New Events

International

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

The Saker
A bird's eye view of the vineyard

offsite link Alternative Copy of thesaker.is site is available Thu May 25, 2023 14:38 | Ice-Saker-V6bKu3nz
Alternative site: https://thesaker.si/saker-a... Site was created using the downloads provided Regards Herb

offsite link The Saker blog is now frozen Tue Feb 28, 2023 23:55 | The Saker
Dear friends As I have previously announced, we are now “freezing” the blog.  We are also making archives of the blog available for free download in various formats (see below). 

offsite link What do you make of the Russia and China Partnership? Tue Feb 28, 2023 16:26 | The Saker
by Mr. Allen for the Saker blog Over the last few years, we hear leaders from both Russia and China pronouncing that they have formed a relationship where there are

offsite link Moveable Feast Cafe 2023/02/27 ? Open Thread Mon Feb 27, 2023 19:00 | cafe-uploader
2023/02/27 19:00:02Welcome to the ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’. The ‘Moveable Feast’ is an open thread where readers can post wide ranging observations, articles, rants, off topic and have animate discussions of

offsite link The stage is set for Hybrid World War III Mon Feb 27, 2023 15:50 | The Saker
Pepe Escobar for the Saker blog A powerful feeling rhythms your skin and drums up your soul as you?re immersed in a long walk under persistent snow flurries, pinpointed by

The Saker >>

Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.

offsite link Julian Assange is finally free ! Tue Jun 25, 2024 21:11 | indy

offsite link Stand With Palestine: Workplace Day of Action on Naksa Day Thu May 30, 2024 21:55 | indy

offsite link It is Chemtrails Month and Time to Visit this Topic Thu May 30, 2024 00:01 | indy

offsite link Hamburg 14.05. "Rote" Flora Reoccupied By Internationalists Wed May 15, 2024 15:49 | Internationalist left

offsite link Eddie Hobbs Breaks the Silence Exposing the Hidden Agenda Behind the WHO Treaty Sat May 11, 2024 22:41 | indy

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link The China Syndrome: A More Sensible Approach to Nuclear Power Than Britain Fri Jul 26, 2024 07:00 | Ben Pile
While China advances with cutting-edge nuclear power, Britain's green zealots have us stuck with sky-high bills and a nuclear sector in disarray, says Ben Pile.
The post The China Syndrome: A More Sensible Approach to Nuclear Power Than Britain appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link News Round-Up Fri Jul 26, 2024 00:55 | Richard Eldred
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The Losing Battle to Get Public Sector ?TWaTs? Back in the Office Thu Jul 25, 2024 19:06 | Richard Eldred
Years on from Covid, Civil Service 'TWaTs' (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday office workers) are harming productivity and leaving desks empty. The Telegraph's Tom Haynes explains how this remote work trend affects us all.
The post The Losing Battle to Get Public Sector ?TWaTs? Back in the Office appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link ?Prepare to Go to Jail,? Judge Tells Just Stop Oil Art Vandals Thu Jul 25, 2024 17:00 | Richard Eldred
Guilty and about to face the consequences, two Just Stop Oil activists who hurled tomato soup at a Van Gogh masterpiece have been told to prepare for prison.
The post ?Prepare to Go to Jail,? Judge Tells Just Stop Oil Art Vandals appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Hundreds of Thousands Are Ditching the Licence Fee ? And It?s a Crisis for the BBC Thu Jul 25, 2024 15:00 | Richard Eldred
With an £80 million revenue drop and growing calls for a licence fee boycott, BBC bosses are struggling to prove that Britain's biggest broadcaster remains worth the cost.
The post Hundreds of Thousands Are Ditching the Licence Fee ? And It?s a Crisis for the BBC appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

US Military Troops replaced with 'Flat Daddies' at home

category international | anti-war / imperialism | other press author Thursday August 31, 2006 19:06author by redjade Report this post to the editors

no, this story does not come from 'The Onion'

Somethings these days are too weird for words....
a1156918134_2399.jpg

Maine National Guard members in Iraq and Afghanistan are never far from the thoughts of their loved ones.

But now, thanks to a popular family-support program, they're even closer.

Welcome to the ``Flat Daddy" and ``Flat Mommy" phenomenon, in which life-size cutouts of deployed service members are given by the Maine National Guard to spouses, children, and relatives back home.

The Flat Daddies ride in cars, sit at the dinner table, visit the dentist, and even are brought to confession, according to their significant others on the home front.


``I prop him up in a chair, or sometimes put him on the couch and cover him up with a blanket," said Kay Judkins of Caribou, whose husband, Jim, is a minesweeper mechanic in Afghanistan. ``The cat will curl up on the blanket, and it looks kind of weird. I've tricked several people by that. They think he's home again."

At the request of relatives, about 200 Flat Daddy and Flat Mommy photos have been enlarged and printed at the state National Guard headquarters in Augusta. The families cut out the photos, which show the Guard members from the waist up, and glue them to a $2 piece of foam board.

Sergeant First Class Barbara Claudel, the state family-support director who began the program, said the response from Guard families has been giddily enthusiastic.

``If there's something we can do to make it a little easier on the families, then that's our job and our responsibility. It brings them a little bit closer and might help them somewhere down the line," Claudel said yesterday.

go read the rest of the pathetically sad story....
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/08/30/gu...ions/

author by un chien andaloupublication date Fri Sep 01, 2006 11:02author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Its absurd because these people don't need the flat-daddy
when the father of the nation is protecting them with his bombs
and guns -yeehaw.

Patriarchial constructs gone mad?

When living individual people give up their liberties to a concept
of equality and fairness grounded in beligerent war-fare and
destruction of culture. they are constructing a mythos-right/

Therefore, the cut-out is unnecessary as they have replaced
the concept of father with el presidente. its all part of the joy
of surrealism, and the U.S is possibly the most surreal
community on the globe. no-one has shot the fucker though
he is undermining the planet with toxic policy and global warfare.

author by another absurditypublication date Fri Sep 01, 2006 12:43author address author phone Report this post to the editors

and let him play sisyphus.

like a rat in a trap. he would never kill himself because his 'God'
which allows him to kill ,demean women; and rape the earth is a
materialist construct that condemns suicide.

cf:( The Myth of Sisyphus- Albert Camus)

author by scarypublication date Thu Sep 07, 2006 18:25author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Can you imagine the therapy those kids will need?
"Yeah, we had a life size cut out of Dad on the chair..., uh, Mom made us bring him on the school run... Dad was in Afghanistan... It was weird"

Hopefully they'll get the real thing back in one piece, before this self delusion causes any permanent damage to the kids... weird...

author by redjadepublication date Wed Jan 07, 2009 23:59author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Quote: ''The U.S. Department of Defense has [....] projects to fund. Idea

OSD09-H03? Develop an AI that fools young children into thinking they are talking to Daddy or Mommy when Daddy or Mommy are off on their 3rd deployment to Iraq and can't come to the webcam.

"The child should be able to have a simulated conversation with a parent about generic, everyday topics. For instance, a child may get a response from saying "I love you", or "I miss you", or "Good night mommy/daddy." ... The application should incorporate an AI that allows for flexibility in language comprehension to give the illusion of a natural (but simple) interaction." ''

• more and discussions at http://www.boingboing.net/2009/01/07/dod-wants-parent-b....html

OSD09-H03?
http://www.dodtechmatch.com/DOD/Opportunities/SBIRView....9-H03

'Deployments put stress on the entire family, especially small children and communication is key. The ability to reach out and communicate with loved ones from areas of conflict is better than at any time in history. Nevertheless, the stresses of deployment might be softened if spouses and especially children could conduct simple conversations with their loved ones in immediate times of stress or prolonged absence. Historically, families have derived comfort and support from photographs or mementos, but current technology SHOULD allow for more personal interactive messages of support. Over 80% of American children between the ages of three and five regularly use computers, and 83% of families have a computer in their home. So, computer-based applications would resonate with children and capture their interest and imagination. The challenge is to design an application that would allow a child to receive comfort from being able to have simple, virtual conversations with a parent who is not available "in-person". We are looking for innovative applications that explore and harness the power of advanced interactive multimedia computer technologies to produce compelling interactive dialogue between a Service member and their families via a pc- or web-based application using video footage or high-resolution 3-D rendering....'

 
© 2001-2024 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy