Blue to Gold: ARMY Sgt. Jason M. Swindle

ARMY Sgt. Jason M. Swindle, twenty-four, of Cabot, Arkansas, died Sept. 20, in Panjwa'l, Afghanistan.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Twenty-four year old Sgt. Jason M. Swindle of Cabot, Arkansas, died September 20th in Panjwa’l, Afghanistan. He died of injuries sustained when he encountered enemy, small arms fire.

Swindle was assigned to 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart. He was an infantryman who joined the Army in July 2005. He had been deployed four times, and posthumously earned the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals.

The thoughts and prayers of Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield and the 3rd ID are with Swindle’s family; the installation is providing support to the family.

From The Mouth of Matuszak: Disgusting! Obama Defaces US Flag! AGAIN!

The reactions among patriots and conservatives range from utter disgust to complete outrage. What follows is my OpEd that originally posted at Mental Aikido just hours after the defaced flag went on sale on Barack Obama's Campaign sales store. That's right, the "flag" is endorsed and for sale to those who despise prosperity and the American Dream and prefer enslaving the industrious to the whims of the lazy.

P-G Matuszak

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Disgusting! Obama Defaces US Flag! AGAIN!

Above, straight from his campaign's store, is Obama's latest bit of anti-American propaganda. It is a disgusting misrepresentation of our great republic's symbol of liberty and justice. Of course, that means he cares little for either.

The stripes look similar to those left in the wake of the terrorist attack on the US Embassy in Libya, during which our Ambassador was raped and murdered. Instead of the union, that field of blue with a star for each beautiful state, Obama has placed his personal symbol, indicating he believes himself more important than any and all of the states.

It also isn't his first vandalism of our great Star Spangled Banner.

This is a strong indicator of several scary personality traits. First, this is on par with Saddam Hussein placing statues and paintings of himself throughout all of Iraq to remind the people to whom they owed the very air they breathed -- not "allah" but Saddam. In its most primal essence, it telegraphs intentions to be a tyrant.

Add to the above the obvious that Barry Obama is evidently a narcissist. He wants to stop America from being colonial and "imperial". Instead, he wants it to be he, alone, who rules the world. To do so, he must first weaken the strongest nations on the planet: the US, Israel, Russia, the UK, and China. (Tie China's economy to the US's economy -- then collapse both).

Take those in aggregate with everything Obama has done since he returned from Indonesia, and his megalomania is apparent to even one with a cursory interest in abnormal psychology.

His ego needs to go down several notches. He needs to be taught a lesson. The best way for him to receive that lesson is for him to be rejected and voted out of our White House. Put him in the unemployment line. It would be wonderful to see him actually work for a living instead of living off of the efforts of others.

Noda Retains Prime Minister Position

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda held his post, against three challengers, Friday, with sixty-eight percent of the vote.

But he only maintained power as his party still has a majority of Parliament.

Noda's support figures are down to nearly thirty percent, with the Democratic Party of Japan's figures hovering near fifteen.

In his one year as Prime Minister, Noda has done a lot better than his five predecessors, but he still has made several unpopular decisions, including not eliminating nuclear power and not taking a harder line with China over disputed islands.

Seventy-eight percent of the Japanese population is unhappy with where the country is heading.

The next parliamentary elections, may not be until August of 2013, but unless things turn around, the DPJ is likely to lose it's power, pulling Noda with it.

Israeli Soldier Killed Fighting Invading Militants

One Israeli soldier was wounded and another killed, on Friday, when three militants attempted to cross into Israel, near the Egyptian border and were engaged by the IDF. The deceased soldier has not yet been identified.

All three militants were killed, without gaining entry. Their bodies were found to have explosive belts on them, leading authorities to believe they were planning some form of suicide attack.

Egyptian officials believe all three were known jihadists, wanted by the Sinai police. The men were all likely members of the same Bedouin tribe, according an Egyptian source.

West Nile Virus Hits The Balkans

As the US sees one of it's worst season of West Nile virus ever, the Balkan countries are being hit as well.

Health officials in Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Croatia have all reported cases of the disease.

Five deaths have been connected to the virus, three of them in Serbia, which has also seen the most cases.

Kosovo is currently investigating two other deaths, for the possibility that they were caused by West Nile, as well.

All of the dead were over fifty and suffering from some other illness, which weakened their immune systems.

US Unemployment Rises

Twenty-six of the United States saw an increase in unemployment, over August.

The Labor Department has admitted that the only reason unemployment numbers went down, in July, was due to fewer people actively seeking work, as more people have simply given up.

Only 96,000 jobs were added across the entire country, in August, and that was split between twelve states.

Seven of the twenty-six that lost jobs are the swing states that are considered key to this year's elections.

Sixteen Dead in Pakistan Riots

At least sixteen people are dead in Pakistan, after protests have turned violent. Peshawar and Karachi have seen the worst of the violence, with rioters singling out movie theaters, now that the military blocks them from reaching embassies.

After they started to receive injuries from the mob, police in Peshawar fired upon rioters there, killing several and wounding dozens. In Karachi, police themselves were the victims of being fired on, and one of their own number was killed.

Embassies, and other European and US buildings, have been closed for the weekend, throughout the Muslim world, as governments try and avoid casualties amongst their staffs. Many countries are seeing protests and several have gone violent. Authorities in Bangladesh responded to thousands of protesters by banning demonstrations for the weekend. Tunisia planned ahead and banned protests before they could begin.

Syrian Airstrike Kills 54 at Gas Station

Syria's air force was busy Thursday, blowing up a busy fueling station. The air strike killed at least fifty-four people, with that many or more injured by the blast.

Government forces continued to shell the town of Tel Abyad, where a border crossing was capture by rebel troops, on Wednesday. Residents across the border, in Turkey, reported gun fire was also present, suggesting that national troops are trying to retake the crossing.

On Wednesday, Syrian Migs entered Iraqi air space and attacked various Syrian Free Army bases that had been set up across the border for protection. Iraq's government has repeatedly kept silent about Syria's use of it's air space.

Over 27,000 have been killed in the conflict, which began in February 2011. President Assad released a statement, Thursday, stating that his forces can not lose, and that it is just a matter of time til the rebels are eliminated.

Blue to Gold: ARMY Pfc. Jon R. Townsend

ARMY Pfc. Jon R. Townsend, 19, Claremore, Oklahoma, died September 16 in Zabul province, Afghanistan.
Pfc. Jon R. Townsend, nineteen, of Claremore, Oklahoma, from the brigade's 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment. Townsend joined the Army in May 2011 and arrived at Lewis-McChord last October. He is survived by his wife, Brittany Taylor Carden.

His high school principal said Townsend was determined to join the Army.

"Jon made up his mind that he was going to go to the service, so he spent all year getting ready," Steve Johnson told the Tulsa World. "He really believed in the cause and wanted to be a soldier."

Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/2012/09/20/v-print/2257264/deadly-weekend-hits-3-from-jblm.html#storylink=cpy

Blue to Gold: ARMY Pfc. Genaro Bedoy

ARMY Pfc. Genaro Bedoy, 20, of Amarillo, Texas, died September 16 in Zabul province, Afghanistan.

Pfc. Genaro Bedoy, twenty, of Amarillo, Texas, died Sept. 16th, 2012 in Zabul Province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 52nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

He joined the Army in November 2010 and arrived at Lewis-McChord the following March.

The Amarillo Globe-News reported that Bedoy is survived by his wife and infant child.

"He died as a hero," his cousin, David Gonzalez, told the newspaper. "We're all going to miss him. We loved him."

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/09/20/v-printerfriendly/2303011/deadly-weekend-hits-3-from-jblm.html#storylink=cpy