Notables

British parents gender transition son and foster son, 7 and 3, to female – High Court judge praises them as good, attuned and careful!

A boy of three was dressed in a girl’s uniform for school after living with foster parents whose own son transitioned to being female at the age of seven.

The younger child was taken to school dressed as a girl despite teachers “expressly” asking the foster couple to put him in boys’ clothing.

The parents at the centre of the case, which came to light in a court judgment released last week, also had a third child in their care who had “gender identity issues”.

The couple, known only as CP and TP, were investigated by Lancashire County Council’s social services amid accusations they had “manipulated” their children’s gender and risked causing them “significant emotional harm”.

The council initially wanted five children who were living with the couple taken into care. But last Friday the couple were exonerated by a High Court judge who praised them as “good parents”, and “attuned and careful”.

Mr Justice Williams said: “The evidence from almost all sources of how the children are prospering in the care of CP and TP provides very powerful support to the contention that CP and TP are good parents.”

The judgment provides further insight into the couple who had been foster carers for 16 years. Two of the five children who were the subjects of the court proceedings were their natural children and three were fostered.

The Tavistock Centre, Hampstead, London. The Gender Identity Development Service is for children and young people, and their families, who experience difficulties in the development of their gender identity. The only service of its kind in Great Britain

Their youngest natural child, known only as R, now 13, transitioned from male to female at the age of seven. The foster parents took immediate steps to legally firm up her new identity and changed her name by deed poll and got a new passport.

But R remained unhappy and told a member of staff at her school a few months later that “she did not think life was worth living”, the judgment reveals.

Shortly after R transitioned, a boy, known as H, was fostered by the family. By January 2016, at the age of three, he was “being dressed in girls’ clothes”, it said.

Foster mother TP reportedly told a teacher: “Here’s another one for the Tavistock (clinic)”, the court papers disclose.

The following year when H was four he started school and the judgment stated: “The school requested H attend in a boy’s uniform. However in September H came in a girl’s uniform.”

Last July Lancashire council began proceedings to remove all five children from the couple over concerns they had “acted in a precipitate manner in relation to perceived gender dysphoria”.

However the council withdrew its attempts for reasons that remain unclear. Last Friday Mr Justice Williams, based in the Family Division of the High Court in London, permitted the council to abandon the litigation it had initiated.

He said: “The lives of the family should now proceed on the basis that those concerns were comprehensively dispelled as a result of the inquisitorial process that has been undertaken.”

“I observed during the course of the hearing that issues relating to gender identity and the medical understanding of such issues is complex and developing.”

https://voiceofeurope.com/2019/05/british-parents-gender-transition-son-and-foster-son-7-and-3-to-female-high-court-judge-praises-them-as-good-attuned-and-careful/

Notable

Top Iranian general tells militias to ‘prepare for proxy war’ — report

INTEL SOURCE SAYS QASSEM SOLEIMANI’S COMMENTS DURING MEETING WITH IRAQI GROUPS ‘NOT FAR OFF’ A CALL TO ARMS, MAY HAVE LED US TO PULL DIPLOMATIC STAFF FROM COUNTRIES.

Top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani has met with Iran-linked Iraqi militias in Baghdad, telling them to “prepare for proxy war,” according to a report Thursday, amid rapidly rising tensions between the Washington and Tehran.

Soleimani called the militias for a meeting three weeks ago, the UK’s Guardian newspaper reported on Thursday. It wasn’t immediately clear when the meeting actually took place.

“It wasn’t a call to arms, but it wasn’t far off,” a senior intelligence source said.

The meeting played a part in the US State Department’s decision on Wednesday to order all nonessential government staff to leave Iraq, as Germany and the Netherlands both suspended their military assistance programs in the country.

While Soleimani has regularly met with leaders of Iraqi Shia groups in recent years, this meeting stood out, the source said.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have soared in recent weeks with a war of words between American and Iranian leaderships, allegations of sabotage attacks targeting oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, a drone attack on a Saudi oil pipeline claimed by Yemen’s Iranian-allied rebels, and the dispatch of US warships and bombers to the region.

Last week, US officials said they had detected signs of Iranian preparations for potential attacks on US forces and interests in the Middle East, but Washington has not publicly provided any evidence to back up claims of an increased Iranian threat.

The New York Times reported Thursday that photographs showing Iranian missiles mounted on small boats in the Persian Gulf had led the US to dispatch the warship fleet and bombers to the region.

But the root of the recent spike in Persian Gulf tensions appears to be US President Donald Trump’s decision a year ago to pull the US from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, embarking on a maximalist sanctions campaign against Tehran to cripple the country’s economy.

More here:

https://gellerreport.com/2019/05/gutless-iran-hides-behind-proxies.html/

Notables

US to Countries: We’ll Pay You to Ditch Russian, Chinese Arms.

The State Department wants to go global with a program originally aimed at ex-Warsaw Pact members.

The U.S. State Department wants to expand a little-known effort that offers countries cash to buy American-made weapons if they give up Russian-made arms.

The year-old initiative, called the European Recapitalization Incentive Program, is already helping six eastern European countries buy new helicopters or armored vehicles. Now, State Department officials are looking to take the effort global to get allies and partners to abandon not only Russian weapons, but Chinese ones too.

“The goal is to help our partners break away from the Russian supply chain [and] logistics chain that allows Russian contractors and service personnel and Russian-manufactured spare parts onto either NATO allied bases or partner military bases,” a State Department official said this week.

The effort comes at a time as military officials across the Potomac River at the Pentagon talk about great power competition between the U.S. and Russia and China.

To get the money, countries must get rid of their Russian weapons, promise not to buy new ones, and commit some of their own funding to buying American.

“It’s meant to incentivize partners and allies to put in their own funds to modernize their military and divest Russian legacy equipment,” the State Department official said. “The idea being, we can put in some U.S. grant military assistance. They would then put in some amount of partner military [funding].”

The idea is to start the foreign country toward buying a substantial number of whatever weapons are needed.

“We’re going to build at least an initial amount,” the official said. “We’re not just going to buy them one helicopter or two infantry fighting vehicles.”

The American cash flows through a Foreign Military Financing account.

“We’re not using U.S. taxpayer money to completely buy this for a partner,” the official said. “This is going in with our partner together to build an overarching capability.”

The countries already approved for funding have militaries that use Soviet-era helicopters and infantry fighting vehicles, according to the International Institute of Strategic Studies’ Military Balance.

In some cases, if a country buys parts for these vehicles and helicopters, they could face U.S. sanctions.

Since the program began about a year ago, the State Department has pledged $190 million for six projects in six countries. The countries are in different stages of buying the new equipment and State Department officials believe it could take a few years until the partner nations are able to move ahead with the purchases. The countries include:

Albania, $30 million for helicopters

Bosnia, $30.6 million for helicopters

Croatia, $25 million for infantry fighting vehicles

Greece, $25 million for infantry fighting vehicles

North Macedonia, $30 million for infantry fighting vehicles

Slovakia, $50 million for helicopters

The Macedonian government touted the effort as “strengthening the capacities” of its army by improving its equipment and bringing it in line with NATO standards.

State is looking at a second round of initiatives with potential for $50 to $100 million for new projects, the official said.

Even though the effort is still considered in a pilot or test phase, the State Department’s fiscal 2020 budget proposal calls for expanding the effort. U.S. officials are also looking at how to expand the initiative beyond Eastern Europe “to compete against Russia and China and help our partners get away or stay away from Russian or Chinese equipment.”

While State has not yet identified countries outside of Europe, it’s exploring countries in Central Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa.

https://www.defenseone.com/business/2019/05/us-countries-well-pay-you-ditch-russian-chinese-arms/157084/?oref=d-channeltop

Notables

PEO Soldier fields U.S. Army's first personal Unmanned Aerial System.

-The Soldier Borne Sensors system mitigates future losses of life and injuries by having a drone complete dangerous work that Soldiers would usually perform on their own.

The system provides units with near real-time video, increased situational awareness, and reduced risk of detection, while allowing units to detect personnel and targets.

FORT BELVOIR, Va.–Imagine a battlefield where Soldiers have access to near-real time video transmitted back to them on a handheld device. Program Executive Office Soldier (PEO Soldier) fielded the first personal Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) in the U.S. Army to Soldiers of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, April 29th-May 3rd, 2019 at Fort Bragg, NC. Soldiers did more than just inventory and take possession of the system during the week-long fielding. The Soldiers were also trained via classroom instruction about the system’s capabilities, its controls, and how to operate it.

Soldiers received hands on training of the system and flew the drone through various scenarios which culminated in an exercise that tested everything they learned throughout the week. It was all done in preparation for the BCT to take the system with them on their upcoming deployment, making this the first personal UAS to deploy at the squad level within a unit in the Army.

New Army technology like the Soldier Borne Sensors (SBS) mitigates future losses of life and injuries by having a drone complete dangerous work that combat Soldiers would usually perform on their own such as sending a fire team to gain reconnaissance information, or sending out dismounted Soldiers for route clearance operations. PEO Soldier delivers systems and equipment like this to our Soldiers to ensure they remain decisive and dominant throughout the full spectrum of military operations.

The UAS is part of PEO Soldier’s SBS program and it consists of multiple components; the ground control system, which is composed of a base station with hand controller and display unit, and two air Vehicles (one day and one night). The display acts as the main hub for Soldiers to interact with the system, while the air vehicles are small, highly maneuverable airborne sensors with low visual and audio signatures that support pre-planned and on-the-fly reconnaissance missions.

“This system is something new that not a lot of Soldiers have touched or even seen before, so it’s cool to test it out and push it to its limits before we take it with us on our deployment” said Sgt. Dalton Kruse, one of the operators being trained on the system. “Most of us have never flown a drone before, but this training gave us the confidence and knowledge to use the system, making us more comfortable to use it while deployed. It was easy to pick up and fly, very user-friendly, and I can already tell that this system will benefit my unit downrange.”

The potential of having a personal UAS equipped to every squad gives them the ability to asses a situation from a cover and concealed position, mitigating the risk to the Soldier.

John Paul Kruszewski, Lead Engineer for the unmanned systems at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center (CCDC SC), likens the system to a flying pair of binoculars. “Using this system, Soldiers can understand their operational environment better so they can make better decisions and make these decisions quicker than ever. It makes Soldiers more effective while reducing their tactical risk.” The CCDC SC is dedicated to using science and technology to ensure America’s warfighters are optimized, protected, and lethal.

This means that the SBS provides a type of protection to Soldiers that they’ve never experienced before, and this protection is what Soldiers like Sgt. Ryan Subers, another operator of the system, values the most.

“I was really impressed with the system, its capabilities, and what it offers Soldiers in terms of risk reduction. This kind of technology will be a life-saver for us because it takes us out of harm’s way while enhancing our ability to execute whatever combat mission we’re on. I’m very grateful for technology like this and to be a part of the first unit to use it.”

The initial fielding of the SBS paves the way for a system that will eventually equip every squad with an organic UAS in the future.

“It is the start of an era where every squad will have vision beyond their line of sight,” said Nathan Heslink, Assistant Program Manager, SBS, PEO Soldier. “The squad will not have any dead space within its area of operations and this allows Soldiers to detect threats earlier than ever, meaning it is more likely Soldiers won’t be harmed during their missions.”

https://www.dvidshub.net/news/322599/peo-soldier-fields-us-armys-first-personal-unmanned-aerial-system

Notables

HOUSE APPROPRIATORS GIVE LUKEWARM SUPPORT FOR SPACE FORCE, SDA.

The House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee will mark up its FY2020 defense appropriations bill today in closed session. A draft of the bill shows some support for the Space Force and the Space Development Agency (SDA), but much less than a wholehearted endorsement.

The House and Senate Armed Services Committees must decide whether or not to authorize creation of the Space Force and those decisions have not been made yet. If it is created, it will need money. That is where the appropriations committees come in.

The draft appropriations bill provides just $15 million for the Space Force compared to the $72.4 million requested and the funds are to “study and refine plans for the potential establishment” of the new military service.

None of the funds may be used to transfer anything from the Intelligence Community (IC) to the Space Force. DOD did not propose incorporating the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) or any other part of the IC into the Space Force now, but Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan told the Senate Armed Services Committee that was being considered for the future.

The bill does not indicate how much the subcommittee allocated for the SDA ($149.8 million was requested), but whatever the number is, none may be expended until 90 days after the Secretary of Defense submits a report to Congress with details about:

exactly what SDA will do for the next 3 years and how much it will cost;

how SDA will coordinate and cooperate with the Air Force to develop an integrated space architecture to guide SDA and Air Force investments;

the process by which the SDA and the Air Force will cooperate in demonstrating and prototyping new capabilities and transition to programs of record;

the proposed physical location of SDA and how many personnel are needed in the first 3 years (government and contractors); and

a plan to transition the SDA into the Air Force no later than FY2022 or into the Space Force.

Those restrictions also apply to 50 percent of the funding for the Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared Program.

Further details of space funding are not in the bill. They usually are included in an accompanying report that is released after markup.

This is just the first step in a lengthy process for the FY2020 defense appropriations bill, which allocates a total of $690.2 billion for defense, an increase of $15.8 billion above FY2019 and $8 billion less than the President’s request. The $690.2 billion includes $68.1 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) and the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), which is $165 million more than FY2019, but $96.2 billion below the President’s request.

The OCO account is intended to be used only for funds to fight wars overseas and that funding is not counted against budget caps. For FY2020, the Trump Administration is proposing $66 billion for those purposes, but also $98 billion for routine defense activities in order to avoid the budget caps. The idea is highly controversial. House Appropriations Committee chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-New York) said the draft bill “rejects the Trump Administration’s budgetary gimmicks and sleights of hand” and provides “appropriate resources.”

https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/house-appropriators-give-lukewarm-support-for-space-force-sda/

Ahoy Mateys.

'Tis a pleasure to be sailin' with ye's again tonight.

>>6517430

'The times they are a changin' hey?'

Thanks for posting o7. Arrrr.