Pentagon launches its own version of YouTube for troops to contact families
BY JANE H. FURSE DAILY NEWS WRITER
Sunday, November 16th 2008, 7:30 PM
It's YouTub Lite, heavy on the stars and stripes.
The Pentagon has launched a sanitized version of YouTube - TroopTube - that lets servicemembers give loved ones video shoutouts from the war zone.
The Pentagon went into the video sharing business last week after shutting down access to YouTube, MySpace and 10 other popular sites, a ban it initially blamed on crowded bandwidth.
Pentagon officials now concede the blocked sites were aimed mainly at preventing soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan from posting information that could help insurgents target Americans, according to Newsweek magazine.
TroopTube videos are vetted by military censors and scrubbed of any raunchy footage or content that might be "inappropriate for families," Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Les Melnyk told Newsweek.
Pentagon censors also review videos for any footage that might inadvertently help terrorists.
"If you have a video that shows the interior layout of your base [or] where the command post and the sleeping quarters are located, that could endanger the troops," Melnyk said.
The site already has 500 videos posted, including a tribute to the troops from Gen. David Petraeus
"You really are the newest greatest generation," he tells the military men and women. It's gotten 20,000 hits.
There's also "Wives Shout Out to the Third Brigade A-Troop 133 Cavalry;" "Scout Poops," an action clip of a military mom and her baby, and tributes made by everyone from the Chicago White Sox to the Oak Ridge Boys
Still, the war zone can't be completely whitewashed.
Viral material can make its way into cyberspace via cellphone video cameras, well out of range of Pentagon filters.
See---http://harlemblogosphere.blogspot.com
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Support the troops with touch of buttons
Support the troops with touch of buttons
BY STEPHANIE GASKELL DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, November 11th 2008, 12:50 AM
If you can't make it to the annual Veterans Day Parade in Manhattan Tuesday, there's a new way to show your support for the troops.
Send them a text message.
CELEBS WHO SERVED IN THE MARINES
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America has set up a new text-messaging system that allows users to simply type in the word "troops" and text it to 69866.
The names of the senders will be gathered and distributed to soldiers serving overseas as a sign of support.
"This is the ideal time to put our pro- or anti-war sentiments aside and rally around the troops," said IAVA Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff. "Every American has an obligation to support the brave men and women who are serving."
The city is celebrating our nation's heroes with a ceremony at the Eternal Lights Monument in Madison Square Park at 10 a.m. and a massive parade up Fifth Ave. at 11:30 a.m.
The parade is getting a boost this year with the reopening of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum.
As the parade winds up Fifth Ave., hundreds of people will also march from the Intrepid at W. 46th St., and meet up with the parade to head north together.
President Bush is scheduled to visit the Intrepid, where he will be presented with the 2008 Intrepid Freedom Award.
IAVA is also launching a social networking site for veterans today, which is called www.CommunityofVeterans.org. It's billed as a Facebook or MySpace for veterans to connect with each other and find support.
"A critical part of a veteran's successful readjustment is connecting with other veterans," said Rieckhoff. "Veterans want to be linked up with other veterans who understand. This campaign does exactly that and reaches new veterans where they already are - online"
Today's parade is a celebration of the city's 315,000 veterans from all wars, but there's a new focus on the more than 1.7 million men and women who have served or are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Most Americans still connect veterans with Vietnam or World War II.
IAVA teamed up with the Ad Council and asked 1,000 Americans what they think of when they hear the word veteran - only 2% said Iraq, and no one said Afghanistan.
"Veterans Day is a terrific opportunity for all Americans to show support for our country's newest generation of heroes," Rieckhoff said.
davidradiotv2000@yahoo.com
BY STEPHANIE GASKELL DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, November 11th 2008, 12:50 AM
If you can't make it to the annual Veterans Day Parade in Manhattan Tuesday, there's a new way to show your support for the troops.
Send them a text message.
CELEBS WHO SERVED IN THE MARINES
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America has set up a new text-messaging system that allows users to simply type in the word "troops" and text it to 69866.
The names of the senders will be gathered and distributed to soldiers serving overseas as a sign of support.
"This is the ideal time to put our pro- or anti-war sentiments aside and rally around the troops," said IAVA Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff. "Every American has an obligation to support the brave men and women who are serving."
The city is celebrating our nation's heroes with a ceremony at the Eternal Lights Monument in Madison Square Park at 10 a.m. and a massive parade up Fifth Ave. at 11:30 a.m.
The parade is getting a boost this year with the reopening of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum.
As the parade winds up Fifth Ave., hundreds of people will also march from the Intrepid at W. 46th St., and meet up with the parade to head north together.
President Bush is scheduled to visit the Intrepid, where he will be presented with the 2008 Intrepid Freedom Award.
IAVA is also launching a social networking site for veterans today, which is called www.CommunityofVeterans.org. It's billed as a Facebook or MySpace for veterans to connect with each other and find support.
"A critical part of a veteran's successful readjustment is connecting with other veterans," said Rieckhoff. "Veterans want to be linked up with other veterans who understand. This campaign does exactly that and reaches new veterans where they already are - online"
Today's parade is a celebration of the city's 315,000 veterans from all wars, but there's a new focus on the more than 1.7 million men and women who have served or are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Most Americans still connect veterans with Vietnam or World War II.
IAVA teamed up with the Ad Council and asked 1,000 Americans what they think of when they hear the word veteran - only 2% said Iraq, and no one said Afghanistan.
"Veterans Day is a terrific opportunity for all Americans to show support for our country's newest generation of heroes," Rieckhoff said.
davidradiotv2000@yahoo.com
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
The Democrat breaks the ultimate U.S. racial barrier
The Democrat breaks the ultimate U.S. racial barrier
By Mark Z. Barabak November 5, 2008
Barack Obama, the son of a father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, was elected the nation's 44th president Tuesday, breaking the ultimate racial barrier to become the first African American to claim the country's highest office.A nation founded by slave owners and seared by civil war and generations of racial strife delivered a smashing electoral college victory to the 47-year-old first-term senator from Illinois, who forged a broad, multiracial, multiethnic coalition. His victory was a leap in the march toward equality: When Obama was born, people with his skin color could not even vote in parts of America, and many were killed for trying.
At 114, a daughter of former slaves votes for Obama
3.
President Bush marks Barack Obama's historic election, vows 'complete cooperation'
4.
Obama's victory, Democratic gains will change Washington agenda
9.
Which Barack Obama will govern?
By Mark Z. Barabak November 5, 2008
Barack Obama, the son of a father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, was elected the nation's 44th president Tuesday, breaking the ultimate racial barrier to become the first African American to claim the country's highest office.A nation founded by slave owners and seared by civil war and generations of racial strife delivered a smashing electoral college victory to the 47-year-old first-term senator from Illinois, who forged a broad, multiracial, multiethnic coalition. His victory was a leap in the march toward equality: When Obama was born, people with his skin color could not even vote in parts of America, and many were killed for trying.
At 114, a daughter of former slaves votes for Obama
3.
President Bush marks Barack Obama's historic election, vows 'complete cooperation'
4.
Obama's victory, Democratic gains will change Washington agenda
9.
Which Barack Obama will govern?
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Obama campaign manager sees many paths to victory
Obama campaign manager sees many paths to victory
Play Video Video: Hillary Clinton Stumps For Obama In Miami CBS4 Miami
WASHINGTON – Barack Obama's campaign manager says the Democrat has many routes to victory in Tuesday's presidential election. Republicans predicted predicted a historic comeback for John McCain.
Campaign manager David Plouffe said Sunday that Obama has expanded the electoral map by aggressively campaigning in traditional Republican states like Virginia, Colorado and Nevada. Plouffe said he did not want to wake up on Election Day with only one way to win.
He told "Fox News Sunday" that they "wanted a lot of different ways to win this election."
With McCain down in the polls, his campaign manager, Rick Davis, says Pennsylvania is the most important state to watch Tuesday. The state is leaning toward Obama in pre-election polls.
More Stories
Statistically, does your presidential vote matter? AP - 2 hours, 32 minutes ago
Money makes the political world go around AP - 26 minutes ago
Obama takes campaign battle to GOP territory AP - Sun Nov 2, 7:21 AM ET
Where he's going in the end Politico - 1 hour, 25 minutes ago
Where he's going in the end Where he's going in the end
Jonathan Martin Jonathan Martin – 1 hr 26 mins ago
Featured Topics:
John McCain
Barack Obama
Is cartography destiny?
At the very least, John McCain's final 48-hour travel schedule reflects the degree to which Obama has determined the political map on which the campaign is being fought. Of the eight states McCain will visit, only two were in the Democrat's column in 2004. And in both -- Pennsylvania and New Hampshire -- Obama enjoys a lead in every recent public poll.
In the six red states he's stopping in the final two days, McCain is either losing, tied or up within the margin.
Most striking about McCain's schedule are two stops he is making and one he's not.
First, he'll touch down in eastern Tennessee tomorrow for a rally at the Tri-Cities Airport. Is the Volunteer State suddenly in play? No, but the airport that serves the Bristol media market happens to be on the Tennessee side of the Virginia state line. The goal here is to make a big splash on the local TV news that night in southwest Virginia and in the papers there the next day. Neither McCain nor Palin have been to this region. It's a reflection of how imperative winning Virginia is for the GOP that -- two days after McCain made stops in Hampton Roads and Fairfax -- they would fly the candidate in to drive margins in a lightly-populated part of the commonwealth to compensate for Obama's advantage in northern Virginia and in the African-American-heavy cities to the east.
Later in the day, McCain will hold his first campaign rally in Indiana. No political observer thought this summer the Hoosier State would be contested, but two polls there last week show a dead heat. McCain may still pull it out on the strength of a huge margins in the southern, heavily rural swath of the state, but that he is being forced to stop the day before the election in a state that Bush won by 20 points four years ago offers the best evidence for how the degree to which the GOP has been forced on defense. And, incidentally, note where McCain is visiting -- Indianapolis. Not only is it the largest city in the state, but Obama has pulled into a tie in the state on the strength of his effort in the capital's Marion County and its surrounding suburbs, especially fast-growing Hamilton County.
Lastly, what stands out about McCain's final fly-around is a state he's not visiting -- Colorado. Yes, Palin will stop there en route home to Alaska, but that the campiagn's high command would choose to fly McCain in to New Mexico and Nevada Monday night and pass over Colorado reflects just how much it has moved to Obama.
E-mail davidsamuels7@gmail.com
Play Video Video: Hillary Clinton Stumps For Obama In Miami CBS4 Miami
WASHINGTON – Barack Obama's campaign manager says the Democrat has many routes to victory in Tuesday's presidential election. Republicans predicted predicted a historic comeback for John McCain.
Campaign manager David Plouffe said Sunday that Obama has expanded the electoral map by aggressively campaigning in traditional Republican states like Virginia, Colorado and Nevada. Plouffe said he did not want to wake up on Election Day with only one way to win.
He told "Fox News Sunday" that they "wanted a lot of different ways to win this election."
With McCain down in the polls, his campaign manager, Rick Davis, says Pennsylvania is the most important state to watch Tuesday. The state is leaning toward Obama in pre-election polls.
More Stories
Statistically, does your presidential vote matter? AP - 2 hours, 32 minutes ago
Money makes the political world go around AP - 26 minutes ago
Obama takes campaign battle to GOP territory AP - Sun Nov 2, 7:21 AM ET
Where he's going in the end Politico - 1 hour, 25 minutes ago
Where he's going in the end Where he's going in the end
Jonathan Martin Jonathan Martin – 1 hr 26 mins ago
Featured Topics:
John McCain
Barack Obama
Is cartography destiny?
At the very least, John McCain's final 48-hour travel schedule reflects the degree to which Obama has determined the political map on which the campaign is being fought. Of the eight states McCain will visit, only two were in the Democrat's column in 2004. And in both -- Pennsylvania and New Hampshire -- Obama enjoys a lead in every recent public poll.
In the six red states he's stopping in the final two days, McCain is either losing, tied or up within the margin.
Most striking about McCain's schedule are two stops he is making and one he's not.
First, he'll touch down in eastern Tennessee tomorrow for a rally at the Tri-Cities Airport. Is the Volunteer State suddenly in play? No, but the airport that serves the Bristol media market happens to be on the Tennessee side of the Virginia state line. The goal here is to make a big splash on the local TV news that night in southwest Virginia and in the papers there the next day. Neither McCain nor Palin have been to this region. It's a reflection of how imperative winning Virginia is for the GOP that -- two days after McCain made stops in Hampton Roads and Fairfax -- they would fly the candidate in to drive margins in a lightly-populated part of the commonwealth to compensate for Obama's advantage in northern Virginia and in the African-American-heavy cities to the east.
Later in the day, McCain will hold his first campaign rally in Indiana. No political observer thought this summer the Hoosier State would be contested, but two polls there last week show a dead heat. McCain may still pull it out on the strength of a huge margins in the southern, heavily rural swath of the state, but that he is being forced to stop the day before the election in a state that Bush won by 20 points four years ago offers the best evidence for how the degree to which the GOP has been forced on defense. And, incidentally, note where McCain is visiting -- Indianapolis. Not only is it the largest city in the state, but Obama has pulled into a tie in the state on the strength of his effort in the capital's Marion County and its surrounding suburbs, especially fast-growing Hamilton County.
Lastly, what stands out about McCain's final fly-around is a state he's not visiting -- Colorado. Yes, Palin will stop there en route home to Alaska, but that the campiagn's high command would choose to fly McCain in to New Mexico and Nevada Monday night and pass over Colorado reflects just how much it has moved to Obama.
E-mail davidsamuels7@gmail.com
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