Clipmarks | masbury's 'military' clips

The world's real shape(s): see these images...

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 06:52:59 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: so informative, a fresh thinking.. excerpts

How the world really shapes up

Rather than defining each country by size, these computer-generated modified maps - or cartograms - redraw the globe with each country's size proportionate to its strengths, or weaknesses, in a whole series of categories.

For instance, when it comes to military spending, the U.S. appears bloated, but Africa is huge when HIV prevalence is mapped.

The cartograms were produced in a unique collaboration between the universities of Michigan in the U.S. and Sheffield. Here are images and more details on some of the most fascinating...

Alcohol Consumption (2001)

HIV Prevalence

House Prices

Military Spending

War and death

Toy Imports

Toy Exports

Wealth of Nations (1500)

Wealth of Nations (2002)

Tags: world, countries, divisions, cartograms.

No title sufficient

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 07:55:34 GMT

clipped by: willhelm

Clip Source: www.yousaytoo.com

Tags: mothers, heroes, military, sacrifice

Useful Military Warnings

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 01:25:23 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: www.dysan.net

Useful Military Warnings

"Aim towards the Enemy."

- Instruction printed on US Rocket Launcher

"When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend."

- U.S. Army

"Cluster bombing from B-52s is very, very accurate. The bombs are guaranteed to always hit the ground."

- U.S.A.F. Ammo Troop

"If the enemy is in range, so are you."

- Infantry Journal

"A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what's left of your unit."

- Army's magazine of preventive maintenance.

"It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed."

- U.S. Air Force Manual

"Try to look unimportant; they may be low on ammo."

- Infantry Journal

"Tracers work both ways."

- U.S. Army Ordnance

"Five-second fuses only last three seconds."

- Infantry Journal

"Bravery is being the only one who knows you're afraid."

- Col. David Hackworth

"If you see a bomb technician running, try to keep up with him."
-- U.S.A. Ammo

Tags: useful military warnings, humor, funny

Pentagon confirms building 'Gay Bomb' was sought

Sun, 10 Jun 2007 04:07:08 GMT

clipped by: alanocu
clipper's remarks: am I delirious? too tired to read this clearly? wtf ?

Clip Source: cbs5.com

(CBS 5) BERKELEY A Berkeley watchdog organization that tracks military spending said it uncovered a strange U.S. military proposal to create a hormone bomb that could purportedly turn enemy soldiers into homosexuals and make them more interested in sex than fighting.

Pentagon officials on Friday confirmed to CBS 5 that military leaders had considered, and then subsquently rejected, building the so-called "Gay Bomb."

Edward Hammond, of Berkeley's Sunshine Project, had used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain a copy of the proposal from the Air Force's Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio.

As part of a military effort to develop non-lethal weapons, the proposal suggested, "One distasteful but completely non-lethal example would be strong aphrodisiacs, especially if the chemical also caused homosexual behavior."

The documents show the Air Force lab asked for $7.5 million to develop such a chemical weapon.

The Pentagon told CBS 5 that the proposal was made by the Air Force in 1994.

Tags: pentagon, gay bomb, wtf

Ancient NAMES: Surnames, things, articles

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 17:56:15 GMT

clipped by: righthand

Clip Source: www.s-gabriel.org

Personal Names in Specific Cultures

English, Old English, and Anglo-Norman Names

Scandinavian Names

German Names

Names from the Low Countries

Frankish and French Names

Occitan and Catalan Names

Spanish and Portuguese Names

Italian Names

Scottish Names

Irish and Manx Names

Welsh, Cornish, and Breton Names

Early Celtic

Gaulish

Pictish

Classical Roman

Classical and Byzantine Greek Names

Coptic and Nubian Names

Gothic

Slavic and Baltic Names

Hungarian Names

Romanian

Romany (Gypsy)

Jewish Names

Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Islamic Names

Central Asian

Mongol Names

Indian

Chinese

Japanese

General Information on Medieval Personal Naming

WWW Names Pages for Medievalists to Avoid

Choosing a Society Name: Hints for Newcomers

The Tale of Tangwystyl; or It's Your Name and You Can Change If You Want To

A Brief Introduction to Medieval Bynames

The Latinization of Names in the Middle Ages

Names of Things (including places, ships, buildings, clans, military units, and orders of chivalry

Tags: ancient

Bush Setting Up America For War With Iran

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 12:36:12 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Senior American intelligence and defence officials believe that President George W Bush and his inner circle are taking steps to place America on the path to war with Iran, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.

Pentagon planners have developed a list of up to 2,000 bombing targets in Iran, amid growing fears among serving officers that diplomatic efforts to slow Iran's nuclear weapons programme are doomed to fail.

Pentagon and CIA officers say they believe that the White House has begun a carefully calibrated programme of escalation that could lead to a military showdown with Iran.

Now it has emerged that Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, who has been pushing for a diplomatic solution, is prepared to settle her differences with Vice-President Dick Cheney and sanction military action.

Tags: don't, say, i, didn't, clip, it

Learn from the fall of Rome, US warned

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 13:09:21 GMT

clipped by: sam.reckoner

Clip Source: www.ft.com

Learn from the fall of Rome, US warned

The US government is on a ‘burning platform’ of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action is not taken soon, the country’s top government inspector has warned.

Drawing parallels with the end of the Roman empire, Mr Walker warned there were “striking similarities” between America’s current situation and the factors that brought down Rome, including “declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government”.

“They need to make fiscal responsibility and inter-generational equity one of their top priorities. If they do, I think we have a chance to turn this around but if they don’t, I think the risk of a serious crisis rises considerably”.

Tags: politics, government, finance, economy

Why do pilots say "roger" on the radio?

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 01:23:20 GMT

clipped by: Thr4ll

Clip Source: www.straightdope.com

Pilots and other military types say “roger” to acknowledge receipt of a message or instructions. “Roger” at one time was the phonetic designation for the letter R, which in turn stood for “received.” Why not just say "received"? From a safety perspective, it makes sense to use standardized language, particularly when dealing with international operations.

The use of “roger” isn't all that old. In the military's phonetic alphabet, "roger" didn't become the designation for R until 1927. (Previously the designation had been "rush.")

In 1957 "roger" was replaced by "romeo," the current designation, but by then "roger" = "received" was so entrenched that the brass knew better than to try and change it.

As for Roger’s last name, “wilco” dates from the same time, and is simply an abbreviation of “will comply.” So the pilot who invokes our friend Roger Wilco is saying “I understand you, and will follow your instructions,” only cooler and shorter.

Tags: pilots, airplanes, roger, radio

America not at war...photo

Sat, 24 Feb 2007 13:45:22 GMT

clipped by: jatfla
clipper's remarks: Posted at my favorite news forum.

Clip Source: www.lucianne.com

Tags: iraq, military, photography

Mutiny among USA Generals? Revolt over Iran?

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 21:59:56 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: "KOLKO: Many in the US military think Bush and Cheney are out of control. They are rebelling against Bush and Cheney. Washington Post reporter Dana Priest recently said in an interview that she believed the US military would revolt and refuse to fly missions against Iran if the White House issued such orders.

"CENTCOM commander Admiral Fallon reportedly thwarted Cheney's wish to sent a third additional aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf. One paper wrote that he "vowed privately there would be no war against Iran as long as he was chief of CENTCOM."

"Lt. Gen. Wright, in charge of US forces in Japan, told AP last week that the Iraq war had weakened American forces in the face of any potential conflict with China. He was quoted as saying, "Are we in trouble? It depends on the scenario. But you have to be concerned about the small number of our forces and the age of our forces."

...Spiegel

Mutiny in the ranks - at the top!!!

Clip Source: www.spiegel.de

'Many in the US Military Think Bush and Cheney Are Out of Control'

In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, the Amsterdam-based military historian Gabriel Kolko talks about the prospect of war with Iran and argues that many in the US military now view the White House as being 'out of control.'

The American military is stretched to the limit. They are losing both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Everything is being sacrificed for these wars: money, equipment in Asia, American military power globally, etc

Where and how can they fight yet another?

The Pentagon is short of money for procurement, and that is what so many people in the military bureaucracy live for.

More money and better weapons don't mean that you win.

IEDs, which cost so little to make, are defeating a military which spends billions of dollars per month. IEDS are so adaptable that each new strategy developed by the

The Israelis were also never quite able to counter IEDs

Many in the US military think Bush and Cheney are out of control

Tags: usa, iraq, mutiny, military

Bush lies again

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:46:58 GMT

clipped by: cptenaud
clipper's remarks: Bremer said the letters prove that in May 2003 he told Bush in advance of a plan to “dissolve Saddam’s military and intelligence structures." Mr. Bremer then told Mr. Bush that he would “parallel this step with an even more robust measure” to dismantle the Iraq military.

Bush wrote Bremer back a short thank you letter. “Your leadership is apparent,” the president wrote. “You have quickly made a positive and significant impact. You have my full support and confidence".

Damn George, after all this time. Facts and letters and proof that you lied. Don't you just hate that? Don't they know that you are "the decider" and answerable to no one?

Clip Source: bravenewfilms.org

Bush Lied And People Died - Again

Just when you thought all of Bush's contemptible lies on Iraq had been revealed, yet another one appears and this one is huge.

According to the New York Times and Bush's former top Iraqi envoy Paul Bremer, it turns out that the disbanding of the Iraqi army perhaps the biggest post-invasion mistake that was made, was done with the implicit knowledge and support of the White House despite their previous assertions to the contrary.

Looks like Bremer, who was indefensibly complicit in the early stages of the disaster that is Iraq, refuses to be thrown under the bus. He said he was unhappy about being portrayed as a renegade by former administration officials.

Bremer sent written corroboration of his perspective in a series of letters to The New York Times on Labor Day, after reading that Bush was quoted in a new book as saying that American policy had been “to keep the army intact".

Tags: what, a, history, lesson, were, having, unfold

Torture and Imprisonment of Children

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:42:27 GMT

clipped by: righthand

Clip Source: www.dci-pal.org

Israeli military continues to torture Palestinian children

On the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture

Clip Source: www.appletreeblog.com

Clip Source: www.dci-pal.org

In one case, Israeli interrogators beat 15-year-old Ibrahim S. over the course of several hours. Ibrahim was then threatened with sexual assault for the purpose of extracting his confession. The accusation, which Ibrahim kept denying, was that he had thrown stones at the Israeli army when it invaded his village the day before. A Military Court accepted Ibrahim’s confession and he was imprisoned in Israel for five months.

Clip Source: www.appletreeblog.com

Clip Source: www.dci-pal.org

A 10-year-old boy was subjected to physical abuse amounting to torture for 2.5 hours by Israeli soldiers who stormed his family’s shop on 11 June, seeking information on the location of a handgun. The boy was repeatedly beaten, slapped and punched in the head and stomach, forced to hold a stress position for half and hour, and threatened. He was deeply shocked and lost two molar teeth as a result of the assault.

Clip Source: www.appletreeblog.com

Clip Source: sabbah.biz

Clip Source: www.dci-pal.org

case, 14-year-old Mohammad E.

Tags: israel, torture, children, prisoners

Gandhi 'never existed', Churchill 'made up'

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:41:32 GMT

clipped by: sohil

Clip Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Mahatma Gandhi never existed while Britain's wartime Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill was a fictional character. Don't fret. This is only what most Britons think about the great leaders.

According to a survey carried out in Britain, many believe that Mahatma Gandhi and Churchill are just mythical figures like Florence Nightingale, popularly known as the 'Lady with the Lamp'.

Moreover, despite his celebrated military reputation, 47 per cent of respondents feel the 12th-century English King Richard the Lionheart is fictional, according to the survey of 3,000 British teens.

In contrast, a number of fictitious characters like Sherlock Holmes, King Arthur and Eleanor Rigby were given real life status.

While almost 65 per cent of respondents believe that mythical figure King Arthur existed and led a round table of knights at Camelot, 58 per cent of teens think that Holmes really lived at 221B Baker Street.

Tags: gandhi, peace, war, churchill, britain, uk, survey, fiction, via:timesofindia

Royal Marine threw himself onto a grenade to save his patrol

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 22:57:06 GMT

clipped by: alanocu
clipper's remarks: this man is a true hero

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

A Royal Marine who threw himself onto an exploding grenade to save the lives of his patrol has been put forward for the UK's highest military honour.

Lance Corporal Matt Croucher, 24, a reservist from Birmingham, survived because his rucksack and body armour took the force of the blast.

He was part of a reconnaissance troop in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in February, when the incident happened.

The Ministry of Defence said he could be considered for the Victoria Cross.

L/Cpl Croucher, a member of 40 Commando, had been searching a compound south of Sangin which was suspected as being used for making bombs to attack British and Afghan troops.

When a Taleban booby-trap grenade was tripped, L/Cpl Croucher jumped on to the device to absorb the force of the explosion with his backpack as his comrades dived for cover.

The blast blew his rucksack more than 30ft away but he remarkably suffered only severe shock and a bloodied nose in the incident.

Clipmarks | masbury's 'military' clips

The world's real shape(s): see these images...

How the world really shapes up

Top 25 Censored Stories of 2007

No title sufficient

Useful Military Warnings

Useful Military Warnings

Pentagon confirms building 'Gay Bomb' was sought

Ancient NAMES: Surnames, things, articles

Personal Names in Specific Cultures

Table of Contents

General Information on Medieval Personal Naming

Bush Setting Up America For War With Iran

Learn from the fall of Rome, US warned

Learn from the fall of Rome, US warned

Why do pilots say "roger" on the radio?

America not at war...photo

Mutiny among USA Generals? Revolt over Iran?

'Many in the US Military Think Bush and Cheney Are Out of Control'

Bush lies again

Torture and Imprisonment of Children

Gandhi 'never existed', Churchill 'made up'

Royal Marine threw himself onto a grenade to save his patrol