Memorial Day, Military, Family Matters, Housing, Citizenship, Religion, VA Scandal, Collateral Damage, Suicide Squad, Fake

Memorial Day

• "Band of Brothers" WWII Vet Bill Guarnere Dies at 90
• Japanese-American soldier kept quiet about World War II heroics
• Walter R. Walsh Dies at 106; Terrorized Gangsters and Targets—"Mr. Walsh, an F.B.I. legend in the 1930s who joined the Marines during World War II, was still winning handgun awards and coaching Olympic marksmen at 90." NYT
• Man Known As Kissing Sailor From One Of History's Most Iconic Pictures Has Died
• One of last Native American code talkers dies
• Jeremiah Denton, Vietnam War POW and U.S. senator, dies

Military

• Blast from the Past: Americans and Their Military, Drifting Apart NYT
• Two Chief Petty Officers Walk Into a Bar...—"America used to love laughing at the military. When did it become so taboo?" FP
• Amazing Military Infographics: An appreciation

Family Matters

• A US soldier searches for his Vietnamese son
• The Philippines' forgotten generation—"The United States military is set to return to the Philippines 22 years after being evicted. The imminent arrival of US forces has renewed focus on the thousands of 'Amerasians' fathered by US military personnel. Aya Lowe went in search of this forgotten generation."
• Soldier's family torn apart by White Australia policy

Housing

• Whitehouse Introduces Bill to Protect Servicemembers from Foreclosure—Will it prevent history from repeating itself?
• Meth contamination turns Indiana veteran's dream home to nightmare
• Soldier in battle to rid home of squatters, Florida sheriff's office says it can't do anything—The squatters who packed up and left have been arrested.

Citizenship

• I Served My Country. Then It Kicked Me Out.—"I was a veteran, a father and husband and a small-business owner. Then I was deported." Politico
• After Forming Deep Roots in U.S., Man Discovers He Isn't a Citizen—"Mario Hernandez's discovery, after nearly 50 years in the United States, shows how federal bureaucracies can stumble when it comes to immigration status." NYT
• House Republicans prevent vote on Enlist immigration bill—Is Boehner looking to politicize this [Politico]?

Religion

• The War Being Waged On Religious Freedom In The Military—"We are witnessing a sickening trend. There are religious groups actively seeking to 'convert' people in the US military, and they are making a full-court press, especially in the US Air Force."
• Two U.S. soldiers lose bid to dress according to religious custom
• God won't save us: Memorial Day, honest history and our new military-industrial complex—"Americans believe we are guided by divine providence. Obama's strange presidency shows the work of something else." Salon

VA Scandal

• VA falsified records, inquiry finds—"A VA investigation of one of its outpatient clinics in Colorado reveals how ingrained the delays in medical care may be for an agency struggling to rapidly treat nearly 9 million veterans a year amid allegations that dozens have died because of delays."
• 'Gaming the System': Email reveals how Wyo. VA workers were taught to manipulate records
• Growing evidence points to systemic troubles in VA healthcare system
• Top U.S. veterans' healthcare official resigns amid scandal
• VA Whistleblower Says He's Been Demoted, Bullied
• VA Scandal Hits New Hospital—"Veterans with serious heart conditions, gangrene, and even brain tumors waited months for care at the Albuquerque VA hospital, a whistleblowing doctor tells The Daily Beast."
• VA investigating Florida hospital wait lists
• This Is Why Bernie Sanders Is Pissed
• Newsmakers with Senator Bernie Sanders—"Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT) talked about delays in health care for veterans at VA hospitals and allegations that some VA hospitals kept secret, separate sets of books to cover up wait times."
• The Bubble Finally Cares About the Veterans Affairs Story
• Obama Administration Will Let Veterans Seek Care At Private Hospitals—Just don't privatize veterans' care.
• Stewart Gets Heated Over VA Scandal: 'Fix This F*cking Thing

Collateral Damage

• Republicans War-Monger, Then Complain When We're Overwhelmed By Sick Vets
• States that refuse Medicaid are leaving over 250,000 poor veterans uninsured
• "I'm PTSD — Paid Till Suicide or Death"
• Grief camps to combat suicides among US military veterans—Numbers aren't good.

Suicide Squad

• Soldier Had Black Eye, Broken Nose, and Burned Genιtalia: Army Ruled it a Suicide
• 26 Stab Wounds a Suicide?: The Unbelievable Case of Captain Gordon Hess
• Death of LaVena Johnson—"LaVena Johnson...was a Private First Class in the United States Army whose death, officially ruled a suicide, has attracted international attention amid allegations that her death was actually the result of rape and murder."
• Blast from the Past: Army investigators: No foul play suspected in captain's death

Fake

• Marine Poser Meets a Real Marine
• Phony Navy SEAL of the Week
• Exposing a Navy SEAL Imposter: How A.J. Dicken Was Found to be a Fake
• When Two Vets Confront a Man in 'Fake' Military Gear, It's On: 'I Am a U.S. F***in' Ranger & This Guy Is Not!'

Gaza & Israel; War on Terror, Civil Liberties, Police States, Drones, Military Industrial Complex, Soldiers Under Siege, TSA

Gaza & Israel

• Israel-Hamas truce possible as int'l mediation continues
• Obama: Israel has "right to defend itself"
• Jimmy Carter: "Israelis' Policy Is to Confiscate Palestinian Territory"
• Israel must "flatten Gaza" like the US flattened Japan, says Sharon's son
• The story behind the photo: Journalist's 11-month-old son killed in Gaza strikes
• Anonymous declares 'cyberwar' on Israel
• Is Gideon Levy the most hated man in Israel or just the most heroic?--"For three decades, the writer and journalist Gideon Levy has been a lone voice, telling his readers the truth about what goes on in the Occupied Territories."

War on Terror

• What High School Taught Millennials About the War on Terrorism
• Disturbing Video Shows U.S. Defense Contractors Allegedly Drunk and on Drugs in Afghanistan
• Taliban fails to BCC an e-mail, reveals its entire PR mailing list

Civil Liberties

• How an Innocent 26-Year-Old Got Sold Into Guantanamo Hell for a $5,000 Bounty
• US Citizen Says He's Stranded In Hawaii By No-Fly List Because Of His Controversial Views--"It's scary to know that something like this can happen in a free country. You're not accused of any crime. You haven't been contacted by anyone. No investigation has been done. No due process has taken place."
• "I went to the mall, and a little girl called me a terrorist."--"The mother hushed her child, glared at me, and then took her daughter by the hand and led her out of the store."

Police States

• President Obama Unilaterally Gives Cybersecurity Powers to the Military--After the Senate voted against the Cybersecurity bill... again.
• Spain Considers Banning Photos of Police on Duty NYT
• Dutch Propose Powers For Police To Break Into Computers, Install Spyware And Destroy Data -- Anywhere In The World
• FBI Accused of Dragging Feet on Release of Info About "Stingray" Surveillance Technology
• Feds Cite 'State Secrets' in Dragnet Surveillance Case — Again

Drones

• Ban 'Killer Robots' Before It's Too Late--"Governments should pre-emptively ban fully autonomous weapons because of the danger they pose to civilians in armed conflict...."
• Kucinich: Obama administration must account to Congress for targeted assassinations
• Apple blocks 'objectionable' app that reports deaths from US drone strikes--Kucinich cries foul.
• China unveils new drones aimed at buyers in developing countries
• Pakistan developing combat drones

Military Industrial Complex

• Petraeus scandal puts four-star general lifestyle under scrutiny
• Air Force scraps massive ERP project after racking up $1 billion in costs
• Another Day, Another $678 Million Stealth Jet Wrecked

Soldiers Under Siege

• Tell Republicans to Stop Dishonoring Veterans by Cutting Benefits and Blocking Jobs
• 'You should've served US better and died!' Debt collector berates disabled veteran
• "I was absolutely dumbfounded": Soldier sacked 72 HOURS before he gets his full pension--"Sergeant Lee Nolan will lose out on at least £100,000 after he became one of 20,000 soldiers who are being axed in savage military cuts."

TSA

• TSA removes X-ray body scanners from major airports--"Desire to speed up checkpoints, not safety, driving scanner switch."
• Security Flaws in the TSA Pre-Check System and the Boarding Pass Check System
• TSA plans to fire 25 employees, suspend 19 for improper screening of bags at Newark airport
• TSA arrested artist for wearing 'weird' watch
• San Diego TSA Director Retires Amid Rumors of Misconduct

Memorial Day, War on Terror, Military Industrial Complex, TSA, Security Theater, Who are the terrorists again?

Memorial Day

• 45% of Afghanistan, Iraq Vets Seek Disability
• The Military's Suicide Epidemic
• The White House Pledges to Eliminate Veteran Homelessness, App by App
• After 'Huge Progress,' Veterans Are Still Struggling To Find Employment
• "No NATO, No War": U.S. Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan Return War Medals at NATO Summit

War on Terror

• Federal judge blocks National Defense Authorization Act provision
• The CIA "torture memo"--"'Enhanced interrogation' or torture? Ten methods, described in painstaking detail, that the CIA used to get information from Al Qaeda detainees."
• West Point Is Divided on a War Doctrine’s Fate--"[T]he argument is whether the counterinsurgency strategy used in Iraq and Afghanistan — the troop-heavy, time-intensive, expensive doctrine of trying to win over the locals by building roads, schools and government — is dead." NYT
• Doctor who ran fake CIA vaccination drive to find Osama bin Laden is jailed--"Shakil Afridi faces 33 years in jail in Pakistan despite calls from senior US officials to release him."
• Next to U.S. firing range in Afghanistan, a village of victims

Military Industrial Complex

• We were warned 51 years ago
• On Military Budgets and Spiritual Death--"As Martin Luther King told us 45 years ago, 'A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.'"
• Military Industry Lobbyists Manufacturer Fake Tea Party Outrage Against Cutting Defense Pork--"Defense firms are astro-turfing fake grassroots "outrage" to maintain their fat contracts."

TSA

• Congress: The TSA Is Wasting Hundreds Of Millions In Taxpayer Dollars
• Homeland Security Concedes Airport Body Scanner 'Vulnerabilities'
• METRO faces public backlash over counter-terror intitiave at Houston bus stops
• TSA budget cuts likely mean even longer airport waits
• TSA eases airport screening for elderly travelers

Security Theater

• TSA Reveals Passenger Complaints … Four Years Later
• Man’s Airport Strip Meant to Highlight Intrusive and Ineffective TSA Security
• In Defense of Profiling
• TSA Screeners Watched Suitcases of Drugs Pass Through Airport
• House Representative Paul C. Broun: "It is clear that that TSA has become nothing more than a bloated, broken bureaucracy which uses its extensive powers to violate traveling Americans' civil liberties while doing little to ensure their safety."

Who are the terrorists again?

• TSA to My Mother-in-Law: 'There's an Anomaly in the Crotch Area'
• Diabetic teen upset with TSA screeners at Salt Lake City Airport--"A Colorado teen is upset with screeners at Salt Lake City International Airport. The type one diabetic says TSA agents were abrupt, rude and were responsible for breaking her $10,000 insulin pump. A pump she has to have to survive. "
• Does this girl look like a terrorist?--"Family misses flight after TSA screeners target disabled 7-year-old."
• TSA Defends Pat-Down Of Crying 4-Year-Old Girl At Kansas Airport
• Baby, 18 months old, ordered off plane at Fort Lauderdale airport--"It's absurd. It made no sense. Why would an 18-month-old child be on a no-fly list?"

UK: Hacking, British Army, Secret Agents, The Daily Show

Hacking

• Tom Watson: 'Phone hacking is only the start. There's a lot more to come out'
• Hacking whistleblower was ignored
• Hugh Grant: How I exposed hacking

British Army

• British sniper nails two Taliban from world record 8,120 feet
• Dead Men Risen: The snipers' story--"In one remarkable feat of marksmanship, two insurgents were dispatched with a single bullet."
• Queen decorates Nepali for Afghanistan heroics--"A Nepalese soldier in the British army has been given a top bravery award by Queen Elizabeth II for his heroics in Afghanistan, where he single-handedly saw off more than 30 Taliban fighters."

Secret Agents

• MI6 'used bodily fluids as invisible ink'
• Bletchley Park Turing archive saved after campaign--The Father of Computer Science was one hell of a codebreaker.
• British spies replace Al Qaeda bomb instructions with cupcake recipe

The Daily Show on England

• Have No Fear, England's Here
• Dude, British Parliament is fucking awesome.
• Parliament Slight