Soldiers fight 4-hour battle at Afghan village

Soldiers fight 4-hour battle at Afghan village

By David Guttenfelder - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Nov 5, 2009 5:47:31 EST

EDITOR’S NOTE: AP Photographer David Guttenfelder accompanied U.S. soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division caught in a four-hour ambush by Taliban forces Tuesday. Here is his account.
QATAR KALA, Afghanistan — The villagers said they just wanted to be left alone. They claimed they had asked the Taliban to stay away, and wished the Americans would do the same.

But now the Americans were back, determined to stop the Taliban from passing through the village to attack U.S. targets. And shortly afterward the gunfire from the hills above served notice that the Taliban had no intention of leaving.

What unfolded Tuesday would highlight the tug of war being waged for the loyalties of one village in eastern Afghanistan.

The story had begun with a clinic, built here with U.S. funds to demonstrate to Afghans that they have more to gain from the Americans than from the Taliban.
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Soldiers fight 4-hour battle at Afghan village

Most U.S. youths unfit to serve, data show

Most U.S. youths unfit to serve, data show

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Nov 4, 2009 10:26:14 EST

U.S. military-age youth are increasingly unfit to serve — mostly because they’re in such lousy shape.

According to the latest Pentagon figures, a full 35 percent, or more than one-third, of the roughly 31.2 million Americans aged 17 to 24 are unqualified for military service because of physical and medical issues. And, said Curt Gilroy, the Pentagon’s director of accessions, “the major component of this is obesity. We have an obesity crisis in the country. There’s no question about it.”

The Pentagon draws its data from the Centers for Disease Control, which regularly tracks obesity. The steadily rising trend is not good news for military recruiters, despite their recent successes, nor for the overall health of the U.S. population.

In 1987, according to the CDC, a mere 6 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds, or about 1 out of 20, were obese. In 2008, 22 years later, 23 percent of that age group — almost 1 out of 4 — was considered to be obese.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/11/military_unfityouths_recruiting_110309w/

Ship built with World Trade Center steel arrives in New York

Ship built with WTC steel arrives in New York

By Deepti Hajela - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Nov 2, 2009 13:21:32 EST

NEW YORK — The new Navy assault ship New York, built with World Trade Center steel, arrived in its namesake city Monday with a 21-gun salute near the site of the 2001 terrorist attack.

First responders, families of Sept. 11 victims and the public gathered Monday at a waterfront viewing area, where they could see the crew standing at attention along the deck of the battleship gray vessel.

The big ship paused. Then the shots were fired, with a cracking sound, in three bursts.

The bow of the $1 billion ship, built in Louisiana, contains about 7.5 tons of steel from the fallen towers.
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Ship built with WTC steel arrives in New York

From farm field to cotton mill

From farm field to cotton mill: The making of America's denim
By Wayne Drash, CNN

October 30, 2009 10:10 a.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Cotton mill in northwest Georgia is America's No. 1 producer of denim
Mill has been operating since 1845
Most U.S. cotton mills shut in last decade, unable to compete with China
"This mill here it feeds my family," says Christopher Wolfe, 31

Trion, Georgia (CNN) -- Christopher Wolfe has a Tough As Nails, I Love America attitude. His pride swells along with his tattooed biceps. He's a dying breed, a blue-collar American working on a product as American as apple pie.

Blue jeans.

"This is our lifeline," Wolfe says.

Those jeans you squeezed into this morning? It's likely they began right here at Mount Vernon Mills, one of the last functioning cotton mills in America and the nation's No. 1 producer of denim.

In a tiny enclave of northwest Georgia, Wolfe and 1,200 of his colleagues churn out enough denim per week for 800,000 pairs of blue jeans.

Most U.S. mills shut down years ago, unable to compete with cheap overseas labor. And in another sign of the global economy, the fabric woven here is rarely sent to American plants to be turned into jeans. Instead, the fabric is shipped mostly to factories in Mexico. The jeans then carry labels that read "Made in Mexico of U.S. fabric."

Blame NAFTA. Blame outsourcing. Blame corporate greed for the selling out of America's manufacturing soul.

"I'd rather see people over here work, instead of struggling -- instead of giving somebody in another country a chance to make money that [Americans] should be making," says Wolfe, 31.

He's got a scar across his forehead, a shaved head and goatee. Like a pair of well-worn blue jeans, he's rough and tough.
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/30/blue.jeans.mill/index.html

A church that pays you to come on Sunday

A church that pays you to come on Sunday

October 25, 2009

By Guy Tridgell

The Rev. Dan Willis is passing the collection plate in reverse. He will give you money to go to church.

For the last three weeks, his Lighthouse Church of All Nations in Alsip has raffled a combined $1,000 to attendees at the three Sunday services.

Big surprise, but attendance has shot through the chapel roof.

"It is gimmicky. It is totally gimmicky. I make no bones about that," Willis said. "But if I could get someone who would not normally come to church, why not?"

If the lure of free money has you breaking out the Sunday best, be prepared for some testimony from the preacher on how to spend that money.

You will hear of the glory of paying down debt, the revelation that comes with living on a budget and the miracle of compound interest.

For Willis, the cash is a mere carrot to get you through the doors. By sowing the seeds of the responsible personal finance, he hopes to create a few converts.
read more here
http://www.southtownstar.com/news/1842522,102509tridgell.article
linked from RawStory

Georgia National Guards Col. John King building trust in Afghanistan

U.S. police officers sharing food, building trust in Afghanistan
By Moni Basu, CNN
October 24, 2009 10:57 a.m. EDT

(CNN) -- On a recent night at The Fort restaurant in Denver, John King ordered American fare for his Afghan friend. Bison filet and elk chop.

Munir Mohammad Mangal, Afghanistan's deputy interior minister, had eaten enough lamb to last a lifetime. Game, however, was a daring gastronomic leap of faith. But if Mangal has learned anything from his American military adviser, it was this: You have to take chances to forge friendships.

A good meal and a broad smile have long been standard ammo for King, the police chief of Doraville, Georgia, and a colonel in the Army National Guard. He believes that the war in Afghanistan cannot be won solely through the barrel of a gun, but by building relationships.

And King's way of breaking down cultural barriers is by breaking bread.

"It helps people listen, while you are chewing," he said about the countless meals he has shared with friends, foes and those whose allegiances were indiscernible.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/10/24/intl.afghan.police/index.html

3 sentenced in plot to kill soldiers in Iraq

3 sentenced in plot to kill soldiers in Iraq

By John Seewer - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Oct 22, 2009 5:35:39 EDT

TOLEDO, Ohio — Three men convicted of plotting to recruit and train terrorists to kill U.S. soldiers in Iraq were sentenced in federal court Wednesday to more than eight years in prison.

Mohammad Amawi, 29, received a 20-year term, with credit for three years he has already spent in custody. He will remain under lifetime supervision upon his release, U.S. District Judge James Carr said. Marwan El-Hindi, 46, described by prosecutors as the leader, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, and given an 18-month consecutive term on an unrelated fraud conviction.

Both men had faced a maximum sentence of life in prison.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/ap_military_plot_sentencing_102109w/

Lost Greek city that may have inspired Atlantis myth gives up secrets

Lost Greek city that may have inspired Atlantis myth gives up secrets

Helena Smith in Athens guardian.co.uk, Friday 16 October 2009 19.49 BST
The secrets of a lost city that may have inspired one of the world's most enduring myths – the fable of Atlantis – have been brought to light from beneath the waters off southern Greece.

Explored by an Anglo-Greek team of archaeologists and marine geologists and known as Pavlopetri, the sunken settlement dates back some 5,000 years to the time of Homer's heroes and in terms of size and wealth of detail is unprecedented, experts say.

"There is now no doubt that this is the oldest submerged town in the world," said Dr Jon Henderson, associate professor of underwater archaeology at the University of Nottingham. "It has remains dating from 2800 to 1200 BC, long before the glory days of classical Greece. There are older sunken sites in the world but none can be considered to be planned towns such as this, which is why it is unique."

The site, which straddles 30,000 square meters of ocean floor off the southern Peloponnese, is believed to have been consumed by the sea around 1000 BC. Although discovered by a British oceanographer some 40 years ago, it was only this year that marine archaeologists, aided by digital technology, were able to properly survey the ruins.

What they found surpassed all expectations. Thanks to shifting sands and the settlement's enclosure in a protected bay, the exploration revealed a world of buildings, courtyards, main streets, rock-cut tombs and religious structures. In addition, the seabed was replete with thousands of shards of pottery.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/oct/16/lost-greek-city-atlantis-myth

US pays $400 per gallon for gas in Afghanistan

US pays $400 per gallon for gas in Afghanistan


By John Byrne
Friday, October 16th, 2009 -- 8:08 am

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed the $400 figure to the Congressional Research Service. The number is from the Pentagon.

Last year, the price of gasoline in the United States topped the $4 per gallon mark.

This year in Afghanistan, the price has topped $400.

The stunning revelation emerged Thursday in a report from the Pentagon to House officials. The information conveyed offers new insight into a recent report by the Congressional Research Service, which found that the US spends $1 million per year for each servicemember on the ground in Afghanistan.

Why so much? The cost includes shipping, which sometimes includes the pricetag of a helicopter flight. Sending fuel by helicopter is woefully inefficient, because it uses up almost as much fuel as it carries.
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http://rawstory.com/2009/10/us-pays-400-per-gallon-for-gas-in-afghanistan/

Texas man faces execution after jurors consult Bible

Texas man faces execution after jurors consult Bible to decide fate
A convicted murderer faces execution in Texas after jurors consulted the Bible while deliberating on his sentence.
By Tom Leonard in New York
Published: 5:56PM BST 15 Oct 2009
Amnesty International has appealed to the state to commute the sentence on Khristian Oliver, 32, who is due to die on November 5.

He was sentenced to death in 1999 for murdering a man whose home Oliver was burgling. The victim was shot in the face and beaten with his own rifle.

It later emerged that while deciding whether he should be given the death penalty, jurors consulted the Bible. Four jury members admitted that several copies had been in the jury room and that highlighted passages were passed around.

At one point, a juror reportedly read aloud from a copy, including the passage: "And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death."
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Texas man faces execution after jurors consult Bible

linked from RawStory

Rogue Insect Takes Down Missile Truck

Rogue Insect Takes Down Missile Truck
By Nathan Hodge October 12, 2009

It sounds like the opening scene of a B movie: A giant bug lands on a truck driver transporting intercontinental ballistic missiles. The trucker swerves off the road, inadvertently kicking off Armageddon.

The unthinkable didn’t happen when a truck driver recently lost control of a tractor-trailer carrying missile parts from Minot Air Force Base, N.D. But according to a statement released Friday by Air Force Space Command, the incident — which did not involve nuclear materials — was in fact caused by a “large insect” that landed on the driver’s back.
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Rogue Insect Takes Down Missile Truck
linked from RawStory

Congratulations to President Obama

Congratulations to President Obama

Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

Win unique among presidents
A win for not being Bush?
Didn't feel right Yes it did
Photos, reaction Coverage


Laureates to winners: Prepare for 'lightning bolt'
President Obama was the surprise winner Friday of this year's peace prize. But for most of this week's other Nobel winners, the honor marks a leap from relative obscurity to a spot in the international limelight. One past winner says the scientists, authors and others honored this week should prepare for an experience that will change their lives. full story

Woof! Woman's 7-foot-long dog could be record holder

Woof! Woman's 7-foot-long dog could be record holder
By Associated Press
CASSELTON, N.D. (AP) - Boomer may be a buster: Measuring 3 feet tall at the shoulders and 7 feet long from nose to destructive wagging tail, his owner thinks she may have the world's tallest living dog.
Caryn Weber says her 3-year-old Landseer Newfoundland keeps all four paws on the floor when he drinks from the kitchen faucet in her family's farm house in eastern North Dakota.

Boomer can stare into a car window eye to eye with a driver. A 20-pound bag of dry dog food lasts a couple of weeks.
go here for the pictures and more of this story
http://www.komonews.com/news/national/63697822.html

New inquiry ordered into 2008 Wanat battle

New inquiry ordered into 2008 Wanat battle

9 soldiers killed, 27 wounded in attack on Afghanistan outpost
By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Oct 4, 2009 11:19:44 EDT

Prompted by allegations of command negligence — and pressure from a U.S. senator — Gen. David Petraeus has ordered a new investigation into the deadly battle in Wanat, Afghanistan, that killed nine U.S. soldiers and wounded 27 others.

The investigation — the second probe of the July 13, 2008, battle — will address issues that have arisen since the completion of the Army’s AR 15-6 investigation, including the “facts and circumstances surrounding the combat action that occurred,” according to a Sept. 30 CentCom statement.

Sen. Jim Webb’s office said Webb, a Virginia Democrat, on July 9 called for further investigation of the battle after “allegations of negligence at senior levels in the chain of command” were brought to his attention.

Marine Lt. Gen. Richard Natonski, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command, will lead the investigation. Army Maj. Gen. Michael Oates, former commander of the 10th Mountain Division, is the deputy investigative officer.

“We believe that there was some information that just wasn’t as thorough as we expected, that it didn’t cover all the details that led up to the events of the 13th,” said Bob Prucha, a CentCom spokesman. Prucha declined to provide additional details.

On the day of the battle, 45 U.S. troops, accompanied by 24 Afghan soldiers, were attacked in the rugged Waygul Valley in Afghanistan’s Konar province.
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New inquiry ordered into 2008 Wanat battle

Glenn Beck gets key to city in private?

Doesn't make sense. He loves attention and you'd think this was some kind of big honor that they would want to give him the key to the city in public. So why was this done at a private event instead? Who is ashamed of who here?

W. Washington greets Glenn Beck with huzzahs, hisses

By KOMO News Staff and Associated Press
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. - As hundreds of protesters and counter-protesters shouted and waved signs, conservative TV personality Glenn Beck arrived in Mount Vernon for a controversial visit that has been anticipated for weeks.
One protester was arrested Saturday evening as the crowd surged outside McIntyre Hall, where Beck received a key to the city from Mayor Bud Norris at a sold-out, private event.
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http://www.komonews.com/news/local/61940897.html