Free Republic

Dan Kendra first entertained the idea of becoming a Navy SEAL when he was in grade school. Classmates dreamed of playing football. Kendra wanted to be a member of an elite special-forces unit. After an injury-plagued football career at Florida State, Kendra was on the verge of making the Indianapolis Colts as a fullback when he walked out of preseason camp. "He said to us, 'You know what? I think this world needs more special-forces guys than NFL guys,'" said his mother, Diane. "It has always been his dream to pursue this. Football picked him; he didn't pick it. But...

WASHINGTON: Amid renewed tension in the subcontinent, aggravated by yet another terrorist massacre in Jammu and Kashmir, a gripping account of the 1999 Kargil episode by a key Clinton aide shows the Pakistan military to be a trigger-happy rogue outfit that deployed nuclear weapons for possible use against India. A reckless Pervez Musharraf, a feckless Nawaz Sharif, a resolute Vajpayee and a principled Bill Clinton are central characters in an unusual policy paper titled "American Diplomacy and the 1999 Kargil Summit at Blair House," by former White House official Bruce Riedel. The paper, presented at the University of Pennsylvania's Center...

UNITED NATIONS, May 7 (UPI) -- With 54 nations abstaining as a protest over what they called an imbalanced resolution, the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday condemned by 74-4 vote Israel's West Bank offensive. The resolution also criticized Israel's failure to cooperate with Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Jenin refugee camp fact-finding team and calls for his own report on Jenin. Following the Arab Group's failure to get similar pro-Palestinian measures through the Security Council because of threats of vetoes from the United States, the Non-Aligned Movement-sponsored the resolution in the 189-member assembly. However, its resolutions are advisory and do not carry...

As it welcomed a new commander Monday, the Air Force Recruiting Service announced it has met its 2002 goal of signing up 37,283 enlistees — the best year since 1986. The service hit its recruiting target about five months before its September fiscal year deadline. Last week, the Air Force topped that goal by signing its 37,294th recruit. This time in 2001, it had signed up only about 94 percent of its recruits for the year, and was just under 5,000 short in 2000. In comparison, the Air Force had to recruit almost twice as many people in 1986 —...

A former chief of the Strategic Air Command predicted today that it is inevitable that the United States will someday face a terrorist attack using such weapons as a small nuclear bomb. Retired Gen. Eugene E. Habiger outlined a chilling scenario in which terrorists detonate a 2-kiloton nuclear bomb that kills and injures thousands, cripples the federal government and sows panic across America. The little bomb in the trunk of a car “is easy to make, is easy to detonate and can cause a lot of damage,” said Habiger, who retired from the military in 1998. “I think it's not...

Recently I was honored to be selected as an Outstanding Famous Celebrity in my Community to be a judge at a chili cook-off because no one else wanted to do it. Also the original person called in sick at the last moment and I happened to be standing there at the judge's table asking directions to the beer wagon when the call came. I was assured by the other two judges that the chili wouldn't be all that spicy, and besides they told me I could have free beer during the tasting, so I accepted this as being one of...

Saddam's Romantic Novel to Hit the Stage BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - A romantic novel apparently written by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) has been adapted for the stage and will be performed this week in the Iraqi National Theater's biggest ever production, officials said. "Zabibah and the King," published over a year ago to rave reviews from the local press, is a tragic tale of a ruler who falls in love with an unhappily married woman. The novel has been adapted by Palestinian-born poet Adeeb Nasir. "It took me one year to read the epic novel ......

Monitoring the sales of common drugs like aspirin or cough syrup might tell authorities when an anthrax attack is in progress, say US scientists. Early detection of disease outbreaks is the holy grail of public health, and has now also become a crucial issue for governments facing the threat of bioterrorism. Statisticians at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania have devised a way of detecting outbreaks by monitoring sales of non-prescription drugs such as cough medicine. In most places, especially countries such as the US where patients rather than government health services pay doctors, people first try to treat most illness...

Looking for FReeper theories on a "what if" situation occurred.Suppose the current conflict in Israel continues to heat up enough to get several Arab nations serious about military interevention on behalf of the Pali's.....#1 Do we get involved militarily?#2 Do we still go after Iraq?#3 How do we respond if the Chinese make their move on Taiwan while we are occupied in the ME?I know this seems pretty far fetched.....but wouldn't this be a worst case scenario?

An assassination attempt against a leading pro-Western Kurdish leader in northern Iraq underscores the risk that the US and its allies are taking as they weigh options to topple Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein. The wily Iraqi leader – long the nemesis of Washington – may not wait for the US and its allies to make the first move. Kurdish sources say that Ansar al-Islam, a radical Kurdish Islamist group, last week targeted Barham Salih –the erudite, pro-Western prime minister of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The group is reportedly supported by Mr. Hussein and has links with Osama bin...

The bloody conflict in the Middle East is again turning some evangelicals to the Bible for texts that speak of a final cosmic battle in those ancient lands. Some scholars and religious leaders warn against being too literal. As with the founding of Israel in 1948, the Six Day War in 1967, and the Persian Gulf war of 1991, the ongoing violence between Israel and Palestinians is making some Christians think of a biblical-scale showdown. "I see Israel as the only nation on Earth with a title deed to any real estate," said Hal Lindsey, who popularized the study of...

WASHINGTON -- Postmaster General John Potter promised the nation today that, following this summer's planned rate increase, postage prices won't rise again for two years. The postal governing board is expected to give final approval next week to a 3-cent rate increase, boosting first-class stamps to 37 cents this summer. Once that increase is in place, Potter said: "I am committed to maintain that rate schedule until at least calendar year 2004." With that promise, he guarantees the agency won't apply for an increase next year. The long and complex process of raising rates means it can take almost a...

HANOVER, Pa. (AP) - Volunteer firefighter Justin Yongue's voice softened, tears rolled down his cheeks, and he began to rock back and forth in his seat as he blamed a series of arsons on someone named Samantha, authorities say. Yongue explained that "Samantha" was one of his personalities, who he treated as a separate person from "Justin," Detective Diane Hugo said. Yongue has claimed that Samantha would drive him to an arson scene and ignite a blaze. Soon after, he would arrive at his fire company hall and get on the first truck out the door to go fight the...

Posted on Wed, Apr. 03, 2002 KC Board of Education approves African-centered middle school By JAMES HART The Kansas City Star The Kansas City school board agreed Tuesday to create an African-centered middle school at its Southeast campus. If everything goes as planned, it will open this fall. The same plan came before the board two weeks ago, but its members wanted more time to consider it. Several black parents at that meeting, upset by the delay, had accused white board members of racial bias and of ignoring parents' concerns. On Tuesday night, after the middle school program was approved,...

Strap-on shark-repelling device launched for swimmers and surfers An Australian company is launching an electronic device that swimmers can wear to repel sharks. Manufacturer SeaChange say the Shark Shield has worked in all its tests, including those on a human. The paperback book-sized device straps on to the thigh. It trails an antenna that emits shark-repelling signals. It repels sharks when they get to within five metres of the swimmer. Ian Gordon, a marine biologist and documentary maker who's been testing the device, told the Sydney Morning Herald: "All life forms give off an electric current - what we'd call...