(Reuters)
‘DOD Live’ Compiles Resources for People Affected by Disasters. A “DOD Live” blog post compiled by Ian Phillips of Defense Media Activity social media operations here provides a wide range of resources for people affected directly or indirectly by the deadly tornado that struck Moore, Okla., yesterday...
(Defense.gov)
Hunger Striker Launches Twitter Campaign to Close Gitmo. Petitions have failed. Lawsuits have failed. Even campaign pledges from future presidents have failed. So now one Guantanamo Bay detainee is hoping that Twitter can help him shut down the infamous detention facility. Shaker Aamer, a Saudi citizen and former British resident, is one of 103 Guantanamo detainees currently on a hunger strike in protest of his seemingly endless incarceration without trial. Eleven years into his confinement, Aamer’s interactions with the outside world are limited. But through his lawyers, Aamer is testing the ability of social media to pressure President Obama into finally closing Guantanamo...
(Wired)
Atlantic Media Nabs 'Foreign Policy' Writer to Edit Defense Site. The Atlantic Media Company has hired an editor to run Defense One, a digital-only publication concentrating on defense and national security launching this summer. Kevin Baron, a national security reporter for Foreign Policy magazine, has been brought on as executive editor, effective June 3. The position is a homecoming of sorts for Baron, who prior to Foreign Policy covered the "business of war" for another Atlantic Media publication, National Journal...
(Mashable)
US military halts Guantanamo WiFi, limits social networks because of hack threat. The U.S. military has shut down wireless internet service at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba because of online hacking threats. A spokesman for the Guantanamo Bay prison says that officials have also blocked access to social networks such as Facebook and Twitter through military computer networks because of the threat...
(The Washington Post)
Internet Terror On The Rise. The Internet is teeming with recruitment sites for potential jihadists; how to sites for building bombs, and numerous forums in which terrorists can share and build upon their hate. “It’s very troubling. Unless we change what is happening in the Internet, we can expect many more Boston-style attacks, not only here but abroad,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, during a presentation on Capitol Hill May 8...
(Baltimore Jewish Times)
The G.I. Film Festival and The Ghost Army. Around here, we often talk about superheroes. Today, however, I want to talk about real heroes. The GI Film Festival, a non-profit educational organization “dedicated to sharing the military experience in and out of the arena of war” took place in D.C. on May 6 – 12, and I attended one of the events...
(ComicMix)
Media Watchdog Calls For Probe Into Afghan Journalist's Murder. A leading press freedom organization in Afghanistan, Nai, has demanded an investigation into the killing of a journalist who was found dead after being missing for weeks. In a statement, Nai called on Afghan authorities to probe the murder of Mohammad Mohsin Hashimi in northern Kapisa Province...
(Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty)
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Image via Business Insider / Source: Twitter
It looks like the Syrian Electronic Army enjoyed another day of hacking.
Yesterday, the Twitter accounts of the Daily Telegraph were hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army, the latest in a string of high profile attacks that include The Onion and a slew of news organizations.
According to Business Insider, a number of Twitter accounts tweeted pro-regime messages that included tweets such as "Syrian Electronic Army Was Here" and "#FSA terrorists executed innocent citizens.."
The Telegraph's main account @Telegraph was not compromised. Yesterday afternoon, @Telegraph posted a message stating, "We are aware that some of our accounts have been compromised and are working to resolve the issue. Many thanks for your patience."
Just to bring you up to speed, the Syrian Electronic Army’s hacks include the Financial Times, BBC, The Onion, and The Guardian.
One of the group’s most well known attacks was on the Twitter account of the Associated Press that sent out fake tweets that the White House was under attack.
More on the SEA’s latest Twitter hack at Business Insider.
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Via Red Bull Rising:
Steve Metze—a West Point alumnus, member of the Texas National Guard, and veteran of Operations Desert Storm, Joint Endeavor, and Iraqi Freedom—found out about his 2005 deployment to Iraq just three days after his honeymoon in 2004. Like other citizen-soldiers, Metze figuratively grabbed his musket and ran to the sound of the guns. The film-school graduate also grabbed his video camera.
"For operations in Iraq, the National Guard mobilized teachers, bankers, mechanics ... and one film-maker," reads a tag-line for the resulting documentary, "Year at Danger." Featured prominently throughout the movie is the distinctive shoulder patch of the Texas National Guard's 36th Infantry "Arrowhead" Division.
The film tells the story of how citizen-soldiers and their families deal with hardships of combat, deployments, separations, pregnancies, and more. The title refers to "Camp Danger," located on the banks of the foul-smelling Tigris River, near Tikrit, Iraq—Saddam Hussein's old palatial stomping grounds.
"I'd been deployed twice before (Desert Storm and Bosnia), and in both cases I came back wishing I'd documented the experience more," Metze explains via e-mail to the Red Bull Rising blog. "I don't think my thought process is unique, but when I get deployed, and spend a lot of time away from friends and family, potentially risking my life, I want it to mean something. That translates to remembering all the details to share with others, in order to share that meaning, that significance."
Full story here.
You can learn more about the film at Kickstarter.
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(BBB)
A photographer's report: On the ground in Afghanistan. Paktika Province, AFGHANISTAN — I’ve left the States with the unit roughly two weeks ago, however it feels like I just arrived. That sensation isn’t far from reality, actually, given the time spent traveling. Myself and the company commanders of the 1-506 Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division arrived on the Forward Operating Bases in eastern Afghanistan where they’ll call home for most of the deployment after multiple stops in Europe, Kyrgyzstan, Bagram Air Field, and FOB Salerno. Each location had its purpose and its demands...
(Ludington Daily News)
Does Social Media Add Fuel to Degrading Actions? Despite urgent efforts by the White House, Congress and the Pentagon to address the military’s burgeoning sexual assault crisis, degrading hate speech against women remains ubiquitous in the military -- and it’s as close as the nearest computer screen...
(Military)
Vet’s war story is put into words. The Story of PFC Gene Wentz,” by Daniel Felix of Mechanicsburg, has been released in time for Memorial Day. Felix, who is a semiretired educator, wrote his first book about his father-in-law, who lives in Martinsburg. He wanted to tell Wentz’s story because he has realized that so many World War II veterans are dying without sharing their memories...
(The Tribune Democrat)
Army launches TV push for young recruits. The ‘Step Up’ TV spot launches today (20 May) and is filmed from the perspective of a pair of army boots to show the journey a soldier may take during their career. Facebook, Twitter and outdoor promotions will support the JWT created advert. The activity is aimed at 16 to 24 year-olds as part of an overhauled recruitment process which will see army positions advertised in job centres...
(Marketing Week)
Filmmaker Matthew Nash tells Holocaust tale from GI's point of view. Nash is an associate professor of photography at Lesley University's Art Institute of Boston and director of "16 Photographs at Ohrdruf," a documentary about the first Nazi concentration camp liberated by U.S. troops. The film won the Founder's Choice Award at last weekend's GI Film Festival in Alexandria. How did the film come about?
(Washington Examiner)
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The British Army wants 10,000 soldiers to 'Step Up'.
Beginning today, the British Army is beginning a new 'Step Up' recruitment campaign to attract 10,000 new soldiers and officers into the Army over the coming year.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) writes, “The campaign, aimed at 16-to-24-year-olds, features TV ads that show the audience the potential journey a soldier might take following an Army career from the point of view of the Army’s iconic black boots. It also highlights what the Army can offer new recruits.”
In addition to TV ads, the British Army will be using social media.
According to PublicService.co.uk, the MoD is planning to take full advantage of social media and potential recruits will be given the opportunity to quiz serving soldiers on their experiences.
I haven’t found anything online yet in terms of potential recruits quizzing serving soldiers, but I happened to find this 8 second clip on YouTube and I’m assuming it is one of the TV ads that is being launched.
Smart move by the MoD to market on social media.
Frankly, I’m surprised the MoD is even bothering with television.
Seriously, are there commercials during Game of Thrones?
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Well, now the Indian Army, which is very new to social media compared to other military forces of the world, has officially joined Facebook on May 15, 2013.
MediaNama reports the Indian Army launched a Facebook page called ADGPI – Indian Army.
“While the page is still relatively new, what’s particularly interesting is the way the Indian Army is approaching social media in general. Remember that unlike other departments, the Indian Army is typically more reserved in providing public information, more so in real-time, due to the high security risks these information might pose, and the user’s knowledge on Indian Army initiatives is majorly limited to what they read and see on various media platforms. Hence, social media platforms can be used by the army to spread more awareness and possibly motivate more youngsters to join them. However, maintaining a balance between engaging the audience with more information while avoiding any leaks of classified information is crucial.”
The page already has over 10,000 likes.
Surprisingly, there are dozens of Facebook pages online devoted to the Indian Army and they are quite popular.
Indian Army Fans for example has 1.2 million fans.
Next stop for the Indian Army is most likely YouTube.
Read more over at MediaNama.
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(The Huffington Post)
Social Media Pose New Riddle for CIA. Effective spycraft has long called for cover—a job, family or routine that would keep a government agent from drawing undue attention. Now, that calculation extends to spies' use of social media. Only in the past few years has the Central Intelligence Agency issued standardized guidelines on how to use social media, according to one former intelligence official. The line these guidelines draw appears to be thin: Revealing too much on Facebook and Twitter risks tipping too much to the other side. But given that social media use is becoming ubiquitous, revealing too little could also arouse suspicion...
(WSJ)
Financial Times hacked by Syrian Electronic Army. The breach, which took place just before 1pm BST, is just the latest in a spate of attacks against media organisations including The Guardian and the Associated Press. The FT blogs webpage portrayed the message "Hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army" and Twitter accounts including the Lex Column and FT Markets tweeted "The Syrian Electronic Army was here" to hundreds of thousands of followers...
(Telegraph)
WWII Symposium preserves local stories. Pride, service, history and future were the motifs Saturday at the World War II Symposium held at Watauga High School. The event celebrated and honored the sacrifices of veterans, while providing high school students with an opportunity to learn and give back to their community...
(The Watauga Democrat)
Spitz: Scammers who target military deserve a just reward. In honor of Armed Forces Day on Saturday, I'd like to make a deal with the devil. I'd like to add a special circle of hell reserved solely for scammers who prey on military families. Scammers and identity thieves of all stripes certainly deserve a one-way ticket to eternal torture. My hope is that if hell can be customized, the run-of-the-mill scammers and those who make the "Grandma scam'' calls get an eternity of listening to a fax line screech on a phone they can never put down...
(The MetroWest Daily News)
Travel: Museum tells the story of Canadians who served their country at war. From prehistoric spears to massive modern field guns, mankind has always found a way to launch projectiles at enemies. And if something can be fired, shot or hurled, chances are it’s on display at The RCA Museum located at Canadian Forces Base Shilo, a two-hour drive from Winnipeg in southwestern Manitoba...
(therecord)
Stories of Service. The wounds of war aren’t always just the kind you can see. That’s the premise of an original theatrical production that will be performed next weekend at Mid Valley High School. According to the show’s director, Patricia Powell, the story for the play grew out of the time she spent with her elderly father, Gene Washo...
(Valley Advantage)
Veterans: Beware scams targeting you, loved ones. As Memorial Day approaches, many Americans turn their attention to the brave men and women who are serving or have served our nation in uniform. The Better Business Bureau warns that, sadly, not everyone who focuses on our heroes is doing so out of appreciation. Some are simply interested in separating military members from their well-deserved paychecks...
(Hutchnews)
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Image via Facebook
For those of you wondering what's been going on with Facebook and Congresswoman Jackie Speier who is trying to help stop sexual abuse in the military, the situation has escalated on the social networking website and Facebook has had to step in again.
This time the company took down a Facebook page that made a "direct threat" against Rep. Speier, reports NBC News.
And the U.S. Capitol Police are now involved.
"The threat was made last week against Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., and her husband shortly after Speier sent a letter May 8 to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel informing him of the Facebook page which, according to Speier, helped "contribute to a culture that permits and seems to encourage sexual assault and abuse." U.S. Capitol Police have asked Speier and her staff not to divulge the nature of the threat."
The page called "F*** You Jackie Speier" was taken down by Facebook on Friday, but not before Speier's staff was able to confirm that several active-duty Marines had posted messages on the page.
More over at NBC News.
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The Syrian rebel, Khalid al-Hamad, who reportedly ate part of a pro-government soldier on video explained himself in an interview to TIME over Skype, saying that the brutality of the Syrian regime had driven him to extremes.
"Al-Hamad, who has been fighting on the front lines near the strategic town of al-Qusayr for the past week, said the video captures the first time he had ever attempted to eat an enemy’s liver. He indicated that the brutality of the regime had driven him to extremes. “You are not seeing what we are seeing, and you are not living what we are living. Where are my brothers, my friends, the girls of my neighborhood who were raped? May God bless them all.”
I'd love to report that the video was a fake, but nope.
Apparently, al-Hamad found footage on the dead soldier's cell phone, adding to his anger.
“We opened his cell phone, and I found a clip of a woman and her two daughters fully naked and he was humiliating them, and sticking a stick here and there," he told TIME.
The video of al-Hamad that went viral got a lot of people bent out of shape.
Anyhow, I'm no surgeon, but apparently there was one watching the video.
It turns out that the body part in the video that al-Hamad takes a bite of, is actually a lung, not a heart as many news sites and blogs reported.
"A surgeon who has seen the video confirms that the organ in question was a lung, which somewhat resembles the liver," wrote TIME's Aryn Baker. al-Hamad actually thought he was eating the liver.
You can read more over at TIME.
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Here's a roundup of some news I haven't already discussed this week having to do with the military, social networking, and the media.
Marines aim to eliminate Facebook posts degrading women by July. Officials at the Pentagon said today they want to eliminate all degrading material aimed at female Marines by July after a Facebook page appeared with lewd photos of women soldiers...
(GlobalPost)
Red Cross Launches Facebook Page To The Armed Forces. In observance of United States Armed Forces Day May 18, the American Red Cross is encouraging Mississippians to thank a service member—in person and online. "The U.S. Armed Forces Day celebrates each individual who serves the country by being a part of the military force and demonstrates the preparedness of our brave soldiers to face every sort of threat and challenge," said Leslie Pitre, Red Cross Mississippi Region Service to Armed Forces manager. "It is a tradition to fly the American flag and to wear red, white or blue colors during this time."
(WJTV)
Jihadists use US servers to spread terror message. Just miles from New York City’s hallowed Ground Zero, an Internet server in New Jersey hosts a Jihadist leader’s website that instructs supporters of al-Qaida to use explosive devices against western civilians, along with blueprints showing how to build the bombs. Another website, hosted on a server located in Miami, provides Hezbollah – designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department – a platform for its television website al-Manar...
(Washington Guardian)
Social media increasingly important for military families. She detailed her pregnancy, with her husband a world away. She diagnosed sudden spells of dizziness. She wrote of the challenges of keeping a budget while attending school. But mostly, Shayla Bowling – a proud Fort Gordon Army wife – has relayed the complexity of life as a military spouse, tending to a home with two young children, with a husband summoned for repeated deployments. “My husband has been in the military four years,” Bowling said. “When he first deployed in 2009, I started blogging.”
(The Augusta Chronicle)
How the Arab Spring taught me to love Twitter. Apart from a two- year assignment in Afghanistan, I’ve spent almost my career as a diplomat working on Middle East issues, either in London or overseas. And along the way, I learned Arabic, spending a year studying at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, and a year at a Language Institute in Cairo...
(Al Arabiya)
Overseas email scam claims to help military personnel. Attorney General Jim Hood is warning consumers and businesses to be aware of a recent email scam purporting to help overseas military personnel with packages in the U.S. The unsolicited email suggests that the sender is a military officer who has two military trunk boxes that just arrived in the the U.S. and is needing help with safekeeping. In order to help, a reply is needed where then, the alleged military officer claims to have $40 million dollars in the trunks and needs an address to send the money to until he returns...
(The Clarion-Ledger)
Beware of Memorial Day scams aimed at military personnel. Memorial Day is a time to honor those who serve and remember those who have died serving their country. But sadly, it has also become a key opportunity for scammers to target those who are serving or have served previously, especially elderly veterans. As Memorial Day approaches, the Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota (BBB) urges consumers and donors to watch out for scammers...
(The ECM Post Review)
News of convictions in journalist murders sadly infrequent. We received an unusual email last week. Michaella Ortega wrote to tell us that Marlon Recamata, who confessed to shooting her father, Philippine journalist Gerardo Ortega, in 2011, had been convicted and sentenced to life for the crime...
(CPJ)
Criticized on Seizure of Records, White House Pushes News Media Shield Law. Under fire over the Justice Department’s use of a broad subpoena to obtain calling records of Associated Press reporters in connection with a leak investigation, the Obama administration sought on Wednesday to revive legislation that would provide greater protections to reporters in keeping their sources and communications confidential...
(The New York Times)
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Earlier this week, I posted a story about a gory video of a Syrian rebel commander cutting the heart out of a Syrian soldier and taking a bite. If you haven't seen it, its been one of the biggest headlines of the week with nearly every news site discussing the video.
I can honestly say it’s one of the more disturbing videos I’ve seen in awhile.
Of course, more internet videos are emerging from Syria. The latest to hit the net shows the public executions of government soldiers by Islamist rebels.
According to Daily Mail:
“The two and a half minute clip shows three soldiers sitting on a plinth in the centre of the square, surrounded by masked gunmen.
They are wearing green blindfolds and holding their hands together anxiously as a crowd gathers in the background.
A masked gunman can be seen standing next to a van, reading from a piece of paper - it looks as if he is reading into a microphone.
After the speaker gives a gesture, a man wearing a dark flowing robe walks up to the first victim and shoots him in the head at close range, before he falls back.
He then moves along the line and shots the other two men.
The trio are seen lying on the ground twitching as more men pump bullets into them while the militants raise their weapons in celebration.”
I gotta say, even though news sites are starting to focus more on each new video as a result of the cannibal rebel, there have been plenty of gruesome videos and images coming out of Syria from both sides of the war for years.
They're shocking but nothing new.
On a lighter note, my favorite video out of Syria is still this one.
More at Daily Mail.
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I’m sure you’ve heard about this before, but it’s always good to be reminded so that you make sure to take steps to protect yourself online.
KJRH News reports:
“Erick Wolf was there when crowds toppled Saddam Hussein's statue during the Iraq War.
He even sat on one of Hussein's thrones one of his many palaces.
And now, all these years later, back in Oklahoma, Erick wages another type of war, after his profile and pictures from Facebook were stolen.
"I was infuriated, not just at the exploitation of my personal identity, but the fact they were using that to hurt people, to get money, to break their hearts," Erick said.
Identity thieves concocted a truly heart-breaking story, Erick found out. They used his name and family pictures from Facebook, even those of a foreign exchange student they hosted a couple of years ago.
The story the thieves put together claimed Erick's wife had passed away while he was serving in Afghanistan and that he desperately needed thousands of dollars to get home to console his daughter back in the states.
Erick learned about the scheme after a woman from Spain found his email address and sent him a message. She detailed how she donated $3,000 for his trip back to the states, only to find out the only person she consoled, was a crook.”
More here including tips.
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This is some pretty ambitious news when you read the headline.
According to Sky News, the Imperial War Museum plans to publish online as many as eight million stories of those who served in uniform and worked on the home front during the First World War, which will mark 100 years in 2014 since it began.
Via Sky News:
“The Imperial War Museum is leading the massive project which will pay tribute to those who served in uniform, as well as people who worked on the home front.
Lives of the First World War will bring together records from museums, libraries, archives and family collections from across the globe.
It is aiming to set up a digital legacy where people can connect, explore, and share information about British and Commonwealth citizens involved in the war.”
The website can be found at Lives of the First World War.
To make this all happen, the museum is asking for people to get involved by signing up at their website.
“IWM will need your help to explore documents, to link them together and to start telling the stories of those who served in uniform and worked on the home front.”
More news at Sky News.
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(Extreme Tech)
Check out the satire in this military version of The Onion. As a long-time reader of the satirical newspaper and Web site known as The Onion (see HERE), I was glad to stumble upon The Duffel Blog, a site that offers the same sense of the absurd as The Onion, but with a military slant...
(Carbondale News)
Social Media in Government: Armed Forces Communications. When a citizen joins the Armed Forces, not only do their lives change, but so do those of their families and friends. In many cases, entire families are transplanted from one location to another in support of one parent’s military responsibilities. Supplementing traditional communications with social media techniques, those directly and indirectly affected can be better informed...
(Business 2 Community)
BBB warns of scams aimed at veterans. The Better Business Bureau has identified a number of scams aimed at military personnel, particularly elderly veterans, that ramp up just before Memorial Day. Here are a handful of scams aimed at military personnel...
(StarTribune.com)
Syria coalition publishes videos on rules of war. The war in Syria has claimed over 70,000 lives, many of those civilians. Now the Syrian National Coalition has published several videos on the rules of war. The guides are aimed at encouraging rebel fighters on the ground to follow international criminal laws - like the ones against enlisting children. Tim Carstairs, the Head of Communications at Geneva Call, which produced the videos on behalf of the SNC, speaks to Al Jazeera...
(AlJazeeraEnglish)
War stories will become a play. A HISTORY project is underway in Swindon involving the town’s primary school children. As part of the 2014 World War One centenary next year, pupils are seeking stories about the war and how it affected Swindon...
(This Is Wiltshire)
Memorial to Fallen Journalists Rededicated. On May 13, the Newseum, a popular museum in Washington D.C. will rededicate its Journalist Memorial, which honors journalists who died or were killed while on the job. The Newseum is dedicated to championing the value of a free press and the men and women who dedicate their lives to journalism...
(VOA)
On the road via motorcycle, retired Texas native interviewing WWII veterans of Pearl Harbor. Denton native Mark Humphreys recalled a conversation he had with a World War II veteran who witnessed the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. The veteran told a story about narrowly escaping death, while at the same time watching other soldiers die during the surprise attack by Japanese fighter pilots, Humphreys said...
(The Republic)
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Image via YouTube
Gory video of a Syrian rebel commander cutting the heart out of a Syrian soldier and taking a bite has gone viral and making quite a buzz across news sites and blogs.
It's no secret that there are crimes being committed by both sides, but damn!
Reuters reports:
“The New York-based group said an amateur video posted on the Internet on Sunday shows Abu Sakkar, a founder of the rebel Farouq Brigade who is well known to journalists as an insurgent from Homs, cutting into the torso of a dead soldier.
The video has caused outrage among both supporters of President Bashar al-Assad and opposition figures.”
I'm no expert on rallying support, but I'm betting eating part of another person on video isn't going to help your cause.
No doubt this video is going to continue to circulate.
You can watch a tamer edited version of the video here, but WARNING: it's still pretty graphic.
More at Reuters.
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(Marine Corps Times)
Savage Online Videos Fuel Syria’s Descent Into Madness. The video starts out like so many of the dozens coming out of the war in Syria every day, with the camera hovering over the body of a dead Syrian soldier. But the next frame makes it clear why this video, smuggled out of the city of Homs and into Lebanon with a rebel fighter, and obtained by TIME in April, is particularly shocking. In the video a man who is believed to be a rebel commander named Khalid al-Hamad, who goes by the nom de guerre Abu Sakkar, bends over the government soldier, knife in hand. He has sliced through the soldier’s fatigues and is working the knife though the pale skin of the soldier’s torso. He has already cut out the man’s heart...
(TIME)
Syrian pro-Assad hacker insists attacks are funny: ‘Haters gonna hate’. When hackers with a pro-Assad collective known as the Syrian Electronic Army took over The Onion’s Twitter feed on Monday, sending out a stream of fake messages criticizing U.S. policy on Syria in a quasi-satirical tone apparently meant to mimic The Onion, I wrote that one giveaway of the hack was that the messages weren’t very funny. It turns out that at least one self-declared member of the Syrian Electronic Army disputes this: not that they hacked The Onion, for which the group does take credit, but the idea that they’re unfunny...
(The Washington Post)
Soldier's war diaries in book. War history is preserved in a book featuring the wartime diaries of a Southland soldier and the travels of his daughter, launched in Owaka on Saturday. Papatowai woman Mary Sutherland has put together her father Jack Bickley's experiences and her travels with husband Fergus, to produce a ''tete-beche'' book, two books in one - Please Send Home, and Far From Home and Family...
(Otago Daily Times)
Soldier's memoir puts a face on First World War. Pat Thomas's house has stained glass. Brass grates are on heating vents. The floors are solid wood. Her Nutana home is rooted in heritage. Pat has her grandfather's memoir in a bookcase. After Percy Kingsley retired from the Swanson Lumber Company in Saskatoon, he typed the book at a desk in the sunroom of his home on Sixth Avenue in City Park in the early 1970s. He wrote about serving in the Canadian infantry in the First World War. The notes fill page after page in a green, three-ring binder...
(The StarPhoenix)
Assad's Facebook page attacks Israeli who aids refugees. Though Assad and his men are fighting a bloody civil war, it appears they still find the time to read Ynet reports and comment on them on President Bashar Assad's personal Facebook page. Following a report on Friday on Moti Kahana, an Israeli businessman who aids Syrian refugees, Assad's page quickly posted the Israeli's photo from the story, showing him hoisting the Free Syria flag...
(Ynetnews)
The Onion reveals how Syrian Electronic Army hacked its Twitter. The Onion staff put their laughing-making on hold last week when the Syrian Electronic Army hacked its Twitter account — the latest in a growing list of publications invaded by the group. Now, the parody news outlet has taken an atypical moment to very seriously explain how the hacktivists weaseled their way into the company's digital confines...
(ITProPortal)
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Apparently, thousands of teenage girls have a crush on Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar “Jahar” Tsarnaev, and according to The New York Post they are leading a social-media movement to exonerate him.
“The swooning teens will not accept allegations that the bushy-haired college kid — whom they refer to by his nickname, “Jahar” — and his brother, Tamerlan, 26, killed three and maimed hundreds by setting off bombs at the April 15 race and killed an MIT police officer during the ensuing manhunt.
While some scrawl the hashtag “#FreeJahar” on their hands with markers, an 18-year-old in Topeka, Kansas, is going to the extreme — she wants the Dzhokhar’s words inked on her arm forever.”
Just how stupid does it get?
“Getting one of Jahar’s tweets tattooed on me tomorrow. Guess you could say I’m a #FreeJahar supporter,” “@keepitbluntedd” tweeted on May 7.
And yes, it gets even stupider.
“@FreeJahar97,” who identified herself on Twitter as “Gianna,” a 16-year-old with “big boobs,” likened Tsarnaev to a heartthrob.
“Yes i like Justin Bieber and i like Jahar but that has nothing to do with why i support him. I know hes innocent, he is far too beautiful,” she tweeted on April 25.
Clearly, this girl is a genius.
Her parents must be soo proud....
You can read more over at NYPOST.
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I wasn't going to write about this but I love the word FOBBIT.
According to the Billings Gazette, Fobbit author David Abrams will be at the Parmly Billings Library on May 25 presenting "How to Tell a War Story," a Humanities Montana Speakers Bureau program.
David Abrams was one of many military authors whose stories were published in Fire and Forget, a book of short stories that was coedited by military blogger Matt Gallagher.
I paid a visit to Abrams’ website to learn more about him.
Here’s a snippet from his bio:
“Abrams retired in 2008 after a 20-year career in the active-duty Army as a journalist. He was named the Department of Defense's Military Journalist of the Year in 1994 and received several other military commendations throughout his career. His tours of duty took him to Thailand, Japan, Africa, Alaska, Texas, Georgia and The Pentagon. In 2005, he joined the 3rd Infantry Division and deployed to Baghdad in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The journal he kept during that year formed the blueprint for the novel which would later become known as Fobbit.”
On a somewhat related note, if you're not familiar with the term "fobbit" here's one of the definitions from Urban Dictionary:
The name of those who choose to stay on base rather than run missions on a FOB (Forward Operating Base). Term usually used for grunts when talking about the annoying admin guy.
“Did you see LCpl Joyce telling war stories to the new guys... He is such a annoying little FOBbit.”
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(Red Bull Rising)
Eight Ways to Share Your Military Story, Part II. Literary magazines and journals are periodicals, and are often published by academic and arts programs. Depending on mission, they may publish fiction, non-fiction, essays, poetry, and visual art. While general-interest journals may devote a single issue to military themes (recent issues of Epiphany, The Iowa Review, and So It Goes, for example), there seems to be a growing number of journals specifically targeted toward such topics...
(Red Bull Rising)
Details Emerge About Syrian Electronic Army’s Recent Exploits. At The Onion it’s all fun and games, except when the company’s Twitter account gets hacked. This week, after the parody site became the latest publication to have its Twitter account hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army, The Onion took a more serious note, explaining in a detailed blog post how the company’s account was hacked, and warning others how to avoid the exploit...
(The New York Times)
'Talk of Iowa' Radio Explores Veterans and Writing. I participated in a "Talk of Iowa" program on Iowa Public Radio yesterday, Thurs., May 13, regarding how veterans and families can communicate their military experiences through writing and music. Also participating were host Charity Nebbe, Iraq War veteran and poet Hugh Martin, and Vietnam and Gulf War veteran Lem Genovese. Martin is the recent winner of The Iowa Review's Jeff Sharlet Memorial Award for Veterans. He's also author of the recent poetry collection "The Stick Soldiers."
(Red Bull Rising)
According to a new report, Twitter is a breeding ground for terrorism and hate speech. Regular Twitter users can attest to the fact that a short and simple hateful comment can escalate and cause mass hysteria – just ask the public figures who’ve had to issue apologies to their hordes of followers for poorly thought out tweets. There are also those who are not sorry at all. This all supports what a recent report by The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) – a human rights organization – says on the issue of online hate: Out of the many social media platforms available on the Internet today, it’s easiest to propagate hate and terror on Twitter...
(Digital Trends)
Benghazi E-Mails Put White House on the Defensive. A long-simmering dispute over the White House’s account of the deadly assault on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, flared up on Friday, with a disclosure of e-mails that show the White House was more deeply involved in revising talking points about the attack than officials have previously acknowledged...
(The New York Times)
Special Report: U.S. cyberwar strategy stokes fear of blowback. Even as the U.S. government confronts rival powers over widespread Internet espionage, it has become the biggest buyer in a burgeoning gray market where hackers and security firms sell tools for breaking into computers...
(Reuters)
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According to a story earlier this week by SFGate and a number of news sites, Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, released portions of a Facebook page, “F’N Wook,” denigrating women in the Marine Corps. The letter was sent to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Marine Corps Commandant James Amos and deputy inspector general Lynne Halbrooks.
Here’s a link to the letter, which as SFGate points out, contains photos too obscene to print.
For your job’s sake, I wouldn’t view the PDF at work.
The Facebook page reportedly had over 10,000 likes on Facebook and hundreds of comments. And it’s not the only Facebook page of its kind. There are others too - “Just the Tip, of the Spear,” “U Suckers Missed Christmas -USMC,” and “POG Boot F..ks.”
Unfortunately, there is evidence that active-duty and reserve Marines were involved in posting on the pages, according to a story in Stripes. Not necessarily a smart career move.
It's no secret there are all sorts of terrible pages on Facebook and other social media sites.
The good news, the page “F’N Wook” has since been taken down by Facebook. Yes, Facebook.
Now, normally, I don't like to give kudos to Facebook, but it's good to see them doing the right thing.
Why does Twitter never do anything like this?
Let's be honest, Twitter suspends accounts of users who excessively use the Follow button (you know, serious offenses), but allows really abusive accounts to remain online. I mean, why take down accounts that promote terror???
Pffff, that's just crazy talk.
There’s more on the story here at Stripes, SFGate and USA Today.
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