Russia military weapons

The U.S. military’s presence in Europe is about to get a whole lot bigger as fears grow over an unhinged Vladimir Putin . President Joe Biden announced the news at a NATO summit in Madrid on Wednesday, pointing the finger directly at the Russian leader who has repeatedly claimed NATO expansion is to blame for his bloody onslaught against Ukraine. “In a moment where Putin has shattered peace in Europe and attacked the very, very tenets of the rule-based order of the United States and our allies—we’re stepping up,” Biden said. The U.S. military will now have permanent headquarters for the U.S. 5th Army Corps in Poland; will deploy an additional rotational combat brigade to Romania; “enhance” rotational deployments to the Baltics (where there will be a “persistent, heel-to-toe presence in the region”); deploy two more Navy destroyers to Spain; and two additional F-35 squadrons to the United Kingdom, according to the White House. The news is not expected to go over well … [Read more...] about U.S. Takes Aim at Putin With Military Boost in Europe

The war in Ukraine is no stranger to drones, but the kamikaze drone strike on the Russian city of Rostov last week marked the beginning of a whole chapter in drone warfare. A small ramshackle Ukrainian drone with a tiny warhead flew across the heavily defended front line and smashed into an oil refinery in Russia on June 22, causing a large fire. Given how cheap it is to make a drone, and its successful evasion of Russian air defenses, Russian officials might soon have to worry about defending oil facilities, supply depots, and military installations deep in Russian territory . Long-range kamikaze drones are a new threat to Russia. Most observers of the conflict in Ukraine are familiar with the Switchblade drones provided by the U.S., but these have a relatively short range and require operators to direct it onto a target. Kamikaze drones like the one used in the Rostov attack can go hundreds of miles without the need for an operator, and are small enough to slip by much of … [Read more...] about Putin Should Be Very Worried About Ukraine’s New Kamikaze Drone

WASHINGTON — For more than two decades, American presidents have invested high hopes in a deepening U.S. relationship with India, the world’s largest democracy — as they almost invariably mention. And at first glance, India looks like a natural U.S. ally, not only an electoral democracy but a rapidly growing economy that fears the expanding power of China. Last year, President Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in Washington and declared a “global strategic partnership” — not quite a formal alliance, but the next best thing. Politics Essential Politics: The one word that best describes California How did California become the most populous, diverse, economically dynamic and confounding state in the union? A new book takes a stab at examining that question. Then Russia invaded Ukraine, and suddenly all those promises of partnership began to appear shaky. Advertisement Biden helped organize an international coalition to … [Read more...] about India has become a U.S. partner in countering China — a limited partner, that is

The Terminal List features Chris Pratt going vengefully homicidal due, in part, to a serious mental condition in Amazon’s latest, which follows in the tradition of Jack Ryan and Jack Reacher by delivering gung-ho macho action-drama tailor-made for fortysomething Call of Duty players . Still, if this adaptation of Jack Carr’s novel mostly fits itself into a particular dad-entertainment streaming niche, it also, to a large extent, comes off as a wet dream for militia-minded anti-establishment kooks, replete with a Pratt performance as a Navy SEAL who responds to injustice by murdering the guilty with extreme prejudice. Given its suggestion that slaughtering your powers-that-be enemies for a righteous revenge cause is totally OK and very cool, the morality of showrunner David DiGilio and executive producer/director Antoine Fuqua’s eight-part series (July 1) is, let’s say, lacking. There’s some serious danger to The Terminal List , courtesy of its excessive take on the … [Read more...] about Chris Pratt’s ‘The Terminal List’ Is an Unhinged Right-Wing Revenge Fantasy

Western leaders who mocked Russian President Vladimir Putin’s propensity to be photographed topless have been met with the riposte they would look “disgusting” if they tried to emulate his bare-torso bravado. AP reports Putin hit back during a visit to Turkmenistan early Thursday when asked about Western leaders taunting him at the G7 summit. As they sat down for talks, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson jested G7 leaders could go topless to flex their muscles amid Russia-West tensions over Moscow’s military action in Ukraine, as Breitbart News reported . Canada’s leader Justin Trudeau suggested they wait for the official picture before disrobing but then Johnson quipped “We have to show that we’re tougher than Putin” and the japes kept rolling. “We’re going to get the bare-chested horseback riding display,” Trudeau said, referring to Putin’s infamous 2009 photo-op of himself riding shirtless on a horse and fishing bare-chested. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir … [Read more...] about Vladimir Putin Taunts G7 Leaders: They Would Look ‘Disgusting’ Topless

PARIS (AP) – The lone survivor of a team of Islamic State extremists who terrorized Paris in 2015 was convicted Wednesday of murder and other charges and sentenced to life in prison without parole for the deadliest peacetime attacks in French history. The special terrorism court also convicted 19 other men involved in the assault on the Bataclan concert hall, cafes and the national stadium, which killed 130 people and injured hundreds, some permanently maimed. It also led to intensified French military action against extremists abroad and a lasting shift in France’s security posture at home. Survivors and victims’ families emerged from the packed courtroom dazed or exhausted after an excruciating nine-month trial that’s been crucial in their quest for justice and closure. Chief suspect Salah Abdeslam was found guilty of murder and attempted murder in relation to a terrorist enterprise. The court found that his explosives vest malfunctioned, dismissing his argument that he … [Read more...] about Paris Islamist Terrorist Guilty, Sentenced to Life Without Parole