military industrial complex

White House wins fight to keep drone killings of Americans secret

"A federal judge issued a 75-page ruling on Wednesday that declares that the US Justice Department does not have a legal obligation to explain the rationale behind killing Americans with targeted drone strikes. United States District Court Judge Colleen McMahon wrote in her finding this week that the Obama administration was largely in the right by rejecting Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and The New York Times for materials pertaining to the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to execute three US citizens abroad in late 2011." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhite House wins fight to keep drone killings of Americans secret

Saudis aiding U.S. drone attacks in Yemen: report

"Saudi Arabia has provided fighter jets to assist the United States with its drone strikes against Al-Qaeda targets in Yemen, the London Times reported on Friday. US drones are backing Yemeni forces combating militants of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The group’s Yemen branch is considered by Washington to be the most active and deadliest franchise of the global jihadist network. The Times cited a US intelligence source as saying that 'some of the so-called drone missions are actually Saudi Air Force missions'. US drone attacks in Yemen nearly tripled in 2012 compared to 2011." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSaudis aiding U.S. drone attacks in Yemen: report

U.S. developed ‘tsunami bomb’ during World War II

"The tests were carried out in waters around New Caledonia and Auckland during the Second World War and showed that the weapon was feasible and a series of 10 large offshore blasts could potentially create a 33-foot tsunami capable of inundating a small city. The top secret operation, code-named 'Project Seal', tested the doomsday device as a possible rival to the nuclear bomb. About 3,700 bombs were exploded during the tests, first in New Caledonia and later at Whangaparaoa Peninsula, near Auckland. The plans came to light during research by a New Zealand author and film-maker, Ray Waru, who examined military files buried in the national archives." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. developed ‘tsunami bomb’ during World War II

End War at Home, End War Abroad

"The home invaders that traumatized Hill’s children were from the Ogden Police Department. Yet Hill was not wanted for any crime. He had been mistaken for a different man, charged with 'desertion' from the military. In pursuit of a suspect accused of a non-violent offense, police armed themselves with multiple assault rifles and tactical weapons and chose to invade a home in the middle of the night. They stated their willingness to kill anyone who held a gun to defend their home from such a raid. And these were police in Utah, where gun ownership is common." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEnd War at Home, End War Abroad

Pentagon Cries Poor, Starts $10 Billion Nuclear Weapon Upgrade

"The $178 million, three-year contract with Boeing is for a prototype 'tail kit' for the B61 nuclear weapon. The fins and control systems will be similar to the ones on today’s conventional, GPS-guided bombs, potentially making this enhanced version of the B61 the most accurate weapon of mass destruction ever. It’s one part of a bigger package of improvements to the B61 that the Pentagon insists it needs in order to keep this slice of its nuclear arsenal ready for war, if needed. Everything from the spin rocket motors to the electronic neutron generators will be refreshed. Total cost: an estimated $10 billion." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPentagon Cries Poor, Starts $10 Billion Nuclear Weapon Upgrade

Group warns military: Prepare now for risks of ‘mutant soldier’ future

"Researchers at California Polytechnic State University warn that the U.S. military is working to create and implement technologies that will give soldiers 'mutant powers' without fully thinking through the consequences. The report warns that 'military human enhancements' could pose a decided risk to enlisted personnel. The means used to produce the enhancements, including drugs, special nutrition, electroshock, gene therapy and robotic implants, are all only dimly understood. The consequences of utilizing these techniques with anything but exquisite care could be devastating." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGroup warns military: Prepare now for risks of ‘mutant soldier’ future

‘Liberator Of Kuwait’: ‘Stormin Norman’ Schwarzkopf dead at 78

"Norman Schwarzkopf, the US general who led 1991 Operation Desert Storm, which liberated Kuwait from Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, has died at the age of 78, a US official said Thursday. Schwarzkopf, an American hero known popularly as 'Stormin Norman,' died in Tampa, where he retired after his last military posting as commander-in-chief of US Central Command. Former president George H. W. Bush, himself sick in intensive care in Texas, was first to issue a statement mourning the loss of the man he chose to lead the war that came to define both of their careers." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Liberator Of Kuwait’: ‘Stormin Norman’ Schwarzkopf dead at 78

Sexual assault reports jump at military academies, Pentagon finds

"The number of sexual assaults reported on the campuses of the nation’s military academies increased by nearly a quarter over the 2010-2011 academic year, according to an annual Pentagon survey released Friday. The dramatic increase was recorded despite efforts that defense officials have put into sexual assault awareness programs and other training to try to prevent rape and harassment on campus. Roughly 12 percent of women who responded to the survey, and two percent of men, said they had experienced unwanted sexual contact." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSexual assault reports jump at military academies, Pentagon finds

Suicide underscores grim conditions at Guantanamo

"The suicide of a Guantanamo inmate underscores the grim reality for detainees held there for nearly 11 years without charge or trial, with no end in sight to their imprisonment. Three months after Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif was found dead in his cell, the US Army formally declared his death to be a suicide — the seventh at the prison. How, Remes would like to know, did the prisoner manage to die at the tightly-controlled facility of a self-administered drug overdose, as the autopsy report cites as the cause? And how could an inmate suffering from acute pneumonia be languishing in a disciplinary cell without medical care?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSuicide underscores grim conditions at Guantanamo

Saving the rhino with U.S. military surveillance drones

"A rhino farmer in South Africa is planning to use surveillance drones designed for the US military to combat poachers who are driving the animals towards extinction. Clive Vivier, cofounder of the Zululand rhino reserve in KwaZulu-Natal province, said he has been granted permission by the US state department to buy the state-of-the-art Arcturus T-20 drone. He is now seeking clearance from local civil aviation authorities to put 30 of the drones in South African skies. He appealed for the US, UK or other countries to help raise the necessary funds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSaving the rhino with U.S. military surveillance drones