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blog-heap o' links
Marine Sgt. Michael
P. Hodshire, 25, of North Adams, Mich., died Oct. 30 of wounds sustained
from an improvised explosive device during combat operations near Nasser Wa
Salaam, Iraq on Oct. 29. defenselink.mil/ ... 19:33:26Army Pfc. Dillon M.
Jutras, 20, of Fairfax Station, Va., died in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, on
Oct. 28, from injuries sustained while conducting combat operations. Army 1st Lt. Debra A.
Banaszak, 35, of Bloomington, Ill., died at Camp Victory, Kuwait, on Oct.
28, from noncombat related injuries. Banaszak was assigned to the Army National
Guard. defenselink.mil/ ... 20:55:09Army Staff Sgt.
Lewis J. Gentry, 48, of Detroit, Mich., died in Mosul,
Iraq, on Oct. 26, from a noncombat related cause. Army Capt. Michael J.
Mackinnon, 30, of Helena, Mont., died on Oct. 27, in Baghdad, Iraq, when an
improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during convoy operations.
defenselink.mil/ ... 00:32:21Army Master Sgt.
Thomas A. Wallsmith, 38, of Carthage, Mo.Army Sgt. 1st Class Ramon A.
Acevedoaponte, 51, of Watertown, N.Y. Army Sgt. Evan S.
Parker, 25, of Arkansas, Kan., died at Landstuhl Army Medical Center in
Landstuhl, Germany, on Oct. 26, of injuries sustained in Balad, Iraq, on Oct.
23, when his dismounted patrol was attacked by enemy forces who threw an
explosive device from their moving vehicle. Parker was assigned to the Army
Reserve. defenselink.mil/ ... 00:31:09Army Spc. Christopher
T. Monroe, 19, of Kendallville, Ind., died on Oct. 25, in Basra, Iraq, when
his 5-ton truck was involved in an automobile accident with a civilian vehicle.
Monroe was assigned to the Army Reserve. defenselink.mil/ ... 00:30:48Marine Lance Cpl.
Robert F. Eckfield Jr., 23, of Cleveland, OhioMarine Lance Cpl. Jared J. Kremm,
24, of Hauppage, N.Y.Army Sgt. James
Witkowski, 32, of Surprise, Ariz., died on Oct. 26, near Ashraf, Iraq, of
injuries sustained there earlier that day when an improvised explosive device
detonated near his HMMWV during convoy operations. Witkowski was assigned to
the Army Reserve. defenselink.mil/ ... 00:29:54Army Staff Sgt.
Daniel R. Lightner, Jr., 28, of Hollidaysburg, Pa., died in Ar Ramadi,
Iraq, on Oct. 27, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV
during combat operations. Lightner was assigned to the Army National Guard.
defenselink.mil/ ... 00:28:29Army Sgt.
Michael T. Robertson, 28, of Houston, Texas, died at
Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, on Oct. 25, of injuries
sustained in Samarra, Iraq, on Oct. 17, when an improvised explosive device
detonated near his Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The incident fatally injured
another soldier and was reported on Oct. 25. Army Cpl. Benjamin D.
Hoeffner, 21, of Wheat Ridge, Colo., died in Ali Al Salem, Kuwait, on Oct.
25, of a non-combat related cause. 
247-acre Skokholm Island, off the coast of Pembrokeshire
in southwest Wales... teeming with sea birds that inspired the classic animal
fantasy tale "Watership Down" is up for sale for the first time in 300 years...
regarded as one of the most important breeding areas for sea birds in Europe
and has been designated one of the region's Sites of Special Scientific
Interest. Owners of the Dale Castle Estate hope it will fetch $1.3 million.
They have given the right of first refusal to the Wildlife Trust, a
conservation group that has managed the island for the past 50 years... home to
45,000 pairs of Manx shearwaters as well as puffins, storm petrels, razorbills,
guillemots, oystercatchers and three species of gulls... 
followup-- About 130 pilot
whales died after three pods became stranded on a remote beach in southern
Australia... Nearly 60 whales died and about 10 had been rescued with the help
of scores of volunteers and wildlife officials by nightfall Tuesday.
But a third pod began beaching at dusk... Rescuers
found about 70 of the latest arrivals dead on the beach Wednesday morning and
14 still alive... return[ed] eight survivors to the sea by late morning.
Another eight died... Marine Cpl. Benny G.
Cockerham III, 21, of Conover, N.C.Marine Capt. Tyler B. Swisher, 35, of Cincinnati,
OhioNavy Petty Officer 3rd
Class Christopher W. Thompson, 25, of N. Wilkesboro, N.C., was killed in
action on Oct. 21, from an IED explosion while conducting combat operations
against enemy forces in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq. defenselink.mil/ ... 21:21:30Marine Lance Cpl.
Jonathan R. Spears, 21, of Molino, Fla., died Oct. 23 from enemy
small-arms fire while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Ar
Ramadi, Iraq. defenselink.mil/ ... 00:20:07Army Staff Sgt.
Vincent E. Summers, 38, of South Haven, Mich.Army Spc. Thomas H. Byrd, 21, of
Cochise, Ariz.Army Spc. Jeffrey W. Corban, 30, of Elkhart, Ind.Army Spc. Richard A.
Hardy, 24, of Newcomerstown, Ohio.Army Spc. Timothy D. Watkins, 24, of San
Bernardino, Calif. Army Staff Sgt.
George T. Alexander, Jr., 34, of Clanton, Ala., died at Brooke Army
Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, on Oct. 22, of injuries sustained in
Samarra, Iraq, on Oct. 17, when an improvised explosive device detonated near
his Bradley Fighting Vehicle. defenselink.mil/ ... 00:18:11Army Sgt. Jacob D.
Dones, 21, of Dimmitt, Texas, died in Hit, Iraq, on Oct. 20, when his
forward operating base was attacked by enemy forces using indirect fire.
GAMALIEL,
Ark. - Two owners of an animal rescue operation were arrested after hundreds of
dogs, some rescued from Hurricane Katrina, were found on the couple's property
groveling for food among urine and feces... Between 400 and 500 dogs were on
the two-acre lot, including 50 pit bulls... About 75 dogs were running loose...
today.reuters.com/ ...
09:30:30Tiny fleas that survive on fungus found under a blanket of snow
contain a unique antifreeze that could have implications for farming or
transplant surgery... Army Sgt. Arthur A.
Mora Jr., 23, of Pico Rivera, Calif.Army Spc. Russell H. Nahvi, 24, of
Arlington, TexasArmy Spc. Jose E. Rosario, 20, of St. Croix, Virgin
IslandsArmy Spc. Kendall K.
Frederick, 21, of Randallstown, Md., died near Tikrit, Iraq, on Oct. 19,
when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during convoy
operations. 
A surfer received a bad gash
Wednesday when a 14-foot shark bit her leg in the waters off northern
California and pulled her underwater... got away after she hit the shark on its
tail... bite that stretched from her thigh to her calf... CHUBBUCK,
Idaho - Skeeter the poodle can do one thing really well: play dead. That's
because the 11-pound pooch has narcolepsy... "He has no personality right now,"
his owner.. said. "It is scary. I don't want him turning into a couch pillow."
...chasing a squirrel, going for a walk or sniffing a four-legged friend. All
of a sudden, the dog would be out cold... being treated with ..Ritalin and an
antidepressant... news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 02:00:38
The rat was released on the
uninhabited island of Motuhoropapa but refused to be captured at the project's
end. The NZ team tells Nature magazine the animal finally turned up on the
nearby Otata Island - a mighty swim of 400m.... Army Spc. Daniel D.
Bartels, 22, of Huron, S.D., died in Mosul, Iraq, on Oct. 19, of a
non-combat related cause identified there on Oct. 18. defenselink.mil/ ... 20:47:33Marine Lance Cpl.
Norman W. Anderson III, 21, of Parkton, Md., died Oct. 19 from a suicide
vehicle-borne improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations
against enemy forces in Karabilah, Iraq. defenselink.mil/ ... 20:47:13Army Staff Sgt. Tommy
I. Folks Jr., 31, of Amarillo, Texas, died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Oct. 19, of
injuries sustained on Oct. 18, in Iskandariyah, Iraq, when multiple improvised
explosive devices detonated near his HMMWV during convoy operations. Folks was
assigned to the Army National Guard. defenselink.mil/ ... 01:51:36Army Chief Warrant
Officer Paul J. Pillen, 28, of Keystone, S.D., died in Salwa, Kuwait, on
Oct. 17, of a non-combat related cause. Pillen was assigned to the Army
National Guard. defenselink.mil/ ... 01:51:12Army Spc. Lucas A.
Frantz, 22, of Tonganoxie, Kan., died in Mosul, Iraq, on Oct. 18, when he
was hit by enemy fire while performing a combat mission. defenselink.mil/ ... 01:50:20Marine Lance Cpl.
Daniel Scott R. Bubb, 19, of Grottoes, Va., died Oct. 17 from small-arms
fire while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Rutbah,
Iraq. defenselink.mil/ ... 01:49:58Navy Petty Officer 3rd
Class Fabricio Moreno, 26, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was killed Oct. 14 in a
single-vehicle accident in Manda Bay, Kenya. Moreno was assigned to Naval
Mobile Construction, and deployed as part of a Combined Joint Task Force –
Horn of Africa construction team. Marine Lance Cpl.
Chad R. Hildebrandt, 22, of Springer, N.M., died Oct. 17 from small-arms
fire while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Rutbah,
Iraq. defenselink.mil/ ... 00:34:20Marine Lance Cpl.
Christopher M. Poston, 20, of Glendale, Ariz., died Oct. 17 from a
non-hostile vehicle accident in Hit, Iraq. defenselink.mil/ ... 00:33:56Army Air Forces 2nd Lt.
Augustus J. Allen, of Myrtle Springs, TexasArmy Staff Sgt. James D.
Cartwright, of Los Angeles, Calif.Army Cpl. Paul R. Stubbs, of Haverhill,
Mass.Army Pfc. Joseph
Cruz, 22, of Whittier, Calif., died in Bagram, Afghanistan, on Oct. 16, of
non-combat related injuries sustained in an accident at Organ-E, Afghanistan,
on Oct. 15. defenselink.mil/ ... 00:32:16Marine Sgt. Mark P.
Adams, 24, of Morrisville, N.C., died Oct. 15 from an improvised explosive
device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Saqlawiyah,
Iraq. 
...Fluffy the cat took up to
10 minutes to die after 34-year-old [mother] put the animal in the machine at
her home in Hellesdon... Fluffy was gripping to the washer's metal drum so
tightly its claws broke off as it spun round. Eventually the cat drowned...
[Woman] was jailed for six weeks... had put the cat in the washing machine
because it had scratched her... allegedly bragged: "I put it on boil wash as
well..." aftenposten.no/ ... 08:53:14...had
erected a statue of a moose in their garden, but a pair of the real thing
apparently didn't approve... It remains unclear whether the moose felt
threatened by the statue, or whether they were simply irritable, since it's the
middle of the annual moose hunting season in Norway... timesonline.co.uk/ ...
08:49:40
10ft boa
constrictor slithering from their lavatory bowls... one brave resident trapped
the giant reptile during a night-time confrontation in his bathroom... managed
to coax the snake.. into a bin, ending a two-month reign of terror at the flats
in West Didsbury, Manchester... a former resident.. forced out in August for
rent arrears.. had owned a 12-year-old snake... "It would have no problem
travelling up and down the waste pipe and has probably been eating rats from
the sewer...” washingtonpost.com/ ...
00:27:36
A young
gorilla in a Congo sanctuary is smashing palm nuts between two rocks to extract
oil... A cat in Dobson, N.C., is
believed to be the only cat in the world with two tongues... named Five Toes,
was born with two tongues and five toes on each paw... news.independent.co.uk/ ...
05:43:18Researchers have found that chimps make different calls when given
different kinds of food. High grunts denote a highly prized treat, such as
bread, and low grunts food of low value, such as apples. Other chimps seem to
know exactly what the calls mean... [Where teen-age grunt-speak originally
evolved...] ap.tbo.com/ ... 05:34:51OWOSSO,
Mich. ...A five-pointer [buck deer] crashed through the front door of his
plumbing store Thursday evening... knocked a few things off some shelves and
broke a radio before it ran out a garage door... [Owner] returned home last
week from an Alaskan hunting trip, is a trophy hunter whose front office is
filled with mounted animals... 
Melissa Etheridge says she
smoked medicinal marijuana to help with the side effects of chemotherapy during
her treatment for breast cancer. The 44-year-old singer, who was diagnosed over
a year ago, is now cancer-free... "Instead of taking five or six of the
prescriptions, I decided to go a natural route and smoke marijuana..." When
asked how her doctors reacted, Etheridge says, "Every single one was, `Oh,
yeah. That's the best help for the effects of chemotherapy.'..." [Ask
yourself: Why is this news?] medpagetoday.com/ ... 06:06:52A synthetic cannabinoid --
similar to the compounds found in marijuana, but
substantially stronger -- causes the growth of new
neurons and reduces anxiety and depression... And researchers.. found
evidence that the brain contains so-called CB2 cannabinoid... Most so-called
drugs of abuse -- such as alcohol or cocaine -- inhibit the growth of new
neurons... "Only marijuana promotes neurogenesis..."
Army Spc. Robert W.
Tucker, 20, of Hilham, Tenn., died in Ad Dujayl, Iraq, on Oct. 13, when an
improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations.
Tucker was assigned to the Army National Guard. defenselink.mil/ ... 22:36:00Army Sgt. Donald D.
Furman, 30, of Burton, S.C.Army Sgt. Lorenzo Ponce Ruiz, 26, of El Paso,
Texas... Marine Master Sgt.
Kenneth E. Hunt Jr., 40, of Tucson, Ariz., died Oct. 12 at Brooke Army
Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, from wounds received July 24 when the
vehicle he was riding in struck an anti-tank mine while conducting combat
operations against enemy forces in Al Taqaddum, Iraq. Army Spc. James T.
Grijalva, 26, of Burbank, Ill., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Oct. 12, of a
non-combat related injury. Grijalva was assigned to the Army National Guard.
cannabis can
act like an antidepressant, researchers have found... 
NEW ORLEANS ...The manatees that grazed in Lake
Pontchartrain before Hurricane Katrina haven't been seen since, but eight
dolphins were leaping in the lake this week... 
Yahoo! has agreed with the
attorneys general of New York and Nebraska to remove and
bar the posting of user-created chat rooms with names that suggest they are
promoting sex between minors and adults... An Army veteran who fled to
Canada to avoid prosecution for growing marijuana to treat his chronic pain was
yanked from a hospital by Canadian authorities, driven to the border with a
catheter still attached, and turned over to U.S. officials, his lawyer says. He
then went five days with no medical treatment and only ibuprofen for the
pain... was still fitted with the urinary catheter when he shuffled into
federal court for a detention hearing Wednesday... "This is totally inhumane.
He's been tortured for days for no reason..." suffered debilitating injuries in
the 1980s when his parachute failed to open during a jump, and those injuries
were exacerbated by a car crash in 1990... In 2001, while he was living in
McKinleyville, Calif., his marijuana operation was raided for the second time.
He fled to British Columbia to avoid prosecution but asylum was denied. Last
Friday, he checked himself into a Vancouver hospital for prostate problems, and
it was there that he was arrested... Though Tuck has taken morphine - as
prescribed by doctors - for about 16 years to help with his pain, he was given
no painkiller or treatment at the jail other than ibuprofen... appeared
emaciated in court... [STOP THE INSANITY!
REPEAL!
REPEAL!
REPEAL!] Army Sgt. 1st Class
Brandon K. Sneed, 33, of Norman, Okla.Army Sgt. Leon M. Johnson, 28, of
Jacksonville, Fla.Marine Lance Cpl.
Sergio H. Escobar, 18, of Pasadena, Calif., died Oct. 9 from an
improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy
forces in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. defenselink.mil/ ... 23:30:26Army Staff Sgt.
Matthew A. Kimmell, 30, of Paxton, Ind., died in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, on Oct.
11, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. defenselink.mil/ ... 23:29:28Army Spc. Jeremy M.
Hodge, 20, of Ridgeway, Ohio, died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Oct. 10, when an
improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. Hodge was assigned to the
Army National Guard. defenselink.mil/ ... 08:54:03Army Staff Sgt. Jerry
L. Bonifacio Jr., 28, of Vacaville, Calif., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Oct.
10, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his
checkpoint. Bonifacio was assigned to the Army National Guard. defenselink.mil/ ... 08:53:38Army Lt. Col. Leon G.
James II, 46, of Sackets Harbor, N.Y., died at Walter Reed Army Medical
Center in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 10, of injuries sustained in Baghdad, Iraq,
on Sep. 26, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during
combat operations. James was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 314th Field
Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 78th Division, Fort Drum, N.Y. For further
information related to this release, contact Army Public Affairs at (703)
692-2000. defenselink.mil/ ... 08:52:26Army Staff Sgt. Gary
R. Harper Jr., 29, of Virden, Ill., died in Baghdad, Iraq on Oct. 9, when
his reconnaissance mission was attacked by enemy forces. Harper was assigned to
the 2nd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group. 
On a warm August
night in 1974, John Lennon was staying in New York with his assistant May Pang
when he stepped naked out to the balcony of his apartment to enjoy the breeze.
In the dim haze he saw a circular, brightly lit UFO floating silently in the
sky about 100 feet away. He screamed for Pang who ran to the terrace and saw
it, too. It hovered for a few minutes, then disappeared. Lennon refers to this
on the cover of this "Walls and Bridges" album, released later that year. Pang
has given several interviews swearing that it's the truth... ap.tbo.com/ ... 10:08:59"He's relevant
today, he'll be relevant tomorrow... It doesn't matter how old you are. This is
where all other popular music comes from..."Army Sgt. Eric A.
Fifer, 22, of Knoxville, Tenn. Fifer died in Al Asad, Iraq.Army Pfc. Nicholas J.
Greer, 21, of Monroe, Mich. Greer died in Haqlaniyah, Iraq.Army Staff Sgt.
Timothy J. Roark, 29, of Houston, Texas, died in Balad, Iraq, on Oct. 2, of
a non-combat related injury. defenselink.mil/ ... 17:25:47Army Pfc. Benny S.
Franklin, 19, of Hammond, La., died in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Oct. 7, of
injuries sustained earlier that day in Helmand, Afghanistan, when he stepped on
a landmine during patrol operations. defenselink.mil/ ... 17:25:21Army Sgt. 1st Class
Moses E. Armstead, 44, of Rochester, N.Y., died at Landstuhl Regional
Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, on Oct. 6, of a non-combat related
illness identified on Oct. 5, as he was returning from leave status and
preparing to redeploy to Afghanistan. dog,
which was wounded. ap.tbo.com/ ... 11:24:41Five farm
workers... arrested Thursday... beat a German woman [38] to death and hid her
body on her ranch in a mountain city near Rio de Janeiro... The farm workers
claimed they were mistreated and threatened by [her. She] had a history of
violent behavior... was charged three times for shooting at hikers and killing
a neighbor's cow that was on her property... ap.tbo.com/ ... 11:20:52Gunmen
opened fired on the motorcade of a Jamaican member of parliament, killing her
motorcycle escort as they drove through one of the Caribbean's most violent
cities... Olivia Grange, parliamentarian for the opposition Labor Party...
represents Spanish Town several miles west of Kingston... For three years,
Spanish Town was the scene of battles between two politically aligned gangs,
the Clansman, which supports the governing party, and One Order, which supports
the opposition. Jamaica is struggling with its worst violent crime wave on
record. More than 1,250 people have been killed this year on the Caribbean
island of 2.6 million, compared to 1,467 in 2004. Police blame the violence on
well-armed street gangs vying for control of lucrative drug and extortion
rings... ap.tbo.com/ ...
11:14:07PHILADELPHIA - A man shot and killed two women at two different
strip malls on Friday and then turned the gun on himself... officer witnessed
the man shoot a woman inside a car at the first strip mall around 10 a.m...
followed the man to another shopping center, where he shot another bystander...
an on-duty officer shot the suspect, who then killed himself... Marine Cpl. Nicholas
O. Cherava, 21, of Ontonagon, Mich.Marine Pfc. Jason L. Frye, 19, of Landisburg,
Pa.Marine Lance Cpl.
Shayne M. Cabino, 19, of Canton, Mass., died Oct. 6 from an improvised
explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces near
Al Karmah, Iraq. defenselink.mil/ ... 11:54:05Marine Lance Cpl.
Patrick B. Kenny, 20, of Pittsburgh, Pa., died Oct. 6 from an improvised
explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces near
Al Karmah, Iraq.Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel M. McVicker, 20, of Alliance, Ohio,
died Oct. 6 from an improvised explosive device while conducting combat
operations against enemy forces near Al Qaim, Iraq. defenselink.mil/ ... 11:53:24Army Spc. Jeremiah W.
Robinson, 20, of Mesa, Ariz., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Oct. 6, of injuries
sustained there on Oct. 5, when an improvised explosive device detonated near
his HMMWV during convoy operations. Robinson was assigned to the Army National
Guard. Navy Petty Officer 2nd
Class Brian K. Joplin, 32, of Hugo, Okla., was killed Oct. 4, when he
fell out of a U.S. Navy MH-53 helicopter during a regularly scheduled training
mission in the Central Arabian Gulf. Joplin was assigned to Helicopter Mine
Countermeasures Squadron 15. defenselink.mil/ ... 00:53:58Army Sgt. Bryan W.
Large, 31, of Cuyahoga Falls, OhioArmy Spc. Jacob T. Vanderbosch, 21, of Vadnais
Heights, Minn.Army Pfc. Roberto C. Baez, 19, of Tampa, Fla.Army Staff Sgt. Jens
E. Schelbert, 31, of New Orleans, La., died in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, on Oct. 1,
when his forward operating base was attacked by enemy forces using indirect
fire. defenselink.mil/ ... 00:52:42Army Sgt. Larry W.
Pankey Jr., 34, of Morrison, Colo., died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 3, of non-combat related injuries sustained in
Balad, Iraq, on Sept. 23. Pankey was assigned to the Army Reserve's 467th
Engineer Battalion. defenselink.mil/ ... 00:52:08Army Spc. Joshua J.
Kynoch, 23, of Santa Rosa, Calif., died in Bayji, Iraq, on Oct. 1, when an
improvised explosive device detonated near his M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle
during convoy operations. defenselink.mil/ ... 00:51:41Marine Pfc. Andrew D.
Bedard, 19, of Missoula, Mont., died Oct. 4 from an improvised explosive
device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Ar Ramadi,
Iraq. defenselink.mil/ ... 00:50:17Army Staff Sgt. Sean
B. Berry, 26, of Mansfield, Texas, died in Taqaddum, Iraq, on Oct. 3 of
non-combat related injuries. 
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - Two
high school boys swallowed goldfish at a school assembly and were punished with
a stern talking-to. Animal rights activists say that's not enough... ap.tbo.com/ ... 09:32:45...Ai Ai, began scavenging
cigarette butts left by visitors at the Qinling Safari Park in the late 1980's
after her first mate, Jian Jian, died... Zookeepers eventually began giving Ai
Ai cigarettes of her own and lighting them... She was smoking between eight and
10 cigarettes a day before zookeepers decided in August to help her kick the
habit.... Army Sgt. Marshall A.
Westbrook, 43, of Farmington, N.M., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Oct. 1, when
an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. Westbrook was assigned
to the Army National Guard. defenselink.mil/ ... 22:36:31Marine Cpl. John R.
Stalvey, 22, of Conroe, Texas, died Oct. 3 from an improvised explosive
device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces during Operation
Iron Fist in Karabilah, Iraq. Army Staff Sgt. John
G. Doles, 29, of Claremore, Okla., died in Shah Wali, Afghanistan, on Sept.
30, during patrol operations when his unit was attacked by enemy forces using
rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. defenselink.mil/ ... 17:58:53Army Sgt. 1st Class
James J. Stoddard Jr., 29, of Crofton, Md., died in Afghanistan on Sept.
30, when his vehicle accidentally rolled over. Small
amounts of a bacteria that causes "rabbit fever" were found on Washington's
National Mall last weekend as thousands of protesters marched against the Iraq
War, U.S. health authorities said on Saturday... low levels of Francisella
tularensis bacteria that cause Tularemia... Rabbit fever
can not be passed from person to person... can be effectively treated
with readily available medicines... Symptoms usually appear 3 to 5 days after
exposure, but in rare cases can take up to two weeks... include: sudden fever,
chills, headaches, conjunctivitis, diarrhea, muscle aches, joint pain, dry
cough and progressive weakness... 
...Cindy Sheehan.. has elevated "second
guessing" to a new art form. "Why did my son have to die?" Ms. Sheehan wants to
ask President Bush. Simple answer: He didn't have to die, he could have made
the choice to become a doctor, lawyer, electrician, accountant, truck driver,
carpenter or garbage man, but instead, Casey Sheehan chose to become a soldier.
Of course, being an accountant, lawyer or truck driver also has its risks. You
may be one of the 42,600 who will meet their Maker on the roadways this year...
One has to wonder: Is Casey Sheehan rolling over in his grave in disgust seeing
his mother use his gravestone as a steppingstone for the anti-war movement?..
drudgereport.com/ ... 09:11:39
Donald Sutherland: "They were inept. The were inadequate
to the task, and they lied... And they were insulting, and they were
vindictive. And they were heartless. They did not care. They do not care. They
do not care about Iraqi people. They do not care about the families of dead
soldiers. They only care about profit." At one point during the session,
Sutherland started crying: "We stolen our children's future... We have
children. We have children. How dare we take their legacy from them. How dare
we. It's shameful. What we are doing to our world..." 
waiting jaws of
an alligator. 
WASHINGTON... National Zoo... 2-year-old giraffe... named
Jafari, was being treated for complications from skin cancer, but Sunday
morning it appeared disoriented and was walking in circles... [staff] decided
to put the giraffe down... was operated on Oct. 5 to treat a cancerous,
grapefruit-sized tumor on the top of his head. However, the disease had spread
to bone and not all the tumor could be removed. The National Zoo now has only
one giraffe, Randall, a 3-year-old male. 
rrrrr...]
Angered lawmakers in Taiwan are
protesting Google's listing of the island nation as a "province of China" on
its online map service...