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Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
GOP's Bacon calls Hegseth's base name changes ‘stupid as hell'
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said Friday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth looks 'stupid as hell' for trying to rename military bases and resurrect honorifics for Confederate officers by using other soldiers as eponymous stand-ins. The Pentagon announced in February it would partially restore the names of two military sites that were given new monikers during the Biden administration by honoring decorated veterans of World Wars I and II. The North Carolina Army base that was renamed Fort Liberty in 2023 went back to being known as Fort Bragg in honor of World War II paratrooper Roland Bragg, instead of its original eponym, Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg. Fort Benning in Georgia, which was renamed Fort Moore in 2023, is now named in honor of decorated World War I veteran Cpl. Fred Benning, instead of Confederate Gen. Henry Benning. 'I think they're trying to be too cute by Hegseth on this, saying, 'Well, it's Bragg, but it's a different Bragg,'' Bacon told USA Today. 'To me, it looks stupid as hell.' President Trump announced in June that additional military base names would be changed to honor soldiers who shared names with their former Confederate honorees. 'For a little breaking news, we are also going to be restoring the names,' Trump told a North Carolina crowd last month while marking the Army's 250th anniversary. 'We won a lot of battles out of those forts … and I'm superstitious, you know, I like to keep it going.' Congress approved legislation in 2021 to rename sites that had previously honored soldiers who fought against the U.S. in the Civil War. Bacon, who announced last month he will not run for reelection next year, was one of two Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee who voted this week to block the Pentagon from using federal funds to rename military installations in honor of Confederate figures. Bacon told The Hill he disagreed with the Pentagon's push to revert to names that may sow division. 'Hegseth had an opportunity to embrace names universally loved,' he said. Republicans and Democrats have overwhelmingly backed efforts to move away from Confederate-inspired names, Bacon added. 'The matter should be settled,' he said. 'Congress should not get steamrolled here.' The Pentagon didn't immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment. Trump vowed during a North Carolina campaign stop last fall that his administration would revert Fort Liberty to Fort Bragg. Hegseth touted the renaming in a video posted to social media after signing the name-change memo earlier this year. 'That's right. Bragg is back,' he said in the video. Updated at 4:30 p.m. EDT. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
The Hill
18-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
GOP's Bacon calls Hegseth's base name changes ‘stupid as hell'
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said Friday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth looks 'stupid as hell' for trying to rename military bases and resurrect honorifics for Confederate officers by using other soldiers as eponymous stand-ins. The Pentagon announced in February that it would partially restore the names of two military sites that were given new monikers during the Biden administration by honoring decorated veterans of World Wars I and II. The North Carolina Army base that was renamed Fort Liberty in 2023 went back to being known as Fort Bragg in honor of World War II paratrooper Roland Bragg, instead of its original namesake, Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg. Fort Benning in Georgia, which was renamed Fort Moore in 2023, is now named in honor of decorated World War I veteran Cpl. Fred Benning, instead of Confederate Gen. Henry Benning. 'I think they're trying to be too cute by Hegseth on this, saying, 'Well, it's Bragg, but it's a different Bragg,'' Bacon told USA Today. 'To me, it looks stupid as hell.' President Trump announced in June that additional military base names would be changed to honor soldiers who shared names with their former Confederate honorees. 'For a little breaking news, we are also going to be restoring the names,' Trump told a North Carolina crowd last month while marking the Army's 250th anniversary. 'We won a lot of battles out of those forts … and I'm superstitious, you know, I like to keep it going.' Congress approved legislation in 2021 to rename sites that had previously honored soldiers who fought against the U.S. in the Civil War. Bacon, who announced last month that he will not run for reelection next year, was one of two Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee who voted this week to block the Pentagon from using federal funds to rename military installations in honor of Confederate figures. 'Congress has made it clear where we stood,' Bacon told USA Today of the measure, adding the reverted names 'fly in the face of what Congress intended.' Bacon's office said he was traveling Friday and unable to respond to The Hill's request for comment. The Pentagon didn't immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment. Trump vowed during a North Carolina campaign stop last fall that his administration would revert Fort Liberty to Fort Bragg. Hegseth touted the renaming in a video posted to social media after signing the name-change memo earlier this year. 'That's right. Bragg is back,' he said in the video.
NZ Herald
14-07-2025
- General
- NZ Herald
France's military pigeons race in memory of their brave predecessors
These days, French military pigeon number 193-529 is no longer needed to carry tiny messages during war-time communication blackouts. But the racing bird serves as a reminder of the brave service of its predecessors in World Wars I and II, and the 1870 siege of Paris.
Daily Tribune
14-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Tribune
BRICS: A New Global Regime
BRICS is shining these days in Brazil, with members coming from all parts of the world. BRICS is a new name that brings a new global regime, interestingly growing steadily and finding vast welcome in many parts of the world. In this name: B resembles Brazil R resembles Russia I resembles India C resembles China S resembles South Africa BRICS is a new economic forum formed by such countries to represent a new world for a global future. Now, BRICS has many new members joining the club. These countries collectively represent more than half of the world's population, and more are coming. Interestingly, even some European countries are knocking on the club's door for membership. As a matter of history, after World War II, certain forums were established including the UN, World Bank, IMF, etc. These international agencies were initially created to help reshape the world after the massive destruction caused by the World Wars I & II. However, over time it became clear that many countries are not happy with the performance of these 'big' international agencies. In response to the BRICS meeting in Brazil, President Trump said he would impose 10% tariffs on all products from BRICS. What is the meaning of this? Guess. BRICS advocates for immediate reformation, as the performance of such agencies clearly shows drastic failure in adopting a fair international agenda for the betterment of all countries and all people. The BRICS group loudly calls for reformation of the international arena and the enforcement of an international justice mechanism, particularly concerning the role of the mentioned agencies. They call for the involvement of all countries and the dismantling of the solo grip cemented around international agencies. This call covers all political, economic, and social affairs. To streamline this, in a new positive and clear action, BRICS formed a new financial and credit agency with very large capital. They are working towards a unified currency, unified banknote, and unified projects to help all countries and all people worldwide. This will shake up the current economic strategy and bring a new strategy with a fresh outlook. All are invited, and this invitation is finding overwhelming support from all parts of the world. Many big countries such as Japan, England, Indonesia, Egypt, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and others have expressed their desire to join hands with BRICS. The new look and new movement called for by BRICS has already started and will never stop. The train has started pedaling and is cruising slowly but steadily towards the 'new world' platform. Many countries with special locations, abundant natural resources (including water, land, livestock, gold, oil, and other precious metals), special human resource cadres, and other factors have the required eligibility to join BRICS. Moreover, the relations between such countries and BRICS seem strong and pave the way for their joining. BRICS stands for a new era of collaboration and unified harmony in all matters affecting our generation and generations to come. It is a genuine stand that will find support from all, irrespective of political, ethnic, economic, or social differences.
Observer
14-07-2025
- General
- Observer
France's military pigeons race in memory of brave predecessors
MONT VALÉRIEN: These days, French military pigeon number 193-529 is no longer needed to carry tiny messages during war-time communication blackouts. But the racing bird serves as a reminder of the brave service of its predecessors in World Wars I and II; and the 1870 siege of Paris. Inside Europe's last military pigeon loft, Sergeant Sylvain cradled 193-529, an alert feathered athlete with an iridescent green neck. "He's a carrier pigeon, like the ones who served in World Wars I and II", said Sylvain, withholding his surname for security purposes. "But today he races", added the member of the armed forces, whose grandfather was also a pigeon fancier. In Mont Valerien outside Paris, Sylvain flits between dovecotes, tending to some 200 pigeons — cleaning their shelters and making sure they have enough to eat. These days, they only use their navigating skills when they are released during competitions, military ceremonies, or demonstrations for visitors, he said. Humans have been using homing pigeons since Antiquity, but the French military started using them as a communication tool during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 after the Prussians besieged Paris. In October that year, the interior minister boarded a hot-air balloon to flee the French capital. Around a month later, the French military had elaborated a messenger pigeon plan to communicate with people still in the city, according to a French government account. Patriotic Parisians donated more than 300 pigeons to the war effort, which were loaded into the wicker baskets of hot-air balloons and transported southwards to the city of Tours. Upon arrival they were fitted with small tubes containing 3 to 4 cm (1 to 1.5 inch) of microfilm on which minute messages had been inscribed, called "pigeongrams". They were then released as close to the capital as possible so they could carry them back inside. Only around 50 pigeons made it. Parisians who found the pigeons then placed the microfilm between sheets of glass and, using a magic lantern — an early type of image projector, projected it onto a large screen to read it. They transcribed the contents and delivered the message to its intended recipient. During the two world wars, pigeons were used again when "modern means of communication reached their limits", such as "bombardments ripping down telephone lines", Sylvain said. During World War II, a French pigeon helped alert Allies that six German U-boats were undergoing maintenance in the French port of Bordeaux, leading to aerial raids that destroyed four of them, Sylvain said. The pigeon, nicknamed "Maquisard" like some members of the French Resistance, received an award. A British pigeon too made headlines. Gustav, a homing pigeon in the British Royal Air Force, travelled 240 km (150 miles) back across the Channel to break the first news of the D-Day landings in June 1944, according to the Imperial War Museum. He carried a message from a war correspondent and was also awarded a medal. — AFP
