You Big Mouth, You!

While the band played a stirring march, the 5th Field Artillery Group passed in review for the sixteen veterans, all members of the Group and its battalions, who had just been decorated with the Silver Star by Lieutenant General GEORGE S. PATTON, JR. The United States Army’s outstanding tactical commander had paid high tribute to the officers and men of the Group for the superior manner in which they, individually and as a unit, had accomplished the difficult tasks assigned them. The date was 17 September 1943, shortly after the close of the Sicilian campaign. The officers and men of the Group were already seasoned veterans of two campaigns, the Tunisian and Sicilian, having supported every division thus far committed by the United States Army in the Middle East Theatre, and the First French Provisional Army.

Fifth Field Artillery Unit History

Memorial Day is for remembering that so many, the flower of our youth, never came home. They rest in places throughout the world, little plots of land that will forever be American. Fathers, sons, brothers, husbands, mothers, wives, daughters, sisters, they gave their lives for us.

Every generation, not just the Greatest Generation, has been called to water the Tree of Liberty with blood. I’ve memorialized a few heroes of the War on Terror here. But the dead of Somalia, Vietnam, Korea, the Cold War, and a hundred other little places and times, also shed their blood for America.

America is that shining city on the hill that Ronald Reagan spoke about. It is the greatest hope for mankind on earth. We have shed our blood for strangers in many lands, and millions are free that were not because of our sacrifices. This is something that we should celebrate, in our mourning for our dead. We bring freedom to the slave, to the oppressed.

George Bush has said that freedom is God’s gift to mankind. As with all of God’s gifts, we must choose to keep it. Our dead, this Memorial Day, are part and parcel of that choice.

Lincoln said:

It is rather for us the living, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

FDR said:

In the future days which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.

The first is freedom of speech and expression — everywhere in the world.

The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way — everywhere in the world.

The third is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants — everywhere in the world.

The fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor — anywhere in the world.

That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called “new order” of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb.

To that new order we oppose the greater conception -the moral order. A good society is able to face schemes of world domination and foreign revolutions alike without fear.

Since the beginning of our American history we have been engaged in change, in a perpetual, peaceful revolution, a revolution which goes on steadily, quietly, adjusting itself to changing conditions without the concentration camp or the quicklime in the ditch. The world order which we seek is the cooperation of free countries, working together in a friendly, civilized society.

This nation has placed its destiny in the hands, heads and hearts of its millions of free men and women, and its faith in freedom under the guidance of God. Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights and keep them. Our strength is our unity of purpose.

To that high concept there can be no end save victory.

I have stood in tiny graveyards where old men present flags. Where a lonely bugle plays. Where a salute from rifles shatters the quiet. I have stood amidst firefighters and EMT’s, police and Boy Scouts, Little Leaguers and high school bands, and mourned the dead. And thanked the dead for what I have today.

Thank you, Daddy.

Reuters

LUSAKA (Reuters) - A 50-year-old Zambian man has hanged himself after his wife found him having sex with a hen, police said Friday.

The woman caught him in the act when she rushed into their house to investigate a noise.

“He attempted to kill her but she managed to escape,” a police spokesman said.

The man from the town of Chongwe, about 50 km (30 miles) east of Lusaka, killed himself after being admonished by other villagers.

The hen was slaughtered after the incident.

Two thoughts: I guess she squawked about it. And, mmmmm, tastes just like chicken.

Michele is accessorizing her new home. In fact, she just bought her very own garbage pails.

To personalize the experience even more, she named each of them after one of her favorite people, Ted Rall and John Kerry.

I’m off until Tuesday. 12 hours of ambulance duty on Sunday. I’ll leave you with the following blog post about Memorial Day:

The drug wars are heating up again in Rochester. After a bad year in 2003, this year started calmer. But, the boys in the hood can’t keep it that way. And, in the last two days, two dead.

I wish Al (Bore) Gore or Nancy (Petty) Pelosi or Robert (Klucker) Byrd had the same level of outrage over young American men killing eachother every day as they have over a few Iraqis in Victoria’s Secret. Don’t they understand that the culture and violence of our inner cities are far more a threat to America than any of the actions taken in Iraqi prisons? The murder rate in our nation’s capital is higher than that in Iraq over the last year.

We need to address this. We need to start expecting things from our inner city residents, from all Americans. It’s time that Americans acknowleged that they have responsibilities as citizens, not just rights.

Reuters

Using artificial insemination to get pregnant, lesbians are four times more likely to have children than gay men.

via Tim Blair

I’d say, without running any scientific studies at all, that lesbians are a hundred times more likely, but then, what do I know?

The following is up on Fox News right now:

So, just exactly what is happening with oil prices?

AFP

Mansfield district council reported Tuesday that a male swan had fatally attacked a dog that had dived into a pond at a local park, with an animal rights activist describing the behavior as “highly unusual.” The council said the swan — a bird known by animal experts to be fiercely protective of their territory and family — had merely sought to protect its offspring.

It was the second such deadly incident in as many weeks. Earlier this week, a third dog was also badly injured by a swan at another Mansfield park.

Siccing your dog on the birds is all fun and games, until they pull out an Uzi and…

I’ve never said that before, and will undoubtedly never say it again. But, in this one case:

NY Times John Kerry’s advisers were surprised and annoyed to hear that Mr. Gore hollered so much, he made Howard Dean look like George Pataki. They don’t want voters to be reminded of the wackadoo wing of the Democratic Party. They would like Mr. Gore, who brought bad karma to Mr. Dean with his primary endorsement, to zip it and go away. But more and more Democrats think it is Mr. Kerry who should zip it and go away.

AP By CONNIE CASS, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - America’s prison population grew by 2.9 percent last year, to almost 2.1 million inmates, with one of every 75 men living in prison or jail. The inmate population continued its rise despite a fall in the crime rate and many states’ efforts to reduce some sentences, especially for low-level drug offenders.

Connie, you don’t suppose that there’s any relationship at all between the decline in the crime rate and all the criminals being locked up?????

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle A Monroe County grand jury is about to hear the story of a Rochester teenager who says her mother sold her for $3,000 to another family that forced her to do household chores and have sex with a 21-year-old man… The girl said her experience with the other family began in May 2003, when her father said they were going to visit a family from their native country in eastern Europe. �I do not know too many people from my country, so I was excited to go,� the girl wrote in a statement to Police Investigator Ron Reinstein. At the house, though, the girl said a man raped her in an upstairs bedroom. Moments later, the girl said her mother stormed into the room and demanded to know what happened. The girl said she was still bleeding when her mother took her home and beat her �like it was my fault.� The next weekend, the girl said her mother took her back to the house. When she arrived, the girl said, the mother of the man who had raped her “welcomed me to the family.” That night, she said, she was forced to sleep in the man’s bed, where she was raped again. “I asked him why he was making me have sex with him and he told me he had to pay my mom $3,000 for me to be his bride.” The girl said she went home and asked her mother what the man had meant…. According to the girl’s statement, Lapjani’s family is from Albania. The Democrat and Chronicle reported last year that the family members are refugees from Kosovo, a Serbian province bordering Albania and home to many ethnic Albanians.

That would be the Moslem part of Serbia, you see.

Baltic Times TALLINN - A report compiling the latest and most trustworthy data on what Soviet and German authorities were accountable for during occupation has finally been completed. Known as the “White Book,” the Estonian state commission report sums up the effects of the three periods of occupation - altogether lasting 54 years and 75 days - according to Estonian experts. Although the State Commission for Studying the Repression Policy of the Occupations was established in 1992, the 129-page report appeared only last week. The report considers four major fields - population, cultural life, environment and economy - and is based on documented losses, damages and conclusions from archive materials made available in Estonia after 1991. According to the report, during the first Soviet occupation from 1940 to 1941, Estonia lost about 48,000 people. The three years of German occupation resulted in the death of about 32,000 citizens of various nationalities, including 929 Jews and 243 Gypsies who were either killed in concentration camps or in battle. During the second Soviet occupation, which lasted from 1944 to 1994, Estonia lost nearly 121,000 people. In all, the country lost about 180,000 people, or nearly 18 percent of the population. The second Soviet occupation of Estonia caused $100 billion in losses to the economy, and the Soviet army caused $4 billion in environmental damages, the report stated. In addition to startling numbers, the “White Book” uses archival documents to challenge many historical theories and claims and dilute common misperceptions about the occupation periods. For example, the book claims that the notorious dispatch of Martin Sandberger, chief of the Nazi security police in Estonia during the occupation who claimed that Estonia was Judenfrei (free of Jews), cannot be associated with the Estonian people in any way. “The Sandberger dispatch listed the Nazi regime crimes that were committed by the invaders and the activities of their special units such as the Einsatzkomman-do 1a. All the people in occupied Estonia were in one way or another under pressure and many, regardless of their nationality, became the victims of unreasonable violence,” the report reads. “The Nazis, unlike in some other countries, did not succeed in exciting Estonians to annihilate other national groups,” the authors state, referring to archive documents. The leader of the report’s research group is Vello Salo (born Endel Vaher). The White Book also included contributions from Estonian experts Enn Sarv, Kalev Kukk, Rein Ratas and Aigi Rahi-Tamm. During World War II, Salo fought on the German as a soldier of the Estonian Division from 1944 to 1945, after which he changed his name to save his family from repression. In 1948 Salo became a Catholic priest. Twenty-eight years later, he moved to Canada where he created radio broadcasts from the Vatican in Estonian and was the editor of several Catholic magazines. He left Canada in 1993 to live in Estonia. Until a week ago, Salo has been living as a German citizen in Estonia on a residence permit. The 78- year-old researcher, who is now a priest of the Pirita monastery in Tallinn, received Estonian citizenship this week after the local media drew attention to his status. Salo told the daily Postimees that research for the White Book, which being based on a particular time period is still incomplete, could be continued should the necessary funding be available. via Baltic Blog

NY Daily News

A New Yorker who died saving two other Marines by covering an Iraqi grenade with his helmet and blunting the blast with his body has been nominated for a Congressional Medal of Honor.

Cpl. Jason Dunham was commanding a checkpoint near Karbala on April 14 when a black-clad Iraqi leaped out of a car and grabbed him around the neck, according to the Marines. A strapping 6-foot-1 ex-jock, Dunham kneed the Iraqi in the chest and then both fell to the ground. It was then that he spotted the grenade in his attacker’s hand and called out a warning to the Marines rushing to his aid. His cry was cut short by the blast.

When the smoke cleared, Dunham was laying facedown in his own blood and his Kevlar helmet was shattered. The Marines who tried to help him also were wounded, but they were alive. “He is a genuine American hero,” said a Marine officer at Camp Pendleton in Twentynine Palms, Calif., where Dunham’s unit, the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, is based. Dunham is the first U.S. soldier to be nominated for the nation’s highest honor for valor in the Iraq war.

If President Bush approves the award, Dunham’s heroism would be the first act of bravery recognized with the medal since Gary Gordon and Randy Shugart, two Army Delta Force soldiers, died fighting in Somalia. They were posthumously honored with the award 11 years ago.

Mortally wounded when grenade fragments pierced his skull, Dunham lingered for six more days before he died at a military hospital in Bethesda, Md. His parents, Deb and Dan Dunham of Scio, N.Y., were at his side. He was just 22.

Since then, Dunham’s legend has grown and the drive to award him the medal is being spearheaded by his battalion commander, Lt. Col. Matthew Lopez.

Deb Dunham said she did not want to jinx her slain son’s chances by talking about the medal. “I’m aware of the nomination, and if Jason gets this honor, please call me back,” she said. “But right now we’d like to close the door a bit and have a little privacy. We’re still mourning.”

Among those who have testified about Dunham’s bravery are the soldiers he helped save.

More than 1,000 people packed Scio’s high school gym for Dunham’s funeral. “I hope one day I could be half the hero he is,” childhood friend Dean Phillips wrote in an online tribute. “I hear there is a special place for heroes in heaven.”

A country boy, from the area I grew up in.

UPDATE:

More articles on this hero’s actions, and the hometown reaction.

Cpl. Jason Dunham of Scio in Allegany County died Thursday afternoon at Bethesda Naval Hospital, Md., according to local broadcast stations and newspapers. Dunham was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, Kilo Company based in Twentynine Palms, Calif. Confirmation of Dunham�s death by U.S. military officials was not immediately available Friday night.

Relatives say Jason Dunham never regained consciousness after sustaining a head injury from shrapnel in the Iraqi city of Karbala on April 14. Dunham was first taken to a Baghdad hospital in critical condition. He was moved to a hospital in Germany where his condition improved and moved recently to the Bethesda hospital, where his parents flew to be with him.

The eldest of four children, Dunham enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2000 after graduating from Scio Central School, 70 miles southeast of Buffalo. His father, Daniel Dunham, said Jason was scheduled to be out of the service in July. �We�re just proud of him, and we�re thankful for the people of Scio for being his friend and our friends,� Dan Dunham, an Air Force veteran, told WKBW-TV.

MilitaryCity.com

---

Dunham, 22, died just over a week ago from wounds he sustained April 14 in Iraq.

A report from the Marine Corps said Dunham was commanding a check point near Karbala when a man got out of a car and tried to flee. Dunham tackled the man, who then pulled a pin from a hand grenade. Dunham dove onto the grenade before it exploded, the Marines reported. Two other Marines were injured.

Dunham, with K Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, was remembered in Iraq on Thursday at a service attended by more than 500 Marines, sailors and soldiers, the Marines reported.

Dunham “never judged anyone and he never judged the people over there,” friend Justin Lambert said at Saturday’s funeral. “He was just doing his job. He’s going to be missed.”

As a long procession of cars and walkers accompanied the casket to the nearby cemetery, Scio residents sat on their porches and children lined the sidewalk. An American flag was draped above the highway. Dunham’s parents, carrying the tri-folded flag that had draped their eldest son’s coffin, and their three younger children were escorted by the Marines to an awaiting car. “The Marine Corps have really showed us how much this means to them,” said Cpl. Dunham’s father, Dan. “They’ve been very good to us.”

AP

---

Mourners Saturday filled one of Cpl. Jason Dunham’s favorite places - his high school gym - for the funeral of the Marine, who died in Iraq after using his own body to shield his men from an attacker’s grenade.

The gym, packed with more than 1,500 people, is the largest gathering space in the upstate New York town of Scio, where Dunham grew up. His casket rested beneath a basketball hoop.

Guardian U.K.

Look around you when you’re out and about. How often do you see one of the following:

• gasoline tanker truck
• tanker truck carrying hydrogen
• LP gas container
• bee hives
• railroad tanker car with hazmat warning plaque
• lawn treatment truck
• cropduster

Guess what? You’ve seen a potential tool of a terror attack.

I’ve maintained since THE DAY that terror attacks in this country will almost without exception be non-WMD. WMD’s are too difficult to play with and put the terrorist at too much risk before they are used. All around us are the ordinary items of everyday American life that can be used, instead. The first attack on the WTC and the attack in Oklahoma City illustrate that point, just as the events of THE DAY do.

Of course, were I to want to really cripple the United States, I’d do it with influenza. Twenty people in twenty cities, contagious with the flu, walking through shopping malls and public buildings touching their noses and then the places we put out hands, door knobs, railings, etc. The normal costs of an average flu season already have an impact on our economy, and cause about 30,000 deaths. Imagine an effective campaign to expose millions more to the virus, early in the season, before most have had their flu shots.

It’s not a glamorous attack, but it would be far more crippling and deadly than any attack we’ve seen to date. Brought to our knees by snot.

So, look around you. Look at the trucks going by, the placards. There’s a chlorine tanker, or one full of ethyl acetate. There’s a propane truck making deliveries to homes. The Lawn Doctor is out, apply pesticide to the lawn up the street. That’s your danger.

Please note the upper right of this page. I have collected a number of blog posts about American heroes in the War on Terror into one page of links. You won’t have heard of these folks on the nightly news.

Michele has become a homeowner. And look at the first thing she did with the new place:

Go and see the photos the US military took after raiding that “wedding” in the desert of Iraq.

CJTF-7

• Dude, Where’s My Ho?
  

  A delightful mix of stoner and hip-hop culture.

• Fahrenheit 90210
  

  Unlocks the Spelling empire’s secrets. Never before seen video of Tori’s breast augmentation surgery. The unsavory ways that Jason Priestly used to get his acting roles.

• Mental Yentil
  

  Barbra Streisand in her best role yet. A deranged Jewish housewife obsessed with uncircumsized men. Featuring the show stopping tune “The Unkindest Cut of All”.

• Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Uncut
  

  On DVD only. Shows all the backstage frivolity of those bawdy, merry pranksters, the Dwarves. See what Snow White really wore under her dress. See the Dwarves challenge the Prince to a peeing contest.

• The Sound of Boozing
  

  A college fraternity takes in a novice nun as a housemother. Riotous fun ensues. Features the frat boys singing “The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Music” while watching the novice sing in the shower.

• Star Trek Twelve, the Wrath of Spock
  

  Spock returns to wreak vengenance on Kirk after failing to obtain five star accommodations in Vulcan Heaven while using Priceline.com. The swimming pool scene is not to be missed.

• Romeo and Julian
  

  Two gay boys, whose lesbian mothers have been fighting for years, fall in love. Prominent product placement for power tools from Black and Decker.

• Wayans: Why We Aren’t Funny
  

  Clips from all of the unsuccessful movies and television shows starring any of the Wayans brothers. Narrated by Chris Rock, most with the comment “Damn, that’s not funny!”

• I’m a Poopyhead
  

  Michael Moore’s autobiography. Ted Kennedy stars as Moore. Never screened, went right to video.

• Toy Story III
  

  Paris Hilton narrates, and demonstrates sex and sex toys with a variety of animated creatures. Best scene: Paris screaming “Stop, you’re too big!” at Shrek.

Open Secrets

KERRY

BUSH

This chart lists the top donors to this candidate during the 2004 election cycle.The organizations themselves did not donate, rather the money came from the organization’s PAC, its individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals’ immediate families. Organization totals include subsidiaries and affiliates.

Because of contribution limits, organizations that bundle together many individual contributions are often among the top donors to presidential candidates. These contributions can come from the organization’s members or employees (and their families). The organization may support one candidate, or hedge its bets by supporting multiple candidates. Groups with national networks of donors - like EMILY’s List and Club for Growth - make for particularly big bundlers.

Notice anything? I count 4 duplicates, UBS America, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Microsoft. Kerry has a bunch of colleges and law firms. Bush a bunch of accounting firms and banks.

1. Electric:
   

   This past week, an average of 855 MW (21 generators) of generating capacity was on forced (unplanned) outage, and an average of 1,326 MW (27 generators) was on scheduled outage. Four (400 Kv) and nine (132 Kv) transmission lines are currently out of service. Notable transmission line repairs this week: normal power service to Habbaniyah, (between Fallujah and Ramadi) was restored this week, repairing battle damage that occurred approximately 14 days ago. Normal power service also was restored to the select regions of Karbala, which were without power for several days due to transmission sabotage that occurred approximately 7 days ago.

   Per day during the reporting period, the North, which represents 35 percent of the total population, consumed an average of 821 MW or 22 percent of total power consumption. The Central region, which represents 25 percent of the total population, consumed 2,402 MW or 63 percent of total power. The South, which represents 40 percent of the total population, consumed 570 MW or 15 percent of total electricity consumption.

2. Telecommunications:
   

   • Baghdad Digital Network: 2650 handhelds, 350 mobile stations, and 45 base stations installed operational for the Police. For the Baghdad fire, 200 handhelds, 55 mobile stations, and 25 base stations have been installed and are operational. For Baghdad Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), 50 handhelds have been installed and are operational.
   • Nationwide Iraqi Police Service: 700 handhelds, 204 mobile stations, and 12 base stations have been installed for the Iraqi Police Service.
   • Department of Border Enforcement: 210 mobile stations have been received and 125 have been installed for the Department of Border Enforcement.
   • The State Owned Internet Company currently has over 43,000 dial-up subscribers in Baghdad. There was limited service pre-war and now, approximately 11,000-12,000 new subscribers are added per week.
   • Since May 2003, CPA has reinstated landline telephone service for 178,409 subscribers in Baghdad, including 7,159 this past week.
   • The three major cell phone companies in Iraq (Asia Cell, Iraqna, and Atheer in the North, Central, and South respectively) continue to enroll new cell phone subscribers. Cell phone subscribers total 389,111 nationwide. Currently, in Mosul, Sulaymaniyah, and Kirkuk, there are 162,021 cell phone subscribers. In Baghdad, there are 170,000 cell phone subscribers; and in Basra, Al Kut, Amarah, Samawah, and Nasiriyah there are 45,090 cell phone subscribers. Sana Tel, which operates in Sulaymaniyah, has 12,000 subscribers.
   • There are now 766,709 active landline telephone subscribers in Iraq, compared to 833,000 subscribers pre-war. The total number of telephone subscribers in Iraq, including the cell phone subscribers, is 1,155,320, which is 38.7 percent greater than the number of active landline subscribers pre-war. Cell phone service was very limited pre-war.

3. Transportation:
   

   Possible evidence of corruption and extortion has emerged at Abu Fulus (a port on the Iranian border), including shots being fired and a small riot (40-50 people) resulting in a broken gate and traders departed due to threats of extortion. Due to possible corruption among local security guards and Customs Police, the Ministry of Transportation (MoT) staff in Umm Qasr requested that the British military close Abu Fulus, and clear out the guards and Customs Police. Over the course of approximately 3 weeks, the operation will involve securing Abu Fulus, re-opening it with guards and Customs Police, and eventually closing illegal locations in the nearby area.

   A total of eight new Ukrainian-built locomotives out of thirty have been received under the Oil-for-Food Project. Unfortunately, only two (2) had been fully inspected and certified by the Russian technicians before the technicians evacuated the country. The Iraqi Republic Railway (IRR) is now attempting to do the work themselves but this is proving difficult with the small amount of training provided before the Russians left.

   As reported by the Iraqi MoT, 13 buses (1 Daewoo intercity and 12 Daewoo intracity) will depart May 9 from the port of Kuwait to Baghdad comprising the second shipment in the total contribution from the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The first shipment of 22 intercity buses arrived in Baghdad on April 29. The final shipment of 38 intracity buses is inbound with an estimated arrival date of May 17. The total contribution is 23 intercity, 50 intracity, and appropriate spare parts.

   CPA MoT staff, along with the Director General of Private Company (taxis and mini-buses) and Operations Manager of Passenger Transport Company, attended the first meeting of the Baghdad Safety Council�s Traffic Control Committee. Discussion points included a common complaint that buses stop along the road, not at bus stops�partly explained by the fact that bus stops are inhabited by squatters.

Consolidated Weekly Essential Service Reports May 7, 2004(Word document)

I’m over 100,000 visitors, according to Site Meter. Yay, me! Unfortunately, since Google improved its linking, they’re mostly all for photos that I’ve posted. I believe that there’s six people who read me on a regular basis. But they’re damn loyal folks, and I appreciate it.

DefenseLink In the central-south zone of operations, on 22 May coalition forces conducted a series of offensive operations against Muqtada’s militia in Husaniyah (ph), Karbala, and An Najaf and Kufa. In this operation, there was no enemy contact in Husaniyah (ph). In Karbala, coalition forces cleared three objectives with minimal enemy contact. And while conducting the operations, local residents reported to coalition forces that the remainder of Muqtada’s militia had appeared to have withdrawn from Karbala. Since then Iraqi police have begun patrolling the city, and it would appear that life — normal life is returning to the city of Karbala, absent the militia that had been holding the city hostage for so many weeks. In Najaf and Kufa, coalition forces on the eastern side of the Euphrates received mortars, RPG and small-arms fires two nights ago originating from the west side of the Kufa bridge, vicinity of the Saddam palace and the technical college of Kufa. Three- to five-man rocket-propelled grenade teams were engaging coalition forces from rooftops and fighting positions. Coalition forces responded, killing a number of Muqtada militia and destroying two 120-millimeter mortars, one pickup truck loaded with an unknown number of mortar rounds, and a 57-millimeter antiaircraft gun near the palace. Later that night in Kufa, coalition forces also cordoned the Shalah Mosque while Iraqi counterterrorism forces entered and secured the mosque, finding a significant weapons cache. Ten Muqtada militia were captured, to include a suspected commander. Even though aerial reconnaissance observed mortar rounds and mortar tubes being loaded into a truck inside the Kufa mosque compound and armed individuals exiting the Kufa mosque, coalition forced did not engage the mosque complex to ensure that the local holy shrines were not damaged.

CJTF-7

BAGHDAD, Iraq - On May 22, the Central Criminal Court of Iraq found the defendant, Ra’ad Sa’eed Rasheed Al-Qaisy, guilty of possession of illegal weapons and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment.

On February 6, just after midnight, soldiers from A Company, 1-37 Armor, observed Al-Qaisy engaging in suspicious activity by the side of a road. They searched him and found a remote control device in his possession.

Al-Qaisy admitted to having rocket-propelled grenades in his home during questioning. At about 5:00 am, February 6, soldiers from B Battery, 2-3 Field Artillery, went to Al-Qaisy’s home and searched it and found a large weapons cache, including eight Russian RPG rounds, four Chinese RPG rounds, three Anti-tank RPG rounds, 14 RPG boosters, two RPG launchers, one RPG sight, 20 Iraqi hand grenades, three Russian hand grenades, 25 hand grenade fuses, four nuclear/biological/chemical kits, small arms, improvised-explosive-device making equipment, multiple hand radios, and various other material.

The CCCI is an Iraqi criminal court that operates under Iraqi procedural and substantive criminal law. The court was created by Coalition Provisional Authority Order 13. The court’s jurisdiction includes, among other things, criminal cases brought by the Coalition against terrorists and unlawful combatants who commit crimes against Coalition personnel.

All units and Soldiers involved in the prosecution were members of the 1st Armored Division. Members of the legal team that represented the Coalition were from the Multi-National Forces - Iraq.

Just a reminder. Some gasoline taxes are price-based, such as the sales tax. The increase in price gives the government a significant revenue increase. Why would government want prices to drop?

DefenseLink

Yes, let me show a couple of slides on that, if I could. Here are some of the items that were picked up as part of the operation. You can see a significant number of weapons. These are not just standard binoculars, but they’re the type of binoculars that had engraved in them a reticule pattern so that you can use them to adjust artillery. These are battery packs already connected for use to power improvised explosive devices. This was a significant amount of medical gear that was found - syringes, needles - some of that could well be drug-related. We’re having those white, powdery substances tested to see what it is. Our suspicion is it may be cocaine. Next slide.

What was interesting about the building itself was that the building seemed to be somewhat of a dormitory. You had over 300 sets of bedding here in it. You had a tremendous number of pre-packaged clothing. Apparently about 100 sets of pre-packaged clothing, expected that when foreign fighters come in from other countries, they come to this location, they change their clothes in typical clothing sets. We also had in there a waist-high medical table for examination and for treatment, and you can see that they also had about, as I said earlier, about 300 sets of bedding. Next slide.

We found a significant number of identity cards, ID-making machine, capability to make exit visas for Iraq, a couple of passports — in this case, one from Sudan. We could go on and on and on about the significant amount of pocket litter that was found and all the other intelligence that was found, but let me go over a little bit of it and just hit the highlights.

There were a couple of other items that we found quite interesting. None of the bodies had identification of any kind on them — no ID cards, no wallets, no pictures — they had watches, and that was about the only way you could identify one person from another, was by their type of watches. We feel that was an indicator that this was a high- risk meeting of high-level anti-coalition forces. There was a tremendous number of incriminating pocket litter — a lot of telephone numbers to foreign countries — Afghanistan, Sudan, and a number of others.

This was purportedly a ranch, but there was no indication of ranching activities. Most of the homes in the remote desert exist to support sheep ranching operations. There was no evidence of livestock, however, present at that location. There were large farm trucks present, but there was no indication that they had ever been used for ranching. Bedding for over 300 people, a medical treatment room, a number of terrorist training manuals, suspected forged Iraqi IDs, and to the allegation that there was a wedding going on, there was no evidence of a wedding. There were no decorations, no musical instruments found, no large quantities of food or leftover servings one would expect from a wedding celebration, no gifts. All the men were almost all military-age; no family elders that one would expect to see at an event of this type. Contrary to media reports, there was no wedding tent, no nuptial tent present within a kilometer of the objective.

So, again, there still are a number of inconsistencies, and we acknowledge those inconsistencies between what we saw on the APTM video and what we found on the ground, and that’s why we are continuing to explore all possibilities of what happened on the ground. But the more that we look at the intelligence, the more that we look at the post-strike intelligence, the more that we continue to dig into what we found at that location, the more that we are persuaded that there was not a wedding going on. There may have been some kind of celebration. Bad people have celebrations, too. Bad people have parties, too, and it may have been that what was seen as some sort of celebration or spoken to as a celebration, may have just been a meeting in the middle of the desert by some people that were conducting either criminal or terrorist activities, and that’s the conclusion that we are continuing to draw the more that we look at the material evidence, the intelligence evidence, the post-strike intelligence, the follow-up intelligence…

Well, what happened is we had significant multiple sources of intelligence come in the night of the 18th, the morning of the 19th, which caused us to launch a quick-reaction force to that area. That quick-reaction force had air elements and had ground elements. We got into the area, our soldiers took fire, they responded. We put the ground elements on the ground; they went through the objective site; took the casualty count, as we’ve talked about; saw everything that we recounted in this report; took subsequent photos later on. But as soon as they had finished sweeping the objective, conducting what they needed on the ground to complete, then they were evacuated from that area, and then went back to their bases.

Indian gambling is an issue I tackled in brief last year, but now I’m going to warm up the 155 mm guns. What is going on here?

In Western New York State there are now three Indian casinos, in the Rome area, in Niagara Falls, and in far western New York in Salamanca. There are plans to build one in Buffalo. WTF? This is the part of New York that never benefited from the Clinton boom, that’s been bleeding manufacturing jobs for over a decade, and now we’re the land of opportunity for Indian gaming? It must be so, because the State itself, through its operation of racetracks, has set up casinos at two tracks in Western N.Y., Batavia Downs and Finger Lakes. Why is Indian Gaming booming in a region that is slower to recover than the rest of the state?

It begins to occur to me that money spent in casinos doesn’t get spent on food, cars, new stoves, new homes, you know… All that stuff that makes the economy operate. It’s like taxation in that respect. Now, when taxes take a little of your disposable income, that’s not too bad. But when taxes take a bite out of your paycheck, that’s bad. Indian gambling is doing that, I believe.

These aren’t Las Vegas casinos, nor even Atlantic City. “Whales” don’t fly in from Europe to drop a million at the craps table. The people here are primarily the residents of the area; people living within a three or four hour drive.

Where are the Native Americans? Where are the Indians?

I asked a bell hop how many Oneidas worked at Turning Stone. He didn’t know of any. He told me that it was mostly Mexicans and Bosnians. I can attest that the place was crawling with folks from the Balkans, doing all the menial jobs. (OK, I know because they weren’t speaking Spanish, and were speaking a Slavic sounding language. And they were darker in complexion and hair than the average American.) The folks working with the customers, and the management I saw, were all white folks. Really white folks. Minnesota type white folks.

When you look at the “reservations” that the tribes maintain who have these casinos, you have to wonder where the money is going. Some of these places make Haiti look like a resort. Dirt roads, garbage strewen yards. Shacks along with rusting, dented and aged trailer houses. But the elections for chief are always fiercely contested, and violence is not foreign to the process. The American Indian tribes in this area seem to operate like little Third World dictatorships than organizations run by American citizens within the United States.

The home of the once-destitute tribe that built the world’s biggest casino now resembles an upscale suburb like East Amherst. Members of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe live in gigantic new homes amid hilly woods, with Hummers sitting in many driveways. The former home of a tribal leader, is now on display in the tribe’s glitzy $193.4 million museum.

The Pequots aren’t the only tribe to make big money on gambling. Since Indian casinos were legalized in 1988, the federal government says, Indian gambling has grown into a $14.5 billion a year industry.

But with money comes complication. The Pequots’ Foxwoods Casino allowed them to give members annual stipends of $30,000 or more - just for being Pequots. But some members got far bigger stipends than others, and rivalries developed. Some tribal business ventures went belly-up, and Pequots acknowledge that drugs and family violence remain problems on the reservation despite its wealth. “We’ve essentially been rebuilding a community, and that’s a challenge the Senecas don’t face,” said John Guevremont, the tribe’s chief operating officer.

Meanwhile, in Central New York, the successful Turning Stone Casino Resort enabled the Oneida Nation to offer its members $50,000 grants to build new homes. Yet some Oneidas claim that money and power have turned the Oneidas’ chief executive officer, Raymond Halbritter, into a vindictive dictator.

Some tribes in California have feuded and filed lawsuits over bloodlines and the tribal membership rules that determine how money is distributed.

“When Indian tribes had $100, they fought over it. You can imagine how much fighting there can be when they have billions,” said Lance G. Morgan, the Harvard-educated business leader of the Winnebago Tribe in Nebraska. “But believe me, the tribes are much better off with billions.”

Seneca Nation leaders have been observing the experiences of other tribes. If the Seneca casinos continue to do well, they could bring in as much as $4 billion in profits over the next 21 years, estimated Cyrus M. Schindler Jr., chairman of Seneca gaming operations.

Schindler expects to square off against Tribal Council Chairman Barry E. Snyder Sr. in the next election for the Seneca presidency in November. Both men say the tribe must find ways to use the gambling windfall to help the Seneca people, especially those in need of better housing. On a person-by-person basis, the Senecas will never be as wealthy as the Pequots. There are about 700 Pequots - and 10 times as many Senecas. But some Senecas want the nation to double or triple the stipends given to Senecas, which totaled $1,000 last year. President Rickey L. Armstrong said it would be “imprudent” for the nation to hand out huge amounts of cash. He favors using the money for improving government services and encouraging business growth.

Morgan, chief executive officer of the Winnebagos’ highly successful business operations, has a few suggestions. The Winnebagos have earned a national reputation for developing noncasino businesses that generate more than $50 million a year. A casino provided the seed money for a wide array of businesses - ranging from a data systems company to one that builds modular homes - and provided enough jobs for every adult tribe member. The Winnebagos even started their own two-year college.

Morgan said the Senecas should try to develop new ventures - other than tobacco, gasoline and casino businesses - and should also set money aside to address serious social problems, such as alcoholism. “The Senecas need a game plan,” Morgan said. “We set aside 30 percent of our profits for long-term investment, 20 percent for economic development, 10 percent for tribal per capita payments, 5 percent to education and the rest to address social problems. “The Senecas were sort of stuck with tobacco and gasoline. Gaming is different. Now the tribe really has a chance to bloom.”

Andrew Lee, a Seneca who serves as executive director of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, said successful tribes build successful governments. “You can have the assets of sovereignty, but if you can’t back them up with institutions that work, you’re not going to get too far,” Lee said. “The real task is to develop an environment in which economic development can take off.”

Seneca leaders face another challenge in the years ahead, one involving bloodlines and tribal traditions that date back centuries. The Senecas are a matrilineal society. Only those whose mothers were Senecas are considered to be enrolled members of the tribe. Only enrolled Senecas can inherit reservation property and receive full benefits from the nation, including health care and annual stipends. A growing number of Seneca males - including several tribal leaders - are married to non-Senecas. Some Senecas suggest that anyone whose mother or father was a Seneca should qualify as an enrolled tribe member.

Gambling Magazine

You will recall that the Pequots were recognized as a tribe for the sole purpose of building that casino. It did not exist prior to the move to build the casino, had no reservation, and had to recognize Americans with as little as 1/16th Indian ancestry as members in order to drum up the few members they have. This is a tribe that vanished in the colonial era but was reinvented by the white people who wanted to build a casino.

Both the Senecas and Oneidas claim that they are being prudent. OK, but where is the money going? Turning Stone can afford to build a new hotel that appears to double or triple the existing capacity. Meanwhile, some of its members are being evicted from tribal lands because they question the tribal leadership and the way money is being used.

On top of all that, there are Oneidas in Oklahoma and Wisconson, separate tribes who are claiming that because they once lived in the region, they deserve a share. A share of the gambling revenues and a share of everything else. There’s a land claim by these three tribes that would take a large chunk out of Central New York. But, of course, that’s not what they want. They want the millions of dollars they believe that they can extort from the various governments involved.

Isn’t it time that we began to ask if the entire notion of tribes being “foreign” powers is outmoded? Indians vote in our elections. They pay our taxes. They fight in our military. They attend our schools. Why are we allowing this vacuum on the economy to exist? If they are foreign, let’s set up border controls. Otherwise, it’s time to end the farce, end the graft and corruption, end the self-imposed poverty, and eliminate the notion of Native Americans and Native American gaming. Why? Because there’s more coming:

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has recommended approval of an off-reservation casino for the Cayuga Nation of New York.

The tribe and partner Empire Resorts plan to open the casino on 30 acres in the Catskills. The area is 90 minutes north of New York City.

The BIA’s eastern office in Nashville approved the off-reservation land acquisition, according to The New York Times. The BIA’s central office in Washington, D.C., has not yet published notice in the Federal Register.

State law authorized three casinos in the Catskills. The BIA has given approval for the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and partner Caesars Entertainment for one of them. The Oneida Nation of New York, the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans from Wisconsin, and the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, are also want a shot at a casino.

The Cayuga Nation has not yet signed a compact with the state. The tribe won court approval to build a Class II facility on ancestral territory in western New York.

Indian Gaming

CJTF-7

Soldiers acquired one SA-7 surface-to-air missile and one SA-14 missile through a buy-back program. The raids and patrols produced 61 155mm artillery rounds, three 100mm artillery rounds, six rifle grenades, one rocket-propelled-grenade round, and six improvised-explosive devices.

The 61 155mm artillery rounds were found near Tikrit at about 12:59 p.m. on May 20. Soldiers from the 141st Engineer Battalion destroyed the cache in place.

First Infantry Division Soldiers killed three enemy personnel during a series of attacks near Samarra on May 20. The Soldiers were investigating a cache site when they were attacked at about 7:05 p.m. They regained contact with the enemy 20 minutes later and received RPG fire. Another patrol in the area was attacked by assailants using an IED. There were no U.S. injuries, nor damage to equipment.

Task Force Danger Soldiers and Iraqi Security Forces conducted simultaneous overnight raids in and around Kirkuk to capture and detain known Muqtada Militia members. Thirty-six people were detained, including five suspected anti-Coalition-force cell leaders.

Eighteen of the 36 detainees were screened and released within five hours. All operations were conducted without shots fired. The Soldiers also seized three RPG launchers, four AK-47s, and five grenades inside the Hussein Mosque.

A good day is when you leave the casino and they have had to write you a check…

Yep, this year’s company visit to the Indians at Turning Stone Casino resulted in a funds transfer from them to me. Yay, me!

Hit a $2,500 jackpot on the dollar slots. Not riches, but nothing to sneeze at either. And it’s $2,500 that the Oneida Indian Nation “chiefs”won’t see.

All in all, a most satisfactory visit.

DefenseLink In the Southeastern zone of operations yesterday, tribal fighting occurred between two tribes in Abu Al-Qasid. Iraqi police attempted to stop the gun battle between the tribes, coalition forces and ICDC responded to the request for assistance. The incident resulted in three Iraqi police officers wounded and six personnel detained; however, the situation is now calm.

DefenseLink

Last night coalition forces were patrolling in central Baghdad when one of their helicopters came under fire from two to three enemy personnel. In the attack, one Iraqi Civil Defense Corps soldier was grazed by gunfire and two insurgents were killed. A reenforcement unit was sent to the scene and they too came under fire while en route. One coalition soldier and one Iraqi were injured from a hand grenade with minor injuries.

Later, while conducting a cordon and search for the attackers, two hand grenades were thrown at coalition soldiers, killing one coalition soldier and wounding three others. Additionally, one Iraqi interpreter was killed and one ICDC soldier was wounded.

In Sadr City, the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cav has started a weapons rewards program. The program, initiated on Saturday, has been an overwhelming success, so much so that it has been extended two more days. Citizens are given money for their weapons at equal to or above black market prices and, for example, the cost of an AK-47 can actually feed a family in Sadr City for three months. Any illegal weapons not turned in during this amnesty period will be seized forcibly upon completion. But as of 20 May, there have been over 3,200 AK-47s, 530 rocket rounds, 187 RPG launchers, 141 machine guns and 87 tank rounds turned in. Coalition forces have paid out over $1.2 million to participants.

DefenseLink

In the northern zone of operations, the mayor of Bayji was attacked at his residence by a drive-by shooter two days ago. One Iraqi policeman was killed and another wounded, although the mayor is safe. The Bayji local police responded and detained the assailants and have the lead for the investigation.

This afternoon, 206 new police officers completed the eight-week initial entry training program at the Mosul Public Safety Academy. They will begin patrols immediately.

In the north-central zone operations yesterday, coalition forces conducted a hasty raid of four houses west of Samarra. The search resulted in four detainees and the confiscation of multiple weapons and miscellaneous Osama bin Laden paraphernalia.

Yesterday three mortar rounds impacted west of Samarra. After conducting an investigation of the impact area, Iraqi police reported that three children were injured in the attack and one of the children died en route to the Samarra hospital.

DefenseLink

In the western zone of operations, the security situation in the Al Anbar is improving. Fallujah remains quiet, with no violations of the cease-fire since 3 May. Two days ago in Fallujah there were two 82-millimeter mortar systems, 15 rocket-propelled grenade launchers and three RPK machine guns turned in as part of the heavy weapons turn in. Coalition forces have turned over the northern joint checkpoints to Iraqi security forces and continue to maintain a joint checkpoint on the eastern side of the city.

DefenseLink

In Karbala yesterday morning, coalition forces came under attack by small-arms fire and 10 separate RPG attacks. The units returned fire, killing six. And that evening, six RPGs and small arms were fired at coalition tanks. Coalition forces returned fire, resulting in three enemy killed.

Between 2330 and 0030 this morning, seven rocket-propelled grenades and small arms were fired at coalition forces, vicinity of the Mukhaiyam Mosque. A coalition aircraft engaged three times, resulting in 10 enemy killed and two enemy wounded.

In a separate incident, enemy forces fired one rocket-propelled grenade at a coalition tank from the second floor of the Abbas Shrine. Coalition forces did not return fire.

In An Najaf yesterday at 1330, 12 to 14 mortar rounds impacted near the Najaf main Iraqi police station. At 2300 last night, an additional 11 rounds impacted near this police station. And this morning between 0100 and 0200, a coalition base camp, vicinity An Najaf, was attacked again with five to six mortar rounds. There were no injuries or damage to equipment from these attacks.

DefenseLink

In the southeastern zone of operations, the CPA building in An Nasiriyah is still under a temporary withdrawal order of all noncombatants. Coalition forces and Iraqi Civil Defense continue to guard the CPA building and secure the bridges over the Euphrates River. Coalition forces are still patrolling the city with no signs of armed militia and no impediments to freedom of movement.

Last night, the Cimic House in al-Amarah was attacked three times with seven mortar rounds. All explosions were outside the perimeter of the base and resulted in no coalition injuries or damage to equipment.

If I read this correctly, Michael Berg believes the men who murdered his son Nick are better people for having done it.

Guardian

People ask me why I focus on putting the blame for my son’s tragic and atrocious end on the Bush administration. They ask: “Don’t you blame the five men who killed him?” I have answered that I blame them no more or less than the Bush administration, but I am wrong: I am sure, knowing my son, that somewhere during their association with him these men became aware of what an extraordinary man my son was. I take comfort that when they did the awful thing they did, they weren’t quite as in to it as they might have been. I am sure that they came to admire him.

I am sure that the one who wielded the knife felt Nick’s breath on his hand and knew that he had a real human being there. I am sure that the others looked into my son’s eyes and got at least a glimmer of what the rest of the world sees. And I am sure that these murderers, for just a brief moment, did not like what they were doing.

via Michele and Jeff Jarvis

This has me sputtering, it’s so unbelievable! Read the rest at the link. He’s unhinged from grief, he has to be. No one could be that much of a loony leftie, could they?