#Defense Leadership

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

What can I say? They're my favorite.

[aadmelioraa]

When your oldest brother dies on a religious crusade just as you feared he would and your father refuses to deal with his grief just as he refused to deal with it when your mother died (you were a baby btw) and then again when your other brother left home (because your dad was impossible to live with) and in spite of feeling entirely abandoned by your dad you use your newfound higher status to put yourself out on a limb in order to downgrade his punishment and that of your close friend despite grieving their involvement with the queen who led your brother to his death but instead of your father acknowledging your pain and your attempts to do what you believe will bring justice he lashes out at you by comparing your current position to the horrific way your mother died…just Eärien things

[lovethytendytenderly]

The Phoenix by Fall Out Boy // an edit a day til penguins hockey, a countdown (day 11)

x x

[gothicprep]

"criticisms of israel are antisemitic" is almost always a defensive derailment of practical policy discussions or criticism of how bibi and his new friends want what's worst for everyone. that said, since the israel-gaza war broke out, i've been seeing a lot of commentary that does legitimately seem antisemitic and it's knotted my stomach a bit.

i wish i could find the tweet again that i'd saw a few days ago, but the initial one was, "pay attention to media bias during this conflict!" with an attached screenshot that said "x number israelis killed, x number gazan palestinians dead". and i see this and i think, fair, fair to pay attention.

he replies to his own tweet with "here's a substack thing i wrote about how israel and hollywood work together to spread pro-israel propaganda" with this very ~graphic design is my passion~ ass art that's the hollywood sign and the israel flag.

look, i watch a lot of movies. some may call it a hobby. but i can't remember the last time i saw a new release that so much as mentioned israel. i know all nations propagandize but this felt really... off.

[imakemywings]

Actually in relation to that last post, there’s been a lot of discussion about the point of the Quenya ban, and while I think a very good argument has been made that it’s symbolic--that Thingol had to do something to reprimand the Noldor both for their actions and for lying, but could not afford to actually cut them off as potential allies against Morgoth--I think it’s also possible the Quenya ban was demonstrative. When Maedhros sort of laughingly comments on the potential hollowness of Thingol’s claim to being “King of Beleriand,” he focuses I believe on hard power--on the fact that Thingol cannot (or will not) militarily take action against the Noldor. Which makes sense, given the Noldor attitude towards Middle-earth in general (they came here to fight a war) and Maedhros’ position as lord of Himring, which is essentially a glorified military fort. But what Thingol displays when he bans Quenya is a pretty powerful show of soft power and the true reach of his influence. No, he won’t take up arms against the Noldor for their past kinslaying--but at his word, look how many Sindar not only stop speaking Quenya, but refuse to deal with Elves who do. I do believe the Quenya ban was in part symbolic. But I think it also shows the Noldor just how respected Thingol is in Beleriand and that if they mean to really oppose him, they’re going to be facing down more Elves than just the permanent residents of Doriath. If the Sindar of Beleriand, at this point, are forced to make a choice of sides, Thingol shows with a single decree how many of them would choose him.

[littencloud9]

thinking abt kunikida in the sheep au…

[probayern]

btw leon at cb... he's honestly very good in that position

[curiosity-killed]

I know I’m always like “its been a weird day” but its been a really weird day and my body has now decided to break out in hives in time for my last meeting so that’s how this week has been

[cosmic-cd]

late night oc thoughts again!

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

The Biden administration has offered to brief former Donald Trump officials about the Chinese spy balloons that they failed to catch during his administration.

The Pentagon announced on Saturday that three suspected Chinese surveillance balloons travelled over the continental US during Mr. Trump’s time in office.

Among the three separate encounters, one balloon is believed to have travelled over parts of Texas and Florida. None of the balloons were shot down and the American people were not made aware of the situation.

A fourth balloon also reportedly entered US airspace earlier on in the Biden administration.

Expanding on those comments on Monday, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the Biden administration was able to retroactively identify the presence of Chinese balloons in US airspace during Trump’s term after the US “[enhanced] our surveillance of our territorial airspace.”

“We enhanced our capacity to be able to detect things that the Trump administration was unable to detect,” he added.

“We were able to go back and look at the historical patterns” and uncover “multiple instances” during the Trump administration in which Chinese surveillance balloons "traversed American airspace and territory," Mr. Sullivan said, speaking at an event hosted by the US Global Leadership Coalition.

Mr. Trump repeatedly denied the US intelligence about China’s surveillance under his watch and has instead taken aim at President Joe Biden over his handling of the spy balloon which flew over Montana last week – which has now been shot down by the US military.

In a rant on his Truth Social platform, the former President flatly denied the Pentagon’s statement, branding it “fake disinformation”.

“China had too much respect for ‘TRUMP’ for this to have happened, and it NEVER did. JUST FAKE DISINFORMATION!” he fumed.

He doubled down on this insistence in an interview with Fox News on Sunday claiming: “This never happened. It would have never happened.”

“And if it did, we would have shot it down immediately.”

Several members of the Trump administration also said that they weren’t aware of any of the three incidents, with former Defense Secretary Mark Esper saying he was “surprised” by the Pentagon’s announcement.

Now, a senior Biden administration official has revealed that the Trump administration wasn’t even aware of the three potential surveillance balloons at the time. Instead, they were only discovered after Mr. Biden took office from the one-term, twice-impeached Mr. Trump.

It is not clear exactly how or when the previous incidents were discovered but the official told CNN that the spy balloons are believed to have been used by China across five continents dating back several years.

The official that the intelligence community would be willing to provide briefings to top Trump administration officials about the incidents.

Congress was also briefed about the past balloon incidents over the weekend.

The potential embarrassment for the former President comes as both he and Republicans slammed the Biden administration’s response to the spy balloon which was spotted over Montana last week.

The balloon was first sighted over Billings, Montana, on Wednesday – which is home to US nuclear missile sites – and was confirmed by a Pentagon official on Friday. The balloon had first flown over the Aleutian Islands, through Canada, and into Montana.

At the time of the sighting, the Biden administration declined to shoot it down – based on the recommendations of the military as it flew over populated areas – but officials said that steps had been taken to protect against the collection of sensitive information.

On Saturday, the balloon was shot down over the Atlantic ocean off the coast of North and South Carolina. Airspace in the area was closed temporarily for the operation, with Mr. Biden giving it the final go-ahead.

The President told reporters that he had “ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down on Wednesday as soon as possible” but that the military leaders decided to wait until it was in “the safest place to do it”.

“They successfully took it down and I want to complement our aviators who did it,” he said after the operation was complete.

Now, US Navy divers are working to retrieve the debris so that it can be studied in hopes of providing intelligence about China’s spying capabilities.

Meanwhile, China has threatened to take “further actions” in response to the balloon being shot down – despite denying it was a spy balloon and instead claiming it was a weather airship that simply flew off course.

“China will resolutely uphold the relevant company’s legitimate rights and interests, and at the same time reserving the right to take further actions in response,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Sunday.

“China had clearly asked the US to handle this properly in a calm, professional and restrained manner,” it added.

“The US had insisted on using force, obviously overreacting.”

The saga has escalated tensions between the US and China with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancelling a scheduled trip to Beijing in response.

[sharki-leftishark]

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[ohhfarts]

Vancouver Vision Zero is winning

[renegadetalk-fm]

Sinwar is dead, Khamenei is dying and America is divisive! This leadership vacuum is creating fertile ground for terroriststo commit chaos. In today's podcast, Carole Lieberman, M.D., your Terrorist Therapist®, looks at the vacuum created by each of these leaders and what impact it is having on their people.  Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of Hamas’ Oct 7 massacre,is dead, killed in his luxuriously appointed bunker by Israel Defense Forces. You will hear what he wrote in his final will and instructions for dealing with Israeli hostages. His widow, Abu Samar, was left with a $32,000 Hermes Birkin bag, justwhat every well-dressed terrorist needs. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, is reportedly seriously ill and there is a secret battle over his succession. So far, his 2nd son, is winning. This comes at a critical time of the war, where Israel’s latest retaliatory attack weakened Iran’s defenses. As he’s facing death, it’s very tempting for Khamenei to please Allah by destroying Israel as his legacy.  America is suffering unparalleled divisiveness, as this election has become fierce, and post-election unrest is forecast. The battle between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump is particularly intense as they fight for the hearts and minds of Arab and Muslim Americans. Whoever wins will impact the Middle East and the encroachment of terrorists into the U.S.