogia's tearful video pulled on the heartstrings of her viewers who shared their thoughts in the comments."Soogia! It will never be small. Your culture is beautiful & the littles are seeing that every day. You've even taught me so much. I'm grateful for you," one person says."Beautiful! I can see your inner child healing in so many ways," another writes."Welp. Now I'm sobbing at the airport. This is beautiful," someone reveals."These Gen Alpha babies really are a different, kinder generation. I love them so much," one commenter gushes.Ultimately, the story is a wonderful reminder that everyone has a backstory and that a simple gesture like appreciating someone's culture or history can mean far more to them than you'll ever know. This article originally appeared last year.

Few things bring as much joy to a parent’s heart as the adorable sounds their babies make. But back in 2024, when a dad with a vision, a camera and a year's worth of footage uses those sounds to recreate one of the most iconic rock songs ever…let's just say joy alone doesn't quite cover it.In one of the most epically adorable and adorably epic song renditions ever, dad and video editor Matt MacMillan spliced together tiny snippets of his baby's sounds to make AC/DC's "Thunderstruck." And it's one of those things you just have to see to believe.Below, enjoy little Ryan singing a is jaw-droppingly awesome baby-fied version of"Thunderstruck." Nothing but awe and respect for a guy who takes a whole year to get just the right sounds at the right pitches and figures out to put them together to create this masterpiece: - YouTube www.youtube.com Making a sneeze into a cymbal? Are you kidding me?People have been understandably impressed, with the video getting over 6 million views."Ryan becomes the vocalist of AB/CD.""I need a cover in 17 years whenever he is an adult singing over the instrumentals lol""'I recorded my son for a full year. I edited for the next 5'""The fact that he genuinely found clips that fit every note he need instead of just pitch shifting like most videos like this do really makes this stand out. Good job he’s adorable.""This dude had a kid just so he could make this song. What a Legend.""Other parents: 'I want my child to create masterpieces.' This guy: 'my child IS the masterpiece.'""I'm a residential plumber and I've had an absolutely horrible day on a work shift that's lasted 13 hours and even after crawling through human poop all day this made me smile laugh and giggle like a small baby."Believe it or not, it's not autotuned or pitch-shifted. Those notes are all baby.The real question is: How did he do it? This isn't just some autotune trick. MacMillan really did it all manually, going through each video clip of Baby Ryan, organizing them by pitch and figuring out what notes they were.Perhaps most impressively, he didn't even know the notes of "Thunderstruck" to begin with and doesn't really read music. He had to pluck the song out on the piano and then match those notes with his baby's sounds.As he wrote, "It took forever." But he shared an inside look at how he did it here: - YouTube www.youtube.com Seriously, doesn't seeing how he did it make it even more impressive? Pure human creativity and perseverance on display. What a delightful gift Ryan will have for the rest of his life. Much better than a standard baby book.Baby Ryan's "Thunderstruck" was not MacMillan's first foray into baby covers, either. He previously created a rendition of "Carol of the Bells" using Baby Ella's sounds, and it is just as impressive (and adorable) as Baby Ryan's. Here's one to add to your holiday playlist: - YouTube www.youtube.com Here's to the humans who wow us with their ambitious, innovative projects that exist purely to bring a smile to people's faces.You can follow Matt MacMillan on YouTube.This article originally appeared last year.

Listen, if we're in a relationship, odds are we’ve encountered some of our partner’s weird quirks. Some of those might be cute and loveable, and others might fall into cringe territory.For Abigheal McClary, there was no question as to which category her fiancé’s truly ghastly pillow, which appeared to have been around "since the dawn of time,” fell into. "My fiancé has a pillow that is so horribly disgusting that I fear even being in the same bed as it. I fear laying beside it, because I think I could probably catch something from it,” McClary began in a TikTok video. One might assume she’s being a bit hyperbolic (there’s always that one thing of our significant others that gives us the irrational ick, right?) but once you see this horror show of a pillow, you’ll think McClary is being merciful.Watch: @rutttyy01 It’s bad #fyp #fypシ #foryoupage ♬ original sound - Abigheal?? Dear god, did you even know such a horrid shade of sickly brown existed?!!"The pillow looks like it coughs constantly,” one person wrote. Another added, “I’ve never seen a rotten pillow."All jokes aside—and it probably goes without saying—that this is objectively unsanitary. According to WebMd, pillows should generally be washed once or twice a year, and replaced about every two years. Pillowcases, on the other hand, should be washed weekly, unless they aren’t used nightly, so sayeth Martha Stewart. Not that this heathen uses a pillowcase at all!Having our faces exposed to unclean pillow night after night not only puts us right in the pathway of respiratory pathogens, but also plenty of acne-causing bacteria. Although, by the grace of god, McClary said in her video that "This man has no pimples on his face laying on this thing ...I have no clue how." Honestly, neither do we. He needs to be studied. As one person joked, “he doesn’t get pimples because he’s created a micro bioverse that’s evolved so far into the future they must feed on his dead skin cells to continue their micro society…that’s the only explanation.” Though McClary mentioned that her fiancé wouldn’t let her wash this unsightly pillow, nor put a pillowcase on it (he apparently likes it because “it’s cool on both sides”) she must have talked some sense into him because subsequent videos show her dunking the thing into a bath, using a concoction of bleach, Shout, baking powder, and some other cleaning agents. @rutttyy01 Pillow update : the pillows journey #fyp #foryoupage #foryou #fypシ ♬ original sound - Abigheal?? Each time, the pillow acted as a giant, heavy teabag, staining the water a murky brown.However, as fate would have it, McClary put the pillow in a dryer after its soaking, and when she opened the door, there were nothing but shreds. Folks rightfully guessed that the bleach used in the bath deteriorated the fabric…but in truth, we all suspect the dryer just wanted to put the pillow out of its misery. “The dryer knew what needed to be done,” one viewer quipped. @rutttyy01 Pillow update : Tragic # What do yall want to see next? #fyp #foryoupage #foryou #fypシ ♬ original sound - Abigheal?? Hopefully, this acts as a highly entertaining little PSA to please, please, please keep your pillows clean. Otherwise, those who share a bed with you can’t be held responsible for their actions.