military industrial complex

U.S. and China announce cybersecurity collaboration amid hacking dispute

"China and the US, which are embroiled in a bitter dispute over hacking, have agreed to set up a cybersecurity working group, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday. 'All of us, every nation, has an interest in protecting its people, protecting its rights, protecting its infrastructure,' he told reporters on a visit to Beijing. 'Cybersecurity affects everybody,' he said. 'It affects airplanes in the sky, trains on their tracks, it affects the flow of water through dams, it affects transportation networks, power plants, it affects the financial sector, banks, financial transactions. So we are going to work immediately on an accelerated basis on cyber.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. and China announce cybersecurity collaboration amid hacking dispute

The Pentagon: Angry Birds Hold the Key to Our Security

"'The digital battlefield has to be as easy to navigate as an iPhone,' writes Wired magazine’s Noah Shachtman. 'The attacks have to be as easy to launch as an Angry Bird.' Mr. Shachtman points out that U.S. cyberoffensives have taken months of planning and have required small specialized units. Instead, the Pentagon wants 'munitions made of 1s and 0s to be as simple to launch as ones made of metal and explosives.' The Pentagon has brought in 'designers behind some of Apple’s most famous computers — with assistance from the illustrators who helped bring Transformers to the silver screen.' The DoD will shell out $16.1 billion in contract money to conduct their cyber makeover." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Pentagon: Angry Birds Hold the Key to Our Security

Who Funds the War Party?

"I use the 'War Party' phraseology as shorthand for a number of different groups and individuals, all of whom are linked by an ideological and/or financial interest in promoting a foreign policy of perpetual war. This includes those groups pushing for budget-busting 'defense' outlays, as well as those whose commitment to militarism is more ideological. Then there are the foreign lobbyists who have an interest in maintaining and expanding the American Empire: and while there are a number of foreign interests involved in this vector, the one that stands out on account of the sheer quantity of its resources is the Israel lobby, which combines a rich source of funding with ideologically-based activism." Continue reading →

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Two U.S. sailors admit to Okinawa rape charges

"Okinawa is the reluctant host of more than half of the 47,000 US military personnel in Japan. The rape provoked outrage and led to a nationwide curfew on all American military personnel in Japan. Despite the curfew, misconduct involving US servicemen, much of it drunken, has continued to fuel anti-US sentiment in communities with bases. The attack came amid already high tensions in Okinawa, which saw demonstrations last year against the US deployment to the island of Osprey aircraft. Local activists charge they have a poor safety record. Washington sees the island as a vital strategic base in a region that is increasingly wary of the power of China’s rising military." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTwo U.S. sailors admit to Okinawa rape charges

No, thanks: Stop saying “support the troops”

"To support the troops is to accept a particular idea of the American role in the world. It also forces us to pretend that it is a country legitimately interested in equality for all its citizens. In reality, the troops are not actually recipients of any meaningful support. That honor is reserved for the government and its elite constituencies. 'Support our troops' entails a tacit injunction that we also support whatever politicians in any given moment deem the national interest. If we understand that 'the national interest' is but a metonym for the aspirations of the ruling class, then supporting the troops becomes a counterintuitive, even harmful, gesture." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNo, thanks: Stop saying “support the troops”

Should Bales Bail?

"Afghanistan war vet/killer Robert Bales was sentenced today to life in prison without parole after he was convicted of killing sixteen Afghan villagers. Actually, he was convicted of being caught killing sixteen Afghan villagers. God only knows how many thousands more civilians were killed by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. And since U.S. soldiers were invaders, not defenders, they are guilty of murdering everyone that died at their hands in Afghanistan. If we are going to lock up Bales for life, then he should be joined by thousands more. Of course, we know that this will never happen. If you kill only those whom the government says to kill, then that is okay." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingShould Bales Bail?

Should Bales Bail?

"Afghanistan war vet/killer Robert Bales was sentenced today to life in prison without parole after he was convicted of killing sixteen Afghan villagers. Actually, he was convicted of being caught killing sixteen Afghan villagers. God only knows how many thousands more civilians were killed by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. And since U.S. soldiers were invaders, not defenders, they are guilty of murdering everyone that died at their hands in Afghanistan. If we are going to lock up Bales for life, then he should be joined by thousands more. Of course, we know that this will never happen. If you kill only those whom the government says to kill, then that is okay." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingShould Bales Bail?

Sgt. Bales sentenced to life in prison without parole for Afghan massacre

"A military jury sentenced Robert Bales, the Army Staff Sergeant who went on a killing spree while stationed in Afghanistan that left 16 civilians dead, to life in prison without parole today. In June, Bales pleaded guilty to charges of premeditated murder in order to avoid the death sentence. This week, a military jury was asked to determine if Bales would eligible for parole. Yesterday, Bales apologized for what he called 'an act of cowardice,' but he did not explain the reason behind the massacre." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSgt. Bales sentenced to life in prison without parole for Afghan massacre

Sgt. Bales sentenced to life in prison without parole for Afghan massacre

"A military jury sentenced Robert Bales, the Army Staff Sergeant who went on a killing spree while stationed in Afghanistan that left 16 civilians dead, to life in prison without parole today. In June, Bales pleaded guilty to charges of premeditated murder in order to avoid the death sentence. This week, a military jury was asked to determine if Bales would eligible for parole. Yesterday, Bales apologized for what he called 'an act of cowardice,' but he did not explain the reason behind the massacre." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSgt. Bales sentenced to life in prison without parole for Afghan massacre

A Long List of What We Know Thanks to Private Manning

"The debate in the media, and in political circles over Edward Snowden—Right or Wrong—often doubles back on references to Pfc. Manning, who was sentenced to thirty-five years in prison on Wednesday. Too often (that is, most of the time), the value and import of the Manning/WikiLeaks disclosures are ignored or dismissed, just as Snowden’s NSA scoops are often derided as 'nothing new.' So for those who either suffer from memory loss or ignorance on this particular score, here is a partial accounting of some of the important revelations in the Manning leak, drawn from my book—with Kevin Gosztola—on the Manning case, Truth and Consequences." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Long List of What We Know Thanks to Private Manning