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PHILADELPHIA, April 9, 2006 – Philadelphia's indoor soccer team kicked its support for U.S. servicemembers into high gear last night when it announced its partnership with the "America Supports You" program. Jessica Hallowell, 10, of Mertztown, Pa., donates a soccer ball at the Philadelphia KiXX's April 8 home game. The more than 1,000 soccer balls collected will be shipped to children in Iraq. Photo by Samantha L. Quigley  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. "We're glad to help the military," said Jeffrey B. Rotwitt, owner of the KiXX, a Major Indoor Soccer League team. America Supports You is a...

Zimbabweans have 'shortest lives' Zimbabwean women are more likely than men to be infected by HIV Life in Zimbabwe is shorter than anywhere else in the world, with neither men nor women expected to live until 40, a new UN report says. Zimbabwe's women have an average life expectancy of 34 years and men on average do not live past 37, it said. The World Health Organisation report said women's life expectancy had fallen by two years in the last 12 months.Correspondents say poverty because of the crumbling economy and deaths from Aids are responsible for the decline. Zimbabwean women...

Typhoid May Have Caused Fall of Athens, Study Finds Nicholas Bakalar for National Geographic News February 27, 2006 An ancient medical mystery—the cause of a plague that wracked Athens from 426 to 430 B.C. and eventually led to the city's fall—has been solved by DNA analysis, researchers say. The ancient Athenians died from typhoid fever, according to a new study. Scientists from the University of Athens drew this conclusion after studying dental pulp extracted from the teeth of three people found in a mass grave in Athens' Kerameikos cemetery. The mass grave was first discovered in 1994 and was dated...

'I have 600 suicide bombers waiting for your soldiers' By Massoud Ansari in Qamaruddin Karaiz, south-west Pakistan (Filed: 26/03/2006) The senior Taliban commander in Afghanistan's lawless Helmand province has vowed to unleash a brigade of 600 suicide bombers against the British Army when it arrives in the area this summer. In a rare interview given at a hideout on the Pakistani border, Mullah Razayar Noorzai said the chance to take on British troops was a "great honour". Taliban commanders had already recruited hundreds of willing martyrs for suicide operations, he claimed, aiming to repeat the notorious defeats inflicted on British...

PHOENIX ¡ª State election officials are scrambling to interpret a ruling that Arizonans do not need to show proof of citizenship when they register to vote with a federal registration form. Issued Monday by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, the ruling amounts to a potential loophole in Proposition 200, the voter-approved initiative that made Arizona the first state in the nation to require proof of citizenship for voter registration. The ruling says "Arizona may not refuse to register individuals to vote in a federal election for failing to provide supplemental proof of citizenship," as required under Prop. 200. In a...

Editor's note: The Supreme Court announced Feb. 17 that it would again hear arguments in the free-speech case of a whistleblower, apparently so that Justice Samuel Alito can break a tie. That case is Garcetti v. Ceballos. WASHINGTON — New Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr. was sworn in Jan. 31, giving him five months to serve during the Court’s current term. But during that period, Alito will likely have only one chance to show his First Amendment stripes. That chance will be in an important one, and it begins Feb. 28, when the Court hears a trio of First...

Keep to forgiveness (O Mohammed), and enjoin kindness, and turn away from the ignorant. The Koran, Chapter 7, Verse 199 During his lifetime, Prophet Mohammed endured insults and ridicule on a daily basis. His opponents mocked his message and used physical violence to stop him from challenging the status quo. At no stage during this ordeal did the Prophet lose his temper or react to these provocations. Tradition has it that he would, instead, offer a prayer of forgiveness to those who showed contempt for him. Today, however, many followers of Prophet Muhammad are acting the exact opposite. Reacting to...

Hair-gelled Celt may have been sacrificed LAURA ROBERTSExperts recreated the head of the Iron Age man. THE hair-gelled head of an ancient Celt, dubbed the Iron Age Beckham because of his slicked-back look, has been reconstructed by Scots scientists. Examinations of the Clonycavan man, found fully preserved in a peat bog in Ireland, revealed he used a gel made from a mixture of plant oil and pine resin, believed to be from south-west France or Spain, on his hair. The discovery has been held up as the first evidence of the trade of luxury goods between Ireland and Southern Europe...

A group of Marines who have just finished two tours of duty in Iraq have one last mission to complete before going home for the holidays. The Marines are being asked to help deliver holiday cheer to a tribe of American Indians living in a remote location.

Romans may have learned from Chinese Great Wall: archaeologists The construction of the Roman Limes was quite possibly influenced by the concept of the Great Wall in China, though the two great buildings of the world are far away from each other, said archaeologists and historians. Although there is no evidence that the two constructions had any direct connections, indirect influence from the Great Wall on the Roman Limes is certain, said Visy Zsolt, a professor with the Department of Ancient History and Archaeology of the University of Pecs in Hungary. Visy made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2005 – The new year is likely to include troop reductions in Iraq, but exactly how quickly those reductions will occur will be based on recommendations of U.S. commanders there in conjunction with wishes of the new Iraqi government, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today. One day after Iraq's parliamentary elections, Rumsfeld said during a Pentagon Channel interview it's too soon to know exactly what role that new government will want the United States to play. Just as in the United States after an election, Iraq's new government is likely to take a few months...

BAGHDAD, Dec. 8, 2005 – Iraqi and coalition officials have great hopes for the success of Dec. 15 national elections, officials here said on background today. Senior American officials said the elections are another important step in the evolution of Iraq from a country beat down by 30 years of tyranny to a functioning democracy. The elections are another opportunity for the Iraqi people to separate themselves from the terrorists who continue to try to intimidate Iraqis. The Iraqi people understand that al Qaeda in Iraq and other terrorist groups have only an incidental interest in the country, officials said....

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2005 – The success of joint Iraqi and coalition operations in Iraq will ensure a safe voting environment for Iraqi national elections, a senior military official in Iraq said today. "We see great progress in our operations," Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, said at a news conference in Baghdad. But one element of concern casts a shadow over that progress: Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi still has 15 days to try and derail the democratic process in Iraq, Lynch said. This mission is becoming an increasing struggle for the terrorist leader, however, the general...

Forget empress, let's have concubines, says prince By Colin Joyce in Tokyo (Filed: 04/11/2005) A Japanese prince has shocked the country with an attack on plans to let women ascend the imperial throne. Prince Tomohito, 59, the emperor's cousin and fifth in line to the throne, became the first member of the imperial family to speak out on the issue when he called on the nation not to abandon tradition. Under the constitution, the monarchy plays a purely symbolic role and members of the royal family are forbidden from making political statements, even on matters of direct concern to them....

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, Calif. (Oct. 28, 2005) -- In preparation for the depot's Marine Corps Birthday Ball, the Marine Corps Family Team Building office hosted its annual Ball Gown Giveaway and Fashion Show Oct. 19 at the Bay View restaurant. The show kicked off at 5:30 p.m. with opening remarks made by headquarters and service battalion's commanding officer's wife, Mrs. Sheila Redfern. Civilian depot employees and female Marines waltzed the catwalk in a display of 520 gently used ball gowns and a few rental gowns from local businesses. "It was different than last year; there were less...

Bird flu may have been brought into UK earlier than thought By Roger Highfield, Science Editor (Filed: 25/10/2005) The possibility that bird flu could already be present in Britain is being studied by Government vets who are investigating whether the potentially lethal strain contaminated a quarantine "facility" in Essex much earlier than thought. As vets investigated how H5N1 influenza came to infect a parrot from South America, which is unaffected by this strain, the European Union, the world's biggest importer of wildfowl, said it was ready to propose a temporary ban on imports. The H5N1 virus - which has only...

10/11/2005 - MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan (AFPN) -- The 376th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron’s expeditionary theater distribution center here is leading the way in expeditionary mobility gear processing to make life easier for thousands of deploying Airmen. The center is part of an Air Force test where Airmen can deploy from their home stations to the Central Asia theater without their A, B and C mobility bags. When they arrive here to stay, or before heading “downrange,” they are issued everything they will need from the ETDC. Airmen are still required to bring a helmet, gas mask, web belt and...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2005 – Coalition and Iraqi security forces are committed to providing a secure environment for Iraqis to participate in the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum, and they have the abilities to do so, a military spokesman in Baghdad said today. In a news briefing, Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, said officials predict significant acts of violence between now and the referendum, but that coalition and Iraqi forces are prepared to combat them. "We are poised and ready for a safe and secure environment for the people of Iraq for the conduct of...

What do Ceausescu, Hitler and Bush have in common? OK, sorry. But what else do they have in common? By Michael Leidig in Bucharest (Filed: 25/09/2005) It seemed like a good idea at the time: a light-hearted advertising campaign to persuade Romanians to adopt a stray dog, using pictures of three well-known 'historical figures’ with their pets. Posters across the capital showed Adolf Hitler, Nicolae Ceausescu — Romania’s former dictator — and George W Bush, over the slogan: 'A dog loves you just the way you are.’ But the American Embassy did not find the association of Mr Bush with...

Hi, I'm a long time lurker, having posted a few times, but been a Freeper for close to two years. I have had lots of doubts with President Bush for some time, even before the 2004 elections, but I didn't like Kerry so I voted for Bush again. But this tragedy has hit too close to home. I lived in Idaho for several years before moving back to Alabama, and I live in Washington County, and I left before Katrina hit, and my home is powerless and won't have power or oil for a while. Although I continue to support...