HOW DO I LOOK? - U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class James Boucher smiles as an Iraqi child enjoys trying on his helmet and sunglasses during a community outreach visit to the Al-Fahdl Clinic in Baghdad, March 21, 2008. Boucher is assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's Troop A, 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, attached to Multinational Division - Baghdad. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Grant Okubo


IT'S THE SHADES, DUDE - Karlo, a U.S. Army working dog, relaxes in the sun in front of a painted building after completing a full day's work with his handler in Kirkuk, Iraq, March 20, 2008. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Samuel Bendet


CHECKPOINT 31 - U.S. Army soldiers and an Iraqi army soldier talk through an interpreter during the construction of Check Point 31 in Mosul, Iraq, March 23, 2008. The U.S. soldiers are assigned to the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Sarah De Boise


URBAN TERRAIN TRAINING
U.S. Army Sgt. Justina Bilby, left, and Spc. Corey Arnold participate in an urban terrain training exercise, Mar. 10, 2008, at Balad Training range at Fort Dix, N.J. Both soldiers are assigned to the 191st Military Police Company, National Guard, Fargo, North Dakota. Photo by U.S. Army Ryan Morton


GLADIUS OPERATIONS - U.S. Army soldiers prepare to enter a house along Main Supply Route Vermont in the Tagab district, Kapisa province, Afghanistan, Jan. 18, 2008. The soldiers are assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division's Company B, Special Troops Battalion, Task Force Gladius. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Johnny R. Aragon

Labels: 10th Mountain Division, 3-89th Cavalry Regiment, Baghdad, Iraq, MND-B, photos, US Army

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
GIs Find 37 Bodies in Mass Grave Near Baghdad
State Dept. to U.S. Workers in Iraq: Duck
Iraq assembly holds emergency session amid curfew - Video
U.S. employee killed in Baghdad's Green Zone
Bush says critics bully Iraq's leaders
Iraqi PM vows to fight militas in Basra
Crossfire War - Fighting in Basra Disrupts Oil Exports-Price Per Barrel Increase
Barriers Reduce Threats in Baghdad
Face of Defense: Army Nurse Strives to Make a Difference
Soldiers, Iraqi Community Leaders Discuss Rebuilding Effort
Detainees Released to Tarmiya, Taji

Operation Enduring Freedom
Taliban declares start of new Afghan offensive-Web
Canada confident NATO will help its Afghan troops

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
JIHAD USA: Homegrown Terror Threat Growing

Supporting Our Heroes
Minimus.biz: Paul Schrader Ships Travel Size Goods With Maximus Heart

Other Military News
Army Suspends Co. Accused of Supplying Bad Ammo
Gates Orders Review After Mistaken Missile Parts Delivery

Religion of Peace??
Dutch Anti-Koran Film Goes Online
Muted First Reactions to Dutch Anti-Koran Film
EXCLUSIVE: U.S.-Based Muslim Site Spreading Hate

Politics / Government
Superdelegate Showdown
Dem Senator Proposes Scrapping Electoral College
Michelle Obama's Remarks Rekindle Race Questions
Bloomberg Cagey on Loyalties During Obama NYC Tour
Obama’s Former Pastor Getting $1.6M Home in Retirement
Poll: 1 in 10 Voters Mistakenly Think Obama is Muslim
Census Bureau Estimates U.S. Population Continues Shift to South, West
Report: Spitzer Linked to Second Prostitution Ring
Obama calls for financial regulations, stimulus - Video
Democratic race over? Clinton doesn't think so - Video
Obama weathers Wright storm as new details emerge
White House resists pleas for mortgage bailout
U.S. lacks roadmap for space security: U.S. auditors
Wall Street drives White House campaign cash flow
U.S. critical of "brutal" Belarus crackdown
McCain, Romney campaign together in Utah
Obama, Clinton offer economic plans

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Manhunt On for Highway Snipers - VIDEO
Woman Involved in University of Louisville Hostage Situation Charged With Killing Her 2 Children
Reward Offered for Ohio Woman Accused of Sex With 14-Year-Old Girl
Two Snipers Sought in Six-Car Shootings Along Virginia's Interstate 64, More State Troopers on Patrol
Lawsuit: Female Tigers Fans Unknowingly Starred in 'Soft Core' Videos
Beau of Woman Stuck to Toilet Accused of Exposing Self (They're a great couple, aren't they, folks?)
Pennsylvania Judge: Learn English or Go to Jail (HOORAY!)
Police Arrest Man After Philadelphia Bridge Standoff
Dad Leaves Jail to See Dying Daughter
Lawyer: TSA Forced Woman to Remove Nipple Rings
School Security Officer Tasers 11-Year-Old Girl
U.S. court: Abu-Jamal may get death penalty review
Combs' lawyer calls LA Times story "defamatory"
Rapper Remy Ma convicted of shooting woman
T.I. pleads guilty to weapons charges
Mukasey vows corruption crackdown

U.N. News
U.N. sees boost in funding for Hariri tribunal
Sierra Leone: UN Raises Awareness of Laws to Curb Violence Against Women

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
YouTube to provide more viewership info
Google paid clicks data generate debate

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
FDA Investigating Possible Singulair, Suicide Link
Cancer risk seen with J&J foot gel: FDA
American shares $1.2 mln Norwegian maths prize
Genetic underpinnings of schizophrenia revealed
Comcast to modify network practices
AT&T plans MediaFlo mobile TV service for May
Emotion makes nose a sharper smeller

Mother Nature
Ten-Foot Prehistoric Sea Crocodile Unveiled - PHOTOS
Snorkeling teen finds shark tooth

Oddities
Man Claims to Speak 'Australian' After Allegedly Being Raped by Wombat (ROFL)
Physics Teacher Allegedly Gets Student Pregnant, Takes Her to Get Abortion
Woman Who Sat on Toilet for Two Years Still 'Very Sick'
Company offers moon as final resting place
Extra bite - Texan faces charges over snake vodka
Don't worry darling, it's only a refueling plane
Man writes check on 2-ply toilet paper

Other News of Note
Lhasa monks accuse China of lying over unrest - Video (China? Lying? Naaah....)
Monks disrupt China's message on Tibet
'Then they came for me......'
Tibetan Refugees in Kashmir Protest Against China
Leading Chinese Intellectuals Release Petition on Tibet
College football player found dead

Fox News
FOXBusiness: Delta, American Cancel More Flights
NCAA Resumes; N.C. Faces Washington State
Reality Check: 'Idol' Elimination Was Inevitable
Hollywood Assassination: Secret Screenplay 'Exposes' Indie Film World
Pop Tarts: Anna Kournikova Sticks to Veggies, Coffee, Fruit and Wine

Reuters
Opponents say Mugabe undermining election
Kenya power-sharing hits deadlock over cabinet
AMR, Delta cancel hundreds of flights for inspection
Paris Hilton happy to be role model for girls (Oh, God - we're doomed)
Sarkozy "moved" by reaction to Carla in UK - Video
Bear Stearns Chairman sells $61.3 million of stock
Xerox to pay $670 million in securities case - Video
JPMorgan battles to integrate unraveling Bear Stearns
Leveraged deals nag Wall Street banks
U.S. states urge FCC constraints on XM-Sirius deal
Fed sets public hearings on BofA-Countrywide deal
California may create bond insurer, rival Buffett
Citigroup sued over auction rate securities
Wall St dives on tech, bank outlooks; Bear hit late - Video
Bear shares dip
Japan's Nikkei dips, tracking losses on Wall St
Oil climbs over $107 on Iraq pipeline outage - Video
Accenture profit gains, raises outlook; shares up
Banks must come clean so Fed can help: Rosengren
Apollo results, shares fall on lawsuit charges
Central banks step up efforts to slow credit crisis
Gold ends up as oil supports, outlook positive
Solar shines

AP World News
LA Times apologizes for Shakur story
McNamee warns students about his mistake
Investment firms tap Fed for billions
Economy nearly stalled in 4th quarter
NCAA resumes today; N.C. faces Wash. St.

News Blaze
Minimus.biz: Paul Schrader Ships Travel Size Goods With Maximus Heart
PHOTOS:Train to Maintain
Soldiers' Angels and Patriot Guard
Iraq News
Operations in Iraq
FOB Warhorse Memorial Photos
Videos

CENTCOM
Anbar Leaders unite at Camp Fallujah
Iraq strategy process well under way, Pentagon spokesman says
Programs assist Iraqi engineers
Iraqi PM deserves credit, Pentagon spokesman says

USJFCOM
Industry symposium to raise awareness of 21st century capabilities
Workshop looks at strengthening capabilities in the urban environment - podcast
Command releases report
More about JCOAJKO provides training for those deployment-bound - podcast
More about Joint Knowledge Online

Multi-National Force - Iraq
$14.7 million of equipment is received by the Iraqi Ministry of Defence (Baghdad)
Coalition forces kill five terrorists, capture car bomb cell leader
Terrorists launch eleven indirect fire attacks, other unrest (Baghdad)
MND-B Soldier attacked by IED (Baghdad)
24 terrorists killed in Baghdad

DefenseLink
TOP NEWS
Bush: Iraq Retreat Would Jeopardize U.S. Interests
Bush, Cheney Consult Joint Chiefs on Future Iraq Plans

MILITARY NEWS
Military Health System Changes Inspire Confidence in Patients

FACE OF DEFENSE
Boy’s Soldier Wish Comes True
NY Firefighter Joins Terrorism Fight

IRAQ NEWS
Terrorists Launch Indirect-Fire Attacks in Baghdad
Iraqi Security Forces Make Progress in Diyala
Marines, Sailors Help Iraqi Refinery Workers

AFGHANISTAN NEWS
Afghan Air Corps Development Kicks Into High Gear
Afghans to Assume ‘Leading Role’ Against Enemy
Engineers Focus on Nation Building in Afghanistan

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

Today in History
1513 - Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León sights Florida
1599 - Robert Devereux becomes Lieutenant-General of Ireland
1625 - Charles I, King Of England, Scotland & Ireland, ascends to throne
1668 - English King Charles II gives Bombay to East India Company
1708 - English pretender to the throne James III flees to Dunkerk
1709 - Dike at Hardinxveld breaks (Alblasserwaard flooded)
1713 - Spain losses Menorca & Gibraltar
1721 - France & Spain sign Treaty of Madrid
1758 - Battle at Emmerich: British army floats around France the Rhine
1790 - The shoelace invented
1794 - Congress authorizes the President "to provide a naval armament" (US Navy)
1802 - Treaty of Amiens-French Revolutionary War ends
1814 - Battle at Horseshoe Bend: General Andrew Jackson beats Creek-Indians
1841 - 1st US steam fire engine tested, New York, NY
1848 - John Parker Paynard originates medicated adhesive plaster
1849 - Joseph Couch patents steam-powered percussion rock drill
1855 - Abraham Gesner patents kerosene
1860 – M. L. Byrn patents "covered gimlet screw with a 'T' handle" (corkscrew)
1865 - Siege of Spanish Fort AL: captured by Federals
1866 - Andrew Rankin patents the urinal; President Johnson vetoes civil rights bill; it later becomes 14th Amendment
1884 - 1st long-distance telephone call, Boston-New York
1912 - 1st Japanese cherry blossom trees planted in Washington DC
1914 - 1st successful blood transfusion (in Brussels)
1920 - Hermann Müller becomes German chancellor (SPD)
1924 - Canada recognizes USSR; New French government of Poincaré begins
1930 - 1st US radio broadcast from a ship at sea
1931 - Charlie Chaplin receives France's distinguished Legion of Honor
1933 - Farm Credit Administration (US) authorized; Japan leaves League of Nations; Polythene discovered by Reginald Gibson & Eric William Fawcett
1940 - Himmler orders building of Auschwitz concentration camp, at Katowice
1941 - Britain leases defense bases in Trinidad to US for 99 years; Hitler signs Directive 27 (assault on Yugoslavia); Yugoslavian coup gets rid of pro-German Prince Paul
1942 - Allies raid German submarine base in St. Nazaire; Japan forces Java to use "Tokyo time" 1½ hour forward
1943 - Assassination attempt on Van de Peat at Amsterdams census bureau; US begins assault on Fondouk-pass, Tunisia
1944 - 1,000 Jews leave Drancy France for Auschwitz Concentration Camp; 2,000 Jews are murdered in Kaunas, Lithuania; 40 Jewish policemen in Riga Latvia ghetto are shot by the Gestapo; Children's Aktion-Nazis collect all the Jewish children of Lovno
1945 - British premier Churchill sails to eastern banks of Rhine; General Eisenhower declares German defenses on Western Front broken; Iwo Jima occupied, after 22,000 Japanese & 6,000 US killed; US 20th Army corps captures Wiesbaden
1950 - Netherlands recognizes People's Republic of China
1952 - Failed assassination attempt of German Chancellor Adenauer; Sun Records of Memphis begins releasing records
1953 - 21 die in a train crash in Conneaut OH
1956 - French commandos land in Algeria; US seizes US communist newspaper "Daily Worker"
1958 - Havana Hilton opens; Nikita Khrushchev becomes Soviet premier & 1st Secretary of Communist Party
1961 - Belgian government of Eyskens resigns; Failed assassination attempt on King Saif al-Islam Achmad of Yemen
1964 - Earthquake strikes Anchorage AK, 9.2 on Richter scale, 131 die from earthquake and resulting tsunami - most violent eathquake in US history; Great Train Robbers sentenced to a total of 307 years behind bars; UN troops arrive on Cyprus
1966 - Anti Vietnam war demonstrations in US, Europe & Australia
1968 - Suharto succeeds Sukarno as President of Indonesia
1969 - Launch of Mariner 7, flies 2,190 miles above southern Mars
1972 - Venera 8 launched to Venus
1976 – Washington, DC underground Metro opens
1977 - 583 die in aviation's worst disaster KLM-Pan Am 747 crash, Tenerife
1979 - Supreme Court rules, 8-1, cops can't randomly stop cars
1980 - Elevator in Vaal Reef South Africa gold mine crash 1900 meter down (23 die); Mount St. Helens becomes active after 123 years
1987 - President Habré's troops reconquer Faya Largeau Chad
1990 - Bus accidentally touches high voltage wire in Karagpur India; 21 die
1994 - Church in Piedmont AL collapses in tornado, 19 killed
1997 - 39 cult memebers in California commit mass suicide (Hale-Bopp); Martin Luther King's son meets with James Earl Ray
2134 - 32nd recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet

Birthdays
1746 - Carlo Bonaparte, Corsican attorney/father of emperor Napoleon
1780 - August L. Crelle, German inventor/mathematician (1st Prussian Railway)
1785 - Louis XVII, pretender to the throne during the French Revolution (1793-95)
1797 - Alfred V Comte de Vigny, French musketeer/writer (Moïse, Chatterton)
1823 - Samuel Kosciusko Zook, Brevet Major General (Union volunteers)
1844 - Adolphus Washington Greely, Arctic explorer, US Army General / Medal of Honor recipient, Greely was a Medal of Honor recipient / Chief Signal Officer (1887-1906)
1845 - Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, discovered X-rays (Nobel 1901)
1847 - Otto Wallach, German (Nobel 1910)
1863 - Sir Henry Royce, automobile founder (Rolls-Royce)
1871 - Petrus J M Aalberse, Dutch minister of Labor (1918-25)
1893 - Dragoljub "Draza" Mihailovic, Yugoslavian General/Nazi collaborator
1897 - Carlo Mierendorff, German politician/anti-fascist
1901 - Erich Ollenhauer, German politician (SPD); Sato Eisaku, Japanese Prime Minister (1964-72) (Nobel 1974)
1912 - James Callaghan, British Prime Minister (1976-79)
1917 - Cyrus R. Vance, US Secretary of State (1977-80); Harry West, Unionist party leader (Unionist)
1921 - Tom Bevill (Representative- AL)
1927 - Anthony Lewis, newspaper columnist (New York Times)/author (Gideon's Trumpet); Lord Fanshawe of Richmond, MP
1928 - Douglas Applegate (Representative- OH)
1931 - R. P. Bauman, CEO (British Aerospace)
1938 - Jock Slater, Admiral
1939 - Jay C. Kim (Representative- CA)
1941 - Charles Pashayan, Jr. (Representative- CA)
1942 - Raymond J. McGrath (Representative-NY)
1943 - M. Robert Carr (Representative-MI)
1958 - Susan Molinari (Representative- NY)

Passings
0922 - Al-Hallaj al-Mughith-al-Hsayn Mansur, Persian mystic, beheaded at 64
0965 - Arnulf I the Elder/the Great, count of Flanders (918-65)
1211 - Sancho I King of Portugal (1185-1211), dies at 56
1378 - Gregory XI [Pierre R the Beaufort], last French Pope (1370-78)
1482 - Maria duchess of Burgundy/countess of Holland, dies at 25
1625 - James I Stuart, King of Scotland (1567)/England (1603-25), dies at 58
1701 - Anne Hilarion de Cotentin, count of Tourville/French Admiral, dies at 58
1850 - Wilhelm Bear German, banker/astronomer (Moon Map), dies at 53
1898 - Sajjid Ahmad Chan, co founder (Pakistan), dies at 80
1900 - Pieter J. Joubert [Smart Piet], South African General, dies at 69
1956 - Frans Beelaerts van Blokland, minister of Foreign affairs, dies at 84
1992 - James E. Webb, head of NASA (1961-68), dies at 84
1993 - Wilhelmus M. J. Russell, Dutch MP (KVP, CDA), dies at 74
1994 - Dennis Hartas, flier, dies at 69

Reported Missing in Action
1967
Palenscar, Alexander J. III, USN (NY); A4C shot down

1968
Badley, James Lindsday, USAF (OR); F4D shot down, KIA, body not recovered

Calhoun, Johnny C., US Army SF (GA); missing after ground action

Whitteker, Richard Lee, USAF (PA); F4D shot down, KIA, body not recovered

1969
Czerwiec, Raymond G., US Army (IL); disappeared on reconnaissance mission (w/Kerns)

Kerns, Gail M., US Army; disappeared on reconnaissance mission (w/Czerwiec), released by PRG March, 1973 (injured) – alive as of 1998

1972
The following USAF personnel reported MIA when their HH53C crashed:
Crow, Raymond J., Jr. (UT)

Dreher, Richard E. (OH); pilot

Manor, James (FL); pararescue

Pannabecker, David E. (PA); pararescue

Wagner, Raymond A. (IN); pararescue

Also reported missing this day in 1972:
Wong, Edward Puck Kow, US Army (CA); UH1H shot down (door gunner)

Labels: Headlines, History