Pentagon fighting Taliban on social media front.  The U.S. military is ramping up efforts to counter the Taliban's growing presence on social media sites by aggressively responding to falsehoods and reporting violations of the sites' guidelines on violent threats, experts say.  Twitter accounts or websites associated with militant groups typically take responsibility for attacks whether or not they had anything to do with them.  But most of the information they provide is either exaggerated or false, said Army Lt. Col. T.G. Taylor, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command...
(USA TODAY)

Madison Rising to Perform at 2012 Milblog Family Reunion This Labor Day Weekend in San Antonio.  Patriotic rock band Madison Rising will be performing its #1 best selling rendition of the Star Spangled Banner along with a complete set of original music including Right To Bear, Walking Through That Door, American Dream, Soldiers of America, Hallowed Ground and others on Friday, August 31st at the 2012 Milblog Family Reunion event (http://www.vamortgagecenter.com/blog/2012/05/03/2012-milblog-family-reunion) in San Antonio, TX...
(PRWeb)

Pentagon Joins the Pin Craze. Servicemembers might not expect the U.S. military to adopt Pinterest, the fastest growing social medial site that's most popular with young mothers, as quickly as it did. This is the same organization that drug its feet for years debating whether to allow troops to go on Facebook.  The National Guard jumped first in December and set up a Pinterest pinboard of its own. The pinboards are what drive the social media site. Users set up their own boards on the site and "pin" pictures, links and videos of their interests. They can then repin other pictures and share them on Facebook, Twitter and email...
(Military.com)

Ecuador declines to extradite Belarus blogger.  The denial on Tuesday came in the wake of a diplomatic row with Britain over Quito's offer of asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and as Ecuador has been criticized by rights groups over its treatment of its own local media.  The court said it was unable to approve the extradition request for Barankov because he had been declared a refugee by the foreign ministry.  Barankov, 30, a former army captain, fled to Ecuador in 2009 after being charged with fraud, allegations he says were trumped up after he blogged about widespread corruption linked to people close to Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, often referred to as "Europe's last dictator."
(Times LIVE)

Romney Twitter Campaign vs Obama Reddit AMA: Who Won The Social Media Showdown? AMERICA!  All the young whippersnappers are using Twitter and Facebook and Reddit these days, so if you're running for President of the United States of America, you'd probably want to channel some of that social media craze into your political campaign. Well, that's exactly what presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and current President Barack Obama are doing.  President Obama made history today when he decided to do an "Ask Me Anything" session on Reddit. Obama's session reportedly set a record on Reddit for generating the most concurrent visitors ever with 200,000. The Verge reports that general manager of Reddit Erik Martin said "Chaos here" when describing the Reddit offices...
(International Digital Times)

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Here in the U.S., the Veterans History Project, which was created by Congress in 2000, collects first-hand accounts of U.S. Veterans.  The goal of the project is to preserve the personal accounts of American veterans so that future generations may hear directly from vets.

Canada has a similar project under way called The Memory Project, an initiative of The Historica-Dominion Institute.

From The Memory Project website, here’s a little bit of information:

“This nationwide bilingual project will create a record of Canada’s participation in the Second World War and Korean War as seen through the eyes of thousands of veterans. The Memory Project will provide every living Second World War and Korean War veteran with the opportunity to share their memories through oral interviews and digitized artefacts and memorabilia. These stories and artefacts will be available on this site for teachers, students and the general public.”

The site is very interactive with audio and video clips, photographs, transcripts and much more. 

There is even a section called Inside the Classroom, which provides lesson plans and classroom activities to help students hear the experiences of thousands of servicemen and women who served in Canada’s military.

A recent news story in CBC News featured the project:

“Project manager Alex Herd said the project is more than just a database; it's also a way for today's tech-savvy generation to interact with Canada's military past. The growing military history is posted online at www.thememoryproject.com.

The average age of World War II veterans is 88 years old, while the average age of a Korean War veteran is 78 years old, he said, and that's given the project a sense of urgency.”

According to Global Edmonton, “there are almost 50 veterans’ profiles and stories posted right now, but this will likely increase as the project garners more attention from readers, veterans and their families.”

Learn more about The Memory Project here.

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U.S. Embraces Arms Control by Social Media. The U.S. State Department is now banking on the possibility that the rise of social media may offer a new means of monitoring for arms-control violations. Imagine an army of sensors made up of ordinary citizens willing, in theory, to keep their governments in check and prove they aren't violating arms-control treaties. That's the concept behind the State Department's "innovation in arms control challenge," a contest that will offer a cash prize of $10,000 to the best idea, or ideas, for using social media to spot arms-control violators...
(Popular Mechanics)

Syria regime blamed for false blogs about rebels. Supporters of the Syrian regime hacked the website of Amnesty International, posting items that falsely accused anti-government rebels of atrocities.  The cyberattack, which occurred Monday, was similar to the targeting this month of blogs operated by the Reuters news service. In Amnesty's case, the primary target of the hacking appeared to be the group's Livewire blog, which offers first-person perspectives from Amnesty researchers and field workers.  According to Amnesty officials, social media users began posting false items accusing the Syrian rebels of committing massacres that had been linked to government forces...
(StarTribune)

CEO refutes claim of developing social media software for Russian intelligence. The company Iteranet is not developing a system to monitor social media sites, or any other mechanisms to promote information in the blogosphere, CEO Igor Matskevich told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com) on Monday.  Kommersant newspaper reported Monday that Iteranet is in the process of developing the system for the Foreign Intelligence Service.  The paper reported that a customer by the name of Military Unit No. 54939 ordered the systems, which were codenamed Dispute, Monitor-3, and Storm-12...
(RAPSI)

Women Who Cheat on (or With) Soldiers Get Viciously Outed on Facebook.  Appearing on Maury to expose a cheating ex is so 20th century. Now, spurned lovers — or anyone with a grudge — can go online to post photos and otherwise cyberbully people they claim have done them wrong. Nearly 15,000 people are fans of the Facebook group "Make Them Famous for Military Exes," which seeks to expose people who have cheated on military spouses while they were deployed...
(Jezebel)

Turkish journalist held captive in Syria is shown on video; Turkish FM alleges Syrian coercion. Turkish television has broadcast a video of a Turkish journalist who is reportedly being held in Syrian government captivity.  NTV television on Monday showed the video of Cuneyt Unal, a cameraman who was working for the U.S.-funded al-Hurra network when he and a colleague, Bashar Fahmi, were believed to have been captured while covering fighting in the northern city of Aleppo a week ago...
(The Washington Post)

Malcolm Browne, AP Vietnam War correspondent who took iconic burning-monk photo, dies at 81. Malcolm W. Browne, a former Associated Press correspondent acclaimed for his trenchant reporting of the Vietnam War and a photo of a Buddhist monk's suicide by fire that shocked the Kennedy White House into a critical policy re-evaluation, has died. He was 81...
(Daily Journal)

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Prince Harry has made headlines all over the world and the story isn't going away anytime soon.

Now, just when you thought it couldn't get any crazier, a Facebook group called "Support Prince Harry with a naked salute!" has been launched.  At the time of this story being published it has over 12,000 members and plenty of photos posted from all walks of life.

Fair warning if you visit the Facebook group, although members' “crown jewels” are covered in the photographs, it's not necessarily a safe-for-work website.

So what's the idea behind the group?

According to the ABOUT page, if you have served or are serving in the military you are encouraged to submit a photo of your naked salute in support of Prince Harry but you must cover your crown jewels, then tag yourself in your photo as proof of your support to Prince Harry.

The creator of the Facebook group has also launched a Twitter account @Salute4Harry, but it is nowhere near as popular as its Facebook counterpart. The Twitter account has a measly 77 followers.

And yes, there's even a Website: www.salute4harry.co.uk which has more on the story:

“This group was started after a few serving and ex military lads started posting naked salutes to each other in support of Prince Harry!

I suggested we start a group on facebook and went ahead thinking we would get around 75 people max in the group. This has now built to over 11k in less than 72hrs, we have had to ask lads we know to help admin the site, and it's now currently the fastest growing facebook group page and also we have a trending hashtag on twitter #Salute4Harry!

Many people have suggested ways to fundraise for a good cause using the support from these sites and we are looking at the options. Thank you for all your support!”

The Daily Mail and other news sites have more on the story including photos from the Facebook group.

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US Weekly is reporting that Prince Harry has frozen his Facebook account.

Prince Harry served on the frontlines in Afghanistan and went through training as an Apache helicopter in the U.S.

He may now face a reprimand over the Las Vegas photo scandal.

US Weekly writes:

"Because all of the Vegas drama he's frozen his account," the source explains. "No more Facebook for Harry for a while. He'll probably come back online in the future, but, for now, he's been advised to go offline."

Adds the insider: "It's best that he keeps a low profile for the moment."

Still, this Monday Aug. 27, the redhead will have to resurface a bit as he reports back to Royal Air Force Wattisham base. There, the helicopter pilot will have formal interviews with Lieutenant Colonel Thomas de La Rue and the Head of Army, General Sir Peter Wall, who will ultimately decide how reprimand Harry for the scandal.

Full story here.

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Syrian Army helicopter downed in Damascus (VIDEO).  A Syrian helicopter engulfed in flames has crashed in eastern Damascus on Monday amid witness reports of shelling and fierce fighting in the area.  ­Syrian State television confirmed the helicopter came down near a mosque in the district of Al-Qabun, but gave no further information.  The video footage shows the helicopter ablaze after it was hit by a projectile during a burst of gunfire.  Syrian rebels claim to have shot down the chopper...
(RT)

Journalism 101: A recommended course for the IDF. Israeli army’s Facebook status chides journalists for not choosing sides and becoming active participants in conflict...
(+972 Magazine)

Faux social networks test disaster response. This year’s Vibrant Response, a massive U.S. homeland defense exercise, began for the first time with a tweet.  Not a real tweet via Twitter but rather a simulated version of the social media site known as Bleater. One minute, social media role players were “bleating” about waiting for Lady Gaga. The next, they were tweeting about an explosion — from a 10-kiloton, vehicle-borne nuclear weapon...
(ArmyTimes)

Facebook Marine Brandon Raub: Should Vets Really Be Worried?  The after shocks of US Marine Brandon Raub being detained on charges of posting on Facebook are seismic tremors in the minds of many veterans. With some of the most recent shootings in the United States, veterans are being targeted as potential terrorists. The question is: should they be worried?
(DeathRattleSports)

Egypt''s military council warns against bogus Facebook accounts. Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) warned on Sunday against fake accounts in the social network website "Facebook" which disguises under SCAF name and disseminates information that would jeopardizes the country's national security and safety.  The council said in a press statement, published also in their Facebook page, that discussion and exchange of sensitive information could benefit the enemy and hurt the country's national security... 
(KUNA)

Facebook Israel-Arab youth group has rare meeting. A Facebook-based movement for Mideast youth says the group has held its first gathering, bringing young activists from Israel and Arab countries to Germany to promote peace.  Nimrod Ben-Zeev of the YaLa-Young Leaders group says 18 members from Israel, the Palestinian territories, Tunisia, Algeria, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, Iraq and Kuwait met in Berlin over the weekend...
(KCAU-TV.com)

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This is the top thread on Reddit’s Military page today.

If you haven’t visited the Military Subreddit, some of today’s top links include threads about the ex-Navy Seal who wrote the bin Laden book, video of soldiers engaging Taliban, and even someone who is planning to join the Army but is afraid of losing his girlfriend.

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Earlier this month, I took a quick look at the Navy Social Media Directory.  Now, it’s time to glance at the Air Force social media directory.

The online directory can be found at http://www.af.mil/socialmedia.asp and allows official U.S. Air Force social media pages to be submitted.

Using an official e-mail account, you can submit a link by providing the web address, your name, whether or not you are a PAO, and your phone number.

As of today, there are around 400 official U.S. Air Force Facebook pages listed on the site ranging from the United States Air Force page which has over 1 million fans to the Combat Airlifters page with just under 100 Likes.

There are dozens of YouTube links and Flickr links, but by far the most popular web presence for the U.S. Air Force is Facebook followed by Twitter.

Of course, my favorite section of the site is the blogs section, even though only a dozen blogs are listed.

If you’d like to learn more or submit a link, go here.

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World War II Vet's Stories Like a Trip Back in Time. For most people living today, knowledge of World War II is through history books, old films and photos. And while many of these recollections are interesting, most of them can't compare to the stories told by Gloucester Township's own Harry Moore.  A World War II vet who served in the Army, as well as one of the main organizers of Pony League Baseball, talking to Moore about his experiences in life is almost like jumping into a time machine. Through his vivid memories and very detailed descriptions, he brings many of his experiences from 60 years ago back to life...
(Gloucester Township, NJ Patch)

Georgia program to interview Vietnam War-era vets turns up some surprising opinions.  “We didn’t really get their stories when they came home. They didn’t come home to much of a reception,” said Madeline Darnell, program coordinator for the “The Boomers,” a joint project of the Athens Regional Library System and the Lyndon House Arts Center.  Working together, the two institutions got a three-year leadership grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services focusing on the baby boomer generation. They aim to develop a model for other libraries to use in serving the baby boomers as they start to retire...
(Jacksonville.com)

US General: We Hacked the Enemy in Afghanistan. The U.S. military has been launching cyberattacks against its opponents in Afghanistan, a senior officer said last week, making an unusually explicit acknowledgment of the oft-hidden world of electronic warfare.  Marine Lt. Gen. Richard P. Mills' comments came at a conference in Baltimore during which he explained how U.S. commanders considered cyberweapons an important part of their arsenal...
(Military.com)

Marikana: The matter of embedded journalism.  As police fired on miners rushing towards them at Lonmin’s Marikana mine, local media captured the bloody battle from a vantage point that saw them in the safe embrace of our country’s boys and girls in blue. What does this perspective mean about news, truth and events that could shape our very history? MANDY DE WAAL spoke to Rhodes University Journalism Professor Jane Duncan about media coverage of the Marikana massacre...
(Daily Maverick)

Military records abound for your genealogy research.  Few families, over the 200+ years that this country has existed, have not had someone serve in the military. Military records abound and are fairly easily researched through a web site called: Fold3.com. Again, many people have exactly the same names and unless you have some background as to when your relative served, it may be difficult to trace.  Pictured with this article are examples of how grave markers reveal information about the person's military background...
(McCook Daily Gazette)

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Back in June, a new blog was submitted to Milblogging.com by Rod Deaton, a psychiatrist working at the VA Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

Though it’s been awhile since I’ve featured a military blog here, my friend Kathi reminded me about it. 

And it’s worth pointing out that there are clearly all sorts of great people out there doing great things – and who are also taking the time to blog about it.

The blog’s name: Paving the Road Back – Serving Those Who Have Served in Combat. 

Rod writes about his site:

“In this blog, I try to provide service professionals (e.g., mental health clinicians, physicians, attorneys, educators) in the broader community a deeper understanding of the psychological, social, and spiritual challenges faced by veterans returning to civilian life after serving in combat, so that professionals may more effectively “pave the road back” for these men and women to have meaningful lives relieved of the pains of their past and opened to the possibilities of their future.

To do this, I try to listen as carefully and as openly as I can to combat veterans, to their sufferings, their regrets, their pride, their camaraderie, their challenges and their hopes, both in person and in correspondence.  My goal is to document as faithfully and as deeply as I can what they tell me and what others are trying to do for them.”

In a post published online earlier today, he wrote about the death toll in Afghanistan reaching 2,000.

“The past few days have been challenging ones, with many men and women having passed through my door, most of whom I know well.  Fortunately many are doing well.   Unfortunately some are not.

It’s the nature of my business.

Sadly, there is an additional factor in the nature of my business.  It’s called reality.

Reality, this week, has not been kind.  For as many readers may already know, this past week our Nation achieved–if one only could, without bitter irony, call it that–a milestone.

Two thousand service members have died in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The New York Times published a powerful memorial for these men and women.  In the print version, the pictures of all two thousand were laid out over the pages of the paper.  On the website, however, was a memorial that simply left me, what, sighing, deeply, closing my eyes, rubbing the back of my neck, dropping my head back, opening my eyes toward a ceiling (a Heaven?), taking in a deep breath, letting it out, looking back down at a laptop screen, silent, staring.

I do the very same now.

Before me on that screen is a picture of man, pixilated.  Two thousand pixels form his picture.”

Read more here.

Hat tip: Kathi.

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Prince Harry Vegas pictures may mean army reprimand.  Britain's Prince Harry, who is a military helicopter pilot on leave, may face a reprimand following his latest misadventure -- cavorting nude with an unidentified woman in a Las Vegas VIP hotel suite, Us magazine reports.  Us said that the prince "will be reprimanded" by the army because officers "should never bring the service into disrepute, whether on or off duty."
(Newsday)

Former Marine Pokes Fun at Military With Website. Former Marine Paul Szoldra first posted a fictional story about an Air Force colonel who banned all chairs on his installation to gain attention for another website he had created to help veterans use their education benefits.  The post intended to poke fun at a common nickname other services have for the Air Force – the Chair Force – the satirical article quickly spread throughout the military ranks. There was soon an outcry for more comic posts by Szoldra, which inspired him to create The Duffel Blog – what many consider a military version of The Onion...
(Military.com)

Fake military news site gains traction. When a former marine started writing Onion-style stories on the satirical military news site he launched in March, he had little inkling how quickly they would spread.  Five months since he started The Duffel Blog, 28-year-old Sgt. Paul Szoldra, who was honorably discharged from the the marines in 2010, has duped multiple outlets with his fake newsflashes. One, about the Department of Defense banning TapouT—a mixed martial arts clothing line—inspired a furious blog on Yell Magazine...
(CJR)

Govt. to departments: Tread carefully on social media. The government on Thursday issued guidelines for its departments using social media networks asking them not to post confidential information and “unverified” facts.  With 40 million Facebook and 16 million twitter users in India, social media have emerged as a powerful platform for forming an opinion as well as generating mass support, the Information Technology Ministry said in its 38-page guidelines issued on Thursday.  “Great care must be taken to avoid propagation of unverified facts and frivolous misleading rumours,” it said...
(The Hindu)

Ecuador mulls extradition of Belarus blogger Alexander Barankov. Ecuador's much-criticised record on press freedom has come under renewed scrutiny following its decision to grant asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, holed up in its London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden.  Alexander Barankov, a former army captain, fled to Ecuador in 2009 after being charged with fraud, allegations he says were trumped up after he blogged about widespread corruption linked to people close to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, often referred to as "Europe's last dictator".
(Herald Sun)

Military vet arrested over Facebook posts. Brandon Raub is a combat veteran who is being held against his will by the state of Virginia because they found his Facebook posts disturbing. State and county authorities say he is not under arrest because he is not facing any criminal charges. Technically they are correct. He is being held for psychiatric evaluation for post anti-government posts...
(Examiner)

Stories Of War Preserved With Veterans History Project. History will not be forgotten, and the Greater Long Beach Chapter of the American Red Cross is making sure of it.  Area volunteers in the Service to Armed Forces Department have been working for more than a year-and-a-half to interview on video hundreds of veterans, who have fought in wars from World War II to the War in Iraq — all for the Veterans History Project.  “What it does is allow the veterans to tell their story about what it was like during their time of service,” said Veterans History Project Director and volunteer Mike Farrar...
(GAZETTES.com)

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It's no shock to hear that the Taliban are using social media.

A year ago I briefly touched on the subject with this article: Why do Facebook and Twitter allow Taliban?

Now a major paper The Washington Times is covering the topic.

Bill Gertz writes, "The increasing use of the Internet and cellular telephones with access to the Web is a relatively new feature of life in Afghanistan, and military officials say the Taliban are exploiting the new social-media platforms for their Islamist aims."

Gertz points out that U.S. Central Command contacts sites like Facebook and Twitter urging them to take down the account because it violates their terms of service.  Facebook is the most responsive according to the story, often deleting accounts that are used to recruit.

It's good to hear Facebook has been the most responsive, but Twitter has historically been slow to respond, if it’s responded at all.

One well-known Twitter account of the Taliban continues to be online, even after being named in the news over and over and getting into a war of words online with the U.S. military and other nations who send troops to Afghanistan.

While I’m not sure how Gertz came to this conclusion, he says in some cases, the Taliban’s use of social media has outpaced that of NATO and U.S. forces.

Read more: Inside the Ring: Taliban infiltrate social media - Washington Times

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Army ‘likes’ social media.  Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr have changed the way information is transmitted worldwide. Lightning fast posts and responses give users the opportunity to always be informed. The instantaneous gathering and distribution of information by social media sites can help spread the Army’s message.  The U.S. Army Social Media Handbook describes social media as a way of telling the Army’s story honestly and directly to America...
(DVIDS)

Satirical website The Duffel Blog dupes news sites with bogus stories. The Duffel Blog — also on Facebook (13,600 fans) and Twitter (1,450 followers) — is starting to gain a following among service members and veterans.  It aims not only to poke fun at military culture and foibles through humor and ridiculousness, but also to provide social commentary that can raise awareness on serious issues such as PTSD and suicide, said founder Paul Szoldra. It compares itself to The Onion, but with a military bent...
(NBCNews.com)

Veteran Japanese war correspondent killed while covering fighting in Syria.  A veteran Japanese war correspondent was shot and killed while covering Syria’s civil war, her family and the government said Tuesday.  Mika Yamamoto worked for The Japan Press, an independent TV news provider that specializes in conflict zone coverage.  She was hit by gunfire Monday while she and a colleague were traveling with the Free Syrian Army in the northwestern city of Aleppo, said Masaru Sato, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo...
(The Washington Post)

Pentagon preps new social media rules. The Pentagon is late on issuing it’s latest set of rules for service members on how to use popular social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.  Defense Department officials have been working towards a new directive on social media to replace the old rules that were set to expire July 15. The expiration date was extended when it became clear leadership couldn’t settle on new guidance until later this year. No specific date has been given for the release...
(Defense Tech)

Quora makes answers embeddable for easier use by journalists. The social question-and-answer website Quora released a new feature today that makes it easier for journalists and other publishers to quote from the expert answers posted on the network. Just highlight specific text in an answer and click the “embed quote” button, or go to the bottom of the answer and click the “embed” link to grab the whole thing. The popup provides an embed code to paste into your story...
(Poynter)

India Debates Misuse of Social Media. India has blocked more than 250 websites after provocative online content spread panic among people from the country's northeast, prompting some of them to flee Indian cities.  The crackdown has sparked a debate about how the country will cope with misuse of social media.  Officials say the websites that were blocked had posted edited images and videos of victims of earthquakes and claimed they were those of Muslim victims caught in recent ethnic strife in India's northeastern Assam state and Burma...
(VOANews)

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This month, I’ve been covering the Circle of Moms Top 25 Military Mom Blogs contest, which recognizes and promotes military moms who blog.  Well, the contest ended last week and the results are in.

Here’s a look at the Top 10:

#1 The Only Girl Among Boys
A sometimes humorous, always honest look at the life of a military family enduring the ups and downs of deployments while raising four little boys. Always trying to look for ways to encourage other wives and moms on this same ride!
http://www.theonlygirlamongboys.blogspot.com/

# 2 The Meat and Potatoes of Life
Lisa dishes up a heaping helping of hilarious and heartwarming stories about marriage, parenting and military life. Her syndicated humor column appears in newspapers, Stars & Stripes Military Moms website, Military Spouse magazine, and on her blog.
http://themeatandpotatoesoflife.com/

#3 The Deployment Diatribes, (News From the Commander In Chief @ Home)
Erin is a Navy Wife and Mom to 4 boys, including one with Autism. She writes about military family life, deployment issues, Autism, and no-nonsense parenting.
http://www.deploymentdiatribes.wordpress.com/

#4 Hooah and Hiccups
My journey from college grad, to Army wife, to new mom! I write about everyday occurrences, current events, and other topics relevant to Military life and motherhood.
http://hooahandhiccups.blogspot.com/

#5 Random Rants of an Army Wife
Updates on my life as the wife of an injured Special Operator in the US Army as we adjust to life with his brain injury, mother of an adorable toddler who loves to test my patience and an adorable 7 month old.
http://randomarmywife.blogspot.com/

#6 5 Nuts in a Nutshell
Just a crazy family trying to juggle 3 boys (4 if you include daddy-dearest), Army life, school, and everything in between!
http://nutsinanutshell.blogspot.com/

#7 Embracing This Life
A blog from a young military wife about embracing this life. We'll chat about the military, marriage, motherhood, weight loss, and all things around the house.
http://embracingthislife.com/

#8 Tips For Military Families
Daily tips posted to help military families and members not just survive military life but thrive. Tips on postings, deployments, re-integrations, etc.
http://blog.whileyouwereaway.org/

#9 This Fabulous Army Life
Living the Army life ... one fabulous day at a time! Musings include thoughts on parenting, raising boys, kids' crafts, Army life with its joys and challenges, and other fabulous events in this Army life!
http://fabulousarmylife.blogspot.com/

#10 Writings of an Air Force Wife
Air Force wife. Mom of 2. Currently undergoing our 7th deployment. I write about our everyday little moments. I live a creative life full of painting, photography, DIY projects, decorating & more. Life is either a grand adventure, or nothing. -Helen Keller
http://www.emily-roe.blogspot.com/

For a full list of winners, go here.

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Outcry after military veteran detained for anti-government Facebook posts. A former Marine involuntarily detained for psychiatric evaluation for posting strident anti-government messages on Facebook has received an outpouring of support from people who say authorities are trampling on his First Amendment rights.  Brandon J. Raub, 26, has been in custody since FBI, Secret Service agents and police in Virginia's Chesterfield County questioned him Thursday evening about what they said were ominous posts talking about a coming revolution. In one message earlier this month according to authorities, Raub wrote: "Sharpen my axe; I'm here to sever heads."
(Fox News)

Military satire site manages to fool some people. If you're surfing the Internet and happen to land on The Duffel Blog — it's at duffelblog.com — don't do what the folks at Gizmodo and Yell! did and believe anything you read.  That's because The Duffel Blog, the 5-month-old creation of University of Tampa senior and former Marine Sgt. Paul Szoldra, is a satire site, full of fake news about the military... 
(TBO.com)

Burmese blogger speaks out against Islamophobia. Nay Phone Latt had been sentenced to twenty years in prison by the Burmese military junta for his links to the “Saffron Revolution” Buddhist monk led protests back in 2007. He was freed, along with hundreds of others at the beginning of the year, as part of a political prisoner amnesty decreed by the government which has recently undertaken a series of reforms.  The 32 year old blogger is now one of the few people in Burma to speak out against Islamophobia...
(FRANCE 24)

American Legion finds unexpected treasure in attic with discover of World War I bond posters.  We've all heard the stories. People rummaging around in their attics or cleaning out basements and stumbling upon relics of the past or priceless artifacts or heirlooms.  TV programs would make you believe stuff like that happens every day ... it just never happens to us.  But it has happened in Greencastle, and the Putnam County Museum has become the beneficiary...
(The Republic)

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I stumbled upon this image via a Reddit thread as I was reading another story about a Burmese blogger for my regular news roundup.

According to FRANCE 24, "in the space of a few days, a Syrian rebel has unwittingly become the object of all sorts of fantasies … the opponent of the Bashar al-Assad regime was photographed in the region of the city of Idlib on June 15 by Khalil Hamra a journalist for the “Associated Press” news agency. "

The Reddit thread (which was posted about 5 days ago) is called "I present: Ridiculously Photogenic Syrian Rebel Fighter" and it was posted to the pics subreddit, a place on Reddit to share interesting photographs and pictures.

The thread has nearly 1,000 comments as of today.

Many posted comments like this:

"Seriously, how can he be in the middle of a civil war and have hair like that?"

"To be fair though, everybody looks cool when they're holding an RPG like that."

"It's a hot night. The mind races. You think about your knife; the only friend who hasn't betrayed you, the only friend who won't be dead by sun up. Sleep tight, mates, in your quilted Chambray nightshirts."

"All the ladies want him.
All the guys want to be him.
All the Syrian Army want to kill him.
Ridiculously Photogenic Rebel
in cinemas 2013"

You can read the full Reddit thread here.

You can view the image here, which has been viewed over half a million times.

Source: FRANCE 24

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Letters from Afghanistan: Captain from Pensacola prepares to leave war front. Two weeks ago, we received an email from Army Reserve Capt. Dave Drasutis, a Pensacola resident and a lifetime Gulf Coast resident. He was writing from Afghanistan, where he is currently stationed, to comment on our new Homefront section.  From that conversation, we invited him to write a weekly series of letters from Afghanistan. Dave said he was returning home soon and wondered if the letters would be worthwhile.
(Pensacola News Journal)

WW2 vet shares his story at Darien event. World War II veterans were honored at the Darien Atria for the 67th anniversary of V-J Day (Victory over Japan Day) on Sunday in an event featuring speeches by local and national politicians.  U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, along with Congressman Jim Himes (D-4), state Sens. Bob Duff (D-25) and Carlo Leone (D-27), State Rep. Terrie Wood (R-141) made speeches. Darien Selectman John Lundeen read a proclamation.
(Darien News)

Facebook post threatening B.C. mosque sparks investigation.  Police in Victoria are investigating disturbing comments made on Facebook threatening an attack on the city’s new mosque with a rocket launcher.  On a Facebook page called “I Love Downtown Victoria” a poster identifying himself as Dan Speed wrote, “that’s not good” in reference to the Muslim place of worship.  “Blast it with an 84mm Carl Gustaf,” he added in a subsequent post.
(CTVNews)

NATO, Taliban in war of words over Afghan deaths. A suicide bombing at a wedding, a deadly airstrike on a village, grenades in a mosque - hundreds of Afghan civilians are dying violently this summer, while the Taliban and the NATO coalition wage verbal warfare.  A U.N. report says 1,145 civilians were killed and 1,954 others injured during the first half of the year, 80 percent of them by militants.  But like other aspects of this decade-long war, facts are often obscured by perception and propaganda.
(NBC29)

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Congrats are in order for The Duffel Blog and the site’s writers as they continue to get more mainstream news coverage and be recognized for their writing talents.

On Wednesday, I wrote about The Duffel Blog being featured in the Military Times, but if you’ve been watching the headlines, other news sites like USA Today are buzzing about the site’s satirical look at the military.

To give you an idea just how fast the site is spreading: On Wednesday, it enjoyed nearly 9,000 Facebook likes.  Today, the site is flirting with 13,000 Likes in a few short days.

The site is being compared to The Onion, another satirical website that is extremely popular.

Here’s a roundup of what the likes of USA Today have to say about The Duffel Blog:

USA Today says, "The Duffel Blog's fake military news hits the spot."

Business Insider writes, "It's about time the blog exploded with traffic. Duffel Blog has been steadily growing in popularity, making news across the web with its pitch-perfect satire of life in the employment of the Department of Defense."

Military Times: “Szoldra and Stormtrooper said their growing audience, along with the success of the “Terminal Lance” comic strip, shows there’s an appetite for a humorous, but clever, look at military life.”

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GSA opens public portal to governmentwide social media registry.  The public can now verify whether a Google+ page is legit and whether the IRS really is on Pinterest.  The GSA has put together a one-stop shop for federal agencies, elected officials (but not campaign accounts) and programs that manage official LinkedIn pages, Meetup groups or Twitter feeds to register all of those accounts in a governmentwide database.  The public can access the full database of URLs via USA.gov and GobiernoUSA.gov. Social media sites are hosted on commercial domains and lack the telltale .gov or .mil domain tags that help the public know they are visiting a legitimate government site, the GSA said in a statement Thursday...
(Federal News Radio)

The Reality Military Shows Will Never Air. Army Wives: Alaska. Coming Home. Stars Earn Stripes. There's a lot of interest in the reality of military life. But even with all of these shows, I'm left wondering about what story they are telling because, for the past decade, most of the military families I know have been living a reality that I don't see on primetime.  Episode one of any show I've watched doesn't feature deployment number five which is a coming attraction over in my friends' living room next month. Where's the show called "Leaving Home," documenting the crying on the front end of a year apart? Note the crying kids in unmatched shirts in the background. Oh, and those beautiful homecomings. Those big, flag draped hangars filled with soldiers. I wish every real life reunion installment ended that way.  Maybe I could write an episode for a new series...
(Huffington Post)

Civil war documentary to feature Carroll County sites. When Maryland Public Television debuts "The Heart of the Civil War" on Sept. 11, it will showcase many Carroll County sites.  The hour-long documentary features areas like Westminster and Uniontown and battlefields that were critical to both sides in the war between the states.  The film includes footage of the most crucial territories where Confederate and Union forces battled for strategic advantage in Carroll, Frederick and Washington counties. The story focuses on Maryland residents enmeshed in the famous battles, whose sites still draw hundreds of tourists annually...
(Baltimore Sun)

Military-media relationship. THE world over, the media and the military have never had an easy relationship.  In Pakistan’s case the issue is more than usually complicated. The military wants favourable coverage of the several military operations undertaken in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata, but reporters have difficulties dealing with their uniformed hosts.  Gen Pervez Kayani’s visit to Swat some time ago highlights the issue. Local journalists were informed about the visit on May 22, and they rushed to Bari Kot where the army chief was inaugurating a bridge on the River Swat.  What followed, however, was irritating...
(DAWN.COM)

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Michael Kelley, a writer for Business Insider, highlighted an interesting “IAmA” thread over at Reddit called “IAMA bomb technician.  AMAA” that originally appeared on the social news site about 5 months ago.

The thread tallied up hundreds of comments.

“You have to want it, it's volunteer only. I love blowing s*** up! On a more serious note, I don't have a death wish and this job makes me feel alive. I like to think I'm saving lives and helping the greater good,” wrote the Reddit user who claims to work on a military Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team.

If you’re not familiar with the “I Am A” Reddit, it’s considered one of the most popular sections of the site and to date has nearly 2 million subscribers.  Users who start the “I Am “ thread prompt other users to AMA (“Ask Me Anything”).

Yesterday, members of the Mars Curiosity Rover Team answered questions in a thread titled “We are engineers and scientists on the Mars Curiosity Rover Mission, Ask us Anything!”.

Later today, TIME Magazine correspondent, Michael Grunwald will be answering users' questions online.

Full Business Insider story here.

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