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unhappycamper
unhappycamper's Journal
unhappycamper's Journal
December 13, 2013
Southern Poverty Law Center urges Army to re-ban anti-LGBT hate groups
By David Ferguson
Thursday, December 12, 2013 15:33 EST
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) urged the U.S. Army Thursday to rethink its decision to allow soldiers to belong to hate groups like the American Family Association (AFA).
According to a post by the SPLC’s Josh Glasstetter, Army Secretary John McHugh caved in to pressure from right-wing media to have the AFA declared an acceptable organization for soldiers to belong to. Now, the SPLC is urging McHugh to re-think that decision.
The SPLC has long listed the AFA as a hate group, not because of its Judeo-Christian focus, but because of the organization’s long-standing habit of calling LGBT people child molesters and blaming them for the Nazi Holocaust in Europe.
Fox News Radio commentator and far-right agitator Todd Starnes found out that the military agreed with the SPLC that the AFA is a hate group and wrote a column saying that the military has tarred all Christians with the same brush.
Southern Poverty Law Center urges Army to re-ban anti-LGBT hate groups
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/12/southern-poverty-law-center-urges-army-to-re-ban-anti-lgbt-hate-groups/Southern Poverty Law Center urges Army to re-ban anti-LGBT hate groups
By David Ferguson
Thursday, December 12, 2013 15:33 EST
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) urged the U.S. Army Thursday to rethink its decision to allow soldiers to belong to hate groups like the American Family Association (AFA).
According to a post by the SPLC’s Josh Glasstetter, Army Secretary John McHugh caved in to pressure from right-wing media to have the AFA declared an acceptable organization for soldiers to belong to. Now, the SPLC is urging McHugh to re-think that decision.
The SPLC has long listed the AFA as a hate group, not because of its Judeo-Christian focus, but because of the organization’s long-standing habit of calling LGBT people child molesters and blaming them for the Nazi Holocaust in Europe.
Fox News Radio commentator and far-right agitator Todd Starnes found out that the military agreed with the SPLC that the AFA is a hate group and wrote a column saying that the military has tarred all Christians with the same brush.
December 13, 2013
Anti-surveillance petition out-does the Death Star. White House must now respond
By Hamish McKenzie
On December 12, 2013
~snip~
Despite a bipartisan “Day of Action” last week led by the Center for Democracy and Technology, where Stanley is campaign and communications strategist, the petition had only 60,000 signatures on it with just a couple of days remaining.
That total would have been fine pre-January this year, when the White House’s threshhold for an official response to We The People petitions was set at just 25,000 signatures. But after the White House was compelled to reply to a public call for the US to build a Death Star, it increased the requirement to 100,000 signatures. And so the CDT made a gargantuan final push for supporters over social media and email blasts.
It worked. Today, the petition crept past the milestone, which means The White House must now address its central concern, which is:
“We call on the Obama Administration to support ECPA reform and to reject any special rules that would force online service providers to disclose our email without a warrant.”
Anti-surveillance petition gathers enough signatures for White House response
http://pando.com/2013/12/12/anti-surveillance-petition-out-does-the-death-star-white-house-must-now-respond/Anti-surveillance petition out-does the Death Star. White House must now respond
By Hamish McKenzie
On December 12, 2013
~snip~
Despite a bipartisan “Day of Action” last week led by the Center for Democracy and Technology, where Stanley is campaign and communications strategist, the petition had only 60,000 signatures on it with just a couple of days remaining.
That total would have been fine pre-January this year, when the White House’s threshhold for an official response to We The People petitions was set at just 25,000 signatures. But after the White House was compelled to reply to a public call for the US to build a Death Star, it increased the requirement to 100,000 signatures. And so the CDT made a gargantuan final push for supporters over social media and email blasts.
It worked. Today, the petition crept past the milestone, which means The White House must now address its central concern, which is:
“We call on the Obama Administration to support ECPA reform and to reject any special rules that would force online service providers to disclose our email without a warrant.”
December 13, 2013
Refugees across Middle East hit hardest by freak winter storm
By Agence France-Presse
Thursday, December 12, 2013 17:25 EST
A bruising winter storm brought severe weather to the Middle East Thursday, forcing the closure of roads and schools and blanketing already miserable Syrian refugee camps with snow.
The nearly three-year-old conflict in Syria has killed an estimated 126,000 people and displaced millions, including more than two million who have fled across the borders and thousands who are living in makeshift camps.
Footage posted online by activists showed war-battered areas of Syria shrouded in snow, and at least two children have died from the cold, according to a spokesman for the opposition National Coalition.
Bad weather also delayed the first-ever international UN airlift, set to leave the Kurdish region of northern Iraq for Qamishli in northeastern Syria.
Refugees across Middle East hit hardest by freak winter storm
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/12/refugees-across-middle-east-hit-hardest-by-freak-winter-storm/Refugees across Middle East hit hardest by freak winter storm
By Agence France-Presse
Thursday, December 12, 2013 17:25 EST
A bruising winter storm brought severe weather to the Middle East Thursday, forcing the closure of roads and schools and blanketing already miserable Syrian refugee camps with snow.
The nearly three-year-old conflict in Syria has killed an estimated 126,000 people and displaced millions, including more than two million who have fled across the borders and thousands who are living in makeshift camps.
Footage posted online by activists showed war-battered areas of Syria shrouded in snow, and at least two children have died from the cold, according to a spokesman for the opposition National Coalition.
Bad weather also delayed the first-ever international UN airlift, set to leave the Kurdish region of northern Iraq for Qamishli in northeastern Syria.
December 13, 2013
Welcome to HEL: U.S Army developing drone-killing laser weapon
By Agence France-Presse
Thursday, December 12, 2013 19:20 EST
The US Army has for the first time successfully tested a vehicle-mounted laser that managed to shoot down incoming mortar rounds and drone aircraft, officials said Thursday.
Installed in a dome-shaped turret atop a military vehicle, the high-energy laser hit more than 90 mortar bombs and several small unmanned planes over a six-week test at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
The experimental weapon, dubbed the High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD), likely would not be operational until 2022 if the Army decides to purchase the system, according to officials.
The weapon, with three to five lasers, is designed to protect remote bases from mortar, artillery or rocket fire. Such attacks were frequent against “forward operating” bases in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade.
Welcome to HEL: U.S Army developing drone-killing laser weapon
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/12/welcome-to-hel-u-s-army-developing-drone-killing-laser-weapon/Welcome to HEL: U.S Army developing drone-killing laser weapon
By Agence France-Presse
Thursday, December 12, 2013 19:20 EST
The US Army has for the first time successfully tested a vehicle-mounted laser that managed to shoot down incoming mortar rounds and drone aircraft, officials said Thursday.
Installed in a dome-shaped turret atop a military vehicle, the high-energy laser hit more than 90 mortar bombs and several small unmanned planes over a six-week test at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
The experimental weapon, dubbed the High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD), likely would not be operational until 2022 if the Army decides to purchase the system, according to officials.
The weapon, with three to five lasers, is designed to protect remote bases from mortar, artillery or rocket fire. Such attacks were frequent against “forward operating” bases in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade.
December 13, 2013
‘They just wanted to ruin my head’: Records show Army lobotomized 2,000 WW2 vets
By Arturo Garcia
Thursday, December 12, 2013 21:03 EST
Newly uncovered documents show the U.S. Army embraced frontal lobotomy as a way to treat at least 2,000 troops in the aftermath of World War II, the Wall Street Journal reported.
“They just wanted to ruin my head, it seemed to me,” one veteran, Roman Tritz, told the Journal. “Somebody wanted to.”
Tritz, now 90 years old, told the Journal he was forcibly lobotomized on July 1, 1953, after resisting previous attempts. Though the Department of Veterans Affairs has no record of the procedures taking place, the Journal cited government records, inter-office correspondence and letters in reporting that they took place at VA facilities around the country to treat troops who were identified as gay, along with those diagnosed with schizophrenia, depression and psychosis. The records show the bulk of the procedures were carried out between April 1947 and September 1950.
The Journal reported that VA head Frank Hines approved the use of lobotomies in July 1943, two years before he was replaced at the position by President Harry Truman. The chief proponent of the procedure — which involved driving an ice pick-like instrument through the patient’s eye socket — was neurologist Walter J. Freeman, despite objections from other VA medical professionals; one psychiatrist reportedly accused Freeman of wanting to employ lobotomies to treat “practically everything from delinquency to a pain in the neck.”
PTSD Is Not New
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/12/they-just-wanted-to-ruin-my-head-records-show-army-lobotomized-2000-ww2-vets/‘They just wanted to ruin my head’: Records show Army lobotomized 2,000 WW2 vets
By Arturo Garcia
Thursday, December 12, 2013 21:03 EST
Newly uncovered documents show the U.S. Army embraced frontal lobotomy as a way to treat at least 2,000 troops in the aftermath of World War II, the Wall Street Journal reported.
“They just wanted to ruin my head, it seemed to me,” one veteran, Roman Tritz, told the Journal. “Somebody wanted to.”
Tritz, now 90 years old, told the Journal he was forcibly lobotomized on July 1, 1953, after resisting previous attempts. Though the Department of Veterans Affairs has no record of the procedures taking place, the Journal cited government records, inter-office correspondence and letters in reporting that they took place at VA facilities around the country to treat troops who were identified as gay, along with those diagnosed with schizophrenia, depression and psychosis. The records show the bulk of the procedures were carried out between April 1947 and September 1950.
The Journal reported that VA head Frank Hines approved the use of lobotomies in July 1943, two years before he was replaced at the position by President Harry Truman. The chief proponent of the procedure — which involved driving an ice pick-like instrument through the patient’s eye socket — was neurologist Walter J. Freeman, despite objections from other VA medical professionals; one psychiatrist reportedly accused Freeman of wanting to employ lobotomies to treat “practically everything from delinquency to a pain in the neck.”
December 12, 2013
Air Force Chief Says Cutting A-10 Fleet Would Save $3.7 Billion
By Colin Clark
on December 11, 2013 at 5:26 PM
Some members of Congress won’t like this, no matter how compelling the numbers are. But Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said this morning that mothballing the beloved A-10 Warthog fleet could save the service a substantial $3.7 billion, a compelling amount of money in the face of the $12 billion the Air Force must save each year for the next decade in the face of sequestration. (Can you hear Sen. Kelly Ayotte’s teeth grinding?)
Welsh — keenly aware members of Congress would read his remarks — made clear no decision has been made yet: “I don’t know what’s going to happen with the A-10.” But the Air Force has done the numbers on the A-10 as well as the KC-10 fleet, which it also may mothball for savings Welsh estimated at $2.5 billion.
There’s also the grim calculus of risk. Welsh — a former Warthog pilot and guy who studied ground tactics at the Army’s Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth – said destroying the mass of an enemy’s air force (the second echelon, known to most as the reserve) saves the most lives on the ground and at sea, although he also said that close air support (the A-10?s speciality) is very important.
~snip~
~snip~
Conservatives in the House and a smattering of liberals are already counterattacking the budget deal. The right swears up and down that the deal will increase deficits (hey guys, remember how you wasted all that money shutting down the federal government?) and the left says the F-35, those bloated staffs and other military extras could easily be cut to keep us within the limits set by sequestration without hurting the military.
Air Force Chief Says Cutting A-10 Fleet Would Save $3.7 Billion
http://breakingdefense.com/2013/12/air-force-chief-says-cutting-a-10-fleet-would-save-3-7-billion/Air Force Chief Says Cutting A-10 Fleet Would Save $3.7 Billion
By Colin Clark
on December 11, 2013 at 5:26 PM
Some members of Congress won’t like this, no matter how compelling the numbers are. But Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said this morning that mothballing the beloved A-10 Warthog fleet could save the service a substantial $3.7 billion, a compelling amount of money in the face of the $12 billion the Air Force must save each year for the next decade in the face of sequestration. (Can you hear Sen. Kelly Ayotte’s teeth grinding?)
Welsh — keenly aware members of Congress would read his remarks — made clear no decision has been made yet: “I don’t know what’s going to happen with the A-10.” But the Air Force has done the numbers on the A-10 as well as the KC-10 fleet, which it also may mothball for savings Welsh estimated at $2.5 billion.
There’s also the grim calculus of risk. Welsh — a former Warthog pilot and guy who studied ground tactics at the Army’s Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth – said destroying the mass of an enemy’s air force (the second echelon, known to most as the reserve) saves the most lives on the ground and at sea, although he also said that close air support (the A-10?s speciality) is very important.
~snip~
~snip~
Conservatives in the House and a smattering of liberals are already counterattacking the budget deal. The right swears up and down that the deal will increase deficits (hey guys, remember how you wasted all that money shutting down the federal government?) and the left says the F-35, those bloated staffs and other military extras could easily be cut to keep us within the limits set by sequestration without hurting the military.
December 12, 2013
Much of official Washington likes the budget deal struck this week by Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Paul Ryan, chairs of the two chambers budget committees. No more stupid and debilitating showdowns. No more federal shutdowns. Perhaps Congress can actually do what it is expected to do and pass some spending bills. At least we might get two years of relative political peace. That’s not the view of some reaches of the left and the right. The left fear a resurgent Pentagon feeding deeper at the public trough at a time just when it should be weaned. The Tea Party and its chums fear a larger deficit just as sequestration is really starting to curb the appetitive of the federal beast. William Hartung, a defense expert at the left-leaning Center for International Policy, presents a cogent critique of the new budget deal. Read on. The Editor.
Budget Deal: Does the Pentagon Really Need An Extra $20 Billion?
By William D. Hartung
on December 12, 2013 at 5:00 AM
The deal struck this week by Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Patty Murray has been well received by President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner, the defense industry, and many people in the media and the public at large who are tired of Washington’s budgetary gridlock. No one is popping any champagne corks, but there is a widespread feeling that any agreement that can eliminate the uncertainty that has dominated Washington budgetary debates over the past two years is worth supporting.
But the Ryan/Murray deal can be improved. The Congress and the president should rethink the need to give the Pentagon over $20 billion more in fiscal 2014. More than enough money is available under the budgetary caps established in current law to provide a robust and forward-looking defense of the United States without this proposed increase. At roughly $480 billion for the Pentagon budget proper — and nearly $500 billion when nuclear weapons spending at the Department of Energy is factored in — current plans are already about $100 billion per year higher than the Cold War average.
One could argue that we live in a vastly different world than we did during the Cold War, and that there is no reason that we should be spending a similar amount now as we did then. This is absolutely true. The world is considerably safer than it was when the U.S. was faced off against a superpower adversary that had the capability to end life as we know it, and Pentagon spending should reflect that fact.
If anything, traditional military challenges to the United States have been diminishing in the last few years. The Iraq war is over, and the war in Afghanistan is winding down. There is a good chance that Iran’s nuclear weapons program will be stopped through negotiations, not force. Al Qaeda is on the wane, and no foreign terrorist group has been able to launch a significant attack on U.S. soil for over a decade. There are still serious security challenges out there, to be sure, but if we can’t address them with a budget of nearly half a trillion dollars per year there is something seriously wrong with the way we are utilizing our resources.
Budget Deal: Does the Pentagon Really Need An Extra $20 Billion?
http://breakingdefense.com/2013/12/budget-deal-does-the-pentagon-really-need-an-extra-20-billion/Much of official Washington likes the budget deal struck this week by Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Paul Ryan, chairs of the two chambers budget committees. No more stupid and debilitating showdowns. No more federal shutdowns. Perhaps Congress can actually do what it is expected to do and pass some spending bills. At least we might get two years of relative political peace. That’s not the view of some reaches of the left and the right. The left fear a resurgent Pentagon feeding deeper at the public trough at a time just when it should be weaned. The Tea Party and its chums fear a larger deficit just as sequestration is really starting to curb the appetitive of the federal beast. William Hartung, a defense expert at the left-leaning Center for International Policy, presents a cogent critique of the new budget deal. Read on. The Editor.
Budget Deal: Does the Pentagon Really Need An Extra $20 Billion?
By William D. Hartung
on December 12, 2013 at 5:00 AM
The deal struck this week by Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Patty Murray has been well received by President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner, the defense industry, and many people in the media and the public at large who are tired of Washington’s budgetary gridlock. No one is popping any champagne corks, but there is a widespread feeling that any agreement that can eliminate the uncertainty that has dominated Washington budgetary debates over the past two years is worth supporting.
But the Ryan/Murray deal can be improved. The Congress and the president should rethink the need to give the Pentagon over $20 billion more in fiscal 2014. More than enough money is available under the budgetary caps established in current law to provide a robust and forward-looking defense of the United States without this proposed increase. At roughly $480 billion for the Pentagon budget proper — and nearly $500 billion when nuclear weapons spending at the Department of Energy is factored in — current plans are already about $100 billion per year higher than the Cold War average.
One could argue that we live in a vastly different world than we did during the Cold War, and that there is no reason that we should be spending a similar amount now as we did then. This is absolutely true. The world is considerably safer than it was when the U.S. was faced off against a superpower adversary that had the capability to end life as we know it, and Pentagon spending should reflect that fact.
If anything, traditional military challenges to the United States have been diminishing in the last few years. The Iraq war is over, and the war in Afghanistan is winding down. There is a good chance that Iran’s nuclear weapons program will be stopped through negotiations, not force. Al Qaeda is on the wane, and no foreign terrorist group has been able to launch a significant attack on U.S. soil for over a decade. There are still serious security challenges out there, to be sure, but if we can’t address them with a budget of nearly half a trillion dollars per year there is something seriously wrong with the way we are utilizing our resources.
December 12, 2013
N.C. Army division activates 2 new battalions
The Associated Press
© December 11, 2013
FORT BRAGG, N.C.
The 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team is getting two new battalions as part of the Army's restructuring.
Army spokesman Capt. Neil Alcaria says Wednesday's ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Fort Bragg.
Alcaria says the 127th Brigade Engineer Battalion is joining the brigade. It is designed to beef up the brigade's engineering capabilities and was formerly the 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion.
The second unit is the 2nd Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment. It was formerly known as the 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment and is evolving from a reconnaissance and surveillance group to a parachute infantry unit.
N.C. Army division activates 2 new battalions
http://hamptonroads.com/2013/12/nc-army-division-activates-2-new-battalionsN.C. Army division activates 2 new battalions
The Associated Press
© December 11, 2013
FORT BRAGG, N.C.
The 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team is getting two new battalions as part of the Army's restructuring.
Army spokesman Capt. Neil Alcaria says Wednesday's ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Fort Bragg.
Alcaria says the 127th Brigade Engineer Battalion is joining the brigade. It is designed to beef up the brigade's engineering capabilities and was formerly the 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion.
The second unit is the 2nd Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment. It was formerly known as the 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment and is evolving from a reconnaissance and surveillance group to a parachute infantry unit.
December 12, 2013
Air Force Academy leader seeks to end spy program
The Associated Press
© December 12, 2013
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.
The Air Force inspector general has been ordered to investigate the case of former Air Force Academy cadet Eric Thomas, who was expelled in April for actions Thomas said were part of his work as a confidential informant for the academy.
The academy's top general, Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson, said the academy will also try to eliminate the need for confidential cadet informants, The Gazette of Colorado Springs reported Wednesday.
The announcements came after the newspaper reported that the Air Force employs a system of secret cadet informants to search out misconduct.
The Gazette reported earlier this month that informants are told to deceive classmates, professors and commanders while snapping photos, wearing recording devices and filing secret reports, despite an honor code that bars cadets from lying. They help the Air Force Office of Special Investigations gather information on drug use, sexual assault and other cadet misconduct, the Gazette said.
Air Force Academy leader seeks to end spy program
http://hamptonroads.com/2013/12/air-force-academy-leader-seeks-end-spy-program-0Air Force Academy leader seeks to end spy program
The Associated Press
© December 12, 2013
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.
The Air Force inspector general has been ordered to investigate the case of former Air Force Academy cadet Eric Thomas, who was expelled in April for actions Thomas said were part of his work as a confidential informant for the academy.
The academy's top general, Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson, said the academy will also try to eliminate the need for confidential cadet informants, The Gazette of Colorado Springs reported Wednesday.
The announcements came after the newspaper reported that the Air Force employs a system of secret cadet informants to search out misconduct.
The Gazette reported earlier this month that informants are told to deceive classmates, professors and commanders while snapping photos, wearing recording devices and filing secret reports, despite an honor code that bars cadets from lying. They help the Air Force Office of Special Investigations gather information on drug use, sexual assault and other cadet misconduct, the Gazette said.
December 12, 2013
Funding bill won't affect new construction at Fort Bragg
By Drew Brooks
Published: 07:19 AM, Thu Dec 12, 2013
More than $202 million in new construction on Fort Bragg is unaffected a by defense funding bill compromise presented by House and Senate leaders.
Overall, the proposed 2014 National Defense Authorization Act would provide $552.1 billion in funding for national defense and an additional $80.7 billion for the war in Afghanistan.
The compromise bill was released late Tuesday and is pending approval by the larger Congress, with some doubting whether it will be approved by the end of the year.
The House is set to adjourn for the month on Friday, and the Senate is scheduled to do the same next week.
Funding bill won't affect new construction at Fort Bragg
http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2013/12/12/1302035?sac=fo.militaryFunding bill won't affect new construction at Fort Bragg
By Drew Brooks
Published: 07:19 AM, Thu Dec 12, 2013
More than $202 million in new construction on Fort Bragg is unaffected a by defense funding bill compromise presented by House and Senate leaders.
Overall, the proposed 2014 National Defense Authorization Act would provide $552.1 billion in funding for national defense and an additional $80.7 billion for the war in Afghanistan.
The compromise bill was released late Tuesday and is pending approval by the larger Congress, with some doubting whether it will be approved by the end of the year.
The House is set to adjourn for the month on Friday, and the Senate is scheduled to do the same next week.
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