kaiseamare: Dakota Meyer speaks out on Twitter about fight

Dakota Meyer speaks out on Twitter about fight

Monday, December 17, 2012, 11:47 PM - Twitter

Dakota Meyer speaks out on Twitter about fight

By now you've probably already seen the news reports about Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer being involved in a fight that ended up with him being hospitalized.

There has been an arrest and Meyer is out of the hospital already, but details of what went down remain sketchy at this point.

Meyer did issue a statement late last week saying, ""It's unfortunate the circumstances that have happened.? This is the first time since being back from Afghanistan that I have been in fear for my life.? It's also unfortunate that it happened in my hometown.? Hopefully a lesson can be learned, and this can be a stepping stone to making our community safer."

It appears the media was quick to report the news about the incident without all the facts, which upset Meyer.

He took to Twitter to speak out.

On December 14, Meyer tweeted:

?Disappointed in media who let accused criminal spread lies about me without talking to poIice. Bad journalism!?

Several people responded in support of Meyer.

Laurie C ?@TherapyDogsRock wrote:?

Sadly it's no longer journalism. It's all for "shock value" and ratings. Pathetic.

hubris @backtracesec wrote:

the media are idiots :-) #trustme

To keep up with Meyer on Twitter, you can follow him at @Dakota_Meyer

News: Syrian rebel group feuds with WordPress

Sunday, December 16, 2012, 11:26 PM - News Stories Qaeda-linked Syrian rebel group is feuding with WordPress on Twitter. Jabhat al-Nusra, a Syrian rebel group whose name means ?victory front? and which the United States designates as a terrorist organization for its alleged links to al-Qaeda?s Iraq branch, is opening a new front in its war against Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. Its target: WordPress, the Web publishing platform that recently shut down Jabhat al-Nusra?s blog. Its medium: Angry tweets...
(Washington Post)

The Syrian conflict: a war photographer's story. I have been covering the situation in Aleppo since August. When I first arrived here, I was taken to the Hullok and Hananu districts ? areas that were subject to heavy bombing. Since then, I have known what to expect. It scared me.? My time is spent photographing the situation faced by civilians in Aleppo, how they cope with hardly anything and how they deal with their tragedy. There is no electricity, no petrol, there is a lack of bread. It is also now winter and the city is freezing...
(guardian.co.uk)

News orgs circulate Facebook profile, photos of man who wasn?t the shooter. Reporters and producers around the country, frantically searching for information online about the alleged school shooter, found what seemed like a match. Ryan Lanza, 24, was believed responsible for the deaths of 27 people in Newtown, Conn., at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.? The Facebook profile showed a Ryan Lanza from Newtown, Conn., who currently lives in Hoboken, N.J. ? a male who looks like he?s in his 20s. The photo fit the description, so countless news orgs ran with it in stories and tweets.? Problem is, it was the wrong guy...
(Poynter)

Reuters journalists: Israeli troops assaulted us, forced us to strip in street. HEBRON, West Bank -- Israeli soldiers have been accused of punching two Reuters cameramen and forcing them to strip in the street, before letting off a tear gas canister in front of them, leaving one of them needing hospital treatment.? Israel's military said Thursday it took the allegations seriously.?? "The regional brigade commander was ordered to open an investigation," Israeli Defense Forces spokeswoman Avital Leibovich said in an email...
(NBC News)

Duggan: Veteran's story reaches way beyond war. Jumping into and out of a person?s life comes with the territory in journalism.? Reporters tend to meet a lot of people ? ?real? people, as we say in the trade, as opposed to officialdom ? who are not obliged to deal with media on a regular basis. We tell their stories as best we can in the context of some issue or trend and move on.? Getting to know strangers is one of the most interesting aspects of the work. But some short-term sources stand out in one?s crowded memory well after the story has been filed...
(The Coloradoan)

Google-backed Data Journalism Awards open for entries. The Global Editors Network has today announced the launch of next year's Data Journalism Awards.? It is the second year of the international competition which recognises the "outstanding work in the growing field of data journalism", GEN said in a release.? A total of ?15,000 (around ?12,000) will be awarded to eight winning projects in the Google-supported competition.? Launching this year's awards at a press conference at the Guardian, Datablog editor Simon Rogers, who is a judge of the awards, urged news outlets and organisations large and small to enter. Data journalism is "not expensive", he said, "it's not about maths".
(Journalism.co.uk)

Inexperienced freelancers headed to war zones

Saturday, December 15, 2012, 09:12 AM - News Stories Are young journalists skipping much needed training before heading into war zones?? Training like how to administer first aid that could save their lives?

In a recent story, Stuart Hughes a BBC World Affairs producer, says some young journalists are not only skipping training that can help prepare them for hazardous assignments, some are rushing into war zones before they've even been published in hopes of getting a big career break.

"The scarcity of entry-level positions is encouraging some young journalists to skip the unglamorous training grounds of local newsrooms and head straight to some of the most hazardous countries on the planet in search of that elusive career break." writes Hughes.

"No non-motorist of sound mind would consider climbing behind the wheel of a high-performance sports car and putting the pedal down without first having a few driving lessons.? Yet ambitious writers and film-makers seem increasingly prepared to put their life at risk in some of the most hostile environments in the world without basic first aid training, insurance or protective kit, or any form of back-up plan in the event of an emergency."

Hughes spoke with journalist Sarah Topol, who received a Kurt Schork Award for her reporting from Libya for GQ magazine.?

Topol admits to following the same path of cutting corners, and says she discourages others from doing the same.

Full story here.

Manager calls military "pathetic" on Facebook

Friday, December 14, 2012, 03:13 AM - Facebook, News Stories

Remember last month when Lindsey Stone created a furor after posting a photo on Facebook of herself disrespecting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers?

You know how that ended up.

Well, once again, someone has done something real stupid on Facebook to disrespect the military and it?s attracting a lot of attention.

This time, it?s happened in Fairbanks, Alaska.

According to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, a manager at the local Boston?s The Gourmet Pizza franchise quit after he criticized the military on Facebook and the post went viral.

Jeff Richardson a reporter for News-Miner writes:

?Dusty Westbrook posted an item complaining about frequent requests for military discounts, saying it?s ?pathetic? they expect a markdown while other professions ? such as health care workers, police officers and firefighters ? don?t get one.

?I?m sorry YOU signed up for this job you CHOSE to take this filed (sic) YOU picked to work and defend the US I?m sorry you don?t deserve anything,? the post stated.?

On Wednesday, Boston?s Fairbanks Facebook page posted an online apology (screenshot above).

Here's what the company had to say:

"Boston?s in Fairbanks would like to set the record straight regarding comments made by Dusty Westbrook. First, we want to make it clear that Boston?s strongly disagrees with the opinions expressed by Mr. Westbrook, and that Boston?s has been, and always will be, a loyal supporter of the U.S. Military. Please know that his comments were isolated and do not represent our company.

We are deeply sorry that an individual no longer associated with our company made comments online that may have raised any doubts regarding our support for the U.S. Military, as Boston?s has always had the utmost respect and admiration for the men and women serving our country and fighting for our freedom."

Here?s a look at some of the mixed reactions:

Richard Hertz
?A lot of people are boycotting this company. The fact that an employee especially a manager who is put in that position to act on behalf of the owners. The military may be a large but it is a very small community and word travels fast. This company needs to also recognize all public service personnel. The service is terrible and the food is not great, but with limited locations in Fairbanks this company is trying to hold onto the small monopoly it has. I will continue to spread the word about this to as many people as I can. By the way Merry Christmas!?

Sandy Myatt
?I'm ex Military and until recently a Military spouse! It's hard to tell by these FACEBOOK posts, if this kid got fired or not? I personally do not believe what he said on a social networking site should have been taken as seriously as it was! For those of you up and arms about this, isn't he practicing the very thing that some many of us were willing to fight and die for...FREEDOM! Everyone is getting all worked up over Law Enforcement wanting to be able to monitor texts on a phone in the instance of a criminsl case, but a dumb ass, fast food manager has no right to post on FACEBOOK how he feels about an issue? Seriously, folks....facebook? He didn't say he hated the military, he didn't say he hated this Country...he merely stated he was sick of the Military asking for discounts in a restaurant he worked in. Scary to think that posting how you feel about something on facebook could get you fired or even worse! Get a life people...get pissed about things that REALLY matter to our Military...better combat supplies, better insurance, etc...getting excited over some kid in a Fairbanks, AK restaurant...! And shame on Bostons, a Canadian company, if they did fire this kid!!?

Source: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

News: Death Star petition meets threshold

Friday, December 14, 2012, 01:27 AM - News Stories

Image Source: petitions.whitehouse.gov

Death Star Petition Requires White House Response. This petition has passed the 25,000 threshold needed for a response from the White House. The White House petition is now quite operational...
(BuzzFeed)

The best (and worst) media errors and corrections of 2012. 2012 was a competitive year for hoaxes.? There were many of note: the fake Bill Keller column from WikiLeaks, the teenager who fooled CNBC, the fake Army sniper who fooled ?Marketplace,? the paper that got fooled by a contributing cartoonist, the amusing ?Abraham Lincoln invented Facebook? hoax, and of course all of the hoax photos during Hurricane Sandy. (I?ll dig a bit deeper into what the increase in hoaxes means in my forthcoming post about the trends of note from 2012.)
(Poynter)

Social media sites connect service members and veterans with jobs and each other.? Social media has become the important lifeline for military families. From keeping connected with deployed service members via Skype to building a support network through Facebook, modern technology has made communication easier for service members and their families.? Now, several sites designed for active duty military members, veterans and their families are being used to help with things such as job searches, keeping in touch with fellow service members and even documenting military history...
(AL.com)

The scrappy Syrian TV station where reporters file via Facebook and Gchat. Syria?s media is almost entirely state-controlled, but through the chaos of the civil war, one scrappy, independent television station has been committed to providing citizens of Aleppo, the country?s largest city, with news about every bomb blast and street battle.? The editors of Aleppo Today, who are based outside of Syria, are mainly refugees who held other professions before the war, CNN reports...
(Washington Post)

Military Homecomings Still Bittersweet For Some. Thousands of Americans are still deployed overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq. A few soldiers from Fort Campbell returned home on Thursday after a nine month deployment to Afghanistan...
(NPR)

67 journalists killed so far (motive confirmed)

Thursday, December 13, 2012, 02:33 AM
Sixty-seven journalists have been killed this year, the highest number since 2009 when seventy-four journalists were reported killed.
The information comes from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide.
While the total number of journalists killed in 2012 is far higher, 67 of the reported deaths have been ?confirmed? by CPJ staff, meaning, that a journalist was killed in direct reprisal for his or her work; in crossfire; or while carrying out a dangerous assignment.
According to the website?s research page, ?Cases involving unclear motives, but with a potential link to journalism, are classified as "unconfirmed" and CPJ continues to investigate.?
Abou Deif, a reporter for El-Fagr, died from injuries yesterday, becoming the latest journalist killed.? On December 5, he was struck in the head by a rubber bullet in Cairo, Egypt during a protest.
Syria is the world?s deadliest place to be a journalist in 2012, with 28 journalists killed so far.? Naji Asaad was the last journalist killed in Syria.? According to CPJ, a sniper shot Asaad outside? his home in Damascus.
Here?s a look at the world?s top 4 deadliest places to be a journalist in 2012, according to the number of ?confirmed? killings.
1.? Syria: 28
2.? Somalia: 12
3.? Pakistan: 7
4.? Brazil: 4
Source: CPJ
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U.S. Army: How to Avoid Social Media Burnout
Thursday, December 13, 2012, 01:55 AM - News Stories How to Avoid Social Media Burnout. Social media is a way of life now, it?s not going away, so it?s important to learn how you can work with the platforms while at the same time avoiding the seemingly inevitable social media burnout. This Social Media Roundup offers seven tips that can help you mitigate the endless demands of social media (click on image to view the roundup)...
(U.S. Army)
New Army Manual Orders Soldiers Not To Criticize Taliban, pedophilia, "anything related to Islam" or "advocate for women's rights". The new U.S. military handbook for troops deployed to the Middle East orders soldiers not to make derogatory comments about the Taliban or criticize pedophilia, among other Islamic things.? Mass beheadings, gendercide, gassing of girls' schools, mass slaughter of non-believers and less than devout Muslims, attacks on US soldiers, acid attacks on women, brutal burka enforcement ..... must not be criticzed...
(Atlas Shrugs)
Who can save Ukrainian journalist kidnapped in Syria?? Ukrainian journalist Anhar Kochneva, abducted by militants in Syria in October, is in danger. The militants threatened to kill her if their demands are not met. Russian Foreign Ministry and the Syrian authorities promised to intervene, but so far the results of their actions are difficult to assess. Who can save the life of Ankhar, and what do the kidnappers need if their demands remain a mystery?
(Pravda)
At Ft. Bragg. I'm at Ft. Bragg for some meetings related to my embed.? I happen to have some unexpected free time, though no transpo, so if anyone cares to meet up, drop me a line at wolf1 at laughingwolf dot net.? Also, if you are a PAO with any of the groups here at Bragg, and would like to tell me about your operations or share a story, also drop me a line. -LW
(Blackfive)
Midland Students Thank U.S. Army Sgt. Evans for His Service (VIDEO). Two classes of grateful Midland School students welcomed United States Army Sgt. John Evans into their classroom to thank him for his service and learn more about what it means to be in the military on Dec. 7. Evans, 27, is a Port Chester resident who served in the army for five years and was twice deployed to Iraq. The first deployment was for 15 months and the second was 12. His active service ended in May, 2011, but he considers reenlisting every day, he said...
(
Patch)
Watch ?Wounded Warriors? Film Starring Korn?s Jonathan Davis. Korn fans now have a chance to see singer Jonathan Davis in a different environment, as the rocker?s recent short film, ?Wounded Warriors,? is streaming online. The 17-minute film follows Davis as he tours Germany?s Ramstein Air Base.? The movie, directed by Sebastien Paquet, finds Davis experiencing several of the tasks that soldiers go through on a daily basis. The singer says, ?I?m just in shock. This film is not about me. It is about all the troops and what they sacrifice to keep our life going. I am truly grateful for every single one of them.?
(Loudwire)
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Facebook shuts down Pakistani Taliban page
Wednesday, December 12, 2012, 02:42 AM - Facebook, News Stories
The Washington Post is reporting that a Pakistani Taliban Facebook page that was being used as a recruiting tool, has been shut down by Facebook.
The Facebook page, called Umar Media TTP, had gained nearly 300 "Likes" as of last Friday.
The Los Angeles Times which wrote about the page on December 7, said, "Its latest posting invites visitors to become contributors to a new quarterly magazine the group is publishing called Ahyah-e-Khilafat, or Sign of the Caliphate."
What is surprising, as the WashPo?s Caitlin Dewey points out, is that people actually ?Liked? the page.
Caitlin writes, ?In fact, the most intriguing part of the now-defunct page may be the people who ?liked? it. Regardless of your motive, identifying yourself as the ?friend? of a known terrorist organization takes guts ? or fervor, or social media ignorance, or some combination of the three. While there?s been no suggestion that the government tracked this specific page, the FBI has in the past monitored the social network as a part of certain terrorist investigations, in some cases even using it as evidence.?
Full story here.
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War Artist Rob Bates arrives in Afghanistan
Tuesday, December 11, 2012, 03:03 AM - Afghanistan Military Bloggers War artist and military blogger Rob Bates has begun his embed.
Earlier this year, Bates, who blogs at rb-portraits.com, raised $5,000 through the crowd funding website indiegogo to help cover expenses associated with the December trip, which he refers to as ?Sketching the Drawdown?.
The former Marine been updating his Facebook page regularly since arriving in Afghanistan last week.
Here?s a look at his latest entries:
December 10 - More than likely I will have access to internet while out here. Pretty calm here. My, has the war changed over the years. We are definitely in drawdown mode. Great sketches thus far.
December 7 - In Camp leatherneck sharing the media tent with a reporter from the BBC. Probably the last stop with internet for a while. I finally met my PAO who picked me up from the tarmac. She told me that the unit I'm going to has big plans for me, as they took into consideration that I used to be a grunt. Something about joint patrols with ANA. Can't disclose anything ele due to OPSEC. Hopefully it's exciting as it sounds.
December 6 - Spent the night in transient barracks with a bunch of Hungarian Soldiers. Feel refreshed and will fly out to the Marine side of the war in a few hours. Nothing exciting to report at this time.
December 6 - Made it safely in Kabul, and will be spending the night here. Jet-lagged as all hell.
You can keep up with Bates over at Facebook.
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War of 1812 Virtual Exhibition Launches
Monday, December 10, 2012, 11:36 PM - News Stories
The Canadian War Museum has issued a press release today, announcing that it is expanding its War of 1812 experience to include online and travelling exhibitions.
OTTAWA, Dec. 10, 2012 -- /CNW/ - The Canadian War Museum will soon reach more people than ever with its popular exhibition 1812. The four perspectives in the current exhibition in Ottawa will soon be available via a virtual exhibition that launches today and a 140 square metre version that will travel to venues across Canada after 1812 closes January 6, 2013.
"We are delighted that anyone across Canada and around the world can now enjoy this fascinating and thought-provoking portrait of the War of 1812," said James Whitham, Director General of the Canadian War Museum. "By learning about the motivations, aspirations and experiences of the four main participants, museum-goers as well as online visitors gain a richer, deeper understanding of this historical conflict that helped shape Canada as a nation."
Supported by National Presenting Sponsor TD Bank Group and National Supporting Sponsor Ancestry.ca, the original, award-winning exhibition at the Canadian War Museum has already been seen by more than 103,000 visitors.
"As the National Presenting Sponsor of 1812, TD is proud to join with the Canadian War Museum to help ensure that the story of this founding battle is shared with communities across Canada." said John See, Executive Vice President, Wealth Management, TD Bank Group.
The smaller travelling version of 1812 is now fully booked until May 2015 at venues in Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba. Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan. It will engage visitors with close to 30 artifacts; high-realism mannequins, ship and battlefield models, portrait images, landscapes, battle scenes and maps representing different perspectives on the war.
In addition, a 40 square metre text-and-image only version of the exhibition is currently touring various venues in Canada and the United States. It has already been presented at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University in Boston,? the Penetanguishene Centennial Museum & Archives in Penetanguishene, Ontario and at various national historic sites across the province of Quebec.
The 1812 virtual exhibition, like the physical version, presents the War of 1812 from four distinct perspectives?American, British, Canadian (including Canadian First Peoples), and Native American. The conflict had surprisingly different meanings and consequences for its participants. By contrasting these points of view, the exhibition offers a nuanced perspective of this pivotal period in Canadian history.
Illustrated with dramatic images, works of art and artifacts, the virtual exhibition goes further in developing the concept of historical perspectives by inviting site visitors to share their own views through surveys and interactive modules. The experience will enhance their understanding and enrich their point of view on history at large.
The virtual exhibition can be found at warmuseum.ca/war-of-1812.
A complete list of all the upcoming locations and dates for the travelling exhibitions is provided in the attached backgrounder.
The Canadian War Museum is Canada's national museum of military history. Its mission is to promote public understanding of Canada's military history in its personal, national, and international dimensions.
Full press release can be found here.
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Ranger Up's Pope pic on Facebook upsets some
Sunday, December 9, 2012, 07:05 AM - Facebook, News Stories
The friendly and fun crew over at the military shirt company Ranger Up, whose blog The Rhino Den won Best US Army Blog in the 2012 Milbloggies, have stirred up some controversy in the last few days after posting a photoshopped picture of the Pope to Facebook.
While obviously nothing more than a joke, some viewers haven?t found it so humorous.
A writer for NewsBusters even went as far as publishing a story blasting the company for posting the photo.
?Someone who works for the pro-military company, which was started by people who "either were or are still in the military", must have found the crass Photoshopped image funny. However, it ultimately only serves the agenda of those who would like to smear all Catholic clerics as perverts who like to abuse children.
The graphic also dishonors the hundreds of thousands of Catholics who have served in the U.S. military since the American Revolution. Many of them died in the defense of the American republic. The two Navy SEALs who were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for sacrificing their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq - Michael Murphy and Michael Monsoor - were both Catholic.
Ranger Up's decision to post the image is even more incomprehensible in light of the fact that they sell T-shirts, sweatshirts, and even fight shorts with an image of Holy Michael the Archangel on them.?
Ranger Up responded on Facebook to the NewsBusters story yesterday: ?Apparently, a few people with no sense of humor are so offended they may never recover from the picture we reposted of the Pope.?
Fans also responded.?
Here are a few of their comments.
Robyn Lyon: "O M G the pope pic was one of the more tame pics RU has posted... Totally harmless in my opinion... Are there not more important issues demanding attention than a photoshopped, funny pic on FB?"
Jerry Leberer: " I didn't take offense to it and I'm Roman Catholic and St. Michael has watched over me every day of my life and I've worked security and got into extremely dangerous situations and I'm in the military and served in Iraq! That guy, is a moron who needs a sense of humor!!!"
Suzzy Parker: "Why are people so upright all the time? Why is it that people feel compelled to whine when things are not always what they call " politically correct".? Relax people. It's a bit of humor. No malice intended."
More at Ranger Up?s Facebook Fan Page.
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News: "Graphic" Pearl Harbor story published
Sunday, December 9, 2012, 04:03 AM - News Stories Reporter's untold story of Pearl Harbor attack is finally published. On Dec. 7, 1941, when Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor, I was working as a reporter for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. After a week of war, I wrote a story directed at Hawaii's women; I thought it would be useful for them to know what I had seen. It might help prepare them for what lay ahead. But my editors thought the graphic content would be too upsetting for readers and decided not to run my article. It appears here for the first time...
(The Seattle Times)
Steve Scauzillo: In Afghanistan, let's set YouTube free. My first experience with YouTube, the online video channel, came about 10 years ago when my sons posted their home videos on the Internet site.? As a father of teens during the digital revolution, my exposure to social media was a parental obligation. All eyes were on deck, and that included what my kids were experiencing from the World Wide Web.? Turns out, the videos were creative, funny and part of what we in America call freedom of speech. Inspiration can go from child to father, so I got busy one summer making a video of my own and posting it on YouTube...
(SGVTribune.com)
'Wounded Warriors' short film (Starring Jonathan Davis from Korn) WOUNDED WARRIORS?which won the Audience Choice Award at the 2012 GI Film Festival Hollywood?is a short film documenting Jonathan Davis, lead singer of Grammy Award-winning band KORN, returning to Ramstein Air Base in Germany August 11, 2012 to visit with members of armed forces stationed there as well as those in transit from Iraq and Afghanistan...
(YouTube)
Military Family Guest Blog: How We Connect from 7,000 Miles Away. Staying connected to your deployed soldier is always a challenge, but we were determined to make it a priority.? Before Tommy left, we decided to get two iPads. Although the price tag was a bit daunting, they proved to be worth their weight in gold.? We have utilized every possible avenue to keep him in the loop during these past nine months.? Of course Skype and Facetime have been invaluable for our communication, but Mikayla was not always on board with our scheduled video chat times.? But I was able to capture the first time she crawled, and he saw that on Facebook. Four months later, he saw her first steps when I put the video in his Dropbox...
(Parenting.com)
Military Wives Go Bare for PTSD (VIDEO) Military wife and mom Ashley Wise was tired of struggling in silence as she and her children dealt with her husband's post-traumatic stress disorder following his deployments.? So she decided to do something that would get everyone's attention...
(The Stir)
Acquitted blogger sues Conn. officials for $50M. A blogger who urged readers to "take up arms" against Connecticut officials is suing state government leaders for $50 million after being acquitted of threatening and inciting violence.? Harold "Hal" Turner, of North Bergen, N.J., filed the lawsuit in federal court in Newark, N.J., on Nov. 21 claiming he was falsely arrested, wrongfully imprisoned and maliciously prosecuted. A jury acquitted him last year...
(KTIV)
Some Second Thoughts and Reader Feedback About the Middle East and Social Media. When I wrote last Wednesday about The Times?s Jerusalem bureau chief, Jodi Rudoren, and criticism of her social media use, many readers ? and some of those quoted in the blog post ? responded. Readers who are on Twitter can see some of it there (though, let?s face it, in the Twitter universe, something that old is about as fresh as Chaucer), and others can see a lively and provocative discussion in the comments below the post...
(The Public Editor)
Civil War 150 HistoryMobile making final Va. stop. A history class on wheels is ending its 2012 tour at events marking the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Fredericksburg.? The Civil War 150 HistoryMobile is spending the weekend at National Park Service events relating to the Battle of Fredericksburg. Some 1,300 re-enactors are also due at George Washington's Ferry Farm in Stafford County and a Confederate encampment at Slaughter Pen Farm in Spotsylvania County.? The HistoryMobile has been touring for two years, and it's planning 35 events next year...
(WSET.com)
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Tweet-like bulletin of attack on Pearl Harbor
Saturday, December 8, 2012, 04:46 AM - News Stories
Yesterday was Pearl Harbor Day and many people from all over the United States remembered the fallen.
While reading through the news coverage of Pearl Harbor Day, I came across an interesting article in The Atlantic that discusses how the Associated Press learned about the attack on Pearl Harbor and the news flash that was sent after the AP got word of the attack.
The bulletin in the news flash read:
WASHINGTON, DEC. 7--(AP)--PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT SAID IN A STATEMENT TODAY THAT THE JAPANESE HAD ATTACKED PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII, FROM THE AIR.
The Atlantic reporter points out that part of the reason the news flash is so interesting is because of how concise the bulletin was.
??A day that would live in infamy for future generations -- a day whose consequences would mold the Greatest Generation and those that would follow it -- may as well have been sent as a tweet. The AP's bulletin clocked in, all told, at 138 characters.?
The image and story about the news flash were originally posted by AP News on Facebook in AP FLASHBACK.
The AP had this to say:
Here's an excerpt from "Breaking News: How The Associated Press has Covered War, Peace, and Everything Else," on how AP learned about the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941:
"In Washington, it was 2:20 p.m., and AP editor William Peacock was in his office contemplating lunch ? a peanut butter and bacon sandwich, just delivered from the Peoples Drug Store next door ? when the phone rang, and a White House operator said, 'Stand by for a hookup and statement from Mr. Early. Important.'
"Stephen Early, who as a junior AP reporter in 1917 had been sent to pick up the 'Zimmerman note,' the secret German cable that sealed America's entry into World War I, now was press secretary to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A telephone hookup connected the White House simultaneously to AP, UP, and International News Service (INS).
"Just as Peacock took a bite, the White House operator said, 'All on, Mr. Early.' The press chief spoke. 'I have a statement from the president. The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor from the air.'"
Look at the attached image to see the AP flash and bulletin that were transmitted moments later, along with an additional flash and bulletin sent after AP got word of another Japanese attack, on the Philippines.
You can read The Atlantic story here.
More AP FLASHBACK here.
(Image source: AP Corporate Archives)
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News: West Papua rebel gets outed on Facebook
Friday, December 7, 2012, 03:25 AM - News Stories West Papua rebel outed on Facebook. GERARD Micheal Little's alleged fight for the separatist cause in West Papua unravelled when a Facebook friend told police he had trained at a warfare school in a seedy corner of Ukraine.? In a multi-agency sting spanning two states, Australian Federal Police let the 45-year-old grandfather - known to friends as "Colonel Micheal" - get to the final barrier at Brisbane International Airport before stopping him from boarding a flight to Port Moresby...
(The Australian)
Air Force-wide inspections begin today. Commanders and supervisors in all corners of the Air Force will conduct a widespread sweep of all work spaces and public areas starting today, looking for pictures, calendars and other materials that objectify women.? The order covers all active, reserve and Air National Guard units and must be completed by Dec. 17...
(AirForceTimes)
BBB warns of scam involving pretend military member. Trying to scam someone is bad enough. Pretending to be a member of our nation's military while you're doing it is much worse.? Several people have received either text messages or e-mails like this one from people claiming to be serving in the military in the Middle East who've come across some money and need your help to smuggle it back to the U.S...
(WAFF-TV)
WMUK general manager tells son?s war story on NPR. The lives and stories of many military families and veterans can be very emotional and can bring tears to one?s eye.? In reality many of these stories rarely, if ever, get told.? However, Gordon Bolar, general manager for 102.1 WMUK on Western Michigan University?s campus, is speaking out and revealing his story about his son?s military involvement in Iraq. Bolar was interviewed on National Public Radio (NPR)?s StoryCorps program in Washington, D.C. where he recently returned from participating in the newly-launched Military Voices Initiative...
(Western Herald)
New National High School Video Challenge Puts Spotlight On Korean War U.S. Veterans. The GI Film Festival announced today that high school students from throughout the United States, its territories and armed forces schools around the globe are invited to submit their short videos to the U.S. Department of Defense 60th Anniversary of Korean War Commemoration Committee and the GI Film Festival to participate in a new educational outreach program entitled, ?Heroes Remembered: Voices of the Korean War.?? This new educational initiative allows high school students to submit a 3-5 minute documentary or narrative video featuring stories about U.S. veterans from the Korean War...
(Cision Wire)
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New York Times doesn't cover Manning Hearing
Thursday, December 6, 2012, 11:06 PM - News Stories
Here's a story that has picked up a?bit of attention in the last few days.
Apparently, The New York Times has decided to not send one of its reporters to the hearing of Bradley Manning, the soldier accused of leaking classified information.
It's interesting to say the least, since The New York Times was one of the papers that published the leaked materials (known as the Afghan War Logs).
Many people have chimed in with their own opinions.
Margaret Sullivan, a public editor appointed by The New York Times offered this in a piece that was published online yesterday, "In failing to send its own reporter to cover the fascinating and important pretrial testimony of Bradley Manning, The New York Times missed the boat."
Eliza Gray for the The New Republic says, "The paper did not cover the hearings, picking up only one dispatch from the Associated Press. This is odd, especially considering the Times benefited as much as anyone from the material that Manning leaked. After partnering with WikiLeaks to release the cables in July 2010, the Times continued to rely on the documents Manning leaked to Assange in its reporting. In April 2011, an analysis in The Atlantic Wire showed that 54, or nearly half, of the newspaper?s 115 issues so far that year, had contained stories that ?relied on WikiLeaks documents as sources.?
According to Sullivan, David Leonhardt, the Washington bureau chief, explained in an e-mail that, ?The Times did not think the hearing itself demanded coverage.?
Image Source: Military.com
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Olbermann slams Vet J.R. Salzman on Twitter
Wednesday, December 5, 2012, 06:47 PM - Twitter
Political commentator Keith Olbermann and Iraq War veteran J.R. Salzman (pictured left)?have been in a Twitter war this week.
Examiner.com has the blow by blow account, which began when Salzman tweeted this past Sunday, "Getting 2nd Amendment advice from Bob Costas is a bit like getting career advice from @KeithOlbermann".
Salzman's tweet was in regards to comments made by NBC's Bob Costas regarding the right to keep and bear arms, reports the Examiner.
A number of messages were exchanged between the two.
Salzman tweets under the username @JRSalzman, while Olbermann tweets under the username @KeithOlbermann.
Olbermann eventually tweeted, "I'm sure you'll accomplish the second half of that if you haven't already. Your conduct on twitter embarrasses the military."
Examiner reported a number of people stood up for Salzman on Twitter according to Twitchy, a Twitter curation news site.
For those of you who don?t know Iraq War Veteran J.R. Salzman, he is a champion log roller who was wounded in Iraq when his vehicle was struck by an IED.
Salzman is also a military blogger, who has maintained his website Lumberjack in a Desert since the early days of blogging.
So, where?s the feud at right now?
Salzman tweeted hours ago, ?Btw, brave man Keith Olbermann blocked me so I couldn't respond after he tweeted that I was an embarassment to the military. #coward?
Full Story: Examiner
Image Source: Blackfive
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News: "War at Home and Abroad" digital project
Tuesday, December 4, 2012, 11:28 PM - News Stories Project preserves stories of veterans. Veterans are popular interview subjects ? those who served decades ago in World War II or Vietnam are invited to classrooms to share their experiences with students, or encouraged by historians to record their stories.? History educators at Cal State San Marcos, eager to build on the region?s deep military history, thought: Why not capture the everyday experiences of more recent, closer-to-home veterans, whether they served abroad or Stateside, while their memories are fresh?
(UTSanDiego.com)
Social media a powerful tool for army: ADF. AUSTRALIA'S military could eventually use social media to give the public a blow-by-blow account of some operations, similar to the way Israel used Twitter in the recent Gaza conflict, a senior Defence official says.? But that's a long way off, with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) still developing a strategy to better handle social media usage among its ranks.? ADF director general of public affairs Brigadier Alison Creagh on Wednesday discussed the opportunities and challenges presented by social media and how its use by the ADF could evolve...
(The Australian)
Tweets of rage: does free speech on the internet actually exist? Is Twitter more like a phone company or more like a newspaper? It's a laughably strained comparison ? Twitter is Twitter, not some relic of a previous era ? but the answer is central to understanding the pressures on large internet service providers to regulate what their users say. And as more and more speech takes place on the internet, the answer becomes more and more important: the future of free speech might have more to do with corporate censorship than the First Amendment...
(The Verge)
My POW story. ?George Coffin, the last known surviving World War II Prisoner of War from Crawford County, passed away Wednesday, November 21. Before his death, Coffin recorded his experiences as a POW for his granddaughter to present to sixth grade students at Ar-We-Va.? In honor of his dedication to the country, the Denison Bulletin and Review is running his remarkable story as a three-part series.? In Part 1, Coffin, who was a medical corpsman with the 81st Combat Engineers, detailed his capture by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 and told about escaping and then being recaptured...
(SouthwestIowaNews.com)
Police Can Record Video Inside Your Home Without A Warrant, Appeals Court Says. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court provided some comfort to those fearing the seemingly limitless potential of new technologies to enable government privacy invasion. In holding that police could not attach a GPS device to a car and track it for 30 days without a warrant, the court said, ?At bottom, we must ?assur[e] preservation of that degree of privacy against government that existed when the Fourth Amendment was adopted.??
(Think Progress)
Amputations, beheadings and a crucifixion: Horrific stories from Yemen where Al Qaeda has imposed sharia law. Al Qaeda committed 'truly shocking' human rights abuses including crucifixions and the beheading of an alleged sorceror during its 16 months in control of a southern region of Yemen, a report by Amnesty International claimed today.? The London-based charity has also released a video which appears to show a suspected thief having his hand amputated by the Ansar al-Sharia militia, which seized power of the Abyan governorate in February 2011...
(Daily Mail)
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Army Strong Stories gets an all-new design
Monday, December 3, 2012, 04:30 PM - News Stories
Army Strong Stories, the popular blogging platform that lets Soldier bloggers and supporters share their views on Army life revealed a new design.
The announcement came today in a press release published via PRNewswire.
The all-new site includes:
- Enhancements and new functionality: Provides streamlined navigation and engaging visual content for bloggers and site visitors for an updated user experience. The website is now responsive, meaning it is seamlessly viewable from any desktop, mobile or tablet device.
- 15 topical pages: Give site visitors an all-access pass to hundreds of stories on topics of interest, painting a more complete picture of life in the Army. From basic combat training to educational opportunities and diversity in the Army, these pages offer an inside look at Army life. By sourcing content from beyond the site and Army walls, the picture is given greater credibility and places Army Strong Stories at the forefront of current habits in media consumption and discovery.
- Downloadable apps: Allow site visitors and bloggers the ability to access and contribute to the more than 5,700 written and video stories seamlessly using iPhones and iPads. Access the iOS app here: http://bit.ly/armystrongapp.
Learn more about the new design over at here.
Visit Army Strong Stories here.
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Syria rebels rely on Skype to communicate
Sunday, December 2, 2012, 05:29 AM - News Stories
You may have seen the news over the past few days that much of the internet in Syria was down, but it?s back online now.
That?s good news for Syria?s rebels who rely heavily on the internet and other tools to communicate with each other and with the rest of the world.
Amy Chozick, a reporter with The New York Times, has an in depth article that discusses just how useful Skype is to Syrian rebels and how dangerous it is also becoming.
?For months, rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad have used Skype, a peer-to-peer Internet communication system, to organize and talk to outside news organizations and activists?, writes Chozick.
The video chat and messaging service is so useful that Chozick goes as far as saying if the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt were Twitter Revolutions, then Syria is becoming the Skype Rebellion.
While Skype has been helpful, it also has a downside, Chozick points out.
?Using satellite phone service to connect makes Skype potentially more dangerous since it makes it easier to track a user?s location.?
Much more to the story over at NYT.
On a separate but related note, I checked in on the only blog written from Syria that is currently
Source: http://milblogging.com/index.php?entry=entry121217-234754
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