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apple
A Look Inside Afghanistan’s Almost-Apple Store

Fake Apple stores are nothing new. China has a slew of them, all polished and shiny, appearing almost as if they are the genuine article at a glance. Quartz dug up some details on Afghanistan's (fake) Apple store, and though it's a bit more frumpy than most, it still gets the job done. Read More >>

Helmet cam
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Helmetcam Shows a US Soldier Taking Fire in Afghanistan

This is war in 2012 — you can literally see a soldier under fire in Afghanistan. The soldier was shot but suffered no permanent injuries. It's insane. Read More >>

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security
Sneaky Taliban Troops Pretending to be Hot Girls on Facebook to Lure Soldiers to Their Doom

Taliban insurgents out in Afghanistan are getting in touch with their feminine sides, pretending to be hot chicks on Facebook to befriend soldiers and get secret military details out of any bored squaddies they might trap. Read More >>

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Is This War in Afghanistan or on the Moon?

Another day, another drone — but this RQ-7 Shadow looks like it's being launched in the vacuum of space against some lunar insurgency. Read More >>

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monster machines
A 38-Tonne Custom Bulldozer Crushes Leftover Landmines

After decades of strife, occupation, and conflict, Afghanistan has been left pockmarked with an estimated ten million anti-personnel landmines in its soils. It's a bad situation. There are mines like the the Soviet PFM-1 "butterfly mine"— especially popular with small children, who mistake it for a toy. But an anti-mine machine from Komatsu is working across the country to help Afghanis literally save life and limb. Read More >>

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military
The Time I Planted a Pipe Bomb Under Someone’s Truck

I almost crash into a truck, at first. I can turn on a dime and accelerate like a tiny nitrous-oxide-fueled bat out of hell—even though I'm holding a 10-pound pipe bomb, 30 per cent of my body weight. I don't know what I'm doing, really. But by the time I get to the truck to plant the bomb, it's easy. I know exactly what to do. Read More >>

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star wars
The Sad Story of a Real Life R2-D2 Who Saved Countless Human Lives and Died

Robots can't have feelings. But humans develop feelings for them. You know, like R2-D2 in Star Wars. Or like Scooby Doo, a real life small robot that saved the day 19 times. This is his single-tear story. Read More >>

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robots
Meet the Real-Life War Machines

Like the prologue of any robopocalypse movie where the machines rise up to destroy us, most of the robots we hear about do things we could do, but don't want to. They mop our floors. They put together cars. They die for us. Read More >>

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Purple Lightning and Death from Above in Afghanistan

This looks like it should be airbrushed onto the side of a really tacky t-shirt, but it's actually quite real! An Air Force F-15E near Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, illuminated by apocalyptic lightning. Read More >>

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Adopted War Dogs Are the Cutest War Dogs

You thought the war dog craze of '11 was over, didn't you? Surprise! KitUp's got a nice little look at soldiers in Afghanistan, and the strategic strays they befriend. This video contains both puppies and a SAW machine gun. Read More >>