Women in combat: What concerns U.S. Marines the most

SAN DIEGO (AP) ? Male Marines listed being falsely accused of sexual harassment or assault as a top concern in a survey about moving women into combat jobs, and thousands indicated the change could prompt them to leave the service altogether.

The anonymous online questionnaire by the Marine Corps surveyed 53,000 troops last summer, with the results provided to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta before he opened thousands of combat positions to women last week.

The Marine Corps released the results to The Associated Press on Friday.

Among the other top concerns listed by male Marines were possible fraternization and preferential treatment of some Marines.

Respondents also worried that women would be limited because of pregnancy or personal issues that could affect a unit before it's sent to the battlefield.

Military experts said the results were not surprising because the Marines have the highest percentage of males among the branches of the armed forces.

Former Marine infantry officer Greg Jacob of the Service Women's Action Network said the Pentagon's estimate that 86 percent of assault victims opt against filing complaints "suggests that there's hardly an overabundance of reports, false or otherwise."

Some, however, said the survey shows the need for sensitivity training and guidance from leadership so the change goes smoothly, as occurred when the military ended its policy that barred openly gay troops.

"I think there is this sense among what I would imagine is a very small minority of Marines that this male bastion is under siege and this is one more example of political correctness," said David J. R. Frakt, a military law expert and lieutenant colonel in the Air Force reserves.

Just as the Marine Corps adjusted to the end of "don't ask, don't tell," despite being the most resistant among the military branches, troops will likely fall in line again with this latest historical milestone, said Frakt, a visiting professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

Marine Corps officials did not respond to a request for comment on the survey results.

About 17 percent of male Marine respondents and 4 percent of female respondents who planned to stay in the service or were undecided said they would likely leave if women move into combat positions. That number jumped to 22 percent for male Marines and 17 percent for female Marines if women are assigned involuntarily to those jobs, according to the survey.

Both sexes mentioned intimate relationships between Marines and feeling obligated to protect female Marines among their top five concerns about the change.

Female Marines also said they worried about being targeted by enemies as POWs, the risk of sexual harassment or assault, and hygiene facilities, according to the survey, which did not give specifics.

The women surveyed also expressed concern about acceptance and physical abilities if given a ground combat job.

About 31 percent of female respondents ? or 1,558 women Marines ? say they would be interested in a lateral move to a combat position as their primary job, and 34 percent ? or 1,636 ? said they would volunteer for a ground combat unit assignment.

Elaine Donnelly of the conservative Center for Military Readiness and a vocal critic of the change said the survey asked the wrong questions and should have been asking if troops favor it and whether it will make a more effective force.

The questionnaire also relied on the "mistaken belief" that training standards will remain the same, which Donnelly said is not realistic given the differing physical abilities between the genders.

She said the Pentagon is bent on imposing gender-based quotas that will drive down standards. Defense leaders say standards will not be lowered.

"The results that are being put out there are designed to manage public perception," she said. "There is a lot about this that still needs to be discussed and it's really not fair to the women who serve out there."

The infantry side is skeptical about how women will perform in their units, and some positions may end up closed again if too few females meet the physically demanding standards of combat, said Gen. James Amos, head of the Marine Corps, who spoke to reporters Thursday at a defense conference in San Diego.

"I think from the infantry side of the house, you know they're more skeptical," Amos said. "It's been an all-male organization throughout the history of the U.S. Marine Corps so I don't think that should be any surprise."

Most Marines support the policy change, Amos said.

It will be up to the military service chiefs to recommend and defend whether women should be excluded from any of those more demanding and deadly positions, such as Navy commandos or the Army's Delta Force.

Over the past decade, many male service members already have been fighting alongside women in Iraq and Afghanistan. Women who serve in supply units, as clerks and with military police have ended up on the unmarked front lines of modern warfare.

More than 150 women have been killed in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while serving in support roles.

About 7 percent of Marines are female compared to about 14 percent overall for the armed forces.

Both sexes surveyed said getting women closer to the action will improve their career opportunities.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/marine-survey-lists-concerns-women-combat-002047180.html

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The Few Who Bought PlayBooks Look Forward to BlackBerry 10 Update

For the few of you who actually bought a BlackBerry PlayBook, you can now look forward to a BlackBerry 10 update coming to the tablet soon.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/GTWajpbucYI/

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Evangelical churches refine message on gay issues

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) ? The Rev. Robert Jeffress has changed the way he talks about homosexuality from the pulpit.

The pastor of the 11,000-member First Baptist Dallas hasn't stopped preaching that homosexual sex is sinful, but he no longer singles it out for special condemnation. Now, Jeffress says he usually talks about homosexuality within "a bigger context of God's plan for sex between one man and one woman in a lifetime relationship called marriage."

"It would be the height of hypocrisy to condemn homosexuality and not adultery or unbiblical divorce," he said, explaining that the Bible allows divorce only in cases of adultery or desertion. He also includes premarital sex on that list.

The pressure to change the way homosexuality is addressed in evangelical churches is increasing as mainstream support for gay and lesbian issues increases. This support is especially strong among young adults, and researchers say they don't expect this group to become more conservative on the issue as they get older.

In a 2011 survey by the nonprofit Public Religion Research Institute, 62 percent of adults between 18 and 29 years old said they supported gay marriage and 71 percent supported civil unions. Among adults 65 and older, those numbers were 31 percent in favor of marriage and 51 percent for civil unions.

Asked about the perception that "religious groups are alienating young people by being too judgmental about gay and lesbian issues," 69 percent of the younger group agreed with the statement.

Another recent poll by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that nearly 20 percent of adult Americans now describe themselves as unaffiliated with any specific religion and the problem for evangelical churches is apparent.

"Evangelicals have been sobered by studies that show people are dropping out of church in droves," said Bill Leonard, dean of Wake Forest University's Divinity School. That has affected how they relate to marginalized people, including gays and lesbians.

"I'm amazed at the changes, the softening of the rhetoric to be more compassionate," Leonard said. "There's a realization that the idea of 'love the sinner, hate the sin' comes across as pretty cold."

Demographics isn't the only force driving changes in the evangelical response to gays and lesbians. As it becomes safer for gays and lesbians to come out of the closet, it becomes increasingly more likely that evangelicals know gays and lesbians personally, researchers say.

"Over the last five to 10 years, evangelicals have been faced with the issue even more poignantly as their sons and daughters come out of the closet," Leonard said. " ... It has become more difficult to dismiss 'those people.'"

Justin Lee, founder of the Gay Christian Network, is one of those children.

Like most evangelicals, Lee grew up believing that the Bible was to be taken pretty much at face value, but in wrestling with the realization that he was gay, he has found a more nuanced way to read Scripture. Now he works to foster understanding of gays and lesbians within evangelical institutions.

"I do hear from church leaders and pastors, who say, 'I already know where I stand, but how can I be more loving and gracious to the gay community without compromising my convictions?'" Lee said. "There are a lot of things I say, but chief among them is that the more you listen to people and ask about their lives and stories, the more you are able to show grace and love, even if you don't agree."

Jeffress, who has gay and lesbian members in his church, tries to be compassionate and understanding.

He said he is open to the possibility that sexual orientation has a genetic basis that cannot be cured or prayed away.

"I think we were too quick to dismiss the possibility of a genetic predisposition," Jeffress said.

But that hasn't altered his belief the Bible teaches that acting on homosexual desire is sinful, and he feels it is his responsibility to talk about it with his congregation.

"We cannot pick and choose what parts of God's word we are called to share," he said. "God gave it to us, not to hurt people, but to help people."

But Jeffress said he was concerned that some other evangelical pastors were shirking this responsibility.

"My sense is that people are just avoiding the subject, by and large," he said. "They are so bent on trying to add to the numbers of their churches that they don't want to disenfranchise new members or be characterized as unfriendly."

Atlanta pastor the Rev. Louie Giglio seems to have taken that approach. After withdrawing from giving the benediction at president Obama's inauguration ceremony because of controversy over a past sermon in which he said same-sex relationships were sinful, Giglio downplayed the significance of the remarks.

In his withdrawal letter, Giglio did not say he had changed his views on homosexuality, but instead noted how old the sermon was and stated, "Clearly, speaking on this issue has not been in the range of my priorities in the past fifteen years."

David W. Key Sr., director of Baptist Studies at Emory University's Candler School of Theology, said it is the pastors who are de-emphasizing homosexuality who are attracting more members.

"It's a free-market system," he said, noting that there is no evangelical equivalent of the pope to enforce a certain doctrine.

Groups like the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination, are really a loose confederation of independent churches. Although a church could be forced out of the convention, it would not lose its buildings and property, as has been the case with several Episcopal churches that broke with the denomination over the election an openly gay bishop.

And because many evangelical churches are less hierarchical than their mainline Protestant counterparts, changes in attitude or practice can sometimes go under the radar.

"There's never a proclamation. A resolution doesn't pass. It's just that people go silent on the issue," Key said. He said that has happened with everything from slavery to dancing and alcohol consumption.

"The reality is when all of society has moved in a certain direction ... you just have to be silent."

In 2001, the Southern Baptist Convention established a Task Force on Ministry to Homosexuals at the urging of pastor Bob Stith.

In its final report to the denomination in June of last year, task force members wrote, "The challenges we face are exponentially greater than they were ten years ago. ...Homosexuality may well be the number one crisis facing the church in this generation."

Nonetheless, the task force dissolved and Stith's position as National Strategist for Gender Issues was left unfunded. Stith has continued his work, thanks to some private donors.

"This issue is not going to go away," he said. "There are too many people sitting in the pews who are in a lot of pain and don't know what to do with it."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/evangelical-churches-refine-message-gay-issues-214134732.html

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'No sell-off' for public forests

31 January 2013 Last updated at 07:09 ET

The government has announced that it will not sell off publicly owned forests in England.

It says it will create a new public body that will hold in trust the nation's forests for future generations.

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson was responding to a report that called the estate a "national asset" that should not be sold off.

He also announced that the policy of selling off 15% of the estate to cover costs would be rescinded.

Mr Paterson gave few details of the new, independent body that would own, maintain and safeguard the public forest estate except that it would be set up in the longer term.

"The new body will have greater independence from Government and greater freedom to manage its resources and maximise its income but with the right safeguards in place to operate for the long-term benefit of people, nature and the economy," he said.

The Independent Panel on Forestry (IPF) was established in March 2011 after a ministerial U-turn on plans to dispose of a chunk of its woodlands.

The Rt Rev James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool and who chaired the Panel, welcomed the government's response saying it was an "unequivocal endorsement" of the IPF's recommendations.

"I welcome the rescinding of the policy for disposal of 15% of the estate. This is a recognition that the public benefits that flow from forests and woodlands have a legitimate claim on the public purse," he said.

Hen Anderson, co-founder of campaign group Save Our Woods also welcomed the government's response, recognising that it was a vindication of the 500,000 who signed an online petition against the proposal to sell the estate.

"Very positive - an exciting result for us. Two years ago they were flogging off the lot, but a half a million people kicked them in the pants, amazing result."

The IPF also recommended that woodland cover should increase from 10% to 15% by 2060. But the government says it will only increase this to 12%.

However the government is increasing the amount of money that will be spent on forests, boosting the Forestry Commission's budget by ?3.5m next year to make up for lost income from sales of woodland. They are also allocating ?2m to recognise the additional pressures arising from the outbreak of Ash dieback disease.

This increased emphasis on protection was a concern for the Woodland Trust. A spokesperson said they were "broadly happy" with the government's approach but they were concerned that ministers were not putting enough emphasis on improvement and expansions in forestry.

"We need urgent clarification on the government's plans on the future of forest services," said the spokesperson.

Among the other recommendations in last year's IPF report:

• Measurably increasing the quantity and quality of access to public and privately owned woodlands;
• Ensuring every child "has an element of woodland-based learning";
• Protecting current funding for woodland management and creation;
• Increasing England's woodland cover from 10% to 15% by 2060;
• Creating a charter, stating that the public forest estate should be "held in trust for the nation".

There are in excess of 1,000 publicly owned forests in England, covering an estimated 258,000 hectares.

The Public Forest Estate (PFE) accounts for 18% of English woodlands, and covers about 9% of the nation - one of the lowest percentages in Europe.

The estate has been valued at about ?700m and costs about ?15m per year to manage, equivalent to about 30p per year per person in England.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21275432#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Pine Creek Style: Little Boy Blue Party...

Little Boy Blue...A Baby Shower

A very good friend asked me to help with a baby shower for her FIRST grandchild! She was holding a small family baby shower on a Tuesday afternoon.

*Find the recipe for this cake at the bottom of this post!

?I offered to do the Centerpiece, which would also be my gift!?

A Baby Shower Cake...made from Diapers, blankets, towels, toys etc.

It turned out so CUTE!

?Our Guest of Honor & his Mommy!

Two weeks old! Precious!!!

?So Cute...and fun to put together! We set a white bowl upside down, placed a platter on top, then a wicker style charger...AND then the CAKE!

We used burlap, twine and wicker to embellish the Blue Shower items. Everything came together so quickly....It took only minutes to set up for the shower.

?Another view of the baby cake.

?There are 50 diapers inside this cake!

?Items for the cake...I went to Walmart & Michael's for everything!

?Two layers of the cake are done....

?I rolled the diapers inside a bath towel and rolled them into a cake layer. I tied it together with twine to hold it together.

?This Gift Idea is so simple to do...Just have fun with it! I used socks, pacifiers, wash clothes, onesies, baby trinkets from Micheals, towels, diapers.....I also used Quilting straight pins to pin several items on the cake! They are longer than normal sewing pins. You may also use corsage pins. A little ribbon and a little imagination.....



Everyone LOVED it ...
especially... Mommy & the Grandma's!



I put a simple gift tag on the rubber ducky and my gift was ready to take center stage!


ADORABLE!!!

?I found these cute little boxes at Michaels?

We sat small topiaries in the box and used a brown tissue paper to stuff around the trees. Placed it on a wicker charger and TA-DA...
?called it done!

?These boxes anchored each side of the Diaper Cake.

?Gift Table....

?My Girlfriend chose finger foods & light desserts to serve her guests.

Cheese, Fruits & Veggies, Crackers, Rounds of Baguettes, a Chicken Pesto Dip and a Smoked Salmon Spread...YUMMY!

?For Dessert...

Strawberries & Cream Cheese drizzled with Chocolate

?(Her lovely daughter's creation) and Angel Food & Pineapple Cake!

DOUBLE YUMMY!!

?A Simple Shower with BIG results and a

Prescious Baby Boy!?

A Sweet Baby Showered with Love & Style...

Source: http://pinecreekstyle.blogspot.com/2013/01/little-boy-blue-party.html

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City renames itself Stalingrad to mark battle

MOSCOW (AP) ? The southern Russian city where the Red Army decisively turned back Nazi forces in a key World War II battle will once again be known as Stalingrad, at least on the days commemorating the victory.

The city was renamed Volgograd in 1961 as part of the Soviet Union's rejection of dictator Joseph Stalin's personality cult. But the name Stalingrad is inseparable with the battle, in which at least 1.25 million people died.

Russia on Saturday plans extensive ceremonies to mark the 70th anniversary of the battle's end.

The Volgograd city council passed a measure Thursday to use the name Stalingrad in city statements on the commemoration day, on Russia's May 9 Victory Day and on four other days connected with the battle, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/city-renames-itself-stalingrad-mark-battle-115438541.html

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Ed Reed says he could 'definitely' see himself playing for New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick

Ed Reed

Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed speaks at an NFL Super Bowl XLVII football news conference on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, in New Orleans. The Ravens face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday, Feb. 3. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) (Photo by AP)

Bill Belichick and Ed Reed's awkward flirting over the years has always been a bit over the top. But Reed took the bromance to another level by revealing that he takes fashion tips from Belichick.

No, seriously. Reed actually tries to mimic Belichick's disheveled look.

"It's a reason why I wear my sweat cut off a little bit," Reed told the Boston Herald at the Super Bowl. "He's the first guy I saw like, 'That's cool.' You know, that's cool. ... It's just a blessing to even have met, to know coach Belichick."

Reed, who is set to become a free agent this offseason, also said that he would like to have the opportunity to learn under Belichick.

"Oh yeah, man, I could definitely play for coach Belichick," Reed said. "He is a great coach. I'm sure he can help me to expand my football knowledge even more as a player and as a coach, so if I'm ever able to be around him, just like I was at the Pro Bowl, it's huge."

The Patriots do need safety help, so it wouldn't be shocking if Belichick makes a run at Reed this offseason.

Source: http://blog.masslive.com/patriots/2013/01/ed_reed_says_he_could_definite.html

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