Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

House Republicans for the second time postponed consideration of a measure overhauling veterans’ benefits and Veterans Affairs Department operations, reportedly due to some GOP members’ concerns regarding a plan to offset the cost of some benefit increases by reducing those associated with two of the most common service-connected disabilities.The Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (H.R. 9237) is a collection of more than 60 bills related to the VA and veteran care, including benefits increases for severely disabled veterans and the families of service members who died in the line of duty. Its centerpiece is the Major Richard Star Act…

Adorned with badges to represent laid-off public servants, a group of former federal employees gathered Thursday in front of the Capitol Building to mark the one-year anniversary of a major State Department reduction in force and illustrate what has since been lost. The State Department RIF, as well as the shuttering of USAID last year, have weakened agency expertise, harmed national security and undermined global stability, the former employees said. “Real work that was done for this country that is no longer being done — visa security, crisis response, disease surveillance, democracy promotion,” said Ferdaouis Bagga, a laid-off State Department…

Foreign Terrorist Organization Designation of Juarez Cartel and Los Viagras | Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University wpDiscuzInsert

The age of the Super-Dreadnought and the Battleship belongs to a bygone era—a time when humanity dreamed on a colossal scale. In the early 20th century, the world was still not fully mapped, industrial technology seemed unstoppable, and global powers embraced a singular doctrine: build the largest mobile fortress possible, whether on land, water, or air. These steel tyrannosaurs were treated as the ultimate answer to geopolitics. Then, the unthinkable happened. The two largest battleships ever constructed, the Musashi and the Yamato, were sent to the bottom of the ocean by waves of tiny aircraft. The dream of the invincible…

Nothing reveals truths more effectively than patterns. If you can identify a pattern, you can see what actions conceal, what statements leave unsaid, and what agreements postpone. Peace treaties and the negotiations surrounding them are rarely analyzed in this way, even though they may exhibit patterns that recur across different circumstances. Consequently, there is often a simplification in understanding the pressures, incentives, and constraints shaping each step and each party’s choices, an exaggeration in linking the various warring factions into a single understanding without seeing the gaps, or a disregard for realities that might prevent us from truly understanding the…

Ostend (Belgium) – July 15, 2026 – Exail has been awarded a contract by a European navy to deliver three light Mine Countermeasures (MCM) systems. Designed for rapid deployment from Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boats (RHIBs), these systems will allow naval forces to identify and neutralize underwater mines quickly. Each system integrates Exail’s UMIS technology into a 9.5-meter RHIB, primarily configured to deploy an adaptable combination of three mine identification and disposal vehicles (Seascan and K-Ster ) tailored to specific mission requirements. To support these operations, the boat is also equipped with a drone piloting console, a dedicated launch-and-recovery berth, and Exail’s…

GoTAK Offers RIDAR ATAK Plugin for Free We just turned every Android EUD into a drone detector for free. No cost, no licensing, no credit card required. RIDAR ATAK Plugin by GoTAK is our solution for airspace awareness on the TAK ecosystem and beyond. It is the same plugin that powers our RIDAR-FM drone detector that integrates with the MAAK Tactical ecosystem for public safety and law enforcement. The RIDAR plugin is free to download at getgotak.com/ridar and does not require our hardware to be attached in order to pick up drones emitting in your AO. We are also working…

Leupold just announced the launch of its new LCO Pro F2 red dot sight. The LCO Pro F2 combines excellent optical clarity, Leupold’s famous reliability and purpose-built features in a full-size red dot. Built for speed, control and ruggedness, this new red dot delivers a clear picture in all conditions and holds zero no matter what the course of fire. “The LCO Pro F2 has been designed and built from the start for those that demand industry leading performance and professional-grade features. This is an all-new product design that’s a leap forward in every way. It provides the construction, the…

LONDON—Ukraine is making a thousand times more drones now than when Russia invaded four years ago—and NATO must learn how, the alliance’s deputy military commander said Thursday. “In 2022, Ukraine produced 5,000 drones, various. In 2026, they will produce, and I’m afraid I can’t give the figure, but let’s just say it is going to be well north of 5 million, of all flavors,” Air Chief Marshal Johnny Stringer told attendees at the Global Air and Space Chiefs Conference “So, for NATO nations, if 32 nations can’t kind of meet those figures, then frankly, what do we do?”The U.S. war on Iran…

Justin Gaethje isn’t interested in the idea of a second showdown with Paddy Pimblett. Gaethje won the interim UFC lightweight gold when he defeated “The Baddy” via unanimous decision to cap off UFC’s debut on Paramount+. “The Highlight” went on to capture interim gold when he stopped Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250. Just one month later, Pimblett got back on the winning track by choking out Benoit Saint Denis is under one minute. During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Gaethje made it clear that a rematch with the Liverpool native isn’t something he sees in his future…