Tuesday, May 04, 2010

The US military announces two deaths

Press TV reports that 2 US service members "have died in non-combat incidnets in Iraq" according to the US military. The announcements bring the number of US service members killed in the Iraq War to 4397.

Meanwhile Ruth Liao (Statesman Journal) reports 8 members of the Oregon Army National Guard are headed to Iraq while Kermit Miller (KRCG) notes, "Six Missouri National Guard soldiers left Monday for a year of active duty in Iraq. They are members of the 4175th military police detachment, criminal investigation division, and it is their first deployment."

In legal news, Michael Dung Nguyen has been sentenced. Mike Francis (Oregonian) reports, "The Beaverton Army captain who ripped off U.S. taxpayers and the people of Iraq to the tune of $700,000 was sentenced Monday by Circuit Court Judge Ancer Haggerty to 2-and-a-half years in prison." The Democratic Herald adds, "Nguyen had admitted that while on deployment to Iraq, he stole and converted to his own use approximately $690,000 in United States currency. He gained access to the funds in his capacity as the Project purchasing officer in the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regimentof the United States Army. The money was derived from Commander's Emergency Response." Pity that despite constantly noting how the CERP funds were ripe for rip-offs, Congress never did exercise their oversight on those monies.

Hike for our Heroes is a non-profit started by Iraq War veteran Troy Yocum who is hiking across the country to raise awareness and money for veterans issues. Soldiers' Angels notes:

Troy is headed to Indiana!

As Iraq veteran Troy Yocum hikes his way to Indiana on his 7,000-mile trek across the country, he will be joined by fellow veterans of the legendary Indiana National Guard “War Hawks” of the 151st Infantry. Sponsored by Soldiers’ Angels, the goal of Troy’s Drum Hike is to draw attention to and raise money to assist struggling veterans and their families.

The 151st Infantry is the unit with whom Troy deployed to Iraq in 2007, and the unit of Vietnam veteran and Drum Hike participant, “Purple Heart Parachutist” Dallas Wittgenfeld. Company D of the 151st Infantry War Hawks trained and deployed as Special Operations Airborne Rangers in Vietnam during 1968-69, becoming one of the conflict‘s most combat-decorated companies in the Army. The unit’s history stretches all the way back to the Pioneer Era and the Battle of Tippecanoe.

Honoring their shared legacy, Dallas will be parachuting into locations along with route with a giant American flag as Troy stands by to welcome him. Together they also plan to spend time at the Camp Atterbury Museum on May 6, 2010 to honor the 151st’s heroes of their fight in Vietnam, and Dallas is looking forward to sharing stories and showing Troy the pictures of his brothers who did not make it back. They also plan to welcome and spend some time with as many of their fellow 151st veterans as can join them that day.

An Airborne Ranger with four decades of experience, Dallas served in Company D, 151st and is a native of Decatur, IN. He has jumped out of planes, helicopters and hot-air balloons, and was the poster-featured parachutist in Normandy, France during D-day commemorations. He will jump in Indiana in honor of all members of the 151st, past and present. “As I pack my giant flag parachute in support of Soldiers’ Angels and the 151st, I will think of all the Purple Heart veterans who are not here today,” Dallas says.

As part of the events, a small number of “Drum Hiker Collector Flags” that are for sale along the Drum Hike route will be parachuted down with Dallas, and both he and Troy will be available to autograph them. The flags are can also be purchased online through the Soldiers' Angels Store.

For more information about the Drum Hike and parachute events in and throughout Indiana, DrumHike.com.

The following community sites updated last night and this morning (and we'll include Antiwar.com in the listing):


Already a drive-by e-mail has come in on Elaine's post. First, check Mike's post. I already knew what Elaine wrote about. Anyone with property on Martha's Vineyard knew about it last August. It was the talk of the island. I had planned to bring it up this summer if they again refused to get a bra for their daughter and let her run all over in a white t-shirt. It was not appropriate. Elaine writing about it? Yea! Saves me from having to do so this summer. The public e-mail account is not so you can whine about what someone in the community wrote and you make a fool of yourself doing so. Elaine, Rebecca and I go back years, back to college, in fact. And there's little Elaine could ever say that I wouldn't agree with.

Sibel Edmonds (Boiling Frog Post) speaks with law professor Francis A. Boyle in the latest podcast:

Professor Francis Boyle discusses the October 2001 anthrax attack, the technology behind the letter to Senator Daschle, and assesses the case based on his years of expertise with
America’s bio-weapons programs, and as an expert who was responsible for drafting the
Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989, which was passed unanimously by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. He discusses possible motivations behind the anthrax attacks, including those held by criminal elements within the US government to foment a police state, and the investigation that never was. Professor Boyle talks about Israel war crimes as crimes against humanity, and more.


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thomas friedman is a great man






oh boy it never ends








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