IRAQ WAR TODAY
Keep Your Helmet On!




Be A Part of a Tribute to Fallen Heroes - Help Build the Fallen Soldiers' Bike
Help support the families of our deployed Heroes - Visit Soldiers' Angels' Operation Outreach
Help Our Heroes Help Others - Click Here to visit SOS: KIDS
Nominate your Hero for IWT's "Hero of the Month" - click here for details!
Search Iraq War Today only

Tuesday, October 21, 2008


FIREFIGHTING
A Super Scooper firefighting aircraft provides water to aid in extinguishing fires aboard Camp Pendleton as they threaten the Mainside area, Camp Pendleton, Calif., Oct. 13, 2008. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Chief Salina N. Wilkins

Labels: , , , ,

Sucking Up to the 'Religion of Peace' - and Standing on the Precipice

Becoming the latest entity to bend over backwards to avoid offending Islam, Sony has halted the issue of its new video game - because music in it might accidentally offend Muslims. From Fox News:
One of the fall's most anticipated video games for the PlayStation 3, Sony's "LittleBigPlanet," had to be yanked from shelves at the last minute Monday because it might accidentally offend Muslims.

"One of the background music tracks that was licensed from a record label for use in the game contains two expressions that can be found in the Quran," Sony said in a statement Monday. "We have taken immediate action to rectify this and we sincerely apologize for any offense this may have caused."
Guaranteed that if it contained music offensive to Christians, there's no way that sucker would be yanked. And in that case, the ACLU would probably be championing the singer, and Sony, in their right to offend. Look at Bill Maher's recent film. Offensive to some? No doubt. But should it be immediately ripped out of theaters because of that? No. And at least Maher ripped religion in general - not just one religion. Can't stand the guy, and don't find him funny at all, but he does deserve credit for that. Look at games like Grand Theft Auto, which drew heavy fire for its violent and antisocial themes, offensive to a number of people. Was it pulled? Of course not. But offend Muslims - or the Left - and the picture changes.

While I personally find things like Family Guy's little McCain-Palin-Nazi bit offensive, along with a million other things I've seen in my life, I don't advocate banning, removing, or censuring something just because someone's offended. Nazi / Skinhead groups drive me up a tree. Should they be banned from assembly? No. Rarely can I pass an anti-war protester without comment. Should those protesters be banned? Much as I'd love to pass the local green on the weekends without their moronic presence, they are guaranteed the right to their opinion, and the freedom to express it.

Start with one word, or thought, and you threaten all thought. With all the freedoms this country grants, nowhere in the U.S. Constitution were we given a right to never be offended. At the very least, that which we find offensive serves to reset our moral compasses. If you don't know what you despise, how can you appreciate what you value? If you don't experience that which you disagree with, how can you be committed to what you support?

What's scary is that the political Left, supposed champion of free thought and free speech, fails entirely to support free speech that it disagrees with. And the Fairness Doctrine, rearing its ugly head as the election looms ever closer, just may be the start of a headlong plunge down that slippery slope. Every time a cartoonist, a filmmaker, an editorialist, or a video game maker caves to political correctness, freedom of speech is threatened.

By all logic, Obama should be so far behind in the polls as to be non-existent. Redistribution of wealth, relativism in the face of evil, altruism to the point of self-sacrifice, and restriction or outright removal of one's right to self-defense should be ideas that the cradle of freedom should reject outright. And yet, inexplicably, he is a political rockstar. So filled is this country with a bizarre combination of hubris, self-loathing, and a desire to achieve what one does not earn, that we may willingly give away what no nation could have taken by force - our very identity.

Each story that hits the press about voter fraud, publicly funded socialist agendas, nationalization in the guise of "bailouts," or political correctness should make American blood run cold. After November, we may be looking at an entirely different country. And in a precious few years, we may, as Ronald Reagan once warned, "spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."



Cross-posted at NewsBlaze

Labels: , ,


DRAGON NIGHT FLIGHT
An MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopter conducts night flight operations aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer in the Pacific Ocean, Oct. 7, 2008. Boxer is on a training exercise preparing for a Western Pacific deployment scheduled for early next year. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jon Rasmussen

Labels: , , , , , ,

In Today's News - Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Quote of the Day
"The hero is valorous
because he stands up to every threat
directed against his values."

-- Andrew Bernstein

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Security Swamps Baghdad - VIDEO
The Road Ahead in Iraq - VIDEO
Iraq May Play Out Election Clock on U.S. Troop Deal
Iraqi Cabinet Meets on Security Deal With U.S.
Iraqi forces raid home of pro-U.S. group leader
Iraqi Army Takes Over PB Vanderhorn
U.S., Iraqi Officials Address Sadr City Infrastructure, Reconstruction
Army Corps of Engineers Prepares Basrah Contractors for Success

Operation Enduring Freedom
Taliban orders mobile shutdown in Afghan province

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Therapy Aims to 'Cure' Islamic Extremists
991 Suspected Militants Indicted in Saudi Arabia
At least five Chase banks hit with letter threats
China names eight wanted Olympic terror plotters
Russian destroyer heads for Somali waters
Event Unites Victim Families, Bombing Survivors (Beirut bombing anniversary)

Supporting Our Heroes
Group Helps Military Families Take Flight

Religion of Peace??
American Arrested in Pakistan to Remain in Jail

Worldwide Wackos
Report: 'Spy Pigeons' Detained Near Iran Nuke Site

Homegrown Moonbats
Sheehan Says Campaign Against Pelosi Sabotaged (Poor Momma Moonbat)

Politics / Government
Obama to Leave Trail
FOX News/Rasmussen Reports Poll: McCain Gains Ground
Biden: America's Enemies Will Test a President Obama
Will Obama's $604M Haul Kill Off Public Financing? - VIDEO
OPPOSING VIEWS: Who is Better for the Economy?
Did 'Family Guy' Nazi 'McCain' Pin Cross Line?
Obama Praised 'Searing and Timely' Book by Ayers
FOX Poll: McCain Takes Slight Lead in Fla., Ohio
VIDEO: Cindy McCain Sits Down With Greta, Blasts NYT
Men vote Barack Obama "most influential man"
FOXBusiness: Bernanke Gives Nod to More Stimulus
Defense Rests in Sen. Ted Steven's Corruption Trial
Sex Scandal Rep. Hit With Divorce
Rep. Murtha Clarifies 'Racist' Remark, Calls Western Pa. 'Redneck' (You just can't even make this stuff up)
Obama's lead widens
Obama hits McCain's negative politics (So he gets negative about negativity?)
McCain says Biden attests to concerns about Obama
Obama to hold jobs summit in Fla. with governors
Obama opens 8-point lead over McCain - Video
Obama to leave trail and visit sick grandmother
McCain, Obama advisers clash on budget
Sarah Palin draws praise for "SNL" spot - Video
Men vote Barack Obama "most influential man"
Video: Obama, McCain hit crucial states
Economy may cost Republicans big
Conservatives fearful as vote nears
Blog: McCain will be okay if he loses
'Spread the Wealth' Thinking Leads to Poverty, Bankruptcy, Foreclosure
Optimism high for few saying US moving right way
Long lines form as early voting begins in Florida
Palin breaks with McCain on gay marriage amendment
McCain has $47 million to spend in October
Democrats Denounced Gen Powell as a 'House Negro'
Republicans in Hollywood feel bullied

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Cell Phone Found on Death Row
Second Arrest Made in Abduction of Las Vegas Boy
Lawyer: Florida Tot Caylee's Mom Is Innocent PHOTOS
Ohio Woman, 89, Arrested for Keeping Kids' Football
Jury Convicts Southern California Man in Yacht Killings
Arkansas Television Anchor Attacked in Home
TV Anchor Clings to Life After Attack - PHOTOS - VIDEO
Police seek motive in Ark. anchorwoman's beating
Study finds LA police stop more blacks than whites
Chiefs' Larry Johnson investigated in new case
Jury selection begins for Phil Spector retrial

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
Blog offers potted history of life as a plant
India joins Asia space race in first moon mission
Russia set to invest heavily in space industry
Saudi supercomputer lures researchers
Anesthesia during childbirth seen very safe
EBay to ban sale of ivory products

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
'Dinosaur Dance Floor' Discovered in Arizona
Nearly 1.6 Million Cribs Recalled After 2 Infant Deaths
Middle-aged women drive rise in U.S. suicides: study
Dangerous diet
Healthier menu for Long John Silver's
Video: League of miserable nations
Video: Hot underwear for cold months
Writers give voice to AIDS sufferers
HIV may cause dangerous blood clots
DuPont quarterly net hurt by hurricanes
Intel upbeat on consumer laptop mkt in 2009
Roche confirms Genentech bid
Prudential confirms AIG Asia interest
Verizon Wireless to stick with Alltel bid: report
iPhone squeeze
India joins Asia space race in first moon mission
Russia set to invest heavily in space industry
Saudi supercomputer lures researchers
Anesthesia during childbirth seen very safe
Netflix sees half million Blu-ray subscribers
U.S. survey shows risky use of mobile e-mail devices
Visa, Huawei, ARM to join Symbian group
Magnet device aims to treat depression patients

Mother Nature
Crunch may put price tag on environment
Indonesia's tin islands: blessed or cursed?
Japan launches voluntary CO2 market
UK's Brown says downturn will not affect green effort
Italy rocks EU climate meet, others eye global deal
Video: Brits cut carbon in the tub

News from My Neck of the Woods
Mass. Man Charged With DWI Twice in Same Day
Cassel leads Patriots to rout of Broncos
Patriots' Maroney out for season with shoulder injury
Stars shine in New York to mark happy return for Avery

Oddities
Melamine risk spreads, so to speak...
Snake spoils woman's fashion contest fun
Judge accused of road rage stabbing
Pa. woman ordered out of chemical-free 'bubble'
Fla. woman chooses to go jail over $7.45 bill
Man nabbed with frozen shrimp bags down his pants
Bacon Scented Bacon Print Tuxedo

Other News of Note
'Drunk' Pilot Arrested at Takeoff
Gasoline under $3 for first time since February

Fox News
Teen Missing From Drinking Party Found Dead
Southern California Home Sales Jump 65 Percent
Faith Hill: Posing in a Bikini on Magazine Cover My Birthday Gift to Myself
Pop Tarts: Nobody Cares About Holly Madison Without Hugh Hefner

Reuters
Apples, onions cross frontier in disputed Kashmir
Video: Bernanke backs new stimulus
S.Korea says crisis worse than '97/98
U.N. says crisis to cost 20 million jobs
EU to urge China, India to join summit
Chrysler Deal in danger - Video
GM pushes ahead with Chrysler talks
Autoworkers feel the pain of decline
Full Coverage: The U.S. Auto Industry
Blog: Low gas prices = high toy prices
Sport flourished in Depression
Factbox: Credit crisis' affect on sport
Factbox: Corporate spending on sport
Asian sports bet on surviving crisis
European sports clubs change course
Japan and France help banks as IMF prepares aid - Video
Thai court sentences Thaksin to jail in graft case
Economic downturn hits U.S. police with double whammy
DuPont quarterly net hurt by hurricanes
Treasury's McCormick sees markets stabilizing
World stocks climb again, euro at 1-1/2 year low - Video
Buy or sell?
Of rescues and shrinking returns
Silver lining?
French bank shares rocket after state capital plan
Fears about Lehman CDS deadline seen as overstated
GM and Chrysler deal threatened by financing
Paris, Amsterdam airport groups strike alliance
Gillian Anderson has her own Odd Couple
"Saw" horror franchise faces test with 5th movie
L.A. man pleads innocent in Guns N' Roses piracy
Fashion clashing as India puts on the glitz
Gordon Ramsay served Michelin star for new LA eatery
Has China's imperial dog had its day?
Chef Jacky Yu adds modern zest to Chinese cuisine
Struggling 49ers fire coach Nolan: report
Rays hold firm to see off Red Sox in decider

Associated Press
Stock futures lower after previous session's rally
Gwyneth Paltrow: I'm helping Madonna over split
European markets open modestly higher
Who would've thunk it? Rays-Phils in World Series
Cowboys owner says 'Pacman' in alcohol treatment
Vegas odds favor Rays to win Series over Phillies

NewsBlaze
Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, Afghan Leaders Talk Strategy
Apache Battalion Reaches 500 Aerial Reconnaissance Patrols
Soldiers' Angels and Patriot Guard
Iraq News
Operations in Iraq
FOB Warhorse Memorial Photos
Videos

CENTCOM
Iraqi government invests in education
Soldiers celebrate Ramadan's end with Iraqi friends
Gates to NATO: Hinder Afghan drug trade
Gates discusses Afghanistan with ISAF nations
Yarmouk Sons of Iraq under Iraqi government control

USJFCOM
Joint fires team supports joint training integration event - More about JFIIT
Free Salute to Veterans 2008 tickets - Click here to get your free tickets
USJFCOM working to prepare forces for deployment
Command moves C2Pedia to unclassified network - podcast

Multi-National Force - Iraq
Intelligence and Military Security School Graduates Hundreds
High-ranking Iraqi security officials train in Norway
Alleged AQI courier network associate, four more suspects detained Tuesday
Coalition forces apprehend Special Groups suspects
Coalition forces detain three intoxicated Katai'b Hezbollah suspects
MND-B Soldiers detain 5 suspected criminals in Rashid district

DefenseLink
TOP NEWS
Serbian, U.S. Officials View Balkans Regionally, Mullen Says
Mullen Meets With Russian Counterpart - Special

IRAQ NEWS
New Generator Powers Up Baghdad
Coalition, Iraqis Detain 11 Suspects

AROUND THE SERVICES
Navy Christens Destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer
Air Force Logisticians Discuss Warfighter Needs
Army Notes Anniversary of Integrating WACs
Marines Hone Skills by Offloading Vehicles

MILITARY NEWS
Defense Media Activity Unfurls New Colors
Virtual Community for Military Families Meets Live
Officials Reach Out to Parents in New Ad

AFGHANISTAN NEWS

Bagram Hospital Staff Delivers Afghan Baby

FACE OF DEFENSE

Passion for Teaching Drives U.S. Air Force Instructor

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

2137 BC- China is the site of the first recorded total eclipse of the sun.
1520 - Magellan entered the strait which bears his name.
1553 - Volumes of the Talmud are burned.
1797 - The U.S. Navy frigate Constitution ("Old Ironsides") is launched in Boston.
1805 - At the Battle of Trafalgar, Admiral Nelson defeats the French and Spanish fleet, and dies.
1861 - Battle of Balls Bluff, VA.
1869 - The first shipment of fresh oysters travels overland from Baltimore.
1879 - Thomas Edison perfects the carbonized cotton filament light bulb.
1897 - At the University of Chigago, the Yerkes Observatory is dedicated.
1915 - The first transatlantic radiotelephone message is sent from Arlington, VA, to Paris.
1917 - For the first time, Americans see action on the front lines of WW I.
1944 - U.S. troops capture Aachen - the first large German city to fall in WW II.
1945 - For the first time, women in France are allowed to vote.
1948 - The facsimile high-speed radio transmission demonstrated in Washington, DC.
1950 - Chinese forces occupy Tibet.
1959 - In NYC, the Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens.
1967 - Thousands opposing the Vietnam War try to storm the Pentagon.
1969 - A bloodless coup occurs in Somalia.
1971 - Nixon nominates Lewis F. Powell and William H. Rehnquist to the U.S. Supreme Court following the resignations of Justices Hugo Black and John Harlan.
1975 - Venera-9, the first craft to orbit the planet Venus, is launched.
1976 - The NY Knicks retire their first number, # 19 (Willis Reed).
1977 - The U.S. recalls William Bowdler, ambassador to South Africa.
1987 - The U.S. Senate begins rejecting Robert Bork's Supreme Court nomination.
1988 - Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos are indicted on racketeering charges.
1989 - After being buried for four days in the San Francisco earthquake, Buck Helm is found alive.
1991 - 24 die in a fire in Oakland, CA.

Birthdays
1772
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge, poet (Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
1833 - Alfred Bernhard Nobel, created dynamite and the Peace Prizes
1917 - Dizzy Gillespie, trumpeter, a creator of modern jazz
1950 - Ronald E. McNair, astronaut (STS 41B, 51L-Challenger disaster)

Passings
1805
- Admiral Horatio Nelson, in the Battle of Trafalgar
1831 - Nat Turner and 19 associates, hanged for their roles in the Southampton Slave Revolt
1967 - Ejnar Hertzsprung, Danish astrophysicist
1987 - Ying-Chin Ho, Taiwanese government official

Reported Missing in Action
1966

Earll, David J., USAF (TX); F105D exploded after releasing ordinance on bombing run

1967
Hemmel, Clarence J., USAF (MO); F100D shot down, KIA, body not recovered

1968
Finley, Dickie W., US Army (MO)

Knabb, Kenneth K., USN (IL); A4E shot down

1969
Cook, Glenn R., USAF (NC); O2A shot down (pilot, w/Epenshield)

Espenshield, John L., USAF (OH); O2A shot down (observer, w/Cook), remains returned May, 1989

1973
Bradley, Ed, Civilian; O/A returned from visit November, 1973

Labels: ,

nocashfortrash.org