HAPPY ST GEORGES DAY

St George a St. that is popular in several countries aside from the UK, but to us here in the UK it has a special relevance in our national culture.

A relevant link for the campaign for a national St Georges day in England: stgeorgesday

St George's Day is celebrated in several nations of whom Saint George is the patron saint, including England, Georgia, Bulgaria, Portugal, and Catalonia. In England it is the National Day. April 23 was the date of Saint George's death in 303.

In 1969, Saint George's feast day was reduced to an optional memorial in the Roman Catholic calendar, and the solemnity of his commemoration depends on purely local observance. He is however still honoured as a saint of major importance by Eastern Orthodoxy. His feast date remains the second most important National Feast in Catalonia. There, it is known in Catalan as Diada de Sant Jordi and it is traditional to give a rose and a book to a loved one. This tradition inspired UNESCO to declare this the International Day of the Book, since 23 April 1616 was also the date of the death of the authors William Shakespeare (according to the Julian calendar) and Miguel de Cervantes (according to the Gregorian calendar).

St George is also the patron saint of the scouting movement. Many Scout Troops in the United Kingdom take part in a St George's Day Parade on the nearest Sunday to April 23. A message from the Chief Scout is read out and the Scout Hymn is sung. A "renewal of promise" then takes place where the Scouts renew the Scout's Promise made at joining and at all Scout meetings

And what would St Georges day be without a picture of a dragon...

Just look at this for a dragon, none other than bottom feeding human rights lawyer and profiteer off of cancer victims Cherie Booth QC.

The mouth may not breath fire, but most definately produces enough hot air.



Lastly some good news from Iraq:

Release A060420b

Suspected insurgents caught red handed

BALAD, Iraq -- Task Force Band of Brothers caught seven suspected insurgents “red handed” April 20.

Soldiers on patrol with Bravo Battery, 3rd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team observed the suspects digging. As the patrol approached, the suspects tried to flee in two vehicles. The Soldiers stopped, searched and detained all the suspects.

In one of the vehicles, a blue truck, more than 120-various mortar rounds, fuses and four missiles were discovered. At the dig site, Soldiers found a cache containing 250 artillery and mortar rounds, two anti-personnel land mines, one anti-tank mine and a hand grenade.

The munitions were taken to a secured location for controlled detonation. The suspects are undergoing questioning.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (April 22, 2006) – U.S. Col. Dave Gray, commander of 101st Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, briefed reporters at the Pentagon April 21 during a live video conference from Iraq. The commander of forces responsible for security in northern Iraq compared the struggle there to “a knife fight, a gunfight, and three-dimensional chess."

The 1 BCT is assigned to Multi-National Division - North in Iraq. The “Bastogne” Soldiers have been deployed in the Tikrit area for nearly six months fighting insurgents, teaching and coaching Iraqi forces.

Operating in three provinces roughly the size of the U.S. State of Maryland, the 1 BCT consists of six battalions including an Air Cavalry Squadron. The region contains roughly 40 percent of Iraq’s oil and produces 70 percent of the country’s natural gas.

The brigade oversees the Sulaymaniyah Province and the northern part of Salah Ah Din Province, and maintains overall control in the Kirkuk province.

Although relatively calm compared to al Anbar and Baghdad provinces, the northern region still faces the threat of an insurgency trying to leverage ethnic friction.

Gray called the situation, “An amalgamation of a knife fight, a gunfight and three-dimensional chess. That assumes that the enemy plays by our rules – and he doesn’t,” he said.

The Iraqi Army is active in the region, with the 3rd Iraqi Army Brigade in control of security in Sulaymaniyah, assisted by Iraqi police and Peshmerga forces. In Kirkuk Province, the 2nd Iraqi Army Brigade has conducted brigade-sized operations with Coalition support. At the end of April, an Iraqi brigade will assume responsibility for the area outside Kirkuk city, as well.

Gray also addressed the number of casualties due to improvised explosive devices and enemy action in the area, saying that, as the terrorists adapt, his forces re-adapt.

“We seem to be gaining on their innovations,” he said. “This month, as I track our statistics, we’re at about a 60-percent rate of discovering the IEDs before they’re able to be blown up.”

During the conference, a reporter asked how the stalemate in Iraqi politics was affecting the security situation.

“The longer the government is not seated, the more the insurgents try to drive wedges between the politicians trying to seat that government, and the people, undermining the legitimacy of the institutions that are up and working,” said Gray.

The commander added the terrorists were using propaganda to re-enforce ethnic tensions, but alluded to the day’s announcement by embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari (that he would step down if his party asked him to) as a positive step.

“I think it’s a good sign -- today’s breakthrough,” said Gray. “Hopefully, we’ll get the government seated and up and running, and then all of Iraq can move on with the process.

Chief of Staff visits Iraq

Earlier in the week, Gen. Peter Schoomaker, U.S. Army Chief of Staff, visited the 9th Iraqi Army Division to conduct strategic and operational assessments of security operations north of Baghdad.

Soldiers from the 9th IAD displayed their armored vehicles for inspection during the visit. Iraqi army Maj. Gen. Ayoub Bashar, commanding general, 9th IAD, led Schoomaker through the vehicles, describing their capabilities and fielding questions.

After seeing the Iraqi army vehicles, Schoomaker ate lunch at an Iraqi army dining facility.

Compiled from official Defense Department sources)

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