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KABUL, Afghanistan, July 6, 2008 – More than 50 U.S. sailors rendered a salute as their nation’s colors were raised over Camp Eggers in honor of America’s Independence Day. What made the ceremony so special was the American flag had only 48 stars. Retired Navy Cmdr. Joseph Agra III (left), Afghan National Army Air Corps logistics mentor, reads a citation regarding an American flag with 48 stars that was raised during a ceremony July 4, 2008, at Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanistan. Agra acquired the flag in 2000 after a fisherman retrieved it from the water off the coast...

Renovating a historic home By James Smar The Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Museum in western Pennsylvania is getting a lot of attention this week, as it reopens the archaeological site of a 16,000-year-old human habitation. It had been closed to the public for a year for renovations.The idea of renovating a dwelling after 16,000 years is intriguing. They could have called in a television team consisting of the guys from This Old House, that Extreme Makeover crew and those cavemen from the insurance commercials. Radioactive carbon testing in 1974 of remnants of burned firewood determined the age of the domicile, making...

BAGHDAD - President Bush's last trip to Iraq was kept secret until he arrived at a U.S. military base. Eight hours later he left, after Iraq's leaders traveled to meet him there. In sharp contrast, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit — the first ever by an Iranian leader to Iraq — was announced in advance. He plans to spend the night here, and Iranian TV will broadcast his departure ceremony live. Once considered Iraq's archenemy, Iran is now cozy with Baghdad's Shiite-led government and eager to show off Tehran's rising influence as debate rages in the U.S. over how quickly to...

SYDNEY (AFP) - A passenger jet has made a historic landing on a new blue ice runway in Australia's Antarctic territory and regular flights are expected to start within a week, officials said Wednesday. But trips on the Airbus A319 to the Wilkins Runway will be for scientists and research staff only, with no plans to open the airlink to tourists, project manager Charlton Clark told AFP. The runway is four kilometres (2.5 miles) long, 700 metres thick and moves about 12 metres southwest a year because of glacial drift. In the first trial landing on Monday, the plane pulled...

Militant, fundamentalist atheists have been coming out of the woodwork lately, attacking Christianity. Granted, they are still using the same old, tired and shallow agruments that have been refuted over and over again. But here’s some stellar resources I have found perfect for refuting their vain attacks, which are sure to increase with Christmas approaching: The Case for the Real JesusFormer atheist Lee Strobel, who wrote The Case for Faith, The Case For a Creator and The Case for Christ, returns with a powerful volume that refutes the shallow attacks on the Bible’s authenticity and the attempts of skeptics to...

PANAMA CITY, Panama - Panama blasted away part of a hillside next to the canal on Monday, marking the start of the waterway's biggest expansion since it opened 93 years ago. In the presence of former President Carter, who signed the 1977 treaty that gave Panama control of the waterway, Panamanian President Martin Torrijos celebrated the start of construction on two wider sets of locks being added to both sides of the canal. "We are witnesses to an exceptional and unique act," Torrijos said moments after the explosion sent up a curtain of smoke and water. The $5.25 billion expansion...

NAHANT - The Nahant Public Library wants to sell one of its most valuable possessions: a German machine gun captured by Army Sgt. Alvin C. York during World War I.

In 1944, Russell Pollitt Sr. found himself being herded from doctor to doctor through a "warehouse" at Fort Hayes with hundreds of other recently drafted men. Pollitt was convinced he wasn’t going into the Army. The 18-year-old from Manchester, Ohio, had tried to enlist in Cincinnati and was rejected for poor vision. At Fort Hayes, there was a "stop" sign hanging from the ceiling where the men were supposed to wait until a doctor finished examining the previous person’s eyes. "But I didn’t see it," said Pollitt, now 80. "This sign must have been about 12 or 14 feet in...

On Dec. 3, the residents of 14 historic military quarters on Fort Huachuca will open their doors to curious visitors for the annual home tour. Everyone is invited to come celebrate the holiday season as the historic homes are decked with holiday finery. For the past 16 years, the fort has marked the beginning of the holiday season with the Holiday Tour of Historic Homes. The Fort Huachuca Old Post area, a National Historic Landmark, will be lit by the soft glow of luminaries as the public is given a rare glimpse at the interior of these homes. Annually, the...

MANTEO - At an archaeological dig at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, Phil Evans stepped into a meticulously measured pit and started shoveling dirt. The Durham lawyer is no scientist. But he couldn't miss this. After 30 years of searching, he still wants to pinpoint where the English failed to establish their first permanent colony in North America. Nearly every North Carolinian knows that a band of English settlers vanished from Roanoke Island about 1589, creating the legendary Lost Colony. No one knows where they went. An outdoor production replays the mystery year after year. But the full story is...

NASA officials to make historic trip to China 21:05 22 September 2006 NewScientist.com news service Kelly Young A group of NASA officials is about to begin a historic trip to China in an effort to establish preliminary ties between the Chinese and US space programmes. "No NASA administrator has been to China," NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said after the recent launch of the space shuttle Atlantis. "We have never had any significant discussions with China about space." China joined the space elite when it became the third nation to launch its own crewed rocket in 2003 (see Confident China joins...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2006 -- For the first time since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the Iraqi prime minister, through the Iraqi minister of defense, will take operational control of the Iraqi ground forces command structure and the country’s air forces and navy tomorrow, a U.S. military spokesman in Iraq said today. “This is such a huge, significant event that's about to occur tomorrow,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman. “It's the one event that puts the prime minister directly in the operational control of his military forces as his role as the...

A print of the only photograph of Mozart's widow, Constanze Weber, has been found in Germany. The photograph was taken in 1840 in the Bavarian town of Altoetting when she was 78. She died two years later. The local authorities say detailed examination has proved the authenticity of the image, which is a copy of the original daguerreotype. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died at the age of 36 in 1791, when Constanze was 29. She later married a Danish diplomat. The print is one of the earliest examples of photography in Bavaria. It was found in the town archives. The daguerreotype...

Mexican President Vicente Fox on Thursday called the U.S. Senate's landmark vote on immigration policy a "monumental step forward" that marks a historic moment in the relationship between Mexico and the U.S. "It is a moment that millions of families have been hoping for. This is the moment that millions of people have been working for," he told a joint session of the California Legislature. "Today's historic vote is a monumental step forward, but we recognize that there is more debate ahead." Fox spoke just hours after the U.S. Senate approved sweeping reforms that include tighter border security and a...

Kenya orders Italian to stop ruining historic site Posted Mon, 22 May 2006 Nairobi - Kenyan authorities have moved quickly to protect one of the country's historical sites along the Indian Ocean coast by ordering a foreign investor from Italy to immediately stop developing a piece of land where an ancient ruin with historical values stands. The piece of land holds the ruins of an ancient mosque where a prominent Chinese sailor, Zheng Hess, prayed when he visited the historical town of Malindi in 1415.The ruins of Khatiba mosque lie less than a kilometre from the Indian Ocean shores in...

Carol Hutnick found a box full of history on Highway 29 near Kelly's Steakhouse on Tuesday. Among the incredible items just lying on the side of the road are an 1860s-era photograph of General James B. Weaver and World War II ration books with unspent coupons in them.

WASHINGTON, April 21, 2006 – Afghans reported improvised explosive devices to local officials in two separate incidents today, and Afghan National Army aviators completed their first combat-support mission April 15, military officials in Afghanistan reported today. Afghan National Army Sgt. Abdul Khaliq, of the ANA's Central Movement Agency, hands a box of food to U.S. Army Sgt. Juan Trejos on an Afghan Air Corps Mi-17 Hip helicopter at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, April 12. Soldiers from ANA's Central Movement Agency trained with their coalition counterparts prior to the ANA Air Corps first aerial resupply mission in partnership with the...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, April 17, 2006 – Afghan National Army Air Corps aviators began training with Task Force Falcon aviators and U.S. Army soldiers here April 11. Army Col. Michael Rose welcomes Afghan National Army Air Corps aviators as they arrive at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, April 11. Rose commands the coalition's Task Force Falcon. The Afghan aviators will operate with coalition forces during Operation Mountain Lion and beyond. Photo by Sgt. Stephanie van Geete, USA   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The arrival of the 18-person team marks the first assignment of Afghan aviators here in...

WASHINGTON, March 21, 2006 – Sectarian violence that erupted after the Feb. 22 bombing of a mosque in Samarra, Iraq, could have led to civil war. But Iraqis stayed united and are working to build a united government, President Bush said here today. When violence broke out, the Iraqi army didn't break apart into sectarian divisions, and religious and political leaders stood up to the violence and committed themselves to progress, Bush said at a White House news conference. The efforts of the Iraqis, along with continued coalition support, are what kept the country out of civil war, he said....

"Weather Disaster of Historic Proportions" Could Strike as Early as This Year... The northeast U.S. coast could be the target of a major hurricane, perhaps as early as this season, according to research announced today by the AccuWeather... Hurricane Center. "The Northeast is staring down the barrel of a gun," said Joe Bastardi, Chief Forecaster... "The Northeast coast is long overdue for a powerful hurricane...not a question of if but when." ... "If you examine past weather cycles that have occurred in the Atlantic, you will see patterns of storms," added Ken Reeves, Expert Senior Meteorologist and Director of Forecasting...

(audio of broadcast available via link) I'd never heard this before. It's amazing how this man spoke out in defense of America, given the times in which he broadcast it. It applies to current times, I think. Too bad we don't have broadcasters willing to buck the norm any longer.

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91) returned to San Diego Feb. 24, after a five-month deployment to the Western Pacific in support of the global war on terrorism (GWOT). Pinckney made port visits to Guam, Singapore, Australia, Fiji and Hawaii. While in Guam, Pinckney became the first guided-missile destroyer to refuel and replenish the Mark Five (MK V), a high-performance combatant craft used by Navy SEALs. Pinckney was also the first DDG to embark two HH-60H Seahawk helicopters with their detachment, 20 Marine Corps personnel of a Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team (FAST) detachment...

All donations are welcome and none is too big or too small, but the $25,000 just received from Donald Trump is pretty special, said Beauvoir board member John French of Long Beach, who is involved in raising money to restore the Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library in Biloxi. Though heavily damaged by Katrina, Beauvoir is one of very few historic landmarks still standing on the Coast. It has been identified by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as a property that should be preserved. "This is our history and when you lose something like that it is very difficult...

PHOENIX — The World War II-era black officers’ club on Fort Huachuca has been listed as one of 12 Arizona’s Most Endangered Historic Places by the Arizona State Preservation Foundation. The listing on Jan. 24 is seen as an additional positive step by the president of the Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers in the organization’s attempt to save Building 66050. “It (the listing) brings us more publicity and will help in fund-raising,” Tom Stoney Sr. said Monday. SWABS has also applied to the National Trust for placing the black officers’ club on its annual list of historic places in danger,...

Canada's historic opportunity by Peter O'Donnell This federal election gives Canada a historic opportunity for national reconciliation and healing. You may not have heard that interpretation of this rather vicious election campaign before, but I'll tell you why I think this to be the case. For the past twelve years, and probably to a lesser extent for most of the last half century, certain groups of Canadians were widely held to be second-class citizens. Canada has been governed by an elite, which the Liberal Party has represented almost exclusively, composed of certain business groups, media interests, and academic perspectives, together...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2005 – Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise visit to Iraq today to hail the country's successful Dec. 15 parliamentary election in which more than 70 percent of Iraqis -- 11 million-plus voters -- participated. Meanwhile, the vice president's wife, an historian, took to the airwaves today to provide historical context for the elections. "It's an honor for me to be here to mark the tremendous success of the Iraqi people," the vice president told reporters in Baghdad. "The participation levels [in the election] all across the country were remarkable." In fact, the biggest change in...

It is 10 pm on the US East Coast...and 6 am December 15 in Baghdad. The Iraqi polls will be opening soon...millions of Iraqis are about to experience for the first time that rush one gets when you vote for the first time. God Bless our troops and may god bless the voters in Iraq as they head to the polls.Let Freedom Ring!!!

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2005 – The Dec. 15 parliamentary elections in Iraq represent "a watershed moment in the story of freedom" that's important not only to Iraq's security and democratic future, but also to America's, President Bush said today at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars here. "Iraqis will go to the polls to choose a government that will be the only constitutional democracy in the Arab world," the president said. "Yet, we need to remember that these elections are also a vital part of a broader strategy for protecting the American people against the threat of terrorism." Bush...

BAGHDAD, Iraq – U.S. troops are staying a mile away from the polling stations for Thursday's national elections. But they're close by – ready to back up tens of thousands of Iraqi security forces if called upon. In the northern city of Mosul, soldiers in Stryker armored personnel carriers, the U.S. Army's most advanced infantry vehicle with satellite-linked computers, have mapped out every polling station and listed the mobile phone numbers for local polling officials and Iraqi officers to make sure they can respond quickly. The Americans moved into a supporting role late Wednesday after carefully coaching Iraqi police, who...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Voting begins Monday in hospitals, military camps and even prisons across Iraq, launching the process to choose a new parliament that the United States hopes can help quell the insurgency so U.S. forces can begin heading home. Iraq's government announced it will close its borders, extend the nighttime curfew and restrict domestic travel starting Tuesday — two days before the main election day — to prevent insurgents from disrupting the vote. "We are very prepared for the elections, and we are highly determined," Interior Minister Bayan Jabr said. "We hope that everyone participates and that it will...

PATUXENT RIVER , Md., Dec. 6, 2005 – For a people who first heard of it while they lived under Soviet influence, this U.S. Navy fighter aircraft is of great public interest. Polish citizens invariably know it by name. Employees of PZL-Swidnik even refer to it with a hint of ownership – the F-14 Tomcat. " The recent agreement paves the way for the eventual creation of long-term technical and economic benefits that will produce dividends for both the U.S. and Poland." Czes Covington A business bridge between the U.S. Navy’s F-14 program and a Polish aerospace company is in...

FORT HUACHUCA — It was a perfect autumn afternoon Sunday as hundreds of people visited the dozen historic officers’ residences, constructed from 1884 to 1915, on this historic Army post. Organizers of the yearly event sponsored by the Fort Huachuca Community Spouses Club estimated about 1,000 people toured the Christmas-decorated homes Sunday. Proceeds for the events support the club’s scholarship program. For some people, it was the first time they had visited the houses. Gennette Hawley and Mary Courtnell traveled from Green Valley, and declared the afternoon satisfying. Both women are originally from the East — Hawley from upstate New...

D-Day survivor Ray Lambert, right, talks with 1st Infantry Division Engineer Brigade Command Sergeant Major John Gioia at Utah Beach Oct. 4 as part of the 1st Infantry Division's staff ride to Normandy, France. Photo courtesy of 1st Infantry Division Public Affairs D-Day Veteran Recalls Historic Day More than 61 years later, under dark gray skies and into a sweeping wind that mimicked D-Day conditions, a veteran of the battle tackles the beach and wins once again. By SSG W. Wayne Marlow1st Infantry Division Public Affairs NORMANDY, France, Nov. 8, 2005 — NORMANDY, France - The terrain at Omaha...

11/1/2005 - EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) -- A group of Edwards aircraft maintainers recently joined efforts to restore a historic aircraft for the Air Force Flight Test Center museum. A team of 36 maintainers from the 412th Equipment Maintenance Squadron's corrosion control, armament, structural maintenance, inspection flight and fabrication flight and from the 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron worked weekends and nights for more than three months to restore an F-106 Delta Dart in time for display at the 2005 Edwards Open House and Air Show. Maj. Matt Humes, 412th Equipment Maintenance Squadron commander, said he got the...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 17, 2005 – Since soldiers of 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, took over operations in the Khadamiyah district in western Baghdad Sept. 10, they've been conducting patrols every day, contributing to the security of Iraq. Oct. 15 was not much different from any other day except that these 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, soldiers had an opportunity to witness a historic event - Iraqis voting in a democratic constitutional referendum. "It was great to see the Iraqis get the chance to express their opinions," said Army Pfc. Francesco Borsellino, of B Troop, 1/71 Cav. "The Iraqi...

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 9, 2005 – The children of Husseiniya, a town north of here, play among heaps of trash, lakes of standing groundwater and open sewage. Several miles away, in northern Baghdad, U.S. Army Col. David Bishop, commander of 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division; Ayad al-Safee, the deputy minister of technical affairs for the Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works; Nanjar Manshed, the Istaklah district advisory council delegate; and representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed a charter Aug. 1 that will ensure the citizens and children of Husseiniya have a brighter and healthier future. Husseiniya is...

Snowfall in Somalia reported Wed. June 01, 2005 10:36 am. The first snowfall on this part of the world has claimed one life and caused extensive damage to properties. Puntland, northeastern part of Somalia has never recorded snowfall before last night when snow storms with high winds destroyed homes in Rako town. The storm left a blanket of snow on the ground, something residents had never seen in their lives before. Aside from this unexplained snowfall on this tropical land, Somalia has experienced very strange weather in the past few months. Floods killed people and forced rivers to overflow banks...

The ACLU, representing an atheist, is threatening five San Diego-area personalities with legal action over the proposed wording of a ballot initiative that will determine the fate of a historic cross on city land. The five behind the Mt. Soledad initiative are KFMB radio talk-show host Rick Roberts; KOGO radio talk-show host Roger Hedgecock; San Diego Padres radio announcer Jerry Coleman, Rep. Randy Cunningham, R-Calif.; and SoledadNational.com Director Phil Thalmeimer. The attorney for atheist Philip Paulson, James McElroy, has told the men he will file the challenge next week. McElroy claims that a number of their statements on the ballot,...

The deal to avert a change in Senate cloture rules is more than just a temporary outbreak of sanity in this highly charged partisan accelerator chamber. It amounts to a transfer of leadership from the polarized, party leaders to the narrow but critical center of the institution. Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) still has the corner office, and Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) still has the key to the executive washroom, but it is the 14 senators who crafted this deal who now are the people to see in the Senate. Few realized that when the Republicans garnered 55 seats...

Braving bullets and bombs, millions of Iraqis cast their ballots yesterday in Iraq's first free elections in half a century. First reports suggested turnout in excess of 70%. While the Independent Election Commission of Iraq will not announce the official results for another two weeks, the encouragingly high voter turnout undercuts the cynicism of a press corps that questioned the election's legitimacy before the first ballots were even cast. The Associated Press, for example, opined, "If the vast majority of the Sunnis shun the polls--either out of fear or lack of confidence in the process--it would undercut the new government's...

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!

Islamic terrorism may eventually be defeated in its large manifestations, like the one we saw on 9/11, but built into earliest Islam is an ultimate goal of religious world domoination, whether carried out by violent or peaceful means, as seen in the Quran, the Hadith (the record of the deeds and sayings of Muhammad), and the sunna (the example or path of Muhammad). Osama bin Laden and Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian who beheads innocent workers in Iraq, are open about this goal, as we see in these fatwas, statements, and interviews before and after 9/11.

Both sides in the presidential contest are eager to declare this election the most momentous event since the discovery of fire, and we won't know how true that is until we see how badly we've been burned. But I think it's already apparent that the campaign will be considered a milestone in the history of the U.S. media. Here's what has changed: The mainstream media no longer play a key role in setting the national news agenda. A robust new conversation conducted on the Internet, talk radio and cable TV has assumed historic prominence. Still, despite an unparalleled richness of...

It's a Historic Drought Sat Oct 16, 7:55 AM ET Top Stories - Los Angeles Times By Scott Gold Times Staff Writer OVERTON, Nev. — Early last year, fishermen searching for bass and bluegill on a northern finger of Lake Mead saw a curious cluster of concrete blocks jutting out of the water. It turned out to be the chimney of what had been, 65 years prior, an ice cream parlor. Within months, other ruins began to emerge from the lake: The steps of a nearby schoolhouse. The foundation of the old Gentry Hotel, where President Hoover once bunked for...

Soldiers safeguard historic Afghan vote By Terry Boyd, Stars and Stripes Friday, October 8, 2004 European edition, Thursday, October 7, 2004 FIREBASE ASADABAD, Afghanistan — The 82nd Airborne Division has not made it into the history books by coasting through easy missions. In the new anti-insurgency age, look for its rapidly deployable, light infantry units in the worst parts of bad neighborhoods anywhere from Fallujah to Asadabad. A battalion-sized force of 1,100 paratroopers, mostly from the 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment is in Afghanistan to provide security for the historic national elections Oct. 9. Between 18,000 and 20,000 U.S....

A Bend-area developer who demolished a local landmark before getting the necessary permit will have to pay a $100,000 penalty, a De-schutes County Circuit judge has ruled. Judge Michael Adler found that Crown Investment LLC skirted the legal process when it leveled a well-loved 67-year-old mill without the permission of the city or the court. Adler said the $100,000 award must be used by the city to construct a memorial to the crane shed. excerpt

By Edward L. Daley On September 23, 2004, Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress. Below are some excerpts from that speech, and the hurried and predictably pessimistic response to it by John F. Kerry from a firehouse in Columbus Ohio. I am also including a few other recent statements by Senator Kerry concerning the Iraq War, the alternative positions of President Bush, and my own comments (preceded by the * symbol) regarding the issues raised. Furthermore, flecked throughout this article are quotes from several historical figures, added for the purpose of sharpening...

Sprinting is not only the most natural form of movement, but also an individual sport that allows comparing the performance of differente athletes over different periods of time. Today sprinting became the first and ONLY truly global individual sport. Jeromy Wariner became today the first white american (and the second white ever, after the greek Kenteris in 2002) to enter the top ten "all time" performer list of an olympic sprint contest (100, 200 and 400 m).

Lightning may never strike twice. But in the wake of the Democratic National Convention, both President Bush and John Kerry should take counsel from another '04 campaign -- the 1904 battle between Republican President Theodore Roosevelt, and Judge Alton B. Parker, a Democrat. Striking similarities, many of them downright eerie, abound between the two '04's in realms foreign and domestic, beginning with the event that launched Roosevelt's presidency. Then, as now, the nation reacted with shock and horror when a monstrous act of murder took place in New York in September of '01 -- the fatal shooting of President William...

From The Archives...An Elephant Never Forgets! IN 1992, AL GORE ATTACKED PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH FOR IGNORING IRAQ'S TIES TO TERRORISM. SEN. AL GORE: "[W]hen George Bush took office, he should have reevaluated what our relationship was with Iraq ..." CNN'S LARRY KING: "Well ..." GORE: "Let me finish, just briefly. Instead, he stepped up the foreign aid to Iraq, and he looked the other way when there were repeated incidents of terrorism in which Iraq had a part, terrorists operating openly in Baghdad, and repeated warnings from our national security people telling the Bush administration that Saddam was on...