Did Anyone Know Racewalking Was An Olympic Sport?

If you haven't seen it...words cannot describe how ridiculous it is.

Taliban Militants Are The Preferred Food Of Military Dogs

Military Dogs are out in the field for long hours too. When they get a craving, there's only one thing that suppresses their hunger...Taliban militants!

US coalition dogs bit two fleeing suspected Taliban militants during an operation in eastern Afghanistan in which a total of eight insurgents were detained, the coalition said Friday.

The raid Thursday in the Muslim country's Paktika province targeted a Taliban subcommander wanted for kidnapping, killing Afghan soldiers and involvement in roadside attacks, it said.

During the operation, "two militants attempted to flee and were pursued by coalition military working dogs," the coalition said in a statement. "Both militants received dog-bite injuries, one of which required treatment on scene by coalition medical personnel."

1st Lt. Nathan Perry, a coalition spokesman, would not say what kind of dogs were used in the raid, but said the troops will "use dogs when we need to." Perry did not know if the targeted Taliban subcommander was among those detained and the statement did not specify.

In Islamic tradition, dogs are shunned as unclean and dangerous.

Now That Poland Agreed To Missile Defense, Russia Threatens Nukes

Russians have escalated their hissy-fit to new levels. Now they say Poland may face a nuclear attack by allowing interceptor missiles to be based there.

A top Russian general said Friday that Poland's agreement to accept a U.S. missile interceptor base exposes the ex-communist nation to attack, possibly by nuclear weapons, the Interfax news agency reported.

The statement by Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn is the strongest threat that Russia has issued against the plans to put missile defense elements in former Soviet satellite nations.

Poland and the United States on Thursday signed a deal for Poland to accept a missile interceptor base as part of a system the United States says is aimed at blocking attacks by rogue nations. Moscow, however, feels it is aimed at Russia's missile force.

"Poland, by deploying (the system) is exposing itself to a strike — 100 percent," Nogovitsyn, the deputy chief of staff, was quoted as saying.

He added, in clear reference to the agreement, that Russia's military doctrine sanctions the use of nuclear weapons "against the allies of countries having nuclear weapons if they in some way help them." Nogovitsyn that would include elements of strategic deterrence systems, he said, according to Interfax.

After Russia's invasion of Georgia, what now for the West?

Another great piece by John Bolton:

As bad as the bloodying of Georgia is, the broader consequences are worse. The United States fiddled while Georgia burned, not even reaching the right rhetorical level in its public statements until three days after the Russian invasion began, and not, at least to date, matching its rhetoric with anything even approximating decisive action. This pattern is the very definition of a paper tiger. Sending Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice to Tbilisi is touching, but hardly reassuring; dispatching humanitarian assistance is nothing more than we would have done if Georgia had been hit by a natural rather than a man-made disaster.

The European Union took the lead in diplomacy, with results approaching Neville Chamberlain’s moment in the spotlight at Munich: a ceasefire that failed to mention Georgia’s territorial integrity, and that all but gave Russia permission to continue its military operations as a “peacekeeping” force anywhere in Georgia. More troubling, over the long term, was that the EU saw its task as being mediator – its favorite role in the world – between Georgia and Russia, rather than an advocate for the victim of aggression.

Even this dismal performance was enough to relegate NATO to an entirely backstage role, while Russian tanks and planes slammed into a “faraway country”, as Chamberlain once observed so thoughtfully. In New York, paralyzed by the prospect of a Russian veto, the UN Security Council, that Temple of the High-Minded, was as useless as it was during the Cold War. In fairness to Russia, it at least still seems to understand how to exercise power in the Council, which some other Permanent Members often appear to have forgotten.

The West, collectively, failed in this crisis. Georgia wasted its dime making that famous 3am telephone call to the White House, the one Hillary Clinton referred to in a campaign ad questioning Barack Obama’s fitness for the Presidency. Moreover, the blood on the Bear’s claws did not go unobserved in other states that were once part of the Soviet Union. Russia demonstrated unambiguously that it could have marched directly to Tbilisi and installed a puppet government before any Western leader was able to turn away from the Olympic Games. It could, presumably, do the same to them.

Read the rest.

Venezuela Pres. Hugo Chavez Blames US For Russia-Georgia Conflict

The Venezuelan crazy man has accused the U.S. of "incitement of violence" between Russia and Georgia.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez accused the United States of masterminding the current conflict between Georgia and Russia.

A statement from Chavez's government Thursday alleged that the conflict was "planned, prepared and ordered" by Washington in an "incitement of violence."

Venezuela is a close ally of Russia, which it says has acted to protect local residents from "unacceptable acts of violence" perpetrated by Georgian troops.

Venezuela's statement saluted steps toward peace in South Ossetia, saying Russia's stance had been in line with international accords.

US Delivers Aid To Georgia, Russia Ignores Cease-Fire Agreement

They're still destroying military equipment and installations, still shooting at people, and still continuing to move further into Georgia. Though, they seem a little worried that we may be bringing more than food to the Georgians.

Russia's foreign minister declared Thursday that the world "can forget about" Georgia's territorial integrity, and American and Georgian officials said Russia appeared to be targeting military infrastructure — including radars and patrol boats at a Black Sea naval base and oil hub.

[...]

In Washington, an American official said Russia appears to be sabotaging airfields and other military infrastructure as its forces pull back. The U.S. official described eyewitnesses accounts for The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The official said the Russian strategy seems like a deliberate attempt to cripple the already battered Georgian military.

The United States poured aid into the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Thursday and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice launched emergency talks in France aimed at heading off a wider conflict.

Russia's deputy chief of General Staff Col.-Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn said he was not sure that the U.S. planes carried exclusively humanitarian cargo. "It causes our concern," he said.

 

Watching on Fox News now, SecDef Gates said they are re-examining relations with Russia and canceling all joint military exercises with Russia in the near future.

American Airlines Charging Troops For Extra Baggage

It never ceases to amaze me how these companies continually screw over the very people that makes their business possible. Oh sure, they will get reimbursed for the charges, but why should they have to go through the hassle? I'm sure the stockholders wouldn't mind a small decrease in profits should AA just waive that fee, and if they do mind, they need smacked in the face with a hammer.

American Airlines is charging troops for their extra baggage, a practice that forces soldiers heading for a war zone in Iraq to try to get reimbursement from the military. One of the country's largest veterans groups is asking the aviation industry to drop the practice immediately.

American, which recently charged two soldiers from Texas $100 and $300 for their extra duffel bags, said it gives the military a break on the cost for excess luggage and that the soldiers who incur the fees are reimbursed.

Al-Qaeda Big Fish Killed In Pakistan

Surprisingly enough; it was the Pakistani's that got him, not an errant missile from Afghanistan. al-Qaeda leaders have been dropping like flies lately. In the past month the top bio/chem weapons expert was killed, now AQ's #3 #2 leader al-Masri, and possibly #2 #1 Ayman al-Zawahiri

Senior Al Qaeda commander Abu Saeed al-Masri was killed in recent clashes with Pakistani forces near the Afghan border, a security official said on Tuesday.

"He was believed to be among the top leadership of al Qaeda," the senior security official said on condition of anonymity.

Al-Masri, which means "the Egyptian," was the most senior al Qaeda operative to have been killed in Pakistan's tribal belt since the death of his compatriot, Abu Khabab al-Masri, an Qaeda chemical and biological weapons expert, last month.

Television channels identified the dead man as Mustafa Abu al-Yazid and said he was also known as Abu Saeed al-Masri.

He was killed in recent clashes in the Bajaur tribal region, a known sanctuary for al Qaeda operatives on the Afghan border, the security official said.

Yazid, commander of al Qaeda operations in Afghanistan, was an Egyptian who served time in jail with al Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri after the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981.

He has been referred to as al Qaeda's third most senior figure, after the elimination or capture of five earlier occupants of the number three spot since 2001.

Russia Surrenders, Will Withdraw Troops From Georgia, S. Ossetia

So they say. Their actions are telling something far more different.

Russia ordered a halt to military action in Georgia on Tuesday, after five days of air and land attacks sent Georgia's army into headlong retreat and left towns and military bases destroyed.

Georgian officials insisted that Russia has continued the bombings despite the pledge, but Russia denied that.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced at a press conference Tuesday that they have endorsed a plan in which both Russian and Georgian troops withdraw to their initial positions in Georgia.

According to the endorsed plan, Russian peacekeepers will remain in Georgia's breakaway provinces.

The plan also calls for a fuller discussion on the future status of Georgia's two breakaway provinces. Medvedev says breakaway provinces must be able to decide for themselves whether to remain in Georgia.

How To Stop The Soviet, OOPS, Russian Expansion

Send in the USS Ronald Reagan! He defeated the commies once, he can do it again!

Is Russia Trying To Free Citizens, Or Conquer Georgia

What does bombing a port city, bombing military bases away from the border, and targeting an oil pipeline have in common? If you answered steps to defeating a country, you're probably right. If you said, steps to rescuing citizens, you're probably wrong. Is Russia really trying to rescue those people? If they are, they're not doing a very good job because 1000's of people have died so far.

Georgia said a Russian air raid had "completely devastated" the Black Sea port of Poti in attacks that the country's UN ambassador likened to "a full-scale military invasion".

This was followed up with air raids on Gori, the main Georgian city closest to South Ossetia and another near the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline -- the world's second longest -- which Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze told Georgian television was "miraculously" not damaged.

Russian planes carried out at least three attacks on Gori and the surrounding area, a defence ministry spokeswoman told AFP.

She said the attacks targeted a bridge and military bases, but also struck apartment blocks which were left in flames and witnesses told AFP that scores of people had been killed. Cars and buses loaded with people fled the city.

I don't claim to know a whole lot about the internal conflict in that area, but it seems to me that Russia had been planning this for a while. I certainly hope someone, somewhere is recognizing this for what it is, and there are plans to stop it before it gets unmanageable, like in the 60's.

 

***UPDATE 08/11/08 11:32PM***

From LGF, we have this link that outlines how this war really started.

As the propaganda spewing out of the Kremlin reaches a feverish pitch, we take a moment to remind our readers of the basic facts concerning Russia’s barbaric actions in recent days and the recent history that lies behind them.

John Edwards Admits He Cheated On Cancer-Stricken Wife

Well now, I guess NOT everything printed by the National Enquirer can be dismissed. John Edwards admitted today that he DID have an affair with Rielle Hunter. He does deny being the child's father, but hasn't taken a paternity test.

John Edwards repeatedly lied during his Presidential campaign about an extramarital affair with a novice filmmaker, the former Senator admitted to ABC News today.

In an interview for broadcast tonight on Nightline, Edwards told ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff he did have an affair with 44-year old Rielle Hunter, but said that he did not love her.

Edwards also denied he was the father of Hunter's baby girl, Frances Quinn, although the one-time Democratic Presidential candidate said he has not taken a paternity test.

Edwards said he knew he was not the father based on timing of the baby's birth on February 27, 2008. He said his affair ended too soon for him to have been the father.

 

Previous posts:

John Edwards Cheating On Cancer-Stricken Wife? *UPDATED W/ Love Child*

I Was Going To Post About John Edwards 2AM Rendezvous

Mexican Army Crosses Into US, Detains Border Agent

Act of war or simple misunderstanding? The AP version of this story is quite different from the Washington Times version. From history, I lean toward the Washington Times article being a more accurate depiction of what occurred.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent was held at gunpoint Sunday night by members of the Mexican military who had crossed the border into Arizona, but the soldiers returned to Mexico without incident when backup agents responded to assist.

Agents assigned to the Border Patrol station at Ajo, Ariz., said the Mexican soldiers crossed the international border in an isolated area about 100 miles southwest of Tucson and pointed rifles at the agent, who was not identified.

It was unclear what the soldiers were doing in the United States, but U.S. law enforcement authorities have long said that current and former Mexican military personnel have been hired to protect drug and migrant smugglers.

 

Here's the AP version:

Four Mexican soldiers crossed into Arizona and held a U.S. Border Patrol agent at gunpoint before realizing where they were and returning to Mexico, federal authorities said Wednesday.

The confrontation occurred early Sunday on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation, about 85 miles southwest of Tucson, in an area fenced only with barbed wire, said Dove Crawford, a spokeswoman for the Border Patrol.

The soldiers, outfitted in desert camouflage, pointed their rifles at the agent and shouted at him not to move, Crawford said. They lowered their weapons after about four minutes when the agent convinced them of who he was and where they were, she said. The soldiers then retreated into Mexico.

The Mexican government has sent soldiers north along sections of the border in efforts to tamp down drug-related violence.

Russia, Georgia Fighting Escalating To War

The occasional skirmishes between Russia and Georgia have now escalated to war, or close to it. Russia is trying to keep control of a old Soviet state and Georgia is trying to keep its independence. Russia begins bombing Georgia and sends in150 armored vehicles. Georgia beings shooting down Russian jets and destroying anything Russian, including people.

Parts of Russia's 58th Army — including 150 tanks and armored vehicles — reportedly were moving Friday on the capital of South Ossetia after Georgian troops entered the city in an attempt to crush separatist forces seeking to control the breakaway province.

[...]

"If it's not war, then we are very close to it," Lamaia said. "The Russians have invaded Georgia and we are under attack."

President Bush and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin reportedly were discussing the Georgia crisis after attending the opening of the Beijing Olympic games.

[...]

Fighting escalated between Georgian and Russian forces escalated earlier in the day with Georgia claiming to have downed four Russian combat warplanes, and Russian planes bombing the Vaziani airbase outside the Georgian capital of Tblisi.

Why Comerica Bank Sucks: Part II

Part I can be found here. A brief explanation of Part I, Comerica bank demanded Norwalk Furniture immediately pay their $11M loan for no other reason than they didn't want any accounts left in Ohio. Comerica demanded all the manufacturing plants and retail store closed so they could be liquidated. Thousands of employees were without job instantly.

Norwalk Furniture has been family owned for 106 years. Now, because of Comerica's actions, Norwalk Furniture was required to take on investors. The investment companies have purchased the loan from Comerica and taken over the company. No doubt these investment companies will replace the family with executives of their choosing.

The good news is, at least the thousands of Norwalk Furniture employees still have a job.

I hope people will never do business with Comerica, and those that do, will move to a different bank.