There is a roadmap for the bankrupt Motor City—if it can find a way to fund the trip
Watch: A Mysterious Death of Witness for ‘Whitey’ Bulger Trial
A day after learning he was dropped from the prosecution witness list in the trial of Boston Crime boss “Whitey” Bulger, Stephen Rakes is found dead. Rakes attended nearly every day of Bulger’s six-week trial.
He has long …
Mountain Fire Chars California Near Palm Springs
Officials ordered the evacuation of 6,000 people around the town of Idyllwild as firefighters battle to contain a blaze that has scorched more than 22,000 acres this week, according to the LA Times. The U.S. Forest Service on …
“Senator, would you agree that we have recent experience where until we understood how the country would continue to govern and that institutions of governance wouldn't fail, that actually, situations can be made worse by the introduction of military force?”
— Army General Martin Dempsey, jousting Thursday with Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., over the wisdom of U.S. military involvement in Syria at an armed services committee hearing. The spat led McCain to place a hold on Dempsey’s nomination to serve a second two-year term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs, meaning it can’t proceed until McCain removes that hold. It wasn’t clear whether Dempsey was referring to Afghanistan, Iraq, or both.
BattlelandR&D
So It Ain’t The Bridge On the River Kwai
The engineering students at Utah State University have come up with a backpack-portable bridge that recently captured first place in the Air Force Research Laboratory Design Challenge.
It’s designed to let military personnel …
$221,800,000
— The value of an Army contract, here, announced Thursday, for an unspecified number of “lightweight counter-mortar radars and related parts and services.” As with various anti-IED efforts, that’s a lot of money – nearly a quarter-billion dollars – to deal with a relatively cheap weapon. Given the fact that the U.S. military is pulling out of Afghanistan, it also makes you wonder why they’re stockpiling these things.
BattlelandMilitary Spending
Listen to the Band!
Battleland, a one-time trumpeter and tuba-er, likes nothing more than the smart sounds of a squared-away military band.
Sure, there are critics, forever complaining that the U.S. military has more musicians than the State …
Forward Marching, After War
Where do I go from here?
Veterans stripped of a sense of purpose and mission often find themselves asking that question once they leave the service after tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
With objectives complete and platoons …
BattlelandNational Security
Aim High (and Dry)…
Google, Microsoft Earn Bronx Cheer From Wall Street as Stocks Slide
Microsoft ‘s results were particularly ugly. The software giant’s stock is down more than 11% in Friday trading
The Sun is Setting on the U.S. Presence
A U.S. soldier pulls security in northern Kunduz province, July 15.
BattlelandMissile Defense
Critic, Booster, Porkers
The days of legitimate debate over the value of missiles defense seem to have faded into history.
The issue has become one of theology. Those involved are either true believers, or heretics. It’s like listening to a church …
Cash-Strapped Universities Turn to Corporate-Style Consolidation
For many public and private institutions looking to cut costs, A&M now stands for acquisitions and mergers