FLEET FLARE
The Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Laramie pulls alongside the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt during a replenishment at sea during a tailored ship's training availability and final evaluation problem, Atlantic Ocean, April 1, 2008. U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Snyder

Labels: Military Sealift Command, photos, ships, US Navy, USNS Laramie, USS Theodore Roosevelt

The latest tender sentiment from that oh-so-peaceful religion comes from Yousef al-Khattab, a New York City cab driver who was born Joseph Cohen. Converting to Islam after attending an Orthodox Jewish school (which, ironically, he says was 'a racist cult'), al-Khattab now spreads his own version of joy and nicety through his website, which has as its mission:

"preserving Islamic culture,” “calling people to the oneness of God” and asking them to “support the beloved Sheik Abdullah Faisal, who’s preaching the religion of Islam and serving as a spiritual guide.”

Awww....how sweet. That is, unless you know that Sheik Faisal was convicted in the UK of spreading hatred and urging the murder of Westerners, Jews, and Hindus, using such 'peaceful' tools as chemical weapons. Another of his ideas for bringing love and light involves using machetes to cut the throats of non-Muslims. What a peach, eh?

Al-Khattab's special brand of internet sunshine has a number of touchy-feely features, sure to impress neighbors in his hometown of Queens:

- a video mocking the brutal murder of journalist Daniel Pearl (but don't worry, folks; al-Khattab says that Muslims don't grab people off the street - Pearl was tried and convicted of being a spy, so what happened to him is just ducky)

- video of a puppet show that mocks the deaths of U.S. troops in Iraq (not to be confused with the kid-stabs-GWB puppet show)

- solicitations for Faisal and to get him new computer equipment so he can continue to spread his own special brand of love and joy (now who can resist that?).

Sad news for those of you looking to get a little electronic hug from the 'Religion of Peace,' though - Yousef's site appears to be down today (unfortunately, that's probably due to high traffic).

The biggest pill to swallow is al-Khattab's prominent statement that his website is protected under the First Amendment. He gets around terrorism charges by not directly advocating the murder of Americans. He doesn't tell you to murder Americans, you see - he just tells you to listen to other people who want you to kill Americans. His parents must be so proud.

The rest of the site makes him a scumbag terrorist, legal two-step or no. That little gem, in my book, makes him a bottomfeeding coward. If you hate America, let's just get that out in the open. Al Khattab's the worst kind of extremist loser. Hate America for all she stands for - except the things that save your sorry @$$ from being thrown in jail.

One more reason to avoid using a taxi in New York City.

Labels: jihad on the web, Religion of Peace?, terrorism, terrorists

SECURITY DUTY
U.S. Army Spc. Rebecca Buck secures the perimeter of an Iraqi police station in Tarmiya Province, Iraq, March 30, 2008. Buck is a medic with 25th Infantry Division's Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. William Greer

Labels: 1-14th Infantry Regiment, 25th ID, Iraq, photos, Tarmiya Province

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Iraqi Prime Minister Issues Al-Sadr Ultimatum
Iraq's Sadr to disband Mehdi Army if clerics order - Video
Al-Sadr calls for dialogue in Iraq
King of Battle Still Reigns
Bastogne Soldiers Remove Al-Qaida in Iraq Chokehold on Samarra Passageway
Iraqi Security Forces Rescue 42 Kidnapped Students
Iraqi Army Soldiers Find Caches Near Shakariyah

Operation Enduring Freedom
Afghan school gets new library, science lab

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Casablanca bombs convicts escape jail
Olmert and Abbas resume meetings after hiatus

Other Military News
Missing Marine Spotted Near Kansas - PHOTOS

Religion of Peace??
Research explores what 1.3 billion Muslims think
Fresh clashes in troubled Egypt Nile Delta town

Politics / Government
Penn-Less Pennsylvania for Clinton
McCain: U.S. 'No Longer Staring Into Abyss of Defeat'
McCain: Democrats' stance on Iraq flawed
McCain says Dems can't keep promises
Clinton Drops Story About Uninsured Pregnant
Alabama governor says won't bail out Jefferson City
Clinton's top strategist quits - Video
Bush to speak about Iraq on Thursday: CNN - Video
Bush aides put upbeat spin on summit
Obama seeks to affirm his patriotism

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Hunt for Polygamist Bride
PHOTOS: Search Continues at Polygamist Compound
Machete-Wielding Teens Attack Australian High School; 19 Injured
Florida Man Charged With Having Sex With Child in Video
Police Allege Arizona Man Traded Sister for Heroin
Housekeeping Supervisor Saves Baby From Hotel Toilet
Jury: Princess Diana, Boyfriend Dodi Fayed Killed by Driver, Paparazzi - PHOTOS
Mass. school coach pleads in boy's rape
King confidant pleads not guilty in Va.

U.N. News
Climate Change Will Take Heavy Toll on Human Health - UN Officials

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
'The Grid' Could Soon Make the Internet Obsolete
FOXBusiness: Yahoo Not Opposed to Deal With Microsoft
NBC: Olympic advertisers unfazed by Tibet protests
Los Angeles Times retracts hoax rapper story
UK online ad spend to overtake TV: report
Yahoo promises to 'amp' up ad platform

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
35,000-Year-Old Tools Unearthed in Australia
Motorola settles with Icahn, accepts board nominees
Three rare mutations lower blood pressure: study
Two die in Spain from human form of mad cow disease
Key scientist sure "God particle" will be found soon
Study ties bedroom TV to unhealthy habits in teens
EU to harmonize takeoff of in-flight mobile calls
States 'recycle' meds to battle costs

Mother Nature
Endangered bears find refuge in Vietnam
Fires threaten Amazon in drier climate
Dumbo paints! Animals make zoo artwork

News from My Neck of the Woods
Wiggins helps Stanford past Connecticut

Oddities
Christian Radio Network Blasts Wisconsin School for Student Cross-Dressing Event
Man Is Flung From Roof of His Speeding Minivan, Runs Naked Along Highway
Detroit Girl, 3, in Critical Condition After Shooting Self in Head
Fur of Fury: Police Say Man Used Hedgehog as Weapon
Sauna on a roll...
Hair salon scalps customers

Other News of Note
Paris Mayor Cancels Olympic Torch Relay After Pro-Tibetan Protests - PHOTOS
Factbox: Peace, fraternity and controversy
China faces risks from stance on Tibet
Video: Beijing condemns torch protests
Tibet intrudes on IOC meeting in Beijing
Children flee rolling school bus in Ohio

Fox News
Opposition Leader Calls for Help Getting Mugabe Out
Up, Up and Away! Airline Passenger Complaints Take Off
Missing Florida Boaters Killed in Fire at Sea

Reuters
McMansions now hit
Washington Mutual to close $5 bln deal
Full Coverage: Crisis in Credit
Zimbabwe court delays poll ruling again - Video
Hemingway haunt gives discounts to "poor Americans"
Moss tops Glamour fashion list, Minogue tumbles
Despite slowdown, Americans still read
Hedge fund managers make mint on housing crisis
Novartis to buy Nestle's Alcon stake for $39 billion
UBS prime broker exec sees gain from turmoil
Delta and Northwest revive merger talks: report
NBER's Feldstein says U.S. sliding into recession
Market up on WaMu optimism, tech and energy - Video
Oil jumps more than $2 on gas oil surge
Gold rises 2 percent to one-week high on oil jump
Coal mining shares up on Massey upgrade, outlook
World stocks power to one-month high - Video
Dollar pushes higher on abating risk fear
Norske Skog shares jump after takeover rumors
WR Grace to settle asbestos-related claims, shares up
Eastman Chemical sees 1st-quarter above expectations
Betting big on U.S. steel

AP World News
Heston left cinematic, political mark
Ewing, Olajuwon, Riley named to Hall
Kansas vs. Memphis in NCAA final tonight
Zimbabwe's Tsvangirai in South Africa
Job winners and losers in hard times
Candice vs. Candace for women's title
Tennessee edges LSU on late putback
China, New Zealand sign trade deal

News Blaze
PHOTO: Medic treats Iraqi
MND-B Aerial Weapons Team Kills 9 Criminals
Separatists Demands International Probe in Mass Grave Issue in Kashmir
Surge in Food Prices Could Lead to Increased Unrest
Soldiers' Angels and Patriot Guard
Iraq NewsOperations in Iraq
FOB Warhorse Memorial Photos
Videos

CENTCOM
Coalition forces conduct airstrike in al-Halaf, six criminals killed
ISF kill 7 criminal members, detain 16 in 3 separate operations in Basra
Joint team provides medical aid in Africa
Engineer Infrastructure Battalion graduates in Taji
15 caches, IED factory discovered in northern Iraq

USJFCOM
USJFCOM opens new Joint Intelligence Laboratory
More about the Joint Intelligence Laboratory
Joint fires team assists Army training center
More about JFIIT
Industry symposium to raise awareness of 21st century capabilities
Workshop looks at strengthening capabilities in the urban environment - podcast

Multi-National Force - Iraq
MND-B Soldier attacked by small-arms fire
Coalition Forces kill criminal, destroy vehicle used in rocket attack (Baghdad)
ISF capture criminal element leader, suspected AQI terrorist in separate operations
Update: Coalition Force Soldiers attacked in Diyala
MND-B Soldier attacked by IED (Baghdad)
Explosion in Basra

DefenseLink
TOP NEWS
Gates Reaffirms Strategic Ties With Omani Leaders - Special - Photos
Bush Lauds Progress of Young European Democracies
Gates Says U.S. May Send More Troops to Afghanistan
Asia-Pacific Leaders Focus on Security

AFGHANISTAN NEWS
Afghan Government Improves Consistently, General Says

MILITARY NEWS
Support Network Helps Marine Families Cope with Deployments
Terminal Fury Prepares PACOM

IRAQ NEWS
Village of Hope Gives Iraqis New Perspective
Coalition Troops Kill Five, Capture Eight
Civilian Contractor Charged With Assault

FACE OF DEFENSE
Marine Works Hard to Keep Mail Flowing
Soldiers Remember Medal of Honor Recipient

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Group Helps Kids Keep After-School Routine

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
0451 - Attila's Huns plunder Metz
1118 - Pope Gelasius II excommunicates Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor
1348 - Prague U, 1st university in central Europe, formed by Charles IV
1456 - Louis van Burbon becomes prince-bishop of Luik
1509 - France declares war on Venice
1521 - Magelhaes' fleet reaches Cebu
1584 - Ieper surrenders to duke Van Parma
1625 - Albrecht von Wallenstein appointed German supreme commander
1652 - Dutch establish settlement at Cape Town, South Africa
1655 - Fabio Chigi replaces Pope Innocent X as Alexander VII
1712 - Slave revolt (New York, NY)
1788 - 1st settlement in Ohio, at Marietta
1798 - Territory of Mississippi is organized
1818 - General Andrew Jackson conquers St. Marks, FL from Seminole Indians
1827 - English chemist John Walker invents wooden matches
1831 - Dom Pedro abdicates to son, Dom Pedro II crowned emperor of Brazil
1860 - Grand duke Frederik I liberalizes laws in Bathe
1862 - Grant defeats Confederates at Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee; Island #10 falls
1863 - Battle of Charleston, SC - failed Federal fleet attack on Fort Sumter
1865 - Battle of Farmville, VA
1891 - Nebraska introduces the 8 hour work day
1901 - SDAP demands General voting right/abolishing First Chamber
1902 - Texas Oil Company (Texaco) forms
1926 - Forest fire burns 900 acres & kills 2 (San Luis Obispo, CA); Mussolini's Irish wife breaks his nose
1927 - Using phone lines, TV is sent from Washington, DC to New York, NY
1933 - Prohibition ends, Utah becomes 38th state to ratify 21st Amendment; 1st 2 Nazi anti-Jewish laws, bar Jews from legal & public service
1934 - In India, Mahatma Gandhi suspends his campaign of civil disobedience
1939 - Italy annexes Albania
1940 - 1st black to appear on US stamp (Booker T Washington)
1941 - British Generals O'Connor & Neame captured in North Africa
1942 - Heavy German assault on Malta
1943 - Adolf Hitler & Benito Mussolini meet for an Axis conference in Salzburg; British/US troops make contact at Wadi Akarit, South-Tunisia; Lieutenant Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg seriously wounded in allied air raid
1944 - General Montgomery speaks to Generals about invasion plan
1945 - 1st & last assault of German Rammkommando on US bombers; US B-17's bombs range at Lüneburg; US planes intercept Japanese fleet heading for Okinawa on a suicide mission; superbattleship Yamato & four destroyers are sunk
1946 - Part of East Prussia incorporated into Russian SFSR
1948 - World Health Organization established by UN
1953 - 1st west-to-east jet transatlantic nonstop flight; Dag Hammarskjöld of Sweden elected 2nd UN General-Secretary
1954 - German government refuses to recognize DDR; President Dwight Eisenhower fears "domino-effect" in Indo-China
1956 - Spain relinquishes her protectorate in Morocco
1959 - Radar 1st bounced off sun, Stanford, CA; Oklahoma ends prohibition, after 51 years
1962 - Yugoslav ex-president Milovan Djilas returns to jail
1963 - Yugoslavia proclaimed a Socialistic republic
1966 - US recovers lost H-bomb from Mediterranean floor (whoops!)
1967 - Israeli/Syrian border fights
1969 - Supreme Court strikes down laws prohibiting private possession of obscene material
1971 - President Richard Nixon orders Lieutenant Calley (My Lai) free
1976 - Chinese Politburo fires vice-premier Deng Xiaoping
1977 - Consumer Product Safety Commission bans the flame-retardant chemical "TRIS"
1978 - President Jimmy Carter defers production of the neutron bomb
1978 - Guttenberg bible sold for $2,000,000 in NYC
1980 - Jimmy Carter breaks relations with Iran during hostage crisis
1981 - Belgium Eyskens government forms
1982 - Iran minister of Foreign affairs Ghotbzadeh arrested
1983 - STS-6 specialist Story Musgrave & Don Peterson 1st STS spacewalk
1983 - Oldest human skeleton, aged 80,000 years, discovered in Egypt
1985 - 1st live telecast of Easter Parade
1988 - Russia announces it will withdraw its troops from Afghánistán
1989 - Soviet sub sinks in Norwegian Sea, with about a dozen deaths
1990 - Fire kills 110 on a ferry in Norway, in an unrelated event, 30 die in a ferry flip over in Burma; John Poindexter (National Security Advisor) found guilty on Iran-Contra scandal
1991 - Compton Gamma Ray Observatory orbits Earth
1994 - Vatican acknowledges Holocaust (Nazi's killing Jews) for 1st time

Birthdays
1629 - Juan José of Austria, Spanish General/Governor of Netherlands
1756 - Charles Felix, King of Sardina (1821-31)
1772 - F. M. Charles Fourier, French socialist
1775 - Francis C. Lowell, founded 1st raw cotton-to-cloth textile mill
1786 - William Rufus DeVane King, 13th US Vice President (1853)
1801 - Henry Eagle, Commander (Union Navy), died in 1882
1805 - Francis Wilkinson Pickens (Governor-SC, Confederacy)
1820 - György Klapka, Hungarian General/MP (Komárom-castle)
1822 - Gershom Mott, Union Major General
1858 - Adrien H. Gerhard, Dutch socialist politician (SDAP)
1859 - Walter Camp, father of American football (Yale)
1860 - W. K. Kellogg, cereal magnate
1869 - David Grandison, botanist/explorer, brought plants to US
1870 - Gustav Landauer, German socialist
1882 - Kurt von Schleiger, German chancellor (12/2/32-1/28/33)
1884 - Louis H. N. Bosch van Rosenthal, Dutch politician/resistance fighter
1893 - Allan W. Dulles, US diplomat/CIA head 1953-61 (Germany's Underground)
1895 - Lewis B. Combs, naval commander/civil engineer
1897 - Walter Winchell, newscaster/columnist (Untouchables)
1908 - Le Duan, Vietnamese politician
1912 - John Adrian Hope politician/businessman
1915 - Billie Holiday [Eleanora Fagan], singer (Ain't Nobody's Business)
1920 - Terence Edward Armstrong, polar geographer
1931 - Daniel Ellsberg, whistleblower (Pentagon Papers)/patriot
1933 - Wayne Rogers, actor (MASH)
1935 - Hodding Carter III, press secretary (Jimmy Carter)
1938 - [Edmund G] Jerry Brown, Jr., (Governor-CA, 1975-83)
1939 - Donald L. Holmquest, astronaut; Francis Ford Coppola, film maker (Godfather, Apocalypse Now, American Graffiti)

Passings
0030 - Jesus crucified by Roman troops in Jerusalem (scholars' estimate, according to astronomer Schaefer)
0924 - Berengarius I, Emperor of Italy, murdered
1498 - Charles VIII, King of France (1483-98), dies at 27
1719 - Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, French priest/theory/saint, dies at 67
1789 - Abdül-Hamid I, 27th sultan of Turkey (1774-89), dies at 64
1803 - [François Dominique] Toussaint L'Ouverture, Haitian revolutionary
1810 - Pieter L. van de Kasteele, Dutch politician/patriot, dies at 61
1871 - Wilhelm Freiherr von Tegetthoff, Austrian Admiral (Helgoland/Lissa), dies at 43
1881 - Pierre Napoleon Bonaparte, Corsican MP, dies at 65
1932 - Erv A. Kelley, US policeman, shot to death by Pretty Boy Floyd
1934 - William Monroe Trotter, civil rights activist/journalist, dies on 62nd birthday in Boston
1972 - Abeid Karume, Tanzanian sheik/President, murdered
1977 - Siegfried Buback, German Federal Republic procureur-General, murdered Attorney-General
1984 - Frank Church (Senator-OH), dies at 59
1989 - Tikhon Toropets patriarch of Russian Orthodox/saint, dies at 123(?)
1994 - Agathe Uwilingiyimana, PM of Rwanda, assassinated; François de Grossouvre, President Mitterrand advisor, suicide at 76

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Baker, Arthur D., USAF (TX); B57-B disappeared while on mission (w/Lewis)

Lewis, James W., USAF (TX); B57B disappeared while on mission (w/Baker)

Roark, William Marshall, USN (NE); presumed Killed in the loss of his A4C

1966
Barnett, Robert Russell, USAF (TX); B57B shot down (pilot, w/Walker), KIA / BNR

Walker, Thomas Taylor, USAF (OR); B57B shot down (w/Barnett), KIA / BNR

1968
McMurray, Fred H., Jr., US Army (SC); OH13S shot down (pilot)

1972
The following US Army personnel reported MIA when their position was overrun:
Carlson, Albert E. (CA); released by PRG February, 1973 - retired as a Captain - alive as of 1998

Lull, Howard B., Jr. (TX); evaded to XT7297, then killed

Smith, Mark A. (OH); released by PRG February, 1973 - retired as a Major - alive and well as of 1998

Schott, Richard S. (VI); KIA in bunker

Wallingford, Kenenth (TX); released by PRG February, 1973 - discharged after release - alive and well as of 1998

Also reported MIA this day in 1972:
Potts, Larry F., USMC (DE); OV10A shot down (w/Walker), captured, DIC

Walker, Bruce C., USAF (CO); OV10A shot down (w/Potts), evaded capture 11 days, presumed captured after he radioed to advise SAR not to approach, enemy was closing in.

Labels: Headlines, History