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One of the reasons for the success of the surge in Baghdad was the construction of blast walls that separated Sunni and Shia neighborhoods. These walls gave a certain level of security to both sides who had been ravaged by sectarian violence for months. The walls come a tumblin' down. .. Market by market, square by square, the walls are beginning to come down. The miles of hulking blast walls, ugly but effective, were installed as a central feature of the surge of American troops to stop neighbors from killing one another."They protected against car bombs and drive-by attacks," said...

Reading FR over the past 48 hours or so has been downright depressing. Yesterday I found myself snapping at my children for no other reason than my negative state of mind. The election is still a month away. I don't believe that all is lost. Polls are being manipulated and so are we! So, what GOOD news have you heard lately? What is going on in your part of the country that gives you hope that McCain will win? What positive anecdotes can you share with all of us? Post it here. We could all use the encouragement.

Internet users, as well as editors making edits on Wikinews and Wikipedia, have been the victims of a recent hoax that talk show host Oprah Winfrey has been found dead in her Chicago, Illinois home. The rumors are considered to be a hoax, connected with the online group known as Anonymous. Other reports say that the website 4chan.org is responsible for starting the rumor which began to spread quickly over the Internet. The rumors started after a statement Winfrey made on a recent show, defending a United States Senate bill against pedophiles and child rapists saying a pedophile group has...

Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The Democratic-controlled Congress, acknowledging that it isn't equipped to lead the way to a solution for the financial crisis and can't agree on a path to follow, is likely to just get out of the way. Lawmakers say they are unlikely to take action before, or to delay, their planned adjournments -- Sept. 26 for the House of Representatives, a week later for the Senate.

LONDON (Reuters) - The bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers (LEH.N) is another blow for the hedge fund industry, though the writing has been on the wall long enough for many to have reduced their exposure to the U.S. investment bank. Legendary fund manager George Soros, who runs around $18 billion in assets, looks likely to have had his fingers burned after raising his stake in Lehman to 9.5 million shares in the second quarter. A spokesman for Soros Fund Management declined to comment on the composition of their portfolio. British activist hedge fund Algebris will also probably have taken a...

A major secret British operation to boost the economy in Afghanistan's Helmand province has been completed after a force of 5,000 troops fought for a week to drive a huge dam turbine through Taliban lines. British commanders estimate that more than 200 Taliban were killed as they tried to prevent the convoy of 100 vehicles from getting the machinery to Kajaki hydroelectric dam where it will provide a significant increase in energy for up to two million Afghans. The operation has been described as the biggest of its kind since the Second World War. For the last five days the...

Melting alpine glaciers are revealing fascinating clues to Neolithic life in the high mountains... Everyone knows the story of Oetzi the Ice Man, found in an Austrian glacier in 1991. Oetzi was discovered at an altitude of over 3,000m. He lived in about 3,300 BC, leading to speculation that the Alps may have had more human habitation than previously suspected. Now, more dramatic findings from the 2,756m Schnidejoch glacier in Switzerland have confirmed the theory. It all started at the end of the long hot summer of 2003, when a Swiss couple, hiking across a melting Schnidejoch, came across a...

Opec last month pushed its production to the highest level in its 48-year history even as demand was slipping in the US and Europe, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday. The combination of surplus supply and weaker demand has pushed oil prices to $113.50 a barrel, down 24 per cent in the past month and the lowest level since late April. The effort was led by Saudi Arabia, which had come under increasing pressure for doing too little to compensate for lower supplies from countries outside Opec, where growth has been lacklustre as fields have aged in countries...

BREAKING NEWS — Senior Al Qaeda commander Abu Saeed al-Masri has been killed in recent clashes with Pakistani forces in a Pakistani region near the Afghan border, a security official told Reuters on Tuesday. "He was believed to be among the top leadership of Al Qaeda," the senior security official told the news agency on condition of anonymity. Al-Masri, which means Egyptian, was the senior most Al Qaeda operative

See the video under "TOP VIDEO", they say it is going to be turned on THIS WEEKEND in the video, you might want to give your mom or other loved ones a call and tell them that you love them ;)

WASHINGTON – A controversial one-year program allowing Mexican trucks to travel deep into the United States will be extended for two more years, federal officials announced Monday. John H. Hill, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said the extension would allow for the collection of more data to determine whether Mexican trucks can operate safely in the United States. Opponents quickly denounced the move, which some had been expecting despite their protests that the program poses a danger on U.S. highways. Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, accused U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary...

CAMP VICTORY — Coalition forces once named the predominantly Sunni area in central Iraq, consisting of the cities of Yusuifiyah, Mahmudiyah, Iskandariyah and Latifiyah, the “Triangle of Death.” The troop surge initiated in 2007 neutralized much of the area enabling Iraqi Security Forces to take a leading role in the securing the region. An uprising there in March raised concerns and directed attention to the Iraqi Security Forces operating in that area; Coalition forces feared the ISF would struggle to maintain rule of law in the communities. “We got word that special group members were going to be coming down...

U.S. combat casualties in Iraq dwindled to the lowest level of the war in July, according to a CNSNews.com analysis of Defense Department data. Four U.S. service personnel were killed by the enemy in Iraq in July, the fewest combat casualties for any month since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. Additionally, one Air Force sergeant died of natural causes at Balad Air Force Base on July 17, according to Defense Department records, while five other U.S service personnel died during the month as a result of non-combat incidents. Also, the remains of two U.S. servicemen who...

Organizers of a Christian prayer ministry are expecting over a million people will fill the National Mall in Washington, D.C, on Aug. 16 for a 12-hour assembly of fasting and prayer for the country. The group is called TheCall, and according to their website, volunteers are working hard to gather people from every state in the country to fill the massive park between the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol on one day to fervently ask God for his undeserved mercy on the nation. Originally inspired by the 1997 Promise Keepers "Stand in the Gap" assembly at the same location,...

U.S. Deaths In Iraq Fall To Lowest Of the War Bush Suggests Gains May Allow More Troops To Come Home Sooner By Amit R. Paley Washington Post Foreign Service Friday, August 1, 2008; Page A01 BAGHDAD, July 31 -- Five American troops died in July as a result of combat in Iraq, by far the lowest monthly U.S. death toll of the five-year war. The number of Iraq-related American troop fatalities in July -- a total of 13 when noncombat deaths and the discovered bodies of two missing soldiers are included -- is a dramatic drop from just over a...

BAGHDAD, July 30 (Reuters) - The number of U.S. soldiers killed in combat in Iraq has dropped sharply in July and the monthly total is likely to be the lowest since the U.S.-led invasion of the country in 2003. Five U.S. soldiers have been killed in combat in Iraq so far in July compared to 66 in the same month last year, according to the independent website icasualties.org, which keeps records of U.S. military losses in the conflict. The drop underscores the dramatic fall in violence in Iraq to lows not seen since early 2004. Seeking to build on those...

POLL: What do you think? Bush declares progress in Iraq; says troop reductions may follow WASHINGTON — President Bush declared significant progress in the Iraq war Thursday, saying terrorists "are on the run" and that generally improved security likely will permit further U.S. troop reductions. Standing on the Colonnade outside the Oval Office of the White House, Bush also announced that effective Thursday, the duration of troop tours in Iraq will be cut from 15 months to 12 months. Bush said this reduction "will relieve the burden on our forces and it will make life easier for our wonderful military...

A London man accused of hacking into the computer systems of the US military and NASA on Wednesday lost his appeal against extradition to face trial. Gary McKinnon, 42, tried to prevent his transfer to the United States to be tried over what has been described as the "biggest military hack of all time" by taking his case to Britain's highest court, the House of Lords. But five judges unanimously rejected the appeal, paving the way for the unemployed UFO enthusiast to be extradited to the US, where he could be jailed for up to 70 years if convicted of...

A U.S. marine watches children play in Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad. (AP File Photo/Todd Pitman)(CNSNews.com) – American heroism has been ignored and overlooked by networks at home and overseas for the duration of the Iraq war, while insurgents and terrorists have used willing media outlets to score public relations wins. That bleak assessment comes from U.S. soldiers who served in Iraq during the pre-surge time frame, when the insurgency was its height. A collection of graphs and charts made available through the public affairs office of the Multi-National Corps in Iraq indicates that the media has pulled back...

There is an interesting piece of graffiti on a bridge near Basra. A fleeing militiaman has scrawled “We'll be back”; underneath an Iraqi soldier has scribbled in reply “And we'll be waiting for you”. The Shia militias, the Jaish al- Mahdi, who controlled large parts of Basra until March this year, has now gone and instead the city is firmly under the grip of Iraq's new security forces, in whom the coalition has invested so much training. They re-established control in April, in an operation romantically named “The Charge of the Knights”, systematically clearing the city with British and American...

Just some of the unreported progress in Iraq that the media is not telling you about courtesy of Sgt. Freedom: 1. 47 countries have re-established embassies in Iraq. 2. Over 1 million new cell phone subscribers in Iraq. 3. Jan. 2005 - 25 Iraqi students came here to re-establish the Fulbright Scholarship program for Iraq. 4. There are 1.2 million Iraqis now employed by the Iraqi government. 5. There are 3,100 schools that have been renovated. 6. There are 364 schools under rehabilitation. 7. There are 4 research centers that have been built. 8. There are 263 new schools under...

I am pretty sure this is the longest period of time without a fatality since the war began. God Bless our Troops, our President, and the United States of America. I'm going to go pick up the NY Times to read the front page article they surely must have written about the fantastic success of George W. Bush and his policy of establishing a stable democracy in Iraq.

A Canadian court has ordered the country's refugee board to re-examine an American deserter's rejected attempt for asylum in Canada.The court ruled that the board made mistakes when it turned down Joshua Key's claim for asylum. Mr Key served in Iraq in 2003 before deserting to Canada with his family while on leave in the US. The ruling could affect scores of other US soldiers sheltering in Canada who have refused to fight in Iraq. Possible deportations Joshua Key served in Iraq as a US combat engineer in Iraq in 2003. He claims that he witnessed several cases of abusive...

WASHINGTON: Barack Obama's political success might claim an unintended victim: affirmative action, a much-debated policy that he supports. Already weakened by several court rulings and state referendums, affirmative action now confronts a challenge to its very reason for existing. If Americans make a black person the leading contender for president, as nationwide polls suggest, how can racial prejudice be so prevalent and potent that it justifies special efforts to place minorities in coveted jobs and schools? "The primary rationale for affirmative action is that America is institutionally racist and institutionally sexist," said Ward Connerly, the leader of state-by-state efforts to...

The baby they said would never be born         SO SPECIAL: Catherine Kent and Kevin Gray with baby Leona-Lee. Proud parents Kevin Gray and Catherine Kent cradle the daughter they were told would never be born. Three months into Catherine's pregnancy, doctors told the 27-year-old that her baby had died inside her. Turning down surgical treatment to remove the baby, she spent a month carrying what she believed was a dead child until a check-up at Sunderland Royal Hospital revealed a mistake had been made and her baby was alive. Six months after the devastating news,...

Late-Term Abortion Facility in Dallas To Close - Eighth Closure Since Bishop Began Prayer at Clinics 24 hours a day, 7 days a week ecumenical effort was organized, with more than 800 people from 89 churches and several denominations The Catholic Pro-Life Committee, the Respect Life Ministry of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, has reported that Aaron Women's Health Center, a late-term abortion facility in Dallas will be closing its doors on June 28. Aaron's was one of three abortion clinics in Texas authorized to perform late-term abortions on unborn babies older than 16 weeks gestation.  When Bishop Charles Grahmann...

There is a reason progress in Iraq is not receiving more attention. It isn't that Americans are "bored" or "tired" or have "moved on" or "don't care" or "have already made up their minds that the war was a colossal mistake." All of these are variations on themes articulated by certain liberals, Bush-haters, Barack Obama supporters (but I repeat myself) inside and outside the big media. The main reason progress in Iraq is not receiving more attention is that the progress is considerable and the big media are not paying attention because they don't like the new storyline. They prefer...

(CNSNews.com) - Deploying more U.S. troops in Iraq has resulted in a dramatic decline in the number of U.S. troops being killed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in that country. IED-caused casualties have dropped 89 percent since the surge went full force last June, according to a Cybercast News Service database of Iraq casualties. IED-caused casualties spiked in the early part of last year as the surge began. In January 2007, the U.S. started deploying an additional 30,000 troops to the country. The surge in forces was completed in mid-June. Click For Larger Image On June 17, Gen. David Petraeus,...

HABBANIYAH — Two years ago, al-Anbar was said to be the most violent province in Iraq. It was a place where the insurgency in Iraq had begun and where the bloodiest battles took place. Today, thanks to the hard work and sacrifices made by the Marines, Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen who served in the area, it has become a model for the rest of Iraq. Marines of 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, have put in countless hours and have risked their lives every day to ensure their area of operations within al-Anbar Province stays that way...

SAN DIEGO – Presidential candidate Barack Obama will travel to San Diego next month to join opponent John McCain in speaking at the annual convention of the National Council of La Raza, the nation's largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization. Both senators are expected to address immigration and other issues pertinent to Latino voters, NCLR President Janet Murguía said during a visit to San Diego promoting the convention. Obama's plans were announced yesterday; McCain had agreed earlier to address the convention. The fact that both candidates will attend “speaks to a number of things, not only to the importance...

The United States has quietly informed Western allies of its intention to walk away from the U.N. Human Rights Council, diplomatic sources said on Friday. The U.S. delegation has observer status, with the right to speak, in the 47-member state forum, which meets in Geneva, and has never stood for election to the Council since it was set up two years ago. Diplomatic sources and rights activists said that U.S. officials had informed the European Union on Friday morning of its intention to halt its involvement in the Council. "They said they were going to disengage totally," said one representative...

US walking away from U.N. rights forum -diplomats 06 Jun 2008 15:50:07 GMT Source: Reuters GENEVA, June 6 (Reuters) - The United States has quietly informed Western allies of its intention to walk away from the U.N. Human Rights Council, diplomatic sources said on Friday. The U.S. delegation has observer status, with the right to speak, in the 47-member state forum, which meets in Geneva, and has never stood for election to the Council since it was set up two years ago. Diplomatic sources and rights activists said that U.S. officials had informed the European Union on Friday morning of...

Sources: US to halt its involvement in oft-criticized body, controlled by Islamic bloc The United States has quietly informed Western allies of its intention to walk away from the United Nations Human Rights Council, diplomatic sources said on Friday The US delegation has observer status, with the right to speak, in the 47-member state forum, which meets in Geneva, and has never stood for election to the Council since it was set up two years ago. Diplomatic sources and rights activists said that US officials had informed the European Union on Friday morning of its intention to halt its involvement...

US military deaths in Iraq are said to have fallen to their lowest monthly level for four years, after about 20 soldiers were reported killed in May. The figures for Iraqi civilian deaths vary according to different sources, but have also dropped. Most accounts put them at about 530 - or about half the levels seen in March and April. Meanwhile, Australia has begun withdrawing its contingent of about 500 combat troops from Iraq. The pullout honours a pledge made by the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, when he was elected last November. The Australian troops had been mainly playing...

Nineteen American heroes died in service to their country in Iraq in May 2008. The previous low was 20 in February of 2004. Of the 19, 16 died in combat and three were non-combat related. I wonder if we will here this anywhere else.

May 2008 had the lowest number of American casualties in Iraq, for any month since the start of the war. http://icasualties.org/oif/ For the next lowest month for casualties you have to go all the way back to February 2004.

The George W Bush administration plans to launch an air strike against Iran within the next two months, an informed source tell, echoing other reports that have surfaced in the media in the United States recently. Two key US senators briefed on the attack planned to go public with their opposition to the move, according to the source, but their projected New York Times op-ed piece has yet to appear. The source, a retired US career diplomat and former assistant secretary of state still active in the foreign affairs community, speaking anonymously, said last week that the US plans an...

FORMER US president Jimmy Carter has said Israel holds at least 150 nuclear weapons, the first time a US president has publicly acknowledged the Jewish state's atomic arsenal. Asked at a news conference at Wales' Hay literary festival yesterday how a future US president should deal with the Iranian nuclear threat, Mr Carter put the risk in context by listing atomic weapons held globally. "The US has more than 12,000 nuclear weapons, the Soviet Union (Russia) has about the same, Great Britain and France have several hundred, and Israel has 150 or more. We have a phalanx of enormous weaponry...

WASHINGTON — This is not your economy. It's not even your parents' economy. To a surprising degree, this is your great-grandparents' economy. Quietly, while attention has focused on the technology, finance and service sectors, businesses that stood astride 19th century industrial America but then collapsed have been resurrected to meet the needs of a feverishly industrializing world. In the process, much of what Americans think they know about their economy is being upended. Steel makers, railroads, mining concerns and agriculture, long considered part of a fading past, suddenly have bright futures. And segments of the economy long lauded as the...

Mileposts: As President Bush's term winds down, signs are there that the war on terror is being won. The conflict in Iraq is ebbing, and worldwide terror attacks are down. When will someone call it what it is? VICTORY.Back from the front, Gen. David Petraeus called on Congress Thursday to begin considering a drawdown of U.S. troops after five years of war. Violence in Iraq has plunged to its lowest levels since 2004, and al-Qaida is a tattered shadow of its formerself — key leaders dead, successors weak and recruiting down. "My sense" Petraeus said, "is I will be able...

Update:  The BBC (no less) is wondering if Bin Laden’s recent statements focusing on Palestine and ignoring Iraq mean al-Qaeda is admitting defeat in Iraq and moving on to try to make gains against democracy and the West elsewhere: The two latest messages believed to be from Osama Bin Laden emphasise the centrality of a struggle against Israel and raise the question as to why he did not concentrate on Iraq.…The two new statements contrast with the importance given to Iraq in another message in March: “Iraq is the perfect base to set up the jihad to liberate Palestine. Palestine...

“Why aren’t we hearing about this in the news?” asks Alisyn Camerota. Well, increasingly we are, most notably in the pages of the righty blogosphere’s favorite whipping boy. CNN traditionally has been good about reporting gains too, including having Yon himself on to explain them. As I write this, this story is beaming out to AP affiliates worldwide. The problem with the coverage is that it takes spectacular gains, like the Iraqi army rolling onto Mookie’s home turf in Sadr City, to break through the media narrative while even minor setbacks, which fit the narrative, are easily assimilated and thus...

Senior U.S. and Pakistani officials tell NBC News that Wednesday’s Predator attack on a village in northwest Pakistan was not insignificant, that a “high-value target … an Arab” was among those killed. U.S. officials believe the unnamed target was planning attacks outside Pakistan, “so we nailed him,” in the words of one.

The White House's top economist said he's confident the U.S. economy hasn't dipped into recession, and expressed optimism that stimulus checks could bolster growth in the current quarter, earlier than expected. "The data are pretty clear that we are not in a recession," Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Edward Lazear told a meeting of editors and reporters from the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. Battered by the housing crisis and rising energy prices, the economy grew at an anemic 0.6% rate in the first three months of the year, the same pace as in the fourth quarter of...

<p>Sean Bell's fiancée, her mother and the Rev. Al Sharpton were arrested today along with dozens of demonstrators who blocked traffic throughout Manhattan to protest the acquittals of three police officers in the fatal shooting of an unarmed groom just hours before his wedding.</p>

Fairfax, VA-The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act proved the basis for today’s dismissal of a lawsuit by the City of New York against the American firearms industry. This lawsuit by the City of New York and Mayor Michael Bloomberg sought to hold manufacturers responsible for the criminal misuse of firearms. “Today’s dismissal of this bogus lawsuit against America’s firearm industry is an important victory,” declared Chris W. Cox, executive director for the National Rifle Association (NRA). “New York City’s lawsuit was a politically motivated attack by an anti-gun mayor to bankrupt a lawful industry.”

Two Recent Success in WoT You Didn't Hear About by Warner Todd Huston, Featured Writer April 29, 2008   The Taliban suffered a big loss in Pakistan/Afghanistan this month and so did al Qaeda in Iraq, but the MSM has been practically silent on these great successes. It only goes to show that the media is so completely sold on the claim that the war is lost that they aren't interested in doing any real reporting on the war. Not only has Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki headed up a brilliantly successful attack on rebel leader and Iranian backed...

Bush: Progress in Iraq is real By JAMES HANNAH, Associated Press Writer DAYTON, Ohio - President Bush on Thursday promoted his war policies, a possible focal point in the presidential campaign as the November election approaches in politically pivotal Ohio. The troop surge in Iraq has resulted in significant security gains for the country, he said at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The number of sectarian attacks in the volatile Anbar province have plummeted since the surge, he said. "The progress in Iraq is real, it's substantive," he said. Recent news...

BAGHDAD — Following months of renovations, two schools in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Ameriyah officially opened their doors on March 16. With Dr. Nehad, the deputy minister of education, present, the Firdous and Al Rawadan schools held ceremonies to commemorate their openings. Laughter and excitement filled the air as children danced and sang to the beat of musical instruments. The boys – some dressed in soccer jerseys and dress shirt and tie – chanted in celebration and waved the Iraqi flag. The girls wore their best spring dresses, read poetry and danced throughout the day. Though the schools were...

The “dismal science” of economics typically focuses on “bad” news. However, there are many favorable developments taking place within the U.S. economy. We do face major challenges…no question. Recessionary pressures are intense…no argument here. This is our semi-annual update of “Happy Talk.” This Tea Leaf focuses ONLY on the “good” news… U.S. exports to the world of goods and services are at record levels A year-end 2007 Gallup Poll noted that “more than 8 in 10 Americans say they are satisfied with their personal lives at this time, including a solid majority who say they are ‘very satisfied.’” During the...