Google Buys Battle Robots Company

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Google has purchased the cutting-edge robotics firm which supplies mobile research robots for the Pentagon. The tech giant is keeping secret what it will produce with the acquired technology. Boston Dynamics, an engineering company that designs robots like BigDog, Cheetah, WildCat, and Atlas, is now the eighth robotic company to join Google's ranks in the last six months, the company confirmed Friday, according to The New York Times. The robotics company - based in Waltham, Massachusetts - is known for its fascinating robots that have a sense of balance and can walk and run on almost any kind of terrain.

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Posted in: Google,military,Pentagon,robots

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel Declares Victory On National Guard Issue

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel today declared that National Guard units in all states are now in compliance with his directive that same-sex spouses be allowed to register for military benefits. Here is his full statement.

On October 31, I called on the Chief of the National Guard Bureau to work with several states to fully implement DoD policy by providing DoD ID cards to all eligible military spouses, regardless of sexual orientation. Following consultations between the National Guard Bureau and the Adjutants General of the states, all eligible service members, dependents and retirees - including same-sex spouses - are now able to obtain ID cards in every state. All military spouses and families sacrifice on behalf of our country. They deserve our respect and the benefits they are entitled to under the law. All of DoD is committed to pursuing equal opportunities for all who serve this nation, and I will continue to work to ensure our men and women in uniform as well as their families have full and equal access to the benefits they deserve.

Suh-nap.

UPDATE: The ACLU reacts via press release.

This is a welcome announcement, and one that Secretary Hagel deserves credit for making happen. The resistance on the part of some governors on extending these benefits to same-sex couples was a grossly unfair violation of federal law that turned the promise of equal treatment for all military personnel on its head. The ACLU is pleased to have partnered with the American Military Partner Association on a national petition urging the Department of Defense to ensure that same-sex military couples could not be denied equal access to the federal benefits to which they were entitled.

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Posted in: Chuck Hagel,marriage equality,National Guard,Pentagon

Georgia Caves On National Guard

Via Chris Johnson at the Washington Blade:

Maj. Jon Craig, a National Guard Bureau spokesperson, said Georgia had agreed to process applications to grant same-sex spouses military IDs last week in a decision along the lines of Texas and Louisiana. “With Georgia, what it came down to was the authorization to put some state employees on temporary federal status,” Craig said. Georgia had been one of two remaining states that had refused to enroll the spouses of gay troops into the benefit system in the aftermath of an edict for Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel saying military spousal benefits should be available to troops in same-sex marriages nationwide. These states had cited state constitutional amendments barring same-sex marriage as the reasons why they couldn’t comply.

The final holdout is Mississippi.

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Posted in: Georgia,marriage equality,National Guard,Pentagon

LOUISIANA: National Guard Tweaks Rules To Allow Benefits Registration

Via the Associated Press:

National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Mike Kazmierzak said Thursday that federal employees will handle benefit enrollment requests for same-sex couples at Guard sites around Louisiana, so service members don't have to travel to federal military installations for processing. Kazmierzak said the U.S. Property and Fiscal Officer in Louisiana, who handles federal property and federal financing for the state National Guard, will move some Guard employees to federal personnel status to deal with the benefit enrollments. It's an employment classification tweak that allows state officials to say their employees aren't violating a state prohibition of gay marriage, but that also puts Louisiana in line with a Pentagon directive issued in September permitting same-sex benefits for service members.

Equality Louisiana reacts via press release:

This is a great day for married National Guard members in our state, and another small step down the road to equality for all married couples. While the Louisiana National Guard had initially required that LGB service members apply for spousal benefits only at federal installations such as Ft. Polk or Barksdale Air Force Base, the Secretary of Defense has indicated that such a policy illegally creates hardship and inequality for service members in same-sex marriages. Now, in response to the Pentagon’s directive and similar actions taken by other states, the Louisiana National Guard has removed the last remaining barriers to access. Federal funds and personnel will be used to process benefits applications for service members in same-sex marriages, satisfying Louisiana’s constitutional requirements while ensuring that all service members receive equal treatment in the application process.

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Posted in: Louisiana,National Guard,Pentagon

Remembering September 11th, 2001

I remember driving to Detroit for a child support hearing the morning of Tuesday, 09/11/2001.  I was just about downtown on I-75, when the "Imus in the Morning" show reported an odd story about a "commuter" plane that had crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

The matter was being reported in those early moments as an errant plane.  The discussion was about near misses that happen more than we realize.

As Don Imus described what he was seeing on the video monitors, his entire radio show crew erupted when the second jet struck the South Tower.  I slammed my fist into the empty passenger seat of my car, shouting in disbelief.  Along with the rest of the country, I knew instantly what was unfolding in New York was no accident.

By the time I parked my car, cleared security at the Penobscot Building, and made it up to the 9th floor to the Wayne County Friend of the Court, the Pentagon had been struck by another jet and everyone was talking about being under attack.

Everyone's plans changed that day.  Some people were saying that yet another hijacked jet was heading due West toward Cleveland and Detroit.

The FOC hearing room was packed with people associated with more than a dozen cases.  Thinking I would be trapped there all morning, I started to worry about what was happening in New York and Washington D.C.  My brother Terrance lived in Manhattan back then; was he ok?  Could I even find out?

Waiting for the Referee to take the bench, I tried Terrance's cell; no answer.  I tried a second call; this time Verizon did not even make the connection.

By a stroke of luck, my case was called first.  Just as we completed our arguments and received our ruling from the Referee, two Wayne County Sheriffs announced that the Penobscot Building was closing and instructed us to vacate in an orderly but immediate fashion.  Mine was the only case called on the docket that day.

Back on the street, all the intersections were choked with vehicles like it was 5:00 on a Friday afternoon; folks were literally fleeing the downtown area.  So this is what it feels like to be under attack in America.

Later, I found out my brother Terrance had plans to play tennis at courts located near the World Trade Center that morning; they cancelled their plans due to some puddles from a rain storm that lingered on the courts.

Thinking back on it now, while I stood there chirping to the Referee about eliminating my client's child support obligation for children that DNA results said were not even his, those heroes from Flight 93 wrestled control of their jet, executing some major league damage control from which every citizen in this country has benefitted.

In my mind at least, I have always held the belief that Flight 93 was destined for the Capitol Rotunda. We still have our beloved Capitol, the very soul of Democracy, thanks to those men and women on Flight 93.

Now, let's make it count people; we've got to make it count...

http://www.waterfordlegal.com/

info@waterfordlegal.com

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Posted in: Capitol Rotunda,child support,Detroit,Don Imus,Flight 93,Friend of the Court,Penobscot Building,Pentagon,September 11,Wayne County