Agreed

A Russian tanker in the Channel. A social media ban. AI locked down by Washington. These are not three separate stories.

Meanwhile, the genius J.D. is explaining that World War II ended through negotiations. Ah yes, those legendary Churchill–Hitler negotiations of 1945. How could we possibly have forgotten them? That’s what I love about Trump’s “young team” — you can never predict what ridiculous thing they’ll say next.

2026 is the first year in 18 years in which there are zero female active duty four-star generals. Pete Hegseth has been intervening in military promotions & fighting the military’s leaders in firing & denying promotions to women. The military promotions board – including its Trump-appointed director – selected 31 officers for promotion as “the best qualified officers within their respective competitive category.” Those 31 included seven women. Nine total promotions were cancelled by Hegseth: all seven women & two black men. Not one white man was removed.

Sounds like the Captain of the Titanic saying “Where’s all that water coming from?”

Carney: In a world of great power rivalry, middle powers have a choice, which is to compete for favour of the great powers or to combine to create a third path with impact. The nations that invest in their own capabilities and partner with like-minded allies will multiply their strength.

💥 Russia: Much of the Strategic State Fuel Reserve destroyed by a large swarm of Ukrainian drones in Rybinsk, Yaroslavl region.

The warning from John Healey that Keir Starmer is unable and Rachel Reeves unwilling to pay for the defence we need couldn’t be clearer - our country is not safe. In the last two years, budgets have been included in the defence total that were outside it giving the illusion of increased spending. But that’s like counting your car costs as part of your mortgage and claiming your domestic spend has increased. It hasn’t. You’re not spending more you’re accounting differently. The reality is we’re spending less today on conventional defence as nuclear is costing more so we’re seeing cuts in our budget. That just isn’t good enough when Russian ships threaten our cables and Iranian drones threaten our allies and bases.

Russia is accelerating the development of AI-powered UAVs and military satellite capabilities. vietnam.vn/en/nga-tang-toc-p…

I believe the current estimate is that 20 to 40 such ‘shadow fleet’ vessels pass through the Channel each week.

I read Nigel Farage’s polemic essay against DEI. If the intention was to light the blue touch paper amongst poor ‘self perceived’ oppressed white working class voters, this essay may well succeed.

⚡🇺🇸🇨🇳 Pentagon to Deploy Drone Warships in Major Naval Shift Against China The U.S. is rapidly moving toward building a fleet of unmanned warships after studying how Ukrainian sea drones damaged Russian naval forces in the Black Sea. Under new plans, the Navy aims to field dozens of medium sized drone vessels over the next decade, eventually reaching around 70 units, as part of a cheaper and more flexible naval strategy. The shift is driven by China’s expanding navy, which already outnumbers the U.S. fleet and is expected to grow further by 2030. Instead of relying only on expensive carriers and destroyers, Washington is adopting a “high low mix” strategy, combining elite warships with large numbers of low cost autonomous drones capable of surveillance, missile strikes, and anti submarine missions. Officials believe swarming drone fleets could overwhelm enemy defenses, though concerns remain over cyber warfare and electronic jamming risks.

Impressed by Carney. He is always thought provoking and balanced.

When looking at the dominance of the American F-35 in European hangars, continental critics often blame individual nations for choosing foreign hardware over European options. The uncomfortable reality is that Europe has nobody to blame but itself, and by completely failing to produce an indigenous 5th generation fighter, it left frontline nations with no choice. Smaller countries directly bordering Russia cannot afford to gamble on a deficit in the skies. When nations like Finland, with a population of just 5,6 million, procure a fighter fleet, those airframes must remain qualitatively superior to Russia’s for decades. The F-35 was quite literally the only option on the market guaranteed to maintain a decisive edge over Moscow and Beijing well into the mid-century. Current European 4th generation platforms like the Rafale or Gripen are already facing a narrowing operational advantage today, and their long-term development potential is heavily capped, leaving them poorly equipped for the highly contested airspace of the 2040s and 2050s. Furthermore, relying on European alternatives introduces severe sovereign risks. None of the current continental jets outside of the French Rafale are ITAR-free, which means Washington still holds a defense export veto over them. Turning fully to France is an equally massive gamble, given Paris’ history of low aid to Ukraine and the looming domestic political instability that threatens to disrupt its defense alignment after 2027. The industrial outlook remains equally bleak. Massive capital and collective expertise are needed to build a viable 6th generation platform, yet the ending of the Franco-German FCAS program proves Europe is still paralyzed by industrial infighting. While the British-Italian-Japanese program shows some promise, it is not a purely European endeavor. Without immediate, unified, and unprecedented financial mobilization, the United States is poised to entirely outpace the continent on the 6th generation, leaving a fragmented Europe trapped in a dependency loop of its own making

Ukraine wants to build a single AI system for the entire 1,200-km front. It would analyze drone feeds and battlefield data, then recommend actions across the chain of command. Ukraine's defence AI chief Danylo Tsvok says "AI will form a new paradigm of warfare", Reuters. 1/

Agreed. Very little to do with player welfare. Lots to do with sponsorship opportunity. Disgraceful.

Chinese military study outlines strategy to target US warships from 1,800 miles away interestingengineering.com/m…

San Andreas fault at highest stress level in 1,000 years usatoday.com/story/news/cali…

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Conflict will determine future of Europe, Zelensky warns ahead of G7 Summit - The Independent apple.news/AudANlBEqRMK-Toug…