Marcus Aurelius: PFC Bradley Manning Personal Statement — Insignt Into Army C4I Deficiencies

Pfc. Bradley E. Manning’s Statement for the Providence Inquiry Alexa O’Brien For more information on the lack of public and press access to United States v. Pfc. Manning, visit the Center for Constitutional Rights, which filed a petition requesting the Army Court of Criminal Appeals (ACCA) “to order the Judge to grant the public and …

Chuck Spinney: Buy Before You Fly … How to Suck Money During Sequestration […Legalized Treason?]

The joint-service F-35 strike fighter is the Pentagon’s largest program. In fact, it is the most expensive procurement program in the Pentagon’s history.  It is also an unfolding disaster that is well documented, but of almost unimaginable proportions.  And yet, the F-35 is impervious to budget cutbacks in sequesterland.  Not surprisingly, among the cognoscenti of …

Chuck Spinney: Neo-Imperialism and the Arrogance of Ignorance with Extended Comments and Additional Readings

My latest screed on US pol-mil policy, a shorter version of this appeared on 27 Feb in the Time Battleland Blog here. Chuck Spinney Africa and AFRICOM:Neo-Imperialism and the Arrogance of Ignorance by FRANKLIN C. SPINNEY Counterpunch, WEEKEND EDITION MARCH 1-3, 2013 Most Americans do not realize the extent to which the U.S. is becoming involved …

Review: Creative Innovators – The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World

Tom Wagner 5.0 out of 5 stars Creating Innovators is NOT What Most US Schools Do…., February 27, 2013 I had a chance to go through this book today while visiting a school in Fairfax Virginia and I liked it. I have gone with 5 stars because it is a message that needs repeating as …

Berto Jongman: The Terror Courts – An Inside Look at Rough Justice, Torture — and the Military Prosecutor Who Refused Illegal Orders — at Guantanamo, Cuba

“The Terror Courts”: An Inside Look at Rough Justice, Torture at Guantánamo Bay Wall Street Journal journalist Jess Bravin reports on the controversial military commissions at Guantánamo. Describing it as “the most important legal story in decades,” Bravin uncovers how the Bush administration quickly drew up an alternative legal system to try men captured abroad …

Review: The Coup: 1953, The CIA, and The Roots of Modern U.S.-Iranian Relations

Ervand Abrahamian 5.0 out of 5 stars We NEED Deep History to Counter-Act Criminal Insanity Within Our Elite, February 17, 2013 This book could not have come out at a better time, as the neo-conservatives continue to try to inspire confrontation with Iran, using the same methods that Dick Cheney used — in his case …

Winslow Wheelers: Morally Bankrupt Flag Officers Need to Go + Pentagon Corruption RECAP

The Joint Chiefs of Staff testified to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees this week arguing that unless their budgets are augmented with still more money they will hollow out the armed forces. Most in the press and Congress didn’t read their assertions that way, but two near simultaneous reports that provide some meaningful …