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Silence in Iraq
MNF Iraq has now gone four days without a press release. Something’s up. Or someone’s on vacation. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Iraq, War on Terror
WMD Used in Ramadi
WMD, chlorine gas, used in an attack by terrorists in Ramadi. Central Command AR RAMADI, Iraq – Emergency Response Unit personnel, Iraqi Police, and civilians northwest of Ramadi were attacked by a suicide vehicle-born improvised explosive device (SVBIED) early Sunday [Jan 28, 2007]. Coalition forces responded to the attack to provide immediate medical assistance and evacuate the wounded to medical facilities. Along with the suicide bomber, 16 people were killed by the attack. The SVBIED was a dump truck filled with explosives and included a chlorine tank. The truck crashed into the Emergency Response Unit compound and detonated. There are no indications of any casualties caused by the release of chlorine gas. The Al Jazeera Police and U.S. Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 37th Infantry Brigade responded to the scene and worked … Read entire article »
Filed under: Iraq, War on Terror, WMD
Battle of Najaf, Kinda, Sorta
Reuters NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) – The leader of a messianic Muslim cult was killed with 200 or more followers during a day-long onslaught by U.S. and Iraqi forces on their camp near the holy city of Najaf, Iraqi officials said on Monday. They accused him of making a claiming to be the Mahdi, a messiah-like figure in Islam, and said his uniformed “Soldiers of Heaven” had planned to massacre top Shi’ite clerics during a major religious holiday on Monday and had to be stopped. No account was available from the group targeted in one of the strangest episodes in four years of conflict. MNF Iraq has been silent for a couple of days now. It could mean someone’s on leave, transferred out, a policy change, or that they’re very busy. If so, this … Read entire article »
Filed under: Iraq, Islam, Religion, Terrorist Death Watch, War on Terror
Lies, Damn Lies and the Press
The California Catholic Daily twists some dates to take a cheap shot at the Church and its priests. My comments in bold. California Catholic Daily Molestation has not been the only scandal to strike the Catholic Church in recent years. In December, researchers Robert West and Charles Zach at Villanova University concluded that 85 percent of Catholic dioceses in the United States have experienced embezzlement since 2001. Eleven percent of dioceses have lost more than $500,000 each, while 29% lost less than $50,000. Take note of the year, 2001. It will become the Maypole about which this article will twist. A month after the study, the Accounting Practices Committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops recommended changes to diocesan policies governing parish financial practices. The committee said parish financial policies should be … Read entire article »
Filed under: Catholic Church, Commentary, Original writing, Religion
International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2007
Reprinted from 2006 Timmer remembers it was one of the first nice days of spring as they drove the 10 miles to Ohrdruf. German fighter planes strafed them along the way, but no one was hurt. As they entered the town of Ohrdruf, home to some 20,000 people, “No one came out to greet us.” Less than two miles past town they understood the reason. “We came up to a 15-foot-high barbed wire fence and could see unmanned wooden shacks (barracks) behind it,” recalls Timmer. “We drove in and between the gate and the barracks were 30 dead … the blood still wet from the departing German guards” who had shot the prisoners before fleeing in trucks. Seeing the American soldiers, the surviving prisoners who could still walk (about half of the 500 … Read entire article »
Filed under: Blogging, History, Military, World War II
Air Force Demographics
The US Air Force has a lot of neat, different reports on its site, and here’s one of them. US Air Force Active-Duty Demographics Snapshot - 340,664 individuals are on active duty – 69,192 officers and 271,472 enlisted personnel - The Air Force has 13,570 pilots, 4,407 navigators, 1,372 air battle managers and 33,656 non-rated line officers in the grades of lieutenant colonel and below Age - The average age of the officer force is 35; for the enlisted force it is 29 - Of the force, 38.8 percent are below the age of 26 – 45.3 percent of enlisted are below 26 versus 13.2 percent of officers Gender - There are 66,918 women on active duty; that is 19.6 percent of the force – 18.2 percent of the officers are women and … Read entire article »
Filed under: Military
Thoughts While on Duty
I’m sitting here at the ambulance base, doing my thing. Our Corps allows East Rochester residents to respond from home for a call, but out of towners like me get to sit and wait at the base. Not that it matters, but I have no crew. No one but I volunteered to run duty this snowy Saturday morning. I’m not concerned. Usually I can obtain the other crew member if we get a call but it would be nice to be assured of that fact. I’ve run on and on about voluntering in this blog. I suspect all it has done is created the urge among my readers to volunteer to click to another site. I will continue to point out this fact. As baby boomers grow older, there will be more … Read entire article »
Filed under: Original writing
14 Terrs Killed
MNF-Iraq Coalition Forces killed 14 terrorists, detained two suspected terrorists and destroyed a known foreign fighter safe house Saturday morning [Jan 27 2007] during a raid south of Baqubah. Intelligence reports indicated that a foreign fighter facilitator responsible for conducting multiple attacks on Iraqi and Coalition Forces was operating in the area. As ground forces approached the objective building, several terrorists began to flee the targeted and surrounding buildings. Others were observed maneuvering against the Coalition forces. Ground forces called for close air support resulting in 14 enemy fighters killed during the air strikes. Additionally, Coalition aircraft delivered precision munitions and destroyed the building to prevent it from further use as a terrorist safe haven … Read entire article »
Filed under: Iraq, Terrorist Death Watch, War on Terror
Coming Soon: Future Posts
- Declaration of War 1812 (in 132 days)
- USS President vs HMS Belvidera (in 137 days)
- General Hull Invades Canada (in 156 days)
- First Battle of Sacketts Harbor (in 163 days)
On Y!CN
- Radioactive Gravel from Japanese Nuke Disaster Used in Buildings
- Fuel Supplies Reach Nome
- Fuel Convoy Reaches Nome
- Russians Sail to Rescue of Ice Bound Alaska Community
- Pope Embraces Anglicans in U.S. with New Ordinariate
- Nebraska Nuke Plant Placed on Special Inspection Status
- Radioactive Water Leaks at Japanese Nuke Site
- Japan Damaged Nuke Plants Still Not Under Control
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Wishy Washy Words in Afghanistan
January 29th, 2007 | Comments Off
I’ve been critical of NATO’s reporting in Afghanistan before, but their latest is especially laughable. Weasel words in bold. ISAF air strike targets insurgent command post 1-25-2007 Today, ISAF conducted a successful precision air strike on a known insurgent command post in Helmand province. The precision-guided munitions impacted on target, completely destroying the compound but causing no damage to the surrounding area. A senior Taliban leader and his deputies are believed to have been killed in this strike. This successful air strike took place in the vicinity of Musa Qala but was outside of the area of the agreement between the Government of Afghanistan (GoA) and local elders. This is the latest in a series of operations, involving air strikes and arrests of senior Taliban commanders designed to bring security and stability to the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Commentary, Original writing, War on Terror