Tiny baby to leave Florida hospital

The sad part is there are babies older than this being killed by doctors everyday.

Tiny baby to leave Florida hospital - Yahoo! News

A premature baby that doctors say spent less time in the womb than any other surviving infant is to be released from a Florida hospital Tuesday.

Amillia Sonja Taylor was just 9 1/2 inches long and weighed less than 10 ounces when she was born Oct. 24. She was delivered 21 weeks and six days after conception. Full-term births come after 37 to 40 weeks.



"We weren't too optimistic," Dr. William Smalling said Monday. "But she proved us all wrong."

Neonatologists who cared for Amillia say she is the first baby known to survive after a gestation period of fewer than 23 weeks. A database run by the University of Iowa's Department of Pediatrics lists seven babies born at 23 weeks between 1994 and 2003.

Amillia has experienced respiratory problems, a very mild brain hemorrhage and some digestive problems, but none of the health concerns are expected to pose long-term problems, her doctors said.

"We can deal with lungs and things like that but, of course, the brain is the most important," Dr. Paul Fassbach said Monday. "But her prognosis is excellent."

Amillia has been in an incubator since birth and has been receiving oxygen. She will continue getting a small amount of oxygen, and her breathing will be monitored once she leaves Baptist Children's Hospital. She now is between 25 and 26 inches long and weighs 4 1/2 pounds.

"She's going to be in a normal crib, she's going to have normal feedings, she's taking all her feedings from a bottle," Smalling said.

Amillia is the first child for Eddie and Sonja Taylor of Homestead. She was conceived by in vitro fertilization, which made it possible to pinpoint her exact time in the womb, and was delivered by Caesarean section.

Sen. John McCain Calls Rumsfeld One of the Worst Defense Secretaries in U.S. History

How I wish the man would just retire and disappear on some ranch.

FOXNews.com - Sen. John McCain Calls Rumsfeld One of the Worst Defense Secretaries in U.S. History

BLUFFTON, S.C. —
Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Monday the war in Iraq has been mismanaged for years and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will be remembered as one of the worst in history.

"We are paying a very heavy price for the mismanagement — that's the kindest word I can give you — of Donald Rumsfeld, of this war," the Arizona senator told an overflow crowd of more than 800 at a retirement community near Hilton Head Island, S.C. "The price is very, very heavy and I regret it enormously."

• Click here for more 2008 news at FOXNews.com's You Decide 2008 Center.

McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, complained that Rumsfeld never put enough troops on the ground to succeed in Iraq.

"I think that Donald Rumsfeld will go down in history as one of the worst secretaries of defense in history," McCain said to applause.

The comments were in sharp contrast to McCain's statement when Rumsfeld resigned in November, and failed to address the reality that President Bush is the commander in chief.

"While Secretary Rumsfeld and I have had our differences, he deserves Americans' respect and gratitude for his many years of public service," McCain said last year when Rumfeld stepped down.

Read the rest here

McCain says Roe should be overturned

McCain says Roe should be overturned - Politics - MSNBC.com

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Republican presidential candidate John McCain, looking to improve his standing with the party’s conservative voters, said Sunday the court decision that legalized abortion should be overturned.

“I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned,” the Arizona senator told about 800 people in South Carolina, one of the early voting states.

McCain also vowed that if elected, he would appoint judges who “strictly interpret the Constitution of the United States and do not legislate from the bench.”

The landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade gave women the right to choose an abortion to terminate a pregnancy. The Supreme Court has narrowly upheld the decision, with the presence of an increasing number of more conservative justices on the court raising the possibility that abortion rights would be limited.

Social conservatives are a critical voting bloc in the GOP presidential primaries.

McCain’s campaign also announced early Sunday that he had been endorsed by former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, who had been considering his own bid for the White House, and former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, who failed in his bid for the Republican nomination in 1996.

Keating told the crowd that McCain is the “only candidate who is a true-blue, Ronald Reagan conservative.”

McCain later attended an evening rally promoting an abstinence program. He told the crowd of more than 1,000 teens and parents that young people have pressures far different from the ones he faced while growing up. “Sometimes I’ve made the wrong choice,” McCain said.

He also talked about his experience as a prisoner of war during Vietnam, and described some of the torture he suffered. His captors “wanted to make us do things that we otherwise wouldn’t do,” including confessing to war crimes, McCain said.

He and fellow prisoners were beat up for practicing their religion, but they continued to do it. “Sometimes it is very difficult to do the right thing,” he said.

McCain has strong name recognition and the largest network of supporters in South Carolina. That backing comes in part from his staunch support for the Iraq war, something on which he focused a day earlier in Iowa. But it’s the same state that dealt a crushing blow to his presidential aspirations in 2000.

McCain is trying to build support among conservatives after a recent rebuke from Christian leader James Dobson, who said he wouldn’t back McCain’s presidential bid. Conservatives question McCain’s opposition to a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. He opposes same-sex marriage, but says it should be regulated by the states.

How adorable is John McCain? Maybe when he's done playing "conservative", he can invite his imaginary friends over for a tea party.

Report: al-Qaida leaders back in control

BREITBART.COM - Report: al-Qaida leaders back in control

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Senior al-Qaida leaders have re-established control over the terror network and set up training camps in Pakistan, The New York Times reported.

Citing U.S. intelligence and counter-terrorism officials, the newspaper said the senior officials, operating from Pakistan, have set up training operations in tribal regions near the Afghan border.

U.S. officials told the newspaper there is mounting evidence that Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, have been putting an operations center together. Until recently, the Times said, the Bush administration had said bin Laden and Zawahri were detached from their followers and cut off from operational control of al-Qaida.

U.S. analysts said recent intelligence indicated the bases functioned under a loose command structure, operated by groups of Arab, Pakistani and Afghan militants allied with al-Qaida -- with guidance from their commanders and Zawahri. Bin Laden, appears to have little direct involvement, the newspaper said.

The training camps reportedly have not reached the size and level and sophistication noted in al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.

I certainly hope this isn't surprising to anyone. Pakistan asked for this to happen when they came to an agreement appeasement with the warlords in the north.

Edwards raps lack of direct talks with Iran

Edwards raps lack of direct talks with Iran - Politics - MSNBC.com

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards criticized the Bush administration on Sunday for failing to engage directly with Iran to resolve problems with the Iraq war and Iran’s effort to develop nuclear weapons.

“It’s a huge strategic mistake not to be dealing directly with Iran,” Edwards told the Associated Press in an interview before a campaign event in Dubuque.

“What we should be doing with Iran, both on the Iraq issue and the nuclear issue, is being much smarter than we’re being now. We have tools available to us to engage them.”

America’s relationship with Iran emerged as a hot topic last week amid reports the Iranian government was shipping armor-piercing weapons to militias in Iraq.

Some intelligence reports suggested the shipments were being authorized by top Iranian officials. President Bush acknowledged Iran was providing hostile weapons to Shiite groups, but stopped short of blaming top Iranian leaders.

Edwards said Bush’s reluctance to open diplomatic lines with Iran and Syria was costing the United States in its efforts to stabilize Iraq. The former North Carolina senator said the U.S. and its European allies have the leverage and resources to enlist Iran’s cooperation.

“The way for America to engage them on this issue is to use the economic tools available ... to make it clear if they are willing to give up their nuclear weapons we are willing to make nuclear fuel available to them,” he told the AP.

Edwards said the United States should offer a serious package of economic incentives and make it public, “so the Iranian people, who have not been historically anti-American, know that we’ve made this offer ... and hopefully drive a deeper wedge between a radical leader (Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) and his own people.”

This man is about as clueless as they come. “The way for America to engage them on this issue is to use the economic tools available ... to make it clear if they are willing to give up their nuclear weapons we are willing to make nuclear fuel available to them,”" Russia already tried this with Iran. If they are unwilling to compromise with an "ally", what makes Edwards think it will work with us? The democrats will head this country to destruction with their appeasement and negotiations with terrorists.

Iran: US 'will lose in Middle East'

BREITBART.COM - Iran: US 'will lose in Middle East'

The United States will not achieve its goals in the Middle East, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned on state television.

"Realities in the region show that the arrogant front, headed by US and its allies, will be the principal loser in the region," the broadcast quoted Khamenei as saying in a meeting with Syrian president Bashar Assad.

Assad has now left Iran after a two-day visit to discuss Iraq and other regional issues with senior Iranian officials, including Khamenei and president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

During his visit, Assad accused the US and Israel of trying to harm the regional positions of Iran and Syria by raising questions about their roles in Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine.

"Through effort and co-ordination we have to enlighten public opinion about the ominous aims of the US and Zionists," said Assad.

Ahmadinejad expressed similar concerns when he accused the US and Israel of targeting Islamic countries under the pretence of achieving peace. "They imply that they are pursuing peace and security in the region, however they want to improve their and the Zionists' position in the region and hit Islamic countries," Ahmadinejad said.

The US has accused Syria of not doing enough to prevent militants from crossing its border into Iraq and has blamed Iran for supporting Shiite militias in attacks that have killed American troops.

US officials also accuse Iran and Syria of interfering in Lebanon and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by supporting Hezbollah and Hamas, both of which are considered by the US to be terrorist groups.

Iran and Syria have long been close allies. During the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, Syria was the only Arab country to support Iran.

During the past 10 years, Iranian companies have invested more than �350 million in Syria, in sectors such as power generation, motoring, cement and agriculture.

I cannot wait for the day when mushroom clouds are aplenty in Iran.

U.S. Officials: Militants May Have Fled Baghdad Due to Crackdown

BAGHDAD, Iraq —
Citing an increase in attacks in provinces that border Baghdad, U.S. military officials are starting to believe Sunni and Shiite extremists have fled the Iraqi capital to avoid the new security crackdown.

Attacks north and west of the capital Saturday contrasted with a lull in major violence in Baghdad as U.S. and Iraqi forces try to regain control from sectarian militias and criminal gangs.

A twin bombing left 11 dead in northern Iraq and U.S. aircraft went in action against Sunni insurgents west of Baghdad, as Iraqi officials claimed early success in the campaign to restore order in the capital.

The bombers struck in a Kurdish neighborhood of the oil city of Kirkuk, about 180 miles north of Baghdad, as streets were filled with cars and pedestrians.

Police and witnesses said the first blast occurred near shops and a bus depot. Minutes later, a suicide car bomber attacked the same area. Terrified shoppers fled screaming in panic amid burning cars and debris. A restaurant owner lay screaming on the sidewalk, his body soaked with hot cooking oil after one of the blasts hurled him onto the curb.

Eleven people were killed in the two blasts and 65 were wounded, police Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qader said. Sunni Arabs and Kurds have laid rival claims on Kirkuk and its oil wealth.

In Ramadi, a Sunni insurgent hotbed 70 miles west of the capital, U.S. jets strafed gunmen after they ambushed a U.S. patrol, said 2nd Lt. Roger Hollenbeck, a Marine spokesman. Hours later, U.S. aircraft destroyed a car with gunmen who were trying to escape after they attacked an Army patrol, Hollenbeck said.

There were no U.S. casualties, but Hollenbeck said eight insurgents were killed — four in each attack. The U.S. military did report, however, that a Marine was killed the day before in Anbar province, which includes Ramadi.

Iraqi authorities said they foiled a would-be suicide attack near Karbala, about 50 miles south of Baghdad. A minivan came under fire after the driver failed to slow at a checkpoint, and then detonated the explosives and was killed, said Karbala police spokesman Rahman Mishawi. There were no other casualties.

In Baghdad, however, much of the gunfire appeared to come from Iraqi police shooting in the air to clear the way for their convoys.

On Palestine Street, a main thoroughfare in east Baghdad, police commandos in armored personnel carriers manned dozens of checkpoints — some only about 100 yards apart. In Waziriyah, a Sunni area of northeast Baghdad, cranes put concrete blast barriers in place to block would-be suicide bombers.

American paratroopers from the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division joined Iraqi soldiers in a sweep through a mostly Sunni neighborhood. U.S. Apache helicopters and a jet flew overhead.

Although the Baghdad operation has been in full swing only four days, Iraqi authorities have already begun heralding it as a major success. Iraqi spokesman Brig. Gen. Qassim Moussawi told reporters that "crimes and terrorist attacks" had dropped by 80 percent since Wednesday.

Police said the bodies of only five apparent victims of sectarian death squads were found in Saturday across the capital — in contrast to the scores that were recovered daily in the weeks before.

U.S. officials, however, have said it is too early to declare success.

And Sunni politicians have complained that the initial raids have focused on Sunni neighborhoods, sparing Shiite hotspots such as Sadr City, stronghold of the Mahdi Army of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Sunnis blame the Mahdi Army for much of Baghdad's sectarian violence and for forcing thousands of Sunni families from their homes. Shiites insist the greater threat comes from Sunni extremists including al-Qaida in Iraq.

Al-Sadr is a close ally of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The Shiite prime minister convinced al-Sadr to remove many of his armed militiamen from the streets to avoid a showdown with the Americans.

Assad, Ahmadinejad vow to form alliance against U.S., Israel

Iranian President Mahmoud Adhmadinejad and Syrian President Bashar Assad on Saturday vowed to form an alliance against what they called U.S. and Israeli conspiracies against the Islamic world.

Iran's ISNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying that the Islamic world in general and Iran and Syria in particular should maintain their vigilance and neutralize conspiracies aimed at sowing discord among Muslims.

Ahmadinejad said that what the U.S. really aims for under the pretext of development in the region "is just another effort to strengthen its own status and that of the Zionists."

The Iranian president also praised the agreement by rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah to form a unity government.

"Dispute among Muslim factions has always been harmful for regional nations and useful for Islam's enemies," he said.

ISNA quoted Assad as saying that expansion of Tehran-Damascus ties would help resolve the problems of the Islamic world. He accused the U.S. of trying to attract public opinion within the Islamic world by undermining Iran-Syria relations.

"America's policies have failed in the region ... By creating divisions among Muslim nations, Washington wants to pursue its aims," IRNA quoted Assad as saying during his meeting with Ahmadinejad, who urged "Muslim countries to preserve unity."

The Syrian leader said Muslims worldwide should be informed about "the evil aims by the U.S. and Zionists" which he said were sowing discord among Muslims.

Assad arrived earlier Saturday in Tehran for a two-day visit to discuss developments in the Middle East and was scheduled to also meet Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, former president Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani and chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani.

On the agenda would be Iraq, Lebanon and cooperation with the
Palestinians. Assad was in Tehran in August 2005 immediately after
the start of Ahmadinejad's presidential term.

Ahmadinejad said earlier Saturday that Lebanon and Hezbollah have his complete support in their struggle against Israel and the United States.

"Iran and Lebanon are two parts of the same body, and only through cooperation between our two nations will it be possible to foil the conspiracies of the enemy," Ahmadinejad said.

"Thanks to Hezbollah, the Lebanese people have become a symbol of courage, faith and respect for all nations, and all this through the power of resistance," Ahmadinejad added.

On Friday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said that his organization is entitled to secretly transfer arms in order to fight Israel, and that he will not forgive the Lebanese Army for seizing last week an arms-laden truck that belonged to Hezbollah.

Nasrallah said "we have plenty of weapons ... and we have the right to transport our arms to combat Israel."

Nasrallah said the arms transfers are carried out in secret in order "to hide them from the Israeli enemy."

The Hezbollah chief added that his group has no intention of disarming, and intends to maintain its forces in southern Lebanon. "The resistance will always stand by the Lebanese Army in southern Lebanon, with our weapons, men and blood... to defend Lebanon," he said.

Hezbollah is "ready to give the army all the arms it needs," but will not forgive anyone who confiscates even a single bullet, Nasrallah added.

Nasrallah was speaking at a Beirut rally marking the anniversary of the assassination of his predecessor, Sheik Abbas Musawi, who was killed in 1992 in an Israeli strike.

Last week, the Lebanese Army confiscated a truck that was full of Hezbollah weapons.

Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr said during a televised interview that the arms shipment was comprised of rockets, but staunchly denied allegations that the shipment came from Syria, saying it originated from within Lebanese territory.

The Shi'ite organization announced that the truck belongs to it, and demanded that the Lebanese Army release it immediately.

The incident heightened tensions between Lebanon's government and Hezbollah, which has called for its overthrow.

Nasrallah, vowed on Friday to continue the opposition campaign led by his militant group to force Prime Minister Fuad Saniora to share power or step down, saying he was confident of eventual triumph, claiming the militants had the resources for it.

"No one should imagine that the opposition's coffers have emptied," he said. "If the (demands) are not met, the opposition will continue its actions by means which it finds appropriate."

However, Nasrallah insisted his Sh'ite Muslim followers would not incite a conflict that could degenerate into a civil war. Saniora is backed by the country's Sunnis.

"Civil war is a red line," Nasrallah said, an expression he also used last month after scuffles between pro- and anti-government supporters turned into Shi'ite-Sunni sectarian clashes that killed eight people.

Senate Gridlocked on Iraq Troop Buildup

WASHINGTON —
The Senate gridlocked on the Iraq war in a sharply worded showdown on Saturday as Republicans foiled a Democratic attempt to rebuke President Bush over his deployment of 21,500 additional combat troops.

The vote was 56-34. That was six short of the 60 needed to advance the measure, which is identical to a nonbinding resolution that Democrats pushed through the House on Friday.

"The Senate, on behalf of the American people, must make it clear to the commander in chief that he no longer has a rubber stamp in Iraq," said Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in the final moments before the vote.

Republicans blasted him and the Democratic leadership for refusing to allow a vote on an alternative that ruled out any reduction in money for troops in the field.

"A vote in support of the troops that is silent on the question of funds is an attempt to have it both ways," said Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the GOP leader. "So we are asking for an honest and open debate."

The vote marked the second time this winter that Senate Republicans have blocked action on nonbinding measures critical of the president's war policies. This time, however, there were signs of restlessness within the GOP.

Seven Republicans broke with their leadership, compared with only two on the previous test vote.

Also this time, the maneuvering concerned a nonbinding measure that disapproved of Bush's decision to deploy the additional troops and pledged to support and protect the troops.

The vote in the House on Friday was 246-182, with 17 Republicans breaking ranks to support the measure and two Democrats voting in opposition.

Saturday's debate and vote occurred in an intensely political environment, both in and out of the Capitol. The unusual weekend session sent presidential contenders in both parties scrambling to make the vote.

One of them, Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, squeezed in a morning appearance in New Hampshire, where she told one audience, "We have to end this war and we can't do it without Republican votes."

Polls show strong public opposition to the war, which as killed more than 3,100 U.S. troops. Democrats seemed eager to force Republicans into votes that might prove politically troublesome.

"They are torn between their president's policy and the wishes of the constituents, but vote they must," said Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, head of the Senate Democrats' campaign committee.

Democrats in both the House and Senate have said the nonbinding measures would be only the first attempt to force a shift in Bush's war policies.

In the Senate, Reid has told lawmakers he will turn anti-terrorism legislation into a forum for debate over the war. He has met privately in recent days with fellow Democrats as the leadership plans its next move.

In the House, Democrats have said they will attempt to place restrictions on Bush's request for an additional $93 billion for the military in an attempt to make it impossible for him to deploy all 21,500 additional troops.

Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., has described a series of provisions that would require the Pentagon to meet certain standards for training and equipping the troops, and for making sure they have enough time at home between deployments.

Murtha and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., describe these provisions as designed to protect the troops.

Republicans argue the effect would be to deny troops needed reinforcements and are expected to try to block the restrictions.

Internet Buzzing Over Mystery Weapon Found in Iraq

NEW YORK —
The photo of a "mystery weapon" found by GIs and a Web journalist in Iraq two years ago has captured the imagination of bloggers around the world eager to answer the question: What is it?



The photo, which shows what appears to be a weapon, about 3-feet long, resembling a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) launcher, was taken by Michael Yon, a writer and photographer currently based in Iraq. He photographed the "weapon" in 2005 as he was cataloging a huge cache of munitions discovered by Iraqi police under a barn in Mosul and later destroyed by the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment.

As U.S. military officials linked Iran to the Iraq weapons-supply chain on Sunday, Yon scanned his photos from the Mosul horde and decided to post the photo to his blog, www.michaelyon-online.com, prompting hundreds of responses to what it could possibly be.

"It's got everybody and their grandmother wondering what the thing is and nobody really seems to know," said Yon, a former special ops weapons specialist.

DO YOU THINK YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS? If so, email your guess to: mysteryweapon@gmail.com

Click here to read Yon's 'Mystery Weapon' posting.

Bloggers surmised the item could be anything from a homemade RPG to a Palestinian-made anti-tank launcher called the Yasin.

One crafty blogger even tried to convince readers it was a toy by digitally manipulating the item into the equipment of Special Ops Cody, the military doll at the center of a February 2005 soldier kidnap hoax video posted to an Islamic militant Web site.

Yon said the weapon was part of the largest cache of munitions he's seen in Iraq — a storehouse of arms he dubbed the "Devil's Foyer" that included RPGs, surface-to-air missiles, blasting caps, anti-tank mines, mortar rounds, anti-personnel mines and the as-of-yet unidentified firing object.

Click here to read about the Devil's Foyer.

"If I saw that anywhere other than amongst all those other weapons, I would have said, 'What in the world is that thing?" Yon told FOXNews.com by phone from Baghdad. "'Maybe it's some kind of potato launcher.'"

FOXNews.com circulated the photo on Thursday to military weapons experts and received the following responses:

— "On closer inspection, the launcher on the bottom is a Chinese Type 69 launcher. The object in the foreground is not a rocket, but is an RPG-2 or RPG-7 launcher. The front area is missing the heat shield and is a little scorched, but you can see the brown baked heat shield clearly where the launcher would rest on your shoulder. You can also see the small carry handle on top. It's an older model with iron sights. The green launcher on the top looks to be a Hezbollah manufactured improvised 57mm electrical firing system. It can fire Soviet 57mm rockets. The power source and firing mechanism should all be contained in the grip stock/rear handle. If they take it apart, the batteries may give it all away. There are probably traceable markings on the batteries."

— "From the round in the foreground, it's clearly an RPG launcher of some sort. I've looked through all my "Janes: Weapons of the World" [books] and can't find anything like it. My first thought: it's homemade. A close look at how close the butt-stock is to the rear of the launcher tells me that the shooter will be hard of hearing when he meets the 72 virgins."

— "Looks kind of Eastern European, or maybe... made in Al Qaeda shop class and stole the scope off daddy's hunting rifle... look for [someone] with a bloody ear and singed hair."

— "My guess is that this is a mock up of a weapon, or an improvised munition. For one thing, the telescopic site is attached to a plate that is welded on. Second, both the front handle and the butt are screwed on — notice the screw holes on both at the bottoms. This would impair the integrity of the barrel, making it liable to explode if it were fired. Next, the butt end of the weapon is too close to the rear of the weapon, and there is no blast shield. Finally, if you measure the projectile, which has a firing pin at the bottom (the small dot) and hold the measurement up to the barrel of the weapon, the trigger is about two inches short of the firing pin. One thing I do know is that if this thing were going to work, it would take an extended trigger mechanism... It also could be a refitted German-made Armbrust recoiless rifle, fitted with a grenade launcher on front, to hold RPG rounds. It is, by any definition, an improvised munition."

Bomb Explodes in Iran Near Site of Previous Deadly Blast

TEHRAN, Iran —
A bomb exploded in southeastern Iran late Friday, near the site where an earlier explosion this week killed 11 members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, the state-run news agency IRNA reported.

"Minutes ago, the sound of a bomb explosion was heard in one of Zahedan streets," the agency said but gave no further details. IRNA didn't say whether the explosion had caused any deaths or injuries.

The semiofficial Fars news agency said clashes broke out between Iranian police and armed insurgents following the explosion in Zahedan but those reports could not be immediately confirmed.

On Wednesday, a car bomb blew up a bus owned by the elite troops in Zahedan, capital of the Sistan-Baluchestan province on the border with Pakistan.

Friday's blast came just hours after the funeral of the 11 Revolutionary Guardsmen took place in the provincial capital.

A Sunni Muslim militant group called Jundallah, or God's Brigade, which has been blamed for past attacks on Iranian troops, has claimed responsibility for the Wednesday bombing.

Iran has accused the United States of backing militants to destabilize the country. The accusation come amid growing tensions between Tehran and Washington over insurgency in Iraq and Iran's controversial nuclear activities.

The Fars agency said the Friday explosion occurred at a female school in Zahedan.

"The insurgents began shooting at people after the explosion. Clashes are continuing between police and the armed insurgents. Police have cordoned off the area," the Fars agency said.

Iran's state-run television showed footage of Zahedan residents marching in the streets earlier in the day and carrying coffins of the killed Guardsmen for burial. The crowd chanted, "death to hypocrites," in a reference to the insurgents.

Separately, IRNA quoted an unnamed "responsible official" late Friday as saying that one of those arrested on charges of involvement in Wednesday's bombing, identified as Nasrollah Shanbe Zehi, has "confessed" that the attacks were part of alleged U.S. plans to provoke ethnic and religious violence in Iran.

"This person who was behind the bombing confessed that those who trained them spoke in English," IRNA quoted the official as saying. According to the official, the suspect was surprised at his arrest, because he had allegedly been told that the people would support the group.

The confessions by Zehi helped police detain an unspecified number of Jundallah members and confiscate weapons and documents from the group in a raid Thursday in Zahedan, IRNA also said.

A majority of Iran's population are Shiite Muslims but minority Sunnis live in southeastern Iran.

The blasts represent sharp flare-up of violence in the remote southeast corner of Iran, near Pakistan and Afghanistan, that has long been plagued by lawlessness. The area is a key crossing point for opium from Afghanistan and often sees clashes between police and drug gangs.

Jundallah, believed to have links with al-Qaida terror group, has waged a low-level insurgency in the area, led by Abdulmalak Rigi, a member of Iran's ethnic Baluchi minority, a community that is Sunni Muslim and is present in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Rigi has said his group is fighting for the rights of impoverished Sunnis under Iran's Shiite government.

The Fars agency also said that said Rigi appeared on the People's Mujahedeen opposition television, run by the armed group, minutes before Friday's explosion. The group seeks to overthrow the Iranian government by force.

Iranian officials have often raised concerns that Washington could incite members of Iran's many ethnic and religious minorities against the Shiite-led government in Tehran.

Iran has faced several ethnic and religious insurgencies that have carried out sporadic, sometimes deadly attacks in recent years — though none have amounted to a serious threat to the government.

In December, Jundallah claimed responsibility for kidnapping seven Iranian soldiers in the Zahedan region, threatening to kill them unless group members were freed from Iranian prisons. The seven were released a month later, apparently after negotiations through tribal mediators.

In March 2006, gunmen dressed as security forces killed 21 people on a highway outside Zahedan in an attack authorities blamed on "rebels," though Jundallah was never specifically named.

Iranian officals are concerned that the United States could be backing these groups in an attempt to destabilize the country. Hmmmm, kinda the same thing Iran is doing in Iraq. I almost feel bad for them...not really.

TV Bounty Hunter 'Dog' Chapman Faces Extradition to Mexico

GUADALAJARA, Mexico —
A federal court cleared the way for TV bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman to be extradited to face charges in Mexico, court officials said Thursday.

Norma Jara, a spokeswoman for the second district court in Guadalajara, said the court rejected Chapman's injunction request, ruling there was no reason not to try him with the charge of deprivation of liberty of Mexico.

Mexican authorities had already asked for Chapan's extradition from the state of Hawaii.

Chapman's lawyers argued he would not be guaranteed a fair trial in Mexico, Jara said.

The charges against the 53-year-old star of the A&E reality series "Dog the Bounty Hunter" stem from his June 2003 capture of convicted rapist Andrew Luster, the Max Factor heir, in Puerto Vallarta, 210 miles west of Guadalajara.

Chapman was arrested Sept. 14 along with his son and another associate and released on $300,000 bail. He faces up to four years in a Mexican jail if convicted.

Luster's capture shot the Honolulu-based bounty hunter to fame and led to the TV series. His disappearance set off an international manhunt by police, FBI and bounty hunters trying to recoup some of the bond money. Luster is serving a 124-year prison term.

Am I the only one who sees the ignorance of this. Here is our government, sending Americans to Mexico for meaningless crimes, all the while we have 13 million illegals here that the same government refuses to send back to Mexico.

Venezuela to Al-Qaeda: Hey, don't threaten us, we're on your side

From Jihad Watch

Rear admiral Luis Cabrera, one of the members of President Hugo Chávez' Joint Chiefs of Staff, Thursday asked for verification of the "illogical" threat Al Qaeda allegedly launched against Venezuela, as this country is fighting US imperialism too, but using other methods.

"We should confirm the authenticity of these reports. It seems illogical that Al-Qaeda, which is against the US imperialism, is going after a State that is precisely fighting this hegemony, this imperialism, yet using other methods," Cabrera told official TV channel VTV.

Reports from Abu Dhabi on Wednesday claimed that the Saudi branch of Al Qaeda has urged followers to strike oil facilities in all countries around the world supplying oil to the United States, including Mexico, Canada and Venezuela.

The call came in an article called "Bin Laden and the Oil Weapon," featured in the latest edition of on-line magazine Sawt al-Jihad (Voice of Jihad), of the so-called "Al Qaeda Organization in the Arabian Peninsula," Efe reported.

Official: Al-Qaida in Iraq leader wounded

Some good news from Iraq:

Al-Qaeda in Iraq Leader Wounded
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The leader of al-Qaida in Iraq was wounded and an aide was killed in a clash Thursday with Iraqi forces north of Baghdad, the Interior Ministry spokesman said.

The clash occurred near Balad, a major U.S. base about 50 miles north of the capital, Brig. Gen Abdul-Karim Khalaf said.

Khalaf said al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri was wounded and his aide, identified as Abu Abdullah al-Majemaai, was killed.

More good news from Iraq from earlier this week:

Sadr leaves Iraq for Iran

WASHINGTON: The powerful Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr has left Iraq and has been living in Iran for the last several weeks, senior Bush administration officials say.

With fresh U.S. forces arriving in Baghdad as part of the White House plan to stabilize the capital, officials in Washington suggested Tuesday that Sadr might have fled from Iraq to avoid being captured or killed during the crackdown.

Let the Military Choose Iraq Policy- Not Congress

A post from my congressman, Paul Gillmor, blog. This is why I vote for him.

This week, I joined many of my colleagues in a debate about a resolution being offered to disapprove of the President’s decision to send additional troops to Iraq.

Personally, I am skeptical that the increase of 20,000 additional troops will make the difference and stabilize Baghdad and Iraq. That being said, the question for me is to whom we should listen regarding operational decisions in Iraq. Should we listen to the recommendations of the US military or to the politicians in Washington?

As an Air Force veteran, I think we should accept the recommendations of our military. In that respect as recently as two weeks ago, General Odierno, Commander of Ground Forces in Baghdad said “By bringing more troops in, it provides us the opportunity to work with them (the Iraqis), to provide more time, and defeat this threat, which is both an al Qaeda threat as well as sectarian violence.”

For the past week, the House of Representatives has debated a nonbinding resolution which will do nothing to help our troops or positively change the course of action in Iraq. Our time could have been better spent debating real issues such as how to most effectively win the war that terrorists have waged on us.

What is most important about this resolution is not what it says but what it does not say. Even though the resolution compliments our military men and women, nowhere does it commit to continue providing funds for troops in the field. At a time when some in Washington are talking about cutting off funding for our troops, I think we should commit to providing full funding for our armed forces as long as they are in the field.

I have visited with wounded troops in Germany and have discussed our progress with a relative of mine who served a year in a combat zone in Baghdad. I am incredibly proud of our men and women in the military. They are talented, dedicated, professional and the absolute best in the world. We owe them all a tremendous debt of gratitude. What we do not owe our troops is a rejection of the only plan which has been proposed to achieve success in Iraq because failure in Iraq threatens the security of the United States, the Mideast and other parts of the world.

The resolution the House has been considering has two purposes. First, it rejects the only plan which has been suggested by our military leaders for success in Iraq. Second, it begins this Congress down a path which ends with cutting off funding for our troops and abandoning our foreign policy because of failed Congressional fortitude. I am opposed to this resolution and Congress’ micromanaging of the War on Terror.