HOME PAGE: No matter what your political views might be... One thing is for certain. In these days of fast news and even faster life styles... We all seem to have forgotten those moments in history that so abruptly and tragically changed this beloved Country of ours... 9/11… How soon we forget…
No. 114-09 February 21, 2009 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. PFC Cwislyn K. Walter, 19, of Honolulu died February 19th in Kuwait City, Kuwait, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. She was assigned to the 29th Special Troops Battalion, 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Hawaii National Guard. The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation. For more information the media may contact the Hawaii National Guard Public Affairs office at 808-733-4241 or 808-733-4258.
Mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles sit in a row on the Camp Liberty, Iraq, fielding site, Feb. 20, 2009. The day marked the introduction of the 10,000th vehicle into Iraq. Read the story behind the photo at link below… Military Fields 10,000th Mine-resistant Vehicle to Troops in Iraq U.S. Army photo by Spc. Christopher Gaylord
Israel Friday, February 20, 2009 . MFA file photo . Netanyahu picked to form Israel government
About this News Video: Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted the task of forming a new Israeli government, tendered to him by President Shimon Peres on Friday, and called for national unity with Israel's centrist Kadima party and its left-wing Labour party. This News Video posted on YouTube by france24english . More from France24.com follows below… Benjamin Netanyahu, the hawkish Likud party leader and Israel's likely next prime minister, is looking to form a coalition government with his political rivals… Netanyahu was asked to form a new government on Friday after a tight Feb. 10 general election left the Israeli leadership in limbo. While the centrist Kadima party of Tzipi Livni won the popular vote, Netanyahu’s Likud mustered more support in parliament, paving the way for him to take the top spot. Along with the 15 seats of the nationalist Israel Beiteinu party of Avigdor Lieberman, who has thrown his support behind Likud, Netanyahu now commands 65 seats in the 120-seat Knesset… But his majority in parliament does not guarantee a workable government, and Netanyahu has already made it clear that he will look to bring Israel’s other political parties into a broad coalition… Read this report in full HERE Above link has news video and more . **************** . * YNETNews.com brings us this report today and it starts off like this…President Shimon Peres announced Friday he has decided to task Likud Chairman [Benjamin Netanyahu] with forming the next government… "Most of the factions have expressed their desire to see a broad government being established, and I asked Mr. Netanyahu that this wish will be reflected in the makeup of the government," Peres said at a press conference in his official residence… "The people of Israel need governmental stability in order to deal with the challenges that lie ahead," the president added… Read the rest at link below… Peres tasks Netanyahu with forming government . * SkyNews.com has this take on the news today and it starts off like this…President Shimon Peres has given him a mandate to form a coalition government… But Mr. Netanyahu now has his work cut out stopping that dream being turned into a nightmare… In the topsy turvy world of Israeli politics he says his ideal government is one that includes the people who were his arch rivals during this election campaign… To understand why you need to go back more than a decade... Read the rest at link below… Netanyahu: Will Dream Turn Into Disaster . ******************* AubreyJ………
. Above Video posted on YouTube by nq792000 . ****************** . POST UPDATE: Friday, February 20, 2009 . Here’s an article I found today posted on The Wall Street Journal website that I thought you just might wish to click out… CNBC’s Rick Santelli vs. White House’s Robert Gibbs .
Sen. Dianne Feinstein's blurt during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing Leads to U.S. Confirmation That It Uses Pakistani Air Base
Thursday, February 19, 2009
. FOXNEWS.COM BRINGS US THIS REPORT TODAY... Sen. Dianne Feinstein's blurt during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing last week forced the U.S. intelligence and military community to acknowledge on Thursday that the U.S. is targeting Al Qaeda and Taliban operatives using unmanned drones based in Pakistan…The senator's slip sent reporters into overdrive and led to the discovery of a 2006 picture provided by Google Earth that appears to show Predator drones at Shamsi air base 200 miles southwest of Quetta… A senior U.S. official confirmed to FOX News that Pakistani leaders -- despite their public protests and denials -- have been giving the U.S. some targets in the tribal areas of their own enemies, and have given the U.S. blanket permission to go after any "Arabs" in those areas because they are assumed to be Al Qaeda operatives… The Pakistanis themselves are still officially denying the arrangement, a decision predicated on the weak federal government and extreme anti-Americanism in tribal communities, particularly the Federally Administered Tribal Area in the Northwest, where Taliban and Al Qaeda support is strongest… Feinstein's remarks, which were characterized as "foolish" by U.S. officials, were unusual for the experienced chairwoman of the intelligence panel... Read the full report at link below… Feinstein's Blurt Leads to U.S. Confirmation That It Uses Pakistani Air Base
US Senator Dianne Feinstein Official Photo . ************************** . Inside Story - Sharia in Pakistan's Swat From original posting on Wednesday, February 18, 2009-Part 1
About this Video Report: Some are celebrating, while others are worried as Sharia law is introduced in North West Pakistan. Announced on Monday, this was part of the agreement between the government and Pakistani Taliban…Will it help to restore peace or just trigger chaos in the already volatile region? Video posted on YouTube by AlJazeeraEnglish
President Obama today will unveil a $75 billion foreclosure prevention program, which the administration expects to reach up to 9 million homeowners… "The plan I'm announcing focuses on rescuing families who have played by the rules and acted responsibly: by refinancing loans for millions of families in traditional mortgages who are underwater or close to it," Obama will say at a speech in Mesa, Ariz., according to an advance text released by the White House… The Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan includes measures to allow homeowners to refinance into loans with cheaper payments, according to a summary of the plan. For example, if a lender agrees to lower a borrower's payment so that it comprises no more than 38 percent of his income, the government would pay to lower the payments further to 31 percent of income. The aim would be to make the payments affordable… Read the full report at link below… $75B Program Aims to Lower Mortgages, Foreclosures
. ************************* . The following is from the White House Blog . Help for homeowners Wednesday, February 18, 2009
. The President’s strategy for economic recovery is a stool with several legs, as he’s said, and one of them is solving the foreclosure crisis. . "We must stem the spread of foreclosures and falling home values for all Americans, and do everything we can to help responsible homeowners stay in their homes," he said yesterday as he signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law. . Though communities across the country have been affected by the crisis, Arizona has been hit particularly hard -- in 2008, only two states had more foreclosures. . And President Obama is there today, in Phoenix, to unveil his "Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan," which will help bring relief to homeowners and bring some order to the housing market. . The President will talk more about his plan a little later today. In the meantime, we’re sure you have a lot of questions, like, Am I eligible for assistance? Might I be able to modify my loan? When do I apply? We've put together an example sheet that will show you what options might be available to you, depending on the circumstances of your mortgage, as well as answers to some common questions(below)...
. *************************************** . For Immediate Release February 18, 2009
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REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON THE HOME MORTGAGE CRISIS Dobson High SchoolMesa, Arizona
10:25 A.M. MST Read the full transcript HERE ***** 9 million + The housing plan President Obama unveiled today could directly help up to 9 million people -- but indirectly, it will help all of us… Read more at the White House Blog...
. ******************************* . Obama Unveils $75 Billion Mortgage Relief Plan
About this News Video:President Barack Obama unveiled his $75 billion mortgage relief plan, a series of measures the president says will keep 9 million people from losing their homes. (Feb. 18) This News Video posted on YouTube by AssociatedPress
'Sons of Iraq' Transition Into New, Long-term Jobs
Original Post Date: February 17, 2008
The transfer of the "Sons of Iraq" civilian security group to Iraqi government control and the transition into new employment and education activities is moving ahead according to plan, coalition and Iraqi government officials said.
"It's gone very smoothly," Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jason Ward, the reconciliation operations officer for Multinational Corps Iraq, said. "Today, we've got just under 72,000 Sons of Iraq that have transferred to Iraqi control."
Sons of Iraq members in Anbar province successfully transferred to the Iraqi government Feb. 1, and in April, Salahuddin province will be the final province to transfer its grassroots security group.
"It is just incredible, the level of commitment so many people have shown towards the Sons of Iraq due to their security contribution," Ward said.
The Sons of Iraq -- who number about 94,000 in nine provinces across Iraq -- arose out of a grassroots movement in 2006 known as Sahwah, or "The Awakening," that united Iraqis who had grown tired of al-Qaida-inspired violence in their communities. In early 2008, the volunteers partnered with coalition forces to combat terrorist elements in their neighborhoods.
In light of their contribution, the Iraqi government and coalition forces are working to find new, long-term jobs for the group's members.
Twenty percent will join the Iraqi police or Iraqi army, and the remainder will be employed in a variety of civil or private-sector jobs, Ward said. Iraq's panel in charge of the transition, the Implementation and Follow-Up Committee for Reconciliation, also is exploring an optional severance package for older Sons of Iraq members, which could be combined with vocational training.
In Baghdad, members have been under the Iraqi government's responsibility for four months. The reconciliation committee collected skills surveys from the group's members to determine what jobs they were eligible for.
"Right now, they're in the process of analyzing that data," Ward said. The committee is expected to begin matching members' skills to the government ministries' open job positions Feb. 20.
Reconciliation committee member Zuhayr al-Chalibi said the Iraqi government is committed to completing the job transitions for Sons of Iraq members by year's end, so that government ministries could develop their 2010 budget requirements for the new workers.
Chalibi said he would work diligently to repay the group's members for their sacrifices to the nation, no matter the cost.
From a DoD’s American Forces Press Service News Release - Taken from a Multinational Corps Iraq News Release
No. 114-09 February 21, 2009
