Czech government takes a stand against cummunism

yemeni missile launched and reportedly intercepted

ansarallah and resistance operations in palestine feel like the only thing keeping me afloat rn

House overwhelmingly rejects Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's amendment to cut funds to Israel 422-6.

The six: Al Green (TX) Green (GA) Lee (PA) Massie (KY) Omar (MN) Tlaib (MI)

https://archive.ph/3pP4t

No time to waste: NATO chief urges rapid industrial mobilization

As the U.S. and its allies in Europe pledge to ramp up defense spending amid mounting global threats, the supreme allied commander of Europe is calling on industry to deliver real capabilities to the field in record time. “We can tell industry exactly what it is that we need for all the leaders that are out there. It’s our job, I think, to hold industry accountable to deliver quickly and to hold ourselves accountable for giving industry the ability to deliver quickly through our acquisition processes,” U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich said July 17 during his first public speech since taking command at the Association of the U.S. Army’s inaugural LandEuro conference in Wiesbaden, Germany.

"hold industry accountable"? Uh, yeah pal, it's called nationalization and economic planning, but I'm afraid that's all lost technology, even the Adeptus Mechanicus can't figure out what it was all about. We just don't know!

“We’ve got to do this fast. We need real capabilities and we need them delivered as soon as possible. We can’t afford to wait, future pledges are no longer enough,” he said. “To do this, the defense industrial base on both sides of the Atlantic is going to have to become fully activated.” Grynkewich stressed there’s plenty of work to go around, it’s not a matter of investing in one or the other. “It needs to be one seamless industrial base that can deliver capability and capacity for the alliance,” he said. Moving quicker is easier said than done. Every country will have to contend with their own budget approval process and work through red tape across borders.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth made a pledge earlier this year on a trip to NATO headquarters that the U.S. would conduct major foreign military sales reform. Even so, the U.S. military and NATO have developed solid regional plans beginning with a clear one focused on the Baltic States that will help guide government and industry in getting capabilities to units there. The U.S. Army Europe and Africa commander, speaking a day earlier at the conference, said the “Eastern Flank Deterrence Line” plan aims to enhance ground-based capabilities and drive military-industrial interoperability across the alliance.

As part of the plan to counter Russian threats and enable scalable, global deterrence, the Army and its NATO allies are urgently developing standardized, data-driven systems, common launchers and cloud-based coordination. The plan includes a system to share data. NATO has already procured that system – Palantir’s Maven Smart System – an artificial intelligence platform that takes a vast amount of data and rapidly analyzes information to help military commanders make decisions. U.S. Army Europe and Africa officials have also adopted Maven at headquarters, using it for mission command and visibility across the theater. The system has completely replaced PowerPoint briefings and offers information to commanders in real-time.

you know what's going to drag us out of our deindustrialization quagmire? that's right, THE CLOUD! AND AI!

On NATO’s wish list, according to Grynkewich, are capabilities that mirror a Ukrainian brigade. “How do we get our brigades to have the same level of capability where we can match what they’re able to do today?”

ah, so they're finally admitting that the Ukrainians are way ahead of them in terms of adaptation to the modern battlefield... but wait, aren't those guys, like, not doing too good? Uh oh!

Additionally, Grynkewich said he wants to focus on air defense. “There’s never enough air defense. You always want more, but it’s an acute requirement, whether it’s counter-[unmanned aircraft systems] or counter-ballistic missiles,” he said. And there will also be a continued focus on long-range fires, Grynkewich noted. “We need the capability to hold things at risk.”

Industry now has real incentives in place, Grynkewich said, with the new commitment made by NATO nations at the last summit to spend 5% of their gross domestic product on defense by 2035. “I would ask industry folks who are here and elsewhere to realize that sustained commitment should be a powerful signal to do the things you need to do, to expand production lines, to increase [research and development] spending, etc., so that we can get where we need to go,” he said.

"a signal to do the things you need to do" y'know, maybe you shouldn't need to fucking "signal" industry, like "oh pretty please expand your production lines, c'mon guys!", maybe you should be able to, I dunno, order them to do so?

Leadership is now moving to deliver new and emerging technology to the battlefield along with legacy technology that is still relevant and will work to make things interoperable. “I challenge each of the chiefs of defense, land forces commanders and every leader in here to hold themselves to account for that. There’s no time to waste,” Grynkewich said.

this guy really loves holding stuff accountable I guess

https://apnews.com/article/facility-sheriff-los-angeles-dead-explosion-da7ad1fdc444bbb7d8c14f33b44333e6

Lol, lmao

China’s Ministry of State Security warns of foreign espionage attempts to smuggle rare earths via shipping channels

https://archive.ph/FyIgD whoops, MIC machine broke!

US diverts Patriot systems from Switzerland to Ukraine

U.S. officials have told the Swiss government that Patriot air defense systems in the production pipeline for the alpine country would be diverted to help defend Ukraine, according to a Swiss announcement. The July 17 statement by the Swiss, which said the notification from the United States arrived the prior day, illuminates some of the hasty mechanics behind Washington’s newfound emphasis on helping Ukraine repel near-constant Russian attacks with missiles and drones.

Switzerland ordered five Patriot systems, made by Ratheon, in 2022. Deliveries were set begin in 2026 and go through 2028. The U.S. foreign military process, which governs the sale, makes the diversion of defense goods possible, the Swiss announcement notes. No information was available about how many systems would be affected and what the new timing for future deliveries would be. Switzerland’s Patriot pick was part of a lengthy air-defense and air-policing review by the government that also led to an order of 36 U.S. F-35 fighter aircraft.

Last year, the United States told Switzerland that a batch of ordered PAC-3 MSE interceptors, the most advanced interceptors fireable with Patriot, would similarly be diverted to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Germany this week offered to buy two Patriot systems from the U.S. and give them to Ukraine. One Patriot setup costs roughly $1 billion, depending on the number of interceptors, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said during a visit to Washington on July 14. Details for the purchase are now under discussion with the U.S. administration, Pistorius said following talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Outstanding questions surrounding the transaction are all “solvable,” he added.

Speaking at the LandEuro conference in Wiesbaden, Germany, on July 17, top NATO commander U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich signaled a new dynamic in supplying Kyiv with the defensive weapons. Grynkewich said he would bring European nations together to work on delivering Patriot and other capabilities to Ukraine. The idea is to “look at what’s the art of the possible” in orchestrating the flow of new production equipment to Ukraine’s defense, he said.

Unlike Russia with its weak economy having to delay deliveries of equipment, the Western MIC is going strong!

Hopefully, if anything, this whole Syria thing finally makes it crystal clear to the Resistance and other potential Arab targets that there is no capitulation or cooperation with the US and its allies. Once you are marked for destruction, that's it, regardless of whether or not you decide to play ball or if you are one of "their guys". So don't play ball.

Russia responds to Trump's ceasefire ultimatum: Moscow does not accept threats.

Not posting on Syria right now. There’s too much misinfo, videos from years ago being represented as Druze and/or Bedouin massacres, groups claiming to hold this or that roundabout or intersection. I’m going to take my own advice and wait. Too much chaos, back and forth fighting, I will wait till there’s a semblance of clarity before posting more

People used to fight wars with no phones, just living in the moment. Now look how far we’ve fallen smdh

the Ezra Klein episode on Epstein that just came out is so fucking painful. Why does it take 45 minutes for them to say "Jeffrey Epstein didn't kill himself...probably."