Theodore's World

By strength and by guile … crack SBS troops like ones who carried out rescue

Hostages saved by the SBS
The Sun .co.uk
Crack Special Boat Service commandos snatched two Italian hostages from the Taliban yesterday in a dramatic helicopter shoot-out.
Elite Navy unit troops in choppers chased an insurgent gang fleeing across the remote Western desert in the Afghan badlands, trading bullets as they flew.
All nine rebels were killed after airborne snipers shot out the engines of their two vehicles.
A second Special Boat Service team dropped on the ground to help out.
The Sun has been given an exclusive account of the daring rescue — dubbed “a classic, textbook counter- terrorism operation”.
Politicians in Rome heaped glowing tributes on the Poole-based special forces for their heroics last night.
The 48-hour-long mission to recover the two soldiers — believed to be military intelligence officers — was launched on Saturday as soon as they were snatched alongside their Afghan interpreter.
It is thought they were betrayed by their local driver, who delivered the three-man team to a Taliban ambush near the town of Shindand, in the Iran border province of Herat.
Coalition spy chiefs used electronic intercepts to trace the captives to a remote compound in next-door Farah province.
The base was swiftly staked out by Italian special forces who parachuted into the area at night to avoid detection.
At dawn yesterday, the SBS team waiting with four Lynx helicopters was scrambled when the hostages were seen being driven out of the compound in two 4×4 jeeps.
The four Lynxs — top speed 210mph — carried a total of 20 commandos and swiftly caught up with the convoy.
They began to “buzz” the jeeps with low passes to force them to stop — but the gunmen refused, and opened up on the Lynxs with AK47s and machine gun fire.
Immediately returning rounds, two SBS snipers — armed with jumbo .5inch calibre rifles — then disabled the two speeding vehicles with pinpoint shots through their engine blocks. The marksmen moved on to take out the fighters individually as they ran to cover from the death-trap vehicles.
At the same time, two choppers landed nearby and dropped off 16 commandos who finished off the remaining members of the gang.
A medivac helicopter hovering high above the Lynx choppers then landed seconds later to evacuate the two Italians and interpreter, who had gone missing two days earlier.
They were all wounded — either in the original firefight when they were snatched or during the shootout.
One Italian soldier was critically ill in hospital last night suffering from a head wound. An Italian diplomat in Kabul said it was not clear who the abductors were.
Taliban insurgents, who have been behind a series of abductions, said they had not kidnapped the Italians.
But the militants are on the run and do not have regular contacts with their comrades.

NATO spokesman in Kabul Major Charles Anthony said the alliance had evidence showing the kidnappers were Taliban.

He added: “This successful operation is evidence of the International Security Assistance Force’s resolve to deal with acts of terrorism in Afghanistan. It was a very well executed rescue mission.”

As word of the extraordinary success spread in Rome last night, Italian senator Alfredo Mantovano added: “I would like to express my sincere thanks to the British troops who made a decisive contribution to the rescue of the two Italians.”

Italian PM Romano Prodi said the rescue represented “a bad defeat for the kidnappers and also a warning for the future. We never had a moment of uncertainty”.

The kidnap of Westerners in Afghanistan is a tactic used more and more by the Taliban. Western Afghan police chief Ali Khan Husseinzada said: “According to our intelligence information Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Hamid had taken the Italians.”

There was uproar a year ago when the Rome government allegedly paid a £1million ransom to free an Italian journalist snatched in Helmand province.
Like Army sister-service the SAS, the SBS practice for months until their hostage rescue drills are perfect.
The daring rescue follows a series of successes by the SBS in Afghanistan. Top of the list of fatal blows against the fanatical fighters was the assassination of the Taliban’s notorious military chief Mullah Dadullah in May after months of painstaking surveillance.
Their heroics have come at a price. In July, L/Cpl Michael Jones, 26, was killed and three comrades wounded in a raid to take out a senior Taliban leader in remote Nimruz province.

While the SAS largely carry out special forces’ operations in Iraq, the SBS — motto, By Strength and Guile — have been given Afghanistan as their exclusive territory.
One of its four sabre squadrons of 80 men is permanently based there, operating across the south. The 7,700 regular British troops there concentrate on opium-swamped Helmand. Last night it emerged the rescue had been carried out by C squadron. Most of the unit’s men were ex-Royal Marines.
In line with normal policy, the MoD refused to discuss the operation to protect the troops’ identities and tactics.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
Congratulations to the SBS for their mission accompolished and prayers for those that paid a high price in this mission. Thank you to all our troops and to those fighting in this war along with us.
To those in Italy that read this blog, please know how much it means to we Americans to have allies in this fight for what has to be done to make this world a safe place.

….Thank you Tom for sending this to me.

LOO WITH NO ONE TO USE IT
Bakery installs a Muslims-only toilet, despite the fact that no Muslims work there
daily express
BAKERY giants Greggs have installed a Muslims-only toilet at their new Scottish headquarters – despite the fact that no Muslims work there.
Workers at the state-of-the-art factory were shocked when they were given a tour of the building and told a cubicle had been fitted for the use of Muslim employees. The staff said they are baffled at the decision because they are not aware of any Islamic workers at the base in Cambuslang, near Glasgow.
Last night, management at the bakery said they had received several requests from all over the country for the exclusive facility. All their new buildings will now be fitted with the specialised toilet regardless of the number of Muslims in the workforce.

But staff at the new £15million plant labelled the decision “political correctness gone mad”.

One said: “We were being given a guided tour of the new factory before moving there when they told us that they had a toilet for use only by Muslims.

“I couldn’t believe, everybody was stunned because we don’t know of any Muslims who are working here. I don’t think anybody is really angry about it, but there just doesn’t seem to be any need for it. This sort of things is just political correctness gone mad.”

Another worker said: “The toilet just looks like a ceramic hole in the ground. I don’t think it will be getting much use and I don’t see why we couldn’t all just use the same toilet anyway.

“This sort of thing creates divisions between the workers.”

The Islamic faith has particular rules regarding personal hygiene when going to the toilet, including squatting, washing feet, remaining silent and limited use of toilet paper. However, these rules are not compulsory to all Muslims and many believe they are outdated since, in modern times, toilets have become clean tiled areas.
Last month, it was revealed that bosses at two Scottish NHS boards had banned staff from eating at their desks to avoid offending Muslims during Ramadan.
NHS Greater Glasgow and NHS Lothian also recommended that vending machines and lunch trolleys be removed from hospitals, offices and clinics during the 30-day fasting period.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
LOL this is so silly and it is only going to make matters worse. By doing this they might as well scream it out their fear of Muslims and give in to them on all levels. These holes-in-the-ground are mileposts along the road of the de-evolution of western civilization.

I LOVE this, the music the whole thing.

Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va.

Congress debate begins on North America Union
Resolution calls for end of NAFTA superhighway, abandonment of integration with Canada, Mexico
wmd
A House resolution urging President Bush “not to go forward with the North American Union or the NAFTA Superhighway system” is – according to its sponsor Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., “also a message to both the executive branch and the legislative branch.”
Jan. 22 Goode introduced H.C.R. 40, titled “Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should not engage in the construction of a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Superhighway System or enter into a North American Union with Mexico and Canada.”
The bill has been referred to the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Goode was asked if the president was risking electoral success for the Republican Party in 2008 with his insistence on pushing for North American integration via the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, or SPP.

“Yes,” Goode answered. “You won’t hear the leadership in the Republic Party admit it, but there are many in the House and Senate who know that illegal immigration has to be stopped and legal immigration has to be reduced. We are giving away the country so a few very rich people can get richer.”

How did he react when President Bush referred to those who suggest the SPP could turn into the North American Union as “conspiracy theorists”?

“The president is really engaging in a play on words,” Goode responded. “The secretary of transportation came before our subcommittee,” he explained, “and I had the opportunity to ask her some questions about the NAFTA Superhighway.

Of course, she answered, ‘There’s no NAFTA Superhighway.’ But then Mary Peters proceeded to discuss the road system that would come up from Mexico and go through the United States up into Canada.”

“So, I think that saying we’re ‘conspiracy theorists’ or something like that is really just a play on words with the intent to demonize the opposition,” Goode concluded.

Goode stressed that the Bush administration supports both a NAU regional government and a NAFTA Superhighway system:

“The Bush administration as well as Mexico and Canada have persons in the government in all three countries who want to a see a North American Union as well as a highway system that would bring goods into the west coast of Mexico and transport them up through Mexico into the United States and then in onto Canada,” Goode confirmed.

The Virginia congressman said he believes the motivation behind the movement toward North American integration is the anticipated profits the large multinational corporations in each of the three countries expect to make from global trade, especially moving production to China.
Some really large businesses that get a lot from China would like a NAFTA Superhighway system because it would reduce costs for them to transport containers from China and, as a result, increase their margins,” he argued.

“I am vigorously opposed to the Mexican trucks coming into the country,” Goode continued. “The way we have done it and, I think, the way we should do it in the future, is to have the goods come into the United States from Mexico within a 20-mile commercial space and unloaded from Mexican trucks into U.S. trucks. This procedure enhances the safety of the country, the security of the country, and provides much less chance for illegal immigration.”

Why, WND asked, do so many congressmen and senators insist on writing and telling their constituents that they don’t know anything about the Security and Prosperity Partnership, or that SPP working groups are really just to increase our competitiveness?

“In the House, a strong majority voted to provide no money in the transportation funding bill,” Goode responded. “I commend Congressman Duncan Hunter for submitting an amendment to the Department of Transportation funding bill [which] got over 360 votes that said no funds in the transportation appropriation measure, prohibiting Department of Transportation funds from being used to participate on working groups that promote the Security and Prosperity Partnership.”

Hunter’s amendment to the FY 2008 Department of Transportation funding bill prohibiting DOT from using federal funds to participate in SPP working groups creating NAFTA Superhighways passed 362 to 63, with strong bipartisan support. The House approved H.R. 3074 by 268-153, with the Hunter amendment included.

“So, I think a majority the House, if you had an up or down vote on the SPP, would vote down on the SPP,” Goode concluded.

“But some still say, and it’s a play on words, that we don’t have a Security and Prosperity Partnership that will lead to a North American Union. I don’t think they can say anymore that we don’t have a Security and Prosperity Partnership arrangement between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, because that was done in Waco, Texas, on March 23, 2005, and the recent meeting at Montebello was to talk about it further.”

***** This is a very long article, if you would like to continue reading the article in full just go here:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=57817

Wild Thing’s comment……..
If Bush hadn’t been pushing his anti-conservative and Globalist Agenda non-stop since ’04…he would still have been over 50% approval. And he only has himself to blame. If of course he even cared that he has done this.
To anyone that says this is not for real or that it is ok with them. I pray they think harder about this and the effect it will have on our country, our security and American jobs among other things.
“Government’s first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.”
–Ronald Reagan

Prison fries for serving bacontoronto sun
A Muslim inmate has won $2,000 and a partial human rights victory over a Correctional Service of Canada policy not to replace bacon with a halal diet for Islam-worshipping cons.
Duane David, who is serving time in Kingston’s Joyceville Institution for an unknown crime, had complained to the Canadian Human Rights Commission that his rights were being violated as the prison failed to offer a halal replacement for bacon served to inmates with breakfast every Wednesday.
The court heard Muslims are forbidden from eating pork for religious reasons.
A Federal Court of Canada hearing was told the breakfast included three pieces of bacon, two eggs, three slices of toast, jam, ketchup, milk, coffee, juice and cereal.

“Muslim inmates who follow a halal diet (usually) receive all of these items, except the bacon,” Madame Justice Eleanor Dawson was told. “Mr. David had requested a substitute for the three pieces of bacon, but the request was refused by the institution.”

Court heard that an internal grievance filed by David for a bacon replacement was denied at all levels and then a complaint was filed to the commission, whose investigator ruled the matter had been properly dealt with.
David appealed the investigator’s decision to the federal court, who this month ordered the attorney general to pay David $2,000 for damages and that the commissions’ decision be set aside as a new hearing is launched into the matter.
During the grievance hearing, Joyceville’s chief of food services said his department didn’t have the budget to offer a bacon replacement and another official called for the banning of the food from all Ontario jails.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
This guy is an inmate, thus he did something to break the law and be punished for his crime. But jails are to cater to their needs no matter what?? So does that mean if a prisoner has needs like a TV, a computer, maybe a high fiber diet, a low fat diet, the list could go on and on of NEEDS imposed on prisons for prisoners. So what if it is a so called religious rule not to eat bacon.
We have all read how other prisons have catered to Muslim inmates in the USA and the UK. Why oh why do people cave in to these horrible vile people and their death cult!!!!

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Marines Denied Permission To Film Commercial On The Streets Of San Francisco
abc local
New York said “yes,” but we said “no.” Why were the U.S. Marines denied permission to film a recruiting commercial on the streets of San Francisco?
San Francisco is, once again, the center of a controversy over how city leaders treat the U.S. military. This time, it involves an elite group of Marines who wanted to film a recruitment commercial in San Francisco on the anniversary of 9/11.
The tension has been building in the two weeks since the city turned away members of the Silent Drill Platoon, and it boiled over Monday afternoon at a meeting of the San Francisco Film Commission.
The U.S. Marine Silent Drill Platoon performed Monday morning in New York’s Times Square. They filmed part of a recruitment commercial through the start of the morning rush hour — something they could not do in San Francisco on the anniversary of 9/11.

“It’s insulting, it’s demeaning. This woman is going to insult these young heroes by just arbitrarily saying, ‘no, you’re not going to film any Marines on California Street,” said Captain Greg Corrales of the SFPD Traffic Bureau.

Captain Greg Corrales commands the police traffic bureau that works with crews shooting commercials, TV shows and movies in the city. He’s also a Marine veteran and his son is serving his third tour of duty in Iraq.
He says Film Commission Executive Director Stefanie Coyote would only allow the Marine’s production crew to film on California Street if there were no Marines in the picture. They wound up filming the empty street and will have to superimpose the Marines later.

“Ms. Coyote’s politics blinded her to her duty as the director of the Film Commission and as a responsible citizen,” said Captain Corrales.

We asked Stefanie Coyote why they’re not allowing the Marines to shoot on California Street. She wouldn’t answer our questions.
At today’s Film Commission meeting, she said she wouldn’t let the Marines film because of rush hour.
“Traffic control was the issue,” explained Stefanie Coyote.
However, the Marines would have just shut down one lane of California Street for a few minutes at a time, and Captain Corrales points out the Film Commission often approves shoots for rush hour.

“If they want to get the job done, they find a way to get it done,” said Captain Corrales.

The city’s treatment of the Marines is making many people angry, from local conservatives like Christine Hughes with the San Francisco Republican Party who told us, “it’s an embarrassment. I’m a fourth generation San Franciscan and I don’t even recognize my city right now.”

To current and former Marines like Vince Rios, a Vietnam veteran.

“I’d like to say, ‘does your mother know you’re doing this? And if so, is she proud of you for that?'” said Vince Rios.

“The city of San Francisco made a statement saying, ‘we don’t like the war’ by shutting down the troops. I don’t think that was the right thing to do,” explained Eric Snyder, a U.S. Marine.

“I wish to hell she would leave her politics at home and take care of the city business and the bridge business on an even keel basis,” said Mike Paige, a Korea veteran.

The Marines also applied for permits to shoot on the Golden Gate Bridge that same morning, but were turned down because of similar traffic concerns.
The end result — the crew didn’t film the Marines in San Francisco at all. They had to go to the National Park Service for permission to shoot in Marin overlooking the bridge and at Kirby Cove.

“Golden Gate National Recreation Area is steeped in military tradition and we’re honored to be a part of their continued military traditions so we’re glad that we could accommodate the shoot,” said Amy Brees with the National Park Service.

Captain Corrales and several other Marine veterans came to the Film Commission Monday afternoon. They see this as just the latest insult along with the city blocking the USS Iowa from docking here, banning the junior ROTC from high schools, and trying to ban the yearly Blue Angels air show.

“This — a slap in the face of every veteran and every parent of men and women who are doing their duty — is shameful,” said Captain Corrales.

The Marines we spoke with also make the point that the city allows street demonstrations, anti-war protests and other events which snarl traffic, such as Critical Mass. They still don’t understand why the Marines got turned away.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
This is outrageous!
Hey San Fran. When you get in trouble call Ghost Busters, the Marines will be too busy protecting real Americans.
The Marines were turned away because people like this woman are more aligned in their thinking with our enemies than they are with the very people who lay their lives on the line to defend their life and liberty. That’s why…plain and simple..and disgusting, revolting, sickening, and pathetic too.

The sacrifices US Military Tribute

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……..Thank you so much John.
John is the son of John (VN 89-70), and I would like to thank you and also welcome you to Theodore’s World blog.

Ahmadinejad Reacts to Bollinger, Students Applaud

Columbia students applaud Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s reaction to Lee Bollinger’s introduction speech and his questions to Ahmadinejad. Not sure how many were applauding, but I don’t care, ONE is too many.

Obama: I Would Still Meet With Ahmadinejad
cbs news
Despite the controversy that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to New York City has triggered, Senator Barack Obama still vows to meet with rogue leaders if he is elected, reports CBS News’ Maria Gavrilovic.

“Nothing has changed with respect to my belief that strong countries and strong presidents talk to their enemies and talk to their adversaries,” Obama told reporters at a press conference after receiving an endorsement from the New York City Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association.

Obama said he would not have invited Ahmadinejad to speak at Columbia University, but he believes in academic freedom. “They have the right to invite people to speak.

As I said, it’s not a choice that I would have made but we don’t need to be fearful of the rantings of somebody like Ahmadinejad.” Obama says the United Nations provides an adequate forum for Ahmadinejad to speak.

Obama was asked if his statements about Ahmadinejad were contradictory – why would he meet with the Iranian leader as U.S. president but not invite to speak if he were the Columbia University president?

“There are two different functions, as president of the United States, my job is to look out for the national security interests of this country,” Obama said. “In the same way that Nixon met with Mao and that past presidents met with people that we don’t like.”

Wild Thing’s comment……….
This jerk Obama is not going to be elected but he is still dangerous to our country. What a difference in what our counrtry breeds! The likes of this POS Obama and then men like all of you Veterans here at this blog, and those serving now. It is a night and day difference!!

Detroit Metro Concourse, and the elderly Catholic nun being frisked by a Muslim security agent.
flicker

Wild Thing’s comment……..
What the hell are we doing letting Muslims work for TSA in the first place? Isn’t that like putting the fox in charge of security of the henhouse????