The Washington Post has an editorial by Vice President Pence, asking Congress to pass our National Defense Authorization Act for, or of 2020. Which will create a 6th branch of the United States military, called the United States Space Force. It's going to be part of the Air Force, but, this one won't be in the air. It will be in space. And there's no air, there. An excerpt:
Under this proposal, the Space Force would be within the Air Force, similar to the placement of the Marine Corps within the Navy. More than any other organization, the Air Force has been at the vanguard of building the world’s best military space programs. So, creating the Space Force within the Air Force is the best way to minimize duplication of effort and eliminate bureaucratic inefficiencies.
Just as the Air Force began within the Army before becoming a separate military department, so too will this first step in establishing the Space Force pave the way for a separate military department in the future. The Space Force is the next and the natural evolution of U.S. supremacy in space.
Also at Chicago Tribune.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Monday March 04 2019, @01:30AM (3 children)
The people of Okinawa have been trying to get their base closed down for years, but the US and the Japanese central government just won't listen to them.
I am pretty sure that's a common sentiment in Germany also.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday March 04 2019, @03:06PM (2 children)
The US suffered 75,000 casualties taking Okinawa in WWII. In a sense, they paid in blood for the territory the base is sitting on. Same deal with Germany.
If the locals don't like it, then they shouldn't start wars as they did because there are consequences for defeat. By historical standards they should be grateful they even still exist at all. At the time US propaganda pushed for their extermination. Admiral Halsey was famously quoted, "Before we're through with them, the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell."
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 04 2019, @04:08PM
Bad, but not quite 75,000 bad?
https://www.historyhit.com/casualties-battle-of-okinawa/ [historyhit.com]
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Monday March 04 2019, @07:02PM
Has nothing changed since 1945?