News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Report: Prince Harry Being Deployed to Iraq
Iraq says ready to take over Basra after UK pullout -Video
Iraq insurgents again use 'dirty' attack
U.S. weighs in on Iraq rape case
Guard to Redeploy to Iraq Early
Helicopter Down North of Baghdad
Jumaylah Citizens Deny Insurgents
No Serious Injuries in Crash

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Indian train blast probe widens to several states

Troops on Trial
Judge OKs Guilty Plea in Iraqi Slaying

Fallen Heroes
Officials ID Casualties from Crash

Supporting Our Heroes
Vietnam vets rally to protect memorial (Gathering of Eagles, March 17th, D.C.)

Other Military News
Philippine army on defensive after killings charges
Hue City: 39 Years Later - Watch slideshow now.
Military.com Blog: Final Thoughts on Walter Reed

Religion of Peace??
Extremists Threaten Peacekeepers in Somalia

Worldwide Wackos
Rice to Urge World Leaders To Take Action on Iran
Allies want Iran back at bargaining table
Iran refuses to budge on UN demands
Cheney meets N.Korea abductee's parents in Japan

Homegrown Moonbats
Monks Deny PETA Charges of Chicken Abuse

Politics / Government
Hillary Clinton, Obama in Hot Exchange Over Hollywood Heavyweight's Comments
Richardson Jumps Into Dems' Feud
N.M. governor weighs in on Hillary-Obama feud
Pelosi Bites Back at Cheney
GQ Drafts 'Articles of Impeachment' Against Cheney
Rice faces uphill battle to revive Mideast peace
Cheney, Democrats trade barbs over British troop move - Video
In Nevada, Democratic 2008 hopefuls spar on Iraq war
Iraq war protests grow before Cheney's Australia trip
Bush vows cooperation on health care
Cheney at odds with McCain over Rumsfeld
S.F. mayor discusses alcohol use, affair
Italy president in crisis talks after Prodi quits
French farmers fret about life after Chirac (What, worried about a shortage of fertilizer, without his b.s.?)
Russia, U.S. officials shift to softer stance in talks

Immigration / Border Control
Groups seek shutdown of immigration center

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Ex-Lab Aide Gets Life for Acid-Vat Slaying
Lawsuit: School Nixed Boy's Jesus Costume
DNA Evidence Clears Man in Child's Rape
Government Sued for Medical Marijuana Claim
Flood Unearths Old Child Porn, Leads to Arrest
N.Jersey jury to hear tape of murder victim's pleas
Ohio woman guilty in foster son's death

Adventures in Political Correctness
So Long, Chief: U. of Illinois Mascot Retired
Lawsuit Claims School Prevented Boy From Wearing Jesus Costume for Halloween

U.N. News
Rice says to use Security Council to pressure Iran - Video

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
What is the Iraq Mystery Weapon? (Michael Yon's Mystery Weapon)
Blogger sued over topless Aniston photo

Science / Medicine / Technology
Hypersonic Rocket Would Take You From London to New York in Less Than Two Hours
Distant planets: Warm, weird, waterless

Mother Nature
Fisherman Catch Rare Colossal Squid Off Antarctic Coast
Experts: Warming may harm Tuscan wines
Sea turtles returned to Gulf of Mexico

Oddities
Sword-Wielding Man Confronts Neighbor Watching Porn After Hearing Screams (too funny - make sure you read this one)
'McMissile' Mom Gets Probation for Throwing Cup of Ice Into Car That Cut Her Off
Michael Jackson: King of Pop Really Wants to Be Prince
Katie Holmes' Creepy Magazine Cover Story
Fighting surgeons leave patient in the lurch
Empty boxes and politeness dent generosity

Other News of Note
Farrakhan to make his last major address
Teacher Allowed Group to Distribute Anti-Muslim Material in Class, Activists Say

Fox News
Hypersonic Passenger Rocket in the Works
Apple, Cisco Settle Legal Dispute Over iPhone
Britney Spears' Ex-Husband May Make Play for Custody of Kids as She Leaves Rehab Again
Judge Grills Anna Nicole Smith's Ex-Boyfriend Larry Birkhead

Reuters: Top News
Indonesia ferry fire kills 11, survivors returning
Sudan, Chad again pledge to avoid hostilities
Honduras gang members guilty of Xmas bus massacre
Group says factory Wal-Mart uses abuses workers
Scientists surprised by data about distant planets
Hearing to probe climate change and Inuit rights
Canon unveils new professional digital camera
Google sees video anti-piracy tools as priority
Dwindling fan numbers worry skaters
Breast cancer theory supports African folklore
Caffeine may be good for some aging hearts
Britney reported out of rehab after 24 hours
Obama finds friends in Hollywood, and money too!
Oil holds at $60 on concern over supply hitches
Japan shares up as yen hits record low vs euro
Dow drops as CPI gains
Yen hits record low vs euro on BOJ outlook
HP shares fall after quarterly results
When filing taxes, go slow
On the radar: Healthcare
Apple, Cisco agree both can use iPhone name
Coca-Cola completes purchase of Philippines bottler
EMI talks to others after Warner Music approach: FT
Whole Foods to buy Wild Oats for $565 million
Shopkeepers protest as Wal-Mart checks out India
Google offers business software via subscription

AP World News
Alaska village faces fuel crisis
Spears exits rehab; K-Fed going to court
Heat loses to Rockets; Wade injured
Suns sink Celtics 118-108
76ers knock Knicks 104-84
Woods, Mickelson advance in Match Play
Dow ends down 48 on inflation concerns
Smith's mother fears for baby's life

Military.com
Def Tech: Binge and Surge
Op-ed: Swedish Lesson From Below
Blog: Training NCOs in Iraq
Got the Gear? Then Kit Up!

CENTCOM: Press Releases
TROOPS EMPLOY CONCRETE SOLUTION TO MARKET PLACE SECURITY
AL QAEDA IN IRAQ OPERATIONS INTERDICTED BY IA, 2-7 CAVALRY IN NINEWA
SEVEN TERRORISTS KILLED, 13 DETAINED IN VBIED, FOREIGN FIGHTER RAIDS
CCCI CONVICTS 23 INSURGENTS.
AIRPOWER SUMMARY FOR FEB. 20

USJFCOM
USJFCOM partners with ACT to sponsor NATO urban workshop - podcast
USJFCOM partners with ACT to sponsor NATO urban workshop - podcast
JPADS continues to improve the way it delivers aerial drops to the warfighter - podcast

DefenseLink
Cheney Thanks Japan for Support, Lauds Troops - Story
Cheney: Terrorists Seek to Break America's Will
Photos: Cheney Visits USS Kitty Hawk
Nation Safer Now Than Before 9/11 Attacks - Story
Blair Announces British Reduction of Forces - Story
Officials Promise Changes at Walter Reed Facility - Story
Transcript: Briefing on Outpatient Care
African-American NFL Players Help See Future - Story
Caldwell Recaps First Week of Baghdad Plan
McConnell Takes Oath, Joins Security Team
Defense Dept. Works on Patient-Care Issues

Military News
Guard Soldier Earns Distinguished Service Cross
PBS Documentary Captures Corps’ Values
Troops to Teachers Adds Advance Hiring Feature
Officials Accelerate Army Unit's Deployment

War on Terror
Soldier, Marine Killed in Iraq
Officials Transfer 7 Detainees

America Supports You
‘Quad-A’ Helps Families - Story
Businesses Aim to Hire Vets
Foundation Helps Wounded
Group Helps Soldier Fly

Face of Defense
Soldier Returns to Defend Title - Story
Volunteer Leads With Passion
Soldier Survives Sniper's Bullet

Transformation
Training Becomes More Realistic
Propane Plant Fuels Alternatives
New Program Encourages Savings
U.S., Peruvian Air Forces Train

DefendAmerica
NEWS UPDATES
Baghdad Plan Quells Some Violence - Story
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
Sailors, Marines to Conduct Maritime Security - Story
Desert Hawk Takes Command of Aviation Ops - Story
Six Villages in Kandahar Get New Water Wells - Story
'Ironhorse' Soldiers Learn to Airlift Equipment - Story

IN DJIBOUTI
U.S. Marines, Sailors Help Clean Up Local School

IN IRAQ
Paratroopers Seek to Build Ties with Leaders
New Pump Station Improves Quality of Life
Air Cavalry Brigade Observes Black History Month
Iraqi Police, U.S. Soldiers Set Up Headquarters
Medic Re-visits Residents During Medical Ops
Chaplain, Soldiers Escort Fallen Heroes Home

IN KUWAIT
Deployed Servicemembers Become U.S. Citizens

IN YEMEN
U.S. Military Helps Build Health Center on Island

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
'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: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

CASUALTIES
Officials ID Casualties from Crash - Story

Weather
Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Germany
Ansbach Aschaffenburg Berlin Berlin-Tempelhof Berlin/Schonefeld Bremerhaven
Darmstadt Frankfurt Frankfurt/Main Freiburg/Breisgau Garmisch
Garmisch-Partenkirchen Geilenkirchen Gelnhausen Giessen Kitzingen
Hanau Am Main Heidelberg Mainz Mannheim Nurnberg Stuttgart Trier
Wiesbaden Wurzburg

Gitmo

Guam
Agana Agana Heights Agat Andersen AFB Asan Barrigada

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

Japan
Kadena Air Base Okinawa Tokyo Yokohama

Philippines
Baler Radar Site Catanduanes Radar Site Manila

South Korea
Cheju Upper/Radar Chonju Chunchon Inch'on Kunsan Masan Mokp'o
Osan Pusan Seoul Suwon Taegu Taejon Tonghae Radar Site Ulsan Yosu

Today in History
0606 - Sabinian ends his reign as Catholic Pope
0896 - Pope Formosa crowned king Arnulf of Karinthie/French emperor
1071 - Battle of Cassel-Robert I the Frisian defeats Arnulf III/I
1281 - Simon de Brion elected Pope Martinus IV
1288 - Girolamo Masci elected Pope Nicolas IV
1349 - Jews are expelled from Zurich Switzerland
1495 - French King Charles VIII enters Naples to claim the crown
1561 - William of Orange appointed viceroy of Burgundy/Charolais
1630 - Indians introduce pilgrims to popcorn, at Thanksgiving
1656 - New Amsterdam granted a Jewish burial site
1744 - Battle at Toulon English-French & Spanish fleet
1746 - French troops conquer Brussels; Jakobite troops vacate Aberdeen
1774 - English House of Lords rules authors do not have perpetual copyright
1775 - 1st US joint stock company (to make cloth) offers shares at £10; Jews expelled from outskirts of Warsaw Poland
1784 - 1st US ship to trade with China, "Empress of China", sails from New York
1819 - Spain renounces claims to Oregon Country, Florida (Adams-Onís Treaty)
1821 - Spain sells (east) Florida to United States for $5 million
1825 - Russia & Britain establish Alaska-Canada boundary
1828 - Russia & Persia sign Peace of Turkmantsjai
1835 - HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin leave Valdivia Chile
1836 - Dutch garrison evacuates fort Du Bus New Guinea
1847 - Battle of Buena Vista -- US troops beat Mexican army
1854 - 1st meeting of the Republican Party, Michigan
1856 - 1st national meeting of the Republican Party (Pittsburgh)
1860 - Organized baseball played in San Francisco for the 1st time
1861 - On a bet, Edward Weston leaves Boston to walk to Lincoln's inauguration
1864 - 2nd/last day of Battle of Okolona, MS; Battle at Dalton, Georgia; Skirmish at Calfkiller Creek (Sparta) Tennessee
1865 - Tennessee adopts a new constitution abolishing slavery; Battle of Wilmington, NC - Fort Anderson occupied by Federals
1872 - 1st national convention of the Prohibition Party (Columbus OH)
1878 - Greenback Labor Party formed (Toledo OH)
1879 - 1st 5¢ & 10¢ store opened by Frank W Woolworth in Utica NY
1887 - Union Labor Party organized in Cincinnati
1888 - John Reid of Scotland demonstrates golf to Americans (Yonkers NY)
1889 - Dakotas, Montana & Washington admitted to the union
1898 - Black postmaster lynched, his wife & 3 daughters shot in Lake City, SC
1900 - Battle at Wynne's Hill, South-Africa (Boers vs British army); Hawaii became a US territory
1903 - Due to drought, the US side of Niagara Falls runs short of water
1907 - 1st cabs with taxi meters begin operating in London
1909 - Great White Fleet, 1st US fleet to circle the globe, returns to Virginia
1912 - J. Vedrines makes 1st airplane flight over 100 mph-161.29 kph
1915 - Germany begins "unrestricted" submarine war
1917 - German Navy torpedoes 7 Dutch ships
1918 - Germany claims Baltic states, Finland & Ukraine from Russia
1920 - 1st artificial rabbit used at a dog race track (Emeryville CA)
1922 - Congress authorizes Grant Memorial $1 gold coin
1923 - Transcontinental airmail service begins
1923 - 1st successful chinchilla farm in US (Los Angeles CA)
1924 - 1st presidential radio address (Calvin Coolidge)
1928 - 1st solo England to Australia flight lands (Bert Hinkler)
1932 - Purple Heart award re-instituted
1933 - Göring forms SA/SS-police, shoots 40-50
1935 - Airplanes are no longer permitted to fly over the White House
1939 - Netherlands recognizes Franco-regime in Spain
1940 - Finnish troops vacate Koivisto island; German air force sinks 2 German destroyers, killing 578
1941 - Arthur T. "Bomber" Harris becomes British Air Marshal; German assault on El Agheila Libya; I.G. Farben decides building Buna-Werke in Auschwitz Concentration Camp; Nazi SS begin rounding up Jews of Amsterdam
1944 - US 8th Air Force bombs Enschede, Arnhem & Nijmegen by mistake/800+ die
1945 - Arab League forms (Cairo); British troops take Ramree Island, Burma; Canadian 3rd Division occupies Moyland
1948 - Arab bomb attack in Jerusalem, 50 die
1955 - British aircraft carrier Ark Royal sets sail
1956 - Elvis Presley's 1st hit in Billboard's top 10 - "Heartbreak Hotel"
1958 - Egypt & Syria form United Arab Republic (UAR); Indonesian air force bombs Padang, Sumatra/Menado, Celebes
1959 - 1st Daytona 500 auto race-Lee Petty wins (135.521 MPH)
1965 - USSR launches Kosmos 57 into earth orbit (Voskhod Test)
1966 - Soviets launch Kosmos 110 with Veterok & Ugolek, 1st 2-dog crew
1967 - 25,000 US & S. Vietnamese troops launched Operation Junction City, offensive to smash Viet Cong stronghold near Cambodian border
1971 - Lieutenant General Hafiz al-Assad becomes President of Syria
1972 - Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani becomes Amir & Prime Minister of Qatar; President Nixon, meets with Chinese Premier Chou En-Lai in Beijing
1973 - US & China agree to establish liaison offices in Beijing & Washington, DC; Israeli fighter planes shoot down a civilian Libyan Arab Airlines Boeing 727 killing 108
1974 - Ethiopian police shoot at demonstrators
1978 - 2 tankers with propane gas explode, killing 15 at Waverly, TN
1979 - St. Lucia gains independence from Britain
1980 - Afghanistan declares martial law; USA beats USSR in Olympics hockey 4-3 en route to a gold medal
1982 - NYC Mayor Koch announces he will run for New York governor (unsuccessful)
1983 - Hindus kill 3000 Muslims in Assam, India
1989 - 1st Spanish commercial on network TV (Pepsi-Cola-CBS Grammy Award); UK physicist Stephen Hawking calls Star Wars a "deliberate fraud"; US authors demonstrate against Iranian death treats against Salman Rushdee, author of "Satanic Rituals"
1991 - G.H.W. Bush & US Gulf War allies give Iraq 24 hours to begin Kuwait withdrawal
1995 - Algiers police kill at least 99 prison rioters; Steve Fossett completes 1st air balloon over Pacific Ocean (9600 km)
1996 - STS 75 (Columbia 19), launches into orbit
1998 - 18th Winter Olympics games close at Nagano Japan

Birthdays
1403 - Charles VII, king of France (1422-61)
1440 - Ladislaus V, Posthumus King of Hungary/Bohemia
1514 - Tahmasp I, shah of Persia (1524-76)/author (Tazkire-i Shah)
1684 - William Pulteney London, statesman (Earl of Bath)
1732 - George Washington, 1st American President (1789-97)
1797 - William I Berlin, King of Prussia (1861-88)/German Emperor (1871-88)
1798 - Charles Mynn Thruston, Union Brigadier General
1819 - James Russell Lowell, poet/critic/diplomat/abolitionist
1827 - James Barnet Fry, Union Brevet Major General
1828 - Robert Alexander Cameron, Union Brevet Major General
1838 - Pierre Jules Cesar Janssen, discoverer of hydrogen in Sun
1840 - F. August Bebel, German social-democrat
1857 - Heinrich Hertz physicist, 1st to broadcast & receive radio waves; Lord Robert Baden-Powell, founder (Boy Scouts, Girl Guides)
1868 - Henri Polak, union leader/politician (Social-Democrat)
1879 - Johannes Brønsted, Danish physical chemist (acid-base reactions)
1892 - David Dubinsky, labor leader (Freedom Award, 1969 Medal of Freedom); Edna St. Vincent Millay, poet/writer/feminist (Harp Weaver-Pulitzer Prize)
1898 - Anton de Kom, Surinam/Dutch worker's union leader/resistance fighter
1901 - Charles E. Whittaker, US Supreme Court justice (1957-62)
1908 - Rómulo Betancourt, President of Venezuela (1945-48, 1958-64)
1917 - Harmen van Rossum, civil servant/resistance fighter (WWII)
1918 - Don (Dominic G.) Pardo, TV announcer (Jeopardy, Saturday Night Live)
1932 - Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy (Senator-MA, 1962- )
1935 - Ineke (R.M.) Haas-Berger, Dutch MP (PvdA)
1943 - David E. Skaggs (Representative-CO)
1947 - John Bryant (Representative-TX)
1951 - Harley O. Staggers, Jr. (Representative-WV)
1952 - James Philip Bagian, MDPE/astronaut (STS 29, STS 40)
1975 - Drew Barrymore, actress (ET, Firestarter, Poison Ivy, Altered States)

Passings
0606 - Sabinian Italian Pope (604-06)
1071 - Arnulf III, earl of Flanders/Hainault (Arnulf I), dies in battle
1076 - Godfried III, with the Hump, duke of Lower Lorraine, murdered
1371 - David II Bruce, king of Scotland (1331-71), dies at 46
1512 - Amerigo Vespucci, Italian explorer (America), dies at 61
1770 - Christopher Snider, 11, in Boston - becomes 1st martyr of US Revolution
1913 - Suarez, Mexican vice President, assassinated in a military coup; Francisco Indalecio Madero Mexican President, assassinated in military coup at 39
1930 - Godfried van Daalen, Dutch General/governor of Atjeh, dies at 66
1943 - Christoph Probst, Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl, German resistance fighters (Die Weisse Rose)
1958 - Michael Todd, film magnate, killed in an New Mexico air crash
1973 - Winthrop Rockefeller, US Governor (Arkansas), dies at 60
1984 - David, spent most of his life in a plastic bubble, dies at 12
1987 - Andy Warhol, pop artist, dies from complications following gall bladder surgery at 58
1993 - Jean Lecanuet, French UDF-presidential candidate, dies at 72; Pieter A.H. Bos, Dutch lawyer/procureur-General (Aruba), dies at 63
1995 - Lembarek Boumaarafi, Algerian murderer of President Boudiaf
1998 - Jose Maria de Areilza Spanish minister of foreign affairs (1975-76); Sandy Hume correspondent (Fox News), commits suicide at 28

Reported Missing in Action
1969
Macko, Charles, USAF (NY); B57B shot down (co-pilot, w/Paxton)

Paxton, Donald Elmer, USAF (IA); B57B shot down (pilot, w/Macko)

Pearson, Wayne E., USAF (IL); F4D shot down - remains ID'd July, 1993

Labels: Headlines, History