The Front Page Cover
~ Featuring ~
Oculus, Vive headsets are
taking Israel's army underground
by Gwen Ackerman
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Time for a Food Stamp Diet
By Lewis Morris: President Donald Trump's 2018 budget suggests some serious changes to welfare in America. Let's start with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a.k.a. food stamps. His proposal to trim the number of people on food stamps includes requiring able-bodied adults to work or train for work in exchange for benefits. He also wants the states to start taking a larger fiscal role in welfare. Those are common sense suggestions, which naturally have Democrats in an uproar.
The president's budget proposals have been labeled a "horror" that will gut America's safety net. That's not what's going to happen, but statists reflexively oppose any program that makes people more self-reliant. After all, how can the government control the masses without them being dependent on it for their every need?
Take the first part of Trump's plan: worker activation. This means that people who apply for food stamps will have to work a regular job, prove they are physically incapable of work, or take part in community service or job training.
This is not an unreasonable stipulation. When Congress enacted welfare reform back in 1996, establishing a work requirement was one of the single biggest reasons the welfare rolls were dramatically reduced. It wasn't until Barack liar-nObama and the Democrat-controlled Congress loosened restrictions for applying for food stamps that welfare numbers started to rise again.
In 2013 and 2014, Kansas and Maine were able to reduce the number of able-bodied adults on food stamps with basic work requirements. In 2016, Georgia did likewise.
Trump's call for getting the states more involved should also be a no-brainer. The federal government accounts for 75% of the $1.1 trillion in spending on means-tested aid. Almost all the money that the states chip in goes to Medicaid.
Trump's budget proposal stipulates that the states start picking up 25% of the tab for food stamps as well. Democrats deceitfully claim that this accounts for a 25% cut in food stamps. That's not the case. All that is taking place here is making sure states have "skin in the game," as the saying goes.
The states will take whatever money the federal government gives them. In fact, they have a vested interest in having more people on food stamps because that means they get more money from the government.
In some twisted way, many state officials believe more money for food stamps actually helps the economy. Well, there are more people on food stamps than ever before in the history of the program. Is the American economy better for it?
The goal should be to reduce the number of people on food stamps. liar-nObama, by loosening restrictions and making it seem patriotic to be on the government dole, drove the numbers above 46 million people. That's nearly one in every six Americans on food stamps. That travesty is what he had the audacity to call Hope 'n' Change™.
It's important to have a safety net for people who are not as fortunate. When the food stamp program was first introduced in 1964, it was believed that it and other welfare programs could provide temporary assistance. But Lyndon Johnson's so-called War on Poverty and liar-nObama's actions during his presidency ensured not a safety net, but a spider web people could not escape. Ever since the "Great Society," Democrats have offered a never-ending handout in exchange for votes. So far, their 50-year-old plan has worked perfectly.
Unfortunately for statists, to paraphrase the late Margaret Thatcher, they'll eventually run out of other people's money. The end is already near. The disability insurance fund, for which claims have risen three-fold since requirements were relaxed in the 1980s, would have gone dry last year had Congress not raided another fund to keep it solvent. This is but one pot that is nearly empty. If governments at the federal and state level don't tighten restrictions for receiving food stamps and other aid, then the day will soon come when there won't be any help for anybody.
~The Patriot Post
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Corp Billionaires Try To Intimidate
Trump To Stay In Globalist Climate Deal
by Rick Wells
{rickwells.us} ~ Lou Dobbs has a few thoughts on the corporate assault against the Trump agenda, the establishment assault... The latest corporate leader to challenge President Trump, Space-X and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. He issued a threat, if the President were to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate accord. He tweeted, “Don’t know which way Paris will go but I’ve done all I can to advise directly to POTUS through others in the White House and via councils that we remain.” Dobbs continues, “When asked what he will do if the President pulls out Musk responded, ‘Will have no choice but to depart councils in that case.'” That’s the equivalent of taking your toys and going home, the type of spoiled brat attitude we would expect from this libtard who was bullied throughout his South African childhood for good cause, but is it really a wise move for a naturalized citizen to threaten the President of the United States? Starbucks is another of the companies traveling into what Dobbs politely referred to as “‘adventurous terrain,’ calling on the President to remain in the Paris climate deal...http://rickwells.us/dobbs-corp-billionaires-try-intimidate-trump-stay-globalist-climate-deal/
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The real cause of Islamic terrorism: “We are motivated
by our religion, by our Qur’an and Sunnah”
by Nicolai Sennels
{jihadwatch.org} ~ Every time a new jihad attack strikes innocents in the West, media and politicians get busy blaming “bad integration,” “poverty,” “marginalization,” “racism,” etc... For some reason, it never occurs to them to ask if Islamic terrorism has anything to do with Islam and the increasing number of followers of this particular religion in our countries. Are they overlooking something? Could there be a connection? Together with a team of fellow researchers, the Danish researcher Tina Magaard meticulously analyzed the texts of the 10 largest religions in the world, searching for possible connections to violence. Magaard’s conclusion is clear:... https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/05/the-real-cause-of-islamic-terrorism-we-are-motivated-by-our-religion-by-our-quran-and-sunnah
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White House Sources:
Reince Priebus’s Departure is Imminent
by Erick Erickson
{theresurgent.com} ~ I think many conservatives have failed to appreciate having a committed Christian in the White House Chief of Staff’s Office... Reince Priebus was unappreciated as Chairman of the RNC by many on the right and often blamed for things not in his control. I know him to be a very good guy and think he was placed in a thankless position as Chief of Staff to the President and then not allowed to actually be the chief. I also know he is sincere in his faith and, of the various chiefs of staff of Presidents in the last few decades, he is probably the most sincere in his faith in a very long time. Nonetheless, two White House sources tell me Reince Priebus’s departure is imminent. The President would like to land Reince somewhere still in government, but regardless has decided to move on. I was not told who the replacement is or even that the President has settled on a replacement. It will not be, despite some rumors, Steve Bannon. One name circulating in the media is lobbyist David Urban, who once served as Chief of Staff to Arlen Specter. Choosing Urban would be bringing the swamp into the White House instead of draining it...http://theresurgent.com/white-house-sources-reince-priebuss-departure-is-imminent/
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Deep State’s Witch Hunt
for Russia Ties Will Be Their Undoing
by V Saxena
{conservativetribune.com} ~ Oil industry consultant and former Trump campaign volunteer Carter Page believes that concerted efforts by liar-nObama administration-affiliated “Deep State” officials to expose President Donald Trump’s alleged... and entirely unproven collusion with the Russians will come back to bite them. Specifically, he believes their actions will in due time ultimately “expose the liar-nObama administration’s use of false evidence to obtain a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrant to monitor his personal communications,” according to Breitbart. In a report published last month, The Washington Post revealed that the FBI “obtained a secret court order last summer to monitor the communications of” Page. This revelation was based on leaks, ironically enough... http://conservativetribune.com/carter-page-deep-state-to-fall-on-sword/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=patriotupdate&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=libertyalliance
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Attorney Files Lawsuit Regarding
DNC Staffer Seth Rich’s Murder
by Matt | Contributor
{thepoliticalinsider.com} ~ Washington, D.C. lobbyist and attorney Jack Burkman is filing a lawsuit Wednesday to force the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to release information regarding the murder of Democratic National Committee (DNC) staffer Seth Rich... “The release of this crucial material will help bring peace to the victim’s family, and it will help to either confirm or refute the various theories that swirl about this important murder case,” the lawsuit says. Police have not yet solved the case, and have closely guarded information regarding his murder from the press...http://thepoliticalinsider.com/seth-rich-lawsuit-attorney-files-murder/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=TPI-Newsletter-06-01-17-Morning&utm_campaign=TPI_Morning_060117_Newsletter&utm_content=4b4ea4948726422aa6473c7b9fa19141
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Oculus, Vive headsets are
taking Israel's army underground
by Gwen Ackerman
{jewishworldreview.com} ~ In a refurbished building on a military base in central Israel, soldiers are training in underground combat using headsets made by Oculus, the virtual-reality headset maker owned by Facebook, and Vive, owned by HTC Corp.
While it's not unusual for a military to use virtual reality -- Britain's Ministry of Defense has been using it in training simulations for more than a decade -- the Israel soldiers are using VR to prepare for Hamas attacks through tunnels that crisscross Israel's border with Gaza, learning how to navigate the claustrophobic terrain both alone and as a team.
Virtual reality allows commanders to put soldiers through exercises that are impossible to carry out in the physical world, said their training officer, Lt. Col. O., whose full name can't be published due to military regulations.
Oculus goggles, chosen for high resolution, create realistic tunnel systems and obstacles for soldiers sitting at a computer, and Vive headsets transport a standing soldier underground, with control sticks to dismantle booby traps. Facebook and HTC didn't respond to requests to comment.
Deployed in April to train a special force in the combat engineering unit, the VR exercises are cost-effective and cut training time in half, Lt. Col. O. said. The army has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the system, which comprises about 10 workstations, and one Vive physical tunnel experience. After the virtual training, the soldiers progress to a tunnel built above ground, whose form can be changed with modular add-ons like giant Legos.
The goal is that with Oculus and Vive, more Israeli soldiers will know how to fight in the tunnels Palestinian militant groups dig under the Gaza Strip and across its border into Israel. The tunnels, along with rocket fire on Israeli towns, prompted an Israeli military operation against Gaza in 2014 that left more than 2,000 Palestinians and 70 Israelis dead.
Several soldiers were killed during the fighting by Palestinian gunmen who emerged from tunnels, and one soldier was abducted through a tunnel. A state comptroller report on the war, issued in February, found the government and army had been unprepared to deal with the tunnel threat.
The tunnels may not be a "strategic game changer in the battle of wills between Israel and Hamas," said Assaf Orion, senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv and former head of the Israeli military's general staff strategic planning division. But they're "a great attention grabber" and can have a psychological impact.
Israel destroyed more than 32 tunnels in the 2014 war, and two more since then, the army spokesman's office said. The quickest way to demolish the tunnels is to have soldiers enter and place explosives inside, but many of the underground pathways are booby-trapped for just such a situation, O. said.
Israel is not the only country seeking to defend itself against a tunnel threat. Lt. Col. O. said South Korea, the U.S., Mexico and Iraq also deal with tunnel threats, and he expects interest in the Israeli VR platform to grow.
O. hopes to expand the number of platforms so a squad of about 20 soldiers can train together. Israel also is using augmented reality software to train soldiers to dismantle different types of weapons, and is planning further use of similar technologies. A development unit is working with Microsoft Corp.'s Hololens glasses to create software to turn the headsets into training devices for field personnel and to improve battlefield strategy.
{jewishworldreview.com} ~ In a refurbished building on a military base in central Israel, soldiers are training in underground combat using headsets made by Oculus, the virtual-reality headset maker owned by Facebook, and Vive, owned by HTC Corp.
While it's not unusual for a military to use virtual reality -- Britain's Ministry of Defense has been using it in training simulations for more than a decade -- the Israel soldiers are using VR to prepare for Hamas attacks through tunnels that crisscross Israel's border with Gaza, learning how to navigate the claustrophobic terrain both alone and as a team.
Virtual reality allows commanders to put soldiers through exercises that are impossible to carry out in the physical world, said their training officer, Lt. Col. O., whose full name can't be published due to military regulations.
Oculus goggles, chosen for high resolution, create realistic tunnel systems and obstacles for soldiers sitting at a computer, and Vive headsets transport a standing soldier underground, with control sticks to dismantle booby traps. Facebook and HTC didn't respond to requests to comment.
Deployed in April to train a special force in the combat engineering unit, the VR exercises are cost-effective and cut training time in half, Lt. Col. O. said. The army has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the system, which comprises about 10 workstations, and one Vive physical tunnel experience. After the virtual training, the soldiers progress to a tunnel built above ground, whose form can be changed with modular add-ons like giant Legos.
The goal is that with Oculus and Vive, more Israeli soldiers will know how to fight in the tunnels Palestinian militant groups dig under the Gaza Strip and across its border into Israel. The tunnels, along with rocket fire on Israeli towns, prompted an Israeli military operation against Gaza in 2014 that left more than 2,000 Palestinians and 70 Israelis dead.
Several soldiers were killed during the fighting by Palestinian gunmen who emerged from tunnels, and one soldier was abducted through a tunnel. A state comptroller report on the war, issued in February, found the government and army had been unprepared to deal with the tunnel threat.
The tunnels may not be a "strategic game changer in the battle of wills between Israel and Hamas," said Assaf Orion, senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv and former head of the Israeli military's general staff strategic planning division. But they're "a great attention grabber" and can have a psychological impact.
Israel destroyed more than 32 tunnels in the 2014 war, and two more since then, the army spokesman's office said. The quickest way to demolish the tunnels is to have soldiers enter and place explosives inside, but many of the underground pathways are booby-trapped for just such a situation, O. said.
Israel is not the only country seeking to defend itself against a tunnel threat. Lt. Col. O. said South Korea, the U.S., Mexico and Iraq also deal with tunnel threats, and he expects interest in the Israeli VR platform to grow.
O. hopes to expand the number of platforms so a squad of about 20 soldiers can train together. Israel also is using augmented reality software to train soldiers to dismantle different types of weapons, and is planning further use of similar technologies. A development unit is working with Microsoft Corp.'s Hololens glasses to create software to turn the headsets into training devices for field personnel and to improve battlefield strategy.
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