Well I was flicking through Netflix and come across designated survivor. Never seen it before and didn't realise it was back in 2016. After watching the first 5 or so episodes it is clear that the republicans are taking their actions out of this series. The boogieman is the border and only way they will support the President is if he doesn't let them in lol (i.e. blackmail)

Next watch the Handmaid's tale, that's where the US is headed with Trump...

New candidates, heck new parties are desperately needed but how. The democrats seem to have no interest in anything else than letting Biden run again, the Republicans are held hostage by Trump supporters, and neither camp wants to risk votes on a 3rd party in fear the 'other side' wins in the winner takes all system.

The publication Politico reported that the first batch of the latest high-precision #GLSDB bombs should arrive in Ukraine today. pic.twitter.com/HVm48k7i7j

— Jürgen Nauditt 🇩🇪🇺🇦 (@jurgen_nauditt) January 31, 2024

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/30/new-us-made-longer-range-bomb-expected-to-arrive-as-soon-wednesday-in-ukraine-00138566

"The glide-bomb will allow Ukraine's military to hit targets at twice the distance reachable by the rockets it now fires from the U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and could force Russia to move supplies even farther from the front lines.

The new glide bombs, while not as powerful, are much cheaper, smaller and easier to deploy than ATACMS, making them well suited for much of what Ukraine hopes to accomplish: disrupting Russian operations and creating a tactical advantage.

The Pentagon said publicly that funding was approved in February, a contract to begin production was inked the following month, U.S. officials have told Reuters. Because GLSDB has already been paid for, the weapon can avoid the recent Congressional funding dispute over continued weapons shipments to Ukraine."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ukraine-s-new-100-mile-bomb-from-boeing-is-ready-sources-say/ar-BB1hvsFs?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=7f5719495ce8401c9ef5e7e26949c1ef&ei=76

⚡️The EU will provide Ukraine with €50 billion in aid!

"All 27 leaders agreed on an additional €50 billion support package for Ukraine within the EU budget," President of the European Council Charles Michel just reported. pic.twitter.com/7dJSVPCSUz

— NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) February 1, 2024

The GUR published footage of naval drone attacks on Russian missile boat Ivanovets in Ozero Donuzlav in occupied Crimea. As a result of a series of direct hits to the hull, the Russian ship suffered damage incompatible with further movement. It rolled to stern and sank. pic.twitter.com/1nczohhi11

— NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) February 1, 2024

Nice, looks like the counter-blackmailing of Hungary worked.

For those who don't know the context, Hungary tried to blackmail the EU into giving them the money they're withholding for not meeting the rule of law and independent press rules of the EU for the vote. The EU instead threatened Hungary that they would withhold that money, and all future payments from the EU, permanently, money that Hungary desperately needs (they're running an annual deficit of over 6% already, far above the 2.5% rule of the EU). Having that money permanently withheld would have spooked the lenders, which in turn would then have crippled Hungary's economy.

Good news about GLSDB finally being sent, while not as powerful as Storm Shadow/SCALP, it is yet another long-range missile which should relieve pressure on supplies of Storm Shadow/SCALP and allow those to be used on even higher priority targets and GLSDB is launched from HIMARS instead of aircraft. Still waiting on ATACMS but this is a decent step forward.

Nice to see the EU has passed the 50bn in aid, I still think Hungary deserves to be Article 7'd but lets save that for another day, Lol. I knew that cockroach Orban would eventually stop being a dick but now we wait on the Republicans in America and I'm less convinced by them, their recent actions suggest they only used the border as an excuse to stop funding Ukraine and many in the House want funding to stop.

Crazy how Republicans have gone from hating Russia to bending over backwards for them, despite Russia quite publicly declaring themselves as wanting to destroy America, it's like every Republican who supports Russia has became what Ted Cruz was to Trump, Putin could go and individually slap each one of their children and they'd still say what a great guy he is and America is being mean to him.

The lure of that white supremacist, fascist state is too appealing to them, I suppose.

It looks like another Russian ship was promoted to submarine, nice.

Made me laugh, Lol.

There was also the first Hungarian visit to Ukraine since the start of the invasion.

As the Republican Party’s blockade of aid to Ukraine drags into its fourth month, the U.S. government under Pres. Joe Biden has found a clever new way to give Ukraine’s forces the weapons and ammunition they need to defend their country.

It is, in essence, an American version of Germany’s circular weapons trade—the so-called Ringtausch. The United States is gifting older surplus weapons to Greece with the understanding that Greece donates to Ukraine some of its own surplus weapons.

Greek media broke the news last week. According to the newspaper Kathimerini and other media, the Biden administration offered the Greek government three 87-foot Protector-class patrol boats, two Lockheed Martin C-130H airlifters, 10 Allison T56 turboprop engines for Lockheed P-3 patrol planes plus 60 M-2 Bradley fighting vehicles and a consignment of transport trucks.

All this hardware is U.S. military surplus—and is available to Greece, free of charge, under a U.S. legal authority called “excess defense articles.” Federal law allows an American president to declare military systems surplus to need, assign them a value—potentially zero dollars—and give them away on the condition that the recipient transport them.

The law caps annual EDA transfers at $500 million. The same law doesn’t dictate the value the president assigns to surplus weapons. In a letter to Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the ships, planes, engines and vehicles as “free concessions.”

The EDA gifts to Greece sweeten a larger arms package that includes 40 Lockheed F-35 stealth fighters, which Greece is buying for $8.6 billion. The Biden administration previously approved, in 2022 and 2023, $60 million in financing for arms-purchases by Athens.

In exchange for this largess, the Americans want the Greeks to donate more weapons to the Ukrainians. “We continue to be interested in the defense capabilities that Greece could transfer or sell to Ukraine,” Blinken wrote.

The Americans even offered a reward once the donation is complete. “If these capabilities are of interest to Ukraine, and pending an assessment of their status and value by the U.S. government, we can explore opportunities for possible additional foreign armed forces financing of up to $200 million for Greece.”

The Greek military operates, or holds in storage, an array of Soviet- and U.S.-designed weaponry that would be of immediate value to the Ukrainian military—in particular, S-300 and Hawk long-range air-defense batteries, Tor and Osa short-range air-defense vehicles and ZU-23-2 air-defense guns. Also: ammunition for all these systems.

Some or all of those weapons could be heading to Ukraine. “Political and military leadership has already given the necessary directions so that obsolete systems and equipment that are no longer used by the Greek army are transferred to Ukraine,” Kathimerini reported.

Germany’s Ringtausch program has speeded to Ukraine scores of tanks and other heavy weapons. America’s own ring trade could do the same—potentially on an even grander scale. Greece isn’t the only country with old weapons that it might give away, if the United States offers something in return.

Biden Arms Greece So Greece Arms Ukraine. Republicans Can’t Stop It.

Lmao. Clever Joe.

Well, he knows now that the rest of the EU has him in his crosshairs and the means to cripple his agenda if he tries to hinder them further. I hope this serves him enough for a lesson, though time will tell if it does or not.