Blair: Seizure of UK Troops by Iran 'Very Serious'

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said today that the 15 British sailors and Royal Marines captured by Iran were not in Iranian waters and warned Tehran that Britain viewed their fate as a "fundamental" issue. "It is simply not true that they went into Iranian territorial waters," Blair said at a news conference in Berlin, calling the situation "very serious."

I must say, Iran scares the hell out of me! I'm terrified that their idiot leader and ours are going to push things until we end up at war.

Confessions

Court: Dying Can Be Charged For Using Marijuana

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- A California woman whose doctor says marijuana is the only medicine keeping her alive is not immune from federal prosecution on drug charges, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
The case was brought by Angel Raich, an Oakland mother of two who suffers from scoliosis, a brain tumor, chronic nausea and other ailments. On her doctor's advice, she eats or smokes marijuana every couple of hours to ease her pain and bolster a nonexistent appetite as conventional drugs did not work.
The Supreme Court ruled against Raich two years ago, saying that medical marijuana users and their suppliers could be prosecuted for breaching federal drug laws even if they lived in a state such as California where medical pot is legal.
Because of that ruling, the issue before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was narrowed to the so-called right to life theory: that marijuana should be allowed if it is the only viable option to keep a patient alive.
Raich, 41, began sobbing when she was told of the decision and said she would continue using the drug.
"I'm sure not going to let them kill me," she said. "Oh my God."

How ridiculous is this country when we hand out prescription drugs by the handful, yet won't legally allow a dying woman the necessary comfort of some marijuana? Personally, I think this is further proof that the war on drugs in a laughable farce. Why is it that in America we encourage "drinking til you puke", and/or taking prescription drugs for every real and imagined problem, but a terminally ill woman is threatened with prosecution for a little pot?! I find it bizarre, not to mention hypocritical.

Indian Cow Eats More Chicken

KOLKATA, India (Reuters) -- When dozens of chickens went missing from a remote West Bengal village, everyone blamed the neighborhood dogs.
But Ajit Ghosh, the owner of the missing chickens, eventually solved the puzzle when he caught his cow -- a sacred animal for the Hindu family -- gobbling up several of them at night.
"We were shocked to see our calf eating chickens alive," Ghosh told Reuters by phone from Chandpur village, about 240 kilometers (150 miles) northwest of Kolkata.
The family decided to stand guard at night on Monday at the cow shed which also served as a hen coop, after 48 chickens went missing in a month.
"Instead of the dogs, we watched in horror as the calf, whom we had fondly named Lal, sneak to the coop and grab the little ones with the precision of a jungle cat," Gour Ghosh, his brother, said.
Local television pictures showed the cow grabbing and eating a chicken in seconds and a vet confirmed the case.
"We think lack of vital minerals in the body is causing this behavior. We have taken a look and have asked doctors to look into the case immediately," Mihir Satpathy, a district veterinary officer, said by phone.
"This strange behavior is possible in some exceptional cases," Satpathy said.
Hundreds of villagers flocked to Chandpur on Wednesday to catch a glimpse of Lal, enjoying his bundle of green grass for a change.
"The local vets said the cow was probably suffering from a disease but others said Lal was a tiger in his previous birth," Ajit added.

All I can say about this story is, that the chick-fil-let (sp?) people need to give this bovine a contract!

Name That Animal!

Ready for another round of name that animal? This is a tough one, but I have no doubt that someone out there will know what this is. Let the guessing begin-lol! I love the punk hairstyle by the way-hee.

Clinton Calls For New G.I. Bill For Troops

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hillary Rodham Clinton offered a new GI "Bill of Rights" for men and women in uniform, arguing that Democrats can do a better job of protecting and providing for U.S. troops than the Republican administration.

"This administration is frankly unable to run a two-car parade," the Democratic presidential candidate said in a speech at the Center for American Progress, a think tank run by former Clinton White House aide John Podesta.

The New York senator, who leads early polls of Democratic contenders for the party's nomination, said she would put together a package of proposals designed to ensure troops have all the equipment they need when they're deployed, to ensure they receive proper health care, and to provide for families.

"I am here to say the buck does stop with this president and if he doesn't take responsibility, I can assure you that the next president will," the Democratic senator said Thursday.
Her call for better benefits for troops comes amid a public outcry over conditions at outpatient facilities at a Washington military hospital roughly seven miles from both the White House and Congress.

"In the leadership vacuum that has been left by the Bush administration, too many members of the military and their families have been left literally holding their breath," Clinton said.
Clinton, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has been an outspoken critic of Bush's handling of the Iraq war, but she has resisted calls by some in her party to label her 2002 vote authorizing the war a "mistake." She has said she wouldn't have voted to authorize the war if she knew then what she knows now.

Her proposals come as Democrats in Congress seek to curtail Bush's recent troop increase to Iraq -- an effort Republicans charge is tantamount to abandoning U.S. troops in the field.

My response to this is it's about time! If America really loves and supports it's troops then we need to make damn sure we're taking the best care of them, during and after their service, that we possibly can! The scandal at Walter Reed is bringing to light what any American who took the time to inform themself already knew, we are Not supporting and caring for our troops the way we should!!! These young people volunteer to defend us, willingly giving their time, energy and sometimes their limbs or very lives and it makes me sick that we as a country can't keep up our end of the bargain and give them quality healthcare and the money necessary to support themselves and their families.

Supporting The Troops

I don't know about everyone else, but I'm not particularly surprised by the Walter Reed scandal. Our current presidents administration has been cutting funding to the VA ever since he took office and while the president and his cronies talk a great deal about caring about our troops if you look at their actions it's obvious nothing could be further from the truth!

The Babies

Dema, a Sumatran tiger licks Nia a baby orangutan in a nursery room at the Taman Safari zoo Wednesday Feb. 28, 2007, in Bogor, Indonesia. The tiger and orangutan baby, which would never be together in the wild, have become inseparable playmates after they were abandoned by their mothers.

Can everyone say awwwww....at once?!-lol I just thought this was awfully sweet & cute.