Dem report on gun running follows gun control agenda, has NW link

Democrat Congressman Elijah E. Cummings’ “minority report” on gunrunning and Operation Fast and Furious offers a set of “solutions” to issues raised by an on-going probe of the failed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ sting operation that follow the gun control agenda, and it also contains a reference to a Washington gun maker, Olympic Arms.

http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-seattle/dem-report-on-gun-running-...

Article by Dave Workman

Philippines officials say they expect to hold high level talks with China in the coming months to maintain good relations, despite heated debate in recent weeks over disputed territory in the South China Sea.

Cooperation

Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario says his office plans to take up an invitation to visit Beijing in the coming months as an opportunity to reaffirm good ties with China. He says, so far, the country has signed 100 agreements with China related to trade and investment, defense, security and education.

Somalia's government says this year's independence celebration marks the start of a more peaceful time for the war-ravaged country.

Top officials took part in a flag-raising ceremony at the presidential palace in Mogadishu early Friday, marking Somalia's 51 years as an independent state.

The admission by French officials that they have supplied weapons to rebels in western Libya could help explain the opposition's recent territorial gain. The advance has been one of the few breakthroughs in the rebels' fight against the government's professional army.

The rebel leadership has spent four months trying to form a cohesive plan to guide its enthusiastic, but largely amateur fighting force. The results have been mixed.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says he has undergone successful surgery in Cuba for the removal of a cancerous growth.

In a speech on state television late Thursday, Chavez said the operation addressed a tumor with "cancerous cells." He voiced hope that he is on the road to recovery.

It was his first televised address to the Venezuelan people since he underwent emergency surgery in Cuba on June 10. His prolonged stay in Cuba after surgery had sparked rumors he may have cancer.

Authorities have said the operation was for an abscess in his pelvic area.

A combined Afghan and coalition security force killed several insurgents during a security operation in Charkh District, Logar province, yesterday.

The target of the operation was the deputy Taliban appointed governing official in the district. He is responsible for coordinating and conducting attacks against Afghan security forces.

The Afghan-led security force was conducting a call-out at a compound when they were attacked by several armed insurgents from an adjacent building. The force returned fire, killing the insurgents. Initial reports indicate there were no civilian casualties.

Soldiers of 3rd Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division, successfully qualified with their M16A4 rifles after firing several magazines of ammunition at a live-fire training range at Joint Security Station India, Iraq, June 16, 2011.

"Ghost" troopers from Troop D, 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, coached Iraqi instructors leading the weapons qualification for trainees.

It’s called the high fort.

Perched in the center of Gardēz, an ancient structure known as Bala Hesar, meaning “high fortress,” has seen plenty of service in Afghanistan. Believed to have been built by Alexander the Great in the fourth century B.C., old artillery pieces on its highest tower along with a large spotlight indicate its more recent use.

During the early stages of the U.S. liberation of Afghanistan, according to The Christian Science Monitor, forces loyal to now President Hamid Karzai gathered at its base to take the city for its appointed leader.

Despite touting the most technologically advanced military in the world, the unforgiving terrain of Afghanistan forced the U.S. Army to employ a more traditional means of cargo transport - donkeys.

In a recent mission to Combat Outpost Baraki Barak, soldiers from the Georgia Agribusiness Development Team provided care for the rugged four-legged soldiers of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division’s Task Force Patriot, June 21.