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The caption on the above photo reads: President Obama and former President George W. Bush greet family members of the deceased. Bush read a letter from President Abraham Lincoln (who) wrote to a widow who lost sons in the Civil War: Mary Altaffer/The Associated Press (hat tip Boq) The picture says it all. When President Bush spoke at the official ceremonies of the tenth anniversary of the 911 attacks, he was met with applause and warmth from the families. When Obama spoke, there was silence (just as with Mayor Bloomberg). The animus was palpable. UPDATE: Wait, there's more to turn...

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland/Scots-troops-find-Afghans-love.6647111.jp

A highly unusual series of concerts occurred in relation to the New Hampshire Highland Games last weekend ( Sept 17th, 18th and 19th), annually held at Loon Mountain Ski Resort, located in Lincoln New Hampshire. What was unusual is that three schools of music and performing arts gathered amateur students together across the Atlantic ocean for a collaboration of young musicians, from the Scottish Royal Academy of Music and Drama ( Glasgow), The Strathclyde College of Performing Arts, and the Berklee College if Music ( Boston). The twenty or so young people first met each other on Wednesday the 15th...

I watched the Restoring Honor Rally on CSpan. Based on their video coverage, I was under the impression only one bagpipe player was present at the event. What a great song and you need to see this from TheDailyBeck channel on YouTube if like me, all you saw was the CSpan coverage.

Someone asked earlier today if the theory of global warming has been finally discredited. I posted this clip which I think is one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen. The answer is "no." Some things never die. No matter how stupid an idea, a theory, a philosophy, it will get recycled at some point. As humans, we do not learn from the lessons of history. Often, we even fail to learn from our own personal experiences. Of course, a self-absorbed, scene-stealing actor aids and abets in these fruitless enterprises. So, I offer this pictorial tribute to Al Gore...

Pipes and Drums of FreeRepublic Tartan Day 2009?

Their high-pitched skirl has put fear into the hearts of Scotland’s enemies and sent sensitive tourists reaching for the cotton wool. Now, however, the bagpipes are to be quietened by an edict from Brussels. From this month, pipers must adhere to strict volume limits or risk breaking European Union health and safety laws. Bands have been ordered to tone down or wear earplugs to limit noise exposure to 85 decibels. Typically, a pipe band played at full volume peaks at 122 decibels outdoors, noisier than the sound of either a nightclub or a chainsaw, which rises to 116 decibels. The...

Highland bagpipe is a recent invention for nostalgic Scotish émigrés, expert claims By Patrick Sawer Last Updated: 9:34am BST 19/04/2008 Whisper it if you dare, but the age-old Highland bagpipe - beloved of sentimental Scots and American tourists in search of their Highland roots - is in fact a recent invention. Queen Victoria appointed a 'personal piper to the sovereign' A controversial new study has claimed that far from being the time-honoured instrument which led the clans into battle against the Auld Enemy, the bagpipe as we know it was developed in the early 1800s. It now seems that, like...

THEY were once outlawed for being used as seditious weapons of war. Now, bagpipes have been blasted as an environmental menace. Over-intensive logging means that the African wood used to make Scotland's national instrument faces being wiped out. Conservation groups are letting out skirls of protest, urging musicians and instrument manufacturers to make sure their pipes come from eco-friendly sources. As part of the campaign, Scots are being asked to fund the planting of "bagpipe trees" in a bid to atone for the environmental damage.

The Pipes and Drums of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, Scotland's only remaining tank regiment, have signed a £1 million record deal with Universal Music to record an album of songs which is set to storm the charts in time for Christmas. The new album includes versions of Paul McCartney's Mull Of Kintyre and Rod Stewart's Sailing as well as traditional Scottish ballads such as Amazing Grace along with film themes including The Last of The Mohicans, Dances with Wolves, Watership Down and Sharpe. The 24 pipers and drummers are part time musicians and fulltime soldiers. Military piping originated in...

Addi's Inflatable Minute brings us a wild musical instrument that's powered by a balloon and a foot pump and made out of PVC pipe and clothespins. Invented by Aaron Wendell, a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Balloon Organ makes a mournful bagpipe-like sound we found quite pleasant. Each note is bendable, so a variety of satisfying and sometimes dissonant sounds ensue. Notice Fran, the balloon organist who is capable of extracting some rather arty sounds from the thing. Remarkable. [Gear Wire, via Boing Boing]

GLASGOW, Scotland, Aug. 12 Scottish bagpipers were shut out of the top three spots in this year's World Pipe Bands Championships. The winner was the Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band from Northern Ireland. The Irish pipers took first place in all three sections of the competition -- march, strathspey and reel and medley, The Scotsman reported. Two Canadian bands, the Simon Fraser University Band and the Scottish Lion 78th Fraser Highlanders, came in second and third. Scottish bands placed fourth and fifth. An estimated 8,000 pipers and drummers, playing in more than 200 bands from as far away as Pakistan,...

A tribute to our fighting men & women

FREE REPUBLIC NASCAR THREAD Goody's Cool Orange 500Martinsville Speedway Welcome all to the the 6th Nextel Cup race at Martinsville Speedway!(Click on the highlighted links for related news & info.) Earnhardt, Gordon On Tap For Martinsville Spring Fan Zones Petty named Martinsville Cup race Grand MarshalGoody's Cool Orange 500/Kroger 250 Weekend Schedule Jayski's NASCAR Related TV Listings Current & Historical Track infoAnd even more track history & infoTrack Details:Degree of Banking: Turns: 12 degrees Straights: 800 feetGrandstnd Seating: 91,000Pit Stalls: 43 pits, 14-feet wide by 28-feet long Ridgeway Clock Helps Martinsville Speedway Celebrate 60th BirthdayThe long tradition will continue...

Haven't seen this posted before... You'll probably enjoy it more if you like Country & Western music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjbLYinhHZM

EDINBURGH, Scotland, July 23 (UPI) -- Scottish health officials are putting new restrictions on how long people can play bagpipes, because excessive use of the instrument can damage hearing. The new guidelines suggest that pipers should play for a maximum of 24 minutes a day outside and only 15 minutes a day in a practice room, The Scotsman reported. The bagpipe, in addition to being a very loud instrument, is also an enduring cultural symbol in Scotland. Scottish soldiers have been known to scare off enemies with noise from bagpipes. Although military officials support the guidelines -- saying they are...

Last night WRTI-FM's Bob Perkins announced the death of a Philly original. Rufus Harley is credited as the first jazz musician to pick the Scottish bagpipes as his instrument. You might have heard his distinctive drone on CDs by The Roots (Do You Want More?!!!??!) and Laurie Anderson (Big Science). If you ever saw a picture of him, it would stick. He cut a distinctive swath. So did his music. I talked to his son, Messiah Harley, the trumpeter, this morning. He said his father had prostate cancer, but never let on to anyone that he was hurting. "He...

All, as noted in the thread Prayer requested for Sionnsar's family, I have a new, quite significant, and high priority pull on my time that will continue for an indefinite period of time. I will do what I can, and newheart and Huber long ago volunteered to help out with posting and pinging the Traditional Anglican ping list during my times away (traveling). Unfortunately I think these two are even busier than your truly --- but we'll do what we can to keep the Traditional Anglican ping list going. For the Washington State ping list I have mostly been pinging...

AR RAMADI, Iraq (April 9, 2006) -- Cpl. Matthew E. Bucceri has something to pipe about. He’s played his bagpipes for the entire city of Ramadi. Bucceri, a 29-year-old infantryman, made his way onto the roof of the Government Center, one of the most dangerous spots in Ramadi, and played the “Marines’ Hymn” through the building’s loudspeaker system, April 3. His music could literally be heard across Ramadi. “I’m all about playing the bagpipes anywhere,” said Bucceri, from East Rutherford, N.J. “I love playing the instrument and I especially love playing for the Marines.” Bucceri worked as an electrician all...

A teenager has been told to pipe down by his local council - literally! Andrew Caulfield, 13, from Paisley in Scotland, was told to keep quiet after his neighbours complained about him playing the bagpipes in his garden. The council decided to take action after everyone in his street signed a petition to get him to stop. But his mum, Elaine, is angry, because Andrew is taking part in a scheme run by the same council to encourage kids to take up the traditional instrument. She accused the council of being "two-faced" because they also wanted him to take...

It's not a typical deployment. Lt. Col. Michael Conner is headed to Afghanistan on Friday for a nine- to 12-month assignment. He's taking his camouflage kilt, a bagpipe chanter and if he has time, he may try to learn some of the local languages in the Kabul area. And the Army isn't telling him to go. He volunteered. Conner's been in the Army since 1985 and went active duty in the reserves in 1992. He's been working in the Fort Wainwright Directorate of Contracting for the last five years. Conner said he's thought about volunteering for an assignment for a...

GLASGOW, Scotland, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- One of Scotland's leading bagpipes manufacturers is marching to the oblivion of liquidation. Hardie and Weatherston was founded in 1950 by champion bagpipers Bob Hardie and John Weatherston. The company's pipes were awarded a royal warrant, featured in a hit Paul McCartney song, "Mull of Kintyre" and played by military pipe bands from Scotland to India. In fact, Hardie pipes are the equivalent of Steinway pianos, Robbie Wallace, principal of the Scottish Piping College, told the BBC. But the company, sold to a new owner last year, has fallen on hard times. Maureen Leslie,...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (July 5, 2005) -- As the sun begins to set around camp here, the musical tones of bagpipes can be heard and service members gather to enjoy traditional songs. Lt. Col. Patrick J. Carroll, foreign area officer, G-5, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Headquarters Group, II MEF (Forward), has been mastering the art of the legendary bagpipes. “I actually play highland bagpipes,” said the Shrewsbury, Mass., native. “I started playing them about 10 years ago.” The Irish descendent takes his pipes wherever he treks, even on deployments. “That’s the mark of a piper, you’ve always got to take...

SIERRA VISTA - The green-clad and kilted folk of Sierra Vista tinkered down Fry Boulevard in perfect parade weather during the sixth-annual St. Patrick's Day Parade on Saturday. Participants from U.S. Border Patrol agents to youngsters seemed to enjoy themselves. Sierra Vista Irish-American Committee director Gerry Campbell said the annual parade is essentially the whole reason for his committee. There were 40 parade entries registered by Saturday morning. "And then, sometimes, people just show up. We just squeeze 'em in there at the end," Campbell said. The Cochise College Irish literature class joined in the morning's march. Class instructor Mary...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Nov. 06, 2004) -- Amid the thunder of artillery and weapons fire, pipers are heard around Camp Fallujah blaring melodies from their age-old Celtic instruments. Every day Lt. Col. Paul Sweeney, judge advocate lawyer, and Sgt. Steven Ammer, motor transportation specialist, hone their piping skills, unknowingly raising spirits as their tunes float on the wind to fellow Marines throughout the base. “For me playing the bagpipes is just relaxing,” said Ammer. “Since I’ll be out here for seven months I figured I’d get some practice, so I had my wife mail my bagpipes to me. I feel...

ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) -- Bagpipes are seldom, if ever, heard at the L.C. Smith Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. But the man playing them Monday, 1st Sgt. Dwayne Farr of the U.S. Marines, had just come home from a place where they were just as unlikely to be heard: Fallujah, Iraq. Farr unpacked his bagpipes in the baggage claim area, assembled them and performed the "Marine Corps Hymn" and "Amazing Grace." The Marine Corps flag was mounted on a pipe as he played. Afterward, some people shook Farr's hand; one man said, "I'm proud of you." Farr, 38, of Detroit,...

ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) — Bagpipes are seldom, if ever, heard at the L.C. Smith Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. But the man playing them Monday, 1st Sgt. Dwayne Farr of the U.S. Marines, had just come home from a place where they were just as unlikely to be heard: Fallujah, Iraq. Farr unpacked his bagpipes in the baggage claim area, assembled them and performed the "Marine Corps Hymn" and "Amazing Grace." The Marine Corps flag was mounted on a pipe as he played. Afterward, some people shook Farr's hand; one man said, "I'm proud of you." Farr, 38, of Detroit,...

Prev. | Start | Next Thu Apr 15, 2:59 PM ET 1st Sgt. Dwanyne Farr from Detroit Mich. plays the bagpipes in Fallujah, Iraq (news - web sites) Thursday, April 15, 2004. Farr brought the Scottish wind instrument on deployment to wartorn Iraq to bolster the morale of his troops from the 1st Battalion 5th Marine Regiment, currently fighting in Fallujah.(AP Photo/John Moore)

Jetport shutdown blamed on bagpipe A long line of confused passengers wound through the Portland International Jetport Tuesday morning, many of them waiting to go through security checks for a second time. "My flight was cancelled so I had to come back, come back downstairs, get a new flight... now I'm going through again," said Brian Thibeault. The cause was a device that looked like a pipe bomb. It was an electronic bagpipe chanter packed in PVC pipe. Jetport officials say the passenger could have avoided this incident altogether just by simply pointing out the item to screeners up...

Bagpipes hit sour note for hearingFOR many a Scots regiment, the Highland bagpipe was as potent in the advance toward battle as artillery and rifles. But a survey conducted by Piper & Drummer magazine has revealed the resonating force of the pipes can damage more than the morale of enemy troops. Half of those surveyed reported hearing loss and repetitive strain injuries after years of playing. Some 10 per cent also reported that their passion for the pipes had led to the break-up of marriages, while 84 per cent claimed to know pipe-band members who are alcoholics. The news comes...

Soldiers of the Black Watch wait beside their vehicles for the order to advance into the heart of the city.THE Iraqis were hiding in a bunker at the side of the road when the tanks first spotted them. There were four of them, waiting at a crossroads in the Al Hadi area of Basra, slotting another rocket-propelled grenade into their launcher to fire at the advancing British troops. The request to engage came over the commanding officer’s radio. A moment’s pause, and then the reply crackled back: "You are now clear to engage the bunker with four men with HESH...

Reading A_Conservative_in_Cambridge's question about FReeper musicians (noting how the Left likes to turn out with their silly little drums), in his excellent report on the Rally in Harvard Square (that's right!), I got to wondering how many pipers and Scottish drummers there are among Freepers (I know of one locally). This would be an excellent opportunity to put down the Left even further, by turning out for rallies.