Important news

It never fails, every time I think my vision problems are behind me, the rise up from the ashes of fate to bite me in the butt.

They have the glaucoma under control and I am hit with severe cataracts, leaving me once again without my vision. However, unlike the glaucoma, which could be controlled with drops, the only course for cataracts is more surgery.

Unfortunately, there is a chance this may not be cataracts, but the optic nerve degenerating, as they have stated may yet occur. I will not know anything until the 17^th, if it is cataracts; I should be back to normal as soon as surgery removes the bad lens and inserts a brand new one.

Until that point in time, I will not be blogging. This small bit of information has been very difficult to write. I am using all of the vision tools I can find and it is still difficult.

Thank you,

Ranter

This and That

There is so much going on in the news that it is rather difficult to pin one thing down. After a bit of thought, I felt this is a good day for a bit of "This and That".

President Bush is apparently trying to show the embattled Iraqi President, Al-Maliki that we still support him. This is a load of hogwash and everyone, including Al-Maliki knows it to be so. The man does not even have the support of his own government, who are ready to send a vote of no confidence his way.

Click here for the full article….

President Bush also made the statement that we are in this war to win and nothing else will do. The President also made reference to Viet Nam and the fact that, yes, we did learn from our mistakes.

I applaud his sentiment and strength of his conviction, it would be a wonderful sight to see that our country learned from Viet Nam, however, it will take a lot more than rhetoric to convince my generation; we will all wait and see on this one. Especially, knowing that when he leaves office this dedication may leave with him as the next President will no doubt see things differently.

However, this article, titled, Pentagon sets goals to hit before end of Bush term, just may back up the Presidents words. Again, we will have to all take a wait and see attitude.

Click here for the full article….

Iran has been using the Iraqi border as their own personal freeway, arming and training anyone and everyone who will fight American forces. We are constantly finding their military markings on the remains of IED's as well as weapons stashes with their serial numbers. Yet, the constant denial from their government is so reminiscent of the Chinese doing the same with the VC in Viet Nam that it is darn near déjà vu.

It is evident the Middle East war will never be totally over, not as long as Iran and Syria are controlling their Iraqi puppets. Along with this intervention is the realization that this war not only is being fought in Iraq, it must be. However, if we are going to fight these silent puppet masters then we need to do it all the way.

It is constantly stated that al Qaeda and its boss, bin Laden have been searching for nuclear weapons. As it stands now, they are but a heartbeat and a coup away in Pakistan. Now that Iran, Syria and company are in the picture, this may become more than a quest.

We can only hope that the next administration has the round ones to do what it takes, either that, or if al Qaeda manages to get their dirty mitts on nuclear weapons, the world will change forever.

Troops need rest

The respected military.com has an auricle shedding a truthful outlook on our military in Iraq and Afghanistan, titled, Army's Fighting Force Nearly Exhausted.

The opening two paragraphs set the tone for this insightful look in what is happening with our military.

"WASHINGTON - Sapped by nearly six years of war, the Army has nearly exhausted its fighting force and its options if the Bush administration decides to extend the Iraq buildup beyond next spring."

"The Army's 38 available combat units are deployed, just returning home or already tapped to go to Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere, leaving no fresh troops to replace five extra brigades that President Bush sent to Baghdad this year, according to interviews and military documents reviewed by The Associated Press."

Click here for the full article…

This is already known within most circles; however, seeing it in print really hammers it home. Many of us have been privately discussing this growing trend, exhaustion of the troops and I do not believe that anyone has come up with a solution, other than implementing the draft.

Our military is the greatest in the world, bar none and the men are women are dedicated to the outcome, but they need rest.

If what this article is saying is the truth, then something does need to be done. One thing that needs to be kept in mind is the military is not broken, as some are saying. Needing rest is one thing, broken is another. Ask a soldier how they feel.

Red moon rising

It was not that many years ago that we all sat transfixed to our televisions watching the celebration in Berlin as thw wall came tumbling down.

A new era of freedom for the East Berlin residents held captive by the Russians for all those years. It was also the beginning of the demise of the once strong and proud Russian military.

Soon, news reports were filtering out of Russia of general staff officers begging for money amd standing in bread lines to feed their families. This was accompanied by the Russian military offering military junkets for anyone with enough bucks who wants to come and shoot any of their failing weapons systems or fly MIG's until the fuel runs out.

We began seeing American and Russian pilots flying one another's aircraft they had once trained to blow out of the skies. Peace had peeked her head into Russian skies lrsving the government did not have enough money to pay its military.

Former Russian KGB agents came to America and wrote books speaking of their spy game days. A few of the Russian leaders were making big bucks selling anything and everything on the black market, you want a nuclear submarine, no problem, MIG's, no sweat!

Russian President Boris Yeltsin did not help much, he may have been instrumental in freedom, but now he was too ill from years of alcohol abuse. Enter Vladimir Putin, once the leader of the dreaded KGB, now the President of Russia and changes are on the way.

Today, the Russian military is working hard to regain the military ,ight they once had and honestly, this should cause a lot of concern for world leaders.

Where all of this will end is anybody's guess, one thing is clear, it appears the Russian's want to be a world power again and very badly too.

News that needs to be told

We have been hearing reports of the Iraqi police and citizen groups fighting al Qaeda and kicking them out of their neighborhoods. This news should be getting a lot more media time than it is.

Of course, if the media begins telling tales about Iraqi's fighting the insurgents and removing them from their areas it might look good for the Bush administration and we know the media is not about to do that.

The Stars and Stripes is reporting in an article by Joseph Giordono , that Iraqi police and armed residents in the southern Baqouba district of Buhriz waged a fierce battle with as many as 60 insurgents and killing 21 of them. Iraqi police requested airstrikes by American helicopters and effectively kicked al Qaeda out of their neighborhood.

The battle was not without casualties, the civilian fighters suffered 14 dead and as many as 20 wounded, but they made a stand and that is what is important.

Click here for the full article….

A spokesperson stated that the police and citizens were assisted by American and Iraqi forces operating within the area and liberated Baqubah — the so-called capital of the Islamic State of Iraq — from al-Qaida.

This and the other stories I have been seeing on many military sites are vital news and should be reported by our media as they are occurring. As General Patton was fond of saying, American's love a winner and do not tolerate a looser, it is a shame the great man is not here today to kick the media in the ass and get them to report all of the news, not just what makes Washington look bad.

Enough is enough

I am so fed up with all of this bleeding heart; love thy neighbor bull that is going on this election year. We have Obama, finally, a candidate with a set of them stating he would send troops in Pakistan, he would do this, do that and do you know what? The man makes perfect sense; he is saying things that should be done. He is not sitting there wringing his hands saying how bad we are and we will pull the troops out.

Does this mean I will vote for him, I really have no idea yet, there is far too much whining, oh, woe is me, the Bush administration is so bad, BULL!

Here is the way things are folks, we were attacked by terrorists who trained in our own country. These disgusting, slime crawled from the pits of hell and flew aircraft full of passengers into our buildings. This was not controlled implosion, the government was not involved and the only thing that happened is WE WERE ATTACKED!

We read that bin Laden and company is attempting to gain nuclear weapons. The truth to the matter is we HAVE these weapons and we are not afraid to use them and should make that perfectly clear to everyone, no matter what people may say. If these maniacs use a nuclear weapon, then so should we and we should not only destroy them, but the country harboring them.

They are not nice people; they torture prisoners, cut off their heads, kill children, anything and everything to gain attention. It is about time we totally let loose our dogs of war, pulled the pins on our weapons of mass destruction, whatever we have, use it and end the darn thing, for the last time.

We know this is all the meandering and ranting of an old warhorse and it matters not who will read these words, for nothing will be changed.

America has a short and selective memory, perhaps the video of what occurred that day should be replayed continuously for one week. However, all that would accomplish is litigation from individuals stating that their children were upset, or they were upset. Do you know what, the entire country should be upset, and it should be so ticked off that it demands more blood.

That will not occur, a percentage of the general population and the politicians will go quietly into the night and pretend things were different. They will hide their heads into the sand and blame Washington and everyone else except the true culprits, the true murdering scum and their leadership.

Oh my stars, I truly hate this time of the year!

Tap Water?

As my brother, Wild Bill can tell you, folks it can get hotter than hell in the desert and yes, Virginia, there IS humidity in the desert; in fact, during this time of the year there is a lot of it to go around.

We have humidity because unlike other deserts, we get rain, oh my, do we get rain, but only certain times of the year. We do not get those normal summer showers that smell so good back east; we get full-blown weather cycles called, monsoons. Yes, you read that right, monsoons, the same thing we have all read about that occurs in India.

As you can see, besides the heat, it is wet and along with this, if you wish to stay healthy living in the desert, you must stay hydrated.

It is very common to see people walking about the malls, stores, streets, carrying bottled water with then. No, this is not a fashion statement, it is one of the ways we desert folk stay alive.

I have often told friends that the bottle of designer water they just forked out $4.00 for was nothing more than tap water being poured into bottles with expensive names by a guy with a hose. Of course, this always brought laughs from them, but little did anyone know just how close I was to the truth.

A report can be found on the web site, Mercola.com that is dedicated to better health, which states, Pepsi's "Aquafina" Bottled Water, is Tap Water. This does not stop there; it also states that Coca Cola does the same!

Here is a blurb from the site, "Pepsi's Aquafina, and Coca-Cola Co.'s Dasani bottled waters, are both made of purified water from public reservoirs. Coca-Cola will post online consumer information about the quality control testing that goes into their bottled water, sometime near the end of summer, or early fall 2007."

Click here for the full article…

So, remember this the next time you spend money on bottled water, as the saying goes, buyer beware.

Who is the BadAssMarine?

It was interesting going through my email; it appeared that many people were all thinking of the same thing, just who is the BadAssMarine who spoke those powerful words straight from his heart.

I was very surprised by the amount of email I received on this, some quoting his words, others asking who he is. Fox News is even searching for him, as reporter, Catherine Donaldson-Evans, asked in the article, "Patriotic Rapping Marine: Who Is This Mystery Man?"

Thanks to BLACKFIVE, the search is over. The poet extraordinaire is none other than Marine SSGT Lawrence E. Dean II. If you want more information about this man then run over to BLACKFIVE, where you can see his My Space page as well as download the interview they did.

Congrats BLACKFIVE, Blue Skies Brother.

The cowboy way

I was reading the latest poetic writing of Brother Wild Bill while he discussed my favorite genre, good old cowboy movies, good guys winning the day, and the bad guy always getting his butt beat to a pulp.

The vigilante committee of days gone by was a welcome sight to many as well and prompted me to recall something from my youth, growing up in the city.

Just about every eastern city is the same, ethnic neighborhoods, smells of wonderful cooking, celebrations where the street is closed and the people party until they drop. We do not find much of this in the west, lots of ethnic flavor and God knows I love it and all the great food, but not like the east once had and still does in some places.

One of the neighborhoods I frequented growing up was about as ethnic as it could get. It also had neighbors that watched everyone else's child, gave a hug when they fell, a welcome ice cream, and a band-aid when a torn knee or elbow came into play. It was truly a neighborhood raising children and I was always happy playing there with my cousins.

Unfortunately, it was also the exact type of neighborhood that is always portrayed in every gangster movie we see today, even though I called mine, my second home and loved it.

I never really knew who was a wiseguy and who was not, nor did I ever care. I was safe and that was all that mattered to me.

Late one evening an unknown male came into the neighborhood looking for excitement. This was not a normal person though, his excitement consisted of peeking into children's windows at night and that evening, he made the biggest mistake of his life.

It just so happened, one of the ever-watchful neighbors saw this sick creep bent over looking into a window.

The next morning we learned that someone had found a guy near death in the corner dumpster behind a store. He had been beaten to within an inch of his life, but still among the living, he was wrapped in trash bags and tossed into the dumpster, where the trash collectors found him in the morning.

The story went that he was in the hospital for over thirty days and when the police asked him what had happened, he only replied that he had fallen into the dumpster, nothing more.

One could say that this was a classic case of vigilante committee justice and one I am sure that sick pedophile never forgot until his last days.

 

History or going to the dogs

We are all acutely aware of the adage about history repeating itself. This has really been on my mind that past few days while reading the various news items.

First thing is the Russian Air force is making long distance flights once more, supposedly smiling at our responding pilots in Guam. The next item was Washington discussing the possibility of reinstituting the draft.

"Fox News - Frequent tours for U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have stressed the all-volunteer force and made it worth considering a return to a military draft, President Bush's new war adviser said Friday."

As I was reading these I was wondering how far history would repeat itself this time, will it include a new cold war?

Let us not forget that many analysts are saying the Iraq and Afghanistan war is this generations Viet Nam, making comparisons to no means of departure. Personally, I think the analysts all need to get out more, see a movie, read a book and quit thinking so darn much.

I for one, am too old and cranky to see this generation go through another flower power, or all of the trappings of the summer of love, 1967? Lest we forget, all of the counter culture and drugs are still with us and in fact, more prevalent than ever.

Of course, the music of the 1960 era compared to the rap of this era is two completely different concepts. That does not mean that people cannot speak their peace about war, hunger, politics, whatever is on their mind. The music may be different, but the message can still be just a powerful.

One thing is certain; the world has changed and is still within a constant state of more change to come. No one can really say what the nest 100 years will be, for the sake of many, let us hope that maybe, just maybe, people may learn to get along.

Now, where did I put those bell bottom jeans?

Big Brother tosses his cookies in China

China's record of accomplishment on human rights can be judged by their actions at Tiananmen Square in 1989, where several hundred protestors were shot and killed as tanks rolled through the square to stop the protest.

Today, The New York Times is reporting, "SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 9 — At least 20,000 police surveillance cameras are being installed along streets here in southern China and will soon be guided by sophisticated computer software from an American-financed company to recognize automatically the faces of police suspects and detect unusual activity".

"Data on the chip will include not just the citizen's name and address but also work history, educational background, religion, ethnicity, police record, medical insurance status and landlord's phone number. Even personal reproductive history will be included, for enforcement of China's controversial "one child" policy. Plans are being studied to add credit histories, subway travel payments and small purchases charged to the card."

Click here for full story…

Although some security experts are reporting this is cutting edge technology, it looks more like big brother tossing his cookies in China and the people cleaning up the mess and paying the price for the rest of their lives.

I can only imagine the outcry, demonstrations and uproar if this would have been announced for any of our larger cities, such as New York. Frankly, I would have been on the front lines myself.

Some experts may call this cutting edge, but I call it government control, Once more China proves their concerns are not for their own people.

Running Cadences-US Army Rangers.

I am still in tears over that Marine's words, but, just in case any of my brothers are lonely for PT, this is for all of you.

Ranter

BadAss Marine

This Marine tells it like it is and speaks from his heart in his rap.

Private contractors in Iraq

USA Today published a story outlining the lack of accountability for private contractors in Iraq. The story, By Deborah Hastings, Associated Press, titled, "Iraq contractors avoid legal restraints" paints a picture of private contractors shooting at random and answering to no one.

I read this article and could not stop feeling this reporter for some reason or another had a very large problem with the very concept of private security operating within a war zone. This is more than evident throughout the entire story, beginning at the first two paragraphs, which sets the tone for this scathing report.

Taken from the article, "There are now nearly as many private contractors in Iraq as there are U.S. soldiers — and about half of them are private security guards equipped with automatic weapons, body armor, helicopters and bullet-proof trucks."

"They operate with little or no supervision, accountable only to the firms employing them. And as the country has plummeted toward anarchy and civil war, this private army has been accused of indiscriminately firing at American and Iraqi troops, and of shooting to death an unknown number of Iraqi citizens who got too close to their heavily armed convoys."

"Not one has faced charges or prosecution."

The reporter immediately points out that the contractors do not have to answer to anyone:

"They operate in a decidedly gray legal area. Unlike soldiers, they are not bound by the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Under a special provision secured by American-occupying forces, they are exempt from prosecution by Iraqis for crimes committed there."

Let us be frank about this, there would not be one private contractor working in this country if they had to answer to Iraqi law. They are not military personnel; in fact, the majorities are not even America citizens, but hail from all parts of the globe. Thus stated, there is no physical way to in which to hold them accountable to our military code of justice.

The contractors are charged with executive protection, in fact the story points out that they routinely protect high profile individuals. This is a war zone, with IED's a way of life and death, they must take as many precautions as possible, including the use of deadly force, as long as it is not indiscriminate, they are within their rights, either that or Senators, Congressmen and foreign dignitaries would not last an hour.

This is not a walk in the park, it is war and the media constantly overlooks this. The reporter points to a few instances of the improper use of force, these cases should be dealt with on an individual basis, but overall, they are doing their job and it is a job that our military does not have time or resources to do.

Click here for full article…

The hunt for the creep of Earth

I was reading a post on Redneck's Revenge, titled, US Planning for the Day Musharraf Flees Pakistan ...and leaves the nukes in Islamist hands, blogged by, Redneck Texan.

Click here for blog and article…

This led me to a few thoughts I had recently on this exact subject. It is common knowledge that bin Laden has been actively seeking access to nuclear weapons for some time now. The question of the Pakistani nuclear weapons falling into bin Laden's hands has no doubt been one of his prime objectives in his escape into the Pakistani tribal lands, where he is suspected to be.

U.S. troops are not permitted to operate within Pakistan, but it is safe to assume that black ops have been in place actively seeking this bin Laden, to either bring him to justice for his crimes or bring justice to him.

This too, brings up another question, killing bin Laden in fierce battle, which analysts say is guaranteed event, would effectively make him a martyr and a holy object of a jihad. The only other option would be to imprison him for life, but this too has inherent problems. It would be safe to assume American would be in danger everywhere.

It matters not what the analysts or for that matter anyone prophesies will occur, it will be up to the hands of the special operations forces presently hunting him and we can safely assume that when they do catch up to this murderous terror master, he will be dealt the slow, painful death he so badly deserves.

Wild Bill’s bad day

After I posted about the story, I found on Michael's blog I remembered I wanted to touch base on the bad day our brother in arms Wild Bill had yesterday.

Click here for Redneck Central and the poetic ramblings of brother Wild Bill.

This time of the year, our days and nights are comprised of thunderstorms and power outages. Of course, being the self sufficient smart technology guy that I am I have a battery backup, surge protector, UPS.

It has my multiple processor, power hungry computer, 19 inch flat screen monitor, cable modem, router and a laptop plugged into it and has served me well during our may power outages.

That is until a few days ago, I was on my computer and heard the thunder exploding overhead and due to my trusty UPS thought nothing of it. Of course, as luck tends to go, the warranty has recently expired on my UPS and without warning, it decided not to recharge any longer. As I quickly discovered when the power went out and my computer and everything else died along with it.

Suffice to say, it is now serving as a surge protector only until I get to the electronic store and pick up a replacement for it.

I thought of this while reading through the gosh awful day that Wild Bill was rambling about and my heart went out to him. Brother Wild Bill, keep the faith and your powder dry, a better day is coming.

Fallen hero of Israel

One of our friends who frequent this blog, Michael, from Israel, has a blog titled, Oleh Musings. I am a reader of his blog and like to stay up on all of the trappings of life in Israel.

I was reading through his blog today, to catch up and came across an article on one the heroes of the Second Lebanon War, Maj. Ro'i Klein.

I was extremely moved by this man's actions, which resulted in his death and saved the lives of his fellow soldier. I highly recommend reading the article and thank Michael for sharing it with us.

'Medal of Courage' to be Awarded to Fallen Maj. Ro'i Klein

The S. Korean hostages

As most people, I have been watching the story unfold of the Taliban and the captive South Koreans they have been holding for some time now.

This morning, the Associated Press is reporting, "The Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said the two South Korean hostages would be released in part because Taliban leaders were happy with the progress being made in face-to-face talks between two Taliban leaders and South Korean negotiators."

The hostages they are discussing are two sick, female South Korean hostages, which may be the one and only reason the Taliban is even considering the release. They are in talks with South Korean officials who are no doubt requesting some proof of life on the remaining hostages. What better way for these insidious creatures to rid themselves of sick hostages then in a proof of life demand. The Taliban does not have to worry about medical treatment, which they probably cannot even provide.

Of course, it is common knowledge that the Taliban are murderous scum, with no qualms what so ever in simply killing the hostages, but they are now in the negotiation process and cannot afford additional deaths at this time.

There was talk of a rescue mission, but as usual, the media put a quick stop to that with their releasing information of combined multinational plans.

The Taliban are nothing more than a group of thugs who care nothing for the rights of anyone. We can only hope that sanity prevails and the entire groups of South Koreans are soon released before any more are murdered.

Singing Out Against Terrorism

It appears that a group of Muslims are fed up with violence being carried out in the name of their religion and have got together and released a music video stating just that.

Sky News is reporting, "Singing Out Against Terrorism 08/08/07"

"Moderate Muslims in Pakistan have released a single in a public stand against Muslim militants. Yeh Hum Naheen, This Is Not Us, is a musical collaboration which condemns terrorism throughout the world. Sky's Greg Palkot reports."

Click here for the video of the full report…

I can only say, HUH?

While reading through the morning bovine excrement often referred to as "news", I came upon a CBS News article with a title that made me utter a loud, "Huh!.

CBS News, "Iran: U.S. Needs "Wise" Leaders".

"(AP) U.S. President George W. Bush's policies have harmed Washington's global image and the country needs "wise" leaders to regain its lost credibility, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Saturday."

"Mohammad Ali Hosseini said Bush's policies have isolated him both internationally and at home, citing the Republican party's losses in Congress last November as proof of Bush's declining popularity."

Wait just one moment, correct me if I am wrong, but is this not coming from a country whose President has openly called for the destruction of Israel, has constantly threatened the United Nations and America with possible nuclear war, has taken military personnel of the U.K. prisoner, and ad nauseam.

This article simple boggles my mind and the fact that the associated press is giving this any coverage at all is amazing. In truth, a statement such as that should have been filed under the strange but true sections of most media outlets.

Iran has been the thorn within the lion's paw of the Middle East for so long that their absurdities are now becoming intellectual! For this war mongering, world-threatening nation to make a statement such as this in the first place is a total shock, for the media to give it so much news coverage is even more so.

The only thing the leadership of this country has ever understood is violence. Now they are saying the leadership of our country is lacking, I think it is time for a well-needed vacation.

Click here for full article….

Hearts and minds, HA!

I have been following a story in the British media, UK officer calls for US Special Forces to quit Afghan hotspot.

The article states," Tension between British and American commanders in southern Afghanistan erupted into the open yesterday as a senior UK military officer said he had asked the US to withdraw its special forces from a volatile area that was crucial in the battle against the Taliban."'

Further into the article it states, "Twelve-man teams of US Special Forces had been criticised for relying on air strikes for cover when they believed they were confronted by large groups of Taliban fighters and their supporters."

This is an absolute load of hogwash and these Brits know that. There have been many engagements within that specified area of operation involving clashes with large numbers of Taliban. This has been evident in many of the articles I have been reading.

Apparently, the British commander fails to see the big picture within this area of operation and has been relying on intelligence from those affiliated with the Taliban, who would love the Special Forces teams to be withdrawn, which would leave the area entirely up for grabs by the Taliban.

War is never going to leave this area of Afghanistan as long as the Taliban view themselves as the rightful leaders of this country. Withdrawing the Special Forces teams would only aid them in their quest.

Click here for full article….

The sky is falling

The sky is falling – the sky is falling. Good old chicken little , little did he know it, but he saw into the future, Here we are with a whole lot of people hollering for us to pull our troops out of Iraq and a whole lot more hollering to send more troops.

What is the answer? Perhaps I can be like the great King in The 300 and go to speak to some drugged out oracle. On second thought, I have no idea. Perhaps if we had done the job right in the first place we would not be in this quandary.

I do not mean massive force, I mean going in as a conquering nation, not liberators. This way we could have dictated what we wanted. Now, before the email begins, allow me to make a few points.

As conquers we would have freed Iraq, took out Saddam and spent the next five years trying in vain to instill leadership that would work together, all the while fighting an insurgency. No wait that is what happened now. Perhaps there is a lot to be said for the more force argument.

The point that I am making is no matter what we would have done, we would still be in the same situation, fighting the same war.

The major problem we are facing is their leadership cannot see the same light of day. One says the sky is blue, the other says, we quit, you said the sky is blue, that is blasphemy.

I used to think that I had the answer, but I was completely wrong. No one will ever have the answer until the various sects can learn to work together towards the common good and wellbeing of the people and that has not happened since the warring sects began.

Perhaps a Kurd, as the great king Salah al-Din was when he took control of the warring clans and formed one continuous force to be reckoned with. That may be one of the few answers that no one has seen and just may be a working solution.

One thing is for certain, they need to discover the magic moment and it needs to be done soon. If not, after we pull out the entire country will be up for grabs, as no one is capable of working together.

Attack in Afghanistan

Here is a news item that I have not seen in my news rounds this morning. It is taken from the Combined Joint Task Force 82, Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan web site.

Click Here for site…

- Coalition forces fend off enemy attack in Oruzgan province. Four Afghan girls, aged 2-12 wounded by enemy fire. More than 75 insurgents attacked Firebase Anaconda, Oruzgan on three sides using small-arms fire, rocket propelled grenades and 107mm rockets at daybreak yesterday. The combined ANA and Coalition Force used accurate small-arms, machine gun, and mortar fire to repel the enemy advance. Close air support was called in to destroy the enemy fighters. Almost two dozen insurgents were confirmed killed in the attack. Four Afghan females, ages 2-12, were wounded by the insurgent's errant RPG fire. The young girls and two ANA soldiers who received minor wounds were evacuated to a nearby Coalition medical facility for treatment.

It amazes me that this appeared to be a full-scale multi-sided attack by insurgent/Taliban forces in Afghanistan and yet, we see nothing in our news media regarding this attack.

If nothing else, the Ranter is on the ball and is bringing the news to you.

'We Shall Continue To Target You'

An American Islamic militant has warned the White House in a new video that American diplomats and embassies will be targeted by al Qaedal.

Laura Mansfield.com, a respected terrorism watchdog website, has issued the latest warning which appeared Thursday by As Sahab, Al Qaeda's media production group. According to Laura Mansfield.com, the spokesperson seen on the video is an American, from Orange County Adam Gaddahn, aka Azzam al Amriki.

Laura Mansfield.com, reports, "In the 1 hour 17 minute video, which takes the form of a documentary, Gaddahn says that Al Qaeda will continue to target the US both at home and overseas. He singles out embassies and consulates as specific targets."

"We shall continue to target you, at home and abroad, just as you target us, at home and abroad

Video footage from the 1998 US embassy bombings in East Africa, the September 11 attacks and other bombings was included un the video.

Click Here for the full story and the translation…..

Personal Note, I view these threats made by a man who is nothing more than a traitor to his own country as a disgusting and sickening statement. I sincerely hope the powers in Washington and the judicial system work together to revoke this turncoat's citizenship and send him the message that working with individuals who have taken arms against America automatically makes him a man without a country.

Live by the sword and the U.S. Army will find you

There is an old adage that states, "Live by the sword, die by the sword", perhaps the demigod, Achilles was thinking of this on his trip to Troy or during his ill-fated meeting with Paris's arrow.

The al-Qaida in Iraq mastermind of the bombing that destroyed the golden dome of a famed sacred Shiite shrine last year, Haitham Sabah Shaker Mohammed al-Badr, was introduced to this adage, courtesy of the U.S. troops hunting him.

A military spokesperson Rear Adm. Mark Fox, a U.S. military spokesman, said al-Badri had been among insurgents spotted by U.S. aircraft moving into "tactical fighting positions."

"From the surveillance that was going on, it looked like they were setting up an ambush," he told reporters in the heavily guarded Green Zone. "So they brought in rotary wing and close air support and there was some strafing that occurred from helicopters."

"Al-Badri's body was positively identified by close associates and family members," Fox said.

Click Here for the full story....

Ride on Delta

Do you think you have what it takes? The folks over at Military.com, Defense.org have what may or may not be a recruiting video for Delta Force. They really do not have the final answer if this is the real thing or not.

One thing is for sure, it is a great ride to watch with a great soundtrack.

Click here to visit and then click on the video link to watch.

Soldiers Rally to Save Iraqi Child

We always here so many of the bad things coming out of Iraq that it is easy to forget the wonderful things are military does for the Iraqi civilians.

This is never more evident in the case of US special operations forces playing a major role in insuring an 8-year-old Iraqi girl suffering from a rare heart defect obtained a needed operation.

US ARMY MIL/NEWS, "FALLUJAH, Iraq (American Forces Press Service, Aug. 3, 2007) - Even though she's surrounded by war, Dalal is not much different from other children her age. She likes jump-rope and Cinderella and enjoys reading and drawing. Her favorite classes are religion and language, and she recently completed second grade -- earning perfect marks in all her studies. But, unlike many of her peers, the 8-year-old Iraqi girl also has fought a life-threatening battle from within since birth."

Click Here for full story…

The soldiers responsible should be proud of what they accomplished.

Politics as usual, nothing new.

If the on-going Presidential race is showing America anything, it is showing us that the candidates are all side stepping any talk about taking actions against terrorism in the Middle East.

Take the latest political no-no that candidate Barack Obama said in public that he now wishes he could take a mulligan on. Obama said if elected, he might order unilateral military strikes against terrorists hiding in this Islamic country (Pakistan).

Of course, that prompted the media to rush out to get a quote from any Pakistani leader it could find. This lead to a quote on the CBS evening news site, which stated, "Top Pakistan officials said Obama's comment was irresponsible and likely made for political gain in the race for the Democratic nomination."

In addition, not wanting to leave anyone out, ""It's a very irresponsible statement, that's all I can say," Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khusheed Kasuri told AP Television News."

When one stops and thinks of these statements and subsequent political spins the candidates are attempting to put on their quotes, well, it tends to drive you insane after awhile.

Iraq is quickly turning into another Viet Nam hot potato. No one wants to be involved with it and neither do they wish to say anything that could be tied to it. Like puppets at the local park, the candidates strings are pulled to make them say, "bring home the troops", nothing more.

It would be nice for one of them to actually say what they are thinking, not what they are expected to say. That would be something new for the voters of America, truthfulness, what a concept that would be.

Latest threats

ABC News is reporting on one of their blogs, The Blotter
a story:

"New Al Qaeda Web Ad Threatens 'Big Surprise'",

Rhonda Schwartz Reports:

"A new al Qaeda propaganda ad, headlined "Wait for the Big Surprise" and featuring a digitally altered photograph of President George Bush and Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf standing in front of a burning White House, was posted on the Internet today."

Click Here for full story…..

It should be noted that al Qaeda was warning of attacks in the UK before the recent bombing efforts that the police were able to catch before major damage.

The question remains, what they are talking about this time. Unfortunately they always speak in cryptic sentences, threats, innuendos and conjectures, we will have to wait and see what turns up.

Who’s on first

I have been giving a lot of thought lately to the Middle East arms deal. No matter how I add up all that is being planned, it still makes no sense to me what so ever, none.

Here we have President Bush, our leader and commander in chief, wanting to sell 20 billion dollars in high tech weaponry to the Saudi kingdom. There is just one small tidbit that bothers me about this pending sale, correct me if I am wrong, but that is where 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 came from and we are going to sell them all of this high tech weapons?

Of course, Bushy has promised the Israeli's their fair share and more, but this sale has to make a few of their leaders a bit nervous just thinking of the Saudi's having these weapons and high tech goodies.

We are told that the Saudi government, excuse me, it is a kingdom; anyway, we are told they need these weapons to defend themselves against future attacks from the Shiite bad guys in Iran.

Now, here is where I get a bit confused, but aren't the Shiite's the very same people we have instilled into power and a leadership role in Iraq? One more thing that boggles my mind is Iran was a hated enemy of Saddam. See how this all tends to run together after awhile.

No, I am not saying that we should have left well enough alone, just that this arms deal smells like a windfall for US weapons firms, nothing more. I do wonder how Israel sees all of this.

This and that

There are many stories on the wire today, let's touch on a few this morning.

Military.com ran a story on the Army's new tests on the M4 carbine. Army Agrees To M4 Sand Test Shoot-Off

"After months of heated debate, the Army will conduct a side-by-side test shoot next month with its standard-issued carbine to see how well it can withstand extreme dust and sand environments."…… Click Here for the rest of the story...

Personally, I feel it is about time the Army began testing on their M4 carbine. There have been so many negative reports from the men using these weapons and it is time to put the weapon to a test. Granted, any weapon will function properly if totally cleaned and lubricated, however, when does a combat soldier get the chance when he is engaged in a full firefight?

DefenseTech.org reports that the Special Operations community is switching out the barrels with a better functioning and better-made barrel.

When a story begins with this line, "If somebody wanted to really help the US Army, they would do something about those God awful M4 carbines that American troops are forced to endure." Then it is time to do something about this problem.

This is an interesting story and one can only hope the truth prevails.

CBS News is reporting, "Rumsfeld Denies Tillman Cover-Up" Any friendly fire fatality is bad, unfortunately, in war it does occur. However, the Pat Tillman incident just does not add up, something is not right about this case. One General has already paid the piper and still may face the loss of his third star; this story only gets worse as it plays out.

If all, of the back-story behind the Tillman, case is true and there was a cover up, then those guilty of a cover up need to be brought to justice.

Fox News reports, "Al Qaeda Commander Calls for Overthrow of Pakistani Government" Wild Bill recently threw a lot of sense into the present situation in Pakistan, but this latest threat may toss all common sense out of the window.

This latest threat may lead to nothing, or it may just bring about their destruction at the hands of the US Air Force, time will tell.

We will leave more for tomorrow.