Crop losses, housing industry collapse, 50% or more wage cuts for government employees, no orders for the private sector manufacturing segment....what else can go wrong ?

Hi all. I just need to vent. 
I own two rentals (inherited ) and so now's the time property taxes are due. 
I recieved the bills a few weeks back, but didn't want to look sooner. 
Just now I looked. 

So last year for property A the tax was $5777, this year it's $6316
for property B the tax was $5805 , this year it's $6385  .
Combined that's almost 13.000 , that's an insane amount of extortion fees for something I 'supposedly own'.
Every year they go up about $500 each. I remember complaining about 10k a few years back, by my calculations by 2030 the combined taxes will be almost 20k 

Every year they just keep going up! The HOA will complain if something's not up to par, because it will 'affect the home values' , but the higher home values means that taxes can and will be raised! 
I also believe that HOAs are government started and funded.  
HOA fees keep going up to as well each year off course.
Oh and if you don't pay your HOA extortion fees, they will just put a lien on your home. It's criminally insane.
And if you dare selling , the government comes again to steal a piece of your hard work (capital gains tax ) 

Off course this in part of the 'you will own nothing and be happy' plan they are 100% sure of. 
I hope this pigs will rot in a screaming agony imprisoned like they want us to be. They deserver to suffer for what they're doing. 


I'm in a more expensive county of Florida , so that doesn't help. I'm almost at a point where selling , and buying in another part of the state would be an option, but I already home-school and have work to deal with. I don't need this.

I live within my means, but can't afford to live on my own (live in a part of my brothers house). This is so frustrating!
I also can't afford medical insurance , or if try to get that they ask for 'gross income' , wich is my rental income before all the extortion bills , so that treats my bills as income bascially , insane.

Great stories and great pod cast IMO

Quote:

Combat Check-In:
Veterans Day

On Combat Story This Week

This is our annual Veterans Day tribute where we play the responses our guests shared when answering our question “Would you do it all again?” These often bring a tear to my eye as I hear these battle-hardened warriors volunteering to go right back into the fight. I particularly think back on Intake’s response where he notes it was a privilege for him to serve but even more important to thank his family who waited for and supported him through years of deployments and near misses. You can’t think of Veterans Day without thinking about the sacrifices of the families at home while the vets were downrange. The same is true for me and my family.

 

This Day in Military and Intel History…

On November 11, 1918 (as we all know as the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month), the Armistice of Compiègne was signed, marking the end of World War I. This historic agreement between the Allies and Germany came into effect at 11 a.m. Paris time, symbolizing the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front. It was a momentous event that signaled the conclusion of one of the deadliest conflicts in history. One thing I didn’t realize was that over 2,000 people still died on that day before the treaty was signed if you can imagine the heartbreak for those individuals and their families.
 

What I’ve Been Doing this Week…

I had an eventful week traveling first to San Diego for my late uncle’s memorial ceremony and service at Miramar National Cemetery (it’s a beautiful new cemetery overlooking San Diego and we could see and hear F/A-18s flying on the horizon. My uncle served in the Army in Vietnam, doing his time like so many others. I then traveled to Texas to do an in-person interview and crossover episode with Mike Ritland, the host of the successful Mike Drop podcast which will release in the coming weeks (the image in this newsletter is Mike's studio).

 

From Our Listeners!

“Georgia Boy US sailorman” said the following with a five star review on Apple Podcasts (THANK YOU) about our interviews with AJ Pasciuti and I would have to agree!

 

Humble “AJ Peashoo” is one of the all time greatest of all podcasts ever. I don’t know how you keep finding these “Fine Young Men.”keep setting the bar higher and higher. Great job. Keep up the great work of amazing podcasts.

 

Mutt Q had the following to say with a five star review on Apple Podcasts (Thank you!)

 

Another Excellent Show

This is a way overdue review of an excellent podcast. I love everything about this show, the adventures, stories of camaraderie and struggles. Ryan is an excellent interviewer. 
 

This particular episode had me in tears several times. Listening to how others experienced trauma and dealing with it afterwards helps me cope with the loss and related trauma related to losing people I was very close to. It helps me to realize I am not alone and sometimes it’s just life. Thank you Ryan for all you do. It’s an important mission.

 

PS: Ryan, thank you for acknowledging the sound quality and your pledge to work on it. You have a lot of half deaf veterans like myself, who in the past have found it difficult to hear episodes. it has improved greatly over the years. Too many years exposed to firearms, aircraft, and freefall without adequate protection. This episode was spot on.

 

I (Ryan) wanted to say thank you for this great feedback and trust me when I say that I’m always working on the audio quality for this very humble hobby I have of bringing these stories to more people. These comments are like fuel that keeps me going when times are tough. Thank you!

 

For those on this newsletter list, please feel free to reach out to me at ryan@combatstory.com if you ever want to share something you learned or enjoyed about an episode. 

 

A Military Joke That Made Me Laugh

In honor of the Marine Corps’ birthday, we dug up the following:

 

Why do Marines celebrate their birthday every year by cutting a cake with a sword?

 

Because everyone knows you can't trust a Marine with candles - they'd probably try to blow them up instead of blowing them out! ??

 

Again, this is just fun from a place of love! If you couldn’t tell from our interview with our Marine brethren over the years, we love our Marines!

 

An Episode I’m Thinking Back On
While interviewing Mike Ritland this weekend, who is a formidable and wildly successful dog trainer, I’m reminded of one of our very first interviews with Chris Baity (https://youtu.be/PRpHvxaRBwc), a Marine who helped pioneer and shape dog handling tactics and training, not just for the Marines, but also joint efforts across the military. As a military working dog handler, he supported ground units throughout combat theaters, including trojan horse operations with sniper teams and door-to-door house clearings. In one instance, Chris and his dog uncovered a weapons cache in a scene eerily similar to one depicted in the book and movie, American Sniper. It was our third interview ever and so poorly done on my end (I even ran out of recording space at the end!). That being said Chris is another GIFTED dog handler and trainer.

You can share this newsletter with others who love our veterans, military history, and military humor by sharing this link:

 

Thanks for all your support! You can catch all our episodes wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube:

 

• YouTube
  
• Apple
  
• Spotify
  
• Google Podcasts
  

Watch the Interview

First - we need a "travel" section added to the "Member Interest" forum. 

With that said, 65 hours in a car with 4 kids (3 - 16) probably better fits under the "Survival" section anyways. 

So, here we go. Some of you are new here, some of you are vets here, but since I don't post much due to work, you may be meeting "me" the first time. Figured a trip around America's Southwest is a good visual of our family hobby: Food Trips!

My daughter was born in 2012 (my first) and joined her sisters who were 4 and 5 at the time. In 2013 we took our first trip to the Badlands in SD, it was about a 15 hour trek. We took a 2 year hiatus, but one night watching Food Paradise, we saw a small place in Iowa that looked to have amazing food...specifically, a pork tenderloin sandwich. Grandma's Kitchen at the I-80 truck stop in Iowa became our first real food trip. 

Since then, we've been to 31 different states, hundreds of restaurants, and tons of Americana memories that I hope they will cherish forever. I don't personally fly (only once as a kid in a 2-seater), but some day in the future I still @"Gordi"#4  coffee and will need to jump on a flight. So we do all of our trips with 4-wheels. Almost 330K miles in 8 years to be exact. 

This specific trip has been planned for a couple of years, and it all started with 1 goal: see the annular eclipse of 2023. Best spot? Richfield, Utah. So I booked a couple rooms for us, and let it soak & marinate for a year or so. Exactly 10 days before the eclipse, I booked the rest of the trip based on food, sights, and my penchant for wanting to go big with "miles per day". 

Youngest kiddo was ready for take off!




Little did they know this epic "last trip" was longer than a typical hop-skip to grandma's kitchen. My oldest step-daughters are at the age of almost done with school, so I figured this is the last "all hands on deck" chance to explore some sights. 



It's also worth noting that while I was using earned PTO from work, I was skipping the most important day(s) of the quarter with our corporate meetings to discuss financials. In solidarity with my amazing plant team, I bought matching EBITDA shirts to wear at all the sights. First of those was Uranus. We packed fudge and tasted everything Uranus has to offer 



Day 2 was visiting family in Oklahoma. But day 3, that was a highlight: Big Texan 72oz Steak Challenge in Amarillo Texas   The Kiddo loved being a cowboy...

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But not just him, the older girls loved it as well!



And when "dad" said he was going to attempt the "72 oz steak challenge", well, they loved it (especially the part about me failing miserably and not even sniffing a respectable quantity. I did end up eating about 43oz, the potato, the roll, the shrimp cocktail, and the salad. And yes, I did it in my EBITDA shirt...



So, the dust settles on that disastrous night, and yes, we had steak & eggs for breakfast (because I had leftovers, unlike her!)

120-lb woman eats THREE 72-oz challenges!

Next day we headed through my favorite part of the country. The heart of the Southwest: New Mexico and Arizona. My biggest regret was always telling Big G I was going to visit her in AZ, and never just going down there. But every time I'm there, I see something new and fall in love all over again. 

This time? We visited the big ass crater in AZ 





And yes, the EBITDA shirt made an appearance 



Next day we headed for sin city. What better place to take a family than Vegas... Am I right?!?! 

Wife and I put 20 bucks into slot machines, but the highlight of the night was the kiddo watching videos of him and Grandma on the phone because "he missed her" 



We're officially at the halfway point. From here, it's just a trek home to our beds, our familiarity, and back to the grind of life. 

But first, we need to check out the eclipse!

Kiddos were able to look through an awesome telescope set-up (with filters), Mrs. Ducky and I had a nice blanket to keep us warm with the 15 degree temp drop.





After Utah, we took backroads up through Wyoming, I took a Nat Geo - worthy picture of Wyoming that I hope you all enjoy...



that's it....brown, nothing, windy, and just overall crappy. 

Stopped at Wall Drug (3rd time with the fam - each time we discover something new) and met up with my "side girl" of about 15 years now. I introduced her to my son while my wife was in the bathroom...



We then made a quick 15hr drive back home after leaving Wall, South Dakota. 

All in all, it was bittersweet. I love that they aren't jetting around missing all of the sights in between. I love that they have endured tens of thousands of miles of road trips, collecting irreplaceable memories along the way. But I also recognize this is the end. The 2 older girls will likely not go on trips after next year (done & almost done with high school) and they'll be onto the next chapter of their lives. But I sincerely hope they take some learnings and show their kids the off-path stuff some day. 

On the other hand, we had an "oops" 9 years after the last girl, so in a way, I get to live it all over again. And this time, I know where all the secret spots are. So here's to my main man Elijah, and his poor butt that will be glued to a car for the next 15 years 



So, that's DuckforcoveR in a nutshell. At least, that's the part you'll be interested in. I fell in love with this place like many of you, after being alienated at TOS (and many other places) years and years ago. But here? No matter how long I'm gone, no matter what's happened in between. We have a home. We are never EVER Rogue in that sense. 

Peace out RN!

It's strange how we quickly take things for granted and for the subject of air travel, I'm sure 727Sky would agree that
soaring the heavens and travelling across the globe in such an easy fashion (for passengers, at least!) isn't such a big
deal anymore.

But back in 1903, one might suggest that Orville and Wilbur Wright didn't convey such aloofness as they prepared their
contraption at Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina to attempt such an audacious task. However, over in the Hawkeye State
there had already been witnesses to controlled flight. Aerial passage that would bring trepidation and confusion to the
residents of a small town in Iowa.
............................

It was the end of September in the thirty-plus year-old mining town of Van Meter and those who knew that more hard
work laid ahead of them when the sun came up, they enjoyed being deep in the arms of Morpheus and dreaming of a
time when the leaves would return to the trees. But for U.G. Griffith, a seller of the finest farm tools this side of Cedar
Falls, his travels of prospective vending had caused him to arrive home well after the witching hour.

Turning onto Van Meter's Main Street, Mr Griffith's weary expression changed to wonderment as he saw a dazzling light
blazing out into the darkness from the top of Mather and Gregg’s two-story hardware establishment. Slowing his vehicle
and straining his neck to get a better view, the harrow and hoe merchant witnessed the strange beacon seemingly leap
across to another building on Main Street. Determining sleep would make a better partner than wee-hours sleuthing,
Mr Griffith urged his Ford Model A to take him from this unusual story.
............................

The Next Night.
For reasons long lost, Doctor Alcott would spend his nights making soft snoring sounds in his downtown office. If the
slumbering pracitioner had opened an eye at the ticking clock above the heavy cabinet that held his potions of cure, he'd
have groaned that it was only almost a half-hour past midnight. But what would happen next would far eclipse any alarm
bell from the device.

The searing radiance that was bathing his room was coming from outside his window and promptly grabbing his firearm,
the Doctor rose to see who was playing silly buggers at such a late hour. Hurrying outside into the empty street, Alcott
stared at the thing that was clinging to the exterior of his place of business. It was a creature half human and half animal
with bat-like wings and a single horn-like appendage in the middle of its forehead. Staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed
at the eye-hurting aberration, he saw that the grody incandescence was emanating from this cornet.



Physicians being known all across the developed world for their patience, a terrified Dr. Alcott raised his gun and fired
five shots at the creature and whatever the ugly beast had found the medical practitioner's premises interesting, took to
flight and fled.
............................

The Next-Next Night.
October had begun and Peter Dunn wasn't taking any chances. His bank was the only depository in Van Meter and nobody
perpetrating an elaborate hoax to steal his money was going to fool this bank teller. Armed and waiting in the quietness of
the darkened vault-room, Dunn watched with flinty eyes for the ruse to be attempted. One hour past midnight, that narrowed
gaze would widen when the cashier would hear a strange noise outside the bank's window.

Peter first thought it sounded like someone was being strangled, a gargling and gasping just beyond the barred-frame. With
a set jaw, the bank teller slowly crept closer to the bizarre resonance and that was when he was bathed in the lambent light.
Stumbling back in shock, Dunn peered through his fingers at the dazzling beam sweeping the interior of his premises. It was
moments later he glimpsed the source of the glare and raising his gun, fired at it. The large leathery-winged creature failed
to withdraw anything that night from Peter Dunn's repository and so vacated the scene quickly.
............................

And The Night After That.
O.V. White was asleep in his room over the hardware store on Main Street when a sound similar to what Dunn had heard
only twenty-four hours before drew him from his repose. Recalling the panicked gossip of this alleged visitor to Van Meter,
Mr White snatched up his gun and hurried to the window.

He couldn't be sure, but whatever had made the rasping noises was now perched on the cross member of a telephone pole
on the other side of Main Street. Just like those who'd came before him, White aimed his firearm and fired and recoiled at
the sudden burst of light immersing his bedroom. Later, Mr White would say he gagged at a noxious odor that had invaded
his place of trade.

Around the time the hardware retailer was realising he was another witness to the Van Meter monster, a fellow-merchant
called Sidney Gregg was awakened by White’s gunshot. Opening his front door, he peered down Main Street and saw the
dark shape perched atop the telephone pole. Sidney would later report the thing was at least eight feet tall with a beak like
a bird, bat-like wings and four legs. As he stood watching, the creature lowered itself from the telephone pole in the manner
of a parrot with the use of its beak.

In the solitude of the mid-western night, Mr Gregg stood in the shadows of his doorway and stared at the ungodly phantasm
arriving on the ground and then with bated breath, he slowly realised what was now happening. The motionless monstrosity
was listening and like an un-agreed stand-off they waited, the seller of sundries and the beast from another world.

It was at that moment a passing mail train tore along the tracks outside of the town of Van Meter and the laconism of the
weird situation was broken. Startled by the loud noise, the dark thing crouched down as if getting ready to vault into the air.
But instead of taking flight, a stunned Sidney Gregg watched the beaked brute flap its wings and hop away like a kangaroo
down Main Street. Gaining momentum in its odd gait, the monster began to run steadily until it extended its huge leathery
appendages and sailed out into the blackness of the night.
............................

Later.
Mining Director J.L. Platt Jr. was a man of little fatuity and held to a more ecclesiastical slant towards the wild blather of
winged demons supposedly terrorising his town. But only a couple of days after the odd events on Main Street, Mr Platt
overheard his employees suggesting the harrowing sightings could be related to some fearsome noises they had noted
coming from the mine in recent days.

When some of his miners brought his attention to peculiar sounds once again coming from an open shaft, noises which
J.L. Platt would later describe “as though Satan and a regiment of imps were coming forth for battle”, his religious
perspective was bolstered when he saw a bright light emerging from the gloom of his mine.

With their hearts in their mouths, men and their Director alike watched a bird-like creature with bat-like wings and a horn
protruding from its forehead scramble out of the pit. Moments later, a comparable -but smaller version of the aberration
appeared and with the eye-watering glare causing their audience to shrink in alarm, the pair took to flight.

With a resolution that would rival David's fortitude against Goliath, Platt gathered a group of armed men and stood watch
at the mine. His cunning scheme was built on the notion that if the pit was their subterranean residence, they had to return
at some point and confirming his miners all had a bullet in their barrels, they waited for their quarry.

The night looked down on the group of men apprehensively staring back into the blackness of the Autumn sky and just as
dawn touched the roofs of Van Meter, the flapping peculiarities came back to their roost. With empty shells falling at their
feet, the determined miners filled the air with lead between them and the leathery invaders, but the hail of bullets seemed
to have no effect.

Cawing their strange rasping cries at the would-be ambushers, the pair of monsters released their noxious odors as they
flapped a route to the mine entrance and succeeded in their goal. But no sooner had the stinking duo of beak and wing
had retreated into the darkness of the pit, J.L. Platt Jr ordered his men to barricade the mouth of the mine and make it a
tomb.
............................

H.H. Phillips for The Des Moines Daily News related the outlandish story to its readers the next day with a tone of sincerity
and being such a crazy tale, other newspapers from around the country quickly picked it up as one of those reports that
counters the bad news regularly printed on their pages. But cleaving to a timeless formula of the muck-raking media world,
it wasn't long before the out of the ordinary saga of Van Meter took on a different, more amusing inflection.

The following day, the Daily News ran another story suggesting Phillips' account may have been exaggerated. Not wishing
to generate doubt among their customers, the broadsheet was quite willing to admit that the good citizens of Van Meter
had encountered some kind of unexplained light and not discerning its reality, fired at it.

As October rolled on, the tale was drubbed fiercely by fellow journals with written pieces ranging between cynics and
disciples of what had occurred in the little town beside the Raccoon River. By the time Christmas of 1903 arrived, whatever
was shuffling around down there in the darkness of that buried tunnel was now just a faint embarrassing memory.

As long as the barricade holds.

Attached Files

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Weird story... Happened in central Texas... We had a mountain lion kill and run off all the feral pigs in South Texas so even though once upon a time according to authorities there are no mountain lions in Texas

No, say it isn't so Washington Times.... (like anyone watching didn't know already)


Whistleblowers accuse senior FBI officials of retaliating against agents for their political beliefs

https://1ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww...ents-wh%2F

Quote:More whistleblowers have stepped forward to tell Congress that high-ranking FBI officials are targeting agents for their political beliefs and trying to force them out of the bureau, specifically going after former military members.


The Marine Corps and other military veterans at the FBI are being accused of being disloyal to the U.S. because they fit the profile of a supporter of former President Donald Trump, according to two new disclosures sent to lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee.

The Washington Times obtained copies of the disclosures.

The whistleblowers said FBI Security Division Deputy Assistant Director Jeffrey Veltri and Assistant Section Chief Dena Perkins specifically went after bureau employees who served as Marines or in other military branches

They retaliated against the agents by stripping them of security clearance, which sidelines them on the job and pushes them toward the exit, according to the disclosures.

The whistleblower disclosures charge that Mr. Veltri and Ms. Perkins either declared or attempted to declare the Marine and other veterans as “disloyal to the United States of America.”

“In these cases there was no indication that any of the individuals had any affiliation to a foreign power or held any belief against the United States,” it said.

Ms. Perkins and Mr. Veltri also considered not wearing masks, refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccination, and participating in religious activities showed that an employee was a “right-wing radical and disloyal to the United States.”

In another instance, Ms. Perkins attempted to revoke a security clearance of a bureau employee she knew was a Marine veteran, but information showed that the initial allegations against the employee were unfounded, the disclosure says.

This did not stop Ms. Perkins from ordering her investigators to canvass at least 10 police departments where the employee lived to find out if the FBI employee had any allegations lodged against him.

“During the process, Perkins was attempting to provide evidence so she could terminate this employee because he was ‘Disloyal to the United States,’” the disclosure states.

“An employee advised that at least two of the publicly known FBI whistleblowers were former members of the military, specifically … Kyle Seraphin and Garret O’Boyle,” according to one of the disclosures.

Another FBI whistleblower disclosure sent to the Judiciary Committee included an accusation from a Security Division employee who said the security clearance investigation of Mr. Seraphin did not follow the policy guidelines of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The FBI said the whistleblowers’ accounts were not true and rebuked The Times for reporting on the disclosures to Congress.

“It is wholly irresponsible of The Washington Times, and this reporter, to include outrageous and demonstrably false allegations that the FBI singled out former military employees. It is offensive that The Washington Times chose to publish, on Veteran’s Day, such baseless, unsubstantiated claims and include the names of FBI employees, one of which is a veteran. The FBI has not and will not retaliate against individuals who make protected whistleblower disclosures. We do not target or take adverse action against employees for exercising their First Amendment rights or for their political views. The FBI is proud to have many veterans in our workforce and we thank all veterans for their service,” the FBI said.

Mr. Seraphin was subjected to a security clearance investigation, according to the disclosure, after his field office notified Ms. Perkins that a police officer who was out of his jurisdiction confronted him about practicing with his gun at a shooting range.

Mr. O’Boyle lost his security clearance after he testified before the House Judiciary Committee’s panel that is investigating the weaponization of the federal government. His security clearance was suspended in September 2022 over allegations he had leaked information about a criminal investigation to Project Veritas that FBI officials said “compromised the case.”

Mr. O’Boyle ended up homeless after he lost his security clearance and was suspended without pay, according to the disclosures.

Officials in the FBI’s Security Division, or SecD in bureau lingo, suspended Mr. O’Boyle’s security clearance after he was transferred to a new field office, leaving him and his family in a new city where they became financially stranded and homeless, it said.

The disclosure names the FBI supervisor Sean Clark and Ms. Perkins who were behind the scheme to punish Mr. O’Boyle, allegedly transferring him across the country with the intent to suspend him and financially devastate him.

“Clark bragged to at least one other FBI employee in SecD that he was going to really ‘screw’ O’Boyle,” the disclosure said.

In an interview with The Times, Mr. O’Boyle said he never met or knew Mr. Clark or Ms. Perkins. He said he only learned about them when The Times shared the information from the whistleblower disclosure with him.

“I didn’t even know these people, but they came after me anyway, because that’s what tyrants do. They come after the people who they’re afraid of,” Mr. O’Boyle said. “They come after the people who speak the truth.”

He has sued the FBI. His security clearance has been suspended for 14 months, and he is forbidden by the FBI to accept donations or find another job while suspended without pay, he said.

“My attorneys have advised me that if I quit, then the FBI will simply file a motion to dismiss the suit [and] my lawsuit would have no standing,” Mr. O’Boyle said.

Mr. Clark and Ms. Perkins likely knew he did not pass the information to Project Veritas or other news media, according to the disclosure.

“At the time, the Security Division suspended FBI employee Garret O’Boyle, the supervisor in charge of O’Boyle’s Case, Sean Clark, had already determined that O’Boyle did not provide any information to either Project Veritas or the press,” the disclosure said.

“SecD was operating under the theory that O’Boyle had provided the information to another FBI employee who then passed it on to an entity outside the FBI,” it said. “However, SecD did not conclusively know how the information was passed to Project Veritas or the press.”

Mr. Clark and Ms. Perkins allowed Mr. O’Boyle, who was unaware he was under an internal investigation, to sell his home and move to the other office. He was then suspended immediately upon entering the doors of the new office, it said.

“O’Boyle and his family were left homeless. The FBI had possession of all of Mr. O’Boyle’s and his family’s personal effects, including clothes and furniture,” the disclosure said. “No one in SecD took any steps to assist O’Boyle from the desperate predicament that SecD created. SecD caused O’Boyle, who was still an FBI employee, to be left destitute in a city [where] he had no family or support.”

Mr. O’Boyle told lawmakers in his public testimony in June he never had an opportunity to defend himself and had only one interview with the bureau, which happened one year earlier after apparent prompting from Congress.

“It has been more than a year since the FBI took my paycheck from me and we’re getting financially crushed. My family and I have been surviving on early withdrawals from our retirement accounts,” he told lawmakers.

Going Biblical...

Quote:Israel’s Defense Ministry signed an agreement for the sale of the David’s Sling air defense system to Finland on Sunday, in a first-of-its-kind deal estimated at 317 million euros (NIS 1.3 billion).

The deal was hailed by Director General Eyal Zamir as a “historic agreement” and was signed at an event attended by Finland’s Ambassador to Israel Nina Nordström and Finnish Defense Attaché to Israel Col. Oula Asteljoki.

The president and CEO of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Yoav Har-Even; head of the ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research & Development, Dr. Daniel Gold; head of the Israel Missile Defense Organization, Moshe Patel, and other officials attended the signing at the Defense Ministry’s headquarters.

“David’s Sling is one of the most advanced systems in the world for intercepting ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, aircraft and drones,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement following the event. “The David’s Sling system has demonstrated very high-performance capabilities in war, in a variety of challenging scenarios.”

David’s Sling, produced by Rafael, is capable of intercepting rockets and missiles with a range of 40-300 kilometers (25-185 miles).

Interception tests of the David's Sling Aerial Defense System on March 19, 2019. (Defense Ministry)

Israel’s Defense Ministry signed an agreement for the sale of the David’s Sling air defense system to Finland on Sunday, in a first-of-its-kind deal estimated at 317 million euros (NIS 1.3 billion).

The deal was hailed by Director General Eyal Zamir as a “historic agreement” and was signed at an event attended by Finland’s Ambassador to Israel Nina Nordström and Finnish Defense Attaché to Israel Col. Oula Asteljoki.

The president and CEO of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Yoav Har-Even; head of the ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research & Development, Dr. Daniel Gold; head of the Israel Missile Defense Organization, Moshe Patel, and other officials attended the signing at the Defense Ministry’s headquarters.

“David’s Sling is one of the most advanced systems in the world for intercepting ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, aircraft and drones,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement following the event. “The David’s Sling system has demonstrated very high-performance capabilities in war, in a variety of challenging scenarios.”

David’s Sling, produced by Rafael, is capable of intercepting rockets and missiles with a range of 40-300 kilometers (25-185 miles).

David’s Sling has been operational in Israel since 2017 and makes up the middle tier of Israel’s multi-layer missile defense capabilities, which also include the short-range Iron Dome and a top level of Arrow systems, which are intended to engage long-range ballistic missiles.

Although the system has been operational for some six years, it only made its first real-world interception in May of this year, when it shot down a rocket fired at Tel Aviv from the Gaza Strip. Another rocket fired at Jerusalem from Gaza was downed by David’s Sling in May.

Since then, the defense system has been used a single time in Israel’s ongoing war against the Hamas terror group, taking down a long-range missile launched from Gaza at northern Israel. The war began when some 3,000 Hamas terrorists stormed the border on October 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking at least 240 hostages.

According to the IDF, all the defense systems — David’s Sling, Iron Dome, Patriot and Arrow — intercepted a total of some 2,000 incoming projectiles between October 7 and November 9.



Finland announced its intention to purchase the defense system in April of this year, one day after the country joined the NATO military alliance.

“The David’s Sling system will extend the operational range of Finland’s ground-based air defense capabilities significantly,” Finland’s defense minister Antti Kaikkonen said at the time. “This acquisition will create a new capability for the Finnish Defence Forces to intercept targets at high altitude.”

Although the deal with Finland marks the first foreign sale of the defense system, Ukraine has requested access to it several times throughout its ongoing war against Russia, although Israel has declined to make the sale.

In February of this year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Munich Security Conference with a request for Israel to provide military assistance, saying, “We have no alternative but to defeat the Russian Goliath. Being David is fighting and we are fighting. Being David is having a sling to win.

“We do not have yet the David’s Sling from Israel, but I believe it is just temporary.”

Progressives decide Veterans Day should not be celebrated in favor of the UN's DEI holiday. Sounds about right. Expect this to spread.

The day of tolerance was created by the United Nations in 1996 and echoes many of the diversity, equity, and inclusion mantras present in progressive politics.

https://mynorthwest.com/3938433/rantz-sc...-assembly/

Quote:A Redmond elementary school canceled the annual assembly to commemorate and honor Veterans Day. They are replacing it with a “Peace Assembly,” leaving some parents “disgusted” by the decision.



Benjamin Rush Elementary in the Lake Washington School District traditionally holds a Veterans Day assembly. It features the school’s choir performing songs like, “It’s a Grand Old Flag,” “This Land is Your Land” and the national anthem. But this year’s celebration will look different.

In place of the Veterans Day assembly, the school’s administration opted to recognize the International Day of Tolerance, sponsored by UNESCO, on November 15 (International Day of Tolerance is November 16). And some parents feel like they were kept in the dark about the change.

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/busi...528383007/

 More than 2,500 miles away from Akron in Silicon Valley, what engineers say is the world's largest airship took flight for the first time. This massive snow-white zeppelin-like ship is slated to soar across the skies and land in the Rubber City at a yet-to-be-determined time.

Called Pathfinder 1, the electric prototype was created by engineers and developers at LTA Research, Lighter Than Air, to test a different form of climate-friendly air travel, according to an Akron Beacon Journal story from 2022.

The electric aircraft took 10 years to develop, is larger than three Boeing 737s and is estimated to carry more cargo than a Boeing 737, LTA Research CEO Alan Weston told TechCrunch, a science and technology publication.

ripstop nylon bags with helium will make it much safer.
looking forward to these.  I've always felt airship technology has never been sufficiently utilized.