UN Military Vehicles Seen On Virginia Highways

[Posted comment]

Bobby Elrod  June 26, 2016
They're built at the BAE Systems plant in York, PA. From there they carried down I-81 to I-77, and then I-95 towards the port of Savannah to be shipped overseas.

[From article]
What were United Nations vehicles doing in Virginia on Friday?
That’s what motorists were left to wonder when they saw UN tactical vehicles — with bulletproof glass — on a flatbed truck and rolling down Interstate 81.
Jeff Stern posted several photos of Facebook and added the description, “Can’t begin to tell you how many of these I passed today on 81 near Lexington, VA. Interesting times ahead!”“Tactical Vehicles, with bullet proof glass? What ever could those be for, and why are UN vehicles here, in THIS country?!” Fernando Johnson questioned, while Vincent Sammons noted, “They are sealed against gas too.”

http://www.theamericanmirror.com/photos-un-tactical-vehicles-seen-rolling-virginia-interstate/

PHOTOS: UN military vehicles seen rolling down Virginia interstate
JUNE 26, 2016
BY OLAF EKBERG

Black Women West Point Graduates Pose With Pumped Fists

[From article]
My first reaction when I saw the photos of the black female West Point graduates in their seemingly defiant, fists-raised black power poses was probably similar to that of a large segment of conservative America: "What the hell is going on here?" That was accompanied by an old Army vet's revulsion that the barracks, uniforms, and prestige of a hallowed American military institution were being used to showcase support by junior Army officers for what I consider racist black supremacist politics.
[. . .]
It was while reading comments to this piece that what was bothering me about the hundreds of responses I'd read here and elsewhere gelled in my mind. I'd expected the widespread angry reaction, but what I had not expected was the openly expressed racial bitterness and censure directed at a group of young women who without question had made a very thoughtless and truly dumb mistake.
[. . .]
Similar feelings to mine were expressed by many veteran commenters, both retired officers and enlisted, all of whom are well aware of the foolhardiness of any officer openly demonstrating such political racial solidarity.
But the main takeaway from this incident is that had this same event taken place ten years ago, it would have drawn similar media attention but most likely fewer critical comments by readers, and most assuredly the racial intensity and hostility expressed in those comments wouldn't have been even close to what they are today. Most certainly a large number of them, especially here at American Thinker, would have been blocked for being too racially insensitive – but now, after almost eight years of a black president, they're just part of the acceptable racial narrative. It's no secret that Eric Holder was speaking for his boss and setting out the racial position for the Obama administration when he described black felons as his people. Obama's recent black college commencement address where he lapsed into black vernacular demonstrates that it's still in place. Gullible voters put Obama in office and kept him there all this time based on the hope that he would end racial strife. They may as well have hoped for the Tooth Fairy to leave it under their pillows.
If Obama wants to know what his real legacy is, he should start reading web comments.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/05/west_point_responses_obamas_true_legacy.html

May 11, 2016
West Point responses: Obama's true legacy
By Russ Vaughn

Published on May 9, 2016
A controversial photo has arisen of 16 black women with their fists raised in Army Uniform at West Point Military Academy. West Point is a college environment unlike the majority of college campuses in the United States, in that any political affiliations, protests, are banned on campus. The Department of Defense (DoD) also states that a person is not allowed to make a political statement of any sort while in military uniform. This creates issues in which the women featured in this photograph are going to have to face.
The first issue is the moral outrage. A popular fitness blogger and Army Veteran, John Burk, wrote an op-ed style blog on his website decrying the photograph as against what the military is all about (unity) and being against DoD regulations.
The second point is obviously the rule violation. The photos were taken as part of a long-standing tradition at West Point, which is to don the old-school grey Uniforms to take graduation photos in front of the very historic Nininger Hall. Which means the class of women in the photo are going to graduate this year, 2016. The rule violation could place them in a situation where they are expelled from the school, unable to graduate just two weeks before they are scheduled.
It would be unfortunate if these women were not allowed to graduate, or if another possibly career-altering result would arise, but what are the alternatives? If allowed to go unfettered, this action could spur other actions, such as a group of white males displaying the Nazi/Aryan extended palm salute. Nobody would try to understand the dynamics of the photo, and rightfully so. However, it would be unfair for that photo to be punished severely while the photo of the black women raising the black power fist goes unchallenged.
Whatever the solution and/or response to the photo is, it must be something that the Army and the DoD in general is willing to live with for other similar cases. Not to say that the Nazi/Aryan salute is the exact same thing as the Black Power/Black Unity Fist... however... they are both political statements that are against regulations. They must be treated the same in the eyes of the authority that will rule on them. If not, what you're going to have is race-based discipline, which truly has no place in the United States Military.

https://youtu.be/3Lzm6A3DTWc



* * *

[From article]
Sixteen African-American senior cadets at West Point thought it a good idea to pump their fists in the air in a recent photo. In what many consider a violation of their oath of “Duty, Honor, Country,” they instead appear to align themselves with #BlackLivesMatter
[. . .]
It is clear that these woman lack leadership skills. The best solution is to award them the degree in engineering that they have earned and dismiss them from the military. It is questionable if they are fit to lead, despite the fact that taxpayers just spent $250,000 educating each of them.
What would have happened if the situation were reversed and sixteen “good old white Southern boys” were photographed holding the Confederate flag? They would have been expelled immediately and would be long gone.
Women in the military want fair treatment; well, give it to them.
Thomas Lifson adds:
These women will have careers in the Army because without them, the quotacrats would make life miserable for the top brass. Under President Obama, the United States military is driven by quotas and social engineering imperatives, not the defense of the nation. Sad, but that's the way it is. For now.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/05/fist_pumping_cadets_embarrass_west_point.html

May 10, 2016
Fist-pumping cadets embarrass West Point
By Susan Daniels

Russian Forces in Syria Reportedly Fire On Israeli Aircraft

[From article]
Russian forces in Syria have fired at least twice on Israeli military aircraft, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seek improved operational coordination with Moscow, Israel's top-selling newspaper said on Friday.
The unsourced report in Yedioth Ahronoth gave no dates or locations for the incidents nor any indication Israeli planes were hit. Russia mounted its military intervention in Syria in September to shore Damascus up amid a now 5-year-old rebellion.
Separately, Israel's Channel 10 TV said a Russian warplane approached an Israeli warplane off the Mediterranean coast of Syria last week but that there was no contact between them.
[. . .]
Israel, which has repeatedly bombed Syria to foil suspected arms handovers to Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas, was quick to set up an operational hotline with Moscow designed to avoid accidentally trading fire with Russian interventionary forces.
Visiting Moscow on Thursday, Netanyahu told Russian President Vladimir Putin in televised remarks: "I came here with one main goal - to strengthen the security coordination between us so as to avoid mishaps, misunderstandings and unnecessary confrontations."
In an apparent allusion to Syria, Putin said: "I think there are understandable reasons for these intensive contacts (with Israel), given the complicated situation in the region."
According to Yedioth, the reported Russian fire on Israeli planes was first raised with Putin by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who visited Moscow on March 15. At the time, Putin responded that he was unaware of the incidents, Yedioth said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-russia-israel-idUSKCN0XJ0GY

Russian forces in Syria fired on Israeli aircraft: Israeli newspaper
(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Reuters
April 22, 2016

War Is Hell

[From article]
Western civilization is immolating itself on the sword of political correctness. Our leaders fail to recognize the existential threat that we now face and are unwilling to take the decisive actions necessary to combat the threat of radical jihadist Islamists.
Leadership on both sides of the political spectrum refuse to identify how we might counter this threat. This is not necessarily a new type of threat that we have not experienced before. However, what is new is our refusal to properly utilize the tools at our disposal to combat this threat.
We often hear our leadership say that it is against our values as Americans to use some of these ruthless but effective tools. Gen. George S. Patton once said, “War is cruel, ruthless and brutal and it takes a cruel, ruthless and brutal man to fight it!” It was the implementation of this approach that ultimately secured victory in 1945.
Unfortunately, our nation does not presently possess Patton’s “cruel, ruthless and brutal man” in any senior leadership position in our government or military. Politicians and generals alike often state that it is against our long-held American values to target civilians or torture prisoners. However, our country’s history is replete with examples of our leadership doing what is necessary to win. We can only logically extrapolate that those who would refuse to fight hard war would be willing to sacrifice our lives and freedom on the altar of the absurd fallacies of American values crowd.
[. . .]
During the wars against the Plains Indians in the late 1800s, the U.S. Army targeted villages after Indians had attacked and killed white settlers and raped women. In response, the Army sent in one of the greatest cavalry leaders in the old West: Col. Ranald McKenzie. His job was to kill Comanche Indians, and this he did with great efficiency. He relentlessly attacked Indian villages and destroyed their pony herds which were vitally important to the survival of these Indian communities. These starving and broken Comanche Indians retired to the reservation and were no longer a threat to the local citizens.
World War II has an abundance of examples of bombings of German and Japanese cities. The firebombing of Tokyo in March 1945 is estimated to be the single most destructive bombing raid in history. Approximately 100,000 Japanese citizens were killed during this attack.
Unfortunately, after World War II, the U.S. abandoned the concepts of total and hard war and adopted a more politically correct view of war. Subsequently we have never again won a war.
Now we are faced with brutal Islamic extremists who are willing to kill innocent civilians without remorse. President Obama naively refuses to even recognize the threat. Sun Tzu in his timeless essay The Art of War stated,
Know the enemy and know yourself; and in 100 battles you will never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant of both your enemy and of yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril.
[. . .]
While I was a young Marine in attendance at Infantry Training School there was an oracular sign hanging on the wall of the classroom that simply stated, “When civilized man can no longer stand the horrors of war and declares that he will no longer fight. Then he will surely be killed or enslaved by the uncivilized.” Have we reached that point? Are we no longer willing to do what needs to be done to secure victory?

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2016/04/hard_war.html

April 7, 2016
Hard War
By Lt. Col. Kent S Ralston USMC (Ret.)

Israeli Soldiers Speak About Hateful Propaganda That Makes Their Job Difficult and More Dangerous

[From article]
Sometimes it appears that the world is going back to the dark times of the Holocaust era. Just last month, Iran, flush with cash from the sanctions relief, announced that they will give slain Palestinian terrorists $7000 if they become “martyrs of the intifada in occupied Jerusalem.” Since the Palestinian knifing attacks have started, thirty-four Israelis have been killed and 404 injured, with 202 stabbings/attempted attacks, 83 shootings, and 42 vehicular (ramming) attacks.
[. . .]
Regarding the stabbings, not only is Army personnel attacked, but also civilians, mothers, and children. The minute they know it’s an Israeli, it’s a Jew, they attack them. We want to protect ourselves and it is difficult because you can’t judge someone who is under attack, if he made the right decision by killing the attacker or by running away. It is very difficult to judge someone when you haven’t been in that situation yourself.”
[. . .]



Yet, they still make every effort to reduce collateral damage that includes dropping leaflets and text messaging. This not only puts the Israeli soldiers in more danger, but also eliminates the tactical element of surprise.
[. . .]
Another important point all wanted to make is how much they feel a comradeship with those serving in the American military. While on tour in America they met with many U.S. soldiers including those in the ROTC program. They told of obvious differences and similarities.
The main difference is that the IDF must fight and confront the enemy on their actual borders. They are in battle for their country’s survival.
[. . .]
Also, discussed is the disconnect between American society and those serving. About 98% of Americans do not know anyone in the armed services or a family member. Everybody in Israel knows someone who has served, is currently serving, and has been touched by tragedy. The image of the Israeli soldier is that those serving are everyone’s children. There is a much stronger awareness of what they and their family members must go through and sacrifice.
Asked about the similarities, all feel that the IDF and the American military forces share the same goals. They are highly motivated to serve their country and believe they are fighting for the values of freedom, democracy, and to protect their fellow countrymen.

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2016/03/israeli_soldiers_speak_out.html

March 19, 2016
Israeli Soldiers Speak Out
By Elise Cooper

Recognizing Modern Reality, Islam Is Making War

Can't solve a problem unless it is identified. 

[From article]
Some observers believe that the Muslim problem is a matter of life and death. Be assured that the need for Islamic reform is much more important than either. The choices for Islam are the same as they are for Palestine Arabs; behave or be humbled. Europe may still have a Quisling North and a Vichy South; but Russia, China, and even America, at heart, are still grounded by national survival instincts - and Samuel Colt.
The threat is Islam, both kinetic and passive aggressive factions. If “moderate” Islam is real, then that community needs to step up and assume responsibility for barbaric terror lunatics and immigrants/refugees alike. Neither America nor Europe has solutions to the Islamic dystopia; civic incompetence, strategic illiteracy, migrants, poverty, religious schisms, or galloping irredentism. The UN and NATO have no remedies either. Islamism is an Ummah, Arab League, OIC problem to solve. Absent moral or civic conscience, unreformed Islam deserves no better consideration than any other criminal cult.



Western Intelligence agencies must stop cooking the books too. The West is at war and the enemy is clearly the adherents of a pernicious ideology. A global war against imperial Islam might be declared, just as angry Islam has declared war on civilization. A modus vivendi might be negotiated only after the Ummah erects a universal barrier between church and state globally. Islam, as we know it, is incompatible with democracy, civility, peace, stability, and adult beverages.
Oxymoronic “Islamic” states need to be relegated to the dustbin of history. If the Muslim world cannot or will not mend itself, Islamism, like the secular fascism of the 20th Century, must be defeated, humbled in detail. Sooner is better.
[. . .]
Lethal threat comes, instead, on four winds: toxic culture, religious politics, fanatic fighters, and furtive finance, all of which originate with Muslim state sponsors. The most prominent of these are Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan.
[. . .]
What Saudi Arabia is to toxic ideology in North Africa, Turkey and Pakistan are to perfidy in the Levant and South Asia. Turkey and Pakistan are Islam’s most obvious and persistent grifters. Turkey supports the Islamic State and other Sunni terror groups with a black market oil racket. Pakistan supports the Taliban, al Qaeda, and ISIS with sanctuary and tolerance of the world’s largest opium garden. Oil and drug monies from Arabia, Turkey, and South Asia are financing the global jihad. Turkey also facilitates the migration of Muslims west to Europe while sending Islamist fighters and weapons south to Syria and Iraq.
[. . .]
Sanctions against Russia and Israel are a study in moral and political fatuity whilst Arabs and Muslims are appeased midst a cultural sewer of geo-political crime and human rights abuses. If NATO’s eastern flank needs to be anchored in trust and dependability, Russia, Kurdistan, or both, would make better allies than Turkey.
[. . .]
The time has come to put Kurdistan on the map too. Kurdistan is a unique and exemplary case of reformed or enlightened Islam; indeed, a nation that could serve as a model for the Muslim world.
[. . .]
the Boston Marathon bombing might have been prevented had Washington a better relationship with Moscow.
[. . .]
The logic of a cooperative or unified approach to a common enemy seems self-evident. America, China, and Russia, at least on issues like toxic Islam, is a match made in Mecca.
[. . .]
Now the parties to that epic Cold War struggle may have to join forces to suppress a theo-fascist movement that, like its Nazi predecessor, will not be defeated without guns. The West is at war again, [. . .] questions of war are not rhetorical. Saying that you are not at war does not make it so. Once declared, by one party or the other, the only relevant question about war is who wins and who loses. Losers do not make the future.
[. . .]
Donald Trump made several policy suggestions on the Islamism issue, one on immigration, the other on Mideast oil. On the former, he suggests a hiatus on Muslim immigration until America develops a plan or reliable programs to vet migrants. On Arab oil, he suggests, given the lives and treasure spent liberating Kuwait and Iraqi oil fields, America should have held those resources in trust and use oil revenues to finance the war against jihad, however long that takes. The problem with both Trump ideas is that they come perilously close to common sense, an American instinct in short supply these days.

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2016/01/a_strategy_to_defeat_islamic_theofascism.html

January 7, 2016
A Strategy to Defeat Islamic Theo-fascism
By G. Murphy Donovan

Germany Considers Military Aircraft To Return Migrants To Home Countries

[From article]
Berlin is looking at the use of military transport vehicles to send refugees back to their countries of origin. The government has been mulling ways to speed up the deporation process.
The German government is willing to use army vehicles to ship refugees back to their homelands, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.
The story broke earlier the same day, when German newspaper Bild reported the government was looking into the use of Bundeswehr aircraft as one way in which federal and state governments could deport asylum seekers whose applications had been rejected.
"Obviously, the usage of the Transall (Army transport aircraft) is not ruled out," von der Leyen confirmed. "But only in the event that all civilian transport capacities are exhausted and if it does not affect the German army's priority missions."
Struggling to cope
The news comes as Berlin searches for ways to speed up the deportation process in an effort to ease the burden on local governments struggling to cope with Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. The country says it's expecting more than 800,000 refugees this year.
According to the article in Bild, the number of asylum requests in Germany is currently far greater than the number of deportations.

http://www.dw.com/en/germany-considering-use-of-military-aircraft-to-deport-refugees/a-18794777?maca=en-rss_en_nr_ger-7437-xml-mrss

Germany considering use of military aircraft to deport refugees
Berlin is looking at the use of military transport vehicles to send refugees back to their countries of origin. The government has been mulling ways to speed up the deporation process.
21.10.2015

Schools Suspend Students For Wearing Relatives' Military Jackets, Images of Tribute to Fallen Soldiers

Lack of common sense among adults is frightening.

[From article]
The school dress code states that students cannot wear anything that promotes alcohol, drugs, tobacco or violence. Holmes’ shirt depicted a military rifle barrel first into the ground, with a helmet on top and boots on the bottom. It reads: “Standing for those who stood for us.”
School officials told Holmes the shirt was inappropriate because it contained a weapon, and asked him to instead wear a school shirt, but Holmes refused.
“They won’t let me wear a shirt to supports the people who keep us free,” he told Fox 12, “I’m not going to support them.”
“I’m proud of him,” Holmes’ father, Charles Holmes, said. “I would have done the same thing.”
School officials would not discuss the issue with the media.
Alan Holmes said he understands why school officials would be concerned about images of weapons in an era of school shootings, but his shirt clearly does not promote violence.
“This isn’t relating to violence. The barrel is pointed down – total gun safety,” he said.
News of Holmes’ suspension enraged a lot of folks online.
“The ‘image’ on this shirt shows (honor to) buried American soldiers, the weapon is used to hold the helmet when buried in the field,” Frank Martin posted to Facebook. “If that is inappropriate … then the school should haul down the American flag in front of it and return all … federal funding it receives.”
“I understand the paranoia going on with school administrators, but this is about as silly as the kid who made a gun out of a pointed finger and got tossed out too,” Pam McFarlin added.


http://eagnews.org/student-suspended-after-wearing-military-memorial-shirt-honoring-marine-brother/

Student suspended after wearing military memorial shirt honoring Marine brother
October 12, 2015
VICTOR SKINNER


* * *



[From article]
Eleven-year-old twins Kaidence and Abigail were even born on an Air Force base.
So the new fall jackets they bought to wear to Aubrey Middle School shouldn’t be a surprise.
“The Air Force ones they picked out — we might’ve nudged them a little bit,” says Phil Rolen, their father.
But the girls didn’t expect the reaction they got from teachers once they stepped into their classrooms.
“She yelled at me and said that’s out of the dress code and that she would get me in trouble if I wore something out of dress code,” says Kaidence.
“It’s political correctness run amok,” says their father.
He is a disabled Iraq War veteran who immediately called the principal and was told the Air Force logo was fine, just too large for the district’s strict dress code.
“The district has a blanket policy doesn’t allow administrators to make commonsense exceptions to rules that I think most Texans would agree are absolutely superfluous,” says Rolen.
The school district told CBS 11 News in a statement that “Aubrey ISD has a student dress code to follow, just as our military personnel are expected to wear uniforms.”
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2015/10/09/546342/

Twin Daughters Of Air Force Vet Barred From Wearing Jackets With Logo To School
October 9, 2015 11:45 PM
CBS News Dallas Fort Woth TX
J.D. Miles 

Russia Moving Attack Jets, Supplies Into Syria, Via Iran

Russian MIG 29 fighter jet

[From article]
Russian, Syrian and Iranian military commanders have set up a coordination cell in Baghdad in recent days to try to begin working with Iranian-backed Shia militias fighting the Islamic State, Fox News has learned.
Western intelligence sources say the coordination cell includes low-level Russian generals. U.S. officials say it is not clear whether the Iraqi government is involved at the moment.
[. . .]

 

Meanwhile, a U.S. official described to Fox News how, over the weekend, the Russians were able to move 24 attack jets into Syria undetected.
[. . .]
According to the Aviationist, the Russian cargo planes and fighter jets landed at an airbase in Hamadan, Iran, roughly halfway between Baghdad and Tehran on Sept 18-19.
[. . .]



This week, former CIA director Gen. David Petraeus testified on Capitol Hill, warning that inaction in Syria carries risks for the United States.
"Russia's recent military escalation in Syria is a further reminder that when the U.S. does not take the initiative, others will fill the vacuum -- often in ways that are harmful to our interests," Petraeus said.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/09/24/russians-syrians-and-iranians-setting-up-military-coordination-cell-in-baghdad/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fmost-popular+%28Internal+-+Most+Popular+Content%29

Russians, Syrians and Iranians setting up military coordination cell in Baghdad
By Lucas Tomlinson, Jennifer Griffin
Published September 24, 2015
FoxNews.com

US Government Continues Militarization Of Local Police, Now Using Facial Recognition

[From article]
Facial recognition software, which American military and intelligence agencies used for years in Iraq and Afghanistan to identify potential terrorists, is being eagerly adopted by dozens of police departments around the country to pursue drug dealers, prostitutes and other conventional criminal suspects. But because it is being used with few guidelines and with little oversight or public disclosure, it is raising questions of privacy and concerns about potential misuse.
Law enforcement officers say the technology is much faster than fingerprinting at identifying suspects, although it is unclear how much it is helping the police make arrests.
When Aaron Harvey was stopped by the police here in 2013 while driving near his grandmother’s house, an officer not only searched his car, he said, but also took his photograph and ran it through the software to try to confirm his identity and determine whether he had a criminal record.
Eric Hanson, a retired firefighter, had a similar experience last summer. Stopped by the police after a dispute with a man he said was a prowler, he was ordered to sit on a curb, he said, while officers took his photo with an iPad and ran it through the same facial recognition software. The officers also used a cotton swab to collect a DNA sample from the inside of his cheek.
[. . .]



County documents show that over 33 days in January and February, 26 San Diego law enforcement agencies used the software to try to identify people on more than 20,600 occasions — although officers found a match to criminal records only about 25 percent of the time.
Lieutenant Wahl said the department was not aware of any complaints about the software or about the policy of collecting DNA samples that Mr. Hanson and others have described.
[. . .]



“It is not as if there is the identification of a specific crime problem; they are simply collecting a lot of information that could impact a lot of completely innocent people,” said Michael German, a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice and a former F.B.I. agent. “There is very little oversight on the local level, and little concern from the federal agencies providing the grants.”
Facial recognition technology was first developed in the 1960s, but only recently became accurate enough for widespread use. It is among an array of technologies, including StingRay tracking devices and surveillance aircraft with specialized cameras, that were used in overseas wars but have found their way into local law enforcement.
[. . .]



But people who are not criminal suspects are included in the database, and the error rate for the software is as high as 20 percent — meaning the authorities could misidentify millions of people.
Among the cities that use facial recognition technology are New York and Chicago, which has linked it to 25,000 surveillance cameras in an effort to fight street crime.
[. . .]



Mr. Harvey, 27, remains upset about what happened to him. He said that when he refused to consent to having his picture taken, the officer boasted that he could do so anyway.
“He said, ‘We’re going to do this either legally or illegally,’ and pulled me out of the car,” Mr. Harvey said.
Mr. Harvey, who is African-American, said the San Diego Police had stopped him as a suspected gang member more than 50 times because his neighborhood, Lincoln Park, is among the city’s most violent.
He said he had been told he was in a gang database, even though he has never been a gang member. He recently spent nearly a year in jail on gang conspiracy charges that were dismissed in March. “I don’t know how good a gang member I could have been, not having a criminal record,” he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/13/us/facial-recognition-software-moves-from-overseas-wars-to-local-police.html?_r=1

Facial Recognition Software Moves From Overseas Wars to Local Police
By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS
AUG. 12, 2015

Russians Develop Microwave Gun To Take Down Drones

[From article]

Sputnik describes UIMC’s “microwave gun” as a “super-high-frequency gun capable of deactivating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and the warheads of precision weapons” from a 360-degree, 10-kilometer range.
The microwave-based anti-drone weapon reportedly disables “radio electronics” in drones, including the unmanned vehicle’s cameras, turning any UAV into an aimless projectile.
[. . .]
The U.S. has a similar microwave weapon in development, the “Counter-electronics high-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project” missile targets electronics inside buildings. The CHAMP missile would shut down computers, radio communication and other electronic functions to disable a building’s defenses.
Russia’s microwave gun is also reportedly capable of suppressing the radio equipment of low-altitude aircraft and the ability to scramble the guidance, precision systems in drones and assault vehicles on the ground.

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2015/06/17/report-russian-military-developing-anti-drone-microwave-gun/

Report: Russian Military Developing Anti-Drone ‘Microwave Gun’
June 17, 2015 11:27 AM

CBS News Washington DC

Journalists Maintain Silence About Gaza Rocket Attacks On Israel

[From article]
Israel's prime minister on Sunday slammed the international community's silence over recent rocket attacks from Gaza and warned that a strong reprisal could be forthcoming.
Benjamin Netanyahu said he hasn't heard a word of condemnation from the world about three rocket attacks from Gaza over the past two weeks. The rockets did not cause any injury or harm but disrupted the quiet in southern Israel that has mostly prevailed since last summer's war between Hamas and Israel.
"It will be interesting to see if this silence continues when we use all our strength in exercising our right to defend ourselves," Netanyahu said at his weekly Cabinet meeting. "It should be clear: the hypocrisy that is sweeping the world will not chain our hands from defending the citizens of Israel."
The Israeli military carried out an airstrike in the Gaza Strip early Sunday in response to the latest rocket attack from the Hamas-ruled territory. The projectile landed in an open area and there were no injuries or damage reported from the rocket attack or the airstrike.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150607/ml--israel-palestinians-934aadeca9.html

Israeli leader says world silent on Gaza rocket attacks
Jun 7, 8:38 AM (ET)
AP

What Motivates Military Fighters?

[From article]
Disgusted U.S. military officers say the 1,000 ISIS fighters who overran Ramadi were outnumbered by the defenders 10 to 1.
Why did the Iraqi army run? And what motivated the fighters of ISIS to attack a city whose defenders so vastly outnumbered them?
According to battle reports, the assault began when dozens of captured U.S. armored vehicles and trucks, laden with explosives, were driven by ISIS volunteers to blast huge holes in the defenders’ lines.
[. . .]
In Yemen, the Houthi rebels came down from the north to seize Sanaa, drive the president into exile, occupy Aden, and capture huge stockpiles of American weapons. The U.S.-backed army crumbled.
[. . .]
Tribe and faith. Those are the causes for which Middle Eastern men will fight. Sunni and Shiite fundamentalists will die for the faith. Persians and Arabs will fight to defend their lands, as will Kurds and Turks.
But who among the tribes of the Middle East will fight and die for the secular American values of democracy, diversity, pluralism, sexual freedom and marriage equality?
“Expel the Crusaders from our lands!” — there is a cause to die for.
[. . .]
Murderers and would-be murderers all. But according to a new Al-Jazeera poll, the warriors of the Islamic State have many Muslim admirers.
In Afghanistan, we have fought the Taliban for 13 years. Yet still they fight. And many fear the Afghan army we trained and armed at a cost of tens of billions will disintegrate when we go home.
[. . .]
But if the future belongs to those willing to fight and die for it, or to volunteer to become martyrs, the future of the Middle East would seem fated to be decided by Sunni tribesmen, Shiite militia, ISIS and al-Qaida, Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
In the Middle East, the time of the True Believers appears at hand.

http://buchanan.org/blog/secularists-vs-suicide-bombers-16081

Secularists vs. Suicide Bombers
Friday - May 29, 2015 at 12:42 am
By Patrick J. Buchanan

White House Revealed Its Fear and Discomfort Using Military Force

[From article]
But the Obama administration’s reaction to the Israeli prime minister’s appearance suggests Netanyahu’s is more than just another speech. An administration that disdains the use of disproportionate force has been, to say the least, disproportionately forceful in its efforts to undermine Netanyahu’s message and discredit the messenger. What is Obama so worried about? What is he, if we may put it indelicately, so scared of?
We can get a clue from the almost equally disproportionate reaction of Obama’s surrogates to Rudy Giuliani’s suggestion that Barack Obama doesn’t love his country. Why, really, should anyone care about Giuliani’s comment? We have no crime of lèse majesté in this country. But Obama defenders did care. Did they suspect Giuliani had struck a nerve?
[. . .]
Obama is very much in the mainstream of modern progressive thought in his embrace of cosmopolitanism and his distrust of nationalism. He’s not interested in riding a high horse equipped, as he would see it, with patriotic blinders or nationalist spurs.
Netanyahu, by contrast, is a patriot and a nationalist. He’s an Israeli patriot and nationalist. But he also appreciates the historic role and accomplishments of the great nation-states of the West. History—the history of the Jewish people, but not only the Jewish people—is always on his mind. He is inspired by the example of Ze’ev Jabotinsky—and also of Winston Churchill. He appreciates the legacy of David Ben-Gurion—and also of Harry Truman.
[. . .]
But Netanyahu won’t be speaking only to the Obama administration, which has, after all, made clear its lack of interest in listening to Netanyahu and whose allies won’t be there to listen. He’ll be speaking to the American people.
So he can echo Churchill in appealing to them and warning that, in the struggle in which we’re engaged, “many disappointments and unpleasant surprises await us.”
[. . .]
It will be a moment that could cause us to reflect on what kind of people we are, and, with new leadership, what kind of deeds we might once again be capable of.
As it will be a moment of vindication for Zionism, the cause to which he and his family have dedicated their lives. In past episodes of Jews’ being consigned by the world to their fate, they were powerless to fight. And so the world (and not a few Jews) became accustomed to Jews’ playing the role of victim. On March 3, something remarkable and historic will happen. The prime minister of Israel, speaking on behalf of not only his country and millions of Jews, but on behalf of the West itself, will command the world’s attention as he declares his refusal to appease the enemies of Israel and the West.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/netanyahu-s-moment_867715.html

Netanyahu’s Moment
MAR 9, 2015, VOL. 20, NO. 25

BY WILLIAM KRISTOL

Gaza Palestinians Fire Rockets Into Israel Again

[From article]
Israel's defense minister is blaming Islamic Jihad — a smaller Palestinian militant group in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip — for the latest rocket fired at Israel that drew retaliatory airstrikes overnight.
Moshe Yaalon says the airstrikes targeted both Islamic Jihad and Hamas sites in Gaza early on Wednesday, after Islamic Jihad fired a rocket toward southern Israel late on Tuesday night.
There was no immediate comment from Gaza and no Palestinian group claimed responsibility for the attack. The military says it carried out four airstrikes, with no casualties reported.
Israel holds Hamas responsible for any attacks from Gaza.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150527/ml--israel-palestinians-a394422421.html

Israel defense minister: Islamic Jihad behind Gaza flare-up
May 27, 2:18 AM (ET)
AP

* * *

[From article]
A terrorist rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed in Southern Israel near the heavily populated town of Ashkelon, the Israeli Army confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
It was not clear if Hamas or another splinter faction was responsible for the attack, which comes following a relatively long period of calm between Israel and the Palestinians following an intense war last summer.
Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Peter Lerner confirmed that “at least one rocket launched from Gaza struck Southern Israel” late Tuesday.
No one has been reported as injured as a result of the strike.
Alarms warning of the incoming rocket attack could be heard signaling through Ashkelon and surrounding areas.
[. . .]
Hamas denied that its military wing had anything to do with the attack.
Israeli officials have repeatedly warned that Hamas will be held responsible for any attack—by its own military wing or another group’s—on Israeli soil.
The rocket fire comes as Israeli officials renew warnings about the threat posed by a complex tunnel system running underneath the Gaza Strip and into Israel. Hamas has sought to use these tunnels to carry out terror attacks and abduct Israeli soldiers.
Hezbollah also has begun digging a similar system of tunnels around Israel’s northern border, according to reports.

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/terrorist-rockets-hit-israel/

Terrorist Rockets Hit Israel
Army: Rocket fired into south Israel
BY: Adam Kredo
May 26, 2015 4:24 pm

British Clueless When They Attacked Massachusetts Colonists

[From article]
Early on the morning of April 19th, about 70 men of Lexington faced the oncoming march of 1200 to 1500 British troops. The small band was determined not to fire first, but to provide what resistance they could.
The British captain yelled, “ye villains, ye rebels, disperse; damn you, disperse!” A shot was fired in the air. A command was given to the British troops “fire! By God, fire!” A cloud of smoke. Eight men were killed, ten wounded. Observers said it was a divine miracle that not more were killed or wounded.
[. . .]
The British did not know the hornets nest they had kicked.
The British began a hasty and fearful retreat back to Boston as the patriots pursued them with a fury.
By the end of the day the colonial loss totaled 49 killed, 34 wounded and 5 missing. The enemy’s losses in killed, wounded, and missing was about 300.

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/04/the_lessons_of_lexington_.html

April 19, 2015
The Lessons of Lexington
By Craig Seibert

Police Conduct Counter Terrorism Training With Military

[From article]
In August of 2014, military helicopters flew low over residential neighborhoods of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, engaged in a series of night-time training exercises. The exercises involved the Naval Warfare Development Group - a "special forces" component of the U.S. Navy - and were aimed at enhancing urban combat tactics.
Just as they had two years earlier, military personnel had come to the Twin Cities to conduct counter-terrorism training operations in an urban environment. And just as before, those operations commenced with little advance notice to the public.
[. . .]
As referenced by Kingsbury, the 2014 exercises had been solicited by the U.S. military via a letter delivered to Minneapolis mayor Betsy Hodges. The letter requested the Mayor's support for "low-intensity urban tactical training" by special forces personnel who are "constantly refining tactics to learn how to most effectively engage the enemy while ensuring the safety of non-combatants."
As with the 2012 exercises, it appears that plans were made to provide cross-training exercises for Minneapolis police officers. "Hopefully," Kingsbury's states in his e-mail, "we will have the opportunity to get some of our folks into the game like we did last time."
[. . .]
Navy's 2014 letter also stated that its exercises would help its personnel in "preserving evidence for criminal prosecution" and that the relationships established with urban law enforcement professionals would be critical to the Navy's "future success."
[. . .]
Due to the existence of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, federal military personnel have largely been barred from participating in civilian law enforcement in a direct, operational capacity. While Congress has provided Posse Comitatus exceptions for logistics and counter-narcotics support, federal law still prohibits military personnel from engaging in arrests, evidence collection, and other tasks in support of domestic public safety and criminal prosecution.
Do the references to "evidence collection" by Navy personnel indicate that the military is actively preparing to undertake such operations on the domestic front? Or do the references point to some other function?
[. . .]
Minneapolis City Council Member Blong Yang was quoted on KSTP TV as saying that the Minneapolis City Council was "not notified of the event." Likewise, Council Member Cam Gordon told the City Pages newspaper that he felt "like an idiot" for being unable to respond to constituent questions with specific information. In the aftermath of the event, Council Member Yang called for public hearings.
[. . .]
PRM will be posting additional training documents as it receives them from the St. Paul Police Department and federal officials.

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/blog/public-record-media/minneapolis-police-records-shed-light-2014-military-training

Minneapolis police records shed light on 2014 military training
By Matt Ehling

April 08, 2015

British Soldier From Scotland Found Dead in Miami, Florida

Private Shaun Cole, 22, from Edinburgh

[From article]
A Scottish soldier has been found dead in a pool of blood in Miami, after attending a music festival.
Private Shaun Cole, from Edinburgh, was said to have been attending the Ultra Music Festival in Florida with friends.
The 22-year-old was on holiday when it is thought he suffered a trauma to his head, caused by a blunt instrument.
Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Pte Cole, who served in the 1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (1Scots).
[. . .]
Pte Cole had recently returned from Sierra Leone where soldiers have been involved in the Ebola aid effort, and the 22-year-old also served inAfghanistan

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11505540/British-soldier-found-dead-on-Miami-street.html

British soldier found dead on Miami street
Pte Shaun Cole, 22, from Edinburgh, was attending the Ultra Music festival in Miami with two friends when he was found by a shopper in a pool of blood
By Agencies
11:55PM BST 30 Mar 2015

White House Threatened To Shoot Down Israeli Jets

[From article]
The Bethlehem-based news agency Ma’an has cited a Kuwaiti newspaper report Saturday, that US President Barack Obama thwarted an Israeli military attack against Iran's nuclear facilities in 2014 by threatening to shoot down Israeli jets before they could reach their targets in Iran.
Following Obama's threat, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was reportedly forced to abort the planned Iran attack.
According to Al-Jarida, the Netanyahu government took the decision to strike Iran some time in 2014 soon after Israel had discovered the United States and Iran had been involved in secret talks over Iran’s nuclear program and were about to sign an agreement in that regard behind Israel's back.
The report claimed that an unnamed Israeli minister who has good ties with the US administration revealed the attack plan to Secretary of State John Kerry, and that Obama then threatened to shoot down the Israeli jets before they could reach their targets in Iran.
[. . .]
According to the report, “Netanyahu and his commanders agreed after four nights of deliberations to task the Israeli army's chief of staff, Benny Gantz, to prepare a qualitative operation against Iran's nuclear program. In addition, Netanyahu and his ministers decided to do whatever they could do to thwart a possible agreement between Iran and the White House because such an agreement is, allegedly, a threat to Israel's security.”
The sources added that Gantz and his commanders prepared the requested plan and that Israeli fighter jets trained for several weeks in order to make sure the plans would work successfully. Israeli fighter jets reportedly even carried out experimental flights in Iran's airspace after they managed to break through radars.
Former US diplomat Zbigniew Brzezinski, who enthusiastically campaigned for Obama in 2008, called on him to shoot down Israeli planes if they attack Iran. “They have to fly over our airspace in Iraq. Are we just going to sit there and watch?” said the former national security advisor to former President Jimmy Carter in an interview with the Daily Beast

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191966

Report: Obama Threatened to Shoot Down IAF Iran Strike
Kuwaiti paper claims unnamed Israeli minister with good ties with the US administration 'revealed the attack plan to John Kerry.'
By Mark Langfan
First Publish: 3/1/2015, 4:18 PM

Israel Warns, Iran Opening Third Front To Attack Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting at his Jerusalem office on February 8, 2015 

(AFP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
[From article]
Iran is seeking to open a "third front" against Israel using Hezbollah fighters on the Syrian Golan Heights, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.
Netanyahu said Tehran's attempts to entrench itself along Israel's borders was one of the biggest emerging security threats facing the Jewish state.

http://news.yahoo.com/iran-forming-third-front-against-israel-golan-netanyahu-152818891.html;_ylt=AwrTWfyx_.lUriEAGrrQtDMD

Iran forming 'third front' against Israel on Golan: Netanyahu
February 22, 2015