Free Republic

Phoenix set to land on Mars 05.13.2008 May 13, 2008: NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is preparing to end its long journey and begin a three-month mission to taste and sniff fistfuls of Martian soil and buried ice. The lander is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet on Sunday, May 25th.Phoenix will enter the top of the Martian atmosphere at almost 13,000 mph. In seven minutes, the spacecraft must complete a challenging sequence of events to slow to about 5 mph before its three legs reach the ground. Confirmation of the landing could come as early as 7:53 p.m....

Families stroll the park's sidewalks and picnic in the shade as laughing children clamor to see the main attraction - lions once owned by Saddam Hussein's son, Odai. Damaged after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the Baghdad Zoo has made a startling comeback, and thousands of Iraqis are flocking here to escape the city's grungy streets. The zoo, located in the sprawling Zawra Park in the heart of Baghdad just outside the U.S.-controlled Green Zone, has been held up as an example of American reconstruction efforts. The military brought in new animals, rebuilt damaged exhibits and worked with international zoos and...

Iraqi attitudes continue to shift toward secular values ANN ARBOR, Mich.—The political values of Iraqis are increasingly secular and nationalistic, according to a series of surveys of nationally representative samples of the population from December 2004-March 2007.Findings from a July 2007 survey are expected to be released before the end of the summer. Click image to see slideshow of charts So far, the surveys show a decline in popular support for religious government in Iraq and an increase in support for secular political rule, said sociologist Mansoor Moaddel, who is affiliated with Eastern Michigan University and the University of Michigan...

Hello! Yesterday, I purchased a firearm for personal safety. I'm a lady and tried out at a few different pistols, but finally decided on the Kahr CW9. My better half went with me and made sure I got a good price and all required accessories. He's an experienced gun owner (he mainly carries his P228) and will help me get familiar with and break-in my new pistol. Anyhow, my dilemma is with conceal/carry options. I am applying for my carry permit next week. Are there any recommendations for non-bulky conceal/carry items for women? Purses and bags are OK as long...

Man Accused of Trying to Board Yemen-Bound Plane in Michigan With Knife Hidden in Book ROMULUS, Mich. Sep 9, 2006 (AP)— A man with a one-way ticket to Yemen attempted to board a plane with a knife hidden in a book, authorities said. Mohammed Ghanem, 21, of Hamtramck, was jailed Saturday on $500,000 after being arraigned on a charge of possessing a weapon in the sterile area of an airport. Ghanem was arrested Thursday at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after Transportation Security Administration officers detected the knife "artfully concealed" in the book, airport spokesman Michael Conway said. Someone had carved out...

Conn. City Leaders OK Riverfront Evictions Conn. City Leaders Vote to Evict Residents in Landmark Eminent Domain Dispute NEW LONDON, Conn. - City officials voted to evict two homeowners at the center of an eminent domain battle who refuse to leave their riverfront homes, even after the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling that the city can seize the property for a private development project. The City Council voted 5-2 in favor of eviction Monday. An attorney for the residents said they are considering continuing to fight. "You are a disgrace to the city, the state and the nation," one of...

CLARKSTON, WASH. - Washington smokers facing a ban on lighting up in bars and restaurants are taking their habit - and money - to Idaho. "I've had regular clientele tell me right to my face they're going to Idaho to smoke," Tony Salerno, owner of Hogan's in Clarkston, told the Lewiston Tribune. Washington voters approved Initiative 901 in November, which bans smoking within 25 feet of doorways, windows and air intakes of public places and workplaces. It took effect Dec. 8. That has left some establishments in Washington near the Idaho border having to compete with bars and restaurants in...

PIERCE COUNTY - Prosecutors say Ronald Young, 41, used the email moniker "fosterdad" to post hundreds of pornographic pictures of his foster children on the internet. Police say Young took the photos inside his remote Pierce County home - victimizing every one of his six foster boys between the ages of 5 and 7. Court documents say "some images included the children having intercourse with an adult male." As prosecutor's charged Young with 44 counts of child rape, molestation and exploitation, detectives revealed Young admits he took pictures of his sexual acts with the boys using a digital camera and...

<p>WASHINGTON — A 7-pound block of cyanide salt (search) was discovered by U.S. troops in Baghdad at the end of January, officials confirmed to Fox News.</p> <p>The potentially lethal compound was located in what was believed to be the safe house of Abu Musab Zarqawi (search), a poisons specialist described by some U.S. intelligence officials as having been a key link between deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and the Al Qaeda (search) terror network.</p>

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Dec 15, 2003 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Never mind which Arabs feel joy or disappointment - the real message in Saddam Hussein's capture should not be lost on Middle East leaders who might think to challenge American interests, say experts and analysts who also see in Saddam's dramatic end an opportunity to redraw the politics of the region. Saddam was a leader who once terrified - and shocked - his fellow Iraqis and neighbors with his violent politics and opulent lifestyle. That he looked a broken man when pulled from his underground hiding place was noted both...

PIERCE COUNTY - As many troops reported for duty in Pierce County Saturday, they ran a gauntlet that even caught some of them off guard. It was a massive display of support. "Thank you troops for freedom! We love you!" said one supporter. Troops driving to Camp Murray or Fort Lewis Saturday had not doubt of that love. Supporters packed four different overpasses on I-5, waving American flags and carrying sings of support. "This is what patriotism is all about man, " said one man The biggest crowds gathered at the Berkely street entrance to Camp Murray. Claudia Gaska...

2 firms buy controlling stake in nutritional goods company Two investment firms have acquired a controlling stake in the rapidly growing low-carb food marketing company founded by diet guru Dr. Robert C. Atkins. Seeing long-term growth opportunities, Boston-based Parthenon Capital and Manhattan-based Goldman Sachs Capital Partners have made an unspecified investment in Ronkonkoma-based Atkins Nutritional Inc. The deal announced yesterday, less than two weeks after Atkins' Manhattan medical practice closed its doors for the last time, comes as consumers are beginning to spend freely on an ever-growing array of foods labeled low carb. The investment is essential to drive the...

Large outcrops of a gemstone mineral commonly used in jewellery have been found on the surface of Mars. On Earth, the mineral olivine takes the form of the brilliant green gemstone peridot. An instrument aboard a Nasa spacecraft spotted a 30,000 square kilometre area rich in olivine in the Nili Fossae region of Mars. The mineral, detected by the Mars Global Surveyor, was exposed on the surface. Scientists believe it might have been thrust up from below the ground by faults and fractures that cover the area. Olivine is abundant in the Earth's outer mantle, the layer just below the...

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi police fired warning shots near an unprecedented rights conference on Tuesday to disperse protesters calling for more radical reforms than those planned by the authorities. The rare demonstration, by about 100 people demanding faster reforms and the release of political prisoners, took place one day after the conservative Muslim kingdom announced its first ever elections, joining a regional trend toward cautious experiments with democracy. The calling of elections for local councils next year, and Tuesday's rights conference, follow Western charges that the kingdom's poor human rights record had helped the rise of militant Islamist groups such...

TACOMA - Police in Tacoma have found the body of a man they believe was killed by a disabled homeowner, after he attempted to rob the bedridden man in his Tacoma home Monday afternoon. A 64-year-old man, reportedly a paraplegic, told authorities he heard someone enter his house in the 600 block of 88th Street at about 12:30 p.m. That's when he armed himself with his gun. When the masked intruder entered his bedroom, the man fired at least one shot at the suspect, who fled from the home. Jim Mattheis, Tacoma police spokesman, said investigators followed the blood trail...

BANI MAQEM, Iraq -- A hilltop position where Iraqi forces had menaced Kurdish civilians for years fell Thursday, after several days of bombing by the U.S. military. Villagers and militiamen celebrated after Kurdish military commanders confirmed the Iraqis had abandoned the checkpoint and surrounding bunkers by mid-afternoon. The retreat came less than a day after U.S. paratroopers landed in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq, opening a new front against Saddam Hussein's forces.

HONG KONG, Mar 24, 2003 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- A mystery disease spread new fears across Asia on Monday as Singapore quarantined hundreds of people, and Hong Kong and Vietnam reported more deaths amid closed schools and growing fear. At the same time, scientists in Geneva and the United States said they believe the cause of the flu-like ailment that has stymied them for weeks could be one of the viruses that causes the common cold. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday that evidence is mounting the cause is a coronavirus, a bug that can...

BELLEVUE - Thousands rallied in downtown Bellevue Saturday in the biggest pro-troops demonstration yet in Western Washington. The demonstrations have regularly taken over the intersection of 4th and Bellevue Way NE on Saturdays. This time organizers estimate 5,000 people lined the intersection and a half block in each direction with American flags, pro troops signs, and a variety of reasons why they were there. "Because I'm a veteran and I wish I'd had this in Vietnam," said William Ball of Everett. "I support our troops 100%." "I mean we love our country and we know what our good President...

MANAMA March 11. Faced with serious diplomatic setbacks in the last one week, the United States may be considering launching an attack against Iraq, mainly on its own steam, soon. According to diplomatic sources, the U.S. maybe losing patience with diplomacy for obtaining the United Nations' sanction for an attack. Two crucial developments have taken place recently that could persuade Washington that it should consider attacking Iraq quickly, even if the U.N. does not endorse the use of force, sources say. First, there are clear signs that France and Russia may not hesitate to veto a fresh "war" resolution on...

ADELAIDE, Australia, Mar 07, 2003 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Australia has expelled an Iraqi diplomat because of security concerns, Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said Saturday. Downer said Ibrahim Aares had until Wednesday to leave Australia. "We have reason to believe that he's associated with the Iraqi Intelligence Agency and he is assessed by our agency as an Iraqi intelligence officer. His activities are incompatible with a status of a diplomat," Downer told reporters in the southern city of Adelaide. "We do have real security concerns about his activities and our decision is based in particular on an assessment...