CHATTING WITH TROOPS — An Iraqi civilian speaks with U.S. Army soldiers from Alpha Troop, 1st Battalion, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, during a mounted patrol in the Al Rashid Province of Baghdad, Sept. 5, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Michael Hendrickson

Labels: 1-4 Cav, 1st ID, Al Rashid, Baghdad, Iraq, photos, US Army

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
House calls for plan to pull forces from Iraq - Video
Basic services key to Iraq's future: U.S. general
Britain's Brown sees more troops home by end 2007
Al Mamoon rises again
Sailors Deploy for Operation Iraqi Freedom

Operation Enduring Freedom
U.N. says Afghan violence up 30 percent

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Miami men plotted to overthrow U.S.: prosecutor
Files raise questions on Gitmo transfers

Troops on Trial
Blackwater on defensive in Congress - Video
Blackwater chairman defends his company

Other Military News
House Appropriations Chair's War Tax Bill Dead on Arrival
Costs of outfitting soldiers spiral up

Religion of Peace??
Beyonce dumps Malaysia show to avoid Muslim outcry - Video

Worldwide Wackos
Leaders of divided Koreas to hold formal talks - Video
U.S. approves latest North Korea nuclear agreement

Politics / Government
Report: Millions Wasted on Government Travel - Pentagon, State Dept. cited as worst offenders
Transgender Issue Stalls Gay Discrimination Bill
Clinton Raises $27M in 3rd Quarter, Besting Obama
Obama would seek nuclear ban if elected
China seen unveiling six-party statement soon: Hill
Ukraine's Tymoshenko says aims to form new govt
Pakistan's Musharraf designates new army chief

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Time's Up: O.J. Surrenders Rolex
Cops Solve Mystery of the Headless Meters
Cops: Hooker Snorted Coke Off Baby's Belly
Forty Men Arrested for Having Sex in Tenn. Public Parks
Missing Florida Girl Found, Suspect Still on the Loose
Suspect Named in Missing Colorado Mom Case
Boyfriend Denies Role in Teen Sisters' Death - VIDEO
Isiah Thomas Found Liable in Harassment Case - VIDEO
Rescued Boaters Found With Blow Gun Darts, Knives
Memphis Prepares for Game as Cops Hunt Killers - VIDEO
Punter Sentenced 7 Years for Stabbing Teammate
Mother of Little Girl in Nevada Sex Tape Pleads for Privacy
Mom Charged With Murder in Kids' Tub Drowning - VIDEO
Portuguese Official Scolds British Police in Madeleine Investigation
Music download trial starts in Minn.
Lawyer: Girl's mom had no idea of abuse

Adventures in Political Correctness
No hugs allowed at Ill. middle school

U.N. News
U.N. envoy meets Myanmar junta chief - Video
AU outnumbered, outgunned in Darfur: commander

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
'Dems Distract Lunatic Base' - Rush fumes over 'phony soldiers' controversy - VIDEO
Online videos may be conduits for viruses
Letterman Grilling of Paris Hilton Becomes YouTube Hit

Science / Medicine / Technology
Glaxo, Astra, Roche back stem cells for drug tests
Sputnik blazed a trail across the October sky
NTT DoCoMo aims to make phone swiping obsolete
Matsushita to launch advanced Blu-ray recorders
Mishandling of germs on rise at US labs
Driverless truck lurches out of lab
Group renames asteroid for George Takei

Oddities
Michigan Sheriff Offers to Marry Fugitive Robbers If They Surrender
Robbery for Suckers: Bank Teller Tells Drive-Up Thief Candy Is All She's Got
10-Year-Old Girl Gives Birth in Belgium
"Burglar" turns out to be drunk neighbor
Biologists aim to wipe out "Rat Island"

Fox News
Five Workers Trapped After Explosion at Colorado Plant
Agencies Failed to Report Mine Problems, Panel Told
Pop Tarts: Britney Tans, Goes to DMV After Releasing Boys
Britney Spears' Troubles: All About Cousin Alli?

Reuters: Top News
Despite warming, ships to shun Northwest Passage
Controversy embroils U.S. abortion services clinic
Brands, not designers, star in fashion's new era
Life can be sweeter if you cut out the sugar
FDA says Lilly's Cymbalta promotion misleading
Jewish "intactivitsts" in U.S. stop circumcising
Spears lost children for disobeying judge: lawyer - Video
Dow drops day after rally, but banks, builders gain - Video
Home builder stocks rally - Video
Nikkei opens up 0.1 pct, led by Fanuc and Canon
Gold edges up after steep fall due to dollar rise
Pier 1 shares soar after CEO buys up stock
Stampeding to emerging markets
Virgin fuels fare war
GM gains, Ford clobbered in September sales
Pending home sales fell 6.5 pct in August
Millionaire families grew by 14 per cent in '06: survey
Worst of credit crisis seen over but problems remain
Credit crunch ripples into U.S. mega-mansion market
Inflation a bigger issue for central bankers now: Greenspan

AP World News
K-Dad: How is Federline as a father?
Developer builds around woman's home
Braves, outfielder Andruw Jones cut ties
Halle Berry says she wants another child
Anna Nicole Smith book prompts $60M suit
Randolph to return after Mets' collapse
Auto makers post weak sales in September
Pending home sales index hits record low

CENTCOM: News Releases
COALITION FORCES DISRUPT AL-QAEDA LEADERSHIP: SEVEN KILLED, 11 DETAINED
AFGHAN, COALITION FORCES KILL 20 MILITANTS IN HELMAND PROVINCE

USJFCOM
Joint Knowledge Online now available to wider audience - podcast
More about Joint Knowledge Online
Unified Endeavor 08-1 prepares soldiers for Afghanistan deployment
Senate confirms next commander
Nominee to be the next USJFCOM commander testifies before Senate Armed Services Committee
President nominates Marine general as new commander

Multi-National Force-Iraq
Hospital project provides jobs in Basrah
Continuous training keeps Manchus in top form
Al-Huda residents celebrate new fresh-water well
Coalition Forces detain terrorist leaders responsible for IED/EFP attacks in Diyala
Troops foil IED attacks, detonate cache
Coalition airpower continues to lend support
Soldier convicted of attempted possession of child pornography, indecent language directed at child
Coalition forces disrupt al-Qaeda network: one killed, 10 detained

DefenseLink
TOP NEWS
Gates Praises El Salvador for Iraq Efforts

MILITARY NEWS
U.S. Africa Command Marks Startup of Operations
Test Shows Missile Defense System's Promise
Mullen Becomes Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
Bush, Gates Praise Outgoing Chairman
Pace Says Reasoned Discourse Will Advance Democracy
Lynne Pace Reflects on 40 Years of Commitment, Service
Special: Chairman's Hail and Farewell
Special: Farewell to the Chairman

IRAQ
Coalition Raids Net 10 Al Qaeda in Iraq Agents
Airstrike Kills Terrorists; Suspects Caught
Troops Continue to Pound Enemy Fighters

AFGHANISTAN
Afghans Help Confront Violence in Eastern Region
Afghanistan Operations Disrupt Extremist Plans
Coalition, Afghan Troops Kill 22, Capture Seven

ON THE GROUND IN IRAQ
Mechanics Help Ensure Safety
Locals Celebrate New Well
Hospital Project Creates Jobs
Medical Team Heads Home
Berth Project Helps Port

INSIDE AFGHANISTAN
New Ramps Increase Capacity
Exchange Makes Life Better
Recycling Project Creates Jobs

FACE OF DEFENSE
Troop Plays Bard for Comrades
Airman Reaches Milestone
Airman Writes About Life
Joint Staff Communications Mainstay Retires After 27 Years
Marines Take Citizenship Oath

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Group Helps Families Cope
New, Free Family Web 'Hubs' Keep Communication Flowing
Organization Founder Honored
Schoolchildren to Chat With Soldiers in Iraq Via Video Link

WHY WE SERVE
NCO Shares His View on Service - Story - Special

DefendAmerica
BLOGGERS' ROUNDTABLE with Army Col. Ricky Gibbs
Forces Destroy al Qaeda Outposts - Story

NEWS UPDATES
Raids Net 10 Al Qaeda in Iraq Agents - Story

ON THE GROUND
Two New Ramps Give Airfield More Capacity - Story
Marine Mechanics Help Keep Comrades Safe - Story
Teamwork Gives Children Space for Learning - Story

IN IRAQ
Residents Celebrate New Fresh-water Well
Iraqi Hospital Project Provides Jobs
Soldiers of 45th Medical Company Head Home
New Berth Increases Umm Qasr Port Capacity
Australian Forces Assume Maritime Security Ops

IN AFGHANISTAN
Troops Get Taste of Home with Post Exchange
Airfield Recycling Project Creates Jobs
Air Force Leader Visits Reconstruction Team
New Multi-Ethnic Afghan Police Force Grows

IN DJIBOUTI
Marines Paint School, Foster Good Will
National Guard Leader Visits Well Drilling Sites

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
War on Terror Reconstruction Report
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

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

National Hurricane Center

Today in History
1187 - Sultan Saladin captures Jerusalem from the Crusaders.
1608 - Hans Lippershey offers the Dutch government a new invention - the telescope.
1836 - Charles Darwin returns to England aboard HMS Beagle.
1853 - Austrian law forbids Jews from owning land.
1870 - Italy annexes Rome and the Papal States; Rome becomes the Italian capital.
1919 - President Woodrow Wilson suffers a stroke.
1935 - Italy invades Abyssinia (Ethiopia); in New York, the Hayden Planetarium, the 4th in the U.S., opens.
1940 - The British liner Empress, loaded with refugees bound for Canada, is sunk by a German bomber.
1941 - Six Parisian synagogues are bombed.
1942 - The Queen Mary slices the cruiser Curacao in half, killing 338; in Chicago, the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction is demonstrated.
1950 - The comic strip "Peanuts" debuts in nine newspapers.
1955 - "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" premiers on TV.
1956 - In NYC, the first atomic power clock is exhibited.
1958 - Guinea gains independence from France.
1959 - Rod Serling's "Twilight Zone" premieres on CBS-TV.
1961 - "Ben Casey" premieres on TV.
1967 - Groundbreaking begins on Veteran Stadium in Philadelphia; Thurgood Marshall is sworn as the first African-American Supreme Court Justice.
1971 - A Homing pigeon averages 133 KPH (a record) in an 1100-km Australian race.
1972 - An Aeroflot Il-18 crashes near the Black Sea resort of Sochi, killing 105.
1980 - Michael Myers (D-PA), is the first Representative expelled in over 100 years (over ABSCAM).
1984 - Three Cosmonauts return after a record 237 days in orbit; Richard Miller becomes the first (former) FBI agent to be charged with espionage.
1986 - Sikhs attempt to assassinate Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
1990 - The U.S. Senate votes 90-9 to confirm David Souter's appointment to the Supreme Court; Radio Berlin International's sends its final transmission (links to Deutsche Welles of West Germany)- its final song is "The End" by the Doors.

Birthdays
1851 - Ferdinand Foch, credited for the Allied victory in WWI
1869 - Mohandas K. Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi), pacifist
1871 - Cordell Hull, U.S. Secretary of State (1933-44), lowered tariffs, Nobel Prize winner (1945)
1890 - Julius "Groucho" Marx, comedian (Marx Bros)
1891 - H.V. Porter, basketball pioneer, creater of the fan-shaped backboard
1895 - Bud Abbott, comedian (Abbott & Costello)
1921 - Robert Runcie, archbishop of Canterbury
1928 - Clay Felker, journalist (NY Herald Tribune, Esquire)
1939 - Yuri N. Glazkov, cosmonaut (Soyuz-24)
1951 - Sting, AKA Gordon Sumner, rock musician (Police) / actor (Dune)
1964 - Sherry Arnett, Playboy playmate (Jan. 1986)

Passings
322 BC - Aristotle dies of indigestion
1264 - Pope Urban IV (1261-64)
1678 - Gen Wu San-kuei, invited Manchus in China - died trying to expell them
1780 - John Andre, British Major, hanged by Americans (spied with Benedict Arnold)
1985 - Rock Hudson, actor, of AIDS

Reported Missing in Action
1964
Walker, Kenneth E., USAF (MI); A1E shot down over water, KIA, body not recovered

1967
Ott, Patrick L., USMC (CA); F8J crashed when returning from mission, Killed, body not recovered

1968
Erwin, Donald E., USN (IN); A4E shot down over water, remains ID'd February, 1990

1969
The following all lost in the water crash of a C2A aircraft enroute from Cubi Point NAS to various aircraft carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin. All reported Killed, body not recovered:

Beck, Terry L, USN (PA)

Bell, Richard W., USN (PA)

Bowman, Michael L., USN (OH)

Bytheway, Frank L., Civilian

Dayao, Rolando C., USN (Phillipines)

Dean, Donald C., USN (MO)

Dilger, Herbert H., USN (NY); pilot

Ellerd, Carl J., USN (TX)

Fowler, James J., USN (MO)

Fowler, Roy G., USNR (VA)

Gan, Leonardo, USN, (Phillipines)

Gore, Paul Edwin, USN (NC); not on official DIA list

Gorsuch, William D., USN (WI)

Hill, Rayford J., USN (TX); loadmaster-trainee

Kohler, Delvin L., USN (CO)

Koslosky, Howard M., USN (AK)

Leonard, Robert B., USN (IA)

Livingston, Richard A., USN (WA)

Montgomery, Ronald W., USN (IN)

Moore, William R., USN (KS)

Moser, Paul K., USN (CT); air crewman

Prentice, Kenneth M., USN (WA)

Salazar, Fidel, USN (Phillipines)

Terrell, Keavin L., USN (LA)

Tye, Michael J., USN (MO)

Viado, Reynaldo R., USN (Phillipines)

Labels: Headlines, History