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KABUL, Dec. 23, 2009 – Afghan and international forces in Afghanistan killed or detained numerous militants today in various operations, military officials reported. In an operation led by the Afghan general directorate of special operations, several known instigators of a kidnapping group were detained. The Afghan force, supported by International Security Assistance Force troops, detained the men after a search in Police District 5 of the Afghan capital. The suspects are linked to kidnappings in and around the city. In other operations, a combined Afghan-international force in Paktia killed several militants, including a Taliban commander responsible for several bombing attacks....

Kill the Senate Health Care Bill. Sign the Petition. The Senate's health care bill must be killed. Sign our petition to Congress and President Obama: We must do better for health care than this bill. The Senate health care bill is an ungodly mess of errors, loopholes, and massive giveaways. When the American people find out what's actually in this bill, they will revolt. Here's why:

In a blow to the bill grinding through the Senate, Howard Dean bluntly called for the bill to be killed in a pre-recorded interview set to air later this afternoon, denouncing it as “the collapse of health care reform in the United States Senate,” the reporter who conducted the interview tells me. Dean said the removal of the Medicare buy-in made the bill not worth supporting, and urged Dem leaders to start over with the process of reconciliation in the interview, which is set to air at 5:50 PM today on Vermont Public Radio, political reporter Bob Kinzel confirms to...

KABUL, Nov. 18, 2009 – Afghan and international forces killed several enemy militants and detained numerous terrorism suspects in Afghanistan today, military officials reported. A combined Afghan-international force detained a group of suspected militants in Zabul province while pursuing a Taliban commander responsible for several attacks in the area. The force searched buildings on the west side of Qalat City where intelligence indicated militant activity and detained the suspected militants without incident. In a separate operation, a combined force killed several enemy militants in Khost province, including a Haqqani terrorist involved with attacks in the area. The force targeted a...

New York - The birthday boy was turning 6, and my own young son and I arrived at the celebration in our somewhat loose definition of party clothes: Timothy in his best bluejeans and a tiny button-down shirt with stripes the colors of popsicles. The party room was filled with balloons; parents drinking coffee; a stray baby sister or two; and a dozen little boys, more than half of whom were dressed in various pieces of camouflage sportswear. Together, they suggested a small army squad. For a moment, I thought I must have missed something in the invitation – that...

A harbor dredging operation carried out despite concerns from wildlife officials killed at least six loggerhead sea turtles in September - two in Savannah and four in Brunswick. The Army Corps of Engineers dredged the entrances to both the Savannah and Brunswick harbors for a total of 15 days using most of $6.8 million in federal stimulus funds meted out for the project.The corps usually avoids such summertime dredging precisely for the protection of turtles, Measures were taken to reduce the turtle death toll to the federal limit allowed for this particular dredging, a limit the corps successfully petitioned to...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15, 2009 – Afghan and international forces killed and detained multiple suspected militants in operations to interdict Taliban activity in Afghanistan’s Zabul and Wardak provinces in recent days, military officials reported. A combined force was fired upon during a search today in the Bahar district of Zabul province in pursuit of a Taliban commander and his element believed to be responsible for attacks in the region. They returned fire, killing the militants, one of whom was found to be wearing a suicide vest. The combined force found and destroyed assault rifles, ammunition belts and communications gear found at...

WASHINGTON (AP) - While ceding some ground to President Obama on high-profile weapons cuts, lawmakers are cutting money for training and spare parts to pay for other weapons Obama doesn't want and their own pet projects. The push-and-pull is playing out within a massive, $626 billion funding bill for the Pentagon that is being debated on the Senate floor. All told, the bill denies Obama about $4 billion he sought for operations and maintenance accounts while providing $2.5 billion for C-17 cargo jets and $2.7 billion worth of pet projects sought by lawmakers.

Several groups on Facebook are dedicated to the demise of George W. Bush. Most of the dozen or so groups dedicated to killing him however, have only a few followers, but some of them have become quite popular. For example there is a group named "We all Want To Kill George Bush" with 429 members, and LETS KILL BUSH WITH SHOES has 484 members. The optimistic leader of the group "I bet that I can find 1000000 people who wanted to kill Bush" has fallen short with 518 members.

The Energy Department fired back at a Spanish university study that found government subsidies to support renewable energy development in that country actually cost jobs. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory said the report from King Juan Carlos University in Madrid uses flawed methodologies and fails to account for the export potential of new green technologies and other positive economic impacts of government renewable-energy subsidies. “The primary conclusion made by the authors — policy support of renewable energy results in net jobs losses — is not supported by their work,” the NREL concludes in a response released last month. The debate...

Health care that will kill usBy John Browne Sunday, August 9, 2009 The president's new health plan has garnered much criticism, as has his handling of the economy. Until relatively recently, America had an economy, currency and health system that was the envy of the world. Today, the economy and currency look sick. There is an urgent need to curb entitlement spending and boost infrastructure spending to lift the economy and strengthen the currency. But the president appears intent upon a course that will boost entitlement spending at the expense of investment in infrastructure. Much of it will be spent...

Marketing operations don't get any slicker than the one behind AARP. Their invitation to join arrived in my mail box even before I turned 50. I joined for one year, but never renewed because I knew the truth about this famous group. That truth is this: Millions join AARP and in return receive a host of useful services and resources. But their money and influence are hijacked to support causes that are absolutely inimical to their best interests. The hijacking is the work of AARP's Washington staff, which is an integral part of the tireless liberal lobbying machine that runs...

The odious term in the Mandatory End of Life Counseling section of the Health Care bill is 'palliative care'. 7 term 'advance care planning consultation' means a con 8 sultation between the individual and a practitioner de 9 scribed in paragraph (2) regarding advance care planning, 10 if, subject to paragraph (3), the individual involved has 11 not had such a consultation within the last 5 years. Such 12 consultation shall include the following: 4 An explanation by the practitioner of the 5 continuum of end-of-life services and supports avail 6 able, including --> palliative care <-- and hospice, and...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A state scientist says a bull shark caught and killed by two teenagers was pregnant with multiple pups. The killing of the 9-foot shark off The St. Petersburg Pier has spurred controversy in the community about hunting declining species for sport. Brent Winner, an associate research scientist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission who performed the necropsy on the shark, said sharks usually birth litters of up to 12 pups. Nineteen-year-old Joshua Lipert and 16-year-old Robert Korkoske displayed the shark in the back of their pickup truck on Wednesday after they spent two hours catching...

Sorry libs. Obama did not give the direct order to kill the Somali pirates. You'll have to wait another day for the cut-and-runner to earn his hero badge. Blackfive has the real story: I just finished listening to the press conference w/ ADM Gortney about the rescue of Captain Phillips. At the time it happened the USS Bainbridge was towing the lifeboat to calmer waters as the sea state was deteriorating. One of the pirates was on board the Bainbridge as the talks about obtaining Phillip's release continued. The lifeboat was approx. 25 m behind the Bainbridge when snipers on...

We've lived in our current home for something like 14 years. I've never been a yard freak. I think I mowed my lawn once last year. I had to recently pull up several small trees from the front yard that sprouted. But this year hope springs eternal. I want to really make my yard great. However there's one thing I'm worried about: moles. I'm pretty sure there's an entire city of moles living under my grass. They've been there quite a while and they're fat, dumb and happy. I want to bring pain to their world. What is THE best...

A professor from Kuwait, the country liberated from Saddam Hussein's attack squads by the United States in the first Gulf War, has outlined on Arab television a potential terror attack that would involve smuggling anthrax from Mexico into the U.S. and killing 330,000 people in 60 minutes.

(IsraelNN.com) Terrorists attacked outside an historic mosque in Cairo Sunday evening, killing at least four people and wounding approximately 17 others, including French and German tourists. Police have not identified the explosive device, but it may have been a hand grenade or homemade device, police said. No terrorist group has yet taken responsibility for the attack. Sappers neutralized a second explosive device in the crowded bazaar area. The Egyptian tourist minister denied that anyone died in the blast, but major foreign news services reported that a French woman was among those killed. Eleven French and three German tourists suffered injuries,...

There are a lot of good threads about this topic (see below) and I wouldn't want to step on their great comments, but this is not just about seniors. This is about every person of any age with a life threatening illness. If you are a thirty year old woman and you develop a non-chemo sensitive tumor and have the genes that predispose you to breast cancer your life expectancy with treatment is only about 30% over 5 years. YOU WOULDN’T QUALIFY FOR TREATMENT BECAUSE OF THE COST VS LIFE EXPECTANCY RATIO THE BOARD WILL USE. And who is going...

There can be little doubt that Barack Obama's promise to fix the U.S. health care system was an important ingredient in his recent triumph over John McCain. However, while a majority of voters obviously favor some sort of reform, it isn't at all clear that they understand what the President-elect and his health advisors have planned for them. Indeed, a recent Zogby poll suggests that the President-elect's supporters have managed to remain remarkably innocent about his history and proposals.

Boone and Crockett Club Confirms New World's Record Elk MISSOULA, Mont.—Perhaps the largest elk ever produced in the wild—a Utah bull taken in 2008 by a hunter on public land—has been confirmed as a new World's Record. The official declaration was made today by the Boone and Crockett Club. A Special Judges Panel determined a final score of 478-5/8 Boone and Crockett non-typical points, an incredible 93 inches above the B&C minimum score of 385 for non-typical American elk and 13-plus inches larger than the previous World’s Record. With official data dating back to 1830, at 499-3/8 inches it is...

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 29, 2008 – Coalition forces killed two armed Taliban militants while targeting the network’s kidnapping and roadside-bombing operations in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province yesterday, military officials reported. In the province’s Gailan district, coalition forces targeted a Taliban militant known to coordinate and carry out the kidnappings of Afghan officials and westerners to finance their criminal activities. The targeted Taliban militant also is believed to facilitate and direct roadside bombings along Highway One in Ghazni and Zabul provinces, deliberately killing and injuring innocent civilians and coalition forces, officials said. After coalition forces called for everyone inside to leave the...

RUBIDOUX, Calif. -- A Rubidoux man was attacked and killed Friday by his family's two pit bulls, a sheriff's sergeant said. A Rubidoux man is attacked and killed by his family's two pit bulls. Pit Bulls Kill Rubidoux Man The attack was reported at 12:10 p.m., according to sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez. "It appears at this time it is a very tragic accident," Gutierrez said. "Of course this family is very distraught, right before the holidays."

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2008 – Afghan and coalition troops today detained three militants in Afghanistan’s westernmost province, a day after troops killed 10 and detained four others in separate battles with insurgents, military officials reported. In today’s operation, three men were detained in the Shindand district of Herat province near the Iranian border. Afghan army commandos, assisted by coalition troops, detained the men as “persons of interest” in what is believed to be the headquarters of a bomb-making cell in the Zer-e-koh Valley. The men were carrying AK-47 assault rifles and wearing vests loaded with ammunition. Commandos encountered no resistance...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi security forces supported by U.S. firepower killed a senior al Qaeda leader who made car bombs and ran Islamist militant cells throughout northern Iraq, the U.S. military said on Friday. A statement said the Iraqi army and members of a U.S.- backed Sunni Arab neighborhood patrol shot Abu Ghazwan as he hid in the grass near a house they were searching on Thursday in Tarmiya, north of Baghdad. The patrol had been attacked with guns and a bomb in the house. "While further searching the area, a (neighborhood patrol) member discovered a trail booby-trapped with grenades...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28, 2008 – U.S. forces in Afghanistan assigned to NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Regional Command East killed 12 militants yesterday and detained one other while securing the site where a coalition helicopter was forced to land in Wardak province after taking enemy fire. The UH-60 Black Hawk came under small-arms fire from a number of militants. The helicopter crew returned fire, but had to land when the tail was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, officials said. Coalition ground forces responding to the scene were engaged by several militants in the area, officials said. Coalition forces responded,...

What is political astroturf? When a political movement portrays itself to be grass-roots, and later we find out it was actually planned and coordinated by a political party or candidate. This is usually done in support of the cause or candidate behind the astroturf effort. The Republicans are now being attacked by a new type of fake grass: dirty atstroturf. Democratic activists are infiltrating Republican rallys pretending to be Republican grass-roots supporters. The Democratic activist's goal? Discredit Republican grass-roots supporters. Their tactic has been to yell vile statements about Democratic candidates, hoping it would smear Republican grass-roots supporters. So far,...

From Australian site: "Now it turns out, one of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers," Palin said. "And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, 'launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,'" she continued. "Kill him!" proposed one man in the audience.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 2008 – An Afghan civilian was killed and four were wounded this morning when militants attacked a village in eastern Afghanistan where coalition and Afghan troops were on patrol, military officials reported. The firefight started when militants engaged the joint forces with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades in Matin, a village in the Pech district of Konar province, officials said. While returning fire, Afghan soldiers also provided immediate medical care to the wounded and transported them to a medical facility for treatment, officials said. The body of the civilian was recovered and returned to his village, they...

The Gangs all here. Who was sleeping with the enemy? Of the eight appearances Frank made on the three broadcasts networks between Jan. 1, 2008, and Sept. 21, 2008, none of his comments dealt with the potential conflicts of interest… The Washington Post reported Frank, who is openly gay, had a relationship with Herb Moses, an executive for the now-government controlled Fannie Mae. The column revealed the two had split up at the time but also said Frank was referring to Moses as his “spouse.” Another Washington Post report said Frank called Moses his “lover” and that the two were...

The whole timing of this seems like a setup to me, that this thing blows up 2 weeks before the 1st Presidential Debate. I think a lot of left wing financier types from US and around the world like George Soros create this to get the election result they want and get cash to support their left wing causes and can blame it on so called Conservative Capitalism and Bush. Your Thoughts. Wouldn't you like to know who the short sellers and that set off this latest market chaos.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2008 – Afghan and coalition forces killed more than two dozen militants and detained two others during two operations in Afghanistan yesterday, military officials reported. Almost a dozen militants were killed and two were detained during a coalition forces operation to disrupt militant activities in Paktika province. Coalition forces searched compounds in the Bermel district, targeting an individual affiliated with militant leaders responsible for the movement of foreign fighters from Pakistan into Afghanistan. Militants engaged coalition forces during their search of the compounds. The forces responded with small-arms fire, killing the militants. In the other operation, Afghan...

(IsraelNN.com) Police and security personnel disclosed Thursday evening they arrested five Arabs, including two Israeli citizens, who plotted to kill Jewish scientists and pilots. Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) officers, the IDF and police were involved in the joint investigation and arrests, which were disclosed a short time ago. Plans to carry out the assassinations were in the early stages when the five were arrested and they had carried out advanced training for a planned shooting attack on IDF soldiers at the Atara checkpoint near Jerusalem. Their intended targets included university academics and pilots. The Israeli Arabs, from Shefaram, east...

(IsraelNN.com) Samir Kuntar has told the Lebanese station Future TV that "Allah willing, I will get the chance to kill more Israelis." Kuntar is the child-murderer who killed three Israelis, including a four-year-old girl whose skull he crushed with the butt of his rifle, in 1979, and who was released to Hizbullah by Israel last week along with four other terrorists in return for the remains of IDF soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser. Kuntar added in the television interview, filmed days after his release, that he would like to pursue a master's degree in "military resistance." The day after...

KABUL (Reuters) - Insurgents killed nine U.S. soldiers in an assault on an Afghan army and NATO outpost in northeastern Afghanistan on Sunday, making it one of the worst days for foreign troops casualties in the country since 2001. Afghanistan is suffering from a rising tide of violence this year, with a sharp increase in Taliban attacks, especially in the east where NATO says militants have taken advantage of peace deals in Pakistan to cross the border and fight in Afghanistan. --snip-- The dead soldiers were all American, a NATO official said. Fifteen ISAF troops and four Afghan soldiers were...

(IsraelNN.com) The Israel Air Force struck terrorist groups in Gaza in three separate attacks Tuesday afternoon, killing at least six operatives, including Army of Islam second-in-command Muataz Dughmush. The head of the terrorist group, Mumtaz, is Muataz' half-brother. Two of the strikes were carried out in the central Gaza town of Dir el-Balah, where IAF pilots successfully targeted the gunmen involved in the 2006 kidnapping of IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit. One of the missiles struck a vehicle carrying the Army of Islam terrorist cell, which included Muataz Dughmush. Five terrorists were killed, including Dughmush, and three others were wounded, one...

Who Shalt Not Kill? Brain Power Leads To Level-headedness When Faced With Moral Dilemmas ScienceDaily (Jun. 11, 2008) — Should a sergeant sacrifice a wounded private on the battlefield in order to save the rest of his troops? Is euthanasia acceptable if it prevents needless suffering? Many of us will have to face some sort of extreme moral choice such as these at least once in our life. And we are also surrounded by less dramatic moral choices everyday: Do I buy the hybrid? Do I vote for a particular presidential candidate? Unfortunately, very little is known beyond philosophical speculation...

(IsraelNN.com) A 70-year-old woman was killed early Monday evening when Palestinian Authority terrorists fired a rocket into the western Negev community she was visiting. Her name has yet to be released. 13-year-old Israeli boy returns to his destroyed bedroom which suffered a direct hit by a Kassam rocket while he was sleeping in the room. Sderot 10May08 The enemy rocket slammed into the residential area of Moshav Yesha, located 21 miles east of Be'er Sheva in the Negev's Eshkol region, around 6:00 pm. It landed in close proximity to the victim, killing her almost instantly. She was in the community...

Published in the Springfield, MO "News-Leader": Believe it or not, Greene County Sheriff Jack Merritt on Tuesday said the following to a crowd of onlookers at a rally in the rotunda of the state Capitol: "The way I hear Jason sing the national anthem makes you want to go out and kill a communist." ........ Thirty-year-old Tony Pecinovsky, a 10-year member of the party living in St. Louis, called Merritt's comment "mind-boggling." "It is unfortunate that one person's sense of patriotism leads them to talk of murder while ours leads us to fight for peace and democracy and equality and...

Hundreds of protesters in Indonesia have set fire to a mosque belonging to the minority Muslim Ahmadiyya sect. Police in the town of Sukabumi in western Java say nobody was injured but that many members of the Ahmadiyya community have fled the area. The hardline Islamist demonstrators believe the Ahmadiyya practice to be a deviant form of Islam that should not be allowed in Indonesia. A nearby religious school belonging to the group has also been vandalised. Around 300 people torched the mosque just after midnight on Monday. Many Ahmadiyya members have sought refuge with friends and relatives nearby....

WASHINGTON, March 13, 2008 – Coalition forces killed two terrorists and detained 22 suspects today during operations in central and northern Iraq. -- Northeast of Samarra, forces killed two and detained 10 suspects. Forces also found several weapons in the area. Nearby, forces detained another four suspects. They also found three terrorist safe houses and medical supplies and destroyed three weapons caches. -- During two operations northwest of Samarra, coalition forces detained four suspects. -- In Baghdad, forces captured an alleged weapons handler. The suspect reportedly is responsible for a recent shipment of homemade explosives and is connected to car-bomb...

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2008 – Coalition forces in Iraq detained 11 suspected terrorists today during operations to disrupt al Qaeda networks in central and northern Iraq, military officials said. -- In Mosul, coalition forces detained four suspects during two operations targeting foreign terrorists associated with al Qaeda in Iraq networks in the western and southeastern regions of the city. -- In Beiji, coalition forces detained two suspects while targeting an alleged associate of a senior-level foreign-terrorist facilitator and al Qaeda senior leaders operating inside and outside of Iraq. -- During operations west of Samarra and near Tikrit, coalition forces detained...

Falling icicles kill sixTue Feb 26, 10:01 AM ET MOSCOW (Reuters) - Six people have been killed in three days by icicles falling from buildings in a central Russian region, ITAR-TASS news agency reported Tuesday. Plummeting chunks of ice is an annual hazard for pedestrians in Russia during the spring when the sun finally melts thick layers of ice and snow which build up on roofs over months of freezing temperatures and darkness. Medical authorities in the region of Samara told ITAR-TASS that five people died in the city of Samara and another person died in the nearby town of...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2008 – Coalition forces killed one terrorist and detained 11 suspects during operations to disrupt al Qaeda operations in central and northern Iraq today and yesterday. During operations in Iraq today: -- Coalition forces conducted an operation east of Khan Bani Sad targeting an alleged improvised-explosive-device and suicide-bombing facilitator. During the operation, coalition forces were fired upon and returned fire, killing one terrorist. They also detained two suspected terrorists and destroyed a vehicle found in the area that contained explosive materials. -- Coalition forces detained two suspected terrorists, including an alleged al Qaeda associate involved in media...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2008 – Coalition forces killed one terrorist and detained 20 suspected terrorists yesterday and today during operations to disrupt al Qaeda operations in central and northern Iraq, military officials reported. West of Taji this morning, coalition forces conducted an operation targeting an individual believed to be an associate of the Baghdad improvised-explosive-device and car-bombing networks. Intelligence indicates he is a terrorist facilitator of materials, vehicles and suicide bombers for multiple terrorist cells throughout the city, officials said. During the operation, coalition forces engaged and killed one armed terrorist and detained two suspects. During an operation in Sharqat,...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17, 2008 – Coalition forces killed two terrorists and captured 24 suspects today during operations to disrupt al Qaeda networks operating in central and northern Iraq, military officials said. In Sharqat, coalition forces targeted the alleged founder of an insurgent group tied to the leader of the al Qaeda in Iraq network in Beiji. As coalition forces called for the occupants of a target building to come out, one man ran out of the building and was directed to stop. He continued toward the ground force’s position despite continued commands to stop and was killed. Two suspected terrorists...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2008 – Coalition forces killed seven terrorists and detained 16 suspects yesterday and today during operations to disrupt al Qaeda networks in central and northern Iraq, military officials said. During a series of operations south of Sharqat yesterday and early this morning, coalition forces targeted an alleged al Qaeda in Iraq leader for the Salahuddin province. The targeted suspect allegedly is responsible for the equipping, financing and planning of al Qaeda operations in northern Iraq and is associated with senior level al Qaeda members operating inside and outside the country. As coalition forces arrived at one of...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2008 – Coalition and Iraqi forces killed one suspected terrorist, detained 16 others and seized weapons caches in Iraq over the past three days, military officials said. Coalition forces captured a suspected criminal special groups finance facilitator and detained two other suspects yesterday during operations to disrupt criminal networks in the Baghdad area, military officials reported. The targeted financier was reportedly in charge of payroll for criminal special sroups in Wasit province and oversaw all special groups operations in Suwayrah, Numaniyah, Azisiyah and Kut. He allegedly financed criminals and their attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces. Reports...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, Jan. 24, 2008 – Several insurgents were killed and nine suspected insurgents were detained yesterday as coalition forces conducted an operation to degrade Taliban command-and-control networks in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province, military officials reported. Coalition forces searching several compounds in Ghazni district for a Taliban commander associated with suicide bombings were met with small-arms fire. They returned fire, using a combination of small-arms and aerial-delivered conventional munitions, killing several insurgents. The coalition forces found and detained nine individuals when they continued their search of the area. The detainees will be questioned on their involvement in facilitation operations...

MOSUL, Iraq – One of the most wanted men in Salah ad Din province was killed Jan. 16 by Sharqat Iraqi Police and Multi-National Division – North Soldiers after the units came under attack by small arms fire. The extremist leader was a planner, financier and IED facilitator and was a key target Iraqi Police and MND-N Soldiers have been aggressively pursuing, said Lt. Col. Thomas Dorame, commander for 1st Squadron, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment. “His capture eliminates one of the worst of al-Qaeda in Iraq leaders operating in southern Ninewah and the Sharqat Police District. His death damages the...