GOP recognition of SEALs broke deal with Navy

Come on guys! Everyone should understand that SEALs do not get their pictures taken or get recognition, even though they greatly deserve it. Recognizing these two was a stupid thing to do. I would expect better from the Republicans.

GOP recognition of SEALs broke deal with Navy - Marine Corps News, news from Iraq - Marine Corps Times: "A Republican speaker broke a deal between the GOP and the Navy when he publicly recognized a pair of Navy special operators at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, a Navy spokesman said, causing the sailors to violate regulations against active-duty service members participating in politics.

The speaker, Orson Swindle, pointed out two Navy SEALs in the audience wearing civilian clothes at the convention in St. Paul, Minn., as part of a salute to the fallen SEAL Master at Arms 2nd Class Michael Monsoor, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in April. The two SEALs, Lt. Leif Babin and Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Tom Deshazo, rose when Swindle pointed them out and asked them to stand.

But the Republicans had agreed not to identify the special operators as a condition for their being able to attend the convention, said Navy spokesman Cmdr. Jeff Davis. Babin and Deshazo had asked for permission to accompany Monsoor’s sister, Sara, who was at the GOP convention to see her brother’s recognition. The Navy agreed, but imposed several conditions, including that they only attend the convention that one night, not speak to the news media, wear civilian clothes and not appear on stage."

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A tribute to a Navy SEAL who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for valor in Iraq, and an endorsement by former prisoners of war for Sen. John McCain’s bid to become president, were key features Tuesday night at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.

The actions of Navy Master-At-Arms 2nd Class (SEAL) Michael A. Monsoor, mortally wounded in a September 2006 firefight in Ramadi, Iraq, were featured in a short film shown at the convention.

Monsoor, who joined the Navy in 2001 before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, saved the lives of three other people — including two nearby SEALs — by covering a grenade with his own body. Additionally, Monsoor received a Silver Star for a May 2006 incident in which he saved an injured service member by running into a street and into the line of fire to pull him to safety.

Monsoor’s sister, Sara, and two fellow SEALs were present as the film was shown. Five or six living Medal of Honor recipients — there was a discrepancy in the number, depending on who was counting, that convention officials did not immediately clarify — also were present.

About two dozen former prisoners of war, led by former Marine Corps Capt. Orson Swindle III, also appeared at the convention Tuesday to support McCain, a fellow POW. Swindle, who spent seven years as a prisoner of war — including some time in the same Vietnam prison as McCain, who was held for 5½ years — is one of McCain’s closet friends, according to campaign officials. Swindle has been one of the most vocal defenders of McCain from attacks that McCain received preferential treatment as a POW.

Nearly 125 Shot Dead In Chicago Over Summer

123 dead and 245 wounded? We need a Surge into Chicago to quell the violence!

Not even being sarcastic. We need to get help into the city before more people get slaughtered!

cbs2chicago.com - Nearly 125 Shot Dead In Chicago Over Summer: "An estimated 123 people were shot and killed over the summer. That's nearly double the number of soldiers killed in Iraq over the same time period.

In May, cbs2chicago.com began tracking city shootings and posting them on Google maps. Information compiled from our reporters, wire service reports and the Chicago Police Major Incidents log indicated that 123 people were shot and killed throughout the city between the start of Memorial Day weekend on May 26, and the end of Labor Day on Sept. 1.

According to the Defense Department, 65 soldiers were killed in combat in Iraq. About the same number were killed in Afghanistan over that same period.

In the same time period, an estimated 245 people were shot and wounded in the city."

Saudi Cleric Denounces Birthday Parties as 'Unwanted Foreign Influence,' Stresses Ban on Celebrating

So few things that are fun are allowed in Islam. What a pity.

FOXNews.com - Saudi Cleric Denounces Birthday Parties as 'Unwanted Foreign Influence,' Stresses Ban on Celebrating - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News: "Saudi Arabia's most senior Muslim cleric recently denounced birthday parties as an unwanted foreign influence, but another prominent cleric declared they were ok.

...

The Saudi ban on birthdays is in line with the strict interpretation of Islam followed by the conservative Wahhabi sect adhered to in the kingdom. All Christian and even most Muslim feasts are also prohibited because they are considered alien customs the Saudi clerics don't sanction.

Only the Muslim feasts of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha, which concludes the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, are permitted."

Triumph for British forces in Boy's Own-style Kajaki mission - Times Online

Great job, lads! It must feel great to be able to actively help people this way. Keep up the good fight and keep the forces of barbarism at bay while the locals advance from the stone age.

Triumph for British forces in Boy's Own-style Kajaki mission - Times Online: "It was a task of epic proportions,inspiring comparisons with Commando magazine, Mad Max, the Battle of Arnhem in 1944 and the relief of the Siege of Mafeking in 1900.

The mission was to take 220 tonnes of turbine and other equipment, worth millions of pounds, across 100 miles of some of the most hostile and heavily mined territory in Afghanistan.

At the climax of the Taleban’s fighting season.

Without anyone noticing."

Palin In Comparison

Genius! The Wolf finds the goods, and even links to his facts for the ignorant to learn from.

Wolf Howling: Palin In Comparison: "This is Sarah Palin ..."

Quote of the Day

"Here comes the orator! With his flood of words, and his drop of reason."

Benjamin Franklin

UN peacekeeper killed by blast in south Lebanon

UN has forces in Lebanon? Doing what? walking around in minefields? Why don't they arrest some terrorists?

UN peacekeeper killed by blast in south Lebanon - Yahoo! News: "A United Nations peacekeeper in south Lebanon was killed by an explosion Wednesday while clearing unexploded ordnance, a U.N. official said.

Yasmina Bouziane, a spokeswoman for the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, said the blast took place while the peacekeepers were clearing unexploded ordnance near the village of Aitaroun, close to the border with Israel.

The peacekeeper was not identified, pending notification of relatives.

Bouziane said in a statement that medical and explosion teams were immediately dispatched to the site of the blast and that an investigation was under way.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said the soldier was Belgian and that another unidentified peacekeeper was wounded in the blast caused by a land mine left behind by Israeli forces.

More than 30 people have died in cluster bombs or land mine blasts in Lebanon since the 2006 summer war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas, according to Dalya Farran, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Mine Action Coordination Center.

Farran said that 14 de-mining experts from the Lebanese army, the U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon and private mine action teams have also died in similar explosions in the past two years.

The United Nations and human rights groups say Israel dropped about 4 million cluster bomblets during the 34-day Israel-Hezbollah conflict. U.N. experts say that up to 1 million of these devices failed to explode and now endanger civilians in the area."

Sanity on Cyber War

ThreatsWatch.Org: PrincipalAnalysis: Sanity on Cyber War: "Much has been made about the electronic fight that occurred alongside the physical one between Russia and Georgia. Predictably, talk of “cyber war” and the dawn of a new age of conflict abounds. Never mind that we have seen this before: China vs. Taiwan over Taiwanese independence; China vs. the US over various issues; Islamist Groups vs. the US during operations IRAQI and ENDURING FREEDOM; Serbia vs. the US and NATO during ALLIED FORCE, and numerous other conflicts. Then, as now, we see that conflict in cyber space falls far short of apocalyptic.

To be sure, there are serious threats in cyber space. Chinese intrusions into government, military and commercial networks are legion, but this has been going on more or less unabated for years. Few remember that it was Russian intelligence that used German proxies to break into the networks at a national lab … in the 80s. Whether we are talking about state-sponsored activities or criminal practice, there is a common thread: the need to have the ‘Net up in order to make things happen. This is why cyber war, as many envision it, is a fantasy.

For the sake of argument though, let’s assume there was a threat actor that did want to destroy or degrade the ‘Net – or at least off of our portion of it – for military gain. A quick search online for an Internet traffic map illustrates the folly of the concept of cyber space sovereignty. Georgia’s status as a “cyber locked” country – only one way in and out electronically – is something of an anomaly; generally speaking you cannot just take country X off-line and leave innocents untouched. For some belligerents this might not be an issue, but unless you’re declaring war on the world it make sense to limit potential counter-attackers (true in both the virtual and actual worlds).

Recent discussions on the threat of an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) cannot be ignored here, but some perspective is in order. If an adversary detonates a nuke in the atmosphere over the US, we’ve probably got one or two more issues to deal with before we get around to restoring everyone’s Facebook page. The equipment and power necessary to cause the same effect without a nuke would be, well, about as obvious as a large wooden horse parked outside your door. Not having the ‘Net during such a crisis would hinder recovery, as the ad hoc construction of support and recovery web sites after Hurricane Katrinia and other disasters demonstrated. But catastrophic electronic attack is still largely recoverable and bloodless, unlike the analog in meat space.

Serious analysts of these issues talk about an adversary’s capabilities and do not use “cyber” as an adjective in front of every physical-world equivalent. Why? Because the means isn’t as important as the impact.

Take terrorism for example. Who is terrorized when terrorists or their sympathizers take down a web site? No one. What threat does a terrorist group that launches attacks that were new five years ago pose? Not much. Terrorists do a lot of things online, but fight well is not one of them. Nation-states have much more significant capabilities, but going back to an earlier point about espionage, they are having much more success exfiltrating data to risk destroying the source of said data. Exploiting your adversary’s networks and systems is this age’s neutron bomb; all the pesky people (and potential insurgents) are gone, all the goodies are left to plunder.

There is a reason why few in the kinetic war business take cyber war seriously: people don’t die (that might change soon enough for some), property is easily recovered, territory is not lost, and sovereignty is not threatened. One could argue that in the Estonia example a mode of operation was threatened, but certainly not their way of life or culture. Radovan Karadzic is in the Hague to face charges of war crimes; Dragan Vasiljkovic, who reportedly led Serbian cyber attacks while his colleagues conducted more visceral ones, is not exactly on the fast track for the gallows. I am fairly sure the widows of Srebrenica would have loved to have suffered at the hands of e-brigands vice the real sort.

In fact it is precisely this attitude that “it’s just data” that is the greatest hindrance to success in defending digital assets and having related disciplines taken seriously in a military context. No government official or corporate executive will admit it, but bits play second fiddle to hard assets. No amount of arguing about the nexus of the two, or how you can hardly use the latter without the former makes headway. It is why NIPRnet is consistently owned by various adversaries; why external viruses penetrate internal networks, and why millions of dollars worth of data can be traded illicitly over the ether largely without consequence. When those at the top don’t get it, the best we can hope for is re-action (to the next attack or embarrassment).

As a practitioner in this field for many years it is interesting to note the cycle of hype, spending, work and stagnation that occurs about every ten years. In all that time there has been no great leap forward in defense or security though attacks have gotten more sophisticated, diverse and powerful. Debating the need for an e-weapons proliferation scheme - as if one could regulate computer code as one does fissile material – is what passes for serious thought. There is also a strive to make all of this “new,” when in reality I can pull a nearly 30-year-old book off of my library shelf that documents the same sorts of events we are witnessing today.

Cyber space is a dangerous place, and it always has been, but we need to be preparing for war: period. Every conflict will have a cyber component too it; the next war will not be exclusively electronic. To steal a phrase from the Infantry: If they’re not there, you don’t own it. The Russia-Georgia “cyber war” is only an issue because the Russian Army is physically sitting in Georgia. Absent that, cyber war to date is largely just nationally-motivated digital graffiti. "

Corps wants its Humvees back

Not sure why I have the song from the Chili's commercial going through my head on this.

I want my Hummers back, Hummers back, Hummers back....

This could be a trip wire that starts a war, which the Russians WANT! They want the world to back down from them to prove they are not weak any more.

Corps wants its Humvees back - Marine Corps News, news from Iraq - Marine Corps Times: "U.S. officials continue to negotiate the release of five Marine Humvees seized by Russian forces in the Georgian port of Poti during their August assault on the U.S. ally.

The Humvees were taken Aug. 19, said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Corey Barker, a spokesman for U.S. European Command, and they contained no advanced tracking technology or cryptology hardware — a contrast with Russian news reports, which said the vehicles contained sophisticated communications gear and had been sent to Moscow for examination.

The Humvees were in Georgia as part of Operation Immediate Response, a multinational training exercise involving Marine and Army units, Barker said. They were awaiting commercial transport back to the U.S. when they were seized.

The team of Marines in Georgia — primarily assigned to Brooklyn, N.Y.-based 6th Communications Battalion and a Lexington, Ky.-based detachment with 4th Marine Logistics Group’s Military Police Company — were sent to a hotel in the capital, Tbilisi, when the Russian assault began."

Wall dating to Second Temple unearthed

I love that Israel has the time to find all these ancient relics now that they are fairly secure. The Muslims have kept the Jews and Christians away from here for centuries and I would love to help dig these out. Such fun stuff.

Wall dating to Second Temple unearthed | Israel | Jerusalem Post: "The remains of the southern wall of Jerusalem that was built by the Hasmonean kings during the time of the Second Temple have been uncovered on Mount Zion, the Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday.

The 2,100-year-old wall, which was destroyed during the Great Revolt against the Romans that began in 66 CE, is located just outside the present-day walls of the Old City and abuts the Catholic cemetery built in the last century where Righteous Gentile Oskar Schindler is buried.

The sturdy wall, which is believed to have run 6 km. around Jerusalem, was previously exposed by an American archeologist at the end of the 19th century, the state run archeological body said.

The Israeli archeologist who started the ongoing excavation a year-and-a-half ago also uncovered the remains of a city wall from the Byzantine Period (324-640 CE) that was built on top of the Second Temple wall at a time when ancient Jerusalem reached its largest size after its southward expansion."

Requisite Ramadan Observance for Non-Muslim East London Councillors

The Left goes out of their way to force the people of the West to accommodate the Caliphate. What will they do once the Muslims beat the West and take over?

Requisite Ramadan Observance for Non-Muslim East London Councillors: "Requisite Ramadan Observance for Non-Muslim East London Councillors
September 2nd, 2008 by Andrew Bostom


From Stephen Pollard September 1, 2008 in The Times of London:

Head of Democratic Services at Tower Hamlets Council in East London, John [any relationship to Anglican Archbishop Rowan?] Williams last week e-mailed each of the borough’s 51 councillors with these instructions, according to Pollard:

For the duration of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, they are, he [Williams] told them—every one of them, Muslim, Catholic, Jew or atheist—to behave during council meetings as strict Muslims. They are not to eat or drink; they are to break for Muslim prayers; they are to do as they are ordered by the Muslim religion. Strict Muslims do not eat or drink between sunrise or sunset during Ramadan. Because sunset will fall during the meetings, there will be 45-minute adjournments so that councillors can break their fast and pray. And to make things easier, there will only be seven council meetings during the month.

Pollard concludes with these apt observations:


This is, let me remind you, happening not on Karachi borough council but in Tower Hamlets in London. As far as I am aware, the United Kingdom has not yet been absorbed into the Caliphate. The last time I checked, we allow citizens to practise all religions and none. If I wish to stuff my face with chocolate during the fasting hours of Ramadan, I will. And if you wish to go out for a slap-up lunch on Yom Kippur, you can feel free.



Yet Mr Williams—he’s the man with the “democratic services” label, a title so Orwellian that his existence simply had to involve promoting the opposite of democracy and service—appears to have concluded that Islamic practices must take precedence over any other practices. Instead of individual councillors being allowed to decide for themselves how they wish to behave during Ramadan, he is deciding for them.



It should come as no surprise that it is not the borough’s Muslim councillors who are demanding that their non-Muslim colleagues obey Islam. As almost always, it is a caricature liberal-left non-Muslim idiot who thinks he is being racially aware who does the real harm to race relations. Respect for religious practice can only be given voluntarily. Mr Williams’s prescription leads only to anger. "

Walking Away From Islam

I did not know that so many Muslims were willing to defy Allah and abandon Islam! This is great news, but needs to be kept out of the spotlight so that the militants don't go on killing sprees. Well, more often than they already do.

I guess that the normal people are getting ever more tired of the violence of Islam. Good! It is time for this antiquated religion to dry up and blow away. Which is too bad, because the original teachings of Mohammad seemed very promising, until he became a bandit with a bandits religion.

Counter-Terrorism: Walking Away From Islam: "Hamas has an image problem, and it's getting worse. It's gotten so bad that the 30 year old son (Mosab Yousef) of one of the Hamas founders (Hassan Yousef) has not only renounced Hamas, but has become a Christian. Mosab is fed up with the terrorism/'destroy Israel' approach the Arab world has embraced over the last sixty years. Mosad notes, as have many other Arabs, that this has not worked.

The conversion angle is something Moslems are trying to keep quiet. Mosab Yousef's father pleaded with his son to keep quiet about the conversion (which took place 18 months ago). The elder Yousef knows that this is not an isolated incident. Many young Moslems are abandoning Islam. Most do so quietly. In Iran, the clerics that run the country are shocked at secret police reports about a growing number of young Iranians who have, in effect, abandoned Islam. This sort of thing is happening all over the Moslem world, but especially in Arab countries. The people who switch to Islamic radicalism get all the headlines, not the larger numbers who just walk away from Islam are largely ignored. In the Palestinian territories, there is also a growth in the number of Sunni Moslems who are switching to the Shia version (as championed by Iran). But many other Moslems are openly distancing themselves from the conservative forms of Islam (like the well fund"

Russia: Another Rhineland

The key part of this article is that the other Russian neighbors are now fearful of also being annexed back into the Soviet block.

Would a Marine Division stationed in Ukraine make the region more stable? Or a mob of peacenik hippies who can tell the Russians how evil they are?



Russia: Another Rhineland: "Russia has announced that it will, in effect, annex the Georgian separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. No one is willing to face down the Russians on this issue, which many of Russias neighbors see as the first of many such annexations. There is a precedent for this sort of thing, and it all began on the French-German border in 1936.

Some historians see the German reoccupation of the Rhineland in 1936 as the real beginning of World War II. As part of the treaty that ended World War I, Germany agreed to keep troops out of the Rhineland (a German region on the French border). Going back in was a huge gamble for the Germans, who were in the midst of rebuilding their military, and, in 1936, much weaker than France or Britain. But neither of these countries were willing to risk the violence that might occur if they went after the 32,000 troops and police Germany sent into the Rhineland. This convinced Hitler that he could bully the Western allies, and grab neighboring countries with impunity. This worked for Austria and Czechoslovakia, but triggered World War II when Germany and Russia (by prior agreement) carved up Poland in 1939."

Paramilitary: No Pain, No Gain

Sounds like things are still getting better in Iraq! Will the Media continue to ignore it? Of course!

Paramilitary: No Pain, No Gain: "In the last year, casualties among U.S. troops in Iraq has gone way down, and among the similar number of civilian contractors, such losses plummeted even more. This has had a bad effect on contractor morale. That's because as contractor casualties have dropped over 60 percent, so has pay. That's because the U.S. hires these workers via brokers in their home countries. Just as the United States paid higher and higher re-enlistment and other bonuses to keep enough troops in uniform, they will raise and lower the pay for contractors depending on how many qualified people will offer to sign up.

In Iraq, most of the civilian contractors work in the well defended bases, and most of the contractor casualties are among those (about a quarter of the total) who do security or transportation jobs that take them outside the wire. But even those have a lower casualty rate than the combat troops. For the really dangerous work, soldiers and marines are used. But working in a combat zone is still dangerous, no matter what your work clothes look like. There is always some danger in Iraq, but for civilian workers, the chances of getting killed or wounded are a third of what they are for the troops, And the troops are suffering a casualty rate less than half of what it was for previous wars (like Vietnam). Now that contractor casualty rate is even"

Undercover Mosque: The Return

Islamic purists are devoted to the slaughter of all those who are not. Why don't the majority of people seem to understand this? The Muslims tell us all the time that they are devoted to our destruction! They have just shifted the language into the language that is used by the Leftists and Media. Now, the Leftists seem to think that the Muslims are long lost brothers because they have the same enemy: all non-believers.

Little Green Footballs - Undercover Mosque: The Return: "The British Channel 4 show Dispatches has done a followup to Undercover Mosque, with an undercover female reporter this time—and the revelations about what’s being preached in British mosques are no less shocking than the first time around."

Dutch sabotage agent recalled from Iran over “impending” US attack - report

Is Bush going to slap down the Iranians before he leaves office? He needs to smack them and force them to stop aiding terrorists! It will lead to terror attacks all over the world, but that is what we have to expect from a terrorist state.

DEBKAfile - Dutch sabotage agent recalled from Iran over “impending” US attack - report: "A Dutch AIVD Secret Service ultra-secret operation underway in Iran in recent years has been halted and an agent recalled in view of “impending US plans to attack Iran,” within weeks, writes Joost de Haas, known for his good intelligence contacts, in the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

The AIVD operation aimed to infiltrate and sabotage the weapons [and nuclear] industry in the Islamic Republic.

According to intelligence sources in the Netherlands, the US [or Israel] was expected to make a decision within weeks to attack nuclear plants with unmanned aircraft, used to avoid risking the lives of air crews and warplanes.

DEBKAfile’s military sources report this would be the first time drones operated by remote control were used against major strategic targets, necessary in Israel’s case to hold its air fleet and flight crews ready to defend the country against reprisal from Iran’s allies. Syria and the Lebanese Hizballah have stockpiled thousands of rockets for this purpose.

The Iranian targets to be bombed would include also military installations brought to light partly by the Dutch espionage operation, described by De Telegraaf as extremely successful. “One of the agents was able to infiltrate the Iranian industry” and for years shared information with the... "

Sun Makes History: First Spotless Month in a Century

I wonder if the lack of sunspots is making it cooler on Earth? It is Bush's fault! Bush is stopping the Sun!

DailyTech - Sun Makes History: First Spotless Month in a Century: "Drop in solar activity has potential effect for climate on earth.

The sun has reached a milestone not seen for nearly 100 years: an entire month has passed without a single visible sunspot being noted.

The event is significant as many climatologists now believe solar magnetic activity – which determines the number of sunspots -- is an influencing factor for climate on earth.

According to data from Mount Wilson Observatory, UCLA, more than an entire month has passed without a spot. The last time such an event occurred was June of 1913. Sunspot data has been collected since 1749.

When the sun is active, it's not uncommon to see sunspot numbers of 100 or more in a single month. Every 11 years, activity slows, and numbers briefly drop to near-zero. Normally sunspots return very quickly, as a new cycle begins."

Terrorists thankful: More room to prep to kill Jews

This is just a snippet of the entire article describing the way the terrorists are using the previously Jewish owned areas of Gaza as training bases. Little kids are being turned into killing machines! It is past time to clean that area up.

Some things I note from the quote I saved here, the Pally kids claim they are being slaughtered, yet the facts report otherwise. Who is telling them this? The terrorists are firing rockets from roofs and schools to protect themselves from return. Why is this kid joining the terrorists who are using him as a human shield to cower behind? Are the majority of Palestinian kids this retarded?

The last thing I note is that the Gazans seem to read the Land for Peace deal differently from the West. In the West, the leaders, all Liberals, said that giving the terrorists more land would lead to Peace. To the terrorists, giving them land meant the Israelis have retreated and the terrorist's pals in the Media have won them a great victory that needs to be followed up on.

Land for Peace is a failure and the fools who advocated it all need a good butt-whooping.

Terrorists thankful: More room to prep to kill Jews: "Also this weekend, the Popular Resistance Committees terrorist organization showcased its own training in the evacuated Gaza Jewish town of Kfar Darom, which previously housed tree-lined Jewish streets replete with synagogues and Jewish seminaries.

Notable about the Committees training was that it included dozens of boys between the ages of nine and twelve, according to Committees leaders.

The Ynetnews Israeli website featured an interview with one young Committees recruit, an 11-year-old boy named Muhammad pictured holding an assault rifle.

'I am learning how to fight the Jews and kill Jewish children,' Muhammad told Ynetnews. 'I would rather die fighting the occupation than die at home from a missile, which is what happened to hundreds of Palestinian children.'

Committees terror group spokesman Muhammad Abdel-Al, also known as Abu Abir, told WND yesterday his group was not brainwashing children.

'We are not educating them on hatred. This is our strategy – to turn all the Palestinian people into weapons of resistance,' Abdel-Al said when questioned about his group's use of boys.

Israel evacuated Gush Katif's nearly 10,000 Jewish residents during the country's retreat under fire from the Gaza Strip in August 2005."

2 Dead, Hospital on Lock Down After Hazmat Exposure

Where did these people get exposed to such a dangerous chemical? I want more information!

FOXNews.com - 2 Dead, Hospital on Lock Down After Hazmat Exposure - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News: "Two people are dead after nearly half a dozen were exposed to the highly toxic and dangerous chemical nitroaniline, MyFOXSTL.com reported.

Emergency rooms at two St. Louis-area hospitals were closed Saturday afternoon after several people entered the facilities saying they were exposed to a white powdery substance.

St. Anthony's Medical Center in St. Louis was reopened Saturday night, while DePaul Health Center in Bridgeton was expected to be closed to several more hours.

Investigators believe those hospitalized are employees of an East St. Louis business who were mixing chemicals, and then put them into a dumpster, MyFOXSTL.com reported.

Victims reportedly showed up at the hospitals with blue skin, prompting the hospital lock down, the station reported.

About 20 who were exposed to those three patients are also under quarantine."

Hizballah’s Attack On The Lebanese Army: An Accident Or A Message?

Hizballah continues to get away with blatant attacks on everyone. If the Israelis had shot down a stray helicopter, they would be crucified in the Media. Since it was the terrorists shooting down this helicopter, that is not news worthy in the West. Even then, the Media has tried to shift the blame for this attack to other terrorists instead of the obvious ones. What is it about Hizballah that puts them above condemnation?

Counterterrorism Blog: Hizballah’s Attack On The Lebanese Army: An Accident Or A Message?: "Many in the media insinuated that the attack may have something to do with “Sunni Islamist militants from the north [read: Tripoli]”. The New York Times stated, “The Lebanese Army has come under attack several times this summer, including in a bombing this month that left nine soldiers and several civilians dead.” As with the NYT, the AFP, made sure the Sunni Islamists would be placed at the end of the article stating, "Nine Lebanese soldiers and five civilians were killed in a bombing at a bus stop in the northern port city of Tripoli earlier this month in an attack thought to have targeted the army. The army has also suffered other attacks since it fought a 15-week battle with militants of the Al-Qaeda inspired Fatah al-Islam in the Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon. In December the head of the army's military operations, General Francois el-Hajj, was killed in a massive bomb attack and just over a month later Major Wissam Eid, a top intelligence officer, was killed in similar circumstances.”

In fact, the last attack in the south by suspected Sunni Islamists was in June, 2007, killing 6 Spanish peacekeepers in a UNIFIL convoy. While Hizballah was the obvious cause of the latest attack, and even Hizballah militiamen said that they, “thought that there was an Israeli landing attempt (under way) and opened fire in the direction of the helicopter, hitting it.” The major press still insinuated that a group like Fatah al Islam could be behind the attack. When the attack was first reported, Hizballah initially denied it had anything to do with the attack, but this would later be disproved.

The Israeli daily Ha‘aretz reported that, “ Hezbollah downed a Lebanese Army helicopter on Thursday in what Israeli officials believe was a case of mistaken identity: The Shi'ite militiamen apparently thought they were firing at an Israeli chopper.” Even with the assumption that Hizballah made a mistake, Ha’aretz further disproves this theory when they said, “The helicopter was apparently flying at low altitude.” Just a cursory look at the paint schemes of a Lebanese UH-1 (usually painted a dark green with a very visible red, green and white Lebanese air force roundel) versus Israeli models (normally painted an olive green with a golden V, and recognizable roundel featuring the Star of David or a desert, green and brown camouflage), shows that the Hizballah militiamen operating the anti-aircraft gun(s) were either extremely incompetent or had some idea that they were targeting a Lebanese helicopter.

...
The Hizballah and allies responded with a mixture of whitewashing the incident, ignoring it, and even tried to shift blame onto the Israelis. According to the International Herald Tribune, “Sheik Abdul-Amir Kabalan, urged the army to investigate swiftly and suggested that a collaborator with Israel may have fired on the aircraft.” Kabalan is close with Harakat Amal, the other major Shia party in Lebanon, which in turn is allied to Hizballah. NOW Lebanon reported that according to “inside sources,” “Hezbollah fighters shot at the military helicopter because it crossed red lines that Hezbollah had warned the Defense Ministry and army command' not to cross” OTV, the Free Patriotic Movement’s mouthpiece (the FPM is Hizballah’s key Christian ally), did not even offer a story on their website regarding the incident. Instead OTV only featured the story as a small link reading, (Google Translation) “General Michel Aoun visited the Metropolitan of Mount Lebanon for the Roman Orthodox George Khader and discussed with him the latest developments in the death of First Lieutenant Samir Hanna result of the fall of the Lebanese Army helicopter. After exposure to a shooting in the south, the UN Security Council extended an additional year of peacekeeping forces in south Lebanon.” "

Former President Carter: McCain ‘Milking’ POW Experience

Why do former Democrat Presidents seem to both be such complete morons? Neither was a winner, but they both continuously sink to new lows.

Mr Carter, you are a scary guy. I thought the President who replaced you was the senile one. You, sir, seem to make me want to vomit every time you make the news. You should lock yourself in a closet and stay out of public.

Former President Carter: McCain ‘Milking’ POW Experience - America’s Election HQ: "Former President Jimmy Carter said Thursday that John McCain is “milking every possible drop of advantage” from his time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, USA Today reported Thursday.

Carter focused on McCain’s interview earlier this month with author and pastor Rick Warren at his parish, the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. McCain used every question, whether it was about religion, domestic or foreign affairs, to talk about his five-and-a-half years as a POW, Carter claimed.

“John McCain was able to weave in his experience in a Vietnam prison camp, no matter what the question was,” Carter, a 7-year Naval officer, told the paper. “It’s much better than talking about how he’s changed his total character between being a senator, a kind of a maverick at the time, and his acquiescence in the last few months with every kind of lobbyist pressure that the right wing Republicans have presented to him.”

In the interview that came before Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic convention in Denver, Carter also talked about Obama’s challenges facing the lingering effects of racism in America, the ability of the Clintons to bring their supporters over to Obama. He also decried Sen. Joe Lieberman’s decision to “abandon” the Democrats by speaking at the Republican National Convention next week."

SGT Nazario Acquitted!

That leaves almost every Marine accused of crimes acquitted! Semper Fi!

A big F U to the Liberals!

BLACKFIVE: Judicial Waterboarding of Our Marines - UPDATE SGT Nazario Acquitted!: "Just got word from GI W. that former Marine Sergeant Jose Nazario has been acquitted by the jury in Riverside California."

Putin Accuses U.S. Pushing Georgia Conflict to Influence Elections Back Home

I remember how the Soviets used to put out blatant lies just to watch people in the West defend themselves from the lies. Now they are throwing out the lies just to mess with the US. I doubt it will work since this is so obvious.

FOXNews.com - Putin Accuses U.S. Pushing Georgia Conflict to Influence Elections Back Home - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News: "The White House is rejecting Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's claim that the United States pushed Georgia to war, calling the allegation 'patently false.'

Putin had suggested that U.S. involvement was intended to affect its own domestic politics.

Spokeswoman Dana Perino responded Thursday by saying that 'to suggest the U.S. orchestrated [the crisis] on behalf of political candidates is not rational.'

Putin made the claims in an interview Thursday with CNN, and Russian news agencies report he said the U.S. seemingly encouraged Georgia to use force to resolve its dispute with separatist South Ossetia.

'The American side in fact armed and trained the Georgian army,' ITAR-Tass quoted Putin as saying in the interview. 'Why hold years of difficult talks and seek complex compromise solutions in interethnic conflicts? It's easier to arm one side and push it into the murder of the other side, and it's over.'

According to ITAR-Tass, he also said: 'If my guesses are confirmed, then the suspicion is raised that somebody in the United States purposefully created this conflict with the aim of aggravating the situation and creating an advantage ... for one of the candidates in the battle for the post of U.S. president."

CNN said he provided no evidence, and he apparently did not name a party or candidate."

Happy Birthday to Gilat Shalit

Poor guy has been forgotten by his government and left to die. I almost hope he is dead and not in pain and being tortured.

I also pray that he will be released soon. No one deserves to be held by terrorists. F Olmert for not freeing him!

Something... and Half of Something: Where were you when you turned 22?: "Today is Gilad Shalit's 22nd birthday, his third birthday in the hands of Hamas terrorists."

Obama campaign confronts WGN radio

This is a very interesting article. Fair and balanced, covers both sides, yet is about Obama. Interesting.

Obama and his supporters are right to block this investigation into his past. The only thing that we should know about Obama is that He is for Hope and Change and is Black. His past, friends, family, speeches, and writings are all off limits. Who cares what He has done anyway? He is the One and we will all be blessed by His presence as our Leader. The Future is all that matters! Hope and Change!

I should get a job at the HuffPo for writing that. However, if I had to think that way daily, I would probably vomit myself to death.

Obama campaign confronts WGN radio: The Swamp: "Sen. Barack Obama's campaign organized its supporters Wednesday night to confront Tribune-owned WGN-AM in Chicago for having a critic of the Illinois Democrat on its air. ( (Listen to the interview.)

"WGN radio is giving right-wing hatchet man Stanley Kurtz a forum to air his baseless, fear-mongering terrorist smears," Obama's campaign wrote in an e-mail to supporters. "He's currently scheduled to spend a solid two-hour block from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m. pushing lies, distortions, and manipulations about Barack and University of Illinois professor William Ayers."

Kurtz, a conservative writer, recently wrote an article for the National Review that looked at Obama's ties to Ayers, a former 1960s radical who later emerged as a school reform advocate in Chicago.

The magazine had been blocked in its initial attempts to obtain records from the University of Illinois at Chicago regarding a school reform initiative called the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, which Obama chaired and Ayers co-founded.

Obama critics were quick to suggest that political clout could be involved in seeking to protect Obama from embarrassment. The school later reserved its position and made the records available Tuesday.

On Wednesday evening, Obama's campaign urged supporters to call the radio station to complain.

"Tell WGN that by providing Kurtz with airtime, they are legitimizing baseless attacks from a smear-merchant and lowering the standards of political discourse," the note said.

"It is absolutely unacceptable that WGN would give a slimy character assassin like Kurtz time for his divisive, destructive ranting on our public airwaves," the note continued. "At the very least, they should offer sane, honest rebuttal to every one of Kurtz's lies."

Zack Christenson, executive producer of "Extension 720 with Milt Rosenburg," said the response was strong.

"I would say this is the biggest response we've ever got from a campaign or a candidate," he said. "This is really unprecedented with the show, the way that people are flooding the calls and our email boxes."

Christenson said the Obama campaign was asked to have someone appear on the show and declined the request."

General James Conway - USMC Update (SWJ Blog)

Semper Fi, sir. Thanks for helping our boys be safe and providing great leadership.

General James Conway - USMC Update (SWJ Blog): "Iraq’s once-deadly Anbar province could within the next few days become the 11th province to be turned over to Iraqi control, paving the way for a reduced US Marine Corps presence there, the Marine Corps commandant said today.

Gen. James T. Conway told Pentagon reporters the marked drop in violence in Anbar sets the stage for a drawdown of Marine forces that could be freed up for duty in Afghanistan, if needed.

“The change in the al-Anbar province is real and perceptible,' with attacks at an all-time daily low of two to three, Conway said. He cited assessments by Marine Maj. Gen. John Kelly, commander of Multinational Force West, that a reduced US force in the region could keep violence in check.

“Anbar remains a dangerous place, but the ever-growing ability of the Iraqi security forces continues to move us closer to seeing Iraqi control of the province,” he said. Once believed to be “the last [Iraqi province] to turn for the better,” he added, it is expected to return to Iraqi control “in just a few days.”

Conway noted that signs of construction and rebuilding – not violence – were ever-present during his drive through the Anbar cities of Fallujah and Ramadi earlier this summer."

Afghanistan: Hidden Battles And Secret Victories

Afghanistan: Hidden Battles And Secret Victories: " Many Afghans have noted that, while the Westerners can be deadly fighters, they do have their vulnerabilities. It's something of a competition among the tribes, to outdo each other in hustling the Westerners. The biggest hustle is obtaining foreign aid, while resisting anti-corruption efforts that seek to prevent crooked officials from stealing much of that aid. This is the real war in Afghanistan, for it takes place throughout the country.

The Taliban are relying more on suicidal attacks. The suicide bombers are obvious, but sending groups of gunmen away from Kandahar or the Pakistani border is also suicidal. The group that ambushed the French patrol outside Kabul two days ago, were soon found and attacked as they headed back to the border. About half of them were killed, wounded or captured. The Afghan "way of the warrior" does not endorse suicide attacks, so al Qaeda and their local allies have a hard time recruiting suicide bombers. Roadside bombs, and the prospect of loot from the victims of ambushes, is seen as respectable. There are more Afghan police and soldiers out there, and these are easier to kill and loot than the foreign troops. But, basically, if you have enough cash available, you can entice experienced fighters to accompany the ill-prepared religious school students recruited in Pakistan. The Taliban effort is more about religious faith and media manipulation, than it is a conventional military campaign. This is all a baffling mystery to most Westerners, because the mindset is so different. Afghanistan is a gun culture with a warrior mentality and a tribal society influenced by extreme religious ideas, greed and opportunism. Try and make a snappy headline out of all that. "

Information Warfare: The Spawn of Storm Rides Again

Information Warfare: The Spawn of Storm Rides Again: "Are you one of those people who are getting several emails a day with 'Journalists shot in Georgia' in the subject line, and with a Georgia.zip file attachment? If so, don't open that that zip file, because you are being probed by the Spawn of Storm. That's as in the Storm computer virus, zombie computers and botherders.

We covered the Storm virus (the first one to use this kind of news hook) last year with There are several recent variants, like email alerts the appear to come from MSNBC or BBC, many recent ones including a link to some Georgia or Olympics related item. The original Storm virus was so named because the news hook was unusually harsh Winter storms in Europe.

Despite all the publicity Storm got, and efforts to shut it down, the criminal gangs that seek to grab control of your PC found that the Storm formula continued to work if you just changed the news item. And so it came to pass that the spawn of Storm mutated and continues to infect more PCs (usually with a trojan horse program, that is used for things like DDOS attacks to shut down web sites in Georgia.)"

1 Dead, At Least 41 Hospitalized in Oklahoma E. Coli Outbreak

FOXNews.com - 1 Dead, At Least 41 Hospitalized in Oklahoma E. Coli Outbreak - Health News | Current Health News | Medical News: "State health officials are confirming a type of E. coli bacteria has been found in 10 patients who were sickened by a severe illness in northeastern Oklahoma.

The outbreak killed 26-year-old Chad Ingle and at least 41 people have been hospitalized and several children are undergoing dialysis because of kidney failure.

Laboratory specimens will be sent to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for further analysis.

Health officials say many who became sick ate at the Country Cottage restaurant in Locust Grove but the restaurant has not been pinpointed as the site of the outbreak.

The restaurant is normally closed on Mondays and voluntarily closed yesterday and today as the investigation continues.

The illnesses are a very severe and bloody diarrhea with symptoms also including vomiting and severe abdominal cramping."

Senior Special Groups leader captured at Baghdad airport

It worries me that the terrorists feel secure enough to be flying around in major airports while everyone is searching for them. At least he was picked up without a fight. Good to know that he was not able to get weapons into the flight.

Senior Special Groups leader captured at Baghdad airport - The Long War Journal: "The US military detained a senior Special Groups leader as he flew into Baghdad International Airport this morning. He was detained without incident after the US military received intelligence he was arriving in Baghdad via air.

The leader, who was not named, is described as being 'part of the most senior social and operational circles of Special Groups' by Multinational Forces-Iraq. 'The man has been known to travel in and out of Iraq to neighboring nations including Iran and Lebanon, where it is believed he meets and helps run the Iranian-backed Special Groups in Iraq,' Multinational Forces-Iraq reported in a press release.

The leader is said to be behind the deadly bombing at the Sadr City District Advisory Council meeting on June 24 that killed two US soldiers, two members of the US State Department, and six Iraqis. The meeting took place after the Mahdi Army called for a cease-fire and allowed Iraqi troops to enter the northeastern Baghdad neighborhood."

Corps to hand over control of Anbar

What a wonderful time for Iraq.

Corps to hand over control of Anbar - Marine Corps News, news from Iraq - Marine Corps Times: "After a summer of delays, the highly touted handover of security in the once-volatile Anbar province of Iraq is scheduled for next week, the top Marine in Iraq said Tuesday.

Iraqi officials signed a memorandum of understanding Tuesday that paved the way for the handover of security next week, Maj. Gen. John F. Kelly said from Iraq in a telephone interview with Marine Corps Times.

The announcement comes on the heels of Commandant Gen. James Conway’s trip to the region in which the top Marine officer touched down first in Afghanistan, where several thousand Marines are fighting the Taliban and training Afghan security forces, then visited Iraq — a sign of the evolving level of importance between the two theaters.

Conway is slated to hold a press conference Wednesday morning to discuss the details of his trip through the Middle East.

The security handover was originally scheduled for late June, but was postponed twice due to weather and then indefinitely due to a governing conflict between the local and national governments that was recently resolved, said Kelly, the commander of Multi-National Force — West.

The increasing success of the 28,000-strong Iraqi police force in Anbar in securing the province has freed Marines to hunt down the remaining"

Dear Senator Biden

Nothing to add to this. Go read the rest of it if you wish.

Something... and Half of Something: Dear Senator Biden: "Today, Senator Biden, the falseness of your statements have been proven. Eight of the Marines charged for the so called “massacre” have already been exonerated. There is but one case still pending and that case is likely to be dismissed as well. There was no massacre and if there was no massacre, there was no coverup, at any level.

Senator Biden, there can be no doubt you made a serious mistake in your accusations against our Marines and you made a serious mistake in your accusations against Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and you made a serious mistake in your accusations against the President of the United States, George W. Bush. Mistakes you should be held accountable for.

According to your own statement, your own "system of accountability," the gentlemanly thing to do would be for you, Senator Biden, you, to stand up and to acknowledge your serious mistake, for you to apologize to each of these brave and honorable men for your false accusations and misdeeds, for you to apologize for the injuries you inflicted upon them based on your rash and thoughtless words spoken without knowledge, that were based on rumor, innuendo and ignorance of the facts, the accusations you made without the benefit of a proper investigation and the gathering of information necessary to make intelligent commentary on such a sensitive subject.

Never mind the dangers inherent in your promotion of the propaganda of the enemy at a time of war and your undermining of our Government and the Military in favor of the enemy, which equals aiding and abetting the enemy, as your words were before the world and they put every soldier overseas in grave danger of suffering vengence for acts that did not in fact occur but which you claimed did occur.

Do the the right thing Senator Biden. The world is watching. The world is watching you.

Stand up Senator Biden. Be a man.

Acknowledge your serious mistake. Apologize to those you have falsely accused. "

Shipping limits through the Bosphorus

When it comes to Maritime expertise, I always go to the Eagle. I did wonder why no major ships were taking supplies into the Black Sea.

I also have to wonder why the US Coast Guard is in that area. Any takers? I can't think of any parts of the US coast near Greece!

EagleSpeak: Shipping limits through the Bosphorus: "Interesting read on U.S. intentions with respect to the Black Sea at Oktay Eksi: United States scratches the Montreux Convention itch.

I won't comment on his conjecture about what reasons other than Georgia the U.S. might want access to the Black Sea for, but it should be noted:

The Montreux Convention limits the total weight of a single warship that countries not bordering the Black Sea can deploy to 15,000 tons. Country’s bound by the agreement can deploy warships totaling a maximum of 45,000 tons.

So, if you wonder why we are sending destroyers and a Coast Guard cutter...now you know."

===================================================================================

http://www.eaglespeak.us/2008/08/coast-guard-cutter-dalls-joins-uss.html
The Coast Guard cutter Dallas entered the Dardanelles; as a giant crane unloaded 55 tons of aid from the USS McFaul for refugees in Batumi, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of another port, Poti, where Russian troops are still present.

This has been the first U.S. humanitarian mission via the sea to Georgia since the start of the conflict on Aug. 8, when Russia sent forces into Georgia to repel an attack on the Moscow-backed separatist region of South Ossetia that Tbilisi had started the day before.

U.S. Navy officials were met by Georgian officials, including Defense Minister David Kezerashvili.

Kezerashvili said that "the population of Georgia will feel more safe from today from the Russian aggression." "They will feel safe not because the destroyer is here but because they will feel they are not alone facing the Russian aggression," he was quoted by the AP as saying.

The McFaul is also outfitted with an array of weaponry, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, which can carry both conventional or nuclear warheads, and a sophisticated radar system. For security reasons the Navy does not say if ships are carrying nuclear weapons, but they usually do not.

The command ship USS Mount Whitney is due to follow the two U.S. warships carrying relief supplies to Georgia. The U.S. has already delivered some aid by military cargo plane but is now shipping in beds and food for the displaced.

NATO-member Turkey has authorized the three U.S. ships to sail through the Turkish straits into the Black Sea.

Hizballah high-up falls to his death at rocket pad on Israeli border

The UN is almost aiding the terrorists in their efforts to fortify in direct violation of the UN Resolutions. Why are they just standing back and allowing this to happen?

Why are the Israeli politicians keeping their military on a short leash while the terrorists are openly preparing for war?

It is past time to bomb that area flat. It is almost a criminal act that neither the UN or local governments are willing to stop these acts of open aggression.

DEBKAfile - Hizballah high-up falls to his death at rocket pad on Israeli border: "The geography of the accident Tuesday, Aug. 26, belied the reiterated claims of Israeli ministers and UN officials that Hizballah’s rockets had been pushed back from the Lebanese-Israeli border, under the terms of the Resolution 1701 ceasefire which ended the 2006 Lebanon War.

Jamal Amin Salah, 51, a Hizballah operations executive, stood on the rooftop of a building at the Lebanese Yaroun village, less than half a kilometer from the Israeli border. He was discussing with his men how far inside Israeli territory the rockets installed at the launch pads in the village could reach, when he fell to his death.

DEBKAfile’s military sources confirm that, not only has Hizballah returned to its old positions on the Israeli border - contradicting statements by prime minister Ehud Olmert and defense minister Ehud Barak - but the Iran-backed Shiite terrorists are working feverishly on the construction of a new line of fortified military positions, including rocket-launching pads, right on top of the Israeli border fence.

Neither Israeli Defense Forces nor UN peacekeepers have interfered with this barefaced violation of international agreements."

Moscow: No room for more NATO ships on Black Sea, Moldova should beware

DEBKAfile - Moscow: No room for more NATO ships on Black Sea, Moldova should beware: "America’s decision to redirect its Georgia aid warship from Russian-controlled Poti port to Georgian-controlled Batumi Wednesday, August 27 – on direct orders from the Pentagon - did not cool the escalating Black Sea tension between the two powers. As soon as the US Coast Guard cutter Dallas docked with 34 tons of humanitarian aid, three Russian missile boats, led by the Moskva missile cruiser, anchored to the north at the Black Sea port of Sukhumi, capital of breakaway Abkhazia, for what the Russians called “peacekeeping operations.”

In Moscow, Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn said NATO had exhausted the number of forces it can deploy in the Black Sea under international agreements. He warned Western nations against sending more ships. “NATO – which is not a state located in the Black Sea” cannot continuously increase its forces and systems there, he said.

According to DEBKAfile’s military sources, ten NATO warships are present in the Black Sea – American, Turkish, German, Spanish and Polish. Alliance sources have said more vessels would soon be deployed, raising the number to eighteen.

Moldova, another former Soviet Black Sea nation, is the latest target of Russian threats and element in the Russian-US contest over the region.

Tuesday, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev warned Moldovan leaders against repeating Georgia’s mistake of trying to use force to regain control of its breakaway region of Transdniestria. Russian peacekeepers have been posted there since 1990, when provincial separatists fought to break away from Moldova. This dispute mirrors the predicament of Georgia and other former Soviet nations which have large Russian populations.

Moldova is strategically located on the Western shore of the Black Sea, very near the Crimean Peninsula and the big Russian naval headquarters base at Sevastopol, Ukraine.

Wednesday, Russian ambassador Valeri Kuzmin advised Moldova’s leaders to avoid a “bloody and catastrophic trend of events.” He said Moscow had recognizes South Ossetian and Abkhazian independence the day before, because of “Georgian’s aggression.”

Ukraine stepped in Wednesday with a demand to renegotiate the Russian Black Sea fleet’s lease for the use of the Sevastopol base to raise the rent."

Miliband ratchets up the rhetoric against Russia

Russia is scary in their determination to be viewed as a Superpower once again.

Miliband ratchets up the rhetoric against Russia | Opinion | The First Post: "There is a risk that David Miliband could be talking us into a small war as he ratchets up the rhetoric against Russia on his visit to Ukraine. He has called for the 'widest possible coalition against Russian aggression'. This means full Western support if Russia pulls on Ukraine the same trick it has on Georgia - a grab for territory to protect the endangered Russian minority.

The language and mood of the Western allies in Nato and the EU is shifting from containment of Russia to confrontation. The main powers - Germany, France, Britain and the US - are pulling their junior partners together in a way they weren't only last week. France, as the current president of the EU, has called a summit next Monday."

The Truth About Russia in Georgia

Totten gets into the true history behind the Russian-Georgian War. I knew only a smattering of this and I think more people should understand it before they make comments about the War. Too many people only know what the Soviet PR machine has spewed out.

This is a very important lesson! Read this article to get an understanding.

Michael J. Totten: The Truth About Russia in Georgia: "Virtually everyone believes Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili foolishly provoked a Russian invasion on August 7, 2008, when he sent troops into the breakaway district of South Ossetia. “The warfare began Aug. 7 when Georgia launched a barrage targeting South Ossetia,” the Associated Press reported over the weekend in typical fashion.

Virtually everyone is wrong. Georgia didn't start it on August 7, nor on any other date. The South Ossetian militia started it on August 6 when its fighters fired on Georgian peacekeepers and Georgian villages with weapons banned by the agreement hammered out between the two sides in 1994. At the same time, the Russian military sent its invasion force bearing down on Georgia from the north side of the Caucasus Mountains on the Russian side of the border through the Roki tunnel and into Georgia. This happened before Saakashvili sent additional troops to South Ossetia and allegedly started the war."

Palestinian factions reject deploying Arab security forces in Gaza

The only way that the "Palestinians" will end the slaughter of women and children is if they run out of people to kill. The efforts of even their fellow Muslims does not matter if they are not allowed to kill and slaughter and maim.

Once again, I am forced to say that Gaza just needs to be razed and the "people" removed. They have been reduced to a subhuman, blood thirsty mass of animals. They are like wild boars that have developed a taste for human flesh - too dangerous to allow to exist. Can anyone think of a way to end the crisis besides killing all of one of the sides? Well, the one side will gladly live with the other if allowed, but we need to to find a way to get to that point.

The Nazis trained the original "Palestinian Resistance" very well.

Palestinian factions reject deploying Arab security forces in Gaza - People's Daily Online: "The proposal to redeploy Arab security forces in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip has been widely rejected by most of the Palestinian factions, which was even compared to a new occupation of Gaza similar to the one Israel ended in September 2005.

Leaders of the Palestinian factions, mainly Hamas and Islamic Jihad (Holy War) strongly rejected the proposal which was welcomed by the leadership of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.

The leaders of the factions said that the mission of the Arab security forces, if they are deployed in Gaza 'will be protecting the Israeli occupation and ending the Palestinian armed resistance against Israel.'

Palestinian Authority leaders had earlier announced that they have officially discussed the idea with the Egyptian leaders and other Arab countries to deploy Arab security forces in the Gaza Strip, which has been ruled by Hamas movement since mid June last year.

They said that the role of the Arab security forces is to rebuild the Palestinian security apparatuses and restore order and discipline in the Gaza Strip, which had witnessed violent fighting between rival Fatah and Hamas movement."

The Conning Khan Caper Revealed

Because this story is about a US CIA success, I am going to not expect to see much about it in the Media. I will expect to see a lot about it once the secrets get leaked somehow. The Media hates allowing the CIA any secrets.

Intelligence: The Conning Khan Caper Revealed: "Despite efforts by the CIA to keep it quiet, it was recently revealed how the CIA did major damage to nuclear weapons developments programs in Libya and Iran. This was done by getting to one of the engineers working for the Pakistani Khan network (named after scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, who led development efforts for Pakistani nuclear weapons.) The CIA basically hired Swiss engineer Friedrich Tinner and his two sons, to feed the Khan network, and its customers, defective (in subtle ways) nuclear weapons components. From 2001-4, the Tinners worked under CIA direction. This caused Libya to drop its nuclear weapons program, and delayed work in Iran.

Since then, the Tinners have been prosecuted in Switzerland for their work with the Khan network. The elder Tinner began working for Khan in the 1970s, helping to steal European nuclear technology for the Pakistani weapons program. This relationship expanded in the 1990s, when Abdul Qadeer Khan began making money on the side by selling nuclear weapons technology to anyone who could afford it and was discrete (like Libya, Iran, North Korea and Iraq). The CIA effort to discover the Khan network, and take it down, led them to Tinner, whose willingness to collaborate helped bring down the Khan network.

The CIA paid the Tinners $10 million for their work, and are trying to keep them out of jail. But now details of the Tinner operation have been leaked to the media. The CIA will now try to keep secret the methods and contacts it used to uncover and destroy the Khan network, as well as how it sabotaged components. All this information can be used again, if it doesn't get published in the mass media first. "

Blockheads vs. the blockade

I see that Israel decided to ignore my advice about locking these fools up in Sderot, but they did the smart thing, which was to let the ship through since it was already cleared and certified by Cypriot authorities as being weapon free.

See what I miss when I go out of town for a few days over the weekend? Thanks for finding all this SoccerDad.

Soccer Dad: Blockheads vs. the blockade: "Never mind that Israel allows large quantities of goods into Gaza and the Palestinians themselves smuggle even more in via tunnels from Egypt. But a bunch of anti-Israel activists decided to make some PR and "run" Israel's naval blockade of Gaza.

Two wooden boats carrying dozens of human rights activists reached the Gaza Strip on Saturday afternoon after the Israeli navy decided not to hinder the challenge to Israel's blockade of the Palestinian enclave. Thousands of Palestinians turned out to welcome the group, which brought token humanitarian aid, including hearing aids and balloons.

The Post's headline proclaims that the boats "broke" the blockade, but Israel let them pass unhindered.

(In some of the early publicity - it wasn't news, it was unvarnished PR - it was noted that a Holocaust survivor was going to be on the boat. The Post's PR release doesn't mention her among the celebrities on the boat. Did she change her mind or was the Post just unaware of her presence.)

Meryl points out that since the ship of fools didn't meet any resistance they charged that Israel jammed their instruments to prevent them from reaching Gaza.

However Backspin points out that the activists may not have such an easy time leaving Gaza as they did arriving.

And despite the crowds cheering their arrival, left unreported by many organizations was

once it turned out these boats contain too little food and mostly activists...some people left the beach disappointed."

Free History Project demands that History be kept caged

So, History needs to be Freed from its use by the Right? Only the Leftists who want to revise it are allowed to use it? Interesting! Keep up the good work hippies!

As an amateur historian, I love to find little historical tidbits to contemplate and to regale others with. Some people think that I should be sent to Gitmo as a professional torturer and just tell these tidbits to the inmates. Others think that might be too cruel. I am not sure if I should be insulted or not. Help keep history safe. Keep it away from censors and hippies.

Lucianne.com News Forum: "The Berkeley-based nonprofit Free History Project has sent a cease-and-desist letter to a right-wing political group which used footage from one of the project’s documentaries in a new ad that tries to tie Barack Obama to 1960s-era radical William Ayers. The letter demands that all broadcasts of the American Issues Project ad, now running in Michigan and Ohio, be halted as a violation of copyright law."

Tar Heel jihadist gets 33 years

When will Muslims practice the Peace they profess? So many do, but they are not able to contain their bloody-handed brethren. Why not? Is it because they have also read the Koran and know that Islam is only peaceful for the Master Faith? Die, in prison pig eater.

Jihad Watch: Tar Heel jihadist gets 33 years: "The headline to this WXII story is 'Former Student Sentenced In UNC Crash.' Crash? There was no 'crash' in the sense of an accident. Taheri-azar, by his own admission, was trying to kill students by hitting them with the SUV, and did so -- again by his own admission -- because he believed the Qur'an directed him to kill infidels."

"The Muslim faith disqualifies him from leading the Muslim nation because he is comparable to an infidel"

See! Islam is willing to work with other faiths!

NOT!

Islam is the Master, all others are slaves. At best.

Since Mauritania is now a thugocracy, can they just shoot fools like this? It will be interesting to watch! If they are thugs, Esseman will die soon. If they are just place holders trying to fix their country for a return to democracy, then Esseman will stay in jail. I say they shoot him anyway, and all his followers. Just because the AQ wannabes are dangerous vermin.

Jihad Watch: "The Muslim faith disqualifies him from leading the Muslim nation because he is comparable to an infidel": "The suspected head of Al-Qaeda in Mauritania urged the country's Muslims not to recognise the ruling military junta, calling it an 'infidel regime,' AFP learned Monday.

The denunciation came as the head of the African Union (AU) Commission said he held an 'optimistic' meeting with the junta's leader General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, aimed at restoring a constitutional government.

In a two-page letter, handwritten in Arabic from prison and signed with his name, El Khadim Ould Esseman wrote that Muslims must not support or recognise the junta that seized power earlier this month.

'Even if (the head of the junta) linked by blood and membership of the same tribal group, the Muslim faith disqualifies him from leading the Muslim nation because he is comparable to an infidel,' the letter said.

'Those who applaud the new government and those who are against it must stop and turn to the strict application of Sharia.' [...]"

Classes Start in Texas School District Where Teachers Can Carry Guns

THe people who dislike this plan are afraid that the teachers are the ones who are going to go crazy and start shooting up the classrooms? Or they just hate guns and put their kids in private schools behind armed guards so that the peasants can't be seen.

This school district has gone to extremes to ensure the safety of its students. I am even willing to bet that none of the teachers are carrying a weapon because the standard is so high for being able to carry one. Not that the gun haters care. The only people who are allowed to carry guns on campus, in their twisted world, are highly visible so that snipers can see them, or criminal - because only criminals should have guns. Or something like that.

I am willing to bet that the local kids will be more than happy NOT to test the system by shooting wildly in class. Wait! These are teenagers and are, by definition, stupid enough to test the system. I hope that the kid who does dies a quick and painful death. A lonely death.

FOXNews.com - Classes Start in Texas School District Where Teachers Can Carry Guns - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News: "Thweatt said the board took extra precautions, such as requiring employees to use bullets that will minimize the risk of ricochet, similar to those used by air marshals on planes.

'I can lead them from a fire, tornado and toxic spill; we have plans in place for that. I cannot lead them from an active shooter,' Thweatt said. 'There are people who are going to think this is extreme, but it's easy to defend.'

Judy Priz, who has a third-grade daughter, said that 'everyone I've talked to thinks it's great.' She said she trusts the teachers with her child's life.

'Look how long it takes the police or anybody else to get here,' she told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for a story in its Monday online edition. 'If someone wants to come here and harm someone, at least we would have sort of defense.'

Gov. Rick Perry has said he supports the policy because 'there's a lot of incidents where that would have saved a number of lives.'

The Brady Center has spoken out against the plan, saying it may not comply with Texas law, which bans firearms at schools unless carriers have given written permission. If the school board authorizes an employee to carry a gun, then that person must be a peace offi"

Special Operations: Decapitation in Afghanistan

This is a topic that I seem to harp on about often. The Special Ops boys do not get the credit they deserve. Keep up the good fight, lads!

Special Operations: Decapitation in Afghanistan: "Decapitation in Afghanistan

August 25, 2008: Afghanistan is once more becoming a gathering place for special operations (commando) operators from dozens of countries. This has led to the development of a new strategy, of trying to destroy the Taliban and al Qaeda leadership. Several years worth of experience and information collected by the thousands of commandos has provided a way to do this. Commandos could track the terrorist leaders, and also use a network of informants they had developed along the border, on both sides, over the years. In addition, the U.S. had developed electronic and visual surveillance capabilities that provide the commandos with additional eyes, and weapons. The commandos are particularly fond of Predator and Reaper UAVs, which come operators describe as having a full time spy satellite overhead. Commandos, as well as smart bombs and Hellfire missiles.

These "decapitation" operations have increased this year, and are expected to keep increasing into next year. The Taliban and al Qaeda have already figured out what is going on, and are increasingly paranoid when it comes to informers, using their own cell or satellite phones, and any unidentified aircraft in the area. The terrorists keep changing the way they meet and communicate, yet they keep getting killed. While the terrorists can replace leaders and technical specialists, they cannot replace them with people of equal experience. And as they move into the shallow end of the talent pool, more mistakes are made. Al Qaeda operatives who have fled Iraq to Afghanistan, have noticed, and commented on, the lower level of technical expertise among their Afghan brothers. While most Iraqi terrorists were literate, and some even had formal technical training, most Afghans are illiterate, and any technical training they might have was acquired informally. This has led to more bombs that don't go off on cue, or, worse yet, explode while being worked on, or emplaced. This sort of thing will happen more, as the talent pool gets diluted. The terrorists have a nearly inexhaustible supply of gunmen and suicide bombers from the hundreds of pro-terror religious schools in Pakistan. Plenty of cash is available from contributions and criminal activities (particularly working for the heroin gangs in Afghanistan). But leadership cannot be bought, nor can you hire technical people to work the high risk (and high death rate) border areas. You have to develop your own leaders and technical people. And if the enemy kills off those leaders and techies too rapidly, the terror operations will collapse. That's how the Israelis crippled Palestinian terrorist operations several years ago, and how the Americans crushed al Qaeda in Iraq, and throughout the rest of the world. Now that solution is being applied to the terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and commandos from over a dozen nations are in charge.

From the beginning, in September, 2001, Afghanistan was very much a special operations war. The United States asked all of its allies to contribute their commando forces, and most eagerly obliged. This enthusiasm came from the realization that this part of the world was particularly difficult to operate in, and would be a welcome challenge to men who had trained hard for years for missions like this. In addition, most nations saw Islamic terrorism as a real threat, and knew that key terrorist leaders were still hiding out in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. Even after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, which many Western and Middle Eastern nations opposed, they kept sending their commandoes to Afghanistan. But few commandos were allowed into Pakistan, where most of the Taliban and al Qaeda leadership were hiding. Efforts to operate in Pakistan created growing hostility from Pakistani intelligence agencies, which contained many al Qaeda sympathizers. The Pakistani government was reluctant to come down too hard on the Taliban and al Qaeda members on their Afghan border. So the commandos proceeded to learn all about the pro-Taliban tribes in Afghanistan, and secretly sneaked across into Pakistan as well.

Most of these commando operations have been kept secret. This is typical for commando operations, but in this case, many of the nations involved don't want it known that they are involved. This has especially been the case with Arab nations that have contributed commando units. The only time any information gets into the media is, typically, when a commando contingent returns. In that way, the Norwegian media covered the return of their special forces from, as it was described, "another mission" to Afghanistan. Many nations have either sent their commandoes to Afghanistan in shifts, maintaining a near continuous presence, or send some in for a few months, or up to a year, then bring them home for a year or so, before sending them back. For many nations, this is the only combat experience any of their troops are receiving. These countries are often officially hostile to the U.S. effort in Iraq, and refuse to send combat troops to Afghanistan. But commandos in Afghanistan are another matter, partly because nearly all commandos are eager to go.

Afghanistan has been called "the Commando Olympics," because so many nations have contingents there. While the different commando organizations aren't competing with each other, they are performing similar missions, using slightly different methods and equipment. Naturally, everyone compares notes and makes changes based on combat experience. That's the draw for commandoes, getting and using "combat experience." Training is great, but there's nothing like operating against an armed and hostile foe. This is all a real big thing, as the participating commandoes are becoming a lot more effective. But you can't get a photograph of this increased capability, and the commandoes aren't talking to the press. So it's all a big story you'll never hear much about, except in history books, many years from now.
"

Protest boats seek an end to Gaza siege

If these idiots want to help the poor innocent people of Gaza, then arrest them for attempting to break the siege and jail them in Sderot. If they are killed by their good friends in Gaza, that is just tough. After a few months of bombardment they might wonder why only food and medical supplies are allowed to travel from Israel into Gaza. If they STILL don't understand, then they are even bigger fools than they seem in this.

I am sure that these fools are nice enough individuals, but they must have IQs in the lowest quarter of humanity. Gullible, yet useful, fools. Stalin would have loved them.

AKI - Adnkronos international Middle East: Protest boats seek an end to Gaza siege: "Two boats carrying more than 40 international human rights activists left the Mediterranean island of Cyprus on Friday for the Gaza Strip in a bid to break Israel's blockade in the Palestinian Territories.

The activists, members of the Free Gaza Movement, fear they may be stopped and arrested by Israeli Defense Forces as they seek to draw attention to what they call the "illegality" of Israel's actions.

"Our goal is to break the blockade that Israel has imposed on the Gazan people," Huweida Arraf from the movement told Adnkronos International (AKI) in a telephone interview from one of the boats.

"What Israel does is to justify the siege and blockade under a security pretext. Under this security pretext, they are starving and humiliating an entire people."

The crew consists of people from 16 different countries and includes a Greek parliamentarian,Tasos Kourakis, Lauren Booth, sister-in-law of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and an 81-year old Catholic nun.

The protesters plan to deliver 5,000 balloons for children, as well as hearing aids to a Palestinian charity.

...

"Israel is an occupying power, and as such they are keeping 1.5 million civilians under siege, effectively instituting collective punishment which is illegal under international law," said Arraf, a lawyer who also runs the International Solidarity Movement.

"Israel is breaking international law. It (the siege) is also immoral and illegal. This is a man-made humanitarian catastrophe. Everybody in this boat is appalled that the internationally community has not spoken against this."

The two boats, the 21-metre long 'SS Free Gaza' and an 18-metre boat called 'Liberty' left the southern port of Larnaca in Cyprus early on Friday morning."

iowahawk: Obama Pix Hipster Prix to Reclick with Stix Hix

When the 'Hawk eventually retires, I might have to give up the Internet. where does he get this stuff?

Make sure you empty your bladder and have throughly wet your whistle before you read this. Accidents happen...


iowahawk: Obama Pix Hipster Prix to Reclick with Stix Hix: "'A lot of the plebe douchebags come in here full of swagger, thinking all it takes is a few hours of FM country music endurance training, and I have to tell them they have no idea what they're up against,' says Ethan Dodge, a Seattle conceptual theater set designer and veteran douchebag of Obama's Iowa caucus campaign. 'Believe me, I've been to Dubuque. I know.'

To toughen up the recruits for the task ahead, Dodge and other drill instructors take a direct approach.

'We tell them straight up: we aren't your mommy or daddy or your au pair. There aren't any independent lesbian film festivals in Youngstown, and just because Iowa has a lot of farmers it doesn't mean they are going to see a lot of Sunday chill-out farmers' markets,' says Voorhees. 'After that shock wears off, we tell them about how the natives drink Pabst unironically.'

'Sure, it scares some recruits off,' admits Dodge. 'But the ones who stay are much less likely to crack under the pressure of a two week isolation from American Apparel or Urban Outfitters.'"

Christian Theology Students Forced off Campus by Mob of Islamic Hard-liners - International News | News of the World | Middle East News

FOXNews.com - Christian Theology Students Forced off Campus by Mob of Islamic Hard-liners - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News: "Since being driven from campus, nearly 600 female students have been sleeping under suspended tarps at a nearby scout camp, where they had to dig trenches to keep water out during downpours. Classes are held with megaphones in the sweltering summer heat, under trees or the tarps. A similar number of male students live in a guesthouse. The remainder have returned to their families.

Food, water and school supplies are donated by church groups and community charities.

"We feel like refugees in our own country," said Dessy Nope, 19, a second-year student majoring in education. "How can you study here? I only followed 20 percent of my last lesson. It's difficult to concentrate."

Christians have not been the only targets for Muslim hard-liners, who this year set fire to mosques of a Muslim sect, Ahmadiyah, that they consider heretical.

In June, the government ordered members of the sect to return to mainstream Islam, sparking concern among activists who fear the state is interfering in matters of faith and caving in to the demands of radicals.

"We're living in a country where there are many religions, but the government cannot prevent the actions of fundamentalist groups," said Manave, the school spokesman. "The government cannot protect minorities." "

U.S. attack may have cemented bin Laden, al-Qaida alliance

If President Bush hadn't attacked the AQ bases, then the Taliban would not have protected them and aided them, allowing them to plan the 9/11 attacks and ... Never mind. Bush was just a governor back then. He probably tricked the Clintons into the attacks! Even though they were the smartest Presidents EVER and Bush is a low grade moron.

Amazing how this wonderfully Left leaning paper never mentions any President in this article. If there had been ANY way to pass the buck to a Republican, you can bet they would have. Over and over again. Just to drive home the hint.

Nation & World | U.S. attack may have cemented bin Laden, al-Qaida alliance | Seattle Times Newspaper: "The U.S. cruise-missile strike on an al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan in 1998 was meant to kill Osama bin Laden. But he apparently left shortly before the missiles struck, and newly declassified U.S. documents suggest the attack cemented an alliance with his Taliban protectors.

The State Department documents released Wednesday provide details of the evolving relationship between Taliban leader Mullah Omar and al-Qaida chief bin Laden over four months in 1998. The period begins Aug. 21, 1998, one day after the U.S. launched 62 Tomahawk cruise missiles at two al-Qaida training camps in Afghanistan as retaliation for the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on Aug. 7 of that year. Bin Laden was believed to be at one of the camps, but he left shortly before the missiles struck.

Omar said publicly on Aug. 21 that he would continue to protect bin Laden."

Back to School Time - The Perfect Time for Flag Etiquette

What a nice idea. Not too many people know what the proper etiquette for the flag is. Just look at Obama's gaffe putting the flag upside down on his campaign passes. Unfortunately, not too many Liberals will care to read this and most Conservatives will know most, if not all, of it.

Go and check your knowledge and see how you do. Then fly your flag proudly! This is a great country!

Back to School Time - The Perfect Time for Flag Etiquette & Information Offered by FlagandBanner.com: "FlagandBanner.com (http://www.flagandbanner.com), a leading retail supplier of American flags and patriotic items, announced today that it will be providing free Flag Etiquette (http://www.FlagandBanner.com/fab/flag.asp?cpage=etiquette1) information year round for all those interested in learning the proper way to display the United States Flag.

Back To School: Time for Answers

'Every year when school starts we get a lot of e-mails and phone calls about proper flag etiquette. So many patriotic Americans are unaware of proper flag etiquette -- when to take flags down, how to dispose of flags, and other general flag information,' stated Kerry McCoy, owner of Flag and Banner. 'Because so many people from all over the United States getting ready for school to start have inquired about when and how to display the flag, we decided to provide the information in one place along with our e-mail alerts for people wanting notification on when to fly their flags at half mast,' Kerry continued.

Information on the Flag and Banner website includes:"

Taliban Claims Responsibility for Homicide Blasts That Killed 59 in Pakistan

I am worried about the hints that this was a nuclear processing facility for the Pakistani nuclear program. I do not think that the new Pakistani government is strong enough to stand up on its own feet yet and they might lose control over these weapons. I am praying that a F117 might be out of retirement, or a B2 might be standing by just in case the bombs need to be destroyed before the terrorists can get them.

Who can intervene? If it is the US, then we will be denounced as warmongers and evil - but what else is new. If it is India, then that is the reason why Pakistan developed Nuclear weapons in the first place! They fear a take over by the Hindus they persecuted for centuries. China might want to do it, because of the Pakistani terrorists now infiltrating China to cause trouble there. However, none of these will be tolerable to even the most enlightened and Westernized Pakistanis.

I recommend just taking the weapons to the US and returning them when the situation is stabilized. If it can't be stabilized, then Islam will just be in control and Muslim areas are rarely stable anyway.

FOXNews.com - Taliban Claims Responsibility for Homicide Blasts That Killed 59 in Pakistan - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News: "Twin Taliban homicide bombings at Pakistan's largest weapons complex killed at least 59 people Thursday, heightening the turmoil following Pervez Musharraf's ouster as president.

The ruling coalition, made up of traditional rivals who were united primarily in their determination to force Musharraf from office, meanwhile appeared to be veering toward collapse. The two main parties have been unable to bridge key differences such as whether judges fired by Musharraf should be quickly reinstated and who should succeed him as president.

Pakistanis have urged the civilian government to stop bickering and turn quickly to tackling the country's problems from an economic downturn to extremist violence in the volatile northwest, where fighting between security forces and Islamic militants has escalated in recent weeks.

• Click here for photos.

The bombers struck two different gates of the government weapons complex just as workers were leaving. The complex, comprising 12 factories, is located in Wah, a garrison city 20 miles west of the capital, Islamabad.

Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said the perimeter is guarded by a dedicate"

Bomb found near Lewis County power plant

These were some really lucky miners and train workers! By rights they should be dead!

Now, who could have done something like this? CAIR? ACLU? UN? ELF? DNC?

Bomb found near Lewis County power plant | KOMO News - Seattle, Washington | News: "An explosive device with the potential to deliver 'an incredible amount of destructive power' was found alongside tracks leading to Lewis County's Trans Alta mine on Wednesday, officials said.

The Lewis County Sheriff's Office said the device was found by a Trans Alta employee who did not recognize it as a bomb and transported it in a rail truck to turn over to the supervisor.


The stretch of tracks where the bomb was found is shown above.
The company then alerted sheriff's deputies, who secured the scene and then called in the Washington State Patrol's bomb squad.

The device was a five-gallon propane tank with green and yellow wires coming out the tank. The wires were similar to those used in electrical blasting caps.

After arriving at the scene, the bomb squad x-rayed the tank, and removed a blasting cap from the device. The blasting cap had been activated but the powder inside the tank for unknown reasons had not detonated."