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mariacallous · 1 month ago

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Two men claiming to be newly appointed Trump administration officials tried to enter the US Copyright Office in Washington, DC, on Monday, but left before gaining access to the building, sources tell WIRED. Their appearance comes days after the White House fired the director of the copyright office, Shira Perlmutter, who had held the job since 2020. Perlmutter was removed from her post on Saturday, one day after the agency released a report that raised concerns about the legality in certain cases of using copyrighted materials to train artificial intelligence.

A source familiar with the matter tells WIRED that the two men who tried to enter the Copyright Office showed security at the building a document stating that they had been appointed by the White House to new roles within the office. The source identified the men as Brian Nieves, who claimed he was the new deputy librarian, and Paul Perkins, who said he was the new acting director of the Copyright Office, as well as acting register.

After this article was published, the Department of Justice confirmed to WIRED that Nieves and Perkins had been appointed to lead the Copyright Office. Both are both currently high-ranking officials at the DOJ. The Justice Department declined to comment about whether the two officials attempted to enter the Copyright Office on Monday. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Sources told WIRED that Capitol Police prevented the men from entering the copyright office, but a spokesperson for the law enforcement agency denied that officers escorted anyone out or denied them entry.

Got a Tip?Are you a current or former government employee who wants to talk about what's happening? We'd like to hear from you. Using a nonwork phone or computer, contact the reporter securely on Signal at Kateknibbs.09.

The US Copyright Office is a government agency within the Library of Congress that administers the nation's copyright laws, including processing applications to copyright creative works. Last week, the Trump administration fired the Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, who was the first woman and the first Black person to hold the position. The Librarian of Congress is responsible for appointing the Copyright Register, not the executive branch.

Some critics of Perlmutter's firing say this means that the White House does not have the power to remove the leader of the copyright office, either. “The president has as much legal power to fire the Register of Copyrights as I do, which is to say: none,” Meredith Rose, legal counsel for intellectual property nonprofit Public Knowledge, said in a statement.

The document the two men cited also stated that deputy attorney general Todd Blanche, who previously served as a personal defense lawyer for Trump, was now the acting Librarian of Congress. The Department of Justice announced Monday that Blanche would be replacing Hayden, who had been in the job for nearly a decade. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Hayden’s firing stemmed from “quite concerning things she had done at the Library of Congress in pursuit of DEI.”

Prior to the Blanche's appointment, Hayden’s former deputy, Robert Newlen, had already been named acting Librarian of Congress. In an email sent to staff Monday viewed by WIRED, Newlen refuted that a personnel change had taken place. “Congress is engaged with the White House and we have not received direction from Congress about how to move forward,” he wrote. Newlen's signature listed him as “acting Librarian of Congress.”

The Trump Administration has not commented so far on why Perlmutter was fired. Some lawmakers have speculated that her ouster is connected to the report on copyright and AI that her office had released. “Donald Trump’s termination of the Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, is a brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis,” Representative Joe Morelle, the top Democrat on the committee that oversees the Library of Congress, said in a statement on Saturday. “It is surely no coincidence he acted less than a day after she refused to rubber-stamp Elon Musk’s efforts to mine troves of copyrighted works to train AI models.”

The 108-page report was a “pre-publication” version, which means it wasn’t yet finalized. It is not customary for the US Copyright Office to release this type of document, according to copyright lawyer Aaron Moss. The report was highly anticipated in Silicon Valley, as a number of big tech companies are currently embroiled in dozens of court battles over the legality of their approach to training AI tools on copyrighted materials.

In most of these cases, the AI companies are arguing that fair use doctrine makes it legal for them to train on copyrighted materials without permission. The report holds that the fair use doctrine may indeed shield some use cases—but not necessarily all. “Making commercial use of vast troves of copyrighted works to produce expressive content that competes with them in existing markets, especially where this is accomplished through illegal access, goes beyond established fair use boundaries,” it reads.

The New York Times is suing OpenAI for copyright infringement for using its work to train tools like ChatGPT. Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander said in a statement that using copyrighted material to generate content that competes with original works “is not fair use.”

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adafruit · 6 months ago

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Got lots and lots of solenoids?

We were chatting with a customer and realized we need a better solution for customers with many solenoids or other high-current on/off loads. This breakout will make it easy to control and power many inductive or high-current loads. An mcp23017

https://www.digikey.com/short/nf4pn2rc

expander over I2C provides 8 output pins, each connected to an AO3406 N-Channel FET

https://www.digikey.com/short/rh398zbh

with a 1N4007 flyback diode.

https://www.digikey.com/short/343h9890

Terminal blocks allow for quick wiring to power and each high current output, including one chunky block for the power input. The other 8 expander I/Os are exposed if you want buttons or simple LEDs. The breakouts have stemma QT for fast chaining/control over I2C.

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randomlygreat1337 · 3 months ago

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More OC Dumping!!!

Ana Somni And Ringo Seiki!!!

Ana:

She/Her

Age: 18

Birthday: 1/1

Height: 5'3"

The Younger Sister Of Pixel Somni (My Transmasc OC Who Runs An Arcade), Ana Was Separated From Her Former Sister During An Incident Years Ago. She Then Found A Nearby Portal Terminal Leading To Another Universe Before It Was Blocked By Rubble. Some Time Later, Ana Meets Ringo, Who Takes Her In. Ana Tells Her Story To Ringo's Mother And Becomes Her Apprentice, Much To Her Interest In Tinkering. She Also Has A Matching Bracelet Which She Entrusts Ringo To Safekeep. Although Ana Wants To See Pixel Again, She Doesn't Know That He's Not The Sister He Used To Be

Ana Is A Playful Girl With An Interest In Tinkering. She Also Tends To Be Talkative To The Point Of Overexplaining And Hates Getting Cut Off. She Also Has An Interest In Steampunk Media

Fun Fact: Ana And Pixel Were Originally Zenless Zone Zero OCs!!!

Just A Regular Afternoon At Work, Ringo Just Went Home From Med School!!!

Speaking Of Ringo...

Ringo:

She/Her

Age: 20

Birthday: 5/12

Height: 5'4"

A Doll Created By A 1200+ Year Old Elf, Ringo Is A Former Classmate Of Fumiko Mitsui. Originally Created To Be A Workshop Assistant, Her Mother Was Surprised That She Took Up An Interest In Medical Topics. She Refused To Program Ringo To Assist Her During Creation, As She Was Essentially Raising A Child. During Her Time In High School, She Was Close Friends With Fumiko, Although She Never Met Her Twin Brother Fumiki. Ringo Currently Studies In A Med School And Is A Frequent Visitor Of Eastopolis's Electronic District, Where She Goes To Electronics Stores To Look For Materials To Maintain Herself From Time To Time

Ringo Is A Selfless And Loyal Person Who Will Fight For Her Friends (Not Literally Lol) And Checks On Them Every Now And Then. She's Also Hardworking. Despite That, She Tends To Be Tardy On Other Things Due To Her Intense Study Habits

Fun Fact: Ringo's Design Is Inspired By Mikan Tsumiki From Danganronpa!!! Even Their Names Are Opposites To Each Other!!!

Here's Some Art Of Her That I Made Days Ago!!!

See You On The Next Post!!!

#gacha oc #gl2 oc #oc #gacha #gacha life 2 #ocs #gacha life 2 oc #gl2 #gacha life #oc art #digital art #artists on tumblr #original character #gacha life two #art

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wardencommander-surana · 4 months ago

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WIP Wednesday

since i can't stop thinking about my ME3 Omega DLC rewrite - here you go!

Garrus Vakarian was riding high.

His afternoon at the Citadel was nothing short of success: he finally got to check "going to the very top of the Presidium" off his bucket list, the girl of his dreams was just as crazy about him, and it didn’t hurt that they finally proved he was the better shot between the two. He caught himself humming old Earth music Laoise introduced him to as he tinkered with the Normandy’s weapons calibrations when the door slid open, and a very frantic Liara entered.

"Garrus! Please tell me if you’ve seen Shepard."

"Not since I got back from the Citadel. She said an old friend wanted to see her." The asari’s demeanor was making him nervous. "What do you know that I don’t?"

The accusation wasn’t completely unfounded – Liara’s position as the Shadow Broker meant she frequently had intel long before anyone even recognized its value. She was clearly weighing just how much information she needed to give him before sighing with exasperation. "I think it would be best if you saw for yourself." The two quickly crossed the mess hall to the former XO office, now covered from floor to ceiling in monitors displaying vid feeds from across the galaxy. Liara’s drone, Glyph, hovered over eagerly to greet them.

"Dr. T’Soni, I have enhanced the Cerberus communication feeds on Omega as you requested."

"Omega?" The mention of the lawless station that was nearly his early grave piqued Garrus’s attention. Liara gave him a solemn nod, then locked her focus in on her terminal.

"Glyph, do we have confirmation on what’s happening?"

"Affirmative, Dr. T’Soni. Several escape pods of unknown origin crashed into a hangar on the outskirts of the station. Cerberus officers stationed there are currently under heavy fire by outside agitators."

"Yes, yes, but what about Shepard? Have they said anything else about Shepard?"

"Sightings of Commander Shepard and Aria T’Loak have been confirmed by Cerberus agents on the ground."

Garrus and Liara exchanged a tense look. While the two existed on different ends of the morality spectrum, Shepard and T’Loak were unexpectedly friendly, each considering the other their "pet project." Truthfully, it was no surprise the commander would agree to assist with the incursion – the Afterlife happened to be Laoise’s favorite karaoke spot in the galaxy. She wasn’t going to let it go that easily.

"Can we patch into their comms?" Garrus asked. He tried to keep his tone even, but the question came out rushed, desperate. Liara shook her head, typing away while her eyes anxiously scanned the vid streams. Screens flipped to various angles of Omega, all neon lights and eezo dust with a glowing orange force field blocking off the center of the station. A group of well-armed mercenaries approached – Aria’s people. They took a beat to examine the barrier, then a vorcha charged forward and disintegrated upon impact as Garrus and Liara could only watch in terror. "T’Soni, patch into their comms." The turian repeated his request, now a demand, and his grip tightened on the back of her chair.

"Damn it, Garrus, if I could, I would have already." Liara was getting frustrated, her fingers flying across the keys as she tossed through countless surveillance feeds to find the commander. A flash of dark energy on one of the screens caught their attention – when the commotion settled, they were greeted by the sight of Commander Shepard standing amongst a pile of smoldering mechs before she scuttled offscreen. "Where did she go?"

"There." He pointed at another feed above them that showed Laoise and Aria in a heated discussion. The vids had no sound, but the odds were good they were bickering. Suddenly, the two were gone again, escaping through a hole in the catwalk below them. Liara began scrambling through the rest of the feeds looking for the pair.

"Aria knows Omega better than anyone!" Her tone verged on a whine – the Shadow Broker never liked being out of the loop. "The only comfort is Cerberus likely can’t find them, either."

Garrus racked his brain for memories of his time lurking the station, hoping to recall some secret, all-encompassing floor map, but nothing helpful came to mind. "I remember rumors of some smuggling tunnels under the city, but we just assumed it was the vorcha crawling through the ducts." The longer Laoise was off-screen, the more frustrated the turian became. "Shit, Shepard, we were just with each other. You could’ve told me."

"What were you two up to?" Liara kept her eyes trained on her terminal, but her curiosity clearly got the better of her. "I heard a few C-Sec officers complaining one of the taxis went offline. One mentioned a human Spectre." Garrus felt a heat creep up his neck as he reminisced about his and Shepard’s afternoon together at the top of the Citadel, a peaceful moment that felt a lifetime away now.

"We went to the top of the Presidium," he admitted, "just to pop off some shots together. Let off some steam. She needed a break." That was all she would get out of him – besides, a good turian didn’t kiss and tell. The asari snorted derisively at his half-truth, but before she could needle him for more, Glyph interrupted with a cheerful chirp.

"Dr. T’Soni, I have gained access to a communication channel on Omega. I am patching you in now."

The speakers in the room were now abuzz with chatter even though the monitors still flipped through empty hallways and a now-quiet city center. From the conversations they could make out, it seemed as though Glyph found just the feed they wanted – the Omega resistance.

"Aria, if you think I'm going to let you carve a bloody path through this campaign, you're sorely mistaken." A familiar voice cut through the din, as did her partner’s irritated groan.

#mass effect #wip wednesday #fan fiction #me3 #shakarian #femshep #garrus vakarian #and i think ALL my moots should post a WIP wednesday but no pressure :)

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rapeculturerealities · 2 years ago

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Supreme Court will decide access to key abortion drug mifepristone - The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/13/abortion-drug-supreme-court-mifepristone-fda/

The Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it will decide this term whether to limit access to a key abortion drug, returning the polarizing issue of reproductive rights to the high court for the first time since the conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade last year.

The Biden administration and the manufacturer of mifepristone have asked the justices to overturn a lower-court ruling that would make it more difficult to obtain the medication, which is part of a two-drug regimen used in more than half of all abortions in the United States.

The conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit said the federal government acted unlawfully years ago when it began loosening regulations for obtaining the pill. The appeals court said the Food and Drug Administration did not follow proper procedures when it allowed the drug — which was first approved more than 20 years ago — to be taken later in pregnancy, to be mailed directly to patients and to be prescribed by a medical professional other than a doctor.

Medications to terminate pregnancy have increased in importance because more than a dozen states severely limited or banned abortions after the Supreme Court’s ruling last June in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. That’s partly because the drugs can be sent by mail and taken at home.

If access to mifepristone was restricted, abortion providers and advocates say, pregnancies could still be terminated using only the second drug in the regimen, misoprostol. But using that drug alone causes more cramping and bleeding, and abortion opponents could move to restrict its use as well if they win limits on the use of mifepristone from the high court.

[ Faced with abortion bans, doctors beg hospitals for help with key decisions ]

The court’s decision to review the mifepristone case is not surprising. In April, after a District Court ruling to suspend FDA approval of the drug, the justices said existing rules for prescribing and distributing mifepristone would remain in place nationwide while the litigation continues.

In that order, only Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. said they would not have granted the Biden administration’s request for a stay of the District Court decision. Critics say the lower court’s ruling undermines the role of federal regulatory agencies.

Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar told the high court that mifepristone has been safely used by millions of people over more than two decades, and warned that allowing the lower court’s decision to stand would have “damaging consequences for women seeking lawful abortions and a healthcare system that relies on the availability of the drug under the current conditions of use.”

The challenge to mifepristone was initiated by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, an association of antiabortion doctors and others. The group asserted that the FDA did not sufficiently consider safety concerns when it approved the drug in 2000 or when it removed some restrictions years later — allowing the use of mifepristone through 10 weeks of pregnancy, for instance, instead of seven.

The group filed its lawsuit in Amarillo, Tex., where U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk — a Trump nominee with long-held antiabortion views — is the sole sitting judge. He sided with the challengers and suspended FDA approval of the medication.

The 5th Circuit reversed that part of Kacsmaryk’s order, but agreed with him in blocking the changes starting in 2016 for how the drug was prescribed and distributed, and at what point in a pregnancy it could be used.

#abortion #reproductive rights #reproductive health #mifepristone #supreme court

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moretransteenagerstuff · 8 months ago

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I have returned

Previously @justtransteenagerstuff

Hello! I am a trans girl who is currently in high school. (I am a minor)

My old account got terminated so...

I mainly just reblog stuff here, I post more often on @just-some-trans-teenager. I also have a splatoon oc rp blog @chloetheoctoling

Pronouns are she/her

Please be respectful, I don't have a DNI but that doesn't mean I won't block you.

Also please don't ask me for money, I am a minor, I don't have money to donate, and it makes me feel bad that I can't.

#intro post #introductory post #introducing myself

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enigmaticexplorer · 1 year ago

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I Yearn, and so I Fear - Part II - Chapter IX

Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

General Summary. Nearly a year since the Galactic Empire’s rise to power, Kazi Ennari is trying to survive. But her routine is interrupted—and life upended—when she’s forced to cohabitate with former Imperial soldiers. Clone soldiers.

Pairing. Commander Wolffe x female!OC

General Warnings. Canon-typical violence and assault, familial struggles, terminal disease, bigotry, explicit sexual content, death. This story deals with heavy content. If you’re easily triggered, please do not read. For a more comprehensive list of tags, click here.

Fic Rating. E (explicit)/18+/Minors DNI.

Chapter Word Count. 4K

A Like without a Reblog will result in an automatic block.

“To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.” – Bertrand Russel

22 Helona

The lake was nestled in a clearing down the hill from the house.

Kazi discovered it the first week she moved to Eluca. Fehr said the lake was an old fishing hole used for sport; however, over the decades, the fish population deteriorated and died. Today, the sole creatures that visited the lake were various aquatic birds and the occasional frog.

Roughly a hundred meters in length, the lake’s deepest point was no more than six meters. The water was translucent blue, a unique feature most Elucan lakes claimed. Even the pit of the lake was visible and served as an illusion, making it appear shallower than it truly was. Fehr had warned her about the deception, and Kazi had made sure Neyti knew to never visit the lake alone.

Beneath a gray sky bloated with coming rain, Kazi swam laps.

The swim was, obviously, different than her morning swims on Ceaia. Fresh water. Visible depths. Water contained. Waves and currents a nonexistent issue. Sometimes a monkey perched on the branches of the trees overlooking the water and appraised her routine. The brown, furry creatures scurried away the moment she noticed them.

Lazily backstroking, Kazi studied the skies above. Her neck still ached and the skin was raw. Bruises still painted her skin purple and blue. She couldn’t even swim properly—twisting her neck to the side to breathe hurt too much, which was why she had taken to backstrokes. She needed a bacta salve if she wanted the bruises to heal quickly. But bacta was too expensive.

Carefully regulated by the Empire, bacta could only be found on the black market. It was one of the Empire’s first laws—to prevent “Separatist rebels” from receiving efficient medical care.

All bacta production sites were managed by the Imps, and a large purchase flagged Imperial security systems. Only med centers and military bases received a substantial amount of bacta supply, and even those were carefully documented. Planetary systems could request large quantities separate from med centers, but it was unlikely the Empire would supply them.

One of the benefits of Ceaian culture was the emphasized importance of apothecaries and herbal medicine. Hence Daria’s bruise salve Kazi used last night and this morning. Herbal medicine wasn’t effective like bacta. But it was more useful than nothing.

Another lap completed, body fatigued and stomach cramping from renewed menstrual pain, Kazi called it. She surveyed the darkening sky once more and then started toward the shore. Until she noticed the person sitting on the log where she kept her shoes and towel.

Unease pinched her stomach. She inhaled a slow breath to calm the sudden race of her heart. Wolffe was watching her, his expression unreadable.

The fallen log bordered the edge of the lake, water lapping at its smooth trunk. Kazi stalked through the thigh-high water and stopped a meter before Wolffe.

“What are you doing here?”

Rather than his usual morning attire, he was outfitted in gray sweats and a black long-sleeve. Dark marks smeared his under-eyes and the lines on his face were more pronounced. He looked tired. Like he hadn’t slept. And yet his gaze remained as attentive as ever.

Forearms pressed to his thighs, Wolffe scanned the lake. He seemed to be intentionally avoiding her direction. “Why do you swim?”

His purposeful ignorance irked her and she rolled her eyes, glaring at the trees behind him.

“I like the water.” Sliding into her flipflops, she grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her body. “My father took me sailing almost every day. And since I can’t sail here, I might as well swim.”

Finally, Wolffe looked at her. “Is your father on Ceaia?”

“He’s dead.” Kazi considered him. “He died when I was ten. It’s been a long time.”

An uncomfortably long moment passed. Wolffe searched her face. The assessment in his gaze felt like a knife cutting into her, peeling her open.

A breeze, chillier than usual, whispered along her skin and she fought a shiver.

“Your mother—”

“Is dead. Everyone is dead.” She didn’t like this line of questioning, and she didn’t like the calculation in his expression. “Loss is a normal part of life and some have experienced it more than others. As you’re familiar with.”

His lips pressed in a disapproving line. “I don’t want your pity—”

“Likewise.”

“I was asking to figure you out—”

“It’s really none of your business.”

Wolffe pushed himself to his feet. “You say that a lot.”

They were standing far too close and Kazi wanted to step back. To create distance. Wolffe was taller than her. Broad shoulders and healthy fat sculpted the body of a battle-hardened soldier. This close proximity was intimidating, but her pride kept her glued to her spot.

“You tell me it’s not my business,” Wolffe said, voice low and edged with restraint. “But you come back here with a fucking handprint on your neck, Ennari. Tell me how that’s not my business.”

Kazi stilled. Her teeth gritted.

“I have assumptions.” Wolffe ran his tongue along his teeth. “None of them are good.”

“If it’s your brothers’ safety you’re worried about,” she said, “I can assure you I haven’t betrayed you—”

“Don’t. Don’t do that.” The annoyance in his tone was overt and he released a sardonic exhale. “I thought we were past that.”

“I did too,” she said sharply. “But you’re out here, in my space, accusing me—”

“I’m not accusing you of anything,” he snarled. “You have a handprint on your fucking neck and I need to know what happened.”

“And I told you it doesn’t concern you or your brothers, so you can fuck off—”

“You can trust me.” Wolffe worked his jaw, his voice quieting. “I want you to trust me.”

Shaking her head, Kazi looked toward the lake, toward the visible depths where sunken trees and aquatic plants mossed the lake floor.

It wasn’t a question of trust. More a question of her own pride. She didn’t want Wolffe to know what happened yesterday simply because she was too raw from it. Not yet disconnected and numb.

A look in the mirror this morning was too much. She saw a broken version of herself—eyes sunken, skin dull, mouth flattened. The woman she saw this morning was a version of herself she worked hard to hide from the world.

A woman who yearned for things she didn’t deserve. A woman who wanted so much and yet refused to accept good things out of fear they would disappear. A woman who was tired and no longer wanted to rely on herself.

For a majority of her life, Kazi had carefully cultivated and nourished a façade. A façade of disinterest, aloofness, and absolute control over her emotions. She was unflappable and independent. Disciplined and level-headed. She bore responsibility for Neyti and Daria; she couldn’t be weak and broken.

But it was lonely. To rely on herself, to maintain the pretense she was competent and in control. Perfect.

It was so fucking lonely.

“I told you,” Kazi murmured, eyes fixed on Wolffe’s shoulder, “it doesn’t concern you.”

“What do you want?” Wolffe lowered his head, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Do you want me to beg?”

She recoiled. “No.”

“Tell me what I need to do to learn what happened.”

“I don’t understand why you want to know.” She released a shaky breath. “I can handle it on my own.”

“That’s the problem with you.” Wolffe cut a hand through his hair. “I don’t doubt your competence. But if you’re being abused by the network, we’re going to have a problem—”

“It was the magistrate.” She glanced at the surrounding trees again. “Not the network. They wouldn’t do that—”

Wolffe scoffed. “Those people have a goal in mind. And they’ll use whoever they can to achieve it. Even at the expense of your life.”

The truth in his words was brutal, but Kazi had always assumed it of the network. It was easier to pretend the rebels were moralistic. That they were the opposite of the Empire and would never use people to their advantage. Refusing to acknowledge the truth allowed her to pretend she wasn’t digging her own grave.

“It wasn’t them,” she said.

Tentative fingers lifted her chin. Wolffe eyed her neck, his focus intense. “Was he trying to kill you?”

“I don’t know.” Softly, a finger traced her bruises and she swallowed. “He’s paranoid. He doesn’t know who he can trust. I think he was trying to threaten me to convince me of my loyalty to him.”

“I have bacta—”

Pulling away, she frowned. “How?”

“Our missions aren’t solely rescue-based.” He shrugged. “We do have a need for certain resources.”

It made sense. He and his brothers needed the efficacy bacta provided.

“Save it,” she said. “For something more important.”

Wolffe cocked a brow. “Do you really want Neyti to see that?”

“Of course not,” she said. “But I have clothes that can hide it.”

Seemingly unconvinced, Wolffe looked away, rolling his shoulders back. The silence between them was awkward and strained.

“Quit your job.”

The statement caught her off guard and she blinked dubiously at Wolffe. The seriousness in his features, the insistence in his tone, made her retreat a step.

“I can’t.” She gestured to the house behind him. “I have to work to provide for my family. And I’m spying for the network.”

“The network is dangerous. You know that. You don’t owe them anything.”

“Do you really believe they’ll let me go?” She smiled ruefully at his stony scowl. “Unless I left Eluca, they won’t let me quit.”

Moving wasn’t an option either. Both she and Wolffe knew it. The information she had on the network, even if it were minimal and her interactions confined to few members, was a problem. The network wouldn’t risk their existence for a single person.

Kazi shrugged. “Like I said, it’s—”

“Don’t tell me it’s not my concern.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “The magistrate is looking into deserted clones. He suspects a spy in the Institute. Lack of information about possible rebel spies and deserted clones will further increase his paranoia. All of this concerns me.”

“I’m doing what I can,” she said defensively. “I think this was a fluke. He believes I’m loyal and it won’t happen again.”

“And what if he doubts you again? What happens then?” His gaze returned to her neck and his nostrils flared. “You could have died—”

“I know.” Her voice was trembling but she couldn’t stop it. A phantom touch—like the magistrate’s hand was once more squeezing her neck—brushed her skin. “I was the one there. I know what could have happened.”

“We can get you out—”

“And take me where?” Throwing up her hands, she laughed. “There’s nowhere else to go.”

“There are remote places—”

“Yes, there are. Planets without the education Neyti needs. Planets without the medical care my sister needs.”

A muscle flexed in his jaw. “This is dangerous.”

“Your missions are dangerous. I don’t understand how this is any different.”

“Because it’s my life on the line,” he snapped. “And my life doesn’t mat—”

An uncomfortable grimace contorted his features and Wolffe scowled at a point behind her. Kazi could only stare at him, too tired to respond, too numb to comfort. Anyway, she doubted Wolffe would care for her response. He despised pity.

A handful of raindrops pricked her arms. Small and cold. Just like how she felt on the inside.

“If something happens to me,” she started, voice brittle. Empty. “Will you make sure Neyti and Daria are okay?”

Wolffe exhaled a strained breath, rubbing the back of his neck. His eyes returned to hers. His gaze was unwavering. He studied her for a long time; she was surprised there was anything left to see.

“Nothing’s going to happen to you, Ennari.” He squared his shoulders. “Nothing.”

The static of galactic news hummed in the sunroom. Clouds a dark gray, like the charcoal used to start a fire, layered the sky. Hours ago, solid sheets of rain watered the jungle’s rolling hills. Now, the skies were somber. The quiet and emptiness after a good cry.

Kazi stood at the windows overlooking the dreary afternoon. Tucked among the knee-high ferns sat Neyti and, to her bemusement, Nova. The man held a neatly tied collection of bird feathers. A myriad of colors, from moonless black to opaque white to a rainbow of blues and indigos, the feathers ranged in length and thickness.

Nova said something to Neyti. The youngling scrutinized the feathers, eyebrows knitted and mouth wrinkled. She reached for the largest feather, cerulean blue with sketched lines of black.

Nodding, Nova set the feathers on the ground, all except for the cerulean one. He stroked a finger down the rachis, and then offered the feather to Neyti who mimicked. A small, toothless smile lit her face.

Kazi felt herself smile similarly.

From the kitchen, a timer beeped. Muffled voices spoke and a quiet laugh drifted to the sunroom. Daria was teaching Cody one of the sisters’ favorite recipes—Ceaian sea-cakes, a traditional breakfast more common during the winter holidays.

Why Daria wanted to teach Cody the recipe was beyond Kazi. The dish was nothing more than tradition—even if it was a staple of their childhood—and tradition only those from Ceaia could appreciate. She doubted Cody had any interest in Ceaian culture. Why would he care?

A twist of the radio and the staticky voices loudened.

“…in an astonishing turn of events, Emperor Palpatine made an unannounced appearance at the Galactic Senate…

“…after the shocking news that an Imperial admiral ordered the destruction of Kaminoan cities…

“Emperor Palpatine was quoted: ‘With this momentous act, we shall usher in a new era. Heralded by the Imperial stormtrooper.’...”

Searching the backyard, Kazi redirected her attention to Wolffe. Beneath a canopy of thick trees, he and Fox had outlined a perimeter of short stakes. The area was around fifteen meters in length and five meters wide.

The two men were out there for hours. Ever since the rain released its hold. Currently, Wolffe knelt on the ground, hammering two pieces of wood together.

Kazi had half a mind to ask him what he and Fox were building. But, after this morning, she was avoiding him. She regretted their conversation, and she regretted revealing certain fears and uncertainties. She didn’t want him to think she wasn’t good enough to—

“I was wondering where those two had gone.”

Kazi jerked away from the window and spun around. Standing at her side, close enough she could elbow him, was a freshly-showered Fox.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt your blatant staring.”

“I wasn’t staring,” she muttered. Smoothing an unwrinkled spot on her shirt, she ignored his amused look. “I was wondering where Neyti had gotten to.”

“She’s a remarkable kid.”

Outside, Neyti held the stack of feathers, mystified by whatever Nova was showing her on his datapad. The man had a particular interest in medicine and trauma therapy, according to Daria who had gifted Nova one of her old medical books to study. Based on Neyti’s blatant confusion, Kazi assumed Nova was showing her something related to the biological breakdown of bird feathers.

“I’m sorry,” Kazi said quietly. In the corner of her eye, Fox stiffened, carefully scanning the green mass beyond the windows. “For snapping at you when you were obviously joking.”

“We’re all protective of family,” Fox said. His words were contemplative, but a hint of warning underscored his tone.

Seemingly satisfied with his assessment of the backyard, Fox took a seat in a chair across the room. A position where he could see the partition, backdoor, and anything outside the windows. It was then that Kazi noticed the objects in his hands. An old, rusted knife and a chunk of wood.

Intricate lines carved the wood into a simple shape. Kazi appraised the figurine, her lips parting in surprise.

The carving was a familiar black bird. The same bird Neyti had insisted on burying two days ago.

“Do you think she’ll like it?” The intense concentration on Fox’s face belied his casual demeanor.

“I think she will.” Kazi took the seat beside him. “You know, she would probably like you more if you didn’t tease her so much.”

He breathed a quiet chuckle. “I know.”

The solemnity in his answer was begrudging, and it revealed something she hadn’t yet known: Fox didn’t want to get close to Neyti. The teasing remarks—the soft glares and adorable scowls he received in return—were his way to maintain a distinctive line. A barrier not to be crossed.

Kazi recognized it. Because she did it too.

Over the years she had distanced herself from everyone. Family. Friends. Coworkers. Similar to Fox, she had distanced herself on purpose. Because closeness, companionship, created a vulnerability, a happiness that could easily be stolen the moment the companion left.

“The Senate is still debating the decommissioning of clones,” she said, changing conversation. “It seems they’ll vote in favor.”

“They’d be real stupid to do it.” Fox flicked the tip of his knife. “But it makes sense why they’ll go through with it.”

Kazi frowned. “I thought you would support the bill.”

He slid his eyes in her direction. “And why would you think that?”

“The Empire will no longer use clone soldiers. They’ll be free from service.” She paused, hesitating. “That’s the entire purpose of your missions, isn’t it? To free those men?”

“The purpose of our missions is to rescue.” Setting aside his knife and block of wood, Fox lounged back in his chair. “We’re rescuing the ones who want out.”

Static from the radio chirped and Kazi lowered it.

“Decommissioning is the Empire’s way of cleaning up a mess they don’t want to deal with anymore,” Fox said. “Clones don’t have a pension plan. They don’t have retirement savings. They’ll be decommissioned and tossed aside. Forgotten by the galaxy they fought to protect. They’ll be jobless, homeless, and left without a purpose.”

Kazi glanced at the half-finished puzzle littering the table—the puzzle Wolffe had been working on the last two weeks. “I don’t understand why the Empire wants to decommission clones. No natborn can compete with your training and skillset. Clones will always be superior soldiers, and for a government that desires power, the most efficient and effective military is a clone military.”

A wry smile darkened Fox’s face. “You’re forgetting the aging gene.”

“I thought the aging gene was degenerative.” She leaned forward. “The Ceaian government intercepted Kaminoan intel and we were told the aging gene stopped acceleration at twenty-six. Is that not true?”

“It is.” Fox shrugged at her exasperated scowl. “The aging gene’s degeneration was kept quiet. The Kaminoans were pressed their experimentation was faulty. And one bad gene raised questions of other possible degenerations.”

“Which could lead to an investigation into the chips, and if the general public knew about the chips’ existence, it could lead to questioning of the Empire’s authority. Even questioning Palpatine himself.” Kazi scoffed, tapping the plush armrest of her chair. “So Palpatine is cleaning up his mess.”

Fixing the cuff of his gray button-down, Fox appeared insouciant to the revelation. Then again, he seemed to have already considered and assessed the situation at depth.

“Clones aren’t droids,” Fox said, rolling the cuff on his right wrist. “We have minds of our own. And Palpatine is starting to wonder if the clone army will remain loyal to him. He thinks it’ll be easier to decommission them. He’ll create a new army from those propagandized to support him.”

They lapsed into brief silence, Kazi musing their conversation. Something about his tone struck her.

“You talk about Palpatine like you knew him,” she commented. Years of training kept Fox’s features composed, but Kazi had also spent years studying the subtle changes in posture and expressions. She noted the sudden wariness in his eyes. The slight tightness around his mouth. “Did you know him?”

“Does it matter?”

“I’m only curious.”

Shaking his head, Fox shifted his attention to the windows, tapping a finger against the armrest of his chair. He sighed.

“I served Palpatine.”

The guarded reticence in his face reminded Kazi of Wolffe’s mistrust, and she realized he expected her to react poorly. Probably accuse him or stalk away.

A month ago she would have. A month ago, she would have considered this proof the men were hiding their true motivations and they weren’t to be trusted.

“I’m surprised you aren’t yelling at me.” Fox chuckled bitterly.

She shrugged. “I’m not one for yelling.”

“That’s not what Wolffe said.” Kazi rolled her eyes, and Fox relaxed marginally, dark brown eyes searching her face. “I wouldn’t blame you. If you went to Wolffe or Cody and told them I couldn’t stay.” He grinned. “Some of the men we rescue don’t trust me.”

The words were flat, bored and uncaring, and yet Kazi noted a hint of exhaustion.

“Why not?” she asked.

“I was a good soldier,” Fox said. “I obeyed my orders. I didn’t question them. I took my job seriously, and I made hard decisions not everyone agreed with. I earned a…certain reputation among the ranks.”

His deceptive casualness was well-practiced, and she couldn’t help but wonder how often he pretended to be in control. How often others overlooked his collected appearance.

“I was loyal to Palpatine. Until the very end.” His gaze grew unfocused. “I did things I shouldn’t have.”

“We all do bad things,” she said, “and we all make mistakes—”

“These weren’t simple mistakes.”

For a long moment, Kazi and Fox sat in pensive silence, the shifting of pans from the kitchen and the static from the radio serving as background noise. Kazi watched Neyti play with her bird feather, smiling smally at the little girl’s enthusiasm. Her attention shifted to Wolffe. He was drinking from a bottle, his long-sleeved shirt matted with sweat, the white fabric clinging to his dark skin.

“What will you do,” she said, “once decommissioning starts?”

“Decommissioning can mean a number of things.” Fox ran a finger down the stem of the spindly plant sitting beside him. One of Daria’s, the dark green plant almost reached Kazi’s shoulders when she stood. “Certain units will be kept in service. There will be clones forced to train new soldiers. We’ve even heard reports of possible clone detainment centers. We’ll keep busy.”

“How long will you do this for?”

Outside, the breeze stole a feather from Neyti, carrying it to a tree branch. Neyti chased after it. But the branch was too high for her to reach. Before Kazi could help, Wolffe plucked the feather from the branch and returned it to Neyti.

Hugging the feather to her chest, Neyti patted Wolffe on his arm and raced back to Nova who was absorbed in something on his datapad. Wolffe looked from his arm to Neyti, bemusement wrinkling his forehead. Kazi bit her tongue to stifle her amusement.

Sudden movement from Fox drew her attention back inside. He approached the windows, slipping his hands into his trousers’ pockets. “We’re committed to these missions for one of three reasons: responsibility, guilt, and atonement.”

Still seated, Kazi surveyed his side profile.

“Cody believes it’s his responsibility to correct his wrongs, and that starts with his men. And Wolffe does it out of a twisted sense of guilt.” Fox rolled his shoulders in a move so similar to Wolffe it was eerie. “The missions give us purpose.”

Kazi could relate to the sentiment. After University, her career gave her purpose. Meaning. It kept her alive, especially on those lonely nights when she didn’t understand why she existed. Those lonely nights when she questioned if someone would miss her—

Hesitantly, Kazi joined Fox at the windows. “Wolffe goes on every mission while you and Cody switch. Why is that?”

Fox chuffed a strained chuckle. “Wolffe is single-minded when it comes to his goals. He’ll run these missions—and run himself ragged—until he either shifts his focus elsewhere or learns to live with the guilt.”

Kazi frowned. “Guilt for what?”

“Surviving the war.”

Masterlist | Chapter 8 | Chapter 10

A/N: I’m afraid Fox’s words might get misconstrued: Fox is arguing that Wolffe’s guilt is an unhealthy coping mechanism that’s driving his life. He is not arguing that Wolffe needs a romantic partner to 1) fix him and 2) bring meaning to his life. Romantic relationships do not give purpose; they do not give someone a reason to live. And when it comes to the clones, I think any similar rhetoric reduces their personal aspirations, individualism, and humanity.

#I Yearn and so I Fear #commander wolffe x oc: kazi ennari #commander wolffe #oc: kazi ennari #commander wolffe x ofc #commander wolffe fanfiction #commander wolffe fan fiction #star wars fanfiction #star wars fan fiction

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yourreddancer · 1 month ago

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Today in Politics, Bulletin 136. 5/22/25

Today in Politics, Bulletin 136. 5/22/25 Ron Filipkowski May 22 ∙ … DHS Sec Kristi Noem sent a letter to Harvard today revoking their Foreign Exchange Student Program effective immediately. That would prevent Harvard from enrolling any additional students going forward and states that any foreign students currently enrolled must transfer to another school or be forced to leave the country. Scary authoritarian shit.

… Noem in the letter: “This action should not surprise you and is the unfortunate result of Harvard’s failure to comply with simple reporting requirements.”

… She previously demanded that Harvard provide her with records of all disciplinary actions taken by the University against foreign students. Harvard refused, so this was Noem’s response. Expect this to be in federal court in Boston immediately.

… Noem then went on Fox: "Today, I sent them a letter that said they will no longer be allowed to participate in this student exchange visitor program, and that's up to 27% of their enrolled students. So it's significant. They will have to find some other university to go to. This should be a warning to every other university to get your act together."

… Economist and Univ of Michigan Prof Justin Wolfers: “It's a rich irony that a President who is obsessed by the trade balance is blocking one of our best exports: American higher ed. International students pay fees, create high-paying jobs, learn ideas, and spread them globally. But they can't come without reliable visas.”

… The House passed the Budget Reconciliation Bill 215-214. Republicans Thomas Massie and Warren Davidson voted no. Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris very courageously voted present. Rep. Andrew Gabarino (R-NY) missed the vote.

… Garbarino missed the vote because he was sleeping: “I fell asleep in the back. No kidding.”

… Democrats were also short three votes because 3 Reps recently died in office while serving with terminal illnesses (Gerry Connolly, Sylvester Turner and Raúl Grijalva). 8 members of Congress have died in office in the last 3 years - all Democrats.

… Of course, this still has to pass the Senate and many Republicans senators have said they will not vote for it. We will see. But the fact that this passed by only one vote means that every Democratic candidate in 2026 for the House can say that their opponent cast the deciding vote on this monstrosity.

… Davidson explained why he voted against it: “Promising someone else will cut spending in the future does not cut spending. Deficits do matter and this bill grows them now. The only Congress we can control is the one we’re in. Consequently, I cannot support this big deficit plan. NO.”

… Davidson is talking about how ALL the serious projected spending cuts in this bill are supposed to happen in 2029, the year after Trump leaves office. So the Republican plan is for all the tax cuts to happen while Trump is president, exploding the deficit to record levels, with promises to start cutting spending in 4 years. He posted this chart to illustrate that.

… Massie responded: “I agree with Warren Davidson. If we were serious, we’d be cutting spending now, instead of promising to cut spending years from now. I’d love to stand here and tell the American people, we can cut your taxes and we can increase spending and everything’s going to be just fine. But I can’t do that because I’m here to deliver a dose of reality. This bill dramatically increases deficits in the near term, but promises our govt will be fiscally responsible 5 years from now. Where have we heard that before? How do you bind a future Congress to these promises? This bill is a debt bomb ticking.“

… Massie also opposed the bill on the floor: “Congress can do funny math, fantasy math, if it wants. But bond investors don’t. We’re not rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic tonight. We’re putting coal in the boiler and setting a course for the iceberg. If something is beautiful, you don’t do it after midnight.”

… Economist Justin Wolfers: “This is the largest redistribution from poor to rich in American history.”

… Sen. Rand Paul seems as dug in to oppose the bill in the Senate as Massie was in the House. To Punchbowl: “Once the Republicans vote for this, Republicans are going to own the deficit. I’m a conservative who's not voting for a 4 or 5 trillion dollar increase in the deficit.”

… Daniel Horowitz, Editor of conservative The Blaze: “The One Big Bill is actually a perfect name for this legislation. It has no coherent vision that people can even wrap their arms around or come away with anything inspirational. It's just a random assortment of provisions, some good, some really bad, some just random and bizarre, but fundamentally fails to meet the moment. Just a random big bill.”

… CNN asked Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) if the bill will increase the deficit by trillions despite Trump’s claims to the contrary: “That’s accurate. I don't like that one bit, but I don't know what the other option is right now.”

… MAGA influencer Matt Van Swol, who has 267K followers, got 38,000 likes on this post from his MAGA followers: “I'm done with the GOP. You've lost me. You had your chance and you fucking blew it. I was SO excited for this admin because of the promise of DOGE. But then I watched as the GOP do NOTHING. We are now AT THE END OF MAY AND WE STILL HAVE NOT HAD A SINGLE FUCKING VOTE ON THE DOGE CUTS!!! THE END OF MAY! My only conclusion can be that the GOP does not WANT to end the waste and fraud. This is a sobering realization for everyone who was STOKED for Elon and DOGE.

… “Mark my words, this betrayal will haunt the GOP forever. I will remember you choose to do nothing. You took photos with Elon - you talked about DOGE - you said you loved cutting waste and fraud. But when it came time to do something, none of you did, NONE OF YOU. So, you've lost me. You've lost my trust. I thought you'd be different than the Democrats. But I guess the GOP lies too. And the only difference between the GOP and the Democrats seems to be that Democrats actually pass legislation, and the GOP does not.”

… Propaganda Barbie Karoline Leavitt: “The one big beautiful bill also helps get our fiscal house in order by carrying out the largest deficit reduction in nearly 30 years, with $1.6 trillion in mandatory savings.”

… Leavitt was asked if Trump thought that Massie and Davidson should now be voted out of office: “I believe he does and I don't think he likes to see grandstanders in Congress. The vast majority of Republicans are listening to the president. They are trusting in President Trump, as they should.”

… Massie and Trump have never liked each other. Trump tried to primary Massie before and his endorsed candidate got destroyed. Massie is the only House Republican who never endorsed Trump for president in 2024. But Davidson is about as loyal a MAGA Republican as you can find. But now Trump wants him out for defying him. Trump went after former Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good last year for the same reason. That’s why Bob Good is “former” sitting at home.

… The bond market did not find the bill so beautiful. CNBC: “A sell-off in global bonds is accelerating as Moody’s downgrade of US credit rating and Trump’s tax bill has brought to the fore investors’ fiscal concerns globally. While Trump was unable to sway GOP dissenters to support his broad tax bill that could drive US debt higher by a projected $3-5 trillion, it appears to have triggered a global bond rout.”

… Vishnu Varathan, Mizuho Securities: “Markets do not find Trump’s ‘big, beautiful tax bill’ beautiful at all. USTs were beaten up in an ugly sell-off.”

… Peter Schiff, Chief Economist of Europac: “The bond market is sending a clear signal that the Big, Beautiful Bill may be big, but it's anything but beautiful. 10-year Treasury yields are up to 4.62% & 30-year yields are up to 5.14%. Rates are going much higher, compounding the cost of financing the soaring national debt.”

… CNN: “Long-term Treasuries fell further Thurs; and yields, which trade in opposite direction to prices, continued to surge. The rate on the 10-year Treasury rose above 4.61%, and the 30-year eclipsed 5.14% — its highest level since October 2023.”

… George Saravelos with Deutsche Bank: ‘The most troubling part of the market reaction is that the dollar is weakening at the same time. To us this is a clear signal of a foreign buyer’s strike on US assets and the associated US fiscal risks we have been warning for some time. At the core of the problem is that foreign investors are simply no longer willing to finance US twin deficits at current level of prices.”

… “Ultimately, there are only two ‘solutions’ to this problem. Either the US has to sharply revise the current reconciliation bill currently sitting in Congress to result in credibly tighter fiscal policy; or, the non-dollar value of US debt has to decline materially until it becomes cheap enough for foreign investors to return. Brace for more volatility.”

… Economist Steve Rattner on MSNBC: "If you're in the top 20%, you're gonna get 3.7% increase in after-tax income from tax cuts. If you're in the bottom, you lose $800. You get a small tax cut and and a large cut in Medicaid and other benefits. This is a highly regressive bill that favors the wealthy, doesn't do much for the middle class, and hurts the poor."

… Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) slipped in a provision to the budget bill to legalize silencers: “They're firearms and protected by a law enacted in 1791 called the 2nd Amendment. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed and neither shall it be taxed. My Democrat colleagues asked how did it get in the bill and who asked for it? Me. I asked for it.”

… Clyde owns gun shops in Georgia.

… Rep. Hakeem Jeffries to Meidas: “We know that this presidency has already been a failure. Filled with crisis and chaos, cruelty and corruption. And the American people know it. Which is why Trump at the 100-day mark was the most unpopular president in American history. The American people understand. It's unfolding right before their eyes.”

… Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX): “Breaking yet another promise, Republicans are cutting Medicare by $500B. On Oct 1, every Medicare provider will see a 4% cut and that will occur year after year after year as seniors try to find someone who will accept Medicare. On Jan 1, millions of Americans who rely on the ACA lose their access to a family physician. Meanwhile, our national debt will soar by trillions from Republicans who talk fiscal responsibility but serving their cult leader, the deficit hawks have become chicken hawks in submission to Trump, the self-described king of debt, all to award billionaires with even more tax breaks.”

… Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD): “It's telling that Trump and his cult followers chose to name its bill on its size and looks instead of its contents and values. There's nothing beautiful or big about stripping 14 million Americans of their health care or removing food security from 4 million kids. That's ugly. That's small.”

… AOC: “When you wake up in the morning, you will realize that you voted to defund Planned Parenthood and take away health care from 13.7 million Americans and when this country wakes up there will be consequences to pay for this.”

… Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA): “Not even during the Great Depression did so many people lose their health care as will lose it in this bill. It will affect interest rates. In fact, it already is. Mortgage rates have gone back up over 7% and set to rise by more. Not just mortgage rates, auto loan rates, the rate your credit card company charges you. This is class warfare. It makes the poor poorer, the rich richer, and the middle class left behind.”

… Boyle: “The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found the bottom 10% will be 4% poorer in household wealth under this bill, with most of the benefits going to the top 10% of Americans. And of that top 10%, of course, it's the top 1% that will get the most benefit of all, robbing the poor to reward the rich.”

… Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) to Rep. Hauchin (R-IN): “My state of MA funds states like IN. We get back less than we give. So how dare you or anybody else vote to steal our tax money and give it to billionaires? So no, we will not go quietly, and no, we will not give up. We will fight this cruel, corrupt, immoral bill every step of the way because the people we represent are counting on us. And we will never stop fighting for them. Hell no, never, absolutely not on this terrible disgrace of a bill.”

… Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT) to Meidas: “Every provision in this program is cruel and they know it. That's why none of them spoke on it in committee. That's why they have nothing to say. That's why they don't hold town halls. That's why they don't answer questions. All they do is tweet, repeat, and hide in the back until they vote yes.”

… Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL): “America, we got to be very clear and truthful about this budget. Laws for gun manufacturers to make more money off of death, yes. Food for children to eat, no. Health care for seniors, disabled Americans and millions more, no. Resources to help working families, no. This is why they've been told not to host any town halls in their districts and why this debate is happening in the middle of the night. It’s nothing short of theft.”

… WSJ: “Private clubs have emerged as a moneymaking venture for the president’s second term, and a hub for donors and favor-seekers alike. It now costs a record $1 million to join Mar-a-Lago, up from about $500,000 during his first term. The initiation fee at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster rose to $125,000, surging from $75,000 in recent years. Another Trump golf club in FL now charges more than $300,000 to join.”

… “Trump has encouraged Republican Party officials to hold events at his clubs, where he headlines official dinners and cocktail parties. The clubs have in turn also attracted a new clientele of donors seeking to influence policy in the WH, including cryptocurrency executives pushing for deregulation, advocates seeking pardons for allies, and business leaders looking for exemptions from tariffs, among others.”

… “One of the biggest such events yet is set to take place Thursday at Trump’s golf course outside DC, when his cryptocurrency venture is hosting a gala dinner for his $TRUMP meme coin’s biggest holders. Many of the investors are foreign, and some of the top givers have been promised official tours of the WH.”

… NBC: “More than 200 wealthy, mostly anonymous crypto buyers are coming to Washington to have dinner with President Trump. The price of admission: $55,000 to $37.7 million. That’s how much the 220 winners of a contest to meet Trump spent on his volatile cryptocurrency token, $TRUMP.”

… Leavitt was asked about it today: “The American public believes it's absurd to insinuate that this President is profiting off of the presidency. Not only has he lost wealth but he almost lost his life. He sacrificed a lot to be here and to suggest otherwise is absurd. This president was extremely successful before giving it all up to serve our country."

(NOTE: WHAT A LOAD OF SHIT!!! HE'S USING THE PRESIDENCY TO GRIFT WORSE THAN THE FIRST TIME, AND HIS "ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT" WAS A HOAX!!!!)

… Reporter: Will the WH at least commit to making a list of the attendees public so people can see who's paying for that kind of access to the president? LEAVITT: “The president is attending it in his personal time.”

… But Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) says Trump’s sudden interest in crypto is really to benefit the poor and working class: “President Trump said on the campaign trail that America will be the crypto capital of the world. This is a major part of his legacy when we make it easier for struggling Americans working paycheck to paycheck to have more access at a lower price point. This is good news for the American people, especially the ones living in poverty."

For 18 hours straight, Acyn with Meidas was up all night covering Congress. He posted 32 clips of Democrats opposing the budget on the floor, 24 clips of Democrats in the Rules Committee, and 18 clips of interviews that Ben did of Democrats off the floor.

All of us left other careers and jobs to do this. I was a trial lawyer for 29 years. We did it because we felt that the media was failing to meet the moment at this crucial time in our history. Rather than just complain about it, we decided to do something about it and step into the vacuum to cover what we felt they were missing. As a result, our audience has growth every month at a rapid pace while their has shrunk.

We all work extremely hard and long hours. That is because we care passionately about this cause to defeat the MAGA movement. We never thought this was going to be quick or easy. It is a long term project that isn’t just about defeating a man, but an entire toxic political movement. We aren’t able to do it without your help, and we thank all of you for your support. Whenever, I get really tired doing this towards the end of the day, I think about you.

… Good new for Democrats as former US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, who resigned her position to protest Trump’s treatment of Zelensky, is strongly leaning towards a run to challenge vulnerable Republican Tom Barrett in a toss-up district in Michigan....

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altaqwaelectric · 1 month ago

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mariacallous · 9 months ago

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Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu made headlines in April after coasting to a second term in office by nearly 12 percentage points. Imamoglu, who has served at the city’s helm since 2019, is seen as a major political threat to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP). The latest win in Istanbul cemented Imamoglu’s continued popularity among the Turkish public.

But Imamoglu is only the most prominent face of a broader opposition, led by the Republican People’s Party (CHP). In March’s municipal elections, the CHP secured its most crushing victory over the AKP in decades. Possibly more notable than Imamoglu’s reelection was the newly elected class of women executives of provinces and districts across the country.

One of these women—Sinem Dedetas—may hold the keys to the future of Turkey’s opposition. Imamoglu is currently battling slander charges in the country’s high court, in addition to a slew of other cases that could eventually ban him from politics, even as he is the favorite to run for the CHP in Turkey’s 2028 presidential election. No matter how those fortunes play out, Dedetas promises to be central to the party’s strategy in a post-Erdogan Turkey.

Istanbul is the only city in the world to straddle two continents. Uskudar, a seaside constituency on the Anatolian side, lacks many of the bars and clubs across the water in the European districts. Instead, the conservative area is known for its historical mosques. It is also one of Istanbul’s key transportation hubs, home to a confluence of ferries, rail, metro, and bus lines. Millions of people from all over the city—and world—pass through Uskudar every day.

In April’s elections, Dedetas, a 43-year-old engineer, made history as the first woman to ever win the Uskudar municipality mayorship, a position similar to that of a New York borough president. She also flipped the district from the AKP to CHP rule.

Dedetas moved to Uskudar from her native Eskisehir, a city in northwest Turkey, for college in 1999. After receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees in naval engineering from Istanbul Technical University, she got her first job in the district as an engineer. In 2014, she went on to work as a marine engineer at the Halic Shipyards, the oldest continuously operating dockyard in the world. Over the centuries, the facility has produced vessels from sail boats to steamships and submarines to electrical passenger taxis.

Dedetas’s career has featured many firsts. In 2014, she became the first chairwoman of the Turkish Chamber of Naval Engineers. While she was in that position, Istanbul’s AKP mayor tried to privatize the public harbor and turn it into a terminal full of restaurants and shops. Dedetas protested the project and was barred by the government from entering the shipyard.

She continued to oppose the new real estate development, concerned that the city’s ferries—an indelible part of Istanbul’s social history, skyline, and soundscape—would grind to a halt without the vital maintenance work done at the docks. “We fought to keep [it] from being lost,” Dedetas later said after her success in blocking the project.

Then Imamoglu became mayor of the city, bringing Istanbul back under CHP rule. “The privatization processes of the shipyard were being carried out,” Dedetas told Turkish media. “If [the mayorship] had not changed hands in the 2019 elections, there would be no shipyard left.”

One of the new mayor’s first orders of business was to appoint Dedetas as manager of Istanbul’s maritime public transportation system; she was the first woman in the role. Over the last quarter century, the city’s water transport fell into disarray as Istanbul’s population swelled and moved further inland, contributing to congestion and gridlock on road and rail. Yet municipal-run ferries predate the first Bosporus bridge and remain one of the city’s fastest options to cross continents.

Dedetas proved herself to be a masterful administrator, overhauling the entire water transit system. She opened 11 new ferry lines and launched a 24-hour weekend ferry that connected the European and Asian sides of the city. She also doubled the patronage of public water transport, in part by restoring the iconic white and orange vapur ferry ships. And she launched an electric sea taxi service, providing a personal, environmentally friendly option to traverse the Bosporus Strait and the Marmara Sea.

Through the effective management of maritime transportation, Dedetas gained national attention. She set her eyes on her home district, Uskudar—the Istanbul neighborhood with the longest Bosporus shoreline—ahead of the 2024 municipal elections. “Uskudar is the first gate for people who arrive from Anatolia, and for Istanbul, it is the gate to the rest of the country,” said Onur Cingil, an Uskudar native and CHP member.

The borough had been an AKP stronghold for as long as Cingil and most others could remember. It is even home to Erdogan’s private villa. Cingil said he saw local government officials claim eminent domain and exaggerate concerns about earthquake vulnerability to demolish buildings and hand over lucrative sites to construction companies, religious associations, and other party loyalists. “This happened … to my own student dormitory, and many other places,” Cingil said.

Cingil was one of the many CHP candidates vying to be the nominee for Uskudar’s mayorship in March’s elections, but the CHP leadership eventually selected Dedetas to run due to her reputation for being a technocratic consensus builder.

“Normally, I wouldn’t expect such a profile to be nominated for Uskudar,” said Burak Bilgehan Ozpek, a professor of political science at TOBB University of Economics and Technology. He described Dedetas’s young, professional, and secular profile as going against the grain in the district. The CHP typically nominated old-school, male party insiders for such roles, Ozpek said, adding with a laugh that they always lost the race. “This was a radical change,” he added.

Dedetas took a pro-people approach to her campaign against the AKP incumbent Hilmi Turkmen, who had been a mainstay in Uskudar’s politics for decades. She canvassed the district neighborhood by neighborhood, underlining her accomplishments governing the city’s maritime transit system, which has a budget the same size as Uskudar’s.

Dedetas vowed to redress the AKP’s neglect of women’s issues on both the district and federal levels. She promised to prioritize women’s employment and noted that, during her time helming Istanbul’s maritime transit system, she nearly tripled the number of women working there. She also proposed the creation of a free HPV vaccine program to protect against some forms of cervical cancer. (The cost of the vaccine has become nearly equivalent to Turkey’s monthly minimum wage.)

The candidate pledged to create child nurseries in every neighborhood in Uskudar. “This will enable women to work,” especially residents with low incomes, said Rumeysa Camdereli, an activist and member of Havle Women’s Association, the first Muslim feminist organization in Turkey.

Dedetas promised to expand welfare initiatives, and called for additional municipally subsidized cafeterias in Uskudar. Imamoglu created these during his first term for residents to get a healthy meal for just over a dollar, and his AKP competitor Murat Kurum mocked them on the campaign trail. “We are tired and bored of the rhetoric that tries to deceive the people by … giving half a tea glass of water or milk as if it is a service,” said Kurum. He also made fun of Imamoglu’s background as a kofte vendor.

Kurum’s gaffe turned off blue collar voters. Istanbul’s public eateries fill up every day for lunch and are vital in a country enduring a cost-of-living crisis amid annual inflation of nearly 70 percent.

“Local elections are less ideological and always more focused on services,” said Emine Ucak, the program director for social policy at the Reform Institute, an Istanbul-based policy center, who researches women in Turkish politics. “Women always think about their children, and they had stopped seeing a future for them.”

The campaign also focused on securing areas most vulnerable to earthquakes, a national concern after the devastating February 2023 earthquakes in Turkey’s southeast. Many locals fear that the slate block flats populating the hills above Uskudar’s wharf are in imminent danger in case of an earthquake. In response to their concerns, Dedetas is establishing a natural disaster directorate to help the district become prepared for earthquakes and other catastrophes.

On election night, Dedetas triumphed, beating Turkmen by more than seven percentage points. In doing so, she tore apart the long-held myth that Uskudar was an AKP stronghold.

“It’s a district with a lot of conservative families,” said Asli Aydintasbas, a visiting fellow at Brookings Institution. “For an uncovered woman to win is a real testament to her political appeal.” Unlike past CHP candidates, Dedetas shied away from the hardline, sometimes alienating secularism her party is known for. Pragmatism and empathy won the day.

Dedetas was not the only victorious woman on election day. Altogether, voters tripled the number of women mayors across Turkey. While only four female mayors had been elected in the previous municipal elections in 2019, 11 provinces and 64 municipalities are now governed by women, the vast majority of them representing opposition parties. Together, they won, on average, 53 percent of votes.

Female political representation is a welcome change after what many in the country see as backsliding on women’s rights under Erdogan. In 2021, Turkey exited the Istanbul Convention, an international treaty to combat gender-based violence that was drafted in the city a decade earlier. The Turkish president had urged women to have at least three children, claiming that those who reject motherhood are “deficient” and “incomplete.”

Although Turkey has a highly centralized political system, mayors remain key to managing districts and municipalities. They are where citizens first access the country’s welfare systems, and where businesses are registered, among other duties.

Following March’s elections, Dedetas and other mayors in the Turkish opposition now have their best chance in decades to govern with less interference from Ankara. She has wasted no time in initiating programs that address locals’ needs, such as grocery subsidies of up to $150 for retired residents. The district also plans to provide elderly residents free shuttle services to food markets. (Pensioners, who compose more than 10 percent of Turkey’s national population, receive roughly $293 per month from the state, an impossible wage to live on in Istanbul.)

Uskudar’s new mayor is also working to counteract the AKP’s neoliberal strategies, which many accuse of benefiting political patrons through shady backroom dealings all while poverty has deepened. To help promote transparency, Dedetas has begun to broadcast all municipal council meetings live online.

Figen Kucuksezer, an optometrist and Uskudar resident, is very excited by these changes. They’ve already helped preserve Uskudar’s Validebag Grove, one of the last wild green spaces in Istanbul. The area, which Kucuksezer volunteers to protect, is home to 400-year-old trees and migratory birds.

“The former mayor always wanted to make changes to the grove,” she said, referring to the AKP’s plans to develop the area by adding parking lots and food stalls and removing some native flora. But Kucuksezer and other local activists filed a lawsuit and have fought for years for Validebag to be left alone. “We had to block the Caterpillar [equipment] from entering in,” she said.

Since being elected, Dedetas has promised to protect it as a green space for all residents. In May, the local court annulled the previous government’s construction plan. “It is a breath of fresh air,” Kucuksezer added.

There is a saying in Turkish politics that whoever wins Istanbul will one day win Turkey. It was the case for Erdogan, who previously served as mayor of Istanbul before leading the country for the past two decades.

After years in the political wilderness, the CHP is now trying to repeat its success in the next national election, which should be the first without Erdogan in nearly 30 years. The challenge for Dedetas is to help Imamoglu triumph so that she can be his successor in Istanbul as he runs for the presidency.

So far, her stances have mirrored those of Imamoglu; Dedetas regularly highlights their work together on social media. But she has also bolstered her own profile by engaging in key culture war debates—including by opposing controversial legislation that will kill beloved stray dogs on the streets to rooting for the women’s national volleyball team at the Paris 2024 Olympics, a squad that has been vilified by the conservative right. Imamoglu’s and Dedetas’s fortunes are now intertwined.

“And this is just the start of her office,” said Cingil, Dedetas’s one-time party rival. “There are already rumors that she will be the next candidate for Istanbul mayor.” That would be another first.

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usafphantom2 · 1 year ago

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F-35 To Get Meteor, SPEAR 3 Missiles “By End Of Decade”

The new weapons will provide an especially lethal combination with the F-35’s stealth and forthcoming upgraded sensors.

Thomas NewdickPUBLISHED Jan 22, 2024 12:57 PM EST

F-35 SPEAR METEOR

MBDA

The U.K. Ministry of Defense has confirmed that its F-35B stealth fighters will be armed with Meteor air-to-air missiles and SPEAR 3 precision-guided standoff munitions by the “end of the decade.” The new weapons promise to bring a major leap in capability for the F-35B, especially when combined with the enhancements that the Block 4 upgrade will provide, especially for the aircraft’s radar, which will make the Meteor even more formidable.

In response to a written question in the U.K. parliament, James Cartlidge, a Minister of State in the Ministry of Defense, confirmed the timeline to integrate the two weapons.

An F-35B, presented together with ASRAAM, SPEAR 3, and Meteor missiles, with a concept model for the next-generation Tempest stealth fighter seen on the far left. Crown Copyright

“The U.K. Lightning Force currently operates the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), the Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM), and the Paveway IV precision-guided bomb. By the end of the decade, both Meteor and SPEAR 3 will also be integrated to U.K. F-35s.”

Previously, the government had said that the U.K. F-35B would be armed with Meteor by the “middle of this decade,” while a date of 2027 at the earliest had also been given in a government report dated February 2022. The latest statement doesn’t necessarily contradict that since it also includes the integration of SPEAR 3, which may take longer.

An F-35 carrying a pair of AIM-120 AMRAAMs in one of its two weapons bays. Crown Copyright

The introduction of the two new missiles on the F-35 has been in the works for some time now.

In 2019, Lockheed Martin received initial funding to start integration, although preliminary work was already underway by that point.

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In 2021, European missile house MBDA and BAE Systems announced they had secured additional funding from the British and Italian governments to complete the integration. The funding was thought to be worth around $400 million and covered both the short takeoff and vertical landing F-35B (as operated by the United Kingdom and Italy) and the conventional takeoff and landing F-35A (acquired by Italy, and many others, but not the United Kingdom).

Meteor, which is already in service on British Eurofighter Typhoons, and which completed operational testing and evaluation (OT&E) on Italian Eurofighters late last year, is a weapon that The War Zone has discussed in depth in the past.

A U.K. Royal Air Force Typhoon takes off, loaded with Meteor missiles below the fuselage. Crown Copyright

The beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, or BVRAAM, is often named as the most capable weapon in its class. While that’s debatable, there’s no doubt that Meteor offers powerful capabilities, some of which are unique.

From the outset, Meteor was intended to better the range and overall kinematic performance of the AMRAAM. This is achieved primarily through its novel propulsion system, with a solid-fuel, variable-flow, ducted rocket (or ramjet). This means the missile can throttle its engine during different phases of flight, ensuring that it still has plenty of energy during its terminal attack — when traditional air-to-air missile motors are normally losing energy.

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In this way, the missile’s ‘no-escape zone’ is dramatically increased, reducing the chance of the target being able to defeat the Meteor through high-energy maneuvering at the endgame of the engagement. This endgame could be played out at up to 130 miles away from its launching platform — range claims for Meteor differ widely and the actual figure is a closely guarded secret. An air-to-air missile's range is also highly dependent on a wide number of factors, including track of the target and the height and speed of the launch platform.

The ‘smart’ powerplant in the Meteor is combined with a two-way datalink, which supplements the missile’s active X-band radar seeker, providing the Meteor with inflight updates as it flies out to the target. However, the advantage of being able to throttle the motor means that the autopilot can provide the most efficient flight profile to the target for very long-range shots.

The then U.K. Secretary of State for Defense, Gavin Williamson (center), is shown a Meteor missile by MBDA staff at their factory. Crown Copyright

At the same time, the datalink can feed the missile with mid-course guidance updates from ‘third party’ sources, as well as the aircraft that launched it. These might include other fighters, airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, or even sensors on land and at sea.

With its unrivaled suite of sensors, the F-35 is equipped as good, if not better, than perhaps any other fighter to provide targeting data to the Meteor, but the ability for the missile to receive mid-course updates from other sources means the launch aircraft might not even need to use its radar at all to engage the target. For a stealth aircraft like the F-35, this is especially important, allowing for an entirely passive engagement that maximizes the aircraft's stealth attributes.

An artist’s impression of an F-35 armed with SPEAR 3 and Meteor. MBDA

Furthermore, the two-way nature of the datalink means that the pilot that launched the Meteor will receive information on the missile’s fuel, energy, and tracking state, helping them decide on whether to fire another, disengage or even assign another target altogether.

While the AIM-120D AMRAAM that can arm the F-35 also offers a two-way datalink with third-party targeting capabilities, and many other advantages over older ‘Slammers,’ including significantly extended range, but it doesn’t have a ramjet motor and all the benefits that brings.

An AIM-120D-3 AMRAAM sits at Raytheon’s Tucson, Arizona plant. Raytheon

Clearly, Meteor can offer a fourth-generation fighter like the Typhoon a significant edge in air combat, but this will be magnified when it starts to be carried by a stealth fighter.

Essentially, the F-35’s combination of low radar cross-section, powerful integrated sensors, and advanced information systems will ensure that it can ‘see and not be seen,’ while Meteor will allow it to engage aerial targets at long range, taking out hostile aircraft long before they even know an enemy fighter is present. This will be of particular relevance in the kinds of highly contested airspace that will be expected in a potential future conflict with China, for example. That extra range is also important as advanced infrared search and track systems improve and proliferate.

At the same time, the future Block 4 version of the F-35 will be even better able to maximize the capabilities inherent in Meteor. Block 4 is a massive upgrade initiative and something that we have examined in the past. We know it will include a new multifunction active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar designated as AN/APG-85 as well as advanced electronic warfare capabilities. As for the radar, this is expected to be a Gallium Nitride (GaN)-based system, that should significantly boost radar range and resolution. Combined with Meteor, this will make the F-35 even more lethal, especially in long-range engagements of the type in which the missile excels.

An infographic showing future U.K. F-35 weapons, (1) ASRAAM, currently carried; (2) Meteor; (3) SPEAR 3. MBDA

It's worth noting that Meteor will be carried internally by the F-35, ensuring that it preserves its stealth characteristics. The downside is that the aircraft will only carry four Meteors internally in an air-to-air role, reduced to two when carrying offensive ordnance internally (e.g., two Meteors and eight SPEARs).

The F-35’s ability to carry only four internal AMRAAMs, at least in its current form, is something that is now being addressed under the U.S. Sidekick program, separate from Block 4, and which will allow the F-35A and F-35C to add another two of these missiles in its weapons bays. After all, whatever the capabilities of the air-to-air missile, pilots are likely going to want more of those weapons. It isn't clear if Sidekick will be able to accommodate Meteor, but it doesn't look like it will be available for the F-35B's smaller bays, regardless. External carriage could be a good option for some missions though, especially ones where the long reach of Meteor will provide enough capability to counter known threats without the need for maximum stealth.

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While Meteor should help the F-35 achieve dominance in the air-to-air arena, the SPEAR 3 will bring significant advantages in air-to-ground/surface missions.

The United Kingdom already invested almost $700 million in SPEAR 3, with a contract announced in 2021, to arm its F-35Bs. The country has very high hopes for the weapon, with the Royal Air Force stating that it will “become the Lightning’s primary air-to-ground weapon … over the next decade.”

An artist’s impression showing SPEAR 3 deployed by a Typhoon and an F-35. MBDA

The SPEAR 3 (Selective Precision Effects At Range Capability 3) is a further development of the short-range Brimstone missile, with a turbojet engine and pop-out wings to ensure a range of more than 87 miles and a high subsonic speed.

SPEAR 3 is another weapon that we’ve examined in depth in the past. Suffice it to say, it’s intended to engage static and moving targets on land and at sea in all weather, day and night. This ability is conferred by its tri-mode seeker which offers radar, infrared, and laser homing. After reaching the target area under GPS and inertial navigation, SPEAR 3 can autonomously identify and prosecute targets, or target coordinates can be sent to the missile via datalink, exploiting the launch platform’s sensors or those of third parties. Once again, the advantages conferred by the F-35’s combination of sensors and stealth will provide a powerful adjunct to SPEAR 3.

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Alternatively, SPEAR 3 can strike its target via laser guidance, which can be provided by an aircraft overhead the target area or by a suitably equipped team of soldiers on the ground nearby can designate it with a laser.

In many ways, SPEAR 3 has similarities with the U.S. GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb II, better known as StormBreaker, although the British weapon offers almost double the range and will reach its targets faster than the unpowered StormBreaker glide bomb.

An illustration of in-development and future weapons concepts from MBDA, including SPEAR-EW, SPEAR 3, and Meteor. MBDA

As well as its basic form, as a ‘mini cruise missile’ with an explosive payload, SPEAR 3 is also being developed with an electronic warfare payload with jammer and decoy functions. SPEAR-EW will be expected to work alongside the baseline weapon to help smash through enemy air defenses as well as to protect launching aircraft, and even other missiles, during especially hazardous missions like this.

The War Zone previously outlined one scenario in which the SPEAR-EW could be used:

“By pairing SPEAR 3s with SPEAR-EWs in a fully networked fashion, the mini-cruise missiles can work as a swarm to shatter critical parts of the enemy’s air defense network. For instance, SPEAR-EW could spoof or jam an enemy threat emitter while SPEAR 3s search for and destroy not just the emitter, but all the components of the SAM site arranged nearby.”

SPEAR-EW. MBDA

“SPEAR-EW could also provide electronic warfare screening on the fly for SPEAR 3s that are trying to make their way to a set of targets between the launch aircraft and the surface threat or threats. By detecting a pop-up threat on its own or via datalink from the launch aircraft, SPEAR-EW could act in real-time to suppress the threat so that the rest of the horde of missiles can make it to their target areas safely.”

Thanks to their turbojet engines, SPEAR 3 and SPEAR-EW can also throttle back and loiter over an area for extended periods. In this way, they could be launched preemptively into an area where mobile air defense systems might be expected, engaging them once they start producing their telltale radio-frequency emissions.

An artist’s impression showing an F-35 launching a quartet of SPEAR 3s. MBDA

As mentioned previously, the F-35B will be able to carry up to eight SPEARs, using a quadruple launcher in each of its two weapons bays, together with a pair of Meteors.

Harnessing the capabilities offered by Meteor and SPEAR 3 will require the F-35’s Block 4 upgrade, which the United Kingdom plans to retrofit across its entire Lightning fleet, as well as incorporate in examples of the aircraft acquired in the future.

Some of the unclassified upgrades within Block 4. The exact configuration has not been publicly disclosed. U.S. Department of Defense

While new weapons like these, and others, plus the new radar, are a fundamental part of Block 4, the upgrade will bring a lot more on top of these.

Not all Block 4 upgrades have been revealed in the public domain, but the enhancements will also address the Distributed Aperture System (DAS) and Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS).

Lockheed Martin

It’s also worth recalling that Block 4 relies upon a new suite of hardware and software, known as Technology Refresh-3 (TR-3), which modernizes the F-35’s core processor, memory unit, panoramic cockpit display system, and related avionics. TR-3 is being described as the F-35’s new ‘computer backbone,’ since it promises to provide 25 times more computing power than the existing TR-2 computing system, although its development path has not been entirely straightforward.

The War Zone has previously looked at delays with TR-3 and how that has left new F-35s being parked and not delivered after they are constructed, waiting for these features to be added.

For the United Kingdom in particular, there remain questions, too, about the number of F-35Bs it will buy.

A U.K. Royal Air Force F-35B Lightning aircraft prepares to land onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth. Crown Copyright Crown Copyright

As of May 1, this year, the United Kingdom had received 31 F-35Bs, one of which was lost in a takeoff mishap in the Mediterranean Sea in 2021 and which will be replaced in a future order. These 31 jets are part of an initial order for 48 aircraft, known as Tranche 1. The last of these are due to be handed over by the end of 2025.

The U.K. Ministry of Defense had long harbored an aspiration to field a fleet of 138 F-35Bs, although consistent budgetary concerns have led to an apparent rethink.

F-35B pilots fist bump on the flight deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth. Crown Copyright

To date, the U.K. Ministry of Defense has confirmed plans to place a Tranche 2 order for 27 F-35Bs, which will provide a total fleet size of 74 aircraft. As a recent Defense Committee report prepared for the House of Commons Committee states: “There remains ambiguity about plans for the F-35 fleet in terms of its eventual size, operational deployment, and attribution; and there are ongoing concerns about program costs and force growth rate.”

Whatever the number of U.K. F-35s eventually fielded, the introduction of Block 4, including the Meteor and SPEAR 3 weapons, will provide a whole new level of capabilities.

The U.K. Ministry of Defense has said that it remains open to the possibility of purchasing further F-35s beyond the 74 now specified, although a decision is not likely until around the middle of this decade.

Contact the author: [email protected]

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