#tom bowman

[kdiddy1]

What if Solving the Climate Crisis Is Simple?

[kdiddy1]

Empowering Climate Action in the United States

[kdiddy1]

What if Solving the Climate Crisis Is Simple?

[npr]

The women who trained on tanks and armored vehicles say they proved they belong. Such ground combat jobs will open to women in January unless the Marine Corps makes the case they should be closed.

They Survived Training, Now Female Marines Await Word On Ground Combat

Photo credit: David Gilkey/NPR Caption: Marine Lance Cpls. Julia Carroll (left) and Paula Pineda lift a 220-pound test dummy during training. 

[npr]

Lt. Gen. Abdul Raziq (pictured in the top patch) has imposed control on the city where the Taliban were born. He's been praised by the U.S. and the Afghan leadership, but his forces have also been accused of human rights abuses.

He Calmed Kandahar. But At What Cost?

Photo credit: David Gilkey/NPR

[npr]

Forty years ago, Viet Luong was a 9-year-old Vietnamese boy fleeing Saigon with his family. Today he's the first Vietnamese-American general in the U.S. Army and is helping train the Afghan military.

The Frightened Vietnamese Kid Who Became A U.S. Army General

Photo credit: David Gilkey/NPR

[npr]

Last summer, Marine Lance Cpl. Paula Pineda from Los Angeles was driving Marine trucks on Okinawa; now she wants to be a warrior — and to make history. It's something Pineda has always wanted to do.

"Your adrenaline's rushing, you're pumping, trying to save lives, make a difference," she says. "This is bigger than us. It's bigger than us. Right now we can't see the big picture, but in a couple years we'll see the difference on how females can work alongside with males in the, in an infantry unit."

Whether Pineda and the other women will work alongside male Marines in ground combat units is an open question. The Pentagon lifted the ban on women serving in the unforgiving world of ground combat — infantry, armor and artillery units — but gave the armed service's branches until January to ask for exemptions.

Now the Marines and the Army are running the necessary tests to see what female troops can do. Dozens of female Marines are taking part in this experiment at the desert base at Twentynine Palms for the next month.

As Women Try Out For Armor Units, 'If You Can Hack It, You Can Hack It'

Photo credit: David Gilkey/NPR

[mypopculturesummer]

Secret Life

Was that the first Secret Life of the American Teenager / Glee casting crossover??????   DO NOT WANT.  DO NOT DO THAT AGAIN.