Hussein Is Probably Alive in Iraq, U.S. Experts Say

WASHINGTON, June 19 - American intelligence analysts now believe that Saddam Hussein is much more likely to be alive than dead, a view that has been strengthened in recent weeks by intercepted communications among fugitive members of the Saddam Fedayeen and the Iraqi intelligence service, according to United States government officials.

The officials said the recently obtained intelligence had re-intensified the search for Mr. Hussein along with his sons, Uday and Qusay. The search is being led by Task Force 20, a secret military organization that includes members of the Army's highly specialized Delta Force and of the Navy's elite counterterrorism squads, with support from the Central Intelligence Agency.

The intercepted communications between some of Mr. Hussein's supporters have included credible discussions indicating that the former Iraqi president is alive and must be protected, two Defense Department officials said. Military officials indicated tonight that new operations in the hunt for him were under way.



posted by Frodgie at 6:12 AM

 

All the Rage: The Hulk in Us All

Hulk does not get miffed.

Hulk does not get teed off, perturbed or a little bit hot under the collar. Hulk does not get difficult, dyspeptic or obstreperous. Hulk does not get a bee in his bonnet. Hulk does not wake up on the wrong side of the bed.

Hulk gets mad.

And when Hulk gets mad . . . HULK SMASH!!!

There is a certain emotional and behavioral purity to the man-monster who refers to himself simply as "Hulk" (as in, "Long after man in red underwear runs out of fancy words, Hulk will still be smashing him!" -- The Incredible Hulk #155, September 1972), and who is known to society more formally as the Hulk, two words that serve as a proper name, a physiological description and a job title (e.g., the pope, the president, the Hulk).

The Hulk's emotional range goes from mad to madder. Is there a maddest? No, because he can always dig a little deeper. The Hulk's attitude is, "I have not yet begun to smash."


posted by Frodgie at 12:01 PM

 

U.S. Soldier Killed in Rocket-Propelled Grenade Attack in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq -— Attackers fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a U.S. military ambulance Thursday, killing one American soldier and wounding two others, a military spokesman said.

It was the third reported attack on U.S. personnel or their offices in the last 24 hours.

The ambulance was transporting a wounded U.S. soldier to a medical facility when it was hit at about noon while on a highway in al-Iskandariyah, about 20 miles south of Baghdad.

The wounded soldier being transported was not the one killed, said Capt. John Morgan, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad. The casualties were members of an Army medical brigade and their identities were being withheld pending notification of relatives.

The wounded were taken to an Army support hospital in southwest Baghdad. It was not immediately clear if the ambulance was traveling as part of a convoy or if fire was returned.

A mortar shell exploded Wednesday outside a coalition-run humanitarian aid office in the town of Samarra, north of Baghdad, killing an Iraqi bystander and wounding 12 others, the U.S. military said Thursday. No American forces were hurt.

Attackers also fired a rocket-propelled grenade that struck a U.S. tank in Samarra, said Sgt. Steven Stoddard with the Army’s 4th Infantry Division. A second tank fired back, killing one attacker and wounding another, Stoddard said. There were no American casualties.

In west Baghdad, an Army truck was hit by what witnesses said was a rocket-propelled grenade. The torn-apart truck sat burning on the edge of the highway.

Witnesses said there were casualties, but U.S. military police at the scene said the vehicle broke down earlier and was set on fire after being left alone while soldiers prepared to remove it.

The mortar round in Samarra, 75 miles north of Baghdad, exploded Wednesday outside the Civil Military Operations Center. U.S. soldiers heard three explosions and asked local police to investigate, said a U.S. Central Command statement.


posted by Frodgie at 11:59 AM

 

Fiery Death for Iranian in Paris Raid Protest

PARIS (Reuters) - An Iranian woman died and another struggled to survive extensive burns on Wednesday after both set themselves on fire in protest against a mass round-up in France of left-wing Iranian exiles opposed to religious rule in Tehran.

Marzieh Babakhani, aged about 40, died in hospital after setting fire to her clothes early on Wednesday at a protest of about 100 exiles at an Interior Ministry office near the Eiffel Tower, the Paris prosecutor's office said.

Protester Segigheh Mojaveri, 38, set herself ablaze later at the same protest and was taken away badly burned, said exiles on the scene. In Berne, Swiss police stopped an Iranian from doing the same after dousing himself with a flammable liquid.

"We condemn the shameful deal with the mullahs," chanted the Paris crowd, accusing France of rounding up 159 exiles early on Tuesday as a favor to the Islamic republic with which Paris maintains diplomatic relations.

By Wednesday morning, police released all but 26 of those detained in Tuesday's raids on homes and offices of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a left-wing opposition group that opposes religious rule in Iran.

The raids also netted several suitcases of $100 bills worth at least $8 million as well as a large amount of communications equipment, police said.


posted by Frodgie at 12:00 PM

 

Gay Marriages legal: What's your opinion?

TORONTO - Canada will change its law to allow homosexual marriage, joining Belgium and The Netherlands as the only countries where same-sex couples can legally wed, Prime Minister Jean Chretien announced Tuesday.

Chretien said the new law would be drafted within weeks and submitted to the Supreme Court of Canada for review, then put to a Parliament vote. His Liberal Party has a commanding majority in the legislature, though the issue has caused division in the Liberal caucus.

The announcement means the government decided against appealing recent court rulings that declared the nation's definition of marriage as unconstitutional because it specified the union of a man and woman.


posted by Frodgie at 6:08 AM

 

Bush raps 'revisionist historians' on Iraq

ELIZABETH, New Jersey (CNN) -- President Bush on Monday strongly defended the U.S.-led war to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein against "revisionist historians" he suggested were trying to diminish the threat once posed by the deposed Iraqi leader.

The president made his comments on Iraq as he addressed a group of business leaders about the economy, touting recent tax cuts he signed into law as the kind of boost small businesses need.

But, as he often does when addressing audiences outside Washington, he talked about the war on terrorism, and he briefly turned his attention to Iraq.


posted by Frodgie at 6:16 AM

 

Benefit of moderate exercise challenged

WASHINGTON (AP) -- New research labels as an "illusion" a major study's conclusion that couch potatoes who take up at least moderate regular exercise can reduce their risk of dying early.

The apparent benefit "can be entirely attributed to measurement error," said researcher Paul T. Williams, a biostatistician in the Life Sciences Division of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California.

However, the lead scientist in the original study says additional data from the research project can prove him right. And other experts say that even if Williams' analysis is correct, other studies have shown so many health benefits from exercise that it must extend lifespan.

Williams examined a landmark study published in 1995 in the Journal of the American Medical Association by scientists at the Cooper Institute, a Dallas-based organization that studies exercise and lifestyle. However, his conclusions could be applied to other studies that used the research format employed by the Cooper Institute project, Williams said.

posted by Frodgie at 6:13 AM

 

This young man is in training to become a Jedi!! Please click on the links below. Awesome.

Insane / Please click

Insaner / Please click

Insanerer / Please click

Insaniest / Please click

posted by Frodgie at 9:04 AM