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Monday, January 23, 2006

Quest for Knowledge or Journey for Jihad?

Farris Hassan, the teenager who went to Iraq to "gain insight" and "promote democracy," is now getting a second look.

Apparently, that whole democracy promotion thing may not have quite been his intent...and that whole "it was a journalism class assignment" thing may not exactly be the truth, either.

- GASP -

I have to admit, I didn't trust this one from the start - it just didn't sound believable. But I decided to bide my time. Unfortunately, my suspicions may have been correct.

Also talking about unfolding story on Hassan:
Michelle Malkin
Bizzy Blog
Hyscience
The Thunder Run

T'other side of the fence:
The Blue State
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq -- (From left) Tech. Sgt. Andrew Morin and Staff Sgts. Jeremy Garcia and Frank Stibler keep an eye on how the 181st Transportation Battalion's convoy security team prepare their convoy escort platforms and rehearse a "snatch and grab" procedure. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Lance Cheung)

Welcome Home to Heroes!


A hearty Welcome Home, a big THANK YOU, and job well done to Fort Riley's returnng Heroes, including Spc Keith K. and the Dreadnaughts of the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor.

They are just back from a year of duty in Iraq.


We are eternally grateful for all you do.
INDIAN OCEAN (Jan. 21, 2006) - A boarding team from the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81), approaches a suspected pirate vessel to conduct a boarding and inspection at sea, Jan. 21. After receiving a report of an attempted act of piracy from the International Maritime Bureau in Kuala Lumpur on the morning of Jan. 20, the guided missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) and other U.S. naval forces in the area located this vessel controlled by suspected pirates and reported its position. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Information Systems Technician Kenneth Anderson

Blogwatch - Michael Yon

The SWAT team in Winter Haven, Florida has some interesting folks. Like Jose Sanchez a Marine who served in Iraq until seriously wounded by an IED last year. He is still recovering from his wounds that include burns to his hands and head and a frag in the face. Fellow officers expect him to return to full duty on the police force and the Marines will soon award him a Bronze Star with a “V” (valor). Clearly, Jose is a serious man...

Read the rest of "Fight on the Homefront" at Michael Yon: Online Magazine
FINAL TOUCHES — U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. John See, assigned to the 732nd Expeditionary Logistics Squadron, Balad Air Base, Iraq, puts the final touches on a rearview mirror of an armored cab at the add-on armor shop, Jan. 13, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Lance Cheung

In Today's News - Monday, January 23, 2006

Quote of the Day
“Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faiths,
but to become dominant.
The Koran…should be the highest authority in America,
and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth.”
-- Omar Ahmad, Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR)


News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Iraq Terrorists Kill 13
Two die in Iraq blast
Blasts hit Baghdad on eve of Saddam trial
Judge Takes Over Saddam Trial, for Now
Former Hussein regime members may testify

Operation Enduring Freedom
Dutch debate may hold key to NATO role in Afghanistan

Homeland Security / War on Terror
'Long Live Usama'
Italy asks to talk to CIA agents about cleric

Troops on Trial
Army officer found guilty in Iraqi's death to be sentenced
U.S. General Decrys Slaying of Japan Woman
CIA Role a Mystery at Army Court-Martial

Oddities
Cops have to rescue man from toilet stall
'Clean' energy: Manure creates electricity
Camel's escape just a hump in the road
Thieves focus on costly eyeglasses

Fox News
Michael Schiavo Remarries
U.S. Navy Seizes Suspected Pirate Ship in Indian Ocean
Two Trapped Miners Made 'Valiant Effort' to Escape
Survey: Gas Prices Up 3 Cents
Reception Line Photos Show Bush, Abramoff Together
Sharon's Plotter Convicted- Sharon Test Shows No Change
Stocks to Watch: Ford, TI
Thousands Mark Roe v. Wade
Utah Hikers Rescued- Video: Dramatic Rescue
Ford Expected to Close Plants
SPORTS NEWS AND SCORES
Steelers Trounce Broncos 34-17
Seahawks Top Panthers 34-14

Reuters: Top News
Iran rejects threats but calls for more talks
Israeli army to avoid W.Bank towns during election
British diplomats accused of spying Play Video
Israeli army to avoid W.Bank towns during election Video
Russia accuses British diplomats of spying Video
Iran warns West over UN nuclear referral: report Video
WHO says not overplaying threat of flu pandemic
Canada seen choosing new Conservative government
Threats to media cloud American view of Iraq
Lawmakers seek review of eavesdropping rules
UK lists five options for Stonehenge roads
Lifting the Lid: New accounting technology gets cold shoulder
Syrians oppose U.S. but love KFC
Last-minute radiation saves lung cancer patients
Health experts to review OTC weight-loss drug
Oil flat after breaking $69 a barrel
Albertson's to be sold to consortium
Nike CEO resigns amid clashes with founder
Bank of America profit down 2 pct; rise was seen
Philips beats forecasts, ups dividend, shares rise
Yahoo Japan posts higher Q3, sees strong Q4
Ford shares jump almost 6 pct on Inet
Stock futures rise after Ford results, deals
Shares, dollar slide on risk aversion, $68 oil
Wall Street seen creeping higher; Ford in focus
European stocks weak as oil soars, earnings worry
Singing the blues at big-orange

AP World News
Eight U.N. Peacekeepers Killed in Congo
Building Collapses in Kenya; 50 Injured
Kuwaiti Parliament to Debate Ailing Emir
Fatah, Hamas Gather Last-Minute Support
Pakistanis Stopped From Protesting U.S.
Turkey Drops Charges Against Novelist
Canadians to Decide Fate of Liberal Party
Azerbaijan Supplies Gas to Georgia
Iraqi Cleric: Militia Would Defend Iran
Group: 2005 Set Record for Media Deaths
Bolivia's 1st Indian President Inaugurated
At Least 22 Dead As Boat Sinks Off Yemen
Sudanese Police Raid Human Rights Meeting
Israeli Leaders Brace for Hamas Landslide
Kosovo's Ethnic Albanians Mourn Rugova

The Seattle Times
Mine deaths prompt calls for change
States moving ahead on own energy plans
Critics claim unit fails to shield voting rights
Review casts doubt on soy's benefits
Scholar released by China now facing deportation by U.S.
U.S. troops exposed to contaminated water in Iraq, documents say
Sunni leader lays out terms for unity pact
Thick fog enshrouds a "friendly fire" death
Passengers on cruise threatening a sit-in

Chicago Sun-Times
2 firms linked to gov vie for lottery pact
Prisons' use of 'trusties' to be investigated after two deaths
Malaysians find good luck in strange places
Canada's scandal-ridden Liberals try to hang on
20,000 escape Congo in 4 days

Boston Globe: World
Israeli leaders brace for possibility of Hamas dominating at polls
Iran calls Israeli threats 'childish'
Sudan eases its bid to head African Union

Military.com
Two Airmen Killed in Bomb Attack
Halliburton Cited in Iraq Contamination
Pakistan Lawmakers Want U.S. Envoy Out

Department of Defense
Soldiers Detain Terrorists, Find Bombs - Story

IN IRAQ
Marine Unit Celebrates 55th Birthday in Iraq
Mess Night Gives Marines Chance to Unwind

IN AFGHANISTAN
Windmills Provide Water Source for Farmers
Vendor Day Educates Business Leaders

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Actor Supports Iraqi Children - Story
Capitals Appreciate Troops Photos

TOP NEWS
IRAQ
Two Marines Killed in Iraq
Latvian Troop, Iraqi Civilians Hurt
Iraqi Forces Move Foward Video
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq (pdf)
Multinational Force Iraq
Eye on Iraq Update (pdf)
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report (pdf)
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Police Discuss Internal Security
Security Members Demobilize
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Cheney: Terrorists Target U.S.
Charges Referred to Commission
Fact Sheet: War on Terror
Fact Sheet: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
National Guard, Reserve Update

Weather
Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Gitmo

Today in History
0638 - Start of Islamic calendar
1265 - 1st English Parliament formally convened (some authorities)
1490 - 1st printing of Ramban's Sha'ar ha-Gemul
1492 - "Pentateuch" (Jewish holy book) 1st printed
1552 - 2nd version of Book of Common Prayer becomes mandatory in England
1556 - Most deadly earthquake kills 830,000 in Shansi Province, China
1570 - Earl of Moray, regent of Scotland, assassinated; civil war breaks out
1579 - Union of Utrecht signed, forming protestant Dutch Republic
1631 - France & Sweden sign anti-German Treaty of Bärwald
1637 - Dutch Governor Johan Mauritius lands in Pernambuco Brazil
1643 - Sir Thomas Fairfax takes Leeds for the Parliamentarians
1647 - Scottish Presbyterians sell captured Charles I to English parliament
1663 - King Louis XIV affirms covenant with Rÿnstaten
1668 - England, Netherlands & Sweden signs Triple Alliance against French
1719 - Principality of Liechtenstein created within Holy Roman Empire
1793 - 2nd partition of Poland, between Prussia & Russia; Humane Society of Philadelphia (first aid society) organized
1796 - Armand-Gaston Camus becomes chairman of Council of 500
1812 - 7.8 earthquake shakes New Madrid, Missouri
1845 - Uniform US election day for President & Vice President authorized
1849 - Mrs Elizabeth Blackwell becomes 1st woman physician in US; Patent granted for an envelope-making machine
1856 - Steamer Pacific lost
1861 - Agoston Haraszthy, 1st vintner in Sonoma Valley, imports 100,000 cuttings of 350 varieties from Europe
1865 - Battle of City Point, VA (James River, Trent's Reach); General Robert E. Lee named Commander-in-Chief of Confederate Armies
1870 - 173 Blackfoot Indians (140 women & children) killed in Montana by US Army
1907 - Charles Curtis of Kansas becomes 1st Native American US senator
1908 - US & Great-Britain demand end of abuses in Congo
1909 - 1st radio rescue at sea
1920 - Dutch government refuses to turn over ex-Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany to the allies 1930 - George Washington Birthplace National Monument, VA, established; Clyde Tombaugh photographs planet Pluto
1932 - El Salvador army kills 4,000 protesting farmers
1933 - 20th amendment changes date of Presidential Inaugurations to 1/20
1936 - Catholic People's Party (KVP) of Curaçao forms
1937 - Karl Radek & 16 others go on trial in Stalin's great purge
1941 - Ground breaking for NACA (now NASA) Lewis Research Center
1942 - Japanese troops occupy Rabaul, New Britain; Tank battle at Adzjedabia, African corps vs British army
1943 - British 8th army marches into Tripoli; Japanese Mount Austen on Guadalcanal captured
1945 - Dutch Premier Gerbrandy, exiled in London, offers his resignation
1946 - Rear Admiral Sidney W. Souers, USNR, becomes 1st director of CIA
1950 - NFL rule changes open way for 2-platoon system (offense & defense); NFL's National & American conferences become Eastern & Western conferences
1954 - Harry van Thorn chosen chairman of Dutch KVP
1958 - Dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez flees Venezuela, Larrazábal takes power
1961 - Court rules cities & states have right to censor films; Venezuela adopts constitution
1962 - Libya, Morocco, Algeria & Tunisia plan to form United Arab Maghreb; British spy Kim Philby defects to USSR
1964 - 24th Amendment ratified, barring poll tax in federal elections
1968 - Spy ship USS Pueblo & 83-man crew seized in Sea of Japan by N Korea
1970 - Australia's 1st amateur radio satellite (Oscar 5) launched (California); US launches 2nd generation weather satellite, ITOS 1
1972 - Entire population of Istanbul under 24 hour house arrest
1973 - Helgafell, island of Heimaey Iceland erupts for 1st time in 7,000 years; Jordan Air crash at Kano, Nigeria kills 176 Moslem pilgrims
1973 - President Nixon announces an accord has been reach to end the Vietnam War
1975 - "Barney Miller" premieres on ABC TV
1977 - Miniseries "Roots" premieres on ABC
1978 - Belgian industrial Haron Empain kidnapped in Paris
1979 - Willie Mays elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
1982 - World Airways DC-10 skids at Boston Logan Airport, killing 2
1983 - "A-Team" with Mr T premieres on NBC; Russian radioactive satellite falls into Indian Ocean
1985 - Britains House of Lords debate 1st televised
1986 - Columbia returns to Kennedy Space Center via Davis-Monthan AFB; 1st induction of Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame (Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Domino, Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis & Elvis Presley)
1987 - Japan 1st exceeds military spending cap of 1% of GNP ($23 billion)
1988 - Experimental airplane Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan & Jeana Yeager, complete 1st nonstop, round-the-world flight without refueling lands
1989 - Challenge to "who is a Jew" law filed in Israeli Supreme Court
1991 - World's largest oil spill, caused by embattled Iraqi forces in Kuwait
1993 - New York Newsday reports Oregon's Senator Bob Packwood sexually harassed 23 women
1994 - Worldwide Day for peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina
1998 - Pope John Paul II condemns US embargo against Cuba

Birthdays
1730 - Joseph Hewes, US merchant (Declaration of Independence signer)
1828 - Calvin Edward Pratt, Union Brigadier General
1830 - Gaston A.A. Marquis de Gallifet, French General /minister of War (1899-1900)
1832 - Édouard Manet, French Impressionist painter (Déjeuner sur L'Herbe)
1833 - John Randolph Chambliss, Jr., Confederate Brigadier General
1891 - Antonio Gramsci, Italian philosopher/marxist theorist
1893 - Frank Carlson (Governor/Republican/Senator-KS)
1896 - Charlottef, Grand Dutchess of Luxembourg (1919-64)
1897 - Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian politician
1907 - Hediki Yukawa, Japanese physicist (Nobel 1949)
1914 - Napoleon L. Bonaparte, French pretender to the throne
1915 - Potter Stewart, 94th Supreme Court justice (1958-81)
1924 - Frank R. Lautenberg (Senator-NJ)
1929 - John Polanyi, Canadian chemist (Nobel 1986)
1930 - William Reid Pogue, Colonel USAF/astronaut (Skylab 4)
1932 - Bud Shuster (Representative-PA)
1938 - Anatoly Marchenko, Soviet dissident
1942 - Willy Bogner, Jr., director (On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
1944 - Marty Russo (Representative-IL); Rutger Hauer Dutch actor (Blade Runner, Ladyhawke, Osterman Weekend)
1947 - Thomas R. Carper (Representative-DE)
1949 - Robert D. Cabana, Major USMC/astronaut (STS 41, 53, 68, 88)

Passings
1002 - Otto III, German king/emperor 983/996-1002, dies at 21
1356 - Margaretha of Bavaria, Empress of Germany
1516 - Ferdinand II, King of Aragon/Sicily, dies at 63
1639 - Francisco Maldonado da Silva Solis, Peruvian poet, burned at stake
1800 - Edward Rutledge, US attorney (signed Declaration of Independence), dies at 50
1806 - William Pitt the Younger, PM Great Britain (1783-1806), dies at 46
1813 - George Clymer, US merchant (signed Declaration of Independence), dies at 73
1838 - Arnold A. Buyskes, Dutch Vice-Admiral/colonial director, dies at 67
1891 - Boudouin, prince of Belgium/count of Flanders, dies at 21
1913 - Nazim Pasha, Turkey's PM, assassinated
1945 - Helmuth J. Moltke, German politician ("July 20th Plot"), executed at 37
1990 - Mariano Rumor, Italy's PM (1968-70, 73-1974)
1992 - Simon Brand, South African banker/adviser to President De Klerk
1997 - Laura "Dinky" Patterson, dies during bungee jump at Super Bowl rehearsal at 43
1997 - Randy Greenawalt, convicted killer, executed by injection at 47; Roger John Tayler, astrophysicist, dies at 67
1998 - Hilla Limann, President of Ghana (1979-81)

Reported Missing in Action
1967
Bridger, Barry B., USAF (NC); F4C shot down (pilot, w/Gray), released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive as of 1998

Gray, David F., USAF (FL); F4C shot down (co-pilot/systems operator, w/Bridger), released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

1968
Ramsden, Gerald Lee, USN (CA); A6A shot down over water - remains recovered January, 1969

1969
The following US Army personnel reported MIA when their UH1H was shot down:
Henderson, William R. (OH); remains returned January, 1969 - ID'd February, 1976

Luster, Robert L. (OH); remains recovered January, 1969; ID'd February, 1976 (disputed)

Moorman, Frank D. (NJ); remains recovered January, 1969; ID'd February, 1976

1970
Anzaldua, Jose J., Jr., USMC (TX); released by PRG March, 1973 - retired as a Major

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