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05 Nov 2010 21:08

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U.S.: Preliminary “Don’t Ask” ruling winds its way to Supreme Court

  • federal A federal judge in California ruled the military’s controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy unconstitutional; Obama then appeals.
  • appeals After the appeal was filed, the 9th Circuit ruled that the policy should stay in place while the case goes to trial – a win for the Pentagon.
  • supreme The Log Cabin Republicans have now appealed that decision to the Supreme Court in hopes of getting it overturned again. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Oct 2010 20:33

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World: Good to know: Guards at U.S. bases in Afghanistan have Taliban ties

  • Let’s say that you’re the Pentagon, and you’re fighting a war in Afghanistan. Now let’s say that you have bases for your soldiers. And let’s say that they need guards. Who do you hire? If the answer is private Afghan security firms with little oversight, *ding ding ding* you’ve won a prize. Now, let’s offer up an extra wrinkle for you guys, and this is the one the Senate is getting all caught up on. Apparently, some of these guards have ties to the Taliban, that nebulous enemy that you’ve been fighting for almost a decade. (That’s not even to mention the guards with ties to Iranian intelligence or the ones with criminal ties.) Whaddya do? You get really pissed off, that’s what. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Sep 2010 10:29

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U.S.: Pentagon-censored author can’t believe his book was burned

  • The whole premise smacks of retaliation. Someone buying 10,000 books to suppress a story in this digital age is ludicrous.
  • Army Reserve Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer • Regarding the Pentagon going out of its way to censor his memoir, “Operation Dark Heart” – by destroying thousands of copies. By the way, in case you’re wondering, it’s on the Kindle in digital form, but heavily redacted. Way to stand up for free speech, federal government! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Sep 2010 10:07

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U.S.: The Pentagon gets all book-censory over a memoir

  • Apparently, The Pentagon didn’t want certain details getting out. So they took Army Reserve Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer’s book and reportedly destroyed a bunch of copies. Can’t wait until they hear about the Kindle. Some quick numbers on the incident:
  • 9,500 number of copies of “Operation Dark Heart” the Pentagon bought – and destroyed! Muahahahahah
  • $25.99 the cost of buying all those books at retail – a taxpayer cost of $246,905 according to our count source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Aug 2010 21:00

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U.S.: Robert Gates does the unthinkable: He proposes cutbacks

  • 10% cut in Defense Department contractors proposed source
  • 3,000 jobs could disappear thanks to the massive contractor cuts and other proposed cuts
  • $530B the size of the Defense Department’s budget, which usually increases 2-3 percent yearly
  • 1% the amount the budget will increase next year, which is why they need to make cuts
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Jul 2010 14:44

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U.S.: Bad uses of top-secret clearance: Accessing child porn online

  • bad Dozens of Pentagon officials and contractors with clearance have been tied to purchasing child porn.
  • worse While some cases have been prosecuted, many have languished over a number of years. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 May 2010 11:02

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U.S.: National Day of Prayer: Franklin Graham’s sidewalk prayer

  • no Evangelist Franklin Graham (Billy Graham’s son) wasn’t in the Pentagon for the National Day of Prayer due to his controversial comments on Muslims.
  • but Graham was right outside the Pentagon praying just the same, huddled along the sidewalk with a half-dozen other people. Not the same, but kinda noble. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink
 

22 Apr 2010 20:30

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Politics: Evangelist says controversial things about Islam; Pentagon freaks

  • You can’t beat your wife. You cannot murder your children if you think they’ve committed adultery or something like that, which they do practice in these other countries. I don’t agree with the teachings of Islam and I find it to be a very violent religion.
  • Evangelist Franklin Graham (son of Billy Graham, who’s still kicking) • Regarding the Islamic religion. He said these statements in an a CNN interview last year, and now they’re being thrown in his face as the Pentagon is blocking him from taking part in National Day of Prayer events at the large, pointy mecca (whoops, wrong choice of word) hub of the Department of Defense. Just think of it this way, Frankie: At least radical Muslims didn’t suggest you’d be killed for your controversial statements, like Trey Parker and Matt Stone. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2010 11:37

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Politics: A couple quick thoughts on John Patrick Bedell and extremism

  • Let’s face it. Extremism isn’t right-wing or left-wing. A Christian Science Monitor article from today referred to John Patrick Bedell (along with anti-tax plane crasher Joe Stack) as a right-wing extremist. We’re not comfortable trying to tie these guys to any political leaning or political party. It creates a sucking sound that ties their opinions up in politics rather than focusing on the big issue, which is that there’s enough dischord in our country that random dudes are willing to attack parts of the government singlehandedly. Let’s get away from the politics and worry about the root problem we keep seeing. Extremism. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2010 11:27

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U.S.: Pentagon shooter John Patrick Bedell: Anti-government stoner

  • Given my belief that cannabis prohibition is the least defensible and most unjust aspect of the prohibitionist regime existing throughout the world today, I decided in March 2006 to cultivate cannabis in full view of the world.
  • “JPatrickBedell” • In an internet post which happens to be strongly anti-government. He apparently did this a lot, between YouTube and Wikipedia and other sites. When he attacked last night, he reportedly showed “no real emotion in his face” in captured video surveillance just before the shooting. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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