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You are not a superman; Marines and fighter pilots take note. If it's stupid but works, it isn't stupid. Don't look conspicuous - it draws fire. (This is why aircraft carriers are called bomb magnets.) When in doubt, empty your magazine. Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons. Field experience is something you get ten minutes after you need it. The cost of a weapon has a direct correlation with how far you have to send it to get it fixed. Happiness is a belt-fed weapon. Never share a foxhole with anyone braver...

“Grunt” is illuminating and gross in equal measure. We are treated (if treated is the right word) to an entire chapter on how the military deals with diarrhea. As Ms. Roach points out, American troops often find themselves operating overseas, in lands foreign both to their minds and to their bowels. This presents some, well, challenges to the human body, and in one unforgettable scene she describes a Navy SEAL who soils himself on operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Ms. Roach goes on to cite William Osler’s observation that, over the centuries, dysentery “has been more fatal to soldiers...

Oxford University Press Bans Use Of Pig, Sausage Or Pork-Related Words To Avoid Offending Muslims 14 Jan 2015 The Oxford University Press has warned its writers not to mention pigs, sausages or pork-related words in children's books, in an apparent bid to avoid offending Jews and Muslims. The existence of the publisher's guidelines emerged after a radio discussion on free speech in the wake of the Paris attacks. Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, presenter Jim Naughtie said: "I've got a letter here that was sent out by OUP to an author doing something for young people. "Among the things...

After the tragic failure of the first Phobos-Grunt mission to even make it out of low-Earth orbit, the Russian space agency (Roscosmos) is hoping to give it another go at Mars’ largest moon with the Phobos-Grunt 2 mission in 2020. This new-and-improved version of the spacecraft will also feature a lander and return stage, and, if successful, may not only end up sending back pieces of Phobos but of Mars as well. The origins of Phobos have long been a topic of planetary science debate. Did it form with Mars as a planet? Is it a wayward asteroid that ventured...

A coordinated global campaign is monitoring a wayward Russian Mars probe that's slated to crash to Earth in the next few days, the European Space Agency has announced. The doomed Phobos-Grunt spacecraft, which Russian officials estimate will re-enter Earth's atmosphere between Saturday and Monday, is now officially a target for the 12-member Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee, or IADC for short. "An IADC re-entry prediction campaign is ongoing since Jan. 2. Phobos-Grunt was identified to be no high-risk object," said Heiner Klinkrad, head of the space debris office at the European Space Agency's (ESA) European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt,...

Where and when re-entry would occur will not be known until a few days before the event, but the spacecraft is expected to arrive between January 6 and January 19. The landing zone has been calculated between latitude 51.4-N to 51.4-S, which includes the cities of London and Paris.

Dr. David Warmflash, principal science lead for the US team from the LIFE experiment on board the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft, provides an update for Universe Today on the likelihood of saving the mission. The Phobos-Grunt probe is still stuck in orbit around Earth. However, periodically the spacecraft experiences a mysterious slight boost in its orbit. Following the first episode where this occurred, commentators speculated as to the cause. The activation of the spacecraft’s thrusters – the small engines that are designed to steer the craft and make small adjustments – was an obvious answer. Is spacecraft trying to save itself? The...

The grunt stops here: Tennis officials plan crackdown on noisy players By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 6:02 PM on 14th June 2009 A loud grunt as a ball is served down the court has almost become as part of the Wimbledon fabric as strawberries and cream. But that could all be about to change as tennis officials are considering a ban emitting too much noise. As it stands players can have a point awarded against them if the umpire feels they have hindered an opponent. Russia's Maria Sharapova However new proposals to make noise hindrance part of the...

ALBANY, N.Y. -- You could forgive a guy for grunting while lifting 500 pounds -- unless you're the owners of a place called Planet Fitness. It turns out that grunting isn't allowed in their universe. Corrections officer Albert Argibay learned that the hard way this week. He was hoisting 500 pounds on a machine at the Wappingers Falls, N.Y., gym when the manager said he grunted -- in violation of the Planet Fitness rules. Argibay said whether or not he grunted is "open to interpretation." What's crystal clear is that police were called to escort him out after the manager...

Did you ever notice that the gas grill is the man's domain? Even in homes where the man of the house has never prepared a single meal in the kitchen -- unless you count pulling a package of Pop Tarts out of the box -- as soon as it's decided that dinner will be cooked on the gas grill, the man of the house eagerly dons his "Born to Barbecue" apron and announces to no one in particular, "OK, let's do some grillin'!!" Of course, there are some men who enjoy all forms of cooking and know their way around...

What is the purpose of Humor or Laughter ? It is very difficult to define humour or how it functions. First of all you need wit (cognitive experience) for good humour, then amusement/irony (emotional experience) and laughter (physiological experience). Laughter is often linked to humor, however, you will find that nervousness, tickling etc. does not have much to do with humor. The opposite holds also true where you have an instance of Humor without laughter. This may be because of social context or just the mood the “receiver” can be in. An example of such an instance can be when...

OPERATION HERO ALERT: Funeral Services for Seargent Evan Seam ParkerCounter-Protest of WBCWednesday, 11/2/2005*South Haven Public School - South Haven, KS OPERATION HERO is spreading word of a planned picket by Westboro Baptist Church during the memorial service of Seargent Evan Seam Parker. Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church will be picketing during the funeral service for Sgt. Evan Seam Parker on Wednesday, November 2 in South Haven, KS. This anti-Troops/anti-war "liberal" hate group will be protesting from 1pm - 2pm outside the High School where services are being held. The funeral service is scheduled to begin at 2pm, so...

CHELSEA - People who knew Army Staff Sgt. John Doles and many who didn't took up U.S. flags Tuesday in his hometown to honor his sacrifice and defy an outside group that sought to turn the slain soldier's funeral into a stage for its message of hate. As Doles' funeral procession rolled past the brick buildings of the small town where he grew up, men, women and children stood with tears in their eyes and hands on their hearts. "Respect," said 73-year-old Betty Benson, explaining why she waved a flag for the 29-year-old she never knew. "I think he deserves...

Like Pat Tillman's decision to leave the NFL to join the US armed forces after the terroist attack on Sept. 11 the bull fighter in this video, Chris Mason, a Professionl PRCA National Bull Fighter & Cowboy Protection Expert, has also become a member of the US Army assigned to the 82nd Airborne Infantry Division. Many of our young men are enlisting into today's military because as Chris said: "I'm tired of setting on the sidelines while other people are fighting for my way of life, and freedom." They are not required to join the military, but they give up...

American marines swept aside Iraqi sensibilities yesterday to raise the Stars and Stripes at the entrance to Iraq's main port of Umm Qasr. In a move condemned by MPs as crass, the marines replaced the Iraqi flag in an attempt to recreate the iconic image of the US flag being raised over the Pacific island of Iwo Jima in the second world war. Geoff Hoon, the defence secretary, promised to pass on British concerns about the raising of the flag, which undermined allied claims that they were liberating, not conquering, Iraq. His remarks came after Crispin Blunt, a Tory MP...