http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/history-chat/ en-us Mon, 4 Jan 2010 03:30:53 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2420351/posts Apologies for the vanity. The recent Obama lecture at West Point has reminded me of a lecture I attended there in 1991. The speaker spoke about freedom in such moving terms, that I still remember it today...and I have kept the transcript of the lecture all this time. I would love to post it here, but don't know exactly how. I would have to scan the text...but then I don't know what to do. It is way too big to put in a post, so it would have to be linked to a place on the internet...but where on the... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2420351/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 03:30:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2420344/posts "I would say that this life, for the last 25 or 30 years since we left the White House,has been the most enjoyable and the most gratifying," he says. washington post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2420344/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 03:25:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2420271/posts South America is the world's most species-rich area. There have been many theories as to why, ranging from animals and plants accompanying the continent when it broke loose from Africa to variations in the extent of the rainforests over millions of years creating new species... South America's unique richness of species has been explained by several hypotheses. One states that animals and plants "accompanied" the South American continent when it broke loose from Africa 100 million years ago. Another proposes that many species were formed when the rainforest shrank into smaller areas during the Ice Ages and then subsequently expanded...... ScienceDaily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2420271/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 00:31:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419884/posts If there was an award for best quote of the year, our money would be on Richard Fisher, the director of NASA's Heliophysics Division. Fisher was interviewed in October by National Public Radio after NASA scientists discovered a mysterious ribbon of hydrogen around our solar system. The layer, a sort of protective barrier called the heliosphere, shields us from harmful cosmic radiation. Its existence defies all expectations about what the edge of the solar system might look like. Fisher's response: "We thought we knew everything about everything, and it turned out that there were unknown unknowns." In other words: We... ATT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419884/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 10:09:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2420079/posts During the Little Ice Age (LIA; covering approximately the fifteenth through the eighteenth centuries), northern South America experienced about 10 percent more rainfall than during the twentieth century, according to Reuter et al. The authors analyzed two new records of oxygen isotopes (which track precipitation levels) from cave formations in northeastern Peru. They attribute the higher rainfall in northern South America during the LIA to cooler spring sea surface temperatures in the tropical North Atlantic. Furthermore, the authors note that some studies have shown that during the twentieth century, a significant amount of rainfall variability in northern South America was... ScienceDaily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2420079/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 18:21:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2420126/posts Archaeologists have discovered a monumental statue of an ancient black Egyptian pharaoh of the Nubian 25th Dynasty in Dangeil, Sudan, about 350 kilometres northeast of the capital, Khartoum. The granite statue of the warrior pharaoh Taharqa weighs one ton, according to its discoverer, Dr Caroline Rocheleau of the North Carolina Museum of Art... The statues of two other Nubian pharaohs were also discovered... Taharqa was ruler of both Egypt and Nubia (Kush) during the 25th Dynasty, which was based in Nubia, which had a long history of pyramid building, apparently independent of Egypt. His reign is dated from 690 BC... Digital Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2420126/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 19:35:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2420108/posts Jeanette Scola Trapani, one of the oldest survivors of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, has died at age 107. Dolores Legge told the San Francisco Chronicle that her mother had been suffering from pneumonia and passed away at her home in El Dorado Hills on Monday. A funeral Mass will be held Monday at St. Vincent de Paul Church. "My mother was married in that church," Legge said. "We wanted to bring her back to San Francisco." Trapani had clear memories of the disaster, even though she was only four years old at the time, Legge said. Pacific... NBC Bay Area http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2420108/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 19:13:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2420090/posts Devizes pensioner Phil Hancock... is convinced that the 600 Parliamentarian troops, many of them cavalry, who died in the Bloody Ditch on July 13 1643, are buried in an ancient chalk pit close to the site of the battle. Mr Hancock, 85, from Park View, Devizes, has been investigating the mystery of the whereabouts of the bodies for nearly three years. He said: "I read in the Wiltshire Archaeological Society magazine an article dated June 1950 by Mr J M Prest, who said that bones had been found in a chalk pit on the slopes of Roundway. "But no further... Wiltshire Gazette and Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2420090/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 18:48:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2420070/posts The timing of molar emergence and its relation to growth and reproduction in apes is being reported by two scientists at Arizona State University's Institute of Human Origins in the Dec. 28 online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). From the smallest South American monkeys to the largest African apes, the timing of molar development and eruption is closely attuned to many fundamental aspects of a primate's biology, according to Gary Schwartz, a researcher at the Institute of Human Origins and an associate professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change in... ScienceDaily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2420070/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 18:10:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419977/posts Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives, and Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States . http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419977/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 15:10:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419919/posts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Microfiche-New York Times archives, McHenry Library, U.C. Santa Cruz http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419919/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 13:02:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419781/posts When archaeologist Ruth Iren Øien noticed a cluster of tiny iron beads in the ground, she knew she was onto something. She did not know, however, that her team had stumbled upon Scandinavia's oldest and most complex group of iron forges... The iron beads were first found in November 2008, right at the very end of a highly weather-dependent field season in Norway. With frost about to set in, further investigation had to wait until the summer of 2009. But in July, Øien's team returned to the site. The iron beads that had piqued Øien's interest were only 1 to1.5... ScienceDaily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419781/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 01:55:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419745/posts Remains of the first airplane ever taken to Antarctica, in 1912, have been found by Australian researchers, the team announced Saturday. The Mawson's Huts Foundation had been searching for the plane for three summers before stumbling upon metal pieces of it on New Year's Day. "The biggest news of the day is that we've found the air tractor, or at least parts of it!" team member Tony Stewart wrote on the team's blog from Cape Denison in Antarctica's Commonwealth Bay. Australian polar explorer and geologist Douglas Mawson led two expeditions to Antarctica in the early 1900s, on the first one... Discovery News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419745/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 00:32:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419659/posts I have learned what all we old military veterans have wanted for many, many, many years, may actually be going to happen. If you are familiar with the TV mini-series, Once An Eagle, staring Sam Elliott as Sam Damon, with Glen Ford also, is going to be released on DVD sometime in early 2010 according to the web site listed above. Universal has apparently, finally, agreed to do it. This web site was the main campaign site too get the DVD released. http://www.once-an-eagle.com/ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419659/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 20:25:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419414/posts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Microfiche-New York Times archives, McHenry Library, U.C. Santa Cruz http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419414/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 12:49:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419413/posts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Microfiche-New York Times archives, McHenry Library, U.C. Santa Cruz http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419413/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 12:43:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419405/posts Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-medical-countermeasures-following-a-biological-attack Home • Briefing Room • Presidential Actions • Executive Orders The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release December 30, 2009 Executive Order -- Medical Countermeasures Following a Biological Attack ESTABLISHING FEDERAL CAPABILITY FOR THE TIMELY PROVISION OF MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES FOLLOWING A BIOLOGICAL ATTACK By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to plan and prepare for the timely provision... WHITEHOUSE.gov http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419405/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 12:03:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419358/posts The battle of Bannockburn was undoubtedly of one of the most spectacular battles of the Scottish Wars of Independence. Although the struggle against the English was to continue for some 13 years more, the Scottish victory was of enormous importance as it secured the future of the throne for Robert Bruce, King of Scots. To avoid confusion, at this point it should be noted that Robert Bruce, shown as a traitor in the film Braveheart, was no such thing. Never on any occasion did Bruce betray Wallace, since in actual fact, Wallace's support lay with the restoration of John Baliol... MacBRAVEHEART homepage http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419358/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 05:55:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419336/posts Martha Coakley, the current Massachusetts Attorney General, is not fit to be a United States Senator. Anyone who thinks so only needs to study the Fells Acres Day Care case. The Fells Acres Day Care was started by Violet Amirault and run with the help of her son, Gerald, and his sister, Cheryl Amirault LeFave. In the midst of the daycare sex abuse hysteria of the 1980s, all three were charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse. The charges were some of the most heinous ever made. However, they were also ludicrous. Supposedly Gerald dressed up as a clown and... examiner.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419336/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 04:21:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419324/posts Wonders of the World: Chartres Cathedral, France 01 Jan 2010 [See Video Clip] The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Chartres is a French gothic masterpiece, writes Emily Craig. The 13th century Chartres Cathedral, the largest cathedral in France, is one of the finest examples of French high Gothic art. Several cathedrals stood on this site from the 10th century onwards, but the building we see today was completed in 1260. It includes several architectural inventions pioneered at Chartres, such as flying buttresses. The cathedral is surmounted by a pair of spires, one Gothic in style, the other an example of... Telegraph(UK) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419324/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 03:36:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419323/posts - FrontPage Magazine - http://frontpagemag.com - ObamaÂ’s Tortured Rendezvous With Reality – by Jamie GlazovPosted By Jamie Glazov On December 31, 2009 @ 12:03 am In FrontPage | 37 Comments Frontpage InterviewÂ’s guest today is Victor Davis Hanson, a classicist and historian at Stanford UniversityÂ’s Hoover Institution. He is a columnist for National Review [1]and a recipient of the 2007 National Humanities Medal. FP: Victor Davis Hanson, welcome to Frontpage Interview.First things first, let me ask you this.If our government was serious about fighting Islamic terrorism and saving lives, wouldnÂ’t Abdul Mutallab be getting water-boarded just about now?We know that... frontpagemag.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419323/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 03:36:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419298/posts America does not want a state church. England has a state church — the Anglican Church. America does not want one denomination considered The Nation’s Church. On the other hand, America has a religious heritage. It’s not Muslim. It’s not Hindu. It’s not Shinto. It’s not animism. It’s not New Age. It’s not Paganism. It’s not Voodoo. It’s Judeo-Christian. Allvoices http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419298/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 02:25:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419213/posts Scientists have analysed DNA extracted from the remains of a 30,000-year-old European hunter-gatherer.> The researchers were able to assign the Kostenki individual to haplogroup "U2", which is relatively uncommon among modern populations. U2 appears to be scattered at low frequencies in populations from South and Western Asia, Europe and North Africa. Despite its rarity, the very presence of this haplogroup in today's Europeans suggests some continuity between Palaeolithic hunters and the continent's present-day inhabitants, argue the authors of the latest study. > BBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419213/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 23:19:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419191/posts Ruins of a pre-Columbian city built before the rise of the Maya civilisation have been discovered in a remote region of eastern Honduras, the Institute of Anthropology and History says. The so-called City of Encounters, in the wilderness of Botaderos mountain about 120 miles northeast of the capital, includes vestiges of three rectangular plazas, various mounds and small stone-encrusted pillars. It appears to have been built in the pre-Classical or early Classical period between 300 B.C. and 300 A.D., said Mexican anthropologist Victor Heredia, an investigator for the institute. "It's a pre-Hispanic city, a complex site. It has a well-defined... Tiscali http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419191/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 22:32:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419144/posts The red canyons and parched planes surrounding the new Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid Memorial Museum might make you think you're in the Old West. But the electrical wiring and a searing altitude headache tell you this is not California circa 1900, but high-up the mountains in present day Bolivia. Here in the tiny town of San Vicente (population 800), the world's most famous outlaws are supposed to have been gunned down 101 years ago, days after robbing the payroll of a Bolivian mine. Offing the bandits would seem to have been sufficient revenge but area residents still think the... Time http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419144/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 21:05:05 GMT