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Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Blogwatch - Michael Yon

Three weeks ago, Dr. Wafa Sultan was a largely unknown Syrian-American psychiatrist living outside Los Angeles, nursing a deep anger and despair about her fellow Muslims.

Today, thanks to an unusually blunt and provocative interview on Al Jazeera television on Feb. 21, she is an international sensation, hailed as a fresh voice of reason by some, and by others as a heretic and infidel who deserves to die...


Read the rest

Combat cargo capability
Crewmembers from the 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron and their Australian forces counterparts upload an Australian Army CH-47 helicopter onto a C-17 Globemaster III at a deployed location in Southwest Asia on Sunday, Mar. 12, 2006. The C-17 is from McChord Air Force Base, Wash. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Joshua Strang) Full Story

A Soldiers' Angel Gets a Package

Received by Soldiers' Angels:

hi, i just want to share the news with you (since i adopted my soldier through you)...

my soldier sent me a package.... yes - she sent me a package.. i thought i was the one that was suppose to send her things...

anyways, she sent me an american flag that flew on their ship on feb 25th, 2006. the flag was dedicated to me, there was a certificate with the flag. she was thanking me for all i've done. it was one of the greatest gifts i've received. not only it was nice to know she appreciated me, i felt so honored that she had the flag dedicated to me. she also had good news to share, she was on her way home, and asked for us to remain in contact with one another.

thanks soldiers angels for everything.... thanks for allowing me to make a difference for a stranger, whom is a hero to me, and now a new friend of mine.

sincerely,
toni

florida

Granted, this level of response is a rarity with adopted Heroes - but the rewards for being involved in actively supporting our Heroes are many. I count myself as inordinately privileged to have had the opportunity to thank so many Heroes personally - adoptees, and those I've written to as part of the Letter Writing Team.

Soldiers' Angels is always in need of people who want to show their support of our Heroes - more and more names are submitted every day:

HI. I AM INQUIRING ABOUT BEING ADOPTED BY FAMILY IN THE STATES.MANY PEOPLE HERE GET MAIL AND I DO NOT GET MUCH SO I WAS WONDERING ABOUT HOW TO GET BOXES OF THINGS THAT I MIGHT NEED OR JUST MAIL FROM HOME SHOWING THAT PEOPLE STILL CARE ABOUT THE SOLDIERS? THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU ARE DOING.

I am a single mom deployed to Iraq.I don't have any special needs or requests it would just be wonderful
to receive letters from people who are stateside.Thank you for all you do to support the effort!

I want to thank you for what you are doing for us over here. We appreciate everything everyone back at
home with the support and love that we need out here. Without that our jobs over here will be very hard. Thank you.

Well this is the second time I have been deployed to Iraq in less than a year. All I really request is stuff
like noodles candy and fantasy science fiction books. Stuff like that helps a soldier get through
deployments.I would like to say to my angel that I appreciate you taking the time out to help a soldier you dont even know when you didnt have to. Thank you for that and your support.


I am a member of a surgical medical company that is always working long hours. Words of encouragement are always in need. Could use a few extra letters for the wounded to boost their morale. Thanks for all your doing. Keep up the good work.

hi how are you doing i'm doing ok i can't wait to get home i don't care what anyone sends me just as long as i can get some more mail coming in i don't get much mail here that is why i done this hopeing that i can get some one else to wright to me i was told about this from one of my guys in my unit

I really dont have any specific requests any thing would make me happy. All I want to know is that
someone is thinking of me


What's involved? See my posts here and here. To find out more, or to adopt, visit the Soldiers' Angels website.

Not able to adopt, but you'd like to donate? Learn more about Soldiers' Angels special operations - including Operation VALOUR-IT, and Wings of Hope, my adopted Airman's program. Or consider purchasing a copy of Soldier's Angel Holly Aho's book for a Hero.

by Spc. Joshua McPhie
March 14, 2006
Soldiers from the 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division clean their howitzer during routine maintenance at Forward Operating Base Rustimya, Iraq.

Tonal Troop Support

Some time ago, I posted some links to music in support of our Heroes.

Added to that list is Kory Brunson (thanks to Eileen for passing this along):

Hello. My name is Kory Brunson. I'm a Denver artist with a song called "We Know You're Out There (A Message To Our Troops)".

I wanted to make sure you were aware of the song, and that I've made it available as a free download for anyone who wants it at www.korybrunsonband.com.

Here's a
30 second sample.

Hope you're well. And THANK YOU ALL at Soldiers Angels for YOUR support of our troops!!!!!!!!


Best regards,

Kory Brunson

BIG ROPE — Two U.S. sailors, assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan while deployed in the Persian Gulf, prepare for the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Wrangell to pull up to its stern dock, March 8, 2006. Both the Reagan and Wrangell are currently on a deployment conducting Maritime Security Operations in support of the global war on terrorism. U.S. Navy photo by Airman Kathleen Gorby

In Today's News - Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Quote of the Day
"They're to the North of us, they're to the South of us,
they're to the East and West of us...
They can't get away from us now!"
-- General Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, 1950

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
87 Bodies Found in Iraq- Video: Rumsfeld Presser
Iraq Edges Closer to Open Civil Warfare (Ah, the media vultures - "If we say it enough, it has to come true...")
Bush says Iran is disrupting Iraq by aiding insurgents
Judge admits role in deaths

Operation Enduring Freedom
NATO Taking Over Afghan Mission

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Trial Still On
Timeline: Moussaoui Case
Video: Terror on Trial
Site work begins for 9/11 memorial
100 Sept. 11 families: Don't bury memorial
Arab firm's subsidiary has no plans to sell Miami operations
Renegade cleric strengthens his hand

Welcome Home!!
Photos: USS Donald Cook, USS Oscar Austin Return

Other Military News
NFL Player Follows in Tillman's Footsteps (Visit Blackfive for more)

Hamas Rising
Diplomats warning Fatah of US cutoff

Worldwide Wackos
200 submit Holocaust cartoons
West seeks UN pressure on Iran
Iran Leader: Nuclear Path 'Irreversible'
Russia says Iran is 'no help' in nuclear diplomacy efforts

Politics
Laura Bush: U.S. Ready for Female President
ice urges Indonesian military reform
Senate intelligence chief urges end to Iraq probe
Senate gives Bush his defense budget request
Bush defends Medicare drug benefit program

Media in the Media
Mike Wallace of "60 Minutes" to retire
DoD Wants Lid on IED Leaks
AP Sues DoD for Gitmo Documents

Oddities
Now THERE'S a couple that knows how to fight!
Gourmet dine & ditcher banned from Rome
Good for what ails you: Finns go ice swimming
$30 solution has some rubbing their eyes
Beer pours from apartment's kitchen faucet
Local firm suing NCAA over 'March Madness'

Other News of Note
Sirhan to Come Up for Parole in California
Big Bang Theory - Survivor Briefly Goes Home (Sago Mine)
Dam Burst in Hawaii Kills One, Seven Still Missing
Judge May Require Google to Give Government Some Data
Milosevic's body to be flown to Serbia for burial - Video
Microsoft warns of "critical" Office security flaw
Ghost hunters scout spirits of old soldiers
Activists in Iran say U.S. strategy hurts their work

Fox News
Miss. Governor: Crime Has Increased Post-Katrina
NASA Delays Shuttle Launch
Ex-Pitcher Dwight Gooden Arrested For Cocaine
Google Launches Mars Map
Actors, Artists Lobby Congress for Arts Funding
Jericho Jail Raid Ends- Video: Taking Action
Train Kills Miss Deaf Texas
Prosecutors: Boot Camp Teen Was Beaten to Death
Airline Charging for Legroom (United does this, too)
Scorched Earth - Fires tear across Southwest
Video: Wicked Wildfires
FULL SPORTS COVERAGE

Reuters: Top News
Anti-gay group launches boycott of Ford
Azeri victims take bird flu toll past 100
Israeli forces seize Palestinian militant leader - Video
Aryan Brotherhood trial opens in California
Northern ozone pollution spurs Arctic warming: NASA
Movie theaters may ask to jam cell phones
Sony's PlayStation 3 delayed until November: papers
US Army overhauls education: Eating soup with a knife
Foreigners change ways of Argentina wine country
Bizarre events linked to sleeping pills in US
Howard Stern assails CBS chief on his own network
On the Radar: Campbell's yield
Ex-Enron worker says Lay lies cost him his savings
Citigroup global exec eyes deals, branches
Goldman Sachs profit soars 62 pct to record
Firms focus on travelers for pandemic readiness
Golfsmith International planning IPO
Stocks jump on lower bond yields, Goldman profit - Video
Union Pacific raises forecast, shares gain
CVS Corp. shares fall
SeaChange, WFI shares fall; OpenTV up
Home-builder shares soar on interest-rate hopes

AP World News
Jay Leno Apologizes to Offended Viewer
Nissan Develops Gas Pedal Safety Feature
Monmouth Wins NCAA Play-In Game
Sean Connery Sues Country Club for $1M
Dow Closes Up 75, Nasdaq Finishes Up 29
Life for Man Who Had Socialite Wife Killed
Spring Breakers Find a Mellower Cancun

The Seattle Times
Pills may reverse heart disease
Blogger's how-to for abortions stirs debate
"Da Vinci Code" author testifies in copyright suit
Violence pushes Darfur back into abyss of suffering
Unprescribed drug found in Milosevic
Mexico City seeking better agua
Tunnels, chambers aided Jews' revolt 2,000 years ago
Ailing nun's recovery credited to John Paul
South Korea's prime minister loses job over golf outing

Chicago Sun-Times
Area ranks highest for kids' deaths from injuries
20 'fugitive aliens' captured in Chicago area
Tornado rips through parts of Illinois
Feds probe pact linked to Daley pal's brother
Most judges want government-paid home security
Arbitrator: Union to drop transit strike threat
Lights out for confusing taxi signals
Order runs school for AIDS-affected Kenyans
Extreme cold slows cleanup of record oil spill
Shedd helps bring life back to New Orleans aquarium
Long-awaited Clinton Lake murder trial under way

Boston Globe: World
Taiwan's president pledges debate on new constitution

Military.com
Reprisal Slayings Grip Iraq
Bipartisan Group to Assess Iraq War

CENTCOM: News Releases
MND-B SOLDIERS DETAIN TERRORIST SUSPECTS, FIND WEAPONS

MARINES SEIZE 400 POUNDS OF EXPLOSIVES

TERRORISTS TARGET MOSQUE

DETAINEES TRANSFERRED TO AFGHAN AUTHORITY

MND-B SOLDIERS UNCOVER WEAPONS CACHE, DETAIN SUSPECTED TERRORISTS

AFGHAN VENDORS POST IMPRESSIVE GAINS IN CONTRACTING

Department of Defense
Leaders Assess Operation Iraqi Freedom - Story
Iraqi Parliament to Meet for First Time
War on Terrorism Requires More Than Might
Funding, Public Opinion Challenge Fight
Special Ops Transforms to Lead Terror War - Story
Iraqis at Crossroads Appear to Choose Unity - Story

ON THE GROUND
Combat Engineers Sweep for IEDs, Weapons - Story
Spartans Take Reins in Eastern Afghanistan - Story

IN IRAQ
Division Commander Visits Baghdad Residents
Ceremony Transfers Base Control to Iraqi Army

IN AFGHANISTAN
'Muleskinners' Assume Joint Logistics Mission
Medical Assistance Visit Aids Bamian Residents

FACE OF DEFENSE
Brothers Support Operation Enduring Freedom Together - Story

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Donation Keeps Marines Swinging - Story
ASY Groups Meet President Bush
Marine, JROTC Unit Push VFW Effort

TOP NEWS
IRAQ
Soldiers Detain Terrorists
Iraqi Leaders Make Progress
Soldier, Marine Die in Iraq
Iraqi Police Nab Insurgents
Terrorists Kill, Wound Civilians
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq (pdf)
Multinational Force Iraq
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report (pdf)
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Accident Claims Troop's Life
IED Blast Kills 4 U.S. Troops
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Terrorists Use IEDs to Avoid Battle
U.S. Strategy Built for New Threats
War Not Confined to al Qaeda
Ops Helps Bolster Joint Training
Fact Sheet: Budget Request
Fact Sheet: War on Terror
Fact Sheet: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
'Jointness' Becomes Key Focus
Military Applies Katrina Lessons
U.S. Army Must Transform
Leaders Outline Force Changes
National Guard, Reserve Update

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Marine Casualty - Story

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
0493 - Theodorik the Great beats Odoaker of Italy
0752 - St. Zachary ends his reign as Catholic Pope
0933 - Battle at Riade: German King Henry I beats Magyaren
1360 - France invasion army lands on English south coast, conquers Winchel
1382 - Conservative "Popolo Grasso" regain power in Florence Italy
1391 - Jew-hating Monk in Seville Spain stirs up people to attack Jews
1493 - Christopher Columbus returns to Spain after 1st new world voyage
1560 - Failed assault on royal palace in Amboise, France
1562 - General François de Guise enters Paris, France
1580 - Spanish king Philip II puts 25,000 gold coins on head of prince Willem of Orange
1672 - King Charles II enacts Declaration of Indulgence
1729 - Sister St. Stanislas Hachard, 1st US nun, takes her vows, New Orleans
1744 - French King Louis XV declares war on England
1778 - Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island discovered by Captain Cook
1781 - Battle of Guilford Court House, South Carolina (British suffer heavy losses)
1812 - 1st Russian settlement in California, Russian River
1820 - Maine admitted as 23rd state
1827 - Freedom's Journal, 1st Black newspaper, publishes
1855 - Louisiana establishes 1st health board to regulate quarantine
1862 - General John Hunt Morgan begins 4 days of raids near Gallatin, TN
1864 - Red River Campaign-Union forces reach Alexandria, LA
1867 - Michigan becomes 1st state to tax property to support a university; Michigan appoints 1st salaried game & fish warden in US(William Alden Smith)
1889 - 6 US & German warships perish in harbor of Apia Samoa, 200 die
1892 - 1st escalator patented by inventor Jesse W Reno (New York, NY); New York State unveils automatic ballot booth (voting machine)
1897 - 1st indoor fly casting tournament opens, at Madison Square Garden
1901 - Horse racing is banned in San Francisco, last race March 16th
1903 - Frederick Lugard occupies Sokoto West Africa
1906 - Brits Rolls, Royce & Johnson form Rolls Royce Ltd
1907 - Finland is 1st European country to give women the right to vote
1913 - 1st Presidential press conference (Woodrow Wilson)
1915 - Netherlands merchant ship Tubantia torpedoed & sinks in North Sea
1916 - General Pershing, 15,000 troops chase Villa into Mexico, stay 10-months
1917 - Nicholas II, last Russian tsar, says he will abdicate
1919 - American Legion forms (Paris, France)
1923 - Lenin is hit with his 3rd stroke
1928 - Mussolini modifies Italy electoral system (abolishes right to choose)
1930 - 1st seaplane glider flown, Port Washington, NY; 1st streamlined submarine of US navy, USS Nautilus, launched (Groton, CT)
1933
- NAACP begins coordinated attack on segregation & discrimination
1934 - US Information Service opens
1937 - 1st blood bank is established (Chicago IL); 1st state contraceptive clinic opens (Raleigh NC)
1939 - Hitler occupies Bohemia & Moravia (Czechoslovakia); Slovakia independence
1940 - Göring says 100-200 church bells enough for Germany, smelt the rest
1941 - Blizzard in North Dakota kills 151
1943 - Allied reconnaissance flight over Java; Red Army evacuates Kharkov
1944 - Italian town of Cassino destroyed by Allied bombing
1945 - Bert Shepard (1 legged WWII veteran) tries out as a pitcher for Senators
1946 - British premier Attlee agrees with India's right to independence
1947 - John Lee appointed 1st Black commissioned officer in US Navy
1951 - Persia nationalizes Anglo-Iranian Oil Company
1955 - US Air Force unveils self-guided missile
1957 - 3rd nation to explode a nuclear bomb (Britain)
1960 - Key Largo Coral Reef Preserve established (1st underwater park); National Observatory at Kitt Peak, Arizona dedicated
1961 - South Africa withdrews from British Commonwealth
1962 - 5 research groups announce simultaneously discovery of anti-matter
1964 - LBJ asks for a War on Poverty
1965 - LBJ asks congress to ensure everybody's right to vote
1965 - TGIFriday's 1st restaurant opens in New York NY
1966 - Racial riots erupt in the Watts section of Los Angeles
1967 - AFCENT-headquarter moves to Brunssum; Marshal Arturo da Costa e Silva sworn in as President of Brazil
1968 - British minister of Foreign affairs George Brown resigns; Uprising in South Yemen; US Mint stops buying & selling gold
1969 - US Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas resigns; Violent Chinese-Russian border dispute (100s dead)
1971 - CBS TV announces it is dropping "Ed Sullivan Show"; Chatrooms make their debut on the Internet
1972 - Assassination attempt on Governor George Wallace of Alabama; Danish airliner hits mountain in Sheikdom of Oman killing 112; NASA selects 3 part configuration for Space Shuttle
1974 - Brazilian President Garastazu Médici resigns
1976 - Failed coup in Nigeria
1977 - "Eight is Enough" premieres on ABC-TV; US House of Representatives begin 90 day test of televising its sessions
1978 - Operation Litani: Israeli offensive in South Lebanon to rid area of Palestine guerrillas
1979 - Apparat releases Newdos+ 2.1 for Radio Shack's TRS-80
1981 - Failed coup in Suriname under Sergeant-Major Wilfred Hawker
1982 - Actress Theresa Saladana, stabbed repeatedly by obsessed fan
1982 - Nicaragua suspends their citizens rights for 30 days
1984 - Tanzania adopts constitution
1986 - Funeral services held for Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme
1988 - NASA reports accelerated breakdown of ozone layer
1989 - Department of Veterans Affairs officially established as a Cabinet position
1990 - Fernando Collor de Mello sworn in as President of Brazil
1991 - 4 Los Angeles police are charged with beating Rodney King
1992 - UN officially embarks on its largest peacekeeping operation
1999 - Pluto again becomes outermost planet

Birthdays
0076 - Hadrian, Roman Emperor (builder of Hadrian's Wall)
1493 - Anne Pierre Adrien, Duke of Montmorency marshal of France
1666 - Georg Baehr, German master builder (Frauenkirche, Dresden)
1713 - Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, astronomer who mapped the So Hemisphere
1750 - Caroline Herschel, astronomer/discoverer
1767 - Andrew Jackson, General/(D) 7th President (1829-37) (and my great-great etc. Uncle!)
1779 - William Lamb, (Whig) Viscount Melbourne, British Prime Minister (1834, 1835-41)
1809 - Joseph Jenkins Roberts, 1st President of Liberia
1811 - Robert Allen, Union Brevet Major General
1831 - Edward Aylesworth Perry, Confederate Brigadier General
1874 - Harold L. Ickes, social activist, New Deal politician
1905 - Berthold Schenck von Stauffenberg, attempted to assassinate Hitler
1912 - Duncan Stuart, Wilson-MacDonald fighter pilot
1915 - David Schoenbrun, CBS broadcast bureau head (Washington DC, Paris France)
1926 - Tim Valentine (Representative-NC)
1932 - Alan Lavern Bean, Captain USN/astronaut (Apollo 12, Skylab 3)
1936 - Donald K. Sundquist (Representative-TN)
1955 - Dee Snider (Twisted Sister-We're Not Gonna Take It)
1961 - Fabio (Lanzoni), romance novels model (Fabio After Dark)

Passings
44 BC - Julius Cæsar, assassinated in Roman Senate in the Portico of the Theater of Pompey
0493 - Odiaker, German army leader/King of Italy (476-93), dies
0752 - Zachary, Greek/Italian Pope (741-52)
0963 - Romanus II, Byzantine emperor (959-63), dies at 25
1034 - Mieszko II, King of Poland (1025-34)
1731 - Adolf H. van Rechteren, Dutch diplomat/politician, dies at 75
1881 - Emory Upton, Union General-Major (Selma), commits suicide at 42
1906 - Alfred Gilpin Jones, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia (1900-06), dies at 81
1944 - Otto von Below, German commandant (WWI), dies at 86
1945 - Herman B. Wiardi Beckman, Dutch MP (SDAP), dies at 41
1966 - Abe Saperstein, founder (Harlem Globetrotters), dies at 63
1975 - Aristotle S. Onassis, Greek shipping magnate, dies at 69
1977 - Kamal Joemblat, Lebanese politician, murdered
1987 - Sterling W. Cole (Representative-NY), dies at 82
1988 - Dmitri F. Polyakov, Russian Secretary-General/top spy for US, executed
1993 - Ricardo M. Arias Espinosa, President of Panamá (1955-56)

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Clydesdale, Charles F., USN (PA); A1H ditched at sea, KIA, body not recovered

1966
Holmes, David H., USAF (MA); O1E shot down

McElroy, Glenn David, USAF (FL); O1V shot down (w/Nash)

Nash, John M., USAF (IN); O1V shot down (w/McElroy)

Scott, Martin R., USAF (OK); F4C shot down (w/Stewart)

Stewart, Peter J., USAF (FL); F4C shot down (w/Scott)

1967
Frederick, Peter J., USAF (NY); F105 shot down

Smith, Dean, Jr., USN (GA); F8C shot down, KIA, body not recovered

Thompson, Victor Hugo III, USAF (TX); F100D shot down - remains recovered August, 1973 - ID'd January, 1974

1971
Sexton, David M., US Army (OH); M109 gun breach block blew off - Killed, body not recovered

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