Yeah we've got *sort of* a compulsory military service, in that we're all drafted at the year we turn 18. Then during the draft, we're going through a series of tests to decide what position within the military (if any) we're most suited for/would like the most, and hopefully we're trained for that position for 9-15 months. If memory serves, the tests are separated between physical strength, endurance, intelligence and mental health, all rated from 1-9 were 1 basically means you're dead and 9 means you're in excellent condition for that particular test.
Thing is, about 1 in 10 willing people are actually put in military service today due to cutbacks, and the general concensus is that about 1 in 10 drafted say they want to do their military service at all. And as you can see, the ones who are willing do get some perks, like being able to goof off like that
But the decline of our military is not at all bad if you ask me, first of all because we don't have any enemies, secondly because we don't have much of anything that other countries would want and thirdly because we're members of just about every treaty and defence agreement you can think of. It's just necessary to get enough new blood in order to keep our arms industry going, which sadly is too important for our economy to scrap.

Guess it's kind of different from the states, eh? Don't have a clue how you guys go about it to be honest, but it certainly must be more serious. What with you being the world's only remaining superpower and all. Quite a reputation to live up to for sure!

In reply to this comment by schmawy:
Well, I think that looks fun as hell! Is some amount of compulsory military service required of Swedish youth, as it is in some countries?

In reply to this comment by Kreegath:
Basically the reporter explains the situation, that the group of youngsters doing their military service training are making a video showing off some cool bazooka action in true US marine spirit, or so they gather from having watched war movies. For some reason they thought it'd be fun to do it in the nude (DON'T ask me why) and the reporter tells us why they should have clothes on (to avoid getting burned by the hot shells and bazooka pipe), then speculates if there really is a rule saying a soldier have to wear clothes or not. We're also told some bigwig in the defence department doesn't approve of the image this video conveys of the Swedish army, but seriously who are we trying to kid. Let them have their fun while they can, they've been educated about the risks and dangers of those weapons.
Personally, I'm in favour of dismantling our the entire defence establishment and just keep the weapon sales industry, because sadly that's one business we can't afford to lose at the moment.

In reply to this comment by schmawy:
Can you offer any additional insight, Kreegath? Personally I think it's perfectly healthy.

http://www.videosift.com/video/Naked-Swedish-Artillery

Well, I think that looks fun as hell! Is some amount of compulsory military service required of Swedish youth, as it is in some countries?

In reply to this comment by Kreegath:
Basically the reporter explains the situation, that the group of youngsters doing their military service training are making a video showing off some cool bazooka action in true US marine spirit, or so they gather from having watched war movies. For some reason they thought it'd be fun to do it in the nude (DON'T ask me why) and the reporter tells us why they should have clothes on (to avoid getting burned by the hot shells and bazooka pipe), then speculates if there really is a rule saying a soldier have to wear clothes or not. We're also told some bigwig in the defence department doesn't approve of the image this video conveys of the Swedish army, but seriously who are we trying to kid. Let them have their fun while they can, they've been educated about the risks and dangers of those weapons.
Personally, I'm in favour of dismantling our the entire defence establishment and just keep the weapon sales industry, because sadly that's one business we can't afford to lose at the moment.

In reply to this comment by schmawy:
Can you offer any additional insight, Kreegath? Personally I think it's perfectly healthy.

http://www.videosift.com/video/Naked-Swedish-Artillery

Basically the reporter explains the situation, that the group of youngsters doing their military service training are making a video showing off some cool bazooka action in true US marine spirit, or so they gather from having watched war movies. For some reason they thought it'd be fun to do it in the nude (DON'T ask me why) and the reporter tells us why they should have clothes on (to avoid getting burned by the hot shells and bazooka pipe), then speculates if there really is a rule saying a soldier have to wear clothes or not. We're also told some bigwig in the defence department doesn't approve of the image this video conveys of the Swedish army, but seriously who are we trying to kid. Let them have their fun while they can, they've been educated about the risks and dangers of those weapons.
Personally, I'm in favour of dismantling our the entire defence establishment and just keep the weapon sales industry, because sadly that's one business we can't afford to lose at the moment.

In reply to this comment by schmawy:
Can you offer any additional insight, Kreegath? Personally I think it's perfectly healthy.

http://www.videosift.com/video/Naked-Swedish-Artillery

Your jarhead ass better vote for this.

Apparently BillO was right, the puppy was an Al Qaeda operative. "A top Iraqi insurgent has been executed by US Marines in Iraq according to worldwide reports. A video showing the execution has since been removed from youtube.

'Patch' a mongrel puppy is believed to have been responsible for numerous attacks against coallition forces including the nipping of ankles, pooping on sleeping bags and stealing scraps of food from ration packs.

Sources at the Marine Corps base in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, said they were proud of the US Marine who carried out the execution and that he would be receiving a medal of honor for his valor.

The brave marine, known only as Motari, has rid Iraq of a dangerous menace, hell bent on causing mayhem and destruction. 'Patch' was thrown from a ravine.

"Hero 'Motari' has upheld the fine and honorable traditions of all the US marines who have served in Iraq, as well as those who have served in other conflicts, his friends and family must be very proud today" said Major Tom Tom, "By tossing that evil puppy of a cliff he has shown himself to be the biggest tosser the corps has ever know." spoof.com

No wonder Kucinich hardly gets any time. the debates are fixed.
from http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2007/11/cnns-las-vegas-post-debate-analysis.html (visit the link to get the embeded hyperlinks

CNN's Las Vegas Post Debate Analysis-- A Clinton Reunion

UPDATE: Even The New York Times and Daily Kos are reporting on the imbalance in the CNN post debate analysis... Now, that's bad!

It's hard to have a bad debate performance when:

** The audience is planted in your favor
** The questions are planted in your favor
** The questioners are your supporters
** The after debate spin room includes 2 former staff members and 1 current campaign analyst

The post debate was as Clinton-friendly as the actual debate.
The CNN debate may have been pre-planned and censored every step of the way, but CNN did not have to worry about a Clinton-friendly environment in the post debate.

CNN took care of that when hired the debate analysts.
Two of the three debate analysts worked for the Clintons.

David Gergen worked for 18 months as a Clinton advisor in the White House.

Another panelist, James Carville, is a longtime Clinton advisor.
Even Daily Kos had an issue with CNN, pointing out that James Carville is a partisan Clinton supporter and was included in the post debate spin on CNN.
Carville has raised money for the Hillary campaign. He works for CNN as an analyst even though he also works on Hillary's campaign.

Only the third analyst, former Republican Congressman J.C. Watts, has never worked for the Clintons.

No wonder the Clinton Campaign said they will win the national election in a landslide yesterday.

UPDATE: The New York Times is flaming CNN and the Carville controversy. "Mr. Carville praised Mrs. Clinton’s performance along with the other panelists... And he was pointedly critical of Mr. Obama’s debate performance."

Previously:
Finally, Democrats Find a US Marine They Can All Support
CNN Pre-Planned & Censored Every Question at Dem Debate

UPDATE: NewsBusters has more on the CNN debate fallout.

UPDATE 2: Doug Ross has more information on the "6 Plants" at the CNN democratic debate.

UPDATE 3: Dan Riehl wonders, "Who is CNN fooling?"

Tags for this video have been changed from 'ochs, us marine corps, rape, killing, viet nam, iraq, invasion, empire' to 'ochs, us marine corps, rape, killing, viet nam, iraq, invasion, empire, antiwar' - edited by raven

question is though, why are US marines in japan?

I hate the way that the US will never let its troops be held to account for their actions by any foreign country or international institution - even if it is one of their closest allies. It's the same kind of exceptionalism that can be seen in America's refusal to sign up to the International Criminal Court. Americans are not above international law!

The Army never release the evidence, cover-up the evidence, and normally won't comment. When they are compelled by huge international or domestic pressure to have an internal investigation they end up convicting low ranking troops - without ever going after the incompetent leadership at the top of the chain of command - look what happened over the prison abuse at Abu Ghraib.

Transcript of tape:

Here are extracts from a transcript of the Sun video.

The aircraft is an A-10 tank buster aircraft, call sign Popov36. A second jet involved has the call sign Popov35. The call signs Manila Hotel, Manila34 and Lightning34 are three US Marine Corps forward air controllers on the ground attached to British units. In the video the pilots are heard becoming upset and swearing as they realise the mistake that has been made.



Popov36: Hey, I got a four ship. Looks like we got orange panels on them though. Do we have any friendlies up in this area?

Manila hotel: I understand that was north 800 metres.

Manila hotel: Popov, understand that was north 800 metres?

Popov35: Confirm, north 800 metres.Confirm there are no friendlies this far north on the ground.

Manila hotel: That is an affirm. You are well clear of friendlies.

Popov35: Copy. I see multiple riveted vehicles. Some look like flatbed trucks and others are green vehicles. Can't quite make out the type. Look like may be Zil157s (Russian made trucks used by Iraqi army).

.....

Popov 36: OK. Right underneath you. Right now, there's a canal that runs north/south. There's a small village, and there are vehicles that are spaced evenly there.

Popov 36: They look like they have orange panels on though.

Popov35: He told me, he told me there's nobody north of here, no friendlies.

.....

Popov36: They've got something orange on top of them

Popov35: Popov for Manila 3, is Manila 34 in this area?

Manila Hotel: Say again?

Popov35: Manila hotel, is Manila 34 in this area?

Manila hotel: Negative. Understand they are well clear of that now.

Popov35: OK, copy. Like I said, multiple riveted vehicles. They look like flatbed trucks. Are those your targets?

Manila hotel: That's affirm

Popov35: OK

.....

Popov36: I want to get that first one before he gets into town then.

Popov35: Get him - get him.

.....

[Sound of gunfire]...

Lightning 34: Roger, Popov. Be advised that in the 3122 and 3222 group box you have friendly armour in the area. Yellow, small armoured tanks. Just be advised.

Popov35: Ahh shit.

Popv35: Got a - got a smoke.

Lightning 34: Hey, Popov34, abort your mission. You got a, looks we might have a blue on blue situation.

Popov35: Fuck. God, bless it.

.....

Manila 34: We are getting an initial brief that there was one killed and one wounded, over.

Popov 35: Copy. RTB (return to base)

I'm going to be sick.

.....


Popov35: Did you hear?

Popov36: Yeah, this sucks.

Popov35: We're in jail dude

.....

Popov35: They did say there were no friendlies.

Popov36:Yeah, I know that thing with the orange panels is going to screw us. They look like orange rockets on top.

...duhhh, of course its a civil war, if we had not stepped into the middle of it, they might have stabilized into the clusterfuck that culture and region are able muster, given the stage they are, in their cultural progress, with relation to the rest of the world..

Can we please bring these people up to speed with
the 21st century??? The sift folks love to make fun of the christians....I guarantee, that if mainstream Christianity, had their women walking ten steps behind the males, covering them from head to toe in Bark-as, and teaching their children to kill the infidel, all you human rights and "horrible injustice" types, would nuke the freekin' religion, on those grounds alone....

And Mike Ware, you have some Marines, that will not forget your bullshit!! Mike Ware is the worm of a sub-human who followed the Iraqi sniper, and filmed as he, sniped a US Marine.....that's just shitty....he's gonna dissappear-

Seriously flawed to me, the basics

Treatment of Women and Children-Botton line, if a culture treats the most helpless of induviduals
like trash, what beneficial contributions can they make to the rest of the world at large, who for the most part, are much further along into the process of a healthy cultural evolution??

Answer?? None-so .....
Take these folks and make them comply, for the sake of their women and children,cause the men are too far gone,...democracy in Iraq, give me a break!

Seem harsh? Or ignorant?? How about common sense-Women and children first in a sinking ship....the sinking ship of Large Groups of Monkey's Perceptions of Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, or any ism that becomes a schism......

Again, Asshole, Traitor, Mike Ware, you deserve the death penalty.....

That's a really simplistic view, quantummushroom, that's akin to saying yeah well we screwed over a bunch of nations just to gain a foothold for ourselves, we're cool now so stop blaming us.

You don't realize that such activites by the goverment is actually holding you, the average citizen down. How exactly? Well think about the gap between the rich and the poor in America, it's so large now that there is a reduction in the number of people who are middle class.

Now let's think back about all the military incursions that America has been involved in and pick a few cases to look at. We'll look at Nicaragua, this starts back with Theodore Roosevelt who extends the existing Monroe Doctrine in 1904 allowing the US to interfe in a latin american state guilty of "chronic wrong doing" (I mean much more vague can this be). The Monroe doctrine comes to define america's policy in Latin America.

US Marines land in Nicaragua in 1909, after a similar pattern of interventions in Cuba (1898), Honduras (1905) and Panama (1908). Nicaragua becomes a US protectorate there after.

In 1926, Augusto Cesar Sandino lunaches a successful guerilla war against US marines and the Nicaraguan National Guard under Anastasio Somoza Garcia. The Sandinista rebels are a pro-liberal group that insists on a redistribution of land to the peasantry, which is violented opposed by Somoza. Sandino was murdered by the National Guard in 1934, Somoza who is a US ally then runs a brutual dictatorship until 1979 when the Somoza Dynasty is overthrown by Sandinista National Liberational Front. Jimmy Carter at the time tried desperately to prop up Somoza's regime until the bitter end. Nicaragua after years of oppressive rule lay in ruins with 40,000 to 50,0000 killed.

When the Sandinistas finally come into power, everything is done to demonize them with accusations of undemocratic policies, genocide, drug-trafficking. This is while US media remains silent on the documented facts of Sandinistas remarkable reforms. Oxfam, with it's experience of working in over 76 developing nations finds the Nicaraguan goverment to be exceptional in it's commitment to addressing inequities in land ownership, in extending health, educational and agricultural services to poor peasent families.

Until 1989, the US goverment pursues a policy of destabilization by suppyling an insurgent army of 'Contras' in Nicaragua.

The question is "Why would the US goverment feel threatened by socialism in a smaller, weaker country such as Nicaragua"?

This comes down to the Rotten Apple theory. If a tiny impoverished nation with miniuscle resources can begin to do something for it's own population others might ask "Why not us?". The weaker and less economically endowned the nation the greater the example that can be set. The rot could spread, threatening regions of real concern to the rulers of the world.

Same thing with Iran, which in the late 40s grew tired of it's resources being plucked by corporations. The CIA however interevened, a coup occured and the Shah of Iran came into power. This of course back fired a few years later with the extreme Islamic goverment emerging. The US goverment then makes links with Iraq, supporting Iraqi military operations into Iran, while selling arms to both sides. This of course back fires with the usage of Chemical and Biological weapons by Saddam. The US goverment distances itself.

1991, Iraq invades Kuwait. For a long time the international community does not do much other then decry the situation. However intelligence arrives saying that Saddam's forces are massing on the western border of Kuwait with Saudia Arabia. The american administration deems it too risky to allow Saddam to possbily enter Saudia Arabia. And the rest is history. But no wait. It's not all over yet. Suddenly only 100 KM away from Baghdad, coalition forces are pulled back, the regime in Iraq is unchanged, no pressure is placed on the regime to allow free elections to occur.

from IMDb: R. Lee Ermey (Gunnery Sergeant Hartman) was in the US Marine Corps for 11 years.

He's just brilliant.