25 Syrians Killed in Chemical Weapon Attack

On Tuesday, twenty-five people were killed in what appears to be the use of chemical weapons, in Aleppo, Syria.

Government media quickly blamed the attack upon rebel forces.

Opposition forces countered that it had to have been a government attack.


Syria's national military is known to have chemical weapons, but rebel forces were not thought to have them. 

However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is generally pro-opposition, did state that sixteen of the dead were soldiers of the regime.

That would at least make it appear that rebel forces were the perpetrators of the act.

The use of chemical weapons marks a dark step in the civil war, and could bring international involvement.

Multiple foreign governments have repeatedly pledged to stay out of the war, but listed the use of chemical weapons as a "red line" which they could not ignore.

The civil war, which turned two years old, on Thursday, has killed nearly seventy-five thousand people and displaced over a million Syrians.

17 Bombings Kill 65 in Iraq

Terrorists celebrated the ten year anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, with a series of bombings.

In seventeen separate attacks, sixty-five people were killed and two hundred and forty injured.

Attacks were focused on government forces and popular Shiite areas of the country.

Authorities were quick to put the blame on Sunni terrorist group Al Qaeda, and the attacks followed patterns the group has used before.

Al Qaeda has not claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the coordination of the attacks does not suggest the abilities of any of the other active terror groups.

Life is spelled R-I-S-K

America was founded on some principles. One of which was 'personal responsibility'. You were free to make you own life choices knowing that there were consequences. The example I was raised with was you don't work, you don't eat.

My mother's family were farmers. I grew up in a farming community. This was the way of life. You literally had to work for your food. You had to plant, fertilize, water, prune, then harvest the food. People also preserved what they could for the winter months and in case of drought seasons. They were their own safety net.

Some where a long the line, the federal government decided to step in and provide other safety nets. The thing with safety nets is after you land on them, you're supposed to crawl back over to the ladder and start to climb the ladder again. This time knowing what caused the fall to begin with and how to prevent it from happening again.

Problem is that the federal government's big web of safety nets became too comfy. People began to feel it was their right to stay, even though they put no effort into creating, building, or sustaining the net. So now they live rent free on our hard working backs.

Back to my original thought - RISK.

Personal responsibility is one hundred and eighty degrees away from shared responsibility. I happen to like the personal kind myself. If I fall, it is up to me and only me to get back up. No one pays for me. No one is responsible for me. Not that I wouldn't take help from a friend or family member. Lord knows we've all been there. But what right do I have to take money from a stranger from miles away because I fail?

Life is about taking risks. You learn from them. I truly believe safety nets makes this country soft. We, as a country, used to be bad ass. We used to do everything ourselves. Now, we let someone else take care of us. We have become toddlers.

I'm not a toddler! Are you?

Galena Fire Purposefully Set

Officials announced that the Galena Fire, burning to the west of Fort Collins, Colorado, was purposefully set by a human.

They are continuing their investigation to determine exactly how the blaze was started, and try and find out by who.

Firefighters hope to have full containment, by Tuesday morning.

Two firefighters were injured, on Sunday, but were treated and released.

On Monday, one hundred and thirty fighters were joined by two helicopters as they attacked the fire.

Indiana Plane Crash Leaves 2 Killed, 3 Injured, and Homes Destroyed

A small private jet crashed into houses near South Bend, Indiana, on Sunday.

Two of those aboard were killed and the other two were injured.

When the plane plowed into three homes, it injured one person on the ground.

The plane had come from Tulsa, Oklahoma and began experiencing technical difficulties as it neared it's destination of South Bend Regional Airport.

Investigators are trying to determine just exactly what went wrong.

Steven Davis, sixty, and Wesley Caves, fifty-eight, were the two victims of the crash.

Suicide Bomber Kills 10 Civilians in Mogadishu

Ten people were killed and fifteen wounded when a suicide bomber struck near the presidential palace in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Monday.

A vehicle carrying Khalif Ahmed Ilig, Somalia's intelligence chief, and other officials was the main target.

However, a commuter bus drove between that vehicle and the bomber's, just as the explosion occurred.

Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.

Suicide Bombers Target Peshawar Courthouse

Two suicide bombers targeted the Judicial Complex in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday morning.

Security officials managed to shoot and kill one of the men, outside of the building, before he could blow his explosives.

The other bomber made it into the building and exploded his vest.

Three civilians and a police officer were killed in the blast, which left thirty-three more people wounded.

A spokesman for the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Argentina Hoping Pope Will Intervene Over Falklands

Francis I hasn't even been Pope for a week, and is still awaiting his coronation.

However, he is already been asked to intervene in international politics.

Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner met with him on Monday.

During their meeting she asked the Pope to intervene in Argentina's claims to the Falkland Islands.

For some time Argentina has pressured the Islands to given up their British rights and join Argentina.

Last week, Falklanders voted, nearly unanimously to stay British, making it harder for Argentina to push their claims.

Before becoming pope, Francis had repeatedly stated that the islands were Argentinian territory, not British.

It is unclear if he will continue his nationalist tendencies, now that he is Pope, or if he will maintain the Vatican's neutrality, on the matter.

US Army: Chief Warrant Officer James E. Groves III

US Army Chief Warrant Officer James E. Groves III, thirty-seven of Kettering, Ohio, died on March 16, in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

It was his fourth deployment.

Groves was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, out of Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia.

Among his awards were the Air Medal.

Iran Launches Domestic Built Destroyer in The Caspian Sea

Jamaran

Iran announced the launch of it's second completely domestic built destroyer, on Sunday.

Jamaran 2 launched into the Caspian Sea, for trials.

It is the first time that Iran has ever put a ship into the Caspian.

Weighing 1,420 tons, the ship is equipped with advanced artillery and torpedo systems, a helicopter landing pad, and is capable of carrying surface to air missiles.

Expectations are for the ship to conduct six months of trials, before being fully inducted into the Iranian navy.

In 2009, Iran launched Jamaran, their first domestically built ship.