Tuesday, January 30, 2007

SAN DIEGO — A jury convicted a woman of murder Tuesday after prosecutors accused her of poisoning her Marine husband with arsenic to cash in on his $250,000 life insurance policy to finance a luxurious lifestyle.

The jury also found in favor of special circumstances against Cynthia Sommer, 33, alleging murder by poisoning and for financial gain.

Sommer could be sentenced to life in prison. She swallowed and stared as the verdict was read.

Yvonne Sommer, the mother of victim Todd Sommer, burst into tears at the verdict and sobbed.

Prosecutors argued that Sommer wanted a more luxurious lifestyle than she could afford on the $1,700 monthly salary Sgt. Todd Sommer brought home and saw the military life insurance policy as a way to "set herself free..."

Read the Rest, from Fox News

Center for the Intrepid opens its doors
SAN ANTONIO (AFNEWS) -- An aircraft carrier that sparked the spirits of a nation following the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor during the dark, early days of World War II has become the namesake of the world's most technologically advanced rehabilitation center for amputees and burn victims unveiled during an emotion-packed ceremony here Jan. 29.

ABC News' "Top Priority" (a program on womens' issues) recently interviewed two mothers with children serving in the military. One of those mothers is Carla of Some Soldier's Mom, whose son Noah is well known by Soldiers' Angels and bloggers alike (I was fortunate enough to meet her at last year's Milblog Conference). The interview took place the day of the President's State of the Union speech. From second one, it was clear that there was an agenda.

The video is here

Carla has a lot to say about the interview at her blog, here. In part, she says:

I'm thinking, Great. I have Hillary or Nancy in the other chair! Close. Turns out it was Barbara Boxer’s friend, Anne Roesler (I have a picture of the two together but blogger doesn't want to upload photos today), (thanks MaryAnn for the heads up!) not to mention Nancy Pelosi’s darling. While there was a small legend that appeared and quickly disappeared under Ms. Roesler’s picture, turns out that Anne Roesler is no ordinary, average “military mom”, but a practiced anti-war speaker and writer -- AND HAS BEEN SINCE BEFORE THE WAR ACTUALLY BEGAN.

Sara of Soldiers' Angels had something to say during that interview, too - make sure you watch the whole video.

And finally, Jeleena (pictured below), a Soldier and an adoptee of Soldiers' Angels, weighed in (via email):

I hope you are able to see this video. I just want to say a few things. As a soldier, I knew what I was signing up for when I joined the army. It wasn't for college money, to travel, or to meet new people. Although those are great incentives. It was to fight a war. To defend our country at the drop of a hat when needed. The army used to train you for active duty, but those times have changed, we train for war.

I joined July of '03 and we all know what happened on Sept. 11th, 2001. We knew something had to be done. We are America. It seems to me that when we're fighting, defending, or serving our country, this is when we are the strongest as people. Some soldiers will say they joined for citizenship, others so they can support their families, but when they sat down with the recruiter it was a job interview. He asked questions, they answered, he told them they could have the job and they said yes, when u still had the opportunity to say no.

I can only speak for myself and my family, but I know that everyone in my family didnt think it was a good idea. But I chose to be here when I swore in. I am here for whatever the army asks of me. Who knows what may happen to me while here, but I tell my family and friends dont hold any feelings against the military or our President if something is to happen to me. There was no draft. I said yes. Being a service member is a 24/7 thing. Its not turned off because you're a reservist or in the national guard. And I think a lot of parents of soldiers and soldiers themselves need to take a minute and realize the reason we're free is because of war. Its all about sacrafice. I love America. And although I may not agree or understand a lot of the things the military does or says, I said yes. And so did every other soldier, marine, airman, and seaman...

I could go on forever, but simply put we all said yes when we didnt have to. There is always a choice...

It's not a shock to see the Anti-war movement driving media coverage, but sometimes it's still quite nauseating. For starters, the other mother interviewed with Carla has been, according to Carla, honored by the Communist party as a "social activist." Hmmm...

HOOAH, Carla, Sara, and Jeleena for standing tall.

PROP WASH — U.S. soldiers and Iraqi Army soldiers from 1st Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, wait as U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters approach their drop zone near Mahmudiyah, Iraq. Defense Dept. photo.

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
At Least 20 Killed in Attacks On Shiite Pilgrims in Iraq
U.S. Miscalculated Enemy in Iraq, Admiral Says
Lawmakers in Battle Over War Powers on Iraq

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Palestinian Cease-Fire Takes Hold in Gaza
U.S. offers $50,000 bounty for Philippine bomber
Africa summit tries to raise troops for Somalia
Hezbollah crowd marks Ashura in Beirut suburb
Nuclear agency: Air defenses impractical

Religion of Peace??
UK Muslims angry as sharia likened to far-right BNP
Saudi appeals court upholds enforced divorce

Worldwide Wackos
Miami Plans Castro Death Party
China sets date for North Korea nuclear talks
Senator targets surplus sales to Iran
Bush warns Iran against action in Iraq

Politics / Government
Ex-Ark. Gov. Huckabee Files 2008 Paperwork
China: N. Korea Nuke Talks to Resume Feb. 8
Former Bush spokesman contradicts Libby in court
House Democrat vows scrutiny on homeland security

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment
Reporter to take stand in CIA leak case
How to Defend a Scumbag 101
Florida Frat Brothers Get 2 Years Each for Hazing
California Highway Patrol Recommending Brandy Be Charged in Fatal Crash
4 Found Shot in Heads in Youngstown House
Fla. Cops Probe Web Beat Down - VIDEO
Prolific Calif. Child Molester Gets 150 Years
Bloody print opens trial of slain dancer
Police search Hells Angels' NYC home

U.N. News
U.N. agency pressures Ban on climate crisis summit

Science / Nature
Magnitude 6.7 Quake Strikes Off Australia
Hubble's Primary Camera Shuts Down
Millions to go hungry, waterless: climate report
Neurological disease common, survey finds
Study finds baby brain bleeding in vaginal births
Scientists: Flores island "Hobbit" is new species
Teen uses Bubble Wrap to aid amputees
Robot parking garage to open in New York

Oddities
Greased-Up Streaker Gets Tasered
World's Oldest New Mother Looking for a Younger Husband
12-Year-Old Boy Becomes 14-Year-Old Girl, World's Youngest Sex Change Patient
Foreigners gobsmacked by Shanghai cab spittoons

Other News of Note
Derby Winner Barbaro Euthanized - PHOTOS (This is so sad...)

Fox News
Microsoft Launches Windows Vista
Report: Second Bird Flu Outbreak Hits Japan
France Bans Smoking in Public Places
McDonald's Picks Trans Fat-Free Oil for Fries
Miss Oklahoma Lauren Nelson Wins Miss America 2007 Pageant
Pop Tarts: The Mary-Kate Olsen Diet: Dye Your Hair Blond
Report: Jennifer Aniston Had Second Nose Job

Reuters: Top News
Thais halt Hmong deportation after stand-off
Newly-crowned Miss America to lead a model life
Motorola to use 3G chips from Texas Instruments
K-Fed pokes fun at himself in Super Bowl ad
Forex-Yen holds near lows, Fed meeting in focus
Oil holds at $54 as distillate stocks seen falling
Stocks cautious before earnings, techs underpin
Yen stuck near 4-year low vs dollar, stocks dip
Gold bides time as Federal Reserve prepares to meet
Finally feeling green
Cheap money threatens global growth
Ex-Paramount, Yahoo execs to start firm: report
Tata and CSN steel themselves for Corus bid battle
Investor group sets offer for rest of ProSieben
DaVita says government closes investigation
Regulator failed to monitor Con Edison: report

AP World News
U.S. businesses at odds over minimum wage
Louisiana residents pull back from coast
Suns hit roadblock as Wolves end streak
Bonds, Giants finally complete deal
Verizon 4Q profit falls, tops forecasts
CBS axes 'Armed & Famous' after 4 shows
Product recalls
Experts fear nightclub safety lagging

Military.com
Fallon says US Miscalculated Iraq
Family can use Dead Soldier's Sperm
Discussion: Who Will Win the Super Bowl?
Def Tech: $300 Million Hit
Op-ed: Driving While Defeatist
Blog: Not Exactly Berkeley in '68
Advisors: Military Terms Clarified
Learn to Use Your GI Bill

CENTCOM: News Releases
USS NEWPORT NEWS COMMANDING OFFICER RELIEVED OF COMMAND
UPDATE TO 20 JAN. BLACKHAWK HELICOPTER INCIDENT
UPDATE TO INITIAL FINDINGS FROM KARBALA-MILITANT ATTACK USED DECEPTION, U.S. ARMY TYPE UNIFORMS
COALITION FORCES DESTROY SUSPECTED INSURGENT TRAINING SITE
15 IRAQIS KILLED IN NEW BAGHDAD
INSURGENTS ATTACK SUNNI MOSQUE
DETAINEE RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENTS
AL-QAIDA COURIER, IED FACILITATOR, 19 OTHERS CAPTURED
FIVE ARRESTED NEAR KHOST
MND-B SOLDIERS EVACUATE YOUNG GIRL FOLLOWING ATTACK IN AL-DOURA

USJFCOM
USJFCOM begins Integrated Battle Command Experiment Series - podcast
USJFCOM, others evaluate individual augmentee process - podcast
Training comes to a close in exercise for Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa - podcast
Liveblogging: Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa Mission Rehearsal Exercise 07-1 USJFCOM hosts first-responder focused modeling and simulation demonstration event

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
Cheney: Too Early to Judge Iraq Plan - Story
Commander Guardedly Optimistic About Progress in Anbar
Stability & Security in Iraq Report (pdf)
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
Airborne Soldiers Receive Combat Badges - Story
Air Ambulance Team Awarded for Daring Rescue - Story
Iraqis, Coalition Reestablish Security Near Haifa - Story
Troops, Residents Celebrate School Reopening - Story
Security Meeting Raises Hopes for Peace - Story

IN IRAQ
Marine Helicopter Squadron Gets Ready to Deploy
Medics Administer Aid to Nearby Villages
Iraqi-Led Team Finds Torture House, Weapons
Transition Team Braves Attacks to Train Police
Combined Effort Provides Aid to Baghdad
Insurgents and Weapons Found, Captives Freed
Army Engineers Help Develop Port Capacity
Iraqi Soldiers Lead Cordon and Search
Marines Clear Insurgents From River Valley
Army Engineers Help Develop Port Capacity
Marines Provide Combat Roadside Service
U.S. Soldiers Help Open Schools in Mushahidah

IN DJIBOUTI
Camp Lemonier Expansion Creates New Jobs
Marine Trains U.S. Embassy Troops in Djibouti

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 Identify Casualties - 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

* If you're deployed, and want to see your location's weather listed here, please email me!

Today in History
1077 - Pope Gregory VII pardons German emperor Henry IV
1349 - Jews of Freilsburg Germany are massacred; Günther of Schwarzburg chosen German anti-king
1467 - Battle at Velke Kostolany Hung - King Mátyás Corvinus beats Bratríci
1487 - Bell chimes invented
1522 - Duke of Albany takes captured French back to Scotland
1544 - Adrian van Goes becomes land advocate of Holland
1592 - Ippolito Aldobrandini elected Pope Clement VIII
1647 - Scots agree to sell King Charles I to English Parliament for £400
1648 - Spain & Netherlands sign Peace of Münster, ending Tachtigjarige War
1667 - Russia & Poland sign the Treaty of Andrussovo
1713 - England & Netherlands sign 2nd anti-French boundary treaty
1781 - Articles of Confederation ratified by 13th state, Maryland
1790 - Lifeboat 1st tested at sea, by Mr Greathead, the inventor
1797 - Congress refuses to accept 1st petitions from American blacks
1798 - Representative Matthew Lyon (Vermont) spits in face of Representative Roger Griswold (Connecticut) in US House of Representatives, after an argument
1804 - Mungo Park leaves England seeking source of Niger River
1806 - Prussia takes possession of Hanover
1815 - Burned Library of Congress reestablished with Jefferson's 6500 volumes
1820 - Edward Bransfield aboard Williams discovers Antarctica (UK claim)
1835 - Richard Lawrence misfires at President Andrew Jackson in Washington DC
1847 - Yerba Buena renamed San Francisco
1854 - 1st election in Washington Territory; 1,682 votes cast
1862 - US Navy's 1st ironclad warship (Monitor) launched
1877 - Storm flood ravages Dutch coastal provinces
1879 - French President MacMahon resigns
1892 - Captain Lugard occupies Uganda's King Mwanga's hide out
1894 - Pneumatic hammer patented by Charles King of Detroit; US flag fired on in Rio - prompt satisfaction exacted by Admiral Benham
1895 - SS Elbe sinks after collision in North Sea, 332 killed
1911 - 1st rescue of an air passenger by a ship, near Havana, Cuba
1913 - House of Lords rejects Irish Home Rule Bill
1915 - German submarine attack on Le Havre
1921 - French rapist-murderer Henri-Désiré Landru sentenced to death
1922 - World Law Day, 1st celebrated
1925 - Turkish government throws out Constantine VI of Constantinople
1928 - 1st radio telephone connection between Netherlands & US
1933 - German President von Hindenburg appoints Hitler chancellor, Hitler forms government with Von Papen
1934 - Hitler proclamation on German unified states
1939 - Hitler calls for the extermination of Jews; Heavy after shocks destroy some of Chile
1941 - Australian troops conquer Derna, Libya; Japanese troops land on Ambon
1943 - 6 British Mosquitos daylight bomb Berlin; German assault on French in Tunisia; German under officers shot down in Haarlem Netherlands; Hitler promotes Friedrich von Paul to General - field marshal; Illegal opposition newspaper "Loyal" begins publishing; USS Chicago sinks in Pacific Ocean
1944 - US invades Majuro, Marshall Islands
1945 - German ship Wilhelm Gustloff torpedoed off Danzig by Soviet sub-c 7,700 die
1946 - 1st issue of Franklin Roosevelt dime
1951 - Belgium refuses to allow communists to make speeches on radio
1954 - Belgium ends trade agreement with USSR; Italy's Fanfani government resigns
1956 - Martin Luther King Jr's home bombed
1957 - US Congress accepts "Eisenhower-doctrine"
1958 - 1st 2-way moving sidewalk in service, Dallas, TX; House of Lords passes bill allowing women in; Baseball announces players & coaches rather than fans pick all stars
1960 - CIA oks Lockheed to produce a new U-2 aircraft (Oxcart); Dutch communist trade union EVC'58 disbands
1961 - JFK asks for an Alliance for Progress & Peace Corps
1962 - UN General Assembly censures Portugal (because of Angola); 2 members of Flying Wallendas' high-wire act killed when their 7-person pyramid collapses during a performance in Detroit
1964 - Ranger 6 launched; makes perfect flight to Moon, but cameras fail; Military coup of General Nguyen Khanh in South Vietnam
1965 - State funeral of Winston Churchill
1968 - Vietcong launch Tet-offensive on US embassy in Saigon
1969 - US/Canada ISIS 1 launched to study ionosphere
1972 - Pakistan withdraws from the Commonwealth; Bloody Sunday - British soldiers fire on Catholics in Londonderry, killing 13
1973 - Jury finds Watergate defendants Liddy & McCord guilty on all counts
1976 - George H.W. Bush becomes 11th director of CIA (until 1977); William E. Colby ends term as 10th director of CIA
1979 - Rhodesia agrees to new constitution
1989 - 5 pharoah sculptures from 1470 BC found at temple of Luxor
1992 - Space Shuttle STS-42 (Discovery 15) lands
1993 - 100,000n Europeans demonstrate against fascism & racism
1995 - Car bomb explodes in Algiers, 42 killed/296 injured
1997 - Minuteman III launches

Birthdays
1609 - Wenzel E. Fürst von Lobkowitz, Austrian chancellor
1616 - William Sancroft, Archbishop (Canterbury)
1628 - George Villiers, 2nd duke of Buckingham
1797 - Edwin Vose Sumner, Union Major General (Union volunteers)
1816 - Nathaniel Prentiss Banks, Union Major General
1822 - John Basil Turchin [Ivan Turchinoff], Union Brigadier General
1829 - Alfred Cummings Georgia, Confederate Brigadier General
1835 - Oliver Edwards, Union Brevet Major General
1841 - Alfred Townsend George, Civil War journalist
1844 - Moritz F. Freiherr von Bissing, German General/Governor-General of Belgium (1914-17)
1865 - Samuel Pl'h Naber, Dutch rear-Admiral/librarian
1882 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd US President (1933-1945)
1885 - John Henry Towers, aviator/naval hero
1892 - Grigore Gafencu, Romanian minister of Foreign affairs (1938-39)
1894 - Boris III, tsar of Bulgaria (1918-43)
1899 - Max Theiler, English/US microbiologist (Nobel 1951)
1915 - John D. Profumo, English politician
1924 - Shirley Chisholm (Representative-NY)
1927 - Olof Palme Stockholm, PM of Sweden (1969-76, 1982-86), assassinated
1930 - Magnus Adem Malan, South African minister of Defense
1931 - Stewart B. McKinney (Representative-CT)
1939 - Eleanor Smeal, feminist/president (NOW); Frank R. Wolf (Representative-VA)
1941 - Dick Cheney (Representative-WY/George H.W. Bush's secretary of defense 1989-93/Vice President 2001-present)

Passings
1156 - Herman van Horn, bishop of Utrecht (1151/52-56)
1384 - Louis van Male, count of Flanders/Nevers/Réthel
1393 - Aimery Poitiers French nobleman, burned at royal ball; Yvain son of Earl of Foix, burned at royal ball
1649 - Charles I, King of Great Britain (1625-49), beheaded for treason
1730 - Peter II Alekseyevitch, emperor of Russia (1727-30), dies at 14
1838 - Osceola chief of Seminole Indians, dies in jail
1928 - Douglas Haig, British field marshal (Sudan/Boer war/WWI), dies at 66
1948 - Mahatma Gandhi, India spiritual and political leader, assassinated by Hindu extremists in New Delhi, at age 78
1948 - Orville Wright, US aviation pioneer, dies at 76
1951 - Ferdinand Porsche, German car inventor (Porsche), dies at 75
1953 - Louis H.N. Bosch van Rosenthal, Dutch resistance fighter, dies at 68
1957 - Grigore Gafencu Romanian minister of Foreign Affairs (1938-39), dies at 65
1958 - Earnest H. Heinkel, German airplane builder (WWII), dies at 70
1969 - Allan Welsh Dulles, US diplomat/director (CIA 1953-61), dies at 75
1980 - Professor Longhair, king of New Orleans music, dies at 61
1993 - Taikichiro Mori, Japanese real estate developer, dies at 88
1994 - Bahjat Talhouni, PM of Jordan (1960-62, 64-65, 67-69, 69-70), dies
1994 - Jan L.N. Schaefer, Dutch undersecretary of Housing (PvdA), dies at 53

Reported Missing in Action
1973
Duensing, James Allyn, USN (CA); F4J shot down (w/Haviland), KIA, body not recovered

Haviland, Roy Elbert, USN (NY); F4J shot down (w/Duensing), KIA, body not recovered