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One of the armor-piercing roadside bombs in Iraq has a nickname among the militants who place the device. They call it the Najadia, a short variation on the long name of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "My group and I believe honestly in fighting the Americans - and getting financial benefit out of it," says Hussein Ali, an Iraqi Shi'ite guerrilla who recounted a journey to Iran for training in explosives in an interview with TIME. "We became very professional in planting and using the mine called BMZ2, which is a Russian mine modified in Iran for use against the American...

The Albuquerque Journal ran a story the other day that won't help Bill Richardson's presidential aspirations any. The story gives what must be the fullest account on record of the New Mexico governor's proclivities for touching people in ways some might deem inappropriate. "He pokes me," Lt. Gov. Diane Denish told the paper. She was referring specifically to a public event at which Richardson reached his hand behind her chair and poked at the side of her leg repeatedly for a period of several minutes. "He pinches my neck," Denish said. "He touches my hip, my thigh, sort of the...

Oil tankers and other merchant vessels will be assembled into convoys to sail under the protection of warships’ guns. The plans follow two serious confrontations between Iranian gunboats and British and US naval ships. Four of our frigates and destroyers are to be sent to the key Strait of Hormuz amid fears that commercial shipping will be targeted next. The narrow “chokepoint” carrying oil from the Persian Gulf is the most vulnerable area for attacks or suicide rammings. Three US ships almost opened fire there in January after being “buzzed” by Iranian boats. Advertisement The convoy plans have emerged from...

BEIRUT, March 21 (KUNA) -- Two Israeli war planes had violated the Lebanese air space, the Lebanese Army said on Friday. A jet fighter and a reconnaissance plane had flown over the area of Jabal Riehan in southern Lebanon, a statement by the Guidance Department of the Army said, adding that another war plane then hovered over the border area of Bint Jbiel.

Today Is the Feast Day for Those Who Suffer Cardinal Offers Good Friday Reflection on BBC Radio LONDON, MARCH 21, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor said bewilderment in the face of a seeming absence of God is common and today is the "feast day" of those who suffer this anguish. The archbishop of Westminster proposed this idea when he offered a reflection for Good Friday on BBC Radio's "Thought for the Day." The cardinal began by noting that he is puzzled by the professed absolute certainty of those who "regard religion as something completely absurd." "What is much closer...

Cross Challenges Human Certainties, Says Pope Affirms Jesus Is the Truth That Enables Love ROME, MARCH 21, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says the sacrifice of Christ should call into question our human certainties, setting us free to love. The Pope said this tonight at the end of the Way of the Cross he presided over in the Roman Colosseum. Tens of thousands of faithful braved an unexpected chill and rain to meditate on the sacrifice of Christ. The reflections for the ceremony were written this year by Cardinal Joseph Zen, bishop of Hong Kong. "Is it possible to remain...

The scrutiny of Sen. Barack Obama's relationship to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the recently retired pastor of Obama's Chicago church, highlights the complex intersections of religion and race in the United States. Neither Wright's purportedly inflammatory statements nor the pressure on Obama to repudiate them are anything new. The tangled webs of religion and race are two of the most persistent themes in American history.

On this Good Friday, it behooves us to remind ourselves (Christians should need no reminder) of the significance of this season. Along with the virgin birth, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ forms the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Indeed, the resurrection of Jesus separates Christianity from all the world's religions. Furthermore, the overwhelming number of America's founders understood the connection between the Christian faith and the rise of these United States. John Quincy Adams said, "The highest glory of the American revolution was this: it connected, in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the principles...

In his hour of political need, Barack Obama went to his base -- the media. He delivered a speech about the nation's racial divisions that couldn't possibly get anything but lavish praise from the press, burying for now the controversy over his longtime pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Obama made two arguments for why he couldn't reject the Rev. Wright. One was that the Rev. Wright lived through the era of segregation. So did many others. Surely, there are plenty of black pastors in the country who have suffered more than Wright without letting a left-wing racialist ideology taint their...

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday it had arrested Ilya Zaslavsky, an employee of TNK-BP, and his brother Alexander, on suspicion of industrial espionage. The arrest on spying charges of an employee with oil major BP's Russian joint venture has nothing to do with Moscow's strained relations with Britain, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday. Both men have ties to the British Council, the government's cultural arm. The arrests, which followed raids on TNK-BP's headquarters and BP's Moscow office, were interpreted by analysts as a signal that the Russian authorities had decided to target the joint venture,...

A woman’s trip to the Magic Kingdom was hardly a walk in the park after she says she was beaten up by a woman in a ‘line rage’ incident. Aimee Krause says Victoria Walker accused her of cutting into the line at the Mad Tea Cup ride last year at Disney World, MyFOXOrlando reports.

For a party whose presidential candidates pledge they'll remove U.S. troops from Iraq immediately upon taking office -- without regard to conditions on the ground or the consequences to America's security -- a late February Gallup Poll was bad news. The Obama/Clinton vow to pull out of Iraq immediately appears to be the position of less than one-fifth of the voters. Nearly two out of every three Americans surveyed (65%) believe "the United States has an obligation to establish a reasonable level of stability and security in Iraq before withdrawing all of its troops." The reason is self-interest. Almost the...

LA JOYA, Texas (AP) -- A 2-year-old boy who died with a fractured skull might have been accidentally crushed by a morbidly obese relative, authorities say. Investigators believe that the woman fell on the child, who was pronounced dead Tuesday, said Bobby Contreras, Hidalgo County justice of the peace. "It didn't look like there was any foul play from what I saw," he said. An autopsy was scheduled, with the cause of death to be announced Monday. Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño, who called the death "suspicious," said he would wait for an announcement on the cause before deciding whether...

Life can have its little irritations when you're cruising around the world on your £100million superyacht. For example, the endless vista of clear blue sea fails to provide much greenery to ease the eye - apart from the odd tropical island. For the owner of a forthcoming craft named WallyIsland, however, this will not be a problem. For he, or she, will have a personal ocean-going garden. The 325ft-long yacht is to feature a growing area with shrubbery and flower beds, kept healthy by an irrigation system. It will also have a tennis court, pool and five accommodation decks including...

Iran's former president Mohammad Khatami said here Thursday that Iran is among few countries to have rich civilizations. Khatami, Head of International Baran (Rain) Foundation, said Iranians have had a role in manifestation of the world civilizations at least on two occasions throughout history: Once before and once after emergence of Islam. He said after Islam Iranians have been assuming undoubtedly a unique role in establishment and promotion of Islamic civilizations. Almost nothing will remain of Islamic culture and civilization if Iranian dignitaries and thinkers are singled out, he added. "We are proud of living in Iran and spiritually love...

Editor’s note: CNN Contributor Roland Martin has listened to several of the sermons of Rev. Jeremiah Wright from Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Portions of the sermons have been excerpted in recent stories. Martin says listening to the full sermons help put the excerpts in context. I just finished listening to the nearly 40-minute sermon Rev. Jeremiah Wright gave on April 13, 2003, titled, “Confusing God and Government.”

A growing number of foreign fighters are leaving or attempting to flee Iraq as U.S. and Iraqi forces have weakened al-Qaida and forced its members from former strongholds, USA Today reported Friday, citing U.S. military officials. The trend reflects a broad disenchantment among foreign fighters, particularly since al-Qaida has lost sanctuaries in parts of Baghdad and Anbar, an intelligence official told the paper. “They’re being told in their countries of origin by facilitators that, ‘Hey, we’re basically winning the war against the apostates,’” said Army Brig. Gen. Michael Flynn, intelligence director for Central Command, which oversees U.S. forces in the...

BOSTON (WBZ) ― There's been a lot of controversy over the use of embryonic stem cells in recent years, but adult stem cells, which few people oppose using, are already giving some patients a new lease on life. Donald Reid is hoping adult stem cells will give him more time. "There's not many options left for me." The 57-year-old has clogged arteries and heart disease so bad; he's not a candidate for surgery. Instead, he's joined an experimental study that involves a special machine. It's taking his blood and pulling out stem cells. We're not talking about stem cells from...

Free Republic Opinion Poll: (3/20) Is it probable that Barrack Hussein Obama could have been an active member of a "Black Liberation" church for nearly twenty years without knowing about or believing in their racist anti-America agenda?

Police are searching for Tibetans who took part in demonstrations in Hezuo in China's Gansu Province, according to a monk who lives in the town. He also told the BBC that the protests were started by school pupils after they heard about the protests in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. But the monk added that he did not agree with the violence - from either Tibetans or the Chinese government - and did not support Tibetan independence. Hezuo is in Gansu's Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. There has been major unrest in the area since last Saturday. The...