Tim Hetherington, Academy Award nominated director and journalist, was recently killed in Libya. His war documentary "Restrepo" will air this evening on the National Geographic channel east coast time 9 PM. Here is a link to the trailer:
http://youtu.be/PCPnJaxC17o
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Michael Yon
I enjoyed this article by Michael Yon called "Gobar Gas," (dung) it is an article about utilizing resources in otherwise fuel challenged countries. Check out the link!
Early Easter for me...
Good early morning to all...I did get to speak to Manny recently...he sounded great as usual, all things considered. For a Mom, it was better than Easter Flowers! Be safe Marines and God Bless you all.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Larry the Cable Guy salutes the troops...
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=hp#!/video/video.php?v=1891922931812&oid=130841168165&comments
The female black belt instructor appears to have a dip in.....
http://www.history.com/shows/only-in-america-with-larry-the-cable-guy/videos/below-the-black-belt#below-the-black-belt
The female black belt instructor appears to have a dip in.....
http://www.history.com/shows/only-in-america-with-larry-the-cable-guy/videos/below-the-black-belt#below-the-black-belt
Need a knot?
I thought this site was pretty kool...since I am a fisherwoman I especially loved the fishing knots page. But there have been many times I have needed a good rescue knot (4wheeler stuck in a mile of mud) stuff like that.
http://www.animatedknots.com/
http://www.animatedknots.com/
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Good Morning...
A SHOUT-OUT to our men in the 2/8th! We love you guys! Hope you are all doing well, keeping your spirits up and that mail day was a good one for all! We miss your presence here in the states, but know you are over there for us all....Thank you.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Afghan popppy cultivation
Afghan poppy cultivation to increase in north, UN says
Apr 18, 2011, 10:22 GMT
Kabul - There will be a rise in the cultivation of opium in parts of Afghanistan, including previously poppy-free provinces, the United Nations said Monday.
'A strong increase in cultivation is expected in north and north-eastern regions, namely in Badakshan, Baghlan and Faryab provinces,' the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said. 'Some parts of southern and western regions will also experience a significant increase.'
But Afghanistan will see a slight total decrease in poppy cultivation in 2011, the UN said, releasing their bi-monthly Opium Rapid Assessment Survey.
Despite high prices for opium, overall cultivation is expected to decrease slightly due to a fall in the main producing provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, the UN said.
'This is only an indicator and government policy can stimulate further decline,' said Jean-Luc Lemahieu, head of UNODC in Afghanistan, during the release of the survey.
Helmand has shown a declining trend over the last three years, with a decrease in production land from 103,590 hectares in 2008 to 65,045 hectares in 2010, the statement said.
NATO and Afghan forces have been pushing the Taliban from the areas around Kandahar and Helmand in the south since 2010, making 'some fragile and reversible gains.'
In the south a direct correlation between insecurity, lack of agricultural aid and poppy cultivation could be established, the statement said, adding some 90 per cent of the villages in the south with poor security are involved in poppy cultivation.
The increase in poppy cultivation in the relatively safe northern villages gives 'reason for concern,' UN said.
The survey also found that the 'high sales price of opium' was the driving force behind poppy cultivation in 2011. The dry and fresh opium prices, increased between February 2010 and February 2011, by 306 per cent and 251 per cent, respectively, it said.
Afghanistan is the world's biggest opium-producing country with a global share of 77 per cent. At least 1.7 million farmers are directly engaged in the cultivation of poppies.
According to Afghan, US and United Nations officials, the drugs trade has been the financial lifeline of Taliban insurgents who have been waging an insurgency since 2001.
Apr 18, 2011, 10:22 GMT
Kabul - There will be a rise in the cultivation of opium in parts of Afghanistan, including previously poppy-free provinces, the United Nations said Monday.
'A strong increase in cultivation is expected in north and north-eastern regions, namely in Badakshan, Baghlan and Faryab provinces,' the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said. 'Some parts of southern and western regions will also experience a significant increase.'
But Afghanistan will see a slight total decrease in poppy cultivation in 2011, the UN said, releasing their bi-monthly Opium Rapid Assessment Survey.
Despite high prices for opium, overall cultivation is expected to decrease slightly due to a fall in the main producing provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, the UN said.
'This is only an indicator and government policy can stimulate further decline,' said Jean-Luc Lemahieu, head of UNODC in Afghanistan, during the release of the survey.
Helmand has shown a declining trend over the last three years, with a decrease in production land from 103,590 hectares in 2008 to 65,045 hectares in 2010, the statement said.
NATO and Afghan forces have been pushing the Taliban from the areas around Kandahar and Helmand in the south since 2010, making 'some fragile and reversible gains.'
In the south a direct correlation between insecurity, lack of agricultural aid and poppy cultivation could be established, the statement said, adding some 90 per cent of the villages in the south with poor security are involved in poppy cultivation.
The increase in poppy cultivation in the relatively safe northern villages gives 'reason for concern,' UN said.
The survey also found that the 'high sales price of opium' was the driving force behind poppy cultivation in 2011. The dry and fresh opium prices, increased between February 2010 and February 2011, by 306 per cent and 251 per cent, respectively, it said.
Afghanistan is the world's biggest opium-producing country with a global share of 77 per cent. At least 1.7 million farmers are directly engaged in the cultivation of poppies.
According to Afghan, US and United Nations officials, the drugs trade has been the financial lifeline of Taliban insurgents who have been waging an insurgency since 2001.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
"The Telegraph" Afghanistan News Today...
Top ten Osama Bin Laden sightings
Since the terrorist mastermind's disappearance following the September 11th attacks, there have been numerous reported sightings of Osama bin Laden, some stranger than others. Here we look at the top ten over the past decade.
By Emanuelle Degli Esposti 7:00AM BST 05 Apr 2011
1. In October 2001, an American woman told the emergency services that she had encountered Osama bin Laden at a convenience store in Pleasant View, Utah.
2. On December 17, 2001, a man in Colorado Springs, Colorado, informed authorities that he had seen the terrorist attending a Rotary Club event.
3. A senior Afghan official told Fox News in March 2002 that he had seen bin Laden travelling through the border territories with Pakistan. He described the former Taliban leader's appearence as unchanged, although he was noticeably thinner.
4. On February 27, 2004, Iranian News Agency IRNA reported that bin Laden had been captured some time earlier in Pakistan. Both the Pentagon and a spokesperson of the Pakistani armed forces denied this claim.
5. September 23, 2005. Bin Laden was believed by Pakistani officials to be on the Afghan-Pakistani border. He is said to have been keeping a low profile, with as little as ten men guarding him.
6. January 9, 2006. Michael Ledeen, an American Neoconservative with close ties to the Bush administration, wrote that, "....according to Iranians I trust, Osama bin Laden finally departed this world in mid-December. The al-Qaeda leader died of kidney failure and was buried in Iran, where he had spent most of his time since the destruction of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan."
7. September 7, 2007. American counter-terrorism expert, Richard A. Clarke, speculated that bin Laden's "phony looking beard" in a recent videotaped message may mean his original beard had been shaved to help him blend into different Muslim communities. Mr Clarke told ABC News, "One place where a beard would stand out would be southeast Asia, the Philippines, Indonesia. No one's thought he was there, but that is an environment where most men, Muslim men don't have beards."
8. In February 2008, an American woman reported to the police that she had seen Osama bin Laden at her local library in Bellingham, Washington.
9. According to an obsucre website for learning Spanish, www.spanishdict.com, Osama bin Laden was spotted enjoying a carnval in Tecalpulco, Mexico, in the company of his good friend Michael Jackson.
10. October 18, 2010. CNN claims that: "Osama bin Laden is alive and well and living comfortably in a house in the north-west of Pakistan protected by local people and elements of the country's intelligence services"
Since the terrorist mastermind's disappearance following the September 11th attacks, there have been numerous reported sightings of Osama bin Laden, some stranger than others. Here we look at the top ten over the past decade.
By Emanuelle Degli Esposti 7:00AM BST 05 Apr 2011
1. In October 2001, an American woman told the emergency services that she had encountered Osama bin Laden at a convenience store in Pleasant View, Utah.
2. On December 17, 2001, a man in Colorado Springs, Colorado, informed authorities that he had seen the terrorist attending a Rotary Club event.
3. A senior Afghan official told Fox News in March 2002 that he had seen bin Laden travelling through the border territories with Pakistan. He described the former Taliban leader's appearence as unchanged, although he was noticeably thinner.
4. On February 27, 2004, Iranian News Agency IRNA reported that bin Laden had been captured some time earlier in Pakistan. Both the Pentagon and a spokesperson of the Pakistani armed forces denied this claim.
5. September 23, 2005. Bin Laden was believed by Pakistani officials to be on the Afghan-Pakistani border. He is said to have been keeping a low profile, with as little as ten men guarding him.
6. January 9, 2006. Michael Ledeen, an American Neoconservative with close ties to the Bush administration, wrote that, "....according to Iranians I trust, Osama bin Laden finally departed this world in mid-December. The al-Qaeda leader died of kidney failure and was buried in Iran, where he had spent most of his time since the destruction of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan."
7. September 7, 2007. American counter-terrorism expert, Richard A. Clarke, speculated that bin Laden's "phony looking beard" in a recent videotaped message may mean his original beard had been shaved to help him blend into different Muslim communities. Mr Clarke told ABC News, "One place where a beard would stand out would be southeast Asia, the Philippines, Indonesia. No one's thought he was there, but that is an environment where most men, Muslim men don't have beards."
8. In February 2008, an American woman reported to the police that she had seen Osama bin Laden at her local library in Bellingham, Washington.
9. According to an obsucre website for learning Spanish, www.spanishdict.com, Osama bin Laden was spotted enjoying a carnval in Tecalpulco, Mexico, in the company of his good friend Michael Jackson.
10. October 18, 2010. CNN claims that: "Osama bin Laden is alive and well and living comfortably in a house in the north-west of Pakistan protected by local people and elements of the country's intelligence services"
Prayer for our Marines.....
I found this prayer on M.Yon's site today.....
Be Not Afraid
You shall cross the barren desert, but you shall not die of thirst. You shall wander far in safety though you do not know the way. You shall speak your words in foreign lands and all will understand. You shall see the face of God and live.
Be not afraid.
I go before you always;
Come follow me, and I will give you rest.
Be Not Afraid
You shall cross the barren desert, but you shall not die of thirst. You shall wander far in safety though you do not know the way. You shall speak your words in foreign lands and all will understand. You shall see the face of God and live.
Be not afraid.
I go before you always;
Come follow me, and I will give you rest.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Article from NewsMax a better understanding..
Some 1.4 million active-duty military personnel and their families got a rude awakening Friday, as the federal government notified them that their next paycheck will be cut in half due to the possible government shutdown
The military department that manages distribution of paychecks, the Defense Financing and Accounting Service (DFAS), posted the following advisory on its website: “Due to the government shutdown, the Department of Defense has no legal authority to pay any personnel -- military or civilian -- for the days during which the government is shut down.”
The current continuing resolution to fund government operations, including the military, expires at midnight Friday, and the current pay period continues through April 15. So without an end to the standoff in Washington, active-duty military personnel will only receive half their normal pay on April 15.
“We can only pay when we have appropriations,” a source with the Defense Finance and Accounting Service tells Newsmax. “Therefore, if appropriations were to terminate at midnight tonight, we can only pay through midnight tonight. We cannot invent money.”
The source said advice-of-payment notices usually only go out three or four days before payday, so the department is trying to understand why they went out this early. “This is one of those unusual situations where unusual things happen,” he said.
The news of the unexpected pay cut came as a big surprise to many military service men and women, who thought they would avoid an interruption in normal pay in the current cycle.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates alluded to the payroll problem on Thursday, when he spoke to 200 soldiers in Baghdad. “As a historian it always occurred to me the smart thing for government was always to pay the guys with guns first,” Gates quipped.
“But in all seriousness,” he added, “based on some stuff I read this morning, if the government shutdown starts on the 8th and goes for a week, you’d get a half a check. If it goes from the 15th to the 30th, you wouldn’t get a pay check on the 30th but you would be back paid for all of it.
“So that’s the deal and … I remember when I was your age I did a lot of living from pay check to pay check and so I hope this thing doesn’t happen,” he said.
Marine Corps Sgt. Gary Stein tells Newsmax that he only learned about the payroll reduction on Friday afternoon when he logged onto the MyPay.Dfas.mil site, which military personnel use to track their paychecks.
Waiting for him on the site was a pay notice informing him that he would receive only one week of pay on April 15.
“There are thousands of military members in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Japan who have enough to worry about on their plate," Stein tells Newsmax. “And now they have to worry about their families back home -- whether it be in Texas or Arizona or whatever state they’re in -- not getting the money they need. But in essence they’re over there fighting for free.”
A Pentagon spokesman told The Associated Press that if the shutdown were resolved by Tuesday, it might still be possible for service personnel to receive their normal amount of pay on April 15. A source told Newsmax the adjustment might involve issuing a second check to each member of the active-duty military. The DFAS source told Newsmax: “It would be our intent to make that as seamless as possible.”
But the worry is the delay required to issue a second paycheck to some 1.4 million people might delay the normal cash flow people are counting on.
“People are pretty concerned,” Sgt. Stein tells Newsmax. “I’m active duty myself. I have a landlord to pay, car payments, insurance. And they haven’t even settled whether we are going to have a shutdown yet. But they’re like, ’Well, were going to keep their pay anyway.”
Stein, the founder of the Armed Forces Tea Party group on Facebook, tells Newsmax he received a blizzard of e-mails and phone calls Friday afternoon from concerned active-duty military personnel, who received similar notices.
He also says the commissary at his base at Camp Pendleton has informed service personnel that it will close Saturday. Expenses for military families will significantly increase if they have to purchase their groceries at stores located off the base.
“My first reaction was, why so soon? Why jumping the gun? Why just assuming that a shutdown was going to happen?” Stein tells Newsmax. He adds: “What message does this send to our military? …It just seems like the upper echelon of the political world doesn’t care.”
On Thursday, by a 247-181 vote, the House passed what Republicans called a “troop funding bill.” It would pay for military operations through September.
"If you vote against this bill,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., “you are voting against the troops, who are engaged in three wars."
But Democrats in the Senate rejected the bill, because it called for $12 billion in discretionary spending cuts as well.
The Armed Force Tea Party group on Facebook is calling for local tea party groups, businesses, and citizens to donate gas cards, canned food, diapers, and household good to help military families in their local areas who are hit hard by the payroll interruption.
Other information on the payroll situation from DSAS:
On-duty military reserve members reportedly would be affected by the half paychecks as well.
Because retirees are not paid from continuing-resolution appropriations, they would not be affected.
Because the normal pay period for civilian employees ends on Saturday April 9, they are expected to receive a full paycheck for this cycle.
Contract and vendor payments will continue, according to DFAS, but only if the terms of their contracts provide for work to continue during a shutdown.
Read more on Newsmax.com: Military Sends Out Half-Pay Notice to War Zone Troops
Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama's Re-Election? Vote Here Now!
The military department that manages distribution of paychecks, the Defense Financing and Accounting Service (DFAS), posted the following advisory on its website: “Due to the government shutdown, the Department of Defense has no legal authority to pay any personnel -- military or civilian -- for the days during which the government is shut down.”
The current continuing resolution to fund government operations, including the military, expires at midnight Friday, and the current pay period continues through April 15. So without an end to the standoff in Washington, active-duty military personnel will only receive half their normal pay on April 15.
“We can only pay when we have appropriations,” a source with the Defense Finance and Accounting Service tells Newsmax. “Therefore, if appropriations were to terminate at midnight tonight, we can only pay through midnight tonight. We cannot invent money.”
The source said advice-of-payment notices usually only go out three or four days before payday, so the department is trying to understand why they went out this early. “This is one of those unusual situations where unusual things happen,” he said.
The news of the unexpected pay cut came as a big surprise to many military service men and women, who thought they would avoid an interruption in normal pay in the current cycle.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates alluded to the payroll problem on Thursday, when he spoke to 200 soldiers in Baghdad. “As a historian it always occurred to me the smart thing for government was always to pay the guys with guns first,” Gates quipped.
“But in all seriousness,” he added, “based on some stuff I read this morning, if the government shutdown starts on the 8th and goes for a week, you’d get a half a check. If it goes from the 15th to the 30th, you wouldn’t get a pay check on the 30th but you would be back paid for all of it.
“So that’s the deal and … I remember when I was your age I did a lot of living from pay check to pay check and so I hope this thing doesn’t happen,” he said.
Marine Corps Sgt. Gary Stein tells Newsmax that he only learned about the payroll reduction on Friday afternoon when he logged onto the MyPay.Dfas.mil site, which military personnel use to track their paychecks.
Waiting for him on the site was a pay notice informing him that he would receive only one week of pay on April 15.
“There are thousands of military members in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Japan who have enough to worry about on their plate," Stein tells Newsmax. “And now they have to worry about their families back home -- whether it be in Texas or Arizona or whatever state they’re in -- not getting the money they need. But in essence they’re over there fighting for free.”
A Pentagon spokesman told The Associated Press that if the shutdown were resolved by Tuesday, it might still be possible for service personnel to receive their normal amount of pay on April 15. A source told Newsmax the adjustment might involve issuing a second check to each member of the active-duty military. The DFAS source told Newsmax: “It would be our intent to make that as seamless as possible.”
But the worry is the delay required to issue a second paycheck to some 1.4 million people might delay the normal cash flow people are counting on.
“People are pretty concerned,” Sgt. Stein tells Newsmax. “I’m active duty myself. I have a landlord to pay, car payments, insurance. And they haven’t even settled whether we are going to have a shutdown yet. But they’re like, ’Well, were going to keep their pay anyway.”
Stein, the founder of the Armed Forces Tea Party group on Facebook, tells Newsmax he received a blizzard of e-mails and phone calls Friday afternoon from concerned active-duty military personnel, who received similar notices.
He also says the commissary at his base at Camp Pendleton has informed service personnel that it will close Saturday. Expenses for military families will significantly increase if they have to purchase their groceries at stores located off the base.
“My first reaction was, why so soon? Why jumping the gun? Why just assuming that a shutdown was going to happen?” Stein tells Newsmax. He adds: “What message does this send to our military? …It just seems like the upper echelon of the political world doesn’t care.”
On Thursday, by a 247-181 vote, the House passed what Republicans called a “troop funding bill.” It would pay for military operations through September.
"If you vote against this bill,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., “you are voting against the troops, who are engaged in three wars."
But Democrats in the Senate rejected the bill, because it called for $12 billion in discretionary spending cuts as well.
The Armed Force Tea Party group on Facebook is calling for local tea party groups, businesses, and citizens to donate gas cards, canned food, diapers, and household good to help military families in their local areas who are hit hard by the payroll interruption.
Other information on the payroll situation from DSAS:
On-duty military reserve members reportedly would be affected by the half paychecks as well.
Because retirees are not paid from continuing-resolution appropriations, they would not be affected.
Because the normal pay period for civilian employees ends on Saturday April 9, they are expected to receive a full paycheck for this cycle.
Contract and vendor payments will continue, according to DFAS, but only if the terms of their contracts provide for work to continue during a shutdown.
Read more on Newsmax.com: Military Sends Out Half-Pay Notice to War Zone Troops
Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama's Re-Election? Vote Here Now!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Military Pay issues...
I decided to wait to comment on this crisis, I woke today to find out that of course the Government came to an agreement (basically agree to disagree for another week) but was not expecting that they would cut our military pay in half and continue to close National Parks? Check out Michael Yon's link to the right of this post....
Our Marines are still going to be doing their jobs despite our President and our government letting them all down. Marine spouses are still going to be taking care of business at home. But...this puts more stress on our Marines currently deployed and their families at home. They should not have to be concerned with how their bills are going to get paid or if there is enough food on the table for their children.
Our Marines are still going to be doing their jobs despite our President and our government letting them all down. Marine spouses are still going to be taking care of business at home. But...this puts more stress on our Marines currently deployed and their families at home. They should not have to be concerned with how their bills are going to get paid or if there is enough food on the table for their children.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Currently Deployed....
It is always a good day when the phone rings from across the world and you hear "Hi Mom"! You know he is fine, however he is currently deployed ... and not dropping in with his load of laundry and his cute white laundry basket that is falling apart at the seams. No, he is eating the spam and peanut butter (not together) you sent him that he received last week and wondering why he even mentioned he liked spam? Enduring daily, what most of us can't conceive of, he and his brother Marines forge through their days for all of us. I think about you all everyday we are grateful to you. Thank you to our Marines in the 2/8th Golf, and to all who serve. We miss you Manuel.
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