$2.5 Billion U.S. DoD drawdown for Ukraine to, "meet Ukraine’s critical security and defense needs."

U.S. Department of Defense: Biden Administration Announces Additional Security Assistance for Ukraine.

Today, the Department of Defense (DoD) announces the authorization of a Presidential Drawdown of security assistance to meet Ukraine’s critical security and defense needs. This authorization, which is valued at up to $2.5 billion, is the Biden Administration’s thirtieth drawdown of equipment from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021. It contains hundreds of armored vehicles, critical support for Ukraine’s air defense, and other important capabilities including: ...

...A bunch o' $tuff. Hit the link.

A reminder from February 2015, The Guardian:  Welcome to Ukraine, the most corrupt nation in Europe.

How nice of Biden's handlers to care so much about Ukraine's security and defense needs.

U.S. Department of Defense Archived 

Take my money.

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Ukraine wants Biden to give them killer drones. Biden salivates over the idea.

The Intercept: Military-Industrial Complex Is Itching to Send “Hunter-Killer” Drones to Ukraine.

Kyiv reportedly met with the major defense contractor General Atomics about obtaining the “Hunter-Killer” MQ-9 Reaper drone, armed with Hellfire missiles, which the U.S. has infamously used in botched airstrikes that killed and maimed civilians in Afghanistan, Somalia, and other countries around the world. The company and Kyiv’s allies in Washington are appealing to policymakers to greenlight the export, despite the high risk of escalation that could turn the devastating war nuclear.
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Along the way, Kyiv and the U.S. defense industry have had a strong ally in the American media, which is constantly asking the administration why it’s not getting more involved. After the Washington Post reported on Ukraine’s discussions with General Atomics, Politico beckoned: “Ukraine wants armed drones. Is the U.S. ready to deliver?”

“It’s not every day that the United States approves the sale or transfer of armed drones to a foreign country — but Ukraine is hoping the Biden administration will heed the call of soldiers on the ground to do just that,” the story led.

Hit the link, read the full story. Biden's handlers and the Military Industrial Complex are itching for WW3. Appears Biden wants to employ the same tactics of Obama...drone and kill, drone and kill, drone and kill. Civilian casualties...oh, just collateral damage. Here's $5,000 per family to bury your innocent dead.

New Yorkers protest, defending Iran.

FOX News screen grab

NBC New York: Anti-War Protesters Rally Outside Sen. Chuck Schumer’s NYC Apartment.

A group of protesters rallied outside Sen. Chuck Schumer’s Brooklyn apartment in the wake of the U.S. airstrike that killed a top Iranian general. (Can't think of a better place than outside Cluck's apartment. I guess they had to...couldn't get past DeBlasio Warren Wilhelm Jr's gated residence. - DD)

On Friday night, anti-war groups such as the ANSWER Coalition and Democratic Socialists of America met in front of the Senate minority leader’s Park Slope apartment on Prospect Park West to show their displeasure with the killing of Qassem Soleimani.

The protesters claim that the move ultimately amounts to President Trump sounding the drums of war, concerning them that the country may be facing another long war.
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Mayor Bill de Blasio said the heightened security is necessary as the U.S. and Iran are now at a “de facto state of war.”

More rallies are planned across the tri-state and the country on Saturday and over the weekend, including one at Times Square that figures to be larger and louder than the one Friday night. The rallies are expected to address the surge of more than 3,000 troops to the Middle East.

Where were these protesters during the years of drone strikes ordered by Obama which killed so many innocent civilians? Oh - - - it didn't matter then. They were all too busy texting and searching Tinder for a date with their "free" Obama cell phones.

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NBC New York Archived

Soleimani Kill Caught on Video.

TMZ: U.S Drone Strike Moment Iranian General was Killed ... Caught on Video.

The U.S. drone strike ordered by President Trump in Baghdad -- which killed top Iranian military commander, Qasem Soleimani -- is captured in new footage from an independent Iraqi television network.

According to Al-Ahed channel ... the blast captured on video is the one that killed General Soleimani along with Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, though it's yet to be verified by other major news outlets.

A photo of the aftermath shows a burning vehicle near Baghdad International Airport shortly after the strike, which reportedly included 3 rockets hitting the site.

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btw- Happy New Year!
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TMZ Archived

Navy takes out Iranian drone with Marine-jamming Jeep.

They had to love doing this. BadAss Toys are the best!

The drone-jamming and controlling system picture here is similar to the kind seen mounted on the deck of the USS Boxer as it transited the Strait of Hormuz (Dalton S. Swanbeck / Marine Corps)

C4ISRNET: Marine jamming jeep sends unknown drone to the deep.

... the amphibious ship USS Boxer was in international waters conducting a planned inbound transit of the Strait of Hormuz,” reads the statement from the Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman. “A fixed wing unmanned aerial system (UAS) approached Boxer and closed within a threatening range. The ship took defensive action against the UAS to ensure the safety of the ship and its crew”

The Pentagon’s statement differs in language from the wording used by President Trump, who claimed that “the drone was immediately destroyed” after receiving multiple calls to stand down. According to CNN, US defense officials claim that the drone was disabled not by bullets or missiles (“kinetics,” in the jargon) but by jamming.

Specifically, it was almost certainly jamming via MRZR LMADIS, or a Polaris MRZR vehicle sporting a Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System. While a Corps official said as early as May 2019 that the deployment of the system to the Middle East was winding down, observers online noted that a MRZR LMADIS system was visible on the deck of the USS Boxer for its transit through the Strait of Hormuz in pictures uploaded earlier that day.

Watch over and protect our Troops, Lord. Say a prayer for Them tonight.
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C4ISRNET story Archived.

World News

CBS Local NY: Newark Liberty Airport Shutdown over drones.

Flights at Newark Liberty International Airport were temporarily delayed after a pair of drones were spotted nearby, Federal Aviation Administration sources tell CBS News’ Kris Van Cleave.

The sources say the drones were were seen flying at 3,500 feet over Teterboro Airport, less than 20 miles from Newark Airport.

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Japan Times: Karaoke bar shooting tied to Yakuza.

The karaoke bar is located in the center of the Kabukicho district and is about 500 meters northeast of JR Shinjuku Station. A number of yakuza are based in the area, which has become increasingly popular as the number of foreign tourists in Tokyo has increased.

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SMH: Concerns over whereabouts of writer who vanishes in China.

There are growing fears for the safety of a prominent Chinese-Australian writer who appears to have disappeared in China, with friends and family worried he may have been detained by authorities.

The writer and dissident Yang Hengjun left Sydney for Guangzhou on January 18 despite his friends warning him it was too dangerous for the Australian citizen to travel to China.
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He is incommunicado and has not posted anything on social media including popular Chinese platform wechat since Friday.

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Stuff: Iraqi admits in helping Islamic State make toxins.

Help us make chemical weapons, the Islamic State's emissaries said.
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 "Do I regret it? I don't know if I'd use that word," said [Iraqi scientist Suleiman al-] Afari, who was captured by US and Kurdish soldiers in 2016 and is now a prisoner in Irbil, the capital of Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region[.]

"They had become the government, and we now worked for them," he said. "We wanted to work so we could get paid."

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9 News: Some of the "Royals" staff is on strike. Cake price an issue.

...[staffers]’ "disappointment turned to fury" when they were made aware HRP had commissioned several elaborate and very expensive cakes from a company called Choccywoccydoodah[.]

 Royal Staffers on strike. Image: Getty

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9 News: China demands extradition charges be dropped.

China has demanded that the US drops an extradition request for a top Huawei executive, as the tech giant’s chief launched an unprecedented public relations blitz.

Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, 46, was arrested on December 1 in Vancouver, Canada at the request of the US.

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Business Insider: Supreme Court hears a gun gase, first time in nine years.

...a challenge to New York City's prohibition on carrying a licensed, locked and unloaded handgun outside the city limits.

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CNN: John Kerry says "Trump should resign".

Former Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday that if he could speak to President Donald Trump directly, he would tell him to "resign."

Syria's Assad and Kerry; 2005

World News

Sky News: Partial U.S. Government shutdown looms.

BBC: Government shutdown looms.
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Brexit could impact Britons dietary expectations. AFP:

Perishable goods, such as vegetables from the Netherlands or fruit from Spain, could be held up at the border, if tough checks are imposed or the EU limits trade, said the report.

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AFP: Canada and US call for release of two Canadians detained in China.
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FOX News: Parents of Otto Warmbier seek $1 Billion from North Korea.
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The Guardian: Two suspects held in Gatwick airport drone incident.

ITV News: Two arrested in Gatwick airport drone incident.
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CBC: British Columbia cities shakedown oil companies for climate change costs.