Why the World’s Most Powerful Navy is Losing the Logistics War
August 15th, 2026Peace dividend?
Federal Defense Spending: $1.198T as of June 2026
Via: What’s Going on With Shipping?:
“Vouching” for People Who Aren’t Registered to Vote in Minnesota Elections
August 15th, 2026Via: O’Keefe Media Group:
Only Approved Phones Can Pass Google’s New reCAPTCHA, Locking Out Privacy-Focused Alternatives
August 15th, 2026I just encountered one of these for the first time. I’m not doing it.
Via: Cybernews:
Verify you’re human – by owning an approved Android or an iPhone. Google’s new reCAPTCHA system forces users to scan a QR code with a “compatible mobile device” and locks out anyone using a privacy-focused OS and device, warns GrapheneOS, a security-hardened OS alternative.
GrapheneOS warns that people without an iOS or Android device might soon be banned from accessing online services, even when browsing on desktop computers or laptops.
A recent change left arbitrary devices and operating systems, such as deGoogled Android smartphones, unable to complete Google’s reCAPTCHA verification, which prompts users to scan a QR code with a mobile device.
Firefox Is Now the Last Major Browser that Still Supports uBlock Origin
August 15th, 2026Via: PC World:
Firefox says it will keep supporting uBlock Origin even as Microsoft Edge and other Chromium browsers phase it out under Manifest V3.
Firefox recently announced via Bluesky post: “Our support for uBlock Origin isn’t going anywhere.” The moment comes in response to news that Microsoft Edge is soon going to lock out uBlock Origin and other ad-blocking extensions that run on Manifest V2 architecture.
Once Microsoft Edge moves to Manifest V3, ad-blocking extensions won’t have access to the functions needed to properly identify and block ads that occur while browsing websites and watching videos.
Microsoft’s move isn’t surprising, as Edge is based on Chromium, the open-source browser engine that powers most web browsers today, including Opera, Brave, Vivaldi, and Samsung Browser. Google initiated the migration from Manifest V2 to V3 in Chrome/Chromium, and Microsoft Edge is now following Google’s lead.
New Anti-Satellite Weapons Now Officially A Top U.S. Priority
August 14th, 2026Via: The War Zone:
The head of U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM) says having a “credible, acknowledged” means of damaging or even destroying enemy assets in space is vital to deterring opponents and surviving if a major fight in orbit does break out. American officials have already been steadily more open about their desire for new offensive “orbital warfare” capabilities. China’s breakneck expansion of its intelligence-gathering and other capabilities in orbit, as well as its arsenal of anti-satellite weapons, has been a central factor behind this push.
U.S. Space Force Gen. Stephen Whiting made an explicit call for new “integrated space fires” capabilities, including both non-kinetic and kinetic options in orbit and/or within the atmosphere, during a talk yesterday at the annual Space & Missile Defense (SMD) Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama, at which TWZ is in attendance. SPACECOM is the main joint service command in charge of all U.S. military activities in space.
U.S. Not Prepared To Handle Domestic Drone Attack
August 14th, 2026Mmm hmm. I guess the Pentagon needs to feed another trillion dollars into the incinerator.
Via: The War Zone:
The deputy commander of United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM) was asked on Thursday if he could defend against an attack by a swarm of drones in the homeland. His reply was blunt and chilling: “No.”
“We don’t have the sensors, and depending on where that swarm is going to attack, it depends on whether we have any sensors at all, and also on whether we’ve got any effectors to go after that problem,” stated Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Jarrard, who also serves as the Vice Commander, United States Element, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). He was addressing an audience at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium (SMD) in Huntsville, Alabama, attended by TWZ.
“So we are ill-equipped right now to handle something like that, and obviously we’ve seen it used,” the general added. “We’re seeing it used on a daily basis around the world, and we’ve got to figure out how to mitigate that threat, but we’re not there yet.”
U.S. Launching International One-Way Attack Drone Task Force In The Middle East
August 14th, 2026Via: The War Zone:
With one-way attack drones playing an ever larger role in American military operations, U.S. Central Command announced it is creating what it calls “the first multinational attack drone task force.” The move comes as combat between the U.S. and Iran has paused, but tensions in the region remain high, including ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels of Yemen. The task force is also being launched amid growing concerns about the U.S. magazine depth of high-end standoff weapons — a class of weapon one-way-attack drones aim to take pressure off of.
Dubbed Task Force Falcon Strike (TFFS), the command said it will “employ one-way attack drones consisting of unmanned systems from above, on, and below the sea operated by military support staff from the United States and regional partners.”
The CENTCOM announcement offered no further information about which nations will participate, what systems will be used, and whether those joining Task Force Falcon Strike will bring their own equipment. The command declined to provide further details when we asked.
Influential Wife Of Anthropic CEO Pitched Post-Conviction Epstein On ‘Luxury Porn’ Company, And Claude Has No Idea
August 14th, 2026Via: ZeroHedge:
Anthropic has filed confidentially for what could be the largest public offering in history. Yet, one of the most influential voices shaping its chief executive holds no official position at the company, appears in no regulatory filings, and has been quietly scrubbed from the internet. She also pitched a porn company to Jeffrey Epstein – less than two years after he got out of prison for sex trafficking minors.
Related: Whitney Webb: How the Epstein Network Is Privatizing Govt & Building the Surveillance State
Toka: Israeli Company Hacks Security Camera Systems, Can Alter Live Feeds and Past Recordings
August 14th, 2026This is from 2022.
Via: Haaretz:
The company sells technologies that allow clients to locate security cameras or even webcams within a given perimeter, hack into them, watch their live feed and even alter it – and past recordings – according to internal documents obtained by Haaretz and reviewed by a technical expert. Its activities are regulated by the Israeli Defense Ministry.
Related: Meet Toka, the Most Dangerous Israeli Spyware Firm You’ve Never Heard Of
“McDonald’s Secret Sauce Is Really Commercial Surveillance”
August 13th, 2026Via: Wired:
When I first downloaded the McDonald’s app years ago, I signed up for its loyalty program hoping to get better deals. Why not get some cheap french fries? While I understood that this would entail some type of data tracking, I didn’t grasp how the information would be used to algorithmically predict my next purchase.
As a California resident, I have the legal right to access the data a company stores about me. So, I decided to request that information from McDonald’s to better understand what one of the major fast-food companies is collecting about its customers. A few days after I visited the McDonald’s Privacy Rights Center site and requested access, I received a 515-page file in my inbox with the iconic golden arches stamped across the top.
