ArmyBlood

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.

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.

Factory farms, corporate inspectors, and blood products – what ever could go wrong with this?

IKOR aims to use hemoglobin from cattle as its raw material to develop blood replacement products for injured soldiers, Tye said. The goal is to heal their wounds more quickly and effectively, partly because the products can help deliver oxygen to the wound.The cattle byproducts would come from packing plants, where much of the blood from cattle goes to waste as the animals are processed.

via Aberdeen laboratories developing new blood replacement products | argusleader.com | Argus Leader.

This is something that many researchers have said for years.  Now we are finally getting closer to being able to unequivocally see those changes:

“There’s something different in your brain,” explains Dr. Jasmeet Pannu Hayes of Boston University, who is helping to lead that research at the Veterans Affairs’ National Center for PTSD. “Just putting a real physical marker there, saying that this is a real thing,” encourages more people to seek care.

Up to one in five U.S. veterans from the long-running combat in Iraq and Afghanistan is thought to have symptoms of PTSD. An equal number are believed to have suffered traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs — most that don’t involve open wounds but hidden damage caused by explosion’s pressure wave.

via HEALTHBEAT: Scans let doctors watch how brain changes in veterans with PTSD, blast injuries — chicagotribune.com.

I was sad that the VA had to shut down their UT joint project imaging brains because they should be leading on this.  At least the work is getting done.  Research like this will help drive new procedures that reduce re-injury and are better for our troops in the long run.

HuffPo is all over Paul and IAVA:

His favorite Twitter charity: @IAVA. Since 2004, IAVA has become one of the best and strongest advocates for our veterans and their families. It’s won legislative victories on the new G.I. Bill, mental health screenings for returning service members, Veterans Health Care Budget Reform, among other issues. In fact, it teamed with the AdCouncil to start CommunityofVeterans.org, a veterans-only, online community. Moreover, the incredible documentary Warrior Champions, which was produced by @IAVA, premiered at the Austin Film Festival on October 23.

via 2morrowknight: 16 Amazing Men on Twitter and the Awesome Charities They Support.

GovExec Story: OPM urges agencies to review age limits for new hires 

This is an overdue step and opens viable careers to our troops.  In the current economic environment, retirement at 57 is neither viable or even necessarily desirable.  I think it could be a great advantage to have a well-educated and seasoned Vet at the upper levels of federal service. I think this rule may have been created or directed at the stereotype of the “ole’ military man” that isn’t educated or can’t change, much less remember that they are working with civilians.  Those roles changed long ago.

Story Title:
OPM urges agencies to review age limits for new hires
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0809/082809p1.htm

You may already get or be in the know about this but I think it’s a good "heads up" for a stinker coming down the pike from the VA. They walked away from a multi-million dollar scheduling program last week and Brewin senses blood in the water. Ahoy – a lot of nautical metaphors in one little entry

VA IT Problems: How Many More?

Looks like the first civilian blood centers are getting ahead of the anti-social security number wave:

Texas blood center to change blood donation process
Coffee Memorial Blood Center in Amarillo, Texas, will no longer require a Social Security number from blood donors in a bid to increase donations, particularly from Hispanics. The blood center saw a 20% decline in donations from this group from last year.  KFDA-TV (Amarillo, Texas) (3/24)

The services are going to try to pull this one off as well, removing the social security numbers from ID cards and databases but I think that there will have to be SOME number or way of keeping up with people.  The SSN cat is mostly out of the bag and I have a feeling that at some point any other number that we assign to people will get out as well.

This is pretty funny: MyRightWingDad.net collects up all those forwards you get about the librul crusade against freedom and god.  There’s no real debunking except some snark in the comments but it’s pretty obvious when you see this BS all in one place how legit it is.

At 107, Livermore lightbulb is still a real live wire

From: Robert Durell / Los Angeles Times

The low-watt firehouse bulb has been burning continuously since 1901. It’s generated awe and respect, even among the boosters of a Texas rival.

By John M. Glionna, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 5, 2008

LIVERMORE, CALIF. — Five years after his retirement, ex-firefighter Tom Bramell still likes to visit Station No. 6 for old times’ sake, whistling in amazement at all the changes — the strange faces and slick high-tech engines.
But one thing remains exactly the same, and it’s what Bramell misses the most about his firefighting days. The sturdy little object hangs from the ceiling in the firehouse’s engine bay, emitting its familiar faint orange glow.
He calls it the long-lived lightbulb of Livermore.
That’s actually something of an understatement.
At 107 years and counting, the low-watt wonder with the curlicue carbon filament has been named the planet’s longest continuously burning bulb by both Guinness World Records and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.
As objet d’art and enduring symbol of American reliability and ingenuity, it’s been lauded by senators and presidents.
It boasts a website — www.centennialbulb.org, drawing a million hits a year — a historical society and even a webcam that allows curious fans to check on it 24 hours a day.
The Livermore lightbulb, you see, never gets turned off, which many suspect is the secret to its longevity.