« June 2007 | Main | August 2007 »
July 31, 2007
Moslems Say Factory Could 'Rain Down Pork'
Muslims protest over pet food factory that could 'rain down' pork
daily mail.co.uk
A group of Muslims have opposed plans for a pet food factory to be built as possible pork emissions will violate their religious rights.
Butchers Pet Care could shelve plans for a factory in Coton Park, near Rugby, because angry Asian families have complained to their residents' association about pork smells drifting into their garden.
Muslim residents in the area also claim the pork will effectively "rain down" on their homes and gardens after the factory's 100ft chimney has pumped the meat extracts into the atmosphere.
The Coton Park Residential Association said they have received complaints from Muslims - who are directed to not eat pork by the Qur'an - and are taking the matter very seriously.
One family who live less than 100 yards from the proposed factory, but who did not wish to be identified, said: "A significant proportion of meats used in the pet foods processes are pig meat.
"Our religion expressly forbids us to consume pig meat in any form."Because of the way in which this meat material will leave the factory and give that the area can be 'rained upon' we will be consuming pork via inhalation of this 'rain'.
"Not only that but our clothes will be contaminated by pork."
"Therefore, we believe that not only will we be contaminated but also our faith by the owners of this proposed pet food plant.
"In this country we are allowed the right to follow our religion and religious beliefs. By allowing this plan to go ahead our religious rights are being swept to one side for what appears to be economic greed.
"We feel sure that there are other areas where this factory could be built that would not impact on us or others like us."
The pet food company said there is an 'almost 99% guarantee' the smell of pork would not reach the Coton Meadows residential area.
A statement from Butchers Pet Care said: "The majority of our natural products are beef and poultry.
"Pork ingredients account for less than 10% of our range."At Coton Park we plan to introduce state-of-the-art odour extraction through the chimney stack.
"An environmental impact report has already concluded that emissions at the proposed Coton Park site should not have an adverse impact on air quality and odour levels.
"We would like to reiterate that we do not burn any animal materials."
Wild Thing's comment........
Friendly advice to the Brits: First off, quit calling them Asians. Call them what they are..middle easterners. They are NOT the same as Japanese or Chinese. And second thing is this: grow a collective set and tell these NON British people to shut the hell up or go back where they came from. The muslims are NOT your friends.
Muslim residents in the area also claim the pork will effectively "rain down" on their homes and gardens after the factory's 100ft chimney has pumped the meat extracts into the atmosphere.
Why does this make me laugh? I guess they're gonna need some new burkas.
It amazes me to think that this effing cult and all of the evil, death, suffering, and turmoil it causes could be brought to a precipitous end with one load of Hormel scraps dropped from an airplane on 2 key cities in Saudi. In WWII, it took the nerve to nuke 2 cities off of the map. All this requires is some barbecue.
A well-regulated Barbecue, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Pork, shall not be infringed.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (16)
Bill Walsh "The Genius" Passes Away
3-time Super Bowl champion coach Walsh dies
msnbc
Bill Walsh, the groundbreaking football coach who won three Super Bowls and perfected the ingenious schemes that became known as the West Coast offense during a Hall of Fame career with the San Francisco 49ers, has died. He was 75.
Walsh died at his Bay Area home early Monday following a long battle with leukemia, according to Stanford University, where he served as coach and athletic director.
Walsh didn’t become an NFL head coach until 47, and he spent just 10 seasons on the San Francisco sideline. But he left an indelible mark on the United States’ most popular sport, building the once-woebegone 49ers into the most successful team of the 1980s with his innovative offensive strategies and teaching techniques.
The soft-spoken native Californian also produced a legion of coaching disciples that’s still growing today. Many of his former assistants went on to lead their own teams, handing down Walsh’s methods and schemes to dozens more coaches in a tree with innumerable branches.
He was named the NFL’s coach of the year in 1981 and 1984.
Few men did more to shape the look of football into the 21st century. His cerebral nature and often-brilliant stratagems earned him the nickname “The Genius” well before his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993
Walsh twice served as the 49ers’ general manager, and George Seifert led San Francisco to two more Super Bowl titles after Walsh left the sideline. Walsh also coached Stanford during two terms over five seasons.
In 2004, Walsh was diagnosed with leukemia — the disease that also killed his son, former ABC News reporter Steve Walsh, in 2002 at age 46. He underwent months of treatment and blood transfusions, and publicly disclosed his illness in November 2006.
Wild Thing's comment........
This is a man who emphasized intelligence and character above raw athletic ability. He'll be missed. Bill Walsh made himself available whenever possible for community outreach, charity events, and encouraged his players to remember the fans who supported them through the lean years as well. He also had a great sense of humor.
I remember the Niners first Superbowl. Walsh dressed up like a bellman and stood outside the bus as the players came off. Walsh took Montan's bag and it took Montana a couple seconds to realize who Walsh was. It was a great thing to watch.
Prayers for comfort and strength for his family and friends.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:48 AM | Comments (6)
Hates The Military So 42 Tires Slashed At Army Recruiting Office
42 tires slashed at Army recruiting office in Silverdale; student arrested
SILVERDALE
A college student was arrested Sunday in the slashing of 42 tires on 13 government vehicles in an Army recruiting office parking lot, saying he was angry about the war in Iraq, authorities said.Following a number of calls about a man wearing black and slashing tires, two deputies stopped a 19-year-old college student from Colorado as he tried to run from the lot shortly after midnight Sunday, a Kitsap County sheriff's office report said.
The man put up his hands, dropped a knife and, after being made to lie on the ground and being read his rights, asked, "Is this the time where I can confess?" deputies wrote.
On a portable breath test, his blood alcohol level registered .168, more than twice the legal threshold for intoxication, according to the report.
He told deputies he decided to slash the tires of Army recruiting vehicles because he "hated the military and the government and the war we were in."
He was jailed for investigation of first-degree malicious mischief, a dangerous-weapon violation for the knife and being a minor in possession of alcohol, with bail set at $10,000.
Wild Thing's comment.......
No photo was available, obviously they PROTECT this scum. But they should show his photo and let the world see the face of the POS that he is.
I’d send him to Gitmo-he’s made a declaration of treason, plus he has intentionally destroyed US military property.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (16)
Our Prayers For Justice Roberts
WASHINGTON (AP)
Chief Justice John Roberts suffered a seizure at his summer home in Maine on Monday, causing a fall that resulted in minor scrapes, Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said.
He will remain in a hospital in Maine overnight.
"It's my understanding he's fully recovered, said Christopher Burke, a spokesman for Penobscot Bay Medical Center, where Roberts was taken.
Roberts, 52, was taken by ambulance to the medical center, where he underwent a "thorough neurological evaluation, which revealed no cause for concern," Arberg said in a statement.
Roberts had a similar episode in 1993, she said.
Doctors called Monday's incident "a benign idiopathic seizure," Arberg said. The White House described the January 1993 episode as an "isolated, idiosyncratic seizure."
A benign seizure means that doctors performed an MRI and other tests to conclude there was no tumor, stroke or other explanation.
In addition, doctors would have quickly ruled out simple explanations such as dehydration or low blood sugar.
By definition, someone who has had more than one seizure without any other cause is determined to have epilepsy, said Dr. Marc Schlosberg, a neurologist at Washington Hospital Center, who is not involved in the Roberts' case.
Whether Roberts will need anti-seizure medications to prevent another is something he and his doctor will have to decide.
Wild Thing's comment........
My prayers are with Justice Roberts. America needs him.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:44 AM | Comments (11)
July 30, 2007
Chinese Helicopter Unit Flies to Russia For Military Drill
Chinese helicopter unit flies to Russia for military drill
ynet
A Chinese helicopter unit flew to Russia on Sunday to take part in a six-nation Central Asian anti-terrorism drill, a government news agency reported.
The 16 helicopters took off from a base in the Xinjiang region of China's northwest on a 2,700-kilometer (1,700-mile) flight, the Xinhua News Agency reported. The Aug. 9-17 drill is being held by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, created by Moscow and Beijing to counter U.S. Influence in resource-rich Central Asia.
Wild Thing's comment........
You know things happening like this make me very uncomfortable. Two countries that truly are not our buddies, two counties that I would not want in my foxhole.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (8)
Iran To Buy Jets From Russia
Reports: Iran to buy jets from Russia
Jerusalem Post
Israel is looking into reports that Russia plans to sell 250 advanced long-range Sukhoi-30 fighter jets to Iran in an unprecedented billion-dollar deal.
According to reports, in addition to the fighter jets, Teheran also plans to purchase a number of aerial fuel tankers that are compatible with the Sukhoi and capable of extending its range by thousands of kilometers. Defense officials said the Sukhoi sale would grant Iran long-range offensive capabilities.
Government officials voiced concern over the reports. They said Russia could be trying to compete with the United States, which announced over the weekend a billion-dollar arms sale to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.
Despite Israeli and US opposition, Russia recently supplied Iran with advanced antiaircraft systems used to protect Teheran's nuclear installations. At the time, Moscow said it reserved the right to sell Iran weapons, such as the antiaircraft system, that were of a defensive nature.
The Sukhoi-30 is a two-seat multi-role fighter jet and bomber capable of operating at significant distances from home base and in poor weather conditions. The aircraft enjoys a wide range of combat capabilities and is used for air patrol, air defense, ground attacks, enemy air defense suppression and air-to-air combat.
After years of negotiations, the Indian Air Force in 1996 purchased 40 Sukhoi-30s and in 2000 acquired the license from the company to manufacture an additional 140 aircraft.
Wild Thing's comment.........
An ugly scenario continues to build. Putin has picked a dictatorship to back.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (12)
Condi Rice Should End Her Occupation As Sec.of State
Secy. Rice: Israel Must End Occupation of 'West Bank'
Speaking with Arabic-language Radio Sawa, based in Washington and Dubai, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice went further in her demands on Israel than President Bush did in his recent speech on Israel.
Rice, about to depart for the Middle East to prepare an upcoming international meeting of regional leaders, said that President Bush recently stated "very clearly that Israel's future will rest in Israel, in places like Galilee and in the Negev - and that the occupation of the West Bank will have to end, and a Palestinian state will need to be established."
In fact, however, in his recent speech, President Bush did not phrase this as a demand upon Israel, but rather cited Prime Minister Olmert as having "made clear that Israel's future lies in developing areas like the Negev and Galilee - not in continuing occupation of the West Bank. This is a reality that Prime Minister Sharon recognized, as well. So unauthorized outposts should be removed and settlement expansion ended."
Rice Sets New Standard
Pres. Bush also stopped short of saying Israel must withdraw from all of Judea and Samaria. Bush said rather that future Israel-PA negotiations must "lead to a territorial settlement, with mutually agreed borders reflecting previous lines and current realities, and mutually agreed adjustments."
By stating so clearly that the "the occupation of the West Bank will have to end," Rice has set a new standard for United States officials of her stature in opposition to Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria.
Secretary Rice did not deal with the question of what to do with the 240,000 Jews living in the non-annexed areas of Judea and Samaria (nor the roughly equal amount living in the outlying neighborhoods of Jerusalem beyond Israel's pre-1967 borders). Israel has not yet been able to solve the problems of the fewer than 10,000 Jews it evicted from Gaza two years ago; those Jews are still living in transient camps of temporary pre-fab houses, with no long-term housing or employment solutions in sight.
No Invitations Yet
Secretary Rice also told Radio Sawa that "no invitations have gone out yet" for the planned meeting. "I want to talk to our allies in the region and our friends in the region about how they see and what they would see to be a useful international meeting," she said. "[It] will be, as the President said, an opportunity to review our progress. It will be an opportunity to make commitments to support the Israelis and Palestinians in their discussions, in their future negotiations... The United States doesn't want Made-in-America solutions. We need the entire population of states that are devoted to the two-state solution to work with us. And so these will be very important consultations."
For complete article you can see it HERE
Wild Thing's comment........
Not a chance. How stupid would that be? What is she thinking? Bush et.al. seems to look more and more like Democrats everyday.
Condi The Clueless thinks if Israel surrenders more territory there will be peace in our time. That formula worked so well in Gaza....NOT. But the Secretary Of State wants to try it again, on the theory that repeating the same failed policy will lead to a different outcome this time around. In a word, her prescription is insane - and a recipe for Israel's demise.
Duncan Hunter said Israel must not withdraw from "one inch" of territory as part of an Arab peace accord. I agree!
Condoleeza Rice is nothing more than Colin Powell disguised in a skirt.
You are invited to visit my page on Israel if you like.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (20)
July 29, 2007
Arab Princesses Kicked Off British Airways To Jeers and Whistles
.
Arab princesses kicked off British Airways plane to jeers and whistles after refusing to sit next to male strangers
dailymail.co.uk
Three Arab princesses were thrown off a packed British Airways flight after refusing to sit next to male passengers they didn't know.
The dispute - in which the three princesses from the ultra-conservative Qatar royal family demanded segregated seating - left the London-bound plane delayed on a baking Italian runway for nearly three hours.
Furious passengers whistled and clapped as the row intensified before the captain eventually ordered the women to be escorted off the plane.
The princesses, wearing traditional Arab dress, were returning from a day's shopping in Milan. They arrived at the city's Linate airport and boarded Heathrow-bound flight BA 563, which was due to take off at 4pm on Thursday.
The women, all relatives of the oil-rich emir of Qatar, Bader Bin Khalifa Al Thani, were booked into business class in a party of eight which included the emir and an entourage of cooks, servants and other staff.
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani: related to the Princesses
After passengers had fastened their seat-belts and the plane had taxied on to the runway, two male passengers in the entourage got up to protest about where the women were sitting.
According to the customs of Qatar and other Gulf states, women are not allowed to mix with men who are not relatives.
Cabin crew tried to rearrange the seats but passengers travelling together refused to give up their allotted places. The captain tried to mediate but after more than two and a half hours of wrangling he ordered the bulk of their royal party off the plane.
It is understood that five of the eight - including the princesses and the men who left their seats to protest - were removed.
Police and diplomats from the Qatar consulate in Milan were also called in before the plane eventually took off. The rest of the Qatar party left Milan later on an Alitalia flight.
A BA spokesman said: "The people were offloaded because they failed to comply with safety instructions when the aircraft was taxiing. Two passengers stood up and refused to sit down."
A spokesman at the Qatar embassy in Rome said: "This was a private matter and we have nothing to say."
Wild Thing's comment........
They had to have been aware beforehand, that men they might not know they might be sitting next to. They still “won” by grounding the plane for over frickin’ hours while they went Sharia on the airline. I think the Muzzies were doing it for the sake of being annoying to the infidels and seeing how far they could push.
Stay home and follow your customs.or come to the West and learn to follow ours. Coming to the West and expecting us to change our ways is not an option.
Bottom line is I have ZERO tolerance for Muslims, ALL Muslims!!!
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (29)
Nam Vet Russ Vaughn On Liberals And The War
Thank you Russ!
Not Even a Contest
I’m a soldier; haven’t been in uniform in forty years but the six years of active duty I did serve and the ensuing thirty-plus years I’ve spent working with the U.S. military, instilled in me certain qualities and beliefs that have grown and persisted within me all these decades and provide me with the basis for my stance on the war on terror. I may now be only an armchair warrior, but I’m still a soldier. As such, I understand the value of a rapid counterattack when your enemy has struck and badly hurt you. I say this as a brief, prefatory explanation of why I believe the Bush Administration has done the right thing in carrying the war on terror into the heart of terrorism itself. Yes, I know there are legions of liberals, so blinded by their certainty that the Supreme Court cheated Al Gore out of the presidency that they actually profess to believe that there were no ties between Al Qaeda and Iraq. To them I would say consider this: Syria had ties to Al Qaeda; Jordan had ties to Al Qaeda; Egypt had ties to Al Qaeda; Yemen had ties to Al Qaeda; Somalia had ties to Al Qaeda; Saudi Arabia had ties to Al Qaeda; the various Gulf monarchies had ties to Al Qaeda; Iran had ties to Al Qaeda; Pakistan had ties to Al Qaeda; Indonesia, the Philippines, North Korea and several of the former Soviet satellites under Muslim rule had ties to Al Qaeda.
But not Iraq.
That’s right, according to Democrat politicians and the liberal Left in America and Europe, only one country in the Middle East, Iraq, a country under the iron-fisted control of an absolute dictator who had reason to hate the American government far more bitterly than any of the leaders of the above nations, and yep, sitting smack dab in the middle of all these other terrorist harboring countries, only America-hating Iraq, was lily white clean according to liberal Democrats when it came to affiliation with Al Qaeda.
Excuse me folks, but Old Sarge’s bullshit detector is going off like a Geiger counter at ground zero in Chernobyl.
Now, of all the countries listed above, one of you Democrats, real quick, tell me which of them is absolutely known to have used weapons of mass destruction against a foreign enemy and dissident elements within its own borders. Hmmm, only one? Really? Only Iraq? Imagine that…chemical weapons used in conjunction with modern weapons delivery systems against Iranian forces and rebellious Kurds? Trust me folks, Old Sarge’s specialty in the Army was chemical, biological and radiological warfare and he knows quite well that the use of lethal, disabling and disfiguring gases in bombs, rockets and artillery warheads constitutes the use of weapons of mass destruction under the rules of land warfare. Never mind that Saddam Hussein blew the world a huge raspberry as he was gassing his enemies without and within. Nah…this guy didn’t have any weapons of mass destruction. Ask any Bush-hating Democrat.
So, contrary to all these liberals, whose only chance of seeing the light is when some proctologist’s probing proctoscope finally manages to locate their deeply-embedded eyes, this old grunt sees the value in hitting our enemies smack-dab in the middle of the threat; and that central target, folks, in this war on terror, just happened to be Iraq. And yes, Iraq has become a killing field, but far more so for radical Jihadists than for America and her allies. Potential bombers of Western cities flock like flies to the flypaper of a martyr’s death, not in New York or London, but on the killing field we have created for them. Remember one thing very well, Senators Reid, Durbin and Schumer: every single jihadist who dies in Iraq will never have the opportunity to die in one of our cities taking hundreds if not thousands of your potential voters with him.
And for all you armchair, liberal strategists who continue to throw up that canard that our military efforts should be entirely focused on capturing or killing the Al Qaeda leadership, Osama bin Laden and Zayman Al Zawahiri, in Afghanistan and Pakistan; may I inquire as to where you obtained your advanced degrees in military science? Madam Chair, would perhaps that have been at Berkeley’s famed War College? We know Congressman Murtha obtained his multiple military degrees from a rural Pennsylvania diploma mill, established and funded entirely by earmarks in federal legislation, but that’s a topic for another essay.
So, a simple question: did George Washington seek to capture King George? Did Abraham Lincoln focus all his military strategies on the capture or elimination of Jefferson Davis? In WWI, if we were hell-bent on capturing the Kaiser, why did we spend so many months in the hellish, intransigence of those trenches? Why on earth did MacArthur spend all that time and those American boys’ lives to move systematically up the Pacific archipelago in WWII if all we had to do was focus on capturing Emperor Hirohito? Would modern-day Democrat strategists label Eisenhower a fool and a loser for moving indirectly through Africa, Italy and the soft underbelly of Europe, Southern France, when all he had to do was attack Berlin directly and put Hitler in chains?
The truth is, all you Democrat military geniuses, is that none of those enemy leaders was captured until the fighting was over and the respective war was won; truth is, most of them never suffered any ill effects other than the ignominy of losing. Hell, if we did capture Osama, you liberal turkeys would be clamoring for the Bush administration to give him a fair and speedy trial, afforded all the rights of a U.S. citizen, and the ACLU would be appealing his conviction long beyond his natural death.
So what does this show America about its Democrat leadership? Well, it shows this old combat infantryman that you liberal wienies don’t know jack about fighting wars. It’s a far cry from forging voters’ registration certificates, stuffing ballot boxes and buying minority votes to standing solid under fire and defeating a lethal enemy on the battlefield. But since so very few of you have ever even worn the uniform, much less served in combat, you wouldn’t have any way of knowing that would you, ladies? I’ll make a wager right now: the average, enlisted, American military volunteer has more courage, integrity and patriotism than the U.S. congressman who supposedly represents him.
Hell, forget the bet; that’s not even a contest.
Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (5)
Checking In With Our Troops ~ Thank you All
Local residents lead Soldiers to huge weapons cache
2nd BCT, 10th Mtn. Div. (LI) PAO
PATROL BASE INCHON — The rural areas south of Baghdad have long been a trouble spot for Coalition Forces. The fertile land was given by Saddam Hussein to Baath Party members and close friends, and the ties made it a hotbed of terrorism.
Increasingly, however, residents are combating terror in their areas.
On July 23, a local Iraqi man came to Patrol Base Inchon, near the Euphrates River, staffed by Company D, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) out of Fort Drum, N.Y., and elements of the 4th Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division. He told troops that several other residents had chased a group of anti-Iraqi forces away from a weapons cache. He asked Soldiers to remove the weapons.
Several local residents guarded the cache and placed a fluorescent marking cloth to alert helicopters that they were not hostile.
Soldiers of Company D moved out to find the cache and were met on the road by some of the local residents, who guided them to the cache, which was next to a canal.
The cache contained 210 57mm rockets, 25 82mm rockets, eight 120mm mortars, a large rocket, and a bag of homemade explosives.
An explosive ordnance disposal team detonated the contents of the cache with a controlled explosion.
Although most rockets and mortars found in caches are not suitable for firing as intended, they are commonly used as improvised explosive devices.
“It’s a significant breakthrough in one of our most problematic areas,” said Maj. Kenny Mintz, 2nd BCT’s operations officer. “We have had a series of people turn in caches in the Qarghuli tribal area, which has historically been a source for supplies for IEDs and munitions for terrorist attacks.”
Mintz, a San Diego native, said he feels the change in residents’ behavior is due to a realization that al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations are not what they had bargained for.
Nero is a military working dog serving with Staff Sgt. Zeb Miller, his handler, at Forward Operating Base Normandy, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 06-08. Nero’s job – search the building, its doorway and the surrounding area, making sure no explosives are around to harm the Soldiers trying to clear the building.
With Nero’s efforts, and the efforts of many other military working dogs serving in Iraq, Soldiers’ lives are being saved everyday.
Ultimate Fighting Champions (from left to right) Heath Herring, Jorge Rivera, Kenny Florian and Amber Nicole Miller, the Octagon Girl, greet and sign autographs for the maintenance crews of the C-130 Hercules July 24 at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Master Sgt. Kim Allain)
Aggressor at Red Flag Alaska Strike Eagle fully loaded - An F-15C Aggressor from the 65th Aggressor Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., flies over a mountain range on a refueling mission at Red Flag-Alaska July 25. Red Flag-Alaska enables aviation units to sharpen their combat skills by flying simulated combat sorties in a realistic threat environment. More than 80 aircraft and 1,500 servicemembers from six countries are participating in the exercise July 12 to 27. (U.S. Air Force photo/Capt. Tana Stevenson)
Baghdad troops seized a large cache consisting of mortar tubes, munitions and significant amounts of homemade explosives in the southern portion of the Iraqi capital July 23.
Troops from Company A, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, attached to the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, discovered an 82mm mortar tube, along with 260 82mm mortar rounds, 11 120mm mortar rounds, 120 blocks of homemade explosives amounting to more than 31 lbs., and numerous components for explosively-formed penetrators and other improvised explosive devices in the eastern portion of the Rashid District, near the Tigris River.
“The discovery of today’s weapons cache will reduce sectarian indirect fire attacks on both sides of the Tigris River in southeast Baghdad,” said Maj. Robert Picht, the 4th IBCT’s fire support coordinator and a native of Bergenfield, N.J. “It also sends a strong signal to the insurgents that we will remain vigilant in our pursuits to identify and cut off their supply lines.”
An explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed the cache in place after troops cordoned off the area.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (3)
For Some Fun With The Communist Witch Hillary
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., speaks during a forum on energy and the environment in Portsmouth, N.H.
.....
Blue Moon
You saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my ownBlue Moon
You know just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
Someone I really could care for
And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will hold
I heard somebody whisper please adore me
And when I looked to the Moon it turned to goldBlue Moon
Now I’m no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
Another one...................
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (14)
July 28, 2007
U.S. Set to Offer Huge Arms Deal to Saudi Arabia
U.S. Set to Offer Huge Arms Deal to Saudi Arabia
WASHINGTON, July 27
The Bush administration is preparing to ask Congress to approve an arms sale package for Saudi Arabia and its neighbors that is expected to eventually total $20 billion at a time when some United States officials contend that the Saudis are playing a counterproductive role in Iraq.The proposed package of advanced weaponry for Saudi Arabia, which includes advanced satellite-guided bombs, upgrades to its fighters and new naval vessels, has made Israel and some of its supporters in Congress nervous. Senior officials who described the package on Friday said they believed that the administration had resolved those concerns, in part by promising Israel $30.4 billion in military aid over the next decade, a significant increase over what Israel has received in the past 10 years.
Saudi Arabia Eyes Heavily Armed, Aegis LCS
Saudi Arabia could be poised to become the newest member of an exclusive naval club: those countries who operate warships fitted with the advanced Aegis combat system.
Even more surprising is the ship the Saudis want to ride in on: the General Dynamics (GD) version of the U.S. Navy’s new Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).
Sources familiar with the proposal said Riyadh has examined several surface warship designs, including an Aegis variant of the Lockheed Martin LCS.
But while Lockheed Martin designers were able to fit the system into their monohull design, the results have left little margin for growth or design changes, and the Saudis prefer the greater margins found in GD’s trimaran.
“The Saudis love it,” said one industry source familiar with the proposal of the GD Aegis LCS. “They love the volume” in the design “and the ability to operate multiple helicopters.”
“They have expressed a clear preference for Aegis,” said another industry source.
If the deal goes through — and all sources interviewed emphasized that no agreement has been reached — Saudi Arabia would become the seventh operator of the world’s most advanced naval combat system and the first Arab customer.
The Aegis system was created by Lockheed Martin in the late 1970s and has been updated ever since. Today, the system is fitted on all current U.S. Navy cruisers and destroyers, and one of the latest versions has been adapted for ballistic missile defense.
Japan, Spain and Norway operate Aegis ships today, while South Korea is building a new class of destroyers with the system and Australia has committed to install it aboard its new Air Defence Destroyers.
Israel also has received U.S. approval to buy it, but so far has not. An Israeli Navy proposal to build a large amphibious ship fitted with Aegis was rejected in 2004 by the Israeli government as too expensive.
Israel also is considering buying the LCS. In April, the U.S. Navy gave Lockheed a $5.2 million contract to study the feasibility of an Israeli LCS.
U.S. officials said no similar contract has been issued for any other country, although Malaysia and Norway, among others, have expressed interest.
The Foreign Military Sales potential of the LCS has been a prime element of the program. U.S. Navy officials touted the ship’s adaptability to multiple customer requirements and said the modular mission concept would attract foreign buyers.
Wild Thing's comment........
OMG! We are selling them the rope to hang us, this is arming the enemy.
With crap like this and the ILLEGAL ALIEN mess - I don’t believe that we’re willing to do ALL we need to do to stop the terrorist threat. I pray there will be a resounding NO WAY when this comes up for a vote. For Israel it is a great idea I am all for standing side by side with Israel always!
To our awesome troops, I am so sorry.
To our warrior Veterans please accept my apology for what America has done to punch you in your hearts of heroes, you warriors of today and of yesterday, as our government today....our leaders want to open our door at the borders, arm our enemies and those enemies of Israel as well, and allow our enemy within to use our precious freedom you fought for to destroy this country.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (11)
Schumer Has Gone Off The Deep End
New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer, a powerful member of the Democratic leadership, said Friday the Senate should not confirm another U.S. Supreme Court nominee under President Bush “except in extraordinary circumstances.”
“We should reverse the presumption of confirmation,” Schumer told the American Constitution Society convention in Washington. “The Supreme Court is dangerously out of balance. We cannot afford to see Justice Stevens replaced by another Roberts, or Justice Ginsburg by another Alito.”
Schumer said there were four lessons to be learned from Alito and Roberts: Confirmation hearings are meaningless, a nominee’s record should be weighed more heavily than rhetoric, “ideology matters” and “take the president at his word.”
Wild Thing's comment........
The GOP has never made ideology is an issue. The liberals did with Bork, Thomas, Alito, and Roberts. When will the GOP wake up? The Democrats want different rules when they are in power.
I have to wonder if it will come to the point where the citizens will have to demand a change....just like they did a 230 years ago.
Schumer is vicious, dishonest partisan scum. It was perfectly clear who Roberts and Alito are - the President nominates people he respects highly and the Senate confirms them.
The deliberate, cynical character assassination of Robert Bork was a threshhold moment, for me, when the Left began openely to wage unlimited warfare on conservatives and traditional America, using every low and dishonest technique to get their way, not just in politics but EVERYwhere.
Now they are dropping any pretense of following the constitution...if the presidents sends up a nomination, he gets an automatic rejection.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (15)
Taliban In First Heat-seeking Missile Attack
You can click on image to enlarge it for easier read
Taliban in first heat-seeking missile attack
Taliban militants have used a heat-seeking surface-to-air missile to attack a Western aircraft over Afghanistan for the first time.
The attack with a weapon believed to have been smuggled across the border with Iran represents a worrying increase in the capability of the militants which Western commanders had long feared.
The Daily Telegraph has learnt that the Taliban attempted to bring down an American C-130 Hercules aircraft flying over the south-western province of Nimroz on July 22. The crew reported that a missile system locked on to their aircraft and that a missile was fired.
It closed in on the large C-130 aircraft, pursuing it as the pilots launched a series of violent evasive manoeuvres and jettisoned flares to confuse the heat sensors in the nose of the missile. Crew members said that they saw what they believe was a missile passing very close to the aircraft. The C-130 was not damaged in the attack.
"If there was such an incident of the type you describe in Nimroz it is classified," said a Nato spokesman. "I can't release it, if in fact it did occur."
However, a surface-to-air missile alert was put out for Western aircraft travelling in the south-west of Afghanistan in the last week, which affected both civilian and military aircraft.
It was confirmed by civilian air operators in Helmand province. It remains in place. Western military commanders have been aware of concerted efforts by the Taliban to obtain shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles, so-called Manpads (man portable air defence system).
The recent attack was probably with an SA7 shoulder-launched missile, an elderly model of Soviet or Chinese origin. Though relatively primitive they are still a potent weapon, particularly against low-flying helicopters, such as the workhorse Chinook transporters used by British forces in the southern Helmand province.
The C-130 attacked in Nimroz was flying at 11,000ft at the time of the attack, which is within the 2.5-5 km range of a shoulder-launched missile system such as the SA7.
Though the West supplied hundreds of sophisticated Stinger heat-seeking missiles to the Afghan Mujaheddin in the 1980s, they are not thought to be still usable because of the deterioration of their sophisticated electronics and battery systems.
As a contingency in 2002, the United States government offered an amnesty on Stingers and successfully bought back many of the missiles still in the arsenals of Afghan warlords for $40,000 a missile.
To date, the Taliban has shot down a number of Western helicopters, but only through the use of unguided rocket-propelled grenades, which have a range of only 500 yards.
In April members of the Special Boat Service operating in Nimroz province intercepted several truck loads of weapons coming across the Iranian border, including a working SA7 missile. It was one of a number of recent weapon caches that Western officials claim have been seized on the border with Iran, fuelling allegations by Britain and America that Iran, or elements within the Iranian government, have begun supplying arms to the Taliban.
Hundreds of SA7 missiles disappeared into the black market in Iraq in the aftermath of the fall of Saddam Hussein, where they have since been used to shoot down dozens of helicopters and aircraft, reportedly including a British C-130 in 2005.
Meanwhile, a Taliban spokesman said that the group would allow more time for an envoy from Seoul to travel to join talks for the release of 22 South Korean hostages. But the spokesman repeated the threat that militants would kill the 22 Christian missionaries.
Wild Thing's comment........
Screw ROE! Most of these damn ‘rules’ are thought up by military lawyers officers in the Judge Advocate Generals’ corps.
Let’s win these damn wars , using the sharp end of the stick without any hands tied behind the back
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (11)
A MUST SEE ~ Armed Services Committee Hearing
.
A MUST SEE ~ Armed Services Committee Hearing
I URGE you all to watch this hearing on cspan-2. Lawerence Korb, the ever weak and wobbly former Reagan's DOD official (I don't know how he could be the same then as he is now and measure up to Reagan's strength of character), AND Gen. Jack Keane (ret.) in hearing.
Keane was magnificent!! Gen. Keane is hitting it out of the park .. Korb said we pulled troops out of Viet Nam to preserve the military, and Keane was unabashed in his contempt for those remarks and that opinion.
Keane is praising the courage, command structure, morale and re-enlistment (in huge numbers) of this military, and God bless him! He said it's horrible to say this war is lost, as if the troops over there don't know the opinions here.
Duncan Hunter has been marvelous as well!
Senate Democrats do not want to fund the Military, damn I destest the left! Democrats are still grabbing at straws not to fund the Military, the buck stops here, our Military has to be financed and they are winning on the ground, too bad Democrats.
CLICK HERE to go tro C-Span ........and if you go to where it says the words I have put below next just click on the words at C-Span. It is well worth it.
Video/Audio
RECENT PROGRAMS >>
House Armed Services Cmte.
Meeting & Markup on Iraq War
bills (7/27/2007)
BIO of : General Jack Keane served 37 years in the Army, rising to the rank of four-star General. General Keane was a career paratrooper who commanded at every level to include the 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, NC; the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell, KY; and the Joint Readiness Training Center. He also served as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the United States Atlantic Command prior to becoming the Army's Vice Chief of Staff, and was featured in Tom Clancy's book, AIRBORNE.
General Keane is a combat veteran having served as a platoon leader and company commander in Viet Nam. His units deployed to Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:40 AM | Comments (3)
July 27, 2007
Schools Giving Muslims Special Treatment
Some say schools giving Muslims special treatment
Some public schools and universities are granting Muslim requests for prayer times, prayer rooms and ritual foot baths, prompting a debate on whether Islam is being given preferential treatment over other religions.
The University of Michigan at Dearborn is planning to build foot baths for Muslim students who wash their feet before prayer. An elementary school in San Diego created an extra recess period for Muslim pupils to pray.
At George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Muslim students using a "meditation space" laid out Muslim prayer rugs and separated men and women in accordance with their Islamic beliefs.
At the forefront of the movement is the Muslim Students' Association, which has formed a Muslim Accommodations Task Force to push for foot baths and prayer rooms. At least 17 universities have foot baths built or under construction, including Boston University, George Washington University and Temple University, and at least nine universities have prayer rooms for "Muslim students only," including Stanford, Emory and the University of Virginia, according to the MSA's website. The association did not return calls seeking comment.
Daniel Pipes, founder of the Middle East Forum, a conservative think tank, sees the requests as part of a movement to force the public to acquiesce to Islamic law."The goal of Islamists is the application of Islamic law," Pipes says.
In the San Diego case, a substitute teacher at Carver Elementary School alleged that teachers were indoctrinating students into Islam. The San Diego Unified School District determined that a teacher's aide was wrong to lead Muslim students in prayer. Carver still has a special recess to allow 100 Muslim students to pray.
The ACLU, which has often sued schools for permitting prayer, says it is waiting to see what kind of policy the school settles on before deciding whether to sue. It says promoting prayers is unconstitutional.
Wild Thing's comment.........
I don't think most people really understand we are at war, not just away from our homeland but right here on our own soil. Weird I know and they are stupid, but how else can it be explained for this kind of giving in to go on. Next Shira law?!
If they are not going to assimilate, they have no business being in America.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (19)
Murtha Pushes New Iraq Bill ~ Yet Another Bill ?? Sheesh!
WASHINGTON (AP)
A leading House Iraq war critic said Wednesday he'll soon push legislation that would order U.S. troop withdrawals to begin in two months and predicted Republicans will swing behind it this time.
A vote on Rep. John Murrtha's proposal likely will come in September, when Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus delivers a long-anticipated assessment on the war and members of Congress weigh some $600 billion in defense spending requested by President Bush.
Under his plan, Murtha, a close ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said that he envisions troop withdrawals to start in November and take about a year to complete.
The House has passed similar proposals in the past, including one that Bush vetoed. But Murtha said he predicts this vote will be different because of mounting voter frustration with the war and a lack of progress in Iraq.
"This is big time," Murtha, D-Pa., told reporters of the upcoming war debate in September. "When you get to September, this is history. This is when we're going to have a real confrontation with the president trying to work things out."
In response to Murtha's proposal, House Republican Leader John Boehner said Democrats were ignoring progress in Iraq.
"If they are not listening to reports from our generals today, how does anyone believe they will make an honest and objective decision in September?" Boehner, R-Ohio, said. "Our national security is not a political football, and Republicans aren't going to treat it as such."
Murtha counters that he thinks Bush and GOP members will have no choice. To maintain current troop levels through 2008, Murtha predicted that combat tours would have to be extended from 15 months to 18 months — a politically unsavory position to take on an already deeply unpopular war.
The Defense Department has said that extending combat tours of troops would be a last resort.
Wild Thing's comment........
Hmmmmmm I wonder what happened to Murtha’s strategic re-deployment to Okinawa?
“This is when we’re going to have a real confrontation with the president trying to work things out.”
Seems that all they live for these days is confrontation. The only folks they don’t want to confront is the enemy. God help me but I wish this traitorous SOB was six feet under.
The Surge will never be allowed to appear successful despite facts on the ground. The Democratic MSM has already discounted military success repeating the mantra there can't be a military solution alone. They've also repeatedly blamed Iraqi politicians with the "going on vacation" sound byte as if they all went off sailboarding with John F'n Kerry.
But we all know the surge IS working! And I am so proud of our troops!
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (12)
John W. Olver, D-Mass Referring To Republicans “They are nihilists. They are jihadists"
Democrats Say GOP Complaint of Spending ‘Shutdown’ Strategy Doesn’t Add Up
Republicans are uttering a word that for 12 years has been utterly unspeakable.
Shutdown.
It’s a word that can send shudders through those who saw the last one — actually, two — play out after Republicans took control of Congress in 1995. The Newt Gingrich-Bill Clinton standoff was so traumatic that since then, neither party has ventured anywhere in that direction.
This year’s appropriations tug-of-war between a new majority in Congress and a president of the opposing party does not appear to be headed for a government shutdown, but a rhetorical taboo was lifted when the word became part of the partisan message of the moment.
“The obvious plan of the Democrats is to not do appropriations bills but put everything together in a giant omnibus appropriations bill in a kind of legislative blackmail with all of the policy and increased spending, to in effect threaten the president to either sign the bill or be accused of shutting down the government,” Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, the chairman of the Republican Conference, said Wednesday.
President Bush has threatened to veto seven appropriations bills because together they would exceed his discretionary spending limit by more than $20 billion.
Congressional veterans are certain the two sides are headed for a whopper of a fight over a catchall, omnibus appropriations bill.
Former Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said he believed that a settlement was possible to avert a government shutdown at a time of war.
“It’s too early to predict a shutdown like 1995,” Hastert said. “Democrats know the president can’t shut down the government in the middle of a war. They shouldn’t be pushing him to the wall.”
The House expects to complete all of its fiscal 2008 appropriations bills before the August recess. But the Senate aims to complete only two of its spending bills by then: Homeland Security (HR 2638) and Military Construction-VA (HR 2642).
Reid scoffed at Republicans who say they are worried about the pace of appropriations work in the Senate.“Maybe they should have thought of that before my filing 45 cloture petitions, where they’ve rejected everything we’ve done,” Reid said. “We’re going to work through these appropriations bills as fast as we can.”
And while Democrats rebuff Republicans and their accusations of shutdown politics, the majority is throwing some brickbats of its own.
“They’ve been stalling,’’ said John W. Olver, D-Mass., chairman of the House Transportation-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee. “They are nihilists. They are jihadists.”
Wild Thing's comment.........
Here is a very clear example pointing to a democrat who has no clue about the jihad, global jihad; war on terror, and the global war on terror:
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (6)
Al Sharpton: Black Voters Should Punish GOP ~ HUH????
Al Sharpton: Black Voters Should Punish GOP
NM
Civil rights leader Al Sharpton said Thursday black voters should punish Republicans who fail to show for presidential candidates' forums hosted by the National Urban League and the NAACP.
"We can only assume you weren't courting us," Sharpton said. "Republicans have to lay out their policies and court the African-American vote. We need to have our interests debated in the market place."
Sharpton noted there won't be another NAACP or Urban League conference before the presidential primaries.
"When I was in high school, I may not have gone to the prom with the girl I wanted, but with the girl I could get," he said, suggesting Republicans leave black voters little choice but to vote for a Democrat.
Sharpton was among a panel of black leaders, political strategists from both major parties and journalists who discussed the black vote in the 2008 presidential election at the Urban League's national conference here.
Five presidential candidates - four Democrats and one Republican - are scheduled to address the conference Friday. Among them are top-tier Democrats Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, and John Edwards. The lone Republican is Rep. Duncan Hunter of California.
Earlier this month, all eight Democratic candidates participated in a forum at the NAACP meeting in Detroit. The only Republican was Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, a long-shot candidate.
Shannon Reeves, director of state and local development for the Republican National Committee, said his role in the RNC was to get them to understand the black community.
"There are some in our party who don't want to associate with our community," he said to groans from the crowd. He added that "black folks had to kick the door open. The Democratic Party didn't open it wide and say come on in."
Urban League president Marc Morial said black voters deserve more than "drive-by politics and last-minute appeals to churches." But, he admitted, "sometimes we aren't good about getting out to vote." He said no candidate has talked about black economic development, which is the civil rights organization's major thrust.
Wild Thing's comment...........
So when are the Democrats going to apologize and offer reparations for basically opposing every attempt to free the slaves, for implementing Jim Crow laws, and opposing civil rights, hmmm?
Sharpton is so stupid, not ALL black voters support the likes of Al. I listen to a lot of talk shows and there are a lot of blacks that call in and are embarrased by the likes of Sharpton. Yes most vote Demorat but Sharpton wants to keep race baiting them and for many it works. Only liberals would use the fact of sex and race to make an issue.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (10)
Patton's New Speech-Iraq & modern world
In case some of you have not seen this, it is excellent.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:40 AM | Comments (4)
July 26, 2007
House Rejects Permanent U.S. Military Bases In Iraq
House rejects permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq
The House approved legislation Wednesday preventing the Pentagon from establishing any permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq.
The legislation would bar the federal government from controlling any of that country's oil resources.
Democratic leaders scheduled a vote on the measure, which was introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) , as part of a concession to some of their liberal members who have been clamoring to de-fund the war.
"It makes a clear statement of policy that the U.S. does not intend to maintain an open ended military presence in Iraq and that we won't exercise control over Iraqi oil," Lee said in a statement afterward. "The perception that the United States plans to maintain a permanent military presence in Iraq strengthens the insurgency, and it fuels the violence against our troops."
House members passed the measure, 399-24.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (10)
Edwards Wants to Raise Minimum Wage to $9.50
John Edwards Wants to Raise Minimum Wage to $9.50
wltx.com
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards says the 70 cents per hour increase in the minimum wage is not enough.
The former North Carolina senator told reporters in McClellanville Wednesday he wants other presidential candidates to join him in calling for an increase in the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2012.
Tuesday's increase boosted the minimum wage to $5.85 per hour.
Wild Thing's comment........
“Sir, Can I offer you $3.00 fries to go along with your $6.00 Big Mac?”
This would of course drive the unemployment rate through the roof. But Edwards and his fellow travelers on the left don't really care about the consequences of their economic foolishness. All they care about is pandering to the ignorant.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (13)
Attempted Murder Of This Attorney Saved Bill Clinton's 1992 Campaign
Bill and Hillary Clinton and the Mena Arkansas cocaine smuggling operation they ran while Bill Clinton was governor of Arkansas.
Viewing time: is 1 hr 43 min long. But it is VERY interesting.
Bill Clinton was really upset by this production and called it "That damn video."
The interview is with attorney Gary Johnson. Johnson's tape was stolen and he was beaten to within an inch of his life. I don't believe in coincedence and certainly not in regards to people connected to either of the Clinton's.
Here is the overview. Johnson lived next door to Gennifer Flowers at the Quapaw Towers. The security camera used to protect his condo also caught her door. That camera taped Bill going into Gennifer Flowers' condo on numerous occasions with his own key.
Keep in mind that Clinton was denying the affair with Gennifer Flowers. Anthony Pellicano, the guy now in prison in California, was hired to claim that Flowers' taped conversations with Bill were doctored. They were not. That has been proven.
You will hear Johnson tell how three henchmen confiscated the tape, then proceeded to smash in his nasal cavity, break his collarbone, break his elbows, puncture his bladder and spleen, and leave him for dead.
No, this kind of stuff is not old news and will come back stronger than ever with Hillary in the White House. The Clintons have used private investigators to threaten witnesses and have used the IRS against its enemies.
Unfortunately, what is sealed within the Barrett Report is not for public view. Someone who knew what he had to do threatened the lives of Kathleen Willey's children to try to keep her from testifying in the Paula Jones case. Those who are charged with protecting the interests of the Clintons will always do what they need to do. You saw what they did to Billy Dale. There is still much that the public does not even know.
Watch the Johnson interview. Pass it on.
As the person that shared this video has said......."Do not ever doubt that Hillary Rodham Clinton is capable of doing anything for power. Anything."
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (14)
Marine Strong ~ This Would Make A Great Ad For The Marines
This would make an awesome commercials for the Marines. Just a thought, heh heh
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (8)
July 25, 2007
News About John Doe Protection Amendment
Congressman Peter King. The whistleblower protection remains in the Homeland Security bill. This is the amendment that protects citizens from lawsuits if they report suspicious activity such as the flying imams. This is good news.
Lawmakers Reach Deal on Security Bill
By JIM ABRAMS
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Congressional negotiators reached tentative agreement Tuesday on steps to strengthen air and sea defenses against terrorists in legislation aimed at fulfilling recommendations made three years ago by the 9/11 Commission.
The bill outlines plans to inspect all cargo on passenger planes within three years and screen, within five years, all U.S.-bound cargo ships for nuclear weapons before they leave foreign ports.
It also realigns the formulas for distributing federal security funds so that states and cities most at risk of terrorist attack receive a larger share.
Rep. Benny Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he had closed out final issues after a meeting with Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
"This bill, when signed by the president, will be another step toward securing all Americans from terrorist attack," Lieberman said in a statement. "It will make it more difficult for terrorists to enter and operate in the United States, while securing vulnerable targets from attack, and training and equipping first responders and preventers so they can do they job we need them to do."
The final language was still being circulated among the negotiators and no formal announcement of a deal was expected Tuesday evening.
The compromise bill gives a much needed victory to Democrats who go into the August recess with few concrete achievements to show for their first six months in control of Congress.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the House could vote on the bill Friday, and the Senate is expected to act before leaving for the recess. The White has expressed opposition to parts of the bill, particularly the provision to screen 100 percent of cargo in foreign ports, but has stopped short of issuing a veto threat.
The nonpartisan 9/11 Commission, formed after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 came out with 41 recommendations to make the nation safer from terrorist threats, covering transportation security, emergency preparedness and reforms to U.S. intelligence and diplomatic policies.
Congress and the White House have already moved to carry out some of those proposals, including creating the new position of director of national intelligence, tightening screening procedures on land borders, moving toward standardized and secure IDs, and taking countermeasures against terrorist financing.
But Democrats, in taking control of Congress, made it a top priority to act on unfulfilled recommendations. The House passed its bill on the first day of this session last January, and the Senate followed suit in March. Getting together to formulate a compromise was delayed for months over issues such as White House opposition to provisions, since dropped, that would have given airport screeners collective bargaining rights.
The last obstacle was cleared when negotiators crafted language to satisfy a Republican demand giving immunity from lawsuits to people who report suspicious behavior. The issue grew out of an incident last fall where six Muslim scholars were removed from a flight in Minneapolis after other passengers said they were acting suspiciously. The imams have since filed a lawsuit, saying their civil rights were violated.
The legislation requires that all ship containers bound for the United States undergo radiation screening before they leave foreign ports. The aim is to stop ships containing nuclear devices before they reach American destinations.
"Failure to screen all cargo containers overseas doesn't just 'miss the boat,' it could also miss the bomb, with devastating consequences for our country," said Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., a chief proponent of the measure.
There's a five-year deadline for meeting the requirement, but, in a nod to critics who question whether the technology will be ready in time, it gives the Homeland Security secretary authority to extend that deadline in two-year increments.
It approves more money for checkpoint and baggage screening at airports and requires the Homeland Security Department to screen all cargo on passenger aircraft within three years.
The bill changes the formula for distributing federal security grants to better reflect terrorist threats. Currently states are guaranteed 0.75 percent of grant funds, but the bill cuts that guarantee in half and approves $950 million annually over the next five years for state homeland security grants.
The legislation also authorizes separate grant programs for rail, transit and bus security at more than $4 billion for four years and creates a new program within the Homeland Security Department to improve communication links among state, local and federal officials.
Also coinciding with 9/11 Commission recommendations, the legislation strengthens a board that oversees privacy and civil liberties issues, establishes a new electronic travel authorization system for countries that have a visa waiver agreement with the United States and requires Congress and the president to disclose the total amount of funds appropriated for the intelligence community, a number that is now classified.
The bills are H.R.1 and S.4
Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov/
Wild Thing's comment........
This is excellent news and now they just have to do the full vote. When this becomes law it will have an impact. Too bad we even have to have a law / bill about this, but in today's politically correct BS world that seems to be the only way to give any of us permission to speak out. My how times have changed and not for the better for my beloved America.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (15)
I Love Happy Endings ~ Former Guantanamo Detainee Blows Himself Up
.
Abdullah Mehsud photographed in 2004
Former Guantanamo detainee blows himself up
Telegraph uk.co
A former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who took up arms alongside the Taliban after he was released from detention has blown himself up to avoid capture, Pakistani security forces said today.
Abdullah Mehsud killed himself with a hand grenade after he was cornered by troops at a house in the south-western Pakistani town of Zhob. He was wanted for the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers in 2004.
"My information is that (he) killed himself," said Atta Mohammed, the head of the police in Zhob. "Thanks be to God that only he was blown up and our men were safe."
Mehsud, 32, was released from the US detention centre in Cuba after two years in 2004 but immediately went back to violence when the Pakistani government began an offensive against the Taliban in the troubled region along the border with Afghanistan.
The one-legged militant was the leader of a group of fighters that kidnapped two Chinese engineers working on a hydroelectric dam project in South Waziristan. Pakistan was forced to apologise to China after one of the hostages died in the subsequent rescue attempt. Mehsud escaped after the incident and has been hunted by Pakistani forces ever since.
Wild Thing's comment........
Yippee!!!!
Liberals that want to close the Guantanamo base, should be forced to host the “guests” in their home and sign a form indicating liability for their “guests”.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (12)
Kerry accuses Bush Of Trying To Scare Americans About al-Qaida
Kerry and other hippie Senators
Kerry accuses Bush of trying to scare Americans about al-Qaida
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP)
Senator John Kerry is accusing President Bush of trying to scare the country about al-Qaida.He's reacting to a speech the president made today at Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina.
In it, Bush insisted that al-Qaida in Iraq is run by foreign leaders "loyal to Osama bin Laden" and described al-Qaida's burgeoning operation in Iraq as a direct threat to the United States.
Bush also accused critics who claim al-Qaida's operation in Iraq is distinct from those behind 9-11 of misleading the public.
But Kerry says the president presents no evidence, adding "al-Qaida in not the principal killer" of US troops in Iraq. He says Bush is trying to scare Americans into believing his rationale for continuing the war in Iraq.
Wild Thing's comment........
Then there was also back in 2004, when Kerry said that we should have to get used to “some” amounts of terrorism in the United States.
To the Liberal mind Al Qaeda is harmless and Global Warming is an imminent threat.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (14)
In Country With Our Troops ~ Iraq
US soldier is seen during a patrol in Baghdad.
The US military has said its troops have found Chinese-made missiles which they believe were smuggled into Iraq by groups in Iran in order to arm groups fighting US-led forces.
(AFP/Olivier Laban-Mattei)
Camp Victory BAGHDAD — Multi-National Division – Baghdad troops opened fire on insurgents emplacing a roadside bomb, killing three and wounding at least one more July 21 during continuing clearing operations in the Rashid District. Troops from Company B, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, attached to the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, witnessed five men out after curfew excavating a hole by the side of the road in a Doura neighborhood of southern Baghdad. The location was an area historically used by insurgents to employ deep-buried improvised explosive devices against Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces. When one of the men was positively identified with an AK-47 assault rifle and appeared to be pulling security for the other diggers, the troops requested permission to engage. After investigating the area where the insurgents were digging, the troopers found three bodies, the assault rifle, a pistol, two shovels and an axe. They also identified blood trails leading south. Under Iraqi law, citizens are permitted to keep one AK-47 and a full 30-round magazine in their homes for protection. Handguns or weapons heavier than an assault rifle are not allowed.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM
| Comments (3)
Three insurgents killed emplacing roadside bomb
4th IBCT, 1st Inf. Div. Public Affairs
Multi-National Corps – Iraq
A Soldiers Life
The Reasons They’re All Fighting ForOur liberties and freedoms are a rich, daily blessing
And our hearts should be thankful to stay,
For this country we live in and those who serve us
In the military day-after-day.
Where would we be... not even free
If soldiers didn’t serve in their youth.
Because their willingness to defend us, possibly to death
Is for a nation which is founded on Truth.
So here lies a thank you which pales in comparison
To the gift that they give to us all.
Thank you, oh thank you, to those dressed in uniform
Who fight for the sake of the call.
Thank you is not enough to the families left behind
Who carry on without their loved ones there.
May God bless you richly with courage and grace
For those moments when life isn’t fair.
Thank you to the veterans, weathered and worn
Who served in wars we didn’t see.
Thank you for your service & all you endured
To prove that freedom isn't free.
Thank you to the soldiers who serve us right now
...pressing on through fatigue and through fear.We pray for the presence of Christ to hover closely
And that you feel Him incredibly near.
May the gratitude we feel fuel your heart today
Whether peace time or a country at war.
God bless our military...may we pray in remembrance
Of the reasons they’re all fighting for.© Sheila Gosney
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:40 AM | Comments (4)
July 24, 2007
Dems and CNN Think This Is How We Elect A President!
Just a few moments from a total joke, shame of a debate.
As you all know the idiotic debate was on CNN and they used YouTube videos from people to present the questions to the wanna be President's.
Pods? Or are these the candidates waiting backstage before the debate?
They had this GAY asshole start the debate telling them .....not to beat around the 'bush' with their answers.
Then the Snowman had questions on you guessed it....... Global Warming......This is so pathetic!!!! LMAO
.
Here is what the snowman had to say........CLICK video below.....
Then they were asked by some idiot that CNN picked to turn to the person on their left and say one good thing they liked about the person on their left and one thing they did not like.
(Can you believe it????????? for a Presidential debate this kind of BS) hahahaha OMG!
This would win for the line of the night for sure...........
Biden's turn and he turns to his left and said to Kucinich (The best thing I like about you is your WIFE!)
Hahahahahaha there ya go Biden, omg hahaah
OK then it was Kucinich's turn and he was on the end so no one was standing on his left.........
Kucinich: I like how CNN didn’t put anyone to the left of me.
Anderson Cooper: I don’t think there are anyone to left of you.
And while all this BS was going on in their phony debate, their LIES about our troops, their LIES about not winning the war.......... our troops, on Monday July 23rd,2007 were busy. Our troops that have NOT lost this war!! Let's look at just a few things our troops did just in one day.
Monday, 23 July 2007 MNF-W forces attacked
Monday, 23 July 2007 Iraqi man arrested for part in kidnapping of sheikh
Monday, 23 July 2007 Three Iraqis freed, their captors detained
Monday, 23 July 2007 MNC-I Soldier targeted by IED
Monday, 23 July 2007 Rear Admiral tours Abu Nuwas market
Monday, 23 July 2007 Four wounded, local hospital damaged in attacks
Monday, 23 July 2007 Iraqis take lead in island clearing operation
Monday, 23 July 2007 Allons Soldiers render medical aid to Iraqis after VBIED blast
Monday, 23 July 2007 Truck Bomb destroyed during Marne Avalanche
Monday, 23 July 2007 Gen. Petraeus visits Camp Adder
Monday, 23 July 2007 12 al-Qaeda terrorist facilitators captured
Monday, 23 July 2007 Coalition Forces kill 9 terrorists, detain 8 and destroy weapons caches
Monday, 23 July 2007 Warlords find EFP cache
Monday, 23 July 2007 Combined operation nets cache find in Jamia
Monday, 23 July 2007 2 Iraqis killed, 8 wounded in bus attack
Monday, 23 July 2007 Suicide car bombers miss target, kill 3 civilians, wound 13 others
Monday, 23 July 2007 Soldiers search for missing comrades leads to discovery of weapons caches
Monday, 23 July 2007 Task Force Marne Soldier died of wounds
Monday, 23 July 2007 Soldiers attacked during combat logistics patrol
Monday, 23 July 2007 IA Forces, U.S. Special Forces detain al-Qaida Terrorists linked to U.S. casualties
Monday, 23 July 2007 IA Forces, U.S. Special Forces detain al-Qaida Terrorists linked to U.S. casualties
Monday, 23 July 2007 Search nets seven terrorist suspects in Bulayj
Monday, 23 July 2007 IA, U.S. Special Forces detain alleged terrorist finance chief in Ninewa Province
Monday, 23 July 2007 ISF, U.S. Special Forces detain five suspected extremists
and this one......
Monday, 23 July 2007 Soldiers search for missing comrades leads to discovery of weapons caches
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (12)
Illegal immigrants to get ID cards in Connecticut
Illegal immigrants to get ID cards in Connecticut
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (Reuters)
As many U.S. cities and states arrest illegal immigrants in raids and toughen laws against them, a Connecticut city is offering to validate them under a controversial, first-in-the-nation ID card program.
Starting Tuesday, New Haven will offer illegal immigrants municipal identification cards that allow access to city services such as libraries and a chance to open bank accounts.
Supporters say the cards will improve public safety and give undocumented workers protections now afforded legal residents. Critics contend it will unleash a flood of illegal immigration, straining services and wasting taxpayer money.
New Haven officials overwhelmingly approved the program last month in a 25 to 1 vote.
Backers and detractors alike say the program appears to fill a vacuum after Congress failed to act on immigration reform, leaving many towns and cities to struggle with how to deal with a growing undocumented population.
Kica Matos, who administers the program for New Haven, said undocumented workers are often targeted by thieves and robbed because they carry cash, a result of not being able to open a bank account."Part of the reason they can't open bank accounts is because they don't have forms of identification that were valid," she said.
She said two banks had already agreed to accept the new city card, which will be offered to all New Haven residents, as legitimate identification sufficient for opening an account.
Local Latino advocacy group Junta for Progressive Action estimates 3,000 to 5,000 illegal immigrants live in the city of 124,000 people, many from Mexico, Ecuador and Guatemala.
Yale University Law School, based in New Haven, helped research the city's idea and volunteered legal services. Several immigrants' rights groups also helped build up local support for the identification cards.
PROTESTS
Opponents hope to rally the public against it. Southern Connecticut Citizens for Immigration Reform says the ID cards will change "the entire country as we know it" and is organizing a protest on Tuesday at city hall.
"There are millions of illegal aliens right around us that when these ID cards are available to them, they will rush to them and get some identification that will allow them to go to other cities," said Ted Pechinski, who leads the group.
North Carolina-based Americans for Legal Immigration PAC has circulated a flier in 40 states urging illegal workers to move to New Haven, said its president William Gheen.
"Maybe New Haven needs to learn, if they want the illegals, then they'll get the illegals," he said.
His flier, in English and Spanish, says: "Come to New Haven CT for sanctuary. Bring your friends and family members quickly."
Officials in several cities including New York and San Francisco have expressed interest in possibly starting similar programs, said Matos.
The new ID, she added, does not easily identify a person as an illegal immigrant. "That is the last thing that we want to have happen," she said. The card was created with several features to appeal to all residents, including a debit component and access to city services such as parks.
Fatima, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, said she is eager to apply for the card."The ID will help me because it's a way to be in this country and get people to know who you are, especially for people who crossed the border and lost their papers," she said. "I feel safe here in New Haven."
Flyer (mostly in Spanish)inviting illegals to relocate to New Haven, CT.
http://www.alipac.us/media/NewHavenCTFinal.PDF
.
Wild Thing's comment........
I’m going to beat the rush and start banging my head on the desk now. Can't Paul Newman, Martha Stewart, David Letterman and Chris Dodd get their lawns mowed by legals???? I love Conn. it is a gorgeous State, but this is going to be very bad to do this. This is like a call to illegals to go to Conn. GRRRRRRR
They always say the illegals do the jobs no one else wants. That is such a lie.
The man that does our yard is a Nam vet and his three sons are in business with him. He is awesome and his business provides a way to make a living and work outside. He can't work indoors since Vietnam, he was in country and he had to do a lot of crawling down into tunnels, and since then needs to be outside. His business thrives here, because he is good, honest and we have also become friends.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:54 AM | Comments (21)
Dennis Miller Unloads On Harry Reid
LOL good one Dennis!
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:48 AM | Comments (6)
1st Cav Soldiers Sing Toby Keith's "Beer For My Horses"
1st Cav Soldiers Sing Toby Keith's "Beer For My Horses"
Wild Thing's comment.........
Love our troops! God bless them all and keep them safe.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (4)
Charlie Daniels Latest His Open Letter To Harry Reid
An open letter to Harry Reid and all the rest of the short sighted, self serving, politically activated politicos who want to pull our troops out of Iraq before they have a chance to complete the job they're doing.
Mr. Reid et al,
I see where you tried again this week to force a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq and your proposal failed again.
You people in Washington claim to know the mind of the American people. I beg to differ with you and would offer up in evidence just how out of touch you are with the American people by reminding you of what happened when you tried to shove that ridiculous Amnesty Bill down our throats.
You also claim to support the troops but if you really did you would separate and pass the part of the bill that raises pay for the military. If you really support the troops that's the least you could do.
You say that little or no progress has been made in Iraq. I guess the execution of Saddam and his maniacal sons was not a good thing. And the destruction or detainment of scores of Al Qaida operatives don't count.
Mr. Reid I have been told by a high ranking officer serving in Iraq that they fight Al Qaida every day and that if we don't defeat them over there, they will come to America.
Just whose word do I take for that, a General who actually faces the enemy every day or an expensively coiffed Presidential candidate who says the war is just a bumper sticker?
It is truly a shame for a 70-year-old man who has lived through many wars and threats to this nation to make this statement and I take absolutely no pleasure in making it. But the truth of the matter is that I am more afraid of you and your ilk than I am of the terrorists.
Why? Because you would try to micromanage our military and a war you obviously don't understand, you would do away with Guantanamo Bay and cut the heart out of the Homeland Security Act leaving America basically
impotent in the war on terror.
Another Al Qaida bigwig was captured recently and he is singing like a French canary and one of the things he has divulged is that there is a connection between Osama bin Ladin and al Qaida in Iraq.
America has military forces that are able and willing to pursue the war on terror on whatever part of the globe it raises its ugly head. We have intelligence agencies who do an incredible job of uncovering terrorist plots.
And no, Mr. Reid, the CIA, the FBI and the other Federal Intelligence Agencies are not the bungling bunch of keystone cops they are portrayed as by some of your media friends.
If you've noticed we've not been attacked in this country since 9-11 and that has not been because the enemy has not been trying. And I thank God for protecting this nation.
Could it be that you want to pull the troops out because they are making real headway and you're afraid it will hurt you politically?
If so I just don't have the vocabulary to express my contempt for you.
Mr. Reid et al, if you really want to do something worthwhile why don't you pass a bill putting all terrorists on the extinct species list?
I've said it before and I'll say it again. The only good terrorist is a dead terrorist.
Pray for our troops.
What do you think?
God Bless America
Charlie Daniels
July 20, 2007
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:40 AM | Comments (5)
July 23, 2007
Every Marine to be a Kung-Fu Fighter
Every Marine to be a Kung-Fu Fighter
Military.com
ARLINGTON, Va. - First the Marine Corps made Chuck Norris an honorary Marine. Now the Corps wants all Marines to follow in his footsteps.
All Marines must now qualify for their tan belt in the Corps' version of martial arts by the end of 2007, Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway said in a recent Corps-wide message.
The move mostly affects those who joined before 2001, when the service made the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program part of basic training and the Basic School, said 1st Lt. Brian P. Donnelly, a spokesman for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.
The Corps originally hoped to have all Marines earn their tan belt by the end of fiscal 2003 and then have Marines attain higher belts by the end of fiscal 2004.
Now the higher belts are no longer goals but requirements for Marines, Donnelly said in an e-mail to Stars and Stripes.
"All infantrymen will be trained to green belt by the end of CY [calendar year] 2008," Conway said in the July 16 message. "All other combat arms Marines will be trained to gray belt by the end of CY 2008."
The changes apply to all Marines, including reservists, said retired Lt. Col. Joseph C Shusko, director of the Martial Arts Center of Excellence.
"A Marine is a Marine," he said.
The tan belt shows that Marines have mastered basic skills such as how to fall, move, throw punches, choke an opponent and counter someone coming at you, Shusko said.
The gray belt is the next step up and shows Marines have learned techniques such as lower-body strikes, chokes and how to get out of a headlock, he said.
The green belt is third in the series and shows Marines have learned skills such as how to rip muscle from bone, Shusko said.
The martial-arts training also teaches Marines how to hone their mental skills as warriors, Shusko said. This involves learning about other cultures such as the Spartans, Zulus and Apaches.
Another component of the training is character development, which ties the physical skills Marine learn with what they do as good citizens, he said.
Conway praised the character development aspect of the martial-arts training in the message.
"It has, at its center, the Marine Corps ethos that includes our core values of honor, courage, and commitment, as well as the legacy of selfless and honorable services passed from one generation of Marines to the next," Conway said in the message.
The switch to mandatory martial arts training came after Training and Education Command recommended revamping the program as part of changes to Marine character training, Shusko said. Those changes include moving the climactic "Crucible" exercise — where Marines march about 40 miles over 54 hours with little food or sleep — to the end of basic training.
Wild Thing's comment........
OK I have to say this and if I am wrong that is ok, but something stinks about this.
I don’t see a big change of training here. But what I do see is an aggravating display of politically correct warring. Ordering a more detailed and extensive hand-to-hand combat training regimen means our young Marines have orders to dance more and more with enemy combatants instead of just killing them and moving on. Obviously winning points via a PC war is all that matters lately and is going to get a lot more of our boys killed.
Training is good. Having to play PC games with your enemy is bad, very bad.
Commandant Gen. James Conway is big on "rules of engagement" and "battlefield ethics". The guy is a political hack, and I can only wonder how many Marines will lose their lives because they hesitate for a split second to squeeze the trigger as they wonder if they will end up in court martial.
Again this is just my immediate reaction to this story. I am all for training to the max, to be ready for any situation that comes up. As long as it is not meant to put our soldiers in a PC fighting war.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (15)
Iraq Minister: New U.S.-Iran Talks Set
Iraq Minister: New U.S.-Iran Talks Set
Baghdad (AP)
A new round of U.S.-Iran talks focusing on the deteriorating security situation in Iraq will be held Tuesday in Baghdad, the Iraqi foreign minister said.
"I can confirm that the United States and Iran have agreed to meet on July 24th in Baghdad," Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
The Bush administration had said Tuesday that it was ready to hold a second round of direct talks with Iran, and Iran said it had accepted a U.S. invitation for talks.
Zebari's comment was the first official confirmation of a date.
Wild Thing's comment.......
What the hell does the Bush Admin. think they are doing ??? Are we going to once again politely ask them to stop shipping weapons into Iraq that are killing our soldiers, as well as to stop training the people who kill our soldiers?
This is turning into "stop, or I'll say stop again!"
And note also how the media doing this story has to say keep claiming it’s deteriorating in Iraq. The surge has been working but they still want to lie.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (8)
Commie Sheehan to Lead March for Impeachment, Arlington to Capitol Hill
In Washington, D.C. on July 23, Cindy Sheehan, and others from various anti-American groups, will march from Arlington National Cemetery to the office of Congressman John Conyers.
WHAT: March from Arlington National Cemetery to the Capitol Hill Office of Congressman John Conyers to ask him to begin impeachment proceedings against Vice President Dick Cheney or President George W. Bush or both. Participants hope to meet with Congressman Conyers and receive his assurance that impeachment proceedings will begin at once in the House Judiciary Committee, which he chairs. Many of those participating have commited to only leave if Conyers agrees to begin impeachment or they are arrested.
Wild Thing's comment......
This POS, breeder and her hippie communist buddies should NOT be allowed to even come near Arlington National Cemetery. How dare these scumbags get near that cemetery for such a nasty purpose?
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (15)
Defense Sec. Gates Talks of Maj.Doug Zembiec at Marine Corps Dinner
MUST SEE video of Sec.Def. Gates speaking at the Marine Corps Association dinner this week .. he breaks down, very emotionally describing the heroism and gallantry of Capt. Doug Zembiec (promoted to Major posthumously), the Lion of Fallujah. It’s very moving. Marine Douglas A. Zembiec, a Marine who asked to be sent back to Iraq, and died there.(July19)
You arfe invited to also see my other post about Maj. Douglas A. Zembiec the Lion Of Fallujah dated May 29th,2007.
Rest in peace, brave warrior. God bless and protect our awesome troops!
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:40 AM | Comments (3)
July 22, 2007
Barack Hussein Obama:Stop Mentally Ill From Buying Guns
Obama: Stop mentally ill from gun buys
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said that laws should be strengthened to prevent the mentally ill from buying guns.
Cho Seung-Hui, the gunman who shot 32 people at Virginia Tech before killing himself, had a history of mental health problems but still was able to buy two guns that he used in the rampage.
"If we know that he got mental health services, then there should be some way of preventing somebody like that from buying any kind of weapon," Obama said.
Federal law prohibits the mentally ill from purchasing guns, but most states have privacy laws barring such information from being shared with law enforcement. Some advocates for the mentally ill and gun-rights groups have opposed legislation in recent years that would include the information in computerized record-keeping.
Obama said gun laws have to be changed to prevent the type of killings that happened not only at Virginia Tech this week but are persistent in urban areas across the country.
"I mean, kids are getting gunned down every day," the Illinois senator said. "It's not 32 at a time, but if you look at the statistics, you're seeing that same kind of violence on a pretty frequent basis. And that's part of our culture that we've just got to be able to change with some commonsense."
Jackie Mason on Gun Control
Wild Thing's comment.........
How about if we stop the mentally ill from running for President. Oh can we label the Left as mentally ill, and keep them all locked up for the safety of our country.
Posted by Wild Thing at 01:55 AM | Comments (19)
Reid: Pull Troops or We Won’t Pay Them BUT They Give Themselves a Raise
Reid: Pull Troops or We Won’t Pay Them
Townhall
If Majority Leader Harry Reid can’t start pulling troops out of Iraq, he doesn’t want to start paying them any more either.
After an amendment to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq within 120 days failed to receive the 60 votes needed to proceed, Reid set the entire defense authorization bill aside. By doing so, he shelved a 3.5 percent pay raise for all uniformed service personnel, $4 billion in equipment upgrades and a new program to treat traumatic brain injuries.
To increase pressure on Republicans to support the measure, sponsored by Sen. Carl Levin (D.-Mich.) and Sen. Jack Reed (D.-R.I.), Reid threw the Senate into an all night session on Tuesday evening that lasted through Wednesday morning. Levin-Reid fell eight votes short, 52-47.
“There are two things that I want to accomplish,” Reid told reporters immediately after the amendment vote. “One is to pass a defense authorization bill, but with a deadline dealing with Iraq. Once we put that together, we'll move forward on it.”
Wild Thing's comment........
So let's see it is ok for Reid to even say such a thing and he gets away with this kind of a threat! Lock him up and throw away the key.
But of course there plenty of money to be spend with NO one complaining if it for politicians! GRRRRRRRRRRRR
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House lawmakers Wednesday voted to accept an approximately $4,400 pay raise that will increase their salaries to almost $170,000.
As for Reid, Pelosi, and all the rest of the enemy within, domestic traitors pose a much greater threat to this country than all the foreign terrorists ever spawned.
“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murder is less to fear.” ---Marcus Tullius Cicero
Posted by Wild Thing at 01:50 AM | Comments (14)
"The Involunteers" ~ by Russ Vaughn
The Involunteers
One thing to me rings loud and clear
Through mainstream media sources:
Libs don’t understand, Volunteer,
When it comes to our fighting forces.
Their memories hark to former days,
Dubious deferments due to classes,
Craven cowering in cynical ways,
Just to cover their cowardly asses.Pony-tailed pundits of treason foregoing,
Now scoff and condemn with derision,
Volunteer warriors, warned and knowing,
Who’ve made a fateful decision,
Foregoing the comforts liberals love,
That very succor to preserve,
A concept Libs are ignorant of:
To reap benefits, one should serve.Ever fearful, Libs cower in classrooms,
Proclaiming the due of the masses;
On graves of the brave, toxic mushrooms,
Still cravenly covering their asses.
Preaching, protesting, showing their ire,
Cat-box covering all their worst fears,
Cowardly curs afraid of war’s fire,
They’re our nation’s Involunteers.I know a truth from mankind’s past,
A truth that sure prevails;
Those who fight are those will last,
Throughout all man’s travails.
But those making phony excuses,
As false and fearful disguise,
Will feel history’s worst abuses,
Enslaved by their cowardly lies.Russ Vaughn
101st and 82d Airborne
1959-1967
Thank you so much Russ for sending this to me. As always this is another very special poem you have written.
Posted by Wild Thing at 01:47 AM | Comments (6)
Checking In With Our Troops
Fill 'er up - A KC-135 Stratotanker from Grissom Air Reserve Base, Ind., refuels an F-16 Fighting Falcon from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, over the Pacific Alaska Range Complex during Red Flag-Alaska July 16. Red Flag-Alaska is a multinational air combat training exercise. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Shawn J. Jones)
Posted by Wild Thing at 01:44 AM | Comments (4)
July 21, 2007
Democrats Wanting To Protect Terrorists Vote Against John Doe Bill
In response to the case of the "Flying Imams," a movement began to develop known as the John Doe movement. Because radical Islamofascists and groups that protect them are willing to target people who report suspicious activity when muslims are involved, a movement began to protect those that report that activity.
Democrats have killed an amendment designed to protect these citizen heroes. The John Doe amendment was defeated because of Democrats in both the House and the Senate. The vote was 57-39 in favor of the John Doe amendment in the Senate, and the party which screamed about "majority vote for majority rule" during the all-nighter has now used the 60 vote super-majority to kill the John Doe amendment.
"This is a slap in the face of good citizens who do their patriotic duty and come forward, and it caves in to radical Islamists," said Rep. Peter T. King, New York Republican and ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee.
You can go here to see the names Grouped By Vote Position
Wild Thing's comment........
I am John Doe, all of us that love America are John Doe!
This Amendement would protect American citizens who see something suspicious and report it to authorities (ie., the incident at the airport in Minneapolis where several Muslims were acting suspicously) from being sued. The Dems want anyone who sees anything suspicious to “just shut up and not report it” and feels that Muslims should be able to stifle people from reporting incidents by intimidating them with lawsuits.
They have voted to put at risk every citizen who would perform the civic duty of reporting a crime, or a suspected crime. They have sent a message to CAIR and those who engage in litigious intimidation that citizens can expect no consideration from their government when doing their duty as citizens.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (11)
Good Example of Democrats Taking Responsibility For Their Actions
Democrats Blame Republicans and Bush for Low Approval
Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com)
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Thursday blamed the Republican minority for sinking congressional approval ratings, calling recent poll results "a referendum on Republican obstructionism." Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) blamed President Bush.
Schumer told reporters that Republicans - who earlier this week blocked a Democratic amendment that would have mandated a troop withdrawal from Iraq, and who in June blocked a comprehensive immigration reform bill - are frustrating Americans who are hungry for change.
A Zogby telephone poll released Thursday showed approval of Congress "continues to plummet" and now sits at just 14 percent. Eighty-three percent of respondents gave Congress negative marks. The polling organization credited the low numbers to the "acrimonious scrimmage over immigration reform" in June.
"The American people are demanding change," Schumer said. "The one thing standing in the way is the Republicans in the Senate."
Reid echoed Schumer's frustration with Republicans but was also quick to blame Bush.
"When you have a president who is so unpopular ... it really reflects poorly on Congress," Reid said. "None of them [congressional approval ratings] are real high and we acknowledge that, but most of it relates to the unpopularity of the president."
Bush's job approval ratings in Zogby polls have been in the low and mid-30s since October 2006. This week it stood at 34 percent.
Reid's contention, however, jarred with the view of the polling company, which described Bush's job approval rating as having "stabilized" while saying that "opinion of the work Congress is doing continues to plummet."
Wild Thing's comment.......
Oh this is rich!
LOL it never fails does it. Any human being that is a lefty will always, 100% of the time blame someone, anyone else for his or her mistakes, for his or her committing a crime, for their failure, lack of success, or doing a bad job. In their “Groupthink” they are blind to their own failures, because as “Progressives”, as “Intellectuals” they are superior and cannot fail.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Thursday blamed the Republican minority for sinking congressional approval ratings, calling recent poll results "a referendum on Republican obstructionism." Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) blamed President Bush.
Obstruction of what? These knot-heads have done nothing but call for useless investigations, and issue subpoenas. The ratings of Congress were worse than the President’s even before the last election.
Schumer like both the Clinton's, like ALL the Democrats is proof that a human can live without a conscience.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (5)
In Country With America's Finest
AL-DHOUR — With two well-timed phone calls, Iraqi civilians made a few Soldiers’ day recently.
The first tipster called Troop C, 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) out of Fort Drum, N.Y., and alerted them to a cache south of the village of Al-Dhour, south of Baghdad.
The troop responded, located the buried weapons, and was only five minutes into the process of digging them up when they got another call.
A man claimed he had the 2nd BCT’s top high-value target and would deliver him to coalition custody. The man and Capt. Adam Sawyer, Troop C commander, agreed on a pickup site.
The Soldiers hastily re-buried the cache and moved out. When the vehicle arrived, they stopped it and took the most wanted man and two other men into custody.
Some of the Soldiers were still able to see the cache from their vantage point, and were surprised to see a civilian pickup truck stop there and begin hastily loading the weapons into the bed of the truck.
They engaged the vehicle with an M-240 machine gun. The men tried to flee, but the Troop C Soldiers detained them all and called an explosive ordnance disposal team to destroy the weapons.
Sawyer, a native of Reading, Pa., was jubilant about the operation.
“All of this was possible because of sources we’ve developed, through local-national engagements and working with the residents of the area,” he said. “It’s our work with the people in these areas, our relations with them, paying off."
The primary target is allegedly responsible for shooting down an AH-64 helicopter in April 2006, the abductions of two Soldiers in June 2006, and complex attacks on patrol bases and terrorist acts against both coalition forces and Iraqi civilians.
Additionally, he is believed to be the leader of an al-Qaida network, known to prey on the general public through intimidation and murder against those resisting compliance to the al-Qaida demands and decrees.
One of the detainees had been wounded in a previous engagement, and was taken to a coalition hospital for treatment. The other six are being held for further questioning.
Iraqi informants lead U.S. Soldiers to weapons, IED caches
RUSHDI MULLAH — Iraqi informants led coalition forces to three massive caches north of Rushdi Mullah, July 18.
Accompanying the informants were Soldiers of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) out of Fort Drum, N.Y., who helped seize the caches just 20 miles south of Baghdad.
“Over the last several weeks, the number of Iraqis who have been sharing tips with us is astounding,” said Maj. Web Wright, a spokesperson for the 2nd BCT. “There has been a turning of the tides against al-Qaida in this area. The people are tired of them and are turning their backs on AQI.”
All three caches were found buried in 55-gallon drums within 100 meters of one another.
The contents of the caches included 13 rocket propelled grenades, 150 bags of Russian mortar propellant charges, two 57 mm mortar rockets, an armor-piercing rocket propelled grenade, four cylindrical explosive charges, two square explosive charges, two hand-launched star cluster flares, a Russian fragmentary hand grenade, 25 mortar propellant charges, 100 12.7 mm DiSHKA heavy machine gun rounds, 20 25 mm rounds, a 75-round Ak-47 ammunition drum, three sniper rifle scopes, two mortar sights, 10 cell phone chargers, five radios, a pressure plate, a machine gun lower receiver, two 7.62 mm machine gun barrels, two bottles of glucose, four vehicle cell phone chargers, an improvised explosive device command wire initiator, a hands-free telephone headset, an eight-battery holder, four cell phone batteries, a 4.8 voltage rechargeable battery, a seven-piece antenna, two flip-open cell phones, four Motorola talk-abouts, a cordless phone, a cordless phone base, a toy cell phone improvised explosive device (IED) initiator, two phone cords, an antenna extension, two keyless-entry devices with IED initiator switches, two magnets, two circuit boards and various nuts and bolts.
Radio and cell phone accessories are commonly used to detonate IEDs.
An explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed the ordnance.
Soldiers from the 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment detained one of the Multi-National Division-Center’s most wanted insurgents, along with four other individuals early Friday morning near Jisr Diyala.Leaders from 3-1 Cav. gained intelligence early Friday morning that the known insurgent and a number of his associates were within their area of operations.
Soldiers conducted a surprise raid and captured the individual with no U.S. forces injuries or damage to equipment, by surrounding the house following a 2-mile walk into the suspected insurgent’s neighborhood. It was well-known to the Soldiers that the individual was on the look out for Army aircraft and would move if he heard helicopters approaching.
The detained “high-value individual” is believed to be responsible for the recent increase in explosively formed projectile improvised explosive devices and indirect fire attacks against Coalition Forces east of Baghdad. He is also suspected of intimidating Iraqis that work with U.S. forces, as well as, kidnapping and murdering rivals of his cell.
In addition to his terrorist activities, the detainee is a member of an organized crime network in the Mada’in Qada, which is part of the Baghdad province. Coalition Forces believe the detainee has extorted the local population through his water distribution company and gas station enterprises.
The 3-1 Cav. is assigned to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team and is from Fort Benning, Ga. The unit deployed to Iraq in March 2007.
Wild Thikng's comment........
Our troops ROCK! Prayers for them every day and for their families.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (7)
July 20, 2007
Hey Barack Obama ~ STAY Away From The Children
Sex Ed for Kindergarteners ‘Right Thing to Do,’ Says Obama
ABC News' Teddy Davis and Lindsey Ellerson Report: Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., told Planned Parenthood Tuesday that sex education for kindergarteners, as long as it is "age-appropriate," is "the right thing to do."
"I remember Alan Keyes . . . I remember him using this in his campaign against me," Obama said in reference to the conservative firebrand who ran against him for the U.S. Senate in 2004. Sex education for kindergarteners had become an issue in his race against Keyes because of Obama’s work on the issue as chairman of the health committee in the Illinois state Senate.
"'Barack Obama supports teaching sex education to kindergarteners,'" said Obama mimicking Keyes' distinctive style of speech. "Which -- I didn’t know what to tell him (laughter).""But it’s the right thing to do," Obama continued, "to provide age-appropriate sex education, science-based sex education in schools."
.
Wild Thing's comment........
Why can't these freaks just let kids be kids?!!!???!!!
Planned Patenthood mixed with freakin Obama is death to the precious innocense of the children of our country.
Ronald Reagan once said something like.....
“Our children have the right to a childhood of innocence.”
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (16)
In Country With Our Troops and Those That Visit Them
Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division are ready for the unexpected as they prepare to clear a house in Ar Raqqah, Iraq
Capt. Aaron Bright (right) and Sgt. Stephen Byers, both from the 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, unearth anti-tank missiles and their hand-held launchers near Baghdad
ATLANTIC OCEAN - Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter Rich Franklin signs his name for a Sailor during an autograph session on the mess decks aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). Dr. Michael Gervais, President of Pinnacle Performance Center, Inc.; UFC fighters Rich Franklin and Mike Pyle; and UFC referee "Big" John McCarthy visited the Truman for two days to help increase morale for the Sailors. Truman is underway in the Atlantic Ocean participating in the Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMTUEX) in preparation for deployment to the Persian Gulf. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Kevin T. Murray Jr.
“… I will be in countries like Afghanistan and Quatar to meet the brave soldiers, who put their lives on the line for us every day. If I can help these people even just a little bit, this trip will be a success for me. I will definitely let our solders know how much we all appreciate the incredible work they are doing. Their jobs, which they volunteer for, are difficult and extremely dangerous. "
Globetrotters Military Tour .......this is from Dec. of 2006. I just found it and it is really well done.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (2)
Southerners are Always SO Durn Polite!
Atlanta Air Traffic Control: "Tower to Saudi Air 911 -- You are cleared to land eastbound on runway 9R."
Saudi Air: "Thank you Atlanta ATC. Acknowledge cleared to land on infidel's runway 9R - Allah be Praised."
Atlanta Air Traffic Control: "Tower to Iran Air 712 --You are cleared to land westbound on runway 9R."
Iran Air: "Thank you Atlanta ATC. We are cleared to land on infidel's runway 9R. - Allah is Great."
...Pause: ...Static...
Saudi Air: "ATLANTA ATC - ATLANTA ATC!!!"
Atlanta Air Traffic Control: "Go ahead Saudi Air 911"
Saudi Air: "YOU JUST HAVE CLEARED BOTH OUR AIRCRAFT FOR THE SAME RUNWAY GOING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS! WE ARE ON A COLLISION COURSE! ...INSTRUCTIONS, PLEASE!!!"
Atlanta Air Traffic Control: "...Well bless your hearts, and praise Jesus. Y'all be careful now... and be sure to tell Allah "hey" for us, will you?"
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (8)
Neil Boortz Refuses To Bow To The Muslim Cult
Wild Thing's comment........
Courage in the face of a group of people (islam) wishing to subjugate or kill Americans, is marvelous!! Thank you Neil Boortz! I posted this before but this is a better video of it then the other one was.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (6)
July 19, 2007
Tennessee Sheriff's Department Sued By Illegals ~ HUH???
Tennessee Sheriff's Department Sued By Illegals
bradley weekly ...for complete article
Eleven illegal aliens are suing the Maury County Sheriff's Office in Columbia. The illegals claim Maury County deputies entered their home illegally and violated their constitutional and civil rights.
Maury County Sheriff Enoch George says his officers were searching for Juan Villa, a rape suspect, at the time.
Maury County Sheriff Enoch George
The arrests were made on July 3 when George and several of his deputies and federal immigration agents raided a mobile home park in Columbia.
Sheriff George says the rights of the illegal aliens were not violated.
"What we're doing is we are not having roundups of people who are illegal," said George. "We are having ICE agents to come in and assist us in arresting these people who have committed major crimes."
Immigrant attorney Elliott Ozment is representing the 11 illegal aliens.
"It's our contention that there were basic constitutional rights that were violated," said Ozment.
According to the lawsuit Ozment filed on behalf of the illegal aliens, "Law enforcement violated the immigrants' rights with the illegal stop, search, seizure interrogation, and (warrantless) arrest, all without probably cause."
Sheriff George has indicated he is considering bringing the 287 (g) program to Maury County. It would allow jailers to check the immigration status of its inmates. It is the same program that is already in place in Davidson County.
One of the problems other Tennessee counties are facing in regards to 287 (g) is the cost of the program.
The program provides federal training and equipment to sheriff's departments, making it possible to identify and help deport illegal immigrants who are booked into county jails.
In recent months, Maury County has tackled illegal immigration informally, inviting agents from the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on criminal investigations in neighborhoods with large numbers of illegal aliens.
Wild Thing's comment.........
And here’s another story about this from The Tennessean.
“(The lawsuit) asks a judge to stop local and federal officers from performing searches and making arrests without warrants. They also want each of the detained immigrants paid $100 for each day he or she was jailed”
This would be funny if it was not so serious. This type of travesty and abuse of the COTUS has got to stop.
Posted by Wild Thing at 01:55 AM | Comments (26)
Down Memory Lane With Our Awesome Troops - Iraq
Bombs Over Baghdad....Feel the power, I love this!!
Remember this guy ~ LOL? Baghdad Bob
Posted by Wild Thing at 01:47 AM | Comments (7)
Botox Bimbo Nancy Pelosi Wants So Badly To Stop Hurting the Terrorists
Pelosi: Senate Republicans Have Once Again Thwarted the Will of the American People on Iraq
from her American hating webstie
Washington, D.C.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today after Senate Republicans refused to allow an up-or-down vote on the Levin-Reed amendment to the Defense Authorization bill that would have responsibly redeployed our troops in Iraq:
“Most Senate Republicans continue to obstruct Democratic efforts to force a new direction in Iraq, instead choosing to continue to stand squarely behind the failed policies of President Bush. By blocking an up-or-down vote on an amendment to responsibly end the war in Iraq, Senate Republicans have once again thwarted the will of a majority of the United States Senate, a majority of the House of Representatives, and a majority of the American people.
“After four and a half years of a failed policy in Iraq, we must not just voice our opposition, we must vote to end the war. That is why the House passed legislation last week on a bipartisan basis to responsibly redeploy our forces from Iraq. We will repeat that judgment legislatively as often as necessary.”
Wild Thing's comment........
Hey POS Nancy Pelosi, the will of the American people is to take the freakin gloves off, blast the he*l out of the enemy (taliban, al-quada, etc.), force their meeting with PedoAllah, clean out the holdouts and bring the troops home. But the Dems and other sympathizers hold them to battle using lawyers and so on. Our guys fight with one hand tied behind their backs caused by the same people who insist we’re losing.
They can all go to hades as far as I’m concerned.
By blocking an up-or-down vote on an amendment to responsibly end the war in Iraq
Hey Nancy, you don't "end" a war, you win a war or you lose a war.
The reason the Democrats are doing the theatrics now is that the “Surge” is working. They are in panic mode. They know if this “Surge" performs as well as it is now, more Americans will find out they were wrong all along. Maybe if they make sure the “Surge” is shut down, the American public will never know truth to the lies they have continuously put out through their accomplices the press.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (16)
Sadr Re-emerges In Iraq, Bolder Than Ever
Displaced Shiites who were forced to leave predominantly Sunni neighborhoods around Baghdad and move into the Shiite district of Shuala waiting for assistance at a distribution center run by Sadr's organization.
Sadr re-emerges in Iraq, bolder than ever
international herald tribune ...for complete article
BAGHDAD: After months of lying low, the anti-American Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr has re-emerged with a shrewd two-tiered strategy that reaches out to Iraqis on the street and distances him from the increasingly unpopular government.
Sadr and his political allies have largely disengaged from government, thus contributing to the political paralysis noted in a White House report last week. That outsider status has enhanced Sadr's appeal to Iraqis, who consider politics less and less relevant to their daily lives.
Sadr has been working tirelessly to build support at the grass roots, opening new storefront offices across Baghdad and southern Iraq that dispense services that are not being provided by the government. In this he seems to be following the model established by Hezbollah, the radical Lebanese Shiite group, as well as Hamas in Gaza, with entwined social and military wings that serve as a parallel government.
He has also extended the reach of his Mahdi army, one of the armed groups that the White House report acknowledged remain entrenched in Iraq. The militia has effectively taken over vast swaths of the capital and is fighting government troops in several southern provinces. Although the militia sometimes uses brutal tactics, including death squads, many vulnerable Shiites are grateful for the protection it affords.
At the same time, the Mahdi army is not entirely under Sadr's control, and he publicly denounces the most notorious killers fighting in his name. That frees him to extend an olive branch to Sunni Arabs and Christians, while championing the Shiite identity of his political base.
Wild Thing's comment........
Good, let him get bolder, and when his fat ass steps outside from hiding we have a .50 caliber bullet with his name on it. You won’t live to see Rama-lama-ding-dong this year pork boy.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (2)
Democratic Leaders Refuse to Meet With Veterans Group
Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., right, speaks to members of the group Vets for Freedom prior to the start of a news conference supporting the war in Iraq, Tuesday, July 17, 2007, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Democratic Leaders Refuse to Meet With Veterans Group Vets for Freedom.org
Vets for Freedom expresses disappointment that veterans were not able to meet with Congressional leadership from both sides of the aisle in Congress today. While many Republican Senators, including leadership, made themselves available for questions and input, interaction from Democratic leadership was noticeably absent. In spite of that, Vets for Freedom members remain committed to speaking with elected leaders on both sides of the aisle.Republican leadership (and some Democrats, although not leadership) made room in their busy schedules—on very short notice—to speak with veterans. These veterans flew in on their own dime to ask Congress to give General David Petraeus the time he needs to fully implement the surge of American forces in Iraq. Veterans are very grateful and thankful for the time that these Senators took to spend with them.
Five days in advance of today's events, Vets for Freedom meeting requests—for 5 minutes—were submitted to the Majority Leader and the Speaker of the House. Repeated attempts were made to contact and meet with the Democratic leadership.
"In the end, they made a disappointing decision to decline meeting with veterans who have first-hand knowledge of the situation on the ground" said Pete Hegseth, an Iraq War veteran and executive director of Vets for Freedom. "It is especially disappointing because Democratic leadership's misguided policy—a declaration of defeat—will lead to a national security disaster for the United States."
Vets for Freedom is a nonpartisan organization established by combat veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its mission is to educate the American public about the importance of achieving success in these conflicts by applying our first-hand knowledge to issues of American strategy and tactics—namely "the surge" in Iraq. Vets for Freedom is the leading voice representing troops and veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. For more information, please visit www.vetsforfreedom.org.
Wild Thing's comment........
How does someone snub our military and our Veterans? How does a person sleep knowing they had a chance to say thank you, or talk to our Veterans or our troops and say no or ignore their request of an invitation????
It is just not a part of me to understand this, not even a little.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (14)
July 18, 2007
Sleepless in Washington
Just my own take on the events as they happened up till 03:50
WASHINGTON - Democrats steered the Senate into an attention-grabbing, all-night session to dramatize opposition to the Iraq war but conceded they were unlikely to gain the votes needed to advance troop withdrawal legislation blocked by Republicans.
"Our enemies aren't threatened by talk-a-thons, and our troops deserve better than publicity stunts," said Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader.
McConnell and many other Republicans favor waiting until September before considering any changes to the Bush administration's current policy. They have vowed to block a final vote on the Democrats' attempt to require a troop withdrawal to begin within 120 days.
Workmen prepare to set up sleeping cots in a room off the Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 17, 2007, as the Senate prepared for an all night session to debate the war in Iraq. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)
"We have no alternative except to keep them in session to explain their obstruction," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
So far, the legislation has drawn the support of three Republicans, Sens. Gordon Smith of Oregon, Olympia Snowe of Maine and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.
"Will the all-night session change any votes? I hope so," Reid said at midafternoon, pointedly stopping well short of a prediction that it would.
Not this time. Forced to make good on their filibuster threat, it was the Republicans' turn to describe the state of an all-night Senate.
A "political stunt," said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. "Petty kindergarten games."
"We were instructed to legislate, not to strut across a stage," lectured McConnell, now minority leader. "This isn't Hollywood; this is real life, the United States Senate."
Not everyone was complaining. To at least one senator, an all-nighter offered some excitement, and a challenge.
"I'm trying to find a bench around here that's long enough for me to stretch out," said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., a 6-foot-4 freshman lawmaker. "It's my first all nighter — I'm excited."
A worker lays out a cot for U.S. Senators in the Lyndon B. Johnson room, just off the Senate floor
OMG it really is a slumber party. LOL
Feinstein advocated “compelling Iran to abandon nuclear pursuit” .....I wonder how she proposes to do that.
Then she said she wants us to build schools to educate the kids to not grow up to terrorists. What a dumb woman.
All these senator’s pretending to be generals is luducrous and humorous (other than it is such a serious issue).
Not sure if Robt. Byrd was there, he might have been in a Klan meeting.
Mary Landrrieu’s gave her speech and called for a vote, her body looks like it is getting bigger. Maybe she is hiding federal funds for Katrina relief. She told how to win the war, how to fight the battles. Good grief, I hate arm chair generals. LMAO she put a big poster board up with a little photo of Osama on it and his height, weight etc. LOL This is what he looks like and how tall he is and what he weighs. OMG this woman is nuts. haha Now she said, we should give the money we are using to fight the war and use it to make a bigger offer of $$$$ to whoever can lead us to Osama. She is lying about the troops. Man she hates our military! F#$# her!
Still now sign of Teddy Kennedy. They are still serving alcohol in the bars of DC at this hour I am writing this. They can always look for Teddy there rather than actually in the Senate.
Joe Lieberman speaking now, he is on the right side of this war. He is the ONLY democrat speaking from a position of principle, not a position of politics. The rest of them just hate President Bush so much they want him to lose the war, at any cost to our country. He spoke of how well the surge is going, how great our troops are doing and how we have to stay there.
“The American military will never lose the war in Iraq...if lost, it will be lost by a lack of political will.” - Joe Lieberman
Lieberman told the dem's that the Reid amendment is a surrender and a vote for the amendment's is vote for defeat - just as our troops have the enemy on the run - will change to our soldiers running in defeat.
The bore and rino, grandstanding Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J yielded the floor. There is a God.
Reid forcing another quorum call vote. The Nevadah Cadavah speaks!! Gracious!! My driveway is more colorful than this man! Harry Reid is insane. He thinks he’s really “doing something” with this crap by making them stay up all night.
Calling Robert Byrd's name again........ "Bueller....Bueller.....Bueller....".....nope he isn't there.
I am dying here...hahaahahhaa........Reid is already caving so there will be no quorum call again before 0500 (poor darlings need sleep, or they are already too damned drunk to get back into the Senate floor un-assisted)...the 1100 gig was for the final speeches before 1100 (Wednesday MORNING)...
McConnell: I'll be brief. I'd simply like to ask my honored colleague Mr. Reid to kiss my @$$. I yeild the floor... Heh heh oh my words not his. hahaha
LOL.............get this......C-Span spells Harry Reid=== REED! OMG hahahaha too funny
As poorly as these Senators speak, it’s a wonder any of them got elected.
Tom Harkin, he’s a cold blooded liar!! He is comparing this war and Vietnam. Damn him!! He knows exactrly what happened when the DEMOCRATS had us pull out of Vietnam. Then he said the Surge started in January, I am sorry Harkin but you are insulting OUR intelligence.
Hey HARKIN listen up!! The blood of millions will
be on the Democrats hands,
just as it was after Vietnam. Our troops
were winning in
Vietnam, it was our Democrat Politicians that lost it.
I am telling you listening to this Harkin is making me sick to my stomachl. He just read two letters, supposedly from two different moms of soldiers saying bring them home. Then he pleaded..... LET US HAVE THE VOTE!! over and over.
That ticks me off so much. I am in 4 email groups of wives, family members and friends of our troops. Every day I see what they go through and you know what????? Every single day I also read how proud they are of their loved one, scared yes, but PROUD.
Harken said we lost already in Iraq, it is time to get out of there. He also said the President lied us into Iraq, and killed thousands of soldiers and Iraqis.
These absolute lies will not be called out, and the “TRUTH” will be whatever the leftist media decides it is.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrr
They are all giving different start dates that the surge started. Someone better have the Dems get their talking points right...The surge started in January...then March then May...which is it guys?
You know what would be funny? The next Republican goes to speak, says “Get that damn sign out of my face. Where the hell was that sign when the President’s judges were up for a vote? You a-holes pulled the same b.s. that you decry now!
“’Let us vote’? Kiss my - I yield the floor.”
I am making jokes, but I must say, listening to the outright lies that are being spewed here this evening by the likes of Harkin and others, scares me even more for my country!
And millions will die in rabid unstoppable violence when the Democrats force us to cut and run in cowardly defeat.
For liberals, history begins when they wake up in the morning. And whatever they decide to MAKEUP and lie about.
John Thune is speaking now and he is doing GREAT! He read a letter from a Marine and it said...."please accept the adivce of one Marine, that knows the sacrifice, has experienced the sacrifice and knows what it would mean to leave Iraq at this time."
GRRRR Senator Jim Webb interrupting Thune and trying to agrue with him and use up Thune's time. Webb asking him if he (Thune) knows of the beliefs of our troops. Thune is not falling for it and he is staying strong. I love it.
Thune: Reclaiming my time. meaning shut the heck up I have the floor. Go Thune not speculating on our soldiers political beliefs.
Smarmy Jim Webb asks Thune about political make-up of the military. Trying to get Thune to talk about phony polls of military on Iraq. Webb called out of order as he tries to talk over Thune to get in phony poll results.
WEBB IS A THUG!!!
Oh Lord on High - Olympia Snowe- God help us! Could anyone be more of a bore then she is and a rino on top of that. LOL Snowe bragging about spending 28 years KEEPING HER SEAT FROM ANOTHER AMERICAN, as if she OWNS it.
She thinks we are stupid, Snowe says this legislation will allow our troops to fight AQ in Iraq anytime we want?
Jeff Sessions!! Yipee! Can I hear an Amen! He is laying into them. Scolding them for not waiting to here the report in Sept. and how they had voted to send Petreus ( spelling) and how he had been there for several tours and that they are in so many words slapping Petreus and the troops in the face.
He said this pulling out would provide the enemy with a victory of such huge proportions , a tremendous blunder, and would aid the enemy.
" we agreed to do this surge and wait for the report and that is what we should do. We talked and we talked and we voted on this surge, an increase on soldiers in Iraq and on Petreus and the new strategy and he is executing it. And now YOU want to change it again?? Because of some poll that just came in? Let's get real here!!! A change without even listening to Petreus is wrong.
"Many have said that Bush lied to get us in this war. I reject that. And to pull the plug on them when they want to be successful is wrong. A failure of will by the Congress to our military would be the badest thing to do to them. He has only had his fulll compliment of the troops for the surge for about three weeks."
" I have met some of these Marines, and why would I want to bet against one of these tuff Marines!"
Sessions was awesome, I tried to type as he spoke but it is hard to keep up. haha But it will give you an idea of what he said.
McCain is up now to speak, but I am off to bed. See you all later.
Goodnight or good morning everyone. I am going to sleep now.
Hahaha I just wanted to give you an idea of what I heard and
saw with all of this instead of some liberal media BS.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (18)
Iraqis Being Smuggled Across the Rio Grande
FBI: Iraqis Being Smuggled Across the Rio Grande
blotter
The FBI is investigating an alleged human smuggling operation based in Chaparral, N.M., that agents say is bringing "Iraqis and other Middle Eastern" individuals across the Rio Grande from Mexico.
An FBI intelligence report distributed by the Washington, D.C. Joint Terrorism Task Force, obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com, says the illegal ring has been bringing Iraqis across the border illegally for more than a year.
Border Patrol officials in the area said they were unaware of the specifics of the FBI's report, and federal prosecutors in New Mexico told ABCNews.com they had no current cases involving the illegal smuggling of Iraqis.
The FBI report, issued last week, says the smuggling organization "used to smuggle Mexicans, but decided to smuggle Iraqi or other Middle Eastern individuals because it was more lucrative." Each individual would be charged a fee of $20,000 to $25,000, according to the report.
The people to be smuggled would "gather at a house on the Mexican side of the border" and then cross the Rio Grande into the U.S., the report says.
"Unidentified individuals would then transport them to train stations in El Paso, Texas or Belen, New Mexico," according to the FBI document.
Wild Thing's comment..........
We are at war and we have no border. Hello!!!!
It is blatantly obvious even to the most casual reader that Islamic terrorists have been, and continue to, cross the U.S./Mexico border into America.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is warning of the threat of terrorists entering this country through the same routes as those used by illegal aliens. Secretary Rumsfeld, traveling in South America, warned that enemies look for weaknesses and take advantage of them. (Transcript)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The risk is that some of these human-smuggling routes into our country from this hemisphere could be used just as easily for terrorists.
DOBBS: And three million illegal aliens are estimated to be entering this country this year.
Secretary Rumsfeld also said the United States has to be, as he put it, smarter and quicker in securing our borders. The federal government’s failure to secure those borders is leading individual states to take action. Arizona’s Proposition 200, which limits state benefits for illegals, passed overwhelmingly two weeks ago. Now at least half a dozen other states are considering similar measures.
Consider the following 5 statements by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson given at a Senate Floor Speech 16 March 2005 to President George.W. Bush (page S 2828).
1. “In Detroit, Mahmoud Youssef Kourani was indicted in the Eastern District of Michigan on one count of conspiracy to provide material support to Hezbollah. Kourani was already in custody for entering the country illegally through Mexico and was involved in fund raising activities on behalf of Hezbollah.”
2. “...the capture of terrorist suspect Jose Padilla. The Justice Department says Padilla and an accomplice planned to enter the United States through Mexico to blow up apartment buildings in major cities such as New York.”
3. “Or the case of suspected al-Qaida sleeper agent Mohammed Junaid Babar, who told investigators of a scheme to smuggle terrorists across the Mexican border. He is tied to a terror plot to carry out bombings and assassinations in London.”
4. “Intelligence reports suggesting that 25 Chechen terrorism suspects have illegally entered the United States from Mexico have refocused attention on a porous border from which many believe the next major attack on Americans could come.”
5. “Also last July, an Egyptian man United States authorities described as one of their most wanted smugglers of humans was arrested on charges of operating a ring that illegally brought people from Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries to the United States. The indictment says Abdallah and his associates would direct people seeking to reach the United States to travel to one of several Latin American countries, and from there to Guatemala. They would then be transported to America through Mexico in return for payments of thousands of dollars in smuggling fees.”
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (10)
Operation Ithaca’ Surprises, Pummels, al Qaeda Forces
Operation Ithaca’ Surprises, Pummels, al Qaeda Forces
Department of Defense
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON
July 17, 2007
American and Iraqi military forces broke up al Qaeda operations in the Diyala River valley during “Operation Ithaca,” conducted July 12, a U.S. military officer said today.
Operation Ithaca targeted Sunni-backed al Qaeda forces in and around the villages of Haimer, Abu Nasim and Jamil, located about 20 kilometers north of Baqubah, the capital of Diyala province, said Army Lt. Col. Andrew P. Poppas, commander of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division’s 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, which took part in the anti-insurgent offensive.
The operation was a great success and caught al Qaeda “completely by surprise,” Poppas said, noting U.S. ground troops were inserted into the battle space at multiple landing zones by helicopter.
Meanwhile, Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II “Warthogs,” Army attack helicopters, and Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters fired on the insurgents from the air, Poppas said. Unmanned aerial vehicles kept an eye on insurgent movements during the battle, he added.
Each of the aircraft was assigned “very specific, detailed areas” for engaging the al Qaeda forces, Poppas said. In this way, he noted, the enemy lost the ability to control the battle and was blocked by coalition air or ground troops at every turn.
“In a direct firefight, American soldiers are going to win every time,” Poppas said, noting there were no U.S. casualties during the operation.
Twenty-nine al Qaeda operatives were killed and 23 others were captured during the operation. Also, three enemy weapons caches were discovered and a safe house was destroyed. Additionally, eight Iraqis who’d been held hostage by the insurgents were freed.
Local Iraqis fed up with al Qaeda had delivered hand-written maps and other information about the enemy that were used during pre-operational planning, Poppas said.
“We had some very specific intelligence that was provided to us from the local populace,” Poppas said. Unmanned aerial vehicles and other means were used to confirm the information.
Ongoing surge operations in and around Baghdad are putting the squeeze on al Qaeda and other insurgents, causing them to flee Iraq’s capital city to places like Baqubah to the north, Poppas explained.
The insurgents “have got to go somewhere” out of Baghdad, Poppas continued, noting his forces were positioned to intercept and deal with such relocations.
Poppas said his troops have worked closely with 5th Iraqi Army Division soldiers.
“We do all of our patrols combined,” Poppas said of his unit’s relationship with local Iraqi troops. “My experience with the Iraqi army units that I have fought alongside personally (with) is excellent.”
Poppas said his soldiers’ morale is excellent, citing their “impressive” and “phenomenal” performance during Operation Ithaca. Their battlefield prowess is the result of training as a unit for more than two years, he said.
“You deny the enemy’s ability to react to you, because you’re on top of them,” Poppas pointed out.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:44 AM | Comments (4)
July 17, 2007
Harry Pouter and the Never Ending Night of Doom
Reid Threatens to Keep Senate Up All Night, Republicans Yawn
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has threatened to keep the Senate awake all night Tuesday to protest GOP blocking tactics on moves to compel U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq.
Senate Republican leaders, alerted to Reid's plans on Monday, said they have the votes to keep the president's surge policy in place, at least for now, and called Reid's up-all-night gambit a stunt that wouldn't change any minds.
Senior Democratic leadershp aides said that Reid was planning a Tuesday all-nighter — complete with roll-away beds — to draw public attention to GOP demands that any changes to Iraq policy carry a 60-vote majority.
"Is this a publicity stunt? Yes," a senior Democratic aide told FOX News. "This is the only way we know to highlight their complete ignorance of the will of the people!"
Republicans said they've applied that standard for months on Iraq policy changes and aren't about the change now, especially when recent GOP defections have given Democrats bipartisan majorities on troop drawdowns and other policy changes.
Wild Thing's comment..............
Just hope we don’t see the Swimmer in his jammies. Will he sneak a flask into his pillow?
I can see it now, Harry Reid trying to force Robert Byrd to stay up after 9:00pm.
"This is the only way we know to highlight their complete ignorance of the will of the people!"
Every time the Democrats don't get their way they stamp their foot and whine "Will of the people!"
I think the Republicans should bring decks of cards, snacks and board games. Turn it into a party. heh heh
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (19)
Illegals and FedX Comparison ~ LOL
FedEx vs. Government Bureaucracy -- Newt Gingrich
....... Thank you Cpl. James for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (4)
King Kong Mosque Should Be Stopped Dead In Its Tracks
FEARS GROW OVER 'MEGA MOSQUE'
Daily Express
Gordon Brown is under pressure to block a £75million “mega mosque”, amid claims one of the suspected Glasgow Airport bombers belongs to the radical Islamic group behind it.
More than 200,000 people have signed a Downing Street petition calling on the Prime Minister to intervene over plans for the mosque near the Olympics site in east London.
It is being funded by the fundamentalist Tablighi Jamaat sect. One member of the sect is said to be Kafeel Ahmed, who was engulfed in flames when a Jeep laden with gas canisters crashed into a Glasgow Airport building two weeks ago.
The 27-year-old from Bangalore is fighting for his life in hospital after suffering 90 per cent burns.
He is said to have taken up the teachings of Tablighi Jamaat after he was asked to leave his local mosque which he had tried to convert to what he called a purer form of Islam.
The 7/7 suicide bombers Mohammed Siddique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer attended the European headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat at Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.
The sect’s plans for a huge mosque just a mile from the main Olympics stadium have caused much concern. Local Tory councillor Alan Craig said: “It will be a horrendous security nightmare if they are allowed to build this large mosque so close to the Olympics.
“They have a growing and ominous track record as further young men follow Tablighi teaching about Islam and then go on to plan horrendous atrocities.”
The Newham councillor accused the sect of radicalising and dehumanising young Muslims and said: “The dangerous truth about Tablighi Jamaat is coming out.
"We must watch the gap between what they say and what they do.”
The centre-right think tank Civitas has also raised concerns about the mosque which will hold 12,000 people – four times as many as Britain’s largest Christian building, Liverpool’s Anglican cathedral.
It said: “Are we sure, as a nation, that we want by far the largest place of worship in our land to be sponsored by an organisation which holds views directly opposed to our democracy and a religion which, in many parts of the world, denies essential freedoms?”
Tablighi Jamaat, funded by millions of pounds sent from zealots in Saudi Arabia, has hired public relations company, Indigo, to deflect criticism from its mosque project.
"The person who is really behind it is Ken Livingstone,"
Livingstone has what some would describe as a pro-Islamist, anti-Jewish track record. He's called Ariel Sharon a "war criminal" and has said that British Muslims who go to the Middle East and kill Israelis should not be called terrorists. He has welcomed London radical cleric Yusef al Qaradawi, who defends suicide bombings against Israelis.
The Mega Mosque when built will make England the "Muslim Capital of Europe".
Wild Thing's comment........
"the mosque which will hold 12,000 people – four times as many as Britain’s largest Christian building."
Good grief! Saudi Arabia has spent billions to finance the construction of radical "hate mosques" all over the world. This $$$ is one of the main reasons that Islam is being radicalized on a global basis.
Why don't we just round these people up and ship them back to the desert? Why does the west continue to follow the fiction that Islam is just another religion? It is a cult of death, a death cult!
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (6)
How Christians Are Treated In Muslim Lands
How Christians Are Treated In Muslim Land
Saudi Arabia - Conversion by a Muslim to another religion is punishable by death. Bibles are illegal. Churches are illegal. Easter celebrations are illegal. It is punishable by death for a non-mulsim to enter the “holy” muslim cities of Medina and Mecca.
Yemen - Bans proselytizing by non-Muslims and forbids conversions. The Government does not allow the building of new non-Muslim places of worship.
Kuwait - Registration and licensing of religious groups. Members of religions not sanctioned in the Koran may not build places of worship. Prohibits organized religious education for religions other than Islam.
Egypt - Islam is the official state religion and primary source of legislation. Accordingly, religious practices that conflict with Islamic law are prohibited. Muslims may face legal problems if they convert to another faith. Requires non-Muslims to obtain what is now a presidential decree to build a place of worship.
Algeria - The law prohibits public assembly for purposes of practicing a faith other than Islam. Non-Islamic proselytizing is illegal, and the Government restricts the importation of non-Islamic literature for distribution. The country has passed the “Regulation of Religious Practice” law, which stipulates a punishment of two to five years’ imprisonment and heavy fines for anyone convicted of urging a Muslim to change his religion.
Syria - The constitution requires the president to be a Muslim and specifies that Islamic jurisprudence is a principal source of legislation. Sharing your Christian faith is discouraged as “posing a threat to the relations among religious groups” and carries a penalty of up to life in prison. A Christian is not allowed to proselytize – ever. Churches who want to hold an extra service must get a government permit. Sermons are routinely monitored, as is church fundraising.
Jordan - Has the death penalty for any Muslim selling land to a Jew.
Sudan - Conversion by a Muslim to another religion is punishable by death.
Pakistan - Conversion by a Muslim to another religion is punishable by death. Bans proselytizing by non-Muslims. Christians regularly put in prison for charges of blasphemy. Islam is the state religion, and in a court of law the testimony of a Christian carries less weight than that of a Muslim. Section 295(c) of the Penal Code calls for a death sentence for anyone who defiles the name of the Prophet Muhammad and requires the testimony of four Muslims for a conviction. This fosters an environment in which Muslims can feel free to use intimidation and violence against religious minorities for personal gain. Also, if any criminal Muslim rape with any Christian female and then take plea that she has accepted Islam and marry with him. Such person is not culpable under Pakistani criminal law
Qatar - Islamic instruction is compulsory in public schools. The government regulates the publication, importation, and distribution of non-Islamic religious literature. The government continues to prohibit proselytizing of Muslims by non-Muslims.
Malaysia - Under Malaysian law, any convert to Christianity must apply to a shariah (Muslim law) court to legally renounce Islam. Many Christians prefer to remain silent converts rather than take their battle to the shariah courts, where apostasy or conversion out of Islam is punishable by whipping, fines, imprisonment and—in the most extreme application—death. In a country where Muslims account for more than half of the population, conversion from Islam is punished with a 5-year prison sentence and a $3,000 fine. A Malaysian Muslim who marries a non-Muslim and who converts the non-Muslim to Islam is rewarded with an apartment, a car, a one-time payment of $2,700, and a monthly stipend of $270.
The Maldives - In the island paradise visited by tens of thousands of tourists each year, Christianity is simply not tolerated. While local Christians – said to number around 300 out of a total population of 300,000 – do get together to worship, they do so at the risk of imprisonment or worse if discovered by the Muslim authorities. Bibles are banned, and tourists can be arrested for trying to bring them into the country.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:40 AM | Comments (8)
July 16, 2007
Edwards Wants Help From Iran and Syria For Iraq
Please note the finger on the gun.
John Edwards seeks help from Iran, Syria in stabilizing Iraq
MAQUOKETA, Iowa:
The United States needs help from Syria and Iran in stabilizing Iraq, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Saturday.
He also called the Iraqi prime minister a weak leader.
Edwards again said that if he were president today, he would immediately reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq by about 50,000.
"The Iraqis are going to have to take responsibility, and they haven't," he told people at a campaign stop in Iowa.
The former senator told reporters that the U.S. "should be making our own evaluation about the circumstances in Iraq" and that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has not proved effective in stopping violence.
The Sunni leadership is very fragmented, al-Maliki is a weak leader, and there's been very little progress made to reach a fundamental political compromise, which is the whole issue," Edwards said. "If that were to occur, there would be a much higher chance of stability in Iraq."
Other countries in the region, including U.S. foes Iran and Syria, must become involved in Iraq's future, Edwards said. "We need to engage them directly into helping to stabilize Iraq."
Wild Thing's comment........
Reduce the troop numbers by 50,000, and we’ll have an even higher body count to contend with. The enemy, according to my emails from those in the theatre, are on the run right now. Remove the troops from the battle field and the enemy will return.
The United States needs help from Syria and Iran in stabilizing Iraq,
That's like saying the U.S. needed help from Nazi Germany in stabilizing Europe.
This is some scary stuff. A guy with something of a chance to become President of the United States wants to get two of the three leaders in the world that hate the United States the most to HELP us. That makes no damn sense at all.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (12)
Haditha Case Seen As Losing Strength
Long post for a reason see my comment at the end.
Evidence against Marines called weak
San Diego Union-Tribune ....for complete article
July 12, 2007
For months, military officials expressed confidence in their case against several Camp Pendleton Marines accused of murdering 24 men, women and children in Haditha, Iraq.
But now, legal analysts say the prosecution's case is in jeopardy. They spoke after investigative officers recommended that two of the seven Haditha defendants should be spared courts-martial, largely because of weak evidence.
A third defendant was recommended for trial yesterday. "I think that unless they get a Marine eyewitness to roll over, they are going to have a hard time prosecuting the cases," said Jane Siegel, a former Marine judge and longtime defense lawyer in San Marcos. "The government has to know that as the investigation gets older and older, the case gets colder and colder and harder and harder to prove."
The final decision on courts-martial rests with Lt. Gen. James Mattis, commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton. Last month, an investigative officer recommended that Capt. Randy Stone not be tried on charges of failing to investigate the Haditha killings. The officer issued his report shortly after Stone's pretrial hearing.
A report made public Tuesday by Lt. Col. Paul Ware, a career Marine prosecutor who strongly urged that all charges against Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt be dismissed.
Sharratt is one of three Marines accused of going on a rampage against the 24 Iraqis after a roadside bomb killed a fellow Marine on Nov. 19, 2005. In his report, Ware labeled allegations against Sharratt "unsupported" and several times called them "incredible."
He also suggested that some of the dead Iraqis were insurgents, as the defendants have maintained.
Ware, who presided over the pretrial hearing for Sharratt last month, said accounts by Iraqi witnesses seemed inconsistent with the forensic evidence available.
Such evidence showed that "each was shot facing forward, from a distance, and with a 9 mm pistol, which I find inconsistent with an execution or persons reacting to an execution," Ware wrote.
He noted that relatives of the dead Iraqis refused to allow the U.S. military to exhume the bodies to conduct autopsies. He also said the Iraqis had a powerful motive to lie, given that the Marine Corps would sometimes pay $2,500 to the family of an Iraqi civilian killed by U.S. forces.
Giving credence to the statements of these Iraqi witnesses would set "a dangerous precedent that, in my opinion, may encourage others to bear false witness against Marines as a tactic to erode public support of the Marine Corps mission in Iraq," Ware wrote. "Even more dangerous is the potential that a Marine may hesitate at the critical moment when facing the enemy."
Lawyers for other Haditha defendants hailed Ware's findings as a possible turning point in the case.
The investigative officer who oversaw the pretrial hearing for Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the highest-ranking Marine charged in the case, recommended that he be court-martialed for dereliction of duty and other similar charges. Chessani led the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, which included all the defendants.
Prosecutors have accused Chessani of failing to properly investigate the killings. His lawyers say he trusted his subordinates, who told him that the Iraqis died in a battle between U.S. forces and insurgents. The recommendation to court-martial Chessani "glorifies paper-pushing over fighting and has the unintended consequence of dampening the spirit of the most ferocious fighters on Earth," said Richard Thompson, an attorney for Chessani.
Wild Thing's comment.........
I know this is a long post and I apologize, sometimes I just have to put certain things together....... It all comes from my heart so I hope you understand.
Coverage of this is hard to find. The main newspaper covering this is the San Diego Herald Tribune as the San Diego press is covering the hearings. Can you imagine any American citizen being prosecuted for murder when prosecutors aren’t even sure who was murdered? The Hamdania Marines might as well be citizens of a Third World country for the all the justice they’ve received. And this isn’t even newsworthy outside of San Diego? This disgrace to the Corps and our country just keeps on rolling along, well below the radar.
Most of the evidence that has been sited is from the enemy. People that have been proven to aid the insurgents, liars, fakes more lies upon lies.
I support the Haditha Marines and impact of these cases on our Rules of Engagement, our will to continue the war, is already being felt. I daresay we could never have fought and persevered in WWII with the same PC mentality. The war against radical Islamicism is a war worth fighting. They represented me in this war, I will stand up for them.
They volunteer to put their lives on the line to save ours. The media and the Left has gone over and above to portray them as the “bad guys” since the war started.
Murtha’s “cold blooded murder” comment hit a raw nerve with me and the inconsistencies just didn’t add up. The more I read and heard, the madder I got. The rush to judgment and the deliberate failure by many to look at the facts
only made me madder.
Esprit de Corps” and “Semper Fidelis”. Never turn your back on those who taught you what duty, honor and courage were all about.
I was reading a speech by Patton and even though he was Army and not a Marine his speech is awesome and has a lot of things in it that pertain to what is happening with these Marines as well as those in our government and citizens not wanting to fight the terrorists but have stupid sit downs and talk with them which is a totally insane idea. So I am putting Patton's speech here for you to read. He had me cheering and laughing as well.
God bless our past warriors, Patton and Chesty and others like them that knew how to lead the hearts of men and spoke the truth always.
General Patton arose and strode swiftly to the microphone. The men snapped to their feet and stood silently. Patton surveyed the sea of brown with a grim look. "Be seated", he said. The words were not a request, but a command. The General's voice rose high and clear.
"Men, this stuff that some sources sling around about America wanting out of this war, not wanting to fight, is a crock of bullshit. Americans love to fight, traditionally. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. You are here today for three reasons. First, because you are here to defend your homes and your loved ones. Second, you are here for your own self respect, because you would not want to be anywhere else. Third, you are here because you are real men and all real men like to fight. When you, here, everyone of you, were kids, you all admired the champion marble player, the fastest runner, the toughest boxer, the big league ball players, and the All-American football players. Americans love a winner. Americans will not tolerate a loser. Americans despise cowards. Americans play to win all of the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost nor will ever lose a war; for the very idea of losing is hateful to an American."
The General paused and looked over the crowd.
"You are not all going to die," he said slowly. "Only two percent of you right here today would die in a major battle. Death must not be feared. Death, in time, comes to all men. Yes, every man is scared in his first battle. If he says he's not, he's a liar. Some men are cowards but they fight the same as the brave men or they get the hell slammed out of them watching men fight who are just as scared as they are. The real hero is the man who fights even though he is scared. Some men get over their fright in a minute under fire. For some, it takes an hour. For some, it takes days. But a real man will never let his fear of death overpower his honor, his sense of duty to his country, and his innate manhood. Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best and it removes all that is base. Americans pride themselves on being He Men and they ARE He Men. Remember that the enemy is just as frightened as you are, and probably more so. They are not supermen."
"All through your Army careers, you men have bitched about what you call "chicken shit drilling". That, like everything else in this Army, has a definite purpose. That purpose is alertness. Alertness must be bred into every soldier. I don't give a fuck for a man who's not always on his toes. You men are veterans or you wouldn't be here. You are ready for what's to come. A man must be alert at all times if he expects to stay alive. If you're not alert, sometime, a German son-of-an-asshole-bitch is going to sneak up behind you and beat you to death with a sockful of shit!"
The men roared in agreement.
Patton's grim expression did not change.
"There are four hundred neatly marked graves somewhere in Sicily", he roared into the microphone, "All because one man went to sleep on the job".
He paused and the men grew silent.
"But they are German graves, because we caught the bastard asleep before they did".
The General clutched the microphone tightly, his jaw out-thrust, and he continued.
"An Army is a team. It lives, sleeps, eats, and fights as a team. This individual heroic stuff is pure horse shit. The bilious bastards who write that kind of stuff for the Saturday Evening Post don't know any more about real fighting under fire than they know about fucking!"
The men slapped their legs and rolled in glee. This was Patton as the men had imagined him to be, and in rare form, too. He hadn't let them down. He was all that he was cracked up to be, and more. He had IT!
"We have the finest food, the finest equipment, the best spirit, and the best men in the world".
Patton bellowed. He lowered his head and shook it pensively. Suddenly he snapped erect, faced the men belligerently and thundered.
"Why, by God, I actually pity those poor sons-of-bitches we're going up against. By God, I do".
The men clapped and howled delightedly. There would be many a barracks tale about the "Old Man's" choice phrases. They would become part and parcel of Third Army's history and they would become the bible of their slang.
"My men don't surrender", Patton continued, "I don't want to hear of any soldier under my command being captured unless he has been hit. Even if you are hit, you can still fight back. That's not just bull shit either. The kind of man that I want in my command is just like the lieutenant in Libya, who, with a Luger against his chest, jerked off his helmet, swept the gun aside with one hand, and busted the hell out of the Kraut with his helmet. Then he jumped on the gun and went out and killed another German before they knew what the hell was coming off. And, all of that time, this man had a bullet through a lung. There was a real man!"
Patton stopped and the crowd waited. He continued more quietly.
"All of the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters, either. Every single man in this Army plays a vital role. Don't ever let up. Don't ever think that your job is unimportant. Every man has a job to do and he must do it. Every man is a vital link in the great chain. What if every truck driver suddenly decided that he didn't like the whine of those shells overhead, turned yellow, and jumped headlong into a ditch? The cowardly bastard could say, "Hell, they won't miss me, just one man in thousands". But, what if every man thought that way? Where in the hell would we be now? What would our country, our loved ones, our homes, even the world, be like? No, Goddamnit, Americans don't think like that. Every man does his job. Every man serves the whole. Every department, every unit, is important in the vast scheme of this war. The ordnance men are needed to supply the guns and machinery of war to keep us rolling. The Quartermaster is needed to bring up food and clothes because where we are going there isn't a hell of a lot to steal. Every last man on K.P. has a job to do, even the one who heats our water to keep us from getting the 'G.I. Shits'."
Patton paused, took a deep breath, and continued.
"Each man must not think only of himself, but also of his buddy fighting beside him. We don't want yellow cowards in this Army. They should be killed off like rats. If not, they will go home after this war and breed more cowards. The brave men will breed more brave men. Kill off the Goddamned cowards and we will have a nation of brave men."
"One of the bravest men that I ever saw was a fellow on top of a telegraph pole in the midst of a furious fire fight in Tunisia. I stopped and asked what the hell he was doing up there at a time like that. He answered, "Fixing the wire, Sir". I asked, "Isn't that a little unhealthy right about now?" He answered, "Yes Sir, but the Goddamned wire has to be fixed". I asked, "Don't those planes strafing the road bother you?" And he answered, "No, Sir, but you sure as hell do!"
"Now, there was a real man. A real soldier. There was a man who devoted all he had to his duty, no matter how seemingly insignificant his duty might appear at the time, no matter how great the odds. And you should have seen those trucks on the rode to Tunisia. Those drivers were magnificent. All day and all night they rolled over those son-of-a-bitching roads, never stopping, never faltering from their course, with shells bursting all around them all of the time. We got through on good old American guts. Many of those men drove for over forty consecutive hours. These men weren't combat men, but they were soldiers with a job to do. They did it, and in one hell of a way they did it. They were part of a team. Without team effort, without them, the fight would have been lost. All of the links in the chain pulled together and the chain became unbreakable."
The General paused and stared challengingly over the silent ocean of men. One could have heard a pin drop anywhere on that vast hillside. The only sound was the stirring of the breeze in the leaves of the bordering trees and the busy chirping of the birds in the branches of the trees at the General's left.
"Don't forget," Patton barked, "you men don't know that I'm here. No mention of that fact is to be made in any letters. The world is not supposed to know what the hell happened to me. I'm not supposed to be commanding this Army. I'm not even supposed to be here in England. Let the first bastards to find out be the Goddamned Germans. Some day I want to see them raise up on their piss-soaked hind legs and howl, 'Jesus Christ, it's the Goddamned Third Army again and that son-of-a-fucking-bitch Patton'."
"We want to get the hell over there", Patton continued, "The quicker we clean up this Goddamned mess, the quicker we can take a little jaunt against the purple pissing Japs and clean out their nest, too. Before the Goddamned Marines get all of the credit."
The men roared approval and cheered delightedly. This statement had real significance behind it. Much more than met the eye and the men instinctively sensed the fact. They knew that they themselves were going to play a very great part in the making of world history. They were being told as much right now. Deep sincerity and seriousness lay behind the General's colorful words. The men knew and understood it. They loved the way he put it, too, as only he could.
Patton continued quietly.
"Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get the bastards who started it. The quicker they are whipped, the quicker we can go home. The shortest way home is through Berlin and Tokyo. And when we get to Berlin", he yelled, "I am personally going to shoot that paper hanging son-of-a-bitch Hitler. Just like I'd shoot a snake!"
"When a man is lying in a shell hole, if he just stays there all day, a German will get to him eventually. The hell with that idea. The hell with taking it. My men don't dig foxholes. I don't want them to. Foxholes only slow up an offensive. Keep moving. And don't give the enemy time to dig one either. We'll win this war, but we'll win it only by fighting and by showing the Germans that we've got more guts than they have; or ever will have. We're not going to just shoot the sons-of-bitches, we're going to rip out their living Goddamned guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks. We're going to murder those lousy Hun cocksuckers by the bushel-fucking-basket. War is a bloody, killing business. You've got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours. Rip them up the belly. Shoot them in the guts. When shells are hitting all around you and you wipe the dirt off your face and realize that instead of dirt it's the blood and guts of what once was your best friend beside you, you'll know what to do!"
"I don't want to get any messages saying, "I am holding my position." We are not holding a Goddamned thing. Let the Germans do that. We are advancing constantly and we are not interested in holding onto anything, except the enemy's balls. We are going to twist his balls and kick the living shit out of him all of the time. Our basic plan of operation is to advance and to keep on advancing regardless of whether we have to go over, under, or through the enemy. We are going to go through him like crap through a goose; like shit through a tin horn!"
"From time to time there will be some complaints that we are pushing our people too hard. I don't give a good Goddamn about such complaints. I believe in the old and sound rule that an ounce of sweat will save a gallon of blood. The harder WE push, the more Germans we will kill. The more Germans we kill, the fewer of our men will be killed. Pushing means fewer casualties. I want you all to remember that."
The General paused. His eagle like eyes swept over the hillside. He said with pride.
"There is one great thing that you men will all be able to say after this war is over and you are home once again. You may be thankful that twenty years from now when you are sitting by the fireplace with your grandson on your knee and he asks you what you did in the great World War II, you WON'T have to cough, shift him to the other knee and say, "Well, your Granddaddy shoveled shit in Louisiana." No, Sir, you can look him straight in the eye and say, "Son, your Granddaddy rode with the Great Third Army and a Son-of-a-Goddamned-Bitch named Georgie Patton!"
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (11)
Iran Begging World To Deal With Them
The latest on Iran:
Iran locked on to 600 targets in Israel
Israel Today
Iran has marked 600 targets for its long-range missiles inside Israel, the Qatari newspaper Al Watan reported on Sunday.According to the report, Iran is threatening to hit the Jewish state with a massive missile strike if either Israel or the US attack the Islamic Republic or its allies in Syria.
Recent political talk in Jerusalem and Washington indicate the time is rapidly approaching that Israel and the US will have no choice but to intervene militarily to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Likewise, Israeli military experts are predicting a full-scale war with Syria sometime in the coming six months, possibly set off by a renewal of low-level cross-border Hizballah aggression.
Teheran says it will continue its nuclear activities
Iranian missiles aimed at US base found in Iraq
Jerusalem Post
Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Watan reported that Iran claimed to possess enough missiles to strike 600 Israeli targets and that it wouldn't hesitate to use them in the wake of an attack by the United States or Israel.The report followed two claims by the US army over the weekend implicating Iran in attacks against US forces in Iraq.
According to an announcement on Saturday night, US troops in Iraq uncovered a field containing 50 Iranian-made rocket launchers, all aimed at a US army base.
The discovery came after the US claimed that an explosively formed penetrator - a high-tech device that the US military believes is smuggled from Iran - was used against US forces in the Baghdad area earlier Saturday.
Vp Cheney Being Resisted by Condi Rice and Robert Gates, but Bush now listening to Cheney
VP Cheney on Iran
The White House claims that Iran, whose influence in the Middle East has increased significantly over the last six years, is intent on building a nuclear weapon and is arming insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.The vice-president, Dick Cheney, has long favoured upping the threat of military action against Iran. He is being resisted by the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, and the defence secretary, Robert Gates.
Last year Mr Bush came down in favour of Ms Rice, who along with Britain, France and Germany has been putting a diplomatic squeeze on Iran. But at a meeting of the White House, Pentagon and state department last month, Mr Cheney expressed frustration at the lack of progress and Mr Bush sided with him. "The balance has tilted. There is cause for concern," the source said this week.
Wild Thing's comment........
Their ideology tells them to kill, murder and destroy all Jews and Christians. Their demented minds won’t allow them to see how wrong they are. They are a real danger!
One of the concerns I have is that as the muslim and mexican illegal alien presence grows in the US, support for Israel will decline, add in to that factor the NAU when it is set up. When America goes down under this NAU idea, Israel will go down too. They very well might have it where Israel has to be denied help from America. I pray this does not happen, but it does make one think it might.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (8)
An Oldie From The Carson Show
"Tonight" show - Carson confronts Rickles - broken cig box!!
This was taped from the 15th Anniversary of the Tonight Show (1977), when Johnny Carson confronted Don Rickles about his broken cigarette case - on the set of CPO Sharkey.
Just for some fun. LOL
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:42 AM | Comments (5)
July 15, 2007
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki: Country can manage without U.S.
Iraq PM: Country can manage without U.S.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Saturday that the Iraqi army and police are capable of keeping security in the country when American troops leave "any time they want," though he acknowledged the forces need further weapons and training.
The embattled prime minister sought to show confidence at a time when congressional pressure is growing for a withdrawal and the Bush administration reported little progress had been made on the most vital of a series of political benchmarks it wants al-Maliki to carry out.
Al-Maliki said difficulty in enacting the measures was "natural" given Iraq's turmoil.
But one of his top aides, Hassan al-Suneid, rankled at the assessment, saying the U.S. was treating Iraq like "an experiment in an American laboratory." He sharply criticised the U.S. military, saying it was committing human rights violations, embarassing the Iraqi government with its tactics and cooperating with "gangs of killers" in its campaign against al-Qaida in Iraq.
Al-Suneid's comments were a rare show of frustration toward the Americans from within al-Maliki's inner circle as the prime minister struggles to overcome deep divisions between Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish members of his coalition and enact the American-drawn list of benchmarks.
In new violence in Baghdad on Saturday, a car bomb leveled a two-story apartment building, and a suicide bomber plowed his explosives-packed vehicle into a line of cars at a gas station. The two attacks killed at least eight people, police officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorize to release details of the attacks.
Thursday's White House assessment of progress on the benchmarks fueled calls among congressional critics of the Iraqi policy for a change in strategy, including a withdrawal of American forces.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari warned earlier this week of civil war and the government's collapse if the Americans leave. But al-Maliki told reporters Saturday, "We say in full confidence that we are able, God willing, to take the responsibility completely in running the security file if the international forces withdraw at any time they want."
But he added that Iraqi forces are "still in need of more weapons and rehabilitation" to be ready in the case of a withdrawal.
On Friday, the Pentagon conceded that the Iraqi army has become more reliant on the U.S. military. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Peter Pace, said the number of Iraqi batallions able to operate on their own without U.S. support has dropped in recent months from 10 to six, though he said the fall was in part due to attrition from stepped-up offensives.
Al-Maliki told a Baghdad press conference that his government needs "time and effort" to enact the political reforms that Washington seeks - "particularly since the political process is facing security, economic and services pressures, as well as regional and international interference."
"These difficulties can be read as a big success, not negative points, when they are viewed under the shadow of the big challenges," he said.
In the White House strategy, beefed-up American forces have been waging intensified security crackdowns in Baghdad and areas to the north and south for nearly a month. The goal is to bring quiet to the capital while al-Maliki gives Sunni Arabs a greater role in the goverment and political process, lessening support for the insurgency.
But the benchmarks have been blocked by divisions among Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish leaders. In August, the parliament is taking a one month vacation - a shorter break than the usual two months, but still enough to anger some in Congress who say lawmakers should push through the measures.
Al-Suneid, a Shiite lawmaker close to al-Maliki, bristled at the pressure. He called Thursday's report "objective," but added, "this bothers us a lot that the situation looks as if it is an experiment in an American laboratory (judging) whether we succeed or fail."
He also told The Associated Press that al-Maliki has problems with the top U.S. commander Gen. David Petraeus, who works along a "purely American vision."
He criticized U.S. overtures to Sunni groups in Anbar and Diyala, encouraging former insurgents to join the fight against al-Qaida in Iraq. "These are gangs of killers," he said.
"There are disagreements that the strategy that Petraeus is following might succeed in confronting al-Qaida in the early period but it will leave Iraq an armed nation, an armed society and militias," said al-Suneid.
He said that the U.S. authorities have embarrassed al-Maliki' government through acts such as constructing a wall around Baghdad's Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah and repeated raids on suspected Shiite militiamen in the capital's eastern slum of Sadr City. He said the U.S. use of airstrikes to hit suspected insurgent positions also kills civilians.
"This embarrasses the government in front of its people," he said, calling the civilian deaths a "human rights violation."
Wild Thing's comment............
Earth to Maliki, earth to Maliki, you would get pummeled by Al-Qaeda in a NY minute.
The Parliament had a vote of no confidence on Maliki scheduled for today. I heard this last week and haven't heard any more about it since, so I don't know if it's still on.
He said that the U.S. authorities have embarrassed al-Maliki' government through acts such as constructing a wall around Baghdad's Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah and repeated raids on suspected Shiite militiamen in the capital's eastern slum of Sadr City. He said the U.S. use of airstrikes to hit suspected insurgent positions also kills civilians.
He doesn't care about the civilians. He cares about his Iran-backed Mahdi Army buddies. He has a hissy-fit every time our troops (justifiably) go into that cesspool called Sadr City and cleans out some of the trash.
They're all reacting, to our Congress, and to Bush I think. There is a lot of dissatisfaction with Maliki in the Parliament and among the Iraqi people, Shia and Sunni alike.
Nouri al-Maliki is reacting to several things I think. To our Congress and their vote, to Bush and the list of what Nouri al-Maliki was supposed to have accompolished by now not being completely done. Back in Dec. of 2006 the Iraq's were discussing replacing Nouri al-Maliki and he mouthed off then too. But imo, Nouri al-Maliki better be careful with his words. He is supposed to be a leader and not be a reactor, but a person that thinks things through and looks down the road for his country to win against the insurgents.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (10)
PPE Stops Round, Saves Marine
By Lance Cpl. Timothy M. Stewman, 13th MEU
NEAR KARMAH, Iraq
(July 14, 2007)
Over the past decade there have been significant advancements in body armor. During that time there have also been heated debates concerning the performance and effectiveness of the body armor being used by Marines.
One Marine with Battalion Landing Team 3/1 got to see first-hand just how effective his issued body armor is.
“We were out doing a vehicle mounted patrol and we dismounted, that’s when I heard the first shot,” said Sgt. Travis Tollison, India Company, 3rd platoon guide. “I tried to find out where the original shot came from and I heard a second shot. I went into the prone position when I realized that I had been hit. I reached to my lower back and was beginning to feel pain. The round had gone through my Camelbak and I felt the water which, at the time, I thought it was blood. When the corpsman looked me over I only had a bruise on the left side of my lower back. The round had embedded into my back SAPI (Small-Arms Protective Insert) plate. I believe without the plate, I would be telling a whole different story.”
The Marines in his platoon don’t hesitate to give Tollison a hard time about the incident. It usually consists of an impression of how he looked when he realized that he had been hit. The guys get a good laugh from the incident, but they know just how fortunate Tollison is that his gear did what it was supposed to.
With all the controversy surrounding civilian companies claiming to have more effective gear for combat, Marines and their family members have considered the use of civilian body armor over government issued. Recently Headquarters Marine Corps made the decision to prohibit the use of civilian body armor in combat. Marines on the front lines understand the functionality of the body armor and have confidence in the protection it provides.
“There are always going to be things to complain about when it comes to body armor, especially with the addition of the side SAPI plates,” said Tollison, an Anderson, S.C. native. “Though the weight isn’t exactly pleasant, the payoff is protection that is combat tried and tested.”
One thing about combat body armor is that technology is constantly advancing. The Marine Corps continually researches and develops new and more effective ways to keep the men and women who serve in combat safer. For now, the body armor being used today is holding its own, protecting Marines.
Wild Thing's comment........
Thank God he is ok!!
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (4)
A Very Special Book From Two Very Special People
Linda gave me a very special present, a signed first edition copy of Faith Under Fire. The author Chana Besser, is Linda's friend, and lives in Israel.
Chana's book is about living through the 33 day war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. As the brave IDF soldiers fought back and then suddenly had to stop because of the weak Olmert caving in and then the terrorists claiming victory.
Thank you Linda for such a special gift and thank you Chana.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (10)
July 14, 2007
Hillary and Edwards Planning To 86 Other Dems In Race ~ LOL
Hillary & Edwards' Secret to 86 Other Dems in Pres. Debates (Conspiring Caught On Tape!!!)
At the end of an NAACP Presidential Forum in Detroit in which fringe candidates Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich repeatedly upstaged the top two tiers, John Edwards approached Hillary Clinton at her podium and, perhaps forgetting that microphones were still on, can clearly be heard saying "we should think about at some point... maybe some time in the fall, we'll try to have a more serious debate with a smaller group of people."
Hillary agreed with Edwards, saying "We've got to cut the numbers of these, because they are just being trivialized." Edwards responded "And they're not serious. They're not serious," then walked away. Hillary caught up to him to add "I think there was an effort by our campaign to do that, but it somehow got detoured," saying "We've gotta get back to it." While shaking Dennis Kucinich's hand, she added "our guys should talk."
But wait.......there's more..........
Feeling "Betrayed," Kucinich Rips Edwards on Debate Remarks
An angry Dennis Kucinich lashed out at John Edwards on Friday, saying his Democratic rival showed "a consistent lack of integrity" by suggesting fewer candidates should participate in presidential forums and then trying to explain his remark to reporters.
"This is a serious matter and I'm calling him on it," Kucinich, an Ohio congressman, said in a telephone interview Friday. "Whispering, trying to rig an election, then denying what's going on and making excuses. It all reflects a consistent lack of integrity."
He is sending Edwards a letter challenging him to “direct one-on-one debate on the most critical issues facing the American people: the war in Iraq; healthcare, trade and the environment.”
The Ohio congressman has also done the same with Clinton. Copies of both letters were provided to ABC News by the Kucinich campaign.
Although former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel was by far the biggest bomb thrower at Thursday’s Democratic forum sponsored by the NAACP, the Edwards-Kucinich angle is a juicy one.
Edwards and Kucinich struck a deal on the eve of the 2004 Iowa caucuses: they agreed to send their supporters each others’ way if one of them was not getting the votes needed to remain “viable” under Iowa’s arcane caucus rules. (LINK)
"Both of us believe in a lot of the same things,” Edwards said at the time, “and we like each other very much.”
All of that has now changed.
"He feels betrayed,” Kucinich spokesman Andy Juniewicz tells ABC News. “He supported Edwards in the past, especially in Iowa, and now the senator seems to be engaging in a course of action that would exclude the congressman from being able to address the American public as a presidential candidate.”
In a Friday interview with Radio Iowa about his caught-on-tape moment, Edwards said he’s “happy to consider any option” when it comes to debates, “anything that will allow the voters to have more specific information about what we want to do as president.”
Wild Thing's comment........
LOL this Video is so funny. Caught in the act! My favorite part is right in the middle of Hillary conspiring with Edwards over dumping the lower tier candidates.
Evidence Hillary is a backstabbing candidate that has been weened on the ideals of socialism. Clinton desires to squelch freedom of debate, freedom of speech and free thought.
And regarding Kucinich ......
Cat fight! One wuss, calling another wuss a wuss. Wuss I hadn’t said that.
Betrayed by a Democrat - who would've believed it (certainly not our troops in Vietnam and Iraq!, right not much just on a regular basis) ------- lie down with dogs, gst up with fleas, Dennis!!!!!
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (18)
Bush like Hitler, says first Muslim in Congress Keith Ellison
Bush like Hitler, says first Muslim in Congress
telegraph uk.co
America's first Muslim congressman has provoked outrage by apparently comparing President George W Bush to Adolf Hitler and hinting that he might have been responsible for the September 11 attacks.
Addressing a gathering of atheists in his home state of Minnesota, Keith Ellison, a Democrat, compared the 9/11 atrocities to the destruction of the Reichstag, the German parliament, in 1933. This was probably burned down by the Nazis in order to justify Hitler's later seizure of emergency powers.
"It's almost like the Reichstag fire, kind of reminds me of that," Mr Ellison said. "After the Reichstag was burned, they blamed the Communists for it, and it put the leader [Hitler] of that country in a position where he could basically have authority to do whatever he wanted."
To applause from his audience of 300 members of Atheists for Human Rights, Mr Ellison said he would not accuse the Bush administration of planning 9/11 because "you know, that's how they put you in the nut-ball box - dismiss you".
Vice-President Dick Cheney's stance of refusing to answer some questions from Congress was "the very definition of totalitarianism, authoritarianism and dictatorship", he added.
Mr Ellison also raised eyebrows by telling his audience: "You'll always find this Muslim standing up for your right to be atheists all you want."
A convert to Islam who was previously linked to the extremist Nation of Islam, Mr Ellison, 42, has cultivated a moderate image since being elected last November, concentrating on issues such as health and education.
He is an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq. But he angered his own anti-war supporters by voting for a budget bill that aims to end the war over the next 18 months. His followers want an immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.
After his speech was reported, Mr Ellison said he accepted that Osama bin Laden was responsible for 9/11. But his demagogic comments threaten to plunge him in controversy.
Mark Drake, of the Republican party in Minnesota, said: "To compare the democratically elected leader of the United States of America to Hitler is an absolute moral outrage which trivialises the horrors of Nazi Germany."
Wild Thing's comment........
One day, my head is going to explode. When is this country, my America going to learn. The SANE people in this country are getting extremely fed up. Jesus was slow to anger, but he threw the money changers out of church. It’s getting closer, closer to the time when patriots will rise up and throw all of the malcontents out of America....one way or another.
"Keith Ellison, a convert to Islam, has cultivated a moderate image..”
Muslim and Moderate are contradictions in terms.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (17)
Veteran Marine Tackles Suspected Bank Robber
A former Marine, already irritated about the disappearance of $100 from his bank account, tackled a suspected robber who came into the bank wielding a fire extinguisher and demanding cash.
Timothy Armstead was waiting at the Washington Mutual Bank branch on Tuesday to discuss the missing money when the man came in and told bank employees he had a bomb. The man gave them five minutes to get $2,000 in $50 bills, DeKalb County police said.
As the employees went to the vault to comply, the unidentified man began loudly counting down the minutes, which attracted Armstead's attention, police spokesman Michael Payne said.
When the man then tried to walk out with the money, Armstead, 27, knocked him to the ground. He held the man down - lecturing him on his poor decision - until authorities arrived.
"I just told him it was a very stupid decision and now you get to spend 20 years of your life just for taking some money," Armstead told WSB-TV.
The man was taken to the DeKalb County Jail on suspicion of armed robbery. Jail officials declined to comment on his case Friday. A call to the DeKalb County Sheriff's office was not immediately returned.
Wild Thing's comment..........
I confess I changed the title of the article, they had it as EX-Marine and that is something that does not exist.
I am sure glad we have our Veterans around, they have knowledge, experience and a lot of the time with all of that can take a situation and keep it from getting worse. I love stories like this!!
........Thank you Bob for sending me this story.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (10)
Charlie Company Conducts Mounted Patrols
Marines assigned to Mobile Assault Platoon, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, patrol the city of Haqlaniyah during a mounted patrol
Charlie Company conducts mounted patrols
HAQLANIYAH, Iraq
By Cpl. Rick Nelson, 2nd Marine Division
(July 13, 2007)
Marines assigned to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 2, continue to conduct operations throughout Haqlaniyah with ongoing mounted patrols throughout the city.
“Our mission is to keep the main service routes clear and stop locals from smuggling weapons and [improvised explosive device] making material (into the city),” said Sgt. James C. Faraci, platoon sergeant, Mobile Assault Platoon, Charlie Company, 1/3. “We also provide security for dismounted patrols, re-supply check-points and do IED sweeps.”
Faraci describes his platoon as the “jack of all trades.”
“When we first got here there weren't many people in the streets, now they're everywhere, and a lot of the shops are opening back up,” said Faraci, a Brooklyn native. “I think we make it a lot safer for them to move about as they please. The biggest thing is the constant patrols; they are helping out a ton.”
Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan E. Knotts, corpsman, MAP, Charlie Company, 1/3, said the dismounted patrols help keep the enemy from running free throughout the city.
“They know we're here, which gives the insurgents a lot less room for maneuverability,” said Knotts, a Fort Collins, Colo., native.
At any given time Charlie Company will have a mounted unit patrolling in Haqlaniyah, added Faraci.
“We usually do (several) patrols a day,” said the 27-year-old Faraci. “So we're outside the wire a lot.”
Faraci said the biggest threats for his Marines are the IED's in the area.
“We've been lucky so far with the IED's,” he said. “But now we have to worry a lot more about grenades being thrown in the turret and [rocket-propelled grenades] being used.”
Although threats in the city remain, Faraci said Haqlaniyah has changed a lot since their arrival in late March.
“When we first got here and I went on my first patrol, I was really knit picky and all I wanted to do was get to know the area to see who's supposed to be there and who's not supposed to be there,” Faraci explained. “Now that I know the area I'm still very cautious, but the Marines can just tell if something’s not right. If the people shy away and won’t talk to us, then we know someone who isn't supposed to be there is around.”
Knotts said he’s pleased at the rate the deployment is going so far, but it isn't what he expected.
“I was a little unsure, not knowing what I was getting into,” said Knotts. “We heard our area was pretty intense, and it was when we first got here but not nearly what I imagined. It's calmed down a lot since then.”
Knotts recalled his second day in Haqlaniyah when a grenade landed in the vehicle in front of him during a patrol.
“It was a pretty crazy feeling, but now I know what to expect and can deal with it a lot more,” Knotts said.
Although the tempo of hostile actions has slowed down, Knotts said he knows there's always a threat of attacks picking up any day.
“I come back after a convoy and relax and just prepare for the next patrol,” Knotts said. “This helps me to stay alert and not become complacent. I realize I have a job as a corpsman to take care of my Marines, and keeping that in mind would keep anyone alert.”
Faraci, who deployed to Iraq in 2004, said the thought of the Marines who were killed in action during his first deployment to Iraq is what keeps him going.
“I expected this deployment to be going just like it was in Ramadi in 2004,” Faraci added. “I thought we'd be getting attacked all the time, but all I can say is if it stays like this I will be really happy. I just want to get all of my Marines back to their families in one piece.”
Wild Thing's comment........
Thank you Charlie Company, you are all in our thoughts and our prayers.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:40 AM | Comments (2)
July 13, 2007
For My Friend Vinnie
Posted by Wild Thing at 09:55 AM | Comments (10)
Democrats Message To Terrorists Friends ~ Mark Down April 1st, 2008
House Votes for Withdrawal From Iraq
Washington Times ........for complete article
The House measure passed 223-201 in the Democratic-controlled chamber despite a veto threat from President Bush, who has ruled out any change in war policy before September.
Describing a document produced by his administration at Congress' insistence, he said there was satisfactory progress by the Iraqi government toward meeting eight of 18 so-called benchmarks, unsatisfactory progress on eight more and mixed results on the rest.
To his critics _ including an increasing number of Republicans _ he said bluntly, "I don't think Congress ought to be running the war. I think they ought to be funding the troops."
Democrats saw it differently.
A few hours after Bush's remarks, Democratic leaders engineered passage of legislation requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops to begin within 120 days, and to be completed by April 1, 2008. The measure envisions a limited residual force to train Iraqis, protect U.S. assets and fight al-Qaida and other terrorists.
The vote generally followed party lines: 219 Democrats and four Republicans in favor, and 191 Republicans and 10 Democrats opposed.
Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., voted for troop withdrawals for the first time, contending that while she still opposes a swift pullout, "staying in Iraq indefinitely is equally unacceptable."
"The report makes clear that not even the White House can conclude there has been significant progress," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "To Bush and others who seek more time for the administration's policy to work, she said, "We have already waited too long."
Republicans sided with Bush _ at least for now. The bill "undermines Gen. Petraeus, undermines the mission he has to make America and Iraq safe," said the House GOP leader, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio. "What we have here is not leadership, it's negligence."
Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., who announced his intention to seek a change in policy last week, issued a statement that said the administration's most recent assessment "confirms my worst fears that while the Iraqi government is making some progress on some benchmarks, it's not moving fast enough to make meaningful or lasting progress."
Even so, it appears the president's allies have the support to block a final Senate vote in a showdown expected next week.
If the report changed any minds in Congress, it was not immediately apparent.
"It is time for the president to listen to the American people and do what is necessary to protect this nation. That means admitting his Iraq policy has failed, working with the Democrats and Republicans in Congress on crafting a new way forward in Iraq and refocusing our collective efforts on defeating al-Qaida," said Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
But Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, said Congress has already decided it will be September before the administration's strategy can be evaluated properly. "Certainly the young soldiers and Marines risking their lives today on the streets of Baghdad and Ramadi would agree _ and they deserve our patience."
Wild Thing's comment........
If Al Queda had business cards, Reid would have one in his wallet. The best weapon for al Qaeda is a Democrat in a leadership position.
Duncan Hunter ripped Harry Reid and the Dems yesterday (Thursday) on the floor of the house. He critisized those Democrats who insist they "will end this war" and withdraw troops.
He said, "They keep saying they will end the war. But by pulling our troops out of Iraq, they are not ending the war - they are only abandoning the battlefield!"
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (18)
Some of Iraq's Insurgents Working Alongside US Troops
BAGHDAD — U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner, spokesman for Multi-National Force-Iraq held an operational update on al-Qaeda in Iraq Wednesday at the Combined Press Information Center. Bergner named al-Qaeda in Iraq as the principal near-term threat to Iraq.
“The government of Iraq, Iraqi security forces and Coalition forces are engaged in a tough fight against al-Qaeda and in particular it’s extremist ideology and leadership,” said Bergner.
However, Bergner said both Iraqi and Coalition forces are making progress in the fight against al-Qaeda.
“We are pursuing those who run those networks, and we are enabled by increasing amounts of information from local citizens and increasing resolve by the Iraqi people to fight al-Qaeda,” he said.
Bergner said Coalition forces captured or killed 26 high level al-Qaeda leaders during May and June of this year along with hundreds of al-Qaeda members.
“We are conducting operations throughout Iraq,” he said, “with particular effectiveness in Mosul and Baghdad.”
Operations are also impacting al-Qaeda’s infrastructure, Bergner said. Last month Al-Furqan Media productions, an al-Qaeda media center near Samarra, was uncovered. The facility was a major media production and distribution center producing CDs, DVDs, posters, pamphlets, and web-related propaganda products. The facility contained documents clearly identifying al-Qaeda’s intent to use media as a weapon, said Bergner.
Bergner went on to say that Coalition forces are “taking the fight to the enemy before they have the opportunity to strike at innocent civilians in population centers.”
This month Coalition forces thwarted an al-Qaeda effort to attack Ramadi, said Bergner. The successful operation resulted in 35 al-Qaeda terrorists being killed and three others being captured.
“This engagement was an example of Coalition forces operating in areas that have served as al-Qaeda sanctuaries in the past,” said Bergner.
Bergner said while operations against al-Qaeda continue, the Coalition is supporting the Iraqi government in restoring basic services to areas once dominated by al-Qaeda.
“The Iraqi government has now restored food and medical shipments to Baquba for the first time in some 10 months,” said Bergner.
Wild Thing's comment.........
Remember how Nancy Pelosi said there were no al-Quada in Iraq? Hello Nancy do you just outright lie? I think so, do it enough and I guess you can count on your sheep in your party to believe you.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (6)
China Says It’s Food Not Safe To Eat
An alarming admission by Beijing’s food safety boss that the country’s food industry is so unhygienic that consumers risked disease has sparked calls for tougher testing of the $400 million worth of Chinese produce eaten each year by Australians.
China’s food safety department head Sun Xiande issued the unprecedented warning to Chinese media that hidden threats would “gradually emerge and disease will likely gradually occur due to the harmful ingredients in food” in light of a series of food safety scares in the US.
“Food safety accidents or events will not only affect the healthy development of the entire (food) industry, but also possibly affect the local economy and social stability,” he was reported as saying.
A former food and safety watchdog executive, Zheng Xiaoyu, was executed yesterday after being found guilty of taking bribes to approve substandard medicines.
The discovery on US supermarket shelves of Chinese pet food which contained potentially poisonous chemicals started a recall of products from the Asian giant, including juice which contained unsafe colour additives and toothpaste laced with an industrial solvent.
The latest scare comes after repeated warnings from WA fruit and vegetable growers that cheap Chinese imports were grown in sewage and sprayed with DDT. Two years ago an international animal welfare group raised concerns that fish farms in China were feeding infected chicken manure to fish, some of which might be imported into Australia.
Shadow minister for primary industries, fisheries and forestry Kerry O’Brien said the reports from China vindicated his call for the Howard Government to introduce tougher standards on Chinese food imports.
“The Australian Government should follow the lead of the US Food and Drug Administration and apply a 100 per cent testing regime on certain food imports from China, effective immediately,” he said.
Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics records show that last year Australia imported more than $100 million of Chinese seafood, including prawns, fish fillets, scallops and tinned fish products. Total food imports from China are worth more than $400 million a year and include fruit, vegetables and cereal.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand spokeswoman Lydia Buchtmann said the situation in China was being monitored closely but the testing process was rigorous. The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service samples 5 per cent of food imports, but in high-risk cases, such as seafood, it can opt to sample 100 per cent. A spokesman for Fisheries Minister Eric Abetz said AQIS was reviewing the testing of seafood coming in from China.
Wild Thing's comment........
Who the hell started all this importing of FOOD from other countries anyway? We were the bread basket of the world for years and now every other food product in our supermarkets is IMPORTED from a foreign country. WHY ???
I don't think we should allow any food from countries with lower standards than ours. As a matter of fact, I don't think we should allow anything in from countries who don't have the same labor, antipollution, safety laws as us. Any country that trades with another, should also allow inspections by that country. Our companies shouldn't have to compete with those who don't have the same restrictions.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (13)
July 12, 2007
"Feelings, wo-o-o feelings" ~ Chertoff Sings From His Gut
Wild Thing's comment.........
OK here is the thing, I don't get! Chertoff could get that fence built like yesterday if and I say IF he wanted to. IF he really wanted to secure our borders and our country. He does not, instead he whines last week about the illegal amnesty bill not passing, and now this week Michael Chertoff stated "I believe we are entering a period this summer of increased risk" while speaking to the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board while citing intelligence he would not disclose.
Also from the video...."Brian Ross reports on new intelligence suggesting that a small al Qa'ida cell may be on its way to the United States or already here. The White House will assemble in the Situation Room this week to minimize the threat. Ross quotes a senior administration official who said "the level of concern of a new terrorist attack is now higher than it has been in some time."
If they wanted to protect the country, they would be doing it. By now it's apparent they want to destroy the United States of America. Chertoff couldn’t manage the eveing shift at McDonalds, much less protect our borders. He is incapable of making a decision. No offfense to those that do manage the evening shift at McDonalds. And Brian Ross and ABC are as dumb as a box of hammers.
The fact that Al Qaeda cells are here is no surprise to any of us—some being watched, many not. We are still actively encouraging Muslim immigration. And our country continues to allow mosques and muslim schools to be built on our soil. Gee ya think they might wanna check the KNOWN Al Qaeda camps that keep popping up on maps all over the place? They know where they are, as well as the Hamas ones, and every other cells camps. They shouldn’t be allowed, and our Govt is to blame for the fact that they are.
Hey Chertoff how cells got here??
2001: Saudi student visas to US 4000.
2006: Saudi student visas to US 11,000.
Northern and Southern borders Swiss cheese.
Saudi schools and Mosques built on our soil at will.
Prevention of visa overstays practically non-existent.
Brian Ross reports there may be a small Al Qaeda cell on our soil.
The only thing I can conclude from all of this is that our governemnt wants a major incident At least if a person went solely by their actions or non action.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (16)
In Country With Our Marines 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines
Marines from Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, search a home during Operation CHINA SHOP 2. The operation, conducted over four days from July 5-8, was aimed at gathering census information in the rural areas north of Kharma, along with seeking and destroying enemy weapons caches and logistic points.
Jugs of nitric acid were found at many homemade explosives factories uncovered during Operation CHINA SHOP 2. Marines from Battalion Landing Team, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, conducted methodical searches during the operation.
BLT 3/1 wraps up CHINA SHOP 2
By Sgt. Andy Hurt, 13th MEU
NEAR KARMAH, Iraq (July 11, 2007)
Units from Battalion Landing Team 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, concluded counter-insurgency Operation CHINA SHOP II July 8 in Al Anbar province here.
The battalion, serving as the Ground Combat Element for the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, continued census surveys and carried out sweeps and methodical searches for weapons caches beginning July 5.
In the course of 96 hours, elements from the battalion, including India and Weapons companies and Light Armored Reconnaissance assets, covered more than 400 square kilometers north of Karmah, sniffing out numerous weapons caches, explosives factories and Improvised Explosive Devices.
Among the explosives-making factories, large quantities of nitric acid, ammonium nitrate and chlorine were discovered. Raw homemade explosive materials totaled nearly 30,000 pounds. Artillery shells, rifles and mortar rockets were also uncovered by the battalion. All munitions were reduced in place by Combat Logistics Battalion 13 Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians.
The operation has been dubbed a success by unit commanders. “The incidents with IEDs are definitely being reduced in surrounding areas,” said 1st Lt. Mike Geiger, a platoon commander from Weapons Company, BLT 3/1. “We’re exploiting logistics areas, places where insurgents bed down, and taking away their safe harbor here.”
In addition to taking away enemy accelerants, BLT 3/1 has also been tasked with a census operation, allowing the opportunity to speak with local populace, a piece of the war traditionally known as “hearts and minds.”
“We talked to one farmer and told him we were going to be around for a few days,” said Geiger, “and he said ‘Thank God.’”
Geiger described the rising dangers for locals here, as insurgents conduct illegal checkpoints, hijack consumer goods, and rob civilians along routes. The presence of Coalition Forces here, said Geiger, inhibits such activity.
“The insurgents are conducting ‘murder and intimidation’ operations, and as long as we’re here, they can’t do that.”
The Fayetteville, N.C. native also submitted the evidence uncovered by the searches as indication that insurgents are continuously utilizing the rural region as staging and recuperating areas.
“In some houses where we found explosives, there were bedrolls, human waste … it’s not like we’re chasing ghosts here.”
Junior Marines conducting aspects of the operation say they felt a lasting positive impact made from a precursor mission, Operation CHINA SHOP.
“Every little thing we did made a difference, taking IEDs out of the hands of the enemy and the ‘hearts and minds’ stuff,” said Lance Cpl. Nick Velasco, a weapons company mortarman and native of St. Paul, Minn.
Velasco, who is on his first deployment here, said he felt a moment of clarity, realizing the importance of coalition presence during CHINA SHOP II.
“During our screening mission for LAR, some guys were able to sit down, actually sit down with a family and just talk with them. One of the guys was arm wrestling with a kid … it just shows they’re not afraid of us and know we’re here to help them.”
Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Phillip Chandler was again pleased with the efforts and success of his Marines under difficult circumstances.
“Marines did a great job going out using an analytical mindset in order to find out where these guys are hiding this stuff,” he said. “It’s a ‘needle-in-a-haystack’ type of search.”
Looking ahead, Chandler noted the battalion is “beginning to focus efforts on combined operations with the Iraqi Army.”
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (3)
July 11, 2007
Democrat Presidential Candidates In First Ever Gay Debate
Presidential Candidates In First Ever Gay Debate
(Los Angeles, California) For the first time the leading candidates for the presidency will hold a televised debate devoted solely to LGBT issues.
The one-hour event will be held on August 9 and broadcast on gay network LOGO at 9:00 pm ET, and through live streaming video at LOGOonline.com.
Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards have confirmed they will participate. Several other Democratic candidates also may join the debate.
The debate will be conducted with a live audience in Los Angeles. On the panel questioning the two Democrats will be Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese and singer Melissa Etheridge.
The debate was put together by LOGO and HRC.
"In the 2008 presidential election, issues of concern to the LGBT community have already been at the forefront of the national conversation,” said Solmonese.
"From the repeal of “Don’t ask, Don’t Tell” to the recent signing of a civil unions bill in New Hampshire, there is no doubt that voters will demand answers to important questions affecting our community."
The panelists in a statement said they plan to cover a range of issues including relationship recognition, marriage equality, workplace fairness, the military, hate crimes, HIV/AIDS and other important issues.
The LGBT vote is considered a decisive electoral force and according to exit poll data make up approximately 4 percent of the voting population.
Los Angeles was chosen as the site for the event because of the state’s early primary election, on February 5th, 2008.
"We're honored to give the presidential candidates an historic opportunity to share their views directly with the LGBT audience," Brian Graden, President, Entertainment, MTV Networks Music Group, and President, LOGO said in a statement.
"This forum continues MTV Networks’ tradition of engaging vital niche audiences with voting and the electoral process."
In addition to questioning by Solmonese and Etheridge people will be able to pose their own questions through LOGOonline.com and HRC.org.
Wild Thing's comment.........
OK so I am naive about some things. I had no idea what the heck LGBT initials meant. So I put LGBT in Google and found out it means.........Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender.
Then I also had never heard of LOGO. So again here is what it is in case anyone else has no idea either.
Logo is entertainment programming for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community.
HRC = Human Rights Campaign
OK now that all that is translated for me and anyone else.....
That sound you hear is Abe Lincoln rolling over in his grave. This is a good example of just how far this country has fallen. I am joking of course with the graphic above but in all seriousness, this is concerning. I am glad none of the Republicans running for President at least so far will not be attending this particular debate. And how can they have a debate anyway. They are going there to try and get votes so they aren't going to disagree much with the audience one would think anyway.
In keeping with her mirroring the accents and affectations of the group she’s talking to, I wonder if Hillary will take the lead in all of them trying to out-gay each other.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (17)
Man accused of trying to help al-Qaida ~ Inspired by John Murtha
Looks like Michael Reynolds could well be an alias. He sure looks a lot more like Ahmed Al something to me.
Man accused of trying to help al-Qaida sought US public rebellion
SCRANTON, Pa. - A man charged with trying to help al-Qaida blow up U.S. energy facilities described in chilling detail a plan to target a natural gas refinery and wrote that it would lead to "instant rebellion" by an American public disgusted over the Iraq war and the government's response to Hurricane Katrina.
Michael C. Reynolds, 49, of Wilkes-Barre, is on trial here on federal charges of providing material support to terrorists. He was arrested in December 2005 after he tried to meet a purported al-Qaida contact near a hotel where he was staying in Pocatello, Idaho.
Prosecutors on Tuesday displayed a series of computer messages between Reynolds and the contact, whom he knew from an Internet message board used by adherents of Osama bin Laden. The contact turned out to be a Montana judge who was working for the FBI.
Reynolds, who has pleaded not guilty, maintains that he was working as a private citizen to uncover terrorist plots and that his Internet communications were meant to ensnare a person he thought was a terrorist.
He wrote in one message that he had selected the Williams natural gas refinery in Opal, Wyo., "the largest refinery in the west," as the first target. He said the refinery should be struck on Dec. 24, 2005, when presumably there would be less security.
"The site has no fences or security to speak of, 3 men would merely walk as they wished there and leave undetected. ... Minimum forces, maximum damage," he wrote, according to transcripts displayed to the jury.
Prosecutors said Reynolds also sought to target the Transcontinental Pipeline, a natural-gas pipeline that runs from the Gulf Coast to New York and New Jersey; and a Standard Oil refinery in Perth Amboy, N.J., that no longer exists.
Reynolds wrote it was an opportune time to strike, citing public disapproval of the Iraq war and President Bush's response to Hurricane Katrina.
"The fuel is here ... He'll be roasted on a spit," wrote Reynolds, tacking on a news article that quoted U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., as calling for an immediate end to the war.
"U.S. Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa) calls for the withdrawal of U.S. military personnel from Iraq while at a news conference on Capitol Hill November 17, 2005. Murtha called the war "a flawed policy wrapped in illusion" and noted a shift in public sentiment against the war. REUTERS/"
In another message, Reynolds seemed to refer to the Dec. 1, 2005, death of a top al-Qaida leader, Hamza Rabia, in Pakistan. Rabia was allegedly killed by a Hellfire missile fired by an unmanned American warplane, although Pakistan's army maintained that Rabia had died in a bomb-making accident.
"I notice the news of a beloved leader being killed, and conflicting reports that the US takes credit," Reynolds wrote. "Your people need a strike victory here, and soon to bolster support, not to mention cutting down this president."
Reynolds and his contact agreed that he would receive $40,000 to finance the alleged plot. Reynolds provided a shopping list of materials to build a landmine, including stainless steel flasks, shotgun shells, flares, batteries, an alarm clock and stereo wire. He also said he was working on a "15-20 minute timer that is failsafe."
The message traffic shows that Reynolds was worried about getting caught.
"You say I risk little, you are wrong," he wrote. "If I am discovered ... I could get life in prison, perhaps even execution as a traitor."
Wild Thing's comment........
Murtha has been giving aid and comfort to the enemy and here is a case that murtha's antiwar rantings seem to have given encouragement to a terrorist.
The Democrat Senators in the US Senate help al-Qaeda every day and they are not in jail. Along with the anti-american left-wing pig faced al-Qaeda Democrats now come several RINOS like Lugar, Warner, Hagel, Voinovich and as the list gets longer al-Qaeda cheers their actions giving aid and comfort to the enemies of the American people.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (15)
Stunt with Chopper Like My Husband Has Done
Let's call it ........... Timing Is Everything
This is a friend of Nick's that you can see going from the plane to the chopper. Nick did something like this a few years ago, one of his stunts he did, but Nick went from a chopper to a plane, just the opposite.
I thought you might get a kick out of seeing this video since it is very similar to one of the stunts Nick did.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (6)
In Country With Our Troops in Irag and Afghanistan
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Frank Bareale of New Jersey, a pilot for 45th Medical Company (Air Ambulance), washes down a Black Hawk helicopter at Forward Operating Base Taqqadum, Iraq, on Saturday after the night's medevac missions.
Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 136th Infantry Regiment soldiers from the Minnesota Army National guard pass time playing spades in transition housing on Sunday at Forward Operating Base Taqqaddum, Iraq. The guardsmen are in their final days in Iraq after having their tour extended to 16 months.
A soldier acts as a lookout July 2 while comrades from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, search a house for Taliban insurgents in the village of Biabanak in Afghanistan's Kandahar province.
Sgt. Jake Richardson, left, 1st Lt. Travis Atwood and Staff Sgt. Michael Mullahy take cover while Mullahy prepares to fire an AT4 rocket launcher at an insurgent position during a firefight in Baghdad's Adhamiya neighborhood. The firefight resulted in one insurgent dead and three captured. Mullahy is a squad leader with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment.
Paratroopers from 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, search a bedroom in a suspected Shia militant's house in the pre-dawn hours of June 27, in the Hurriyah neighborhood of Baghdad. The paratroopers captured the suspect they were looking for in the house, along with videotapes of attacks on U.S. troops, a list of Mahdi Army formations, fake identifcation papers and other evidence of insurgent activity.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (6)
An 82nd Airborne Cook's Job in Afghanistan
An 82nd Airborne cook takes care of the soldiers around him.
Wild Thing's comment........
I have always loved how every part of our military is important. Like a chain with links that all support each other.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:40 AM | Comments (10)
July 10, 2007
Lock and Load ~ Freedom Will Be Fought For
Muslims declare sovereignty over U.S., UK
Hear Islamic leaders in London: 'Queen Elizabeth, go to hell!'
Across town from the site of the recent attempted car-bomb attacks, several thousand Muslims gathered in front of the London Central Mosque to applaud fiery preachers prophesying the overthrow of the British government – a future vision that encompasses an Islamic takeover of the White House and the rule of the Quran over America.
"One day my dear Muslims," shouted Anjem Choudary, "Islam will govern Britain!"
Choudary was a co-founder of Al Muhajiroun, the now-banned group tied to suspects in the July 7, 2005, London transport bombings and a cheerleader of the 9/11 attacks.
"Democracy, hypocrisy," Choudary chanted as the crowd echoed him. "Tony Blair, terrorist! Tony Blair, murderer! Queen Elizabeth, go to hell!"
Muslim leader Abu Saif, who kept his voice at a fever pitch through declarations such as: "Brothers and sisters, make no mistake. Make no mistake. The British government, the queen, the MPs in this country, they are enemies to you, enemies to Allah and enemies to the Muslims."
Abu Saif is believed to be a member of the group Hizb ut-Tahrir, the Party of Liberation, which states its aim is to unify Muslims and establish Islamic rule over the world. The group's Cambridge cell reportedly had tried to recruit the Iraqi doctor now suspected of mounting the attack on Glasgow's airport June 30. The failed car-bomb assault followed two similar attempts in London the previous day.
Abu Saif spoke with disdain of Blair's appointment as a special envoy to the Middle East, issuing an apparent threat.
"Inshallah," meaning "Allah willing," he told the crowd, Blair will "go to the Middle East as an envoy, and he'll come back in a box. Inshallah. What box that is, we leave that up to you."
Like the UK, syndicated talk radio host Rusty Humphries said, the U.S. has three major vulnerabilities to patient, fundamentalist Muslims who believe their purpose for living in the West is to help fulfill Islamic prophecies: The loss of border control, the inability to say no and lack of assimilation.
Humphries' interview with Abu Saif underscored the radically different vision many of Britain's citizens have for the country's future.
The Muslim leader said he does not believe in democracy and insists there is no such thing as freedom of religion, "because freedom is an absolute term."
"Are we to say that Muslims can fully practice religion in America," he asked in an attempt to explain. "Say, for instance, I was a Muslim in America. Could I call for the destruction of the American government and establishment of an Islamic state in America? No. So where is the freedom of religion? There is none."
Humphries asked: "Do you call for that?"
"Of course," he replied, "we want Islam to be a source of governance for all of mankind. And we also believe that one day America will be ruled by Islam."
Abu Saif explained Islam, like Christianity, has a prophetic tradition.
"One of the prophecies of the message of Muhammad was the hour will never come, i.e., the last day – which you also believe in – will never come until a group of the Muslims … will rise and conquer the white house."
The reference, many Muslims believe today, is to America's symbol of executive power.
Islamic leaders in the U.S. largely have been careful to not assert publicly the Muslim belief that Islam ultimately will gain worldwide supremacy. Omar Ahmad, the founder of a prominent U.S.-based Islamic lobby group, denies a newspaper report that he told a group of Muslims in the San Francisco Bay area they are in America not to assimilate but to help bring about Islam's rule over the nation.
Wild Thing's comment..........
"we want Islam to be a source of governance for all of mankind. And we also believe that one day America will be ruled by Islam."
And the streets of America will run red with muslim blood until you are completely, unequivocally and wholly destroyed. America is teeming with patriots, ARMED patriots, and we're more than ready to deal both you and allah a stunning defeat.
Our inability to say no to those whose aims are clear - the destruction the U.S. - is the inevitable result of an uncontrolled liberal guilt infestation. And those infected are even more of a threat to our existence than the Islamists.
Any society that let’s this kind of rhetoric continue in the heart of their country is going the way of the dinosaur. Freedom of speech is one thing but tolerating this kind of subversive,inflammatory poison is inviting bigtime trouble !!!
Remember the old "Star Trek" joke about this topic?
An Arab Sheik was talking to an American about TV shows, and he mentions Star Trek.
"This show 'Star Trek', why is it that there are no Arabs in it?"
The American answers, "because it takes place in the future."
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (19)
One Of The Kennedy Creeps Lashes Out
U.S. leg of Live Earth hits key notes
"Today, more than 2 billion of us have come together in more than 130 countries on all seven continents," said former Vice President Al Gore, the event's organizer. "Times like these demand action," he added, after announcing the 7-Point Pledge that he hoped millions would sign while watching the concert.
However, Etheridge aside, it was nonmusicians at this concert who made the most passionate pleas about demanding action for the environment.
"Get rid of all these rotten politicians that we have in Washington, who are nothing more than corporate toadies," said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the environmentalist author, president of Waterkeeper Alliance and Robert F. Kennedy's son, who grew hoarse from shouting. "This is treason. And we need to start treating them as traitors."
Primatologist Jane Goodall offered a greeting in chimpanzee language, before saying, "Up in the North the ice is melting, what will it take to melt the ice in the human heart?"
Wild Thing's comment.........
Yesterday Nick and I went out to lunch and as we were leaving the restaurant it started to rain, really hard and this is hysterical......the ground was covered with hail. LOL It was in the 80's and here it was not only raining which we need, but hail coming down. Of course I thought of Gore right away. hahahahahaa
As far as Robert F. Kennedy Jr goes .......
Robert F. Kennedy's son, who grew hoarse from shouting. "This is treason. And we need to start treating them as traitors."
Do the Kennedy folks come out of the womb thinking they're already President - or maybe even God? Kings of the world? Puffed up. Waaaay too puffed up. What a POS family the whole Kennedy clan are.And wouldn't his stupid hate filled statement also include his freak dunkard criminal murderer Uncle Teddy Kennedy? I mean he is a politician after all.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (13)
Soldier Trades Teaching For Infantry Life
Soldier trades teaching for infantry life
Monday, 09 July 2007
By Spc. Chris McCann
10th Mountain Division Public Affairs
FORWARD OPERATING BASE YUSUFIYAH
Cpl. James Hogan left a job he loved, teaching high-school history and economics in Superior, Wis., to enlist in November 2005 to be a part of American history.
“I was teaching history and about the wars, and I felt it was my patriotic duty to serve, like the guys who went before me,” Hogan said. “I don’t want to sit on my deck at 60 years old and tell people I had a chance to serve and didn’t.”
Hogan graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Superior, and began teaching at a Catholic middle school, then at a high school in Maple, Wis. In addition to teaching American history, he taught economics, criminal justice, social science and sociology, and coached football, girls basketball, and track and field.
But he gave it all up to join the Army.
“The students were surprised. Some were sad, and some were probably happy,” he said, laughing. “I always wanted to teach, and I was no good at math, I don’t like science, and my vocabulary is terrible. But I love politics and history, and I love this country.”
Hogan works with Company A, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), out of Fort Drum, N.Y. His unit is the military transition team that has been training 4th Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with them day in and day out,” he said of the Soldiers in his company.
“From the different personalities, meeting people from all over the United States, I’ve learned a lot. I really respect everyone in the Army, whatever they do, but these (infantry troops) are the ones putting in blood, sweat and tears.”
A willingness to be on the ground and on the front lines is a respect-earner. One of his heroes, he said, is Theodore Roosevelt.
“He really solidified my desire to join the Army,” Hogan said. “He quit the Navy to join the Army and then formed the Rough Riders, because it always bugged Teddy Roosevelt that his father didn’t fight in the Civil War when the country needed him.
“I like his maverick spirit, he did what was in his heart, and he sure wouldn’t be making decisions based on poll numbers if he were president today.”
Hogan has a rather maverick spirit himself, which serves him well with Soldiers both older and younger than him.
“I’m 33 years old,” he said. “In civilian life, I would have been teaching some of these guys, but they’re teaching me the ways of the infantry here,” he said. “It’s tough being older, especially as an enlisted Soldier. I didn’t become an officer because that’s not what I wanted. I’ve had responsibility. I just wanted to be a grunt. And it’s tough to get smoked by a guy nine years younger, but that’s when you just have to swallow your pride.”
Hogan plans to return to teaching – and coaching – when his term of enlistment ends, but he’s toying with the idea of going into the chaplaincy.
“I’m a man of faith,” he said. “I want to study scripture more in-depth, and I want to serve Soldiers in a more personal way. Guys have been laying it all on the line here for five years now, and the turmoil and struggle and separation from family is hard. I feel I could help, and give strength to them to hang in there.”
If he doesn’t choose that road, however, he said what he’s learned in the Army will serve him well as a teacher.
“I think I’ll get more respect as a teacher – I can bring in my photos and things from Iraq, and that would be really good. If I go into the chaplaincy, I’d like to be an Army Reserve or National Guard chaplain so I could still teach.
“It’s an honor to serve my country alongside all my fellow Soldiers in uniform,” Hogan said, “and I’m thankful for the opportunity to do it.”
Wild Thing's comment.........
Our country is made up of such awesome people in our military. It is such a privilege to be an American and to know even in some small way a little something about those that serve our country. Thank you Cpl. James Hogan and all our troops and Veterans.....you ROCK!
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (6)
Rose Law Firm Not Backing Hillary ~ Guess They Want To Live
Rose Law Firm Not Backing Hillary
A wide gulf has opened between presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton and her old employer, the Rose Law Firm — to the apparent satisfaction of both sides.
Clinton does not make a single mention of the firm on her Web sites. And even though she is arguably the firm’s most famous ex-employee, Rose does not mention Hillary on its Web site either.
Clinton joined Rose in 1976, becoming the venerable firm’s first full female partner in 1979, and she continued to work for Rose after husband Bill became governor of Arkansas.
But in many minds Rose became inexorably linked to the scandals that surrounded the Clintons during his presidency: notably Whitewater and the missing billing records from Rose that were found in Hillary’s book room at the Executive Mansion, The Politico observes.
These days Rose is “a paranoid shell of its former self,” according to Politico. The firm — founded in 1820 — presently employs 32 lawyers, down from 53 attorneys in 1991, when Bill Clinton launched his White House bid.
Within the office, every document is shredded to prevent journalists from rifling through trash for company records. When Hillary announced she was forming an exploratory committee earlier this year, partners sent out e-mails warning lawyers not to speak to the media about Clinton.
The firm does still have a Clinton connection — Rose represents the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, an international non-profit organization.
But only one Rose partner has reportedly contributed to Hillary’s campaign. CEO Steve Joiner gave $250 in March.
Wild Thing's comment..........
The Clintons have left quite a wake everywhere they've been. If she becomes President this country imo will not survive the things she will do. We still have not recovered from what Bill and she did before when they were in the White House. Chinagate, travel gate, FBI files, Rose Law Firm, gate after gate of the many crimes, and the many many deaths of soooooo many that knew the Clinton's.
I will never forget their loathing of our military. During their reign of terror and since I have heard from many soldiers of how they felt about the Clinton's, how they felt about Bill Clinton as their Commander in Chief.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (15)
July 09, 2007
White House Debate Is Rising on Iraq Pullback
All those in our government, Democrats and rino's need to listen to Reagan's speech!!!!
Reagan - A Time For Choosing
In White House, Debate Is Rising on Iraq Pullback
White House officials fear that the last pillars of political support among Senate Republicans for President Bush’s Iraq strategy are collapsing around them, according to several administration officials and outsiders they are consulting. They say that inside the administration, debate is intensifying over whether Mr. Bush should try to prevent more defections by announcing his intention to begin a gradual withdrawal of American troops from the high-casualty neighborhoods of Baghdad and other cities.
Mr. Bush and his aides once thought they could wait to begin those discussions until after Sept. 15, when the top field commander and the new American ambassador to Baghdad are scheduled to report on the effectiveness of the troop increase that the president announced in January. But suddenly, some of Mr. Bush’s aides acknowledge, it appears that forces are combining against him just as the Senate prepares this week to begin what promises to be a contentious debate on the war’s future and financing.
Four more Republican senators have recently declared that they can no longer support Mr. Bush’s strategy, including senior lawmakers who until now had expressed their doubts only privately. As a result, some aides are now telling Mr. Bush that if he wants to forestall more defections, it would be wiser to announce plans for a far more narrowly defined mission for American troops that would allow for a staged pullback, a strategy that he rejected in December as a prescription for defeat when it was proposed by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group.
Gates has been quietly pressing for a pullback that could roughly halve the number of combat brigades now patrolling the most violent sections of Baghdad and surrounding provinces by early next year. The remaining combat units would then take up a far more limited mission of training, protecting Iraq’s borders and preventing the use of Iraq as a sanctuary by Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, a Sunni Arab extremist group that claims to have an affiliation with Osama bin Laden’s network, though the precise relationship is unknown.
President Bush has repeatedly said that he wants as much time as possible for his 30,000-troop increase to show results. And publicly, administration officials insist that the president has no plans for a precipitous withdrawal — but the key word seems to be “precipitous,” and they appear to be recalibrating their message.
Wild Thing's comment.........
The rotation of some units is NOT going according to what we have been told by the DoD,,,Friday,July 13 2007,,, the 2BCT 10th.Mt.Div.will have been in combat for 15 months, They have been told(sometime ago)that their return time is now the middle of November,,,19 months in country,,, Why ? Nobody to replace them,,,Sept 15 is the "push come to shove" date for the iraqi army/etc. ...tipping-point ?,,, The very worst thing to do is a pull-out.
We need to put this situation into perspective:
We have been in Iraq for four years and we lost 3,500 Troops. In four years of WWII, we almost lost 500,000 Troops. During the first twenty one days on Iwo, we averaged a thousand losses a day. We have been in Iraq for four years and lost 3,500 Troops, right? Well, that is the middle of the fourth day on Iwo Jima. 52,000 fell in two years of Korea. Our bloodiest day took place in 4 hours not four years. We saw 22,000 casualties in fours hours at Antietam.
What happened to the words, 'we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival of liberty"?
I'll tell you what happened, the Demorats silenced those words and now a mess of RINOs like Lugar and Domenici are silencing those words. Along with our media, the leaders of the Demoratic Party, and the RINOs need to grow a back bone, pickup a weapon, and stand a post. We need to show our Troops and our enemy resolve.
And just one more thing.....this quote by Reagan ( not from the video)..............
"I don't think you can overstate the importance that the rise of Islamic fundamentalism will have to the rest of the world in the century ahead-especially if, as seems possible, its most fanatical elements get their hands on nuclear and chemical weapons and the means to deliver them against their enemies." --Ronald Reagan
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (16)
National Guard Soldiers Patrol Qarabagh
U.S. Army Sgt. Paul L. Wilkerson, a forward observer with Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 138th Field Artillery Regiment, Kentucky National Guard, pulls security at a school in Mushkay, Afghanistan, June 15, 2007. The unit stopped there during a mounted patrol in the Ghazni province. Army photo by Sgt. Jim Wilt
By U.S. Army Sgt. Jim Wilt
Combined Joint Task Force-82 Public Affairs Office
QARABAGH, Afghanistan, July 2007
“Get down! Get down! Get down!,” yelled Air Force Master Sgt. Jason Davis, an explosive ordnance disposal technician, seconds before shrapnel started raining down on the soldiers and bouncing off their Humvee.
"I pray every time I go out. I pray every night when I lie down."
U.S. Army Spc. Greg A. Race
A day earlier, if not for the warning of a local farmer, the soldiers’ truck would have struck the double-stacked antitank mine.
The warning enabled the soldiers to stop before they hit the mine and safely dispose of it possibly saving their lives and the lives of farmers and children working in the area.
Soldiers from Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 138th Field Artillery Brigade, Kentucky National Guard, were conducting a mounted presence patrol in a village outside Qarabagh when they were warned about mines in the area June 14.
“God is watching over us,” said U.S. Army Spc. Greg A. Race, an artilleryman with Battery A.
Unfortunately the convoy coming to destroy the mines didn’t receive the same warning before they hit a mine on the same road less than a kilometer from the halted patrol. They hit the mine just hours after the first mine was discovered.
The troopers credit the farmer with keeping a bad situation from getting worse.
“Most likely we would have hit that one and they would have hit the other one when they came in to get us,” Race, a native of Piner, Ky., said.
It also shows the impact the troopers are having in an area where people have been scared into silence by the Taliban.
“A farmer stopping and telling you there is something in the road shows we’re having an effect on the area,” Race said.
The Guardsmen have been patrolling in the area since they arrived here in March.
Their squad leader, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Linneman, said they had patrolled the same road just days earlier.
The artillery unit, which is acting as military policemen, has been conducting mounted patrols because “more people see you out and about in the area,” Race said.
Most of the soldiers in the unit prefer a mounted patrol despite the dangers of mines and improvised explosive devices.
“The armor [on the trucks] works,” said U.S. Army Spc. Steven M. LaFever, a track mechanic and native of Louisville, Ky.
Race also sees several advantages to having vehicles during patrols such as having armor, crew-served weapons, and the ability to cover a lot of ground in a short period of time.
“We cover more ground,” he said. “We see a lot more faces."
Though the men of Battery A have armored vehicles, they don’t always use them. They are not afraid to get out of the armor and put a little wear on their boots. During their mounted patrols they stop to talk with the people, investigate suspicious activity and check on reconstruction projects in the area.
Despite the advantages of patrolling in vehicles, the men also know the dangers.
“I pray every time I go out. I pray every night when I lie down,” Race said.
Whether mounted or dismounted, Race sees risk.
“I’m a big believer that if it’s your time, it’s your time,” he said. “I’ve been like that forever.”
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (8)
Dog's Against Romney
Announcement to all dogs
You all know me, I am Sebastian, this is my picture, and my owner, Wild Thing has this blog and she has been into Politics and Supporting our Troops since before I was born. Well I may not be able to vote in the human election but I can tell you that we dogs know when someone is good or bad. And so I have something very important to tell you about for all dog lovers and for everyone that loves America. My big sister, she is a kitty knows this too, but this is for all us dogs cause we are good at chasing a car down, lifting our leg and doing our special growl at bad guys and we can bite too when it is necessary.
This is about the 2008 elections coming up. Yes they are way down the road, but there are times a dog has to do what a dog has to do when we find out about someone that needs to be chased right out of the election. And that would be letting him off easy if you ask me.
But I want to tell you about Mitt Romney. He is the enemy of every dog owner in the land. See I am holding my paw up right now swearing this is the truth. You want to know why, be sure to read the article below. A man like that is the reason dogs run away from home or bite their owners.
A friend of us dogs, his name is Rusty, he has started a blog called Dogs Against Romney. And believe me it is a hit and dogs all across America and their owners are signing up to voice their disgust with Mitt Romney.
All you have to do is get your human to post your picture and your feelings on Mitt Romney, and link the post back to Dogs Against Romney. Hopefully, they will post it for the world to see.
Please join me in the campaign to keep Mitt Romney out of the White House! Spread the word! woof! woof!
No dog or living thing should be treated like this and Mitt Romney's family has bragged about what they did.
Boston, MA (AHN) - Attention has turned from Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's Mormon faith to his mistreatment of animals. Although Romney served as governor of Massachusetts and has been a business leader, a family dog anecdote was what he chose to give as an example of his crisis management skills. And his description of what he did has sparked howls of protest over what some call his cruel treatment of his family's pet.In an interview with the Boston Globe, the politician gave tying the family pooch to the roof of his car during a 12-hour road trip in 1983 as an example of his crisis management skills.
On that trip, Romney, his wife, sons and the family's Irish setter, Seamus, were driving from Boson to Ontario. Romney put Seamus into a dog kennel and tied it on top of his station wagon. He said he had rigged up a windshield to make the dog more comfortable. Whether it was the car's speed, the wind, noise, passing traffic or whatever, at some point during the 12-hour journey Romney's sons began complaining about a brown liquid running down the vehicle's back window.
Romney told the Boston Globe that he remained cool under the trying circumstances, quickly exited the highway, pulled into a service station and used a water hose to rinse the car free of what turned out to be diarrhea from the stressed out dog on the roof. He then thought to blast Seamus with some water to clean the diarrhea off him before pulling back onto the highway and continuing the trip to Canada with the dog still lashed to the station wagon's roof.
* Something.......and Half of Something
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:45 AM | Comments (16)
Sheehan Considers Challenge to Pelosi
CRAWFORD, Texas - Cindy Sheehan, the soldier's mother who galvanized the anti-war movement, said Sunday that she plans to run against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unless she introduces articles of impeachment against President Bush in the next two weeks.
Sheehan said she will run against the San Francisco Democrat in 2008 as an independent if Pelosi does not seek by July 23 to impeach Bush. That's when Sheehan and her supporters are to arrive in Washington, D.C., after a 13-day caravan and walking tour starting next week from the group's war protest site near Bush's Crawford ranch.
"Democrats and Americans feel betrayed by the Democratic leadership," Sheehan told The Associated Press. "We hired them to bring an end to the war. I'm not too far from San Francisco, so it wouldn't be too big of a move for me. I would give her a run for her money."
Sheehan said she lives in a Sacramento suburb but declined to disclose which city, citing safety reasons. The area is outside Pelosi's district, but there are no residency requirements for congressional members, according to the California secretary of state's office.
Messages left with Pelosi's staff were not immediately returned.
Wild Thing's comment..........
Wow.....Hollywierd can’t write stuff like this.
The dignity that eventually comes from withdrawing oneself from the public eye can’t be high on Cindy’s wish list. What next? American Idol? Filling Rosie O’Donnell’s spot on “The View?” Better yet, how about starring in an off-Broadway production of “A Streetcar Named Desire” as fallen Southern belle Blanche Dubois? She could utter the famous line “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers” and they could usher her offstage to the nice room with rubber walls where you can’t hurt yourself, even if you want to.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:44 AM | Comments (14)
July 08, 2007
John Smeaton Kicked Terrorist Butt
Meet John Smeaton: One Kick and He Is The Hero of Glasgow
Airport Baggage Handler 'Just Set Aboot' Attacker; Fans Send Beer Money
GLASGOW -- Last Saturday afternoon, baggage handler John Smeaton was standing in front of Glasgow Airport smoking a cigarette when a Jeep Cherokee burst into flames nearby. He watched its burning driver emerge. A police officer pursued the passenger.
What happened next has turned Mr. Smeaton, 31 years old, into an unlikely folk hero. When he saw the passenger hitting the officer, Mr. Smeaton ran over and kicked the assailant.
Mr. Smeaton has been interviewed on the BBC, CNN and other networks about his response to the attack in which two suspected terrorists attempted to ram into the airport's main terminal.
Mr. Smeaton voiced a defiance that has turned him into a de facto spokesman for Glasgow's fighting spirit. His message to terrorists:
"You come to Glasgow, we don't stand for it," he says. "We'll just set aboot ye." (Translation: "In Glasgow, we'll just deck you.")
As to all the attention he has been getting John Smeaton has described his role more modestly.
"I did nothing special," Mr. Smeaton said. "I just ran in and booted a guy."
Wild Thing's comment........
The terrorists will never know the kind of spirit that exists in people like John Smeaton and many others around the world. People that when an attack happens they react to help others, or do what they can to keep the attack from happening. I am glad when they point out those that do take a stand, that do something like this, it is right in the face for every terrorist to see how much appreciated it is. And how that spirit cannot be killed off ever.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (14)
Man Robs Bank Disguised As Tree ~ LOL
Man Robs Bank Disguised As Tree
Police are looking for a man who robbed the Citizen's Bank on Elm Street in Manchester, New Hampshire on Saturday disguised as a tree!
The man walked into the bank with tree branches duct taped to his body and demanded money from the teller. The teller filled the bag with cash and the suspect took off. A dye pack inside the bag exploded.
Manchester Police describe the man as a white male, between 45 and 50 years old, wearing glasses and a blue shirt. ...and tree branches.
Wild Thing's comment............
LMAO I can't help it. I am so sorry he robbed the bank that is awful. But.........
OK............I can't resist............... awful puns to follow.............. hahahaha
* I’m going to go out on a limb here and say this guy isn't right.
* His last words as he walked out of the bank were reportedly, “I’m going to make like a tree and leave.”
* I bet it won’t take the cops long to root this guy out.
* He had to be seen to be believed be leaved!
* Did he say, this is a stick up? Or.......“Give me all of your carbon dioxide!”
* Bark is worse than his bite.
Ok I am done, I feel better now. hahahahahaha Nick is much better at puns than I am. LOL
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (20)
M15 Says Eight Police Officers and Civilian Staff With Links To Al Qaeda
Eight Al Qaeda fanatics working for the police (but they don't dare sack them)
Daily Mail
Up to eight police officers and civilian staff are suspected of links to extremist groups including Al Qaeda.
Some are even believed to have attended terror training camps in Pakistan or Afghanistan. Their names feature on a secret list of alleged radicals said to be working in the Metropolitan and other forces.
The dossier was drawn up with the help of MI5 amid fears that individuals linked to Islamic extremism are taking advantage of police attempts to increase the proportion of ethnic staff. The MI5 list of suspected Islamists working in the police is said to have been drawn up in the aftermath of the 7/7 terror attacks in London.
Astonishingly, many of the alleged jihadists have not been sacked because - it is claimed - police do not have the "legal power" to dismiss them. We can also reveal that one suspected jihadist officer working in the South East has been allowed to keep his job despite being caught circulating Internet images of beheadings and roadside bombings in Iraq.
He is said to have argued that he was trying to "enhance" debate about the war.
It is widely feared that "long-term" Al Qaeda sleepers are trying to infiltrate other public sector organisations in the UK.
In November last year, it was revealed that a leading member of an extremist Islamic group was working as a senior official at the Home Office.
MI5 has warned in the past that suspects with "strong links" to Osama Bin Laden's killers have tried to join the British security services and, in January, exiled radical Omar Bakri claimed that Islamic extremists were infiltrating the police and other public sector organisations.
Suspicions are growing that the gang behind the failed London bomb attacks could have received inside information about rescue procedures in the aftermath of an atrocity in the capital.
Wild Thing's comment.........
This is so nuts to let this happen. They know that the enemy are in the police, the military etc.Oh My gosh! PC is the weapon of choice for the enemy. They hide behind it, use it, rub it in the face of the world to set themselves up to destroy all of us. This may be an article about the UK but I have to wonder if it is also happening here too.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (13)
July 07, 2007
Yusuf (Formerly Cat Stevens) To Perform at Live Earth
Yusuf (Formerly Cat Stevens) will appear in Hamburg while rapper/actor Xzibit has signed on for Tokyo and electronica artist Kenna will perform in the US.
Other acts scheduled to appear in Hamburg are Chris Cornell, Shakira and Snoop Dogg. The Tokyo roster also offers Abingdon Boys School, Rihanna and Linkin Park, while Live Earth New York will present Dave Matthews Band, The Police, Smashing Pumpkins, Alicia Keys And Bon Jovi, among others. The Live Earth concerts will take place in 7 continents.
Country couple Garth Brooks and Tricia Yearwood will headline a show tomorrow in Washington on the National Mall. ( billboard magazine)
Live Earth was inspired and is backed by former Vice President Al Gore's campaign to force global warming onto the international political agenda by generating a groundswell of public concern.
Organizers say the concerts will be as green as possible, with a tally of energy use being kept. Proceeds from ticket sales will go toward distributing power-efficient light bulbs and other measures that will offset the shows' greenhouse gas emissions, they say.
"This is going to be the greenest event of its kind, ever," Gore told the Associated Press recently. "The carbon offsets and the innovative practices that are being used to make this a green event, I think, will set the standard for years to come."
Wild Thikng's comment..........
LMAO they are gonig to buy some lightbulbs with the proceeds. I can't help it this is just so funny to me.
So, this gains exactly what for the planet? Will the 800 years of warming (way before pollution) stop? Will Al Gore’s gigantic environmental footprint decrease? Will they leave the arenas as clean as they found them? Why do I feel like this is political posturing gone out of control? Global warming is a fallacy. What the heck is wrong with people that they’d believe some greasy loonie toon like Gore instead of NASA scientists?
I could be wrong, but I have a feeling this is as good as it gets for Al Gore. Pretty soon this whole swindle will implode, and Gore with it.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (17)
In Country With America's Heroes
U.S. Army Spc. Justin Emrich inspects the M-240B machine gun on a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter prior to take off at Bagram Airfield in the Parwan province of Afghanistan on June 29, 2007. Emrich is assigned to the General Aviation Support Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Michael Bracken, U.S. Army
1-30th Infantry brings in wanted suspect
BAGHDAD — An insurgent on the Multi-National Division-Center’s wanted list was captured June 2.
Soldiers from Company B, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, captured the man during a raid in the Arab Jabour area. The man is a prominent member of a local terrorist cell that obtained and transported improvised explosive devices, IED-making materials, mortars, and sniper rifles in the Arab Jabour area.
JALALABAD AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Few things are as frightening on the battlefield as incoming artillery. But these essential assets are more than loud bangs heard sporadically on the forward operating bases in eastern Afghanistan. The “king of battle,” as artillery is called, has become increasingly important.
Everything from the incredibly unforgiving terrain to the ability of insurgents to dissipate into the civilian population has made clear the significance of indirect fire support.
“In this fight, fire support is very important,” said 1st Lt. Duane Mantle, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry (Airborne) assistant fires support officer, from Warren, N.J. “As soon as we make contact, the first thing the Soldiers look for is to bring in fires on the enemy.”
Although the manner in which wars are fought today are different from past wars in many respects, the adaptability of the 155mm Howitzers of Battery B, 4th Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, on Forward Operating Base Blessing and other indirect assets providing support to paratroopers based along the Pech River Valley, has been proven extensively in just a short time after arriving in theater about a month ago.
“It’s not like the previous wars when they lined up and we would mow them down,” said Mantle. “Fires have a lot of different effects. When we fire the 155s from here, the enemy doesn’t hear the round coming in. It immediately puts the enemy on the defensive and has a tremendous demoralizing effect.”
The rounds can also be used to fix enemy combatants.
“That’s a huge part of this conflict, separating them from the population, but we can do it when they are on a ridge firing on us,” said Mantle.
As artillery is called in, it disrupts the enemy’s movement or causes them to seek cover, providing U.S. or Afghan forces a variety of options.
The Soldiers, who man the guns at FOB Blessing, understand the impact they have placing timely and accurate fires on the enemy. It is a job they take seriously for good reason.
“Last deployment we had a fire mission to support some troops in contact,” said Sgt. Stephen Murphy of Bravo Battery’s 2nd Platoon, a native of Berwick, Penn. who had just finished a fire mission with his section. “One of the Soldiers who was there came to us afterwards and said we had saved his life. He even showed us pictures of his family. I was like ‘Roger. I’ll be faster next time.’”
Just hours later, the 155mm Howitzers at FOB Blessing pounded the mountains of the Pech River Valley in support of multiple fire fights. Within a few hours, the battery had fired 111 rounds simultaneously supporting three separate sites.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (6)
White House Conference on the Americas
Special Briefing on Upcoming White House Conference on the Americas
Thomas A. Shannon, Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Washington, DC
July 6, 2007(4:00 p.m. EDT)
ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHANNON: "Thank you all for coming. This is actually a test to see how many people were here on a Friday afternoon at 4:00 p.m., but we appreciate your presence. We just really wanted -- very briefly wanted to let you all know something that you're probably aware of already, but on Monday, July 9th, the President and Mrs. Bush will host a White House Conference on the Americas at the Hyatt Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, Virginia.
This conference will bring together voluntary organizations, nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, and foundations to discuss and highlight the vast array of societal interaction between the United States and its neighbors to better the lives of the region's citizens. You might recall that the President indicated that he would call such a conference during his March 5th speech at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce before his trip to the region.
And in that speech, the President said, and I'll quote, "Today, the most important ties between North and South America are not government to government, hey are people to people. And these ties are growing. These ties are growing because of our churches and faith-based institutions, which understand that the call to love our neighbors as ourselves does not stop at our borders."
And the conference itself will highlight the themes of that speech. The topics will include investing in education, strengthening healthcare, expanding economic opportunity at the grassroots level, and building public-private partnerships. It will look at how we, as a country, government, private sector, and ordinary citizens work together with our neighbors to better their lives and advance the cause of social justice in the Americas. Representatives of approximately 150 regional-based organizations and approximately 70 U.S.-based groups have been invited to attend the event.
The President will open the conference by participating in a conversation with a selection of invitees from the hemisphere and the United States about their experiences helping the region's citizens. The First Lady will give the keynote address during lunch and the conference will have participation from a variety of cabinet members. Under Secretary Hughes, Under Secretary Fore, and other State Department officials will participate in the program.
Again, as I mentioned, this is a conference that the President had foreshadowed in his earlier speech. As the President's trip was all about how our engagement in the region was focused on the region's social agenda: on fighting poverty, fighting inequality, and fighting social exclusion and how our political engagement and our foreign assistance was directed at that agenda.
This conference is really designed to show that it's not just the United States Government that is connecting with the region in response to this social agenda and in pursuit of social justice, but that it's the United States as a society which is engaging the region.
But more importantly, that the region itself is engaging with us and engaging among the different countries in the region and that there really is what Secretary Rice, in a speech she gave at the Council of the Americas event, referred to as an alliance of peoples, and that the degree of interaction and assistance from the private sector, from faith-based institutions, from civil society, and from charities is profound in the region.
And in the Western Hemisphere, as in other parts of the world, economists estimate that for every one dollar of official development assistance, there is about four dollars of unofficial or private development assistance coming from churches, coming from universities, coming from private sector groups. And this is a profound wellspring of support for the cause of social justice in the region, but I think it highlights the resources that are available, but also how we need to kind of bring this up, kind of allow it to emerge -- you know, from -- in the public view so people have a better understanding of it, better understanding of the connections that exist within the region, and also that these groups themselves begin to develop contact with each other so they can share best practices and in appropriate ways, work together to channel their resources."
from Wild Thing .>>>>.......If you want to continue on for the rest of the briefing it is questions and answers, and also very telling as well. Just CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE BREIFING...... from the U.S. Department of State.
Wild Thing's comment..........
...........work together with our neighbors to better their lives and advance the cause of social justice in the Americas......This conference is really designed to show that it's not just the United States Government that is connecting with the region in response to this social agenda and in pursuit of social justice, but that it's the United States as a society which is engaging the region........
Oh, there's that most favorite buzz phrase of the Socialists and Communists. "Social Justice."
This is why the ILLEGAL Amnesty bill had to pass so fast!!! I bet there was a scheduled meeting with Kennedy & McCain to present the new bill to this group and show how much the US loves its neighbors.
And here is the schedule for the day for the White House Conference on the America's.
And just this that I have to add to this post.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (9)
Population Consequences of All U.S. Immigration
Roy Beck's celebrated demonstration of the population consequences of current U.S. immigration policies has entertained and shocked ... audiences across the country. This video is packed with the facts and analysis that make moral and practical sense of a complex and highly contentious issue.
Wild Thing's comment.........
This video takes 14 minutes, it is extremely informative and I also thought very scary. If we had a real media that wanrted to inform people it should be shown on the news on all channels.
....Thank you Jack of Conservative Insurgent blog for the link to this.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:40 AM | Comments (5)
July 06, 2007
Temps Top 100 in West From Heat Wave ~ Hello It's Summer!!
Temps Top 100 in West From Heat Wave
( AP )
Tourists walk in the shade to avoid the sunlight in Las Vegas, Thursday, July 5, 2007. A heat wave...
BOISE, Idaho - Sweltering residents across the West headed for lakes and rivers on Thursday, seeking relief from triple-digit temperatures expected to set records through at least Friday.
Around Las Vegas - where temperatures reached 109 degrees before 1 p.m. Thursday - transformers were overheating and causing electrical pole fires because of all the people switching on their air conditioners, said Scott Allison with the Clark County Fire Department.
In Montana, farmers anxiously watched their crops and thermometers. High temperatures for a handful of days can harm crop yield.
"Prolonged heat is devastating. Four or five days of it is going to be hard," said wheat farmer Lynn Nordwick near Poplar, Mont.
At least 150,000 people were expected to flock to the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada and Arizona in hopes of cooling off in the water this weekend, said Roxanne Dey, recreation area spokeswoman.
"For some people, we're the only affordable alternative for a place to cool off," Dey said.
In Phoenix, which hit 115 Thursday, 42-year-old laborer Russ Waldrip wiped sweat from his face as he unloaded large windows from the back of a truck.
"When it gets this hot I pour water over my head all day," Waldrip said. "Sometimes I can't wait to jump in the pool, but I don't even have the energy to do that."
Wild Thing's comment.......
LOL this is just too funny. I have heard Rush Limbaugh tell about how the Dems and the Media have to make people panic, how so many things are presented in a " the world is ending " kind of approach. Everything is a drama with the left and this is just another one of those times.
Sure it is HOT outside, it is summer for pete's sake. I have been in Las Vegas when it was 117 degrees. Within 2 seconds of being out of a pool my bikini was dry. Same with Nick and his swimtrunks. When even the lifeguards at the pool for the hotel were not around because it was way too hot and few people were even attempting to sit outside. They even tell you there that the testes heat inside a car in Las Vegas in the summer can get up 10 160 degrees, if the doors and windows are closed and no air on. No wonder when out and about running errands there a person feels like there head will explode when they get back in the car. We lived there for a few years and I can tell you this is for real about the 160 inside a car like that.
New York in the summer, I have been there when it was 108 in the summer, and maybe it has been even hotter then that as well.
California heck I lived there for many years and we had it so hot and muggy that one could hardly breath when outside.
This heat wave is nothing new, but the media will play it up like it is the most important news item there is.
One would think they have no other news stories when we KNOW THEY DO.
They could be telling us about our troops, wonderful, awesome stories about them. But nooooooooo that would mean they supported them and if they did that they would choke!!
So stay cool, have a cold drink, stay indoors if possible with air conditioning, put your feet up and enjoy life. The weekend is here and we live in America, how much better can life be!!!
If the media wants to talk about heat they should do stories on how HOT HOT HOT it is in Iraq and Afghanistan for our troops. Think about wearing 80 plus pounds of equipment, riding in a non air conditioned Humvee or just walking around with those 80 plus pounds of equipment on in that heat. They deserve a medal just for that alone or for starters for sure!!!!!!
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 PM | Comments (17)
"I've 'fallen out of love with politics" ~ Gore
Gore: I've 'fallen out of love with politics'
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Former Vice President Al Gore said he has "fallen out of love with politics" and has no intentions of running for office again.
When asked why he wouldn't run for president again -- when presumably a president could shape an agenda to fight global warming -- Gore said those in power must have the support of the people to make it work.
"The key players are the American people," he said. "When the American people have the awareness of what this means for their children, and for their grandchildren, that all of civilization is at risk here, then they will demand that whoever is running for office, whoever is elected to serve, will have to respond to this."
Despite Gore's stance, many grassroots movements, with Web sites such as AlGore.org and draftgore2008.org, are trying persuade him to run.
"Americans from every corner of our nation are calling on you," reads a petition on Draftgore.com. "Please listen to our plea and run for the Democratic nomination for the presidency of the United States in 2008." The petition has has nearly 100,000 signatures.
"I've kind of fallen out of love with politics. ...Whatever experience and talents I've gained over the years -- I think it may well be that the highest and best use of that is to try to bring enough awareness of the solutions to the climate crisis and enough of a sense of urgency that we come together across party lines on behalf of our children," Gore said.
Wild Thing's comment..............
I guess he found out that selling B.S. to liberals is much more profitable. hahahaha
I will never forget how he had to bring in Donna Brazile to instrust him on how to be macho. LMAO too funny. I bet Hillary is happy about this decision of Gore's.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (21)
UK Mosques by Saudi Wahabbism
Wild Thing's comment........
This is the first video in a series of six. Each one telling details of the mosques in the UK. I suppose they could do similar videos of the mosques right here in the USA and see much of the same kind of thing going on.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (4)
Captain Richards Dubbed Them The Kit Carson Scouts
G.I.’s Forge Sunni Tie in Bid to Squeeze Militants
BAQUBA, Iraq, June 30 — Capt. Ben Richards had been battling insurgents from Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia for three weeks when he received an unexpected visitor.
Abu Ali walked into the Americans’ battle-scarred combat outpost with an unusual proposal: the community leader was worried about the insurgents, and wanted the soldiers’ help in taking them on.
The April 7 meeting was the beginning of a new alliance and, American commanders hope, a portent of what is to come in the bitterly contested Diyala Province.
Using his Iraqi partners to pick out the insurgents and uncover the bombs they had seeded along the cratered roads, Captain Richards’s soldiers soon apprehended more than 100 militants, including several low-level emirs.
The Iraqis called themselves the Local Committee; Captain Richards dubbed them the Kit Carson scouts.
“It is the only way that we can keep Al Qaeda out,” said Captain Richards, who operates from a former Iraqi police station in the Buhritz sector of the city that still bears the sooty streaks from the day militants set it aflame last year.
The American military has struggled for more than four years to train and equip the Iraqi Army. But here the local Sunni residents, including a number of former insurgents from the 1920s Revolution Brigades, have emerged as a linchpin of the American strategy.
The new coalition reflects some hard-headed calculations on both sides. Eager for intelligence on their elusive foes, American officers have been willing to overlook the past of some of their newfound allies.
Many Sunnis, for their part, are less inclined to see the soldiers as occupiers now that it is clear that American troop reductions are all but inevitable, and they are more concerned with strengthening their ability to fend off threats from Sunni jihadists and Shiite militias. In a surprising twist, the jihadists — the Americans’ most ardent foes — made the new strategy possible. Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, a predominantly Iraqi organization with a small but significant foreign component, severely overplayed its hand, spawning resentment by many residents and other insurgent groups.
Imposing a severe version of Islamic law, the group installed its own clerics, established an Islamic court and banned the sale of cigarettes, which even this week were nowhere to be found in the humble shops in western Baquba to the consternation of patrolling Iraqi troops.
The fighters raised funds by kidnapping local Iraqis, found accommodations by evicting some residents from their homes and killed with abandon when anyone got in their way, residents say. A small group of bearded black-clad militants took down the Iraqi flag and raised the banner of their self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq.
“They used religion as a ploy to get in and exploit people’s passions,” said one member of the Kit Carson scouts, who gave his name as Haidar. “They were Iraqis and other Arabs from Syria, Afghanistan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. They started kicking people out of their houses and getting ransom from rich people. They would shoot people in front of their houses to scare the others.”
Collaborations like the one with the scouts in Baquba are slowly beginning to emerge in other parts of Iraq. In Baquba they face some notable obstacles, primarily from the Shiite-dominated provincial and Baghdad ministries that are worried about American efforts to rally the Sunnis and institutionalize them as a security force.
But with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s government showing scant progress toward political reconciliation and the American military eager to achieve a measure of stability before its elevated troop levels begin to shrink, American commanders appear determined to proceed with this more decentralized strategy — one that relies less on initiatives taken by Iraqi leaders in Baghdad and more on newly forged coalitions with local Iraqis.
A West Point graduate, Idaho native and former Mormon missionary who worked for two years with Chinese immigrants in Canada, Captain Richards commands Bronco Troop, First Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment. When the 31-year-old officer was first sent to Buhritz in mid-March as part of a battalion-size task force, he encountered a deeply entrenched foe who numbered in the thousands.
Many of the members of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia were ensconced in a sprawling palm grove-laden sanctuary south of Baquba and east of the Diyala River. The area, which is still under the group’s control, is still so replete with arms caches, insurgent leaders, fighters and their supporters that American soldiers have taken to calling it the Al Qaeda Fob, or forward operating base in American military jargon.
The insurgents also had a firm grip on the city, the provincial capital of Diyala, which Abu Musab al-Zarqawi made the center of his self-styled Islamic caliphate before he was killed in an airstrike near Baquba last year. The key supply and communications lines between the insurgents’ rural staging area and the city ran through the Buhritz, making it vital ground for Al Qaeda.
The militants’ hold on the region was facilitated, senior American officers now acknowledge, by American commanders’ decision to draw down forces in the province in 2005 in the hopes of shifting most of the responsibility for securing the region onto the Iraqis. That strategy backfired when the Iraqi authorities appointed overly sectarian Shiite army and police regional commanders, alienating the largely Sunni population, and otherwise showed themselves unable to safeguard the area.
“Up until Captain Richards went in and met the 1920s guys, we fought,” recalled Lt. Col. Mo Goins, the commander of the First Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, which held the line in Baquba until reinforcements began to arrive in March. “That is what we did. Small arms. Mortars. I.E.D’s.”
Captain Richards’s soldiers arrived in Buhritz in mid-March as part of a battalion-sized operation. Unlike many earlier operations, the Americans showed up in force and did not quickly withdraw. The residents saw an opportunity to challenge Al Qaeda, and for a week, the two sides battled it out in the streets.
Initially, the Americans stood on the sidelines, concerned that they might be witnessing a turf fight among insurgents and militias. “We were not sure what was going on,” Captain Richards recalled. “We were not sure we could trust the people not to turn on us afterwards.”
But after the militants gained the upper hand and more than 1,000 residents began to flee on foot, the Americans moved to prevent the militants from establishing their control throughout the neighborhood. The soldiers called in an airstrike, which demolished a local militant headquarters.
The meeting between the residents and the Americans was Abu Ali’s initiative. The locals wanted ammunition to carry on their fight. Captain Richards had another proposal: the residents should tip off the Americans on which Iraqis belonged to Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia and where they had buried their bombs.
At first, no more than a dozen of the several hundred Sunnis who were taking on the militants served as Kit Carson scouts, but they made a vital difference. Unlike Anbar Province, where the American military has formed similar alliances, Diyala lacks a cohesive tribal structure. Nor did another Sunni insurgent group, the 1920s Revolution Brigades, deliver fighters en masse.
Even so, some of the main obstacles that the Americans have faced in institutionalizing the arrangement with the scouts have come from the United States’ ostensible allies in the Iraqi government. According to Captain Richards, the provincial police chief, Maj. Gen. Ghanen al-Kureshi, repeatedly resisted efforts to hire the local Sunnis.
Captain Richards rejected a group of Shiite police recruits from Baghdad, fearing they might be penetrated by Shiite militias. Determined to get his scouts hired, he loaded 50 scouts and other residents on his Stryker vehicles and drove them to the provincial headquarters over the insurgent-threatened roads.
Today, the police number only 170, a fraction of the police force in adjoining areas. The small police force, made up of scouts and Sunni residents, was provided with only two trucks, seven radios and a paltry supply of ammunition that the Sunni residents have managed to supplement by buying ammunition on the black market from corrupt Interior Ministry officials in Baghdad. Another 150 scouts participate as unpaid monitors in a neighborhood watch program to guard key routes in and out of the area that Captain Richards oversees.
“The people in the community think that he is actively trying to prevent the Buhritz police from establishing themselves because the Shia government does not want a legitimate Sunni security force in Diyala Province,” Captain Richards said, referring to General Ghanen, the provincial police chief.
Colonel Goins had a more charitable view of the provincial chief’s actions, saying that he was coping with personnel and weapons shortages, as well as Interior Ministry guidance to build up the force in other areas. “Right now, his resources are extremely limited,” Colonel Goins said.
The new police and neighborhood watch monitors appear to work well with the local Iraqi Army unit and police officials. But a local Iraqi Army commander expressed doubts that the scouts, in uniform or not, amounted to a disciplined, military unit that could take and hold ground.
During a quick visit to two villages, Guam and Abu Faad, the Americans and their Iraqi allies tried to persuade welcoming but still wary residents that they needed to overcome their fears of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia and provide tips for their own security.
The American military is trying to expand the alliance into the western sector of the city, which a Stryker brigade recently wrested back from Qaeda militants. During the recent American assault in the western sector, soldiers from Blackhawk Company got a glimpse of an alliance the Americans hope to see. An Iraqi seemingly emerged from nowhere, announced himself as a member of the 1920s Revolution Brigades and warned the soldiers that insurgents could be found on the far side of a sand berm around the corner. The tip was accurate.
Wild Thing's comment...........
This is long but very interesting and informative.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:40 AM | Comments (8)
July 05, 2007
Gore's Son Arrested ~ Another Sad Consequence Of Global Warming
Al Gore's Son Arrested on Drug Suspicion
LAGUNA NIGUEL, California (AP) - Al Gore's son was pulled over for speeding on a California freeway early Wednesday and arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana and prescription drugs, authorities said.
Al Gore III, 24, was driving a blue Toyota Prius about 100 mph south on the San Diego Freeway when he was pulled over by sheriff's deputies who said they smelled marijuana, said Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino.
The deputies searched the car and found less than an ounce of marijuana along with Xanax, Valium, Vicodin and Adderall, which is used for attention deficit disorder, Amormino said.
"He does not have a prescription for any of those drugs," Amormino said.
Gore was being held in the men's central jail in Santa Ana on $20,000 bail.
Wild Thing's comment..........
Luckily he didn’t kill anyone, but if he had, democrats and the MSM would have said; “So sad, young AlGore jr. is the real victim.” Same way they treated Patrick Kennedy, that brainless drunk.
Gore's son has a history of this. <<< click to article
Maybe instead of so many trips and speaking engagements for his Global Warming Gore needs to do some one on one with his son.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (18)
It Was Golf or Special Ops for Tiger Woods
Ty Boley, 12, receives hands-on instruction on his golf swing from Tiger Woods during an April 16 golf clinic at Stryker Golf Course at Fort Bragg, N.C. Tiger Woods spent his time instructing the children of the military.
It Was Golf or Special Ops for Tiger Woods
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 3, 2007 – If Tiger Woods weren't a professional golfer, he'd probably be a member of the military's special operations community, Woods told reporters today at the Congressional Country Club here today.
"I told Dad if I didn't make it (as a golfer) in the first few years, that's probably where I'd go," he said. "I'd probably end up going into the military - and I don't know what branch - but I'd certainly want to be in the special operations community."
Indeed, Woods underwent four days of Army special operations training at Fort Bragg, N.C., in conjunction with a golf clinic he hosted there in April 2004. Woods' late father, Earl Woods, wore the Green Beret for 12 years as a Special Forces soldier during his 20-year Army career.
"That just seems to be more of a fit considering what I grew up with, and I certainly understand it and can relate to it," Tiger said. "But somehow I ended up here. I made a couple putts in those years."
Woods is hosting the AT&T National golf tournament here July 3-8. Besides "getting a W" - or winning the tournament - Woods said honoring the men and women serving America was one of his overarching goals as the event's host.
Tomorrow morning, the world's top-rated professional golfer will play a practice round, called the Earl Woods Memorial Pro-Am, with pairings that include Army Sgt. Maj. Mia Kelly and Air Force Master Sgt. Andrew Amor.
Woods said he is excited about playing alongside the servicemembers.
"I'm really looking forward to it," he said. "I've seen their bios, but I haven't met anyone yet, so I'm really looking forward to that, and hopefully I won't get beat too bad."
The golfer said that when he turned 10 years old, he began to play on military golf courses, using his status as a "military dependent."
"I had my little card, and I could flash that and get on the golf course," he said. "The only frustrating thing was a lot of military bases had an age limit of 10. I thought I could play before that."
Woods has since hit the links on many of America's military courses, and he especially likes the Air Force Academy's course in Colorado Springs, Colo., he said.
As a tribute to golf fans in the military, Woods has arranged for tournament sponsors to distribute 30,000 free tickets to active U.S. military personnel. Those attending will be able to enjoy the view from a special seating gallery, and snack on discounted concessions after showing military identification.
"I know I can't serve with them, but I just want to say, 'Thank you' in some way, and this is our way of being able to do that," he said.
"Even though my dad was retired, I basically grew up on a military base, and just understanding the commitment that it takes each and every day, for the service men and women, what they do for us, I just think that it was something that should be honored," Woods said.
America Supports You: Tiger Woods to Honor Soldiers, Families
America Supports You: Tiger Woods to Honor Servicemembers
Tiger Woods Trains, Hosts Golf Clinic at Fort Bragg
Wild Thing's comment.............
I was so glad to see this story. I don't watch Golf but I am always thrilled when our athletes appreciate our military. Heck when anyone does I love it!
I have always thought it would be awesome to gather together athletes from across our country and schedule trips to visit the troops. Similar to what the USO does only make this specifically athletes in all sports including swimmers, baseball, football, soccer, basketball, hockey, boxing, wrestling, extreme fighting etc. Every sport and take them to Iraq and Afghanistan and all the places around the world our troops are stationed, and deployed to.
Also schedule events at VA hospitals and Veterans groups. And classrooms of the children on our bases.
Sports have off seasons for some of them and the others have breaks that the athlete has to take, so scheduling would not be that hard once a commitment is made and funding is provided.
Many of our athletes are the same age as those serving in the military and let's face it, the freedom our athletes have to do what they do is brought to them with the high price of our service men and women and our Veterans.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (11)
Lets not and say we did! ~ US Senate to open with Hindu prayers!
US Senate to open with Hindu prayers
History will be created when a Hindu prayer will be recited at the opening of the US Senate in Washington DC on July 12.
Rajan Zed, a Hindu chaplain, said that he had been officially asked to say the prayer. He said he believes this may be the first time any Hindu prayer is delivered in the Senate since its formation in 1789.
Zed is likely to choose the prayer from the Rig Veda, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad-Gita. He said he plans to start and end the prayer with 'Om', the mystical Hindu syllable. The full text of the prayer will be included in the Congressional Record.
There are an estimated two million Indian Americans in the US.
Followers of Hindu groups like ISKCON may add up to another one million.
“July 12 will be an illustrious day for all Americans and a memorable day for Indian Americans when prayers from ancient Hindu scriptures will be read in the great hall of democracy,” Zed said.
Wild Thing's comment........
Seems as though every religion is welcome here in this country except for that of the founders. With some wanting to take IN God We Trust off our money, One Nation Under God off our Pledge........ etc. What a slap in the face to the one true God, the Judeo Christian God. I think it is to push actual American culture aside in favor of the 3rd world.
"He said he plans to start and end the prayer with 'Om', the mystical Hindu syllable."
Just using my imagination here for a bit thinking what it will sound like to hear the Senate all saying " OM" in a low monotone voice.................OMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (10)
July 04, 2007
U.S. Birthday 231 Years Old and 300 Million Invited
U.S. throws birthday party, over 300 million people invited
.
Guests of Honor: All Veterans and our Troops today
.
.
.
~~ Music for this special day! ~~
~Aaron Tippen~ The Stars and Stripes and The Eagle Flies
Ron & Kay Rivoli - Press One For English
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (11)
Happy Independence Day America!
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighboring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments :
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Some of my dear friends that are celebrating Independence Day
* Beth at Blue Star Chronicles
* Raven at And Rightly So
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (7)
Thank You Cal Thomas
Cal Thomas is saying the right and true thing here
Wild Thing's comment..........
Good for him we need more of this kind of thing. People speaking out and saying the truth how it is and how things should be.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (6)
July 03, 2007
Brown: Don't Say Terrorists Are Muslims ~ Goodbye England!
BROWN: DON'T SAY TERRORISTS ARE MUSLIMS
Daily Express
Gordon Brown has banned ministers from using the word “Muslim” in connection with the terrorism crisis.
The Prime Minister has also instructed his team – including new Home Secretary Jacqui Smith – that the phrase “war on terror” is to be dropped.
The shake-up is part of a fresh attempt to improve community relations and avoid offending Muslims, adopting a more “consensual” tone than existed under Tony Blair.
However, the change provoked claims last night that ministers are indulging in yet more political correctness.
The sudden shift in tone emerged in comments by Mr Brown and Ms Smith in the wake of the failed attacks in London and Glasgow.
Mr Brown’s spokesman acknowledged yesterday that ministers had been given specific guidelines to avoid inflammatory language.
“There is clearly a need to strike a consensual tone in relation to all communities across the UK,” the spokesman said. “It is important that the country remains united.”
He confirmed that the phrase “war on terror” – strongly associated with Mr Blair and US President George Bush – has been dropped.
Officials insist that no direct links with Muslim extremists have been publicly confirmed by police investigating the latest attempted terror attacks. Mr Brown himself did not refer to Muslims or Islam once in a BBC TV interview on Sunday. Ms Smith also avoided any such reference in her statement to MPs yesterday.
She said: “Let us be clear – terrorists are criminals, whose victims come from all walks of life, communities and religions. Terrorists attack the values shared by all law-abiding citizens. As a Government, as communities, as individuals, we need to ensure that the message of the terrorists is rejected.”
Tory backbencher Philip Davies said: “I don’t know what purpose is served by this. I don’t think we need pussyfoot around when talking about terrorism.”
Wild Thing's comment...........
In the face of the attempted attacks last week, this type of thing will only embolden the Muslim/Islamic Terrorists. ONce again we see the difference in elecred officials and leaders. Brown is NO leader and never will be.
How about if we close our eyes the terrorists won't see us!
“Officials insist that no direct links with Muslim extremists have been publicly confirmed...”
Let’s see here.... 27-year-old Muhammad Haneef, was arrested late Monday .... Authorities identified Bilal Abdulla, as the other man arrested.... A man arrested late Saturday on a highway in central England Mohammed Jamil Abdelqader Asha... nahhhh....
Let's see should we now call it the ""Scuffle with Men Who Don't Like Us."
England is finished. People like Gordon will finally understand only after Sharia rules and their necks are all under Islam’s blade
Posted by Wild Thing at 01:44 PM | Comments (24)
Chertoff Keeps Throwing Hissy Fit
Chertoff rebukes Congress over bill
Washington Times
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff yesterday scolded senators for failing to pass an immigration bill with new border and interior enforcement tools, refused to commit to spending the $4.4 billion in border security President Bush said is needed, and said the onus is now on Congress to pass something.
"We're going to say to the members of Congress who think they have a better way that they should produce legislation and pass legislation, which they have not done for the past two years," Mr. Chertoff said on "Fox News Sunday."
"They've tried 'enforcement-only.' That didn't pass. We've tried 'comprehensive.' That's stalled. I think it's now time for Congress, which has the power to legislate, to make a determination about how it wants to help us solve this problem," he said.
When pressed by host Chris Wallace about the $4.4 billion that Mr. Bush vowed during the immigration-bill debate to spend on border security, Mr. Chertoff said that money was to have come from fines paid under the bill's legalization program and thus said funding border security is now Congress' problem.
"Well, we've submitted a budget. We submitted a comprehensive immigration plan. We agreed on $4.4 billion, which was going to be secured by the payments made by the illegals, so it would not bust the budget. In the absence of that plan, I think now those who have a better way ought to come forward with that better way," he said.
"We're going to continue to enforce the law. It's going to be tough," Michael Chertoff said. "We don't really have the ability to enforce the law with respect to illegal work in this country in a way that's truly effective."
.
Wild Thing's comment...........
The Homeland Security says he can't enforce our laws....pinch me so I can wake up from this nightmare!!! If you can’t enforce American laws in America, what are we doing in Iraq? This is NOT rocket science and the answers are simple. A child can understand about laws when explained to them, but not the head of Homeland Security or Bush or Kennedy or any of the nitwits that want us to cave in to the Illegals.
Can you imagine someone in Chertoff's position be so bound and determined to encourage illegals to stay, to come in to our country, well we have in this Chertoff character.
Michael Chertoff said. "We don't really have the ability to enforce the law with respect to illegal work in this country in a way that's truly effective."
Then, let's get someone who can! grow a bit tired of hearing what we can't do. You have to try, really try, and might just be surprised at what 'WE' can do.
Following this gutless logic we should eliminate laws against murder and robbery and all other crimes because they STILL occur despite the laws against them, right?
Wonder if he would mind his local police department thinking the same way when it comes to enforcing the laws protecting him from daily crime? After all, it goes on all around him regardless.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (12)
Suspect In First WTC Bombing To Be Speaker in Hartford, Conn.
Suspect In Frrst WTC Bombing To Be Speaker in Hartford, Conn. this Sunday, July 8th, 2007
Siraj Wahhaj (Wahaj)
Former National Board member of CAIR
Some things he has said........
"In time, this so-called democracy will crumble, and there will be nothing. And the only thing that will remain will be Islam."
"If Allah says stone them to death, through the Prophet Muhammad, then you stone them to death, because it's the obedience of Allah and his messenger -- nothing personal.”
One of the unindicted co-conspirators of the FIRST WTC bombing, Siraj Wahhaj, will be a speaker at a local Islamic Conference to be held THIS SUNDAY in Hartford, Connecticut.
Wahhaj's name was placed on the U.S. Attorney's list of potential co-conspirators to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Wahhaj, soon after, served as a witness for Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, the spiritual leader of the attack, during the bombing trial.
Wahhaj is Amir (President) of the Muslim Alliance of North America (MANA), an organization of African-American Muslim leaders that was created, in May of 2000, through the group Al-Ummah, in response to the arrest of then-leader of Al-Ummah, H. Rap Brown, a.k.a. Jamil Al-Amin, for the murder of a sheriff's deputy
Wild Thing's comment...........
(shaking my head) How on earth does this kind of thing happen. Didn't there used to be an America that would have been outraged about this man still being able to do something like this? PC is to blame but other things too. Apathy is another and it seems there is only Patriotism on call waiting in this country.
This really ticks me off. We have our soldiers risking their lives, making sacrifices for all of us, and then seeing this crap happing???? God help us! This is a slap in the face to our Veterans and our troops today that gave so much to keep us safe, secure and free. Then our government says, ok you go soldier and we will kiss up to the likes of this man and others.
If you go to the link for the article you can see the list of so many that Islam has for us to listen to. Including CAIR's Congressman Keith Ellison.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (14)
Bush Trying To Woo Back His Base ~ Commutes Libby's Sentence
President Bush Commutes Libby's sentence
Fox News
"..My decision to commute his prison sentence leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby. The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged. His wife and young children have also suffered immensely. He will remain on probation. The significant fines imposed by the judge will remain in effect. The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant, and private citizen will be long-lasting...."
.
Wild Thing's comment............
I am very glad about this, I would have liked him to be completely pardoned but...........I would assume that this was discussed with Libby beforehand. Perhaps Libby wanted the opportunity to clear his name rather than accept a full pardon now.
The Dems are throwing a fit. hahaha
Meanwhile, those boarder patrol agents Compean and Ramos are still rotting in prison.
Want to see all of Clinton's pardons????
CLICK HERE to see the list and what their crimes were.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (12)
My Turbin Is Dirty ~ Some offensive language
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:40 AM | Comments (2)
July 02, 2007
Excellent Duncan Hunter Interview
Two different videos that are really excellent!!
Lou Dobbs Tonight 03.29.07 - Duncan Hunter Interview
And also this that is not in the interview:
Duncan HUnter on Keeping American Industry and Jobs in the U.S.
"American workers are the most productive and innovative labor force in the world. Unfortunately, they are asked to compete in an unfair environment against other workers who make only a fraction of a living wage and are employed by companies that face few, if any, responsibilities to the environment or the long-term prospects of their employees. Our domestic manufacturers are forced to compete against foreign companies that benefit from their country’s currency and regulatory regimes. Ominously, China is cheating on trade and using billions of American trade dollars to build ships, planes and missiles at an alarming rate while, at the same time, taking millions of American jobs. I will reverse this “one-way street” with a new policy of fair trade for the American worker."
You can see the video with this statement jsut go HERE. This Video is excellent as well.
Wild Thing's comment...........
Duncan Hunter is the only candidate running at this time who has a record of dealing with border issues, the border fence and authoring bills.
Many of those who came to the USA legally gave Hunter a STANDING OVATION when he (the ONLY Republican to show up) gave a speech at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials in Orlando this last Friday. Story HERE
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (11)
Fence Phobia ala Chertoff
WASHINGTON (CNN)–Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff defended his agency’s progress on border security this morning against attacks from Republican presidential candidate Duncan Hunter.
On CNN’s Late Edition, Chertoff said, “fencing has a symbolic value, and it has usefulness in some parts of the border. And we’re going to use it where it is effective. But the idea that you are going to solve the problem simply by building a fence is undercut by the fact that yesterday we discovered a tunnel. So the idea that fencing alone is a solution I think is overly simplistic.”
In an appearance two weeks ago on Late Edition, Congressman Hunter (R – California) took on Chertoff, saying, “If you’re going to have more border enforcement, why do you cut the border fence in half and leave New Mexico and Texas wide open for people to come in?” Hunter added, “Mr. Chertoff is charged with securing the border. And the one thing he’s not doing — he’s appearing on lots of talk shows, he is not securing the border.”
Wild Thing's comment..........
Chertoff's whining is more representative of a 5 year old that a leader. He needs to RESIGN! Nobody would be climbing over the double fence with a border patrol road in between and electronic fence monitors. Bush, Chertoff, Martinez, and Graham are acting like spoiled brats because they didn’t get their way on the amnesty bill. Whining and throwing tantrums in public.
Chertoff is vengeful against the pro security forces in America and his spiteful attitude disqualifies him for the position he now holds. His removal is a matter of national security and he needs to be replaced immediately. This isn’t about politics any more, Chertoff is actively working against the national security interests of America in the middle of a war.
They don’t want a physical fence because it works. If they build a physical fence, as opposed to a “virtual” fence , it would drastically cut the flow of illegals and drugs . I think we all know why they don’t want to cut the influx of illegals and drugs. The open borders types HATE a good fence.
A real fence is always working, 24x365. It cannot be compromise by authorities. It cannot be switched off. It must be dealt with by those who seek to come to this country. It will slow down border crossers to where the BP has a better than 50-50 chance to catch them.
And we can't have that now, can we? Gotta get that lettuce picked on the cheap.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:48 AM | Comments (13)
Retired Marine Is Top Gun At Sub Shop
Retired Marine is top gun at sub shop The night started like many for John Lovell, a 71-year-old ex-Marine and helicopter pilot who served two presidents. Late dinner alone at a Plantation Subway shop -- veggie sub, soda, oatmeal cookie. Wednesday night, though, Lovell's meal was interrupted by an armed robbery. Two gunmen stormed into the sandwich shop at about 11 p.m., robbed the cashier and tried to shove Lovell -- the lone customer -- into the bathroom. Two bullets later, one gunman was dead, another was wounded and Lovell was being hailed as a hero. Lovell already was a great customer at the Jacaranda Square Subway, Malik said: He comes by almost every night, slides into a back booth and orders the six-inch veggie sub, cookie and soft drink. The robbers got Lovell's money. But Lovell, who neighbors and friends say is in tiptop shape and looks years younger than he really is, pulled out his handgun and shot both in the head. Donicio Arrindell, 22, of North Lauderdale died. Fredrick Gadson, 21, of Fort Lauderdale, was critically wounded. The front window was blown out and cash strewn around the shop. Reporters and television crews clustered Thursday outside Lovell's two-story town house in Plantation, hoping for an interview. He didn't show. Friends said Lovell is amicable and soft-spoken, doesn't drink or smoke, and is a no-nonsense kind of guy. Neighbors and friends said he is unmarried, drives a Corvette and sometimes is away for long periods of time. A neighbor collected his mail Thursday. At one point during his Marine career, the Kentucky native served as a pilot for presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. After retiring from the Corps, he became a pilot for Delta and Pan Am. Bryan Sklar, who serves on the Townhouses at Jacaranda board with Lovell, said he is a straight-up guy. After the holdup Wednesday night, the suspects were transported to Broward General Medical Center, where Arrindell was later pronounced dead. Gadson, listed Thursday night in serious condition, faces armed robbery charges. And because someone was killed during the crime, he also will be charged with murder, authorities said.
Wild Thing's comment.......... I am so glad Florida has a law that gives people the right of "self-defense without the duty to retreat." This man not only saved his own life but that of the shop owner as well. He was being led into a bathroom. If you read any stories of armed robberies, that’s a sure sign bad things are in store for the victim.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM
| Comments (12)
forensic team at the scene of the Glasgow attack As forensics teams continued to examine the burnt-out shell of the 4x4 vehicle, an initial analysis of Saturday afternoon's astonishing events revealed just how close the terrorists came to causing an unprecedented atrocity."
John Lovell
Miami Herald
A retired Marine is credited with thwarting two gunmen who had just robbed the cashier at a sandwich shop.''There's no such thing as an ex-Marine, and he typifies this,'' said longtime friend Wesley White.
''What he did last night was unbelievable Samaritan spirit,'' said shop owner Khalid Malik.
But now, said Malik, ``I love him a lot more.''
No one could find Lovell on Thursday. But when he shows up again, Malik said, the hero will have free heroes at the shop for life.
The Subway video surveillance cameras, which the owner had installed only a week ago -- ''just to be on the safe side'' -- caught the whole drama.
''There were fives and rolls of coins everywhere,'' said Detective Robert Rettig of the Plantation Police Department
.
Rettig said Lovell, who has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, is not expected to be charged. ''He was in fear for his life,'' Rettig said.
''There's no BS with him,'' said White, of Yulee. 'You could compare him to Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry. But because of his lifestyle, he's like `Clean Harry.' ''
''I've seen pictures of him with John F. Kennedy,'' Sklar said.
Five Suspects So Far and One On The Run For Now
* Members of al-Qaida linked group run by ‘Mr Big’ still at large
* Five arrested suspects were not born in Britain, say sources
* Glasgow and London attempts linked as probe gathers pace"The Glasgow airport car bomb was intended to create a devastating fireball which would have swept through the heart of the main terminal building, killing and maiming hundreds of innocent people, it emerged last night.
BBC ...for complete article
Detectives are still urgently hunting people suspected of involvement in the attempted car bombings in London and at Glasgow Airport.
Five people were arrested at the weekend, but at least one suspect is still believed to be on the run.
Those held so far include a qualified medical doctor. Police say none of the suspects is British in origin.
Police are linking the failed bombings and the UK remains on high alert amid fears of a possible further attack.
Wild Thing's comment.........
Thank God that caught 5 so far and they will get the other one too. And also thank God they did not accompolish what they set out to do.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (8)
July 01, 2007
Veterans Wage Battle Over Flag
Vets wage battle over flag
By Marcus E. Howard
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer
The heart and soul of the Marietta July Fourth Parade each year are the many military veterans who take part, some of them in their old uniforms - not the hordes of politicians who use the event as an excuse to get "face time" in front of potential voters.
The veterans and veterans groups elicit by far the loudest ovations from the crowds that line the parade route, louder than the cheers for any politician or other participant. And that's as it should be.
But to its great discredit, Marietta City Hall this year has decided to give the veterans the back of its hand.
In past years, the start of the parade has been heralded by members of Marietta's Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2681, who walk along the parade route a few minutes ahead of the rest of the marchers while passing out thousands of miniature U.S. flags to children - young and old - along the way.
Other members of the group pass the flags out while walking next to the group's float.
City Hall informed the VFW that it would not be allowed to give out the flags, citing an obscure rule prohibiting parade participants from passing out materials or throwing candy - a rule they've never enforced when it came to the flags.
Officials announced yesterday afternoon that the city will allow veterans and others to pass out 3-by-5 inch U.S. flags, but only before and after the parade, not during the 1.5-mile route as they walk next to their "Let Freedom Ring" float.
"I think it's pretty sad when you can't pass out a miniature flag during a Fourth of July parade," said Spears, a Vietnam and Desert Storm veteran. "I don't think handing out the American flag equates to handing out candy."
It may take more than a dusty old rule to keep Dean and other battle-tested veterans among Marietta's 456-member VFW Post 2681 from distributing Old Glory on Independence Day, Dean said.
"Yes, absolutely we'll be out there passing out flags," Dean said.
Marietta Police Chief Dan Flynn said he hopes none of his officers have to arrest anyone next week for passing out U.S. flags. He said he is scheduled to meet with representatives from VFW Post 2681 Thursday morning to discuss the matter.
UPDATE:
City, veterans call truce over flags
By Marcus E. Howard
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer
Dean and other veterans questioned the policy, arguing that they had distributed the 3-by-5-inch U.S. flags from their float to children and other people on the sidewalks for the past several years, without incident.
After his morning meeting with Flynn and a second meeting in the afternoon regarding the language of the agreement, Dean said he was satisfied with the compromise and said Flynn was "very cordial."
Under the agreement, veterans will be allowed to walk-up to spectators and hand them flags 10 to 15 minutes before the parade begins.
"Some of the members say they're not doing it and are just going to pass out the flags anyway," said Dean, a Korean War Army veteran. "But I have no control over members once they leave the post."
The VFW will still have its own float, positioned No. 28 in the parade lineup - well behind a string of politicians, city councilmen and the mayor. (ed. In other words, safely beyond camera range of the Veterans position in the parade)
Still, some veterans like James Ellis said they plan to defy city rules and distribute flags to spectators as they walk next to their "Let Freedom Ring" float, during the parade.
"It stinks," said Ellis, a World War II and Korean War veteran, of the agreement. "I say we still need to walk along the parade route with our float and hand flags out."
He said regardless of what city officials say, veterans have been distributing flags to parade spectators along the route for decades and he offered photos of them doing so as proof.
A former U.S. Navy sailor who witnessed firsthand the Berlin Wall and Cuban-missile crises, Ellis said the entire flag controversy has "hit a sore spot" for him.
Wilma Clark, president of the VFW post's Ladies Auxiliary, said Thursday evening that she didn't know the details of the agreement yet but she felt the city's ordinance is "wrong" since there has been no previously reported injury as a result of veterans handing flags out.
Other Cobb residents have voiced equal dismay over the city's position.
Mark Johnson, a Marietta attorney who represents Cobb real estate magnate and Post Properties founder John Williams, said he first met his wife at the Fourth of July parade and called it a "highlight" of his year.
Wild Thing's comment...........
If I were one of those Veterans I would ignore this stupid rule too. I would do the Parade just as it has been done in the past. We would have nothing if it weren't for Veterans and our troops today. How people forget this, ON PURPOSE is an insult to every man and woman that has served this country.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (14)
Caption It
Gallery of rogues
oh no...when am I up for re-election?
One day we will be FORMER Senators.
Hall of Shame inductees
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (16)
After Amnesty Bill Failed ~ Democrats Still Trying To woo Hispanics
Democrats woo Hispanics with immigration reform
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidates wooed Hispanic voters on Saturday with pledges to keep working for immigration laws that would allow more of those already in the United States to become citizens and voters.
Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and five other Democrats spoke to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials two days after the U.S.
The association had supported the proposal and the candidates said they would keep working for a better version that weighed the contributions of immigrants as heavily as the need for border security.
"I want my daughters to be raised in a community in which all people, and not just some, are considered part of the American family," said Obama.
Hillary said the United States must find a way to tighten border security while giving undocumented workers a sensible way to become legal workers even if they lack the high-tech skills favored for visa applications.
"Many of us had relatives who came to this country without skills but have made a great contribution to themselves and their families and we're proud of them and we want to give more people that chance going forward," Clinton said.
Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut characterized the recent immigration debate as a race to see "who out there can be the most anti-Hispanic." Hispanics are the largest and fastest-growing ethnic minority in the United States and make up about 15 percent of the population.
All four Democratic candidates in the Senate -- Clinton, Obama, Dodd and Joe Biden of Delaware -- voted to advance the now-failed immigration proposal.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson drew cheers when he told the crowd in Spanish, "You are my family!" and joked he should be allotted more time to speak because he was the only Hispanic presidential candidate.
John Edwards, the Democrats' 2004 vice presidential nominee, called the border fence "crazy" and said he did not want to live in an "America that is made up of first class citizens and second class workers."
Wild Thing's comment.........
The Democrats pandering to people makes me sick. LOL Edwards calls the fnce crazy. That sounds real Presidental now doesn't it............. amazing!
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (10)
“When we get people who are more concerned about reading the rights to an Al Qaeda terrorist than they are with protecting the United States against people who are absolutely committed to do anything they can to kill Americans, then I worry,” - VP Dick Cheney
A toast to each of you 
