While cyborg soldiers and fully automated weapons have long been fodder for futuristic sci-fi thrillers, they are now a reality and, if the Pentagon gets its way, will soon become the norm in the U.S. military. As Defense One reported last Thursday, the Army had just concluded a live-fire exercise using a remote-controlled ground combat vehicle complete with a fully automated machine gun. The demonstration marked the first time that the Army has used a ground robot providing fire in tandem with human troops in a military exercise and, as Defense One noted, “it won’t be the last.”

Indeed, last week’s exercise represents just the latest step in the Pentagon’s relatively quiet tip-toe into converting the U.S. Armed Forces to a machine-majority force. Faced with low recruitment and an increased demand for soldiers, the Department of Defense is seeking to solve that problem altogether while also increasing the military’s firepower and force in combat.

Though unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), better known as drones, are the most well known of these devices, the Pentagon has been investing heavily — for decades — in a cadre of military robots aimed at dominating air, sea, and land. In 2010, the Pentagon had already invested $4 billion in research programs into “autonomous systems” and, since then, its research wing — Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, better known as DARPA — has been spending much of its roughly $3 billion annual budget funding robotic research intended for use in military applications. (Read more from “U.S. Military Will Have More Robots Than Humans by 2025” HERE)

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As reported by Foreign Policy in Focus, the Trump administration has upped the ante by initiating huge arms deals to many questionable regimes, and, “half of Pentagon spending goes to contractors, the military budget is set to skyrocket, and the Trump administration is peddling arms all over the world.”

In 2016, the Top 100 in the defense industry reported sales of over $364 billion dollars, and under the guidance of the Trump administration this number is rising fast.

The revolving door of high-level corporate/government employees continues to swing:

The new undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics — a central role in deciding what the Pentagon purchases and from whom — comes from the very top job at Textron Systems, the 16th largest arms company in the world. On November 15, Raytheon didn’t miss out on the action, with its vice president of governmental relations confirmed as Army Secretary. [Source]

The defense budget is ballooning with the passing of the new Senate defense budget which promises to spend over $700 billion dollars in 2018 on the management of our military and all of the research, development and international actions we find ourselves involved in.

Americans have been hoodwinked again by empty campaign promises and the delusion that the government will somehow correct itself if only the right person is put in the Oval Office.

More startling, however, are recent comments by high-level military personnel who are saying that a war with either Russia, North Korea, or both is just around the corner for 2018. Of course, this makes perfect sense when you consider that the biggest business in the world is building weapons, and what good are weapons if you don’t use them?

Ron Paul perhaps said it best:

With the exception of the military industrial complex, we all want a more peaceful world.

(For more from the author of “2017 Proves to Have Been a Banner Year for the Military Industrial Complex” please click HERE)

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By Miles Parks. President Trump spoke to U.S. troops Thursday from his private Florida club Mar-a-Lago, telling them “we’re really winning” in the fight against ISIS and in Afghanistan — all thanks to his administration’s leadership.

“They say we’ve made more progress against ISIS than they did in years of the previous administration, and that’s because I’m letting you do your job,” Trump said, in a video call to branches of the U.S. armed forces . . .

Trump also pointed to the economy in the speech, telling the service members that “when you come back, you’re going to see with the jobs and the companies coming back into our country and the stock market just hit a record high. Unemployment is the lowest its been in 17 years.”

“So you’re fighting for something real,” he said. “You’re fighting for something good.”

The president spent the holiday at Mar-A-Lago, but made a visit to a local Coast Guard station as well. He and first lady Melania Trump provided turkey sandwiches, giant muffins, fruit, chips and cookies to the men and women on duty there, according to the Associated Press. The president also thanked them for their help in providing hurricane relief. (Read more from “Trump to Troops on Thanksgiving: ‘You’re Fighting for Something Good'” HERE)

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Thanksgiving Help for the Homeless: ‘We Haven’t Seen Numbers Like This Since the Great Depression’

By City News Service. Thanksgiving meals will be served to thousands of homeless and near-homeless individuals today on Skid Row and in Pasadena and Canoga Park amid calls for donations and volunteers for the rest of the year.

The Midnight Mission will serve Thanksgiving brunch to nearly 2,500 homeless and near-homeless men, women and children, according to Georgia Berkovich, its director of public affairs.

Scheduled volunteer servers include gubernatorial candidate and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, entertainer Dick Van Dyke and actress Nicolette Sheridan.

The Midnight Mission is seeking donations of $5 to $10 to help it cover the costs of the meals. Donations can be made by texting “Meals” to 71777, Berkovich said. The mission serves meals seven days a week, distributes hygiene kits after its meal service and conducts drives for food and clothing to distribute to its guests.

“We haven’t seen numbers like this since the Great Depression,” she said. (Read more from “Thanksgiving Help for the Homeless: ‘We Haven’t Seen Numbers Like This Since the Great Depression'” HERE)

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Retired Senior Chief Petty Officer Mike Toussaint, a burly Navy dog handler, grudgingly wiped away tears as he described the barrage of insurgent gunfire that killed his military service dog, Remco, during the search for Army Pvt. Bowe Bergdahl.

Though he was never called to testify, Toussaint served as a prospective witness in the case against Bergdahl, who last week received a dishonorable discharge from the U.S. Army, but avoided prison time for desertion, misbehavior before the enemy, and endangering troops.

The military judge ordered that Bergdahl’s rank be reduced from sergeant to private and required him to surrender $1,000 a month from his pay for 10 months. The sentencing arrived eight years after Bergdahl abandoned his outpost in Afghanistan in 2009 before the Taliban held him captive for five years.

Toussaint called the sentencing “disgusting” and said Bergdahl should have received life in prison for his “reckless” actions.

Nine days after Bergdahl’s desertion, SEAL team members Toussaint and Remco were sent on a hostage rescue operation in southeastern Afghanistan to search for the missing private. He said the team, led by Senior Chief Petty Officer Jimmy Hatch, knew prior to the July 8 mission that Bergdahl voluntarily left his post, despite earlier reports stating he was captured on patrol. (Read more from “Bergdahl Rescue Mission ‘Haunts’ Navy SEAL Team Member Eight Years Later” HERE)

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