military industrial complex

U.S. will ‘respond’ to North Korea’s provocations, says Chuck Hagel

"Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday that the United States was 'prepared to deal with any eventuality' from North Korea and warned that danger from Pyongyang was on the rise. 'We will unequivocally defend — we are unequivocally committed — to that alliance with South Korea as well as our other allies in that region of the world,' Hagel told reporters. 'We will be prepared...to deal with any eventuality,' Hagel said after the United States flew two nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers on a mission over South Korea. 'We must make clear that these provocations by the North are taken by us very seriously and we’ll respond to that,' Hagel said. Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. will ‘respond’ to North Korea’s provocations, says Chuck Hagel

U.S. sends anti-missile destroyer near North Korean coast

"The USS Fitzgerald, which had sailed to South Korea as part of recent exercises, has been sent off the southwestern coast of the Korean peninsula instead of returning to its home port in Japan, a US defense official said. Pyongyang in February tested a nuclear bomb and has declared itself to be at a state of war with US-allied South Korea. The United States previously took the unprecedented step of announcing test bombing by nuclear-capable state-of-the-art B-2 bombers. It has also deployed F-22 Raptor stealth fighters to South Korea as part of an ongoing exercise." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. sends anti-missile destroyer near North Korean coast

Obama launches $100 million brain-mapping project

"US President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced a $100 million project to map the intricate inner mysteries of the human brain, targeting cures for diseases like Alzheimer’s. The BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) initiative will be run by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the National Science Foundation. Obama was introduced as 'scientist in chief' at the White House event by NIH Director Francis Collins, and his administration makes the case that despite tough fiscal times, investments in science are vital." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama launches $100 million brain-mapping project

EPA Forces Man to Spend $200K to Expand Lake, Then Doesn’t Grant Permit To Do It

"Shortly after Mr. Lathrop built his lake, the Army Corps of Engineers determined that the dump he had put the lake on was a 'wetland' according to the Clean Water Act and referred him to the EPA for prosecution. When Mr. Lathrop met with the EPA to talk about his lake, they determined that he must expand a lake on an adjacent farm. In order to do so Mr. Lathrop had to apply for a permit from the Corp. That cost him another $200,000 and, despite the Corp lifting their order against him, he has still never received the permit. It's been 15 years. This decades-long fight has cost Mr. Lathrop $300,000. It has left him and his family on the brink of bankruptcy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEPA Forces Man to Spend $200K to Expand Lake, Then Doesn’t Grant Permit To Do It

Brennan Promotes CIA Agent Who Helped Run Torture Programs

"John Brennan, the man Obama appointed to head the CIA, promoted an undercover agent to be director of the CIA’s clandestine service, despite the fact that she helped run the CIA’s illegal torture and detention program after 9/11 and 'signed off on the 2005 decision to destroy videotapes of prisoners being subjected to treatment critics have called torture.' 'The woman, who remains undercover and cannot be named, was put in the top position on an acting basis when the previous chief retired last month,' reports The Washington Post." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBrennan Promotes CIA Agent Who Helped Run Torture Programs

Glenn Greenwald: Domestic drones and their unique dangers

"What possible reason could someone identify as to why these small, portable weaponized UAS products will not imminently be used by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in the US? They're designed to protect their users in dangerous situations and to enable a target to be more easily killed. Police agencies and the increasingly powerful drone industry will tout their utility in capturing and killing dangerous criminals and their ability to keep officers safe, and media reports will do the same. One has to be incredibly naïve to think that these 'assassin bugs' and other lethal drone products will not be widely used on US soil." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Domestic drones and their unique dangers

Afghan villagers flee their homes as US drones terrorize them

"Barely able to walk even with a cane, Ghulam Rasool says he padlocked his front door, handed over the keys and his three cows to a neighbor and fled his mountain home in the middle of the night to escape relentless airstrikes from U.S. drones targeting militants in this remote corner of Afghanistan. Rasool and other Afghan villagers have their own name for Predator drones. They call them benghai, which in the Pashto language means the 'buzzing of flies.' When they explain the noise, they scrunch their faces and try to make a sound that resembles an army of flies." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAfghan villagers flee their homes as US drones terrorize them

US Army vet charged with fighting alongside al-Qaida against Syrian government

"A U.S. Army veteran, who boasted on Facebook of his military adventures with Syrian rebels, was charged Thursday with firing rocket propelled grenades as part of an attack led by an al-Qaida group against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. According to an FBI affidavit, Harroun, who served three years in the Army before being medically discharged, was engaged in military action in Syria, siding with rebel forces against the Syrian government, from January to March of this year. Harroun is not charged with providing material support to a terrorist group, but instead conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction outside the U.S." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS Army vet charged with fighting alongside al-Qaida against Syrian government

U.S. flies nuclear-capable stealth bombers over South Korea

"The United States said two nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers flew 'deterrence' missions over South Korea on Thursday. The deployment of the stealth bombers was clearly meant to deliver a potent message to Pyongyang about the US commitment to defending South Korea against any aggression as military tensions on the Korean peninsula soar. It came shortly after the North severed its last-remaining military hotline with South Korea. US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told his South Korean counterpart that Seoul could rely on all the military protection the United States has to offer — nuclear, conventional and missile defence." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. flies nuclear-capable stealth bombers over South Korea

Homeland Security Using Video Games to Recruit Top Students as Cyber Warriors

"Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is seeking up to 600 new student hackers to combat what they claim is the increasing danger of cyber attacks on critical infrastructure throughout the country. Rather than the normal propaganda techniques used to lure young Americans into other branches of the government, Homeland Security is taking a different route which includes the use of sophisticated video games to essentially promote job opportunities within their agency to young impressionable high school students." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHomeland Security Using Video Games to Recruit Top Students as Cyber Warriors