Quote of the Day
"A US commitment to the defense of the oil resources of the gulf,
and to political stability in the region
constitutes one of the most vital
and enduring interests of the United States."
-- Conclusion of US Senator Henry Jackson's
Energy and Natural Resources Committee, 1977
News of NoteOperation Iraqi FreedomBombs kill at least 78 people in BaghdadIraqi PM Drops Anti-American Bodyguards Five U.S. Troops Killed; Iraqi Officials Say Gunmen in Karbala Attack Impersonated AmericansChristians, Muslims flee BaghdadOperation Enduring FreedomTaliban to Open Schools in AfghanistanAfghan women step into commerceHomeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah HappeningsSuicide car bomber kills 3 Pakistani troopsTroops fire on Mogadishu protest, kill 3: witnessOther Military NewsHanoi agrees U.S. ships join search for servicemen (FINALLY! This is good news)Israel chooses new army chief: reportsAnti-missile shield not aimed at Russia - U.S.McCain casts doubt on Gen. Casey as U.S. Army headReligion of Peace??Video shows Egypt prisoner's humiliationWorldwide WackosChavez to U.S.: 'Go to Hell!' -
Venezuelan president slams American officials (You first, Hugo)Iran to Test-Fire Missiles in Military ExercisesMP says Iran bars 38 atomic inspectors: agency -
VideoU.S. sees "basis for progress" in N.Korea talksPolitics / GovernmentClinton Leads Pack on First Day as CandidateClinton confident in her 2008 prospectsSenators seek support for Iraq resolutionNew Mexico Gov. Richardson to Run in '08Bush to Push Energy Fixes in AddressPoll: Most think country on wrong trackIn the Courts / Crime and PunishmentPolice, Feds Scour Chicago For Abducted Kids, Mom and KidnapperReport: Devlin Too Ashamed to Call ParentsReport: Devlin Too Ashamed to Call His ParentsNY Post: Hornbeck's Biological Father Was a Convicted Sex OffenderPrison Inmates Outliving People on OutsideQuestions in Jungle Gal's Return -
PHOTOSL.A. Vows Gang Crackdown After 2 Kids DieBrits ID Suspected Killer of Ex-SpyScience / NatureSnowstorms Kill 11 in 3 States -
PHOTOSPollution said destroying pre-Aztec Mexican ruinsRare snow storm surprises ArizonaOdditiesMichigan Man Builds His Own Flying SaucerJaywalking historian causes stirOther News of NoteColts, Bears Set for Super Bowl -
STORYCo-Pilot Lands Plane After Pilot Dies in MidairFox NewsGrounded U.K. Ship Losing Cargo -
VIDEOReuters: Top NewsEU's Solana urges fast government talks in Serbia -
VideoEU undeterred by Serb hardliners' poll lead -
VideoAustralian PM coy on reshuffle in election yearAre you a giver? Brain scan finds the truthIBM renews Microsoft rivalry with new Web softwareMicrosoft could launch Zune in Europe by end 2007Users fuel news at Germany's BildNews confirms suspicions of breast cancer survivorAncient medicine all the buzz in modern China"Heroes" grows Web powerGuy Ritchie lined up for ABC "Suspects"Oil climbs toward $53Futures inch higher; earnings on tapInterContinental shares rise on bid talkYen hits fresh lows as carry trades ruleNikkei hits 9-month high as Olympus, brokers riseThemes for 2007 and beyondOn the radar: Boomer stocksPfizer profit jumps on sale of consumer unitSun to tap Intel as additional chip supplierCitigroup to buy ABN AMRO Mortgage GroupIBM renews Microsoft rivalry with new Web softwareU.S. probe hammers online gaming sharesPhilips profits rise, ups dividend to match peersAP World NewsNo party emerging to govern SerbiaSource: Sun to use chips from IntelWhitaker describes struggles as an actorDiCaprio: I'm no 'piece of cute meat'More students shun cafeteria junk foodCan Beckham appeal to L.A. Hispanics?Parents turn against birthdays gone wildMexico: No U.S. pressure in extraditionsReport: NYC may lose top financial spotMan kills self, wife in parking lotObituaries in the newsEmbry-Riddle battered, but flying againPrinceton plans no tuition hikeUnique Cobra brings $5.5M at car auctionMilitary.comDT:
China's Test Pollutes SpaceOp-ed:
Mom Meets President BushBlog:
Roggio Back in IraqOne Medic's View of the WarAdvisors:
Can Drinking Water Kill You?Military.com's Top "Love and War" MoviesCENTCOM: News ReleasesIRAQI ARMY, PARATROOPERS SEARCH MOSQUE NEAR BAHBAHANIINSURGENT-PLACED BOMB STRIKES MND-B CONVOYKIDNAPPING VICTIM FREEDLOCAL TIP LEADS POLICE TO CAR BOMBIRAQI-LED OPERATION NETS 36 DETAINEESIRAQI POLICE DONATE SCHOOL SUPPLIES TO STUDENTSAIF ATTACK ARMOR GROUP CONVOY, 29 RESCUEDROADSIDE BOMB STRIKES PATROL IN NINEWAH PROVINCEAIRCRAFT WENT DOWN NEAR BAGHDADGATES, CASEY VISIT ADDER AS PART OF MIDEAST TOURIRAQI POLICE FOIL CAR BOMB ATTACK, DETAIN TWO SUSPECTS AT IZ CHECKPOINTJOINT OPERATION NETS WEAPON CACHE, DETAINEESPARATROOPERS DETAIN TWO SUSPECTS IN SOUTH BAGHDADPOLAR BEARS FIND WEAPONS CACHE ALONG BANKS OF EUPHRATES2ND BRIGADE, 82ND INFANTRY DIVISION (AIRBORNE) ARRIVES IN THEATERUPDATE: AIRCRAFT WENT DOWN NEAR BAGHDADSHI'A MOSQUE DESTROYED IN EXPLOSIONSOLDIERS TRAINING IRAQI TROOPS PAYS OFFIED DETONATION KILLS CHILDREN, IRAQI TROOPS, INJURES SEVENUSJFCOMTraining comes to a close in exercise for Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa -
podcastLiveblogging: Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa Mission Rehearsal Exercise 07-1 USJFCOM hosts first-responder focused modeling and simulation demonstration eventDepartment of DefenseNEWS UPDATES
Eikenberry: U.S. Commitment Will Live On in Afghanistan -
StoryStability & Security in Iraq Report (pdf)For Top News Visit DefenseLinkON THE GROUNDTraining Teams Teach Iraqis to Run Operations -
StoryMarried Couple Dedicated to Serving in Iraq -
StorySoldiers Visit Iraqi School-aged Children -
StoryFlight Surgeon in Iraq Treats Injured Local Child -
StoryIN IRAQU.S., Iraqi Medical Experts Meet, Share IdeasU.S. Official Talks Economics with Iraqi Leaders Iraqi Army Boot Camp Trains New Recruits Forces Shut Down Known Terrorist Group IN AFGHANISTANVolunteers Spark Warmth at Burn CenterU.S. Air Assets Support Strike in AfghanistanU.S. Air Force Engineer Helps Afghans RebuildAfghans Graduate From Agricultural Course IN DJIBOUTI Marine Trains U.S. Embassy Troops in Djibouti BACKGROUNDIRAQRenewal In IraqIraq: Security, StabilityFact Sheet: Progress and Work AheadReport: Strategy for Victory in Iraq Iraq Daily UpdateThis Week in Iraq Multinational Force IraqState Dept. Weekly Iraq Report (PDF)'Boots on the Ground' Audio ArchiveWeekly Reconstruction Report (PDF) Iraq ReconstructionMapsAFGHANISTANAfghanistan UpdateMapsWAR ON TERRORISM
Fact Sheet: Budget RequestFact Sheet: War on TerrorFact Sheet: Terror Plots DisruptedWaging and Winning the War on TerrorTerrorism TimelineTerrorism Knowledge BaseWeatherAfghanistanBost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul QandaharGermanyAnsbach Aschaffenburg Berlin Berlin-Tempelhof Berlin/Schonefeld BremerhavenDarmstadt Frankfurt Frankfurt/Main Freiburg/Breisgau GarmischGarmisch-Partenkirchen Geilenkirchen Gelnhausen Giessen KitzingenHanau Am Main Heidelberg Mainz Mannheim Nurnberg Stuttgart TrierWiesbaden WurzburgGitmoGuamAgana Agana Heights Agat Andersen AFB Asan BarrigadaIraqAl Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al KutAn Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall KayfJapanKadena Air Base Okinawa Tokyo YokohamaPhilippinesBaler Radar Site Catanduanes Radar Site ManilaSouth KoreaCheju Upper/Radar Chonju Chunchon Inch'on Kunsan Masan Mokp'oOsan Pusan Seoul Suwon Taegu Taejon Tonghae Radar Site Ulsan Yosu* If you're deployed, and want to see your location's weather listed here, please email me! *Today in History0871 - Battle at Basing - Danish invasion army beats Ethelred of Wessex
1371 - King Robert II Stuart of Scotland crowned
1510 - Jews are expelled from Colmar, Germany
1517 - Turks conquer Cairo
1528 - England & France declare war on Emperor Charles V
1575 - English queen Elizabeth I grants Thomas Tallis & William Byrd music press monopoly
1584 - Parts of Switzerland adopt Gregorian calendar (& parts in 1812)
1588 - Pope Sixtus V decrees "Immense aeterni" (Reformed curia)
1673 - Postal service between New York & Boston inaugurated
1689 - Lord Halifax becomes Speaker of English House of Lords
1689 - Prince Willem III calls English parliament together
1690 - Iroquois tribes renew allegiance to British against French
1758 - Russian troops occupy Königsberg, East Prussia
1760 - Battle at Wandewash, India - British troops beat French
1771 - Spain cedes the Falkland Islands to Britain
1775 - Marshal Oscar von Lubomirski expels Jews from Warsaw, Poland
1798 - Coup of Midderigh
1813 - Americans capture Frenchtown, Canada
1814 - 1st Knights Templar grand encampment in US held (NYC)
1817 - English freighter
Diana sinks off Malaysia
1831 - Charles Darwin takes his Bachelor of Arts exam
1837 - Earthquake in southern Syria kills thousands
1862 - Confederate government raises premium for volunteers from $10 to $20 (approximately $400 today)
1863 - Union General Burnside's "Mud March"
1873 - Britain's
SS Northfleet sinks at Dungeness, England - 300 die
1879 - James Shields (D) elected US senator from Missouri after previously serving as US senator from Illinois & Minnesota; Zulus attack a British Army camp in Isandhlwana, South Africa
1881 - Ancient Egyptian obelisk "Cleopatra's Needle" erected in Central Park (NYC)
1890 - José Marti forms La Liga (Union of Cuban exiles) in New York City, NY
1901 - After 63 years, England stops sale of Queen Victoria postage stamps series & begins King Edward VII series
1905 - "Bloody Sunday" - Russian demonstrators fired on by tsarist troops
1918 - Ukraine proclaimed a free republic (German puppet)
1924 - Baldwin government resigns in England
1925 - Albania Republic proclaimed under President Achmed Zogu
1926 - Belgian chief of staff General Maglinse quits
1931 - French government of Steeg falls
1932 - British Anglicans & Old-Catholic church merge
1936 - French Laval government falls
1939 - Uranium atom 1st split, Columbia University
1941 - 1st mass killing of Jews in Romania; British/Australian troops capture Tobruk from Italians
1942 - Japanese air raid on Rabaul, New Britain
1943 - Joint Chiefs of Staff determine invasion in Sicily for July 10th; Temperature rises 49ºF (9ºC) in 2 minutes in Spearfish SD
1944 - Battle of Anzio (Italy); Allies stopped on the beach
1945 - Burma highway reopens; Heavy US air raid on Okinawa
1946 - US President sets up the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency)
1947 - KTLA TV channel 5 in Los Angeles CA (IND) begins broadcasting (1st commercial TV station west of Mississippi)
1949 - Chinatown telephone exchange closed
1951 -
Fidel Castro ejected from a Winter League game after beaning batter1955 - Norwegian government of Einar Gerhardsen forms
1956 - 30 die in a train crash in Los Angeles
1957 -
Israeli forces withdraw from the Sinai Penisula; Mad Bomber (George P. Metesky), accused of 30 explosions, is arrested
1959 - USAF concludes less than 1% of UFO's are unknown objects
1960 - Coal mine of Johnburg caves in - 417 die; French President De Gaulle escapes assassination attempt by General Massu
1964 - World's largest cheese (15,723 kg) manufactured, Wisconsin; Kenneth Kaunda becomes premier of North-Rhodesia (Zambia)
1965 - US launches TIROS 9 weather satellite
1968 - Apollo 5 launched to Moon; unmanned lunar module tests made
1969 - Orbiting Solar Observatory 5 launched into earth orbit
1970 - 1st commercial Boeing 747 flight (Pan Am), New York to London in 6½ hours
1973 - Roe vs Wade US Supreme Court legalizes some abortions; US, North & South Vietnam & Vietcong sign boundary accord
1975 - Landsat 2, an Earth Resources Technology Satellite, launched
1976 -
Bank robbery in Beirut nets $20-50 million (record)1980 - Dissidents Andrei Sacharov & Jelena Bonner banished to Gorki
1982 - 75% of North America is covered by snow
1983 - 2nd flight readiness firing of Challenger's main engines; 22 seconds
1985 -30ºF (-34ºC), Mountain Lake Bio Station, Virginia (state record)
1985 - Cold wave damages 90% of Florida's citrus crop
1986 - Ghorbanifar 1st suggests diversion of cash to contras, says North
1989 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakstan/Semipalatinsk USSR
1992 - Space Shuttle STS-42 (Discovery 15) launches into space; Princess Sarah Ferguson wears paper bag over her head on airline ride
1994 - 5.5 earthquake strikes Sumatra
1995 -
A Palestinian bomb attack in Beit Lid, Israel, kills more than 20 1997 - Space Shuttle Atlantis Returns to Earth
1998 - STS 89 (Endeavour 12) launches into orbit; World League of American Football becomes NFL East
Birthdays1440 - Ivan III the Great, Russian czar (1462-1505)/conquered Lithuania
1561 - Francis Bacon England, statesman/essayist (Novum Organum)
1571 - Robert Bruce Cotton, English antiquary, politician
1655 - Geleyn Evertsen, Lieutenant-Admiral (Zealand)
1826 - Confederate General M(Merriwether) Jeff Thompson
1858 - Frederick Lugard, British captain/baron (Congo)
1865 - Friedrich Paschen, German physicist
1874 - Wincenty Witoz Galicia, PM of Poland (1920-21, 1923, 1926)
1875 - Bonifacius C. de Jonge, Governor (Dutch East Indies)
1877 - Hjalmar Schacht president of German Reichsbank/minister of Economics
1890 - Fred M. Vinson 13th Chief Justice of US Supreme Court (1946-53)
1892 - Marcel Dassault (Bloch), French airplane builder
1898 - Ross R. Barnett lawyer/(Gov-D-MS, 1960-1964)
1906 - Willa B. Brown (Coffey), first African-American woman to get a commercial pilot's license
1909 - Lev D. Landau, Russian physicist (Nobel 1962); (Sithu) U Thant, 3rd UN Secretary-General (1962-72)
1928 - Birch Bayh (Senator-D-IN, 1963-1981)
1935 - Pierre S. Du Pont IV (Governor-DE, 1977-1985)
1937 - Eden Pastora Gomez, Nicaraguan contra leader
1943 - H. James "Jim" Saxton (Representative-R-NJ, 1984-present)
1949 - Rein P. Hummel, Dutch MP (PvdA)
1955 - Thomas David Jones, PhD/Astronaut (STS 59, 68, 80, sk 98)
2179 - Hikaru Walter Sulu (character on Star Trek)
Passings1336 - Louis III, last Earl of Loon
1552 - Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, beheaded for treason
1581 - Seerp Galama, Dutch nobleman/military/politician, at 52
1798 - Lewis Morris, US farmer Declaration of Independence signer, at 71
1799 - Horace B. de Saussure, Swiss physicist/geologist/alpinist, at 58
1850 - Vincenzo Pallotti, Italian saint, at 54
1879 - Anthony Durnford British Colonel, in battle; George Shepstone, British political affiliate, in battle
1901 - Victoria (Alexandrine), Britain's Queen (1837-1901), at 81
1909 - Richard A. C. E. Erlenmeyer, German chemist, at 83
1922 - Benedictus XV (Giacomo Markies D. Chiesa), pope (1914-22), at 67
1923 - Max Nordau (Südfeld), German physician/zionist leader, at 73
1942 - Reimond Tollenaere, leader Flemish National Front, at 81
1969 - Judy Garland, singer/actress (Wizard of Oz), of an overdose at 48
1973 - Lyndon B. Johnson, President (1963-69), at his Texas ranch at 64
1979 -
Ali Hassan Salameh [Abu Hassan], killed by car bomb; believed to have helped mastermind massacre of 1972 Munich Olympics athletes 1982 - Eduardo Frei Montalva, President of Chile (1964-70), at 71
1987 - R. Budd Dwyer, Pennsylvania State Treasurer, facing prison for conspiracy & perjury, shoots himself to death at a televised news conference
1988 - Georgi M. Malenkov, Russian premier (1953-55), at 86
1992 - Ali Amini, PM of Iran (1961-62)
1994 - Irving B. Kahn, inventor (teleprompter), at 76
1995 - Mahmoud Sayed Selim, Egyptian Muslim leader, shot to death at 29; Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, mother of President John F. Kennedy, at 104
1996 - Edward Thomas, historian/intelligence expert, at 77; Yisrael Eldad, extremist politician, at 85
1997 - Wally Whyton, musician/broadcaster, at 66
Reported Missing in Action1966
The following USN personnel reported MIA when their S2D was shot down:
Forman, William S. (MN); pilot
Frenyea, Edmund M. (CA); crew
Sennett, Robert R. (CA); crew
Templin, Erwin B. Jr., (TX); crew
Also reported MIA this day in 1966:Grissett, Edwin R.,Jr.,
USMC (TX); KIC December, 1969 - remains returned June, 1989
1969
Ross, Douglas A.,
US Army (CA); KIA - remains returned/ID'd March, 1998
1974
Jones, Diane,
Civilian; released from Quang Ngai February, 1974
Markham, James M.,
Civilian; returned from visit December, 1974
Quinn, Judge Sophie,
Civilian; released from Quang Ngai February, 1974 - detained twice (1974 and April, 1975)
Benoit, Charles, Jr.,
Civilian; returned from visit December, 1974