Report: High Levels Of ‘Burnout’ In U.S. Drone Pilots
Around 1,100 Air Force pilots fly remotely piloted aircraft – or drones. These planes soar over Iraq or Afghanistan but the pilots sit at military bases back in the United States. A new Pentagon study shows that almost 30 percent of drone pilots surveyed suffer from what the military calls “burnout.” It’s the first time [...]
Former Envoy To Iraq Says Situation Still ‘Very Fragile’
The war in Iraq is officially over and the last troops have pulled out of the country after a nearly nine-year long conflict. Many of the architects and officials that were a part of the war are now looking back and reflecting on whether it was worth it, and if perhaps the ending of the [...]
War, What Is Good For? Movies, It Seems.
As Hollywood rolls out Oscar hopefuls over the next two months, there’s a curious thread developing: Many of these films are set amidst the backdrop of wars — especially wars involving Great Britain. From the World War I cavalry charge in Steven Spielberg’s War Horse, to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s ordering of a naval attack [...]
New York Hasidic Women Want Separate EMT Unit
If you live in New York City, you will often see the Orthodox Jewish ambulance service known as Hatzolah on the street. Hatzolah has some 1,200 volunteers — all men — in New York City and is known for its quick response time. Now, a group of Hasidic female EMTs wants to create a women’s [...]
Run Against Gingrich? Cooter From ‘Dukes’ Did
With just a few weeks to go before the Iowa caucuses, Newt Gingrich is leading the pack for the Republican presidential nomination. Given the possibility that President Obama could be facing Gingrich in the campaign next fall, it seemed like a good time to check in with someone who has experience running against the former [...]
Time To ‘Heal’ As Last U.S. Troops Leave Iraq
The “end of days,” as soldiers were calling it, started at Contingency Operating Base Adder in southern Iraq. The base was the main staging ground for all U.S. troops exiting the country, and it was the last U.S. base to close. There were a lot of lasts at COB Adder: the last signing ceremony, formally [...]
Vaclav Havel, Leader Of The Velvet Revolution, Dies
Vaclav Havel, the Czech playwright who led a revolution to bring down the country’s communist regime, has died. During the communist era, Havel was one of Eastern Europe’s foremost dissident writers and champion of human rights. Havel died Sunday morning at his weekend house in the northern Czech Republic, his assistant Sabina Dancecova said. He [...]
The Wait Wait Snack Pack
1.) A pro-Putin demonstrator at a rally in Moscow was interviewed by the Times and said he had taken to the streets because … A) “I just like the way the president looks without his shirt off.”B) “Takin’ It To The Streets was not only his favorite Doobie Brothers song; it was also his hobby.”C) [...]
‘Accessible To All’: Spain Puts Hope In Holiday Lottery
Despite the cold and the rain, about 1,000 people stand in line outside a lottery kiosk in Spain. Pawn brokers walk up and down, offering cash for gold. Among those in the long line is Bartolo Rivas. In this dismal economy, he says he doesn’t have a job, but he does have the “help.” The [...]
Finders Not Keepers: Yale Returns Artifacts To Peru
High in the Andes Mountains, Peruvians have been lining up to see a collection of antiquities that have finally returned home. The objects from the Inca site of Machu Picchu spent the past 100 years at Yale University in Connecticut, where they were at the center of a long-running international custody battle. Now, the university [...]












