MWK

President Theta Informatics LLC. Creator of OpenAthena™ software for sUAS remote sensing

[U.S. Central Command @CENTCOM]

Yesterday, using multiple one-way attack surface drones, CENTCOM forces successfully struck a submarine and ship maintenance facility in Iran. Three Corsair unmanned surface vessels hit the port at Bandar Abbas Naval Base, marking the first time American forces have employed sea drones in combat operations. Last night’s strikes degraded Iran’s ability to continue attacking commercial shipping.

[Michael Weiss @michaeldweiss]

This is even better: “There was one Ukrainian air defence unit that found itself on the wrong side of the front lines and drove out of its base and actually ended up driving alongside a Russian column for a period of time, asking them for spare tires at one point, then drove across the front line, set up, and started to engage Russian aircraft.”

[Shashank Joshi @shashj]

.@Jack_Watling on just how close run it was in 2022. "Whether the Russians made it through Mykolaiv and into Odesa came down to whether a Russian brigade was prepared to attack across a causeway, and they were en route to do it." https://t.co/K6JZTWlTCq

[CSPAN @cspan]

Statement From Senator Mitch McConnell

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released the following note to constituents regarding his hospitalization and recovery:

“To my fellow Kentuckians –

“When you elected me to a seventh term and made me our Commonwealth’s longest serving Senator, you did so trusting that I’d keep showing up to fight for you every day. And over the past several weeks, Elaine and I have appreciated both your well wishes and your honest questions about what was keeping me away from the Senate.

“You all know how folks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes with growing older. Even in the public eye, I feel that same instinct – I can’t help it.

“But at the same time, I’ve had more than my share of experience with physical vulnerabilities. Surviving childhood polio meant spending my entire life with mobility challenges. They haven’t exactly gotten easier to manage with age. And last month, I took a fall which landed me in the hospital.

“My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion. I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages. But I was briefly unconscious and was taken to the hospital. While receiving excellent care over the past several weeks, I’ve also had to deal with a mild case of pneumonia.

“I can assure you that I’ve been a good patient. At my age, I tend to do what my doctors tell me to do. I’ve submitted to every test they can think of to help figure out what caused this incident. And I’m continuing to do everything they ask to speed my recovery. In fact, with signs of continued progress, I’ve been able to move from hospital care to a rehabilitation center where I’ll keep regaining my strength.

“As much as it frustrates me, this process takes time. And on the advice of my doctors, I won’t be able to return to the Senate floor to vote quite yet. But rest assured that, in the meantime, I’m not taking a break from the Senate business that matters to you. I’ve been working closely with my legislative staff on current issues, and with my Kentucky team who help me provide timely constituent services across our Commonwealth. I’ve also been keeping in touch with my Senate colleagues on the appropriations process, midterm politics, and everything in between.

“You’re right to expect your representatives to work hard for you. And part of my decision to retire at the end of my term this coming January was being honest about the demands of Senate work. But I still have unfinished business to complete on your behalf, and I have every intention of finishing the job you elected me to do.

“I’ll keep working hard to get back on the Senate floor as soon as possible. And I’ll keep you posted on the progress of my recovery. Until then, I’m so grateful for your prayers and well wishes.”

###

From the Office of the Attending Physician:

“Senator McConnell has experienced several falls throughout the year that have been attributed to his post-polio condition. He was admitted to the hospital four weeks ago after falling at home and sustaining minor injuries.

“A comprehensive evaluation by a multidisciplinary team determined that he had no fractures, cardiac abnormalities, stroke, tumor, or hemorrhage. Early in his hospitalization, he developed pneumonia, which responded rapidly to antibiotic treatment.

“The remainder of his hospital stay focused on physical therapy and strategies to reduce his risk of future falls. He has been medically cleared to continue fully participating in his intensive physical therapy program.”

[Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) @adamscochran]

Imagine for a moment that your heart stopped.

You wake up 3 days later in hospital.

You’re recovering in hospital for the next 3 weeks, but stories of your death start to pop up on the news.

….and not once does any staffer “hey, you should make a statement!”

MEANWHILE:

-Your wife is in China
-Your daughter deletes her Twitter account
-Journalists hound your staffers.

Maybe you look rough.

Maybe you can’t even speak.

But not a tweet?

Not a written statement attributed to your name, that some staffer wrote?

Instead only a “statement from your office”

Why?

If you’re awake and recovering in a bed, why no statement on the rumors of your own death, which staffers have surely seen now?

Unless you are unable to.

And no matter why you are unable to…

…it means you are also unfit to serve.

[SGM Mike Vining @ Blasting Through Official @BlastingThrough]

Thank you to the many followers who showed interest in the Harvey's Wagon Wheel Casino extortion bomb event. I wasn't there, but the FBI briefed me. I was given photos and X-rays. This bomb had 1,000 pounds of dynamite. The X-rays (pictured) are of the top control box. There are a few sticks of dynamite in this box, but most were in the bottom box. They used a five-pound improvised linear shaped charge on the control box with the batteries. That detonated the dynamite, which, in turn, detonated all of the dynamite. Here's a link to the FBI's info on this event. https://t.co/Q1oad8ayZp

[OSINTtechnical @Osinttechnical]

ESA's Sentinel-2 passed over the Sea of Azov this afternoon and saw multiple Russian vessels on fire or leaking fuel/oil after the massive Ukrainian maritime drone strike last night.

[OSINTtechnical @Osinttechnical]

Ukraine appears to be carrying out the largest single-night maritime attack of the war, reportedly hitting 34 Russian ships in the Black/Azov Sea per the SBS's live tracker.

[MWK @Matts_Bytes]

@PeakGonk @armyinformcomua Glad I was not the only one who noticed lol. Definitely a self-propelled gun (artillery). No less lethal though

[OSINTtechnical @Osinttechnical]

Ukrainian attack drones struck another dozen Russian oil/fuel tankers off Crimea overnight.

The Russian Navy has so far been incapable of stopping the attacks at sea, with nearly 40 vessels hit in the last 96 hours.

[OSINTtechnical @Osinttechnical]

Ukrainian farmer hauling away a downed Russian Shahed attack drone with his tractor.

[Christopher Miller @ChristopherJM]

"Dressed in civilian clothes, the pilots sit beneath harsh fluorescent lights, eyes fixed on computer screens, as if working late over spreadsheets.

"But the grids on their monitors are target lists and satellite maps. As they plot each flight before takeoff, a separate unit launches the aircraft more than 200 kilometers (125 miles) away. Control then passes to the pilots in Kharkiv, who fly it for up to four hours more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) behind Russian lines.

"Some who were driven from their hometowns by Russia’s invasion now revisit familiar streets through a drone’s lens, passing old schools and childhood haunts, searching the places where they once played for concealed Russian troops and ammunition depots.

"A whiteboard tracks an ongoing competition among the unit’s 10 drone crews. The current record stands at 17 consecutive hits."

Good field report by @samya_kullab on Ukraine's middle-strike campaign and drone pilots involved:
https://t.co/5OcXq8vZZJ

[Euromaidan Press @EuromaidanPress]

On 4 July, Russia put a single radar plane over Votkinsk. It changed everything for five incoming Ukrainian missiles.

The A-50U's radar, mounted high above the four-engine jet, caught all five Flamingos as they skimmed through river valleys to dodge ground radar.

The Russians shot down every one.

But Russia may have only five of these planes left—no replacement in development. Ukraine may have hit more than half the fleet since 2022.

When the last one's gone, more missiles will get through.
https://t.co/220YVm7YHC

[MAS @massgravel]

There's a lot of misinformation and panic going around about the Windows GDID (Global Device ID), let's talk about what it actually is. 🧵

[vx-underground @vxunderground]

> read court affidavit on ransomware operator
> ransoms multi-billion dollar company
> does it while running Windows 11
> logs into Facebook from that computer
> uses Microsoft Edge

[Mykhailo Fedorov @FedorovMykhailo]

Unique footage of the Auchan Operation—a brilliant asymmetric strike where tech and precision planning halted a Russian mechanized offensive for 6 months.

This deep-rear operation struck 949 targets in just 3 days, forcing Russia to withdraw heavy armor. Recently, we repeated the operation with a newly developed munition specifically targeting enemy artillery, hitting another 231 targets. Across both phases, 1,180 enemy targets were hit.

My sincere thanks to Lasar’s Group of the National Guard of Ukraine, the 412th NEMESIS Unmanned Systems Brigade, and all the other service members who made this operation possible.

[OSINTtechnical @Osinttechnical]

Overnight, Ukrainian attack drones carried out the single largest maritime strike of the war, hitting 8 sanctioned Russian tanker ships, 1 dry cargo vessel, and 1 ferry north of the Kerch Strait.

[Rebs Gaming @Mr_Rebs_]

Michael Maynard, who worked at id Software for 21 years, says roughly 50% of id Software employees were laid off.

Michael says, “Microsoft/XBOX decided half the team was deemed useless…such a waste for an entire team dedicated to excellence for many years…Just really sad that this is how Id Software, the PIONEER/INNOVATOR of FPS action games is relegated to just another "reorganization" of assets.” #Xbox

[Jay in Kyiv @JayinKyiv]

Still getting little coverage, the Russian bond market imploding.

[jon allie @jonallie]

I was recently asked to give some advice to a newly graduated CompSci major who was struggling to find a job. I don't know if the advice I gave him was good, but I'll repeat it here in case it's helpful (presented here in rough order of usefulness).

1. Focus on getting a job, not your dream job. Getting your second job after working in industry is immeasurably easier than getting your first. Most of the jobs I've gotten have been helped along by the personal relationships I've built with co-workers.

2. Look for technical roles at non-technical companies. There is a huge long tail of specialized companies with bespoke processes that can be accelerated with AI, that have historically been underserved by poor quality SAAS vendors.

3. Get good at infrastructure. Even companies that are all-in on AI for development tend to keep humans in the loop for the last mile of deployment, and it's a highly transferrable skill.

4. Interview a lot, even with companies you aren't really interested in. Interviewing is a learned skill that is completely distinct from day-to-day software development, but one that that can be improved with practice. It will also help you improve your soft skills, which are as important to success as technical acumen.

5. If you can, find companies that use take home projects as part of the interview process. Many people are unwilling to do what they consider "unpaid work" (particularly if they already have a job), and so this is a place where persistence and hard work can give you an edge, and one of the few places where being an unemployed new grad with lots of time is actually an advantage.