January 05, 2009
"Taking Chance" HBO Film
.
In 2004, Lt. Col. Michael Strobl volunteered to escort home the body of a 19-year-old Marine killed in Iraq. It would prove to be a life-altering experience. Kevin Bacon stars as Strobl in this profoundly moving HBO Films drama that looks at the military rituals for honoring its war dead from the perspective of one fallen soldier named Chance Phelps. Strobl never knew Phelps before taking the assignment, but as he journeys across America, he discovers the great diligence and dignity in how the military handle such dark duties--and comes to grips with his own issues of guilt when he meets Chance's gracious family and friends.
.
23 Apr 04 – The enclosed article was written by LtCol M.R. Strobl USMC who is assigned to MCCDC Quantico, VA and served as the officer who escorted the remains of PFC C. Phelps USMC from Dover AFB, DE to his home. PFC Phelps was assigned to 3d Bn, 11th Marines – an artillery unit functioning as a provisional infantry battalion during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM 2. PFC Phelps was killed in action from a gunshot wound received on 9 Apr 04 during combat operations west of Baghdad. He was buried in Dubois, WY on 17 Apr 04.
Chance Phelps was wearing his Saint Christopher medal when he was killed on Good Friday. Eight days later, I handed the medallion to his mother. I didn’t know Chance before he died. Today, I miss him.
Over a year ago, I volunteered to escort the remains of Marines killed in Iraq should the need arise. The military provides a uniformed escort for all casualties to ensure they are delivered safely to the next of kin and are treated with dignity and respect along the way.
Thankfully, I hadn’t been called on to be an escort since Operation Iraqi Freedom began. The first few weeks of April, however, had been a tough month for the Marines. On the Monday after Easter I was reviewing Department of Defense press releases when I saw that a Private First Class Chance Phelps was killed in action outside of Baghdad. The press release listed his hometown—the same town I’m from. I notified our Battalion adjutant and told him that, should the duty to escort PFC Phelps fall to our Battalion, I would take him.
I didn’t hear back the rest of Monday and all day Tuesday until 1800. The Battalion duty NCO called my cell phone and said I needed to be ready to leave for Dover Air Force Base at 1900 in order to escort the remains of PFC Phelps.
Before leaving for Dover I called the major who had the task of informing Phelps’s parents of his death. The major said the funeral was going to be in Dubois, Wyoming. (It turned out that PFC Phelps only lived in my hometown for his senior year of high school.) I had never been to Wyoming and had never heard of Dubois.
With two other escorts from Quantico, I got to Dover AFB at 2330 on Tuesday night. First thing on Wednesday we reported to the mortuary at the base. In the escort lounge there were about half a dozen Army soldiers and about an equal number of Marines waiting to meet up with “their” remains for departure. PFC Phelps was not ready, however, and I was told to come back on Thursday. Now, at Dover with nothing to do and a solemn mission ahead, I began to get depressed.
I was wondering about Chance Phelps. I didn’t know anything about him; not even what he looked like. I wondered about his family and what it would be like to meet them. I did pushups in my room until I couldn’t do any more.
On Thursday morning I reported back to the mortuary. This time there was a new group of Army escorts and a couple of the Marines who had been there Wednesday. There was also an Air Force captain there to escort his brother home to San Diego.
We received a brief covering our duties, the proper handling of the remains, the procedures for draping a flag over a casket, and of course, the paperwork attendant to our task. We were shown pictures of the shipping container and told that each one contained, in addition to the casket, a flag. I was given an extra flag since Phelps’s parents were divorced. This way they would each get one. I didn’t like the idea of stuffing the flag into my luggage but I couldn’t see carrying a large flag, folded for presentation to the next of kin, through an airport while in my Alpha uniform. It barely fit into my suitcase.
It turned out that I was the last escort to leave on Thursday. This meant that I repeatedly got to participate in the small ceremonies that mark all departures from the Dover AFB mortuary.
Most of the remains are taken from Dover AFB by hearse to the airport in Philadelphia for air transport to their final destination. When the remains of a service member are loaded onto a hearse and ready to leave the Dover mortuary, there is an announcement made over the building’s intercom system. With the announcement, all service members working at the mortuary, regardless of service branch, stop work and form up along the driveway to render a slow ceremonial salute as the hearse departs. Escorts also participated in each formation until it was their time to leave.
On this day there were some civilian workers doing construction on the mortuary grounds. As each hearse passed, they would stop working and place their hard hats over their hearts. This was my first sign that my mission with PFC Phelps was larger than the Marine Corps and that his family and friends were not grieving alone.
Eventually I was the last escort remaining in the lounge. The Marine Master Gunnery Sergeant in charge of the Marine liaison there came to see me. He had Chance Phelps’s personal effects. He removed each item; a large watch, a wooden cross with a lanyard, two loose dog tags, two dog tags on a chain, and a Saint Christopher medal on a silver chain. Although we had been briefed that we might be carrying some personal effects of the deceased, this set me aback. Holding his personal effects, I was starting to get to know Chance Phelps.
Finally we were ready. I grabbed my bags and went outside. I was somewhat startled when I saw the shipping container, loaded three-quarters of the way in to the back of a black Chevy Suburban that had been modified to carry such cargo. This was the first time I saw my “cargo” and I was surprised at how large the shipping container was. The Master Gunnery Sergeant and I verified that the name on the container was Phelps’s then they pushed him the rest of the way in and we left. Now it was PFC Chance Phelps’s turn to receive the military—and construction workers’—honors. He was finally moving towards home.
As I chatted with the driver on the hour-long trip to Philadelphia, it became clear that he considered it an honor to be able to contribute in getting Chance home. He offered his sympathy to the family. I was glad to finally be moving yet apprehensive about what things would be like at the airport. I didn’t want this package to be treated like ordinary cargo, but I knew that the simple logistics of moving around a box this large would have to overrule my preferences.
When we got to the Northwest Airlines cargo terminal at the Philadelphia airport, the cargo handler and hearse driver pulled the shipping container onto a loading bay while I stood to the side and executed a slow salute. Once Chance was safely in the cargo area, and I was satisfied that he would be treated with due care and respect, the hearse driver drove me over to the passenger terminal and dropped me off.
As I walked up to the ticketing counter in my uniform, a Northwest employee started to ask me if I knew how to use the automated boarding pass dispenser. Before she could finish another ticketing agent interrupted her. He told me to go straight to the counter then explained to the woman that I was a military escort. She seemed embarrassed. The woman behind the counter already had tears in her eyes as I was pulling out my government travel voucher. She struggled to find words but managed to express her sympathy for the family and thank me for my service. She upgraded my ticket to first class.
After clearing security, I was met by another Northwest Airline employee at the gate. She told me a representative from cargo would be up to take me down to the tarmac to observe the movement and loading of PFC Phelps. I hadn’t really told any of them what my mission was but they all knew.
When the man from the cargo crew met me, he, too, struggled for words. On the tarmac, he told me stories of his childhood as a military brat and repeatedly told me that he was sorry for my loss. I was starting to understand that, even here in Philadelphia, far away from Chance’s hometown, people were mourning with his family.
On the tarmac, the cargo crew was silent except for occasional instructions to each other. I stood to the side and saluted as the conveyor moved Chance to the aircraft. I was relieved when he was finally settled into place. The rest of the bags were loaded and I watched them shut the cargo bay door before heading back up to board the aircraft.
One of the pilots had taken my carry-on bag himself and had it stored next to the cockpit door so he could watch it while I was on the tarmac. As I boarded the plane, I could tell immediately that the flight attendants had already been informed of my mission. They seemed a little choked up as they led me to my seat.
About 45 minutes into our flight I still hadn’t spoken to anyone except to tell the first class flight attendant that I would prefer water. I was surprised when the flight attendant from the back of the plane suddenly appeared and leaned down to grab my hands. She said, “I want you to have this” as she pushed a small gold crucifix, with a relief of Jesus, into my hand. It was her lapel pin and it looked somewhat worn. I suspected it had been hers for quite some time. That was the only thing she said to me the entire flight.
When we landed in Minneapolis, I was the first one off the plane. The pilot himself escorted me straight down the side stairs of the exit tunnel to the tarmac. The cargo crew there already knew what was on this plane. They were unloading some of the luggage when an Army sergeant, a fellow escort who had left Dover earlier that day, appeared next to me. His “cargo” was going to be loaded onto my plane for its continuing leg. We stood side by side in the dark and executed a slow salute as Chance was removed from the plane. The cargo crew at Minneapolis kept Phelps’s shipping case separate from all the other luggage as they waited to take us to the cargo area. I waited with the soldier and we saluted together as his fallen comrade was loaded onto the plane.
My trip with Chance was going to be somewhat unusual in that we were going to have an overnight stopover. We had a late start out of Dover and there was just too much traveling ahead of us to continue on that day. (We still had a flight from Minneapolis to Billings, Montana, then a five-hour drive to the funeral home. That was to be followed by a 90-minute drive to Chance’s hometown.)
I was concerned about leaving him overnight in the Minneapolis cargo area. My ten-minute ride from the tarmac to the cargo holding area eased my apprehension. Just as in Philadelphia, the cargo guys in Minneapolis were extremely respectful and seemed honored to do their part. While talking with them, I learned that the cargo supervisor for Northwest Airlines at the Minneapolis airport is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corps Reserves. They called him for me and let me talk to him.
Once I was satisfied that all would be okay for the night, I asked one of the cargo crew if he would take me back to the terminal so that I could catch my hotel’s shuttle. Instead, he drove me straight to the hotel himself. At the hotel, the Lieutenant Colonel called me and said he would personally pick me up in the morning and bring me back to the cargo area.
Before leaving the airport, I had told the cargo crew that I wanted to come back to the cargo area in the morning rather than go straight to the passenger terminal. I felt bad for leaving Chance overnight and wanted to see the shipping container where I had left it for the night. It was fine.
The Lieutenant Colonel made a few phone calls then drove me around to the passenger terminal. I was met again by a man from the cargo crew and escorted down to the tarmac. The pilot of the plane joined me as I waited for them to bring Chance from the cargo area. The pilot and I talked of his service in the Air Force and how he missed it.
I saluted as Chance was moved up the conveyor and onto the plane. It was to be a while before the luggage was to be loaded so the pilot took me up to the board the plane where I could watch the tarmac from a window. With no other passengers yet on board, I talked with the flight attendants and one of the cargo guys. He had been in the Navy and one of the attendants had been in the Air Force. Everywhere I went, people were continuing to tell me their relationship to the military. After all the baggage was aboard, I went back down to the tarmac, inspected the cargo bay, and watched them secure the door.
When we arrived at Billings, I was again the first off the plane. This time Chance’s shipping container was the first item out of the cargo hold. The funeral director had driven five hours up from Riverton, Wyoming to meet us. He shook my hand as if I had personally lost a brother.
We moved Chance to a secluded cargo area. Now it was time for me to remove the shipping container and drape the flag over the casket. I had predicted that this would choke me up but I found I was more concerned with proper flag etiquette than the solemnity of the moment. Once the flag was in place, I stood by and saluted as Chance was loaded onto the van from the funeral home. I was thankful that we were in a small airport and the event seemed to go mostly unnoticed. I picked up my rental car and followed Chance for five hours until we reached Riverton. During the long trip I imagined how my meeting with Chance’s parents would go. I was very nervous about that.
When we finally arrived at the funeral home, I had my first face to face meeting with the Casualty Assistance Call Officer. It had been his duty to inform the family of Chance’s death. He was on the Inspector/Instructor staff of an infantry company in Salt Lake City, Utah and I knew he had had a difficult week.
Inside I gave the funeral director some of the paperwork from Dover and discussed the plan for the next day. The service was to be at 1400 in the high school gymnasium up in Dubois, population about 900, some 90 miles away. Eventually, we had covered everything. The CACO had some items that the family wanted to be inserted into the casket and I felt I needed to inspect Chance’s uniform to ensure everything was proper. Although it was going to be a closed casket funeral, I still wanted to ensure his uniform was squared away.
Earlier in the day I wasn’t sure how I’d handle this moment. Suddenly, the casket was open and I got my first look at Chance Phelps. His uniform was immaculate—a tribute to the professionalism of the Marines at Dover. I noticed that he wore six ribbons over his marksmanship badge; the senior one was his Purple Heart. I had been in the Corps for over 17 years, including a combat tour, and was wearing eight ribbons. This Private First Class, with less than a year in the Corps, had already earned six.
The next morning, I wore my dress blues and followed the hearse for the trip up to Dubois. This was the most difficult leg of our trip for me. I was bracing for the moment when I would meet his parents and hoping I would find the right words as I presented them with Chance’s personal effects.
We got to the high school gym about four hours before the service was to begin. The gym floor was covered with folding chairs neatly lined in rows. There were a few townspeople making final preparations when I stood next to the hearse and saluted as Chance was moved out of the hearse. The sight of a flag-draped coffin was overwhelming to some of the ladies.
We moved Chance into the gym to the place of honor. A Marine sergeant, the command representative from Chance’s battalion, met me at the gym. His eyes were watery as he relieved me of watching Chance so that I could go eat lunch and find my hotel.
At the restaurant, the table had a flier announcing Chance’s service. Dubois High School gym; two o’ clock. It also said that the family would be accepting donations so that they could buy flak vests to send to troops in Iraq.
I drove back to the gym at a quarter after one. I could’ve walked—you could walk to just about anywhere in Dubois in ten minutes. I had planned to find a quiet room where I could take his things out of their pouch and untangle the chain of the Saint Christopher medal from the dog tag chains and arrange everything before his parents came in. I had twice before removed the items from the pouch to ensure they were all there—even though there was no chance anything could’ve fallen out. Each time, the two chains had been quite tangled. I didn’t want to be fumbling around trying to untangle them in front of his parents. Our meeting, however, didn’t go as expected.
I practically bumped into Chance’s step-mom accidentally and our introductions began in the noisy hallway outside the gym. In short order I had met Chance’s step-mom and father followed by his step-dad and, at last, his mom. I didn’t know how to express to these people my sympathy for their loss and my gratitude for their sacrifice. Now, however, they were repeatedly thanking me for bringing their son home and for my service. I was humbled beyond words.
I told them that I had some of Chance’s things and asked if we could try to find a quiet place. The five of us ended up in what appeared to be a computer lab—not what I had envisioned for this occasion.
After we had arranged five chairs around a small table, I told them about our trip. I told them how, at every step, Chance was treated with respect, dignity, and honor. I told them about the staff at Dover and all the folks at Northwest Airlines. I tried to convey how the entire Nation, from Dover to Philadelphia, to Minneapolis, to Billings, and Riverton expressed grief and sympathy over their loss.
Finally, it was time to open the pouch. The first item I happened to pull out was Chance’s large watch. It was still set to Baghdad time. Next were the lanyard and the wooden cross. Then the dog tags and the Saint Christopher medal. This time the chains were not tangled. Once all of his items were laid out on the table, I told his mom that I had one other item to give them. I retrieved the flight attendant’s crucifix from my pocket and told its story. I set that on the table and excused myself. When I next saw Chance’s mom, she was wearing the crucifix on her lapel.
By 1400 most of the seats on the gym floor were filled and people were finding seats in the fixed bleachers high above the gym floor. There were a surprising number of people in military uniform. Many Marines had come up from Salt Lake City. Men from various VFW posts and the Marine Corps League occupied multiple rows of folding chairs. We all stood as Chance’s family took their seats in the front.
It turned out that Chance’s sister, a Petty Officer in the Navy, worked for a Rear Admiral—the Chief of Naval Intelligence—at the Pentagon. The Admiral had brought many of the sailors on his staff with him to Dubois pay respects to Chance and support his sister. After a few songs and some words from a Navy Chaplain, the Admiral took the microphone and told us how Chance had died.
Chance was an artillery cannoneer and his unit was acting as provisional military police outside of Baghdad. Chance had volunteered to man a .50 caliber machine gun in the turret of the leading vehicle in a convoy. The convoy came under intense fire but Chance stayed true to his post and returned fire with the big gun, covering the rest of the convoy, until he was fatally wounded.
Then the commander of the local VFW post read some of the letters Chance had written home. In letters to his mom he talked of the mosquitoes and the heat. In letters to his stepfather he told of the dangers of convoy operations and of receiving fire.
The service was a fitting tribute to this hero. When it was over, we stood as the casket was wheeled out with the family following. The casket was placed onto a horse-drawn carriage for the mile-long trip from the gym, down the main street, then up the steep hill to the cemetery. I stood alone and saluted as the carriage departed the high school. I found my car and joined Chance’s convoy.
The town seemingly went from the gym to the street. All along the route, the people had lined the street and were waving small American flags. The flags that were otherwise posted were all at half-staff. For the last quarter mile up the hill, local boy scouts, spaced about 20 feet apart, all in uniform, held large flags. At the foot of the hill, I could look up and back and see the enormity of our procession. I wondered how many people would be at this funeral if it were in, say, Detroit or Los Angeles—probably not as many as were here in little Dubois, Wyoming.
The carriage stopped about 15 yards from the grave and the military pall bearers and the family waited until the men of the VFW and Marine Corps league were formed up and school busses had arrived carrying many of the people from the procession route. Once the entire crowd was in place, the pallbearers came to attention and began to remove the casket from the caisson. As I had done all week, I came to attention and executed a slow ceremonial salute as Chance was being transferred from one mode of transport to another.
From Dover to Philadelphia; Philadelphia to Minneapolis; Minneapolis to Billings; Billings to Riverton; and Riverton to Dubois we had been together. Now, as I watched them carry him the final 15 yards, I was choking up. I felt that, as long as he was still moving, he was somehow still alive.
Then they put him down above his grave. He had stopped moving.
Although my mission had been officially complete once I turned him over to the funeral director at the Billings airport, it was his placement at his grave that really concluded it in my mind. Now, he was home to stay and I suddenly felt at once sad, relieved, and useless.
The chaplain said some words that I couldn’t hear and two Marines removed the flag from the casket and slowly folded it for presentation to his mother. When the ceremony was over, Chance’s father placed a ribbon from his service in Vietnam on Chance’s casket. His mother approached the casket and took something from her blouse and put it on the casket. I later saw that it was the flight attendant’s crucifix. Eventually friends of Chance’s moved closer to the grave. A young man put a can of Copenhagen on the casket and many others left flowers.
Finally, we all went back to the gym for a reception. There was enough food to feed the entire population for a few days. In one corner of the gym there was a table set up with lots of pictures of Chance and some of his sports awards. People were continually approaching me and the other Marines to thank us for our service. Almost all of them had some story to tell about their connection to the military. About an hour into the reception, I had the impression that every man in Wyoming had, at one time or another, been in the service.
It seemed like every time I saw Chance’s mom she was hugging a different well wisher. As time passed, I began to hear people laughing. We were starting to heal.
After a few hours at the gym, I went back to the hotel to change out of my dress blues. The local VFW post had invited everyone over to “celebrate Chance’s life.” The Post was on the other end of town from my hotel and the drive took less than two minutes. The crowd was somewhat smaller than what had been at the gym but the Post was packed.
Marines were playing pool at the two tables near the entrance and most of the VFW members were at the bar or around the tables in the bar area. The largest room in the Post was a banquet/dinning/dancing area and it was now called “The Chance Phelps Room.” Above the entry were two items: a large portrait of Chance in his dress blues and the Eagle, Globe, & Anchor. In one corner of the room there was another memorial to Chance. There were candles burning around another picture of him in his blues. On the table surrounding his photo were his Purple Heart citation and his Purple Heart medal. There was also a framed copy of an excerpt from the Congressional Record. This was an elegant tribute to Chance Phelps delivered on the floor of the United States House of Representatives by Congressman Scott McInnis of Colorado. Above it all was a television that was playing a photo montage of Chance’s life from small boy to proud Marine.
I did not buy a drink that night. As had been happening all day, indeed all week, people were thanking me for my service and for bringing Chance home. Now, in addition to words and handshakes, they were thanking me with beer. I fell in with the men who had handled the horses and horse-drawn carriage. I learned that they had worked through the night to groom and prepare the horses for Chance’s last ride. They were all very grateful that they were able to contribute.
After a while we all gathered in the Chance Phelps room for the formal dedication. The Post commander told us of how Chance had been so looking forward to becoming a Life Member of the VFW. Now, in the Chance Phelps Room of the Dubois, Wyoming post, he would be an eternal member. We all raised our beers and the Chance Phelps room was christened.
Later, as I was walking toward the pool tables, a Staff Sergeant from the Reserve unit in Salt Lake grabbed me and said, “Sir, you gotta hear this.” There were two other Marines with him and he told the younger one, a Lance Corporal, to tell me his story. The Staff Sergeant said the Lance Corporal was normally too shy and modest to tell it but now he’d had enough beer to overcome his usual tendencies.
As the Lance Corporal started to talk, an older man joined our circle. He wore a baseball cap that indicated he had been with the 1st Marine Division in Korea. Earlier in the evening he had told me about one of his former commanding officers; a Colonel Puller.
So, there I was, standing in a circle with three Marines recently returned from fighting with the 1st Marine Division in Iraq and one not so recently returned from fighting with the 1st Marine Division in Korea. I, who had fought with the 1st Marine Division in Kuwait, was about to gain a new insight into our Corps.
The young Lance Corporal began to tell us his story. At that moment, in this circle of current and former Marines, the differences in our ages and ranks dissipated—we were all simply Marines.
His squad had been on a patrol through a city street. They had taken small arms fire and had literally dodged an RPG round that sailed between two Marines. At one point they received fire from behind a wall and had neutralized the sniper with a SMAW round. The back blast of the SMAW, however, kicked up a substantial rock that hammered the Lance Corporal in the thigh; only missing his groin because he had reflexively turned his body sideways at the shot.
Their squad had suffered some wounded and was receiving more sniper fire when suddenly he was hit in the head by an AK-47 round. I was stunned as he told us how he felt like a baseball bat had been slammed into his head. He had spun around and fell unconscious. When he came to, he had a severe scalp wound but his Kevlar helmet had saved his life. He continued with his unit for a few days before realizing he was suffering the effects of a severe concussion.
As I stood there in the circle with the old man and the other Marines, the Staff Sergeant finished the story. He told of how this Lance Corporal had begged and pleaded with the Battalion surgeon to let him stay with his unit. In the end, the doctor said there was just no way—he had suffered a severe and traumatic head wound and would have to be med’evaced.
The Marine Corps is a special fraternity. There are moments when we are reminded of this. Interestingly, those moments don’t always happen at awards ceremonies or in dress blues at Birthday Balls. I have found, rather, that they occur at unexpected times and places: next to a loaded moving van at Camp Lejeune’s base housing, in a dirty CP tent in northern Saudi Arabia, and in a smoky VFW post in western Wyoming.
After the story was done, the Lance Corporal stepped over to the old man, put his arm over the man’s shoulder and told him that he, the Korean War vet, was his hero. The two of them stood there with their arms over each other’s shoulders and we were all silent for a moment. When they let go, I told the Lance Corporal that there were recruits down on the yellow footprints tonight that would soon be learning his story.
I was finished drinking beer and telling stories. I found Chance’s father and shook his hand one more time. Chance’s mom had already left and I deeply regretted not being able to tell her goodbye.
I left Dubois in the morning before sunrise for my long drive back to Billings. It had been my honor to take Chance Phelps to his final post. Now he was on the high ground overlooking his town.
I miss him.
Regards,
LtCol Strobl
Wild Thing's comment........
It's about Valor, Honor and Respect. I have marked my calender so I don't forget that it will be airing. It is not going to be on HBO until February.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Letters to the Editor (14) | Trackback URL | (0)
An Israeli 9 Year Old's "Rocket Estimation table"
A 9 year old's "Rocket estimation table"
9 year old "Shir" wrote a list for herself in case of rocket attacks on her home in Southern Israel. This way she knows how long it takes to run to the bomb shelter from everywhere in her home, from the time she hears the air raid siren.
From the living room -- 10 seconds to run to the bomb shelter.
From Or's bedroom -- 10 seconds to run to the bomb shelter.
From the dining room -- 6 seconds to run to the bomb shelter.
From Shir's Bedroom -- 13 seconds to run to the bomb shelter
From my parents bedroom -- 10 seconds to run to the bomb shetler.
From the hall bathroom -- 10 seconds to run to the bomb shleter.
Wild Thing's comment........
I saw this and I sat here and cried. We have all known how suicide bombers attack buses, schools, outdoor cafe's in Israel. I remember reading one time a letter from a father in Israel how one of the things he and his wife had to teach their young children was when entering a building or a room to always know where the exists were in case of a bombing. That was several years ago and it suck deep into my being so much that I have never forgotten that.
Then the other day I saw this by this 9 year old little girl and once again that same haunting feeling returned.
My prayer for Israel is that one day children like this will not have to be concerned with this, that they will be able to feel safe and the last thing on their mind if at all would be how to escape to be safe.
Just one added thing to see. This video is made by a 16 year old living in Haifa , Israel .
"Hey, im Elior.i'm sixteen and I live in Israel (no, it's not a desert). be sure that what you see on your TV isn't the whole truth...if you have any questions - ask me."
"what do you really know about living in south israel? war? murder? terror? attacks? these are strong words, but what do they actually mean? watch this video i made and leave your comment. i'm sure it'll affect you in many ways.
just to make it clear:
many people abroad hate israel and have a distorted world-view.
everyone has his right to think whatever he wants, but there are a few things you all should internalize -
the IDF does not attack Gaza in order to hit the civilian popualation.
HAMAS launches dozens of missiles over israel from citizens' homes, kindergardens, schools and even from mosques !!!!!! it doesnt make any sense, and it shows clearly how Hamas doesnt care about his citizens. that fact doesn't give the IDF any other choice, but distroying these houses, which causes the deaths of innocent people."
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:50 AM | Letters to the Editor (7) | Trackback URL | (0)
Obama's Pick Richardson Withdraws His Chance To Be Commerce Secretary
Richardson withdraws bid to be commerce secretary
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090104/ap_on_el_pr/richardson
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson on Sunday announced that he was withdrawing his nomination to be President-elect Barack Obama's commerce secretary amid a grand jury investigation into how some of his political donors won a lucrative state contract.
Richardson's withdrawal was the first disruption of Obama's Cabinet process and the second "pay-to-play" investigation that has touched Obama's transition to the presidency. The president-elect has remained above the fray in both the case of arrested Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the New Mexico case.
A federal grand jury is investigating how a California company that contributed to Richardson's political activities won a New Mexico transportation contract worth more than $1 million. Richardson said in a statement issued by the Obama transition office that the investigation could take weeks or months but expressed confidence it will show he and his administration acted properly.
A senior Obama adviser said that when Richardson was nominated, he gave assurances that he would come out fine in the investigation and the president-elect had no reason to doubt it. But as the grand jury continued to pursue the case, it became clear that confirmation hearings would have to be delayed for six weeks or even longer until the investigation was complete, said the adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity about the discussions because they were private.
Wild Thing's comment........
LOL I guess it is just getting way too hot in the kitchen for Richardson, who wants us to think he did nothing wrong.
On December 20th I posted this:
Gov.Bill Richardson Lawyers Up ?...“pay to play" The Democrats Motto Maybe?
"Richardson had hired Albuquerque lawyer Peter Schoenburg as his legal counsel in the grand jury case. The grand jury, as reported by The Associated Press and other news organizations this week, is looking into a possible connection between a Beverly Hills, Calif., financial company's large contributions to Richardson political action committees and nearly $1.5 million the company received for work on a state road-building program. "
....Thank you Jack for sending this to me.
Army Combat Engineers
67-69
Jack's blog is Conservative Insurgent
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:48 AM | Letters to the Editor (5) | Trackback URL | (0)
Jimmy Carter Charity Homes Start to Crumble
Wow he can do all that work without a speck of dirt. Not his hands, hat, shirt, even his tool belt.....LOL
Charity homes built by Hollywood start to crumble
RESIDENTS of a model housing estate bankrolled by Hollywood celebrities and hand-built by Jimmy Carter, the former US president, are complaining that it is falling apart.
Fairway Oaks was built on northern Florida wasteland by 10,000 volunteers, including Carter, in a record 17-day “blitz” organised by the charity Habitat for Humanity.
Eight years later it is better known for cockroaches, mildew and mysterious skin rashes.
A forthcoming legal battle over Fairway Oaks threatens the reputation of a charity envied for the calibre of its celebrity supporters, who range from Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt to Colin Firth, Christian Bale and Helena Bonham Carter.
The case could challenge the bedrock philosophy behind Habitat for Humanity, claiming that using volunteers, rather than professional builders, is causing as many problems as it solves.
April Charney, a lawyer representing many of the 85 homeowners in Fairway Oaks, said she had no problems taking on Habitat for Humanity, despite its status as a “darling of liberal social activists”. She said the charity should have told people that part of the estate had been built on a rubbish dump.
One man pulled up his floorboards to find rubbish 5ft deep under his kitchen. Other complaints include cracking walls and rotting door frames that let in rats and ants. Many residents have complained of mildew and mysterious skin rashes.
One resident said her children were suffering from skin complaints. “The intentions are good, but when the politicians and big-shot stars have left we’re stuck with the consequences. This house looks pretty but inside it either stinks or sweats,” she said.
Judy Hall, the charity’s local development director, said recently that it had been dealing with about 30 complaints. She added that skilled work was carried out by professionals.
Some residents dismiss their neighbours’ worries. Diennal Fields, 51, said people did not know how to look after their homes: “It’s simple stuff: if there is mildew, don’t get a lawyer, get a bottle of bleach.”
Wild Thing's comment.........
The “Habitat” ones he helped build in South Dakota some years ago only made it to the first snowstorm—the roofs caved in.
You let Jimmy “Habitat for Hamas” Carter build your house, you take your chances. I guess the people also expected someone to maintain the house for them as well.
....Thank you Lynn for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Letters to the Editor (10) | Trackback URL | (0)
President Bush First Ex-prez to Face Limit on Secret Service Protection
Bush first ex-prez to face limit on Secret Service protection
President George W. Bush's "after-life," as Laura Bush calls the post-presidency, is shaping up to be pretty comfortable, with a Dallas office, staffers, Secret Service protection, a travel budget, medical coverage and a $196,700 annual pension, all at taxpayers' expense.
However, Bush will be the first president not to benefit from one former lifetime benefit: Secret Service protection.
"He'll be the first one to receive it for 10 years," said Malcolm Wiley, Secret Service spokesman. Congress changed the law in the 1990s so that any president elected after Jan. 1, 1997, and his or her spouse will receive the federal protection for only 10 years.
The Bushes will move to their new $2 million, 8,500-square-foot Dallas home — not paid for by taxpayers — on Jan. 20, and there Bush will be close to his future presidential library at Southern Methodist University.
"We're working on a conceptual design for the building," said Mark Langdale, president of the George W. Bush Foundation. The president will help develop the $300 million structure, which will include a library, museum and policy institute.
Fundraising is just beginning, Langdale said. Once the project is finished in 2013, the National Archives and Records Administration will take over the operation of the library and museum, at federal expense. Construction will be paid for with private funds, and Bush is expected to be involved in organizing the fundraising drive.
"He is enthusiastic about spending a lot of his time and effort working on the programs of the institute," Langdale said.
Bush will maintain an office nearby in space acquired by the General Services Administration, which, under the Former Presidents Act, will pay for the office suite and staff to assist him for the rest of his life.
Wild Thing's comment........
I will bet then when it comes time for HO-bama to be an EX by that time Congress will change it back just for him so he will have lifetime protection, and not retroactive to Bush 43, of course.
So after 10 years treasonous Carter and Bill will still be protected and W will be left undefended....revolting!
The job of President of the US is the most dangerous job in the country - period. With what has happened the last 8 years, Bush will have a target on his back until the day he draws his last breath. Congress should recognize this and reinstate the obvious.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Letters to the Editor (9) | Trackback URL | (0)
The 2012 Nancy Pelosi GTxi SS/RT Sport Edition
The 2012 Pelosi GTxi SS/RT Sport Edition
source : Iowahawk
It's in the way you dress. The way you boogie down. The way you sign your unemployment check. You're a man who likes to do things your own way. And on those special odd-numbered Saturdays when driving is permitted, you want it in your car. It's that special feeling of a zero-emissions wind at your back and a road ahead meandering with possibilities. The kind of feeling you get behind the wheel of the Pelosi GTxi SS/Rt Sport Edition from Congressional Motors.
All new for 2012, the Pelosi GTxi SS/Rt Sport Edition is the mandatory American car so advanced it took $100 billion and an entire Congress to design it. We started with same reliable 7-way hybrid ethanol-biodeisel-electric-clean coal-wind-solar-pedal power plant behind the base model Pelosi, but packed it with extra oomph and the sassy styling pizazz that tells the world that 1974 Detroit is back again -- with a vengeance.
Wild Thing's comment.........
LOL this is funny. I can see it now, one of these cars pulling up and all the democrats in Congress getting out of it, like a clown car.
......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.
RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company
13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:44 AM | Letters to the Editor (5) | Trackback URL | (0)
Port Call; President Bush Wishes Guantanamo Troopers a Merry Christmas
Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Neil Ambrose, member of Port Security Unit 305 currently stationed in support of Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay, received a presidential phone call this morning with holiday greeting from President Bush, Dec. 24. Ambrose was selected as one of ten military service members world-wide to receive the call on Christmas Eve. The call, a tradition of President Bush, is express his appreciation for deployed members' service and to wish them a Merry Christmas. JTF Guantanamo conducts safe, humane, legal and transparent care and custody of detained enemy combatants, including those convicted by military commission and those ordered released. The JTF conducts intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination for the protection of detainees and personnel working in JTF Guantanamo facilities and in support of the Global War on Terror. JTF Guantanamo provides support to the Office of Military Commissions, to law enforcement and to war crimes investigations. The JTF conducts planning for and, on order, responds to Caribbean mass migration operations.
Port Call; President Bush Wishes Guantanamo Troopers a Merry Christmas
Joint Task Force Guantanamo
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – It’s not every day a trooper receives a phone call from President George W. Bush. For Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Neil Ambrose, however, Dec. 24, was that day.
“It was an honor,” said Ambrose of speaking with President Bush. “I was shocked that I was selected out of hundreds of thousands of deployed members.”
“At first he called me by my name,” he continued. “He said, ‘Neil, this is President Bush, how are you today?’”
Ambrose replied that he was fine, and thanked President Bush for “all he’s done for the Coast Guard and military members over the past eight years.”
Ambrose chatted with the president, with Bush asking, “How’s the weather down there?”
“It’s warm,” Ambrose replied. “How would you like to join us?”
The call lasted a moment longer before President Bush delivered his traditional Christmas message.
According to Ambrose, President Bush said, “On behalf of Laura and myself, I want you to pass along to other deployed members that we appreciate your service and wish you a Merry Christmas, especially to the Mighty Coast Guard.”
“I specifically remember him saying, ‘the mighty Coast Guard,’” Ambrose said, smiling.
The Christmas Eve phone call has become a tradition for President Bush. Each year, he calls ten service members from all branches of the armed forces around the world to thank them for their service and pass on holiday wishes.
“Ambrose was selected above his peers because he’s a high performer and the right one to be chosen to receive a call from the president,” said Coast Guard Cmdr. Steven H. Pope, commanding officer of Joint Task Force Guantanamo’s Port Security Unit 305.
“I submitted his packet in October of this year,” Pope continued. “[It] had all the information that made him competitive to be selected out of all the other Coast Guard members.”
This isn’t the first time Coast Guard Port Security Unit 305 has answered the call. In 2005, Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Travis Johnston was one of the lucky service members selected to speak to the president.
Pope was not the commanding officer of PSU 305 when the last presidential call to Guantanamo was received. However, he was thrilled to learn they were selected again.
“It’s a high honor to receive a call from the president,” said Pope. “Our unit is a tight family, and we’re all very proud and very happy that Petty Officer Ambrose was selected.”
Wild Thing's comment.......
I really am going to miss this, having Bush as CIC. I just want to enjoy each day for our troops with Bush as CIC until the dreaded day January20th.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:40 AM | Letters to the Editor (4) | Trackback URL | (0)
January 04, 2009
House Plans To Fast-track Obama’s Record-setting Stimulus Plan
House plans to fast-track Obama plan
President-elect Barack Obama’s record-setting stimulus plan — the biggest special spending bill in history — is getting such astonishingly quick treatment from House Democrats that officials say it could go from draft to final passage in one week.
The bill has no text or details yet, but it does have a name: Obama revealed Saturday in his YouTube/radio address that it will be called the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.”
The 111th Congress begins Tuesday with the swearing-in of new members. The stimulus plan — with a price tag of up to $850 billion — is likely to be ready for a vote the following week, officials said.
No draft or outline or outline was circulating this weekend, but House Democratic officials said they hope to have one by early next week.
“We are hoping for a House vote on Week 2 (week of Jan. 12),” a House official said. “It could slip if we decide to hold regular approps hearings. But I think a vote is likely the week of Jan. 12.”
Republicans are suggesting that’s too hasty. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) issued a statement Friday headlined, “Protect the Taxpayer Against the Rush to Spend Their Money.”
“Every dollar needs to be spent wisely and not wasted in the rush to get it spent,” McConnell said.
And House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a statement that he was concerned the legislation would get “little debate or public scrutiny.”
“Congress should have public hearings in the appropriate committees,” Boehner said.
House Ways and Means Committee staff members worked through the holidays to prepare a framework and options. And the president-elect will travel to Capitol Hill on Monday to tell leaders what he wants included in the bill.
Obama aides want a starting point of $675 billion to $775 billion over two years, but say they recognize it could grow to $850 billion as legislators add goodies.
Obama aides want to keep it under $1 trillion, although some lawmakers think the final bill could be nearing that psychological barrier.
Theoretically, that could mean 600,000 new government jobs. But aides say that probably a lot more than 80 percent of the new jobs would be in private industry. And a lot of the government jobs would be state and local workers whom the plan saves from layoffs.
Wild Thing's comment.........
I keep feeling like if Obama could get away with it he would bump President Bush right out of his chair and kick him out of the White House early.
I don't like that feeling at all, but it gets stronger every time I hear how anxious Obama is to get started.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM
| Letters to the Editor (18) |
Trackback URL |
(1)
quick linked with House Plans To Fast-track Obama’s Record-setting...
Dr. Ben Ari: Follow King David's Advice on Gaza
MK Candidate Dr. Ben Ari: Follow King David's Advice on Gaza
by Gil Ronen
Rabbi Dr. Michael Ben-Ari, the Number Four man on the National Union's Knesset list, thinks the leaders of Israel should follow King David's advice from the Eighteenth Psalm regarding Gaza:
"I will chase my enemies and catch up to them and I shall not return until I annihilate them."
"This should be the slogan of every leader and IDF commander," he said. "The enemy must know that whoever raises his hand on Israel, we will teach him a lesson and annihilate him as well as all his helpers and supporters, and only thus will we take out their will to fire missiles at us."
However, he is under no illusions that the present government will do so.
Ben-Ari, a proud disciple of former Knesset Member Rabbi Meir Kahane, supports the troops fighting in Gaza but says the operation is "like giving aspirin to a patient who is in serious condition."
"It is a sedative but it does not address the root of the problem," he said Friday. "Everyone knows this and that is why they were so hesitant to begin this operation. That is why I believe that sooner or later we will return to Gaza and Gush Katif," he added.
'It will end with a ceasefire'
"The conflict will be decided on the political level," Ben-Ari predicted. "In the end, the Arabs' pleas for a ceasefire will be heeded before we break the enemy's will to fight, just like our humiliating defeat in the Second Lebanon War and Resolution 1701."
"There will probably be an agreement on some kind of ceasefire but the enemy will never agree to lose their ability to rearm. Their entire existence depends on their ability to keep on hurting us," he said. "Their motivation is to one day be able to chase us out and return to Ramle and Lod."
"The operation is beginning to teach the public that the statement 'it's either us or them' [which was used by Rabbi Kahane – ed.] is not an election slogan but is a very existential one."
International solution?
The solution to the Gaza problem, said Ben-Ari, should be an international one.
"The international community needs to find the Arab population in Gaza a spacious area somewhere in which they can live and where they will have something to lose," he explained. As things are, the enemy in Gaza "is dreaming of the nice houses in Ashkelon and Ashdod as it lives in the impossibly crowded and run-down streets of Gaza."
We need to understand that "a few bombs or diplomatic talks or 'lulls' will only make the problem worse, not solve it," he explained.
The enemy within
If Rabbi Kahane were alive today, he said, "he would remind us that after the Holocaust we vowed never again to let Jews live in fear. He would say – 'A Jew who lives in fear is a great chilul Hashem' [desecration of G-d's Name – ed]."
Ben-Ari is also gravely worried about "the internal enemy" – the Arabs with Israeli citizenship. "The enemy is waking up and getting stronger and the danger will only become greater unless we have leadership that is not afraid of the Supreme Court, of the United Nations and of the deranged people in the Left, but is only committed to the survival of the Jewish people."
"When the enemy raises signs saying 'death to the Jews' in Sakhnin, it brings the catastrophe nearer," he warned. "It reminds me of the Jews' disregard of all the signs that preceded the Holocaust."
Ben Ari also blasted "those who deride the 'hilltop youth' and the outposts'" – in an apparent reference to recent comments by the Jewish Home leadership. "The people who say this will unintentionally cause the enemy to sit in those hilltops, and Hadera, Kfar Saba and the Azrieli Towers will be the next targets for Grad missiles," he warned.
Wild Thing's comment.........
The Knesset is excellent and this man says a lot ot things that he is absolutely right about.
I especially agree with this like he said to be a slogan:
"I will chase my enemies and catch up to them and I shall not return until I annihilate them."
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Letters to the Editor (17) | Trackback URL | (0)
Hamas Women Vow To Blow Themselves Up
This Aired on Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas/Gaza) ..........Hamas Women Vow to Become 'Martyrdom-Seekers' and Blow themselves Up among 'the Apes and Pigs'.
Wild Thing's comment....
Just one word what IDIOTS and what hate they have.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Letters to the Editor (8) | Trackback URL | (0)
Asylum Candidate Roseanne Barr Blasts Israel as 'Nazi State'
Roseanne Barr blasts Israel as 'Nazi state'
Accuses Jews bombing Gaza of learning from their German 'mentors'
Roseanne Barr, herself of Jewish ancestry, has nonetheless blasted Israel for its recent attacks on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, calling Israel a "Nazi state" bent on torturing "the Jewish soul."
"The destruction of the Jews in Israel has been assured with this inhuman attack on civilians in Gaza," Barr writes on her blog. "Exactly as its Nazi mentors did to the Jews of Warsaw, Israel now bombs innocent civilians who have been imprisoned in concentration camps in Gaza!"
She continues, "The Zionists look German! The Palestinians look like the Jews of Poland! The Jewish people have destroyed themselves in Gaza."
Her venom over the attacks, however, has not been reserved only for the Israeli state, but stings American Christians, too.
Her blog posts a picture of a bloodied and bandaged boy reportedly wounded in the recent days' airstrikes with the caption, "This is what the pro-life, right wing, neo con, evangelical, Zionist, Bible-banging Americans really mean when they say: 'America is a Christian nation,' or when they say: 'Israel must defend itself,' or when they say: 'The Bible is the Word of God.'"
Wild Thing's comment.......
She is your typical Obama supporter.
AUGH! People like this really disgust me!!!! I swear I would aim and fire if someone like this stepped one foot on our property.
....Thank you Mark for the link.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Letters to the Editor (17) | Trackback URL | (0)
Sponsor an Executive ~ LOL
Wild Thing's comment.......
Great satire! LOL
Wait for Obama, he will fix everything. haha He made more promises then any politician I can remember.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:47 AM | Letters to the Editor (9) | Trackback URL | (0)
When In War Zones Listen to Warnings!
Iraqis say Americans shot woman without warning
An Iraqi TV employee who was shot and critically wounded on New Year's Day said the U.S. soldiers who fired at her gave no warning, her supervisor said Saturday.
Hadil Emad, a videotape editor with Beladi Satellite TV, was crossing a bridge over the Tigris River on her way to work when she was shot, the channel's editor-in-chief, Assam Sada, told CNN. He said Emad told him she heard no warning from the soldiers.
The U.S. military said in a statement the woman was acting suspiciously and failed to respond to warnings before she was shot.
"We condemn this criminal act and demand an explanation from the U.S. military," said Saied Abdul Hadi, the director of Beladi's news department.
The U.S. military said it is investigating the incident, which happened just outside the Green Zone, two hours after the United States handed authority of the zone to Iraq. Watch why the transfer is a milestone »
The bullet that hit Emad, 31, entered the lower half of her body, Sada said. The hospital removed her left kidney after the shooting and she remains in unstable condition, with damage to part of her liver and the lower part of her lung, he said.
U.S. soldiers left Emad on the ground after they shot her, Hadi said, but minutes later Iraqi security forces picked her up and took her to a hospital.
Emad was shot on the al-Jadriya Bridge that connects Baghdad's Karrada district, on a peninsula that juts out into the Tigris, within the western part of the city, Beladi TV and the U.S. military said.
The soldiers "followed approved defensive measures after the woman failed to heed repeated warnings by both Iraqi police and [U.S.] soldiers," the U.S. military said.
"The Iraqi police and soldiers observed the woman acting erratically. Concerned by the danger she might present to the security forces and civilians, given her repeated failure to respond to warnings, [U.S.] soldiers fired two rounds, wounding the woman."
The military said the area had been the target of car bombs and suicide bombings. The shooting happened while the U.S. and Iraqi forces were on a joint patrol, Beladi and the military said.
"Hadil Emad walks every day to work using the same road, but all of a sudden there was a U.S. patrol," Hadi said.
Wild Thing's comment.......
I call BS on this ! Our troops are highly trained and they have know better then anyone what they are doing.
This is not going to go anywhere, not only were our soldiers there but also with them " Iraqi police and soldiers observed the woman acting erratically"....plenty of eye witnesses that WILL tell the truth.
The war did not just start that day, it has been going on for several years, this woman to walk in a dangerous area then or anytime had to know to be careful, to be aware and STOP when the soldiers warned her.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:45 AM | Letters to the Editor (8) | Trackback URL | (0)
Prayer for the Welfare of Soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces
Prayer for the Welfare of Soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces:
He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Force, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our God from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea.
May Hashem cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighting men from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor. May He lead our enemies under their sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is Hashem, your God, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you. Now let us respond: Amen.
* Something.....and Half of Something blog
Thank you Linda so much.
Posted by Wild Thing at 01:40 AM | Letters to the Editor (5) | Trackback URL | (0)
January 03, 2009
IDF Ground Forces Enter Gaza
.
VIDEO Below........
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Capt. Benjamin Rutland announces the entrance of IDF forces into Gaza with the objective of dealing a heavy blow to Hamas' terrorist infrastructure and rocket-launching capability.
The IDF has a Blog caled IDF Spokesperson.
IDF confirms at least 20 gunmen killed in ground offensive'
At least 30 Hamas gunmen were reported killed as IDF troops swept into the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday night, encountering fierce resistance from Hamas forces entrenched in fortifications just over the border.
IDF sources said that the goal was to conquer territory in northern Gaza, including rocket launch sites. Soldiers from the Armored Corps, Engineering Corps, and Paratroopers, Givati, Golani brigades were participating in the fighting, with at least four brigades' worth of troops inside the Gaza Strip.
The sources said that a majority of the rockets fired into Beersheba and Ashdod were launched from the northern Gaza Strip.
One of the major aims of the operation was also to deliver a serious blow to the Hamas military wing, which the IDF estimated had not been severely weakened under the air campaign.
The IDF would not enter Gaza City or the refugee camps, defense officials said, and it was likely that on Monday - when French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives and the international pressure is expected to escalate - Israel would begin scaling back the operations.
"We know there will be dangers, difficulties and victims... It must be said that the ground operation entails dangers to the lives of soldiers," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. "We must end the hostile actions against Israel... We will not abandon our citizens."
On Saturday, the air force bombed dozens of targets throughout the Strip, including several homes of senior Hamas terrorists as well as bridges and roads connecting northern and southern Gaza.
At least 40 Kassam and Katyusha rockets pounded the South, scoring direct hits on homes in Netivot and Ashdod, and striking Ashkelon, Yavne and Sderot.
"This will be a lengthy operation and there will likely be casualties on our side," a senior defense official said. "But our mission is to defend the home front. The purpose is to destroy Hamas's infrastructure and impair its ability to fire rockets into Israel."
Before the ground incursion began, IDF artillery, for the first time in several years, began pounding open areas in northern Gaza to "soften up" the area and destroy land mines and Hamas fortifications.
Terrorists using civilians as human shields would bear full responsibility for their fate, the army warned.
"Anyone who hides a terrorist or weapons in his house is considered a terrorist," but "the residents of Gaza are not the target of the operation," the IDF Spokesman's Office said.
The army reiterated that the operation was in line with "decisions of the security cabinet," saying that this new stage was "part of the IDF's overall operational plan, and will continue on the basis of ongoing situational assessments by the IDF General Staff."
The cabinet also approved the call-up of tens of thousands of reservists, mostly from combat units, but also from the Home Front Command. Already on Saturday night, several thousand emergency orders were issued.
Fighter jets, missile ships and artillery struck more than 40 Hamas targets on Saturday, including Hamas's central intelligence headquarters in Sha'ati, weapons storage facilities, training centers and leaders' homes.
Israeli air strikes that had waned during the day gathered pace after dark. One bomb hit a mosque in Beit Lahiya, killing 14 people and wounding 33, seven critically, according to a Palestinian health official.
The IAF also hit the home of senior Hamas commander Abu Zacharia al-Jamal. A Hamas spokesman announced that Jamal was killed, which would make him the third senior operative of the group to be killed in three days.
In addition, Palestinians reported four dead from an IAF strike in the Rafah area.
On Saturday morning, the air force struck the homes of two Hamas operatives used to store weapons and plan attacks. Hamas outposts, training camps and rocket launching sites also were targeted, the army said.
The IDF also struck the American International School in Beit Lahiya, the most prestigious educational institution in Gaza. The school is not connected to the US government, but teaches an American curriculum in English. The IDF said the campus was used to fire rockets and was a legitimate target.
The air strike demolished the school's main building and killed a night watchman. Two other Palestinians were killed in a separate air strike, while three others died of wounds sustained earlier, Gaza health officials said.
Earlier, the army dropped leaflets in downtown Gaza City ordering people off the streets. The warnings were followed by the air strikes.
Wild Thing's comment.....
Pray for the IDF.... for strength and safety of the soldiers.
My page on Israel at my website.
....Thank you Mark for the article.
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:04 PM | Letters to the Editor (17) | Trackback URL | (0)
Roland Burris Resume Chiseled in Stone
Future resting place at Chicago's Oak Woods Cemetery of Roland Burris, named by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagovejich to replace Barack Obama in the Senate.
Blagojevich's pick has résumé chiseled in stone
Anyone who doubts Roland Burris' qualifications to serve as the next senator from Illinois may want to head to Chicago's Oak Woods Cemetery.
There, Burris, whom embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed to succeed President-elect Barack Obama in the Senate on Tuesday, has erected a granite mausoleum listing his many accomplishments.
Under the seal of the state of Illinois and the words "Trail Blazer," Burris, 71, has listed his many firsts in granite, including being the state's first African-American attorney general and the state's first African-American comptroller.
The memorial also notes that Burris was the first African-American exchange student to Hamburg University in Germany from Southern Illinois University in 1959.
There appears to be enough room to add "U.S. senator" to the memorial, but Burris may never get a chance to serve in Washington.
A Senate Democratic aide told CNN on Wednesday that plans were in the works to prevent Burris from being seated in the Senate.
After Blagojevich made the surprise move to appoint Obama's successor, Senate Democrats praised Burris but said they could not accept any appointment by Blagojevich after his arrest on corruption charges earlier this month. Federal prosecutors say he conspired to "sell" Obama's Senate seat for campaign donations and other favors.
Wild Thing's comment.........
He is a legend in his own mind. He must have paid for that before he realized wikipedia could post all his accomplishments for free.
LOL What has happened to Chicago? They let dead people vote and they chisle stone monuments to the living.
Note how he is planning ahead, he has left extra space for additional accomplishments. And Trailblazer ???
Maybe this is Blago's way of appealing to one of the most important RAT constituencies: the cemetery votes. And if they are going to vote, they need a polling place. That is no cemetery, it's a precinct.
.
....Thank you Eden for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Letters to the Editor (22) | Trackback URL | (0)
Gov Palin Welcomes Int'l Delegation to Celebrate 50 Years of Alaska
Gov Palin welcomes int'l delegatioin to celebrate 50 years of Alaska
January 2, 2009, Anchorage, Alaska – Governor Sarah Palin today is welcoming an international delegation of diplomats who are traveling to Alaska to celebrate Alaska Statehood Day on January 3, 2009. Representatives from several Asian and European countries accepted Governor Palin’s invitation to participate in weekend celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Alaska being admitted to the Union.
“We welcome these representatives with our best Alaska hospitality. We are pleased with their recognition of the importance of our 50th anniversary,” Governor Palin said. “It is a special honor to welcome Ambassador Kislyak and to showcase our state to this high-profile international group.”
Among the traveling dignitaries is Mr. Sergey Kislyak, newly appointed Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United States, who is making his first visit to Alaska.
“I am so pleased to be here this weekend,” Ambassador Kislyak said. “As discussed in my meeting with Governor Palin, it is encouraging to note the similarities between Alaska and the Russian Far East. Our existing commercial connections and the mutually beneficial nature of our professional partnerships can only help provide a measure of stability as, together, we face the global economic challenges that lie ahead.”
Ambassador Kislyak also met with representatives of the Aleut International Association, Institute of the North, Alaska Rule of Law Initiative, National Parks Service, ISER Alaska Chukotka Project, and Turnagain Elementary School Russian Immersion Program, all of whom have been involved in multi-year Russia-related projects.
In addition to Ambassador Kislyak, foreign dignitaries include Yuri Gerasin, Consul General of the Russian Federation; Julian Evans, British Consul General; John Mataira.. and Haijun Wang, Deputy Director General of the Foreign Affairs Office of China’s Heilongjiang Province. Mr. Wang is leading a four-person delegation from Heilongjiang Province, a sister province to Alaska
Wild Thing's comment.......
Was Obama ever leading delegations of foreign diplomats from Russia, the UK, China, ROK, Canada and others(3 of whom are UN P5 members with nukes) when he wasn't bothering to hold meeting on the Senate Foreign Relations committee?
Will Katie Couric be reporting on this? Interviewing the Russian Ambassador? Are they other governors meeting with diplomats from the P5 countries?
Notice the book "Divided Twins" in front of her, which is all about the similarities between Alaska and Siberia. I wonder if all the MSM pundits who got thrills up their legs when they saw Obama reading The End of America by Fareed Zakharia(or some similar title) have ever heard of that book. I wonder if they've read it.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Letters to the Editor (8) | Trackback URL | (0)
A Visit To Gov. Sarah Palin During The Holidays 2008
Gov. Sarah Palin receives a flight jacket from Lt. Gen. Craig E. Campbell Dec. 6 as a token of thanks for supporting the Alaska National Guard during Operation Santa Claus 2008 in Kivalina. Operation Santa Claus, an Alaska National Guard community relations and support program, provides toys, books and school supplies for young people in communities across the state. Photo: Spc Paizley Ramsey, 134th Public Affairs Detachment
Governor Sarah Palin and daughter, Piper, visit with Rabbi Yosef Greenberg at the Chanukah Arts Festival in Anchorage.
Governor Sarah Palin celebrates the first day of Hanukkah with members of the Jewish community in downtown Anchorage
Governor Sarah Palin, Rabbi Yosef Greenberg, Rabbi Michael Oblath and Ranamanmohan Minhas, representative of the Alaska Indian Sikh Temple, participated in lighting memorial candles for those lost in the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Letters to the Editor (8) | Trackback URL | (0)
Israeli Air Strike Kills Another Senior Hamas Leader
This is an interview on FOX and it is so good how he shoots this pro Hamas woman down.
Israeli Air Force F-16
Israeli air strike kills another top Hamas military leader
Israeli air strike killed a senior commander of Hamas's armed wing this morning while the Islamist group's leader warned the Israeli army, currently massing on the border, would be defeated if it invaded Gaza.
A week after Israel launched devastating air strikes against the Palestinian enclave with the declared aim of ending Hamas rocket attacks on its southern towns, an end to hostilities remains elusive despite international diplomatic efforts.
The overnight air strike in Gaza killed Abu Zakaria al-Jamal, a senior leader of Hamas's armed wing, the Islamist group said. The Israeli army said only that it carried out a series of air attacks throughout the night.
An Israeli air strike killed another Hamas leader, Nizar Rayyan yesterday. Most of Hamas's top officials have gone into hiding, anticipating assassination attempts by Israel.
The United States has said it envisions a ceasefire with international monitoring that would ensure the Islamist group could not rearm, but in Damascus, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal sounded a defiant note in a televised speech.
"We are ready for the challenge, this battle was imposed on us and we are confident we will achieve victory because we have made our preparations," Meshaal said.
A Palestinian official has said Egypt had begun exploratory talks with Hamas to stop the fighting.
Gaza medical officials put the Palestinian casualty toll at at least 429 dead and 2,000 wounded and a United Nations agency said more than a quarter of those killed were civilians. A leading Palestinian human rights group put the figure at 40 percent.
Four Israelis have been killed by Palestinian rockets, that include longer-range weapons that have hit the port of Ashdod and the desert town of Beersheba, forcing schools to shut and residents to scurry for shelter.
US President George W. Bush, in his first public comments on the hostilities that erupted less than a month before he leaves office, said: "Another one-way ceasefire that leads to rocket attacks on Israel is not acceptable."
"And promises from Hamas will not suffice -- there must be monitoring mechanisms in place to help ensure that smuggling of weapons to terrorist groups in Gaza comes to an end," he said in remarks prepared for his weekly Saturday radio address, which was released yesterday.
The United States has demanded Hamas, which Israel says has been smuggling weapons through tunnels under Gaza's border with Egypt, take the first step by halting rocket attacks on Israel.
Wild Thing's comment.......
Kill all the Hamas leadership no matter how many bombs it takes. Wait for the next group to step up, then repeat. Eventually there will be no one who ever wants the job of Hamas leader.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:47 AM | Letters to the Editor (8) | Trackback URL | (0)
Traditional Family Defenders Now in 'gay' Agenda Bull's-eye
Traditional family defenders now in 'gay' agenda bull's-eye
Licensing proposal could require lawyers to endorse homosexuality
One of the top lawyers in the nation in the battle to protect traditional marriage, historically Christian lifestyle choices, parental rights and the key freedoms provided by the U.S. Constitution is warning that there eventually could be no lawyers left to take up those disputes.
That's because of a recommendation before the State Bar of Arizona – the organization that licenses attorneys – to require all new lawyers to swear they won't let their personal religious perspective on homosexuality affect their representation of any client. Mathew Staver, chief of Liberty Counsel, warns that the proposal is just the "tip of the iceberg."
According to reports in Arizona, the state bar is considering a major change to its existing oath that requires lawyers to affirm they won't "permit considerations of gender, race, age, nationality, disability or social standing to influence my duty of care" to clients.
The proposal in Arizona is to add "sexual orientation" to that list.
The concept would demand that Christian lawyers affirm they would pursue child custody cases for lesbians and "marriage" rights for homosexuals just as they would pursue any other issue for clients, regardless of their religious perspective.
Not agreeing to the demand would end a Christian lawyer's career before it even starts, since attorneys cannot practice law without bar association permission.
Already, several dozen attorneys have sent a letter objecting to the plan, and concern has been raised by the online Catholic.org report.
"Are these lawyers going to be excluded from their profession because of their religious beliefs? Or will they have to give up their beliefs in order to continue practicing?" the report asked.
"The Catholic Church teaches that: 'homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.' They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.," Catholic Online continued. "Does this mean that all Catholic lawyers in the state of Arizona will now either have to apostatize from the faith or lose their jobs?"
Staver has argued in courts across the nation, including the U.S. Supreme Court, on a wide range of fundamental constitutional questions. He's appeared to discuss constitutional issues on "The O'Reilly Factor," "Hannity and Colmes," "Good Morning America," the "Today" show and others. He said Arizona's plan isn't unique, citing controversial provisions already in force in Minnesota and the District of Columbia.
But he said Arizona's proposal is broader, and therein could lie considerable discrimination against Christians.
"It is a disturbing trend," he said.
"It opens a wide door (against) people like us who defend traditional marriage," he said. "We're not going to represent someone who's engaged in the homosexual lifestyle and the issue deals with that matter.
"Obviously from our perspective, we would take that into consideration," he said.
Staver said the change actually would require Christian lawyers to endorse and support the homosexual lifestyle choice that their deeply held religious beliefs may not allow.
"What if you represent someone in a divorce and you're the attorney of record. Afterwards this person enters into a lesbian lifestyle and wants a change of custody. They want the child. That presents Christian attorneys with a conflict with their religious beliefs. Would (that Christian lawyer) want to continue to represent that person?" he asked. "It would be pushing that child into a homosexual lifestyle."
Staver said he's seen the threat to lawyers coming for some time already.
"We've talked about the fact one of the major threats coming down the road as Christian attorneys is bar regulations with regard to homosexuality," he said. "What we're seeing in Arizona is the tip of the iceberg.
"If they can license you out of defending traditional morality, they can eventually capture the whole court system. There would be nobody left to defend traditional marriage," he said.
The rest of the article HERE
Wild Thing's comment......
It says "Licensing proposal ", so maybe they will not put this through. Why oh why can't people leave things alone. The left is just not happy until they finish off every area that might have something to do with traditional values.
..... Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Letters to the Editor (6) | Trackback URL | (0)
Amazing Free-Flying Bald Eagle "Challenger"
Named in honor of the lost space shuttle crew, "Challenger" has performed free-flights during the USA's National Anthem at hundrews of events coast to coast—raising substantial public awareness for the Bald Eagle protection cause. He is the first Bald Eagle in American history trained to free-fly during the singing of the Star Spangled Banner. He has helped educate millions of people about the need to protect the USA's National Bird.
Wild Thing's comment.........
This is so wonderful, and very special. I love our Eagle!!!
......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.
RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company
13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:44 AM | Letters to the Editor (4) | Trackback URL | (0)