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BEIJING — Toothbrushes and nylon socks have become the latest projectiles in the continuing trade skirmish between the China and the United States. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce issued a preliminary ruling Monday that imposed a 36 percent tariff on American-made Nylon 6, a synthetic filament that ends up in a wide array of products, including toothbrushes, auto parts, socks and the handles of Glock handguns. Nylon 6 from Taiwan and Russia would also be taxed, but at much lower rates.

Obama Administration to Push for Tough New Economic Sanctions if Iran Doesn't Come Clean on Nuclear Plans The Obama administration is planning to push for new sanctions against Iran, targeting its energy, financial and telecommunications sectors if it does not comply with international demands to come clean about its nuclear program, according to U.S. officials. The officials said the U.S. would expand its own penalties against Iranian companies and press for greater international sanctions against foreign firms, largely European, that do business in the country unless Iran can prove that its nuclear activities are not aimed at developing an atomic...

Investors will look to slew of economic reports to be released this week NEW YORK - Investors are just not sure where the economy is headed. And so the stock market may be in limbo for a while. After stocks stumbled last week on disappointing reports on housing and manufacturing, investors are concerned that the economy's rebound will be slower than originally thought. They may cool their buying and even resort to more selling until they are more certain that the strength of the recovery warrants extending the nearly seven-month-long advance in stocks

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A cloud of pessimism is suffocating hopes that U.S. President Barack Obama can pull off a miracle in the Middle East by setting negotiations on course for rapid progress towards a comprehensive peace agreement. The New York encounter he arranged between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas this week produced no more than a schedule of lower-level meetings this week and next, which has only deepened scepticism.

If this is inappropriate for this Blog I am sorry...let me know. But, I just had to share it for a start to the weekend. A little relevant levity at the end of a brutal week.

MILWAUKEE- A thief found out the hard way that robbing a woman isn't the best way to capture her heart. Two men robbed a U-Haul store around 3 p.m. Sunday, taking an unspecified amount of cash, according the store's owner. But instead of fleeing, one man lingered and tried to strike up a conversation with the woman he had just robbed. "He stuck around and was trying to get the female employee's number," U-Haul general manager Patrick Sobocinski said. "She said he was just saying, 'Hey baby, you're pretty fine.'" According to Sobocinski, one robber went behind the counter, put...

U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. John Fisher greets his wife and seven-month-old daughter at a flight line homecoming on Naval Station Norfolk, Va., after returning with the "Rawhides" of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 40, Detachment 3, May 21, 2007. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jason R. Zalasky Sailors Return After Eight-Month Deployment Air Wing completes more than 11,000 sorties in war on terror. By Lt. Shannon Moore Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group Public Affairs NORFOLK, Va., May 23, 2007 — Pilots and air crew from Carrier Air Wing 7 embarked on board the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight...

NEW YORK — A young mother's car left out of gear accidentally rolled over her only son and killed him, a year after her soldier husband was killed in Iraq, relatives and police said. "It's a tragedy for all my family," said Evelyn Mercedes, 65, the soldier's grandmother. "My grandson dies. Now, this happens to the baby." Christopher Mercedes, who turned 1 last month, slipped from his mom's arms as she got out of the sport utility vehicle that began rolling because it was in neutral gear rather than park, police said. "She was hysterical, crying out, 'Somebody help me...

If President Castro fails to attend his 80th birthday celebrations today, it may mean the end for the world's longest-serving leader After dark in one of the Cuban capital’s few privately owned restaurants, or paladares, the conversation turns cautiously to politics. With President Castro so unwell that he may miss today’s huge military parade to mark his 80th birthday, Cubans are on the brink of a new era when key decisions will no longer be taken by one man alone. “It’s been more than 40 years the same. No nobody knows what will happen. There is great uncertainty. People want...

Rioters attack Chinese after Zambian poll By David Blair in Lusaka (Filed: 03/10/2006) Chinese shopkeepers barricaded their properties against gangs of looters in Zambia's capital, Lusaka, yesterday as a presidential election sparked a backlash against Beijing's growing influence in Africa. Michael Sata, an opposition candidate, won 28 per cent of the vote after accusing China of "exploitation" and turning Zambia into a "dumping ground". Rioters took to the streets of the Zambian capital Lusaka after President Mwanawasa was re-elected in a close contest Although President Levy Mwanawasa was re-elected with 43 per cent of the vote, Mr Sata won in...

Police Sweep Paris Suburb After Attack Tuesday September 26, 2006 4:01 AM PARIS (AP) - More than 200 police raided a neighborhood Monday in suburban Paris where a band of youths attacked riot police last week and seriously wounded one officer, reviving memories of the violence that raged in poor French suburbs last year. Twelve people were detained in the early morning sweep in Corbeil-Essonnes south of the capital, the local prosecutor said. A band of up to 30 youths armed with makeshift weapons attacked two riot police patrolling a housing project in Corbeil-Essonnes last Tuesday. One suffered a double...

Ancient Hittite dam inaugurated after 32 centuries Wednesday, September 20, 2006 ANKARA - Turkish Daily News A Hittite-era dam located in the central Anatolian province of Çorum and believed to be one of the oldest in the world to have survived to date has been restored and is once again serving as a source of irrigation for local residents. The dam, located at the Alacahöyük archaeological site, was built by the Hittites in 1240 B.C. The dam's inauguration was marked with a ceremony over the weekend attended by Professor Aykut Çýnaroðlu, who heads the team excavating Alacahöyük, Ankara University Rector...

BANGKOK, Thailand - The Thai military launched a coup against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Tuesday night, circling his offices with tanks, seizing control of TV stations and declaring a provisional authority pledging loyalty to the king. The army commander took over the government and declared martial law. An announcement on Thai television declared that a "Council of Administrative Reform" with King Bhumibol Adulyadej as head of state had seized power in Bangkok and nearby provinces without any resistance. "The armed forces commander and the national police commander have successfully taken over Bangkok and the surrounding area in order to...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A convicted murderer who escaped from a Michigan psychiatric facility in 1976 was back behind bars Thursday after living most of his 30 years on the run as an otherwise law-abiding family man in Tennessee, authorities said. Thomas Ball, 76, was arrested at his Nashville home Wednesday morning, Deputy U.S. Marshal Danny Shelton said. Ball had been using the name Thomas Fry and had run a storage business near Nashville for years with a woman he called his wife, Shelton said. After she died last year, he turned to the government for financial help, and that led...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2006 – Five years after military recruiting hit the ceiling after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, recruiting remains solid, with every service meeting its active-duty recruiting goal for the 15th consecutive month. Recruiting and retention statistics for August, just released by the Defense Department, show the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force all meeting or exceeding both their monthly as well as year-to-date recruiting goals for the year. At the same time, retention remains solid across the board, with all services expected to meet their retention goals for the fiscal year, officials said. During August,...

Jubilant Iraqi looters strip military base after British forces pull out By Oliver Poole in Baghdad (Filed: 26/08/2006) Thousands of jubilant Iraqis looted the British military base in Amarah yesterday, only a day after the Army pulled out of the camp. Everything from doors and window frames to corrugated roofing and metal pipes was pillaged from Camp Abu Naji, previously Britain's only permanent base in Maysan province. Witnesses said that thieves filled up lorries with their gains. When one was asked what he was doing, he answered: "This is war loot." The British decision to hand over the camp to...

LONDON - The U.S. publishing company Ignatius Press has refused to sell any works by Welsh singer Charlotte Church after she called German-born Pope Benedict XVI a Nazi and mocked the Catholic Church. The directors of Ignatius Press said they were offended when the Welsh singer mocked the Catholic Church in the pilot of a proposed eight-part television chat show. Church, dubbed the "Voice of an Angel" before she turned her talents to popular music, also dressed up as a nun and pretended to hallucinate while eating "communion" wafers imprinted with smiling faces signifying the drug Ecstasy. She smashed open...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE TARIN KOWT, Afghanistan, Aug. 11, 2006 — When a suicide bomber slammed and ignited his missile-laden vehicle into the Humvee in front of Staff Sgt. Eric Mathiasen, the Air Force medic exploded into action. He said he did not think about his wife or two children, or that there was unexploded ordnance lying about. He just grabbed his medical bag and sprinted toward the blast area. "While I was running to the wounded guy, I just hoped I could help him," Mathiasen said. "I just hoped I wouldn't screw anything up." He had questioned his abilities before...

Asylum seekers 'killed after being forced out of Australia' By Nick Squires in Sydney (Filed: 09/08/2006) Australia's hardline immigration policy was dealt a heavy blow yesterday with claims that up to nine asylum seekers forcibly repatriated to Afghanistan were murdered on their return home. The Edmund Rice Centre, a Catholic advocacy group, investigated the fate of nearly 200 Afghan asylum seekers who were returned home after being kept at an Australian-run detention centre on the South Pacific island of Nauru. The group said that "as many as nine men returned from Nauru may have been killed, and three children of...

Activists held after boarding US plane searching for weapons Richard Norton-Taylor and Will Woodward Tuesday August 8, 2006 The Guardian (UK) Twelve antiwar protesters were arrested by police yesterday after campaigners boarded a plane at Prestwick airport in Scotland to search for US weapons being transported to Israel. David Mackenzie, of the campaign group Trident Ploughshares, said its activists had boarded a US plane at the airport after gaining access to it by cutting through a perimeter fence. They found the military area and a US plane with its door open. However, they did not find any weapons. One protester...

After nearly two weeks off the job, two cafeteria workers Downtown will be allowed this week to return to work. The two women, who together have worked in food service at the U.S. Courthouse and in the William S. Moorhead Federal Building for 44 years, were removed from their positions on July 5 when the Department of Homeland Security declared them "unsuitable," after conducting background checks on them

PASADENA, Calif. - Mr. T has given himself a makeover. The former television action star shed the piles of gold chains that were his signature look after witnessing the destruction from Hurricane Katrina. "As a spiritual man, I felt it would be a sin against my God for me to wear all that gold again because I spent a lot of time with the less fortunate," the actor said Thursday at the Television Critics Association's summer meeting. "I saw some, I call it `sorry celebrities.' They'll go down there and hook up with the people to take a photo-op. I...

Interesting Before and After Video on Iran.

WASHINGTON (June 15, 2006) -- Immeasurable heartache seared into Linda Lorenz as she experienced an act no parent wants to endure; burying an only child. Her son, Pfc. Hans J.R. Lorenz, died in 1966 as a result of an accident near Da Nang, Vietnam, making Linda one of the thousands of grieving parents who lost children during the Vietnam War. However, when the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in 1982, her son’s name wasn’t inscribed on the monument. For 20 years, she fought to have her son’s sacrifice recognized and was denied at every attempt. Her struggle ended happily when...

WASHINGTON, June 9, 2006 – Terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi initially survived the June 7 air strike but died from his wounds while laying on a stretcher shortly thereafter, a senior U.S. military officer in Baghdad said today. Iraqi police were the first people on the scene following the air strike. After finding Zarqawi alive, the police placed him on a stretcher, Army Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell told Pentagon reporters via a satellite connection today. U.S. forces arrived shortly after and began identification procedures by examining distinguishing marks on his body and by using visual facial-recognition techniques. Zarqawi mumbled a...

Afghans call for trial of US troops after crash By Peter Foster (Filed: 01/06/2006) American soldiers responsible for a fatal road accident that sparked a day of riots in Kabul, should be handed over for trial, Afghanistan's parliament voted yesterday. The motion puts further pressure on the US forces, international troops and aid agencies working in the country. Five people died in the accident on Monday, which prompted an outpouring of anti-foreign feelings. Another 20 people died and 160 were wounded in the riots that targeted the foreign presence, including an office of Oxfam. A European Union compound had to...

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (May 26, 2006) -- Mexican newspapers inadvertently planted a seed in a small boy, born in 1960 in the town of Cananea, Mexico, not far from the Arizona border. “In the newspapers in Mexico, they are more graphic than they are here,” said Guadalupe Denogean, a retired master gunnery sergeant. “I couldn’t read, but I could see the pictures.” So he would ask his brother to read the stories to him, and they were always about the Marines, he said. As that seed sprouted, Denogean, who moved to the U.S. but...

(Seoul) - Main opposition leader Park Geun-hye was in stable condition Sunday after an assailant slashed her face with a box cutter on the campaign trail in Seoul a day earlier. Park sustained an 11-cm long cut to her face from ear to jaw that required 60 stitches and two hours of surgery, officials at Yonsei University's Severance Hospital in Seoul said. They predict it will be several months before the Grand National party chairwoman can speak normally again. Grand National Party chairwoman Park Geun-hye reacts after being attacked with a box cutter during a campaign for the local...

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (May 19, 2006) -- After spending more than two years protecting the commandant of the Marine Corps and then the President of the United States, one Marine is now adapting to life with the Marines of Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, as they prepare to deploy to Iraq. Cpl. Richard R. Casper, a 21-year-old Washburn, Ill., native, said he never dreamed he would stand in the oval office or have his photograph taken with the president six times. “The whole experience was awesome,” said Casper, who now serves as...

AKRON, Ohio -- A 14-year-old girl who ran away to avoid testifying against a man accused of molesting her has been jailed for a week and denied access to an attorney, officials and court records said. The girl failed to show up May 8 at the trial of 20-year-old Galo Sanchez-Pesantes. She was taken into custody a day later when her mother found her and called police.

5/1/2006 - HUNT, Texas (AFPN) -- On the banks of the Guadalupe River, a veterans group hosts a retreat that helps couples reconnect so they can better cope with life after deployments. Six couples attended the retreat hosted by the Military, Veteran and Family Assistance Foundation at the Heart of the Hills Camp here from April 20 to 27. “I thought this was going to be very structured -- a mandatory fun kind of thing,” said Senior Airman Aaron Childs, who attended with his wife, Mellissa. “But it’s nothing like that. It’s laid back. Everyone is here to help you.”...

Here are the businesses I have heard about so far. Tyson Foods Swift Meats Cargill States or cities that deserve boycotting California - State Senate endorsing boycott City of Los Angeles - Mayor and City Council Supports City of Chicago, IL - Same as LA

GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. (April 25) - A woman in a wheelchair who swung knives and a hammer at relatives and police died after being shocked by a stun gun, officials said. Police tried to talk Emily Marie Delafield, 56, into dropping the weapons before they used the Taser to subdue her Monday, Police Chief Robert Musco said. Delafield lost consciousness after the electric jolt and later died at Orange Park Medical Center. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating and an autopsy will be conducted to determine a cause of death. The two officers involved have been put...

WASHINGTON, April 24, 2006 – Coalition forces sent medical personnel to provide emergency treatment to the victims of a plane crash in Afghanistan's Helmand province today, and Marines in Kunar province are giving villagers free medical treatment, military officials reported. Three people are confirmed dead and several people were injured in the plane crash, including six people taken to Kandahar Airfield for treatment. Initial reports indicate the plane attempted to avoid a truck and overran the airport runway, crashing into a nearby village. "When we were alerted that an airplane had crashed, the coalition immediately sent medical support to assist...

WASHINGTON, April 11, 2006 – Three years after his brigade seized control of Baghdad's international airport from Iraqi forces' control, Army Col. William Grimsley said he believes that country is taking the critical first steps toward reclaiming its past greatness. Grimsley, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Combat Brigade Team during the opening days of Operation Iraqi Freedom, said history - not current events - will tell the true story of Iraq's metamorphosis. And that story will show how Iraq ultimately emerged from almost 40 years of a regime that ignored the people's needs and undermined its potential, Grimsley,...

WASHINGTON, April 7, 2006 – Three years ago April 9, the world looked on, captivated by compelling television images of Iraqis ripping down a towering statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, and burning images of the Iraqi dictator on the streets. The statue of Saddam Hussein topples in Baghdad's Firdos Square on April 9, 2003. Three years later, Iraqi forces increasingly are taking the lead in securing their country.   Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld lauded it as an important sign of things to come. "We're seeing history unfold and events that will shape the course of a country, the fate...

An 18-year-old woman was kidnapped and raped early Friday morning while walking home from a traffic stop in which Upland police impounded her ride, authorities said. Upland police allowed the woman to leave alone on foot around midnight near 14th Street and Euclid Avenue after they towed the car in which she was a passenger. She called police from the south part of the city about two hours later and reported that a man forced her into his car at gunpoint and raped her before she made it home. Police Capt. Jeff Mendenhall said that despite the obvious safety concerns,...

Nobody is above the law, says Hamas after rival groups clash By Tim Butcher in Jerusalem (Filed: 03/04/2006) Hamas yesterday faced its toughest internal challenge since being swept unexpectedly to power in the Palestinian territories when rival militant groups in Gaza took part in a series of clashes that left four dead and dozens wounded. Clashes were sparked by the murder of Abu Yussef al-Gouga Said Siam, the newly appointed Hamas interior minister, appealed for calm and warned that his government would clamp down heavily on armed groups who used their weapons against each other rather than in the struggle...

An offical report, allegedly implicating Olmert in corruption as Minister of Industry and Trade will be issued after the election. Independent journalist Yoav Yitzhak says delay is political. The State Comptroller, charged with investigating allegations of inefficiency and corruption in the government, is investigating charges that Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (Kadima) used his position as Minister of Industry and Trade to make illegal appointments of cronies to top government jobs. The report, which highlights Olmert’s involvement in the illegal appointments, is expected to be published by the comptroller’s office after the March 28 general election. Yoav Yitzhak, an independent...

Mugabe police arrest 'coup plotters after arms find' By Peta Thornycroft in Harare (Filed: 10/03/2006) At least 15 men have been arrested by Zimbabwean police amid allegations of a plot to launch an armed rebellion against President Robert Mugabe. A cache of weapons was reportedly seized and those held included some senior officials of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. Roy Bennett: 'Wanted' An MDC member of parliament Giles Mutsekwa, a former officer in the Zimbabwe National Army, and Brian James, the treasurer of the MDC's Manicaland province, in eastern Zimbabwe, were arrested earlier this week. Roy Bennett, a former...

/27/2006 - FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. (AFPN) -- Seven vehicle operators with the 92nd Logistics Readiness Squadron returned to work Feb. 21 after driving the war-ravaged roads of Iraq for nearly six months. “We were the last medium to light (Air Force-operated) gun trucks solely responsible for providing security to convoys,” Staff Sgt. Scott Cunningham said. They handed their gun-truck security mission over to an Army unit during the last month of their deployment. The Army will provide security while the Air Force will provide vehicle operators. In order to accomplish the mission and work with the Army, Airmen...

A national inspector for Mexico's National Human Rights Commission cancelled a Tucson talk after opponents of illegal immigration demanded either a translator or that he discuss his topic in English. Mauricio Farah walked out of a packed room Friday at the University Services Annex after some people objected to the scheduled topic, "Migration, Shared Responsibility," being delivered in Spanish only. When the demands went unmet, the group became disruptive, accusing Farah and other Mexican officials of being disrespectful for speaking Spanish at a public meeting. The session then escalated into a war of words between those who wanted Farah to...

NEW YORK (Feb. 23) - A dance troupe leader who makes drums with animal hides was in a Pennsylvania hospital after apparently being exposed to anthrax spores, prompting officials in both states to reassure residents that it was a rare accident unrelated to terrorism. "We have every reason to believe that this infection is an isolated, accidentally and naturally transmitted case," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Wednesday during a news conference from City Hall. The drum maker, Vado Diomande, traveled in December to Ivory Coast in West Africa and became ill shortly after he returned, officials said. Teams of federal and...

Resale of Meals, Ready to Eat questioned after eBay trading spottedBy Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Saturday, February 18, 2006 WASHINGTON — Meals, Ready to Eat, the prepackaged rations infamous among servicemembers, remain hot collectibles on the online trading site eBay.com, despite defense officials’ efforts to stop the practice. MREs typically cost about $4.50 to produce, and are intended solely for use and distribution by members of the military, according to Defense Department rules. But the water-activated rations are being marketed on the site as both survival gear and collector’s item, with some cases of 12 going...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2006 – In separate incidents over the past several days, Iraqi police caught two insurgents after they attacked a station, Iraqi soldiers conducted a raid through Safra village, and a suicide car bomber hit a U.S. patrol north of Baghdad, officials said. Iraqi police officers apprehended the insurgents after they attacked a station checkpoint at the Rasheed district headquarters yesterday. According to reports, the insurgents drove up to the checkpoint and began shooting. When checkpoint police returned fire, the three attackers jumped out of their vehicle and attempted to flee the scene. Officers caught two of the...

CASTAIC, Calif. - Most of Los Angeles County's jail system was on lockdown Monday after fighting broke out between blacks and Hispanics at two jails over the weekend. One inmate died in the fighting, and more than 100 others were injured. The lockdown was intended to reduce tensions, and it wasn't clear how long it would remain in effect, said Lt. Robert Craton, a watch commander at the North County Correctional Facility. "We are making every attempt to get back to normal," he said. Black and Hispanic inmates at the North County Correctional Facility were segregated Saturday after the fighting...

Hamas vows to defend itself after three die in Israeli air strike By Tim Butcher in Jerusalem (Filed: 06/02/2006) Hamas reacted angrily yesterday to the first Israeli air strikes on Gaza since the Islamist group won the Palestinian election, vowing that it would never give up the right to "self-defence". The missile raids - in retaliation for a rocket fired from Gaza that injured three Israelis, including a baby - were a setback for international efforts to persuade Hamas to recognise Israel and give up its armed struggle. Palestinians gather around the wreckage of a car destroyed after being targeted...

Mullah sought after boys flee school in chains By Massoud Ansari in Karachi (Filed: 05/02/2006) Pakistani police have issued an arrest warrant for a mullah at one of the country's Islamic schools after two young pupils claimed to have been beaten up and kept in chains for failing to memorise Koranic scripture. Mohammad Ammar, eight, and Ahsan Mawia, 10, were found crawling through the streets in shackles in the dead of night after fleeing in terror from a strict school in Karachi. The pair were in a "hysterical state" and showed "visible sign of torture", according to police who examined...

Iran raises the nuclear stakes after being reported to UN By Philip Sherwell in Washington and Kim Willsher in Paris (Filed: 05/02/2006) Iran escalated its nuclear showdown with the West last night by ending international inspections of its atomic sites and preparing to restart uranium enrichment. Hours after Iran was reported to the United Nations Security Council for its nuclear programme, its officials were taking the first steps towards carrying out their threat to produce the material - which Western intelligence believes will be used for atomic weapons. Maryam Rajavi: 'Either the UN acts or the mullahs will have the...

KARMAH, Iraq (Feb. 3, 2006) -- The Iraqi Army’s 1st Battalion, 4th Regiment, 1st Brigade assumed the battle space in and around the city of Nasser Wa Salaam which is in Regimental Combat Team – 8’s area of responsibility. Now the unit wants to extend its area of operations by assuming more of the area east of the city of Fallujah to include Karmah. Members of the Iraqi Army battalion already show their presence in the city here by conducting patrols with Marines of 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment and conducting raids in the near-by areas to capture possible insurgents....