Some Great Father’s Day gift idea.

On Dad’s Day, it seems that dads just want to chill out and relax – maybe be a couch potato watching sports on TV or a beach bum sprawled out in the sand. Perhaps a round of golf is his goal or a few sets of tennis. Whatever way he wants to spend his special day, there are terrific choices for special gifts guaranteed to please him.


Some gift for Dad’s Day


Strengthen His Golf Game:

You may never understand why he gets up at the crack of dawn to hit that little ball around the course, but you love him anyway. Golf smith has all the essentials for a golf-loving dad, and you can still get a much appreciated gift without knowing a lot about the sport.

General Manager Brad Choppering thinks the most popular gifts are the more basic ones.
"Easy Dad’s Day gifts are golf balls, shirts or gift cards," he said. "If you know certain things, you can move onto the golf clubs."

So why does dad enjoy the game? According to Choppering, there are many reasons.
"You get to spend time with your friends and spend time outside," he said. "Also, men always enjoy a challenge and trying to master something. You can never really master golf, so it's always a good challenge."

Just don't be around him when his ball makes a beeline for the water ... again.

Keep in Happy, and Caffeinated:

Instead of watching Dad re-heat that same cup of Folgers all day, get him some quality whole-bean coffee from Caribou Coffee so he can sip in style. Caribou offers a variety of coffee, so check with Mom to see if he prefers a lighter or darker roast. Caribou also sells mugs and tumblers. A Twins tumbler and a bag of beans is the perfect gift for a dad-on-the-go.
Currently, Caribou Coffee is running a Dad’s Day promotion: If you spend $30 on dad, you get a coupon for a free medium drink for yourself.

A great bonus that helps you keep Dad happy and get yourself an iced mocha as a reward.


Beers and Bowling:

Dads need their "Me Time," too. Treat him to a night out with the guys, or pick up the tab on a game with just the two of you at Lariat Lanes. In addition to league nights, Lariat Lanes offers open bowling and great food - so Dad won't leave hungry.

Gift certificates are available in any amount and can be used for anything at Lariat Lanes. So if you feel like popping for a round of beer, too, you can do that with the certificate. Manager Brandi James thinks a gift card will give your dad a much-needed chance to get out of the house, as she witnesses with some of the league bowlers.

"A lot of it has to do with getting away from the wives and children for a night," she said. "It's their night out [and] it's fun to socialize with other men, too."

Computer Care:

Everyone has a computer these days; even people who aren't quite ready for the 21st century. This may include your dad. The worst part is, he'll still think he can fix it when things go haywire. To avoid a headache, get Dad a package from Chip Heads that he can use to prevent computer viruses and future expletives.

Chip Heads manager Chuck Whitney notices that a lot of men first try to fix things on their own.
"[Men try to fix things because of] control and frugality," Whitney said. "Why pay someone to do something you should be able to do yourself? Fixing things is man's work."

When that doesn't work, Chip Heads' Virus Protection Package will come in handy. For $288 a year, Dad will benefit from unlimited virus cleaning. While there are ways to protect against viruses, it is inevitable that some infections will sneak through and the package will take care of any excess bugs.

Go in with a sibling on this gift and Dad will be sure to thank you; right after you teach him how to use Google, one more time.

Let Him Kick-Up His Feet:

There's nothing many fathers love more than kicking up their feet and relaxing the afternoon away in front of the game. Though he may love his old recliner, he could probably use a newer and cleaner one.

Dave's Furniture World offers recliners at a discount from most retail rates. Get him one with a cup holder, or a personalized Vikings chair. Dave's will deliver so you won't even need to borrow Dad's truck to get the armchair home. Set it up for Sunday afternoon and have your dad test it out with a nap on his special day.

Plus, we all know there's no better time to hit up Dad for cash than when he's in a relaxing half-nap!
Happy Dad’s Day from Rich field Patch!

Formally dropped criminal charges against bin Laden

The United States has formally dropped criminal charges against former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed in a U.S. military raid in Pakistan last month, formally ending a case against the slain al-Qaida leader that began with hopes of seeing him brought to justice in a civilian court.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan approved a request made by federal prosecutors to dismiss the charges — a procedural move that's routine when defendants under indictment die.

In federal court in Manhattan on Friday, prosecutors disposed of a 1998 indictment that charged bin Laden with murder and conspiracy to kill Americans for his role in attacking U.S. embassies in East Africa in 1998. The indictment also alleged that bin Laden tried to attack U.S. defense assets.

The indictment was later revised to charge bin Laden in the dual bombings of two American embassies in East Africa that killed 224 on Aug. 7, 1998, and in the suicide attack on the USS Cole in 2000. None of the charges involved the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Also named as a defendant was Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian eye doctor and longtime bin Laden deputy who has become al-Qaida's new leader.

Typically, court indictments are dismissed when the defendant dies or is convicted on other unrelated cases. Such requests to drop charges are procedural and routine. Pending federal criminal indictments remain against other top al Qaeda officials and their associates.

The charges included conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction against U.S. nationals and conspiracy to damage and destroy U.S. property.

Around the time the charges were first filed, the CIA's bin Laden unit was pursuing a plan to use Afghan operatives to capture bin Laden and hand him over for trial either in the United States or in an Arab country, according to the 9/11 Commission. Bin Laden evaded capture for more than a decade until May 2, when he was killed during a Navy SEALs raid of his compound in Pakistan.

The court papers filed Friday included a declaration by a Justice Department official detailing the DNA, facial recognition and other evidence confirming bin Laden's identity.

"The possibility of a mistaken identification is approximately one in 11.8 quadrillion," the official wrote.

The document also makes a passing reference to a "significant quantity" of terrorist network material recovered during the raid, including "correspondence between Osama bin Laden and other senior al-Qaida leaders that concerns a range of al-Qaida issues."

Pakistany intelligence Arrest CIA Informants Who Led U.S. to Usama Bin Laden

WASHINGTON -- Pakistan's intelligence service has arrested the owner of a safe house rented to the CIA to observe Usama bin Laden's compound before the U.S. raid that killed the Al Qaeda leader, as well as a "handful" of other Pakistanis, a U.S. official said late Tuesday.

In Pakistan, a Western official confirmed a New York Times report that five of the Pakistani informants who fed information to the CIA before the May 2 bin Laden raid were arrested by Pakistan's top military spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, known as ISI.

The officials spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters.

The Times, in an article posted on its website late Tuesday, said the detained informants included a Pakistani army major who officials said copied the license plates of cars visiting bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad in the weeks before the raid.

The fate of the CIA informants who were arrested was unclear, but American officials told the newspaper that CIA Director Leon Panetta raised the issue when he visited Islamabad last week to meet with Pakistani military and intelligence officers.

In Islamabad, an ISI spokesman, who customarily speaks anonymously, declined to comment.

U.S.-Pakistani relations have been strained over the raid by Navy SEALs on Pakistani territory, which was a blow to Pakistan's military, and other issues. Officials said the arrests of the informants was just the latest evidence of the fractured relationship between the two nations.

The Times said that at a closed briefing last week, members of the Senate Intelligence Committee asked Michael Morell, the deputy CIA director, to rate Pakistan's cooperation with the United States on counterterrorism operations, on a scale of 1 to 10.

"Three," Morell replied, according to officials familiar with the exchange, the newspaper said.

American officials speaking to the Times cautioned that Morell's comment was a snapshot of the current relationship and did not represent the Obama administration's overall assessment.

"We have a strong relationship with our Pakistani counterparts and work through issues when they arise," Marie Harf, a CIA spokeswoman, told the newspaper. "Director Panetta had productive meetings last week in Islamabad. It's a crucial partnership, and we will continue to work together in the fight against Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups who threaten our country and theirs."

Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, said in an interview with the Times that the CIA and the Pakistani spy agency "are working out mutually agreeable terms for their cooperation in fighting the menace of terrorism. It is not appropriate for us to get into the details at this stage."

US warning for Philippines: Issues of terror-related travel

U.S. citizens should "exercise extreme caution" when traveling to the Philippines, the U.S. State Department said Tuesday in a statement.

"Targeted sites may be public gathering places including, but not limited to, airports, shopping malls, conference centers, and other public venues," said the statement.

The warning, which is an update from November, specifies the island of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago as particularly dangerous and at great risk of harboring terrorist activity. Manila might also be included, the statement said.

Because of election-related violence, the Philippine government declared a state of emergency in November 2009 for the Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat provinces, as well as Cotabato City in Mindanao. This state of emergency is still in effect, according to the State Department.

Travelers should be aware of heightened police and military presence in these areas and of kidnap-for-ransom gangs that are active in the Philippines and target foreigners, the department said.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Mindanao is a predominantly Muslim autonomous region, set up in the 1990s to quell armed uprisings by people seeking an independent Muslim homeland in the Philippines, a predominantly Christian country.

Read U.S. State Department's full warning

In November 2009 at least 57 people were killed when their convoy was ambushed in Maguindanao. The former mayor of the province was accused of plotting the deaths to thwart a political rival.

The State Department issued a worldwide caution to warn U.S. citizens that terrorism can happen anywhere and urges those visiting the Philippines to register with the U.S. Embassy to be notified of emergencies, the statement said.

Rising Flag sales, but its not on Flag Day

The flags come to the Windsor American Legion post showing the effects of years of wind and weather. Sometimes, they have damage from wars.

“We get them in all stages, from faded to torn and tattered,” said Cmdr. Jim Cummings.

The Windsor American Legion Post No. 109, 624 Ash St., on Saturday hosted its annual flag retirement ceremony. The Windsor Legion and Cmdr. Dan Barrera have been hosting the ceremony for more than 17 years. Today is Flag Day.

“We usually do the ceremony close to Flag Day, which is June 14,” Barrera said.

This year, they expect to retire more than 100 flags from people all over northern Colorado.

“We mostly retire United States flags, but people will bring Colorado flags, as well as other state flags,” Barrera said. “Every flag should be retired properly, which is why we do all flags.”

He said the correct way to retire a flag is to burn it.

“I hate to burn flags and use that word, but when we retire them, that’s what we have to do,” Barrera said.

Before the flags are retired, Cummings reads a verse about the flags. After that, the group uses sticks to hold the flags over the fire until they are completely burned. While many flags that come to the legion are in disrepair, flags that are still seen as serviceable are saved and used again by the Legion.

Mitt Romney has ever been the sanest motherfucker on a stage: Michele Bachmann

If you watched last night’s insipid GOP debate in New Hampshire, you probably knew what you were gonna see going in: a bunch of rich white people (and the Godfather’s Pizza guy) patting each other on the back, taking potshots at the President, and pulling glittering hypotheticals about the economy, healthcare, and even the space program. The event also marked the first time in his life that Mitt Romney has ever been the sanest motherfucker on a stage.

But amidst the drunken, patriotic circle jerk, you may have heard a shrill chirping emanating from somewhere behind one participant’s hollow, glassy eyes and puppety mouth-hole. If you thought it was some Lovecraftian sprite, chattering in a fell tongue understood only by those who have bathed in madness, you’re pretty close: It was actually insane Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann announcing her candidacy for President of the United States in the 2012 election.

Although she said on The Early Show this morning that she would be “making a formal announcement soon,” it seems like saying that you’re running for President on CNN and then again on CBS 12 hours later is pretty formal, and one could distinctly hear the rattling of chains and the crumbling of tombstones as she spoke.

Between T-Paw’s movie trailers and Mee-Baw’s general horror-show way of being, Minnesotans will have plenty of opportunities to be mortified this campaign season. But we’ll cope with it the way we always do: with shrugs and creative, campaign-themed drinking games.

Syrian town is under control of the Syrian Military

The Syrian military is in complete control of Jisr al-Shugur after entering the northwestern city over the weekend, a network of human rights activists said Monday.

The network -- the Local Coordination Committees of Syria -- reported no new explosions, casualties or detentions in the community since Sunday evening, although it did say that Syrian soliders were searching house-to-house.

At least three people were killed in clashes Sunday, state media reported. One Syrian soldier was killed and four other soldiers injured in the fighting, Syrian state television reported Sunday. The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said two gunmen were killed and "many others" were arrested.

State television said Sunday that military units had entered Jisr al-Shugur to "cleanse the national hospital from the elements of the armed gangs after disabling the explosives and the various TNT devices that these gangs planted on the bridges and roads."

Accounts from the Syrian government have sharply contrasted with reports from residents, who say there are no "armed gangs" in Jisr al-Shugur.

State TV also said Sunday that authorities in the town had found a mass grave containing decapitated and mutilated bodies of members of security forces killed by "armed gangs."

President Bashar al-Assad's regime has consistently blamed armed gangs for the bloodshed. But activists and protesters say security forces have caused the violence.

In a statement released Sunday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned Syria's force against civilians and expressed particular concern about violence in Jisr al-Shugur.

"The Syrian authorities have an obligation to protect their people and respect their rights. The use of military force against civilians is unacceptable," the U.N. statement said.

Many have fled "the Syrian government's military offensive" in Jisr al-Shugur, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement condemning the violence Sunday. In an earlier interview, he called on the U.N. Security Council to take a stand.

"I do believe it is time for the Security Council to make a clear statement of the kind that we're advocating calling on the Syrian Government to respond to legitimate grievances, to release prisoners of conscience, to open up access to the Internet and to cooperate with the U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights," he told Sky News Sunday.

He said he had been trying to garner support from countries represented on the council, but noted that the prospects of passing a resolution were "on a knife edge" -- particularly since U.N. Security Council member Lebanon is a close ally of Syria.

"Close interconnections between the Lebanese government and the Syrian government have made it impossible for Lebanon to take a clear position on this," he told Sky News.

CNN has been unable to independently confirm accounts of the unrest in Syria, as it has not been granted access to the country by the Syrian government.

On Friday, Syrian troops came to the entrances of Jisr al-Shugur in an operation "to restore security and tranquility to the area which was being terrorized by armed terrorist groups," SANA reported.

The Syrian government announced it would push into Jisr al-Shugur after it accused "armed groups" of killing at least 120 security forces there several days ago.

SANA on Sunday also reported that one police officer was killed and another was injured in clashes with "an armed terrorist group" in Idlib province Friday. The government news agency said Syria's army arrested "terrorist groups and snipers" there Saturday.

Police and gunmen also clashed Friday in Homs province, SANA said.

Syrian refugees who fled to Turkey have said some Syrian soldiers rebelled after being ordered to fire on unarmed protesters and instead started fighting among themselves.

The number of Syrians escaping to Turkey has escalated to 4,300, a Turkish official news agency reported over the weekend.

A fourth refugee camp was set up Sunday in Hamza Cisligi, about 100 meters (109 yards) from the Syrian border in Turkey, to take in Syrians who have fled the regime's crackdown.

Halit Cevik, the Turkish foreign ministry's deputy-undersecretary for the Middle East, told the Anadolu news agency Saturday that Turkey has made preparations for more refugees.

Amnesty International said last week it believes more than 1,100 people -- including 82 children -- have been killed in Syria since the crackdown started in mid-March.

Army move displaced await next for Jisr al-Shughour in Syria

Hundreds of Syrians have been massing on the northern border with Turkey, preparing to cross over if the army advances further into the area after seizing the town of Jisr al-Shughour.

Syrian military sources have told the BBC the army plans to move on the nearby town of Maarat al-Numan.

It says it is pursuing armed men who escaped the weekend offensive. State media said there was heavy fighting.

Turkey has already taken in thousands of refugees from northern Syria.

The government said it was trying to restore order after 120 security personnel were killed in Jisr al-Shughour last week.

Residents say they died after a mutiny and fighting between security forces.

Syria has prevented most foreign journalists from entering the country, making it difficult to independently verify reports from there.

Continue reading the main story Watching and waiting.

The BBC's Owen Bennett-Jones, who is on the Turkish side of the border with Syria, says more than 5,000 refugees have registered with officials.

However, another 5,000 have entered the country unofficially, he says, while hundreds more are massed at the border, waiting for the army's next move.

Many of them are reluctant to abandon their vehicles or livestock, our correspondent says, and will only cross if the army advances into the area. Others are waiting for relatives.

Human rights activists and residents said troops began bombarding Jisr al-Shughour early on Sunday.

Helicopter gunships were also seen hovering overhead.

But speaking to the BBC, an army general denied any shelling. The troops were only after those responsible for the killings of security personnel earlier this week, the general insisted.

The army has now taken control of the area.

A BBC Arabic correspondent embedded with the Syrian military says tanks and armoured vehicles have taken up positions inside the town. Buildings still bear the marks of clashes, and wheat fields have been burned.

Still from Syrian TV of what it described as mass grave (credit: AFP/HO/Syrian TV) Syrian TV showed images of what it described as a mass grave in Jisr al-Shughour

However, state media report that only two "armed members of terrorist gangs" were killed in the offensive, while the army says one soldier was killed and four wounded.

A military spokesman told our Arabic correspondent that armed men from Jisr al-Shughour who fled to Maarat al-Numan would be dealt with in a military operation in the next few days.

Separately, the bodies of 10 security personnel were recovered from a mass grave. Correspondents who witnessed the exhumation said four had been beheaded, and most of the bodies were riddled with bullet wounds.

There are continuing but unverifiable reports of army defections, with the latest saying an officer and 50 men had changed sides rather than fire on civilians in Jisr al-Shughour.

'Forced to flee'

US officials say the crackdown has created a humanitarian crisis, and called for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to be given access to Syria.

"No-one is aware of the real magnitude of the problem and this is a big issue, because it does not allow us to know the size of the problem and then to act accordingly," ICRC spokesman Hicham Hassan told the BBC.

On the Turkish side, two camps are already full of refugees and a third is filling up rapidly.

"The situation is grim. People were forced to flee with a few possessions. We are relying on the Turkish authorities for everything," Mohammed, one of those in the border area, told the BBC.

"No-one knows when it will be safe to return to our homes. When we return, people expect to find their homes destroyed and bodies unburied."

Protests against President Assad, who succeeded his father Hafez in 2000, began in mid-March and have spread across the country.

Human rights groups say more than 1,200 people have been killed in the crackdown.

Giffords show smiling her new photos.

The first photographs of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords since she was shot in the head in January show the congresswoman smiling. Gabrielle Giffords were released early Sunday by her office, her hair shorn short but few other telling signs of her gunshot wound to the head.

Taken outside, the photos show her with short hair and wearing glasses. One photo shows her alone, smiling at the camera; in the other, she is sitting alongside another woman.

This photos, taken May 17 outside her Houston hospital, are the first clear snapshots of Giffords since the shooting five months ago during a constituent meet-and-greet in a Safeway parking lot in Tucson.

May 17 was also the day after Giffords, D-Arizona, attended the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour. Her husband Mark Kelly was commander of the mission.

"It was very inspiring to see how much she had recovered in 4 1/2 months," photographer P.K. Weis of SouthwestPhotoBank.com said in a statement. "I was excited to see her and to see her smile. She was glad to see me, was in a good mood, smiling and laughing and seemed to enjoy the experience. I certainly did, too."

The photos showed how far she has come since she was wounded in the left side of her forehead, but her spokeswoman, Pia Carusone, has cautioned that Giffords still has a long way to go in her recovery.

They show the congresswoman outside, the greenery of the hospital lawn in the background. She smiled directly into the camera in one, while in the other she smiled downward as she sat next to her mother, Gloria Giffords.

Giffords has been in a Houston rehab facility since two weeks after the Jan. 8 shooting. Six people were killed and 13 were injured, including Giffords.

Carusone said Friday that Giffords could be released sometime this month.

She said doctors and family are considering "many factors" while making the critical next-step decision to release Giffords from TIRR Memorial Hermann, the hospital where she has been undergoing intensive daily rehabilitation since late January.

"We're looking at before the end of the month. We're looking at early July," Carusone said. "We don't have a date."

But in an interview published this week in the Arizona Republic, Carusone made clear that Giffords remains a shadow of her former self as she has difficulty stringing together sentences and relies heavily on gestures and facial expressions to communicate. She also faces some difficulty in expressing bigger, more complex thoughts, Carusone said.

While Giffords' release from the hospital after five months of intensive inpatient therapy will mark an important step in her recovery, she still must undergo months of outpatient rehabilitation that will include speech, occupational and physical therapy.

Since the shooting, the only time the public has gotten a glimpse of Giffords was April 27 as she boarded a plane to Florida to watch astronaut husband Mark Kelly launch into space. The grainy footage, taken from afar, showed Giffords slowly but purposefully walk up the airplane's stairs.

The newly released photos, shot by Tucson photographer P.K. Weis just before surgery on her skull, provide a much clearer image.

Last month as Kelly was orbiting Earth, doctors repaired Giffords' skull, finally freeing her from wearing a cumbersome protective helmet that her staff members say she hated.

Since the shooting, Giffords has made remarkable strides, requesting her favorite foods, singing her favorite songs, and relearning how to walk and talk, although she struggles to string sentences together.

In an interview with The Arizona Republic published Thursday, Giffords' Chief of Staff Pia Carusone said Giffords' limited speaking ability has led her to rely primarily on facial expressions and hand gestures to communicate.

"She is borrowing upon other ways of communicating. Her words are back more and more now, but she's still using facial expressions as a way to express. Pointing. Gesturing," Carusone said. "Add it all together and she's able to express the basics of what she wants or needs. But, when it comes to a bigger and more complex thought that requires words, that's where she's had the trouble."

Carusone also said that if Giffords' recovery were to plateau now, "it would not be nearly the quality of life she had before."

"All that we can hope for is that she won't plateau today and that she'll keep going and that when she does plateau, it will be at a place far away from here," she said.

Jared Lee Loughner, 22, has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the shooting and is being held at a Missouri facility. A judge declared him incompetent to stand trial, but prosecutors hope his competency can be restored so he can answer for the charges.