Free Republic

  Rebecca Solnit wrote in Salon.com that “The Age of Capitalism is over”.  Oh my, where to start? At the beginning seems a good place as any.  Solnit was thrilled to hold a land auction notice from post-Jacobin France—Thermidorian France for the historically-minded.  Thermidorian France was no more compassionate to live (mostly, to die) in than the Jacobin version which oversaw the execution of tens of thousand civilians, and the wanton destruction of anything associated with Christianity.  This short period in France’s mottled past, from 1795 to 1799, abolished everything other than the whims of its leaders.  And this sent...

Predator C Avenger Drone (Image: General Atomics) India has plans to buy 100 jet propelled Avenger predator drones from the US costing an estimated $8 billion for the Indian Air Force (IAF). Besides joint projects under the bilateral Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI), in her first major engagement with a foreign counterpart, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman talks on September 26 with the US officials will focus on India-US defence cooperation, maritime security, avenger predator drones, counter-terrorism and other major issues of mutual concern, the sources added. Issues related to American defence companies seeking guarantees of retaining control of propriety...

...Anne, an Air Force staff sergeant, was—and still is—a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) sensor operator or “sensor.” At Creech, she is assigned to a reconnaissance squadron flying missions over Iraq and Afghanistan. Few weapons in the American arsenal are more relentless than the RPA fleet, often called drones. For more than a decade, the United States has flown RPAs over Afghanistan and Iraq, providing forces on the ground with an eye in the sky to spot terrorists and insurgents, and in most cases the firepower to destroy them. As she rode to work, Anne—or “Sparkle” as she’s known to her...

A U.S. military drone command center is coming to Horsham, Penn., on Oct. 1, according to reports. “The base will conduct missions to fly Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs) or drones from thousands of miles away,” says Fox Philadelphia’s report. According to Phillyburbs.com, The U.S. Air Force “selected the Pennsylvania Air National Guard’s 111th Fighter Wing for the new mission” conducted at the Horsham Air Guard base.

Air Force leaders are working to build a new pilot culture in the service, creating a career track designed to turn officers without prior flying experience into operators of remotely piloted aircraft such as the MQ-1 Predator. Officially institutionalized in June as Undergraduate RPA Training, the new course evolved from an experiment nearly two years in the making—called a beta test—which indicated that the syllabus will likely need to continue evolving. A handful of officers have already passed the beta test to learn how to fly RPAs, and were awarded special wings recognizing their achievement. Some of those pilots are...