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WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2005 – President Bush remembered America's deployed servicemembers who he said are "serving the cause of peace" during the Dec. 1 Christmas Pageant of Peace and lighting of the national Christmas tree here. "We ask for God to watch over our men and women in uniform who are serving overseas," Bush said during the ceremony on the Ellipse. "Their families miss them, hold a seat open for them and pray for their safe return." America's men and women stand for freedom and serve the cause of peace, he said. "Many of them are serving in distant lands...

U.S. Soldiers Tackle Terrorists During Raid Task Force Baghdad soldiers detain four suspected terrorists during a raid in east Baghdad. By U.S. Army Maj. Russ Goemaere 2nd Brigade Combat Team BAGHDAD, Iraq, Nov. 7, 2005 — Task Force Baghdad soldiers from 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery, following a tip from an Iraqi citizen, detained four suspected terrorists during a raid Nov. 5 in east Baghdad. The four suspects are thought to be part of a ring with ties to foreign terrorist groups planning attacks against Coalition Forces. No shots were fired in the operation and there were no casualties....

11/2/2005 - MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. (AFPN) -- They enjoyed long walks on the beach, romantic dinners and winds of 159 miles per hour? Master Sgt. Leon Palmer and his new bride, Staff Sgt. Rena Palmer, both members of 22nd Security Forces Squadron, had an unexpected visitor during their honeymoon earlier this month in Cancun, Mexico. “We were in Cancun for four beautiful days when another hotel guest approached us on the beach and told us we might be evacuating to a shelter because of a hurricane,” said Master Sgt. Palmer. “We hadn’t been keeping up with the news...

ROYAL AIR FORCE STATION MILDENHALL, England, Oct. 24, 2005 – For one participant in the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, the visit here Oct. 21 wasn't just an introduction to the Air Force; it was a mini family reunion. William Transier, co-chief executive officer and director of the Endeavour International Corp. in Houston, got to meet up with his nephew, Air Force 1st Lt. Scott Morrison, a co-pilot with the 351st Air Refueling Squadron here. Transier said he knew Morrison was assigned to Mildenhall, but didn't know that this base was the one JCOC would be visiting. "When I saw the...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2005 – Members of Joint Task Force Guantanamo are ensuring detainees get special consideration for religious requirements of observing Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, which began Oct. 4 and runs to Nov. 3 this year. Most observant Muslims fast from sunup to sundown during Ramadan, and food-service officials at the U.S. military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are providing pre-dawn and midnight meals to help the detainees observe their customs during this holy period, the joint task force's food-service officer explained. Breakfast, which might normally be served around 7 a.m., is now served at 4 a.m....

AR RAMADI, Iraq (Oct. 22, 2005) -- Two platoons from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, along with two Army units and a company from the Iraqi Security Force, took part in Operation Bowie, Oct.2 through the 4 in order to disrupt insurgent positions in southern Ar Ramadi. The operation, which was the first major operation conducted by the battalion since arriving in Iraq a few weeks ago, was the first to be held in the known insurgent stronghold of the Humara District since the Marines of 1st Battalion, 5th Marines patrolled the area in July. “We conducted a cordon and...

AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 18, 2005 ) -- Marines from throughout 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) put their regularly duties on hold and took an active role in safely transporting Iraqi poll workers during the Iraqi Constitution referendum. Operation Liberty Express ended Oct. 18, as the successful Iraqi poll workers and the cast ballots flew out of Al Asad, Iraq, and into history. The Marines, who spent days and nights making sure the vote was able to happen safely were finally able to get some rest. “First couple of nights we worked for 18 straight hours,” said Staff Sgt. William...

SAN FRANCISCO (NNS) -- The Friends of the Fleet Foundation of San Francisco welcomed Sailors for Fleet Week at the San Francisco City Hall Oct. 9 with a special "Most Valuable Player Luncheon." Guest speakers Tom Brady Sr. (father of New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Jr.) and Rick Ambrose (from event sponsor Lockheed Martin) mingled with the specially-invited Sailors and Coast Guardsmen, and Ambrose related stories of valor from all the nation's sea services. "Our goal is to salute our Sailors and just say 'thank you,'" said Steve Ware, one of the event organizers. "Anything we can do to...

Potentially affecting taxpayers in Arizona and at least 12 other states, thousands of tax payments and other correspondence sent to the Internal Revenue Service were dumped into San Francisco Bay in an automobile accident. Approximately 30,000 estimated quarterly tax payments sent to an IRS post office box in San Francisco in early September were ejected into the bay from a contract courier vehicle involved in the Sept. 11 accident, the IRS said in a "problem alert" statement issued Friday.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2005 – Because "democracy means failure for the insurgency" in Iraq, terrorists are employing violence across Iraq in an effort to derail the democratic process, a senior military Multinational Force Iraq spokesman told reporters today during a Baghdad news conference. Terrorists in Iraq are known to ratchet up their activities, like the recent spate of deadly car bombings in Baghdad, when specific progress is being made in remaking Iraq into a free and democratic nation, Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch explained. "These spikes of violence are predictable around the times that highlight progress towards democracy," Lynch said....

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. (AFPN) -- Hurricane Katrina’s awesome power could not keep a baby from making her debut at the medical center here during a cesarean section illuminated by a ring of flashlights. “Our team delivered a healthy, robust baby girl -- definitely not a shrinking violet,” said Maj. Betsy Majma, a nurse anesthetist. “She came into the world screaming, even before she was fully delivered. Except for the venue and circumstances, it ended up being a routine C-section -- 23 minutes, skin to skin.” The Aug. 29 birth was coordinated by a team of about 50 medics...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1, 2005 – The National Guard troops reporting for duty in the Gulf region to help maintain security are trained professionals, many who serve as civilian law enforcement officers when not on military duty, the chief of the National Guard Bureau told reporters today. Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum said the Guard forces aren’t simply troops with no police skills pulled into the mission; they’re bringing solid expertise to the mission and an understanding that they’re supporting existing law enforcement authorities, not replacing them. “They are military police, trained badge-carrying law enforcement officers that discharge their duties...

"We don't know if that's going to affect (relations) with the Russian Orthodox church. The future will show," Interfax new agency quoted Patriarch Alexy II as saying. Metropolitan Kirill, a senior official in the Russian Orthodox church, attended the meeting with Benedict on Alexy's behalf. Alexy ruled out the possibility of inviting Benedict to Russia in the near future, calling on the new pope to address the proselytizing of Orthodox followers by Catholic missionaries that he alleges went on during John Paul's reign. These accusations led Alexy to block John Paul from visiting Russia in 2004, ending the late pontiff's...

Dog Praised For Waking Women During Fire POSTED: 2:26 pm EST February 14, 2005 GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Firefighters in Greensboro are praising a dog for alerting two women to a fire in their home early Monday morning. Authorities said Rebecca Hanlin and Dorcas Ellis were asleep when the dog, named Bam, began barking constantly. The barking awakened the women and alerted them to the fire, allowing them to leave the house without harm. "If he wouldn't have woke me up, I wouldn't be here," Hanlin told WXII 12 News. "I'm pretty sure of that." The fire started at about 4:40...

A HERO SALUTES Casey Owens, a wounded Marine, salutes as his mother Janna Owens cries during the inaugural speech by President Bush. The president pledged to work to heal a country divided by the Iraq war. "We have known divisions, which must be healed to move forward in great purposes, and I will strive in good faith to heal them."      

Woman died during gov't-backed AIDS study Joyce Ann Hafford died without ever holding the son she had tried to save from contracting AIDS (news - web sites) by taking an experimental drug regimen administered by government-funded researchers during her pregnancy. But even before her stunned family could grieve, the 33-year-old's death was reverberating among the government's top scientists in Washington. They quickly realized the drugs the HIV (news - web sites)-positive woman from Memphis, Tenn., was taking likely caused the liver failure that killed her. Reports of her declining health were being monitored in late July 2003 at the...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

BOSTON (Oct. 22) -- Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said he was considering banning alcohol sales near Fenway Park during the World Series, following rowdy celebrations of the Red Sox's league championship that turned deadly when a police officer shot a projectile into a crowd. Menino planned to meet with bar and nightclub owners on Friday and also said he would press universities to expel students found guilty of criminal conduct in the melee. "Since people won't accept responsibility, I, as mayor, will take it into my own hands," Menino said. Emerson College student Victoria Snelgrove, 21, died on Thursday, hours...

Until modern times, there existed no form of legitimacy in the Middle East outside of Islam. Rulers ruled in the name of God; assassins struck them down in the name of God. The assassinations of the early caliphs and the struggle between the Sunni rulers and the Assassins in the Middle Ages took precisely this form: each side claimed to act in accord with divine will, revealed in divine texts. Religion played a crucial role in the rationale of assassination, but it also played a crucial role in the rationale of government, law, and warfare—indeed, of everything. This invocation of...

Coast Guard says 600-plus personnel to provide security during convention By Associated Press Tuesday, June 29, 2004 BOSTON - The U.S. Coast Guard will deploy more than 600 men and women in air, land and sea patrols around Boston Harbor during next month's Democratic National Convention, officials said Tuesday. Boats ranging from rigid-hulled inflatables to a 270-foot cutter will patrol the harbor and offshore areas, with the cutter's crew randomly boarding commercial ships for security checks. Officials would not say how many vessels would be on patrol, except to say it would be more than usual. Coast Guard helicopters will...