So, anyone else gonna talk about the sundowning elephant in that room?
Trump 47
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So, anyone else gonna talk about the sundowning elephant in that room?
JTOSU
Ranger
Why did the Biden Administration do a no-bid contract?
NEWS
Trump administration officials at the Pentagon invited a far-right activist, Jack Posobiec, to participate in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s first trip overseas, triggering alarm among U.S. defense officials worried about the military being dragged into partisan warfare.
www.threads.net
Trump administration officials at the Pentagon invited a far-right activist, Jack Posobiec, to participate in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s first trip overseas, triggering alarm among U.S. defense officials worried about the military being dragged into partisan warfare.
Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yasharali) on Threads
NEWS Trump administration officials at the Pentagon invited a far-right activist, Jack Posobiec, to participate in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s first trip overseas, triggering alarm among U.S. defense officials worried about the military being dragged into partisan warfare.
www.threads.net
BREAKING: More than 1,000 new workers were dismissed as part of the new wave of layoffs, the Department of Veterans Affairs said in a statement Thursday evening.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/liv...ffs-trade-war/?id=118643360&entryId=118812411
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/liv...ffs-trade-war/?id=118643360&entryId=118812411
Not really.
In plea negotiations in a criminal prosecution, saying “I won’t do something I’m not legally obligated to do unless you dismiss charges” to the prosecutor isn’t a criminal act. Nor is saying “I’ll do something I’m not legally obligated to do if you dismiss the charges.
IMO, it’s a bit sleazy and not something I’d do, but it’s not criminal.
And think about who we are dealing with here in the DOJ now. They wouldn’t prosecute it even it was because he’s kissed the ring.
One of the few times I’ve felt a little sorry FOR Tulsi.
You can see the wheels spinning with a look on her face that silent screams, “Oh crap, I’m working for THIS guy….what have I done to myself?”
mugatu
Ranger
What are you talking about? What was either no bid or non competitive?
Oshkosh NGDV - Wikipedia
mugatu
Ranger
Not at a stoplight. The only thing I see in my mirrors every morning is their huge grill and headlights and my car isn't that low either.
mugatu
Ranger
The Facts About the Pause on U.S. Foreign Aid
We're tracking recent Executive Orders. Although circumstances are quickly changing, below are developments as of Feb. 11. Background On Jan. 20, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) pausing U.S. foreign development assistance for
betterworldcampaign.org
In 2023, in an effort to reduce drug trafficking via Mexican ports, the State Department, Mexican government and the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched the Container Control Programme (CCP) in the port of Manzanillo – Mexico’s largest. Manzanillo is the port on “the frontline of the U.S. battle against fentanyl.” The CCP trains customs officers and law enforcement officials in identifying and inspecting high-risk containers and combating illicit trafficking. Over the past year – because of UN assistance and U.S. funding – there have been major seizures of precursor chemicals from China, as well as methamphetamine and fentanyl at the port. Due to the Stop Work order, the Container Control Programme training of personnel has ceased, which will increase the risk that more fentanyl and illicit drugs come into the United States.
Trump Sends Shockwave Through Defense Stocks, Says Military Spending Could Be Cut by 50%
President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that U.S. military spending could be cut in half. Shares of defense firms dropped on the news.
“We’re going to spend a lot less money,” said Trump at a news conference addressing the potential outcome of talks with Russia and China. “One of the first meetings I want to have is with President Xi of China and President Putin of Russia. I want to say let’s cut our military budget in half.”
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lockheed Martin stock dropped $10 on the comments, leaving shares down almost 1.6% on the day at $434.72. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1% and 0.8%, respectively.
Shares of General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, and L3Harris Technologies fell 2.1%, 3.4%, and 0.3%, respectively.
Shares of smaller defense firms Huntington Ingalls Industries, Kratos Defense & Security, and AeroVironment were down 1.6%, 7.9%, and 3.8%, respectively.
Boeing stock was up after the comments, closing down 0.4%. Boeing is a large defense contractor, though it has a larger commercial airplane business.
The U.S. currently spends roughly $1 trillion annually on national defense, according to Federal Reserve data. That is about 3.4% of current gross domestic product.
Trump has sent mixed messages on military spending recently. His newly created Department of Government Efficiency is looking to eliminate government waste, including potential waste at the Pentagon. What is more, DOGE head and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been critical of the F-35 jet fighter, one of the largest programs in the Defense Department.
mugatu
Ranger
He wants us to cut DOD budget in half while threatening NATO countries if they don't reach a new higher defense spending goal he wants.
Yes. Ending the arms race with China and Russia would be good. But Russia doesn't follow treaties, and China isn't going to go along with it. Will happily eat crow if he gets them to.
Trump and Musk incorrectly target Global News Entity Reuters claiming DOGE found the DoD paid them $9 Million and Demanded the News Agency Give the Money back immediately and said the News entity was engaged in widespread and large scale Social Deception
In Reality it was a payment by DARPA via the DoD to a company called TRSS or Thomson Reuters Special Services which is a private Defense Software Company that has been providing Defense Software and Information to the DoD for decades. The contract was to develop software to prevent US Govt officials from "social engineering" .....or people being tricked in the US Govt to divulge sensitive information.
DARPA described the ASED program on its website as one that "aims to develop the core technology to enable the capability to automatically identify, disrupt, and investigate social engineering attacks."
US Defense Department contract "inaccurately represented" on social media, says Thomson Reuters
(Reuters) - Thomson Reuters said on Thursday its business with the Department of Defense was "inaccurately represented," in response to accusations on social media by Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump that the company played a role in "large scale social deception" for the government.The contract in question was a four-year $9 million award, beginning in 2018 during Trump's first term and ending in 2022, between the U.S. Department of Defense and a division of the Toronto-based content and technology company called Thomson Reuters Special Services (TRSS). The contract was intended to protect the U.S. government from social engineering, which is a form of cyber threat in which people are tricked into divulging sensitive information.
Trump demanded Reuters repay the U.S. government in a Truth Social post in Thursday morning: DOGE: Looks like Radical Left Reuters was paid $9,000,000 by the Department of Defense to study “large scale social deception.” GIVE BACK THE MONEY, NOW!"
Thomson Reuters said TRSS is a separate U.S. legal entity governed by an independent board of directors. Reuters, an independent global news organization adheres to the Trust Principles.
"TRSS has provided software and information services to U.S. government agencies across successive administrations for decades, to assist in identifying and preventing fraud, supporting public safety, and advancing justice," Steve Rubley, CEO of Thomson Reuters Special Services, said in a statement in response to questions about the nature of the defense department contract.
Musk, the White House and the Defense Department did not reply to a request for comment.
Thomson Reuters issued its statement after Tesla CEO Musk, Trump, the Hungarian government and Russian state media accused the company on social media of being paid by the U.S. government to play a role in "large scale social deception."
The scrutiny of this contract, named "ACTIVE SOCIAL ENGINEERING DEFENSE (ASED) LARGE SCALE SOCIAL DECEPTION (LSD)" comes as Musk has spearheaded an effort to cut waste from government agencies called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Members of this group have scrutinized personnel and payment information in government computer systems and helped dismantle two U.S. agencies.
The contract was awarded by the Air Force Research Laboratory and funded by U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, the research and development arm of the U.S. military.
DARPA described the ASED program on its website as one that "aims to develop the core technology to enable the capability to automatically identify, disrupt, and investigate social engineering attacks."
The site added that "If successful, the ASED technology will do this by actively detecting attacks, intervening in communications between users and potential attackers, and coordinating investigations into the source of the attacks."
DARPA did not have a description for "Large Scale Social Deception."
In the transaction history of the contract from USAspending.gov, a website that tracks contracts with the U.S. government, funding amounts were dispersed during the contract period for activities described as "SIMULATION TESTING AND MEASUREMENT LARGE SCALE DECEPTION".
DARPA was not immediately reachable for comment and Thomson Reuters did not provide additional details.
The DARPA site said the program is now complete.
Thomson Reuters Special Services has been awarded more than $120 million in contracts over multiple federal agencies dating back to 2010. These agencies include the Defense Department, which has awarded more than $60 million in contracts and the Department of Homeland Security, which has awarded $55.85 million over time.
That's a pretty big jump. I'm all for reducing defense spending if it doesn't impact military capability but I don't see how this big of a cut won't do that.
DOGE and Elon want to corner the market and monopolize the “large scale social deception” market in the US.
mugatu
Ranger
It would crush capability. Sequestration cuts had big impacts to readiness and acquisition and that was closer to 10%.
The other side of it is the drop in support for industry. That's like $400 Billion that would be taken out of the economy and would hurt the entire supply chain and economy.
Some people here: I thought liberals would love seeing the defense budget slashed. You only don't like it because it's Trumps idea!
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