The Cool Blue Blog

Daily Dish

Saudi Arabia: Ends Histage Crisis

Pakistan: Another one bites the dust

Afghanistan: Bad guys fear Democracy

Najaf: Residents back US as fighting resumes

Kerry: Strong supporter of War against Islamo-fascists

Remembering: Tiananmen Square

100 Internet sites for men

Hero: 85 y/o veteran volunteers for duty in Iraq

Exercise: Don't bicycle when you're drunk and naked

Italy: Crack down on fake pizza

While the UN waffles, the US takes action. Again.

U.S. Seeks Libyan Role in Sudan Crisis

Posted: 05/28
From: Newsday

By GEORGE GEDDA
May 27,, 2004

WASHINGTON -- The United States and Libya are discussing possible use of that country as a transit point for delivering humanitarian aid to western Sudan, where fighting has left hundreds of thousands of people at risk of starvation or disease.

The administration has been undertaking costly airlifts of assistance to Sudan's Darfur province and is seeking land routes as an alternative. Libya has a common border with Sudan, as does Chad, with which U.S. officials also have had discussions.

Marine Cpl. Mark A. Evnin

Marine Cpl. Mark A. Evnin 21, of Burlington, Vermont
Marine recalled as ‘thoughtful kid’

By John Briggs
Burlington Free Press

Mark Evnin, 21, a Marine corporal from South Burlington, was killed April 3 in combat in Iraq. He was a scout and sniper with the 1st Marine Division, and had shipped to Kuwait in February.

His mother, Mindy Evnin, said he died at 1 p.m. Iraq time after a firefight. She had no details of the fight other than that two other Marines were with him when he was shot in the abdomen.

She learned of his death when three Marines in dress blues came to her house Thursday evening, April 3.

“One of them came back today,’’ she said the next afternoon, ‘‘and they will help with the funeral arrangements.’’

“I want him buried in Burlington and with full military honors,’’ she said. ‘‘He was proud to be a Marine, and I’m sure he died feeling that he was doing what he should do.’’

Solomon C. Bangayan

Spc. Solomon C. Bangayan made his parents proud by joining the service shortly after moving to the United States from his native Philippines.

We honor his service and his life on Memorial Day and always.
Bangayan, 24, lived briefly in the town of Jay, Vt., with his mother, Helen, stepfather, Victor Therrien, and younger sister, Hilda. He obtained a permanent residency visa, then joined the Army.

"We were just so proud of him coming from the Philippines for just a short time and wanting to serve the United States," Therrien said. "Coming from another country, he appreciated what we have here."

Bangayan was killed Jan. 2, 2004, when his convoy was ambushed. Friends and family said Bangayan wanted to go to nursing school and was weeks away from finishing his military service.

Bangayan was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, N.C.

Daily Dish

al Qaeda: attacks in Saudi Arabia

al Sadr: Clashes in Kufa, Karbala and Najaf quiet; Cleric nowhere to be found

Economy: Consumer spending and incomes rise in April

WWII memorial opens

The Apology Hotline

Sex: makes people happy; Captain Obvious still employed.

The Philosophy of Buffy

Just say Om

by JOEL STEIN
Source: Time.com View Source

The one thought I cannot purge, the one that keeps coming back and getting between me and my bliss, is this: What a waste of time. I am sitting cross-legged on a purple cushion with my eyes closed in a yoga studio with 40 people, most of them attractive women in workout outfits, and it is accomplishment enough that I am not thinking about them. Or giggling. I have concentrated on the sounds outside and then on my breath and then, supposedly, just on the present reality of my physical state—a physical state concerned increasingly with the lack of blood in my right foot. But I let that pass, and then I let my thoughts of the hot women go, and then the future and the past, and then my worries about how best to write this article and, for just a few moments, I hit it. It looks like infinite blackness, feels like a separation from my body and seems like the moment right before you fall asleep, only I'm completely awake. It is kind of nice. And then, immediately, I have this epiphany: I could be watching television.

Spc. Alan Bean Jr

Sgt. Kevin Sheehan of Milton Vermont was killed on Turesday, May 25th as he worked as part of a security escort for a tactical military intelligence team. He served as a member of the 1st Battalion, 86th Field Artillery of the Vermont Army National Guard.

According to the Burlington Free Press:

Bean attended Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg before his family moved from Charlotte to Bridport, school principal Val Gardner said Tuesday night. She remembered Bean as a lanky kid who always wore a cowboy hat and had a small, tight-knit group of friends.

She did not know Bean had died.

"Oh, my God," Gardner said slowly. "It's just beyond my belief."

The principal called CVU's crisis team and told them to be prepared to deal with grief at the school today.

Bean never cared what other people thought about him, recalled CVU classmate Tucker Watson.

"He did his thing," Watson said. "If you didn't like him, that was your own problem. He was really an all-American guy."

We honor his service and his life on Memorial Day and always.

Sgt. Kevin Sheehan

Sgt. Kevin Sheehan of Milton Vermont was killed on Turesday, May 25th as he worked as part of a security escort for a tactical military intelligence team. He served as a member of the 1st Battalion, 86th Field Artillery of the Vermont Army National Guard.

According to the Burlington Free Press:

The Vermont soldiers were attached to the 16th Military Police Brigade and escorted the military intelligence team from Baghdad to Camp Kalsu, a coalition base in Iskandariya, a city about 30 miles south of Baghdad, Saffo said.

The soldiers were waiting to return with the military intelligence team to Baghdad International Airport when eight to 10 mortar shells exploded nearby, Saffo said. Mortars are shells launched in a high arc from short-barreled cannons...

Anti-War Voters, Wake Up!

There are many anti-war voters who think that Kerry is against the war in Iraq.

He's not.

Here is just the latest of statements he's made in this regard:

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry called for 40,000 more U.S. troops in Iraq, saying he would ``modernize our military to match its new missions'' in the war on terror and homeland security.

If you are really anti-war, and you are a principled individual, you should be voting for Ralph Nader.

Don't fool yourself into thinking that Kerry will pull out of Iraq if elected. He won't and he can't.

If you support the war against Islamo-fascists and think that Kerry will do a better job of prosecuting it than Bush, then by all means, vote for Kerry.

But if you are voting for Kerry for any other reason, you are living in a dream world and you need to wake up.

Now.

"Crusaders" build Mosques

Marines break ground on new mosque and school improvements

Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 2004526124158
Story by Cpl. Shawn C. Rhodes

ZADAN, Iraq(May 24, 2004) -- The civil affairs team with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment recently completed the initial stages of a project that will improve a mosque, school and medical clinic in the city.

The event was celebrated by a groundbreaking ceremony on the property May 19.

"Today was a big day for us," said Sgt. Daniel P. Carreon, an assistant team leader for the civil affairs team from Garden Grove, Calif. "It was one of the first times we've been invited to a mosque in the city and been welcomed by everyone. It's just the first step toward showing the locals we're here to help and improve their quality of life."