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Ukraine, the 'borderlands' between Russia and 'civilized' Europe is on fire. For centuries, it has been at the center of a tug-of-war between powers seeking to control its rich lands and Russia's access to the Mediterranean.The Maidan Massacre in early 2014 triggered a bloody uprising that ousted president Viktor Yanukovych, spurred Crimeans to secede and join Russia, and sparked a civil war in Eastern Ukraine.Russia was portrayed by Western media as the perpetrator, and has been sanctioned and widely condemned as such. But was Russia responsible for what happened?Ukraine on Fire provides a historical perspective for the deep divisions in...

Story from a retired NYPD officer, starts out like this - One day, my partner Nicky and I responded to a call on Church Street in New York City. When we arrived, a woman was leaning out of a fifth story window yelling “Up here! Up here!” We ran up the stairs of the old five-story walk-up and saw that the old wooden door had been knocked in and was hanging by a single hinge. We went inside and met with a heavy set thirty-ish, latin lady who had been yelling from the window. She was clearly upset and sporting...

When Lindy Richardson Street interviewed in 1993 with then-Columbia Healthcare Co. CEO Rick Scott to be the company’s director of marketing and communications, she was still shaking off the effects of a distressing professional experience. To her disbelief, the federal government had indicted one of her associates at another company. Related Headlines: Shhhhh… Sink was a Banker Government Digest: Oct. 8 - Oct. 14 Running for Office Persistent Politics The ordeal — intensive investigations and depositions and public fallout — was draining. Street was not part of the alleged conspiracy, but its effects consumed her for months. She never wanted...

by Ray Reynolds, SFC Iowa Army National Guard 234th Signal Battalion I wanted to say thanks to all of you who did not believe the media. They have done a very poor job of covering everything that has happened. And just so you can rest at night knowing something is happening in Iraq that is noteworthy, I thought I would pass this on to you. This is the list of things that has happened in Iraq recently: (Please share it with your friends and compare it to the version that your paper is producing.) * Over 400,000 kids have up-to-date...

Have you heard of Paul Smith? by Ben Reisz Guest Columnist After coming under heavy enemy fire in Iraq, he helped to evacuate wounded soldiers out of harm’s way, without regard for his own safety. Sergeant First Class Paul Smith then jumped into an M-113 armored personnel carrier, maneuvered it to the center of a walled courtyard, and climbed into the commander’s hatch to man its .50-caliber machine gun. Under heavy hostile fire from automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, the incoming rounds and shards shredded his flak jacket, tearing it into pieces. Steadfastly, he continued to hold off a...

I was recently asked by someone back in the US, "What is the real story of what is going on in Iraq?" So I felt it would be worthwhile to spend some time shedding a little light on that subject at least from my perspective. I would be the first to admit that there is a certain amount of subjective prejudice in my perspective given my background, my religious preference, the type of work I am engaged in over here, and the type of glasses I use to look at the world through. But my perspective though jaded does represent...

OPEN LETTER TO FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH OF RICHMOND BEACH It has been a while since I have written to my friends at First Lutheran Church about what's really going on here in Iraq. The news you watch on TV is exaggerated, sensationalized and selective. Good news doesn't sell. The stuff you don't hear about on CNN? Let's start with Electrical Power production in Iraq. The day after the war was declared over, there was nearly 0 power being generated in Iraq. 45 days later, in a partnership between the Army, the Iraqi people and some private companies, there are now...