Antiwar.com Blog

The sadists at the Pentagon can always be counted on to explore exciting new ways to kill and torture people;

The weapons involve Pulsed Energy Projectiles (PEPs), which fire a laser pulse that in turn generates a burst of expanding plasma when it hits something solid. It can cause temporary paralysis and knock a person off their feet. But documents uncovered by the Sunshine Project, a biotechnology watchdog, also reveal that the same technology could be used to kill a person.

Supposedly, it’s only being explored as an option in its non-lethal version, but in a time of great need I’m sure the lethal variety would be developed and deployed.
The report goes on to say;

A 2003 review of non-lethal weapons by the US Naval Studies Board, which advises the Navy and Marine Corps, said PEPs produced “pain and temporary paralysis” in tests on animals. The $500,000 (£260,000) study looks to optimise this effect and discover how to generate a pulse which triggers pain nerves without damaging tissue. The contract adds: “Pain is a primary component of all non-lethal weapons.”

I’m all for testing this weapon on two conditions;

• It must never go beyond the testing phase,
• Rather than testing on animals, the tests must be conducted on politicians

Q: How is a Hate Crime by Muslims in New Jersey Like WMD in Iraq?

A: Neither of them exist, but right-wing nutbags believe every erroneous report that they do.

Mithras, via Atrios

Reading Mithras’ post brought to mind this example from the now-infamous GOPUSA website, home of ex-White House Bureau Chief Jeff James Gannon Guckert, which also hosts a…well, writer, whose bio reads like a Who’s Who of righty piety:

Barbara Stock is a working registered nurse with 24 years of experience.

She is the mother of two grown sons and two grandchildren.

Barbara will be contributing editorials and articles to her local Women’s Republican Party for the upcoming election cycle.

Barbara is a regular contributor to AmericanDaily, ReNewAmerica, Bushcountry, RepublicanDailyNews, The Judson Cox Newsletter, and Prudent Politics. She has also been published on Intellectual Conservative, TownHall, New Republic, Israeli News, and even the Retired NYCFD website.

Barbara has her own webpage called Republican and Proud, thoughtfully linked by GOPUSA.com. Notice the lovely little graphic in the lower left that Barbara uses to decorate her website:

Former U.S. Rep. Sam Gibbons:

“I just wanted to tell them you better wake up to the fact that one day MacDill is going to close. They’re worried about the oak trees and bar licenses and things like that. But in the long run there’s nothing more important than what’s going to be done with MacDill.”

Giuliana Sgrena speaks:

Sgrena, the 56-year-old correspondent of the communist daily Il Manifesto, told Italian investigators the US troops’ intense fire had been in no way justified by the speed of her car, ANSA news agency said.

“Our vehicle was running at normal speed which could not be misunderstood,” she said, rejecting US fears of a possible suicide attack.

“It wasn’t a checkpoint but a patrol which immediately opened fire after they trained their light on us,” Sgrena said.

The US military said Friday Sgrena’s convoy had ignored signals to stop, and that US soldiers had waved their hands and arms, flashed white lights and fired warning shots in a failed attempt to get the vehicle to stop.

But Sgrena told RaiNews24 television Saturday that a “hail of bullets” rained down on the car taking her to safety at Baghdad airport, along with three Italian intelligence officers, killing one of them.

“I was speaking to (officer) Nicola Calipari (…) when he leant on me, probably to protect me, and then collapsed and I realized he was dead,” said Sgrena, who was being questioned on Saturday by two Italian magistrates.

“They continued shooting and the driver couldn’t even explain that we were Italians. It was really horrible,” she added.

Il Manifesto chief editor Gabriele Polo branded the intelligence officer’s death a “murder”.
[…]
“The Americans and Italians knew about (her) car coming,” Pier Scolari said on leaving Celio hospital.

“They were 700 meters (yards) from the airport, which means that they had passed all checkpoints.”

Friday’s shooting was heard by Berlusconi’s aides who were on the phone with one of the intelligence officers, said Scolari. “Then the US military silenced the cellphones,” he charged.

“Giuliana had information, and the US military did not want her to survive,” he added.

Today on the Weekend Interview Show (4 to 6 Eastern): In the first hour I’ll be speaking with William Norman Grigg, senior editor of The New American magazine about Russia, China, Just War, Cowboys, Yankees, and Neocons. More info here
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Update: Show’s over.
Stream Here
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Here’s an interesting site, gathering information on war resistors, IE. soldiers who refused orders, draft resistors etc., none of this “fighting for our freedom” crap;

We honor those soldiers who risked loss of liberty, economic deprivation, and social ostracism. Each of these men and women of the military have at some point refused orders in this immoral, illegal, unjustified war the United States is currently waging in Iraq, or the occupation in Afghanistan. They obeyed their conscience over illegal orders.