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Dozens of US cities may have entire neighbourhoods bulldozed as part of drastic "shrink to survive" proposals being considered by the Obama administration to tackle economic decline... Having outlined his strategy to Barack Obama during the election campaign, Mr Kildee has now been approached by the US government and a group of charities who want him to apply what he has learnt to the rest of the country. Mr Kildee said he will concentrate on 50 cities, identified in a recent study by the Brookings Institution, an influential Washington think-tank, as potentially needing to shrink substantially to cope with their...

Of all the wonders in The Palace of the Great Khan, the silver fountain most captivated the visiting monk. It took the shape of "a great silver tree, and at its roots are four lions of silver, each with a conduit through it, and all belching forth white milk of mares," wrote William of Rubruck, a Franciscan friar who toured the Mongol capital, Khara Khorum, in 1254. When a silver angel at the top of the tree trumpeted, still more beverages spouted out of the pipes: wine, clarified mare's milk, a honey drink, rice mead -- take your pick... in...

In his final televised speech to the Iraqi people in 2003, Saddam Hussein denounced the invading Americans as "the Mongols of this age," a reference to the last time infidels had conquered his country, in 1258. But the comparison isn't very apt — unlike the Mongols, the Americans don't have the organizational genius of Genghis Khan. In the 13th century, Temujin — better known by his title, Genghis Khan ("world leader") — headed a tribal nation smaller than the workforce of Wal-Mart, yet he conquered and ruled more people than anyone in history. After Genghis Khan's death, his grandson, Hulegu,...

An ancient female skeleton discovered along the Tuul River, some 55 kilometers outside Ulaanbaatar, may be more remarkable for when she lived rather than who she was. After examining earrings and rings discovered amongst the remains, Kh. Lkhagvasuren, an archaeologist who heads the Mongolian Historical and Cultural Heritage Center, said this week that the woman was likely a contemporary of Chinggis Khaan... While an examination of the skeleton -- specifically the skull and waist -- revealed that it belonged to a teenage female, not much else is known about the young woman's life. The body was buried in a wooden...

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 29 (OneWorld) - U.S. war veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have announced they're planning to descend on Washington, DC this March to testify about war crimes they committed or personally witnessed in Iraq. "The war in Iraq is not covered to its potential because of how dangerous it is for reporters to cover it," said Liam Madden, a former Marine and member of the group Iraq Veterans Against the War. "That's left a lot of misconceptions in the minds of the American public about what the true nature of military occupation looks like." Iraq Veterans Against the...

BEIJING, Aug 30 (AP) -- Gay sex was punishable by death under Genghis Khan's rule. That was among the findings of Chinese researchers who spent more than a year compiling the legendary Mongolian conqueror's code of laws, the official Xinhua News Agency said Thursday. His early 13th century empire stretched across Asia all the way to central Europe. Article 48 of the code said men who "committed sodomy shall be put to death," according to experts at a research institute in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia. The experts at the Research Institute of Ancient Mongolian Laws and Sociology said...

From outcast nomad to tribal warlord and finally founder of the world's greatest land empire, Genghis Khan went through a lot of changes in a tumultuous life spanning the end of the 12th century and the beginning of the 13th. But perhaps the strangest transformation ever undergone by the Mongolian military genius has come in modern times: his reinvention as a Chinese hero. “Genghis Khan was certainly Chinese,” says Guo Wurong, general manager of the Genghis Khan Mausoleum Tourist District in China's Inner Mongolia region. “We currently define him as a hero of the Mongolian nationality, a great man of...

Mural of Genghis Khan's funeral found Dec. 26, 2006 at 12:09PM A painting of a Mongolian funeral ceremony in the Arjai caves in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region might depict Genghis Khan's funeral. The mural in one of the caves at the Arjai Grotto is about 20 inches long and 14 inches wide, the Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday. The painting depicts a Mongolian funeral where a man is held above a funeral pit by white cranes, said Pan Zhaodong, a researcher from the Social Science Academy of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. One well-dressed onlooker could very well...

Genghis JOHN for KHAN Viet Cong Veterans for John Kerry

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia -- Mongolia's legislature on Thursday began debating a law on regulating the use of Genghis Khan's name to protect the memory of the legendary conqueror. The name of the isolated Asian nation's favorite son is on more than half a dozen brands of vodka and beer and other products. ''We are not showing enough respect to Genghis Khan,'' said lawmaker E. Bat-Uul. ''We tend to use his name more on vodka bottles. If today somebody produces toilet paper with Genghis Khan's name, we do not know what to do about it as currently there is no law.''...

He's one of the most famous names of the last millennium, and he's the father of his country, which turns 800 years old this year. That's why the D.C. region's Mongolian community would like to see a statue erected of Genghis Khan, the George Washington of Mongolia.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., got a little hot under the collar about Rush Limbaugh's analysis today suggesting Republicans are better friends for Israel than Democrats. "Rush Limbaugh s ignorance and willingness to divide Americans knows no bounds," Kerry said in a formal statement on his website just hours after the show ended. "His latest statement about Israel is beyond offensive to all of us who have fought to protect Israel in the face of enemies committed to its destruction." What did Limbaugh say that got Kerry so bent out of shape? Limbaugh said the most frequent guest in the Clinton...

"Genghis Khan introduced papermaking and printing technologies to Europe and pioneered cultural exchanges between Asia and Europe," it quoted Zhu Yaoting, a specialist on Mongolian history at Beijing Union University, as saying. "He brought cultural progress that helped liberate the Europeans from the bondage of theology -- in this sense, his expeditions served as a catalyst for the Renaissance," he said. Genghis Khan's expeditions to Europe also reopened the Silk Road and laid the path for Marco Polo's historic trip to China. "The expedition revived the ancient trade link and made economic and cultural exchanges possible again between the isolated...

Soldier fulfilling promise to deliver Afghani rug to president BY BECKY MALKOVICH, THE SOUTHERN U.S. Army Lt. Col. Grayson Gile of Marion holds up a rug that he received while serving in Afghanistan as a member of the Combined Joint Special Operation Task Force. The men that gave it to him asked if he could get the rug to President Bush, who is depicted in the center of the rug.(STEVE JAHNKE/THE SOUTHERN) MARION - Grayson Gile may have completed his broader mission in Afghanistan as a member of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, but he returned stateside with...

"The Zionists think that they are victims of Hitler, but they act like Hitler and behave worse than Genghis Khan," Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday. He was quoted by the Iranian News Agency. Earlier, Iran denied Israeli claims that it had troops in Lebanon and that it helped Hizbullah to attack an Israeli warship, saying the guerrilla group could fend for itself without outside help. OC Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Udi Adam said that Iranian troops are helping Hizbullah guerrillas fire Iranian-made rockets at Israel. Adam said Israeli forces had identified Iranian troops. "There are no (Iranian) guards there....

A US accountant has proof that he is descended from the Mongol warlordTHEY seem the unlikeliest of relatives. One was a fearsome warlord whose name became a byword for savagery. The other is a mild-mannered accountancy academic from Florida. Yet Tom Robinson, 48, has become the first man outside Asia to trace his ancestry directly to Genghis Khan, the 13th-century Mongol leader whose empire stretched from the South China Sea to the Persian Gulf. And, since his paternal great-great-grandfather emigrated to the United States from Windermere, Cumbria, many more descendants are probably scattered across the Lake District. Genetic tests have...

DESCENDANTS of Genghis Khan, the man who conquered half the world in the 13th century, rolled out the red carpet yesterday for the most powerful man of the 21st century. George Bush stood to attention in the biting cold before an honour guard of Mongolian soldiers in blue and red uniforms and with sabres at the ready as the United States national anthem played to welcome the first serving American President to set foot in Ulan Bator. Mr Bush chose to wrap up a four-nation Asian trip in this young democracy, where fewer than three million people, mostly nomads, live...

    For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.     Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!     ANCIENT WARFARE Conclusion of The Mongols Genghis Khan Now with a larger following and the help of Togrul and the Chin (a large civilization in northern China), Temuchin was able to defeat the Tartars and avenge his father’s death (Nicolle 18). Temuchin continued to build power by removing rivals (Nicolle 18-19). Deals were struck with most Mongol chieftains giving them leadership roles and wives...

    For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.     Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!     ANCIENT WARFARE Part IX of The Mongols Genghis KhanThe Mongolians of the 12th and 13th century were seen as nothing more than savage barbarians by their enemies, who inhabited what is now China, Russia, and the Middle East (Nicolle 7). Because the Mongolians were brutal and because Mongol history was mostly recorded by Mongol victims, this view has lasted almost eight hundred years (Nicolle...

    For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.     Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!     ANCIENT WARFARE Part V of The Mongols Mongolian Bow Because the Old Mongols lived in an environment where survival skills were always of the utmost importance, it was a matter of course that they should develop excellent tools, both civilian and military. One piece of equipment that was of great significance in war as well as in the daily life of the Mongols was...

Has Genghis' Tomb Been Found? After four years' work, a joint team of Japanese and Mongolian archaeologists announced on October 4 that they had found what they believe to be the true mausoleum of Genghis Khan (1162-1227). The ruins, dated to between the 13th and 15th century, were found at Avraga, around 250 kilometers east of Ulan Bator, the capital of the People's Republic of Mongolia. Team members said that they expect the discovery to provide clues to the whereabouts of the khan's actual burial site, which they believe may be within 12 kilometers of the mausoleum. There is a...

John Forbes Kerry today accused Japanese and Mongolian archeologists of trying to "plunder the tomb of Ghengis Khan in a fashion reminiscent of...well...Genghis Khan." "Genghis Khan was a role model to me during my service in Vietnam," said Mr. Kerry, who is also a U.S. Senator. "I implore the archeologists in Mongolia to leave the tomb, and thus the soul of its guardian, undisturbed." During his 1971 testimony before the Senate foreign relations committee, John Kerry referred to the late Mr. Khan as a kind of mentor. "As a young man, I defended America in a fashion reminiscent of Genghis...

TOKYO (AP) - Archaeologists have unearthed the site of Genghis Khan's palace and believe the long-sought grave of the 13th century Mongolian warrior is somewhere nearby, the head of the excavation team said Wednesday. A Japanese and Mongolian research team found the complex on a grassy steppe 150 miles east of the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator, said Shinpei Kato, professor emeritus at Tokyo's Kokugakuin University. Genghis Khan (c. 1162-1227) united warring tribes to become leader of the Mongols in 1206. After his death, his descendants expanded his empire until it stretched from China to Hungary. Genghis Khan built the...

Questioning Kerry's patriotism Judson Cox April 26, 2004 John Kerry has accused Republicans of questioning his patriotism. Why not question Kerry's patriotism? Should not a candidate for the Presidency of the United States be patriotic? Should he not love and be loyal to the land he hopes to lead? I say yes, and I will question Kerry's patriotism. Sen. Kerry has a record of engaging in activity that falls just short of treason; he has aided and abetted enemies of the United States. Kerry has falsely maligned U.S. soldiers as war criminals: "They told stories that at times they had...

Every time I have heard the replay of Kerry's testimony I am galled as much by Kerry's phony accent as by what he says. Does this bother anyone else? When talks about see "atrocities" and committing "atrocities." Just the delivery makes me want to commit an atrocity.

Genghis Khan's pen as mighty as his sword? August 23 2004 at 11:45AM Beijing - A Chinese historian says he has evidence that ruthless conqueror and master of the Mongol horde Genghis Khan was as masterful with the pen as he was with the sword. Historians have long assumed the ancient Mongolian ruler was illiterate, primarily because the Mongolian written language was created in the early 13th century, when Genghis Khan would have been in his 40s and not have had time to learn, the official Xinhua news agency said. However, Tengus Bayaryn, a professor at China's Inner Mongolia University,...

A London restaurant chain is offering customers free DNA testing to see if they're descended from Genghis Khan. Restaurant Shish has promised free meals for any found to be related to the notorious Mongol leader. The unusual promotion is to mark the Mongolian government's decision to allow citizens to have surnames for the first time since they were banned by the communists in the 1920s. Some 50,000 Mongolians now proudly claim direct descent from and bear the name of Genghis Khan. Shish has teamed up with DNA-based research company Oxford Ancestors to offer descendants food from their ancestral homelands. From...

Genghis Khan: Father to Millions? By Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery Newshttp://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20040621/gallery/genghis_goto.jpg> Statue of the Mongol Emperor June 22, 2004 —Genghis Khan left a legacy shared by 16 million people alive today, according to a book by a Oxford geneticist who identified the Mongol emperor as the most successful alpha male in human history. Regarded by the Mongolians as the father of their nation, Genghis Khan was born around 1162. A military and political genius, he united the tribes of Mongolia and conquered half of the known world with a cavalry riding on grass-fed ponies. By the time Genghis died in 1227,...

Genghis Khan was perhaps the most successful warrior the world has ever known. During the 13th century, he conquered most of civilization with an army of fewer than 100,000 Mongol horsemen. According to Genghis' biographer, Jack Weatherford, the warlord's philosophy went this way: "Warfare was not a sporting contest or a mere match between rivals; it was a total commitment of one people against another. Victory did not come to the one who played by the rules; it came to one who made the rules and imposed them on his enemy." Osama Bin Laden is unquestionably one of history's greatest...

By H.D.S. Greenway, 10/24/2003 UNTIL THE TYRANTS of the 20th century came along, they were the most efficient, cold-blooded, feared, and destructive conquerors the world had ever known. They were the Mongol horsemen from the steppes of Central Asia, whose hordes under the leadership of Genghis Khan built a 13th-century empire by mass slaughter -- burning cities and terrifying half a dozen civilizations from Russia to the East China Sea. Genghis Khan's grandson, Hulagu, leveled Baghdad, and Iraqis have invoked his name ever since to brand their enemies, including the Americans. It is said that you could smell their stench...

Captain Byambaa Chinzorig is, perhaps not surprisingly, a little touchy about 1258 and all that. When Mongolian forces last came to Iraq, led by the great warrior Prince Hulagu, grandson of Genghis Khan, they sacked Baghdad, killed an estimated 800,000 people, brought to a bloody end the Abbasid caliphate and destroyed a vast array of ornate public buildings and a sophisticated irrigation system. Today, 745 years later, their plans are much more modest. "We all know the history of the 13th century when the Mongolian soldiers captured Iraq but this time is completely different," said Capt Chinzorig, 30, a proud...

U.S. Marines put Mongolian Armed Forces to the test last week during the final training phase of Khaan Quest ’03 in Five Hills, Mongolia. First Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment Marines set up a simulated logistics base for Mongolian forces to run from Sept. 13-15, according to a Marine Corps news release. They were also put through a mobility exercise to prepare for a February deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. “We have specifically been showing the Mongolians how to do vehicle checkpoints and personnel checkpoints,” battalion operations chief Master Sgt. Robert Lowery said in the release. “We...

After years of suppression by Mongolia's former communist rulers, the great Mongol warlord Ghengis Khan is back at the top of the national agenda, almost 800 years after his death. His wizened image appears on everything from vodka bottles to money. Much of Genghis Khan's life remains a mystery Scientists too are rediscovering Ghengis' history. The American-funded Ghengis Khan Geo-Historical expedition has spent three years exploring sites associated with the kahn's life. Yet one mystery remains, the site of his burial. John Woods of the University of Chicago is the expedition's team leader, and he thinks it might be at...