ArmyBlood

I may be an outlier in that I am not a big football fan.  It’s all good to enjoy others playing sports while eating chips and drinking beer, but in the end – these teams are multi-million (billion?) dollar corporations with an exception to the anti-trust laws in this country.  In what sick world does that trump the Bill of Rights – oh there – Louisiana:

The school is now saying that Frost was not sent home, and that the Colts jersey ban was due to the fact that the school has a uniform dress code that was only relaxed for the Black-and-Gold Day. But Frost and his parents didn’t buy that explanation, and both say the boy was sent home. From WBRZ-2 TV:

“Brandon felt singled out,” said Larry Frost. “I didn’t see where it should be a problem. If everybody else is dressing out of uniform, I think he should be able to wear his.”

Frost is from Indianapolis and moved to Maurepas with his father four years ago. He claims to have one of the best ACT scores in his class and has plans to join the National Guard.

via Louisiana HS student sent home for wearing Colts jersey? – Out of Bounds – NBC Sports.

Maybe they will have Merck day next year, or let students wear the “colors” of the textbook companies.  Argh.

There is a great page at www.spouseclubs.com that lists officer and enlisted spouse’ clubs all over the world, arranged by location and post.  She runs a new blog at SpouseClubs.com/Blog.  This is a great resource to anyone looking for information about these groups.

-And she talks about the blood program!

And more of my paranoid fears seem to come to pass:

According to the Sunday Times, “A leaked MI5 document says that undercover intelligence officers from the People's Liberation Army and the Ministry of Public Security have also approached UK businessmen at trade fairs and exhibitions with the offer of 'gifts' and 'lavish hospitality.' The gifts — cameras and memory sticks — have been found to contain electronic Trojan bugs which provide the Chinese with remote access to users' computers.”

via Can you trust Chinese computer equipment? | ITworld.

Lovely, wonderful people:

Media reports said the father had told relatives he was unhappy that his daughter – one of nine children – had male friends. The grandfather is said to have beaten her for having relations with the opposite sex.

A postmortem examination revealed large amounts of soil in her lungs and stomach, indicating that she had been alive and conscious while being buried. Her body showed no signs of bruising.

via Turkish girl, 16, buried alive for talking to boys | World news | guardian.co.uk.

I have a suggestion about the disposition of said father.

Scroll to 7:45 to see Julia Connor’s (the Newslady!) report on our ceremony. Stars Luke, Simone, Ronald, and Col. Braverman. Good job FHOT!

via DVIDS Fort Hood on Track – Jan. 29, Part 3.

Now what was it called when Nancy Pelosi accused the CIA of being less than truthful?

The CIA today was accused of lying to Congress and covering up its role in the deaths of two innocent Americans, a mother and her infant daughter, at the hands of the CIA and the Peruvian Air Force nine years ago.

via ‘Justice Denied’ in CIA Shootdown of Missionaries – ABC News.

The Pentagon Blood Center finally finds a home!

Photo by Alex McVeigh

. Stephen Beardsley, Northern Regional blood manager for the Armed Services Blood Program, talks about his goals for the Pentagon Blood Donor Center, which just re-opened in its new location Jan. 22 during the open house.

via Blood Donor Center opens in Pentagon.

and yes – that is a very communal “suck it ARC” (vis Kathy Griffin)

Just in case there was some extra tax money someplace, or a sensible person in the Tripe Department at the Pentagon:

Over the weekend, the Missile Defense Agency released news of another failed intercept test. And no, the interceptor didn’t fail to lift off or fly off course. This time, the tracking radar that wasn’t up to scratch.

via Missile Defense Test Flops as U.S. Unveils New Strategy | Danger Room | Wired.com.

R or D in charge, missile defense continues to be the worst idea ever (well, maybe except for this) and, no matter how much integrity or common sense our leaders pile on the smoking heap of fail that is, they can’t even fake this one.

Via Donna and Macon.com – one ballsy leader.  Can’t be easy for this crusty old CSM to tell his story, but he is because he wants to do right by his troops. This is a hard problem – maybe one of the “wicked” problems – faced by today’s military leaders. But the good ones do face it and more need to take it straight on.  We must all work together to change the culture that prevents even one possible intervention from happening because of shame, misunderstanding, or lack of resources.  Good on CSM Rhodes:

They’re the faces of men who, haunted by problems at home or memories of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — the dead children, the fallen comrades and the lingering smell of burnt flesh — pressed guns to their heads and pulled the triggers or tied ropes with military precision and hanged themselves.

…

“How many times have I written that letter in my head? I still think about suicide, but when I start thinking about it I have to think, ‘What’s the impact on everyone I care about?’’’

via Tough old Georgia soldier battles new enemy: Suicide epidemic – Local & State – Macon.com.

According to Blood: An Epic History…, gay people were among the best blood donors before the AIDS epidemic.  Many donation centers were located in large cities’ gay areas, which inadvertently worsened the plague.  The time is approaching when the US will have to work out a smarter risk calculation than NO  (via AABB update):

Survey: 77% of MSM willing to donate blood in the U.K.
An online survey showed that 77% of men who have had sex with men in the U.K. would give blood if there were no nationwide ban against them donating. Yusef Azad, director of policy and campaigns at National AIDS Trust, said the organization is working with authorities to re-evaluate the donation ban considering that MSM could represent 2.3 million more donors every year, as indicated by the survey.  PinkNews.co.uk (U.K.) (1/27)