Theodore's World

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!”

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.

the west.com
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.

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.

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.”

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.

Michael C. Reynolds
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
Philly.com
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.

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.

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.

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.