China: Keep Them Weak

"China is trying to keep north and south Korea from going to war over North Korea sinking a South Korean warship with a secret (North Korea won't admit responsibility) torpedo attack. Overall, China wants the two Koreas to remain quiet, and not united. A war could bring unity, most likely with the south absorbing the north. China does not want that. Moreover, such a conflict would send millions of refugees across the border into northern China, where the economy and public order would be disrupted. China wants North Korea to stay independent, and become more self-sufficient via economic reforms China has been using for three decades. But the North Koreans refuse, and grow increasingly paranoid, violent and unpredictable. China has, for centuries, preferred a weak Korea. A divided Korea, even with a prosperous and dynamic south, suits China just fine. But South Korea has become a major trading partner with China, and is demanding that China pressure North Korea to at least admit its role in the torpedo attack."

Special Operations: The McChrystal Rules

"In Afghanistan, this means the operations around Helmand province, and the nearby city of Kandahar, will be more about local politics, than fighting the Taliban. Fact is, fighting the Taliban has never been difficult. Despite their fearsome reputation, Afghans with guns are not particularly dangerous to trained soldiers. Most of the Russian troops sent in during the 1980s were poorly trained, and inexperienced, conscripts. But the professional Russian troops (airborne and special operations), tore up the Afghan warriors. The Russians were not chased out of Afghanistan, they just got tired of killing Afghans and left. Plus, Russia was sliding towards insolvency back home."

Infantry: Wake Up Call

"Since France and Germany loosened up their ROE (Rules of Engagement) in the last year, and allowed their troops to more readily engage Taliban gunmen, there has been a lot more combat for them. Before the ROE change, the Taliban generally ignored the German and French troops, knowing that these foreigners would not interfere with Taliban terrorism operations, and would not even fire unless the Taliban fired on the foreign troops first. But now that the French and Germans can go after any Taliban they spot (or suspect they've spotted), the Taliban have become much more aggressive against the French and Germans.
This led to the Germans and French discovering that they were not really equipped or trained to deal with the Taliban. The Americans, British, Canadians, Dutch and Australians made it all look so easy."

Murphy's Law: Iraq Fades But Does Not Disappear

"U.S. troops in Iraq have not been allowed to do much lately. A year ago, Iraq insisted that as of last July 1st, most of the 130,000 U.S. troops there remain on their 300 bases. Many American commanders concluded that there was no longer much need for a large U.S. force in Iraq. The enemy was not completely destroyed, and the Iraqi government was still corrupt and dysfunctional. But this is a common situation in this part of the world. It's a rough neighborhood. The feeling was that the Iraqis would get by on their own. Mission accomplished.
This was always the plan. It is, in fact, the standard approach to these situations. Once the enemy is defeated, and a new (friendly, or at least less hostile and warlike) government is able to defend itself, you go home. After World War II, the U.S. kept troops in Japan and Germany long after the fighting stopped, only because there was a new enemy (communist dictatorships) next door. But the Iraqis are content to depend on U.S. forces based in Kuwait next door. The Kuwaitis are glad to have the American presence, because many Iraqis still believe that Kuwait should be part of Iraq."

Counter-Terrorism: From Russia With Desperate Urgency

"Russia has been a lot more helpful to NATO forces in Afghanistan lately, especially if it involves fighting the Afghan drug gangs. All that heroin coming out of Afghanistan has created over 2.5 million heroin and opium addicts in Russia. Each year, 30,000 Russians die from drug related problems (usually overdoses). Russia would like NATO to cripple Afghan heroin production as soon as possible, and regularly criticizes NATO for not doing enough against the drug gangs. To that end, Russia is supply lots of high grade intelligence on the drug gangs, especially their connections with drug operations (that distribute the drugs locally, and smuggle it on to more distant markets) in neighboring countries. Russian intelligence has been all over the drug gangs for years now, and they have access that Western intelligence agencies lack. Russia wants the U.S. Treasury Department to use its well known influence on the world financial system, to go after the vast fortunes the drug gangs have acquired. But more importantly, Russia wants NATO to target the labs in rural Afghanistan that turn opium into heroin. Russia is also providing information on those who smuggle the chemicals needed to make those labs work. Russia wants some action, and it wants it fast."

Iran: No Man Is Left Behind

"But one form of sanctions would have a significant impact. If new sanctions prohibited investments in the Iranian oil industry, Iranian efforts to get foreign companies to bid on $200 billion in oil field development contracts (over the next five years), would collapse. Without someone, who has the technical skills and proper equipment, to develop the oil fields, Iranian production will sharply decline, and so would the oil revenue the religious dictatorship uses to reward its supporters. But Iran is certain that China will block UN approved sanctions, and be available to bid on those contracts, and do the work. Meanwhile, Russia is willing to go along with sanctions, as long as it can continue to sell Iran 'defensive weapons' (like the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system.) Meanwhile, Western nations have intensified their detection, arrest and prosecution of smugglers trying to obtain weapons technology for Iran. This angers Russia and China, which see Iran as a legitimate customer for this stuff."

Space: X-37B Sneaks Around In Plain Sight

"What makes the X-37B so useful is that it is very maneuverable, contains some internal sensors (as well as communications gear), and can carry mini-satellites, or additional sensors, in the payload bay. Using a remotely controlled arm, the X-37B could refuel or repair other satellites. But X-37B is a classified project, with few details about its payload or mission (other than testing the system on its first mission), future missions will involve intelligence work, and perhaps servicing existing spy satellites (which use up their fuel to change their orbits.)"

Tommy Lee Jones Confirmed for Captain America

"As rumored, Tommy Lee Jones will act in Captain America: The First Avenger in a still-unknown role. Hayley Atwell, who plays Peggy Carter in the Joe Johnston-directed comic book adaptation, confirmed the news to LeicesterSquareTV. You can watch their interview with Atwell using the player below. They start talking about 'Captain America' around the 2:20 mark.

Rumors place the 'Men in Black' star in the part of General Chester Phillips, the military officer who chooses Steve Rogers for the super soldier program and who aided in his training soon after the serum took effect."

US money supply plunges at 1930s pace as Obama eyes fresh stimulus - Telegraph

For additional perspective, consider that the National Debt topped $13 trillion this week and GDP is ~$14 trillion. We owe, not only almost as much as we produce in a year, but we owe almost as much money as actually exists in the world.: "The stock of money fell from $14.2 trillion to $13.9 trillion in the three months to April, amounting to an annual rate of contraction of 9.6pc. The assets of insitutional money market funds fell at a 37pc rate, the sharpest drop ever."

Two more Census workers blow the whistle - NYPOST.com

"Last week, one of the millions of workers hired by Census 2010 to parade around the country counting Americans blew the whistle on some statistical tricks.
The worker, Naomi Cohn, told The Post that she was hired and fired a number of times by Census. Each time she was hired back, it seems, Census was able to report the creation of a new job to the Labor Department."

John Kerry Says Voter Anger at Washington Is Hypocritical - Washington Whispers (usnews.com)

John Kerry to American public: "Bless you're hearts, you're stupid.: "'I think there's a comprehension gap,' said Kerry. His point: While people may not be feeling the benefits of the bailouts and healthcare reform yet, Congress has been working with Obama to right the economic ship. Still, he sounded sympathetic to those kicked around by the economy. 'There's a sense of some things unraveling' to them, said Kerry."

Arizona Gets Border Soldiers; None for Texas | NBC Dallas-Fort Worth

"Arizona got a response. Texas is still waiting for an answer.
After repeated requests for help, President Barack Obama has agreed to send 1,200 National Guard troops to Arizona's border with Mexico. But so far, the president hasn't responded to Texas' request for assistance.
Gov. Rick Perry has sent letters to Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano requesting National Guard troops for the Texas-Mexico border."

Where Has the Magic Gone? - WSJ.com

Re: Global Warmism: "Imagine popular children's fables retold by Times reporter Elisabeth Rosenthal: Anguished weavers gathered to ponder the sudden shift in fashion by subjects who only recently thought the emperor was wearing a splendid suit of clothes. If the boy still says there is a wolf, why have so many farmers turned away from the idea that the sheep are in danger?"

Lawmaker: Obama to send 1,200 troops to border

Operation Jump Start in teh last administration was just a PR stunt. This, doesn't even qualify as a bandaid: "The Obama administration plans to announce Tuesday that it will send as many as 1,200 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to improve border security, an Arizona congresswoman said.
Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords also said in a statement released Tuesday that President Barack Obama will request $500 million in funding for border security.
Part of Giffords' district borders Mexico."

Obama administration backs Vatican in pedophile case

"The Obama administration in a brief to the Supreme Court has backed the Vatican's claim of immunity from lawsuits arising from cases of sexual abuse by priests in the United States.
The Supreme Court is considering an appeal by the Vatican of an appellate court ruling that lifted its immunity in the case of an alleged pedophile priest from Oregon.
In a filing on Friday, the solicitor general's office argued that the Ninth Circuit court of appeals erred in allowing the lawsuit brought by a man who claims he was sexually abused in the 1960s by the Oregon priest."

Battle for Kandahar, Heart of Afghanistan's Taliban Country - ABC News

"Over the next few months the U.S. presence in Kandahar will crescendo into Operation Hamkari Baraye Kandahar -- 'Cooperation for Kandahar' -- an attempt to protect residents from insurgents and provide them with a functioning government. It will feature tens of thousands of American troops and hundreds of civilians, the single largest operation since the war began."

Private pay shrinks to historic lows as gov't payouts rise - USATODAY.com

"Paychecks from private business shrank to their smallest share of personal income in U.S. history during the first quarter of this year, a USA TODAY analysis of government data finds.
At the same time, government-provided benefits — from Social Security, unemployment insurance, food stamps and other programs — rose to a record high during the first three months of 2010.
Those records reflect a long-term trend accelerated by the recession and the federal stimulus program to counteract the downturn. The result is a major shift in the source of personal income from private wages to government programs."

Morale: The Few, The Fallen, The Never Forgotten

"But 1991 turned out to be the beginning, not the end, of casualty reduction. Then came Iraq. People in the Pentagon, and military historians, were shocked at the low casualty rate of U.S. troops during the 2003 invasion. The casualties (killed, wounded missing) per division per day were about SEVEN.
The worst day, for American combat casualties in modern warfare, was June 6, 1944. This was D-Day, the allied invasion of France. On that day, 73,000 U.S. troops landed (most over the beach, but 20 percent by parachute and glider), and 2,499 (3.4 percent) died within 24 hours."

Information Warfare: Army Forces Cyber Command

It's about freaking time: "The U.S. Army, following the example of the air force and navy, has established a Cyber War operation. Some 21,000 soldiers are being pulled from a large variety of signal and intelligence outfits, to form Cyber War units. ARFORCYBER (Army Forces Cyber Command) will be in operation by the end of the year, with its headquarters at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. The army, navy and air force Cyber War commands are part of the larger U.S. CYBERCOM, which the Department of Defense is using to defend against network based threats."

Peacekeeping: Death From Below

"Meanwhile, the UN is having trouble getting more troops for its peacekeeping force. While the casualties have something to do with this, corruption, and lack of success, are more often discouraging countries from contributing their troops. The corruption angle is interesting, as it pertains both to the corruption within the UN bureaucracy, and the corrupt atmosphere the peacekeepers operate in, and often succumb to. Casualties are expected, but the contributing countries feel a lot of their troop losses are the result of restrictive UN rules that limit what peacekeepers can do. This, in turn, is believed most responsible for a lack of success for the peacekeeping missions."

Afghanistan: Putting On A Show

"Although the Taliban claim to be the enemy of corruption and violence, they cannot exist without either. Most Afghans recognize this, which is why the Taliban are so unpopular, and really only a threat in one small part of the country (Kandahar and Helmand provinces, where most Taliban come from). The Taliban bribe who they can, and terrorize the rest. These are classic Afghan tactics, and everyone from warlords to bandits uses them. What makes the Taliban unique is the religious angle, and the use of a drug gang alliance to raise cash. The Taliban use religion as another form of terror. Threatening people for not being Islamic enough is easy to do in Afghanistan, where religion has always been worn lightly, but not ignored entirely."

Special Report: How the White House learned to love the drone | Reuters

"Killing wanted militants is simply 'easier' than capturing them, said an official, who like most interviewed for this story support the stepped-up program and asked not to be identified. Another official added: 'It is increasingly the preferred option.'
An analysis of data provided to Reuters by U.S. government sources shows that the CIA has killed around 12 times more low-level fighters than mid-to-high-level al Qaeda and Taliban leaders since the drone strikes intensified in the summer of 2008."

Special Operations: Afghans Create A-Teams

"There were some unique problems in training the Afghan Special Forces candidates. Unlike the United States, there is a much wider social gulf between officers and NCOs in Afghanistan. But for Special Forces to work, there has to be very close cooperation between officers and NCOs. The Special Forces training appears to have solved this, even if it was done by convincing the Afghan officers that this kind of closeness was a special technique unique to Special Forces operations, and essential for A-Teams to succeed. But ten officer candidates dropped out because this kind of relationship with NCOs was too much for them to handle."

John M. Shalikashvili - Congress should repeal 'don't ask, don't tell' and let the Pentagon do the rest

"By contrast, the 'repeal only' option would leave to the Pentagon any questions about the possibility, content and timing of policy changes, while eliminating the law that straitjackets military leaders' ability to craft the most sensible policy. Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who also signed the letter, wrote that they 'oppose any legislation that seeks to change this policy prior to the completion' of the study. But repeal-only, without language instructing the Pentagon on what to do, would not impose change on the military. Rather, it would allow the Defense Department to study and implement the change as the military deems fit, while fully respecting the review that is underway."

Spanish paper: Obama driving off ‘green energy’ cliff | Washington Examiner

"Green energy is 120 percent more expensive, simply due to the extra costs of solar and wind, and the evolution of the market is not going to bring down those costs any time soon.
The clean energy sector is slated to receive 126 billion euros in the next 25 years, but no one knows where the money is going to come from . In 2009, the subsidies were worth 5 billion euros.
Photovoltaic solar power accounts for 53 percent of the extra cost of renewables, whereas it produces only 11 percent of Spain’s renewable energy.
Each “green job” comes at the expense of 2.2 traditional jobs."

At West Point, Obama talks up national security strategy

"International Order"= red meat for the conspiracy set, so that was a foolish phrase to use. I wonder if the Washington Post realizes the implication of using a capital "D" in "Democratic".: "President Obama on Saturday pledged to shape a new 'international order' as part of a national security strategy that emphasizes his belief in global institutions and America's role in promoting Democratic values around the world."

Windows 2000 and XP SP2 Support Coming to an End

It's about bloody time!: "IT departments still running the 10-year-old Windows 2000 on clients or servers are hitting the end of the road for official support. Microsoft is pulling the plug on its support for Windows 2000 in another two months, specifically on July 13. This means you’ll no longer be able to download security patches, hardware drivers, or other fixes to keep the OS protected and up to date. It also means the folks in Redmond will no longer offer paid support. If you need help with Windows 2000, your only option will be to use Microsoft’s Knowledge Base (News - Alert) and other online help. The company is recommending that anyone still on Windows 2000 upgrade to Windows 7 for their clients and to Windows Server 2003, Server 2008, or Server 2008 R2 for their servers.
Additionally, those of you running Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) on your clients face the same situation. Your official support and available security updates will stop on July 13. But in this case, the fix is simpler. Just apply SP3 to your PCs, and that will keep you in the support loop. Also, if you’re running Windows Vista, you’ll want to make sure you’ve applied SP1 or even better SP2 since support for Vista without any service packs ended on April 13."

» D.C. Metro Police Escorted SEIU Protesters to Bank Of America Executive’s Home - Big Journalism

"A caravan of SEIU buses receive a Metropolitan (D.C.) Police Department escort to a private home in Maryland where the protesters, from all appearances, violate Montgomery County law by engaging in a stationary protest. The Montgomery County police were not informed by their cross-jurisdictional colleagues of the impending, unusually large protest pending in their jurisdiction."

BBC News - 'Artificial life' breakthrough announced by scientists

"Scientists in the US have succeeded in developing the first living cell to be controlled entirely by synthetic DNA.
The researchers constructed a bacterium's 'genetic software' and transplanted it into a host cell.
The resulting microbe then looked and behaved like the species 'dictated' by the synthetic DNA.
The advance, published in Science, has been hailed as a scientific landmark, but critics say there are dangers posed by synthetic organisms."

House votes to expand national DNA arrest database | Politics and Law - CNET News

Every day Congress is in session, our liberties are threatened: "By a 357 to 32 vote, the House approved legislation that will pay state governments to require DNA samples, which could mean drawing blood with a needle, from adults 'arrested for' certain serious crimes. Not one Democrat voted against the database measure, which would hand out about $75 million to states that agree to make such testing mandatory."

Wild birds opt for conventional food over organic, study shows

"A three-year study by Newcastle University has found that wild birds are not swayed by the organic label, but instead prefer the more protein-rich, conventional food that will help them to survive the winter.
Published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, lead researcher Dr Ailsa McKenzie said the findings were likely to be of 'considerable interest to the general public in the debate over the relative merits of consuming organic food.'"

Veteran Ordered To Remove Flag From Outside Home - New Hampshire News Story - WMUR Manchester

"But recently, his management company told all residents that their flags had to come down. The brackets for the flag poles were also removed.
'I was madder than hell,' he said. 'Come to find out, it was the maintenance man who was told to do so.'
The same thing happened to Margery Kenney, who lives next door. Her brackets were taken down, and her flag is now rolled up against the wall.
'My whole family was in the service, and it's a shame something like this was allowed to happen,' she said."

My Way News - NKorea warns of war if punished for ship sinking

I say, "Go for it, bud.": "'If the (South Korean) enemies try to deal any retaliation or punishment, or if they try sanctions or a strike on us .... we will answer to this with all-out war,' Col. Pak In Ho of North Korea's navy told broadcaster APTN in an exclusive interview in Pyongyang."

Murphy's Law: Americans Flying Russian Gunships In Combat

"A U.S. Air Force pilot became the first American to fly a Russian helicopter gunship (an Afghan Mi-35) in combat. Major Caleb Nimmo serves with a multi-national (Czech Republic, Hungary and the U.S.) organization that helps train Afghan pilots and maintainers. The American air force has a large fleet of helicopters, including those used for rescuing pilots downed in enemy territory. While Afghanistan has lots of older pilots, who learned how to fly in the 1980s, there is still a need for training on modern communications and navigation equipment. This is what Nimmo and other foreign pilots assist with."

UC Berkeley Asking Incoming Students For DNA - News Story - KTVU San Francisco

Not to mention violations of privacy and the potential for grave misconduct: "'This type of experience is one of the true, unique values of a Berkeley education. We don't just give you books to read,” Mark Schlissel, dean of the division of biological sciences said. “We involve you in cutting edge issues in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. You won't see this anywhere else in higher education.'"

Man Bitten While Taking Census - KTVI

Man Bitten While Taking Census - KTVI: "The census taker was unavailable for comment."

House passes beer resolution - PATRICK GAVIN | POLITICO CLICK

People unclear on the concept: "While most of Washington was focused on Tuesday's election results, the House was busy doing something else: Passing a resolution about beer.
House Resolution 1297, sponsored by Rep. Betsy Markey, supports 'the goals and ideals of American Craft Beer Week.'"

Next year's budget is sinking in deep red ink - The Hill's On The Money

"House Democratic leaders said late last week that there are several ways to set spending levels, suggesting they could move ahead with a deeming resolution rather than a full budget plan.

Republicans have noted that the House has never failed to consider a budget resolution since the current budget rules were put in place in 1974.

“Rather than cut government spending, [Democrats] chose instead to cut and run — and to simply avoid the hard choices American families and small businesses must make every day,” said Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.), ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee."

Morale: The Air Force War On Chaplains

"The U.S. Air Force recently announced that it was cutting its chaplain force fifteen percent over the next two years. This raised an uncharacteristic stink among air force personnel. It seems that, although the air force is hiring more mental health professionals, many airmen prefer to discuss combat stress issues (and many other problems) with a chaplain, at least initially (and get advice on how to proceed with the mental health specialists). Chaplains have another attraction; they do not have to report anything they are told by airmen. Mental health personnel do have to report, and troubled airmen like the absolute confidentiality they get with chaplains."

Support: How The War On IEDs Is Fought

"The U.S. Army is applying the same aggressive approach to IEDs (Improvised Explosive Device, a roadside, or suicide car bombs) in Afghanistan as it did in Iraq, and the Taliban are having a hard time adjusting to it. One of the more disturbing American tactics is to aggressively fight the bombers for control of key roads. This means that the army engineers are out on heavily mined roads every day in their specially equipped MRAPs, looking for IEDs to clear. It also means UAVs often patrol the road at night, using their night vision cams to spot Taliban teams burying a roadside bomb. This usually ends badly for the Taliban, as the UAV fires a Hellfire missile, or a nearby helicopter gunship comes over to kill the team."

Texas doctors fleeing Medicare in droves | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

"Texas doctors are opting out of Medicare at alarming rates, frustrated by reimbursement cuts they say make participation in government-funded care of seniors unaffordable.
Two years after a survey found nearly half of Texas doctors weren't taking some new Medicare patients, new data shows 100 to 200 a year are now ending all involvement with the program. Before 2007, the number of doctors opting out averaged less than a handful a year."

Scott Gottlieb: No, You Can't Keep Your Health Plan - WSJ.com

"President Obama guaranteed Americans that after health reform became law they could keep their insurance plans and their doctors. It's clear that this promise cannot be kept. Insurers and physicians are already reshaping their businesses as a result of Mr. Obama's plan.
The health-reform law caps how much insurers can spend on expenses and take for profits. Starting next year, health plans will have a regulated 'floor' on their medical-loss ratios, which is the amount of revenue they spend on medical claims. Insurers can only spend 20% of their premiums on running their plans if they offer policies directly to consumers or to small employers. The spending cap is 15% for policies sold to large employers."

New AZ law: Firms have no legal duty to have translators

"Gov. Jan Brewer has signed legislation affirming that nothing in state law requires businesses to provide 'trained and competent' interpreters when a customer comes in speaking a language other than English.
Assistant Attorney General Michael Walker said that has probably always been the law. But that didn't save John Schrolucke from having to spend time and money defending himself and his practice before Walker's office finally dismissed the case."

Morale: Americans Awarded Iron Crosses

"The German Army has awarded fourteen American soldiers the revived Iron Cross medal, for risking their lives, on April 2nd, to save eleven German soldiers who had come under heavy fire while searching for roadside bombs. Most of the German troops were wounded, and three died. Some American media described those U.S. troops, who received the Iron Cross First Class, as receiving the German equivalent of the American Medal of Honor. That was not quite accurate. While the Germans recently revived their combat action Iron Cross, they have not revived the higher awards (like the Pour le Merit or other Iron Cross medals above the First Class Iron Cross) that were given out in World War I and II for the kind of deeds that the Medal of Order were meant for."

Intelligence: The Chinese Shopping List Is Read In Court

"Earlier this month, a Chinese citizen, Chi Tong Kuok, was convicted in an American court of attempting to obtain American encryption equipment so that China could figure out how to penetrate American government and military coded communications. Kuok admitted these were his instructions from Chinese intelligence, which included a list of 43 specific items to obtain. Kuok was caught when, four years ago, U.S. intelligence discovered him emailing employees of American defense companies, seeking one of those 43 items. Kuok was then contacted by an FBI agent masquerading as a broker for the kind of stuff Kuok was looking for. After that, the evidence piled up, Kuok was arrested and, faced with all that evidence, decided to cooperate a bit."

Armor: Fever Dreams

"The U.S. Army is trying to design a replacement for its M-2 Bradley IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle). The new vehicle is the GCV (Ground Combat Vehicle), and it's getting a cool reception from Congress. The politicians smell another boondoggle, that will take forever, promise too much, cost more than anyone can afford and ultimately be cancelled. The army is setting the bar high. They want a vehicle with reater firepower than the M-2, the mobility of the Stryker and the protection of an MRAP. This is seen as unreasonable, and a bad sign. Congress is trying to persuade the army to scale back its ambitions, and learn from existing new designs. The Bradley design is over three decades old, although there have been many upgrades. But some existing designs show promise"

Logistics: FMTV Just Keep Rolling Along

"The 2.5 ton FMTV trucks replaced the Vietnam era M35 models in the 1990s, which in turn replaced World War II era vehicles. Most of the Vietnam era models could carry 2.5 tons, and tow six tons. The FMTV were basically the third generation of American trucks specifically designed for military use. FMTV appears to be the most successful generation. The army will have acquired nearly 100,000 of them when production stops in the next 5-10 years. A new design is in the works to replace the FMTV family of trucks in a decade or two. FMTV will be a hard act to follow, and many believe that the new generation will be just an improved FMTV design."

Afghanistan: Toxic Friendly Advice

"In the last year, the Taliban have been hit where it really hurts, in the purse. Several hundred million dollars worth of opium and heroin have been destroyed, and for the second year in a row, the amount of land planted with poppies has declined. Now, the anti-drug effort has received an unexpected boost, in the form of a plant disease that is destroying poppy crops. In some areas of Helmand province, 75 percent of the crop is being lost. Overall, the plant disease is expected to cut poppy production by 25 percent this year. This is convincing more farmers to switch to other crops, like wheat."

Attrition: Someone To Talk To

"The less noticed indicator, which impacts a lot more people, is the use of anti-stress medications. These have gone up 76 percent since 2001. About 17 percent of all troops now take these drugs, including six percent of those in combat zones. In 2001, the troops used these drugs to about the same degree as the civilian population (ten percent.) The impact of these drugs, especially in combination, can be unpredictable. The army is still waiting to see how this increased use of anti-stress medications will play out. This is all unknown territory."

Holder hasn't read Arizona law he criticized - Washington Times

Honest but ignorant?: "Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who has been critical of Arizona's new immigration law, said Thursday he hasn't yet read the law and is going by what he's read in newspapers or seen on television."

CNSNews.com - The Federal Fat Police: Bill Would Require Government to Track Body Mass of American Children

Oh, hells no! Even if BMI wan't a total crock: "States receiving federal grants provided for in the bill would be required to annually track the Body Mass Index of all children ages 2 through 18. The grant-receiving states would be required to mandate that all health care providers in the state determine the Body Mass Index of all their patients in the 2-to-18 age bracket and then report that information to the state government. The state government, in turn, would be required to report the information to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for analysis."

Killer Drone Builder General Atomics Builds Killer Electromagnetic Rail Cannon | Defense Tech

Two million amps launch a guided projectile at twice the speed of a conventional gun, but at much lower cost than the usual surface-to-air missile systems outfitting most naval ships. General Atomics is working on a cannon that can launch an airburst round at a rate of one per second. Each round dispenses sub-projectiles, so its equivalent to firing 14,000 rounds a minute, which is a higher rate of fire than the Phalanx close-in weapons system, says Tom Hurn, General Atomics director of advanced weapons systems.

Counter-Terrorism: Where Have All The Poppies Gone

"In the last three years, poppy growing has become concentrated in the Afghan provinces of Helmand and Kandahar. In the last two years, the crop has shrunk. From poppies, you get opium (as sap from the seed pods), which is an addictive drug. But via a chemical process, opium can be refined into even more addictive heroin and morphine. Some 90 percent of the world's heroin comes from Afghanistan, and the Afghan Taliban sustain themselves by helping protect the poppy crops and heroin production."

China: The Times They Are a-Changin'

"The U.S. government is donating $1.5 million to an Internet freedom group GIFC (Global Internet Freedom Consortium), whose main function is producing software that enables Chinese Internet users to get around Chinese government censoring software. But what really got the Chinese steamed, and angry at the United States, is that GIFC is supported, and heavily staffed, by members of the persecuted (in China) Falungong religious sect. The government sees religion as a constant threat. While Chinese are free to worship anyway they want, the government picks religious leaders, and imposes discipline. Thus the ongoing war against Falungong and Tibetan Buddhism."

Army Selects New Pack for Afghan Ops

"Old school Joes might recognize the new pack as a modernized version of the beloved All Purpose Individual Lightweight Carrying Equipment, or ALICE, pack.
'One of the big things that came back from our post-combat surveys was … to bring back the old ALICE pack,' said Sgt. First Class Will Corp, the top enlisted advisor for equipment modernization at PEO Soldier."

USJFCOMLive » Blog Archive » Kennedy on digital meltdown

USJFCOM is having a conference and part of that is seminar panels. Trouble sis that not all of them actually answer the questions that they are supposed to be about.:

"Another long day is in the books following one last panel — “How Do We Fight Through a Digital Meltdown?”
An interesting topic, especially with the increasing dependability on networks and the Internet in our daily work lives. With this increasing dependency comes the question on how to bring this to warfighters in remote areas, without the access to connectivity hot spots."

My answer:

I don't think they are actually wrapping their arms all the way around the
question.

The point about our adversaries being just as reliant on similar systems is the same old standard rationalization. Emphasis on old. Our adversaries in Iraq and Afghanistan are demonstrably not reliant on similar networks. The Taliban and Al-Qaeda are even taking out cell phone service in Afghanistan because they recognize that reliance is a vulnerability.

We are better equipped. We are so well equipped now, we've shot the idea of lighter, more maneuverable and more deployable squarely in the head. So far a Battalion is still manueverable, barely, but that won't last much longer. There's no longer any realistic way to "jump" a Brigade TOC.

When I describe what I do, I laways include the idea that my job is to help my leadership find their way out of the technology trap that I maintain for them. I don't know if others in my position think the same way, but failing to do so may be dangerous.

I view technology as a big box, propped up by a stick. The stick has a string tied to it. Someone may trip on it, or someone may pull it on purpose, but the result will be the same. I spend a good chunk of my time shoving sand bags under the edge of the box, and hading flashlights inside so when the box falls, and it will ("attacks" may also be accidents, and planning to avoid them is no plan at all), I can help people back outside.

This is a very real concern and the lip service displayed here is extremely disheartening.

Weapons: Gaze On Medusa And Live

"The U.S. Marine Corps is developing a non-lethal weapon for temporarily disorienting people. The Medusa Weapon System will use 66mm flash-bang grenades, fired with the assistance of laser range finders and electronic fuze setting. This enables the rockets to be fired through windows or cave entrances. The flash bang grenade will disorient those within 5-7 meters, and only wound fifteen percent of those in that area. The marines are developing Medusa based on their experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, where Islamic terrorists continue to favor using civilians as human shields. Medusa aims to solve that problem by disorienting terrorists and civilians long enough for marines to get up close and personnel with the enemy, and spare the civilians risk."

“Why Bother With the Constitution?”

"For a text to be a text, we have first to assume it is made up of language — that what we are receiving are signs — or else we have no reason to pretend to interpret to begin with: if what we are engaging is merely a collection of accidentally-produced signifiers — marks or sound forms that have no intent to communicate behind them — the only plausible way we can then see these things as language is to supply our own intent, which is what will turn these marks or sounds into signs.
It follows, then, that to conceive of the text of the Constitution as existing outside intent is to conceive of the text of the Constitution as being produced accidentally — a proposition even the most staunch of textualists will surely see as ridiculous."

Oklahoma's 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Headed To Afghanistan - NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |

"The Oklahoma National Guard officials gathered in Oklahoma City Tuesday afternoon to discuss an alert from the Pentagon Tuesday, which states Oklahoma's 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team will be headed to Afghanistan next year."

“EU Bailout Sparks New Challenge: Enforcing Fiscal Rigor in Euro Zone”

"Having grown too big to fail, Greece has co-opted its neighbors into funding a system of *social justice* that it would not pay for on its own. Better still (for the Greeks) the neighbors do not have any rights to participate in Greecian governmental affairs to ensure that they will eventually be repaid."

Iran: China And The Gussied Up Gunships

"The lifestyle police have been ordered to become more active. Women with tans are being arrested (even though the lifestyle cops can only see faces) for possible sunbathing offenses (female police later do a more extensive search to confirm if a crime has been committed.) Companies are now being fined for using any of many foreign words on their signs or ads. Foreign words are seen as a corrupting influence."

Logistics: The Central Asian Express

"NATO has negotiated a transportation deal to ship supplies via railroad from Western Europe, through Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, to Afghanistan. With this, it would cost $400 a ton to get supplies into Afghanistan, versus three times that to truck it in from Pakistani ports, or $14,000 a ton to fly stuff in. This deal has been under negotiation since 2003, but Russia kept agreeing to it, and then withdrawing cooperation. What has finally compelled Russia to cooperate is the growing problems they are having with heroin and opium coming out of Afghanistan into, and through, Russia."

Intelligence: FAME And Instant Replay

"The huge American databases of UAV and ground based security videos overwhelm the ability of troops to extract useful information. A part of the solution is seen in how American TV sports broadcasters identify and extract video for instant replay, or later use as highlight images. The military version of this is called FAME (Full-Motion Video Asset-Management Engine). This system also incorporates maps, reports, comments and audio to provide troops, especially commanders, with just what they need. It's going to take up to year before FAME is ready for widespread troop use."

Afghanistan: A Shortage Of Solutions

"With the latest poppy (the plant that produces opium and heroin) harvest in, more Taliban gunmen are free to fight Afghan and foreign troops. The harvest lasted three weeks, and the drug gangs called in their Taliban hirelings to help protect the operation. A drought, government action and plant disease has reduced poppy production about a third in the last two years. So the drug gangs were intent on protecting what was left. Helmand and Kandahar provinces produce most of the poppy, which produces opium and is refined into heroin.
The Taliban are now boasting that they will launch a nationwide terror offensive, with the harvest over and all. This is seen as mostly a propaganda exercise. The Taliban rely mostly on image and terror to create the illusion that they are more powerful than they actually are."

On textuality, interpretation, and the law

"One of the aims of this course, then, is to question the notion that there can be any plausible criteria of textual identity that can function independent of authorial intention. Because there can be no such criteria, I’ll argue, nonmethodological versions of interpretive theory are as incoherent as methodological ones and, like the methodological ones, should be abandoned."

Pentagon asking Congress to hold back on generous increases in troop pay

No kidding?: "Congress has been so determined to take care of troops and their families that for several years running it has overruled the Pentagon and mandated more-generous pay raises than requested by the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. It has also rejected attempts by the Pentagon to slow soaring health-care costs -- which Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has said are 'eating us alive' -- by raising co-pays or premiums.
Now, Pentagon officials see fiscal calamity."

Morale: Wearing The Lightning

"Two years after it was first proposed, the U.S. Air Force has finally issued its cyberspace badge. This is for airmen (officers and enlisted) who have been trained to handle warfare via the Internet or wireless networks. In short, Cyber War experts. The badge looks, at a distance, like pilots wings. But the wings are composed of lightning bolts, and the globe in the middle has more of them. The badge comes in three flavors; basic, senior and master, depending on the skills and experiences. Initially, many will be awarded the badge for previous experience in the field, even if they have not taken the required training courses. But eventually, the only way to earn the basic badge will be via training. The senior and master badges require a combination of training and on-the-job experience"

protein wisdom: What do Progressives really know about Economics?

"67.6% of Progressives do NOT believe restrictions on housing development make housing less affordable.
Similarly, 51.3% of Progressives do NOT believe mandatory licensing of professional services raises the cost of those services.
And, it’s pretty eye-opening to see that 79.2% of Progressives do NOT believe rent control leads to housing shortages."

The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog

"62 percent of likely voters are very concerned about the level of deficit spending of which Congress is guilty. When those that were somewhat concerned are included, the percentage of Americans that view Congress’ spending as reckless and irresponsible grows even larger.
President Obama is obviously aware of this sentiment among the American people, but whether or not he takes it seriously is another question."

Leadership: U.S. Navy Ordered To Shrink

"Carriers proved to be more useful against everything but other carriers. Attacks on enemy bases, shipping and in support of amphibious landings comprised the bulk of carrier activity throughout the war. Although land based aircraft were two to three times as effective as carrier planes, the carriers could be swiftly moved across the vast expanse of the Pacific. It was this mobility that made carrier less effective. The carriers could not lug around as much avgas or munitions as a land base could stockpile. Operating at sea caused more damage to the aircraft, and the shortage of space on a carrier made aircraft maintenance more difficult. But despite these limitations, the aircraft carrier reigned supreme across the Pacific. As long as the carriers stayed away from more numerous land based aircraft (something the Japanese weren't able to muster by 1944), the carriers could slug it out with anything they came up against. Note that the last American carrier lost in combat was a victim of land based aircraft. And the second most dangerous foe of carriers was submarines. Thus, since late 1942, the carrier situation hasn't changed. The U.S. carrier fleet is supreme and it's only foe is large number of land based aircraft and submarines. But with longer ranged land based aircraft (thanks to inflight refueling), how many carriers are needed. A Nimitz class carrier, which is four times larger (by internal volume), costs $6 billion, and ten were built. Is the Nimitz eleven times as effective as the Essex? A World War II U.S. diesel-electric submarine cost $36 million (adjusted for inflation.) A modern diesel electric costs ten times as much. Nuclear attack subs cost $2 billion."

Frederick W. Kagan and Kimberly Kagan - The U.S. must defend the integrity of Iraqi elections

"If upheld, these decisions would give Maliki's bloc more seats than Allawi's. If Maliki's list gained four seats, it could potentially form a government with the other major Shiite bloc, the Iraqi National Alliance, excluding both the Kurds and Sunnis. That result -- surely disastrous for U.S. interests -- would position Maliki as a potential authoritarian ruler, empower the anti-American Sadrists and their Iranian-backed militias and alienate Sunnis while marginalizing the Kurds. If Sunni seats are transferred to Maliki's Shiite list this way, Sunni Arabs would justifiably feel that Shiites had stolen the election.
Unlike preelection rulings to ban candidates, Monday's decision excludes votes already cast. Thousands of Iraqis stand to be disenfranchised even though they cast their ballots correctly and those ballots were counted. Worse, this decision would set a precedent for the AJC to selectively exclude individuals until a government is formed."

Toby Jones to Play Arnim Zola in Captain America

"Toby Jones (Infamous) is in final negotiations to play villainous scientist Arnim Zola in Marvel Studios' Captain America: The First Avenger, reports Heat Vision.

In the comics, 'Zola was a genetic engineer who created clones and various monstrosities for Hitler. He also captured his own mental self, inserting it into a robot, and survived the war.'

Jones is joining a cast that includes Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Hugo Weaving, Sebastian Stan and Samuel L. Jackson. Directed by Joe Johnston, the adaptation starts filming in England this summer for a July 22, 2011 release."

OBAMA NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY: HOPE THEIR BOMBS DON'T WORK

"But after the car bomber, the diaper bomber and the Fort Hood shooter, it has become increasingly clear that Obama's only national defense strategy is: Let's hope their bombs don't work!

If only Dr. Hasan's gun had jammed at Fort Hood, that could have been another huge foreign policy success for Obama."

Students Kicked Off Campus for Wearing American Flag Tees | NBC Bay Area

"Galli says he and his friends were sitting at a table during brunch break when the vice principal asked two of the boys to remove American flag bandannas that they wearing on their heads and for the others to turn their American flag T-shirts inside out. When they refused, the boys were ordered to go to the principal's office.
'They said we could wear it on any other day,' Daniel Galli said, 'but today is sensitive to Mexican-Americans because it's supposed to be their holiday so we were not allowed to wear it today.'"

Counter-Terrorism: Iranian Sleeper Cells In Kuwait

"Recently, Kuwait broke up an Iranian terrorist cell of about 15 people. Half of these men have been arrested and the rest are being sought. Some of the cell members were Kuwaitis, including a few who had served in the security forces. Others were Arabs from neighboring countries. The police raids seized documents, weapons, communications equipment and $250,000 in cash. These guys were well equipped, and apparently well paid. This cell was formed and sustained by Iranian intelligence operatives. The arrested spies admitted that they visited Iran frequently as tourists, where they received training and money. Smugglers brought in some equipment, but much of what the cell members needed (like weapons) they could buy on the black marker in Kuwait."

Bud Light replaces Coors Light as official NFL sponsor - ESPN

"Anheuser-Busch's flagship brand Bud Light will be the official beer sponsor of the National Football League, edging out rival MillerCoors, which said Tuesday it wouldn't renew its deal.
Anheuser-Busch's six-year deal, which begins in the 2011 season, is worth more than $1 billion, a person close to the league said Tuesday.
The person -- who is familiar with the negotiations but requested anonymity because the deal is confidential -- said the amount is double what MillerCoors had paid for its last six-year contract. The Coors Light sponsorship ends after this season."

New light shed on Kent State killings - Washington Times

"Rumors of a sniper had circulated for at least a day before the fatal confrontation, the documents show. And a memorandum sent to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover on May 19, 1970, referred to bullet holes found in a tree and a statue — evidence, the report stated, that 'indicated that at least two shots had been fired at the National Guard.'
Another interviewee told agents that a guardsman had spoken of 'a confirmed report of a sniper.'"

Winning: A Bloody Last Stand

"The root cause of all this Islamic terrorism is the inability of Islamic nations to govern themselves effectively. This has become more of an issue in the last two centuries, as the West instigated the Industrial Revolution and enormous economic growth. Islamic nations tended to resist the economic and cultural changes that resulted. This greatly increased the economic and educational disparities between Islamic nations and the rest of the world. This made the poor living conditions in Moslem nations even more noticeable. This made the periodic eruptions of Islamic terrorism more savage. Most of the time, these Islamic rebels fought their corrupt rulers. But in the last half century, these despots and dictators have convinced many of the Islamic radicals that the real enemy is the non-Moslem world. Thus the increasing number of Islamic terror attacks on Western targets in the last few decades. This resulted in more terrorist attacks on the West, which culminated in September 11, 2001."

Murphy's Law: Megan Fox Sweats While the USAF Melts

The Air Force won't say how many fell for this, except that was a lot more than expected: "Offers to hire American airmen, stationed at an airbase on the Central Pacific island of Guam, as extras in the Transformers 3 movie, turned out to be an unexpectedly scary training exercise. First, keep in mind that there is no Transformers 3 filming scheduled for Guam. The email was a fake, used to test how well airmen could detect a hacker attempts to deceive military Internet users to give up valuable information.
The Transformers 3 email was a test to see how many airmen would fall for a 'spear phishing' offensive."

Living | Local boy with cancer turns into a superhero for a day | Seattle Times Newspaper

"Thursday was shaping up to be just another school day for 13-year-old Erik Martin, but then something extraordinary happened: Spider-Man called.
Spider-Man happens to be one of the few people who knows that Erik, too, has a secret identity — he's Electron Boy, a superhero who fights the powers of evil with light.
And Spider-Man needed Erik's help.
Erik, who is living with liver cancer, has always wanted to be a superhero. On Thursday, the regional chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted him that wish with an elaborate event that involved hundreds of volunteers in Bellevue and Seattle."

Counter-Terrorism: Taliban Follow The Viet Cong Into The Abyss

"The idea that guerillas are unbeatable was a myth rather firmly established by the Vietnam War, particularly in leftist circles. It is very much a myth. That was known at the time of the Vietnam war. For example, between 1942 and 1965, there were twelve communist inspired guerilla wars. The guerillas won only three of these (China, the first Indochina war and Cuba). The first Indochina war ended in 1954 with the defeat of the French colonial forces. This led to the second Indochina war, which the communists lost. The communist guerillas were defeated when the U.S. left Vietnam in 1970."

GM paid back it's TARP loan ahead of scheule?

Hot Air » NYT: GM, Treasury lied about bailout repayment

"Whitacre and GM omitted two facts that render their public relations blitz highly misleading. They are the kind of omissions that constitute securities fraud when made by a company in connection with the purchase or sale of a security or when a company reports its financial results. …GM’s fraudulent public relations blitz took place with the support of the Obama administration, up to and including Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner. Geithner’s participation makes his tax cheating and related testimony pale in comparison.In retrospect, it is obvious that GM undertook the blitz at the behest of the Obama administration. It is symptomatic of the era of national socialism in which we find ourselves, and for which GM is a leading indicator."

Hotshot sniper in one-and-a-half mile double kill - Times Online#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797084#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797084#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797084

"A BRITISH Army sniper has set a new sharpshooting distance record by killing two Taliban machinegunners in Afghanistan from more than 1 miles away.
Craig Harrison, a member of the Household Cavalry, killed the insurgents with consecutive shots — even though they were 3,000ft beyond the most effective range of his rifle.
“The first round hit a machinegunner in the stomach and killed him outright,” said Harrison, a Corporal of Horse. “He went straight down and didn’t move.
“The second insurgent grabbed the weapon and turned as my second shot hit him in the side. He went down, too. They were both dead.”
The shooting — which took place while Harrison’s colleagues came under attack — was at such extreme range that the 8.59mm bullets took almost three seconds to reach their target after leaving the barrel of the rifle at almost three times the speed of sound.
The distance to Harrison’s two targets was measured by a GPS system at 8,120ft, or 1.54 miles. The previous record for a sniper kill is 7,972ft, set by a Canadian soldier who shot dead an Al-Qaeda gunman in March 2002."

Counter-Terrorism: Afghanistan Becomes Haven for Foreign Refugees

"In the last month, over 22,000 of these Afghans have returned to Afghanistan. Not because things are all that peaceful and well in Afghanistan, but because the battles between the Pakistani Taliban and the army have made life unpleasant. Currently, over a thousand refugees a day are applying for UN assistance to return home. There are over two million Afghan refugees still in Pakistan. That many have already returned to Afghanistan since 2002. Those who remained had settled down and didn't want to move. Several efforts by the Pakistani government to persuade the Afghans to go home, have failed.
Some 200,000 Afghan refugees are living outside the tribal territories (along the Afghan border), in Sind and Punjab, and are often involved in criminal and terrorist operations. Many of these Afghans are in major cities, like Karachi, where some provide support for Islamic terrorists. Pakistan would like all the illegal Afghan refugees to go home, but many have fit right in with legitimate and criminal activities."

H/T: Darleen Click via Protein Wisdom

Information Warfare: The NATO Cyber War Agreement

"In the last five years, these Cyber Wars have escalated from web site defacing and shutting down sites with massive amounts of junk traffic (DDOS attacks), to elaborate espionage efforts against American military networks. The attackers are believed to be Chinese, and some American military commanders are calling for a more active defense (namely, a counterattack) to deal with the matter.
The Russian attacks against Estonia were the result of Estonia moving a statue, honoring Russian World War II soldiers, from the center of the capital, to a military cemetery. The Estonians always saw the statue as a reminder of half a century of Russian occupation and oppression. Russia saw the statue move as an insult to the efforts of Russian soldiers to liberate Estonia, and enable the Russians to occupy the place for half a century. The basic problem here is that most Russians don't see their Soviet era ancestors as evil people, despite the millions of Russians and non-Russians killed by the Soviet secret police. The Russians are very proud of their defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, ignoring the fact that, back then, the Soviet government was just biding its time before it launched its own invasion of Germany and Europe in general."

President Obama, you sanctimonious twit....

"If you’re a fan of Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh, try reading a few columns on the Huffington Post website"

I am a Limbaugh fan.  I find frequent value in Beck, though his presentation rubs me the wrong way.  And I read the Huffington Post, even infrequently comment there.  Undoubtedly, President Obama won't approve of my motive.  I do it under the rubric of "Know your enemy."  Makes me wonder if the President ever listens to Rush or Glenn.  I'd wager not.

At least one reason for thinking he does not, is that he'd be aware that even if conservative news consumers don't ever read HuffPo directly, Limbaugh, Beck, Levin and the rest, do.  They cite them all the time, along with the New York Times, Washington Post, and the rest of the mianstream media.  Listeners are given, at the least, a constant familiarization with the stories and issues.