Diplococcus, diplodocus

Thousands of companies are jockeying for billions of dollars in Defense Department contracts to build a shield designed to intercept and destroy missiles launched against the United States.

But amid the intense competition, a handful of firms have an important inside connection.

At least four of the companies awarded contracts so far are owned by Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity firm founded by billionaire Steve Feinberg, who until last year ran the company and is now the deputy secretary of defense — the second-highest-ranking official in the Pentagon.

Feinberg oversees the office in charge of the Golden Dome for America project, which is modeled on Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.

Feinberg filed paperwork saying he divested from Cerberus and its related businesses. But his government ethics records contain an unusual clause: He is allowed to continue contracting with the company for tax compliance and accounting services as well as health care coverage, a financial relationship that documents show could continue indefinitely.

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Ukraine has some of the world’s best expertise on intercepting Iranian drones — and now wants to capitalize on it.

Donald Trump's attack on Iran reveals that Ukraine does have some cards to play, after all.

The U.S. president lambasted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last year in the White House, telling him: "You don't have the cards right now." One year on, Ukraine is holding talks with polite American officials in Kyiv keen to get a look-in on Ukraine's world-leading anti-drone technology.

“Partners are turning to us, to Ukraine, for help,” Zelenskyy said on Wednesday night. “Requests on this matter have also come from the American side.”

Zelenskyy said he was also talking to Arab nations seeking to upgrade defenses against Iran, such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan and Bahrain. He was clear that Kyiv was seeking to gain strategic leverage from the talks. ___

Use this database to explore potential conflicts of interest for President Donald Trump and his team. The documents disclose positions officials have held outside government, their assets and their debts, among other things.

I was not expecting a this qmong the countless harmony romance books. Paperback copy, behind a short comment from Bertrand Russel - it is all too likely to come true. Edition for the UK, AUS and New Zealand market, reprint of 1981. Yellowed out but in decent conditions.

For you art lovers: in the cover, Heinrich Hoerle, Monument to the unknown artificial limb.

The Monument to unknown prostheses is a 1930 painting by the German painter and member of the cologne progressive group Heinrich Hoerle. The 70 cm × 85 cm tall painting, executed in oil on cardboard, is one of the painter's main works and addresses the fate of war invalids after the First World War as a marginalized marginalized group. It can also be read as an anti-war image. It is now in the collection of the Wuppertal Von der Heydt Museum.

What are your opinions on homeschooling?

https://beige.party/@LoganFive/110840198667719326

FORMER MINNESOTA STATE Sen. Matt Little was lawfully observing federal immigration agents in a Dakota County neighborhood last month when the drive took an unexpected turn.

As he followed their vehicles, they led him down a rural road that grew increasingly familiar during the 20-minute drive. Soon, Little told The Intercept, he realized where the federal agents were headed: his house.

When he approached his driveway, two SUVs were already waiting, Little said. Agents moved to block his car, claiming he had impeded their investigation and that local law enforcement would be called. No other officers came to his house, and Little was not cited or charged.

Interviews, sworn declarations, and video reviewed by The Intercept indicate that Little is not the only person subjected to this kind of intimidation. Across the Twin Cities, immigration agents have identified legal observers by name and address, and, in some cases, led them back to their homes after they engaged in lawful monitoring of immigration activity. Legal observers say this pattern of behavior sends a clear and chilling message: The federal government knows who they are and where they live.

https://archive.is/XyQc9

Since Israel and the United States began their war on Iran last week, retaliatory missiles fired at Israeli targets have been flying through the skies over the occupied West Bank.

But it has been Israeli settlers on the ground who have been terrorising Palestinians in their small hamlets across rural areas of the West Bank more than the Iranian missiles or the Israeli interceptors trying to shoot them down.

Thus, when debris from one missile crashed about 20 metres (22 yards) from the century-old Mosallam family home in the northern West Bank village of Duma earlier this week, Thabet remained unfazed by the threat.

“We have the rockets in the sky, but the [Israeli] settlers are at our door,” the 24-year-old said. “Of course, the settlers and the army, they are the ones who pose a danger to us. They are what we are afraid of right now.”

The U.S. is even looking to Ukraine to help its operations against Iran — as Trump rages at Starmer and Sánchez for refusing to back his war.

Donald Trump's German grandparents may have known the word for what some European officials now feel, as they watch him complain that America's traditional allies have let him down: Schadenfreude. 

Having spent a year criticizing, insulting and threatening European leaders, Trump now sees the value of having friends in strategically important places

if they have military assets he can use, anyway.

The hardening position of European leaders on Iran marks a watershed moment, just as U.S. President George W. Bush’s doomed and divisive invasion of Iraq in 2003 undermined transatlantic trust for years. The tensions over such a consequential new conflict in the Middle East may even prove existential for the Western alliance, after 12 months that had already strained U.S.-European relations to the breaking point.

From Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehab Center

These two Eastern Screech Owl fledglings are a sign that baby bird season is right around the corner! They were found orphaned outside of Miami as nestlings. The pair have been eating and becoming more feisty everyday.

It is important to know that while they are cute, baby birds are very high maintenance and require specialized care. If you find an injured or displaced bird be sure to bring it to your closed wildlife rehabilitator as soon as possible.

Baby birds grow so fast! Once they hatch, it's only about 8 weeks until they're fully grown. That doesn't leave much room for mistakes in care.

From their first meal, they need whole prey. Different parts of animal contain different things they're growing bodies need. Improper feeding can damage bones, feathers, and organs which will negatively affect the owl's chance of survival.