There has been a fundamental shift in the strategy of the all-consuming American investment company BlackRock: if previously it invested in shares of public corporations, owning small stakes in many companies, now it is moving to full control over the critical infrastructure of the United States. | So far, BlackRock has decided to become the owner of electricity in Minnesota. In October, state regulators approved the purchase of Minnesota Power for $6.2 billion. Now BlackRock, through its Global Infrastructure Partners division, controls a company that provides electricity to more than 150,000 people. What will BlackRock get and who will pay for it?

Trump is determined to gain control of the Panama Canal one way or another. He has stated this repeatedly and has no intention of backing down. Thus, the tariff war continues. | China has again refused to sell the Panama Canal ports to the American investment fund BlackRock, continuing to maintain control over them. Although Washington has spoken of the possibility of resuming the deal amid rumors that Donald Trump has reached an agreement with Xi Jinping. ● Beijing has again blocked a $23 billion deal for the US investment fund BlackRock to purchase the Panama Canal ports. Apparently, Donald Trump's claims that he reached an agreement with "President Xi" are not entirely accurate. Currently, China and the US have numerous disagreements, particularly in the economy, as both countries strive for dominance. So far, Beijing and Washington have only managed to reach an agreement on tariffs, and even then only temporarily.

Tyler Durden | A new propaganda advertisement paid for by Denmark's state television and posing as a promotion for a science show called "Evolution." |Like it or not, advertising is culture. Marketing is an expression of a society's norms, values and demographics. It is meant to serve the free market by appealing to either a target demographic or the most common demographic as a way to sell products and services. That said, advertising can also be used as propaganda, designed to sell ideologies rather than soda, cars and insurance. ■ This has been the primary setting of marketing in the west for at least the past ten years - The vast majority of commercials have political messaging embedded within them. Though it might not be obvious for the unaware, once you notice the patterns it's impossible to avoid them. ■ The commercial features an "expert" interrupting a white Danish couple as they flirt with each other. He explains to them that the history of war in Denmark introduced foreign DNA into their gene pool which "protected them from disease". He then compares their relationship to inbreeding and suggests they find new partners with more "exotic" genetics.

✅ Advertisers Need to Stop Over-Representing Black People (Lee Taylor)

Italy’s Nova news agency confirmed it let reporter Gabriele Nunziati go for asking a European official about Israel at a press conference | The move, which was first reported by the Italian news website Fanpage, came after he asked Paula Pinho, the European Commission’s chief spokesperson, about Gaza’s reconstruction on October 13.

Nunziati said that he received two “tense” phone calls from his superiors at Nova in the two weeks between his question and the notice that his contract would end, but declined to comment further. ● Francesco Civita, a spokesperson for Nova, confirmed that the news agency had ended its relationship with Nunziati over his Gaza question. Civita said that Nunziati had been let go for asking a question that was “technically incorrect” because Russia had invaded a sovereign country unprovoked, whereas Israel was responding to an attack. [sic]

⚡ J. Arnold | She’s no longer with us, but her insights and passion remain. | Joan Veon (May 17, 1949, to October 18, 2010) had two careers – first, as a financial planner and consultant, and second, as a business reporter on the world stage, beginning in 1994. She wrote two books, Prince Charles, the Sustainable Prince and U.N. Global Straitjacket, plus many informative essays, in addition to her extensive lecturing.

Nadezhda Romanenko | When Third Reich imagery is prominent in the social media of the country’s leader, you would think somebody would notice | Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s recent tour of several units fighting in the Donbass featured a flurry of Nazi and Nazi-adjacent symbolism, worn on the flags and shoulder patches of Ukrainian servicemen. None of it, of course, was picked up by Western media. ■ First off, we have the infamous Wolfsangel – a medieval Germanic symbol, widely adopted by Nazi Germany during the Second World War and used by multiple Nazi-linked groups then and since – including Ukraine’s now-defunct Azov Brigade and its still-intact successors, the 1st Azov Corps. ■ Their own explanation is that it’s not a Wolfsangel at all, but merely a monogram of their slogan, the words “National Idea.” ■ In that same X thread by Zelensky, seen in that same line of banners, are several red-and-black nationalist flags – clearly reminiscent of the OUN (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalist) and its military wing, the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army), widely-recognized as WW2-era Nazi collaborators. These days, Ukrainian nationalists are trying to rebrand them for the wider audience as unofficial symbols of the “struggle” against Russia.

✅ Kiev occupied again 82 years after being liberated from Nazis (Russian Foreign Ministry)

⚡ Now, the race is on to see if NATO can get their troops out before Russia captures or kills them; thereby making the Ukraine war, an actual war with NATO. | Russian Army troops have grabbed large stocks of NATO equipment and military property worth about half a billion dollars remain in the area of Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, which the AFU did not have time to take out of the city. ● "In Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk) and Dimitrov (Myrnograd), large stocks of NATO equipment and military property worth about half a billion dollars remain, which the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not have time to take out of the city, said reserve lieutenant colonel Oleg Ivannikov. ● Ivannikov said that in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad there are warehouses with NATO machinery and special equipment with a total value of about $ 500 million. ● According to him, it is for this reason that Volodymyr Zelensky does not allow the Armed Forces of Ukraine to surrender these cities, despite the difficult situation at the front. ● Ivannikov added that the surrender of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad would put the position of the Ukrainian leadership at risk, since the West would not forgive the loss of NATO's strategic reserves. [...] The Russian Armed Forces have already stopped an attempt to land a new group of GUR troops in Krasnoarmeysk. Russian servicemen also destroyed another group of 11 people of the GUR landing force, landed from a helicopter near Krasnoarmeysk. Those 11 people and two US-Supplied Blackhawk Helicopters were destroyed during what is described as a "Hot Extraction" operation. They were sent to evacuate ACTIVE DUTY NATO TROOPS allegedly from the U.S> Delta Force, accompanied by other active duty NATO member military forces.

The IDF "servicemen" suspected of "abusing" [torturing & killing] a [large number of] Palestinian detainee[s] have demanded “support and gratitude” | Israeli soldiers accused of torturing and sexually assaulting a Palestinian prisoner at the Sde Teiman detention facility have publicly defended their actions, claiming they are being unfairly prosecuted and vowing to “fight for justice.” ● The case relates to a July 2024 incident at the Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel, where five reservists were initially charged with rape and later indicted for “aggravated abuse” after video footage appeared to show soldiers assaulting a blindfolded Palestinian detainee. The man allegedly sustained multiple injuries, including a ruptured bowel and severe rectal trauma. [...] The scandal escalated further on Monday when a Tel Aviv court ordered the arrest and three-day detention of Tomer-Yerushalmi. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the leak “perhaps the most serious public relations attack Israel has experienced since its founding.” Defense Minister Israel Katz accused critics of the accused soldiers of spreading “blood libels.” The incident has drawn international criticism, including from a UN commission, which said last year it exposed only the “tip of the iceberg” regarding detainee abuse in Israeli military facilities.

✅ Israeli Rapists And The Depravity Of The Zionist Mind (Kevin Barrett)
✅ Why raping Palestinians is legitimate Israeli military practice (Joseph Massad)
■ What we know about the torture, abuse of Palestinian prisoners by Israel (10/18/25)
■ Israel returns Palestinian bodies showing signs of torture and execution (10/16/25)

The US president has reiterated a nuclear testing threat while calling for global denuclearization | US President Donald Trump has defended his push to resume nuclear weapon testing, boasting that America’s arsenal is powerful enough “to blow up the world 150 times” and should be maintained through active trials. In a CBS interview aired on Sunday, Trump was asked why the US needs to test its nuclear weapons again after more than three decades of a Congress-mandated moratorium. [...] The US last conducted a full-scale nuclear test in 1992, and resuming testing would likely take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars, according to the Washington Post. Energy Secretary Chris Wright clarified on Sunday that the testing ordered by Trump would not involve actual nuclear detonations.

9/11, Torture & Iraq war for israel | Dick Cheney, a driving force behind the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 who was considered by presidential historians as one of the most powerful vice presidents in U.S. history has died at age 84, his family said in a statement on Tuesday. Cheney died Monday night from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, his family said. ● The Republican - a former Wyoming congressman and secretary of defense - was already a major Washington player when then-Texas governor George W. Bush chose him to be his running mate in the 2000 presidential race that Bush went on to win.

■ Cheney Lied About 9/11 Hijacker (03/21/13)
■ 9/11 and Iraq: The War’s Greatest Lie (03/19/13)
✅ Cheney on CIA torture: “I’d do it again in a minute” (Patrick Martin)(15 December 2014)

Israel Shahak / Oded Yinon, "The Zionist Plan for the Middle East" - 23 - Iraq, rich in oil on the one hand and internally torn on the other, is guaranteed as a candidate for Israel's targets. Its dissolution is even more important for us than that of Syria. Iraq is stronger than Syria. In the short run it is Iraqi power which constitutes the greatest threat to Israel. An Iraqi-Iranian war will tear Iraq apart and cause its downfall at home even before it is able to organize a struggle on a wide front against us. Every kind of inter-Arab confrontation will assist us in the short run and will shorten the way to the more important aim of breaking up Iraq into denominations as in Syria and in Lebanon. In Iraq, a division into provinces along ethnic/religious lines as in Syria during Ottoman times is possible. So, three (or more) states will exist around the three major cities: Basra, Baghdad and Mosul, and Shi'ite areas in the south will separate from the Sunni and Kurdish north. It is possible that the present Iranian-Iraqi confrontation will deepen this polarization.

The United States military is upgrading a long-abandoned former Cold War naval base in the Caribbean, a Reuters visual investigation has found, suggesting preparations for sustained operations that could help support possible actions inside Venezuela. | The construction activity at the former Roosevelt Roads naval base in Puerto Rico — shuttered by the Navy more than 20 years ago — was underway on September 17 when crews began clearing and repaving taxiways leading to the runway, according to photos taken by Reuters. ● Until the Navy withdrew from the facility in 2004, Roosevelt Roads was one of the biggest U.S. naval stations in the world. The base occupies a strategic location and offers a large amount of space for gathering equipment, one U.S. official said. ● In addition to the upgrades of landing and take-off capabilities at Roosevelt Roads, the U.S. is building out facilities at civilian airports in Puerto Rico and St Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. ● The two U.S. territories sit roughly 500 miles from Venezuela.

■ Trump hints Maduro’s days are numbered (RT)
■ Nobel Peace Prize winner calls for military attack on her own country (11/02/25)
✅ U.S. Ready To Bomb Venezuela Under Absurdly False Pretext (Moon of Alabama)

■ Funding for Ukraine Collapsing After Belgium REFUSES to Confiscate Russia Funds (Hal Turner Show)

Moon of Alabama | The operation was overseen by military spy chief Kyrylo Budanov | The Ukrainian army has lost control over the Pokrovsk / Myrnograd agglomeration. Russian forces had over months slowly enveloped the cities from the east and the west. The corridor leading out of it was put under Russian drone control. Any vehicle trying to pass through was attacked. ■ The Ukrainian leadership had thrown any reserves it had to reopen the corridor to the city. All such attempts were destined to fail. A last Hail Mary move was the helicopter insertion of a dozen special forces commanded by the Military Intelligence Service GRU.

[...] Budanov is known for planing and executing terror attacks in Russia. ■ He is also known for reckless operations which have killed many of his men. Last year the special forces of the GRU made three boat assault attempts to capture the Russian controlled Zaparozhia Nuclear Power Plant. Some 50 Ukrainian soldiers got killed when all three attempts failed. ■ The Ukrainian (former) President Vladimir Zelenski and his political operator Andrei Yermak see Budanov as a potential competitor in future elections. It would not be astonishing to learn that the leak of the failed helicopter insertion was initiated by them.

✅ Desperate Bid to Save Pokrovsk Fails (Simplicius)
✅ Washington’s Iron Curtain (Diana Johnstone)(06/09/14)
✅ Five Takeaways From Ukraine’s Encirclement (Andrew Korybko)

Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producer, and the ninth largest oil producer in the world | According to the top defense official’s X post, "the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria — and anywhere — must end immediately." "The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities," he added. ● Earlier, Trump said he had instructed the Pentagon to prepare potential military action against radicals in Nigeria. According to him, "if the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the US will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, 'guns-a-blazing,' to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities."

✅ U.S. Ready To Bomb Venezuela Under Absurdly False Pretext (Moon of Alabama)
■ Hegseth Orders Pentagon To Focus on Preparing for War With China (04/01/25)
■ US to get Greenland ‘one way or the other’ – Trump (03/05/25)

Washington’s anti-drug campaign off Venezuela’s coast is the only way to oust “illegitimate” Nicolas Maduro, Maria Corina Machado has said, [so that Trump can steal Venezuela's oil.] | The US military buildup off Venezuela’s coast could help bring about regime change, opposition figure Maria Corina Machado has said. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate this year signaled she would welcome US strikes on the country if they help remove President Nicolas Maduro. ● Washington has accused Maduro of having ties to drug cartels, calling him a “narcoterrorist.” Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump deployed a naval armada to the western Caribbean, and since September, US forces have struck alleged drug-smuggling vessels off Venezuela’s coast. ● Media reports say Washington is expanding its naval presence, with analysts suggesting that the mission could extend beyond counter-narcotics. Trump denied planning direct strikes inside Venezuela, but reportedly reviewed a list of potential targets. [The people chose Nicolas Maduro. Maria Corina Machado is a traitor.]

teady sailing forwad of giant ship of China-US relations stressed | Chinese President Xi Jinping met on Thursday with US President Donald Trump to exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest in Busan, South Korea, the Xinhua News Agency reported. ● President Xi said he is ready to continue working with President Trump to build a solid foundation for bilateral ties, and create a sound atmosphere for the development of both countries, Xinhua reported. ● In the meeting with Trump, Xi said under their joint guidance, China-US relations have remained stable on the whole. "China and the US should be partners and friends. That is what history has taught us and what reality needs," he said. ● Given different national conditions, the two sides do not always see eye to eye with each other, and it is normal for the two leading economies of the world to have frictions now and then, Xi added.

■ China and the US can work together to accomplish more great and concrete things (Global Times)

Crónica de una muerte anunciada​ es una novela del escritor colombiano Gabriel García Márquez, publicada en 1981. | En un pequeño y aislado pueblo en la costa del Caribe, se casan Bayardo San Román, un rico recién llegado, y Ángela Vicario. Se van a su nueva casa, y allí Bayardo descubre que su esposa no es virgen. Bayardo devuelve a Ángela a la casa de sus padres, donde es golpeada por su madre e interrogada por sus hermanos, Ángela culpará a Santiago Nasar. ● Los hermanos Vicario –Pedro y Pablo–, obligados por la defensa del honor familiar, anuncian a la mayoría del pueblo que matarían a Nasar. Este no se entera, sino minutos antes de morir. [...] Una característica es la extensa cantidad de personajes, debido a que, al ser un pueblo pequeño, todos tuvieron participación directa o indirecta, o mención en la historia. Hay un personaje colectivo que es el pueblo, que conoce de manera anticipada la muerte de Santiago y no hace nada por evitarla.

✅ Trump prepares 'imminent' military strike on Venezuela (Leo Hohman)

(Translation: DeepL) [S] “The end is near for Venezuelan dictator Maduro, and the dawn of a free and prosperous Venezuela is breaking. In a matter of days, Maduro will exist only in the past tense and in the annals of history,” a source told the New York Post. ● It is no coincidence that the operation is being prepared immediately after the meeting between Trump and Xi and Russia's failure to back down on Ukraine. The US needs to show its power. The situation with Iran was not entirely convincing, and there was a risk of a protracted war. ● If Maduro's regime falls, Venezuela's oil will come under US control. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado is openly calling for military intervention and the transfer of resources. It appears that the daughter of a Venezuelan oligarch from the old elite received the award as planned. When it became clear that there would be a war. ● Over time, American companies are expected to increase production in Venezuela, currently at a catastrophically low level of 800,000 barrels per day, compared to 3 million in the 1990s. ● Restoring volumes is not a quick process—it requires investment and years of work, but the US knows how to play the long game. They have been supporting Machado since at least 2005. ● The US goal is not only to make a profit or cut China off from its resource suppliers. ● Global oil consumption is 100 million barrels per day. Caracas' oil alone cannot redistribute the global market. However, the US will be able to dump these volumes onto the international market, using them as a “counterweight.” ● By directing additional volumes of oil to the market, the US can deliberately reduce Russia's revenues from energy exports, undermining the financing of the SVO. By increasing production in Venezuela, the US will weaken the influence of the OPEC+ cartel on the market. If Saudi Arabia and Russia agree to cut production to raise prices, the US can compensate for this reduction through Venezuela, nullifying OPEC+'s efforts. ● So Venezuela is a lever of pressure and an attempt to avoid an “oil shock” like the one in the 1970s and 1980s, with a sharp jump in oil prices."

Moon of Alabama | The Miami Herald says that the decision to attack Venezuela has been made and that strikes are imminent | Just a few days ago I stated that Trump is targeting Venezuela under the pretext of countering drug trafficking. But the real reasons for this are clear:

A few days ago the U.S. ordered the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to move from the Mediterranean towards Venezuela. The carrier is expected to arrive in early to mid November. I had expected that the U.S. would wait with any attack on Venezuela until the carrier force is in place. Until than it would continue its intimidation strikes on random fishermen at sea.

Do you notice how nobody’s losing their jobs or getting deported for criticizing the genocidal atrocities in Sudan? How mainstream western politicians are able to call out the RSF and the UAE without having their careers nuked by high-powered lobby groups? How the western media aren’t churning out op-eds concern trolling about the possibility that anyone who opposes the el-Fasher massacres is actually a closet Nazi?

That’s the difference, right there. That’s why many westerners have been paying special attention to Gaza.

"Shoot first, ask questions later" | US War Department officials don’t know the identities of the 61 people who have been extra-judicially executed in US military strikes on boats in the waters near Venezuela and in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, POLITICO reported on Thursday, citing House Democrats who attended a classified briefing on the campaign.

💬 “The department officials] said that they do not need to positively identify individuals on these vessels to do the strikes, they just need to prove a connection to smuggling,” said Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA). “When we tried to get more information, we did not get satisfactory answers.”

While the Trump administration has cited overdose deaths in the US related to fentanyl to justify the bombing campaign, lawmakers were told in the briefing that the boats that have been targeted were allegedly smuggling cocaine, though the Pentagon has not provided evidence to back up its claims about what the vessels were carrying.

More than 300 African soldiers were executed by the French colonial army in Thiaroye, Senegal | More than 81 years after the events, the truth is resurfacing from the soil of Thiaroye, Senegal. Recent archaeological excavations have unearthed bullets, bones, and human remains, confirming what Africans have known all along: the Thiaroye massacre of 1944 was never a “mistake,” but a premeditated colonial crime deliberately covered up. ● According to a 2025 report from ongoing excavations on the Thiaroye site, more than 300 African soldiers were executed by the French colonial army, even though official figures long mentioned only 35 deaths. ● A Senegalese research committee led by historian Mamadou Diouf confirmed, during a press conference in Dakar on October 17, that French military records were deliberately falsified. Departure lists, troop numbers, and casualty counts were altered to conceal the true scale of the massacre.

This was not a tragic accident but a carefully engineered disinformation campaign that lasted for generations. [...] Thiaroye is not only a tragedy, it is a symbol of state lies, erased memory, and justice continually denied. This massacre reveals the hidden face of a Republic that proclaims human rights while denying them to those who defended it. From Setif to Madagascar, from Cameroon to Algeria, African blood was shed in the name of “civilization.”

✅ The Thiaroye massacre and its memories (Martin MOURRE)

The US president has said he was left with “no choice” in light of Russian and Chinese arsenals | US President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons testing, citing strategic competition with Russia and China. Trump made the announcement ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, on Thursday. [...] The US halted nuclear tests in 1992 under a Congress-mandated moratorium. Members of Trump’s cabinet reportedly discussed reversing the moratorium during his first term after the US accused China and Russia of secretly conducting an underground low-yield nuclear tests – a claim Beijing and Moscow denied. ● According to a recent estimate by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the US has 5,177 nuclear warheads, Russia has 5,459, and China is projected to reach 1,500 by 2035.

■ Russia Says It Will Respond If the US Starts Testing Nuclear Weapons (antiwar.com)
■ Baseless US Nuclear Weapons Test Could 'Blow Apart' NPT, Warns Top Arms Control Expert (Sputnik)

[Translation: DeepL]: "A disappointed Trump after meeting with the Chinese leader: a video that answers all questions...This video speaks for itself. His meeting with his Chinese counterpart has just ended. He is dissatisfied. He is furious. He has achieved nothing. Xi outplayed him and... humiliated him. ● What's more, he went without even making a joint statement with “Chairman Xi.” And after this meeting, he completely forgot that he was going to attend the APEC summit. And that's all you need to know about his meeting with Xi in South Korea, which he rated “12 out of 10.”

✅ По нефти и Украине ничего не решили: Трамп уехал от Си «смущённо-притихшим» (Михаил Рябов)
✅ Oбычно велеречивый Трамп самолет не проронив ни слова (Александр Дугин)

Сhairman of the defense committee of the Russian State Duma Andrey Kartapolov warned that any foreign contingent fighting for Ukraine will be a legitimate target for the Russian army | If France opts to send its military contingent to Ukraine, this will be one-way ticket for the French soldiers, a Russian lawmaker told TASS. Russia’ Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said earlier that the General Staff of the French Armed Forces was preparing a contingent of up to 2,000 personnel for deployment to Ukraine in order to support Kiev.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a Strategic Partnership Treaty with Venezuela on Monday, formalizing a broad cooperation agreement between the two countries that extends across political, economic, and security domains. | The Kremlin said the treaty, first signed in Moscow on May 7, expands collaboration in energy, mining, transport, communications, and counterterrorism. The accord was ratified last week by both chambers of Russia's paliament and earlier this month by the Venezuelan National Assembly, followed by President Nicolás Maduro's signature on October 7. ● Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov called the simultaneous ratification "very important in the current situation," saying Venezuela faced "unprecedented pressure, including direct military pressure, from the United States," as EFE reports. ● Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov echoed that stance during a meeting with Venezuela's ambassador to Moscow, Jesús Rafael Salazar Velázquez, reaffirming Russia's solidarity with Caracas "in the face of growing external threats and attempts at interference." ● The agreement comes amid escalating U.S. military activity in the Caribbean. The Trump administration has expanded naval deployments under an anti-drug operation that has included several strikes on vessels near Venezuelan waters. Caracas has denounced the campaign as a pretext for regime change.

■ US Deploying Aircraft Carrier Strike Group Near Venezuela as Regime Change Push Heats Up (antiwar.com)

🚨 BOMBSHELL: New FOIA Documents Reveal the COVID Pandemic Was a DoD Operation Dating Back to Obama

"The Pentagon controlled the COVID-19 program from the very beginning and everything we were told was political theater to cover it up right down to the FDA vaccine approval" pic.twitter.com/TZwG6sD84L

— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) January 11, 2023

Finland joined NATO just over two years ago, while Poland has been a member for more than two decades. Both share borders with Russia, so they bring an important perspective to the alliance as countries on its front lines. They are well aware of the Russian threat. [sic] [...] Lively Sabre 25, which took place in southern Finland over the past few days, is an element of NATO's larger Swift Response 25 exercise. This event is a series of joint military drills across the Baltic and Nordic regions designed to facilitate cooperation among allies and deter what they see as a serious Russian threat to the east. [...] Finland doesn't have an airbone brigade in its military structure, so the exercise is a good opportunity to train on battling paratroopers and learn from skilled professionals — in this case, the Polish forces — how to prepare for a tactical air landing, set up a perimeter around the airfield, and defend the site. Establishing an airhead is not an easy operation, especially in an era of widespread sensors and sophisticated air defenses that can detect and destroy an assault force before it lands.

■ American F-35 stealth fighters landed on a highway in Europe (Business Insider)
■ Finnish soldiers are going old school with paper maps so they're ready if an enemy shuts down GPS