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GaryHart2024 t1_j5oqajf wrote

This seems like a good thing. DoD money getting to HBCUs just makes sense, and it seems this won't stop solely at Howard.

>Howard will lead a consortium of universities that includes Jackson State, Delaware State, Bowie State, Norfolk State, Hampton, Florida Memorial and Tougaloo College.

DoD research is more than weapons, it's health and general innovation. This seems like a massive opportunity, and I hope Howard is able to make the best of it.

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sprint113 t1_j5p0vsa wrote

Yup. Don't know exactly what this DOD contract entails, but remember that the DOD is both one of the largest employers in the US as well as one of the largest healthcare providers. A place I worked at once had a DOD grant for researching ways to improve detection and treatment of breast cancers.

Edit: saw the non-paywall link, looks like it will be for AI systems

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faggressive t1_j5pz6ib wrote

Also the largest workforce training program as well (not including colleges.) They have accredited universities and colleges too though.

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Amori_A_Splooge t1_j5r2u9c wrote

I have an aunt that works at National Cancer Institute at NIH. In the partial shutdown (2019?) her entire lab was operating as business as usual because dod and milcon/VA approps had been signed into law and her lab's entire operating budget was DOD funds.

DOD's non-defebse funding a absolutely dwarfs other cabinet agencies entire budgets.

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EstablishmentFull797 t1_j5rndkj wrote

Do you think maybe the department of defense having more funding for “non-defense” purposes than other entire agencies is part of the problem?

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Amori_A_Splooge t1_j5rydk7 wrote

Yes and no. A lot of it is the function that the National Defense Authorization Act has passed some 65+ years in a row in Congress and you won't find another authorization bill that is likely going to pass every year. So if you want something to be done, get DoD to do it in the NDAA. Then again, DoD should pay for medical research for diseases, illnesses, and injuries that are prevalent in military members veterans (This is also budgetary blackhole, of endless ways to spend money, but the dollars are very significant in terms of making an impact for these specific diseases. As a result you get research lists like that of the appropriately named Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program. As others have pointed out, there are also a lot of controls on DoD dollars in terms of Buy American provisions, so money is [generally] going into DoD for procurement or research tends to stay in American companies or American institutions.

Is it too much. Possibly, but it's not all bombs and bullets.

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Mateorabi t1_j5p3jk1 wrote

Please don’t be Syphilis research. Please don’t be Syphilis research....

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GaryHart2024 t1_j5p4vqq wrote

>The center will be focused on tactical autonomy technology for military systems and Howard University will receive $12 million per year for five years to fund research, faculty and students.

Looks like more of an AI focus.

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annang t1_j5p5azj wrote

So, drones to kill Black and brown people overseas. Awesome.

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GaryHart2024 t1_j5p67g6 wrote

Or just security systems, and or counter-battery work.

Tactical autonomy can mean a lot.

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ocaesar t1_j5pz2dy wrote

Russians are black and brown, wow.

Also, capitalizing “Black” specifically refers to Black Americans as they are a distinct group within the US. Not to people who are black skinned.

The Washington Post also missed the point entirely by capitalizing “White”.

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resdivinae t1_j5p987u wrote

It's not 2006 anymore.

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annang t1_j5pmn4w wrote

And your theory is that we've stopped using drone strikes in the last seven years? Do you have a source for that belief?

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resdivinae t1_j5ptlzc wrote

No. Maybe you don't watch the news, but the MIC is currently sending billions in military aid to one group of Slavs to kill another group of Slavs.

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22304_selling t1_j5uixn8 wrote

What's wrong with weapons research?

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GaryHart2024 t1_j5ukqbx wrote

Depends who you ask.

Some folks, several of whom are in this thread, have a deep philosophical opposition to weapons research.

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22304_selling t1_j5umzux wrote

Okay, I guess I'm asking you then. Is anything wrong with weapons research?

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GaryHart2024 t1_j5unvmc wrote

I have no opposition to it, and generally consider it a necessity of the modern world, however there are ethical implications that have to be taken into account.

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