Haditha Update: Court Martial Of LCpl Stephen Tatum Begins

The court-martial of Lance Corporal Stephen B. Tatum, USMC, begins today, 28MAR08. LCpl Tatum faces the following charges:

Charge I: Violation of the UCMJ, Article 119 (Involuntary Manslaughter)
(Maximum punishment: dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 10 years):
Specification 1: by culpable negligence or while perpetrating an offense [...]

Be Careful When Clicking Hyperlinks: FBI Using Fake Hyperlinks To Catch Child Porn Users

From the Constitution Fanboys at Snarky Bastards,

The FBI has recently adopted a novel investigative technique: posting hyperlinks that purport to be illegal videos of minors having sex, and then raiding the homes of anyone willing to click on them.
Undercover FBI agents used this hyperlink-enticement technique, which directed Internet users to a clandestine government server, to [...]

USC Football: Win Forever

The mantra for USC Football Coach Pete Carroll is “Win Forever.” Given the Trojan’s success over the past 6 seasons it is entirely possible. To get Coach Carroll’s Win Forever desktop wallpaper, and Win Forever gear, and the USCRipsIt blog.
yojoe Fight On!

Iraq Update: Too Few Drones In The Air

Danger Room is reporting that there is a shortage of military drone aircraft in Iraq. And insurgents are exploiting this weakness.
Is there still a question about the usefulness of drones?
yojoe out
For more on unmanned aircraft:

Jonathan Lee Riches© v. Reed Elsevier

The inmate Jonathan Lee Riches© (he asserts his names is copyrighted) has been the source of innumerable posts here at Dreadnaught, including lawsuits against: Michael Vick, Barry Bonds, Don Imus, Wal-Mart, President Bush, The World Wide Web, Williams Sisters, 50 Cent, Iron Mike Tyson, Jeff Gordon, Carrie Underwood, and LeBron James.
But his current lawsuit [...]

Marine Corps: V-22 Osprey Engines Are Failing In Iraq

Over at the definitive military-technology blog Danger Room, it is being reported that the engines on the V-22 Osprey are wearing out, much faster than expected. The Osprey is the tilt-rotor aircraft used by the Marine Corps for troop transport. It is capable of transporting 24 combat-loaded Marines 242 [...]

Increased Cost of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

According to a recent GAO report the cost of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) – also known as the F-35 or Lightning II – has increased by more than $23 billion over the past year.
Here are the findings of the GAO:

GAO believes recent DOD decisions, while potentially reducing near-term funding needs, could have long-term cost [...]

Current Winter: Coldest Since 2001

Accouding to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the 2007-2008 winter is the coolest since 2001. The complete analysis is available here, but here are some highlights:

In the contiguous United States, the average winter temperature was 33.2°F (0.6°C), which was 0.2°F (0.1°C) above the 20th century average – yet still ranks as the [...]

Cost of President’s Helicopter Continues To Rise

As previously reported on Dreadnaught, the cost of the president’s new helicopter was increasing. The Pentagon is now reporting the coast has almost doubled, from an original cost of $6.1 billion to $11.2 billion. Now, each Marine One will cost $400 million.
yojoe out

China Blocks Access to YouTube

After a number of videos about protests in Tibet appeared on
YouTube.com, the Chinese government blocked access to the website.

yojoe out

Dwayne Jarrett Arrested For DUI

After catching only 6 passes for the Carolina Panthers, former Trojan Dwayne Jarrett has continued to disappoint with a recent DUI arrest.
yojoe Fight On!

US Navy: Carrier Air Wing To Be Unmanned By 2025

The Carrier Air Wing (CVW) in the U.S. Navy currently consists of:

3 squadrons of F/A-18 Hornets
1 Marine Corps squadron of F/A-18 Hornets
1 squadron of EA-6B Prowlers
1 squadron of S-3B Vikings
1 squadron of E-2C Hawkeyes
1 detachment of C-2 Greyhounds
1 squadron of SH-60F and HH-60H Seahawks

By the year 2025 the CVW will include a squadron of [...]

Sea Level To Rise, Not So According To New Study

According to Bernhard Steinberger, “The trend will continue.”

Sea levels are set to fall over millions of years, making the current rise blamed on climate change a brief interruption of an ancient geological trend.

Such are the results of study to be published in Science. How will Al Gore, and his ilk, blame humans for plate [...]

Jonathan Lee Riches© v. Ashlee Simpson; Pete Wentz

The latest lawsuit from Jonathan Lee Riches© (the JLR) is against Simpson. This time it is Ashlee not O.J.

 

The text of the complaint reads as follows:

Defendants have been threatening and harassing Plaintiffs. FCI Williamsburg is a gulag. Plaintiffs constitutional rights are being violated by Defendants. Plaintiffs got assulted by defendants [...]

Notre Dame In ESPN Pre-Season Top Ten

Notre Dame is ranked #8 by ESPN. Just behind the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. This Notre Dame football program is becoming a solid mid-major.
yojoe Fight On!

Air Force To Buy 300 Sony PlayStation 3

As reported on Kotaku, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory intends to purchase 300 PlayStation 3 40GB gaming systems. The reason for the purchase is not clear, though the Air Force maintains it is for “conducting a technology assessment of certain cell processors.”
Apparently Air Force personnel are prohibited from viewing blogs, but [...]

Jarrod M. Glass, USMC, Former Marine Corps Drill Instructor Released From Jail

Jerrod M. Glass was a drill instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego (MCRDSD). He, along with a number of other drill instructors, was charged with abusing recruits. In November 2007, then-Sergent Glass was convicted and sentenced to 6 months confinement, reduction to E-1 (Private), and a bad-conduct discharge.

Pvt Glass [...]

Royal Navy Developing Invisible Ships

Not satisfied with an invisible tank, the UK Ministry of Defence is developing a ship that will be invisible to the naked eye.
yojoe out

German Military: Two Airmen Made Sausage From Human Blood

Two members of the German Luftwaffe are to be tried by court-martial for making sausage, or wurst. The issue was not the quality of the sausage, but one of the ingredients, i.e., human blood. The servicemen were discovered after they solicited a fellow serviceman to donate blood, and the fellow serviceman asked as [...]

Video: Artillery In Action

For all the Cannon Cockers out there, here is a video fix from The Freeholder:

yojoe out

Unmanned Aircraft: $500 Million In FY2008 Global War On Terror Supplemental Budget

Aviation Week is reporting that there is more than $500 million requested, in the FY2008 Global War on Terror supplemental budget request, for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Readers of Dreadnaught are aware of the increasing role of unmanned aircraft.
DoD Plan For Unmanned Vehicles Over The Next 25 Years
MQ-9 Reaper to Deploy to Iraq
Army [...]