Posts Tagged ‘Military’
The Secret War Against Afghanistan’s Space Invaders
If only it was like a video game…
Lauren Davis writes on io9.com:
Adam Richardson has added pixelated alien invaders to actual war photos from Iraq and Afghanistan. And when the Space Invaders descend on a war zone, they find that they have more to contend with more than laser cannons.
The Real Deficit Hawks: Where’s the Outrage Over the Defense Budget?
David Sirota writes on Salon:
Let’s say you’re a congressperson or “tea party” leader looking to champion deficit reduction — a cause 38 percent of Americans tell pollsters they support. And let’s say you’re deciding whether to back two pieces of imminent legislation.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the first bill’s spending provisions cost $100 billion annually and its tax and budget-cutting provisions recoup $111 billion annually, thus reducing total federal expenditures by $11 billion each year. The second bill proposes $636 billion in annual spending and recoups nothing. Over 10 years, the first bill would spend $1 trillion and recover $1.11 trillion — a fantastic return on taxpayer investment. Meanwhile, the second bill puts us on a path to spend $6.3 trillion in the same time.
Save $110 billion, or…
Suicides in U.S. Army Are on Track to Reach New High
Tony Capaccio reports for Bloomberg:
The number of suicides among active- duty U.S. Army troops this year reached 133 in October, 18 more than in the same period last year and putting the service within reach of a new annual high.
The 133 reported suicides, including the National Guard and Reserves, between January and October compared with 115 during the same period in 2008 when the service recorded 140 by year’s end, an annual record, the Army said in a statement.
The rate of suicide within the Army last year was 20.2 per 100,000 personnel, exceeding for the first time the age-adjusted rate in the civilian population, which was 19.2, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. The institute has paired with the Army to undertake the biggest study ever of suicide…
U.S. Military Listened for Messages from Mars
On the fascinating site Letters of Note:
Here’s a 1924 telegram from then Chief of U.S. Naval Operations, Edward W. Eberle, instructing all Naval stations to monitor the airwaves for any unusual transmissions due to anticipated contact from Martians. August 22nd of that year was witness to the closest Mars opposition since 1804 (a mere 55,777,566 km), and as such provided desirable conditions in which to receive radio signals from the Red Planet. The man tasked with clearing the airwaves — a Professor David Todd — somehow managed to persuade both the Army and Navy to report any findings for a three day period, but failed to silence the country’s private radio broadcasters for even two days. Needless to say, the three day exercise produced nothing but static.
Texas Governor Says There Were Three Shooters At Fort Hood
Texas Gov. Rick Perry comments on the Ft. Hood shooting and surprisingly says there were three shooters…
Fort Hood Gunman Shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ (Video)
CBS News’ Harry Smith spoke with Lt. Gen. Bob Cone, the Fort Hood Base Commander, about what happened during the deadly shooting. He says that witnesses reported that mad gunman Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan shouted “Allahu Akbar!” before unleashing the bloody rampage.
The Real Psychic Soldier Behind The Men Who Stare at Goats
Lauren Davis writes on io9.com:
When Jim Channon authored the First Earth Battalion manual, he was hoping to bring warfare into a more humane, modern age. In a new series of columns, he talks about the film and why harnessing the paranormal is so important.
Jon Ronson, who wrote the book The Men Who Stare at Goats, has taken over the Guardian’s film section this week, and asked former Lieutenant Colonel Jim Channon, one of the inspirations behind The Men Who Stare at Goats, write a few columns about the film and his ideas. Channon authored the First Earth Battalion manual, which proposed that the US Army modernize warfare by looking toward the human potential movement. Channon suggested engaging the enemy with positive vibrations and offerings of peace, but also suggested that…
U.S. Military Tracking 1,300 Satellites For Collisions
Reuters is reporting that:
The U.S. military said on Tuesday it is now tracking 800 maneuverable satellites on a daily basis for possible collisions and expects to add 500 more non-maneuvering satellites by year’s end.
The U.S. Air Force began upgrading its ability to predict possible collisions in space after a dead Russian military communications satellite and a commercial U.S. satellite owned by Iridium collided on Feb. 10.
General Kevin Chilton, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, called the collision the “seminal event” in the satellite industry during the past year and said it destroyed any sense that space was so vast that collisions were highly improbable.
He said military officials had wanted to do more thorough analysis of possible collisions in space, but had lacked the resources. Before the collision, he said they were tracking…
Man Finds ‘Missile Launcher’ in His Backyard
John Tedesco writes on the San Antonio Express-News:
Jarrette Schule was cutting down trees on his rural property Tuesday in Comal County when he noticed a green metallic tube on the muddy ground. “I had never seen it before,” said Schule, a 34-year-old Web developer. “I looked at it, and it kind of looked like a missile launcher.”
Schule took a closer look. It was a long, forest-green metal tube. A decal on it read: “Guided Missile and Launcher, Surface Attack.” The discovery was the start of a surreal journey for Schule. Somehow, an unarmed anti-tank weapon — or a very good fake — wound up on his land at Beck Road and Kirk Lane in the Hill Country, miles away from a military installation.
The launcher was deep in the wooded property…
Remote-Controlled, “Cyborg” Flying Insects Exist: The Goal is the Ultimate Spy
Creepy, really brings the expression “a fly on the wall” to life. Ewen Callaway reports in New Scientist:
It’s tempting to call them lords of the flies. For the first time, researchers have controlled the movements of free-flying insects from afar, as if they were tiny remote-controlled aircraft.
By connecting electrodes and radio antennas to the nervous systems of beetles, the researchers were able to make them take off, dive and turn on command. The cyborg insects were created at the University of California, Berkeley, by engineers led by Hirotaka Sato and Michel Maharbiz as part of a programme funded by the Pentagon’s Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
The project’s goal is to create fully remote-controlled insects able to perform tasks such as looking for survivors after a disaster, or acting as the ultimate spy. (Read more on New Scientist)
Anti-Leak Government Document Leaked
Nigel Constantine writes on TG Daily:
There is more embarrassment for the UK Ministry of Defence after a document about how to avoid leaks of documents was leaked onto the internet.
The British Government has been having problems with leaks since the dawn of time, particularly after an embarrassing scandal over expenses claims. According to the Daily Mail, the security manual which sets out tactics for preventing Chinese and Russian intelligence services from using blackmail or hi-tech gadgets to obtain sensitive information was unfortunately published online. It describes methods of countering the threat from ’subversive or terrorist organisations’ and those terrible investigative journalists who refuse to type out what the government hands them in press releases.
The UK MoD Manual of Security, which contains the UK military protocol for security and counter-intelligence operations,…
Militarism, War, and Dictatorship
Nick P at Black Sun Gazette
There is a clear trajectory of the American ruling class away from normal, democratic rule. Increasingly, over the last fifteen years, there has been a tendency to move towards naked authoritarianism. I have spoken on Black Sun Gazette repeatedly on the subject of nascent American fascism. While I don’t wish to downplay the significance of obviously fascist figures such as Glenn Beck receiving a hearing in the mainstream media, perhaps this is not the form that dictatorship in the United States will take when democratic norms finally collapse. Indeed, America’s history is arguably closer to and more intimately intertwined with that of Latin America. Perhaps the model for the catastrophic end of American democracy is not the lumpen thugs of Europe, but the Latin American military strong…
