the blog of war

nightwindsent: German Anti-Tank Rifle WW1 by shipscompass on...

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:10:33 -0500

nightwindsent:

German Anti-Tank Rifle WW1 by shipscompass on Flickr.

nightwindsent: American soldier trying to spot German positions...

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:05:33 -0500

nightwindsent:

American soldier trying to spot German positions during the drive towards Rome, WWII, 1944, Carl Mydans

ratak-monodosico:

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:12:42 -0500

ratak-monodosico:

"As privacy law stands today, you don’t have a reasonable expectation of privacy while out in public,..."

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:06:46 -0500

““As privacy law stands today, you don’t have a reasonable expectation of privacy while out in public, nor almost anywhere visible from a public vantage,” said Ryan Calo, director of privacy and robotics at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford University. “I don’t think this doctrine makes sense, and I think the widespread availability of drones will drive home why to lawmakers, courts and the public.” Some questions likely to come up: Can a drone flying over a house pick up heat from a lamp used to grow marijuana inside, or take pictures from outside someone’s third-floor fire escape? Can images taken from a drone be sold to a third party, and how long can they be kept? Drone proponents say the privacy concerns are overblown. Randy McDaniel, chief deputy of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department in Conroe, Tex., near Houston, whose agency bought a drone to use for various law enforcement operations, dismissed worries about surveillance, saying everyone everywhere can be photographed with cellphone cameras anyway. “We don’t spy on people,” he said. “We worry about criminal elements.””

- A must read article on the ongoing Drone-Vasion of America

Drones With an Eye on the Public Cleared to Fly - NYTimes.com

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Fri, 17 Feb 2012 01:42:27 -0500

"What makes drones disturbing is an unusual combination of characteristics: the distance between..."

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:27:57 -0500

“What makes drones disturbing is an unusual combination of characteristics: the distance between killer and killed, the asymmetry, the prospect of automation and, most of all, the minimization of pilot risk and political risk. It is the merging of these characteristics that draws the attention of journalists, military analysts, human rights researchers and Al Qaeda propagandists, suggesting something disturbing about what human violence may become. The unique technology allows the mundane and regular violence of military force to be separated further from human emotion. Drones foreshadow the idea that brutality could become detached from humanity—and yield violence that is, as it were, unconscious.”

- John Sifton (via theamericanbear)

Police 'Tank' Purchase Riles New Hampshire Town

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:58:23 -0500

Police 'Tank' Purchase Riles New Hampshire Town:

Small town U.S.A. resists the militarization of their police force

“We’re going to have our own tank.”

That’s what Keene, N.H., Mayor Kendall Lane whispered to Councilman Mitch Greenwood during a December city council meeting.

It’s not quite a tank. But the quaint town of 23,000 — scene of just two murders since 1999 — had just accepted a $285,933 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to purchase a Bearcat, an eight-ton armored personnel vehicle made by Lenco Industries Inc.

But those plans are on hold for now, thanks to a backlash from feisty residents. Resistance began with Mike Clark, a 27-year-old handyman. Clark, who said he’s had a couple encounters with Keene police and currently faces a charge of criminal mischief, read about the Homeland Security grant in the newspaper. “The police are already pretty brutal,” Clark said, claiming he was roughed up in both his encounters with local police. “The last thing they need is this big piece of military equipment to make them think they’re soldiers.”

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Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:48:13 -0500

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Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:25:26 -0500

nickturse: Boys help rebel fighters clean weapons in Misrata,...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:19:06 -0500

nickturse:

Boys help rebel fighters clean weapons in Misrata, after the rebel fighters returned from the frontline on the outskirts of Zlitan, Libya July 12, 2011.
REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani

timewastingmachine: Douglas F4D Skyray Factory

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:39:27 -0500

timewastingmachine:

Douglas F4D Skyray Factory

Virtual Pacifism - On The Media

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:24:22 -0500

Virtual Pacifism - On The Media:

A fascinating On The Media radio story on video gamers who play violent video games as pacifists - attempting to play the whole game without killing any of their virtual opponents.

malinhamblin: Warsaw, 1946.

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 12:30:20 -0500

malinhamblin:

Warsaw, 1946.

blueruins: 1961 Life Magazine Ad

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:50:01 -0500

blueruins:

1961 Life Magazine Ad

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Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:05:41 -0500

Another version of the piano playing soldier hopefully bringing...

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:57:07 -0500

Another version of the piano playing soldier hopefully bringing a moment of grace and beauty to a ravaged and cruel reality.

Teun Voeten, Mostar, Bosnia, September 1992

A Bosnian soldier plays the piano in the destroyed music school in town.

absurdonio: John Heartfield: “Learn how to ride a motorcycle –...

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:54:56 -0500

absurdonio:

John Heartfield:

“Learn how to ride a motorcycle – it will be useful to you in a battle!”

Photomontage for the propaganda journal USSR in Construction (СССР на стройке).

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Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:53:23 -0500

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Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:14:29 -0500

booksvscigarettes: Three F-84B Thunderjets in formation, circa...

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:24:18 -0500

booksvscigarettes:

Three F-84B Thunderjets in formation, circa 1948.