Military Photos http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/ Military Photos from Iraq Afghanistan and other war zones en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:08:32 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg Military Photos http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/ QOD: C/T groups http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169228&goto=newpost Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:06:07 GMT If you were going to be dusted by a group who would it be, pick your fate cretins. If you were going to be dusted by a group who would it be, pick your fate cretins. ]]> Off Topic and Humor Albatross http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169228 <![CDATA[Colombia says its military on 'maximum alert']]> http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169227&goto=newpost Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:24:50 GMT

(AFP) – 2 hours ago

BOGOTA — Colombia warned its forces were on "maximum alert" and were prepared to defend against any attack, amid rising tensions with neighboring Venezuela.
Colombian Defense Minister Gabriel Silva issued the warning after a meeting of the country's national security council in Arauca, a city on the eastern border with Venezuela.

He said President Alvaro Uribe and the military forces of Colombia were intent on remaining calm "because they know there are provocative forces on the border that must be avoided at all cost."
But this "does not mean that we are not prepared or are not on maximum alert to prevent any aggression against Colombia, against Colombians or against our territory."
Uribe's national security council met for five hours in Arauca with military and police commanders in the border area a day after Bogota charged that Venezuelan troops had blown up two footbridges across the border in northeastern Colombia.
Silva said the destruction of the bridges was an aggression against the civilian population.

"Those bridges were built more than 30 years ago, it was infrastructure built to bring the community together, to work together," he said.
Venezuela said Thursday the bridges were destroyed because they were being used by drug traffickers and smugglers.
The two neighbors have long been at odds, but tensions have sharpened in recent months over a US-Colombian agreement giving the US military access to seven Colombian bases.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on July 28 suspended diplomatic relations with Colombia and earlier this month warned his nation to "prepare for war."

Colombia responded by lodging a diplomatic note with the UN Security Council accusing Caracas of threatening to use force against it.
Caracas then accused Bogota of detaining four of its soldiers in a border river's international waters.

The four members of Venezuela's national guard, who were detained in Colombia Saturday and released a day later, were not on Colombian territory when they were taken, a Venezuelan national guard general insisted. ]]> General Discussion amick_lindsey http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169227 <![CDATA[Colombia says its military on 'maximum alert']]> http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169226&goto=newpost Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:19:18 GMT edited. http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169227 edited.

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums...d.php?t=169227 ]]> amick_lindsey http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169226 Palinophobia sweeping land http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169225&goto=newpost Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:12:33 GMT Funny lib comments. ---Quote--- Her greatest hypocrisy is in her pretense that she is a woman ---End Quote--- More gems (http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/11/20/palinophobes_hate_first_ask_questions_later_99240.html) Funny lib comments.

Quote:
Her greatest hypocrisy is in her pretense that she is a woman
More gems ]]> Political Discussions and Rants bono http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169225 Israel Readies for Ofeq-8 Launch http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169224&goto=newpost Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:10:38 GMT Tel Aviv - Israel is readying its newest spy satellite, Ofeq-8, for launch by the middle of next year, but production orders for a next-generation Ofeq-9 are stalled pending a cost-sharing and technical agreement with a prospective partner country.


The Ofeq-8, now in final construction at Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), will be launched into low-Earth orbit by Israel's indigenous Shavit launcher, also built by IAI. It will house a high-resolution panchromatic payload, built by Elbit Systems Elop, similar to Israel's operational in-orbit Ofeq-5 and Ofeq-7 satellites, launched in 2002 and 2007 respectively.
Israel lost its Ofeq-6 in September 2004, when it crashed into the Mediterranean Sea due to an electrical malfunction that failed to ignite the Shavit's third-stage motor.


"Ofeq-8 belongs to the same generation of our two earlier electro-optical satellites," an Israeli expert said. "Like [Ofeq-5 and Ofeq-7], it will be launched by our national launcher. Beyond that, details guiding the next generation of electro-optical satellites remain to be determined."
Leaders of the Israeli space industry bemoan funding, technical and political uncertainties that are obscuring a clear picture of the Ministry of Defense's future military space plans. At the beginning of the decade, MoD's road map included plans for a dedicated military communications satellite. It was dropped about five years ago in favor of enhanced downlinks and ground stations to support services from Israel's Amos and other commercial satellites.


Aside from the fully funded and soon-to-be-completed Ofeq-8, Israel plans a second synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite, dubbed TecSAR-2, for launch in late 2011 or 2012. But beyond those two programs, government and industry sources say, not even MoD knows at this point how many satellites it can expect to deploy, what specific capabilities they will possess and which launchers will be used to insert them into orbit.
Officials attribute the uncertainty to funding shortfalls, which have forced MoD to seek foreign investment to supplement its approximately $80 million annual budget for military space.


Government and industry sources here said MoD has begun negotiations with a prospective Asian partner for the follow-on Ofeq-9, also known here as OPSAT3000. Israel's military censor prohibits identification of the prospective partner.
The next-generation satellite will feature an advanced panchromatic camera and possibly a multispectral imaging payload. But until Israel and its potential partner can harmonize respective capability requirements and agree on a final configuration, the project remains in various stages of development.


Similarly, the choice of a launch vehicle to insert Ofeq-9 into orbit will depend on the conclusion of a government-to-government agreement. If the foreign partner joins the program, it most likely will demand deployment into polar orbit, which cannot be done from Israel due to geographical limitations.


Israel faced the same situation with the 2008 launch of TecSAR, which used an Indian PSLV rocket to deploy the radar satellite into the polar orbit demanded by its Indian partner.
"Every Israeli remote sensing satellite, whether civilian or military, is designed to be launched with Israeli launch vehicles," said Tal Inbar, head of the Space Research Center at Israel's Fisher Institute for Strategic Air and Space Studies. "But whether this happens depends on multiple factors, one of them being needs of our partners.


"TecSAR was an exception, again for several reasons," he said. "One very important reason was the need to insure this very sophisticated and expensive satellite, which could not be obtained for a Shavit launch."
Chaim Eshed, director of space programs for Israel's MoD, declined to comment on military space plans or on discussions with prospective satellite partners. "I believe we're on the path to realizing our goals," he said.
At a Nov. 3 Tel Aviv University symposium, "Israeli Space: Crisis or Opportunity," Eshed said MoD is actively supporting efforts by the Israel Space Agency (ISA) and leading Israeli aerospace companies to secure significant, multiyear government funding for commercial space initiatives that would ultimately benefit national security needs.
Underfunded Space Budget


Retired Maj. Gen. Itzhik Ben-Israel, chairman of the Israel Space Agency, said government investment in space is woefully less per capita or as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) than for any other developed nation and most developing nations in the world. "The minimum that Israel should invest is $120 million to $150 million per year - some 0.1 percent of GDP - not including MoD spending," he said.
According to Ben-Israel, a former lawmaker who served for many years as MoD's director of defense research and development, Israeli defense industries sell more than $5 billion in defense technologies per year, which accounts for some 10 percent of global arms exports.


"There's no reason in the world why we shouldn't invest in the space market, where there are much less suppliers and our unique capabilities offer the added value needed to reap tremendous returns," he said.
The ISA chairman cited Israel's selection by the French space agency, the Centre National d'Études Spatiales, to build the satellite bus and payload for Project Venus, a multispectral mission to monitor water quality that is due for launch in mid-2012. The Israeli government committed $30 million of non-MoD funds for the project, which is viewed here as a springboard to future business.


A much larger program, in cooperation with the Italian Space Agency, now awaits government funding approval before an Israeli-Italian agreement, initialed in June, can be concluded. The prospective two-satellite program, dubbed Leonardo, envisions a 250-color hyperspectral payload for civilian imaging purposes. Israel needs to come up with half of the 160 million euros ($239.4 million) estimated for the program, he said.
"As an industry, we can't maintain our current status unless we increase sales," said Yossi Weiss, IAI corporate vice president and general manager of the company's Missiles and Space group.


To preserve Israel's space industrial base, significant government funding is required over the long term, Weiss said. He added that government and industrial efforts until now to attract private equity investment, with few exceptions, have not been successful.
Industry executives here noted that in 20 years, 13 Israeli satellites of various types have been launched into space. Weiss and other executives acknowledged that Israeli industry must do its part to become more efficient and competitive.


A wake-up call for IAI was SpaceCom's 2008 decision to hire a Russian company to build its newest Amos5 spacecraft, despite IAI's 17 percent holding in the military communications satellites' owner and operator.
"I'm not saying that there's a single point of blame," Weiss said. "But it's enormously frustrating that after 20 years in space, there's no national space policy and no central body for multiyear planning."
Gabby Sarusi, Elbit Elop vice president for imagery intelligence, told Nov. 3 conference participants that new orders for his firm's specialty electro-optical payloads are drying up, and it remains uncertain how much longer Israel can remain a player in the world's remote sensing market.
"Usually I'm optimistic, but now we're at the hour of truth," Sarusi said. "I feel the link connecting the previous generation to the next generation is unraveling, and we might have to suffice with the impressive legacy we've built up over the past 25 years."


http://www.defensenews.com/story.php...28&c=MID&s=TOP ]]> General Discussion IronFist http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169224 Family takes self portraits every year for 33 years http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169223&goto=newpost Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:55:56 GMT I've seen this before and it's really interesting. Now that my daughter is approaching her first birthday, I want to do something similar.

http://zonezero.com/magazine/essays/diegotime/time.html

There's another set of photos out there of a father and daughter in their backyard, wearing swimsuits, the girl wearing a swimming cap, and in every yearly picture they're in the same pose, on the same spot, in the same outfits, starting from when the girl was a toddler all the way up until she reaches middle age, and beyond. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? I'm looking for it and if anyone has a link, please post. Thanks!

PS: Photos of "The Downward Spiral" not necessary. Kthxbai. ]]> Off Topic and Humor dave81 http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169223 US Air Force to buy Playstion 3 http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169222&goto=newpost Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:52:24 GMT The cluster of PlayStation 3 consoles is already being used for research into high-def video processing and systems with brain-like properties.

Quote:
The U.S. Air Force is looking to buy 2,200 Sony PlayStation 3 game consoles to built out a research supercomputer, according to an document posted on the federal government's procurement Web site.
The PlayStation 3s will be used at the Air Force Research Laboratory's information directorate in Rome, N.Y., where they will be added to an existing cluster of 336 PlayStation 3s being used to conduct supercomputing research.

The Air Force will use the system to "to determine the best fit for implementation of various applications," including commercial and internally developed software specific to the PS3's Cell Broadband Engine processor architecture. The research will help the Air Force decide where Cell Broadband Engine processor-derived hardware and software could be used in military systems.
The Air Force has used the cluster to test a method of processing multiple radar images into higher resolution composite images (known as synthetic aperture radar image formation), high-def video processing, and "neuromorphic computing," or building computers with brain-like properties.

The PlayStation 3's eight-processor Cell powers other supercomputers, including the world's second-fastest, IBM's RoadRunner, at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

In June, the Department of Defense awarded $2 million for this research under its High Performance Computing Modernization Program, the DOD's arm for supercomputing research, development, test, and evaluation. That follows an initial investment of $118,000 on the original cluster.

Before it won the research award in 2008, the information directorate's advanced computing architectures team considered alternative configurations and the possibility of a hybrid system, but found multicore Xeon servers slower and more expensive than PS3s, and GPGPUs to be slower in some important types of calculations.

The Air Force Research Laboratory's information directorate spends about $700 million annually on R&D, in areas such as collaboration, networking, cybersecurity, and computer modeling.
And.....No you don't get to play Assassins creed on it :)


http://www.informationweek.com/news/...leID=221900487 ]]> General Discussion Universal_Soldier http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169222 Russian Supermarket Lets Naked Shoppers Take Anything For Free http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169221&goto=newpost Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:50:05 GMT Russian Supermarket Lets Naked Shoppers
Take Anything For Free



In a Russian supermarket in the provincial town of Kolomna, customers have been allowed to take home any item for free if they came into the shop without wearing clothes.

That was enough to attract crowds of nearly naked shoppers, some of them well over 60-years-old, and even larger crowds of shocked peeping toms.

In fact, some were so shocked they reported the mass parade of flesh to the police.

While elderly people were boiling over the incident, some youngsters were regretting they hadn’t been there to take home everything for being naked.


See The Video/Continue .. ]]> Off Topic and Humor eurekaa http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169221 <![CDATA["If it's not scottish it's crap!"]]> http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169220&goto=newpost Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:45:44 GMT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6-076NKqwo rofl http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6-076NKqwo

rofl ]]> Off Topic and Humor Fallap http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169220 Militia movement resurfaces across nation http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169219&goto=newpost Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:48:20 GMT http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34070149/ns/us_news-life http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34070149/ns/us_news-life ]]> General Discussion http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169219 US to drop shooting case against Blackwater guard http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169218&goto=newpost Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:46:20 GMT
Quote:
By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press Writer – 2 mins ago
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department intends to drop manslaughter and weapons charges against one of the Blackwater Worldwide security guards involved in a deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting, prosecutors said in court documents Friday.
The shooting in busy Nisoor Square left 17 Iraqis dead and inflamed anti-American sentiment abroad. It touched off a string of investigations that ultimately led the State Department to cancel the company's lucrative contract to guard diplomats in Iraq.
Iraqis have said they're watching closely to see how the U.S. judicial system handles the five men accused of unleashing an unprovoked attack on civilians with machine guns and grenades.
A one-paragraph notice filed Friday says only that prosecutors have asked that the case against Nicholas Slatten of Sparta, Tenn., be dropped. The government's detailed request to the court was filed with the judge and with the defendant, but was not made public.
Prosecutors filed the request in a way that allows them to file new charges against Slatten later. There is no indication in the documents whether they intend to. Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said Friday he could not say whether new charges would be filed.
Slatten's attorney, Thomas Connolly, said he could not comment on the court documents but said Slatten has maintained his innocence all along. Slatten was an Army sniper who served two tours in Iraq before joining Blackwater.
The request could be a bad sign for the government. After the shootings, some guards spoke to investigators under the promise of immunity. Prosecutors have been arguing behind closed doors that the immunity deal did not taint the case. The judge is considering that issue now. Jury selection in the trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 25.
Five guards, all military veterans, face charges. Prosecutors say the shooting was unprovoked but Blackwater says its convoy was ambushed. A sixth pleaded guilty, turned on his former colleagues, and pleaded guilty to killing one Iraqi and wounding another.
The case against the remaining four guards is set for trial in February. Prosecutors were aggressive in their charges, using an anti-machine gun law to attach 30-year mandatory prison sentences to the case. And though authorities can't say for sure exactly which guards shot which victims, all five guards are charged with 14 counts of manslaughter.
So far, most of the case has played out behind closed doors. Defense attorneys have argued the FBI improperly built their case using information gathered under the promise of immunity. Investigators say they were careful to build their case only on material gathered independent of the immunity deals.
The trial likely will hinge on whether the Blackwater guards were provoked. Iraqi witnesses say Blackwater fired the only shots. Some members of the Blackwater convoy said they saw gunfire. Others said they didn't. Radio logs of the shooting indicate the guards were fired on.
Prosecutors say the guards was itching for a fight and unleashed a gruesome attack on unarmed Iraqis, including women, children and people trying to escape. The convoy allegedly launched a grenade into a nearby girls' school.
Since the shooting, Blackwater, headquartered in Moyock, N.C., has renamed itself Xe Corp. and has undergone a management upheaval.
Don't know if it's been posted before! If it has been, I apologize. Link to the story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_blackwater_prosecution ]]> General Discussion Arnie100 http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169218 Northrop Grumman receives $303M Air Force contract for RQ-4 Global Hawk http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169217&goto=newpost Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:45:28 GMT U.S. Air Force Awards $302.9 Million Production Contract to Northrop Grumman for Five Global Hawk High-Altitude, Long-Endurance Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Quote:
November 20, 2009: 08:30 AM ET
SAN DIEGO, Nov. 20, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) a $302.9 million fixed price incentive fee contract for five RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Under the Lot 7 production contract, the company will build two Block 30 systems and three Block 40 systems for the 303d Aeronautical Systems Group at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio.
The award also includes a ground station consisting of a launch and recovery element and a mission control element, plus two additional sensor suites that will be retrofitted into previous production aircraft. The contract runs through 2011.
The company will deliver in 2010 the two Block 30 aircraft equipped with the Enhanced Integrated Sensor Suite (EISS) that provides electro-optical/infrared and synthetic aperture radar imaging capabilities. These aircraft will also be retrofitted to incorporate the production Airborne Signals Intelligence Payload. The Lot 7 contract also includes the first production Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program payloads, which will be contractually awarded later this year. The company will also deliver two EISS suites for use on aircraft delivered earlier.
"Northrop Grumman remains committed to providing the warfighter the most reliable and effective solution for their intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance needs. We are confident that the Global Hawk Block 30s and Block 40s developed under the Lot 7 contract will provide them with an unprecedented capability," said George Guerra, Northrop Grumman vice president of HALE systems.
As the world's first fully autonomous HALE UAS, Global Hawk can soar at altitudes of more than 60,000 feet for more than 32 hours and send near-real-time reconnaissance imagery and signals intelligence data to air, ground, and sea forces. It can fly three times as long and operates at a fraction of the cost per flight hour of its manned counterpart. Compared to other similar UAS, a single Global Hawk collects the same information as 18 smaller medium-altitude UAS.
Global Hawks are currently flown in four locations across the globe: Beale Air Force Base, home of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing and the RQ-4's main operating base, in Northern California; Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California; Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland; and a forward operating location in support of Overseas Contingency Operations in the Persian Gulf.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide.
Source ]]> General Discussion Rapier55 http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169217 Hitler hates Henry http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169216&goto=newpost Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:34:33 GMT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdeMaUrL4Jw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdeMaUrL4Jw) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdeMaUrL4Jw
 ]]> Off Topic and Humor leloup46 http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169216 Note said Hood-style shooting could happen http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169215&goto=newpost Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:12:59 GMT ---Quote (Originally by Army Times)--- Note said Hood-style shooting could happen By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer Posted : Friday Nov 20, 2009 18:23:44 EST A box of hollow-point bullets and an anonymous note threatening an incident like the one at Fort Hood, Texas, were discovered Thursday at Fort Benning, Ga., sparking a criminal investigation and greater police presence, a witness told Army Times. According to a witness at the scene, a box of 20 hollow-point shells and a handwritten note were found in the motor pool area between 1st Battalion and 2nd Battalion, 29th Infantry, under the 197th Infantry Training Brigade. “The note said ‘tell the commanding general to call off all charges or there will be a re-enactment of Fort Hood,’ ” the witness told Army Times. He spoke on condition he wouldn’t be identified. ---End Quote--- http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/11/army_benning_box_112009w/
Quote:
Originally Posted by Army Times
Note said Hood-style shooting could happen
By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Nov 20, 2009 18:23:44 EST
A box of hollow-point bullets and an anonymous note threatening an incident like the one at Fort Hood, Texas, were discovered Thursday at Fort Benning, Ga., sparking a criminal investigation and greater police presence, a witness told Army Times.

According to a witness at the scene, a box of 20 hollow-point shells and a handwritten note were found in the motor pool area between 1st Battalion and 2nd Battalion, 29th Infantry, under the 197th Infantry Training Brigade.

“The note said ‘tell the commanding general to call off all charges or there will be a re-enactment of Fort Hood,’ ” the witness told Army Times. He spoke on condition he wouldn’t be identified.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/1...g_box_112009w/ ]]> General Discussion Soldat_Américain http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169215 Raccoons in my Backyard http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169214&goto=newpost Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:46:43 GMT There's been 3 raccoons that have been laying around my backyard, I always see them, be it afternoon or night, I want to grab my shotgun and unload birdshot on them but I live in a little California culdesac and I'm afraid I'll disturb my neighbors, what should I do? ]]> Off Topic and Humor Andelin09 http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169214