Face of Defense: IED Fails to Deter Chief Warrant Officer

KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Jan. 28, 2008 – Army Chief Warrant Officer Sammy Rodriguez has a job that isn’t exciting until things go wrong. On a routine mission Jan. 23 to deliver supplies to the Korengal Outpost here, one of the vehicles in the convoy was struck by an improvised explosive device.

Damaged vehicles left behind can be used in enemy propaganda to proclaim a victory over U.S. forces. Every effort is made to make sure the enemy does not have this opportunity.

“Chief Rodriguez knows his stuff,” said Army Capt. John Thyng, Company F commander for the 2-503rd. “When I talked before about the need to make sure we recover absolutely everything to prevent the bad guys from getting hold of it, he really took that to heart.”

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48781

Petraeus: Upcoming Troop Reduction Plans ‘On Track’

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus said the scheduled withdrawal will reduce the number of troops at the height of the surge by one quarter, or roughly 42,500. Further reductions after July will be based on the state of Iraq’s security, he added.

“The guidance that (Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates) in fact has given me -- and the president and my chain of command, what all of them have said -- is that reductions after July should be conditions-based,”

Their focus, he said, will be on removing forces expeditiously, but without undercutting progress made during the troop surge that launched this time last year. Petraeus today noted that half of Iraq’s 18 provinces currently are under provincial control.

[i.e., we are already withdrawing from Iraq - as success allows]

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48777

Twofer...

Terrorist Attacks in Europe Thwarted at last moment
It is a sad fact in our media driven culture that a story about a group of Islamic extremists who were rounded up last week and discovered to be on the verge of carrying out several terrorist attacks receives little or no coverage but that if they had been successful, their names and deeds would be on everyone's lips.

Successes like these should be big stories:

[but that might remind folks of the looming threat many would convince us is overblown to begin with, or maybe serve as an example that appeasement doesn't work...]

Spanish appeasement backfires
A new al Qaeda plot set in Spain was recently disrupted, as reported by Reuters. The attack was set to occur shortly before a general election, much like the previous horrendous attack carried out in 2004. That attack led to a new government in Spain that immediately cut support for coalition efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This plot is yet further evidence that to accede to the demands of terrorists is not the way to prevent future attacks. There is only one way, by discrediting the ideology that drives young Muslim men to carry out these attacks. And in the Arab culture, a true culture of "might makes right", to discredit terrorist ideology means to defeat them on the battlefield.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/01/spanish_appeasement_backfires.html

Egypt turns back 3 000 Gazans

Cairo - Egyptian authorities have turned back around 3 000 Palestinians trying to reach Cairo and other cities after crossing into Sinai from Gaza following a border breach, a security source said on Monday. (Snip) Egyptian media reported on Monday that authorities had raided hotels and rented apartments in Cairo and other large cities in search of Palestinians who may have slipped past security.

[and the world outcry condemning Egypt for its mistreatment of Palestinians?]

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_2260166,00.html

There'll be consequences - Iran

Tehran - Iran warned on Monday of ''serious consequences'' if the UN Security Council adopts fresh sanctions against Tehran over its refusal to halt sensitive nuclear work. ''If a resolution is passed... it will have serious and logical consequences and we will announce them later,'' Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki Mottaki (Snip) Despite a four-year probe into Tehran's atomic drive, the IAEA has so far been unable to determine whether the programme is peaceful.

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_2259761,00.html

North Korea tells U.S. to remember the Pueblo

Seoul - North Korea marked the anniversary on Wednesday of one of its rare Cold War victories over the United States by saying a U.S. spy ship it seized 40 years ago served as a lesson to show it can repel an invasion. (Snip) ''(The Pueblo) is historical evidence proving before the whole world the victory of the DPRK (North Korea) in the confrontation with the U.S.

[brilliant tactical move - why don't they something about our mothers]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/23/AR2008012300498.html

Michigan announces "Safe Routes to School" recipients

January 28, 2008 - - The Granholm administration today announced that nine Michigan elementary and middle schools will receive more than $1.6 million in federal "Safe Routes to School" funding for safety improvements and education programs that will encourage students to travel safely between home and school.

"We want to protect the health and safety of our Michigan children," said Governor Jennifer M. Granholm. "This program offers our children encouragement and opportunities [?] to walk or bike to school. These schools are to be commended for pursuing these grants to improve safety and encourage healthy lifestyles."

State Transportation Director Kirk T. Steudle said that MDOT's role as the administering agency for the federally legislated program creates opportunities for collaboration with agencies and partners not traditionally involved with transportation funding.

Today's announcement was the first wave of Safe Routes to School funding; three additional rounds of grants will be announced this spring, next winter, and in the spring of 2009.

[it's got nothing to do with student safety - despite the ad-nauseam references - it's another money grab by a public agency hiding behind our children to do so...> http://www.michigan.gov/som/0,1607,7-192--184423--,00.html ]

[Yes I know I'm breaking a rule - but c'mon; priceless]

Face of Defense: Paratrooper Learns the Ropes in Baghdad

As the newest member of 2nd Platoon, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, Canamore, 19, is in a tough position. After basic training and airborne school, Canamore figured he’d have time to train with his new unit before he deployed. Instead, he received orders sending him straight to Iraq.

Seemingly overnight, he found himself at a combat outpost in Baghdad, eating field rations with the battle-hardened veterans of Company B. As a SAW gunner, he goes out three or four times a day on patrols, where the learning curve has been steep.

“It’s a lot of pressure, because you really want to do well and make a good impression,” said Canamore, a Pekin, Ill., native. “Every time I make a mistake, I make a mental check and try to improve that,” he said.

That’s the way it has always been, said Staff Sgt. William Weinburgh, of Wrentham, Mass., a squad leader with 2nd Platoon. While drill sergeants teach raw recruits the basics, it’s up to the team leaders and squad leaders at their assigned units to push new soldiers like Canamore to the next level, Weinburgh said.

“New guys are going to be a reflection of you,” he said. “Either you set them up for success or you set them up for failure.”

In a combat environment, it becomes even more important to make sure new troops know their jobs, Weinburgh said. “There’s no safety net out here,” he said. Still, he’s learning new things every day, and someday, he said, he’ll be in a position to pass that knowledge on.

[there's more, all impressive in its humble and humbling way...]

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48729

Egypt Jittery Over Israeli Gaza Proposal

It was not clear if the proposal for Israel to relinquish all control over Gaza, expressed privately by several Israeli officials and publicly by one, was serious or just an effort to test international reaction to the idea. But Egyptian officials were fuming.

"This is a wrong assumption, the current situation is only an exception and for temporary reasons,"

Hossam Zaki, the official spokesman for Egypt's Foreign Ministry, said of Israeli hints that it was thinking of giving up administration of Gaza now that the Palestinian territory's southern border with Egypt is open.

"The border will eventually go back to normal."

[And there it is. Why should any Arab nation do anything to help their Arab brethren? Better to leave things as they are so Palestinian self-destruction can forever be spun as Israeli maleficence - even when Israel is explicitly trying to remove itself. Only the media could spin this situation so far from reality.]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/01/24/international/i105612S15.DTL

Bolton: Israel May Have to Strike Iran Soon

"Certainly in Teheran you can bet that they took careful notice of what the Israeli Defense Force did. Penetrating Russian supplied radars very similar to the air defenses that Teheran has; using techniques that could be very useful for a long range strike against Iran; this is the kind of operation that the Iranians need to continue to worry about. Because I think with the collapse of American policy, the Israeli strike against the Syrian / North Korea facility is the harbinger of what may be – absent regime change in Teheran – the last resort… Unless you are prepared to see Iran proceed unmolested toward a nuclear weapons capability, which this NIE has given them free rein to do in my judgment*, you are coming very close to a decision point in this country of whether you will use military force to stop Iran."**

[* = thanks to the willful misinterpretation of the NIE 'report'
** = as always, perceived weakness invites aggression]

http://www.freerepublic.com/%5Ehttp://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/125007

Mullen Says Colombia Making Progress Against Narcoterrorists

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24, 2008 – The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia is a terrorist organization and should remain so, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said during a Pentagon news conference today.

Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, who recently returned from a trip to Colombia, said he is concerned with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s comments that the FARC, as the group is known, is a legitimate guerilla movement and that the nations of the world should stop treating the group as a terrorist organization.

The FARC is a narcoterrorist group that has killed thousands in Colombia and uses kidnapping and the drug trade as a way to fund itself. The group is still holding three American contractors captured in 2003.

(Video) http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48762

Here & There...

[there:]

NHS patients told to treat themselves

Millions of people with arthritis, asthma and even heart failure will be urged to treat themselves as part of a Government plan to save billions of pounds from the NHS budget. Instead of going to hospital or consulting a doctor, patients will be encouraged to carry out "self care" as the Department of Health (DoH) tries to meet Treasury targets to curb spending...
[the inevitable state of government run health'care']
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=X1PRMN4XJXPRHQFIQMGSFGGAVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2008/01/02/nhs102.xml

[here:]
ABC Does Three Consecutive Nights of Socialized Medicine

"Critical condition" in medical terminology means a patient has a high risk of death that could occur within the next 24 hours. So when you see "Critical Condition: Rx For America," sounds like something is in really bad shape, right?

No, it was just a promotional three-night series on ABC "World News with Charles Gibson" that ran from December 10-12 about health care. By the third night, Charles Gibson was even calling one example of socialized medicine a "system that works."
[what bias?]
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/jeff-poor/2007/12/13/abc-does-three-consecutive-nights-socialized-medicine

Russian scientist says Earth could soon face new Ice Age

According to the scientist, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere has risen more than 4% in the past decade, but global warming has practically stopped. It confirms the theory of "solar" impact on changes in the Earth's climate, because the amount of solar energy reaching the planet has drastically decreased during the same period, the scientist said.

"However, the thermal inertia of the world's oceans and seas will delay a 'deep cooling' of the planet, and the new Ice Age will begin sometime during 2055-2060, probably lasting for several decades," Abdusamatov said. Therefore, the Earth must brace itself for a growing ice cap, rather than rising waters in global oceans caused by ice melting.

[5 year window - isn't he good. Point: who the hell knows - let's not spend TRILLIONS and throw all our liberties out the window to boot]

http://en.rian.ru/science/20080122/97519953.html

DHS rejects demands for further meetings about border fence

U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials have rejected demands from leaders along the border with Mexico for a face-to-face meeting, signaling the government’s continuing resolve to build a border security fence.

“We appreciate your support for securing our borders and welcome any additional input from local communities in Texas that will not require delays to the timeline for installation of the border fence,”

Homeland Security is in the process of building approximately 670 miles of fencing and vehicle barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border to combat illegal immigration.

http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/border_18077___article.html/security_homeland.html

Hypochondriasis Economicus

Hypochondriasis Economicus

... Likewise, an economic hypochondriac is someone who obsesses about the "health of the economy" and who is prone to viewing the natural and inevitable fluctuations of the marketplace as a sign of impending recession, or worse. Today millions of Americans -- including the President, the Federal Reserve Board, and most members of the mainstream media -- appear to be in the grip of a full-blown hypochondriac attack over the economy. Why? Because for the past few weeks Wall Street traders have been selling stocks in anticipation of what they believe is a looming recession.

Are we in a recession now? No. A "recession" means two or more consecutive quarters of declining real gross domestic product. Far from being in a recession, through the third quarter of 2007, the United States has enjoyed 24 consecutive quarters of GDP growth. Furthermore, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in January 2008 that unemployment was at 5.0 percent, which is low by any measure, and that real average weekly earnings were higher in December 2007 than in December 2006.

The economy, overall, is doing quite well. Despite what the media tells us about gasoline prices or the housing market or job layoffs among Fortune 500 companies, the economy is not in ‘crisis." There certainly is no rational, objective reason for Americans to be as concerned about the economy as they have become over the past few weeks.

[We've problems; an expensive war on terror, a housing sector problem, and above all else an energy policy crisis whereby an absolute refusal to develop additional energy sources has increased the cost of everything else in our economy. I.e., Economy? It's energy, stupid. {You think it a coincident that the ~150B$ 'stimulus' package just happens to match the calculated 'energy shock' impact of oil price increases?} So let's stop burning our food {corn} and start developing our own, vast, oil reserves.]

http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/01/hypochondriasis_economicus.html

Denial of Legacy Campaign Planned

A liberal advocacy group plans to spend $8.5 million in a drive to make sure President Bush's public approval doesn't improve as his days in the White House come to an end. Americans United for Change plans to undertake a yearlong campaign, spending the bulk of the money on advertising. In selling the plan to fundraisers, the group has argued that support for President Reagan was at a low of 42 percent in 1987 but climbed to 63 percent before he left office.

The group has conducted polls and focus groups and gave a Power Point presentation to representatives of about 30 liberal and labor organizations last week. It plans to announce the campaign at a press conference Thursday afternoon during a forum featuring liberal critics of the administration. It also aims to air its first ad in advance of Bush's State of the Union speech on Monday.

[What if we left Bush's public approval ratings up to the public? What does it say of these yahoos that they don't trust that would have the 'correct' result? Why isn't the media liberally applying (yeah, intended) the term 'mean spirited' to this painfully obvious hate group?]

//www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/24/ap/politics/main3747207.shtml