Israel: ON Ground Updates - August 14, 2010

Israel: ON Ground Updates
Prime Minister Netanyahu set to make Israel a Space Superpower
Saturday, August 14, 2010. Image credit: Israel Aerospace Industries
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* The Jerusalem Post had the following good read posted up on their website Friday and it starts off like this... Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is set to approve an ambitious plan to turn Israel into a satellite superpower. According to details obtained by The Jerusalem Post, the aim is to increase sales of Israeli space platforms to nearly $8 billion a year... The multi-year plan calls for the government to annually increase support for space research and development by several hundred million shekels. This investment would focus on new platforms - primarily Israel’s niche market in “mini satellites” - intended to yield billions in sales...
Read the rest at link below...
Israel aims to be space superpower
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AubreyJ.........

Israel: On Ground Updates - August 12, 2010

Israel: On Ground Updates
From this past January to end of July, 2010, 120 rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza
Thursday, August 12, 2010
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* IDF brings us the following report and it goes in part like this... The number of rockets and mortars launched at Israel from the Gaza Strip has dramatically reduced after Operation Cast Lead from December 2008-January 2009, during which the IDF acted to prevent Hamas and other terrorist groups from firing rockets at Israel. In 2008 and during Operation Cast Lead, 3,684 projectiles were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip. That number was reduced to 302 for the entire year of 2009 following the Gaza operation. Despite this sharp reduction, rockets from the Gaza Strip continue to be fired at Israel...
Read the full report at link below...
Rockets From Gaza Continue to be Fired at Israel in 2010
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AubreyJ.........

Former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens & former NASA Chief Sean O’Keefe were on board deadly plane crash near Dillingham, Alaska Monday night

Deadly airplane crash near Dillingham, Alaska Monday night in Alaska - NTSB says 5 of 9 onboard dead - Former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens and former NASA Chief Sean O’Keefe were on board, their condition unknown
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
11:30am CDT
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NTSB LAUNCHES TEAM TO INVESTIGATE AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT IN ALASKA
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The National Transportation Safety Board has launched a Go Team to investigate last night's airplane crash near Dillingham, Alaska.
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At about 8:00pm Alaska Daylight Time, a DeHavilland DHC-3T (N455A) crashed 10 miles northwest of Aleknagik, Alaska. Reports are that 5 of the 9 persons on board died in the accident.
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Senior air safety investigator Clint Johnson, from the NTSB's Anchorage regional office, will serve as Investigator-in-Charge. He will be assisted by investigators from the Alaska office and from NTSB headquarters in Washington, D.C.
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NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman is accompanying the team and will serve as spokesperson for the on-scene investigation. Terry Williams is the NTSB press officer traveling with the team. The full team is expected to arrive in Dillingham around mid-day today.
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Contact information for the team will be released when it is available...

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NTSB Press Contact:
(In Washington)
Keith Holloway
keith.holloway@ntsb.gov
202-314-6100 / 202-314-6100
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NTSB
National Transportation Safety Board
http://www.ntsb.gov/
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-- UPDATE --
11:50am CDT
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* Local Alaska news agencies are now sadly reporting that former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens is one of the dead
But...
> Source of KTUU report that Stevens is dead says he isn't sure
Read more HERE
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-- UPDATE --

6:50pm CDT

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Family spokesman confirms Ted Stevens was among the five reported dead - Former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe and his son, Kevin have been reported as injured

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* FoxNews.com brings us the following report that goes in part like this... Former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, one of the longest-serving senators in U.S. history and a tireless advocate for his state, was killed Monday in a plane crash southwest of Anchorage... Former chief of staff Mitch Rose, a spokesman for the family, confirmed to Fox News that Stevens was among the five dead. He was 86...

Read the rest HERE

Above link has news video

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AubreyJ.........

Tiger Woods, “It’s been a long year”

“It’s been a long year”
Tiger Woods
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Tiger Woods - USA file photo by Tim Hipps
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After shooting a round of 77 Sunday at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Tiger was asked by one reporter if he was surprised... Tiger answered he was not surprised... “It’s been a long year”
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No other words needed, Tiger. No other words needed...
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Just keep after it... It will all come back to ya soon enough and there is many of us out here who will enjoy when the old/NEW Tiger is back... at last.
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AubreyJ.........

Photo for the Day - August 07, 2010

* Photo for the Day *- Watching History Unfold -
Guests look on from the terrace of Operations Support Building II as Space Shuttle Endeavour launches on the shuttle program's last planned night launch. Endeavour’s launch from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A began the STS-130 mission February 8, 2010. Mission STS-130 delivered a third connecting module, the Italian-built Tranquility node and a seven-windowed cupola, which is now being used as a control room for robotics, to the International Space Station.
Image Credit: NASA/Paul E. Alers
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For all you space buffs out there...
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- Space Shuttle Discovery's final Spaceflight -
During the upcoming Space Shuttle Discovery's final spaceflight, (in other words, Discovery will fly no more... EVER after this mission,) the STS-133 crew members will take important spare parts to the International Space Station along with the Express Logistics Carrier-4.
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Another COOL cargo to go up with this mission will be “Robonaut 2”, the latest generation of the Robonaut astronaut helpers and will be the first humanoid robot in space.

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Read more about “Robonaut 2”, with videos/photos HERE
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As of today, Saturday, August 07, 2010, Discovery is being readied for flight inside Kennedy's Orbiter Processing Facility-3 while its solid rocket boosters are stacked inside the near by Vehicle Assembly Building.
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Discovery STS-133 is slated to launch November 1st.
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Read latest news on Space Shuttle Discovery’s final spaceflight HERE
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Note: I’ll be posting MUCH on this final flight/mission of Discovery so check back!
AubreyJ.........

Iraq: On Ground Updates - August 05, 2010

Iraq: On Ground Updates
In first interview since fall of Baghdad, Tariq Aziz accuses Barack Obama of 'leaving Iraq to the wolves'
Thursday, August 05, 2010
.Image by DoD - (From DoD’s famous Iraq Deck of Cards)
See my video of the full Deck of Cards HERE
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* Guardian.co.uk brings us the following report and it goes in part like this... Saddam Hussein's most loyal deputy, Tariq Aziz, has accused Barack Obama of 'leaving Iraq to the wolves' by pressing ahead with a withdrawal of combat troops in the face of festering instability and a surge in violence... In his first interview since he was captured shortly after the fall of Baghdad more than seven years ago, Iraq's former deputy prime minister and long-time face to the world said the United States would cause the death of Iraq if it continued to withdraw its combat forces... "We are all victims of America and Britain," he told the Guardian from his prison cell in Baghdad. "They killed our country in many ways. When you make a mistake you need to correct a mistake, not leave Iraq to its death."...
Read the rest at link below...
Saddam Hussein deputy Tariq Aziz calls for US forces to stay in Iraq

.Note: You can read the full interview with Tariq Aziz in tomorrow's Guardian - I’ll update this post Friday with the new link and more on topic so... Check Back!
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POST UPDATE:
Friday, August 06, 2010
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Tariq Aziz: 'Britain and the US killed Iraq. I wish I was martyred'
Read Martin Chulov's full interview with Tariq Aziz here
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I believe little, if anything... this man says. As far as I’m concerned... he DOES have blood on his hands of the many a 100,000 of innocent people, in and around Iraq, over the so many years under the Saddam reign... This man, Tariq Aziz, this monster... was not only part of... but was one of the main heads!!!
Guilt by association my butt...
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In future trials on this man... and they will most likely be forthcoming.... I can only pray that the guilt of this man is proven in a court of law, by the Iraqis, without a doubt... and that he gets his due...
Hang-um High!!!
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Funny though... As of right now, no one in the lamestream media is reporting any point of view like mine... I KNOW I’m not alone with having this line of thought... or am I?
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AubreyJ.........

Israel: On Ground Updates - August 03, 2010

Israel: On Ground Updates
Senior IDF Commander Killed In Israel-Lebanon Border Clash
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
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* VOANews.com brings us the following troubling news this Tuesday morning and their report starts off like this... Lebanese and Israeli troops have exchanged fire along their border in a battle that Lebanese officials say killed four people on their side and wounded several Israelis... Tuesday's fighting is the most serious in the area since Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group fought a month-long war in 2006...
Read the rest at link below...
4 Lebanese Killed in Fighting on Border with Israel
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* SKY News has the following report up on their website today with News Video, photos and more. Click it out at link below...
Soldiers Die In Israel-Lebanon Border Clash
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* YNETNews.com brings us the latest and most up to date report...
Cleared for publication: IDF Lieutenant Colonel Dov Harari killed in border skirmish with Lebanese army Tuesday... Another Commander seriously wounded. Troops stepped into planned ambush, army says...
Read this report in full at link below...
Lethal clash: Senior IDF commander killed in border skirmish
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IDF has the following report posted up on their website this Tuesday afternoon...
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Breaking News: IDF Officer Killed as Lebanon Opens Fire on Northern Border

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Lt. Col. Dov Harari was shot and killed on Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 3) as LAF opened fire at an IDF force operating inside Israeli territory on the northern border in accordance with UN.
Last update 18:31 - Written by Elana Kieffer The soldier who was critically wounded by Lebanese gunfire was medivacked to Haifa's Rambam hospital. IDF Photo by Shay Vaknin
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The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) fired at an IDF position in the Israeli side of the border along the Lebanese border in northern Israel on Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 3). The Israeli soldiers who were fired on had been in Israeli territory, carrying out routine maintenance which had been coordinated ahead of time with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which is the peacekeeping force created by the UN Security Council in March 1978 following Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.

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Lt. Col. Dov Harari (45) from Netanya was killed by the LAF during this incident. Harari served as a battalion commander. Capt. Ezra Lakia (30) from Kfar Ha'Rif sustained severe injuries in the same incident. Capt. Lakia served as a platoon commander.

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. The border area is west of the Israeli town of Misgav Am. The incident occurred east of the internationally recognized “Blue Line”, the border between Israel and Lebanon, and west of the security fence, thus lying within Israeli territory.
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The IDF force immediately returned fire to an LAF force. Several minutes later an Israel Air Force (IAF) helicopter fired at the LAF Battalion Command Center in Al-Taybeh, damaging several LAF armored combat vehicles.
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The IDF holds the LAF responsible for the incident that disrupted the calm in the region, and its consequences.
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Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, arrived at Israel's northern border and has been closely following the events as they unfold. He is currently holding situation assessment meetings with the Commander of IDF's Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, as well as the Commander of the Galilee Regional Division and additional commanders.
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Since the conclusion of the Second Lebanon War over four years ago, three incidents of firing towards Israeli territory have been recorded, and terrorist organizations have claimed responsibility for each of these incidents.
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There have also been two recorded incidents of Lebanon violating the Blue Line. First, in a cross border raid in October 2000, Hezbollah forces abducted and killed three IDF soldiers, Sgt. First Class Adi Avitan (22), Sgt. First Class Benyamin Avraham (21), and Sgt. First Class Omar Sawaid (27), who at the time had been patrolling on the Israeli side of the border demarcation.
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In an additional cross border raid in 2006, Hezbollah forces attacked two Israeli armored Hum-vees which were located within the Israeli side of the border. As a result, seven IDF soldiers were killed, two were wounded, and Sgt. First Class Ehud Goldwasser and Sgt. First Class Eldad Regev were abducted and killed.
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> Photo gallery: Unrest on the border
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Post Update:
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
9:00pm CDT
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* NewsBlaze.com brings us the following report and it starts off like this... A Lebanese military spokesman said Wednesday (Aug. 4) that the Lebanese army was first to open fire in a border ambush that occurred the previous day. The attack killed six people: four Lebanese soldiers, a journalist affiliated with Hezbollah and an Israeli officer; a Lebanese journalist, also affiliated with Hezbollah, was wounded, as was an Israeli soldier... This is the third attack on Israel in the past week, highlighting the threats Israel faces on all its borders. A rocket was fired into the Israeli city of Ashkelon by Gaza militants, and rockets were fired toward the southern city of Eilat, killing a Jordanian civilian and wounding three others... Lebanese journalists and photographers knew in advance of the Lebanese army's plans to ambush IDF soldiers as they conducted routine maintenance work, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)...
Read the rest of this report in full at link below...
Lebanese Army First to Open Fire on IDF, Planned Ambush
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* Ynet.com has this follow-up and it goes in part like this... The Lebanese army's fire on IDF troops working on Israel's northern border was "wholly unjustified and unwarranted," US State Department Spokesman Philip Crowley said Wednesday.
Read the rest at link below...
US: Lebanese fire unjustified, unwarranted
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AubreyJ.........

Iran: On Ground Updates - August 01, 2010

Iran: On Ground Updates
"The military options have been on the table and remain on the table," says Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Sunday, August 01, 2010
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* SKY.com brings us the following report today and it goes in part like this... Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a plan does exist - although he thought a strike was probably a bad idea... Such an attack would only be launched to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, he added... The American officer has often warned that a military strike would have serious and unpredictable consequences across the Middle East... However, he also said the risk of the country acquiring a nuclear weapon was unacceptable...
Read the full report at link below...
Iran Attack Strategy 'Is Ready If Needed'
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NBC Meet the Press - Mullen: U.S. Has Iran Strike Plan


About this News Video: Admiral Mike Mullen discusses the ripple effects of a military strike on the Islamic republic with David Gregory on “Meet the Press.
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Click HERE for Meet the Press transcript, August 1, 2010
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AubreyJ.........