The OpenTravel Alliance Announces 2010-2011 Board of Directors .... The OpenTravel Alliance (OpenTravel), the travel industry's leading distribution specification/standards development organization, announces its board of directors for 2010-2011. "The past year has proven that the OpenTravel community

XML or WWE - Aviation Week
The new group -- Open AXIS -- is using a process they believe will be faster and less labor-intensive for airlines than the one the OpenTravel Alliance has been using, and it will be developing XML for airlines only..
Some airlines looking for standards alternative to Open Travel ...
Some airlines -- as yet unidentified -- are exploring alternatives to the Open Travel Alliance.
You decide: Does OpenAxis belong to the Rebel Alliance or The Dark ...
At first some thought that the airline-only distribution messaging schema was based on the Open Travel Alliance framework, but that turns out not to be the case. It may actually make it even harder for airlines and third parties who use ...
Some airlines looking for standards alternative to Open Travel ...
opentravel Some airlines — as yet unidentified — are exploring alternatives to the Open Travel Alliance. Thats the word from one of the parties involved, who says hes been asked by several airlines to canvas other carriers to gauge ...
Airfare-data distributor gets board seat on new standards body ...
July 26, 2010 at 10:12 am. [...] travel industry demands innovation to compete and the addition of Open Axis will not result in different standards, but will dovetail with OpenTravel Alliance to [...] ...
History of World / Regional Search Engines and Directories OPEN ...
Computers have become a way of life for people around the world.
So What&s The Real Problem and What&s The Real Answer?
The Professor definitely believes that standards help and has already put his money where his mouth is by endorsing the Open Axis standard (via my alter ego). I am also a great advocate of the Open Travel Alliance and I really hope that ...
Airlines and ATPCO Form Open AXIS Group to Promote Acceptance and ...
Young has extensive airline distribution and marketing experience, and was intricately involved in the formation of the Open Travel Alliance standards group. A driver and champion of transformational programs, Young is Managing Partner ...
Has the immigration situation just gone mad or what?
What’s Wrong with America? I sure hope you like C-SPAN, reruns, and reality shows, because if we the Hollywood proletariat have our way, every writer in town is going on strike, perhaps as soon as this Thursday. If you ask me, it’s not a moment too soon. Technically, we’re striking against the producers, the studios, and the networks — the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers — who have been trying to screw us out of our fair share of VHS and DVD residuals for years, and whose initial offer was to screw us even harder. With a brave new world of iPhone technology on its way, we want to make sure we don’t get fooled again. But everyone knows we’re really striking against you, the ungrateful, reactionary, and probably crypto-fascist audience. You’ve let us all down by not going to see our movies. The Kingdom? A disappointment at $46 million. Rendition? A huge antiwar belly flop for Reese Witherspoon, Meryl Streep, and the guy from Brokeback Mountain playing in 2,250 theaters that hasn’t yet managed $8 million. Elizabeth: The Golden Age? The Catholic-bashing costume party with Cate Blanchett in high dudgeon and higher drag is a flopola at $14 million. In the Valley of Elah, from scribe du jour Paul Haggis? It’ll be lucky to make $7 million. At this rate, you probably won’t even go to see Brian De Palma’s Redacted. Frankly, we’re tired of throwing our pearls before you swine. So we’re firing you. I mean, come on: the fourth installment of a torture-porn series, a Steve Carell laugher, a vampire movie set in Alaska and a comedy aimed at the, ahem, “urban audience” are opening up cans of cinematic whup-ass on the finest, most passionate anti-American movies our smartest, snarkiest Harvard grads can think up. And Lions for Lambs hasn’t even opened yet! Heck, The Rock’s family-values comedy The Game Plan has made $77 million, more than all the antiwar movies put together. It’s so sad: Here we were, on a roll, with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid in command of Congress, the Clinton Restoration practically a fait accompli, and Al Gore winning the Nobel Peace Prize to use as a doorstop alongside his Oscar — and this is the thanks we get. Well, I just don’t get it. It’s not like our patriotism is questionable or anything. Like Bonosera the undertaker in The Godfather, we love U. S.-America, we believe in U. S.-America, just not U. S.-America the way she is now: a racist, sexist, homophobic bastion of white male privilege, built on the backs of Africans and Native Americans and exploited immigrants, seeking to export its murderous rage to the Middle East and beyond. And all right-thinking people — by which I mean “left-thinking” people, of course — agree with us. You certainly won’t get any argument on the west side of Los Angeles, and wherever I travel in this great land of ours — to places as diverse as San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, and the Upper West Side — it’s unanimous. America stinks! So we want to change this country into something new and beautiful and socialist, a liberated America in which we middle-class Hollywood people (for so we like to think of ourselves; we’re not really rich) can live safely in our patrolled communities and send our kids to private schools while making sure your tax money goes to pacify the howling mob beyond the gates. An America, in other words, that looks more like South America or South Africa than Bedford Falls, condemned to eternal punishment for its moral turpitude. Who could possibly object to that? Another reason we’re striking is that there’s just too much competition these days from journalists. Who does this clown Scott Thomas Beauchamp think he is, pitching anti-war movies in the guise of writing a “Baghdad Diary” for The New Republic? He might have fooled his editors into thinking he was doing straight reporting, but anyone who lives within 50 miles of the intersection of Fairfax and Melrose can smell a scenario when he steps in it. It’s hard enough to make your bones and get into the Writers Guild of America, a closed-shop union that civilians can’t join, without worrying about a bunch of hacks making stuff up that makes America look bad and passing it off as truth in the hopes that some producer will come calling. That’s our job! So as the days dwindle down to a precious few, it’s looking more and more like we’re going out. The studios have stockpiled all the bad scripts they can get their hands on, the writers’ rooms are going 24/7 to churn out enough episodes to get the networks through Festivus, and nobody’s taking any pitches until this thing is over. It may be a while. Last Thursday, the producers have told us to forget about upgrading the DVD residuals, or any other residuals. For our part, the Guild membership has voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike — the last one was in 1988, and lasted five months — and all over town, people are consulting their accountants and business managers over how they’re going to make their $20,000 a month mortgage nut if they’re not working. Both sides have called in a federal mediator when negotiations resume tomorrow. But unless this stooge of the Bush Administration waterboards us, it’s on to the picket lines at Paramount, ABC, and Warner Bros. We’re going to hit the AMPTP where it hurts, right in the pocketbook, and make ‘em remember that it all starts with the writer and if you think actors can invent stories and ad-lib dialogue, you’re a die-hard Robert Altman fan. But, even more, we’re going to hit you where you live: on your sofas. No more Letterman. No more Leno. No more Lost. No more great movies like Rendition to alert you to the evils of the Chimp-in-Chief and the Grand Vizier and their Illegal War in Iraq. The hell with you. We’ve knocked ourselves out for you, and this is how you repay us. Serves you right

What’s Wrong with America?
I&m a bit of a writer and I&ve always loved the idea of metaphor&s and I thought I&d share a selection of fairly funny ones with you all, it is by no means a complete list and I&m sure you can add to it. Oh, Jason, take me!" she panted, her breasts heaving like a student on 31 pence-a-pint night. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two other sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a tumble dryer. She caught your eye like one of those pointy hook latches that used to dangle from doors and would fly up whenever you banged the door open again. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn&t. McMurphy fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a paper bag filled with vegetable soup. Her hair glistened in the rain like nose hair after a sneeze. Her eyes were like two brown circles with big black dots in the center Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever. He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left York at 6:36 p. m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Peterborough at 4:19p. m.at a speed of 35 mph. The politician was gone but unnoticed, like the full stop after the Dr. on a Dr Pepper can. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met. The thunder was ominous sounding, much like the sound of a thin sheet of metal being shaken backstage during the storm scene in a play.

What is a metaphor?
The Original American Foreign Policy By Ron Paul "It is our true policy to steer clear of entangling alliances with any portion of the foreign world." – George WashingtonI have written before about the critical need for Congress to reassert its authority over foreign policy, and for the American people to recognize that the Constitution makes no distinction between domestic and foreign matters. Policy is policy, and it must be made by the legislature and not the executive. But what policy is best? How should we deal with the rest of the world in a way that best advances proper national interests, while not threatening our freedoms at home? I believe our founding fathers had it right when they argued for peace and commerce between nations, and against entangling political and military alliances. In other words, noninterventionism. Noninterventionism is not isolationism. Nonintervention simply means America does not interfere militarily, financially, or covertly in the internal affairs of other nations. It does not mean that we isolate ourselves; on the contrary, our founders advocated open trade, travel, communication, and diplomacy with other nations. Thomas Jefferson summed up the noninterventionist foreign policy position perfectly in his 1801 inaugural address: "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations — entangling alliances with none." Washington similarly urged that we must, "Act for ourselves and not for others," by forming an "American character wholly free of foreign attachments." Yet how many times have we all heard these wise words without taking them to heart? How many claim to admire Jefferson and Washington, but conveniently ignore both when it comes to American foreign policy? Since so many apparently now believe Washington and Jefferson were wrong on the critical matter of foreign policy, they should at least have the intellectual honesty to admit it. Of course we frequently hear the offensive cliché that, "times have changed," and thus we cannot follow quaint admonitions from the 1700s. The obvious question, then, is what other principles from our founding era should we discard for convenience? Should we give up the First amendment because times have changed and free speech causes too much offense in our modern society? Should we give up the Second amendment, and trust that today&s government is benign and not to be feared by its citizens? How about the rest of the Bill of Rights? It&s hypocritical and childish to dismiss certain founding principles simply because a convenient rationale is needed to justify interventionist policies today. The principles enshrined in the Constitution do not change. If anything, today&s more complex world cries out for the moral clarity provided by a noninterventionist foreign policy. It is time for Americans to rethink the interventionist foreign policy that is accepted without question in Washington. It is time to understand the obvious harm that results from our being dragged time and time again into intractable and endless Middle East conflicts, whether in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, or Palestine. It is definitely time to ask ourselves whether further American lives and tax dollars should be lost trying to remake the Middle East in our image.________________________________________Dr. Ron Paul is a Republican member of Congress from Texas. Send him mail. http://www. house. gov/paul/mail/welcome. htm

The Original American Foreign Policy : by Ron Paul : Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations?
The Original American Foreign Policy By Ron Paul "It is our true policy to steer clear of entangling alliances with any portion of the foreign world." – George WashingtonI have written before about the critical need for Congress to reassert its authority over foreign policy, and for the American people to recognize that the Constitution makes no distinction between domestic and foreign matters. Policy is policy, and it must be made by the legislature and not the executive. But what policy is best? How should we deal with the rest of the world in a way that best advances proper national interests, while not threatening our freedoms at home? I believe our founding fathers had it right when they argued for peace and commerce between nations, and against entangling political and military alliances. In other words, noninterventionism. Noninterventionism is not isolationism. Nonintervention simply means America does not interfere militarily, financially, or covertly in the internal affairs of other nations. It does not mean that we isolate ourselves; on the contrary, our founders advocated open trade, travel, communication, and diplomacy with other nations. Thomas Jefferson summed up the noninterventionist foreign policy position perfectly in his 1801 inaugural address: "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations — entangling alliances with none." Washington similarly urged that we must, "Act for ourselves and not for others," by forming an "American character wholly free of foreign attachments." Yet how many times have we all heard these wise words without taking them to heart? How many claim to admire Jefferson and Washington, but conveniently ignore both when it comes to American foreign policy? Since so many apparently now believe Washington and Jefferson were wrong on the critical matter of foreign policy, they should at least have the intellectual honesty to admit it. Of course we frequently hear the offensive cliché that, "times have changed," and thus we cannot follow quaint admonitions from the 1700s. The obvious question, then, is what other principles from our founding era should we discard for convenience? Should we give up the First amendment because times have changed and free speech causes too much offense in our modern society? Should we give up the Second amendment, and trust that today&s government is benign and not to be feared by its citizens? How about the rest of the Bill of Rights? It&s hypocritical and childish to dismiss certain founding principles simply because a convenient rationale is needed to justify interventionist policies today. The principles enshrined in the Constitution do not change. If anything, today&s more complex world cries out for the moral clarity provided by a noninterventionist foreign policy. It is time for Americans to rethink the interventionist foreign policy that is accepted without question in Washington. It is time to understand the obvious harm that results from our being dragged time and time again into intractable and endless Middle East conflicts, whether in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, or Palestine. It is definitely time to ask ourselves whether further American lives and tax dollars should be lost trying to remake the Middle East in our image.________________________________________Dr. Ron Paul is a Republican member of Congress from Texas. Send him mail. http://www. house. gov/paul/mail/welcome. htm

The Original American Foreign Policy : by Ron Paul : Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations?
The Original American Foreign Policy By Ron Paul "It is our true policy to steer clear of entangling alliances with any portion of the foreign world." – George WashingtonI have written before about the critical need for Congress to reassert its authority over foreign policy, and for the American people to recognize that the Constitution makes no distinction between domestic and foreign matters. Policy is policy, and it must be made by the legislature and not the executive. But what policy is best? How should we deal with the rest of the world in a way that best advances proper national interests, while not threatening our freedoms at home? I believe our founding fathers had it right when they argued for peace and commerce between nations, and against entangling political and military alliances. In other words, noninterventionism. Noninterventionism is not isolationism. Nonintervention simply means America does not interfere militarily, financially, or covertly in the internal affairs of other nations. It does not mean that we isolate ourselves; on the contrary, our founders advocated open trade, travel, communication, and diplomacy with other nations. Thomas Jefferson summed up the noninterventionist foreign policy position perfectly in his 1801 inaugural address: "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations — entangling alliances with none." Washington similarly urged that we must, "Act for ourselves and not for others," by forming an "American character wholly free of foreign attachments." Yet how many times have we all heard these wise words without taking them to heart? How many claim to admire Jefferson and Washington, but conveniently ignore both when it comes to American foreign policy? Since so many apparently now believe Washington and Jefferson were wrong on the critical matter of foreign policy, they should at least have the intellectual honesty to admit it. Of course we frequently hear the offensive cliché that, "times have changed," and thus we cannot follow quaint admonitions from the 1700s. The obvious question, then, is what other principles from our founding era should we discard for convenience? Should we give up the First amendment because times have changed and free speech causes too much offense in our modern society? Should we give up the Second amendment, and trust that today&s government is benign and not to be feared by its citizens? How about the rest of the Bill of Rights? It&s hypocritical and childish to dismiss certain founding principles simply because a convenient rationale is needed to justify interventionist policies today. The principles enshrined in the Constitution do not change. If anything, today&s more complex world cries out for the moral clarity provided by a noninterventionist foreign policy. It is time for Americans to rethink the interventionist foreign policy that is accepted without question in Washington. It is time to understand the obvious harm that results from our being dragged time and time again into intractable and endless Middle East conflicts, whether in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, or Palestine. It is definitely time to ask ourselves whether further American lives and tax dollars should be lost trying to remake the Middle East in our image.________________________________________Dr. Ron Paul is a Republican member of Congress from Texas. Send him mail. http://www. house. gov/paul/mail/welcome. htm

The Original American Foreign Policy? by Ron Paul : Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations?
It is troubling to see people smearing his name constantly with this lie saying he is an isolationist. People who may be receptive to Ron Paul&s message need to know that noninterventionalism and isolationism are different things. I believe our founding fathers had it right when they argued for peace and commerce between nations, and against entangling political and military alliances. In other words, noninterventionism. "Noninterventionism is not isolationism. Nonintervention simply means America does not interfere militarily, financially, or covertly in the internal affairs of other nations. It does not we that we isolate ourselves; on the contrary, our founders advocated open trade, travel, communication, and diplomacy with other nations. Thomas Jefferson summed up the noninterventionist foreign policy position perfectly in his 1801 inaugural address: “Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations - entangling alliances with none.” - Ron PaulIt is our true policy to steer clear of entangling alliances with any portion of the foreign world. George Washington A paper Ron Paul wrote in December 2006.What a very intellegent man!!Worth 5 minutes of your time. Best Video of Ron Paul ever!!http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=88REf0tjZHo

Is Ron Paul&s ideas of a noninterventionalism make him an isolationist??
These are metaphors from actual GCSE essays Oh, Jason, take me!" she panted, her breasts heavinglike a student on 31p-a-pint night. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that hadits two other sides gently compressed by a ThighMaster. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breakingalliances like underpants in a tumble dryer. She caught your eye like one of those pointy hooklatches that used to dangle from doors and would flyup whenever you banged the door open again. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactlythe way a bowling ball wouldn&t. McMurphy fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like apaper bag filled with vegetable soup. Her hair glistened in the rain like nose hair after asneeze. Her eyes were like two brown circles with big blackdots in the centre Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever. He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just likemaggots when you fry them in hot grease. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed loversraced across the grassy field toward each other liketwo freight trains, one having left York at 6:36p. m. travelling at 55 mph, the other from Peterboroughat 4:19p. m.at a speed of 35 mph. The politician was gone but unnoticed, like the fullstop after the Dr. on a Dr Pepper can. John and Mary had never met. They were like twohummingbirds who had also never met. The thunder was ominous sounding, much like the soundof a thin sheet of metal being shaken backstageduring the storm scene in a play. The red brick wall was the colour of a brick-redcrayon. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like asteel trap, only one that had been left out so longit had rusted shut. The door had been forced, as forced as the dialogueduring the interview portion of Family Fortunes. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do. The plan was simple, like my brother Phil. But unlikePhil, this plan just might work. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you getfrom not eating for a while. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lameduck either, but a real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from stepping on a land mine or something. Her artistic sense was exquisitely refined, likesomeone who can tell butter from "I Can&t BelieveIt&s Not Butter." She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like thatsound a dog makes just before it throws up. It came down the stairs looking very much likesomething no one had ever seen before. The knife was as sharp as the tone used by GlendaJackson MP in her first several points ofparliamentary procedure made to Robin Cook MP, Leaderof the House of Commons, in the House JudiciaryCommittee hearings on the suspension of Keith VazMP. The ballerina rose gracefully en pointe and extendedone slender leg behind her, like a dog at a lamppost. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years haddisintegrated because of his wife&s infidelity cameas a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free cashpoint. The dandelion swayed in the gentle breeze like anoscillating electric fan set on medium. It was a working class tradition, like fathers chasingkids around with their power tools. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought heheard bells, as if she were a dustcart reversing. She was as easy as the Daily Star crossword. She grew on him like she was a colony of ecoli and hewas room-temperature British beef. She walked into my office like a centipede with 98missing legs. Her voice had that tense, grating quality, like afirst-generation thermal paper fax machine that> needed a band tightened. It hurt the way your tongue hurts after youaccidentally staple it to the wall.

Actual GCSE Metaphors?
The struggle to form a unity government in Iraq continues, but signs of hope are emerging. One of the sticking points continues to be Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari, who has so far refused to resign; however, on Sunday the Iraqi Shia Alliance reported it was close to a deal to replace him. For a little perspective, travel back to the States, to the U. S. Senate and watch the immigration debate in the Senate. We&ve been doing democracy for several centuries now, and we can&t get 100 politicians to agree on one issue. Considering we&re the pros, we could cut the Iraqis a little slack as they continue to get the feel of this democracy-project thing. There continues to be plenty of good news to be found in Iraq. The Iraqi army continues to take over responsibility for more battle space, al Qaeda continues to take a beating, and rebuilding of the country is progressing. Moreover, the Iraqi economy is improving, and has doubled in the last three years. News for Pessimistic Generals The media has given an enormous amount of publicity to former generals who are calling for Rumsfeld to resign, and all but ignore those who remain optimistic about our efforts in Iraq. Colonel William Grimsley commanded the brigade that first took control of Baghdad Airport. Three years on he remains optimistic about the country&s future: Grimsley, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division&s 1st Combat Brigade Team during the opening days of Operation Iraqi Freedom, said history — not current events — will tell the true story of Iraq&s metamorphosis. And that story will show how Iraq ultimately emerged from almost 40 years of a regime that ignored the people&s needs and undermined its potential, Grimsley, now a military assistant to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, said during an interview with American Forces Press Service and the Pentagon Channel. Major Kevin Carter just returned from Iraq, and shares this assessment: Charter believes not enough attention is being paid to the progress being made by Iraqis in taking control of their country. He said the people of Iraq are grateful Saddam Hussein has been overthrown."I was told by an Iraqi that only two things could get rid of Saddam, the United States or Allah. I will never forget that," Charter said. "An Iraqi officer told me that if we just up and left the country would implode. They are so grateful for us being there and toppling Saddam. Even the Sunnis, who benefited under Saddam, thanked us." Before you think I&m just parroting the Pentagon line by quoting only officers, a Marine serving with an Iraqi unit had this to say: "Everybody hears about all the car bombs in Baghdad and how many people got shot. Those things are reality — I don&t want to downplay them. But there&s a lot of good things happening," he said. Despite being the main targets of terrorists and ex-Baathists, Iraqi soldiers remain well motivated: According to the commanding officer of the local Iraqi-army unit here, the soldiers& motivation to fight insurgents is steady despite the loss of two of their own comrades. During a memorial service for a fallen soldier, the Iraqi commander of 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division, assured his soldiers they were performing well and encouraged them to continue to listen and learn from the Marines. "I want the soldiers to continue to do the job they are doing," said the commanding officer, who wishes to remain anonymous. "We need the Marines& support and they are very professional when it comes to training my soldiers." A tip led U. S. troops to a house where forged documents were made: The two suspected forgers were found at a house where Soldiers seized $2,050 in U. S. currency, more than 500,000 Iraqi Dinars, 125 various forms of identification, fake stamps for the IDs and an AK-47. Another tip led U. S. troops to a weapons cache at a terrorist training facility: Found at the site were 19 155 mm artillery rounds and 21 mortar rounds of various calibers. The site may have been a training site of insurgents. The cache was transported to a secured location for controlled detonation. 320 Iraqis from Anbar Province arrived in Jordan to received training as police officers. The Iraqi army continues to take over more battle space: The 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division is assuming control of an area of responsibility that encompasses Balad, Al Duluyah and Yethrib, as well as the smaller villages surrounding these cities. In addition to taking over battle space, Iraqis continue to take the lead in more security operations. Operation Cobra Strike was lead by soldiers of the 8th Iraqi Army Division. The operation was planned, and conducted by Iraqis, with U. S. soldiers in support. Iraqi soldiers discovered four weapons caches during an operation in southern Baghdad: In total, the four weapons caches consisted of seven RPG rounds, three machine guns, 28 70 mm mortar rounds, 38 60mm mortar rounds, landmines, a large bag of homemade explosives, a sniper rifle, grenades, 13 pre-made roadside-bombs, ten rockets, 403 linked rounds of small arms ammunition, three bags of linked ammunition and 5,000 rounds of sniper-rifle rounds. 139 Iraqi soldiers recently graduated from commando school, and are ready to fight: "The Iraqi people are tired of the terrorists, extremists and instability and this unit fights that ... I am very proud that I am part of this special unit that will help stabilize this country," he said. "The terrorists have had their time. This is our time now." 39 of 45 planned border forts along the Iran-Iraq border are complete. The border posts are manned by Iraqis. U. S. troops discovered several significant weapons caches on an island in the Euphrates River: On April 5, Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, discovered 34 fused 82 mm rounds, five fused 120 mm rounds, 600 82 mm mortar rounds, 23 fused rocket-propelled grenades, five hand grenades, 28 55-gallon drums of TNT, nine 55-gallon sacks of nitrate, two bundles of detonation chord, a penetrator and 5,000 AK-47 rounds. The next day, Soldiers gathered 1,500 meters of command wire, a mortar sight, a receiver, 54 82mm rounds and a 107mm rocket. On April 7, MND-B Soldiers discovered the following items on the island: 1,450 18 mm anti-aircraft rounds, 27 125 mm aerial bombs, 30 anti-tank grenades, seven 60 mm mortars, five 82 mm mortars, 25 RPG rounds, 96 sticks of dynamite, 600 mortar primers, 156 hand grenades, three cylindrical containers, a RPG launcher, a rocket (caliber unknown), 37 boosters and a small mortar. In Mosul, U. S. soldiers discovered a significant amount of materials used to make IEDs. In Tikrit, a terrorist planting an IED was captured. In Yusifiyah, several terrorist were killed or captured after their safe house was attacked: During the assault, five terrorists, three of them wearing suicide vests, were killed; five others, one of whom was wounded, were detained. Two of the suicide bombers were killed before either could detonate his vest, and the third detonated his body bomb killing only himself and injuring no one else. I mentioned Operation Cowpens last week. The operation ended Friday, and the tally of captured munitions is impressiveUS forces killed five suspected insurgents and detained five others in a raid on a house southwest of Baghdad early Sunday in a hunt for an alleged Al Qaeda operative, the US military reported, according to AFP. In another raid, a senior al Qaeda operative was killed. Abu Umar was the terror groups "ambassador," and was charged with forming relationships with other groups in Iraq. Umar was an associate of Osama bin Laden. More than 115 top al Qaeda operatives have been killed or captured in Iraq over the last few months. Al Qaeda in Iraq continues to use unwilling people to carry out attacks. One attacker was identified by the fingerprints found on his hand, which was hand cuffed to the steering wheel of a car used as a bomb. It was the only part of him found. U. S. military vehicles in Iraq will be getting a new anti-RPG system called Trophy from the Israelis [This item has been corrected since posting. — Ed.]:The Trophy, unveiled by the IDF a year ago, combines two main systems: a radar built by Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd., detects threats; and a Rafael-designed system destroys incoming threats in flight. Rafael claims that the Trophy can protect armored fighting vehicles against all types of anti-tank rockets and missiles. The two conceptual innovations incorporated into the Trophy are 360-degree protection of the tank or APC, which eliminates the need for adding armor plating, which can double a tank’s weight, restricting its mobility and maneuverability; and to provide protection from new threats from the side and top in low-intensity combat, compared with frontal threats of the past. The State Department issued a report on Iraq&s economy. Iraq&s economy as nearly doubled in the last three years. GDP rose by 2.6% last year, and is expected to rise by more than ten percent in 2006. A carpentry workshop funded by USAID is helping Iraqis earn a living: The workshop focuses on fostering leadership, independence and financial stability among 18- to 24-year-olds. Profits from sale of furniture and doors made in the carpentry shop are reinvested in the youth center to purchase sports equipment, Internet access and secondary school supplies. Three new power substations are now online in Najaf. At a cost of $4.8 million per substation, each should provide 25,000 households with electricity. A ceremony in Baghdad marked the opening of a renovated youth center: The Youth Center offers programs and training in weightlifting, boxing, wrestling, judo and soccer. During the tour, the guests viewed young Iraqi boxers sparring; wrestlers practicing takedowns; soccer players kicking goals; and weightlifters pumping iron. The project was financed with funds from the 10th Mountain Division. Everyday Americans are also helping out in Iraq. Frank Casa of Fairport, New York raised $25,000 to send wheel chairs to disabled residents of Hilla: Casa has raised more than $25,000 to send desperately needed wheelchairs to Hilla, a city south of Baghdad, ravaged by the blasts of suicide attacks and car bombs. Later this year, he&ll travel to Iraq to help distribute the wheelchairs. "There are many, many civilians that are caught in desperate straits, that were caught up in this war, and they&re strictly victims," Casa said. "Not to have mobility is like throwing fuel on the fire." The latest weekly reconstruction update is available here. Highlights include: * A water system is under construction in Fallujah. When completed it will provide 200,000 residents with clean water.* A firing range is under construction at the police academy in Hillah.* Renovations are complete on the police station in Kadhimiya.* The rehabilitation of a sewer pump station is complete in Mansour.* In Baghdad, construction is complete on three solid waste transfer stations.* A project to provide 10,000 residents in Basrah is complete.* Construction of two power stations in Erbil Province is complete.* Reconstruction is complete on two fire stations in Karbala.* 13 of 15 school projects are complete in Karbala.* Construction of new classrooms is now complete in Mosul. U. S. and Iraqi troops conducted a dental clinic in Amu Shabi: A smile can light up one&s face... and today, more than 200 Iraqis had a reason to smile. Iraqi-army troops, along with U. S. Special Forces medics, Civil Affairs and 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division Soldiers, traveled to a school in Amu Shabi, Iraq, to provide a Dental Assessment and Care Clinic for local citizens. A Scottish company has plans to build the first water park in Iraq. This story is pertinent because of the what the company&s sales managers said: International sales manager Jim Stuart said yesterday: "I am delighted to be involved in this project and it shows that rebuilding in Iraq really is happening."Sadly, the newly elected Miss Iraq won&t be attending the opening. Norway&s DNO will become the first Western company since the invasion to produce oil in Iraq next year. The company has discovered five oil reservoirs in northern Iraq. Iraqi Air is purchasing two new planes from Airbus. Iraq is spending $25 million to purchase two new oil tankers. OUR HEROES Petty Officer 2nd Class Juan M. Rubio will be awarded the Silver Star later this month for actions in Iraq: On Jan. 1, 2005, Rubio&s platoon was ambushed on the Euphrates River. The Marines left their boats and pursued the attackers, only to have an explosive set off nearby. Rubio and three Marines were wounded. Despite having shrapnel wounds in his legs and arms, Rubio belly-crawled to the injured Marines and treated their injuries. He then dragged each of them across open terrain, under fire, to safety behind a wall. He showed the uninjured Marines how to care for the wounded troops and then began directing covering fire while he helped take the wounded back to the boats. "Your actions saved lives and you have set an example for future corpsmen and Marines to emulate," wrote Maj. Gen. R. F. Natonski, who wrote a letter endorsing the medal. "Your service is coveted by each and every Marine in the 1st Marine Division." One Marine died that day, Lance Cpl. Brian Parrello. Rubio believes Parrello saved his life. "He took a big chunk of artillery," Rubio said. "He absorbed 90 percent of the explosion for me. I owe my life to him." Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin Jewett was awarded the Bronze Star for action in Iraq: Jewett ran through a hail of gunfire and dragged the injured teammate 20 feet to the protection of a large vehicle, the citation says. He then administered first aid. Under continuous attack, he supervised the evacuation of his wounded teammate. The Navy said Jewett&s "courageous actions" saved his teammate&s life. Lance Corporal Carlos Gomez-Perez was awarded the Silver Star this week for his actions in Fallujah: In the late morning, the platoon came under fire from machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades coming from three directions, according to a citation signed by Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter. Gomez-Perez first made sure that several injured comrades received medical attention, then moved another downed Marine out of the line of fire, suffering wounds to his shoulder and face in the process. "Despite his injuries, he again exposed himself to enemy fire and continued to attack the enemy with grenades and by firing his rifle with his uninjured arm," the citation states. "By his bold leadership, wise judgment and complete dedication to duty, Lance Corporal Gomez-Perez reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service."

Will the liberal media report this success in Iraq?