How Does Everyone Just Accept This Life?

People are so casually addicted to their phones; it is a dystopian nightmare that no matter where you go in the world now you will be surrounded by phone zombies doomscrolling and missing out on life. Why are people seemingly willing to accept this as normal? How is everyone content to live like this? Is this really human progression and improved quality of life?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4erG5X03eo

Weapons Maker Was Paid $533M in Taxpayer Funds to Produce Shells. It Made None.

General Dynamics has neither been held publicly accountable nor had to repay any of the money.

It was the summer of 2024, and the cutting-edge robots inside General Dynamics’ sweltering artillery factory near Dallas were catching fire with startling regularity, according to four former workers there. This wasn’t ideal, as the plant was supposed to be churning out urgently needed artillery shells for Ukraine. The robots, giant metal arms with clamps for hands, would end up drenched in oil, which would then — no surprise — combust as they moved steel blocks heated to 1,800 degrees into and out of a machine that periodically erupted columns of fire. One blaze that summer melted a robot’s cables, putting it out of commission for a week.

Only weeks earlier, defense officials and executives had touted the factory’s innovative new machinery, imported from Turkey, at a gala opening ceremony. But employees were already used to spectacular mishaps, fiery and otherwise. “After the second, third, fourth time, it just became almost normal,” one former worker said. “It got to the point where I was not surprised by anything that happened there.”

Instead of producing shells in an efficient and streamlined fashion, the pricey machines kept failing in bizarre ways. The robot arms would swing out of control, smashing into carefully calibrated equipment, and sometimes they would unexpectedly drop hunks of steel 5 feet down to the floor. The factory’s signature device, meant to precisely stretch the steel for the artillery shells, instead often cracked it beyond repair. Then there were the giant press machines, which required regular pounding with a sledgehammer to function properly but still botched the shaping of nearly every shell. “We really didn’t have any standardized practice,” said Quantel White, a former employee. “It was just a bunch of guys taking turns going at the machine with a sledgehammer every night.” To workers, even the factory buildings themselves came to feel doomed, with acrid smoke hanging in 100-degree heat over foundations seemingly sinking into the earth.A press machine at the General Dynamics artillery factory near Dallas Obtained by ProPublica

The situation never improved. The U.S. Army, which funded the factory, ordered work halted on two of its three production lines in August 2025. By then, General Dynamics had blown eight deadlines. Work on the third production line continued, but the facility never produced a single usable shell, according to a report from the Department of Defense’s inspector general in July.

The fiasco has cost American taxpayers $533 million, according to the Army. But the Army has not held General Dynamics or a key Turkish subcontractor — which provided the factory’s much-hyped but little-proven equipment — publicly accountable for the failures. Nor has it made General Dynamics pay a penny back.

Just the opposite: General Dynamics, one of the world’s largest defense companies, has been showered with new contracts, continuing its track record as one of the greatest beneficiaries of Pentagon spending. The company is still in charge of the factory. It recently announced that it will fix things there by bringing in another much-hyped but little-proven technology.

“It’s an absolute disaster,” said one former official in an Army office supervising the project. “The Army should’ve gone after recovering money from General Dynamics,” added the official, who, like others interviewed for this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity.

https://truthout.org/articles/weapons-maker-was-paid-533m-in-taxpayer-funds-to-produce-shells-it-made-none/

In a jaw-dropping development, Japan, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands pledging support for securing the "Strait of Hormuz", reversing their earlier refusals amid United States pressure.

https://x.com/DeIntelpatriot/status/2087672400666042581

worried

Bulletproof, bomb-resistant and gas-filtered: Netanyahu’s new $1M armored Audi

Israel purchased eight Audi A8 Security limousines at an estimated cost of at least 3 million shekels each after its aging VIP fleet logged hundreds of thousands of kilometers; four went to the Prime Minister’s Office, two to the president and two to Shin Bet

Israel has recently taken delivery of eight new armored Audi A8 Security limousines for use by the prime minister, president and Shin Bet, including for visiting heads of state and senior ministers facing elevated security threats.

Each vehicle is estimated to cost at least 3 million shekels. Four were transferred to the Prime Minister’s Office for Netanyahu’s use, two to the President’s Residence for President Isaac Herzog and two to Shin Bet for transporting senior officials and other protected individuals as needed.

The acquisition replaces an aging fleet that has remained in service far longer than originally planned. According to Israel’s government vehicle administration, cars of this type are generally supposed to be replaced every four years, but the previous limousines have been on the road since 2018.

Plans to purchase replacements were already being discussed in 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic and later the war delayed the process. The older vehicles accumulated hundreds of thousands of kilometers and suffered significant wear, in part because of the enormous additional weight imposed by their armor.

Maintenance costs also climbed sharply, with the vehicles reportedly requiring frequent garage visits because their heavy protection systems placed considerable strain on their engines and other components.

The new Audi A8 Security models include protection modifications developed specifically for Israel at Shin Bet’s request, with upgrades designed to address a broader range of modern terror threats.

Among them is a filtration system intended to protect passengers from toxic gases during a chemical attack. The cars also include an integrated communications system and can be sealed with passengers locked safely inside.

The vehicles are protected against small-arms fire, roadside explosives and other threats, alongside additional classified security adaptations built to an Israeli specification prepared by Shin Bet.

Despite the heavy armor, Audi retained the limousine’s luxury features. The cars include a refrigerator, specialized wood upholstery and wood trim.

Representatives of Israel’s government vehicle administration and Shin Bet accompanied the modifications and installations at Audi facilities in Germany.

Officials who have ridden in the new limousines said the extensive armor comes with one drawback: the reinforced passenger compartment is notably cramped.

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/b1ltduo8gx