Clipmarks | Pentagon Clips

Pentagon resumes experimental vaccine testing on US troops

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:37:43 GMT

clipped by: katsteevns

Clip Source: www.brasschecktv.com

How the US military
poisons its own troops

Pentagon resumes experimental
vaccine testing on US troops

[Video]

The Roots of Gulf War Illness

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:57:25 GMT

clipped by: aklimento
clipper's remarks: Are malpractice cases in military not permitted? Or corporative defense rejecting any possible offense on their well-being?

Clip Source: www.brasschecktv.com

How the US military
poisons its own troops

Pentagon resumes experimental
vaccine testing on US troops

[Video]

The Roots of Gulf War Illness

The US military has a long tradition of using its soldiers as medical guinea pigs.

In recent years, with the involvement of pharmaceutical executives like Donald Rumsfeld with the Department of Defense, the trend has accelerated. Now hundreds of thousands of US servicemen and women receive vaccines that are untested and experimental in nature.

On October 16, 2006, the Department of Defense announced that it will resume its previously court-halted anthrax vaccination program and that troops who do not agree to receive the six-injection series voluntarily will be faced with disciplinary action.

Untested vaccinations are believed to be one of the source of Gulf War Illness, a crippling condition which disabled tens of thousands of soldiers after the first Gulf War.

To learn more, visit this site: www.beyondtreason.com.

Tags: idiotism in military, bureaucracy, forced immunization, jatropathia

What Obama is up against.

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:03:13 GMT

clipped by: blackroseheart
clipper's remarks: Very interesting information!

Clip Source: www.truthout.org

What Obama Is Up Against

Monday 02 November 2009

The first anniversary of Barack Obama's historic election finds many of his supporters already grousing. Fair enough: Obama has been more vigorous in some areas than others. But one essential question goes unasked: How much can any president accomplish against the wishes of recalcitrant power centers within his own government?

We Americans harbor a quaint belief that a new president takes charge of a government that eagerly awaits his next command. Like an orchestra conductor or perhaps a football coach, he can inspire or bludgeon and get what he wants. But that's not how things work at the top, especially where "national security" is concerned. The Pentagon and CIA are powerful and independent fiefdoms characterized by entrenched agendas and constant intrigue. They are full of lifers, who see an elected president largely as an annoyance, and have ways of dealing with those who won't come to heel.

Tags: obama, cia, military

What Obama Is Up Against

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:01:47 GMT

clipped by: mcsmithblack
clipper's remarks: This article makes some very good points regarding hte limitations of Presidential authority.
If we want what we voted for,we have to continually work for it. The U.S. is in this current situation because "We the People" have neglected our duties as citizens to keep ourselves informed, oversee our representatives by making damn sure that they know exactly what we want and then follow-up to ensure that they do what is needed. Casting a vote every 2 to 4 years and then ignoring everything that happens in between voting, does not a Democracy make.

Clip Source: www.veteranstoday.com

Opinion: What Obama Is Up Against

By Russ Baker Truthout

Tags: u.s. politics, presidential limitations

The US is a Failed State

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:00:46 GMT

clipped by: sincitykitty
clipper's remarks: In any failed state, the greatest threat to the population comes from the government and the police. That is certainly the situation today in the USA. Americans have no greater enemy than their own government. Washington is controlled by interest groups that enrich themselves at the expense of the American people.

Clip Source: www.counterpunch.com

The Super Rich are Laughing

The US as Failed State

he US has every characteristic of a failed state.

The US government’s current operating budget is dependent on foreign financing and money creation.

Too politically weak to be able to advance its interests through diplomacy, the US relies on terrorism and military aggression.

Costs are out of control, and priorities are skewed in the interest of rich organized interest groups at the expense of the vast majority of citizens. For example, war at all cost, which enriches the armaments industry, the officer corps and the financial firms that handle the war’s financing, takes precedence over the needs of American citizens. There is no money to provide the uninsured with health care, but Pentagon officials have told the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee in the House that every gallon of gasoline delivered to US troops in Afghanistan costs American taxpayers $400.

Liz Cheney - Just Another Lying Partisan Hack

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:07:58 GMT

clipped by: chestnut501
clipper's remarks: Original post by MARIO PIPERNI

Clip Source: mariopiperni.com

President Obama flew to Dover Air Force Base and saluted as 18 coffins returned from Afghanistan. Liz Cheney found reason to criticize.

“I think that what President Bush used to do is do it without the cameras. And I don’t understand sort of showing up with the White House Press Pool with photographers and asking family members if you can take pictures. That’s really hard for me to get my head around…It was a surprising way for the president to choose to do this.”

Liz Cheney, like her dad, is a liar.

It’s true that Bush’s Pentagon continued a long-standing policy of banning cameras at Dover when the nation’s fallen arrived in flag-draped caskets from foreign battlefields.

So that covers “without the cameras.”

Obama was the first president to visit arriving dead at Dover during the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq — meaning that when it came to taking trips to Dover like Obama did yesterday morning, Bush never used to “do it” at all.

Integrity is obviously not a Cheney trait.

Tags: news, politics, partisan-politics, lies, war, respect

The terrorists at Club Gitmo don't want to leave

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:23:43 GMT

clipped by: clip-on-tie
clipper's remarks: Obvious. What else more could they want? They have personal chefs, TVs, remote controls, beach volleyball, a library overlooking the ocean, scenic views, free laundry service, new prayer rugs to pray to Allah.....and they're getting the H1N1 vaccine before you. The libs want them out of Cuban Clown College as long as they're nowhere near their Manhattan penthouses or vacation spots in the Vineyard. As if splashing water on their damn faces is going to scare them off.....PUH-LEASE. Gitmo should be rebranded so that liberals wouldn’t reflexively scream “TORTURE!” every time they heard it’s name. How about "Misfired Martyrs Motel" or "Viva la Incarceracion!"?

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Guantánamo suspects want to stay, say officials

As President Barack Obama's deadline to close Guantánamo looms, some occupants of the notorious detention centre would rather prolong their stay than be sent to maximum security prisons on the US mainland, according to camp officials.

Despite its reputation, the regime at the Pentagon facility on Cuba's southern coast offers privileges that would not be enjoyed at the federal "supermax" prison at Florence, Colorado, the likely alternative for the most dangerous al-Qaeda suspects.

Sensitive to criticism that the detention centre was not meeting international standards, the Pentagon has gradually improved living conditions at Guantánamo.

The 221 remaining inmates receive between four and 20 hours outdoor recreation in the Caribbean sun and anything from weekly to almost unlimited access to DVDs and receive three newspapers

Every bed has an arrow pointing towards Mecca and every cell a prayer rug.

Tags: obvious, idiots, murderers, terrorists, wahhhhh, poor things get water splashed on their face, cry me a river

Retired generals as Pentagon finger-puppets:still

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 07:42:50 GMT

clipped by: beanz
clipper's remarks: Has anything changed ?

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

David Barstow Wins Pulitzer for Exposing Military's Pro-War Propaganda Media Campaign 1 of 4

[Video]

Detainees at Club Gitmo Getting H1N1 Vaccine Before You

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 02:38:43 GMT

clipped by: clip-on-tie
clipper's remarks: Well, why the hell not.....they already have personal chefs, cable TV and free movies. I'm sure that between prayer time on their new prayer rugs and beach volleyball tournaments they can manage to fit the vaccinations into their grueling schedules.

How about we send the liberals down there to administer the H1N1 personally since they already have such high regard for those murdering terrorists.....

Clip Source: www.moonbattery.com

Clip Source: www.wibw.com

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Pentagon will offer the H1N1 vaccination to detainees at the U.S. facility at Guantanamo Bay, officials there said Friday.

The Pentagon made the decision based on U.S. government assessments that people held in detention facilities are at high risk for the pandemic, said Maj. Diana R. Haynie, a spokeswoman for Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay, which is in charge of holding the suspected terrorists.

"Detainees at JTF Guantanamo are considered to be at higher risk and therefore they will be offered the H1N1 vaccination," Haynie said.

Clip Source: www.moonbattery.com

Clip Source: www.wibw.com

"JTF Guantanamo conducts safe, humane, legal and transparent care and custody of detainees. As such, we must provide detainees the medical care necessary to maintain their health," she said.

Base officials had not received the vaccinations and did not know when they were expected to arrive, Haynie said.

Some of the detainees have already voluntarily taken the seasonal flu shot, Haynie said.

Clip Source: images.google.com

Tags: club gitmo, murderers, terrorists, idiots, vaccinations, pigs, dirtbags getting rock star treatment, stupid

Painstaking Baby Splitting

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:40:05 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: to protect population centers, or one that makes counterterrorism the main focus of U.S. efforts in the country, which would rely on relatively fewer American troops.

…

The timing of Obama’s decision on Afghanistan remains up in the air. But his request for another meeting with the military chiefs " and the expectation that he will meet again with his top national security advisers before reaching a conclusion " may leave him too little time to decide the issue before he travels to Asia on Nov. 11.

I’m afraid that’s just not enough time for him to recognize that he is the President of the United States, that the buck stops with him, that he’ll never make everyone happy, that his current direction is more likely to make no one happy, that extended indecisiveness is its own kind of decision and, in time of war, fundamentally, it gives him enough time to grow a set.

Also that, no matter how he painstakingly he splits it, it’s his baby now.

Clip Source: www.julescrittenden.com

The military chiefs have been largely supportive of a resource request by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, that would by one Pentagon estimate require the deployment of 44,000 additional troops. But opinion among members of Obama’s national security team is divided, and he now appears to be seeking a compromise solution that would satisfy both his military and civilian advisers.

How about one that involves winning? I was under the impression that Gen. Stanley McChrystal had given the president several troop level options, between 10,000 and 40,000, but apparently he needs options on his options.

Maybe more important than an Oval Office signoff on every last bullet, bean and soldier, is the basic objective, and apparently the president’s no closer there, either:

Before he can determine troop levels, his advisers have said, he must decide whether to embrace a strategy focused heavily on counterinsurgency, which would require additional forces

Tags: 0bama, afghanistan, general mcchrystal, top u.s. and nato commander

Report: Dozens in Congress Under Ethics Scrutiny

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:52:31 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: The inquiry involves lawmakers who steered appropriations to clients of a now-defunct lobbying firm and received campaign contributions from the firm and its clients.

The names included three lawmakers previously identified in the inquiry: the chairman of the defense subcommittee, Murtha; and Reps. Peter Visclosky, D-Ind., and James Moran, D-Va.

The Post said others whose names were in the report included Reps. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, C.W. Bill Young, R-Fla., and Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan.

The committee, however, has not announced an investigation of any of these lawmakers.

A committee statement said its security was breached through "peer to peer file sharing software" by a junior employee who was working from home. The staff member was fired.

The committee said it is investigating whether Rep. Maxine Waters used her influence to help a bank in which her husband owned stock, and whether the couple benefited as a result.

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

WASHINGTON -- Nearly half the members of a House panel in control of Pentagon spending are under scrutiny by ethics investigators in Congress, The Washington Post reported Friday, citing a leaked confidential House ethics committee report.

Investigations by two separate ethics offices include an examination of Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa.,chairman of the appropriations subcommittee on defense, and six other lawmakers and their relationships with an influential lobbying firm, the newspaper said.

The Post reported in its online edition that the document was disclosed on a publicly accessible computer network and made available to the newspaper by a source familiar with such networks.

The ethics committee is one of the most secretive panels in Congress, and its members and staff members sign oaths not to disclose any activities related to its past or present investigations, according to the newspaper.

Tags: congress members, leaked report, staff aide fired, under ethics scrutiny

Dozens of House members scrutinized, report shows

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:31:16 GMT

clipped by: jay8h

Clip Source: www.breitbart.com

Dozens of House members scrutinized, report shows

WASHINGTON (AP) - Dozens of lawmakers have drawn scrutiny from their ethics monitor this year for everything from financial dealings to travel and campaign donations, according to a leaked account showing an active House panel secretly at work.

Seven of the lawmakers—four not previously known—serve on a defense appropriations subcommittee that divvies up money for Pentagon contractors.

FILE - These various dated file photos shows some of House members exposed...

Most of the names and investigative subjects, mentioned in a summary of the ethics committee's work last July, were known. But the summary—obtained by The Washington Post—shows the widespread scope of preliminary reviews and investigations the panel can have before it at any one time.

If anything, the document rebuts arguments of some watchdog groups that members of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct—the ethics committee—do little to investigate their colleagues.

War Is a Hate Crime

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:59:02 GMT

clipped by: katsteevns

Clip Source: www.truthdig.com

War Is a Hate Crime

By Chris Hedges

Violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people is wrong. So is violence against people in Afghanistan and Iraq. But in the bizarre culture of identity politics, there are no alliances among the oppressed. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the first major federal civil rights law protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, passed last week, was attached to a $680-billion measure outlining the Pentagon’s budget, which includes $130 billion for ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Democratic majority in Congress, under the cover of protecting some innocents, authorized massive acts of violence against other innocents.

A U.S. soldier walks in the snow at an outpost near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

It was a clever piece of marketing.

The War Condolences Obama Hasn’t Sent

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:56:22 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Chance was very troubled during his first tour of duty in Iraq, although he performed admirably by all accounts. At one point he was put on a suicide watch and had his ammunition taken away for a week. After Iraq, Chance declined a $27,000 reenlistment bonus and transitioned to the U.S. Army Reserves, hoping to avoid another deployment. He sought and was receiving treatment at a Veterans Affairs facility. Gregg said, “We sat down as a family, and we said, ‘President Obama is going to be elected, and President Obama will end this war, and you won’t have to go.’ ” But then his son’s orders to deploy came again.
the GI Rights Hotline, which advises active-duty soldiers on options for leaving the military, says outside psychological professionals can help suicidal soldiers obtain a medical discharge: “The military wants to know whether the patient can perform their duties without causing trouble, embarrassment or expense. His or her welfare is distinctly less important.”

Clip Source: www.truthdig.com

A scene from Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

U.S. Army Reserve Spc. Chancellor Keesling died in Iraq on June 19, 2009, from “a non-combat related incident,” according to the Pentagon. Keesling had killed himself. He was just one in what is turning out to be a record year for suicides in the U.S. military.

Jannett told me: “Chancellor was recruited right out of high school, and this was something he was passionate about, joining the military. I wanted him to go to college, but he said that he wanted to be a soldier.” Gregg added: “We had doubts about him joining. ... When the war broke out in 2003, when many of us were trying to retreat, Chancy decided, ‘This is my duty.’ ... But once he did his first tour ... his marriage broke up during that deployment.”

The Pentagon admits to a mounting suicide crisis in its ranks. Numbers of acknowledged suicides have steadily climbed, from fewer than 100 in 2005, by one report, to nearly 200 in 2008,

US pays $400 per gallon for gas in Afghanistan

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:26:00 GMT

clipped by: disenchantedcitizen
clipper's remarks: The government's Defense Energy Support Center provides fuel to the military at $2.78 per gallon, the conveyance of which then grows exponentially more expensive as it travels through dangerous combat zones.

Gen. James Conway, who runs the Marine Corps, told a Navy forum that perilous risky routes up gasoline that originally cost $1.04 gallon up to $400.

Clip Source: rawstory.com

Last year, the price of gasoline in the United States topped the $4 per gallon mark

This year in Afghanistan, the price has topped $400.

The stunning revelation emerged Thursday in a report from the Pentagon to House officials. The information conveyed offers new insight into a recent report by the Congressional Research Service, which found that the US spends $1 million per year for each servicemember on the ground in Afghanistan.

Why so much? The cost includes shipping, which sometimes includes the pricetag of a helicopter flight. Sending fuel by helicopter is woefully inefficient, because it uses up almost as much fuel as it carries.

Afghanistan is also landlocked, meaning that fuel must be transported in ways that stretch the limits of economic reason.

Because the country has no seaports, fuel is shipped to Karachi, in Pakistan, then carried across land by commercial trucks through Afghanistan. For remote bases, gasoline is sometimes transported by air.