Hump Day Humor ~~Bumper Sticker Edition July 30th

As I was preparing this Hump Day Humor post today, I realized that while I was doing the bumper sticker posts, Oil had become the dominant story in the news. I had posted the energy series with "why we must drill" about opening the coastal areas, as well as ANWAR, in addition to every other method available.
Anyway, I am going to continue with the Bumper Stickers today, with a compilation of three posts, and I hope your late Wednesday afternoon is Excellent!!

I get some weird and off beat catalogs, and a couple of them are the ones with the clever, funny, stupid slogans~~like bumper sticker type slogans, and the ones on t-shirts, so I thought what the heck, it is extremely slow at the Coral Ridge Mall, so why not find the best ones, and do a series of posts. I decided to break it up as it got kind of annoying reading through the whole list.
So here is part 9 in the series, and always if you have one that is not on the list, please send it to me at danielcarvelkepler@yahoo.com, or post it in the comments. Thanks:


Follow that car, Godzilla - and step on it !

Frankly, Scallop, I don't give a clam.

Wrinkled was not one of the things I wanted to be when I grew up!

I fought the lawn, and the lawn won.

If you can't read this, thank the teacher's union.

Procrastinate now.

The last time politics and religion were mixed, people were burned at the stake.

Rehab is for quitters.

My dog can lick anyone!

I have a degree in Liberal Arts - do you want fries with that?

Suburbia: Where they tear out the trees and name streets after them.

Do they ever shut up on your planet?

If you were born again, would you have two bellybuttons?

All men are idiots, and I married their King.

West Virginia: One million people, and 15 last names.

I'm out of estrogen and I've got a gun!

I'm always late. My ancestors arrived on the Juneflower.
====================================================================
I get some weird and off beat catalogs, and a couple of them are the ones with the clever, funny, stupid slogans~~like bumper sticker type slogans, and the ones on t-shirts, so I thought what the heck, it is extremely slow at the Coral Ridge Mall, so why not find the best ones, and do a series of posts. I decided to break it up as it got kind of annoying reading through the whole list.
So here is part 10 in the series, and always if you have one that is not on the list, please send it to me at danielcarvelkepler@yahoo.com, or post it in the comments. Thanks:



A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance.

Who are these children, and why do they keep calling me Mom?

The trouble with life is there's no background music.

Mop and Glo - The floor wax used by Three-Mile-Island cleanup team.

NyQuil - The stuffy, sneezy, why-the-hell-is-the-room-spinning medicine.

Quoting one is plagiarism. Quoting many is research.

Therapy is expensive. Popping bubble wrap is cheap. You choose.

Gravity: It's not just a good idea. It's the law.

Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?

You - Off my planet.

If you are what you eat, I'm fast, cheap and easy.

Well, this day was a total waste of makeup.

Errors have been made. Others will be blamed.

And your cry-baby whiny-a$$ed opinion would be...?

Warning: Dates on calendar are closer than they appear.

I'm not crazy, I've just been in a very bad mood for 30 years.

Allow me to introduce my selves.

=========================================================

I get some weird and off beat catalogs, and a couple of them are the ones with the clever, funny, stupid slogans~~like bumper sticker type slogans, and the ones on t-shirts, so I thought what the heck, it is extremely slow at the Coral Ridge Mall, so why not find the best ones, and do a series of posts. I decided to break it up as it got kind of annoying reading through the whole list.
So here is part 11 in the series, and always if you have one that is not on the list, please send it to me at danielcarvelkepler@yahoo.com, or post it in the comments. Thanks:



Sarcasm is just one more service I offer.

Whatever kind of look you were going for, you missed.

I'm trying to imagine you with a personality.

Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you weren't asleep.

I can't remember if I'm the good twin or the evil one.

There's no place like 127.0.0.1

I just want revenge. Is that so wrong?

I'm supposed to back up my hard drive, but how do I put it into reverse?

You say I'm a bitch like it's a bad thing.

Nice perfume. Must you marinate in it?

Chaos, panic, and disorder - my work here is done.

Earth is full. Go home.

Is it time for your medication or mine?

Nyquil: the stuffy, sneezy, why-the-hell-is-the-room-spinning medicine.

How do I set a laser printer to stun?

Getting on your feet means getting off your butt.

I'm not tense, just terribly, terribly alert.

If you want breakfast in bed, sleep in the kitchen.

First National Bank of Dad; Sorry, closed.

In dog years, I'm dead!

South Korea's got Seoul!

Love may be blind, but marriage is a real eye opener.

Above all else, sky.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Happy Hump Day ;)

UN tribunal In The Hague Takes Custody Of Karadzic

Here is an update on a story that we shall be following through to its' final conclusion, if there is one!

This story at Yahoo News by Associate Press writer Mike Corder reads:
The U.N. war-crimes tribunal at The Hague finally took custody of Radovan Karadzic on Wednesday — 13 years after the former Bosnian Serb leader went on the run — putting him in a jail where he was free to mingle with dozens of former allies and enemies.


Serbia handed over Karadzic overnight, flying him in a government jet from Belgrade to the Netherlands to await trial on charges of waging genocide against non-Serbs during the 1990s Balkan wars. His new home is a special wing of a Dutch prison reserved for people accused of war crimes in the Balkan wars of the 1990s.

"The arrest of Radovan Karadzic is immensely important for the victims who had to wait far too long for this day," tribunal prosecutor Serge Brammertz told reporters at a news conference at the court. "(It also showed) that there is no alternative to the arrest of war criminals and that there can be no safe haven for fugitives."

Karadzic's arrival in The Hague marked the end of a 13-year effort by the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal to get hold of its most wanted war criminal. He is accused of responsibility for the deaths of tens of thousands of people and the suffering of hundreds of thousands of Bosnian Muslims and Croats.

Legal experts consider Karadzic the most important figure in the war crimes committed in Bosnia, exceeding the role played by the late Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, whose own trial ended inconclusively when he died in 2006 in the same U.N. jail. During the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, Karadzic was known as the urbane, intellectual face of a monstrous regime blamed for the worst atrocities in Europe since World War II. According to his indictment, he and other senior Bosnian Serb leaders unleashed ethnic cleansing campaigns to drive Muslims and Croats out of land he considered part of a "Greater Serbia." The terror reached its climax at Srebrenica.

Prosecutors allege Karadzic masterminded atrocities including the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica, the deadly siege of Sarajevo, and the detention of tens of thousands in 20 concentration camps where many were tortured, starved and sexually abused. Serbian authorities say they arrested Karadzic on July 21 in the capital Belgrade, where he had been living under a false identity and practicing alternative medicine.

In Belgrade, Karadzic's lawyer Sveta Vujacic said his client will postpone entering a formal plea for 30 days, the maximum allowed under court rules. Karadzic's extradition stalled while a Belgrade court waited for an appeal, but Vujacic said he never filed one. On Tuesday night hours before Karadzic left Belgrade, about 15,000 Serb extremists rallied in a main square in the Serb capital demanding a halt to the extradition. Several hundred hooligans separated from the group and hurled stones and burning flares at riot police. Later, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators, trying to push them from the square. Belgrade's emergency clinic said it treated 51 policemen and 23 civilians injured in clashes. The city's military clinic reported treating three policemen and three civilians.

On Wednesday, the extremist Serbian Radical Party accused pro-Western president Boris Tadic of "provoking and organizing" the violence. Party leader Tomislav Nikolic says Tadic wants to "wipe out" the Radicals and "take Serbia into a war." In The Hague, the war crimes tribunal said Karadzic will be summoned before a judge Thursday and asked to enter a plea on each of 11 counts, including genocide, extermination and persecution. "It will take some months before the prosecution and the defense are ready to start this trial," said Brammertz, the Belgian prosecutor.

Tribunal spokeswoman Nerma Jelacic said the court will ensure Karadzic's "well being and right to a fair trial as much as possible and in accordance with the highest international standards." Karadzic is being held in the same high-security prison that once housed his former mentor Milosevic and where other former allies and enemies are also in custody. The war-crimes tribunal jail is in a separate wing of a prison in Scheveningen, a coastal suburb of The Hague. The center, which has 84 cells, currently has 37 other detainees, all of them alleged Yugoslav war criminals. Each cell, measuring 17 by 10 feet, has a shower, toilet, sink and desk. Cell doors are left open most of the day, except for a brief midday period to allow for a change of the guards. Prisoners may have computers, but are not allowed Internet access. They also receive Dutch, German, Belgian and French television channels, as well as satellite reception in their own language.

Courses in arts, languages or sciences are available. They share a gym, outdoor courtyard, library and a recreation room for darts, table tennis and board games. They have access to a doctor, nurse and psychiatrist and to a hospital in the adjoining Dutch prison. The tribunal declined to give details about Karadzic's transfer, citing security in future cases. But it confirmed his arrival shortly after a helicopter landed behind the high wall of the jail while another helicopter hovered overhead. Karadzic's top commander, Ratko Mladic, also accused of genocide, remains at large.

Brammertz praised Serbia's new pro-Western government, saying it deserved "full credit" for the arrest. He said he hopes the new cooperation will shortly lead to Mladic's arrest and that the two men could be tried together. "It is clear that if Gen. Mladic is arrested in the near future that this will be a serious option," he said. Bosnia's international administrator lifted the travel ban against Karadzic's family after Serbia handed him over to the war crimes tribunal. The family had been banned the family from leaving Bosnia because of suspicions they helped Karadzic elude capture.

This looks to be another long drawn out case, and my hope would be that someone with a "lock in a sock" has the opportunity to give this animal all the "justice" he deserves!!

Buried Loot A Mystery For Authorities

Here is a curious story to start the week out. I found this story at Yahoo News, By MATT APUZZO and ALICIA A. CALDWELL, Associated Press Writers, and thought it was interesting enough to pass on. It is also a "what would you do if I found millions of dollars" kind of story, which is what piqued my interest. So please read the story and daydream a little, as it "could" happen to any of us? Well probably not, but we can always hope. If it does happen, take the advice of the authorities~~turn it all in at once, and have just one story, or the authorities may end of keeping it, and that would suck!! :)

The businessman arrived at the Treasury Department carrying a suitcase stuffed with about $5.2 million. The bills were decomposing, nearly unrecognizable, and he asked to swap them for a cashier's check. He said the money came from Mexico.

Money like this normally arrives in an armored truck or insured shipping container after a bank burns or a vault floods. It doesn't just show up at the visitor's entrance on a Tuesday morning. But the banking habits of Franz Felhaber had stopped making sense to the government long ago.

For the past few years, authorities say, he and his family have popped in and out of U.S. banks, looking to change about $20 million in buried treasure for clean cash.

The money is always the same — decaying $100 bills from the 1970s and 1980s.
It's the story that keeps changing:
_It was an inheritance.
_Somebody dug up a tree and there it was.
_It was found in a suitcase buried in an alfalfa field.
_A relative found a treasure map.
No matter where it came from or who found it, that buried treasure stands to make someone rich.
It could also send someone to jail.
___
Felhaber is a customs broker, a middleman.
His company, F.C. Felhaber & Co., is just minutes away from the bridge between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Tens of billions of dollars of Mexican goods cross that bridge each year, aided by people such as Felhaber who navigate the customs bureaucracy.
Customs brokers don't own the stuff that comes into the United States. They just make sure it gets here.
So it is with the $20 million. Felhaber says the money is not his. A Mexican relative, Francisco Javier Ramos Saenz-Pardo, merely sought help exchanging money that had been buried for decades, Felhaber says.
"To be very clear on this matter: In the beginning, I was not told what it was," Felhaber said in one of several telephone interviews with The Associated Press.
Money petrifies after sitting underground that long and Felhaber said it looked like a brick of adobe. The Treasury will exchange even badly damaged money, but Felhaber said Saenz-Pardo did not want to handle the process himself.
"Imagine a Mexican family bringing money that is damaged and the government calling it a drug deal," Felhaber said.
If the goal were to avoid unwarranted attention, he went about it all wrong. Rather than making a simple — albeit large — exchange at the Treasury, Felhaber allegedly began trying to exchange smaller amounts at El Paso-area banks, raising suspicion every time.
The first stop was the Federal Reserve Bank in El Paso, where authorities say Felhaber appeared with an uncle, Jose, and an aunt, Esther. In her purse, Esther carried $120,000. She told bank officials there were millions more, discovered while digging to expand a building in Juarez, according to U.S. court records filed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Banks normally refer such requests to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, an arm of the Treasury. But employees worried that, with so much cash, the three might be robbed on their way home. So, the bank accepted the money and wired $120,000 to an account in his uncle's name, Jose Carrillo-Valles, according to a government affidavit.
Felhaber was back at it again weeks later, this time at a Bank of America branch. Customs officials say he unsuccessfully tried to persuade a bank vice president to dispatch an armored truck to the Mexican border to pick up millions of dollars.
Felhaber denies that conversation took place. But he is tough to pin down on details. At times he seems specific on a point ("There is a $20 million inheritance,") only to contradict himself minutes later, saying the amount is "nowhere near that" and he has no idea where the money came from.
Soon after the Bank of America visit, a man bearing a striking resemblance to Felhaber walked into a Bank of the West branch. This time, however, authorities say the customer identified himself as Ken Motley and said he discovered millions while excavating a tree in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Bank employees refused to exchange any money, despite two follow-up phone calls — once with a Spanish accent, once without — try to set up an exchange.
The mysterious Ken Motley also appeared at the First National Bank, telling employees that a friend had discovered $20 million buried in an alfalfa field, investigators say.
Felhaber says he is not Ken Motley.
Customs investigators say a Bank of the West employee identified Felhaber's picture as that of Ken Motley.
"That's an absolute lie," Felhaber said. "That would be a horrendous miscarriage of justice."
It's unclear which transaction caught investigators' attention. Most of the tens of thousands of exchanges of mutilated money each year are routine. Natural disasters create a lot of inquiries. Children of the Depression have kept money out of banks, only to see it eaten by rodents in their attics or destroyed in fires. A surprising number of people accidentally shred greeting cards with money inside.
But authorities say there are warning signs that trigger investigations. Making a series of small exchanges is one. Bringing mutilated money from abroad is another.
"That is one of the things we are extra concerned about: This process being used to launder money from illegal activities," said Leonard R. Olijar, the chief financial officer of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. "That's one of our factors that we use to make a case suspicious."
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents questioned Felhaber in October 2005. According to a government summary of that interview, Felhaber said he believed the money was the result of a 1970s Mexican land deal. The money was buried in a coffin, he said, until Saenz-Pardo — the relative who brought him the money in the first place — discovered a map leading him to the buried treasure.
Felhaber said he didn't want to do anything illegal and was merely getting a cut of whatever he exchanged.
He now says he was mistaken in his interviews with investigators.
"I told them, 'I suspect this is where it's from but I didn't know,'" he said. "They take you to your word like you're supposed to remember every single thing every single time."
___
Maybe it was the visit from investigators or maybe someone realized the bank visits weren't working, but Felhaber apparently changed strategies.
In January 2006, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing received a package containing about $136,000 from Jose Carrillo-Valles, Felhaber's uncle. Felhaber's business was listed as the return address. The letter explained the money had been stored in a basement for 22 years.
Though customs officials were suspicious by then, there was no clear evidence of a crime, just a lot of unanswered questions. So, two months later, the Treasury mailed a check, which was deposited into Carrillo-Valles' account.
Following the money, investigators interviewed Carrillo-Valles and his wife. Each denied ever sending or receiving the money, according to a government affidavit.
As for the $120,000 wired to Jose's account from the Federal Reserve a year earlier, they allegedly said it was an inheritance. Esther said Jose's mother had recently died.
Authorities don't believe the inheritance story. For starters, they say Jose's mother was still alive when the $120,000 was exchanged. They also traced a wire transfer from Jose's account to someone named Saenz-Pardo shortly after it was deposited.
Customs investigators now believed Carrillo-Valles was acting as an intermediary, taking a cut of the money and sending the rest to Saenz-Pardo or someone else in Mexico.
Twice, reporters called Carrillo-Valles on his cell phone to ask about the arrangement and confirm his discussions with investigators. First, he said he did not speak English. When a Spanish-speaking reporter called back, he said he could not hear her, and hung up.
In April 2007, the case moved from being suspicious to becoming a criminal investigation. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials called the Justice Department, saying Felhaber had just arrived in person at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing with about $1.2 million.
It's not illegal to find money. Depending on where it's found, there might be a bureaucratic process to follow or taxes to be paid, but the discovery itself is not a crime.
There are strict rules, however, about bringing money into the United States. Import documents identified the $1.2 million as belonging to Jose Carrillo-Valles. Based on their investigation so far, authorities believe that was a lie — a violation that carries up to five years in prison.
But Washington federal prosecutor William Cowden decided to wait. Maybe Felhaber would return with even more.
It paid off. This April, Felhaber was back at the Treasury, this time with a suitcase containing $5.2 million. Investigators say they have found no import documents filed for this deal, a violation of cash smuggling laws that also carries up to five years in prison.
Prosecutors moved in. Felhaber's two Treasury visits gave them probable cause to seize the money — both the $1.2 million and the $5.2 million.
They told a federal magistrate in June that they suspected it was all drug money that had been buried or hidden inside a wall for decades.
"Given that the money is coming north from Mexico, that both conflicting and cockamamie stories have been told about its origins, and that all the stories of how it got to be found are fantastical, I strongly suspect that the Felhaber currency is the proceeds of illegal bulk narcotics sales," ICE investigator Stephen A. Schneider told the magistrate.
___
Felhaber says he's still not sure what all the fuss is about. At times he says he has no idea where the money came from, but he is always certain it has nothing to do with drugs.
None of the documents filed in federal court accuses Felhaber or his relatives of being involved in drugs. They leave open the possibility that somebody merely came across a cache of drug money, forgotten or abandoned in the Mexican desert.
In the coming weeks, the Justice Department plans to seek criminal forfeiture of the seized $6.4 million. That means Felhaber and his family will have the opportunity to come to Washington to ask for their money back.
If they do, they'll have to explain where it came from. And they'll have to sort through some of the inconsistent stories for a federal judge. Felhaber bristles at the suggestion there have been inconsistencies.
"The story has never changed," he said. "I don't know how it's changed."
Cowden, the federal prosecutor, said he doesn't know what to expect.
"Some of these cases, nobody ever comes forward," he said.
If so, the buried treasure will become government property.
Or at least some of it. Perhaps there is another $14 million out there, muddy and waiting to be exchanged.
Does Felhaber know if there's any money left?
On that, it's hard to get a straight answer.

If anyone out there has money to turn in, I would like to offer my assistance, for a nominal fee ;)

Have A Great "Lucky" Monday and "find" some Money!! :)

Fight Erupts At Unity Summit

I just finished reading this story by United Press International, that I receive as an update on current news in my email, and found it "amusing" in that a fight broke out at a "Unity" Summit. ? :) Have a Good Sunday!!

Fighting erupted at a summit of minority journalists in Chicago between backers and opponents of Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade, officials said.


The brief brouhaha broke out Friday at the Unity '08 convention, prompting the arrival of dozens of police vehicles, Editor & Publisher reported. Officers separated the two dozen or so people involved in the sparring.


Wade was chosen to speak at the convention, attended by the National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Asian American Journalists Association and Native American Journalism Association.

Wade was chosen to speak at the convention, attended by the National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Asian American Journalists Association and Native American Journalism Association.


Onlookers said the fighting seemed to have been sparked by Wade backers irritated by a protester being questioned by a journalist.


Editor & Publisher said the event's organizers took a risk by asking Wade to speak because some journalists think he has silenced the press in his country through intimidation.

;)

Iran Now Has 6000 Centrifuges

I was just reading this story at Yahoo News, by ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer, and can only think that President Ahmadinejad, must enjoy provoking people to bomb his country, as he almost joyfully makes the announcement of the doubling of centrifuges that they have running. I think that this makes it more likely, rather than less likely that Israel/U.S. will bomb Iranian facilities, before the elections, especially if they think Obama is going to win.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday that Iran now possesses 6,000 centrifuges, a significant increase in the number of uranium-enriching machines in its nuclear program, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

The new figure is double the 3,000 centrifuges Iran had previously said it was operating in its uranium enrichment plant in Natanz. "Islamic Iran today possesses 6,000 centrifuges," Ahmadinejad told university professors in the northeastern city of Mashhad.

The assertion that Iran has reached that goal is certain to further rankle the United States and other world powers. Washington and its allies have been demanding a halt to Iran's enrichment out of fear it is intent on using the technology to develop weapons.

Iran vehemently denies those allegations and says it is interested in enrichment only for its nuclear power program.

The White House said that Iran's pronouncement does not facilitate a resolution to the nuclear standoff.

"Announcements like this, whatever the true number is, are not productive and will only serve to further isolate Iran from the international community," said White House spokesman Carlton Carroll. "We have offered a generous incentives package to the Iranians, we urge them to suspend enrichment and accept the package. If they don't, more sanctions are the next step."

Ahmadinejad made the announcement a week after the U.S. reversed course by sending a top American diplomat to participate in negotiations with Iran, prompting hopes for a compromise. But those talks fizzled when Iran refused to consider a revised deal that involves suspending enrichment, and the six negotiating powers — the U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany — gave Iran two weeks to respond positively or face a new round of sanctions. Iran already is under three sets of U.N. sanctions for its refusal to suspend enrichment.

In April, Ahmadinejad said Iran had begun installing 6,000 centrifuges at Natanz. His reported comments Saturday provided the first public assertion that Iran has reached that goal. Ahmadinejad asserted that Iran's interlocutors had agreed to allow it to continue to run its program as long as it was not expanded beyond 6,000 centrifuges, state radio reported. "Today, they have consented that the existing 5,000 or 6,000 centrifuges not be increased and that operation of this number of centrifuges is not a problem," state radio quoted Ahmadinejad as saying on Saturday. A report by the U.N.'s nuclear monitoring agency that was delivered to the Security Council in May said Iran had 3,500 centrifuges, though a senior U.N. official said at the time that Iran's goal of 6,000 machines running by the summer was "pretty much plausible."

Uranium can be used as nuclear reactor fuel or as the core for atomic warheads, depending on the degree of enrichment. The workhorse of Iran's enrichment program is the P-1 centrifuge, which is run in cascades of 164 machines. But Iranian officials confirmed in February that they had started using the IR-2 centrifuge that can churn out enriched uranium at more than double the rate. A total of 3,000 centrifuges is the commonly accepted figure for a nuclear enrichment program that is past the experimental stage and can be used as a platform for a full industrial-scale program that could churn out enough enriched material for dozens of nuclear weapons.

Iran says it plans to move toward large-scale uranium enrichment that ultimately will involve 54,000 centrifuges. Ahmadinejad called the U.S. participation in the latest round of nuclear talks "a victory for Iran." In a major shift in the Bush administration's policy, Undersecretary of State William Burns joined envoys from the five other nations in Switzerland at talks July 19 on Iran's nuclear program. In the past, the U.S. said it would join talks only if Iran suspends uranium enrichment first.

"The presence of a U.S. representative ... was a victory for Iran, irrespective of the outcome. ... The U.S. condition was for Iran to suspend enrichment but they attended (the talks) without such a condition being met," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying in the state radio report. On Wednesday, Ahmadinejad praised the U.S. participation at the talks as a step toward recognizing Tehran's right to acquire nuclear technology. The negotiating powers — the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany — have offered a package of technological, economic and political incentives in return for Iran's cooperation to suspend uranium enrichment or at least not to expand it.

The revised deal delivered last month — which Iran refused to consider at the talks July 19 — envisions a six-week commitment for Iran to stop expanding enrichment. In return, the six nations would agree to a moratorium on new sanctions for up to six weeks. That is meant to create the framework for formal negotiations that the six nations hope would secure Iran's commitment to an indefinite ban on enrichment.

Day After Hump Day Humor July 24th

I had Wednesday off, so I could go to the Doctor, and get checked on for a ruptured disc, that i re-injured on the 11th of July, and I felt like crap after I finished with the exam, and got home, so here is Hump Day Humor, a day late!!


Philosophy Final
A student taking a philosophy class had a single question on his final: "What is courage?"

The student wrote: "This", signed it, and turned it in.
=======================
Romantic At Heart
A guy walks into a post office one day to see a middle-aged, balding man standing at the counter methodically placing "Love" stamps on bright pink envelopes with hearts all over them.

He then takes out a perfume bottle and starts spraying scent all over them. His curiosity getting the better of him, he goes up to the balding man and asks him what he is doing.

The man says "I’m sending out 1,000 Valentine cards signed, ‘Guess who?’"

"But why?" asks the man.

"I’m a divorce lawyer."
--------------------------------
The Heavenly Cat
Once upon a time, there was a cat who died. When she got to heaven, God asked her how she liked being on earth. She told the Lord that it was awful, she had to sleep in cold back alleys where there was no food and life was hard. God told her that he was sorry it had had turned out that way but here, in heaven, she would be happy and He would give her the most comfortable, warm pillow to sleep on. The cat laid down upon the pillow and was happy.

A few days later, about a dozen mice that came to heaven together and God asked them how they had liked earth. Earth was no better for them than it was the cat.

They explained to God that it was tough and exhausting and their feet were worn out from always running from cats and dogs and people. God felt bad for the mice and decided to give them rollerskates.

One day God sees the cat again and asked her how she was liking heaven. She explained that it was absolutely wonderful. The pillow he gave her was the most comfortable place that she had ever slept on, but even better than the pillow were the meals on wheels.
=======================
Fire Engine
As a drunk guy staggers out of the bar one Friday evening, a fire engine races past, siren wailing and lights flashing.

Immediately, the drunk starts chasing the engine, running as fast as he can until eventually he collapses, gasping for breath.

In a last act of desperation he shouts after the fire engine, "If that's the way you want it, you can keep your bloody ice creams!"
=======================
Beer Logic
The drunk was floundering down the alley carrying a box with holes on the side. He bumped into a friend who asked, "What do you have in there pal?"

"It’s a mongoose."

"What have you got that for?"

"Well, you know how drunk I can get. When I get drunk I see snakes, and I'm scared to death of snakes. That's why I got this mongoose, for protection."

"But," the friend said, "you idiot! Those are imaginary snakes."

"That's okay," said the drunk, showing his friend the interior of the box, "So is the mongoose."
========================
Windows Error Messages
• Smash forehead on keyboard to continue.

• Press any key to continue or any other key to quit.

• BREAKFAST.SYS halted... Cereal port not responding.

• Close your eyes and press escape three times.

• File not found. Should I fake it? (Y/N)

• Runtime Error 6D at 417A:32CF: Incompetent User.

• Enter any 11-digit prime number to continue.

• Bad command or file name! Go stand in the corner.

• Windows message: "Error saving file! Format drive now? (Y/Y)"

• Windows VirusScan 1.0 - "Windows found: Remove it? (Y/N)"
========================
Doctor's Orders
A guy walks into a bar and approaches the barman, "Can I have a pint of Less, please?"

"I'm sorry sir," the barman replies, looking slightly puzzled, "I've not come across that one before. Is it a spirit?"

"I've no idea," replies the guy, "The thing is, I went to see my doctor last week and he told me that I should drink less."
=======================
Secrets of the Trade
A merchant teaches his son the secrets of the trade: "When you charge a customer $100, and he pays you by mistake $200, you have an ethical dilemma -- should you tell your partner?"
======================
Another Frivilous Lawsuit
Mrs. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, (from an OU football game), having driven onto the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the drivers seat to go into the back & make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the RV left the freeway, crashed and overturned.

Mrs.Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising her in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually do this. The jury awarded her $1,750,000 plus a new motor home. The company actually changed their manuals on the basis of this suit, just in case there were any other complete morons around.
----------------------------
More Crazy Names
Q: What do you call the ghost who haunts TV shows?
A: Phantom of the Oprah!

Q: What kind of illness does Bruce Lee get?
A: Kung Flu!

Q: What do you call a man who doesn't sink?
A: Bob!

Q: What do you call a Rodent that has a sword?
A: A Mouseketeer!

Q: What do you call the bad lion tamer?
A: Claude Bottom
======================
On Hearing the News
A law firm receptionist answered the phone the morning after the firm's senior partner had passed away unexpectedly. "Is Mr. Spenser there?" asked the client on the phone.

"I'm very sorry, but Mr. Spenser passed away last night," the receptionist answered. "Can anyone else help you?"

The man paused for a moment, then quietly said, "No" and hung up.

Ten minutes later, he called again and asked for Mr. Spenser, his ex-wife's lawyer. The receptionist said, "You just called a few minutes ago, didn't you? Mr. Spenser has died. I'm not making this up." The man again hung up.

Fifteen minutes later, he called a third time and asked for Mr. Spenser. The receptionist was irked by this time. "I've told you twice already, Mr. Spenser is dead. He is not here! Why do you keep asking for him when I say he's dead? Don't you understand what I'm saying?"

The man replied, "I understand you perfectly. I just like hearing you say it over and over."
========================
Switching Sides
A life long supporter of the people's party was lying on his death bed when he suddenly decided to join the establishment party.

"But why?" asked his puzzled friend, "You're people through and through. Why change now?"

The man learned forward and explained, "Well, I'd rather it was one of them that died and not one of us."
========================
Politicians on a Plane
Three politicians are flying in a plane. The first one looks at the second, buffs his carefully manicured fingernails against his Brooks Brothers suit, chuckles, and says, "You know, I could throw a $10,000 bill out the window right now and make one person very happy."

The second shrugs his shoulders and says, "Well, I could throw ten $1,000 bills out the window and make ten people very happy".

The third tosses her perfectly coiffed hair and says, "Of course, then, I could throw one-hundred $100 bills out the window and make a hundred people very happy."

The pilot rolls his eyes, looks at all of them and says, "I could throw all of you out the window and make the whole country happy."
=========================
Hard of Hearing
A man is talking to the family doctor. "Doc, I think my wife's going deaf."

The doctor answers, "Well, here's something you can try on her to test her hearing. Stand some distance away from her and ask her a question. If she doesn't answer, move a little closer and ask again. Keep repeating this until she answers. Then you'll be able to tell just how hard of hearing she really is."

The man goes home and tries it out. He walks in the door and says, "Honey, what's for dinner?" He doesn't hear an answer, so he moves closer to her. "Honey, what's for dinner?" Still no answer. He repeats this several times, until he's standing just a few feet away from her.

Finally, she answers, "For the eleventh time, I said we're having MEATLOAF!"
========================
Economics Professor
An economics professor at school had a strict policy that the hourly examinations were to be completed at the bell and anyone who kept writing on their exam after the bell would take a zero on the exam.

Well, one guy kept writing on his exam for a while after the bell and then confidently strode up to turn it in. The professor looked at him and said, "Don't bother to hand that paper in... you get a zero for continuing after the bell."

The guy looked at him and said, "Professor, do you know who I am!"

The professor replied, "No, and I don't care if your dad is president of the United States...you get a zero on this exam"

The guy, with a enraged look on his face, shouted, "You mean you have no idea who I am?"

The professor responded, "No, I've no idea who you think you are."

With that, the guy said "Good!" plunged his exam into the middle of the stack of other student's exams, and did a hasty retreat from the examination room!
=========================
Crazy Names
Q: What do you call a woman with a sinking ship on her head?
A: Mandy Lifeboats!

Q: What do you call a woman with a pint of beer on her head playing snooker?
A: Beatrix Potter!

Q: What do you call a lion with toothache?
A: Rory!

Q: What do you call a man with a big truck on his head?
A: Laurie!

Q: What do you call a man with turf on his head?
A: Pete!
=======================
After Effects
"How did it happen?" the doctor asked the middle-aged farmhand as he set the man's broken leg.

"Well, doc, 25 years ago ..."

"Never mind the past. Tell me how you broke your leg this morning."

"Like I was saying...25 years ago, when I first started working on the farm, that night, right after I'd gone to bed, the farmer's beautiful daughter came into my room. She asked me if there was anything I wanted. I said, "No, everything is fine."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"I'm sure," I said.

"Isn't there anything I can do for you?" she wanted to know.

"I reckon not," I replied.

"Excuse me," said the doctor, "What does this story have to do with your leg?"

"Well, this morning," the farmhand explained, "when it dawned on me what she meant, I fell off the roof!"
==========================
Psychic Hotline
A frog telephones a psychic hotline and is told, "You are going to meet a beautiful young girl who will want to know everything about you."

"Great," says the frog, "Will I meet her at a party?"

"No," said the psychic, "Next year - in biology class."
=========================
Car Thieves
A drunk phoned the local police department to report that thieves had been in his car. "They have stolen the dashboard, the steering wheel, the brake pedal, even the accelerator," he cried out.

However, before the police investigation could start, the phone rang a second time, and the same voice came over the line.

"Never mind," the drunk said with a hiccup. "I got in the back seat by mistake."
========================
Holiday Spirit
Last New Year's Eve, one woman stood up at the local tavern and said that it was time to get ready. At the stroke of midnight, she wanted every husband to be standing next to the one person who made his life worth living.

It was embarrassing - The bartender was almost crushed to death.
=======================
No Dogs Allowed
Two men who are out walking their dogs meet on a street corner. One says to the other, "Boy it sure is hot today. I'd really like to go into the bar and get a beer, but the sign on the front door says, "No Pets Allowed," and I can't leave Fido alone on the street."

The other man replies, "No problem, just stand by the door and watch me, and you'll be having that beer real soon!" The second man reaches into his pocket and puts on a pair of dark sunglasses, and then walks into the bar.

The bartender looks up and says, "Hey buddy, you can't bring that dog in here!" The man says, "But I'm blind, and this is my seeing-eye dog!" The bartender says, "Oh, okay then." The man drinks his beer and leaves.

The first man then puts on dark sunglasses and goes into the bar. The bartender looks up and says, "Hey buddy, you can't bring that dog in here!" The man says, "But I'm blind, and this is my seeing-eye dog!"

The bartender says, "Oh really? I've never heard of a Chihuahua seeing-eye dog!"

The man, thinking quickly, blurts out, "Oh, man! You mean they gave me a Chihuahua?"
=======================
Loopholes
A lawyer was on his deathbed in his bedroom, and he called to his wife. She rushed in and said, "What is it, honey?"

He told her to run and get the bible as soon as possible. Being a religious woman, she thought this was a good idea. She ran and got it, prepared to read him his favorite verse or something of the sort. He snatched it from her and began quickly scanning pages, his eyes darting right and left.

The wife was curious, so she asked, "What are you doing, honey?"

He shouted "I'm looking for loopholes!"
========================
Her First Deer
As part of their "ranch" holiday, a guy takes his wife hunting. When they reach their deer blinds, the guy says, "If you shoot a deer, be sure you don't let anybody else say he's the one who shot it. Otherwise, he'll take the deer from you. The deer belongs to whoever shoots it."

The guy goes to his own blind. Ten minutes later, he hears his wife shooting from her blind nearby.

He rushes over and finds her pointing her rifle at a cowboy who's shouting, "Okay, lady, okay! You can have the deer! Just lemme get my saddle off it!"
========================
Car Thief
A little old lady comes out of the mall and coming towards her car she sees four guys just jumping into it.

She screamed "NOOOO" and pulled a small pistol out of her purse and said: " Dont make me use this!"

The four young guys JUMPED out and ran off.

The little ladie then proceded into the car and after driving a few minutes realised " hey this ISNT my car" so she turned around and went back to the mall to put it back.

She then got in her REAL car and went down to the police station to report that 4 guys were trying to steal someone elses car. At the police station she sees the SAME four guys and hears one of them shouting:

"A LITTLE OLD LADY JUST PULLED A GUN AND STOLE OUR CAR !"
========================
Confession
Matthew goes into a confessional box and says "Bless me father for I have sinned, I have been with a loose woman."

The Priest says "is that you Matthew?"

"Yes father, it is I."

"Who was the woman you were with?"

"I cannot tell you for I do not wish to sully her reputation."

The priest asks "Was it Brenda O'Malley?"

"No father."

"Was it Fiona MacDonald?"

"No father."

"Was it Ann Brown?"

"No father, I cannot tell you."

The priest says "I admire your perseverance but you must atone for your sins. Your penance will be five Our Fathers and four Hail Marys."

Matthew goes back to his pew and his buddy Sean slides over and asks "What did you get?" Matthew replies "I got five Our Fathers, four Hail Marys and three good leads."
=======================

Have A Great Thursday!! If you are in the Iowa City/ Coralville area, remember this is RAGBRAI (The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa), and they will be staying at North Liberty, just a few miles away from the Coral Ridge Mall, so Please Welcome Them!! Thank You :)
'

Bosnian Serb War Criminal Radovan Karadzic Caught

One of the most wanted War criminals in the world has been captured, and while it may take time, there might be some justice for those who died while he was in charge of the Bosnian Serbs during wartime.
Personally, I think that too much time is wasted on "justice" as we saw with Slobodan Milosevic,and as a way to placate my inner Fascist, I would prefer to place Karadzic on a "People Who Deserve A Bullet In The Back Of Their Head List" or as we shall euphemistically call it,"The Please Just Do The World A Favor And Die List", which I am going to start writing about on occasion, and each time, We shall add a new name, and reason for them to be on the list. This guy gets first honors, because I just thought of it, after reading the story at Yahoo News, and seeing that he is already starting with legal manuveurs, such as the announcement, that he is going to fight extradition on Friday, the last day he has to "fight" it, and I can see ahead to the crap he will pull throughout this attempt to obtain justice at the Hague.
So A "Bullet (please just die) Today" is my simplistic answer to this "monster" and to others, who deserve the same treatment. To all those who oppose the "lack of judicial process and the immediate Death Penalty, all I can say, is I am sorry, but you are the reason these people get away with their crimes. If there was a swift end to these people when caught, perhaps they would put more thought into how they treat people, who might one day, "put a bullet in the back of their heads". Maybe not, but I am tired of these freaks abusing the judicial processes for there own purposes, as well as people whose deaths have caused so much suffering, like Saddam, who could have "died" without a War, and would not have wasted our blood & treasure, when simpler means could have had the same impact. Yes, I do mean assassination (uhmmm~~assisted unrequested suicide:), a too little utilized option, in our "politically correct" nation, which would rather do the "hard" thing, than the "right" thing, in dealing with punk leaders around the world, for the betterment of "mankind" in general, and The United States specifically!
Please email me at danielcarvelkepler@yahoo.com, if you have anyone you would like to propose for the list. Thank You!!

The Yahoo News Story reads:

Radovan Karadzic grew a long, white beard to conceal his identity and even managed to openly practice alternative medicine while in hiding, officials said Tuesday in revealing details of the war crimes fugitive's capture after a decade on the run.

Karadzic, the wartime leader of Bosnian Serbs, was arrested Monday night in a Belgrade suburb, officials said. A judge has ordered his transfer to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, to face genocide charges, war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic said.

Karadzic has three days to appeal the ruling. His lawyer, Sveta Vujacic, said he will launch the process to fight extradition on the last day, Friday, to thwart authorities' wishes for his immediate transfer.

Here is some background, and a timeline, put together from the BBC, PBS, Guardian, and Associated Press sources concerning Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, and the atrocities committed by them in Sarajevo and Srebrenica, during the war.

The southern Slavic states of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Macedonia begin to merge as a single nation following the First World War. But the legacy of a 400-year occupation by the Islamic Ottoman Empire, and traditional tension between Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians frustrate attempts for unity. Following the Second World War, Yugoslav communists led by Marshal Josip Broz Tito take control of the government, declaring the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia on 29 November 1945.

The veneer of Yugoslav stability begins to crumble when Tito dies on 4 May 1980. The prosperous northern states of Croatia and Slovenia start to agitate for autonomy. Macedonia and the Muslim majorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Serbian province of Kosovo repeat the call. Serbia has political power under the federation and does not want change. The poorer southern state of Montenegro supports the centralised federation and backs Serbia.

link to full story

Mini biography: Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic.
Radovan Karadzic: Born on 19 June 1945 in Petnijca, a village near Savnik in the mountains of Montenegro. In 1960 he moves to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, where he studies medicine at the University of Sarajevo, graduating as a physician and psychiatrist. He also publishes poetry and books for children. In 1985 he is sentenced to three years imprisonment for embezzlement and fraud but never serves his time. He marries Ljiljana Zelen. The couple have a daughter, Sonja, and a son, Aleksandar Sasa.
Ratko Mladic: Born on 12 March 1943 in the municipality of Kalinovik in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He pursues a military career in the Yugoslav People's Army, rising to a command post.
1974 - Changes to the Yugoslav constitution loosen the grip of the federal government on the constituent republics, which become de facto sovereign states. Serb minorities living in Bosnia-Herzegovina claim they have been denied national rights, left unprotected and singled out for unfair treatment.
Meanwhile, Karadzic travels to the United States to spend a year in medical training at Columbia University in New York.
1988 - The Yugoslav Cabinet is unable to cope with a worsening economy and the rising push for autonomy from the republics and their provinces. The entire Cabinet resigns in October. In January 1989 the ruling League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY) votes to end its political monopoly, allowing multiparty elections across the federation.
1990 - The LCY relinquishes power at the federal level, splitting into separate party organisations in each of the republics.
In Bosnia, Karadzic helps found the Serbian Democratic Party (SDP) and becomes its president. The party is anticommunist, heavily influenced by the Christian Orthodox Church and advocates the introduction of a capitalist market system.
Multiparty elections held in Bosnia-Herzegovina in December return a tripartite coalition made up of the Muslim Party of Democratic Action (PDA - 86 seats), the SDP (72 seats) and the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina (44 seats). PDA leader Alija Izetbegovic heads a joint presidency.
1991 - Mladic is appointed commander of the 9th Corps of the Yugoslav People's Army in Knin in Croatia.

Slovenia and Croatia unilaterally declare their independence in June. The federal government orders the Serb-dominated army to suppress the secessionists. A 10-day war in Slovenia ends with a Serb defeat. Up to 100 die and hundreds are injured. The war in Croatia lasts seven months, ending in January 1992 with a cease-fire. About 20,000 die and hundreds of thousands are driven from their homes. Macedonia declares its independence in September 1991.
During the war in Croatia, Mladic works in close association with the president of Serb, Slobodan Milosevic. He supplies arms to local Serb rebels and assists with their seizure of land.
Meanwhile, in Bosnia-Herzegovina several Serb enclaves unilaterally declare their autonomy and their allegiance to the Serb-dominated federal government, leading to armed conflict between Serbs and non-Serbs.
Karadzic rejects proposals that Bosnia-Herzegovina follow the other republics and also become independent. He begins boycotting meetings of the presidency then withdraws the SDP from the coalition. At a closed referendum among Bosnian-Serbs held at the start of the following year, most vote to remain part of Yugoslavia.

1992 - A referendum on whether Bosnia-Herzegovina should secede from the federation is held from 29 February to 1 March. The Muslim and Croatian majority carry the vote. The country is proclaimed an independent republic on 3 March and recognised as such by the European Community (EC - now European Union), the US and the United Nations (UN).
The Bosnian-Serb minority, which boycotted the referendum, repels.
On 4 April Bosnian President Izetbegovic announces a full mobilisation to quell the violence mounting around the country. Karadzic opposes the move.
On 4-5 April thousands of Sarajevans of all ethnic backgrounds take to the streets to march for peace. When they descend on the SDP offices in the capital, Bosnian-Serb snipers open fire on the crowd, killing six people.
Bosnian-Serb militias now lay siege to Sarajevo. Their artillery, positioned in the surrounding hills, bomb the city's streets and marketplaces, while their snipers target the unlucky and unwary.
On 6 April Karadzic proclaims the independent Serbian Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, renamed Republika Srpska in May. Karadzic is president and supreme commander of the armed forces. The capital is located at Pale, about 10 km to the southeast of Sarajevo.
Republika Srpska encompasses about half the landmass of Bosnia-Herzegovina, horseshoeing around the remaining territory and bordering both Serbia and Croatia. It is not recognised by the UN.

Mladic takes command of the 80,000 Yugoslav Army troops stationed in the republic, a force which becomes in effect the Bosnian-Serb Army.
With the backing of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, the Bosnian-Serb militias and Mladic's army units begin to occupy territory across Bosnia. After six weeks of fighting they control two-thirds of the country. The conflict soon spills into Croatia.
The war in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia will last for three years, causing devastation in those countries and deprivation in Serbia, which suffers from trade sanctions applied by the UN.
As the war escalates, the Serb forces attempt to expel the Muslim and Croat population from the Serb-held territories in an orchestrated program of "ethnic cleansing".
Muslims and Croats are either forced into exile as refugees, held as hostages for use in prisoner exchanges, or placed in concentration camps. Many are summarily executed. An estimated 20,000 Muslim women and girls are thrown into rape camps. Bosnian-Muslim and Bosnian-Croat political leaders are arrested, imprisoned and in many cases murdered. In the opening months of the war up to 100,000 or more people are killed. Hundreds of thousands are dispossessed.
Hostilities are further complicated in July when a group of Bosnian-Croats form a breakaway Croat state inside Bosnia, the Republic of Herceg-Bosna. Croatian-Serbs from the self-declared Republic of Serbian Krajina in neighbouring Croatia also enter the fray, forming an alliance with the Bosnian-Serbs.

1993 - At the start of the year Croatian forces attempt to seize territory in Bosnia. They are resisted by the Bosnian-Muslims.
In June the UN Security Council passes a resolution to create six "safe areas" for Bosnian-Muslims - Bihac, Tuzla, Srebrenica, Zepa, Gorazde and Sarajevo. UN peacekeeping soldiers are deployed to defend the areas.
1994 - In March Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia reach an agreement to form a joint federation and end their hostilities. The Croatian and Bosnian-Muslim forces join in opposition to the Serbs, launching an offensive in April and May.
In December the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) forces a cease-fire in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the withdrawal of Serbian artillery. The cease-fire holds until March 1995.

Meanwhile, on 24 March 1994, Mladic's daughter Ana is found dead. She has died from a single gunshot wound to the head fired from her father's favourite pistol. Reports indicate she has committed suicide.
1995 - The Serb militias are brought to a standstill in Bosnia. To the west, they are overwhelmed by the Croatian Army and driven, along with almost the entire Serbian-Croat population, out of Croatia.
In May NATO launches air strikes against Serb targets after the Serb forces refuse to comply with a UN ultimatum to remove all heavy weapons from a 12-mile exclusion zone around Sarajevo. Joint Croatian-Bosnian operations and further air strikes in May, August and September eject Serbian forces from large areas of western Bosnia.
In the east, Bosnian-Serb militias led by Mladic and aided by Yugoslav Army troops take the UN "safe areas" of Srebrenica and Zepa. At Srebrenica over 40,000 Bosnian-Muslims who had sought safety there are expelled. Between 5,000 and 8,000 are executed, allegedly on Mladic's order.

Now on the defensive, tensions between the Bosnian-Serb Army and the government of the Republika Srpska come to the surface. When army generals, led by Mladic, begin to ignore orders from the government, Karadzic attempts to have them reassigned from the battlefronts. The generals refuse to comply.
The siege of Sarajevo ends in mid-September when the Bosnian-Serbs agree to withdraw their heavy weapons. Approximately 10,000 people have been killed in Sarajevo during the siege, including about 1,500 children.
On 21 November Milosevic, Izetbegovic and Croatian President Franjo Tudjman ratify the Dayton accord for peace in Bosnia. Karadzic is forced to accept the accord when Milosevic closes the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina and turns his back on the Bosnian-Serbs.
Under the accord, Bosnia-Herzegovina is divided into a Muslim-Croat federation and a Bosnian-Serb mini-state (the Republika Srpska) under a unified presidency but with separate governments. The trade sanctions against Serbia are lifted.
The war in Bosnia-Herzegovina has cost up to 200,000 or more lives. As many as three million have been driven from their homes and tens of thousands are missing.
On 24 July Karadzic and Mladic are indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia at The Hague on 16 counts, including genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes against civilians and places of worship, the siege of Sarajevo, and the taking of UN peacekeepers as hostages and human shields.
The indictment accuses them of being "criminally responsible for the unlawful confinement, murder, rape, sexual assault, torture, beating, robbery and inhumane treatment of civilians."

They are charged separately on 14 November for the genocide at Srebrenica, which is described in the indictment as "truly scenes from hell, written on the darkest pages of human history."
As the leader of the Bosnian-Serbs, Karadzic is also held responsible for the "ethnic cleansing" of tens of thousands of Muslims from Serb-held areas of Bosnia. As an indicted war criminal, he is banned from standing for parliament. He is also pressured to relinquish his existing government and party positions.
1996 - The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia issues international arrest warrants for Karadzic and Mladic on 11 July. Mladic is dismissed as commander of the Bosnian-Serb Army. Karadzic steps down as president of the Republika Srpska and as head of the Serbian Democratic Party of Bosnia-Herzegovina on 19 July. He makes his last public appearance at the christening of his son at an Orthodox Monastery in Montenegro.
1997 - The SDP loses government in Republika Srpska at elections held in December, depriving Karadzic of a power base. Karadzic goes into hiding, reputedly in southeastern border-country of the Republika Srpska. He is believed to be surrounded by heavily armed bodyguards and protected by the police.
Other rumours have him living humbly, heavily disguised as an Orthodox priest, moving between the monasteries of Montenegro under the protection of the Orthodox Church and occasionally visiting his family in Pale. According to 'The Observer' newspaper, it has been estimated that Karadzic spends 80% of his time in church property.
It is also said that Karadzic only moves around at night and employs look-alikes to further confuse his pursers. The cost of his protection is estimated to be about US$200,000 per month, most of which is sourced from the criminal activities of his supporters, including extortion, embezzlement and other business fraud.
2000 - The SDP returns to power in Republika Srpska and becomes the largest single party in the Bosnian Parliament.
2002 - Mladic, who has continued to live openly in and around the Serbian capital of Belgrade, goes underground in Bosnia-Herzegovina when the Serbian Government agrees to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal. It is later reported that he is back in Belgrade, living under the protection of the Yugoslav military. He is funded in part by a US$520 a month pension paid to his family by the army.
Both Karadzic and Mladic have a price on their head, with the US Government offering a $5 million reward for information leading to their arrest or conviction.
According to Carla Del Ponte, the chief UN war crimes prosecutor in the trial against Slobodan Milosevic, the authorities in Belgrade are reluctant to arrest Mladic for fear of an armed conflict between the army and the police.
The NATO-led Stabilisation Force in Bosnia (SFOR) tries unsuccessfully to apprehend Karadzic in February, and again in March, raiding the small town of Celebici in the Republika Srpska, near the border with Montenegro. The area is considered to be Karadzic's "base of operation".
In July NATO troops raid Karadzic's abandoned house in Pale. They claim that they find evidence linking Karadzic to Bosnia's criminal underworld.
Meanwhile, a book of children's poetry written by Karadzic, titled 'There are miracles, there are no miracles', is launched in Belgrade on 9 July. It is reported that the book is the first in a trilogy. According to Karadzic's publisher, two more books were to be released and a compilation of Karadzic's political commentaries was being prepared. A close aid to Karadzic describes him as "well and busy."
On 14 August SFOR returns to Celebici in the Republika Srpska to step up the hunt for Karadzic. Again they have no success.
2003 - The international community attempts to tighten the noose on Karadzic by freezing the assets of his family and selected supporters. The European Union also bans his wife (Ljiljana), son (Aleksandar), and several others from entering its territory.
Bosnian-Serb police enter the hunt for Karadzic in September. The police raid the home of an Orthodox bishop near the border with Serbia but fail to find the fugitive.
Croatia and Serbia-Montenegro move towards reconciliation on 10 September when the presidents of both countries apologise to one another for "all the evils" done by their countries in wars. The following month, during a visit to Sarajevo, the president of Serbia-Montenegro, Svetozar Marovic, apologises for the abuses committed during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
"I want to use this opportunity to apologise for any evil or disaster that anyone from Serbia and Montenegro caused to anyone in Bosnia-Herzegovina," Marovic says. "There were injustices, evil and killings, but we both need to be brave to say that we are ready to forgive and to go forward."
However, the leaders of Bosnia-Herzegovina do not reciprocate.
On 7 October Bosnian-Serb President Dragan Cavic urges all war crimes suspects from the 1992-1995 conflict who are still at large to surrender, saying they "are an obstacle to the full integration of Bosnia-Herzegovina into Euro-Atlantic institutions."
"Among others, we regard such persons to be Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic," Cavic says.
2004 - The hunt for Karadzic resumes on 11 January when, acting on a tip that he may be badly injured and seeking help, SFOR begins a four-day search of Pale and its environs. However, the operation, the biggest in 18 months, fails to apprehend the fugitive or find any evidence of his whereabouts, although it is later claimed that SFOR had missed capturing Karadzic by just two hours.
Karadzic loyalists boast that both he and Mladic are well guarded. "That is why this action will not succeed and Dr Karadzic will continue to be in safety, in the myth and legend of the Serb people," states Kosta Cavoski, head of the International Committee for Truth on Radovan Karadzic.
At the end of January posters of Karadzic begin to appear in Banja Luka, the administrative centre of Republika Srpska. Below a colour photograph of Karadzic the posters bear the words "I'm always with you," and "I'm watching you."
On 11 February UN war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte claims that Karadzic is now living in Belgrade, saying her information came from a "credible source." Serbia responds by challenging Del Ponte to provide information or any other kind of help that would lead to the capture of Karadzic.
Operations to capture Karadzic are staged on 13 March, 31 March and 14 April. None find any trace of the fugitive.
Meanwhile, on 19 April, the Criminal Tribunal at The Hague confirms that the massacre at Srebrenica was an act of genocide. "The appeals chamber calls the massacre at Srebrenica by its proper name: genocide," says the tribunal's president, Judge Theodor Meron.
"Those responsible will bear this stigma, and it will serve as a warning to those who may in future contemplate the commission of such a heinous act."
On 11 June the Srebrenica Commission releases a report that establishes the "participation of (Bosnian-Serb) military and police units, including special units" in the massacre. The 42-page preliminary report also implicates Serbia in the massacre, noting that Serbian police units were ordered to participate.
Composed of Bosnian-Serb judges and lawyers, a victims' representative, and an international expert, the seven-member Srebrenica Commission was formed in 2003 by Bosnia's international administrator, Lord Ashdown, to investigate who was involved in the massacre and where victims' bodies are buried.
On 30 June Lord Ashdown fires 59 Serbs from government positions in the Republika Srpska in retaliation for their failure to arrest Karadzic. "The Republika Srpska has been in a grip of a small band of corrupt politicians and criminals for far too long," Ashdown says.
In July new information about Mladic comes to the surface, with a Belgrade newspaper reporting that he has told the Serbian Government through a mediator that he has no intention of surrendering to The Hague.
Karadzic, meanwhile, completes a book, 'Miraculous Chronicles of the Night', in August and submits it to a publisher "through secret channels." The book, a semi-autobiographical story about a prisoner held in a Sarajevo prison on the eve of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, sells out at an international book fair held in Belgrade in October.
On 10 November, following its receipt and review of the final report of the Srebrenica Commission, the government of Republika Srpska issues an apology for the 1995 massacre.
"The report makes it clear that enormous crimes were committed in the area of Srebrenica in July 1995," the government says. "The Bosnian-Serb Government shares the pain of the families of the Srebrenica victims, is truly sorry and apologises for the tragedy." The government was determined to "face the truth about the recent conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina" and "take decisive steps to force all persons who committed war crimes to face justice."
On 14 November the Norwegian News Agency publishes a report stating that research done by the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia has concluded that about 103,000 people were killed during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
According to the report, the researchers found that 55,261 civilians and 47,360 soldiers died as a direct result of the conflict. Of the civilians, about 38,000 were Muslims and Croats and about 16,700 were Serbs. Of the soldiers, about 28,000 were from the mostly Muslim Bosnian Government Army, about 14,000 were from the Bosnian-Serb forces, and about 6,000 were Bosnian-Croat troops.
The estimates exclude those who died from indirect causes such as starvation, cold and lack of medical care.
Preliminary figures from a survey being conducted by the Sarajevo Research and Documentation Centre suggest that the final death tally from the war could be higher, with project leader Mirsand Tokaca predicting that number will be between 130,000 and 150,000. However, this estimate also excludes those who died from indirect causes.
2005 - In January Karadzic's former deputy, Biljana Plavsic, publishes a book titled 'I Testify' in which she describes Karadzic's tolerance of wartime profiteering.
"Karadzic admired wartime mobsters who made their fortune overnight by smuggling humanitarian aid and arms," she writes. "Once I asked him openly if people in the leadership were involved in profiteering, and he said 'Well, one has to make a living somehow.'"
Plavsic, who went on to become president of the Republika Srpska before being jailed for 11 years by The Hague Tribunal in 2003 for crimes against humanity, writes that Karadzic got richer during the war, enjoying luxury apartments, a selection of cars and a helicopter. "There was always money for Karadzic's pockets ... sometimes I wondered if he was at all aware of what was going on, that people were dying."
On 7 March Carla Del Ponte says that authorities in Serbia know exactly where Mladic is and could organise his arrest and transfer in hours if they had the political will.
According to Del Ponte, Mladic is sheltering in Serbia under the protection of a group of former military loyalists. She is uncertain whether Karadzic is in Bosnia, Serbia or Montenegro, but is certain he is still in the region.
"I am asking Belgrade please go and arrest these accused who are not willing to voluntarily surrender," she says.
Karadzic has, according to his brother, "made a strategic decision to never surrender to The Hague Tribunal."
"If he surrendered he would betray his people and God, which has protected him from the enemies for so long," Karadzic's brother says.
On 9 June the Bosnian daily newspaper 'Oslobodjenje' reports that the Bosnian-Serb Government has admitted that police from Serbia took part in the massacre at Srebrenica.
According to the paper, the admission is contained in the latest report by the Srebrenica Commission. "The Bosnian-Serb Interior Ministry in cooperation with the panel has confirmed the involvement in the Srebrenica massacre of joint forces of the Serbian Interior Ministry," the paper quotes the report as saying.
In October the Special Bosnian-Serb Government Working Group concludes that over 17,000 Bosnian-Serb soldiers, police and civilians took part in the events at Srebrenica, either directly or by assisting with planning, transport and communications.
Meanwhile, the newspaper 'Danas' reports that Mladic is hiding in a large town in central Serbia and that the Serbian Government knows where he is. The government denies the claim. The radio station B-92 reports that talks are taking place in Belgrade on conditions for Mladic's surrender. On 13 June 'The Washington Post' also reports that Mladic has been negotiating with the Serbian Government over his possible surrender.
The Serbian Government again denies the claim, with Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica stating on 16 June that "the Serbian authorities are not in touch with him (Mladic) and we are not negotiating with him."
On 2 July the BBC reports that it has been told by "international security agencies" that Karadzic is hiding in Montenegro and is therefore beyond the reach of the peacekeepers and police in Bosnia. According to the report, Karadzic is living in a remote part of northwest Montenegro, not far from the town of Niksic, where he grew up.
On 28 July Karadzic's wife, Ljiljana, makes a public appeal to her husband to surrender to The Hague Tribunal.
"Our family is under constant pressure from all over. Our life and our existence is jeopardised," she says.
"In hope that you are alive and that you can make decisions by yourself, I'm begging you to make this decision. ... I'm now doing the only thing I can; I'm begging you.
"Between loyalty to you and to the children and grandchildren, I had to choose and I have chosen. ... It will be your sacrifice for us, for the sake of your family,"
At the same time, Serbia President Boris Tadic calls on Mladic to surrender, saying that the fugitive "remains the prime obstacle for Serbia" in negotiations over admission to European Union.
On 18 October a new book of poetry by Karadzic is published. Titled 'Under the Left Breast of the Century', the book contains 47 poems covering mostly outdoor themes.
In November the international community increases the pressure on Serbia to deliver Mladic to The Hague Tribunal. Following a meeting with the president of the tribunal president, Serbian Defence Minister Zoran Stankovic says he has been told that unless Mladic is in The Hague by the end of the year "we will be excommunicated from Euro-Atlantic integration."
At the end of the year neither Karadzic nor Mladic have been taken into custody.
2006 - On 18 January the Belgrade newspaper 'Glas Javnosti' reports that Mladic has been living in Russia since May 2005.
UN war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte rejects the report, saying "Mladic is in Serbia. Mladic is protected by the power of the army."
On 1 February Serbia's Supreme Defence Council admits that the Serbian military "had undeniably on occasion sheltered" Mladic until 2002 at "army compounds." Since 1 June 2002, Mladic has been assisted by retired officers from the Serbian and Bosnian-Serb military as well as some civilians, the council says, adding that his current whereabouts were unknown.
According to a report presented to the council, the Serbian military had conducted 27 searches for Mladic at army premises across the country since March 2003.
On 27 February the European Union tells Serbia that if Mladic is not handed over to The Hague Tribunal within a month negotiations over Serbia's admission to the union may be "disrupted". (The deadline is later extended to 30 April.)
At the same time, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also know as the World Court, begins hearings in a case of genocide that was brought against Yugoslavia by Bosnia-Herzegovina in March 1993.
The ICJ was set up after the Second World War to deal with disputes between states. The court has the authority to order Serbia-Montenegro (the successor state to Yugoslavia) to pay damages if it is found responsible for acts of genocide that occurred in Bosnia-Herzegovina during the 1992-95 conflict.
It is the first time a state has been brought to court to face a charge of genocide.
The 30 April deadline for the arrest and hand over of Mladic to The Hague Tribunal passes without the fugitive having been apprehended. In response the European Union calls off membership talks with Serbia. EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn says Serbia was not yet a suitable candidate for membership because its "security services and military intelligence have not been fully under the civilian democratic control of the Serbian Government."
Carla Del Ponte accuses Serb Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica of misleading her and Serb Deputy Prime Minister Mirolijub Labus resigns. Labus, who is also the head of the Serb negotiating team for EU membership, says he can no longer support his government's policies. Citing the ongoing failure to arrest Mladic, Labus says Serbia's security forces "did not do their job properly. ... They searched for Mladic everywhere except where he was hiding."
Meanwhile, on 21 May, Montenegro votes to split from the federation with Serbia. Montenegro formally declares its independence on 3 June. The disintegration of Yugoslavia is now complete.
On 1 July Serb Defence Minister Zoran Stankovic confirms that US and British intelligence agents have joined the hut for Mladic.
At the end of the year both Karadzic and Mladic remain at large.
2007 - On 26 February the ICJ hands down its ruling in the genocide case brought against Yugoslavia by Bosnia-Herzegovina. The court finds that while Serbia, the sole remaining successor of Yugoslavia, had not committed, incited or been complicit in genocide, it had failed to prevent what happened at Srebrenica despite its awareness of "a serious risk" of mass murder and its "known influence" over the Bosnian-Serb militia.
The court finds that "financial compensation is not the appropriate form of reparation." It calls instead for the arrest and delivery of Ratko Mladic to The Hague and a formal declaration from Serbia that it failed to prevent an act of genocide at Srebrenica.
Two days later the government of the Republika Srpska apologises to the victims of the war. "The government of the Republika Srpska expresses its deepest regret for the crimes committed against non-Serbs and condemns all persons who took part in the crimes," a statement from the government says.
At the start of June the EU drops its demand that Mladic be handed to The Hague before negotiations on Serbia's admission to the union proceed. The talks resume on 13 June.
Carla Del Ponte maintains that Mladic is in Serbia. However, she does not know where Karadzic is. "Since months we have received no information," she says on 3 July. "Last year we received some information that he was in a monastery in Montenegro. ... We will get him because we are not forgetting him."
At the end of the same week Serb President Boris Tadic says that it his government's "goal" to apprehend Mladic by the end of the year.
2008 - In May the ICJ begins to hear a second charge of genocide filed against Serbia, this time by Croatia. A judgement is expected later in the year.
At the start of July a new pro-Western government takes office in Serbia.
Karadzic's run from justice finally comes to an end on 21 July when he is arrested in Belgrade during a sweep by the Serbian security services.
Comment: No one emerged a victor of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. No one emerged a hero. Just about everyone was a victim, including the Bosnian-Serbs: lied to and manipulated by their leaders, and by Milosevic in Belgrade. And the victim's mentality remains, with the Bosnian-Serb leadership steadfastly denying complicity and responsibility, just as Karadzic and Mladic elude arrest and maintain their innocence.
Though of course it isn't quite that black and white. The atrocities committed were the worst seen in Europe since the Second World War, but not the worst ever seen in Yugoslavia. That happened 50 years earlier, during the regime of Croat fascist Ante Pavelic, and his murderous Ustase storm troopers. The tally then was 300,000 to one million, including up to 30,000 Jews, up to 29,000 Gipsies, and between 300,000 and 600,000 Serbs.
That atrocity has contributed in no small part to the paranoia that informs much of the national psyche of the Bosnian-Serbs. And you can understand them, to a degree. In parts of Croatia, Pavelic is still considered to be a national hero.

One Of World's Oldest Bibles To Be Put Online

Good Monday morning! I was just reading this interesting story at Yahoo News, concerning one of the oldest Bibles in the world, and wanted to bring it to your attention, whether you are a Bible "person", or just like me, and love "old" books!
The story reads:
One of the world's oldest Bibles, the Codex Sinaiticus, which was discovered in Egypt in the 19th century, is to be made available online this week, the Leipzig University library said Monday.

The Codex Sinaiticus, which dates from the fourth century, is one of the two most ancient copies of the entire Bible in Greek. The other is the Codex Vaticanus.

The manuscript was uncovered by a German scholar in St Catherine's monastery in the Sinai desert. Much of it, written on some 350 pages of vellum, ended up in St. Petersburg.

In the 1930s, most of this treasure trove was then sold by Stalin to the British Museum in London.

Some 40 pages also ended up going to Leipzig University, while yet more pages were found in the 1970s in a walled-up room at St Catherine's monastery.

The project, sponsored by the British Museum and Leipzig University, aims to put the Bible back together in digital form -- scanning all the pages held in Britain, Germany, Russia, and Egypt -- and making it available on the Internet.

As of Thursday, "more than 100 pages, those from Leipzig and 67 from the British Museum, will be available online at www.codex-sinaiticus.net,"( I clicked on this link and it says the site is under construction), according to Leipzig library curator Ulrich Johannes Schneider. Another part of the Codex will be made available in November and the remainder by next year, according to Schneider.

The codex, which is believed to contain the most accurate version of the New Testament, can be viewed online in high-definition pictures, with a full transcript of the Greek text, and translation into English and German of some key passages.

Iraqi Sunni Bloc Rejoins Government

I was just reading a story at Yahoo News, which indicates, that much of what we have criticized the Iraqi government about over the last year may be changing for the better. There is a slight possibility that those of us who have been clamoring for our Troops withdrawal from Iraq, since the Iraqi government went on "vacation" last August may have been wrong. The surge may have worked, though we will not know for sure until we actually draw down below the pre-surge troop levels, and see if the violence increases to pre-surge levels once more.

We have also been lucky that the cleric al-Sadr decided to continue with his cease fire, so while bringing the Troops home under any circumstances, is still probably the Best Bet, there is a chance that we may "win" this war after all. At least "win" enough to be able to leave without the Vietnam scenario playing out again. We shall have to watch closely, but al-Malicki endorses a Obama "type" plan for withdrawal, and the Sunni bloc rejoining the government, are two indicators that this could end in the forseeable future.

Anyway the story reads:
Iraq's largest Sunni Arab political bloc ended a nearly yearlong boycott of the Shiite-led government Saturday in another step toward healing the sectarian rifts that once brought almost daily bloodshed.

The National Accordance Front agreed to return after parliament approved six Sunni officials to fill vacant seats in the Cabinet. But the gesture had wider implications — seen as a significant step toward political reconciliation and efforts to cement security cooperation between Shiite-led forces and armed Sunni groups that rose up against al-Qaida in Iraq. The United States has pressured Iraq's government to work toward reconciliation, hoping it will add stability and ease the burden on U.S. and other foreign forces.

On a visit Saturday to Baghdad, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said plans are being made to scale back troops in Iraq, but refused to consider an "artificial timetable" for withdrawing Britain's remaining 4,000 soldiers. Brown's comments — following meetings with Iraqi leaders — come in advance of next week's scheduled address to British lawmakers on Iraq, when he is expected to give more details on troop reduction plans as insurgent attacks and militia violence drops sharply around Iraq.

No specific troop withdrawal figures have been made public, but a senior British military officer has predicted substantial troop cuts in Iraq next year."It is certainly our intention that we reduce troop numbers, but I am not going to give an artificial timetable at the moment," Brown said following talks with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani. A departure of more British forces will have little bearing on the battlefield. The troops, mostly based outside the southern city of Basra, no longer have a combat role and are involved mostly with training Iraqi security units. Britain's moves come about four months after Iraqi opened a major offensive in Basra to root out Shiite militias with suspected links to Iran. The campaign — which began with disarray among Iraqi forces — ultimately gained ground with U.S. help and reclaimed wide control over Iraq's second-largest city and key oil center.

Although Britain maintains the second-largest foreign military force in Iraq, it is dwarfed by the approximately 150,000 U.S. soldiers currently in the country. Brown's meeting in Baghdad also included Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq. The break in the Iraqi political impasse came after parliament unanimously backed Sunni candidates to fill the post of deputy prime minister and head five midlevel ministries, including higher education and communications. Four other Cabinet posts were filled by Shiites. The Front pulled its members from the 39-member Cabinet last August, complaining it was sidelined in important decisions. The political rift left al-Maliki's government without partners in bids to find common ground with Sunni leaders.

Sunni Arabs, who represent about 20 percent of the country, were highly favored under Saddam Hussein but the tables turned after his ouster when Iraq's majority Shiites held sway. The rivalries spilled over into a wave of sectarian killings and al-Qaida bombings apparently aimed at triggering civil war. But Sunni sheiks last year began to organize militias — later known as Awakening Councils — against insurgents. Their role has been considered key in undercutting al-Qaida networks and helping reduce violence around Iraq to its lowest levels in four years. "What happened today is a national step forward to boost the government's role and take the national reconciliation ahead," said the bloc's spokesman, Saleem Abdullah. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, hailed the political pact as "a very important step forward."

The new Sunni Arab cabinet members join two others already in the government: Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi and former Front member Ali Baban, who heads the influential planning minister. Baban was kicked out of the Front for refusing to follow the boycott. The Front and its allies also hold 44 of the 275 parliamentary seats. They continued to take part in legislative affairs despite the government boycott. The four new Shiite members of the Cabinet filled posts abandoned last year by followers of the anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. They al-Sadr loyalists walked out after the prime minister refused demands for a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. The posts include transportation and tourism and archaeology.

So while this may not be the end of troubles in Iraq, perhaps it is a new start, and anything that gets our Troops home sooner, is a good thing!!

Bush Agrees To Timetable In Iraq?

I was just reading this interesting "turnabout" story at Yahoo News, concerning Bush, and a desire by the Iraqi's for us to set a timetable for withdrawal of all troops! A flip-flop? Or just an acknowledgement of the political "reality" in Iraq?

President Bush and Iraq's prime minister have agreed to set a "general time horizon" for bringing more U.S. troops home from the war, a dramatic shift from the administration's once-ironclad unwillingness to talk about any kind of deadline or timetable.

The announcement Friday put Bush in the position of offering to talk with Iraqi leaders about a politically charged issue that he adamantly has refused to discuss with the Democratic-led Congress at home. It also could complicate the presidential campaign arguments of Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama who have staked out starkly opposite stands about the unpopular war.

What's changed? The sharp reduction in violence in Iraq — to the lowest level in four years — has made the country's leaders increasingly confident and more assertive about its sovereignty, giving rise to demands for a specific plan for American forces to leave.


Iraq has leverage because the White House is struggling to salvage negotiations for a long-term agreement covering U.S. military operations there. The White House said its goal is to conclude that deal by the end of this month. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki talked about the stalled negotiations during a secure video conference on Thursday, agreeing "on a common way forward to conclude these negotiations as soon as possible," a White House statement said. The two leaders agreed that improvements in security should allow for the negotiations "to include a general time horizon for meeting aspirational goals, such as the resumption of Iraqi security control in their cities and provinces and the further reduction of U.S. combat forces from Iraq," the White House said. Bush repeatedly has vetoed legislation approved by Congress setting deadlines for American troop cutbacks.

Friday's White House statement was intentionally vague and did not specify what kind of timelines were envisioned. That allows Iraqi officials, who are facing elections in the fall, to argue they are not beholden to Washington or willing to tolerate a permanent military presence in Iraq. For Bush, it points the way toward a legal framework for keeping American troops in Iraq after a U.N. mandate expires on Dec. 31. "The agreement will look at goal dates for transition of responsibilities and missions," said Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for Bush's National Security Council. "The focus is on the Iraqi assumption of missions, not on what troop levels will be." As for the campaign to elect a new commander in chief, McCain firmly opposes any withdrawal timetable while Obama pledges to pull out combat troops within 16 months. By talking about a "time horizon," Bush appeared at odds with McCain and could make his own GOP administration a tougher target for Obama's anti-war barbs.

McCain issued a statement saying, "Progress between the United States and Iraq on a time horizon for American troop presence is further evidence that the surge has succeeded. ... If we had followed Sen. Obama's policy, Iraq would have descended into chaos, American casualties would be far higher, and the region would be destabilized." However, Ben Rose, a senior adviser to Obama, said, "It's another indication that the administration is moving toward ... Sen. Obama's position on negotiating the removal of our forces as part of our ongoing discussions with the Iraqi government."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Bush wasn't going far enough. "After rejecting 18 months of attempts by the Democratic majority in Congress to adopt redeployment timetables, the president now proposes a vague general time horizon that falls far short of a commitment to ending our involvement in Iraq," she said. Democratic Rep. William Delahunt of Massachusetts, who has led House hearings on the planned agreement with Iraq, said the "time horizon" cited by the White House was "very vague and nebulous." He also said the agreement taking shape seemed "far less grandiose than what was initially articulated."

Iraq has proposed requiring U.S. forces to fully withdraw five years after the Iraqis take the lead on security nationwide — though that condition could take years to meet. Iraq's national security adviser, Mouwaffak al-Rubaie, said this month that Baghdad would not accept any security deal unless it contained specific dates for U.S. troop withdrawals. So far, the United States has handed control of 10 of 18 provinces to Iraqi officials. "Obviously, if Iraqis are assuming more missions, then you need less American troops," Johndroe said. The White House sought to make a distinction between talking with Iraqis about withdrawals and attempts by Congress to force cutbacks.

"I think it's important to remember that the discussions about timeline issues previously were from Democrats in Congress who wanted to arbitrarily retreat from Iraq without consideration of conditions on the ground," said White House deputy press secretary Scott Stanzel, who was traveling with Bush in Tucson, Ariz. "All of the discussions that we have always had have been based on conditions on the ground and making progress in the country, and we are doing just that," Stanzel said. "We are making progress on the security situation. The number of attacks has dropped dramatically in recent months."

A major troop buildup ordered by Bush in January 2007 has ended. In recent days, the 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade, the last of the five additional combat brigades sent in last year, left the country. There are still 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq — as many as 15,000 more than before the buildup began. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Wednesday that he is likely to recommend further troop reductions this fall because security has improved.

So the end may not be etched in stone yet, but the signs are there, and Now it is only a matter of when it happens, not if it happens!!