Taliban footprint 'spreading': Petraeus

"Petraeus acknowledged the spread of Taliban influence, especially to parts of the formerly peaceful north, but said the campaign to counter the insurgency was nearing its final stages.
'I don't think anyone disagrees that the footprint of the Taliban has spread,' he said, adding the insurgents had 'reconnected in various safe havens and sanctuaries outside and inside the country,' a reference to Pakistan.
'The US and ISAF forces in Afghanistan have worked hard to try to get the inputs right, to establish the organisations that are necessary for the conduct of a civil-military counter-insurgency campaign with our Afghan partners.
'We are still in the final stages of getting the inputs right. It's very important to recognise that this was an economy of force effort for a number of years,' he said."

Troops yet to give Obama full salute - Washington Times

"'Everyone will respect him as commander in chief and everyone will follow his orders,' said Pete Hegseth, an Iraq war veteran who now heads Vets for Freedom, a group that supports the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. 'But at the same time, there is a lot of concern about whether or not he's truly committed to the fight that we're invested in and whether or not he will truly see through what we need to do to succeed.'

Mr. Hegseth commended Mr. Obama for not doing 'anything rash or too quickly' in Iraq, but said the Obama administration shouldn't be taking credit for drawing down combat operations under an agreement that Bush officials made with the Iraqi government.

'It's frustrating to see both the president and vice president jumping up and down saying, 'Look what we did, look what we did,' when if we actually followed the policies they were calling for ... we would have left early and we would have left in shame,' Mr. Hegseth said, noting their opposition to the surge of forces in Iraq."

Barack or Bust! Perry Shuns White House Offer | NBC Dallas-Fort Worth

"Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger said the Republican governor had asked to meet with the president on Tuesday to discuss border security. Cesinger said Monday that White House aides said the president would not be available for such a meeting.
White House spokeswoman Moira Mack responded Tuesday by saying the Obama administration has directed unprecedented resources to the border since March 2009. Mack also said Perry declined a meeting with Napolitano and John Brennan, the president's top homeland security aide in the White House."

Problem bank list climbs to 829 - Aug. 31, 2010

"The government's list of troubled banks hit its highest level since 1993 during the second quarter, although the pace of growth continued to slow, according to a government report released Tuesday.
The number of banks at risk of failing rose by 53 to 829, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said in its quarterly survey of the nation's banking system. That increase marks the smallest rise since the first quarter of 2009."

Sebelius: Time for 'Reeducation' on Obama Health Care Law - The Note

"With a number of polls showing a sustained level of opposition to the Democrats’ health care reform efforts more than five months after passage, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the Obama administration has “a lot of reeducation to do” heading into the midterms."

SPACE.com -- 'Plymouth Rock' Deep Space Asteroid Mission Idea Gains Ground

"Launching a manned asteroid mission by 2025 is NASA's new goal set by President Barack Obama, who announced the plan in April. The deep space mission would serve as a stepping stone to a crewed mission to Mars in the mid-2030s, he said."

Two Suspects on United Airlines Flight Arrested on Terror Charges in Amsterdam - ABC News

"U.S. officials said the two appeared to be travelling with what were termed 'mock bombs' in their luggage. 'This was almost certainly a dry run, a test,' said one senior law enforcement official.
A spokesman for the Dutch public prosecutor, Ernst Koelman, confirmed the two men were arrested this morning and said 'the investigation is ongoing.' He said the arrests were made 'at the request of American authorities.'"

US Dow Falls 100 Points; Banks, Industrials Slide - CNBC

"The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down more than 1 percent each. The CBOE volatility index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, rose more than 7 percent, above 26. All key S&P sectors were lower, led by financials, consumer discretionary stocks and industrials.
The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended last week with a rally after the Federal Reserve signaled it would take measures to support the recovery, if necessary. Still, the major indexes are on track to post a loss in August for the first time since 2005."

John Bolton, Criticizer-in-Chief | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

"“I’d call him the first post-American president and by that I mean – certainly in contemporary times – his view of America and its role in the world is different from the line of presidents since Franklin Roosevelt,” Bolton explained, when asked exactly why he finds the president’s foreign policy so offensive. “He doesn’t see himself effectively as a real advocate for America’s interest. He doesn’t see the world as a particularly challenging place. And, frankly, I just don’t think he cares that much about foreign policy.”"

Hot Air » Did the EPA create the bedbug revival?

"Strickland’s state has become one of the main battlegrounds against bedbugs, and children are particularly vulnerable. Rather than issue a limited waiver for the use of Propoxur to eradicate the parasites, Jackson denies it on the basis of its impact on children — as though the application couldn’t be mitigated with proper access control and training. Instead of allowing Ohio to use an effective eradication agent, Jackson offers $550,000 in “community outreach” funds, saying — I kid you not — “education and outreach are key components to bed bug control on a community-wide basis.”"

Environmental groups face their future in climate-change debate

"A year ago, these groups seemed to be at the peak of their influence, needing only the Senate's approval for a landmark climate-change bill. But they lost that fight, done in by the sluggish economy and opposition from business and fossil-fuel interests.

Now the groups are wondering how they can keep this loss from becoming a rout as their opponents press their advantage and try to undo the Obama administration's climate efforts. At two events last week in Wisconsin, environmental groups seemed to be trying two strategies: defiance and pleading for sympathy.

Neither one drew enough people to fill a high school gym."

This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here » Blog Archive » Jon Soltz’ giant leap

"Even the most indoctrinated climate change adherents must be shaking their heads at Soltz’ partisan rantings. No person with any measure of common sense could take such buffoonery seriously.
Yes, the Taliban and al Qaeda will try to exploit the flood with some success, but they’ll not be able to buy the loyalty of Pakistanis anymore than we can. It’s a constantly changing price tag."

Self service

"It’s a neat trick: turn being wrong into being right, then declare yourself superior for having the courage to be right.
I mean, Jimmy Carter, Al Gore, and now Barack Obama all have Nobel Peace prizes, do they not?"

Intelligence: Trying To Silence The Stridently Righteous

"The problem is, there is no agreement on what, exactly, torture is. To many anti-torture advocates, what goes on in police interrogation rooms worldwide, every day, can be considered torture. The effort to define torture gets mixed up with the efforts to outlaw torture. Caught in the middle are intelligence organizations, which are sometimes in situations where torture is the lesser of several evils. CIA officials recently tried to point out that some techniques, that many want to outlaw, were critical in obtaining life-saving information. Critics like to point out that, under torture, the victim will tell you what you want to hear, to get the pain to stop. But a competent interrogator will be able to double check some information provided by the subject under torture, and adjust the questioning as needed. At least that's how it's worked for thousands of years. But now all that is depicted as misguided nonsense that really didn't work at all.
In the popular imagination, torture is the application of pain, often to the point of death, in order to obtain information from an unwilling subject. Torture has been around for thousands of years, and during that time, a lot of mythology has grown up about it. Basically torture is interrogation carried to extremes. The ultimate extreme is killing the subject, which is usually avoided, at least until you get the information."

Procurement: Iraq Rearms

"The U.S. is the largest supplier, partly because the Iraqis recognize the effectiveness of American gear, having been on the receiving end of those weapons several times. But the U.S. is also willing to sell used equipment at attractive prices. Thus Iraq is receiving 1,026 M-113 armored personnel carriers, 140 M-1A1 tanks, 21 M88A1 armored recovery vehicles and 60 M1070 tank transporters (which can also carry supplies or other vehicles.) Iraq has also bought 24 M-109A5 self propelled 155mm artillery, and 120 M198 155mm towed howitzers. Iraq has also bought thousands of hummers and military trucks, plus infantry weapons, engineer gear and other military equipment.
Iraq is also buying a lot of equipment from other nations. This includes 420 BTR-4 wheeled armored vehicles and ten An-32 twin-engine transports from Ukraine. Serbia is supplying twenty Lasta trainer aircraft, and several nations are supplying helicopters."

Winning: Who Died In Iraq

"Some 19 percent of the American fatalities in Iraq were from non-combat causes. Most of the non-combat deaths were from accidents and disease. One of the major categories of non-combat death is vehicle accidents. In 2007, 20 percent of the non-combat deaths were from vehicle accidents. But in 2008, overall deaths declined by two thirds (from 904 in 2007, to 312 in 2008), but vehicle accident deaths went from 37 to 19. That trend continued to the present. Most of the 46 American troops killed in Iraq this year were from non-combat causes.
There are still a lot of vehicle accidents. Many of these are the result of the fast driving tactics troops were encouraged to use to get away from roadside bombs and ambushes. Ask the NCOs, and they will often complain that the sharp reduction in combat has removed the incentive to stay sharp and pay attention. Not a unique situation in a combat zone, and despite the energetic exhortations of the NCOs, too many troops do not stay alert enough to avoid accidents. Ask the troops, and they complain about the heavier traffic. With peace breaking out all over central Iraq, and the economy continuing to boom, more Iraqis have cars. Iraqis drive like they're from Boston, with abandon and indifference."

Afghanistan: The Price Of Victory

"The 140,000 foreign troops appear headed for 700 dead this year. Combat casualties among foreign troops are up. In 2007-8, foreign troops in Afghanistan lost about 300-400 dead per 100,000 troops. That went up to nearly 500 last year and will probably be the same rate this year (mainly because there are more foreign troops in Afghanistan). In Iraq, from 2004-7, the deaths among foreign troops ran at 500-600 per 100,000 per year. Since al Qaeda admitted defeat there two years ago, the U.S. death rate in Iraq has dropped to less than 100 dead per 100,000 troops per year.
For Afghan troops and police, the death rate is 700-800 dead per 100,000. The death rate for U.S. troops during Vietnam, Korea and World War II, was over 1,500."

Afghan war through the eyes of the Taliban | Mail Online

"A documentary made by a Norwegian journalist embedded with Taliban fighters has provided a rare glimpse of the other side of the Afghanistan conflict.The raw footage - captured by Paul Refsdal - shows the Afghan militants attacking U.S. convoys on a road below their mountainous hide-out and celebrating hits with a high-five."

Brewer condemns report to UN mentioning Ariz. law - Yahoo! News

"The U.S. included its legal challenge to the law on a list of ways the federal government is protecting human rights.
In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Brewer says it is 'downright offensive' that a state law would be included in the report, which was drafted as part of a UN review of human rights in all member nations every four years.
'The idea of our own American government submitting the duly enacted laws of a state of the United States to 'review' by the United Nations is internationalism run amok and unconstitutional,' Brewer wrote."

Murphy's Law: Eleven American Combat Brigades Remain In Iraq

"While there are only 50,000 troops left in Iraq, and none of them are, technically, combat troops, most of them are. That's because most of the troops left in Iraq are there to provide training and advice for Iraqi security forces. Thus the U.S. has eleven combat brigades in Iraq. Seven of them are regular combat brigades, retrained and reorganized for the 'training and advice' job. Two of the brigades are reserve infantry units, to provide security for bases. Another two are aviation brigades, to provide transport and attack helicopters as needed for advising and defense.
The seven advisor brigades have most of their regular equipment, and can be quickly switched to the purely combat role. These Advise and Assist Brigades (AABs) were developed several years ago. They are regular combat brigades that leave many of their junior troops back home, leaving a force heavy on officers and NCOs, who are best equipped to advise and assist local troops and commanders. The troops in these brigades received some extra training for their advising and training tasks. This works, as American troops have been advising and training the Iraqis. Meanwhile, there are another 10,000 U.S. troops in Kuwait, mostly performing support roles."

Forces: Back At Last, The Iraq Army Air Corps

"The Iraqi Army now has its own air force (The Iraq Army Air Corps) with the recent transfer of air force helicopters to army control. Iraqi Army Aviation Corps disappeared, with the rest of the Iraqi Army, in 2003. But now the army now has fifty Russian Mi-17s and 16 American UH-1Hs. On order are 24 U.S. Bell 407s and 24 European EC 635s. Both of these models will arrive next year, and both are light transports that can also be armed for gunship duties."

Hot Air » EPA on lead-ammunition ban: Never mind

"Responding to a grassroots outcry from gun owners, the Environmental Protection Agency today announced that it has denied a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity and other radical groups that had sought to ban the use of lead in ammunition.Agreeing with the position of the NRA and the firearms industry, the agency explained in a news release that it “does not have the legal authority to regulate this type of product under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).” Further crushing the hopes of anti-gun and anti-hunting activists, the release added: “nor is the agency seeking such authority.”"

Birthrate in U.S. at Lowest Level in at Least a Century - NYTimes.com

"The United States birthrate has fallen to its lowest level in at least a century as many people apparently decided they could not afford more mouths to feed.
The birthrate dropped for the second year in a row since the recession began in 2007. Births fell 2.6 percent last year even as the population grew, numbers released Friday by the National Center for Health Statistics show.
“It’s a good-sized decline for one year,” said Stephanie Ventura, the demographer who oversaw the report. “Every month is showing a decline from the year before.”"

Obama: US less safe since Iraq war

Flashback: "The Iraq war has left America less safe and has emboldened al Qaida, Iran, North Korea and the Taliban, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has said.
The Illinois senator criticised the stance of his Republican rival John McCain and said the United States needed to end the war in order to confront the emerging national security challenges of the 21st century."

Hot Air » Obama to U.S. troops in Iraq: You’ve “made America safer”

"I hate to needle him when he’s patting the troops on the back, but isn’t this … the very antithesis of the left’s messaging on the Iraq war for the past seven years?"

Public Policy Polling: Polling on the Spill

"The oil spill in the Gulf may be mostly out of the headlines now but Louisiana voters aren't getting any less mad at Barack Obama about his handling of it. Only 32% give Obama good marks for his actions in the aftermath of the spill, while 61% disapprove.

Louisianans are feeling more and more that George W. Bush's leadership on Katrina was better than Obama's on the spill. 54% think Bush did the superior job of helping the state through a crisis to 33% who pick Obama. That 21 point margin represents a widening since PPP asked the same question in June and found Bush ahead by a 15 point margin. Bush beats Obama 87-2 on that score with Republicans and 42-30 with independents, while Obama has just a 65-24 advantage with Democrats."

Russian subs stalk Trident in echo of Cold War - Telegraph

Russian subs stalk Trident in echo of Cold War - Telegraph: "A specially upgraded Russian Akula class submarine has been caught trying to record the acoustic signature made by the Vanguard submarines that carry Trident nuclear missiles, according to senior Navy officers.
British submariners have also reported that they are experiencing the highest number of 'contacts' with Russian submarines since 1987.
If the Russians are able to obtain a recording of the unique noise of the boat's propellers it would have serious implications for Britain's nuclear deterrent. Using its sophisticated sonar, the Akula would be able to track Vanguards and potentially sink them before they could launch their Trident D4 missiles."

Mullen: National Debt is a Security Threat | Executive Gov

"“That’s one year’s worth of defense budget,” he said, adding that the Pentagon needs to cut back on spending.
“We’re going to have to do that if it’s going to survive at all,” Mullen said, “and do it in a way that is predictable.”"

My Way News - Snapshot of economy about to get a lot bleaker

"The economy barely has a pulse.
The Commerce Department on Friday will revise its estimate for economic growth in the April-to-June period and Wall Street economists forecast it will be cut almost in half, to a 1.4 percent annual rate from 2.4 percent.
That's a sharp slowdown from the first quarter, when the economy grew at a 3.7 percent annual rate, and economists say it's a taste of the weakness to come. The current quarter isn't expected to be much better, with many economists forecasting growth of only 1.7 percent.
Such slow growth won't feel much like an economic recovery and won't lead to much hiring. The unemployment rate, now at 9.5 percent, could even rise by the end of the year."

Charles Krauthammer - The last refuge of a liberal

"Ah, the people, the little people, the small-town people, the 'bitter' people, as Barack Obama in an unguarded moment once memorably called them, clinging 'to guns or religion or' -- this part is less remembered -- 'antipathy toward people who aren't like them.'
That's a polite way of saying: clinging to bigotry. And promiscuous charges of bigotry are precisely how our current rulers and their vast media auxiliary react to an obstreperous citizenry that insists on incorrect thinking.
-- Resistance to the vast expansion of government power, intrusiveness and debt, as represented by the Tea Party movement? Why, racist resentment toward a black president.
-- Disgust and alarm with the federal government's unwillingness to curb illegal immigration, as crystallized in the Arizona law? Nativism.
-- Opposition to the most radical redefinition of marriage in human history, as expressed in Proposition 8 in California? Homophobia.
-- Opposition to a 15-story Islamic center and mosque near Ground Zero? Islamophobia.
Now we know why the country has become 'ungovernable,' last year's excuse for the Democrats' failure of governance: Who can possibly govern a nation of racist, nativist, homophobic Islamophobes?"

Massive solar storm to hit Earth in 2012 with 'force of 100m bombs' - Yahoo! India News

"Several US media outlets have reported that NASA was warning the massive flare this month was just a precursor to a massive solar storm building that had the potential to wipe out the entire planet's power grid.
Despite its rebuttal, NASA's been watching out for this storm since 2006 and reports from the US this week claim the storms could hit on that most Hollywood of disaster dates - 2012.
Similar storms back in 1859 and 1921 caused worldwide chaos, wiping out telegraph wires on a massive scale. The 2012 storm has the potential to be even more disruptive.
'The general consensus among general astronomers (and certainly solar astronomers) is that this coming Solar maximum (2012 but possibly later into 2013) will be the most violent in 100 years,' News.com.au quoted astronomy lecturer and columnist Dave Reneke as saying.
'A bold statement and one taken seriously by those it will affect most, namely airline companies, communications companies and anyone working with modern GPS systems.
'They can even trip circuit breakers and knock out orbiting satellites, as has already been done this year,' added Reneke.
No one really knows what effect the 2012-2013 Solar Max will have on today's digital-reliant society."

Urine-powered fuel cells to offer pee power to people - Yahoo! India News

"While fuel cells usually rely on flammable hydrogen gas or toxic methanol to generate electricity, Tao and Lan's cheaper prototype relies instead on urea, an organic chemical compound produced as waste when the body metabolizes protein.
Urea, also called 'carbamide,' has several advantages as a potential fuel source-it's abundant, non-toxic, relatively straightforward to transport and rich in nitrogen, reports Discovery News.
According to the university, Tao thought about incorporating urea because he had seen it used as a fertilizer while growing up in eastern China.
The Carbamide Power System prototype can break urea or urine from humans or animals down into water, nitrogen and CO2, and also produce electricity at the same time."

Weak GDP raises stakes for Obama, Fed - latimes.com

"Many economists believe the Commerce Department will revise its estimate of growth in gross domestic product to 1.3% or lower, down from 2.4% — a dismal performance, especially as the country struggles to rebound from recession.

A bad GDP number would cap a week's worth of troubling developments in the housing and financial markets, and ratchet up the pressure on President Obama and congressional Democrats heading into November's midterm elections."

NBC Weapons: More Uranium Hits The Black Market

"In Moldova, two former policemen and a another man were arrested when they sought to sell two kilograms (4.4 pounds) of uranium-238. The three were caught in a police sting when word got out that the uranium was on the market for over a million dollars a kilogram. This is a form of uranium used to create plutonium in a nuclear reactor. Uranium-238 cannot be used, by itself, to form the explosive component of a nuclear bomb, or fuel a nuclear reactor. The uranium-238 is valuable, as a component of nuclear weapons, and as a source of plutonium."

Attrition: The Bright Side Of Tragedy

"The current crop of combat surgeons arrived despite the fact that there were far fewer combat casualties than in past wars. The most notable change was the sharp drop in the number of American combat dead. The combat death rate in Iraq was a third of what it was in Vietnam and World War II. With the dramatic drop in combat deaths, came another big shift. In World War II, a third casualties were fatal. In Iraq and Afghanistan, only 12 percent of the casualties were fatal."

Trust on Issues - Rasmussen Reports™

"Voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats on all 10 of the important issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports.
The GOP has consistently been trusted on most issues for months now, but in July they held the lead on only nine of the key issues.
Republicans lead Democrats 47% to 39% on the economy, which remains the most important issue to voters. Those numbers are nearly identical to those found in June. Republicans have held the advantage on the economy since May of last year.
But for the first time in months, Republicans now hold a slight edge on the issues of government ethics and corruption, 40% to 38%."

Democrats privately fear House prospects worsening - Jim VandeHei and Alex Isenstadt and Mike Allen - POLITICO.com

"They no longer believe the jobs and housing markets will recover — or that anything resembling the White House’s promise of a “recovery summer” is under way. They are even more concerned by indications that House Democrats once considered safe — such as Rep. Betty Sutton, who occupies an Ohio seat that President Barack Obama won with 57 percent of the vote in 2008 — are in real trouble.
In two close races, endangered Democrats are even running ads touting how they oppose their leadership.
“Democrats kept thinking: ‘We’re going to get better. We’re going to get well before the election,’” said one of Washington’s best-connected Democrats. “But as of this week, you now have people saying that Republicans are going to win the House. And now it’s starting to look like the Senate is going to be a lot closer than people thought.”"

Is the Sun Emitting a Mystery Particle? : Discovery News

"But what if a well-known -- and apparently constant -- characteristic of matter starts behaving mysteriously?
This is exactly what has been noticed in recent years; the decay rates of radioactive elements are changing. This is especially mysterious as we are talking about elements with 'constant' decay rates -- these values aren't supposed to change. School textbooks teach us this from an early age.
This is the conclusion that researchers from Stanford and Purdue University have arrived at, but the only explanation they have is even weirder than the phenomenon itself: The sun might be emitting a previously unknown particle that is meddling with the decay rates of matter. Or, at the very least, we are seeing some new physics."

Army Abruptly Cancels Ground Combat Vehicle Competition (Updated) | Defense Tech

"The Army has canceled the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) solicitation because the service decided, after an internal and external review, that the current Requests for Proposal (RFP) do not accurately reflect Army requirements and a changing acquisition strategy, sources tell us.
A contract for the new vehicle was very close to being awarded, we’re told. A restart of the GCV competition is expected fairly soon, a new RFP may be out within 60 days, and the Army intends to stay within the original seven year timeline to field a new vehicle."

EPA Considering Ban on Traditional Ammunition — Take Action Now | NSSF Blog

"With the fall hunting season fast approaching, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Lisa Jackson, who was responsible for banning bear hunting in New Jersey, is now considering a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) – a leading anti-hunting organization – to ban all traditional ammunition under the Toxic Substance Control Act of 1976, a law in which Congress expressly exempted ammunition. If the EPA approves the petition, the result will be a total ban on all ammunition containing lead-core components, including hunting and target-shooting rounds. The EPA must decide to accept or reject this petition by November 1, 2010, the day before the midterm elections.
Today, the EPA has opened to public comment the CBD petition. The comment period ends on October 31, 2010."

The EPA has published the petition and relevant supplemental information as Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2010-0681.
If you would like to read the original petition and see the contents of this docket folder, please click here. In order to go directly to the ‘submit a comment’ page for this docket number, please click here.

The Government's New Right to Track Your Every Move With GPS - Yahoo! News

"Government agents can sneak onto your property in the middle of the night, put a GPS device on the bottom of your car and keep track of everywhere you go. This doesn't violate your Fourth Amendment rights, because you do not have any reasonable expectation of privacy in your own driveway - and no reasonable expectation that the government isn't tracking your movements.
That is the bizarre - and scary - rule that now applies in California and eight other Western states. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which covers this vast jurisdiction, recently decided the government can monitor you in this way virtually anytime it wants - with no need for a search warrant. (Read about one man's efforts to escape the surveillance state.)"

Morgan Stanley Says Government Defaults Inevitable - Bloomberg

"“Governments will impose a loss on some of their stakeholders,” Arnaud Mares, an executive director at Morgan Stanley in London, wrote in a research report today. “The question is not whether they will renege on their promises, but rather upon which of their promises they will renege, and what form this default will take.” The sovereign-debt crisis is global “and it is not over,” the report said.
Borrowing costs for so-called peripheral euro-region nations such as Greece and Ireland surged today, resuming their ascent on concern that governments won’t be able to narrow their budget deficits. Standard & Poor’s downgraded Ireland’s credit rating yesterday on concern about the rising costs to support nationalized banks."

Information Warfare: USAF Seeks One In A Million

"The air force has also formed two rather unique 'aggressor squadrons.' These do not help pilots deal with foreign aircraft and different tactics, but helps sysadmins (computer network system administrators) deal with foreigners, or Americans, trying to hack into military computers. These are the units that are attractive to potential hacker recruits. Both of these squadrons spend much of their time attacking American military networks, to discover vulnerabilities before a real enemy does.
The Information Warfare Aggressor role is similar to the 'tiger teams' commercial firms hire (and the air force pioneered) to test the defenses of corporate networks. The two aggressor squadrons have increased the quality and quantity of attacks that can be launched against U.S. systems, to see how well the defenses hold up. Members of the squadron then analyze the results of their attack. Finally, the aggressor hackers tell the sysadmins and other concerned personnel of the target unit what they did wrong, and why."

Weapons: SCAR Seeks Salvation

"SOCOM has lost some of its enthusiasm for SCAR and decided that the M-16 and M-4 aren't so inferior after all. That's because last year, SCAR was issued to a battalion of U.S. Army Rangers headed for Afghanistan. This was the first big combat test for SCAR, which had completed field testing in 2007. The rangers found SCAR to be, in most cases, as good as the M-16s and M-4s it replaced, but not markedly superior. As a result, SOCOM backed off on its plans to replace all M-16s and M-4s with SCAR weapons. Meanwhile, SOCOM has given FN another list of needed tweaks for SCAR, and an order for 40mm grenade launchers for SCAR."

Intel CEO: U.S. faces looming tech decline | Politics and Law - CNET News

"The U.S. legal environment has become so hostile to business, Otellini said, that there is likely to be 'an inevitable erosion and shift of wealth, much like we're seeing today in Europe--this is the bitter truth.'
Not long ago, Otellini said, 'our research centers were without peer. No country was more attractive for start-up capital... We seemed a generation ahead of the rest of the world in information technology. That simply is no longer the case.'"

AP: Quayle wins GOP slugfest in AZ 3rd Cong. District

"The son of former Vice President Dan Quayle has won the GOP nomination in Arizona's 3rd Congressional District.
Ben Quayle led the field of 10 Republicans by nearly 5 percentage points late on election night. He had 23 percent of the vote, and his nearest competitor, businessman Steve Moak, had just under 18 percent."

Conway Sees Long Afghan Stay for Marines

"'Though I certainly believe some American unit somewhere in Afghanistan will turn over responsibilities to Afghan security forces in 2011, I do not think they will be Marines,' he told reporters in his opening remarks at a Pentagon press conference.
Noting that Helmand and Kandahar are considered the 'birthplace' of the Taliban, Conway said 'I honestly think it will be a few years before conditions on the ground are such that turnover will be possible for us.'
Conway said he wanted to prepare Marines for the likelihood that the war will continue past the 2011 deadline. He recently returned from a trip to Afghanistan, where he said morale was high because Marines 'can sense conditions are turning their direction.'"

Poll: Iraqis Say 'Wrong Time' for US Exit

"When asked if it was the right time for American Soldiers to leave -- the US military earlier confirmed troop numbers in Iraq had fallen under 50,000 for the first time -- 59.8 percent said no, compared to 39.5 percent who said yes.
Some 53.1 percent of respondents said they disagreed with President Barack Obama's decision last year to end the combat mission in Iraq on August 31, a move that triggered a major reduction in the US military presence here.
However, 46.2 percent of those questioned agreed with the decision.
In other questions, 51 percent said the withdrawal would have a negative effect, compared to 25.8 percent who said it would be positive."

Consumers Dropping Pay TV Services

And I bet they still won't lower prices: "The number of subscribers to cable, satellite and telecom TV services in the U.S. fell for the first time ever in the second quarter, according to research firm SNL Kagan.
The U.S. multichannel TV market lost 216,000 customers last quarter, vs. a gain of 378,000 a year ago. The total number of subscribers to cable, satellite and telecom video fell to 100.1 million in the second quarter, SNL Kagan says.
Cable TV firms lost 711,000 subscribers last quarter, while satellite and telecom TV services managed to add 81,000 and 414,000 subscribers, respectively."

Unemployed group blasts Geithner's handling of economy - The Hill's On The Money

"UCubed, a group representing unemployed and underemployed workers, sharply criticized Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for his handling of the economy after the Labor Department last week announced that jobless claims had unexpectedly jumped to 500,000.
'The pace of job losses is increasing, and Secretary Geithner doesn't have a clue on how to end this grave recession,' said Rick Sloan, the group's acting executive director, in prepared remarks.
Sloan noted a September 2009 interview with ABC where Geithner predicted that in 12 months jobs would be easier to find and income growth would accelerate.
'Geithner was delusional then and he's even worse now,' Sloan said, pointing to comments that were made less than a month ago by Geithner declaring the economy was 'on firmer foundation for future growth.'"

Economy Caught in Depression, Not Recession: Rosenberg - CNBC

"Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans said in a speech Tuesday that the risk of a double-dip recession has escalated. He said government programs to help distressed homeowners have been ineffective and aren't helping the pivotal housing sector recover.
The dour outlooks come on the same day that the National Association of Realtors said home sales reached a 15-year low in June, dousing hopes that the industry had reached a bottoming point.
Rosenberg points out that the 'overall economic malaise' has come despite aggressive efforts by the Federal Reserve to stimulate the economy through rate cuts. The central bank itself has scaled back its economic projections, has held steady on its balance sheet, and could be announcing another round of quantitative easing measures at its Jackson Hole summit this week."

Next US Target: Birthplace of the Taliban

"As Lt. Col. Peter N. Benchoff prepares for an assault next month into the birthplace of the Taliban, he doesn't sugarcoat the hurdles his troops face in this crucial swath of southern Afghanistan.
'Security sucks. Development? Nothing substantial. Information campaign? Nobody believes us. Governance? We've had one, hour-long visit by a government official in the last 2 1/2 months,' the battalion commander says. 'Taliban is the home team here.'
'Here' is 116 square miles of Zhari, a district just west of Kandahar through which the insurgents funnel fighters, drugs, explosives and stage attacks into the city.
It's also an iconic, psychologically significant spot for the Taliban. Just about two miles (three kilometers) south of the main U.S. base of Howz-e-Madad, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar ran an Islamic school, founded the movement in 1994...."

Troops Fire Shots to Disperse Protesters

"U.S. troops fired warning shots to disperse a protest in eastern Afghanistan over the arrest of a religious leader suspected of a rocket attack, NATO said Tuesday.
The alliance said no civilian injuries were reported from the protest Monday, but Gen. Faqir Ahmad, the deputy police chief of Parwan province, said one civilian was killed by shots fired from an unknown source.
NATO said about 300 people surrounded a patrol and attacked vehicles with rocks and iron bars outside the massive coalition air base at Bagram, in Parwan province.
'After several attempts to stop the attack and disperse the crowd, coalition troops received small-arms fire directed at them,' NATO said in a news release. Coalition forces then fired the warning shots."

Petraeus: Progress made, but challenges continue

"Speaking from Afghanistan in a video broadcast at the VFW national convention in Indianapolis, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus noted that Afghan forces are increasing in both capability and capacity, and have captured or killed numerous extremist leaders. He also cited a decrease in civilian casualties.
His comments tracked with those broadcast today on BBC, in which the general said the Taliban’s momentum has been reversed in some of its former stronghold areas, including the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar and in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital.
NATO forces will build on this progress in other areas as well, Petraeus said, but he emphasized that some “tough fighting” should be expected as the enemy fights back."

Counter-Terrorism: Odin Knows Who Is Naughty Or Nice

"While in Iraq, Task Force Odin was reported in the media mainly as aircraft and UAVs watching the roads for signs of IEDs, and UAVs, while helicopters and gunships opened fire on terrorists trying to set up roadside bombs. Explosions and dead bodies have more media appeal than massive use of math, no matter how critical the number crunching was to the undertaking. The real story was the geeky stuff, that no headline hungry reporter would go near."

Little-known fact: Obama's failed stimulus program cost more than the Iraq war | Washington Examiner

"* Obama's stimulus, passed in his first month in office, will cost more than the entire Iraq War -- more than $100 billion (15%) more.
* Just the first two years of Obama's stimulus cost more than the entire cost of the Iraq War under President Bush, or six years of that war.
* Iraq War spending accounted for just 3.2% of all federal spending while it lasted.
* Iraq War spending was not even one quarter of what we spent on Medicare in the same time frame.
* Iraq War spending was not even 15% of the total deficit spending in that time frame. The cumulative deficit, 2003-2010, would have been four-point-something trillion dollars with or without the Iraq War.
* The Iraq War accounts for less than 8% of the federal debt held by the public at the end of 2010 ($9.031 trillion).
* During Bush's Iraq years, 2003-2008, the federal government spent more on education that it did on the Iraq War. (State and local governments spent about ten times more.)"

Combat brigades in Iraq under different name - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Well, duh! Or are there really people out there that think that there's such a thing as a "non-combat Soldier?": "The Army has three different standard brigade combat teams: infantry, Stryker and heavy. To build an Advise and Assist Brigade, the Army selects one of these three and puts it through special training before deploying.
The Army selected brigade combat teams as the unit upon which to build advisory brigades partly because they would be able to retain their inherent capability to conduct offensive and defensive operations, according to the Army’s security force assistance field manual, which came out in May 2009. This way, the brigade can shift the bulk of its operational focus from security force assistance to combat operations if necessary."

Afghanistan: Shortsighted And Violent Is The Afghan Way

"The Pakistani campaign against Islamic radicals across the border has spilled over into Afghanistan. Al Qaeda and LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba, an anti-Indian group now allied with al Qaeda) are fleeing to Afghanistan, because the Pakistani government will negotiate with the tribe-based Taliban, but not as much with al Qaeda and LeT (which, like the Taliban, was created by the Pakistani CIA, the ISI). The latter groups are considered out-of-control and particularly bloodthirsty. Even the Pakistani Taliban have turned on al Qaeda (and to a lesser extent, LeT), partly because these guys are, after all, 'foreigners', but also because they are quick to kill local tribesmen they don't agree with (usually on religious grounds). Across the border, al Qaeda and LeT tend to operate in areas (like eastern Afghanistan) where there aren't many Taliban. The attacks by al Qaeda and LeT tend to be particularly vicious, even by Afghan standards."

Air Defense: Kuwait Prepares For Iranian Visit

"Kuwait is buying 209 American MIM-104E Patriot Pac 2 anti-aircraft missiles, for $4.4 million each. These are the latest model for the anti-aircraft version of the Patriot missile. There is also a smaller, Pac-3 (MIM-104F) anti-missile missile for the Patriot. Both Pac 2 and Pac 3 models can hit missiles, but Pac 3 is much better at it (and is largely useless against aircraft). In the 1990s, Kuwait bought 5 Patriot batteries (each with a search radar and five launchers, each carrying four missiles). For both models, the missiles come in sealed containers, which are mounted four or 16 per launcher for firing."

Leadership: The Palestinians Have A Plan That Does Not Include Peace

"The goal of the peace talks is to work how to establish an independent Palestinian state. Israel agrees with that goal, but the Palestinians don't, at least among themselves. That's why these peace talks tend to go nowhere. The latest talks are doomed by the fact that many Palestinians in the West Bank openly oppose them, and the Islamic radical group Hamas, that runs the Gaza Strip (which contains 40 percent of Palestinians) refuse to cooperate in the talks. Hamas and Fatah controlled media both talk of destroying Israel, not making permanent peace. Any peace deals are strictly tactical moves, to further ultimate goal of wiping Israel off the map. All Palestinian maps of the area already do that."

Soldiers receive new MultiCam ACUs, gear - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

"The new and improved ACUs include the following upgrades:
• The MultiCam pattern. This is the result of in-depth analysis that started with 57 camouflage patterns. It provided the best concealment in a variety of tests in Afghanistan, and is especially proficient in the rugged terrain near the Pakistani border, service officials said.
• A better collar. Less Velcro and a new design keep it from crumpling up for a more comfortable wear.
• Infrared patches. These are sewn onto a hideaway tab instead of outside the pockets for greater durability. This is to ensure the patches don’t get destroyed through regular wear and tear.
• Buttons on cargo pockets: It’s back to buttons, as Velcro proved too problematic for soldiers trying to carry myriad gear.
• Extended pockets. The Army has added a special “extender button” to the trouser cargo pockets for easier access and expanded carrying capability.
• Stronger crotches. The crotch has been reinforced to reduce the rips that had become all too common.
• Fire resistant. The uniform provides four seconds of flame resistance — time to evade or egress without suffering third-degree burns. The protection also will keep second-degree burns to less than 30 percent. Such protection almost ensures a 100 percent recovery, according to studies by the burn center in San Antonio.
• Insect resistant. The days of treating your own uniforms are over as the preshrunk uniforms will have permethrine treatments before they are issued. The treatments will last for 50 washings, which should more than cover the 120 days this uniform is designed to last."

Israel tells UN it will stop Gaza aid flotilla - Yahoo! News

"Israel informed the United Nations Friday that it reserves the right to use force to stop a new aid flotilla from reaching the blockaded Gaza Strip.
In a letter sent to UN chief Ban Ki-moon, Israel's UN Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said the stated intention of the Bolivian-flagged all-women cargo ship Mariam 'is to violate the existing naval blockade of Gaza.'
She added that Israel also had information that another vessel, the Naji al-Ali, plans to leave from a Lebanese port with the aim of violating the blockade.
'Israel reserves its right under international law to use all necessary means to prevent these ships from violating the aforementioned naval blockade,' Shalev warned."

They won't build it! Hardhats vow not to work on controversial mosque near Ground Zero

"The grass-roots movement is gaining momentum on the Internet. One construction worker created the 'Hard Hat Pledge' on his blog and asked others to vow not to work on the project if it stays on Park Place.
'Thousands of people are signing up from all over the country,' said creator Andy Sullivan, a construction worker from Brooklyn. 'People who sell glass, steel, lumber, insurance. They are all refusing to do work if they build there.'
'Hopefully, this will be a tool to get them to move it,' he said. 'I got a problem with this ostentatious building looming over Ground Zero.'"

Figures on government spending and debt - Yahoo! Finance

"Figures on government spending and debt (last six digits are eliminated [that means in millions; RTO] ). The government's fiscal year runs Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.
Total public debt subject to limit Aug. 19 ...... 13,310,379
Statutory debt limit .......................................... 14,294,000
Total public debt outstanding Aug. 19 ............ 13,363,228
Operating balance Aug. 19 ..................................... 230,177
Net interest fiscal year 2010 thru July ................ 185,248
Net interest same period 2009 ............................. 167,706
Deficit fiscal year 2010 thru July ....................... 1,169,071
Deficit same period 2009 .................................... 1,266,963
Receipts fiscal year 2010 thru July ................... 1,752,541
Receipts same period 2009 ................................ 1,739,949
Outlays fiscal year 2010 thru July .................... 2,921,612
Outlays same period 2009 ................................. 3,006,912
Gold assets in August ................................................ 11,041"

ShoreBank of Chicago Said to Be Closed Today by FDIC - Bloomberg

"ShoreBank Corp., the Chicago lender operating under a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. cease-and- desist order for 13 months, will be shut and most of its assets will be bought by Urban Partnership Bank, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Urban Partnership, created to make the acquisition, will keep branches in Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit and continue to focus on low-income communities, the people said, speaking anonymously because the matter is private. Urban Partnership will have Tier 1 capital of at least 8 percent and its chief executive officer will be William Farrow, a former executive at the Chicago Board of Trade and Bank One Corp., they said."

Procurement: Why Pakistan Cannot Have Predators

"For years, Pakistan has pressured the U.S. to sell (or give) them Predator UAVs. The Americans refused, at first quietly, but now openly. The U.S. has offered three units of the smaller (160 kg) Shadow 200 models. These are widely used by the U.S. Army, but are not large enough to carry 45 kg Hellfire missiles, like the one ton Predator does. The U.S. doesn't want Pakistan to have Predator/Hellfire partly to keep the technology away from China, partly to keep the systems from being used to kill tribal leaders the U.S. does not consider hostile. The U.S. also fears Pakistan would use Predators used against India. Above all, these UAVs are in big demand by American and NATO forces, who have priority."

Winning: The Incredible Shrinking al Qaeda

"Meanwhile the 'Taliban comeback' keeps getting headlines in the media. But it's the Taliban who are increasingly under attack. There hasn't been a 'Taliban Spring Offensive' for the last two years, and the key Taliban financial resource; heroin in Helmand province, has been under attack as well. The opium crop declined over 25 percent this year. The Taliban hoped that drug gang profits, al Qaeda assistance and Pakistani reinforcements would turn the tide. But al Qaeda is a very junior, unpopular, and shrinking partner, and the Pakistani Taliban are sending refugees, not reinforcements. With all that, violence nationwide was up, mainly because there are more foreign troops in the country, being more aggressive against the Taliban and drug gangs. Foreign troops lost 295 dead in combat during 2008, and that increased 76 percent, to 519, in 2009. That's about half the casualty rate for foreign troops in Iraq during the peak year of 2007. So far this year, the casualty rate is running at the same rate of last year. The Taliban are on the defensive, and their roadside bomb weapon is losing its punch. Like Iraq, the violence in concentrated in a few small areas (in the south). Independent minded tribes, warlords, corruption and drug gangs remain a greater threat to peace, prosperity and true national unity, than the Taliban (on both sides of the Pakistan border). The newly elected Pakistani government finally decided to take on the pro-Taliban tribes and various Islamic terrorist organizations. That reversed the flow of gunmen from Pakistan into Afghanistan, with the Pakistani Taliban calling for help from their Afghan cousins."

Armor: Afghans Upgrade

"Many armed forces, especially those on a low budget, use commercial vehicles, particularly the Ford F-250/350. The Irish army uses SORVs for recon units. In Afghanistan, the Ford, and other pickups, are very popular (especially if they are four wheel drive). Equipping the Afghans with the SORVs, instead of hummers, means the Afghans will get familiar vehicles at less than half the price of a regular hummer, and less than a fifth the price of the M1152 hummer. But the Afghan security forces need armored vehicles for many areas in the south, where the Taliban are most active."

Leadership: Chinese General Declares Democracy The Ultimate Weapon

"Liu has been pushing his ideas for nearly a decade. Five years ago, he was ordered to shut up. So his public presentation of these seemingly heretical ideas ceased. But Liu kept talking to military and government officials in private. Now he has been allowed to go public again. The way he presents his ideas is compelling. He points out that the American military has continued to innovate, increasing the gap between Chinese and U.S. military capabilities. This, despite over a decade of intense reform and upgrades in the Chinese military. This gets the attention of Chinese generals and admirals. Earlier, the Chinese brass were appalled at how quickly the Americans demolished Iraqi forces (using weapons and tactics similar to what China has) in 1991 and 2003. The Chinese military leadership was also shocked at how much the American forces had improved between 1991 and 2003. The quick conquest of Afghanistan in 2001 was also an unpleasant surprise, as this was a very different war than the two in Iraq. Chinese commanders speak boldly, and publicly, of how they are developing methods to defeat all this American cleverness, but Liu knows better, and his private conversations with fellow generals has changed a lot of minds."

Surface Forces : Automation Fatigue On LCS Class Ships

"Normally, a ship of this size would have a crew of about 200. The basic LCS crew is 40, with the other 35 berths occupied by operators of special equipment. But that is already being exceeded on one LCS, which has a detail of 15 sailors for handing special equipment and another 23 to take care of a helicopter. Another shortage encountered is time. Although sailors work a typical six hours on/twelve hours off routine, there are plenty of miscellaneous jobs that cut into off duty hours (taking on supplies and fuel while underway, standing fire/safety alert during aircraft or small boat operations and so on). At times, some sailors were only getting 5-6 hours sleep a day. Fortunately, the LCS uses a two crew system, with each crew being on the ship (at sea or in port) for 40 days, and then the other crew takes over."

Ed Stein Flies Allegory Into Wrong Building

Ed Stein, political cartoonist, published this gem today:

I commented on his page (some typos fixed here):

The churches, one on either side of the OKC Memorial, one Catholic, and one Methodist, have been there since well before the bombing. Before, even, the Murrah Building was constructed. First Methodist was built in 1889, and St. Joseph’s I know less about, but it’s from at least the 1930’s.


The analogy here, isn’t to the proposed mosque. Rather it is to the Greek Orthodox church that is currently being denied permission to rebuild. It predated the events of 2001 and had been there since 1922, predating the construction of the WTC. In which case this cartoon would be genius, but you missed the mark, Mr. Stein.

Since then I've learned that St Joseph's Old Cathedral was built in the same year as First Methodist.
I was gratified that Mr. Stein felt the need to reply to me:

Let me explain something about cartoons–they aren’t meant to be taken literally; if they were they’d be photographs. Their purpose is often to present hypothetical situations, like building a NEW church in OKC after the bombing, or to be read metaphorically, is in building a church being a metaphor for building a mosque. As such, they take some small amount of imagination to decipher, which, unfortunately, some readers simply do not possess.

Rather than a lack of imagination on my part, I think the problem here is that Mr. Stein wasn't aware of the two, real, churches that flank the OKC Memorial to the East and West.  Perhaps he can be forgiven for that ignorance of the geography of flyover country.
 
Nevertheless, there are further problems with the metaphor.  Tim McVeigh bombed the Murrah Building in the name of politics, not religion.  While raised Catholic, he claimed to be agnostic and no connection to either the 1898 erection of the Cathedral, or to the post-bombing renovation can be drawn between McVeigh and the Roman Catholic Church.
 
Mr. Stein wants you to believe that those who oppose the construction of Cordoba House are doing so on the basis of religion, or put more succinctly, that we are intolerant and bigoted.  The truth is that the only sensibility at play here is one of good taste.
 
While I may wonder, I have no reason to believe that the motives of the Cordoba House developers are anything but pure, but the point is that that doesn't matter.  The elements within Islam with which we are at war don't share those views with them any more than they do that of the proper role of resistance and violence in social discourse,a nd they will view and use that facility, if built, as a monument to their blow against the Great Satan.
 
Building a fertilizer plant near the OKC Memorial would be a good analogy.  Nothing wrong with fertilizer plants, but the location makes a poor choice.  Thought, admittedly, it's hard to visualize gloating neo-milita members viewing it as a monument, so perhaps, Mr. Stein has a point regarding my imagination, but, like the message conveyed by his cartoon, not the one he intended.

Iran's secret pipeline into the U.S. - wtop.com

"Iran Air 744 is a bimonthly flight that originates in Tehran and flies directly to Caracas with periodic stops in Beirut and Damascus. The maiden flight was Feb. 2, 2007.
The mere existence of the flight was a significant concern for U.S. intelligence officials, but now a broader concern is who and what are aboard the flights.
'If you [a member of the public] tried to book yourself a seat on this flight and it doesn't matter whether it's a week before, a month before, six months before -- you'll never find a place to sit there,' says Offer Baruch, a former Israeli Shin Bet agent.
Baruch, now vice president of operations for International Shield, a security firm in Texas, says the plane is reserved for Iranian agents, including 'Hezbollah, the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and other intelligence personnel.'"

Procurement: Why The F-35 Is A Hard Sell

"Two years ago, Israel was having second thoughts about buying the new American F-35 stealth fighter-bomber at all. When Israel first bought into the program back in 2002, the quoted 'flyaway' costs per the aircraft alone was $47 million. When delivered, in 2014, the price was expected to rise to an inflation adjusted $80 million. It is now about $96 million. After Israeli add-ons (mostly electronics), support and training costs have all been added, the per-aircraft cost has gone past $200 million. This has caused a big case of sticker shock among senior Israeli defense and political officials. In response, the F-35's manufacturer went into full damage-control mode. The main argument being made was that the special equipment Israeli firms were designing and manufacturing would keep nearly half the aircraft work in Israel, and will create enormous potential sales of that gear to other F-35 users."

NBC Weapons: The W62 Died For Our Sins

"The United States has dismantled the last of 1,725 W62 nuclear warheads. Designed in the 1960s, the 115 kg/253 pound device had a yield of 170 kilotons. All were manufactured between 1970-76 and were used in Minuteman ICBMs.
Over the last five years, the W62 warheads on 300 Minuteman III missiles were replaced with refurbished warheads of more recent design and manufacture. These were W87 warheads, that were originally built for the Peacekeeper missile, which carried ten W87s each. But the last Peacekeeper was retired last year, for cost and disarmament treaty reasons."

Court Rules Stolen Valor Act Unconstitutional

"A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with him in a 2-1 decision Tuesday, agreeing that the law was a violation of his free-speech rights. The majority said there's no evidence that such lies harm anybody, and there's no compelling reason for the government to ban such lies.
The dissenting justice insisted that the majority refused to follow clear Supreme Court precedent that false statements of fact are not entitled to First Amendment protection."

Top Democrat splits with Obama on Ground Zero mosque - Telegraph

Blind Sow Trying to Get Re-Elected: "Senator Harry Reid’s opposition to the controversial Cordoba Centre is his first major public disagreement with the US president and signals the possibility of an electorally dangerous split in the Democratic party ahead of the midterms.
Mr Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, who faces a tough re-election battle in Nevada in November, said through a spokesman that although he respects the constitutional right to freedom of religion it was “very obvious that the mosque should be built someplace else”."

The U.S. should stop wasting billions to subsidize unreliable wind energy projects. - By Robert Bryce - Slate Magazine

"They like everything big in Texas, and wind energy is no exception. Texas has more wind generation capacity than any other state, about 9,700 megawatts. (That's nearly as much installed wind capacity as India.) Texas residential ratepayers are now paying about $4 more per month on their electric bills in order to fund some 2,300 miles of new transmission lines to carry wind-generated electricity from rural areas to the state's urban centers."

East Valley Tribune | Daily Arizona News for Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Tempe, Scottsdale

"The Obama administration invited banking executives Tuesday to offer advice on changing the government's role in the mortgage market. Their response: stay big.
While the executives disagreed on the exact level of support needed, the group overwhelmingly advocated the government should maintain a large role propping up the nearly $11 trillion market.
Bill Gross, managing director of bond giant Pimco, said the economic recovery required more government stimulus, particularly in the housing market. He suggested the administration push for the automatic refinancing of millions homes backed by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Fannie Mac."

Russian Scholar Warns Of 'Secret' U.S. Climate Change Weapon - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty © 2010

Russians--Still Crazy After All These Years: "As Muscovites suffer record high temperatures this summer, a Russian political scientist has claimed the United States may be using climate-change weapons to alter the temperatures and crop yields of Russia and other Central Asian countries.

In a recent article, Andrei Areshev, deputy director of the Strategic Culture Foundation, wrote, 'At the moment, climate weapons may be reaching their target capacity and may be used to provoke droughts, erase crops, and induce various anomalous phenomena in certain countries.'

The article has been carried by publications throughout Russia, including 'International Affairs,' a journal published by the Foreign Ministry and by the state-owned news agency RIA Novosti."

Ray Bradbury hates big government: 'Our country is in need of a revolution' | Hero Complex | Los Angeles Times

"The man who wrote 'Fahrenheit 451,' 'Something Wicked This Way Comes,' 'The Martian Chronicles,' 'Dandelion Wine'and 'The Illustrated Man' has been called one of America's great dreamers, but his imagination takes him to some dark places when it comes to contemporary politics.
“I think our country is in need of a revolution,” Bradbury said. “There is too much government today. We've got to remember the government should be by the people, of the people and for the people.”"

2-leg help paw heroes | The Sun |News|Campaigns|Our Boys

"Faith, eight, was made an honorary sergeant in the US army for helping disabled veterans battling to overcome their war zone injuries.

The labrador-chow cross 'marches' on her hind legs wearing a military jacket when she visits bases and hospitals, where soldiers have taken her to their hearts."

Attrition: A Fifth Of The USAF Unfit

"Last month, the U.S. Air Force began enforcing new physical fitness standards. Some 20 percent failed the mandatory physical fitness test in July. They have 90 days to get ready for another try. While 20 percent is bad, the air force expected as many as 33 percent to flunk. An airman is subject to discharge if they fail two tests in a row, or four in 24 months. Each airman gets tested every six months, although tests are conducted every month so as not to overwhelm the testers, and the gyms. While 20 percent failed the new test, 40 percent scored 90 or over (on a 1-100 scale). A key factor in the higher failure rate was the use of civilian fitness specialists hired to conduct the tests, rather than local NCOs and officers."

Ground Zero Islamic Mosque Moves Forward, Christian Church in Limbo - HUMAN EVENTS

"St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, which once sat right across the street from the World Trade Center, was crushed under the weight of the collapse of Tower Two on September 11, 2001. St. Nicholas was the only church to be lost in the attacks, and nine years later, while City of New York officials are busy removing every impediment to the building of the Cordoba mosque two blocks from the site, St. Nicholas’ future remains unclear."

H/T: marklevinshow.com

Marines & Navy--Power Point Ranger

Pentagon's Gates likely to retire in 2011 - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

"Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in an interview that he's likely to retire from the Pentagon next year.
Gates, the Defense secretary who has served since late 2006, told Foreign Policy magazine that he would likely retire in 2011.
'I think that it would be a mistake to wait until January 2012,' Gates said in an interview published on Monday. 'This is not the kind of job you want to fill in the spring of an election year.'"

Hamas nod for Ground Zero mosque - NYPOST.com

"A leader of the Hamas terror group yesterday jumped into the emotional debate on the plan to construct a mosque near Ground Zero -- insisting Muslims 'have to build' it there.
'We have to build everywhere,' said Mahmoud al-Zahar, a co-founder of Hamas and the organization's chief on the Gaza Strip.
'In every area we have, [as] Muslim[s], we have to pray, and this mosque is the only site of prayer,' he said on 'Aaron Klein Investigative Radio' on WABC.
'We have to build the mosque, as you are allowed to build the church and Israelis are building their holy places.'
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf (inset) got support from Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Zahar (above left, with Gaza political leader Ismail Haniyeh), who spoke on WABC Radio yesterday in favor of Rauf's proposal to build an Islamic center in this downtown location two blocks from Ground Zero.
Hamas, he added, 'is representing the vast majority of the Arabic and Islamic world -- especially the Islamic side.'"

Israel: The Bribe

"Israel is making a big deal about how Hezbollah is violating the 2006 peace agreement, and putting armed men and weapons in the 'neutral zone' (between the Israeli border and the Litani river). The Israelis have released some aerial photos documenting their accusations. But the UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army refuses to go after these violations, often by denying that there are any violations. Civilian reporters attempting to follow up on the Israeli accusations, are stopped by hostile civilians (who the Israelis say are Hezbollah members and pro-Hezbollah villagers in the pay of the Islamic terror organization.)"

Armor: How An Autoloader Can Hurt M-1 Tanks

"These days, only one Western tank, the French LeClerc, has an autoloader, and it is deemed reliable enough. So putting such a device in the M1A3 is not seen as technically impossible. Cutting the crew size to three is another matter. That's because the smaller crew has caused a lot of problems where it has been used. The most immediate problem is maintenance. Tanks require constant maintenance by their crews. This extends from checking, and sometimes doing something to, the mechanical components every day. The tracks (that the tanks move on) have to be checked constantly for wear or damage. You don't want a track falling off in combat, especially if you could have caught the defective link and done something about it beforehand. The wheels, which move the tracks, have components that have to be lubricated regularly, and checked for wear or damage. Then there's the engine, weapons and other mechanical devices. Modern tanks are full of electronics that have to be put through self-checks, as well other bits of fussing about necessary to keep electronics in top shape."

Smart Phone Translation Technology to the Test

"For the past four years, scientists at NIST have been conducting detailed performance evaluations of speech translation systems for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Previous systems used microphones and portable computers. In the most recent tests, the NIST team evaluated three two-way, real-time, voice-translation devices designed to improve communications between the U.S. military and non-English speakers in foreign countries."

US Backs Afghan Plan to Dump Contractors

"'Certainly, we understand President Karzai's statements that he is determined to dissolve private security companies. We are committed to partnering with the government in meeting that intent,' said Brig. Gen. Margaret Boor, head of a new task force to better regulate and oversee private security operations. The group, called Task Force Spotlight, started work in June.
However, Boor declined to give a timeline, saying private security contractors can only be phased out as the security situation improves. That could be a long time given worsening security in recent months in areas of northern and central Afghanistan that had previously been relatively safe.
About 26,000 armed security contractors work with the U.S. government in Afghanistan, including 19,000 with the U.S. military, Boor said. The majority of military contractors protect convoys, though some also provide base security, said Maj. Joel Harper, a spokesman for NATO forces."

Gates Likes Services’ Reinvestment Plans

"Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday he is pleased with the military services' initial recommendations for cutting their budgets and spending the savings on weapons modernization.
Gates called the services' cuts and reinvestment priorities ambitious and aggressive.
'Because they get to reinvest savings, they're highly motivated to make it work,' the Pentagon chief said.
Gates has ordered the services and the Pentagon's agencies to find $100 billion in spending cuts and savings over the next five years."

OPFOR: And The Answer Is...

"The Campaign Against Al Qaeda And Transnational Terrorist Organizations.
Just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?
Even though we're saddled with that idiocy, at least we have a steady hand at the helm, a stalwart captain to guide the ship of state through perilous waters, who--
Who am I kidding? We're screwed. We can't even call a war a war. We reduce it to a clumsy acronym better suited for an obscure IT system. Someone in a position of authority had to have signed off on that terminology. Where are the leaders and statesmen when we need them? We'd better find them, and find them fast."

Petraeus: No Success Without Taliban Talks

"'That doesn't mean Mullah Omar is going to stroll down the main street of Kabul anytime soon and raise his hand and swear an oath on the constitution of Afghanistan,' Petraeus said, referring to the spiritual head of the Taliban. 'But there's every possibility of low- and midlevel [officials'] reintegration and indeed some fracturing of senior leadership that could be defined as reconciliation.'"

Banks to benefit most from White House effort to fight foreclosures - The Hill's On The Money

"Housing experts expressed concern that banks, not homeowners, will be helped by the White House's $3 billion funding infusion -- $2 billion from the Treasury Department and another $1 billion from the Housing and Urban Development Department -- going to those states hit hardest by the housing market crash and unemployment.

'Giving money to the banks isn't what the government should be doing right now,' said Dean Baker, co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research."

Rand Paul: Keep EPA out of Ky. affairs - U.S. Senate Election - Kentucky.com

"Paul claimed Obama 'cares nothing about Kentucky and cares even less about Kentucky coal.'
'We have a president who is forcing the EPA down our throats,' Paul said. 'Even without changing the rules, the EPA is stifling the permit process, and people (are) out of work here because of the president and his policies.
'With all due respect, Mr. President, you're wrong, and you need to stay out of Kentucky affairs. And you need to keep the EPA out of our affairs because we need jobs, and we're not going to get jobs with a busybody EPA that's in our way.'"

How Many "Top Priority" Issues Does Obama Have? - Political Hotsheet - CBS News

"President Obama issued a statement asserting that securing the southwest border has been 'a top priority' since he took office.
But if you think Mr. Obama can have but a single 'top priority,' you'd be wrong. He's got a load of them.
In an Address to the Nation two months ago, Mr. Obama declared 'our top priority is to recover and rebuild from a recession that has touched the lives of nearly every American.'
More than any other issue, he has used the phrase 'top priority' about digging the economy out of the recession and creating jobs. And on this issue, he drew a distinction between 'a' top priority and 'the' top priority.
'Creating jobs in the United States and ensuring a return to sustainable economic growth is the top priority for my Administration,' he said in an Executive Order last March on his National Export Initiative.
Early in his administration, Mr. Obama also assigned the 'top priority' label to his campaign promise to overhaul America's health care system. But a check of his speeches since taking office, reflect a bevy of other 'top priorities:'
FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS: "...that's something that's going to be a top priority." (4/27/10)


ENERGY SECURITY: "And that's why my energy security plan has been one of the top priorities of my Administration since the day I took office." (4/28/10)


EDUCATION REFORM: "To train our workers for the jobs of tomorrow, we've made education reform a top priority in this Administration." (2/24/10)


STUDENT LOAN REFORM: "This is something that I've made a top priority." (2/1/10)


EXPORTS BY SMALL BUSINESSES: "This is going to be a top priority." (12/3/09)


HEALTH ASSISTANCE TO 9/11 FIRST RESPONDERS: "I'm not just talking the talk, we've been budgeting this as a top priority for this Administration." (2/3/10)


END HOMELESSNESS AMONG VETERANS: "I've also directed (Veterans Affairs) Secretary Shinseki to focus on a top priority: reducing homeless among veterans." (8/17/09)


HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS: "Our top priority is ensuring the public safety. That means appropriate sheltering in place or if necessary, getting as many people as possible out of harm's way prior to landfall." (5/29/09)


H1N1 FLU VACCINATIONS: "And throughout this process, my top priority has been the health and the safety of the American people." (5/1/09)


SUPPORT FOR MILITARY FAMILIES: "These military families are heroes too. And they are a top priority of Michelle and me. And they will always have our support." (5/30/09)


STRENTHENING TIES WITH CANADA AND MEXICO: "We're going to make this a top priority..." (10/16/09)


CONSUMER PROTECTION: "During these challenging times, the needs of American consumers are a top priority of my Administration." (2/11/09)


ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: "So this is going to be a top priority generally improving our environmental quality." (11/5/09)"

President goes for a swim in the Gulf – or does he? - Americas, World - The Independent

"The official picture was intended to provide evidence that the region's beaches are back to normal. Yet it soon emerged that the private beach on which it was taken, off Alligator Point in St Andrew Bay, north-west Florida, isn't technically in the gulf."

Petraeus Builds a Case for Success in Afghanistan - NYTimes.com

"In interviews with The New York Times, The Washington Post and “Meet the Press,” General Petraeus said American and NATO troops were making progress on a number of Afghan fronts, including routing Taliban insurgents from their sanctuaries, reforming the Afghan government and preparing Afghan soldiers to fight on their own.
General Petraeus, who took over last month after Gen. Stanley McChrystal was fired by President Obama, said he believed he would be given the time and material necessary to prevail here....
“The president didn’t send me over here to seek a graceful exit,” the general said from his office at NATO headquarters in downtown Kabul. “My marching orders are to do all that is humanly possible to help us achieve our objectives.”"

The Associated Press: German mosque used by Sept. 11 attackers shut down

"A statement by Hamburg officials says the Taiba mosque was shut down and its cultural association was banned on Monday.
The prayer house, formerly known as al-Quds mosque, used to be a meeting and recruiting point for some of the Sept. 11 attackers.
Weekly news magazine Focus cites a report by a local intelligence agency branch in saying the mosque has again become the city's 'main center of attraction for the jihad scene.' It says some members who belonged to the Taiba group and prayed at the mosque have moved on to a radical training camp in Uzbekistan."

Dems may use food stamp money to pay for Michelle Obama's nutrition initiative - TheHill.com

"The House will soon consider an $8 billion child nutrition bill that’s at the center of the first lady’s “Let’s Move” initiative. Before leaving for the summer recess, the Senate passed a smaller version of the legislation that is paid for by trimming the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps.
The proposed cuts would come on top of a 13.6 percent food stamp reduction in the $26 billion Medicaid and education state funding bill that President Obama signed this week."

IHH lauds new Hamas Gaza terror group

Bill Ayers was not available for comment?: "In another sign of the ties between the Turkish organization IHH and Hamas, a representative of the group that organized the aid flotilla blocked by the Israel Navy on May 31 made a congratulatory video address at a recent ceremony marking the establishment of a new terrorist group in the Gaza Strip.

The ceremony was held in mid-July in Gaza and marked the establishment of a military wing by the Palestinian movement Al-Ahrar – The Free – which broke off from Fatah following Hamas’s takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007. The new military wing’s name is Al-Ansar Battalions."

Secret Assault on Terrorism Widens on Two Continents - NYTimes.com

"While the stealth war began in the Bush administration, it has expanded under President Obama, who rose to prominence in part for his early opposition to the invasion of Iraq. Virtually none of the newly aggressive steps undertaken by the United States government have been publicly acknowledged. In contrast with the troop buildup in Afghanistan, which came after months of robust debate, for example, the American military campaign in Yemen began without notice in December and has never been officially confirmed."