Free Republic

WASHINGTON (AFP) – An international team of researchers has found that the atmosphere's ability to cleanse itself of pollutants and other greenhouse gases, except carbon dioxide, is generally stable. The study, published in Friday's edition of the journal Science, comes amid a fierce debate over whether, as some experts believe, the atmosphere's self-cleaning ability was fragile and sensitive to environmental changes. The research team, which was led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), measured levels in the atmosphere of hydroxyl radicals, which play a key role in atmospheric chemistry. Levels of the agent only fluctuated a few percentage...

The Spanish government has said it will allow its military to take control of airspace if air traffic controllers do not return to work. The controllers staged an unofficial walkout over working hours, leaving passengers across the country facing huge disruption. The group called in sick en masse, closing down airspace over Spain - except the southern region of Andalucia. The government has called on controllers to resume work immediately or defence will assume control of the airspace. Airport operator AENA condemned the mass, coordinated action, saying it was an "intolerable" and "irresponsible" act which hit more than 200,000 passengers...

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — An unmanned Air Force space plane that spent seven months in orbit is set to return to Earth. The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle is scheduled to land at Vandenberg Air Force Base northwest of Los Angeles sometime between Friday and Monday, depending on the weather and other factors. The Air Force Space Command said in a statement Tuesday the base has begun preparations for the landing. The X-37B resembles a small space shuttle. Since it launched in April, space enthusiasts have speculated about its ultimate purpose.

This is a satire on trying to open a trucking business in CA.

JOLIET, Ill.- An Illinois roofers' union parked its inflatable rat outside of a Joliet church to protest the facility using non-union workers to do roof work. The Rev. Matthew Robinson of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Joliet said members of the Local 11 roofers' union have been picketing in front of the church and placed a giant inflatable rat -- nicknamed Scabby -- in front of the facility, the Joliet Herald-News reported Friday. "It's just ugly, and all people are seeing right now is a big yellow rat in front of our church," Robinson said. "Golly, we don't need that. That's...

PARIS (Reuters) - French police have arrested an Air France stewardess on suspicion of stealing thousands of euros in cash, cards and jewelry as passengers slept on long haul flights, a newspaper reported on Tuesday. Police investigating thefts over several months on flights between France and the Far East picked up the 47-year old attendant identified as Lucie R. after she landed from Tokyo on Friday, Le Figaro said. "Her bank accounts showed an absurd gap between her lifestyle and her declared income," the newspaper quoted a police investigator as saying. Police launched an investigation in January after about 4,000...

The United States and Japan agreed yesterday to relocate a controversial U.S. air base to a less densely populated area on the Japanese island of Okinawa. The future of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma had been a subject of intense political debate in Japan that led to the possibility of the base being moved off the island entirely, despite a 2006 agreement to relocate it on Okinawa. Talks between Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates for the United States and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa for Japan addressed a range...

BEIRUT, May 26 (KUNA) -- The Lebanese army announced on Wednesday that it launched surface-to-air missiles at Israeli fighter jets that had violated the Lebanese airspace. A statement issued by the army directorate said that the two Israeli jets penetrated Lebanese airspace over the town of Kfar Kila in the south, heading to Shaka town.

The high-profile F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program will be delayed by two years and will be significantly over cost, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said on Tuesday. “We think it is probable that there will be a Nunn-McCurdy breach,” Donley said at a breakfast with defense reporters. The so-called Nunn-McCurdy law requires the military services or the Pentagon leadership to tell Congress when the price tag of a program increases significantly. The Pentagon then must certify to Congress that the program is still worth pursuing.

Just in case you didn't knew why Air America went belly up: because the libs are too smart :) :) :)

It is with the greatest regret, on behalf of our Board, that we must announce that Air America Media is ceasing its live programming operations as of this afternoon, and that the Company will file soon under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code to carry out an orderly winding-down of the business.

On the first day of what was supposed to be tighter screening ordered by the U.S. for airline passengers from certain countries, some airports around the world conceded Monday they had not cracked down. The United States demanded more careful screening for people who are citizens of, or are flying from, 14 nations deemed security risks. But enforcement of the U.S. rules appeared spotty. "Everything is the same. There is no extra security," said an aviation official in Lebanon, one of the countries on the list. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak...

Reports say people flying from Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Yemen and Cuba will have pat-down body searches

The Department of Defense announced today the alert for mobilization of a replacement unit scheduled to deploy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Approximately 2,600 soldiers from the 29th Combat Aviation Brigade, headquartered at Edgewood, Md., will begin deploying in the summer of 2011.

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq, Dec. 3, 2009 – The adage “Send in the cavalry” once referred to soldiers on horseback, riding to the aid of embattled comrades. Today, that same call for backup can be made a lot quicker and with much more devastating effect through the Army’s joint operations. A soldier tries to guide an air weapons team to a target verbally, without marking the target, during training near Contingency Operating Base Basra, Iraq, Nov. 20, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Maurice A. Galloway  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Twelve soldiers from 1st Battalion, 377th Field...

WASHINGTON, D.C. November 13, 2009 -- A group of researchers at the City College of New York is developing a new way to generate power for planes and automobiles based on materials known as piezoelectrics, which convert the kinetic energy of motion into electricity. They will present their concept later this month at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society's (APS) Division of Fluid Dynamics will take place from November 22-24 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. About a half-inch by one inch in size, these devices might be mounted on the roof or tail of a car or...

Travellers to Europe face being treated like drug smugglers as security chiefs are expected to recommend new intrusive security measures. French anti-terror chiefs are expected to propose the new measures, such as full body X-rays or handing in all electronic devices, after a terrorist tried to kill a Saudi prince with a bomb he had inserted into his body. Al Qaeda's latest ploy was first pioneered by Abdullah Hassan al Asiri, who blew himself apart in Jeddah in late August in an attack on Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the Saudi anti-terrorism chief. The 23-year-old terrorist blew himself into 70 pieces...

Iraq has a major problem. Iraq’s air defense is the US Forces in Iraq and those forces are gone at the end of 2011. That region is too dangerous to go without air cover. The earliest that new fighters could start delivering is 2014. Then there is two to three years of training. Iraq cannot afford more than one squadron of fighters per year. It takes a minimum of five squadrons provide Iraq with a basic credible air defense. That means the earliest Iraq could have a basic air defense using new aircraft is after 2020. There are all sorts...

This Iraqi Security Force Update provides a summary of changes to the ISF during August 2009. The Iraqi Security Force Order of Battle as of 31 August 2009 is published at Montrose Toast. Peshmerga Prime Minister Maliki has apparently reached an agreement with Kurdish leaders regarding the status of the Kurdish Regional Guard. According to Member of Parliment Firyad Rawandouzi, from the Kurdistani Alliance, Maliki agreed to absorb the Peshmerga into the “national defense apparatus”. The agreement would facilitate the transfer and commissioning of two new divisions (15th and 16th). The remaining Peshmerga members would either be absorbed into the...