One day after a visit from Dick Cheney, the Saudi government-controlled newspaper, Okaz ran an ominous story about the Saudi Shura Council’s newest project:

“(Making) plans to deal with any sudden nuclear and radioactive hazards that may affect the kingdom following experts’ warnings of possible attacks on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactors”.

Oh, I know what you’re thinking: those Lefties are whining again. They got a whiff of Adm. Fallon’s retirement from CINC/CENTCOM and decided it must be due to his opposition to a U.S. attack on Iran. So naturally they’re pulling out the ol’ Bush is a war hawk argument. *yawn*

Not so fast, folks.

After months of reports coming out of Washington, D.C. claiming that Iran was developing nuclear weapons, the National Intelligence Estimate — a consortium of the nation’s 16 intelligence agencies — concluded that Iran had abandoned its nuclear weapons program in 2003, but was keeping options open for the future.

Two weeks ago, Vice President Cheney was asked about this report. His response should sound eerily familiar to those who recall the administration’s statements just prior to the start of the war in Iraq:

It’s important if you’re going to look at the National (Intelligence) Estimate that we be precise in terms of what it says,” Cheney said. “And what it says is that they have definitely had in the past a program to develop a nuclear warhead; that it would appear that they stopped that weaponization process in 2003. We don’t know whether or not they’ve restarted.

“What we do know is that they had then, and have now, a process by which they’re trying to enrich uranium, which is the key obstacle they’ve got to overcome in order to have a nuclear weapon,” he said. “They’ve been working at it for years. They’ve now got a large number of centrifuges operating. We know this from the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“I have high confidence they have an ongoing enrichment program,” Cheney said.

So, is the country stepping up to launch yet another war based on this “hunch”?

• Last week, a U.S. nuclear sub joined the fleet stationed in the Persian Gulf.

• On land, Russian sources say the U.S. is currently massing forces on the Iranian border.

• Today the U.S. announced plans to sanction Iran’s Central Bank for funding state-sponsored terrorism.

Military positioning plus sanctions: that sounds awfully familiar to me.

Not that we’ll hear much about it, what with today’s big brouhaha over the domestic economy that everyone’s been worrying about.

How conveeeeeenient.

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“Family Blames Iraq After Son Kills Wife” … “Soldier Charged With Murder Testifies About Postwar Stress” … “Iraq War Vets Suspected in Two Slayings, Crime Ring.”… 121 cases in which veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan committed a killing in this country, or were charged with one, after their return from war. In many of those cases, combat trauma and the stress of deployment - along with alcohol abuse, family discord and other attendant problems - appear to have set the stage for a tragedy that was part destruction, part self-destruction.

Murderers.

Drunks.

Wife beaters.

Scum.

That’s how the New York Times portrays the men and women returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Those of us old enough to remember Vietnam will recognize the insulting, sorry chant.

The NY Times had previously gone out of its way to avoid taking an editorial stance recalling the days of anti-Vietnam protests. Oh, they ran articles claiming a parallel between the wars in Iraq and Vietnam but that, they say, was something the President himself proclaimed. They were not making a comparison themselves; they were just reporting all the news that’s fit to print, you know.

Until now.

Now, the Grey Lady has resurrected the ghostly voices who called Vietnam vets “baby killers”. Now, the NY Times wants to portray soldiers who answered the call of duty as somehow responsible for the war they fight.

The very same war that, just 6 years ago, all of the shocked and horrified, righteously outraged NY Times-reading, left-leaning, rainbow flag-waving Manhattanites virtually demanded we wage against Muslims overseas — preferably those in highly repressive states — to “pay them back” for 9/11.

So here we are, quite nearly four years later.

Now, the NY Times is tired of the war. (It’s not all “democracy, whiskey and sexy anymore, which is so dull when you’re trying to write headlines that make people want to buy a printed paper instead of getting their news online.) Now they want something that sparks outrage, anger… purchases.

Know what? I’m tired of the war, too. I’m tired of worrying whether the man-power shortage is so great that my M.I. husband might get called over there. I’m tired of worrying about whether Charlotte’s or Karen’s daughters will come home in one piece. I’m tired of wondering when (not if, but when) my friend Tony Baker will be back in the desert… by his own choice… and if he’ll make it home this time.

But here are two things I’m not tired of: my freedoms, which are more numerous and more lenient than any citizen of any other country on this planet, and the safety with which we all live every single blessed day because the war is being fought there where the people who want to kill us live, instead of here where we value freedom so much we even let newspapers publish things that just stir up rage.

When I read the NY Times articles vilifying our returning Vets I am disgusted. I am appalled. I am convinced by their own words that they want to torture logic and reason so they can relive the post-Vietnam experience. Why? Possibly because, like any middle aged grey lady, they want to relieve the “glory days”. Possibly that kind of anti-military fodder attracts readership, many of whom are as appalled as I am by their stance but want to read it with their own eyes and so their bean counters presume those purchases show agreement with what they print.

And possibly it’s because they’re just too lazy to do the math that bloggers like the folks at Winds of Change have done.

[T]he NY Times 121 murders represent about a 7.08/100,000 rate.

Now the numbers on deployed troops are probably high - fewer troops from 2001 - 2003; I’d love a better number if someone has it.

But for initial purposes, let’s call the rate 10/100,000, about 40% higher than the calculated one.

Now, how does that compare with the population as a whole?

Turning to the DoJ statistics, we see that the US offender rate for homicide in the 18 - 24 yo range is 26.5/100,000.For 25 - 34, it’s 13.5/100,000.

See the problem?

Instapundit did. So did Bruce Kesler.

I do. And I suck at math.

But at least I’m skilled enough to know that the $1.25 it costs each day to pick up the NY Times renders it the most expensive toilet paper I’ve ever heard of.

Earlier, I listed a number of ways you can make the holidays a bit more merry for our military members. If you haven’t done so already, please do check out the ways to send soldiers some cheer.

One opportunity I neglected to mention: providing voice-activated laptops to military members who’ve suffered hand- or other injuries which limit their use of standard technology. My friend Kim is part of the Soldiers’ Angels team raising money for this worthy project.

I stand with those who stand for what I believe in, and I’m proud to support Soldiers’ Angels and Project Valour-IT. But, hey, if you can’t stand behind our troops yourself, I understand and hope you’ll stand in front of them instead.

The fighting in Somalia’s capital has been growing increasingly violent, with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades launched by both sides. Tens of thousands have already fled, and hundreds more were driven from their homes today. Unfortunately, that’s nothing new in Mogadishu.

Nor is today’s report of a crowd dragging the body of an Ethiopian soldier through the streets.

How very surreal, to have just sat through two entire hours of evening news here in the U.S. and have not heard one thing about this horror. Evidently, most MSM believes that once Ridley Scott fictionalized a similar act against American soldiers, they don’t need to bother when it’s “just” a foreigner’s body being ripped apart.

Anti-pornography groups recently complained about various magazines sold at military installations in violation of a 10-year-old blue law. A letter co-authored by the groups explained that their members had personally observed the sale of materials they deem sexually explicit at several locations, including the Pentagon itself.

Naturally, the DOD looked into the matter.

Leslye Arsht, deputy under secretary for family policy, writes that “the board reviewed Celebrity Skin, Penthouse, Perfect 10, Playboy, Playboy’s College Girls, Playboy’s Lingerie, Nude, Nude Playmates and Playmates in Bed and determined that, based solely on the totality of each magazine’s content, they were not sexually explicit.”

That’s right: lucky DOD employees were tasked with the responsibility of thumbing through skin magazines on the clock to decide whether they were too racy for sale.

Your tax dollars at work, folks. Did you get your money’s worth?

Back in 2004, I posted an entry about various ways to send some holiday cheer to our troops. One of my friends who been serving in Iraq let me know in February that he’d just received our Christmas package. I didn’t realize at the time just how very long it took for packages to negotiate their way through the bureaucratic haze surrounding our best intentions, and so I resolved to begin posting this information early enough in the season to actually do some good for all concerned.

Regardless of your views on the war, those who’ve committed their lives to serve our country deserve the comfort of knowing that we at home remember and cherish them. Show your support with messages sent via “Operation Dear Abby”, a program that’s been around as long as I’ve been alive, making it a true classic.

Want to send more than a message? There are so many ways you’ll be hard-pressed to pick just one. But that’s kind of the point, isn’t it?

- Help a soldier send holiday cards home. Due to religious restrictions, our troops stationed in Islamic countries are unable to purchase holiday cards for their families. You can help do it for them, though! Mail unsigned, unsealed holiday cards for soliders’ use to: Have A Heart/Adopt A Soldier Org., 143 Denio Road, Malone, NY 12953. Card donations must arrive by November 25 for soldiers to mail them back home on time.

- Care packages to any soldier. Send a care package to service members listed at Any Soldier, Inc.’s list or through Give2TheTroops’s list. You can also support organizations that put together and ship care packages directly, like Operation Military Pride* [Please see note below] and Operation Gratitude.

- Adopt one or a whole platoon. You can adopt one soldier through Operation Home Front Hugs or adopt an entire platoon.

- Help military members reach out and touch someone. Donate your old cell phone through cell phones for soldiers or send pre-paid long-distance calling cards through the Military Exchange to troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Authorized Exchange shoppers click here; everyone else, click here.)

- Help them help themselves. A Military Exchange gift certificate is a great way to help soldiers defray personal expenses. (You don’t have to be authorized to shop at the Exchange to buy a gift certificate.)

- Put some leisure into their ‘leisure time’. Donate books for soldiers, or send them letters from home to savor. No time to write? Support the United Service Organization (USO), which not only provides entertainment for deployed troops, but also family assistance, orientation briefings, and those wonderful airport service centers. I can tell you from personal experience, those airport centers make a world of difference for traveling military members and their families.

- Be there when they need it most. How often do we read or hear about a soldier unable to make it home for the birth of his child? Did you know that most times such absences come down to a lack of money, and not time? Your donation of frequent flier miles through Operation Hero Miles can change all of that. It can also help bring family members to the bedside of a wounded soldier. (Want to help those already in hospital? Your donation to the Wounded Soldier can provide First Response backpacks containing personal necessities to wounded soldiers and their family members to provide the necessities so difficult to find in the hospital.

- Support those who support them. Ask any soldier and she or he will tell you they couldn’t do their job if it weren’t for their family’s support. As the wife of a retired military member, I know first-hand that families are pressed into duty in their own ways, too. Support Operation Military Kids with a donation, or find the Hero Pack initiative in your state to give miltiary kids gifts that help them keep in touch with Mom or Dad overseas. Want something that last longer? Help a military spouse by giving the gift that lasts a lifetime: education! Donate to the American Military Spouse Education Foundation and fund undergraduate studies for a military spouse.

- Even more ways to help. If you love animals, consider acting as a foster parent for military pets and to ensure that a soldier’s best friend is waiting when he or she comes home. Or, if you have sewing skills, why not use your talents to contribute a Blanket of Hope? Those who knit or crochet can send soldiers’ babies gifts through Operation Top Knot.

If you know of a way to send military members some holiday cheer, please leave it in the comments or drop me an email so I can include it on the list. I’ll update this again next year if I have to… but, to be honest, what I want for Christmas really is peace on Earth. If I get my wish, then next year there will be no need to repost this again.

* NOTE: Due to litigation in Illinois concerning the financial accountability of Operation Military Pride, Electric Venom no longer recommends donations to this group.

Terry from New York sent an email telling me about the Wounded Warrior Project which serves injured military members.

Among their projects:

They provide backpacks containing essential and comfort items for soldiers receiving traumatic medical care. They also offer patient and family support that continues even after hospital discharge.

The Wounded Warrior Project is a non-profit organization which obtains its funds through donations. For those of you looking for ways to support the troops, I heartily encourage you to visit the site and find out about the many ways they’re helping care for those who care enough to serve.

I’ve spent the majority of the past 24 hours on my back, groaning in pain, unable to endure the least bit of noise or light. No, it wasn’t a hangover. It was a migraine, the likes of which I hadn’t experienced before.

I’ve been getting these for the past year or so, and always they hit me out of the blue. Some folks, I know, get little warning signals that one’s coming on: a pulsing behind the eyes or a visual aura. Not me. This time I was mid-sentence when I felt like a metal clamp had been slapped on my head, twisted tight and then twisted once more for good measure.

There’s not a whole lot of ways to stay occupied when you can’t sleep due to pain but can’t read, watch TV or blog, either. So I lay there thinking, when I wasn’t groaning, whining or whimpering.

That’s when it hit me: want to develop the very most effective bio-warfare? Figure out a way to simultaneously induce migraines in a large group of people then watch as they crumple into whiny little, easily captured heaps of self-pity.

It’d work. I’m certain of it.

The fact that you’re alive today to read this may be due to the actions of one man.

Twenty-four years ago today, Stanislav Petrov averted nuclear disaster and prevented the start of WWIII. It was just past midnight on September 26, 1983 when Petrov, seated in the commander’s chair at a Soviet installation that monitored satellite activity, heard an alarm which signaled the U.S. had just launched a nuclear missile.

Petrov’s job as a lieutenant colonel demanded that he make a split-second decision: was this for real?

The situation was already tense on both sides of the Cold War. Just weeks before, Soviet pilots had shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007, killing 269 passengers and crew. Meanwhile, the U.S. was gearing up for Able Archer, a NATO military exercise spanning the European continent in a simulation of coordinated nuclear release.

As the alarms went off, Petrov considered his options. Soviet policy required an immediate counter-attack, but such a response would only trigger further disaster. Within minutes, millions of people would be dead.

Petrov had a hunch it was a false alarm, and yet within moments lights flashed across the screen to indicate a second missile launch. They were followed by a third, a fourth, and finally a fifth.

At this point, Petrov’s orders were to send notice to Yuri Andropov, the General Secretary of the Communist Party. He knew Andropov would order an immediate nuclear response.

Petrov considered the lack of corroboration from ground radar and held tight to his hunch that no missiles had actually been launched. Disobeying protocol, he contacted his superior officer and reported that the matter was a false alarm. If he was wrong, his decision had just ensured his country would disappear under a nuclear mushroom cloud.

Four hours later — with no missiles having materialized — interrogators arrived from Moscow. Petrov and his colleagues were grilled for three long days. The interrogators wanted to know why he hadn’t written everything down that night as it happened. They were not impressed with his explanation that he’d had a phone in one hand and an intercom in another, with no way to stop to take notes between the flurry of conversation going on.

The eventual findings: the Soviet satellite had picked up the reflection of sunlight off the tops of clouds which somehow made it appear as if the United States had launched a nuclear attack.

That’s right: the weather nearly precipitated the start of World War III, and the only reason it never came to that was because Stanislav Petrov decided to follow his hunch.

Petrov’s actions were kept secret until 1988. Even then, his heroism went largely ignored until Col. Gen. Yury Votintsev, the former commander of the Soviet Air Defense’s Missile Defense Units, published his memoirs and acknowledged Petrov’s role in preventing WWIII.

Stanislav Petrov took “early retirement” from the military and later suffered a nervous breakdown. He is currently living as a pensioner in the town of Fryazino, a science-oriented town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. He has said he does not regard himself as a hero for what he did that day.

Heads are about to roll in the U.S. Air Force thanks to a gaffe involving the transport of six nuclear warheads on a flight from North Dakota to Louisiana last week.

The warheads should have been removed from the missiles before they were attached to the B-52 bomber, according to military officials.

The crew was unaware that the plane was carrying nuclear weapons, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the extraordinary sensitivity and security surrounding the case.

The mistake was discovered after the plane’s flight to Louisiana.

I don’t know about you, but it makes me doubly nervous to think that the flight crew had no idea what they were transporting. When it comes to nuclear warheads, one would think the controls were a bit more stringent… say, that people had to sign off on the cargo list and maybe even follow some heightened security measures?

Not surprisingly, the Air Force is responding with investigations and the President has been briefed on the situation. All fighter and bomber flights will be halted on September 14 to allow for investigation. Yeah, that makes sense: let’s give ‘em a whole week to continue screwing up then investigate.

Meanwhile, the very same folks who made that brilliant decision also want to assure the U.S. population that they were never at risk since the warheads weren’t armed and they “believe” that even if the flight had crashed or the missiles had somehow fallen off the airplane’s wings the warheads would most likely have not detonated (although the conventional material within the warhead might have gone off).

Everybody feeling better now?

No?

Me, either.

California’s state senate has passed a bill asking voters in the February 5 Presidential primary to not merely select the candidate of their choice but to vote on whether the President should immediately withdraw U.S. forces in Iraq.

Anyone know when The Big One is supposed to send California into the sea so we can be done with these asinine games?

Technorati Tags: California, senate, Presidential primary, politics, war, Iraq

For years I’ve been saying that Russia fully intends a return to the Cold War era, and I’ve been pooh-poohed by those who claim to be in the know.

So, when I saw today’s headlines reporting that Putin intends to aim missiles at Europe, I thought surely I must have managed to slip back in time while I slept. But, no. (Or is that, nyet?) It’s still 2007.

Nevertheless, the U.S. intends to set up a missile-defense system in Eastern Europe, and Vladimir Putin has replied by saying that Russia will in turn aim its own missiles at Europe, too. Not surprisingly, China is siding with Russia.

The question is: do they mean it and, if so, how far is this going to go? Apparently, not very far. In the immediate wake of Putin’s remarks the Kremlin did some swift backpedaling.

The Kremlin’s spin doctors are trying hard to play down remarks made by Mr Putin about aiming his country’s missiles at Europe. They claim that he was giving a hypothetical answer to a hypothetical question about America’s planned missile-defence installations in Eastern Europe. But the damage to Russia’s image as a friendly country has been done. Russian officers and officials have grumbled before about America’s sometimes cavalier attitude to strategic security. This time the combative words came from the top.

Meanwhile, President Bush insists the situation with Russia is not tense.

There must be something in the White House’s water.

Identity-theft scammers have set their sights on new, highly vulnerable targets: the spouses of deployed soldiers. The scam itself shows how low criminals are willing to go:

The scam involves a person with an American accent calling a military spouse, identifying herself as a representative of the Red Cross, and telling the spouse that her husband was hurt in Iraq and was medically evacuated to Germany. The caller then says that doctors can’t start treatment until paperwork is completed, and that to start the paperwork they need the spouse to verify her husband’s social security number and date of birth.

American Red Cross officials point out that they typically do not contact military spouses directly unless asked to do so by a family member. The Red Cross ordinarily communicates with families through a soldier’s commander or first sergeant. Communications concerning soldier injuries are handled by the Department of Defense, not the Red Cross.

Technorati Tags: military, military spouse, scam, Red Cross, identity theft

Being a military spouse is unlike any stress I’ve ever known. In the two years VH has been retired, I’ve been able to look back at that time in our lives and marvel that we survived, both individually and as a couple. I was one of the lucky ones, too: my husband was not deployed; he was merely ordered on a regular basis to travel to some pretty damn hostile places where the circumstances prevented us from having any contact until his return. That was enough stress for me, thanks.

As you may recall, VH and I muddled our way through those times. I gritted my teeth and white-knuckled my way through total responsibility for parenting, household management and dealing with hostile Hawaiians. (I still maintain I deserve combat pay for the latter.) A broken leg (the Big-Eyed Boy’s), unexpectedly bounced checks, tropical storms that knocked out electricity for days, impacted wisdom teeth (mine), a slipped disc (mine again), a break-in, two burst water mains and a miscarriage (yep, mine, too) — I dealt with those entirely on my own, without even being able to speak with my husband, the only person who keeps me calm and grounded.

And, as I mentioned, I was one of the lucky ones.

Thank goodness there are now more support options for military spouses. One that’s just gone live: SpouseBuzz, a blog and virtual support group for military spouses. Just in time for Military Spouse Appreciation Day, which is tomorrow.

President Ronald Reagan first proclaimed the Friday before Mother’s Day of each year to be Military Spouse Appreciation Day in 1984 to recognize the many contributions and sacrifices military spouses make every day in support of military members and the nation as a whole. The words in his proclamation could not be truer today:

Throughout the years, as the numbers of our married men and women in uniform have grown and as their military missions have become more complex and dispersed , their spouses have made countless personal sacrifices to support the Armed Forces. In many instances, they subordinated their personal and professional aspirations to the greater benefit of the military families.

If you happen to live in the San Diego area, don’t miss tomorrow’s Spouse Buzz Live event, a day of education, empowerment and entertainment for military spouses.

Linky love to Teresa for the scoop.

Al-Qaeda is now referring to Iraq as a “university of terrorism” where, apparently, the miscreant students are working on new ways to kill Westerners.

In an audio recording posted on the Internet on Tuesday, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the self-styled Islamic State in Iraq, said his fighters were successfully confronting U.S. forces in Iraq and have begun producing a guided missile called al-Quds 1 or Jerusalem 1.

“The largest batch of soldiers for jihad … in the history of Iraq are graduating and they have the highest level of competence in the world,” Baghdadi said.

He also sought to mend fences with other anti-U.S. insurgent groups in Iraq following reports of tensions between them.

“From the military point of view, one of the (enemy) devils was right in saying that if Afghanistan was a school of terror, then Iraq is a university of terrorism,” said the leader of the group set up last year by al Qaeda’s Iraq wing and some other Sunni groups.

“We would like to inform the mujahideen all over the world, and especially in Iraq, that the Quds (Jerusalem) 1 rocket has gone into the phase of military production,” Baghdadi said, adding that its length, weight, range and precision “matches those of world powers”.

Calling on the various radical Islamic factions to unite, al-Baghdadi has now sworn off killing the Sunni.

This, of course, poses a new worry. If U.S. forces measure readiness for troop withdrawal by declining acts of insurgent violence, a decrease in the number of tribal and sectarian-based attacks may very well create an impression that it’s time to withdraw when, in fact, it’s only a lull in the violence.

Because the converse of Sun Tzu’s famous statement — the enemy of my enemy is my friend — is that the moment your enemy’s enemy is gone is the best time to strike at them, since that’s when it’s least expected.

UPDATE: Top Shiite and Sunni clerics met yesterday to discuss an end to sectarian violence, then emerged from their meeting calling each other “brothers.” Calling for unity, Prime Minister Maliki has been making overtures to Sunni insurgent groups and former Ba’ath party members, even as hundreds of residents of Basra began a 3-day sit-in calling for his resignation. Meanwhile, Iraqi police discovered 17 bodies buried underneath two school yards which had until recently been under al-Qaeda control. At least 85 dead bodies were found throughout Iraq.

Drafted in 1973 to serve in Vietnam, Robert Rangel officially retired… after 40 years!

Rangel’s years in the Army included more than 200 parachute jumps with a special forces unit in Vietnam and Cambodia, time in battle zones, a firsthand view of the crumbling of the Berlin Wall and a tour in the first Gulf War.

Now his priority is to take care of his mom and tackle some projects.

Tops on the list is restoring a 1964 Plymouth Sport Fury. He parked it in his mom’s barn when he went off to basic training.

Talk about someone entitled to a nice, quiet life!

Email from an EV reader, Patriot, informed me that “Operation Military Pride,” an Illinois organization that claimed to raise funds for military members and their families, has been ordered to pay back over $300,000 in funds raised by the group. Evidently, the organization did not register as a charity or fund-raising group as required under state law, nor did it maintain records of how donations were spent.

“We never claimed to be a charity,” [Arlyn] McClaughry [the group's founder] said Thursday. “I didn’t realize we were a charity in the eyes of the law. It was just a bunch of people doing a good deed.”

Despite collecting money for military care packages, McClaughry never registered as a charity or as a professional fundraiser, said Therese Harris, chief of the state’s Charitable Trust Bureau.

That prompted a lawsuit demanding that she prove where more than $300,000 had gone.

Harris said McClaughry never provided proof in court, and so a Cook County circuit judge entered a judgment of $310,586 against her Feb. 21.

The order forbids her from collecting any more charitable contributions, Harris said.

McClaughry disputed that her organization ever collected $310,000. The figure includes money from personal bank accounts never connected to Operation Military Pride, she said.

But she would not say how much she did collect to put together care packages that included such things as DVDs, books and toiletries. She said she ran out of money to pay for a lawyer, and miscommunication about court dates hampered her ability to prove her case.

Harris said McClaughry had more than enough time to submit proof that the money was spent on care packages or other charitable purposes. She said using the military as a vehicle to promote donations during wartime made the case worse.

“It seems to be particularly egregious when it happens under these circumstances,” Harris said.

EV had previously encouraged readers interested in supporting the military to consider making donations to Operation Military Pride. Given the lack of clarity of the group’s purpose and new doubts about the fiscal responsibility of the organization’s leadership, we now retract that recommendation.

Furthermore, we are saddened that Operation Military Pride’s leadership claims not to understand the correlation between soliciting funds on behalf of others in need and being a charitable group accountable under the law. While we do not have sufficient information ourselves to declare such actions outright avarice, we are deeply disappointed that greater care was not taken by OMP to avoid any and all appearances of impropriety.

This time of year, those of us from military families — along with many others — wonder how we can bring holiday cheer to wounded soldiers. The folks at Walter Reed Hospital are kindly requesting that we don’t send more cards. They don’t need them. They’re up to their hoohas in them, to put it nicely.

Instead, consider pre-paid phone cards, gas cards, stamps, stationery, or even gift certificates from AAFES.

Gifts can be sent to:

Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Medical Family Assistance Center
Bldg. 2, 3rd floor, Room 3E01
6900 Georgia Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20307-5001

AAFES Homefront program even allows you to send a gift certificate to soldiers you know who are stationed overseas, or to any service member.

UPDATE: Sgt. Hook has initiated a worthy project known as Angel Baskets to provide holiday meals to your Soldiers and their families. Be sure to visit and donate if you can!

Of Russia’s preparations to send nuclear fuel to Iran, David J. at ResurrectionSong notes that Russia is positioning itself as a balance to U.S. power. I think there’s far more to it than mere seeking of renewed Super Power status.

Sure, Russia’s been suspected of collaborating on nuclear projects with North Korea, but let’s not forget that Russia has alread announced its intention to strengthen ties with Islamic countries. Russia has cozied up with both Indonesia and Malaysia, both primarily Muslim states. Meanwhile, Russia and Turkmenistan — another primarily Muslim state — have solidified long-term energy and ecomonic pacts.

Balance U.S. power? I suppose that’s one way to look at it.

Silly string, the stuff that’s the bane of mothers everywhere, may have redeemed itself in my eyes… even if I can’t remove it from the back wall of my house.

STRATFORD, N.J. - In an age of multimillion-dollar high-tech weapons systems, sometimes it’s the simplest ideas that can save lives. Which is why a New Jersey mother is organizing a drive to send cans of Silly String to Iraq.

American troops use the stuff to detect trip wires around bombs, as Marcelle Shriver learned from her son, a soldier in Iraq.

Before entering a building, troops squirt the plastic goo, which can shoot strands about 10 to 12 feet, across the room. If it falls to the ground, no trip wires. If it hangs in the air, they know they have a problem. The wires are otherwise nearly invisible.

Now, 1,000 cans of the neon-colored plastic goop are packed into Shriver’s one-car garage in this town outside Philadelphia, ready to be shipped to the Middle East thanks to two churches and a pilot who heard about the drive. (Source: Military.com

Of course, if your workplace doesn’t feature trip wires, there is still fun to be had.