Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Sheer Stupidity by many in Congress Put Large Areas of Potential U.S. Oil/Gas Supplies TOTALLY Off-Limits

Exaggerated Environmental Fears, Strong Prejudice against Oil Companies and Sheer Stupidity by many in Congress Put Large Areas of Potential U.S. Oil/Gas Supplies TOTALLY Off-Limits
Wednesday, April 30, 2008

WashingtonPost.com has this article today by Op-Ed Columnist Robert J. Samuelson and it goes in part like this...
It may surprise Americans to discover that the United States is the third-largest oil producer, behind Saudi Arabia and Russia. We could be producing more, but Congress has put large areas of potential supply off-limits. These include the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and parts of Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico. By government estimates, these areas may contain 25 billion to 30 billion barrels of oil (against about 30 billion barrels of proven U.S. reserves today) and 80 trillion cubic feet or more of natural gas (compared with about 200 tcf of proven reserves.)
Read this article in full at link below...

Image Courtesy of WPClipArt
...
* FT.com reports this troubling news...
OPEC’s President on Monday warned that oil prices could hit $200 a barrel and there would be little the cartel could do to help...
Read the rest at link below...
...
* President Bush had a few things to say about this yesterday during a Press Conference in the Rose Garden. Some of his comments went like this...

...I've repeatedly submitted proposals to help address these problems. Yet time after time, Congress chose to block them. One of the main reasons for high gas prices is that global oil production is not keeping up with growing demand. Members of Congress have been vocal about foreign governments increasing their oil production; yet Congress has been just as vocal in opposition to efforts to expand our production here at home.

They repeatedly blocked environmentally safe exploration in ANWR. The Department of Energy estimates that ANWR could allow America to produce about a million additional barrels of oil every day, which translates to about 27 millions of gallons of gasoline and diesel every day. That would be about a 20-percent increase of oil -- crude oil production over U.S. levels, and it would likely mean lower gas prices. And yet such efforts to explore in ANWR have been consistently blocked.

Another reason for high gas prices is the lack of refining capacity. It's been more than 30 years since America built its last new refinery. Yet in this area, too, Congress has repeatedly blocked efforts to expand capacity and build more refineries.

As electricity prices rise, Congress continues to block provisions needed to increase domestic electricity production by expanding the use of clean, safe nuclear power. Instead, many of the same people in Congress who complain about high energy costs support legislation that would make energy even more expensive for our consumers and small businesses.

Congress is considering bills to raise taxes on domestic energy production, impose new and costly mandates on producers, and demand dramatic emissions cuts that would shut down coal plants, and increase reliance on expensive natural gas. That would drive up prices even further. The cost of these actions would be passed on to consumers in the form of even higher prices at the pump and even bigger electric bills.
.
Instead of increasing costs and increasing new roadblocks to domestic energy production, Congress needs to clear away obstacles to more affordable, more reliable energy here at home...

Read the full transcript
HERE
Has video
White House photo by Chris Greenberg
......
***********************************
...
My take is this...
* VOTE DBD for a Better Tomorrow *
DRILL Wells... BUILD new Refineries/Plants... and DEVELOP New Technologies for a better, Energy Independent, Tomorrow.
...
.Come ON America!!! We GOT to stop all this in-house fighting on who has the best ideas on Energy Policy and start spreading out an umbrella of all workable ideas that will fix our energy problems TODAY and in the near/long-term future!

Everytime you drive by a gas station and see those out of sight gas prices, remember this... Talk-- talk-- talk... and NO ACTION... is NOT CHEAP! We got to start Drilling, Building and Developing new... clean technologies!!!

Like me... have you noticed that we are now starting to pay dearly for everything from gas at the pumps down to the food on our tables... all because of talk, but never any action out of congress over these last few decades...?

Both parties can find fault within... So stop pointing fingers at each other and start working together and finally get some really good laws past to help bring these crazy prices back down to something we can all live with.

I’ll say it again-
America...
VOTE DBD for a Better Tomorrow

Demand It!!!
Your Wallet/Purse depends on it.
AubreyJ.........

Will Jesus Christ return to Earth in the year 2015?

The WorldNetDaily website brings us this article today and it starts off like this... Will Jesus Christ return to Earth in the year 2015? And can studying NASA's website provide evidence for such a scenario? ... A minister who promotes the Old Testament roots of Christianity suggests a rare string of lunar and solar eclipses said to fall on God's annual holy days seven years from now could herald what's come to be known as the "Second Coming" of Jesus...
Read the full article Here

U.S. State Department 2007 Terrorism Report Released

JPOST.com has this take on the U.S. State Department 2007 Terrorism Report that was released today. It starts off like this...
Iran continues to be the world's "most active" state sponsor of terror, according to a US State Department report on terrorism released Wednesday, which details Iranian support of several Palestinian groups... US officials have been stressing Iran's terror-related activity in recent days in places including Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as its developing ties with Venezuela... The congressionally mandated 2007 Country Reports on Terrorism designated Venezuela as "not cooperating fully" with US anti-terrorism efforts in part because of its relationship with Iran...
Read the rest at link below...

US: Iran 'most active' sponsor of terror
***********************************
2007 Terrorism Report Briefing
Dell L. Dailey
Wednesday, April 30, 2008

About above video: Coordinator of the Office for Counterterrorism Dell L. Dailey and Deputy Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Russ Travers brief on the 2007 Country Reports on Terrorism.
* Find the FULL Written Report HERE

Blu-ray Update - Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Blu-ray player sales down despite format victory
> The c/net NEWS.com website brings us this report today and it starts off like this... Looks like it wasn't the HD DVD/Blu-ray battle that was keeping potential customers away from high-definition video players after all... The NPD Group released some of its retail sales tracking data Wednesday that showed sales of Blu-ray standalone players (not a PlayStation 3, combo player, or PC with Blu-ray drive) had mostly decreased since the beginning of the year...
Read the full report
HERE

* HD-Report.com has this report out today... Paramount Pictures, who in the Fall of 2007 surprised high-def soothsayers with their announcement to go exclusive with former rival disc format HD DVD, is now getting set to release Blu-ray exclusive titles...
Read the rest at link below...
Paramount readies new Blu-ray titles

* The LATimes.com website has this take and it goes in part like this... UPDATE -- Andy Parsons of Pioneer said his company, which makes premium-priced Blu-ray players, saw "a distinct increase in demand" after HD DVD hit the skids in early January. The implication is that sales would have grown faster if manufacturers hadn't scaled back production in anticipation of the usual post-holiday slow-down...
Read the full report
HERE
.

AubreyJ.........

DoD Identifies Army Casualties

No. 365-08 April 30, 2008
DoD Identifies Army Casualties


The Department of Defense announced today the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
They died April 28th in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their forward operating base with indirect fire.

Killed were:
Pfc. Adam L. Marion, 26, of Mount Airy, N.C. He was assigned to the 171st Engineer Company, North Carolina Army National Guard, Saint Pauls, N.C.
Sgt. Marcus C. Mathes, 26, of Zephyrhills, Fla. He was assigned to the 94th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), located at Fort Polk, La.
Sgt. Mark A. Stone, 22, of Buchanan Dam, Texas. He was assigned to the 94th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), located at Fort Polk, La.

For further information on Marion, media may contact the North Carolina National Guard public affairs office at (919) 664-6242.
For further information on Mathes and Stone, media may contact the Fort Polk public affairs office at (337) 531-4630.

DoD Identifies Air Force & Army Casualties

No. 361-08 April 30, 2008
DoD Identifies Air Force Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of an airman who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Senior Airman Jonathan A. V. Yelner, 24, of Lafayette, Calif., died April 29th near Bagram, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 28th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.
For further information related to this release, please contact the Ellsworth Air Force Base public affairs office at (605) 385-5056.

No. 363-08 April 30, 2008
DoD Identifies Army Casualty


The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Sgt. 1st Class David L. McDowell, 30
, of Ramona, Calif., died April 29th in Bastion, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked using small arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Lewis, Wash.
For further information, media should contact the U.S. Army Special Operations Command public affairs office at (910) 432-6005, or go to
http://news.soc.mil/.

No. 364-08 April 30, 2008
DoD Identifies Army Casualty


The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Pfc. William T. Dix, 32, of Culver City, Calif., died April 27th at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, of injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 14th Engineer Battalion, 555th Engineer Brigade, I Corps, Fort Lewis, Wash. The incident is under investigation.
For more information media may contact the Fort Lewis public affairs office at (253) 967-0152, (253) 967-0147 or after hours at (253) 967-0015 (ask for the Public Affairs Officer on call).

Soldiers Missing from the Korean War are Identified

No. 0355-08 April 30, 2008
Soldiers Missing from the Korean War are Identified


The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

They are:
Cpl. Robert L. Mason
of Parkersburg, W.Va.
Pfc. Joseph K. Meyer Jr., of Wahpeton, N.D.
Both men were U.S. Army. Both men will be buried Saturday. Mason will be buried in Belpre, Ohio, and Meyer will be buried in Wahpeton.

Representatives from the Army met with the next-of-kin of these men to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.

Mason was assigned to B Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, and Meyer was assigned to K Company, 31st Infantry Regiment. Both were attached to the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT), 7th Infantry Division. The team was engaged against the Chinese People's Volunteer Forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, from late November to early December, 1950. Both men died as result of intense enemy fire, and their bodies were not recovered at the time.

Between 2001 and 2005, joint U.S. and Democratic People's Republic of Korea teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted excavations of several burial sites near the Chosin Reservoir. The sites correlate closely with defensive positions held by the 31st RCT at the time of the Chinese attacks. The teams recovered remains there believed to be those of U.S. servicemen. Analysis of the remains recovered from the sites led to the identification of several individuals, including Mason and Meyer.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory and JPAC also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in both Meyer's and Mason's identification.

For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1420.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

New DNC Hard Left Attack Ad against McCain

New DNC Hard Left Attack Ad Out...
against Senator John McCain

The Democratic Party has the following ad out using images of US troops being attacked by terrorists to make their HARD LEFT political points against John McCain. Even more unbelievable is some of the raw video in this political ad comes from Michael Moore’s so-called Documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11!


Video posted on YouTube by BigMouthFrog1
(Thanks go out to our friend Opinionnation for the heads-up on this ad)
* View Opinionnation’s take and post HERE *

***************************

* RNC Chairman Robert M. “Mike” Duncan
released the following statement Sunday...
Click it out at link below...
RNC Chairman: Howard Dean Must Cease & Desist From Airing Illegal & Inaccurate Advertisements

>>> Here's The Official RNC Letter Calling For A Cease And Desist

Barack Obama Finally Throws Reverend Jeremiah Wright Jr Under The Bus During Special North Carolina News Conference

Tuesday, April 29, 2008
FoxNews.com brings us this report and it starts off like this... Barack Obama, declaring “that’s enough,” denounced Tuesday as “appalling” and “ridiculous” comments made in the last few days by his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. ...In a press conference in North Carolina, the Illinois senator used his strongest language to date to condemn Wright’s controversial sermons, which have remained a burden on his campaign since they became national news a month ago. Wright spoke Monday at The National Press Club in Washington, D.C. ...“I am outraged by the comments that were made, and saddened over the spectacle that we saw yesterday,” Obama said... “The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago. His comments were not only divisive and destructive, but I believe they ended up giving comfort to those who prey on hate,” he said...
Read the full report at link below...
Obama: I Am ‘Outraged’ and ‘Angered’ By Wright’s Comments

The Wall Street Journal has this take on Obama today... Anyone wondering when Sen. Barack Obama was going to throw Rev. Jeremiah Wright under the bus doesn’t have to wait any longer. In a press conference today, Obama condemned his former pastor in the harshest terms yet...
Read the rest at link below...
Obama Seeks Distance From Wright

Amanda Carpenter has this take at the Townhall.com website...
Obama Attempts to Spin Away Wright Controversy
Photo from Obama Campaign Website
***************************
Obama 'outraged' by Rev. Wright's Comments
About News Video: Sen. Barack Obama is offering his strongest denouncement of the comments made by his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Obama says he is outraged by Wright's comments and saddened by the spectacle.
News Video posted on YouTube by AssociatedPress

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

No. 354-08 April 29, 2008
DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. David P. McCormick, 26, of Fresno, Texas, died April 28th in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his forward operating base came under rocket attack. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
For more information media may contact the Fort Campbell public affairs office at (270) 798-9966.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Severe Storms and Tornadoes In Virginia leave Hundreds Injured With Unknown Total Dead

Severe Storms and Tornadoes In Virginia
Hundreds Injured With Unknown Total Dead
Monday,
April 28, 2008 The National Weather Service has confirmed that three tornadoes touched down in Virginia... Meteorologist Bryan Jackson said the twisters hit Suffolk, Colonial Heights and Brunswick County on Monday afternoon... Authorities said at least 200 people were injured. Property damage was widespread...

* The WAVY-TV website brings us these ongoing updates,
with videos, photos and more...

* NBC29.com has just under 5 minutes
of Raw, (WAVY-TV,) Video of the Storm Damage...
HERE
Above photo courtesy of WAVY.com
****************************
Video News Report

*******************************
Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who lost so much today due to these terrible storms...
AubreyJ.........

Photo for the Day - April 28, 2008

* Photo for the Day * U.S. Army soldiers provide 360-degree security as their platoon leader talks with local market vendors in Mosul, Iraq, April 12, 2008. The soldiers are assigned to 1st Platoon, Company D, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment.
U.S. Army Photo by John Crosby

Strike Shutdowns U.K. Pipeline, Tensions between U.S., Iran, plus Attack in Nigeria all help Boost Oil Prices to Record High

Strike that Shutdowns U.K. Pipeline, Tensions between U.S. and Iran, plus Attack in Nigeria all helped Boost Oil Prices to Record High and Outages at the Pumps
Monday
, April 28, 2008

Reuters.com brings us some unwanted news this early Monday morning and it starts off like this... Oil struck a record high at $119.93 a barrel on Monday, extending the previous session's rally, as a strike closed a major British oil pipeline and as fresh violence in Nigeria reignited supply fears... Simmering geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran also helped boost oil prices...U.S. light crude for June delivery rose 81 cents to $119.33 by 2249 GMT, after striking a lifetime high of $119.93 a barrel at the start of Globex electronic trade...U.S. oil settled $2.46 higher at $118.52 a barrel on Friday... London Brent crude rose 66 cents to $117...
Read the full report at link below...
Oil strikes new record near $120 on supply fears

* Bloomberg.com reports it this way... Crude oil rose to a record after BP Plc shut a North Sea pipeline and gunmen attacked a police station in Bonny Island, the site of one of Nigeria's largest oil and gas export terminals... BP closed the Forties Pipeline System, carrying 40 percent of the U.K.'s oil output, after a strike at the Grangemouth refinery cut power supplies to the network that delivers 700,000 barrels daily. Five police were killed and guns and ammunition seized in yesterday's attack in the Niger Delta where output has already been halved by strikes and attacks on pipelines...
Read the rest HERE

* Express.co.uk reports outages at the pumps... Petrol Stations began running out of fuel yesterday as the closure of Britain’s biggest oil pipeline caused countrywide panic buying... Pumps ran dry and long queues built up on garage forecourts just hours after 1,200 workers at the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland began a 48-hour walk-out in a row over pensions... The vital 700,000-barrels-a-day Forties pipeline, which delivers a third of the UK’s daily oil output, cannot function properly without power from Grangemouth... Despite “don’t panic” pleas from Government ministers, petrol retailers and motoring organizations, drivers were yesterday determined not to let their fuel tanks run dry...
Read the rest at link below...
As Pumps Run Dry, Have Petrol Firms Got Us Over A Barrel?
Image Courtesy of WPClipArt.com

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Iraq: On Ground Updates - Sunday, April 27, 2008

Iraq: On Ground Updates
Troops in Iraq Kill Suspected Terrorists, Capture Dozens
Sunday
, April 27, 2008

Coalition forces killed at least 20 suspected terrorists, captured scores of others, and seized weapons caches in Iraq over the past four days, military officials said.

During operations today:

-- Coalition forces conducted two operations east of Samarra targeting associates of a known al-Qaida in Iraq facilitator who is a liaison with senior terrorist leaders. Coalition forces detained six suspected terrorists and discovered weapons and a building wired to explode. After moving civilians away from the area, coalition forces called for an air strike to destroy the building and weapons.

-- During operations in Mosul in northern Iraq, about 100 kilometers from the Turkish border, coalition forces detained 15 suspected terrorists. One of the suspects is believed to be an al-Qaida in Iraq leader in the city, and another is believed to be part of an illegal terrorist court system. During the operation, coalition forces found a building containing bomb-making materials, which they safely destroyed on site.

-- South of Taji, coalition forces captured an alleged associate of al-Qaida in Iraq leaders and five additional suspects believed to have ties to the terrorist network in the northern belt around Baghdad.

In operations around Iraq yesterday:

-- Coalition forces conducted coordinated operations targeting associates of an individual who allegedly acts as a facilitator and liaison for al-Qaida in Iraq leaders, military officials said. When coalition forces arrived in the target area east of Tikrit, they encountered small-arms fire. Responding in self-defense, coalition forces returned fire and called for supporting aircraft to engage the hostile threat. Three terrorists were killed in the initial engagement, but coalition forces continued to receive fire as they secured buildings in the area. Again engaging the hostile threat, coalition forces killed two more terrorists. Inside the buildings, coalition forces discovered weapons and more than 900 pounds of explosives, which they safely destroyed on site.

-- The operators of an unmanned aerial vehicle observed two armed criminals who were providing over-watch on a vehicle route, and were believed to be triggermen for an improvised explosive device. A Multinational Division Baghdad aerial weapons team was called into the area and fired a Hellfire missile, killing the two criminals. Soldiers on the ground verified the IED's location and safely removed it as a threat. A short time later, Multinational Baghdad operators of an unmanned aerial vehicle positively identified two armed criminals and engaged them with a Hellfire missile, killing both.

-- During an operation east of Samarra, a terrorist approached coalition forces and detonated a suicide vest, killing himself. Another terrorist at the location moved to a tactical position and refused to follow the interpreter's instructions to surrender. Coalition forces, perceiving hostile intent from the terrorist, engaged and killed him. Seven suspected terrorists were detained during the coordinated operations.

-- Coalition forces went to a location northwest of Balad searching for a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq senior leader. A man in the targeted building refused to comply with the interpreter's instructions and moved to a hidden position. When he refused to surrender, coalition forces perceived hostile intent and engaged the terrorist, killing him.

-- Four suspected terrorists were detained during a coalition operation in Yusufiyah targeting a close associate of an al-Qaida in Iraq leader in the southern belt around Baghdad. West of Baghdad, coalition forces detained six suspected terrorists while targeting an al-Qaida in Iraq leader whose group is suspected of instigating sectarian violence and facilitating attacks against coalition forces.

-- A Multinational Division Baghdad unmanned aerial vehicle killed two Iranian-backed "special groups" criminals in the Sadr City district of Baghdad.

-- Soldiers from the 4th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Police Division, seized a munitions cache in Baghdad's West Rashid district. The Iraqi police seized blocks of C4 explosive and 107 mm rockets.

During April 25 operations:

-- Soldiers from the 5th Iraqi Army Division, advised by U.S. Special Forces, detained 17 suspected al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists in the Sadiyah villages of Sama and Rabia. The patrol also confiscated more than 30 SPG-9 rounds, 40 various types of mortars and more than 100 mortar fuses. An anti-tank mine and an IED were also found and destroyed on site.

-- Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team seized homemade explosives and various materials used for making IEDs while conducting a cordon-and-search operation within the Bayaa community.

-- Quick Reaction Force 1 from the 1st Iraqi Army Quick Reaction Force began the latest stage of Operation Charge of the Knights. The last stage of the operation included clearing and searching homes in Huteen. The searches turned up several weapons caches including mortar rounds, rocket-propelled grenades and launchers, and IEDs.

-- The Fallujah Special Weapons and Tactics unit, advised by U.S. Special Operations forces, detained one insurgent cell leader and eight others in an operation northeast of Karma. The cell leader is suspected of planning and launching IED attacks against coalition forces in the area and recruiting others to join his terrorist network.

-- Coalition forces killed four al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists and detained two other terrorists during an operation to disrupt al-Qaida in Iraq networks near Samarra and Quaraysh. Intelligence identified four terrorists traveling in a vehicle east of Samarra. When coalition forces pursued and attempted to detain the vehicle, two terrorists exited the vehicle carrying assault rifles and grenades. Coalition forces engaged, killing two and detaining two other terrorists. Another vehicle with alleged terrorists inside was stopped near Quaraysh. When the terrorists resisted capture and displayed hostile intent, the coalition forces engaged and killed them.

During April 24 operations:

-- A tip led soldiers from 4th Company, 4th Battalion, 25th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, to a cache of IED-making materials southwest of Yusifiyah. The cache included 19 rocket-propelled grenade rounds, 15 hand grenades, 10 60 mm mortar rounds, four cases of .50-caliber ammunition, one case of machine gun ammunition, 10 handheld radios, eight switch boxes and multiple trigger components.

-- In the Jazeera Desert, 2nd Iraqi Army Division soldiers conducted a cordon-and-search operation to identify insurgent lines of communication in the area. During the patrol, ground forces saw a truck that appeared to be stuck in the sand. The two individuals in the truck were told to dismount. The two men dismounted the vehicle for a few seconds, but quickly returned to the truck and began shooting at the Iraqi soldiers with AK-47 assault rifles. Iraqi soldiers returned fire and killed both individuals. One Iraqi soldier also was killed during the firefight.

-- In western Ninevah province, 3rd Iraqi Army Division soldiers detained three suspects during a cordon-and-search patrol.

Taken from a news article by DoD’s American Forces Press Service that was compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases
********************************
* NZHerald.co.nz put this report up early Monday morning their time and it starts off like this... Militants bombarded Baghdad's Green Zone with rockets yesterday, taking advantage of the cover of a blinding dust storm to launch one of the heaviest strikes in weeks on the fortified compound... The strikes appeared to defy a renewed call for a ceasefire by Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, which has seen many of his masked gunmen leave the streets of the Sadr City slum where they hold sway in eastern Baghdad...
Read their report in full at link below...
Baghdad Green Zone blasted under cover of storm

Afghan President Hamid Karzai Escapes Assassination Attempt

Afghan President Hamid Karzai
Escapes Assassination Attempt
Sunday
, April 27, 2008
Africa.reuters.com brings us this early Sunday morning news... Afghan President Hamid Karzai escaped unhurt after an assassination attempt by Taliban fighters with guns and rockets during an official celebration in the capital, Kabul, on Sunday... Government ministers along with leaders of other political factions were seen ducking for cover after gunfire sounded at the celebration to mark the 16th anniversary of fall of the communist government to the mujahideen...
Read the full report at link below...
...
* BBC News website has this report... At least one person has been killed and 11 were hurt in an attack on a military parade in Kabul attended by President Hamid Karzai and other dignitaries... Security forces whisked Mr. Karzai away from the scene and hundreds fled as shots rang out. Two MPs were reported to be among the wounded...
...
* FOXNews.com keeps us up-to-date with this report... Automatic gunfire broke [...] out at a ceremony marking the defeat of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, forcing dignitaries including Afghanistan's president to take cover. At least two lawmakers were wounded... President Hamid Karzai, all Cabinet members and foreign diplomats were all safe, a statement from the presidential palace said. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for attack, saying it had deployed four militants with suicide vests and guns to target the president... Hundreds of people fled in chaos as shots rang out. Firing appeared to come from ruined houses about few hundred yards from where the VIPs were seated. A live TV broadcast of the ceremony on a parade avenue in Kabul was quickly cut... Witnesses could also hear heavy weapon fire...
Read FOX’s report in full at link below...
Above Fox link should update as new info comes in
White House file photo by Paul Morse
...
* IHT.com has this...
Here’s a well written account from one AP reporter who was there during the armed attack today...
Click it out HERE
*********************************************
News Video of Apparent Assassination Attempt
During Military Parade in Kabul
Video posted on LiveLeak by barnesy
********************

MEXICO: Gunbattles Leaves Many Dead near Border City of Tijuana

Running pre-dawn gunbattles between rival gangsters killed 13 or more people in the border city of Tijuana on Saturday...
Read the story at CHRON.com
.
* REUTERS.com reported it this way late Saturday evening... Seventeen Mexican drug gang members were killed near the U.S. border on Saturday, their bodies scattered along a road after one of the deadliest shootouts in Mexico's three-year narco-war... Rival factions of the Arellano Felix drug cartel in Tijuana on the Mexico-California border battled each other with rifles and machine guns in the early hours of the morning, police said... Fourteen bodies were lying in pools of blood on a road near assembly-for-export maquiladora plants on the city's eastern limits. The corpses were surrounded by hundreds of bullet casings and many of their faces were destroyed...
Read the full report at link below...

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Photo for the Day - April, 26, 2008

* Photo for the Day *
Capt. Jeremy Singleton, 4th Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, poses for a photo op with The Purrfect Angelz at the Falcon Cafe, Camp Striker, Baghdad, Iraq, April 18, 2008.
U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Mills

Friday, April 25, 2008

CIA To Brief Members Of Congress Today In Closed, Classified Meeting Over North Korea-Syria Nuke Link

Thursday, April 24, 2008
* Friday, April 25, 2008 *
POST is being UPDATED and moved to top of Friday's Post
(Scroll below for newer post and updates)
......
Well... The day has finally come that U.S. Intelligence Officials will finally tell members of Congress what they know about North Korea helping Syria build a nuclear facility that was eventually bombed to pieces by Israel back in September 2007. The United States, Israel and Syria immediately went mum... never giving us any details about the attack and what they hit. That is until today.... ...
***************************

...
IsraelNationalNews.com brings us this report early this morning and it starts off like this... The CIA is set to confirm to Congress that the Syrian installation destroyed by Israel last September was a nuclear reactor...
CIA Confirms: Israel Bombed Nuclear Reactor in Syria
...
* WashingtonPost.com reports... A video taken inside a secret Syrian facility last summer convinced the Israeli government and the Bush administration that North Korea was helping to construct a reactor similar to one that produces plutonium for North Korea's nuclear arsenal, according to senior U.S. officials who said it would be shared with lawmakers today... The officials said the video of the remote site, code-named Al Kibar by the Syrians, shows North Koreans inside. It played a pivotal role in Israel's decision to bomb the facility late at night last Sept. 6, a move that was publicly denounced by Damascus but not by Washington...
N. Koreans Taped At Syrian Reactor

...
* Google Earth Community has some great Google Earth satellite views of the site HERE
(Need Google Earth to view)

File photo by IAF

********************************
UPDATED: Friday, April 25, 2008
Sorry to take so long. Finally got what I was looking for...
Click out the 11 minute video, in BBC News part of this post below.
But for now...
******
The following is from:
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
Statement by the Press Secretary
Thursday,
April 24, 2008

...
Today, administration officials have briefed select Congressional committees on an issue of great international concern. Until Sept. 6, 2007, the Syrian regime was building a covert nuclear reactor in its eastern desert capable of producing plutonium. We are convinced, based on a variety of information, that North Korea assisted Syria's covert nuclear activities. We have good reason to believe that reactor, which was damaged beyond repair on Sept. 6 of last year, was not intended for peaceful purposes. Carefully hidden from view, the reactor was not configured for such purposes. In defiance of its international obligations, Syria did not inform the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the construction of the reactor, and, after it was destroyed, the regime moved quickly to bury evidence of its existence. This cover-up only served to reinforce our confidence that this reactor was not intended for peaceful activities.

We are briefing the IAEA on this intelligence. The Syrian regime must come clean before the world regarding its illicit nuclear activities. The Syrian regime supports terrorism, takes action that destabilizes Lebanon, allows the transit of some foreign fighters into Iraq, and represses its own people. If Syria wants better relations with the international community, it should put an end to these activities.

We have long been seriously concerned about North Korea's nuclear weapons program and its proliferation activities. North Korea's clandestine nuclear cooperation with Syria is a dangerous manifestation of those activities. One way we have chosen to deal with this problem is through the Six Party Framework. Through this process we are working with our partners to achieve the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The United States is also committed to ensuring that North Korea does not further engage in proliferation activities. We will work with our partners to establish in the Six Party Framework a rigorous verification mechanism to ensure that such conduct and other nuclear activities have ceased.

The construction of this reactor was a dangerous and potentially destabilizing development for the region and the world. This is particularly true because it was done covertly and in violation of the very procedures designed to reassure the world of the peaceful intent of nuclear activities. This development also serves as a reminder that often the same regimes that sponsor proliferation also sponsor terrorism and foster instability, and cooperate with one another in doing so. This underscores that the international community is right to be very concerned about the nuclear activities of Iran and the risks those activities pose to the stability of the Middle East. To confront this challenge, the international community must take further steps, beginning with the full implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions dealing with Iranian nuclear activities. The United States calls upon the international community to redouble our common efforts to ending these activities and preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction in this critical region.

White House File Photo

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Here’s what we been waiting for!
The CIA VIDEO...
Thanks to the BBC News website, we now got it.
The US has accused North Korea of helping Syria build a nuclear reactor that "was not intended for peaceful purposes"... The CIA presented the following video to members of Congress, claiming it shows similarities between a North Korean reactor and one in Syria which was bombed by Israel in 2007.
Footage courtesy of US Government video – A little over 11 minutes long
Click out the
VIDEO HERE
* Read more from BBC News today HERE

... ********************

* The Times Of India website has this report out early this Friday morning and it starts off like this... The UN atomic watchdog hit out on Friday at the United States for withholding intelligence that Syria had been building a secret nuclear reactor with North Korea's help... The International Atomic Energy Agency also criticized Israel for acting on the allegations and bombing the purported reactor in a raid last September without giving IAEA inspectors an opportunity to investigate...
Read this report in full at link below...
IAEA chief hits out at US, Israel over Syrian reactor claims
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Syrian Ambassador Rejects US Nuclear Charges



About video: After being briefed by American officials, Syria's ambassador to Washington, Imad Moustapha, has denied US allegations that his country was building a nuclear reactor with help from North Korea.
Video posted on YouTube by AlJazeeraEnglish
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Iraq: On Ground Updates - Friday, April 25, 2008

Iraq: On Ground Updates
Friday, April 25, 2008

Coalition Forces Kill Four
Iranian-Trained Fighters in Iraq

From Thursday, April 24, 2008

Coalition forces killed four Iranian-trained "special groups" criminals and detained five other suspected criminals today in Rashidiyah, Iraq, north of Baghdad.

Intelligence sources led the forces to the location of a criminal suspected of receiving weapons and finances from Iran. He also is suspected of directing and conducting kidnappings and sectarian violence against Iraqi citizens.

Despite receiving sporadic small-arms fire attacks, coalition forces apprehended the suspected criminal and three other suspects. As the forces approached a second location to apprehend another suspected criminal, they came under small-arms fire from both sides of the road and returned fire, killing one criminal.

After arriving at the targeted individual's location, the forces again came under small-arms fire from three criminals atop a local residence. Coalition forces followed the three individuals to a home in the neighborhood then came under attack from the criminals inside the house. They engaged the hostile threat, killing the three criminals. The engagement ignited a fire in the house, but coalition forces were able to evacuate residents from the building unharmed.

"Coalition forces will continue to seek out these criminal elements supported by Iran who threaten the security of Iraqi citizens and who undermine the sovereignty of Iraq," said Navy Cmdr. Scott Rye, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman.

Elsewhere, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers killed three criminals in separate engagements in Baghdad yesterday and today.

-- At about 7:30 a.m. today, an aerial weapons team observed a criminal with a heavy machine gun firing on Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers in northeastern Baghdad. The aerial weapons team fired one Hellfire missile, ending the attack. The heavy machine gun was destroyed, but no casualties were reported.

-- At about 11:30 p.m., two criminals were observed emplacing an improvised-explosive device in northeastern Baghdad. After fleeing the scene, an aerial weapons team engaged the criminals in a building with two Hellfire missiles, killing both.

-- At about 10:50 p.m. yesterday, an aerial weapons team observed a criminal emplacing an improvised-explosive device. The IED was targeting a coalition forces patrol in northeastern Baghdad. The aerial weapons team engaged the criminal with a Hellfire missile, killing him.

In other operations yesterday, coalition forces killed three al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists and detained 14 suspects during operations targeting terrorist networks in the central and northern parts of the country Wednesday.

-- West of Biaj, coalition forces captured an alleged foreign-terrorist facilitator and three additional suspects. While rounding up the detainees, one terrorist attempted to escape. After the terrorist refused commands to halt, coalition forces engaged, killing him.

-- Coalition forces targeted an alleged leader of an al-Qaida in Iraq propaganda cell during an operation in Mosul. As coalition forces arrived at the target area, two individuals attempted to seize their weapons from them. Coalition forces responded in self-defense, engaging and killing the two men, officials said.

-- Coalition forces captured a suspected senior al-Qaida in Iraq leader in Mosul during a precision operation. Intelligence reports also indicate he is involved in kidnapping and suicide-bombing operations.

-- West of Baghdad, coalition forces conducted two operations targeting operatives in the area's bombing network. Six suspected terrorists were detained, and four are believed to be part of a bombing cell that attacks coalition forces.

"Iraqi citizens reject the criminal activity of al-Qaeda in Iraq's members," Rye said. "Terrorists cling to violence, while the people of Iraq have chosen a path of peace."

Coalition forces killed one terrorist and detained five suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists today during operations to disrupt al-Qaeda in Iraq networks operating north of Mosul.

Information from an operation April 12 led Coalition forces to a location where they secured a building and detained three suspected terrorists. Acting on additional intelligence, Coalition forces proceeded to a second location. While securing the building, two individuals displayed hostile intent toward Coalition forces, who fired in self-defense, wounding both men. One suspect was taken to a military medical facility, and the other wounded suspect was treated on site and detained.

Coalition forces followed a suspected terrorist in a vehicle to an area northwest of Samarra. When the driver would not follow signals to stop, including warning shots, Coalition forces fired into the vehicle. The vehicle stopped, and secondary explosions erupted from inside, indicating weapons, ammunition or explosives inside the vehicle. The terrorist in the vehicle was killed.

"We continue to target terrorists in Mosul and throughout Iraq to disrupt their networks and degrade their ability to attack innocent Iraqis," said Cmdr. Scott Rye, MNF-I spokesman.

Also yesterday, Multinational Force West soldiers pursuing two suspected enemy vehicles engaged insurgents north of Lake Thar Thar. Insurgents engaged the soldiers with small-arms fire and grenades. The brief chase ended as the lead enemy vehicle stopped. The enemy continued their attack as the second vehicle sped away. The soldiers returned fire, killing six insurgents and destroying their truck.


Taken from a news article by DoD’s American Forces Press Service - Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq and Multinational Force Iraq news releases
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FOXNEWS.com has this take on Iran in Iraq... The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff accused Iran on Friday of increasing arms and training support to insurgents in Iraq as well as militants battling U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan... Adm. Mike Mullen told a Pentagon news conference that he has "no smoking gun" proof that the highest leadership in the Iranian government has approved the stepped up aid to insurgents who are killing U.S. and Iraqi forces. But he said it's clear that recently made Iranian weapons are flowing into Iraq at a steadily increasing rate, including to support insurgents during the recent fighting in Basra in southern Iraq...
Read the rest at link below...
Joint Chiefs Chair Says Iran Still Sending Weapons to Iraqi Insurgents

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Admiral Mullen on Iran in Iraq
Friday, April 25, 2008

About News Video: A warning for Iran from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
News Video Courtesy of DoD

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Here’s the full video of press briefing today

Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff ADM Mullen speaks with reporters at Pentagon
This News Video also courtesy of DoD

Navy-Contracted Vessel Fires Warning Shots on Iranian Boats in Persian Gulf

FOXNews.com brings us this troubling news this morning and it starts off like this... A vessel contracted by the Navy in the Persian Gulf fired warning shots Thursday on two Iranian fast boats... Navy-Contracted Vessel Fires Warning Shots on Iranian Boats
(FOX should update their link as info comes in)
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...
BloggingStocks.com has this report... Oil zoomed past $119 per barrel Friday at mid-day after a cargo ship hired by U.S. military fired warning shots at boats suspected to be Iranian...
Oil jumps past $119 after ship fires warning shots at Iranian boats

ChinaView.cn
website reports today incident this way... Iran on Friday denied any military confrontation between its boats and U.S. ships in the Gulf, the state media reported... A senior official of the elite Revolutionary Guards rejected the Western reports that an American ship had opened fire on Iranian patrol boats in the Gulf, said the English Channel Press TV... "If UK or U.S. vessels had fired at Iranian boats, based on previous experiences, they would have faced the harshest reaction by Iranian forces," the official was quoted as saying...
State media: Iran denies confrontation with U.S. ship in Gulf
US Navy File Photo

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

No. 351-08 April 25, 2008
DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Shaun J. Whitehead, 24, of Commerce, Ga., died April 24th in Iskandariyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when he encountered an improvised explosive device while on a dismounted patrol. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
For more information media may contact the Fort Campbell public affairs office at (270) 798-9966.

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

No. 350-08 April 25, 2008
DoD Identifies Army Casualty


The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Ronald C. Blystone, 34, of Springfield, Mo., died April 23rd in Baghdad, Iraq, from wounds suffered when he encountered small arms fire during a dismounted patrol. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
For more information media may contact the Fort Hood public affairs office at (254) 287-9993; after hours (254) 291-2591.

DoD Identifies Army Casualties

No. 346-08 April 25, 2008
DoD Identifies Army Casualties


The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died April 23rd in Golden Hills, Iraq, of injuries suffered in a vehicle incident. They were assigned to the 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Killed were:
Pfc. John T. Bishop, 22, of Gaylord, Mich.
1st Lt. Timothy W. Cunningham, 26, of College Station, Texas.

The incident is under investigation.
For more information media may contact the Fort Campbell public affairs office at (270) 798-9966.

DoD Identifies Marine Casualties

No. 345-08 April 25, 2008
DoD Identifies Marine Casualties


The Department of Defense announced today the death of two Marines who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Killed were:
Lance Cpl. Jordan C. Haerter, 19
, of Sag Harbor, N.Y.
Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale, 21, of Burkeville, Va.

Both Marines died April 22nd from wounds suffered while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Haerter was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Yale was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Media with questions about these Marines can contact the 2nd Marine Division public affairs office at (910) 450-6575.

Missing WWII Airmen are Identified

No. 0344-08 April 25, 2008
Missing WWII Airmen are Identified


The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of 11 U.S. servicemen, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

They are:
Capt. Robert L. Coleman
, of Wilmington, Del.
1st Lt. George E. Wallinder, of San Antonio, Texas
2nd Lt. Kenneth L. Cassidy, of Worcester, Mass.
2nd Lt. Irving Schechner, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; 2nd Lt. Ronald F. Ward, of Cambridge, Mass.
Tech. Sgt. William L. Fraser, of Maplewood, Mo.
Tech. Sgt. Paul Miecias, of Piscataway, N.J.
Tech. Sgt. Robert C. Morgan, of Flint, Mich.
Staff Sgt. Albert J. Caruso, of Kearny, N.J.
Staff Sgt. Robert E. Frank, of Plainfield, N.J.
Pvt. Joseph Thompson, of Compton, Calif

All where from U.S. Army Air Forces. The dates and locations of the funerals are being set by their families.

Representatives from the Army met with the next-of-kin of these men in their hometowns to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the secretary of the Army.

On Dec. 3, 1943, these men crewed a B-24D Liberator that departed Dobodura, New Guinea, on an armed-reconnaissance mission over New Hanover Island in the Bismarck Sea. The crew reported dropping their bombs on target, but in spite of several radio contacts with their base, they never returned to Dobodura. Subsequent searches failed to locate the aircraft.

In 2000, three Papua New Guineans were hunting in the forest when they came across aircraft wreckage near Iwaia village. The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) was notified and began planning an investigation. In 2002, a JPAC team traveled to Deboin Village to interview two individuals who said they knew where the crash site was. However, the witnesses could not relocate the site.

In 2004, the site was found about four miles from Iwaia village in Papua New Guinea where a JPAC team found an aircraft data plate that correlated to the 1943 crash.

Between 2004 and 2007, JPAC teams conducted two excavations of the site and recovered human remains and non-biological material including some crew-related artifacts such as identification tags.

Among dental records, other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.

For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
[Editor's note: Aircrew photo is available.]