Images: Combat Camera, Sat. 6 May

APACHE TROOP ON PATROL, IRAQ PT. 1

U.S. Army Spc. Brian Stubbs of Apache Troop, 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, searches a home during a downpour in Sadr City, Iraq, April 30, 2006. The troop was on a routine presence patrol in the city. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika

U.S. soldiers assigned to Apache Troop, 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, conduct a patrol in Sadr City, Iraq, April 30, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika

U.S. soldiers assigned to Apache Troop, 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, search a home while on patrol in the Sadr City, Iraq, April 30, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika

U.S. soldiers assigned to Apache Troop, 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, provide security during a routine presence patrol on the outskirts of Sadr City, Iraq, April 30, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika

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Images: Combat Camera, Fri. 5 May

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The Daily Tension for Fri. 5 May

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The Daily Tension for Thu. 4 May

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Follow Up: Illegal Immigrant Backlash Felt Locally

COMMENTLINE
Herndon residents voted earlier this week to replace incumbents who supported a controversial day-labor center for immigrant workers.

Some have said that the local election signals beginning of a voter backlash against local and federal immigration policy.

In the end, it may be that Americans will solve the illegal immigration problem by finding a consensus among themselves rather than with immigrants. The consensus solution would probably mean something other than making attempts at providing amnesty for those breaking the law. We are more likely to see the creation of a guest worker program, massive alien registrations, government support for those who wish to become citizens, and a border wall with a gate for those who will be going home.

Here are some more developments:

NEWSLINE
"Politicians across the country should take note of the results of this election," said Chris Simcox, president of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, an organization that patrols the U.S.-Mexico border. The group's Herndon allies videotaped hiring activity at a day labor center created to help immigrant workers find employment.

NEWSBYTES
Seeing Vote's Effects Far Beyond Herndon
Immigration Opponents Cheer Election
(www.washingtonpost.com) -- National anti-immigration groups warned politicians yesterday that Tuesday's election in Herndon was the beginning of a voter backlash against local and federal immigration policy.

NATIONALLY
Monday's boycott generating backlash of frustration, anger
(www.signonsandiego.com) -- When three businesses on his block closed in observance of a national pro-immigrant boycott Monday, barbershop owner Gabriel Pollack stayed open.

Growing Unease for Some Blacks on Immigration
WASHINGTON, May 3 (www.nytimes.com) -- In their demonstrations across the country, some Hispanic immigrants have compared the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s struggle to their own, singing "We Shall Overcome" and declaring a new civil rights movement to win citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.

Immigrant protests setting off backlash
(www.fftimes.com) -- There’s an emotional backdrop to the growing protests supporting illegal immigrants in the United States.

MORE ON HERNDON
Day Labor Demand Rises in Herndon
Gain Is Tied to Weather; About 50 Workers Hired Each Day at Center
(www.washingtonpost.com) -- The demand for day laborers at the Herndon Official Workers Center increased by about 15 percent from March to April, mostly because of seasonal factors, according to Bill Threlkeld, director of Project Hope and Harmony, which operates the center.

Herndon voters oust labor-center backers
HERNDON (AP) -- Voters unseated the mayor and two Town Council members who supported creation of an immigrant day-labor center in a contest some considered a mini-referendum on illegal immigration.

FAIR: Accommodate Illegal Immigration, Lose the Next Election
Supporters of Day Labor Center in Herndon, Virginia, Swept Out of Office
WASHINGTON, May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Tuesday's municipal elections in Herndon, Virginia, were about one issue: illegal immigration. Last year, in the face of overwhelming public opposition, the mayor and a majority on the town council approved a publicly funded day labor hiring center that is used almost exclusively by illegal alien workers. On Tuesday, all but one local official who backed the illegal alien hiring center received pink slips from the voters.

Vote Heartens Illegal Immigration Foes
A day after massive marches nationwide, opponents of a day labor center win a majority on a Virginia Town Council.
HERNDON, Va. (www.latimes.com) -- The results of Tuesday's Town Council elections in this small suburban community could serve as a powerful admonition to politicians across the country who favor greater rights for illegal immigrants, according to some residents and local officials.

Tags: border wall, Immigration, Mexico, illegal, Aliens, Homeland Security, rights, reform, Herndon
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Images: Combat Camera, Thu. 4 May

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White Guilt and Western Civilization

AMERICA AT WAR

COMMENTLINE
In Tuesday's Wall Street Journal, Shelby Steele writes a provocative essay on how the condition known as our collective "white guilt" holds us back from pushing forward with common sense solutions to our most important domestic and foreign policy challenges

Steele says this guilt has profoundly changed our approach to world problems and caused "the world-wide collapse of white supremacy as a source of moral authority, political legitimacy and even sovereignty. "

This guilt, Steele thinks, has stigmatized any action the West takes today with the moral and racist sins of the past.

Read on....

NEWSLINES
Anti-Americanism, whether in Europe or on the American left, works by the mechanism of white guilt. It stigmatizes America with all the imperialistic and racist ugliness of the white Western past so that America becomes a kind of straw man, a construct of Western sin. (The Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo prisons were the focus of such stigmatization campaigns.) Once the stigma is in place, one need only be anti-American in order to be "good," in order to have an automatic moral legitimacy and power in relation to America.

Today words like "power" and "victory" are so stigmatized with Western sin that, in many quarters, it is politically incorrect even to utter them. For the West, "might" can never be right. And victory, when won by the West against a Third World enemy, is always oppression. But, in reality, military victory is also the victory of one idea and the defeat of another. Only American victory in Iraq defeats the idea of Islamic extremism. But in today's atmosphere of Western contrition, it is impolitic to say so.

NEWSBYTE
White Guilt and the Western Past
Why is America so delicate with the enemy?
By Shelby Steele
(www.opinionjournal.com) -- There is something rather odd in the way America has come to fight its wars since World War II. Read more.

From Amazon.com

White Guilt : How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era

Tags: Shelby Steele, War, Military, Human Rights
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The Daily Tension for Wed. 3 May

TENSION NEWSMAKERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD


IRAN NUCLEAR CRISIS
Iranian Oil Minister: Oil Prices may Hit $100
(zaman.com) -- The Iranian nuclear crisis caused international oil prices to surge to $74 on the market Wednesday, in light of tension in the region and concerns over the already dwindling global energy production.

Iran, Qatar Leaders Argue Over Gulf Name
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- An old dispute got a new airing this week, when the Iranian president and the emir of Qatar got into it over the name of the body of water that separates Iran from the Arabian peninsula.

Security Council Is Given Iran Resolution
Pressure Builds to End Tehran's Nuclear Efforts
UNITED NATIONS, May 3 (www.washingtonpost.com) -- Britain, France and Germany presented the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday with a draft resolution that urges states to restrict nuclear trade with Iran and requires Tehran to halt enriching uranium or face "further measures," a veiled reference to possible sanctions.

Bush to Iran: Abandon nuclear weapon aims
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- President George W. Bush demanded on Wednesday that Iran give up nuclear weapons ambitions "for the sake of world peace," as he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel emphasized diplomacy in dealing with Tehran.

Arab Distrust of Iran Gains Momentum
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- The emir of Qatar, on a visit to Iran, referred to the Arab Gulf. Iran's president was quick to correct him: it's the Persian Gulf, he said.

IRAQ CONFLICT
Bomb Kills Iraqi Police Recruits
37 Bodies Found in Baghdad; Assembly Delays Key Debate
BAGHDAD, May 3 (www.washingtonpost.com) -- A wave of killings in the capital and a suicide bomber's attack on a group of Iraqi police recruits on Wednesday punctuated a day in which Iraq's newly formed parliament put off debating difficult issues and discussed its bylaws.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
US 'Minutemen' launch cross-country crusade against illegal immigration
LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- A group of anti-immigration activists launched a 10-day drive across the United States to demand tougher border controls and a crackdown on illegal immigration.

Some Brazilian-born workers join protests
(www.mvtimes.com) -- On a day when hundreds of thousands of legal and illegal foreign-born residents and workers marched in organized demonstrations in major cities to demand changes in the country's immigration laws, a group of Brazilian workers staged an impromptu Vineyard version of Monday's nation-wide protest.

ECONOMY
Dow Ends Down 16, Nasdaq Finishes Down 6
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks closed modestly lower Wednesday as the latest batch of upbeat economic data made investors uneasy about more interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

Oil drops $2 as US fuel stocks rise
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Oil dropped $2 on Wednesday after a U.S. government report showed a surprise increase in gasoline inventories, easing worries about a supply crunch ahead of summer when demand peaks.

AFRICA
Sierra Leone: Youth Unemployment, Corruption Must Be Curbed Says Annan
NEW YORK (UN News Service) -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged Sierra Leone's Government to deal with the increasing youth unemployment, rampant corruption, and growing border tension with Guinea, warning that unless these issues are dealt with the calm security situation that has prevailed in the West African country since last year's departure of the UN peacekeeping mission could be destabilized.

Low Turnout May Undermine Chad Election
N'DJAMENA, Chad (AP) -- Low turnout for Wednesday's presidential election threatened to undermine the credibility of only the third multiparty ballot in Chad, one of Africa's newest oil producers.

ASIA
US pressure on N.Korea may not be effective: Seoul
SEOUL (Reuters) -- U.S. pressure on North Korea can squeeze its finances but may not reform Pyongyang, South Korea's top policy maker on the North said on Wednesday in comments that highlight recent friction with Washington.

Tags: Sierra Leone, Qatar, Chad, Korea, : terrorism, Middle East, Iran, war, IAEA, nuclear, Arab, Islam, Muhammad, prophet, Mohammad, Muslim, terrorism, Bush, UN, U.N., United Nations, United States, oil, OPEC, economics, gas prices, Africa, Human Rights, gold, Iraq, War, Military, terrorism, Middle East, Operation Iraqi Freedom, coalition
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Zacarias Moussaoui Sentenced to Life in Prison

SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACKS


COMMENTLINE
One interesting thing about living in the DC Metro area is that local news is also national news. Take the case of Zacarias Moussaoui, for example. After months of spectacle in Alexandria, a federal jury finally reached a verdict today in the sentencing trial of Moussaoui, who faced the death penalty for conspiracy in connection with the September 11 attacks.

NEWSLINE
Moussaoui is the only person charged in the United States in connection with Sept. 11.

NEWSBYTE
Jury Rejects Death Sentence for Moussaoui
(www.washingtonpost.com) -- A federal jury decided today to spare the life of Zacarias Moussaoui, sentencing the avowed al-Qaeda conspirator to life in prison for his role in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist plot.

ALSO SEE
Moussaoui Trial Documents
(http://www.findlaw.com/)

RELATED
9-11 Commission Report
Department of Homeland Security
FBI: War on Terrorism
Counterterrorism Office

Tags: Moussaoui, 9-11, Terrorism, bin Laden, Al Qaeda, Flight 93, FBI, photography, photo, photos, pictures, images, photojournalism, Muhammad, prophet, Mohammad, Muslim, terrorism, United States
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Images: How Not to Display the American Flag

COMMENTLINE
While it isn't so much of a problem to sing the national anthem in Spanish, folks who want to be citizens of the U.S. should probably learn how to display the flag with respect due, i.e., the American flag is not a dog scarf, tent, or whirligig.

RESOURCES
The Flag of the United States of America

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Tags: border wall, Immigration, Mexico, illegal, Aliens, Homeland Security, rights, reform, Bush, photography, photo, photos, pictures, images, photojournalism, flag,
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Illegal Immigrant Backlash Felt Locally

COMMENTLINE
Herndon residents voted yesterday to replace incumbents who supported a controversial day-labor center for immigrant workers.

The election served as a local referendum on the larger national issue of illegal immigration.

Protesters may do well to expect the unexpected consequences of bringing the issue of illegal immigration into the vast American consciousness.

In the end, it may be more likely that Americans will solve the problem by finding a consensus among themselves than with immigrants. The consensus solution would probably bring a guest worker program, alien registrations, government support for those who wish to become citizens, and a border wall with a gate for those who must return home rather than any attempt at providing amnesty for those who break the law.

NEWSLINE
The labor center forced the western Fairfax County town into the national spotlight last summer as the immigration debate grew deeply contentious. Even though fewer than 3,000 people voted yesterday, advocates on both sides of the issue looked at the Herndon election as a test of public sentiment. Outside groups such as the Minuteman Project, which opposes illegal immigration, intervened in the debate, and Judicial Watch, a conservative legal group, is suing the town over the establishment of the center.

NEWSBYTE
Labor Site Backlash Felt at Polls In Herndon
(www.washingtonpost.com) -- Herndon voters yesterday unseated the mayor and two Town Council members who supported a bitterly debated day-labor center for immigrant workers in a contest that emerged as a mini-referendum on the turbulent national issue of illegal immigration.

Tags: border wall, Immigration, Mexico, illegal, Aliens, Homeland Security, rights, reform, Herndon
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Images: Immigrant Protest Tension

UNREST AT VISTA, CA





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Tags: border wall, Immigration, Mexico, illegal, Aliens, Homeland Security, rights, reform, Bush, photography, photo, photos, pictures, images, photojournalism, Vista
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The Daily Tension for Tue. 2 May

TENSION NEWSMAKERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

ECONOMY
Gold reaches new 25-year high
LONDON (Reuters) -- Gold hit a new 25-year high in Europe on Tuesday with investors targeting the next big level of $700 an ounce on firm oil, a weaker dollar and political tension in the Middle East.

Dow Closes Up 73, Nasdaq Finishes Up 5
NEW YORK (AP) -- Solid earnings from Verizon Communications Inc. lifted stocks Tuesday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average to its best close in six years even as oil prices neared an all-time high.

Crude futures rise to $74 a barrel amid lingering tension over Iran
(PRAVDA) -- Oil prices rose to $74 a barrel Tuesday amid fear that international pressure on Iran to modify its nuclear program may lead to supply cuts from the key exporter.

Bush, Hill Republicans Agree To Extend Expiring Tax Cuts
(www.washingtonpost.com) -- President Bush and congressional Republicans agreed yesterday on a $70 billion package of tax-cut extensions that they hope will help halt the deterioration of their political fortunes.

TERRORISM
Tension rises another notch in Moussaoui trial
ALEXANDRIA, United States (AFP) -- Jurors will be back in a small seventh floor room in a US courthouse, where they have spent nearly 30 hours grappling for a verdict in Zacarias Moussaoui death penalty trial.

Day six, and Moussaoui jurors keep going
ALEXANDRIA, United States (AFP) -- Jurors deliberated into a sixth day, grappling for a decision on whether Al-Qaeda plotter Zacarias Moussaoui will be executed or sentenced to life in prison over the September 11 attacks.

IRAQ CONFLICT
IRAQ ARMY FACES UNREST BY RECRUITS
BAGHDAD [MENL] -- The Iraq Army, in an attempt to ease sectarian tension, has sought to accelerate recruitment from a province regarded as the hotbed of the Sunni insurgency.

US soldiers in Iraq are film makers in 'War Tapes'
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Three U.S. soldiers who took video cameras to Iraq to make a new film called "War Tapes" have strong, varied and sometimes surprising views but they agree on one thing -- Americans don't know enough about war.

IRAN NUCLEAR CRISIS
Germany's Risky Business with Iran
(SPIEGEL) -- German companies have enjoyed booming trade with Iran in recent years. But with tension over Tehran's nuclear ambitions rising, the export party may be over. Deals with the mullah state are becoming an increasingly risky business.

Iran threatens Israel, makes new enrichment claim
TEHRAN (Reuters) -- Iran threatened on Tuesday to attack Israel in response to any "evil" act by the United States and said it had enriched uranium to a level close to the maximum compatible with civilian use in power stations.

EU Nations Outline U.N. Iran Resolution
PARIS (AP) -- European nations, backed by the United States, outlined Tuesday a planned U.N. Security Council resolution to give "mandatory force" to the atomic watchdog agency's demands that Iran halt uranium enrichment, officials said.

NATIONAL NEWS
Tension, Emotion Run High at Mine-Safety Meeting
(All Things Considered) May 2, 2006 -- Hearings on the Sago Mine accident that killed 12 people begin in Buckhannon, W.Va. Family members of the dead miners gave statements about their lives and the loved ones they lost in the mine, urging mine officials to share information and improve safety practices.

In Massachusetts, Catholics torn by hierarchy, politics
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (www.csmonitor.com) -- As a dutiful Roman Catholic, Mildred Feloney drives to Saint Peter Parish here for 8 a.m. mass every morning.

AFRICA
Chad's President Expected to Keep Power
N'DJAMENA, Chad (AP) -- The president of Chad faced only token opposition in an election Wednesday boycotted by political foes and rejected by rebels in the chaotic east of this emerging oil exporter, where violence is spilling over from the Darfur region of Sudan.

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Tool: 10,000 Days

NEW MUSIC RELEASE PICK OF THE WEEK

SOUNDBYTE
Tool: 10,000 Days
(AMG Review) -- In an age where major labels dictate that new releases from bands appear on record store shelves every 18 months or so, rare is the artist given freedom and ability to reflect and stretch out to explore creative evolution and release music as an artist, rather than the prepackaged predictability of an entertainer. Thankfully, Tool has somehow managed to circumvent these rituals, releasing a record every four to five years as they so feel the need. This ability to patiently craft their musical direction has paid off for not only the band, but for listeners, as they've been able to expand their musical vocabulary from album to album with great precision, all the while remaining true to the foundations that built such a loyal, if not cult-like, following. Read more.

Tags: music, entertainment, Tool, Review, Reviews
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The Tool Catalog

Small Numbers Mark Immigrant Protests in DC

COMMENTLINE
In relation to other protests across the country, scant few turned out for the boycott in the DC metro area.

NEWSLINE
In the District, ... 1,000 people rallied at Meridian Hill Park -- also known as Malcolm X Park -- in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood, and smaller rallies were held in Herndon, Alexandria and Baileys Crossroads.

NEWSBYTES
Boycott Gives Voice To Illegal Workers
(www.washingtonpost.com) -- Through rallies and boycotts of schools and businesses across the nation yesterday, illegal immigrants and their supporters sought to present a case to the American people that they are vital to the country's economy and should not be subject to deportation.

At Immigrant Rally, Divided They Stand
Call for Work Boycott Breeds Disagreement
(www.washingtonpost.com) -- The problem is, a guy has to make a living. And if you happen to be a Salvadoran with a green card; with a mortgage, a wife and three kids in Lanham; and two janitorial jobs in D.C. that keep you busy 14 hours a day, you might not have the leverage with the boss to boycott work in a demonstration of how important immigrants are to the U.S. economy.

Thousands join boycott
(www.washingtontimes.com) -- Hundreds of thousands of people boycotted their own jobs and stayed away from what they saw as "gringo" businesses yesterday.

Tags: border wall, Immigration, Mexico, illegal, Aliens, Homeland Security, rights, reform, May Day, protests, demonstrations
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Images: Illegal Immigrant Protest Rebuffs

MAY DAY MAYDAY





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