Ukrainian forces have ramped up their use of “dragon drones” on the battlefield, a tactic that has proven effective for targeting Russian tanks.

Drone Vs. Tank

Originally deployed to incinerate Russian trenches in forested areas, these drones have evolved to destroy armored vehicles, marking a significant development in Ukraine’s drone warfare capabilities, according to WP.

Footage has emerged showing a Russian tank being struck by a guided anti-tank missile, followed by a dragon drone dropping thermite on the disabled vehicle.

This thermite, a mixture of aluminum powder and iron oxide, ignites at extremely high temperatures, often exceeding 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,650 degrees Celsius), making it effective for penetrating tank armor and concrete bunkers.

Arsenal 3-1 Southampton (Havertz 58’, Martinelli 68’, Saka 88’ | Archer 55’)

EMIRATES – It is a strange quirk of the week Arsenal have just enjoyed that over a spell of seven days, three games and nine goals scored, there can still be question marks raised over their creativity.

Indeed had a scare against Southampton not proven short-lived, this might have been a chastening tale of why Mikel Arteta should have been bolder in his initial team selection – but thanks to Bukayo Saka, all this is once again a footnote.

Saka’s goal and two assists blew away any fears about Arsenal’s ability to cope with such an intense run of fixtures while battling a growing injury list. At 23, he now has just one less Premier League goal contribution (91) than Ryan Giggs at the same age. No player in the top five European leagues is matching him for assists this season. Not bad for a player who, in the non-sensical world of football punditry, was the subject of debate this week over whether he is indeed “world-class”.

Arsenal needed it too, with the decision to start Thomas Partey at right-back leaving a central partnership of Jorginho and Declan Rice restricted. If not ultra-conservative, it felt unnecessary against a winless Southampton, and in order to facilitate Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz was then also forced deeper.

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For a brief moment, as Cameron Archer latched onto a ball over the top, beat William Saliba and then David Raya, it might have been fatal. It wasn’t. Predictably, Flynn Downes was dispossessed close to the box, and Kai Havertz raced at Taylor Harwood-Bellis before scoring in his seventh home game in a row.

Amid fears that Jurrien Timber’s absence would render Arsenal immobile down the right, Partey can feel vindicated in his role for the part he played in cutting inside and teeing up Gabriel Martinelli, who narrowly stayed onside to put the ball through Aaron Ramsdale on the goalkeeper’s return to the Emirates.

And when substitute Leandro Trossard raced through to set up Saka for the third, it was a run full of the energy Arsenal had been missing for the previous half an hour.

So Saka’s heroics were only part of the story. Opportunities were always going to come against a Southampton as self-sabotaging as Russell Martin’s but Arsenal still had to be patient.

The defining moment was not one of the goals, but the double substitution that transformed the tone around the hour mark. Jesus and Jorginho off, Trossard and Mikel Merino on. Arsenal desperately needed a goal, but it was one at the other end, and the substitutions that came shortly afterwards, that helped them come alive.

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Arteta was chastised for his initial starting XI, but deserves praise for turning it on its head. Martinelli is an example too to those around him for the manner in which he has revived his career this season.

The question for Arteta now is how much these dry spells bother him when Arsenal are eventually capable of turning on the style spectacularly, just as they did against Leicester City last weekend.

Martin Odegaard is still missed. There is hope he will be fit after the international break, and in the meantime there could be a greater role for Ethan Nwaneri. It is to his immense credit that at 17, so many already see him as the solution to Arsenal’s occasional staleness. But it is Saka who remains the game-changer.

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper weighed in on Israel’s likely response to a barrage of missiles launched by Tehran earlier this week and potential attacks on Iran nuclear facilities, saying it would be a “significant strike.”

“It’ll be a significant strike,” he told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Friday evening. “And the first question will be is what do they want to achieve if they want to go after regime change? And I think they’ll … go into Tehran and they’ll go after the Ayatollah Khomeini, they’ll go after President [Masoud] Pezeshkian, and they’ll go after the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps].”

Esper, who served under the Trump administration, added that Israel’s military would also have to knock out Iran’s command and control centers to prevent communication with the rest of the regime. But, he added, if they were to attack Iran’s nuclear sites, Israel would need to assess the risk of losing some personnel.

“If they want to go after military capabilities and you would look at strategic assets like the nuclear sites that are just south of Tehran and places like Fordow and Iraq and stuff like that, the danger of course, is that you have to go deep into the territory and you may lose a pilot,” the former Defense chief said. “Same thing as if you go up north to Tehran.”

“The other challenge, by the way of going after regime change, the downside is you risk civilian casualties,” Esper said later. “And what you don’t want to do is to have the Iranian people rally around that regime, particularly since it’s so fragile right now, and they’re really not happy with the Iranian regime.”

His comments come after President Biden said earlier this week that he does not support the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) carrying out strikes on Iranian oil or nuclear sites.

GOP defense hawks, however, have disagreed with the president, arguing that nuclear facilities are fair game after Iran launched some 180 missiles at Israel in retaliation for the Israeli military’s killing of top Hezbollah leaders and a recent incursion into Lebanon. The latest attacks come as Israel’s war against Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza nears its one-year anniversary.

Esper said another set of military targets that Israel could target are ballistic missile production sites, storage sites and drone production sites. He added that the IDF could also go after “economic targets.”

“We’ve talked about the 12 to 14 facilities involved in oil refining and manufacturing and distribution, and some are right there on the Gulf Coast,” he said Friday.

Asked if Israel is capable of handling the risk of a wider war in the region if they do retaliate against Iran, Esper said, “I suspect they are.” But, he noted, they would need help from allies, such as the U.S.

“We would need to be there to support them in different ways. Of course, the production of the munitions and other means would be critical. And in some, depending on the operation or some things they need our assistance on,” he said.

But I believe they will. I suppose they’ve been preparing this for a long time. And look, this is quite a change in a strategic situation,” he continued. “We haven’t seen this ever really. But the simple fact that Hamas is now on its knees, it’s nearly decimated.”

He added that Hezbollah too is “on the ropes” after Israel took out much of its leadership.

“That was really always the counterpunch, the right hook that Iran had in its back pocket in case Israel ever attacked Iran, and now they’re gone,” he said. “So, what does Iran have left to respond with if Israel hits back really hard? Another salvo of ballistic missiles.”

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, defended Iran’s attack, which was thwarted quickly by Israel’s Iron Dome, in a rare speech Friday, arguing it was “correct, logical, and lawful.”

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.

JUST in case it’s not ingrained in your memory – Porridge Week starts tomorrow.

Oats are a versatile, good-value food, and there are many different ways to enjoy them.

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Give these delicious recipes a try . . . 

WEIGH IT UP: Gram for gram, porridge oats make one of the best value breakfasts at under 5p a serving — half the price of supermarket own-brand cornflakes.

A morning bowl can be jazzed up with syrup, brown sugar, thawed-out frozen ­berries, banana, seeds or nuts.

SMOOTHIE OPERATOR: Use frozen berries and oats to make a tasty, healthy smoothie. Blend with milk and yoghurt for a filling drink that will release energy throughout the morning.

OH CRUMBS: Make a spicy, crispy crumb to coat around 400g of chicken or fish fillets for four people.

Use a mixer to whizz up 150g oats with two tablespoons of oil and a teaspoon each of herbs and spices — try oregano, paprika and garlic granules.

Dip the fillets in a dish of flour to cover, then in whisked egg, and follow with the oat crumb, before frying.

FLIP DON’T FLAP: For a simple flapjack swap, make some easy oat biscuits.

Use 100g each of oats, flour, sugar and butter. Mix the oats and flour with a teaspoon of mixed spice. Melt the sugar and butter with a tablespoon of honey.

Mix together and cool slightly before shaping into balls. Place on a baking sheet, press down slightly, then bake at 180C for 15 to 20 minutes.

BURGER BOOST: Beef up your burgers by adding some oats. You can mix around 400g of minced beef or turkey with 80g oats. Stir in a finely chopped and fried onion, then add a dash of salt, pepper and garlic granules.

Bind the mixture together with a beaten egg — add a bit at a time until you get the right consistency, where the mixture holds together without being too wet. Form into patties and gently fry.

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State of the Free Press 2024 in the News

State of the Free Press 2024, the 31st edition of the Project’s award-winning yearbook series, officially released on December 5, 2023. You can ask for it at your favorite local bookstore or order a copy directly from Project Censored.

The Teaching Guide, authored by Shealeigh Voitl, Mischa Geracoulis, and Andy Lee Roth, is available at no charge from the Project website. Designed by Shealeigh Voitl, the Guide includes topics for discussion and exploration activities on different types of censorship, Junk Food News, and book bans, among others.

On November 16, 2023, Andy Lee Roth, coeditor of the yearbook, appeared on Corporations and Democracy, hosted by Annie Esposito and Steve Scalmanini and broadcast by KZYX, community radio for Mendocino County. They discussed the legacy of Daniel Ellsberg, establishment media bias in coverage of Israeli violence in Gaza, and how to avoid the pitfalls of  news “deserts” and news “snacking.”

The New England chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists hosted Andy Lee Roth for a webinar on State of the Free Press 2024, on December 4th. The SPJ’s Loretta McGraw and Roth discussed the Project’s early history, its 21st-century definition of censorship, and the story selection process. The event is archived on the New England SPJ chapter’s YouTube channel. Special thanks to Adam Sennott and Saraya Wintersmith of SPJ-New England for making this event possible.

Sonali Kolhatkar of YES! Presents Rising Up With Sonali hosted Andy Lee Roth on December 5th. They discussed several of the year’s top stories, as featured in State of the Free Press 2024, including union victories led by workers of color, wrongful convictions rooted in systemic racism, and the relocation of tribal communities due to climate change. Find the interview archived here.

Mnar Adley, editor-in-chief of MintPress News, hosted an online panel discussion on December 14th with Mickey Huff, Coleen Rowley, and Alan MacLeod (who wrote the foreword for State of the Free Press 2024). They discussed “Gaza Genocide Day 69 & Western Media Complicity,” which included conversations about media censorship, atrocity propaganda, and the importance of independent journalists who risk their lives cutting through the fog of war.

New Validated Independent News Stories Posted

Photo by Wavebreakmedia via Canva.

The latest Validated Independent News stories focus on education, including independent news reporting on school hospital programs that bridge education and student recovery, schools in Idaho struggling to secure resources necessary to provide safe, nurturing learning environments, and the challenges undocumented teachers face—stories identified and vetted by students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst working with Allison Butler.

Validated Independent News stories report information and perspective that the public has a right and need to know, but to which it has limited access.

The Censored Press Happenings

Along with graphic memoirists Ajuan Mance (Gender Studies: The Confessions of an Accidental Outlaw), Tyler Cohen (Primazonia), Leah Yael Levy (Israel 2023—WTF?!), and comics maker/educator Nick Sousanis (Unflattening), Adam Bessie and Peter Glanting, author and illustrator of Going Remote: A Teacher’s Journey, were part of the Comic Reading Extravaganza at Silver Sprocket comic shop in San Francisco, December 2, 2023.

Nolan Higdon’s article, Seeing Isn’t Believing: From Gaza to US Politics, Deepfake Videos Are Peddling Fake News, was published by USA Today on November 27, 2023. Higdon is the author of The Anatomy of Fake News, and coauthor of United States of Distraction, Let’s Agree to Disagree, and The Media and Me.

Four of the authors of The Media and Me—Allison Butler, Nolan Higdon, Mickey Huff, and Andy Lee Roth, along with Micah Card, who authored the book’s accompanying resource guide —participated in a panel on critical media literacy at the UNESCO DCMÉT Symposium on Peace, Culture, and Social Justice, which took place at the University of Quebec and online, October 25-27, 2023. A video recording of their session, titled “Teaching Critical Media Literacy as a Liberatory Project,” is now available on the UNESCO DCMÉT YouTube channel. This panel focused on critical media literacy as one direct way to promote students’ civic engagement and social justice commitments, thus contributing indirectly to the creation of a more equitable, peaceful world.

Andy Lee Roth and Mickey Huff, editors of State of the Free Press 2024, published How Corporate Media Helped Lay the Groundwork for Israel’s Genocide in Gaza in Truthout on December 2, 2023.

Roth also authored “Countering War Propaganda with Critical Media Literacy,” which appears in the Fall 2023 issue of Justice Rising, the flagship publication of the Alliance for Democracy.

In The Attack against the Freedom to Read and What to Do about It, Steve Macek provides a concise overview of the dramatic wave of book bans in public and K-12 school libraries. His article focuses in particular on legislation in Florida, which he describes as “a gulag for young minds,” and censorship campaigns by Moms for Liberty—as well as resistance to these bans by libraries and librarians, educators and teachers unions, and, most of all, students themselves. “Students are taking the lead in organizing against restrictions,” Macek reports.

Andy Lee Roth and Mickey Huff authored Navigating the News Void: From News Deserts to Revitalization, which draws from their introduction to State of the Free Press 2024. They call for a new generation of muckraking journalism, which received keen public attention one hundred years ago, as one way to renew popular interest in journalism today.

Find the complete archives of Project Censored’s Dispatches on Media and Politics series here.

The Project Censored Show

Photo from Canva by South Agency

November 30: The Stranglehold of Silence: Suppression of Free Speech in the Israel/Palestine Conflict, with James Bamford, interviewed by Eleanor Goldfield; and Peter Byrne, interviewed by Mickey Huff.

December 11: Media Censorship and Attacks on Press Freedoms: Genocide in Gaza, Julian Assange, with Abby Martin and Kevin Gosztola, interviewed by Mickey Huff.

December 13: Exposing the Jewish National Fund and Radioactive Fracking, with Abdullah Elagha and Justin Nobel, interviewed by Eleanor Goldfield.

Follow the links for each episode to learn more about the Show’s featured guests and content. Find the comprehensive archive of Project Censored Show episodes here.

Support from monthly subscribers and generous donors helps sustain all of the Project’s programs, from hands-on training in critical media literacy through our student internship program, to publication of the annual Censored yearbook, and weekly production of the Project Censored Show. We thank you for your support.