British Military Blasted Over White Male Toy Soldiers

Turns out looks can kill

(NEWSER) - Equipped with new headgear, British fighter pilots can knock enemies from the sky with a mere gaze. The $390,000 Striker helmet shows pilots nearby radar-detected targets. The pilot merely looks at a target to choose it, then speaks to fire. It’s one of the biggest technological advances the military has ever seen, the Daily Mail gushes. More»

Were aliens checking us out during WWII?

(NEWSER) - Winston Churchill ordered the Royal Air Force to keep secret a suspected UFO encounter during World War II because he feared public hysteria and loss of religious faith, according to newly released documents. "This event should be immediately classified since it would create mass panic and destroy one's belief in the church," he reportedly said. The decision was made after an RAF plane encountered a metallic flying object on the coast of England which "hovered noiselessly" near the craft as the crew snapped photos. More»

RAF jets respond to alarms from 2 transatlantic flights

(NEWSER) - Britain's Royal Air Force has scrambled fighter jets twice this month after receiving warnings of possible attempts to hijack American passenger jets, defense sources say. Both incidents proved to be false alarms but they have put fresh focus on Britain's post 9/11 counterterrorism procedures for commercial aircraft, the BBC reports. The Guardian notes that PM Gordon Brown was alerted, and could have faced the decision of whether to shoot an airliner down to avoid a potential attack. More»

Briefed military last night, will reveal number and other details tomorrow

(NEWSER) - After weeks of deliberation, President Obama has settled on a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan and ordered the military to carry it out. The exact size of the troop escalation has not been announced, but sources put the number in the neighborhood of 30,000 more troops. The president started informing military leaders last night and will explain his plan in detail in a national speech tomorrow from the US Military Academy at West Point. More»

(NEWSER) - Teddy bears have been given their marching orders from British nursery schools and day care centers as the government seeks to stop the spread of swine flu, the Guardian reports. New guidelines say soft toys should be removed since they are hard to clean properly, and the sharing of pencils and crayons should be discouraged. School assemblies should be scrapped if any students are ill, the guidelines say. More»