National Security

There are 89 posts filed in National Security (this is page 1 of 9).

Havana Syndrome: Pentagon bought device through undercover operation some investigators suspect is linked to a series of mysterious ailments | CNN Politics

Now CNN is reporting on the mystery device. There is a lot of smoke to this fire.

The Defense Department has spent more than a year testing a device purchased in an undercover operation that some investigators think could be the cause of a series of mysterious ailments impacting US spies, diplomats and troops that are colloquially known as Havana Syndrome, according to four sources briefed on the matter.

A division of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, purchased the device for millions of dollars in the waning days of the Biden administration, using funding provided by the Defense Department, according to two of the sources. Officials paid “eight figures” for the device, these people said, declining to offer a more specific number.

The device is still being studied and there is ongoing debate — and in some quarters of government, skepticism — over its link to the roughly dozens of anomalous health incidents that remain officially unexplained.CNN has asked the Pentagon, HSI and the DHS for comment. The CIA declined to comment.

Source: Havana Syndrome: Pentagon bought device through undercover operation some investigators suspect is linked to a series of mysterious ailments | CNN Politics

US used powerful mystery weapon that brought Venezuelan soldiers to their knees during Maduro raid: witness account

WASHINGTON — The US used a powerful mystery weapon that brought Venezuelan soldiers to their knees, “bleeding through the nose” and vomiting blood, during the daring raid to capture dictator Nicolas Maduro, according to a witness account posted Saturday on X by the White House press secretary.

In a jaw-dropping interview, the guard described how American forces wiped out hundreds of fighters without losing a single soldier, using technology unlike anything he has ever seen — or heard.

“We were on guard, but suddenly all our radar systems shut down without any explanation,” the guard said. “The next thing we saw were drones, a lot of drones, flying over our positions. We didn’t know how to react.”
Read more.

Exclusive: U.S. has been testing a captured device linked to Havana Syndrome, sources say

So, a recent news story claimed that a secretive, powerful, directed-energy weapon was used by U.S. Special Forces to slaughter Venezuelan troops during Maduro’s capture. Today there are rumors that such a device is indeed in the hands of the U.S. Military. I didn’t fully trust the report from Venezuela but now I am intensely curious.

Four people tell me the U.S. government has this weapon, which has been tested.

Source: Exclusive: U.S. has been testing a captured device linked to Havana Syndrome, sources say

Trying to find a COVID booster shot

Kelly and I are traveling in a few weeks so we both decided it made sense to get a COVID booster shot. COVID cases are ramping up again, with some cities reporting infections are reaching levels they usually do in February, which is concerning for late summer.

Kelly got a shot on Sunday and it absolutely leveled her for Monday. She slept until 5 PM, with fatigue, chills, fever, nausea, joint pain: all the typical COVID symptoms which apparently can sometimes manifest from the vaccine.

I am not looking forward to being similarly knocked out, though my previous COVID shots affected me very little. So I reached out to the Durham VA and asked if I could get a walk-in shot.

The nurse responded a few days ago and suggested I make an appointment to be sure that the vaccine brand I wanted was in stock. She later reached back out and said that neither the Moderna nor the Pfizer version are in stock and she would have to figure out when they might come in.

This is … concerning … as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is doing his damnedest to destroy our healthcare system and get us all killed. If we’re at February levels of COVID right now, imagine where we will be in the winter when more interactions take place indoors?

I am really glad I work from home right now.

I still remember the efficient operation the VA undertook to vaccinate veterans and their caregivers in 2021. It is a stunning contrast.

‘Major loss of face’: China experts weigh in on ‘news blackout’ of Scarborough collision | INQUIRER.net

Any hopes that China would dial back its aggressive behavior in the Philippine Sea are unrealistic, according to some experts.

MANILA, Philippines — Apart from releasing “boilerplate” statements, the Chinese government has yet to announce any casualties in last week’s collision of its ships off Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal.

This was despite the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) report that four China Coast Guard crewmen were thrown overboard by the collision of a CCG vessel with a warship of the People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N).

Even the collision itself was not mentioned in the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) official statements.Unlike the relatively usual water cannon and ramming incidents, the news about the extraordinary collision was widely picked up by international media, even in Taiwan.

Taiwan-based Chinese foreign policy expert Titus Chen noted that mainstream and independent media in the self-ruled democratic island have also covered the event “quite extensively.”

Source: ‘Major loss of face’: China experts weigh in on ‘news blackout’ of Scarborough collision | INQUIRER.net

Chinese Destroyer Rips Bow Off Chinese Coast Guard Cutter During Intense Harassing Maneuvers

I feel sorry for the Chinese sailors on the forecastle who were apparently injured or killed. That said, the Chinese have been playing a dangerous game and lost. Their riskiness was bound to backfire on them.

For the past several years, Chinese Navy and Coast Guard ships have been harassing Philippine ships in the disputed waters of Scarborough Shoal, a hotly contested grouping of islets and reefs that lie in the northeastern end of the South China Sea. On Monday, these aggressive actions caught up with Beijing when one of its Navy guided missile destroyers collided with one of its Coast Guard cutters, likely rendering the cutter at least temporarily unseaworthy.

The badly damaged vessel had been chasing the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) cutter BRP Suluan on a resupply mission in the shoal at the time. The collision came during a period of particularly heightened geopolitical friction between China and the Philippines, primarily over Beijing’s widely rejected claims to virtually all of the South China Sea.

Source: Chinese Destroyer Rips Bow Off Chinese Coast Guard Cutter During Intense Harassing Maneuvers

VIDEO: Chinese Warship, Cutter Collide in South China Sea – USNI News

When my battle group transited the South China Sea back in the early 1990s, the only Chinese reaction was a surveillance flight from two Chinese YAK-derivative aircraft. The Chinese military has become more foolish and aggressive since then and mistakes like this one are bound to not be the last.

A Chinese cutter and guided-missile destroyer collided with each other in the South China Sea on Monday during a botched blockade attempt of Philippine Coast Guard vessels ten nautical miles off Scarborough Shoal in one of the most severe incidents among Chinese forces to date.

Just before the incident, Philippine Coast Guard patrol vessels responded to reports of harassment and “hazardous maneuvers” against Philippine fishing vessels around the contested maritime feature, according to a statement from Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela. BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) and BRP Suluan (MRRV-4406) escorted fishing carrier MV Pamamalakaya and 35 local fishing vessels in support of Manila’s Kadiwa Operation, a Philippine government-led initiative designed to support and empower fishing communities in the country’s western exclusive economic zone.

Chinese forces failed to water cannon Suluan after Philippine sailors maneuvered away, according to the press release. China Coast Guard cutter 3104, one of several former People’s Liberation Army Navy 056-class corvettes transferred to China’s maritime law enforcement agency, proceeded to chase the Philippine vessel alongside the PLAN 052D-class guided-missile destroyer Guilin (164) in what Tarriela described as a “risky” maneuver.

Source: VIDEO: Chinese Warship, Cutter Collide in South China Sea – USNI News

What happens if Trump starts ignoring court rulings? We break it down | KUNC

In less than a month in office, President Trump has signed dozens of executive orders that are now facing pushback in the courts.Many are wondering: What happens if he simply ignores them?Law professors who spoke to NPR saw warning signs of a constitutional crisis based on a recent court order and comments from the vice president over the weekend.

Source: What happens if Trump starts ignoring court rulings? We break it down | KUNC

The Wiretap: Kamala Harris’ Campaign Staff Suspected iPhones Had Been Hacked. Apple Declined To Give Them The Help They Wanted.

In late October, a week before the presidential election, Kamala Harris’ cybersecurity team called Apple looking for help. A spyware detection tool had flagged anomalies on two iPhones belonging to senior members of the vice president’s team, and staff were worried the devices had been hacked.

The Harris team’s ask was a simple one, sources familiar with the incident told Forbes. It wanted Apple to extract a “raw image” copy of the operating system from one of the devices to better assess what had happened to it.

Though the phone’s owner had consented to its examination, Apple declined to provide the image, sources said. The company did offer to provide iCloud backup information and some telemetry data linked to the device, but neither were of interest to the Harris campaign, which did not press the issue over fears of the issue becoming politicized. The phone continues to be investigated by iVerify, the company whose spyware detection tool first flagged the issues. Both Apple and the Harris campaign declined to comment on the matter. The FBI, which had been investigating the matter, declined to comment.

Source: The Wiretap: Kamala Harris’ Campaign Staff Suspected iPhones Had Been Hacked. Apple Declined To Give Them The Help They Wanted.

What makes a sailor different

I found this posted in a Navy-related Facebook group, shared in February 2024. As a destroyer sailor myself, I thought it describes well what makes a sailor different. I have searched all over and cannot find this anywhere else on the Internet, so the author is unknown.

To a Young Person Considering Naval Service: Attitudes and Preparation

If you are considering Naval Service, it would be good to take a look at all the services and what they have to offer. They are identical in pay and benefits for a given rank, though they differ in the main type and setting of the work you will do.

Before we get into the small print, you should know that one very important aspect of military service is the overall attitude and bearing of the particular branch. This is, as much as anything, what you should consider when choosing one over another.
Nothing much has changed in this area in the many decades since I joined the Navy. From what I can see, things are about the same. If you want to get an idea, take a look at what the services consider important. Look at their monuments and memorials.

For nearly all of its existence the Navy didn’t really have a memorial, per se. The reason for this is that the Navy didn’t concern itself that much with how posterity viewed it. It was the Navy and would be the Navy, and if you didn’t know or like that, the fleet wasn’t going to lose any sleep.
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