Monday, February 13, 2006

Today in History

1130 - Gregorio de' Papareschi elected as Pope Innocent II
1349 - Jews are expelled from Burgsordf, Switzerland
1510 - Charles of Gelre conquerors Oldenzaal
1545 - Willem of Nassau becomes prince of Orange
1566 - St. Augustine, FL founded
1633 - Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei arrived in Rome for trial before Inquisition for professing belief that earth revolves around the Sun
1668 - Treaty of Lisbon Spain recognizes Portugal
1678 - Tycho Brahe 1st sketches "Tychonic system" of solar system
1689 - British Parliament adopts Bill of Rights
1692 - MacDonald clan murdered on orders of King William III
1693 - College of William & Mary opens
1706 - Battle at Fraustadt Swedish army beats Russia/Saksen
1755 - Rebel leader Mangkubuni signs Treaty of Gianti, Java
1777 - Marquis de Sade arrested without charge, imprisoned in Vincennes fortress
1782 - French fleet occupies St Christopher
1795 - 1st state university in US opens, University of North Carolina
1799 - 1st US law regulating insurance passed, by Massachusetts
1809 - French take Saragossa, Spain after a long siege
1816 - Teatro San Carlo in Naples destroyed by fire
1826 - American Temperance Society forms in Boston
1832 - 1st appearance of cholera at London
1837 - Riot in New York over high price of flour
1860 - King Basse Kajuara departs Boni South-Celebes
1861 - 1st military action to result in Congressional Medal of Honor, Arizona; Abraham Lincoln declared President; Colonel Bernard Irwin attacks & defeats hostile Chiricahua Indians
1862 - Siege of Ft Donelson, TN
1864 - Meridian Campaign - fighting at Chunky Creek & Wyatt, MS
1866 - Jesse James holds up his 1st bank, Liberty MO ($15,000)
1895 - Moving picture projector patented
1907 - English suffragettes storm British Parliament & 60 women are arrested
1920 - National Negro Baseball League organized; League of Nations recognizes perpetual neutrality of Switzerland; Switzerland rejoins League of Nations
1924 - King Tut's tomb opened
1925 - US Congress makes Surpreme Court appeal more difficult
1927 - Uprising against Portuguese regime of General Carmona defeated
1929 - Cruiser Act OKs construction of 19 new cruisers & an aircraft carrier
1934 - Austrian Dollfuss government bans socialistic party
1935 - Bruno Hauptmann found guilty of kidnap & murder of Lindbergh's infant
1941 - Nazi leaders attack Dutch Jewish Council
1942 - Hitler's Operation Seelöwe (invasion of England) cancelled
1943 - German assault on Sidi Bou Zid Tunisia, General Eisenhower visits front; Women's Marine Corps created
1945 - Allied planes bomb Dresden Germany; 135,000 die; USSR captures Budapest, after 49-day battle with Germany; 159,000 die
1948 - Wright Flyer, 1st plane to fly, returns to US from England
1948 - Men's Figure Skating Championship in Davos won by Richard Button USA
1955 - Israel acquires 4 of 7 Dead Sea scrolls
1959 - Miro Cardon, premier of Cuba, resigns
1961 - Soviet Union fires a rocket from Sputnik V to Venus
1965 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Peggy Fleming
1968 - US sends 10,500 additional soldiers to Vietnam
1969 - Suriname government of Pengel resigns
1971 - Golfing Vice President Spiro Agnew hits 2 tee shots into the crowd, injuring 2; 12,000 South Vietnamese troops cross into Laos
1974 - Dissident Nobel writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn expelled from USSR
1975 - Cyprus premier Denktash proclaims Turkish-Cypriot Federation
1976 - Dorothy Hamill wins Olympics figure-skating gold, Innsbruck, Austria
1977 - Eric Heiden is 1st American to win world speed skating championship
1981 - Longest sentence published by New York Times-1286 words
1984 - Konstantin Chernenko succeeds Yuri Andropov as USSR leader; 6 year old Texan Stormie Jones gets 1st heart & liver transplant
1985 - Polish police arrest 7 Solidarity leaders
1988 - 15th Winter Olympics games open at Calgary, Canada; European Community plans removal of inner boundaries on Jan 1, 1992
1989 - Salvadoran army attacks Encuentros hospital, rapes, kills patients; Kidnapped Belgian Premier Vanden Boeynants freed
1990 - US, England, France & England give Germany the OK to re-unify; 50 killed at Inkatha-UDF battle in Natal, South Africa
1991 - Syria tells Germany they are ready to recognize Israel; US bombs Iraqi air raid shelter, killing 334
1994 - Ship disaster near Ranong Thailand, kills 200
1997 - Discovery captures Hubble Space Telescope

Birthdays
1480 - Hieronymus Aleander [Girólamo Aleandro], Italian diplomat/cardinal
1599 - Alexander VII [Fabio Chigi], Italian pope (1655-67)
1757 - John C. Hespe, Dutch journalist/politician
1768 - Édouard Mortier, French general, duke, prime minister (1834-35)
1813 - Charles Pierre Schimpf, Governor of Suriname (1855-59)
1831 - John Aaron Rawlins, Union Brevet Major General
1833 - William Whedbee Kirkland, Confederate Brigadier General
1849 - Lord Randolph Churchill, English politician, Winston's father
1852 - Johan L.E. Dreyer, Danish astronomer (New generation catalogue of nebulae)
1874 - Hendrik Spiekman, Dutch politician (S
1887 - Alvin York (Sgt. York), famed US Soldier with 25 kills in WWI
1892 - Robert Houghwout Jackson, 84th Supreme Court justice (1941-54)
1893 - Ana Pauker-Rabensohn, Romanian communist/foreign minister (1945-52)
1902 - Blair Moody, (Senator-MI)
1908 - Pauline Frederick, journalist/correspondent (UN, NBC TV)
1910 - William B. Shockley, US physicist (Nobel 1956 - for research on semiconductors and discovery of the transistor effect along with John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain)
1913 - Guiseppe Dossetti, politician/priest
1922 - Lord Pym of Sandy, British minister of foreign affairs
1923 - Chuck Yeager, US test pilot (1st man to break sound barrier)
1924 - Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, French economist/politician
1929 - Omar Torrijos Herrera, President of Panamá
1933 - Paul Biya, President of Cameroon
1937 - Sigmund Jähn, cosmonaut (Soyuz 31/29)
1939 - Valery Illych Rozhdestvensky, cosmonaut (Soyuz 23)
1942 - Donald E. Williams, Captain USN/astronaut (STS 51D, STS 34)
1952 - David Puilum Choi, murderer (FBI Most Wanted List)

Passings
1130 - Honorius II [Lamberto], Pope (1124-30)
1237 - Jordanus of Saxon 2nd general of Dominicans, drowns
1332 - Andronicus II Paleologus, Byzantine emperor (1282-1328)/monk
1542 - Catherine Howard, queen of England/5th wife of Henry VIII, beheaded
1660 - Charles X Gustaaf, King of Sweden (1654-60), dies at 37
1784 - Charles Gravier, French earl of Vergennes/Minister of Foreign Affairs
1818 - George Rogers Clark, frontier military leader in Revolutionary War
1882 - Henry Highland Garnet, diplomat, dies in Monrovia, Liberia at 66
1891 - David Dixon Porter, US Rear Admiral (Union Army-Civil War), dies at 77
1941 - Naomi Uemura, Japanese mountain climber, dies on Mt. McKinley
1960 - Delmar G. Roos, designer of the jeep, dies at 79
1976 - General Murtala Mohammed head of Nigeria, killed during a coup
1982 - Zeng Jinlian, grew to 8'1" (tallest woman), dies at 17
1995 - Joan A.C. Ramsey nee Hamilton, lady Ramsey of Canterbury, dies at 84

Reported Missing in Action
1967
Carlson, Paul V., USN (MN); F4B crashed in water, Killed, body not recovered

1969
Herlik, Querin, US Army (WI); RU1A shot down, released by Sihanouk March, 1969 - retired as a Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

posted by Pam @ 7:22 PM |

Flying around the track
DAYTONA, Fla. (AFPN) -- The Air Force race team performs a pit stop during the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway Feb. 12. The Air Force team finished 14th. Ken Schrader was at the wheel of the Wood Brothers/JTG Racing Team's No. 21 Ford Fusion. (U.S. Air Force photo by Larry McTighe)

posted by Pam @ 7:20 PM |

Waxing Ballistic

The Cheney story this weekend was the source of no small amount mirth in my household, but probably not for the same reason as in other households. But I’ll get to that in a minute.

The story has been bandied about the MSM today as if the VP was on a rampage, pumping slugs into random elderly gentlemen. The fact is, it isn’t nearly as serious as initial reports implied. He was using birdshot, and hunting quail. We’re not talking an elephant gun and a slug here. We’re talking small birdshot pellets. Whittington's daughter said his face looks like he has chickenpox, so it’s not the end of the world - certainly not the sort of description you'd normally expect of someone whose face was on the business end of a shot gun.

My husband, who used to go bird-hunting quite frequently when he was younger, tells me that pepperings are a pretty common bird-hunting mishap. He explained that a trio hunting fowl will often walk in a sort of triangle pattern:

X X

The people on the left and right shoot left and right. The person behind them doesn’t shoot. Misjudge your shooting range, or wander into the wrong area, and you’ve got trouble.

If the VP’s buddy had vacated the area, then "snuck up on them" and didn’t let them know he was there, that was a colossally bad decision. Granted, the shooter almost always bears some responsibility when something goes awry, but after wandering into the field of fire, walking away with a good peppering is probably a bit of luck.

The biggest cause of angst in the MSM seems to be that some small-town newspaper got the story before they did.

At any rate, back to the source of mirth.

I’ve talked about my father-in-law before –ex-Special Forces, three-and-a-half-tours-in-Vietnam veteran, and all-around top notch guy. He’s also a pretty unique guy, and some elements of that Special Forces mentality definitely remain.

So when the Cheney-shoots-buddy story hit, I was reminded of a story my husband told me, which just typifies my father-in-law, and is pretty amusing, to boot.

Once, when my husband was a teenager, they went out hunting pheasant. The marching order was like this:

Bro-in-law Hubby

Father-in-law

So they’re wandering along, and my father-in-law apparently decides that he’s tired of his boys having to wait for the pheasants to show up on their own – he’s going to see if he can flush some.

Off he goes, out around the flank to the right, and up ahead.

Neither my husband or his brother see Dad move off. Didn’t hear him, either – Dad knows how to move through the underbrush.

At last, my husband spots a pheasant rising out of the grass. He takes aim, follows the bird, and--

--sees his father, dead center in his sights, facing away, watching the bird.

Immediately moving the gun so that he isn’t about to shoot at his Dad, my husband yells to him. “Dad!! What are you doing there?!”

My father-in-law, having turned around to face him, is yelling, too. “Shoot it! Why didn’t you shoot it?!”

“Dad-you were right there!” My husband is a little freaked out now – pheasant the least of his concerns.

“You should’ve taken the shot!” My father-in-law is still yelling.

Exasperated, my husband finally says, “Dad, Jesus! If I’d shot, I would have hit the back of your head!”

My father-in-law’s response?

“I was in 'Nam. I would have ducked.”

Gotta love my father-in-law.

posted by Pam @ 2:31 PM |

U.S. Soldiers Train Afghan Army

U.S. Army Capt. Clay Ballenger, embedded trainer for the Afghan National Army 2nd Kandak's headquarters company, speaks with members of his unit, Dec. 24, 2005. Office of Security Cooperation-Afghanistan photo by U.S. Air Force Capt. Dave Huxsoll

Afghan National Army members and U.S. military police from Forward Operating Base Orgun-E respond to the scene of an improvised explosive device detonation and firefight in Paktika Province, Dec. 25, 2005. U.S. soldiers serve as embedded trainers for the Afghan National Army and Afghan soldiers accompany coalition forces on missions. Office of Security Cooperation-Afghanistan photo by U.S. Air Force Capt. Dave Huxsoll

Afghan National Army members and U.S. military police from Forward Operating Base Orgun-E respond to the scene of an improvised explosive device detonation and firefight in Paktika Province, Dec. 25, 2005. U.S. soldiers serve as embedded trainers for the Afghan National Army and Afghan soldiers accompany coalition forces on missions.Office of Security Cooperation-Afghanistan photo by U.S. Air Force Capt. Dave Huxsoll

A U.S. military police member confers with an Afghan National Army soldier at the scene of an improvised explosive device detonation, Dec. 25, 2005. Afghan National Army members helped provide security for the investigation team and asisted in searching and interviewing citizens in the area. U.S. soldiers serve as embedded trainers for the Afghan National Army and Afghan soldiers accompany coalition forces on missions. Office of Security Cooperation-Afghanistan photo by U.S. Air Force Capt. Dave Huxsoll

U.S. Army Capt. Chuck Niblack, an Afghan National Army embedded trainer, works on the scene as Afghan National Army soldiers search citizens, Dec. 25, 2005. Office of Security Cooperation-Afghanistan photo by U.S. Air Force Capt. Dave Huxsoll

U.S. Army Maj. Donnie Kelly, embedded training team chief for the Afghan National Army's 2nd Kandak, 1st Brigade, 203rd Corps, trains soldiers on procedures for entering and searching buildings. Office of Security Cooperation-Afghanistan photo by U.S. Air Force Capt. Dave Huxsoll

posted by Pam @ 7:40 AM |

PORT VISIT — A U.S. sailor aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Roosevelt throws a heaving line to the pier during mooring operations as the ship arrives for a routine port visit in Souda Bay at Crete, Greece, Feb. 8, 2006. The Roosevelt is currently on a surge deployment in support of the global war on terrorism. U.S. Navy photo by Paul Farley

posted by Pam @ 7:39 AM |

In Today's News - Monday, February 13, 2006

Quote of the Day
"No man's life, liberty, or property are safe

while the legislature is in session."
-- Mark Twain (1866)

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Defiant Saddam says forced to return to Iraqi court
Suicide bomber kills seven outside Baghdad bank - Video
Al-Jaafari New Iraqi PM
Iraqis Remain Starved of Electricity
U.K. vows probe of alleged attack on Iraqi detainees
British soldiers appear to abuse Iraqis in video

Operation Enduring Freedom
Alleged U.S. Fire Kills Two in Pakistan

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Gore: U.S. Discrimination After Sept. 11 'Wrong'
Doctor once linked to al-Qaida is killed
UN report hits US on detainees' care

NSA Surveillance
Key lawmaker questions value of Bush's domestic surveillance program

Hamas Rising
Hamas says will appoint Palestinian prime minister
Iran Postpones Uranium Talks With Russia
Israel criticizes Russia for inviting Hamas to visit

Cartooning Muhammad
7,000 Pakistani Students Protest Cartoons
Cartoon fury could spin out of control: Rice
Other agendas thrive in furor over cartoons
Why people are dying over cartoons, where to view them
Mixed rules on free speech in Europe
What Muslims see in prophet's image
Rice says Iran, Syria fuel violent protests
Iran denies pushing protests, wants Rice to say she's sorry
In poll, Danes grasp Muslim anger

Worldwide Wackos
Iran resumes uranium-enrichment work-diplomats
Some 40 U.S. Missionaries Leave Venezuela

Politics
Bernanke to debut as Fed chief on Capitol Hill
House: Gov't Ineptitude Worsened Katrina Response
White House acknowledges Abramoff photo
Newest senator assails Bush's budget plan
Bush-bashing on the rise within GOP
Photo gallery: Sharing Amboseli National Park
First lady dismisses Clinton's criticism
Lobbyist minimizes talks with Reid's staff
Gingrich cheers frustrated conservatives
Dems with clout reel in key state internships
Two senators: Cheney should be investigated if he OKd leak
Rice skeptical of democracy in Russia

XX Winter Olympics
U.S. Wins 2nd Gold Medal
WINTER OLYMPICS
Canada advances to medal round
More stories, video and pictures (from Reuters)

Oddities
"Holy" chip reveals itself to woman on flight
It's shoes galore on Dutch beach after storm hits cargo ship
Choking back chocolate, for fun and money

News from My Neck of the Woods
Record Snowfall
Turkish Plane Slides Off Runway at JFK Airport
Video: Snow Buries New England - Photo Essay

Other News of Note
Cheney Mistakenly Shoots Hunter
Iran: We'll Commit
Japanese Firm Raided in Nuclear Probe
Israel Urges World to Reject Hamas

Fox News
SWAT Team Closes in on Remaining Two Fugitives
Deadly Plane Crash in Cali.
Survey: Gas Down 3 Cents
10th Ala. Church on Fire
Sharon in Critical Condition
Ohio Family Found Dead
9 Hurt in Latest L.A. Jail Riot
Video: U.S. Marshals to Go U.K. to Pick up Entwistle
Four of Six Inmates at Large After Illinois Prison Break
Sharks Swarm Aussie Beach
Stocks to Watch: Agilent
SPORTS NEWS AND SCORES

Reuters: Top News
Annan to Bush: Help stop murder and rape in Darfur
No homeland for Tigers - S.Lanka President
Two runners critically ill after HK marathon
Starving cattle put Kenya wildlife at risk
Video game awards show to debut in 2007
HP to set up separate portable device business: report
"Jaws" author Peter Benchley dead at 65
Roche suspends drug trial recruitment, shares hit
Microsoft takes European antitrust case to the public
Merrill in talks for big BlackRock stake-reports
Adidas says will make Reebok a performance brand
Prosecutors charge ex-Livedoor CEO Horie
Trends and Innovation
Wireless to organize -- and maybe save -- lives
Acorda shares rise in market debut
Nikkei falls as lower energy, metals prices weigh
GE's stock glide downward surprises some investors
US stocks gain on Aon earnings and techs' rebound
Lionsgate pares losses after earnings miss
Key to stock screens
Looking at Indonesia: Telecoms

AP World News
Haitian Official Alleges Vote Manipulation
Mainline Christians Struggle With Shifts
U.N. Calls on World for Aid to Congo
A Year After Hariri, Lebanon Struggles
Maoist Rebels Press Their Fight in Nepal
Fossett Breaks Flight Distance Record

The Seattle Times
Conservation rules wither amid drought
President touts new Medicare drug benefit
Photo gallery: Snow blankets Northeast
New Orleanians wrestle bureaucracy, fear of abandonment, in recovery
Lawyers seek to stop eviction of 12,000 families from hotels
"C'est Levee," paraders say
Many eager to adopt Down-syndrome kids

Chicago Sun-Times
Bears player accused of threatening cop
Madagascar yields 9 new types of assassin spiders
Hope dims for Sharon to wake up
Cold, hard truth is simple cash for these N.Y. panhandlers
Despite illnesses, Nigeria ignores bird flu standards
Huge tomb found in Alexander the Great's hometown

Boston Globe: World
India, poor still, shows confidence of an emerging power
Free HIV tests, drugs mandated for China's poor
Calm urged as avian flu spreads

Military.com
U.S. Fire Kills Two in Pakistan
Military Delays Bombbuster Deployment
Needed: More Troops, not High-Tech Gadgets
Finding Unbiased Moussaoui Jury not Easy
Wide-Ranging Reforms Expected for FEMA

CENTCOM: News Releases
PAKISTAN MILITARY ENGINEERS ACQUIRE CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT FROM U.S. NAVY SEABEES

PRT REPAIRS DAMAGE AFTER VIOLENT DEMONSTRATIONS

CIVIL AFFAIRS KEEPS THE WATER FLOWING

DETAINEE DIES AT ABU GHRAIB

IRAQI MAN HELPS 3-16 FA SOLDIERS LOCATE WEAPONS CACHE

IRAQI ARMY LEADS OPERATION IN SUBIYHAT

IA,COALITION FORCES WORK TOGETHER FOR PEACE

CIVIL AFFAIRS TEAM SECURES MICRO LOAN FOR LOCAL NATIONALS

Department of Defense
Nations Against Nuclear Program in Iran - Story
Rumsfeld Tours Africa to Strengthen Ties - Story
Rumsfeld: Ike’s Words Define Challenges
Rumsfeld: Terrorists Continue to Kill, Continue to Fail
U.S., British Defense Chiefs Praise NATO
Iraqi Army Leads Operation, Weapons Found - Story

ON THE GROUND
Embedded Trainers Mentor Afghan Soldiers - Story

IN IRAQ
Central-South Division Gets New Commander

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Support Takes Circus Center Stage - Story
Groups Share Ideas, Concerns

TOP NEWS
IRAQ
Province on the Right Track
Reconstruction Progress Made
Insurgents Nabbed After Attack
Bush Thanks Poles for Support
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
Afghans Evacuated for Treatment
ANP Open Family Response Unit
Afghan Workers Improve School
Taliban Detained; Cadets Train
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
First Lady Thanks Troops
LA Skyscraper Was Target
Bush: Must Unite to Fight Terror
U.S. Soldier, 2 Marines Killed
NATO Meetings Begin in Italy
Fact Sheet: War on Terror
Fact Sheet: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
Senate Confirms Edelman to Post
Senior NCOs Wrap Up Conference
Recruiting Momentum Continues
University Honors JCS Chairman
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

posted by Pam @ 6:30 AM |

Iraq War Today is...
...News and photos of Heroes deployed to the Middle East and elsewhere. IWT is dedicated to all of our military Heroes - past, present and future.