Thankful for the Internet

In light of the recent Thanksgiving holiday, I found myself looking at the online version of the longstanding official newspaper of the U.S. Military, Stars and Stripes. Because so many U.S. military personnel are currently in combat, it is important for all Americans -- regardless of political orientation -- to consider a range of information sources from our armed forces. There were certainly plenty of Thanksgiving stories to be found there, like the following heart-warming item:

New toy, bad habit The children of western Iraqi border towns have a new toy since the Marines rolled through earlier this month: the MRE bomb. Local children here like to take the chemical heaters found in the Marines' Meals Ready to Eat and seal them off in water bottles until pressure builds up. "Eventually it pops," said Cpl. William Spangenberg, a 30-year-old from Greensboro, N.C., who works in a civil affairs unit here. Marines say they've seen kids all over town throwing bursting water bottles. "I guess that's for the kids who don't have soccer balls," Spangenberg said.

One could also find a series of items about army cooks engaged in international culinary competitions that ranged from improvising with the meager ingrediants of field cuisine in enormous pots to creating elaborate gourmet fantasies with ice-sculptures and molds.


Ironically, when you look at the print edition of Stars and Stripes, which actually reaches soldiers in the field, you see much more substantive content about terrorist cells and car bombs in comparison to the fluff on their website.

(While I'm at it, I have to point out the existence of something called Stars and Stripes Gamer, a special advertising section for soldiers who also enjoy virtual combat.)