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Messman with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit tested their Field Food Service System with a chicken lunch here. 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, Marines set up their portable food preparation system here Mar. 21. The system is powered by tactical vehicles and can provide food for up to 500 Marines at one time, regardless of location. A BLT 1/6 Marine enjoys his freshly prepared lunch while sitting on a makeshift stool. Cpl. Oates shows off his enticing meal courtsey of the Field Food Service System. Marines with Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment (BLT 1/6), 24th Marine...

GRAND FORKS, N.D.—A lesbian priest says she wants to start a dialogue with church leaders after the Episcopal bishop of North Dakota refused her request for a license to minister in the state. The Rev. Gayle Baldwin, 62, an associate professor of religion at the University of North Dakota, was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1980. She came out as a lesbian a decade ago in Wyoming, where she has a license to preach and administer the sacraments. She came to UND in 2000.

Depressed women crave 'sexual intimacy' By Bonnie Malkin Last Updated: 3:52pm GMT 21/03/2008 Depressed women have more sex than those who are happier because intercourse makes them feel secure, a study claims. Women suffering from mild to moderate depression have a third more sex, regardless of whether they are in a relationship or not, according to the survey of more than 100 Australians. They also have more sexually liberated attitudes, a bigger variety of sexual experiences and, if single, are more likely to partake in casual sex. Dr Sabura Allen, a clinical psychologist at Monash University, said: "It was more...

Denver '08 bring up memories of Chicago '68? It will if a group called Re-create 68 have anything to say about it. The group is promising "demonstrations that will rival those at the bloody 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago" at the August's Democratic National Convention in Denver, according to the Rocky Mountain News. The Re-create 68 Alliance is upset that a permit for the Civic Center, a "spacious plaza" that "has been used for major public events and celebrations representing the diversity and cultural heritage of Colorado and Denver," according to the city of Denver's Web site, went to the...

The campaign of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., delivered one of its harshest, most negative attacks yet today, asserting that Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., is lacking in character and regularly misleads voters. "She is not seen as trustworthy by the American people," said Obama campaign manager David Plouffe in a conference call with reporters this morning, citing a Gallup poll released this week indicating that only 44 percent of the American people consider Clinton "honest and trustworthy," as opposed to 67 percent for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and 63 percent for Obama. Plouffe said this perception would make it "next to...

3/21/2008 - HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii (AFPN) -- After waiting for more than a year and a half from the christening of the seventh C-17 Globemaster III added to Hickam Air Force Base's fleet of eight, the men for whom it was named finally got their ride March 13 here. A group of 40 surviving veterans from the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion shuffled onboard to the "Spirit of Go For Broke" and took to the sky for a 45-minute tour around some of the Hawaiian Islands. Not only was the flight a historic...

PORTER BERRY, FOX NEWS: Ms. Huffington, how are you? I'm Porter Berry from "The O'Reilly Factor." I wanted to ask you a couple of questions about the Web site. Some of the stuff you have on the Web site, some hate speech. One person commented talking about Tony Snow. They said quote, "His cancer will return and he will die a very painful death." Excuse me, one of your bloggers on the Huffington Post said, what comes around, goes around. Do you want to comment on that? One of them said, I am sick to death of this jackass, talking...

Over the past few days, the IDF completed a large-scale exercise simulating a takeover of Gaza. The exercise was one of the largest held in recent years. The exercise was meant to simulate a large-scale ground operation in the Gaza Strip. Taking part were commanders from all the combat units in the regular and reserve army designated to execute a takeover of the Gaza Strip if such an operation is decided on. Israeli military sources said that in the course of the exercise, "the army's fear that a ground operation in Gaza would lose international legitimacy and would be stopped...

BARACK OBAMA: IS AMERICA READY FOR REPARATIONS? OBAMA'S SUPPORTERS SEE REPARATIONS IN THEIR FUTURE IF BARRY O IS ELECTED READY TO PAY? OBAMA'S THE WAY (CHICAGO)(April 4, 2007) Is America ready to pay reparations for slavery? What is that you say, "Doesn't Senator Barack Obama oppose reparations for slavery?" Well, no. He doesn't. In fact the reparations crowd in Washington and Chicago is salivating at the prospect Obama might stumble into the White House and put them on track for a reparations gravy train for slavery which took place centuries ago. To tackle the topic, first, a simple question: is...

Nicole Kidman yawns through husband Keith Urban's gig By Natalie Paris Last Updated: 3:10pm GMT 21/03/2008 If rocker Keith Urban ever wondered what wife Nicole Kidman thinks of his music, these pictures should tell him all he may not wish to know.Photographed fidgeting in the audience at a concert in Australia, the actress seemed distinctly unimpressed by her husband giving his all for her entertainment onstage. While the Grammy-award winner regaled the crowd with a string of hits, The Golden Compass star could be seen yawning through what fans said was a "storming" set. Urban strikes a chord Alternately inspecting...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Attorney General Michael Mukasey said on Friday he was open to compromise with Congress on renewing an anti-terrorism spy bill that has been deadlocked over whether telephone companies should be shielded from lawsuits. "If somebody has some brilliantly creative compromise, I'm happy to hear that," Mukasey told reporters. His remarks came one week after the Democratic-led House of Representatives ignored White House veto threats and passed a bill permitting lawsuits against phone companies that participated in President George W. Bush's warrantless domestic spying program that was secretly launched after the September 11 attacks. The Bush administration wants...

After three days of closed door meetings — so closed that the principals had to sign confidentiality agreements —Star Tribune management and labor just issued a joint statement about the discussions. There's not a ton new, though some previous themes were underlined and emphasized. Publisher and part-owner Chris Harte terms the paper's revenue decline "precipitous." Strib brand strong; online growing but not money-maker The good news, such as it is, is that the Strib still has a far-reaching brand — here, print declines are outweighed by online gains — but the company cannot monetize it. To put it in memo-speak,...

On March 29, 2008, Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright is scheduled to receive Brite Divinity School's Black Church Leader Award. Brite and Texas Christian University share a Fort Worth campus, but are independent schools. This week, TCU is probably wishing they were even more independent. The Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram have reported on the controversy that led to a decision to move Wright's award ceremony off campus. A TCU senior official told me that both schools have received many angry phone calls in opposition to Wright's award. Consequently, "in light of what happened at Virginia Tech...

Has the Rev. Jeremiah Wright been trying to sabotage Barack Obama's presidential candidacy? I'm inclined to think so. That's not original thinking on my part: Steve Sailer advanced the idea in a posting way back on January 15 (definitely read the whole thing). Sailer notes that Wright's foundation gave its award to Louis Farrakhan in November 2007, long after Obama began his presidential campaign. Unless Wright is a complete idiot (which he obviously isn't), he had to realize that Farrakhan was political poison. It's not like he couldn't have thought of other people to honor. Sailer's concluding paragraph: I bet...

CHERBOURG, France (AFP) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday that Europe's security was "at stake" because countries like Iran were increasing the range of their missiles. "Everyone should be aware today that nuclear missiles of countries, even if they are far away, can reach Europe in less than half an hour," he said in a defence policy speech as he inaugurated a new nuclear submarine named The Terrible.

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi National Police seized a substantial weapons cache March 18 in eastern Baghdad. National Police from 1st Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st NP Division, received a tip from a concerned citizen in the area on a large amount of weapons being stockpiled. The NPs acted on the tip and found 34 107 mm rockets, 44 60 mm mortar rounds, 18 81 mm mortar rounds, 10 rocket-propelled grenades, 38 107 mm rocket fuses, 10 completed rocket sleds and another four partially constructed sleds, three RPG launchers, one 82 mm mortar tube, one 60 mm mortar tube, two RPK machine...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — From guarding detainees at the Bucca Detention Facility in Umm Qasar, to helping the British Army defend Basra Air Base, to patrolling the streets of Narhwan and executing fire support missions at Forward Operating Base Hammer, Soldiers of Battery B, 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery, have done everything asked of them during their deployment to Iraq. Their duties changed many times during their current deployment, but Battery B Soldiers met each new task without complaint, said 1st Sgt. Michael Patton, from Memphis, Tenn., first sergeant of Battery B. “No matter what we have been asked...

Jeffrey Jamaleldine took a bullet to his chin that blew out much of his jaw and nearly killed him while deployed in Iraq last year. The sacrifice is just part of his job, he says, and he'd go back to Iraq in a second if asked.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — In a bid to establish a formidable U.S. security presence near Suwayrah, Iraq, Soldiers began construction Saturday of Patrol Base Summers amid the ruins of a former Iraqi Air Force Base. In a huge convoy of fighting vehicles and tractor trailers, Soldiers from Company A, 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, attached to 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, pushed toward the Tigris River from Forward Operating Base Kalsu, Iraq. In stark contrast to the push to set up Patrol Base Kelsey, Iraq, in December, Soldiers encountered almost no resistance and found the destroyed base...

Pachino Hill sentenced to probation, church By Ann McGlynn | Thursday, March 20, 2008   With a lengthy and violent criminal record to his name, Pachino Hill is going to church. Hill, 29, of Davenport was sentenced Wednesday by Scott County Associate Judge Christine Dalton to a counseling program offered by Third Missionary Baptist Church. She also ordered him to attend church there eight consecutive Sundays, to pay a fine and be on probation for one year. If he doesn’t comply, he faces up to two years in prison for eluding and driving while barred. The charges are the...