Winning Hearts & Minds

Combat stress felt far from front lines

"Sitting at computer banks lining the expansive room, the Air Force analysts watch the video feeds streaming from surveillance drones and other military assets monitoring U.S. forces around the globe. Photos, radar data, full-motion video and electronically gathered intelligence flows across multiple screens. In 15- to 20-minute shifts, the airmen watch and interpret the information. While they are thousands of miles from the gritty combat in Afghanistan, the analysts in the cavernous room at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia relive the explosions, the carnage and the vivid after-battle assessments of the bombings over and over again." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCombat stress felt far from front lines

Dennis Rodman ‘planning a vacation’ with Kim Jong-Un

"The odd couple is getting odder: first, Dennis Rodman and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un took in a hoops game side-by-side. Now they’re planning a holiday together. The retired and flamboyant 51-year-old Rodman, who announced the vacation plan Monday, became the most high-profile American to meet Kim, doing so during a recent trip to Pyongyang which came against a backdrop of increased North Korean saber-rattling on the peninsula. Officials in Washington have played down the significance of the trip, stating that the former Chicago Bulls star does not represent the views of the United States." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDennis Rodman ‘planning a vacation’ with Kim Jong-Un

White House denies claims of collusion with the Taliban

"The White House on Monday strongly rejected allegations from Afghan President Hamid Karzai that the United States was colluding with the Taliban to justify the presence of US troops in the country. 'That’s categorically false, and nobody believes it,' White House spokesman Jay Carney said when asked about Karzai’s remarks. Karzai had charged that Taliban bombings helped the United States argue for a long-term military presence and that Washington was holding 'daily' talks with the insurgents behind the backs of his government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhite House denies claims of collusion with the Taliban

Pentagon to review controversial drone warfare medal

"The US military said Tuesday it halted production of a new medal for drone and cyber warfare, ordering a review after critics called the award an insult to combat veterans. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who received two Purple Hearts and other decorations as a soldier in the Vietnam War, made the decision to put a hold on the new Distinguished Warfare Medal after hearing complaints from veterans, his spokesman George Little told a news conference. Hagel asked the military’s top officer, General Martin Dempsey, to lead the review of the medal and to look at the ranking of the award compared to other military medals, he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPentagon to review controversial drone warfare medal

GOP Mogul Behind Drug Rehab ‘Torture’ Centers Bankrolling Opposition to Pot Legalization

"Save Our Society from Drugs, a Florida-based nonprofit founded by Mel and Betty Sembler, has given Smart Colorado contributions totaling $151,497 through September, according to The Nation’s review of state finance disclosures. That’s 95 percent of the money raised by the group so far. Before they led Save Our Society from Drugs, and its sister nonprofit, the Drug Free America Foundation, the Semblers were at the helm of STRAIGHT, Inc., which operated drug abuse treatment centers, mostly for teenagers, from 1976 through 1993. Former clients of the rehab center recount episodes of brutal beatings, rape and systematic psychological abuse." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGOP Mogul Behind Drug Rehab ‘Torture’ Centers Bankrolling Opposition to Pot Legalization

Is Detroit a Self-Defense Haven?

"Detroit has been getting a lot of attention for its recent shootings. Not the usual criminal stuff, but the step-up in self-defense shootings as people have come to realize that the police only exist to mark the outlines of bodies with chalk. Justifiable homicide in the city shot up 79% in 2011 from the previous year, as citizens in the long-suffering city armed themselves and took matters into their own hands. The local rate of self-defense killings now stands 2,200% above the national average. Residents, unable to rely on a dwindling police force to keep them safe, are fighting back against the criminal scourge on their own. And they’re offering no apologies." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs Detroit a Self-Defense Haven?

Lead investigator in Oscar Pistorius case is himself facing attempted murder charges

"On Thursday further pressure was piled on South African police as they admitted Botha is himself charged with attempted murder. Police Brigadier Neville Malila told the Associated Press that the detective is scheduled to appear in court in May. Malila said Botha faced seven counts of attempted murder over what news reports called a drunken incident in which he and two other police officers were accused of firing shots from a state-owned vehicle while trying to stop a minivan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLead investigator in Oscar Pistorius case is himself facing attempted murder charges

Will Grigg: “No Hesitation”

"Among the training targets are images depicting 'non-traditional threats,' such as pregnant women, children, and grandmotherly women – in other words, 'Little People' – carrying guns. The company’s marketing team explains that the 'non-traditional targets' were created at the request of police officers and trainers, who are seeking to dis-inhibit the killing instincts of police 'when deadly force is required on subjects with atypical age, frailty or condition…. This hesitation time may be only seconds but that is not acceptable when officers are losing their lives in these same situations….'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill Grigg: “No Hesitation”

L.A. County Sheriff’s Department will fire seven deputies who formed gang

"Seven Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies have been notified that the department intends to fire them for belonging to a secret law enforcement clique that allegedly celebrated shootings and branded its members with matching tattoos, officials said. The Times reported last year about the existence of the clique, dubbed the Jump Out Boys, and the discovery of a pamphlet that described the group's creed, which required aggressive policing and awarded tattoo modifications for police shootings." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingL.A. County Sheriff’s Department will fire seven deputies who formed gang

Settlement for officer who assaulted mentally handicapped teen in his home

"At one point, a neighbor tried to tell Hooper about Kersey’s disabilities, but was told to go back into his home or he would be arrested, the lawsuit stated. The officers shot Kersey in the back with their Tasers as he opened his front door. They fought with him, and during the struggle, the officers struck him with fists and a retractable nightstick and pepper-sprayed him, then hog-tied him, the lawsuit stated. Kersey’s mother opened the door and pulled her son in, at which point Hopper fired his Taser, hitting the 17-year-old in the back. Officers used physical strikes and baton strikes to the thigh to take Kersey to the ground and handcuff him." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSettlement for officer who assaulted mentally handicapped teen in his home