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04 Jun 2010 23:08

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U.S.: Meet Obama’s shoulder-tapped nominee for intelligence head

  • Who is this guy?James Clapper, currently working as the undersecretary of defense for intelligence, spent 32 years in the Air Force, then later joined Robert Gates in the Bush administration. Like Gates, he stuck around with Obama.

    Early complaintsDemocrats and Republicans have criticized the choice because Clapper isn’t an outsider and has deep ties to the Defense Department. Oh, and they like complaining. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jun 2010 10:10

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World: Israelis upset because Israel effed up more than anything

  • It’s the military failure combined with the international damage. Most people could live with that if it had been done successful. It’s not that people are angry that people in Gaza are hungry. It was an operation that was ill-conceived and didn’t go well enough. They hate when things go wrong.
  • Israeli historian Tom Segev • Regarding Israel’s response to the military failure of the flotilla mission. Some feel like the activists pushed Israel into a trap that the military stepped in. Others feel that, due to this mission, the country lost the moral high ground they once had. As a result, while there’s lots of criticism on the international stage, there are completely different kinds of criticism in Israel itself. Oh, and now the Gaza situation is back in the world spotlight, meaning the criticism of Israel’s gonna last a while. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 May 2010 11:54

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Politics: Now both parties have a Senate candidate with spotty army stories

  • Dems Connecticut Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal, who’s running against a woman who’s been attacked by a folding chair before, made it seem like he served in Vietnam when he didn’t.
  • GOP Now, Illinois Senate candidate Mark Kirk was caught claiming in his official bio that he won the U.S. Navy’s Intelligence Officer of the Year when he didn’t. Ah well, it’s not as bad as Roland Burris serving. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 May 2010 11:11

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Politics: Hillary Clinton brilliantly flips national debt issue on its head

  • We cannot sustain this level of deficit financing and debt without losing our influence, without being constrained in the tough decisions we have to make … [it’s time to] make the national security case about reducing the deficit and getting the debt under control.
  • Secretary of State Hillary Clinton • Making an argument that the national debt could be handled better with a smaller U.S. military presence around the world. Her argument? The high level of national debt and deficit could be even more dangerous than having a weak military. Clinton is suggesting we work with other emerging countries to help lift the military burden off of the U.S. Will this work? Good question. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 May 2010 22:00

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U.S.: Obama nails down a compromise on “don’t ask, don’t tell”

  • first Lawmakers will vote on a repeal of the Clinton-era “gays in the military” policy, as part of a compromise Obama worked out.
  • second If it passes, the Defense Department will do a study of its effect on troops. Then, if it’s feasible, it’ll go through. Not bad, bro. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 May 2010 11:19

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World: Japanese PM Yukio Hatoyama sides with U.S. military, feels the pain

  • It is true that I said I wanted to relocate the facility outside of Okinawa. However, I’d like to apologize that the conclusion is not what the Okinawans wanted.
  • Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama • Regarding his decision to allow the American military to keep its main Japanese base, over the concerns and protests of many local residents. The U.S. takes up 10 to 20 percent of the island of Okinawa, and in recent months became a charged political issue. “I must say the situation is extremely disappointing and severe,” said Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 May 2010 11:51

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World: Thailand’s political situation totally hits the crapper

The good news for the Thai military: They captured the leaders of the Red Shirt movement. The bad news: They caused mass riots. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

15 May 2010 13:08

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World: How bad is the fighting in Bangkok right now, anyway?

  • 25 have been killed since the
    Thai government ordered a
    crackdown on Red Shirt protesters
    in Bangkok a few days ago
  • 150 have been wounded in the
    crackdown; Prime Minister Abhisit
    Vejjajiva suggests the Red Shirts are
    trying to cause a civil war source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Apr 2010 09:55

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U.S.: The military’s top enemy, after the Taliban? PowerPoint

  • “When we understand that slide, we’ll have won the war.” The military has a problem with PowerPoint presentations taking over their lives, to the point where some top military officers refuse to use the program. If it sounds like an absurdly postmodern problem for a major military force to have, that’s because it is. Our military is becoming a “Dilbert” strip. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Apr 2010 20:56

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U.S., World: Japan complains loudly, again, about the U.S. military presence

  • 100,000 people protested the
    U.S. military presence on the
    island of Okinawa today
  • 47,000 U.S. troops are stationed
    in Japan, more than half at the Okinawa base source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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