Category Archives
Safe, Sound, Secure
Nat'l Security
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Dolphins or SEALS?
Flipper to the rescue! The military is showing off how dolphins and sea lions could be used to protect against terrorist attacks at a California exhibition. Officials say the mammals can do things like detect mines on the ocean floor and alert their human counterparts when a “saboteur” is approaching underwater. Dolphins have been used by the military since the 1970s but officials say their expertise could add a unique cadre of skills to the Department of Homeland Security. [San Francisco Chronicle]
Posted 2:06 PM | Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 | Permalink
Source: flickr/DrAkomodi
No Mo Money!
Secretary Robert Gates to Congress: Don't give the Pentagon any more money for the C-17 cargo plane or the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, we don't want 'em. Congress to Sec Gates: No thanks. We're going to give you more money for C-17s and F-35s. Gates to Congress: I will urge the President to veto any spending bills that contain money for the C-17 or the F-35. Congress to Gates: Bring it on. We're giving you the money. [Washington Post]
Posted 3:49 PM | Monday, May 17th, 2010 | Permalink
Farm Team
In the wake of the passage of the Arizona immigration law, this is an interesting article about one family’s fight to save their family farm. The Department of Homeland Security wants to buy the land in northern Vermont and do an extensive, $8 million renovation because it says the border crossing provides easy access for terrorists. But the family says they need to land to raise hay for their cattle. Residents say the plan is another example of unnecessary government spending because the checkpoint is used mostly by ‘locals crossing to visit relatives, play hockey, or shop.” At its busiest, about three car go through the Morses Line check point every hour. The government has told the family if they don’t sell their property, it will be seized under eminent domain. [Boston Globe]
Posted 3:11 PM | Monday, May 17th, 2010 | Permalink
Troops Post War
According to new data released by the Pentagon, more U.S. troops were hospitalized for mental health disorders in 2009 than any other reason. The data reflects the toll nearly nine years of war can take on a soldier. Last year was the first in which hospitalizations for mental disorders outpaced those for injuries or pregnancies in the 15 years of tracking by the Pentagon's Medical Surveillance Monthly report. [USA Today]
Posted 9:33 AM | Friday, May 14th, 2010 | Permalink
Source: flickr/US Army Korea
Wars Cost
The cost of the war in Afghanistan has now surpassed the cost of the war in Iraq for the first time. US taxpayers paid nearly $6.7 billion for the Afghan war in February, as opposed to $5.5 billion for the war in Iraq. The total cost for the two wars is now approaching $1 trillion. Keeping U.S. forces in Afghanistan is more expensive because the country is landlocked and it is harder to transport supplies. [Raw Story]
Posted 10:30 AM | Thursday, May 13th, 2010 | Permalink
I’m going to need to see your ID
The Georgia state senate recently approved a measure that would allow veterans suffering from PTSD to have their condition printed on their driver’s licenses. The new law, which still has to be signed by the governor, would make Georgia the first state to indicate a health condition, other than poor eyesight, on a license. The declaration is voluntary and was suggested by a veteran suffering from PTSD who told lawmakers, “God forbid anybody put handcuffs on me. I’d go berserk.” Critics say they doubt that many people “will want their PTSD diagnosis put on display when they present their driver’s licenses to cash a check, buy alcohol, board an airplane or face a traffic cop.” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
Posted 3:52 PM | Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 | Permalink
Source: flickr/US Army Korea
Expressing Gratitude
A day before meeting with President Obama, Afghan President Hamid Karzai paid an emotional visit to U.S. soldiers injured fighting in Afghanistan. The Afghan president expressed his gratitude to the soldiers on a visit to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. "To see those young American soldiers, some with very young babies and children, one who just lost both legs the other who lost both arms and legs, it is really painful experience, an extremely painful wound for me," said Mr. Karzai. Karzai is in the U.S. for four days of talks aimed at repairing rocky relations between Kabul and Washington. [BBC]
Posted 8:57 AM | Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 | Permalink
Troop Hunters
Other than patrolling or walking around for a few hours a day, there is little for troops to do except watch movies or work out at a gym. So what do troops do to rid themselves of boredom? They hunt snakes, of course. Tracking down snakes in the countryside of Afghanistan is a favorite pastime for troops, one that provides education, entertainment or even a quick meal. "Deployments are always 99 percent extreme boredom and one percent sheer terror," said Spc. Chris Stoughton, a 28-year-old machine gunner with the platoon currently based at Strong Point Ghundy Ghar in Zhari district. [CBS News]
Posted 10:50 AM | Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 | Permalink
Terrorist Treason
Newly minted Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown has introduced some controversial legislation in the wake of the attempted bomb plot in Times Square. He wants Americans who “supported or joined a terrorist group” to be stripped of their American citizenship. The rule would apply to natural-born and naturalized citizens. Critics, including many of Brown’s colleagues, say the proposed bill to leave suspected terrorists as citizens of nowhere “is at odds with a half-century of Supreme Court precedents that ruled that citizenship can be relinquished only voluntarily.” [Boston Globe]
Posted 2:10 PM | Friday, May 7th, 2010 | Permalink
Source: flickr/Steve Rhodes
Fox News “Confusion”
You've probably seen it by now. VoteVets has a powerful new ad tying national security to our appetite for oil. The ad points out that the IEDs that are killing our soldiers in Iraq are financed in part by money from oil-rich Iran, so Congress must pass a new energy policy to "cut oil profits for hostlile nations." The ad is running on CNN. The ad is running on MSNBC. Fox News, however, is refusing to run the ad. Why? A Fox sales executive, Mike Mandelker, claims it's because the commercial is "too confusing." [Politico]
Posted 5:53 PM | Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 | Permalink
Run For Your Life
New York wasn’t the only city with a bomb scare this weekend. Runners taking part in the Pittsburgh Marathon were rerouted after police spotted “suspicious contents” inside a microwave on the race path. After officials determined that the contents was not a bomb, the investigation was re-focused to determine who put the appliance on the street. Police have not said what was inside the microwave but have hinted that it was more sinister than just some forgotten leftovers. [Post-Gazette]
Posted 3:11 PM | Monday, May 3rd, 2010 | Permalink
Going Viral
In a video that went viral this week, a group of American soldiers created a homeage to Lady Gaga's "Telephone" music video. The soldiers, who are currently stationed at a military base in southwest Afghanistan, lip-synced a version of Lady Gaga's hit "Telephone." The video was filmed recently inside what appears to be a garage at the Forward Operating Base in Farah Province. Now the soldiers are fighting back saying the video was intended to be for "a couple of our friends and family" and that "nobody in the video would like any further media coverage." It may be a bit too late for that. [The Smoking Gun]
Posted 9:36 AM | Friday, April 30th, 2010 | Permalink
War Is Hell
According to a new Pentagon report, violence in Afghanistan is up nearly 90 percent from this time last year. A major factor in the new violence statistics is the reported 240 percent spike in roadside bomb attacks and increasing Taliban tactics to discredit President Hamid Karzai's government with shadow governments. Still, despite these reports, some officials said they are seeing encouraging trends. "We have the beginnings of the potential for real change," said a senior U.S. defense official who's closely involved with the administration's Afghanistan strategy. [CNN]
Posted 9:43 AM | Thursday, April 29th, 2010 | Permalink
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“Panapoly Of Drugs”
The Army Surgeon General Eric Schoomaker said Tuesday he's concerned about the over-medication of U.S. troops returning from combat, saying "we're very concerned about the panoply of drugs that are being used and the numbers of drugs that are being used." Today one out of every six service members is on a psychiatric drug; 15% of returning soldiers say they've abused a prescription drug within the past month. [Agence France-Presse]
Posted 5:48 PM | Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 | Permalink
Follow-Up
Yesterday, we told you about the Pentagon's controversial plan to have evangelist Franklin Graham (known for calling the religion of Islam "evil" and "wicked") as a featured guest at the national day of prayer. Today, the Army revoked that invitation. It's a delicate time for the military when it comes to religion, as the military has faced increased tensions with the local population in Afghanistan over the perception that the United States is there to carry out a Christian extremist mission [AP]
Posted 6:12 PM | Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 | Permalink
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