African-American tap dancing legend Jeni LeGon dies in Vancouver at age 96
Jeni Legon at 90, photographed here at home with some of the mementos of her long career. The ontemporary of Bill Robinson and Fats Waller was be honoured Oct. 29, 2006 by the National Congress of Black Women.Photograph by: Ian Lindsay, Vancouver Sun
Family, friends and public welcome soldiers home from Afghanistan
3 Dec 12Soldiers from 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards and the 1st Royal Tank Regiment have all taken part in homecoming parades in recent days, cheered on by family, friends and the public.
Soldiers from 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment parade through Warminster town centre [Picture: Corporal Paul Morrison, Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]On Friday, soldiers from 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (3 YORKS) took part in a post-deployment parade through Warminster in Wiltshire.
This was an opportunity for the town to officially welcome home the battalion after its demanding but successful role as part of 12th Mechanized Brigade in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province on Operation HERRICK 16 between April and October 2012.
The Commanding Officer of 3 YORKS, Lieutenant Colonel Zac Stenning, said:
"We have seen considerable progress over the last six months.
"We undertook 3,300 patrols, 13 major operations, had 240 contacts with the enemy, and saw a 50 per cent reduction in violence in the area we were responsible for.
"Importantly there was a much greater increase in Afghans doing their own security which is what transition is all about.
Lieutenant Colonel Zac Stenning leads the soldiers of 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment through Warminster town centre [Picture: Corporal Paul Morrison, Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]
"The efforts this summer of the battalion and the collective efforts of the wider brigade certainly made a significant difference."
The parade was followed by a service at the Minster Church of St Denys with a role call and an act of remembrance for their nine fallen comrades.
As part of the service the town council granted the Freedom of Warminster to the battalion....
Lt. Cmdr. Kenneth Vargas, disaster preparedness officer for Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast, dressed in authentic Choctaw clothing, plays a Choctaw flute during a luncheon. 
Syria crisis: Nato in chemical weapons warning
4 December 2012
Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has underlined US President Barack Obama's warning to the Syrian government not to use chemical weapons against its own people.At a Nato foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, Mr Rasmussen said their use would be "completely unacceptable".
The foreign ministers are expected to approve the deployment of Patriot anti-missile batteries to Turkey.
The move is designed to defend Turkey's border with Syria.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Mr Rasmussen told reporters: "The possible use of chemical weapons would be completely unacceptable for the whole international community."If anybody resorts to these terrible weapons, then I would expect an immediate reaction from the international community."...
Ottawa to recall diplomats after Baird’s strong rebuke of Palestinian vote
Kathryn Blaze Carlson | Nov 30, 2012
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird will meet as soon as early next week with the Canadian diplomats the federal government is recalling from Israel, the West Bank and the UN.
In an interview with the National Post, Mr. Baird said he will meet with those representatives in Ottawa for a frank discussion on Canada’s next move after Thursday’s UN vote that implicitly recognized a Palestinian state.
Despite widespread speculation, Mr. Baird said Canada is not considering breaking off relations with the Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority and deferred questions about Canadian aid to International Cooperation Minister Julian Fantino.
“We want to get the advice and counsel of the representatives closest to the file,” Mr. Baird said in a telephone interview from New York, where he joined the United States and Israel in vehemently opposing the Palestinian bid Thursday. “We’re not looking at breaking off relations with the Palestinian Authority, but we do want to look at what we do going forward.”...
All too typical. "UPDATED: Iraqi refugee arrested for bombing Arizona Social Security office with IED, media silence ensues," by Patrick Poole at PJ Media, December 2:Muslim bombs Arizona Social Security office with IED, media blackout ensues
UPDATED (8:25p EDT): I just spoke again with my contact in the FBI Phoenix field office (who is not authorized to speak on behalf of the FBI office) that it is highly unlikely that Aldosary will be charged with any terrorism offense. While they are internally treating it like a domestic terrorism investigation, including looking at if he had any help constructing the explosive device, the FBI is saying very little and and will prosecute this as a simple explosives and arson case because of “the political sensitivities involved”.
Original Post: The typically quiet town of Casa Grande, Arizona was rocked by an explosion at the local Social Security Administration office early Friday morning by what appears to an improvised explosive device (IED). No one was hurt in the explosion, which occurred shortly before the office was scheduled to open. The explosion was reportedly heard and felt all over the area.
While the little town of Casa Grande and the nearby Phoenix area is talking about the incident, virtually no one else is. In fact, the only reason I was following the story is because I’m presently in the area and saw the initial reports on the explosion and continued to look into it .
Within 90 minutes of the explosion police had a suspect in custody. But you wouldn’t know it from reading the establishment media reports this past weekend. One reason might be the suspect is 47 year-old Abdullatif Aldosary of Coolidge, AZ, an Iraqi refugee....
