PERSIAN GULF (March 3, 2008) An Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Handling) gives hand signals to the pilot of an AV-8B Harrier, assigned to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron Reinforced (HMM) 166, during flight operations aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Tarawa (LHA 1). Tarawa is operating in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility to help deter destabilizing activities and safeguardi regional links to the global economy. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman David A. Brandenburg

Labels: 5th Fleet, aircraft, AV-8B, Harrier, HMM 16, LHA-1, photos, ships, US Navy, USMC, USS Tarawa

What sort of world leader would you be? You would make a great PRESIDENT. You like the idea of having the population controlling its government. You feel you are here to serve the people and have their best interests and the country's at heart. However, corruption is rife - and so is discontent. You are getting sick and fed up of protesters rallying around you - pelting you with eggs. You have become the butt of jokes on national TV and those grey hairs are starting to show. Perhaps you should rule a little more firmly?

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Wonder how Billary and B-HO would do on this one...

Labels: fun stuff, politics

Palos Verdes California Search
RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. 25 February 2008 -- A Coast Guard HH-65 Helicopter for Air Station Los Angeles searches for a man that was swept out to sea off the coast of Rancho Palos Verdes late on the night of the 24th. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Tina Epperson)

Labels: Air Station Los Angeles, helicopter, HH-65, photos, USCG

If this video is genuine, it is way beyond disgusting, and those involved deserve the full weight of Marine Corps justice:

Military Officials Investigate Purported Puppy Abuse Internet Shock Video

HONOLULU — Military officials are investigating an Internet video that purports
to show a Marine throwing a puppy off a rocky cliff.

Maj. Chris Perrine of the Marine Corps Base in Kaneohe, Hawaii says it appears the man is a lance corporal based with a unit in the islands.

Marine officials are calling the YouTube video "shocking and deplorable" and say it violates "the high standard we expect of every Marine."

Even if the video is a 'joke,' if Marines are involved, I'm sure they're going to have a lot to answer for.

Fox News has the story here; the video has been removed from YouTube.

Unfortunately, the reality is that under most criminal justice standards, animal cruelty is woefully undersentenced. However, if this is a U.S. Marine, and if this is genuine, I'm sure the Corps will have a whole lot to say about the conduct displayed.

On the flip-side, if this is not genuine - and this would certainly not be out of bounds for those who seek to malign our troops - anyone who would make such a video to malign the Corps should have a big slice of justice pie headed at 'em, too.


UPDATE:
You can read the Marine Corps' statement, and there is an edited version of the video, over at KITV.com


UPDATE 2:
Saw the whole video, unfortunately. Won't post it or link to it here. It does not look like it's a fake - the only question is whether these are actually Marines. If they are, I hope they're going to be doing a lot less smiling than they were on that video once their superiors get a hold of them.

Labels: Troops on Trial, USMC

WEAPONS SWEEP
U.S. Army soldiers scan for weapons caches during a clearing operation in Kesra, Iraq, Feb. 24, 2008. The soldiers are assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 15th Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion, Bravo Company. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Timothy Kingston

Labels: 1-15th Infantry Regiment, 3ID, Iraq, Kesra, photos, US Army

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
US commander: Iraq violence down
A New Plan for Clean Water: One Windmill Pump per Village
Coalition, Iraqi Troops Target Al-Qaeda Forces in Mosul
Citizens Celebrate Reopening of Road Connecting Salman Pak and al Lej
4 bodies found in mass grave south of Samarra
Coalition search and rescue teams locate missing helicopter (north of Lake Thar Thar)
Iraq says working to expel Iranian rebel group
US General Seeks to Create Iraqi Jobs
A trip to Baghdad
Soldiers Help Families Return to Their Homes
Coalition Seizes Initiative in Mosul Al Qaeda Fight - Video
Mullen Calls Security Progress in Iraq ‘Undeniable’
Bush Assures Odierno Iraq Progress Will Continue

Operation Enduring Freedom
Suicide car bomb kills Afghan policeman

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Homeland Security Warn States of Airport Hassles if They Don't Adopt ID Rules
Suicide blast kills 6 at Pakistan navy college - Video
Rice: 'We Won't Let' Opponents of Mideast Peace Win
Israeli Troops Withdraw From Gaza, Peace Talks Nixed
Israel considers return to Gaza
Colombia: FARC planned dirty WMD
Somalis protest after U.S. missile attack
Colombia: Documents Show Growing Relations Between Ecuador's Government and Rebels

Troops on Trial
Brit Commandos Busted for 'Naked Bar' Stunt (Gives a whole new meaning to 'going commando'...this is just...well...odd)
Washington Soldier Accused of Killing 2, Pouring Acid on Bodies

Fallen Heroes
Camp Eggers Dedicates New Building to Fallen Airman
Korean War Hero Receives Posthumous Medal of Honor

Wounded Warriors
Soldiers Injured During Severe Mississippi Storm
Navy Awards Contract for New Walter Reed Facility

Other Military News
U.K. Fought Hitler With Horoscopes
Baseball: Cadet Named Conference Pitcher of The Week
Reflagging of 4-1 Cavalry Evokes Pride, Sadness
1st Armored Division To Be Reflagged, Relocated
Harm of War-Funding Delays Soon to Become Apparent
Report: China Military Growth Has Global Implications - Special

Worldwide Wackos
Colombia: Rebel's Computer Revealed Chavez Link - PHOTO ESSAY (Warning: Graphic Content)
Fidel Castro wades into South American fray - Video
Ahmadinejad: US power crippling in Iraq
Russia, China block UN Iran resolution
Videos
Iran Sentences Journalist Parnaz Azima

Politics / Government
Primary Day of Reckoning
Clinton's First Lady Schedules to Be Released
Obama Camp: Hillary Needs Double-Digit Wins or 'It's Over'
Poll: Most Democrats Say, 'Not Over' ... Yet
Watch the Strategy Room on Super Tuesday II
Clinton gains steam
Video: Clinton's ''pathetic'' showbiz blitz
Factbox: Texas and its primary
Factbox: Ohio and its primary
Clinton's options if she fails to win
Clinton under pressure as Ohio and Texas vote - Video
Clinton Gains Steam in Tight Ohio and Texas Races
Obama thanks supporters in namesake Japanese town
Detroit council to vote on mayor
C4CC Asks Consumer Product Safety Commission to Test Chemicals
Another Attack on Our Second Amendment Rights
McCain Myth Buster: John McCain and Bob Riley
McCain Appears Set for Victory in Ohio, Texas
China: Taiwan Will 'Pay Price' Over Independence Push
China offers talks with Taiwan on equal footing - Video
Kenya's political leaders seek to heal wounds

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
6 Dead, 3 Hurt in Memphis Massacre
Teens' Naked Photo Sharing Worries Prosecutor
2 Dead After Shooting at Florida Wendy's
Off-Duty Chicago Police Officer Tasered After Arrest Struggle, Spitting on Paramedic
First Crack Convicts Released After Sentence Reductions
Police: Texas Teens Plotted Brutal Killings for Month
Cop's Lover Gets Life in Masked Love-Triangle Slaying
Calif.'s top court ponders gay marriage
Bai Ling charged with petty theft
Supreme Court May Settle Indecency Debate
Gangbangers Gun Down Grid Star
Cops Swarm After Man Who Reportedly Shot Wife Barricades Self in House

U.N. News
12 killed in UN chopper crash in Nepal

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
Report: Racy Pics of 'American Idol' Contestant Ramiele Malubay Appear on Web
Wikipedia Founder's Fling With Columnist Ends in Nasty Public Breakup
New Yahoo tool gathers favorite Web places on mobiles
YouTube Slammed for Video Showing Mother's Rape

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
Clinic That May Have Infected 40,000 With HIV, Hepatitis Closed
Global Warming: Is It Really a Crisis? (No, no, a thousand times - NO!)
Space Probe Photo Shows Avalanche on Mars
Blink and you'll miss it: Japan's "eyePod"
Filipinos send 1 bln text messages daily
Drinking may boost blood pressure more than thought
Allergan gets subpoena on Botox promotion
First North American primate trekked from Siberia
Bad grades? Faulty memory could be to blame
Oregon holds health insurance lottery

Mother Nature
Violent Jet Landing in Storm Caught on Tape in Germany
Stormy weather heads east; snow in Ark.

Oddities
Who You Gonna Call? Ghost Busters Open N.Y. Shop
Popular Italian Catholic saint exhumed 40 years on
Italy election symbols: from garbage to impotence
Moms allegedly brawl at Chuck E. Cheese

Other News of Note
Magna Carta back at National Archives

Fox News
Train Derails; Acid Tanker Cars Burn in California
FOXBusiness: A Gem in Struggling Auto Industry
Britney, Jessica — They Weren't First
Memoir: Kristin Davis Reprimanded 'Sex and the City' Co-Star for Jokingly Calling Her a Slut

Reuters
Retirement insecurity
Multidimensional retirement planning
Full Coverage: Recession watch
Consumer bankruptcies leap in February
Ford to lay off some 2,500 workers
Whiskies galore at traveling tasting show
First Aston Martins to be made outside UK
Chesney leads Academy of Country Music award bids
"Away From Her" dominates Canada's Genie Awards
Bernanke sees more house price drops
Citigroup may need more capital, Dubai says
U.S. auto sales not as weak as some forecasts: GM CEO
Staples profit near flat; outlook lowered
Ambac decides not to split: report
U.S. consumers shopping for price, value -survey
Walgreen February same-store sales up on leap day
Independent directors back Toll bonus plan
Market opens lower; Intel forecast weighs
Supply fears fuel platinum surge, gold eyes $1,000 - Video
Oil steady below record highs, awaits OPEC
Yen gains broadly as risk aversion rises
Clearwire posts wider quarterly loss, revenue up
Citigroup falls after Dubai, Merrill comments
James River Coal posts Q4 loss wider than Street view
Seagate Technology says raises EPS view
Copper hovers below peak, tin strikes new high
GM's Delphi ride

AP World News
Citi, Intel fears drive down stocks
Millions awarded in Jackson taping suit
Pats re-sign Randy Moss to 3-year deal
OPEC not moving to ease high oil prices
Strip club: 'Idol' once danced here
Obituaries in the news

News Blaze
Support Our Troops, Read Their Stories
Ironhorse Tracker Radio Newscast Available
All in The Family
Iraq News
Read about Operations in Iraq
FOB Warhorse Memorial Photos

CENTCOM: News Releases
Feb. 22 Statement from Multi-National Force - Iraq commending cease-fire extension
Successful operations target top Taliban leader
Civilians targeted in northern Iraq
Coalition forces identify terrorist killed in Feb. 17 operation

USJFCOM
Targeting school revising courses to prepare students - podcast
More about Joint Targeting School
SOCJFCOM continues to ready warfighters for global operations - podcast
More about SOCJFCOM
Phase one of Multinational Experiment 5 wraps up
More about Multinational Experiment 5

Multi-National Force-Iraq
Soldiers Evaluate Renovation Progress at Girls’ School
MND-B Soldiers detain 3 alleged cell members (Baghdad)
Iraqi Special Operations Forces, U.S. Special Forces detain two al Qaeda in Iraq suspects
Three terrorists killed as Coalition targets al-Qaeda in Iraq networks
MND-N Soldiers detain criminal leader, discover cache

DefenseLink
TOP NEWS
Cyber Warfare Poses New Challenge, England Says
Mullen Arrives in Pakistan for Military Talks - Special
Mullen Tours Iraqi Depot, Training Area
U.S. Attacks Al Qaeda Terrorist

MILITARY NEWS
Guantanamo Mission Unaffected by Debate

IRAQ NEWS
Troops Kill Suspected Terrorists, Seize Weapons
Baghdad’s Neglected Infrastructure Gets Help
Iraqi Farmers Union Focuses on Revitalization

FACE OF DEFENSE
Medic Shines Under Fire

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
True Lemon Hopes to Refresh Overseas Troops

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
0419 - [Etalius] ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1043 - Edward the Confessor crowned king of England
1376 - Battle of Navarrete (Najera), English beat France
1559 - Spain & France sign 2nd Treaty of Le Cateau-Cambrésis
1582 - French van Valois honored as duke of Gelre/earl of Zutphen
1645 - English parliaments accept Self-Denying Ordinance
1657 - English Lord Protector Cromwell refuses crown
1764 - Austrian arch duke Jozef crowns himself Roman Catholic king
1776 - Washington receives honorary degree from Harvard College
1783 - Sweden & US sign a treaty of Amity & Commerce
1790 - Revenue Marine Service (US Coast Guard), created
1848 - Thomas Douglas becomes 1st San Francisco public teacher
1856 - Gunpowder in church explodes, killing 4,000 in Rhodos
1860 - Pony Express begins between St Joseph, MO & Sacramento, CA
1864 - Skirmish at Okolona, AR
1865 - Union forces occupy Confederate capital of Richmond, VA & Petersburg, VA; Battle at Namozine Church, VA (Appomattox Campaign)
1882 - Wood block alarm invented, when alarm rang, it dropped 20 wood blocks
1910 - Highest mountain in North America, Alaska's Mount McKinley, climbed
1918 - House of Representatives accepts "American Creed" written by William Tyler
1919 - Austria expels all Habsburgers
1922 - Stalin appointed General Secretary of Communist Party
1925 - Great Britain goes back to gold standard; Netherlands & Belgium sign accord of Westerschelde
1926 - 2nd flight of a liquid-fueled rocket by Robert Goddard; Italy establishes corp of force in order to break powerful unions
1927 - Interstate Commerce Commission transfers Ohio to Eastern time zone
1929 - Persia agrees to Litvinov Pact
1930 - Ras Tafari becomes Emperor Haile Selassie of Abyssinia (Ethiopia)
1933 - 1st airplane flight over Mount Everest
1941 - Churchill warns Stalin of German invasion; Rasjid al-Gailani forms pro-German regime in Iraq
1944 - Supreme Court (Smith vs. Allwright) rules "white primaries" unconstitutional; British dive bombers attack battle cruiser Tirpitz
1945 - Hengelo freed from nazi control by Canadian army; Nazis begin evacuation of camp Buchenwald; US 1st army conquers Hofgeismar
1946 - Netherlands-German postal relations resume
1948 - Harry Truman signs Marshall Plan ($5B aid to 16 European countries)
1949 - North Atlantic Treaty, pact signed by US, Britain, France & Canada
1952 - Dutch Queen Juliana speaks to US Congress
1955 - Fire in cinema to Sclessin Belgium, kills 39; Night express train in Guadalajara derails, killing 300
1956 - Bulgarian vice premier Traitsjo Kostov rehabilitated; German war criminals Hinrichsen/Rühl/Siebens/Viebahn are freed
1958 - Fidel Castro's rebels attack Havana
1960 - Earthquake at Havré, Belgium
1962 - Lieutenant General Marshall S. Carter, USA, becomes deputy director of CIA
1964 - US & Panamá agree to resume diplomatic relations
1965 - 1st atomic powered spacecraft (SNAP) launched
1966 - Luna 10 orbits Moon
1968 - North Vietnam agrees to meet US representatives to set up preliminary peace talks
1974 - 148 tornadoes are reported over an area covering a dozen states in the east, south & midwest killed approximately 315
1977 - Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's 1st meeting with President Jimmy Carter; Netherlands/Belgium/Luxembourg adopt summer time
1978 - European market & China signs trade agreement
1979 - Belgium's Martens government forms; Jane M. Byrne (D) elected 1st woman mayor of Chicago, IL
1981 - Race riots in London's Brixton area
1982 - UN Security Council demands Argentina's withdrawal from Falkland Islands
1984 - Soyuz T-11 carries 3 cosmonauts (1 Indian-Rakesh Sharma) to Salyut 7; Guinea suspends constitution after coup
1985 - French government adopts equal electoral system
1986 - US national debt hits $2,000,000,000,000
1988 - Somalia & Ethiopia sign accord about Ogaden desert
1991 - UN Security Council adopts Gulf War truce resolution

Birthdays
1367 - Henry IV Bolingbroke Lincolnshire, King of England (1399-1413)
1438 - John III van Egmont [Manke John], viceroy of Holland
1715 - John Hanson, 1st US President under Articles of Confederation
1783 - Washington Irving, American writer (Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Rip Van Winkle)
1798 - Charles D. Wilkes, Commander (Union Navy)
1812 - Louisa Maria, Queen of the Belgians (1832-50/wife of Leopold I)
1842 - Ulric Dahlgren, Union Colonel
1858 - Matthew Ricketts, 1st Black man elected to Nebraska State Legislature
1866 - James B. Hertzog, South African General/premier (1914-39)
1881 - Alcide de Gasperi Italian premier (1945..53)
1885 - Harry St. John Philby [sheik Abdullah], British explorer
1900 - Camille Chamoun, President of Lebanon
1924 - Marlon Brando, actor (Superman, Godfather)
1926 - Virgil Grissom, Lieutenant Colonel USAF/astronaut (Merc 4, Gemini 3)
1930 - Lawton Chiles (Senator/Governor-FL)
1932 - Nourse, British lord justice
1933 - Robert K. Dornan (Representative-CA,)
1939 - Malcolm Thornton, MP
1945 - Wim J. Deetman, Dutch minister of education/MP (CDA)
1946 - Carlos Salinas de Gortari, President (México, 1988-94)
1948 - Jaap G. de Hoop Scheffer, Dutch MP (CDA)
1955 - Aleksandr Nikolayevich Yablontsev, Russian Lieutenant-Colonel/cosmonaut

Passings
0033 - Christ crucified (according to astronomer Humphreys & Waddington)
0628 - Chosroes II, emperor of Persia (579..628), murdered by his son
1287 - Honorius IV [Giacomo Savelli], Italian Pope (1285-87)
1862 - James Clark Ross, Arctic explorer
1882 - Jesse James, outlaw, shot dead at 34 in St. Joseph, MO by Robert Ford
1936 - Bruno Hauptmann, convicted Lindbergh baby killer, executed
1941 - André Michelin, French tire manufacturer, dies at 88; Pal Teleki-von Szek PM Hungary (1920-21, 39-41), suicide at 61
1946 - Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma (responsible for Bataan Death March), executed
1950 - Carter G. Woodson, "father of black history", dies in Washington DC at 74
1951 - Johannes C. Kielstra, Dutch economist/Governor (Suriname 1933-44), dies at 72
1956 - T. Kostov, Bulgarian vice-premier, executed
1960 - Anton Pannekoek, Dutch astronomer/marxist theorist, dies at 87
1993 - Eduardo Cabellero Calderon, Colombian writer/diplomat, dies at 83
1994 - Jerome Lejeune, French geneticist (Syndrome of Down), dies at 67
1996 - Carl Stokes, 1st Black mayor of a major US city (Cleveland OH); Christopher John Seward, aid worker, dies at 45; Ronald Harmon Brown, US Secretary of Commerce, dies in an accident at 54

Reported Missing in Action
1965
The following USAF personnel reported MIA in a single incident:
Morgan, Herschel S., (NC); RF101 shot down, released by DRV February, 1973 (injured) - retired as a Colonel - alive as of 1998

Smith, George C., (MO); F100D shot down

Vohden, Raymond A. (NJ); F4C shot down released by DRV February, 1973 (injured) - alive as of 1998

1966
Laws, Richard Lee, USN (CA); F8E shot down, KIA/BNR

1968
Hardy, John Charles, USAF (MO); remains recovered April, 1968

Rexroad, Ronald Reuel, USAF (IL); RF4C shot down

Thomas, James C., USMC (AZ); disappeared while on patrol

1969
Ecklund, Arthur G., US Army (AZ); O1G disappeared while on mission (pilot, w/Jefferson)

Jefferson, Perry H., US Army (CO); O1G disappeared while on mission (observer, w/Ecklund)

1972
The following US Army personnel reported MIA when their UH1H was shot down:
Christensen, Allen D. (SD); crew chief

O'Neil, Douglas L. (NJ); pilot (some records show O'Neill)

Williams, Edward W. (FL); gunner

Zich, Larry A. (NE); co-pilot

Also reported MIA this day in 1972:
Henderson, William Joseph, USAF (TX); OV10A shot down while searching for crash survivors (see post from yesterday)

Muren, Thomas Richard, USN (CA); drowned

Labels: Headlines, History