Free Republic

Next month, about 80 young girls from southern Arizona will head off to an extended Girl Scout camp for free. "Operation Red Shirt" gives young girls with a parent deployed overseas the chance to attend Girl Scout camp whether they're a scout or not. Seven year old Emma Guerry is very excited about her first day of summer camp. "It's on Mountain Lemmon," said Emma with a laugh. The Mount Lemmon camp is an all girl's camp for military daughters with at least one parent serving overseas in the war. "Kids coming back to school in the fall don't always...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi could barely speak, but he struggled and tried to get away from American soldiers as he lay dying on a stretcher in the ruins of his hideout. The U.S. forces recognized his face, and knew they had the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. Initially, the U.S. military had said al-Zarqawi was killed outright. But Friday new details emerged of his final moments. For three years, al-Zarqawi orchestrated horrific acts of violence guided by his extremist vision of jihad, or holy war — first against the U.S. soldiers he considered occupiers of Arab lands, then...

Citizens of Montenegro, the mountainous, sparsely populated former Yugoslav territory, will vote Sunday in a referendum on severing its remaining links with Serbia. The pro-independence camp is confident of victory. The referendum will determine whether the state of Serbia and Montenegro continues to exist. That loose federation - replacing the rump Yugoslavia - was created three years at the strong urging of the European Union, which at the time opposed the Montenegrin government's desire to break with Serbia. Since both Serbia and Montenegro wish to join the EU, Brussels has been deeply involved in the May 21 referendum. Under its...

Paul Dean, the 17-year-old son of Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, will take part in a court diversion program for his role in the burglary of a Vermont country club. According to the Associated Press, police have pegged Dean as the getaway driver, having questioned the teen while he sat in a car waiting for four buddies to steal beer and champagne from the Burlington Country Club on June 20. "I think this is a good outcome for Paul and for his friends, and that's what the program is designed for," Howard Dean told reporters after meeting with an official...

The Angolan Goverment recommended the setting up of mutilsectorian comission to study, evaluate, and propose the adoption of measures aimed at reinforcing security of airports in the country. (after one man walked on the African tarmac and piloted the 727 off to destinations unknown-ed)The Angolan Minister of Transportation Andre Luis Brandao assured that an inquiry is being done and that in his department 'the results are always published' noting that this was a very unusual case.He stressed that this situation will call for urgent and efficient measures to be taken to keep order and security in the '4 de Fevereiro'...

SADDAM HUSSEIN has sent his personal jeweller to Thailand on a secret mission to buy millions of dollars worth of diamonds, prompting speculation that he is preparing to flee or send his family into hiding, writes Jon Swain. Sources with knowledge of the trip revealed that the jeweller travelled from Baghdad to Bangkok via Jordan. They said he bought the gems in the Thai capital in a prearranged deal. “He purchased millions of dollars worth,” said one. This was the jeweller’s second recent visit to Bangkok. Three months ago the sources said that Saddam’s son Uday had sent him to...

There is no question that Sen. Hillary Clinton is a rising star in the United States Senate.And Republicans are scared to death that she is going to be the Vice Presidential Nominee for the Democrats in 2004.So one veteran operative has got a memo out cautioning Republican Senators to stay away from her:1. Don't co-sign letters with her.2. Don't co-sponsor legislation with her.3. Don't be photographed with her.4. Don't go on junkets with her.5. And above all, don't be caught socializing with her.Stay away from Hillary!