Military Related Headlines 10/31

• US Sigh of Relief; Attack Plotter Dead [ABC News]

• 2 Blue Angels grounded for inappropriate relationship [CNN]

• Pakistan: US Missile Strike Kills 15 [Huff Po]

• Petraeus Takes Over Central Command [NY Times]

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Twitter Vote Report

I'm interrupting the military coverage to point out that a few people are getting behind this TwitterVoteReport.com site. From what I gather, Twitter Vote Report allows folks to report election day problems and challenges and even smooth voting operations via Twitter or text message.

Although it's getting very late in the game, they also promise to make available the following ways to participate:

• Key in a report by calling (567) 258-VOTE/8683 (coming soon)
• Download and use the iPhone app (now available)
• Download and use the Android app (coming soon)

So if you Twitter, include #votereport in your voting related tweets then go TwitterVoteReport.com to watch the reports come in.

Update: Simon Owens emailed, pointing out his article titled Citizens, Media Use Social Media to Monitor Election he wrote for MediaShift, a PBS subsite that tracks "how weblogs, podcasting, citizen journalism, wikis, news aggregators and online video are changing our media world." Give it a read. It touches on Twitter Vote Report, Voter Suppression Wiki and Video Your Vote which I just blogged about.

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Military Related Headlines 10/27

• US launches raid in Syria after move into Pakistan [AP via Newsvine]
• 20 Reported Dead in U.S. Drone Attack in Pakistan [NY Times]
• US suffers losses in Afghanistan [BBC News]
• Iran Gen. Admits Arming Region's Militants [AP via CBS News]
• Live Blogging an Embed in Ramadi, Day 1 [NY Times]
• U.S. Army Warns Of Twittering Terrorists [CNet via CBS News]

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Veterans' claim program under Pentagon review

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio recently wrote Teresa McKay, director of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service expressing his concern over a veterans' claim program where millions of dollars in payment errors allegedly occurred, according to the Associated Press.

Tom LaRock, a spokesman for the Pentagon financing office said McKay "has expressed her commitment to ensure that the veterans receive the benefits they are due. If mistakes were made we will take appropriate steps to correct them."

Kucinich's office has calculated that close to 2,000 disabled vets were wrongly denied payments in a program extending benefits for retired vets whose disabilities were related to military service or combat.

He also mentioned overpayment and underpayment inaccuracies for an additional 2,500 vets receiving benefits in excess of $2,500.

Kucinich said the cost of the errors in the VA Retro program totaled around $12 million and requested McKay recalculate the claims in the program.

The article explains action currently being taken:

Kucinich blamed the errors on a weakening of quality control checks prompted by a rush to shrink a backlog of unprocessed claims.

LaRock said his office started a review of the program after the House Oversight subcommittee on domestic policy that Kucinich chairs held hearings on the issue last July. He said they have reprocessed about 10 percent of the 133,000 claims originally considered eligible for the program, and hoped to complete the review by early spring of next year.

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Military Related Headlines 10/23

• United States turns over control of 12th Iraqi province [USA Today]
• U.S. Warns Iraq To Accept Security Deal [CBS News]
• 3 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan [AP via USA Today]
• Army combat unit to deploy within U.S. [CNN]
• Bomb Attack on Iraqi Official Kills 11 [NY Times]
• Widows testify in case of Iraq officer killings [AP via USA Today]
• Missiles Kill 8 in Pakistan Airstrike [NY Times]
• Iran urges Iraqis to shun U.S. security [AP]
• Air Force Makes Push For Drone Operators [CBS News]

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Military Related Headlines 10/22

• Coalition Airstrike Kills 9 Afghan Soldiers, Officials Say [Wash Po]

• ACLU Demands Information On Military Deployment Within U.S. Borders [ACLU]

• Military Opens $15M Hospital For War Dogs [CBS News]

• US want 'James Bond' flying submarine [Telegraph.co.uk]

• Baghdad Bureau: Deciphering Military Acronyms [NY Times]

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Troops to get Pay Raise as Bush Signs Defense Bill

President Bush signed a $612 billion defense spending bill for the 2009 budget year Tuesday that includes a 3.9 pay raise for troops as well as providing tuition assistance, money for family housing and other programs.

Nearly $70 billion of the passed legislation is set aside for missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also requires greater oversight and more information on contractors involved with Iraqi operations.

It also includes a provision allowing a new missile defense system to be built in Eastern Europe, a proposal adamantly opposed by Russia.

The AP article tells how lawmakers came to compromise with the President:

In reaching a deal, House and Senate negotiators left out language that Bush opposed. Eliminated was language barring private interrogators from U.S. military detention facilities and giving Congress a chance to block a security pact with Iraq.

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Military Related Headlines 10/14

• U.S. Wants Nanobots and Exoskeletons To Win Futurewar [io9]

• U.S. military: American soldier killed in Iraq [AP via USA Today]

• Puppy stays in Iraq, Army tells soldier [AP via CNN]

• Friendly fire in Iraq -- and a coverup [Salon]

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Military Related Headlines 10/13

• American Man Arrested in Pakistani Border Region [ABC News]

• Military: American soldier dies in Iraq [AP]

• Joint Chiefs chairman wants PTSD screenings [USA Today]

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Military Related Headlines 10/10

• Gen. Petreaus: "I Do Think You Have To Talk To Enemies" [Digg]

• AP: U.S. nears removing N. Korea from terrorism blacklist [USA Today]

• U.S. Allegedly Eavesdropped On GI's Calls [CBS News]

• Gov't probes US defense contractor over payments [AP via Newsvine]

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Military Related Headlines 10/9

• FCC deepens probe into Pentagon TV analyst payola [Ars Technica]

• U.S. Military Chief Gives Grim View of Afghanistan [NY Times]

• U.S. tries tough love to reduce Iraq's dependence [USA Today]

• N Korea 'to launch 10 missiles' [BBC News]

• Darpa Launches Secret 'Gandalf' Project [Wired's Danger Room]

• Marines Fund Non-Lethal Heat Ray [Defense Tech]

• Court Weighs Concerns on Whales and Military [NY Times]

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Military Related Headlines 10/8

• Pentagon source: Strike killed 30 Afghan civilians [USA Today]
• U.S. Military: Tense Encounters With Iran Occur Almost Daily in Strait of Hormuz [FOX News]
  
• Pentagon researches alternative treatments [USA Today]
• Former Iraq Contractor Pleads Guilty To Stealing Almost $40 Million In Army Fuel [AP via Huff Po]
• Gates Asks Iraq Allies To Shift Troops To Afghanistan [AP via Huff Po]
• Suicide Epidemic Among Veterans [CBS News]
• Negroponte Calls Security Deal on Iraq ‘Close’ [NY Times]
• US intelligence: no signs of Korea leader crisis [AP via Newsvine]
• Russia to cut military to 1 million by 2012 [USA Today]

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Military Related Headlines 10/6

• British commander says war in Afghanistan cannot be won [Reuters]

• Air Force's New 'Killer Zombie' Drone [Wired's Danger Room]

• US Military: Iraqi Killed in Helicopter Collision [ABC News]

• Pentagon: China cancels some military contacts [AP via Newsvine]

• Family of 11 killed during U.S. raid, Iraqi police say [CNN]

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Military Related Headlines 10/3

• Report: Military relied on bonuses to lure new recruits [USA Today]

• Checkpoints Through Iraq’s Checkerboard [NY Times]

• Biden's Son Deploys To Iraq, Joe Sends Off Troops [AP via Huff Po]

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Military Related Headlines 10/2

• US Military Creates World’s First 100% Renewable Jet Fuel [Digg]

• Adviser: Gates Could Stay At Pentagon If Obama Wins [AP via Huff Po]

• Police shoot and kill Iraq vet in his yard for wielding a ... hockey stick [Reddit]

• Pentagon asks troops to rate health care [AP via Newsvine]

• U.S. Military Hospital Healing More Iraqis [CBS News]

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation