Gun-Toting Robots Patrol Iraq

New study increases concern over respiratory issues

(NEWSER) - Why do so many young, previously healthy soldiers come back from the Middle East with respiratory problems, some so bad they can no longer pass a physical required for active duty? The question was made more urgent with the results of a new study showing that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans do indeed have a higher rate of respiratory illness than soldiers deployed in other areas. The study, thought to be the largest of its kind, shows that 14.5% of Iraq or Afghanistan veterans had respiratory illness, compared to just 1.8% of veterans deployed elsewhere, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

But they still can't beat the best humans

(NEWSER) - Online poker’s not just for humans anymore: Robots have entered the game, and they’re winning tens of thousands, the New York Times reports. Such bots have existed for a while—but only recently have they gotten good at the game, thanks to advances in artificial intelligence. Top game sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt are fighting back against the bots, cutting some accounts and in some cases returning vast quantities of money to real players. More»

Fallujah reports unusually high rate of abnormalities

(NEWSER) - Doctors in Fallujah are seeing an alarming rise in the number of birth defects and early life cancers. They have no definitive evidence, but suspicion has naturally fallen on toxic materials left behind after years of modern warfare, reports the Guardian . The rate of birth defects—including multiple tumors, nervous system disorders, and even one infant born with two heads—is up to 15 times higher than normal. More»

... or so Gawker thinks

(NEWSER) - A war correspondent whose rescues in the Mideast have cost several lives is a spy for Washington, Gawker claims, declining to name names or reveal, for "blazingly obvious reasons," the sources for this report, except to say that they are current and former special forces troops. "We don't do that for just journalists," said one of a recent rescue of the mystery reporter. "It's widely known that he is intelligence." It's not clear if his newspaper bosses are aware of his dual job. More»

(NEWSER) - Wired has been keeping track of the most ridiculous acronyms the military-industrial complex comes up with. Here’s the latest list of the "Most Awesomely Bad Military Acronyms" (MAMAs, of course):

• Affordable Accurate Robot Guidance (AARG)
• Integrated Precision Ordnance Delivery System (IPODS)
• Multi-Sensor Aerospace-Ground Joint ISR Interoperability Coalition (MAJIIC)