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Task Force Grizzly soldiers prepare for a night operation in Pashmul, Kandahar province, Afghanistan, in mid September. Operation Medusa, which lasted approximately 20 days, was a successfully operations that effectively pushed enemy insurgents from this region of the country. Army photo by Sgt. Mayra Kennedy Task Force Grizzly Soldiers Eliminate Insurgents Operation Medusa which lasted approximately 20 days, was a successful operation that effectively pushed enemy insurgents from this region of Afghanistan. By U.S. Army Sgt. Mayra Kennedy 345th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment PANJWAYI, Afghanistan, Oct. 10, 2006 -- A small number of soldiers from the 207th Infantry Brigade...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18, 2006 – Two coalition soldiers were killed in separate incidents in Afghanistan Aug. 16 and yesterday, and coalition forces killed eight extremists and discovered a weapons cache, U.S. military officials reported. A coalition soldier was killed yesterday during a battle with extremists just west of Asadabad, in Kunar province. In addition, one wounded coalition soldier was evacuated to a nearby coalition treatment facility, where he remains in stable condition. Reports indicate the fight started when extremists attacked a coalition patrol about seven kilometers east of the coalition forward operating base. In response to the enemy attack, coalition...

Conservative state lawmakers are targeting what they see as left-leaning university professors, pushing a series of bills in recent and upcoming sessions designed to ensure that students are not unduly influenced by professors' beliefs. The push has raised concerns among the academic community about academic freedom, with many worried the push will put legislators and administrators in charge of the college classroom. Conservative lawmakers have floated or are planning a host of proposals that would restrict what students can be required ----

I.R.S. to Cut Tax AuditorsBy DAVID CAY JOHNSTON Published: July 23, 2006 The federal government is moving to eliminate the jobs of nearly half of the lawyers at the Internal Revenue Service who audit tax returns of some of the wealthiest Americans, specifically those who are subject to gift and estate taxes when they transfer parts of their fortunes to their children and others. The administration plans to cut the jobs of 157 of the agency’s 345 estate tax lawyers, plus 17 support personnel, in less than 70 days. Kevin Brown, an I.R.S. deputy commissioner, confirmed the cuts after The...

4/26/2006 - OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM (AFPN) -- The team of four works to save lives, aircraft and money, usually behind the scenes. They are vital to the mission of this forward operating location serving Operation Enduring Freedom by running the Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard, or BASH, program. The 40th Air Expeditionary Group safety office manages the BASH program by monitoring, evaluating, and where needed, eliminating the threat so that the aircraft based here can complete their combat missions. The primary threats to bombers and refuelers launched and recovered from here are wimbrels, mynahs and egrets. “For an effective BASH program...

WASHINGTON - Congressional Democrats promise to "eliminate" Osama bin Laden and ensure a "responsible redeployment of U.S. forces" from Iraq in 2006 in an election-year national security policy statement. In the position paper to be announced Wednesday, Democrats say they will double the number of special forces and add more spies, which they suggest will increase the chances of finding al-Qaida's elusive leader. They do not set a deadline for when all of the 132,000 American troops now in Iraq should be withdrawn. "We're uniting behind a national security agenda that is tough and smart and will provide the real...

Israel has vowed to eliminate the leadersip of the Islamic Jihad group after a Palestinian suicide bombing yesterday killed five Israelis. The attack, which took place at a busy shopping mall, was carried out by a member of the radical Palestinian organisation, which has claimed responsibility for most terrorist attacks on Israel. Ariel Sharon, currently fighting an election campaign against foes who accuse him of being too soft on Palestine, convened his security cabinet to lay out plans to retaliate for the bombing. Shaul Mofaz, Israel's defense minister, authorised the assassination of the leaders of Islamic Jihad and asked for...

SACRAMENTO - Corrections officials, scrapping a key reform of California's troubled parole system, will no longer let parole violators receive drug treatment or home detention as an alternative to prison, it was reported Saturday. Authorities decided to end such diversion programs and return violators to prison starting Monday because there was no evidence the lesser sanctions work, the Los Angeles Times said, citing a government memo. The policy was pushed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration as a way to rehabilitate ex-convicts and to save money by reducing the prison population. But the approach drew criticism from crime victim advocates and...

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Office Depot Inc. announced plans Friday to cut roughly another 800 jobs, including positions in retail stores, its corporate headquarters and its European sales force, officials said. The announcement comes two weeks after officials announced plans to cut 900 jobs as it consolidates operations at eight call centers and offices in six states. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Office Depot — the nation's second-largest office supply retailer — said it was reducing its staff at retail stores in North America by 2 percent. Altogether, the cuts were estimated to generate $14.2 million...

During the debate Mr. Kerry accused Mr. Bush of adding to nuclear proliferation by building nuclear bunker busting bombs. He said he would eleminate "all" nuclear proliferation during the next four years. Does Mr. Kerry have in mind standing before the U.N. and proposing the elimination of all nuclear weapons among all nations as a condition for the rogue states to stop their development of bombs? Do we see a replay of the Carter/Kerry 1980's plan to freeze nuclear weapons?

Michael Moore, director of “Fahrenheit 9/11,” delivered to Korean viewers a message in which he wished them to carry on a campaign against the dispatch of additional troops to Iraq. Michael Moore issued words of hope and pleading in his first official press conference since the release of the film at the Essex House Hotel in New York with about 200 local and foreign reporters present. According to Cinema People, the company in charge of the PR for the movie in Korea, Michael Moore was asked whether he wished to convey any messages through "Fahrenheit 9/11" to the Korean...

<p>SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed Friday to eliminate the California Power Authority, a remnant from the California energy crisis that administration officials said never lived up to its potential.</p> <p>The authority, formally called the California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority, was given up to $4 billion in bonding authority to build, buy or lease power plants, or help private companies finance the construction, as a way to increase the state's electricity supply.</p>

Wellstone's gone, but the politics of his legacy live on. Democrats have decided to go back to the late 70's and early 80's to "revive" one of their party's dinosaurs - Walter Mondale. "Back to the Future" I guess we can say. Some pundits say Wellstone's death is going to "energize" the Democrats. If that's so, why did they pick Mondale? Simple: Walter Mondale represents everything the Democrats stand for, notably HIGHER TAXES. In 1984 when Mondale ran against President Reagan, he decided he was going to "straight talk" the American Poeple. His platform was simple: "I'm not going to...