News of Note
Who's Stupid Now, Senator Kerry?
Kerry Apologizes to Troops For 'My Poorly Stated Joke' (Joke? Lovely non-apology, Senator)
Speakout! What Do You Think About Kerry's Comments? (Fox News)

Operation Iraqi Freedom
Military sees Iraq edging toward chaos: report Video
Iraqis spar over order to lift U.S. checkpoints - Video
Iraq gunmen kidnap blind coach, official

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Gitmo Detainees Ask Court to Overturn Tribunals

Troops on Trial
USAF Settles With N.J. School Strafed by F-16

Other Military News
Bush Says Rumsfeld Will Stay to End of Term

Mid-East Ceasefire / Hamas Rising / Israel at War
U.S. accuses Syria, Iran, Hezbollah on Lebanon
Israeli strikes kill 9 Palestinians - Video

Worldwide Wackos
North Korea to resume talks - Video
North Korea wants bank accounts unfrozen
Russia says won't back draft text on Iran sanctions

Immigration / Border Control
U.S. fails to protect illegal workers: petition (Oh, for crying out loud....)

Politics / Government
White House Probed for Quieting Climate Research
Prosecutors Consider Ann Coulter Vote Case
Middle-income group feels squeeze in election
House control in range for Democrats: Reuters poll

In the Courts
Dad Guilty in 1st Female Circumcision Trial in U.S.

U.N. News
Venezuela Withdraws From U.N. Race
U.N. Official Accused of Steering Contracts to Friend

Media in the Media
Pentagon Probing Intel Leak to Times

Mother Nature
Wildfire 'Person of Interest' Arrested for 2 Blazes
5th firefighter dies from Calif. blaze

Oddities
Dawn of the "solar salon" in U.S. living rooms
Woman dies next to own grave
Rent-a-Pilgrim
Amnesia victim still has no memories
Woman unexpectedly gives birth to boy

Other News of Note
Explosive device shatters window at Paypal HQ

Fox News
Woman Arrested in Deadly Reno Hotel Fire
Stocks to Watch: Caremark Rx, Whole Foods

Reuters: Top News
Deposed Thai PM Thaksin in China: coup leader
Ortega could win Nicaragua's cliffhanger election
Mandela leads tributes to S.Africa's Botha
Space shuttle Discovery prepped for next launch
DNA pioneer voices concern over database
Cingular to offer music to cell phone subscribers
Pump, with drugs, can reverse heart failure: study
Red wine molecule helps mice live longer
Timberlake feels no pressure as host of MTV awards
Cambodian charity threatens Jolie with lawsuit
Stocks fall on weak data, tech shares lead slide
Income trust shock waves sink Toronto stocks
Oil flat after mixed U.S. inventory data
InfoSpace makes loss on job cut cost, cuts outlook
DreamWorks shares rise after analyst upgrade
Alternatives to chips
Gen Y can avoid being Gen Debt
St. Mary Land to acquire Texas oil-gas properties
CVS to buy Caremark for $20.7 billion
WPP, U.S. equity firm to bid for Sportfive, paper says
U.S. October auto sales up, Chrysler loses ground
Seven-Eleven Japan to offer cheaper soft drinks
Time Warner profit rises on AOL, cable

AP World News
Novelist William Styron dies at 81
Wal-Mart's attendance policy criticized
BALCO grand jury to charge track coach
Reno fire suspect served time for murder
Anna Nicole Smith had pain in her side
Jets' Curtis Martin will miss season
Love says Gibson helped her get sober
GM, Toyota, Ford post big sales gains
CVS buying Caremark for about $21.3B
Execs: AOL free strategy still on track
Adopted boy's father praises Madonna
Music publishers say Kazaa deal reached
Jet skids to belly landing in Fla.
Excerpts from works of William Styron
Joey Buttafuoco sentence postponed
Vt. student charged with needle stabbing

Military.com
Military Ballots May Pose Privacy Risks
Atlantic Fleet Gets New Name
Opinion: The 'Defeatocrats'
Blog: Kerry's October Surprise
Get Ready to Vote!
The Veterans' Bill of Rights

CENTCOM: News Releases
AFGHAN LINGUISTS KEY TO SUCCESS

AFGHAN, COALITION FORCES KILL 3 TERRORISTS, CAPTURE 1 DURING OPERATION

AFGHAN LEADER VISITS KABUL MILITARY TRAINING CENTER

COALITION FORCES DESTROY TERRORIST IED FACTORY

ONE TERRORIST KILLED, ONE DETAINED IN BALAD

IRAQI ARMY CONDUCTS RAID TO FIND MISSING SOLDIER

FIVE TERRORISTS KILLED, ONE DETAINED IN BAGHDAD

DETAINEE DIES AT CAMP CROPPER

USJFCOM
U.S., international partners gain knowledge from conference - podcast
Cooperation key for partnerships
International conference discusses current operations
USJFCOM, ACT host 6th CD&E Conference in Greece
USJFCOM takes over Individual Augmentee Program - podcast
Get the latest USJFCOM News delivered to your email box
Urban Resolve 2015 comes to a close - podcast

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
Rumsfeld: Terrorists Plan AttacksTo Manipulate U. S. Press Coverage - Story
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
Suspected Insurgents Captured in Operation - Story
U.S. Army Husband, Wife Re-enlist at Camp Taji - Story
Afghan Interpreters Save Lives, Impart Knowledge - Story
Afghan Leader Visits Kabul Military Training Center - Story

IN IRAQ
Critical Care Teams Work to Save Marine's Sight
Iraqi, U.S. Soldiers Work to Save Saab al Bour
Realistic Simulations Prepare Marines for Patrols
Iraqi Army Continues to Grow into Modern Force
Water Facility Produces 50,000 Gallons Daily

IN AFGHANISTAN
Command and General Staff College Opens
Specialist Delivers Supplies, Hope to Students
Agha Jon School Reopens After Taliban Torching

BACKGROUND
IRAQ
Renewal In Iraq
Iraq: Security, Stability
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq
Multinational Force Iraq
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report (PDF)
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Weekly Reconstruction Report (PDF)
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
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

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Army 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

National Hurricane Center

Today in History
0079 - Mt. Vesuvius erupts, buring Pompeii.
1210 - King John of England begins imprisoning Jews.
1512 - Michelangelo's paintings on the ceiling of Sistine Chapel are exhibited for the first time.
1623 - A fire at Plymouth, Massachusetts destroys several buildings.
1755 - An earthquake in Lisbon kills more than 50,000.
1765 - The Stamp Act goes into effect in the British colonies.
1776 - The Mission San Juan Capistrano is founded in California.
1784 - Maryland grants citizenship to Lafayette and his descendants.
1800 - John Adams becomes the first President to live in the White House.
1861 - General George B. McClellan becomes general in chief of the Union armies.
1863 - U.S. troops build fortifications built on Angel Island (San Francisco Bay).
1870 - The U.S. Weather Bureau begins operations in 24 locations.
1894 - Dr. Roux of Paris announces the development of a vaccine for diphtheria.
1913 - Notre Dame becomes the first to use the forward pass effectively, upsetting Army 35-13.
1918 - 97 die in the NYC subway's worst accident.
1922 - The Ottoman Empire is abolished.
1924 - The first U.S. NHL franchise, the Boston Bruins, is founded.
1928 - The Graf Zeppelin sets an airship distance record of 6384 km.
1932 - Wernher von Braun is named head of the German liquid-fuel rocket program.
1936 - Mussolini describes alliance between Italy and Germany as an "axis."
1939 - The first animal conceived by artificial insemination (a rabbit) is displayed; the Heinkel HE-178, the first jet plane, is demonstrated for the German Air Ministry.
1940 - Fleetwood, PA, becomes the site of the first U.S. air raid shelter.
1946 - The West German state of Niedersachsen is formed.
1951 - U.S. troops witness the first atomic explosion in NM.
1952 - The first hydrogen device is exploded at Eniwetok Atoll in the Pacific; Fusion occurs for the first time on Earth.
1955 - A time bomb aboard a United DC-6 kills 44 above Longmont, Colorado.
1956 - The Nagy government of Hungary withdraws from the Warsaw Pact.
1959 - Jacques Plante becomes the first NHL goalie to wear a hockey mask.
1960 - The Benelux treaty goes into effect.
1962 - Greece enters the European Common Market; the U.S.S.R. launches Mars-1, losing radio contact lost before its arrival at Mars.
1963 - Revolt begins against the Diem regime in South Vietnam.
1966 - The NFL awards New Orleans its 16th franchise; William Dana reaches 93km in the X-15.
1970 - A Discotheque in Grenoble, France burns, killing 142 (all exits padlocked).
1971 - The Eisenhower dollar is put into circulation.
1974 - In Sao Paulo, Brazil, a fire kills 189 in less than 25 minutes.
1976 - Britain grants Gilbert Island (Kiribati) internal self-government.
1979 - The tanker Burmah Agate spills 10.7 million gallons of oil in the U.S.'s worst oil spill disaster.
1981 - The cost of Class Mail goes from 18 to 20 cents; Antigua gains independence from Britain.
1988 - The Staten Island ferry gets its first pay phones.
1990 - Deputy PM Sir Geoffrey Howe, the last of Margaret Thatcher's original cabinet, resigns.
1993 - The European Union is born.

Birthdays
1762 - Spencer Perceval, British PM (1809-12)
1782 - Viscount Goderich, British PM (1827-28)
1815 - Crawford Williamson Long, surgeon/pioneer (use of ether)
1853 - Jose Santos Zelaya, ruler of Nicaragua (1893-1910)
1859 - Charles Brantley Aycock (Gov-NC)
1871 - Stephen Crane, novelist/poet (Red Badge of Courage)
1889 - Philip John Noel-Baker, statesman, disarmament advocate, Nobel Prize winner (1959)
1920 - James J. Kilpatrick, columnist (60 Minutes)
1953 - N. Jan Davis, Ph.D. / astronaut (sk:STS-47)

Passings
1947 - Man O' War, famous racehorse
1959 - Gershon Agron, mayor of Jerusalem
1963 - Ngo Dinh Diem, South Vietnamese PM, assassinated in a military coup
1985 - Phil Silvers, comedic actor (Sgt Bilko)
1986 - Paul Frees, animation voice (Bullwinkle)
1987 - Rene Levesque, Quebec premier (1976-85)

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Gillson, Peter R., Australian Air Force (Australia); KIA, body not recovered

Knight, Billy, US Army (GA); PRG says DIC January, 1973; Gov't says remains recovered at time of loss, with a loss date of 10/22/68.

1966
Carpenter, Allan R., USN (ME); A4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Commander - alive and well as of 1998

Weaver, George R., Jr., USN (PA); MSB-54 exploded when it hit a mine - KIA, body not recovered

1968
Kenney, Harry J., USN (OH); LSD-1167 struck by floating mine and exploded, KIA, body not recovered

1969
Adventio, Rudolpho Andres, USN; AWOL

Bailey, Daniel T. , US Army; AWOL

Partington, Roger D., USMC (IL); CH53A crashed in water (crew)

ATLANTIC STRIKE — U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Timothy Nieto prepares to fire while performing a cordon and search for hostiles during exercise Atlantic Strike IV at Avon Park, Fla., Oct. 23, 2006. The four-day drill involving over 700 joint participants is a U.S. Central Command Air Force initiative dedicated to supporting the war on terror. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Keri S. Whitehead

John Kerry has finally clearly said what he thinks about our military:


"Education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. And if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

Misstatement? Well, maybe he didn't really mean that. Surely, when offered a chance to apologize (as the President clearly said he should), he'd take it, right? After all, anti-war doesn't mean anti-troop...

"I make apologies to no one about my criticism of the President and his broken policy that kills and maims our heroes in Iraq every single day. This pathetic attempt to distort a botched joke about President Bush is a shameful effort to distract from a botched war."

OK, so now it's a 'joke' to call our military stupid.

He further said that if anyone owes our troops an apology, it's Bush, not him.

Nice.

What do you think would happen if a Republican called our military stupid?

True - John Kerry isn't running for re-election this go-round (which is quickly becoming the Democrat response). So why is this so important? Well, for starters, no one in public office should ever say such a thing without being held saccountable. We should remember this when he IS up for re-election. And make no mistake about it - the hatred, the disdain for our troops is pervasive in Kerry's party. Just look at those they hold up as poster children - Kerry, Murtha, Pelosi...

On a message board I perused, those on the Left were rejoicing at the Senator's comments, and calling the demands for an apology a "worn out Republican tactic." An apology is not what our heroes deserve after such a statement - what Kerry said is OK, and demands for an apology are simply a political tactic. This is what the anti-war crowd believes.

Oh, and Kerry further stated that it was simply impossible to believe that he, a vet, would criticize those serving in Iraq. Basically, "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain..." No, Senator, we'd never believe that you'd criticize the troops. Certainly, you wouldn't accuse them of atrocities in Vietnam or Iraq...right? Oh, wait, that's exactly what you did.

It is simply not acceptable, and we are the one that can let Washington know that.

This is the same anti-war philosophy that starts out saying, "We're the ones who suport the troops - see, we want to bring them home..." and then calls them baby-killers, or a la John Kerry, accuses them of terrorizing women and children in the dead of night, or worse, and calls them idiots.

At least he finallly said what he - and many on the Left - really think. I'm not saying no Democrts suport our troops - 'cause that's not true. But those that think like Kerry does are driving the Democrat train, and the thought of those people in control of Congress should sicken those who support our military.

My finger is feeling a little better, but surgery is still a question.....

Thanks to everyone for their good wishes.

Blogging is going to be a little slow today, but I'll have a news post up later, as well as an update on the little Ballerinas of Camp Lejeune...