Free Republic

A controversial website that allows whistle-blowers to anonymously post government and corporate documents has been taken offline in the US. Wikileaks.org, as it is known, was cut off from the internet following a California court ruling, the site says. The case was brought by a Swiss bank after “several hundred” documents were posted about its offshore activities. Other versions of the pages, hosted in countries such as Belgium and India, can still be accessed. Wikileaks, in case you’ve never heard of it, has been gaining profile as the place to put information that someone is trying to keep under cover:...

A small private intelligence company that monitors Islamic terrorist groups obtained a new Osama bin Laden video ahead of its official release last month, and around 10 a.m. on Sept. 7, it notified the Bush administration of its secret acquisition. It gave two senior officials access on the condition that the officials not reveal they had it until the al-Qaeda release. Within 20 minutes, a range of intelligence agencies had begun downloading it from the company's Web site. By midafternoon that day, the video and a transcript of its audio track had been leaked from within the Bush administration to...

Major Buddhist site comes to light Tuesday July 10 2007 14:16 IST VIJAYAWADA: A chance digging by mulberry farmers in agricultural lands have uncovered major Buddhist architectural finds in Kanthamanenivarigudem of West Godavari district. Two ancient sites are not only seen as prototypes of the present-day temples, but they have also provided the first-ever proof of the existence of another major Buddhist sect apart from the hitherto known Mahayana, Hinayana and Vajrayana sects. Interestingly, the new finds are just 2 km away from the famous Second Century rock-cut Buddhist caves of Guntupalli or Jilakarragudem in West Godavari, known as the...

BAGHDAD, June 25, 2007 — Iraqi and U.S. soldiers from the Multi-National Division-Baghdad are now fortifying a western Baghdad gas station that has been the target of recent insurgent attacks in the neighborhood of Yarmouk. The gas station, which serves the residents of southeastern Mansour, has come under small arms fire and two car bombs exploded within 100 meters of the gas station in recent weeks. These attacks prompted leaders from the 2nd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Division and 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery to take action. “We’ve already begun to see an improvement in the traffic flow. Black-market...

Archaeologists to return to Allendale site in May By PETER FROST pfrost@islandpacket.com 843-706-8169 Published Saturday, February 17, 2007 It was on the banks of the Savannah River in Allendale County where Al Goodyear in 2004 found the clues of an ancient civilization that could rewrite the history books. The University of South Carolina archaeologist and a group of volunteers unearthed artifacts estimated to be 50,000 years old, implying humans lived on this continent before the last Ice Age, far earlier than previously believed. They uncovered what appeared to be cutting tools and stone chisels used by humans that existed an...

AMERICAN efforts last month to issue a travel ban on 12 Iranians suspected of supporting that nation's nuclear program wasn't big news at first. Shortly after, it was revealed the analysis supporting the ban was provided not by the CIA but by a single junior analyst using Google searches. The lesson? Advanced technology and Web-savvy citizenry now make it possible for open-source information gathering to rival, if not surpass, the clandestine intelligence produced by government agencies. Indeed, open-source methods have already proved their worth in counter-terrorism. Shortly after September 11, 2001, Valdis Krebs, a security expert, re-created the structure and...

Seoul, U.S. monitor test sites Intelligence authorities here are on alert for any signs of provocative activities by North Korea following its threat to conduct nuclear tests Tuesday. The Seoul government is now working on identifying the North's possible test site in close coordination with U.S. intelligence agencies. Experts and media reports have focused on Gilju in North Hamgyeong Province and Hagap, Mount Mumyeong and Gimdangol in Jagang Province as the renegade state's possible underground test sites. The most feasible candidate is Gilju, which South Korea and the United States have kept under close observation since the 1990s, after recognizing...

Web Site to Outline Voting Options for Troops OverseasBy Sgt. Sara Wood, USAAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2006 – A new Web site being developed by the Defense Department will provide information on electronic voting options for servicemembers and other U.S. citizens living overseas. The Integrated Voting Alternative Site, which is scheduled to be accessible Sept. 1, will include information from all 55 states and territories on the various electronic ballot request and delivery alternatives available to U.S. citizens living overseas covered under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, said Scott Wiedmann, deputy director of...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2006 --- The Department of Justice has launched a Web site to protect servicemembers’ rights, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzalez said yesterday. Gonzales, speaking to the Disabled American Veterans annual convention in Chicago, said the Justice Department has made it a priority to enforce civil rights laws for American servicemembers. “The law recognizes that although we can never thank you enough for your service, we can take away some of the worries that soldiers might face when they are deployed,” he said in prepared remarks. The government promises that servicemembers’ jobs will still be theirs when...

Sailors' Social Security nos. on Web siteBy LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer 55 minutes ago Sailors man the rails as the amphibious transport dock USS Nashville (LPD 13), an element of the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG), departs Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia, June 6, 2006. Personal data on 28,000 U.S. sailors and their families appeared on a public Web site this week, the Navy said on Friday, marking the latest in a string of data breaches involving American military personnel. (Matthew Bookwalter/U.S. Navy/Handout/Reuters) WASHINGTON - The Navy has begun a criminal investigation...

WASHINGTON, June 15, 2006 – In a solemn ceremony under sunny skies, the ground that nearly five years ago was the scene of a catastrophic attack was today dedicated to the memory of those who were killed. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld speaks to the audience at the June 15 site dedication ceremony to mark the beginning of work on the Pentagon Memorial at the site where 184 innocent lives were lost when terrorist hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed on Sept. 11, 2001. Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley, USN  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image...

ABOARD USS SALVOR, Gulf of Thailand (NNS) -- The rescue and salvage ship USS Salvor (ARS 52) and divers of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1 arrived June 11 at the site in the Gulf of Thailand presumed to be the resting place of the WWII–era USS Lagarto (SS 371) and its crew. In May 2005, British diver Jamie MacLeod reported finding Lagarto, which was last seen May 3, 1945. On May 8, 2006, MacLeod joined U.S. Pacific Fleet Submarine Force Commander Rear Adm. Jeffrey Cassias and families of crew members who served aboard Lagarto at a memorial service...

Iran accused of hiding secret nuclear weapons site By Con Coughlin, Defence and Security Editor (Filed: 12/06/2006) Fresh evidence has emerged that Iran is working on a secret military project to develop nuclear weapons that has not been declared to United Nations inspectors responsible for monitoring Iran’s nuclear programme. Nuclear experts working for the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna are pressing the Iranians to make a full disclosure about a network of research laboratories at a secret military base outside the capital Teheran. The project is codenamed Zirzamin 27, and its purpose is to enable the Iranians to undertake...

WASHINGTON, June 9, 2006 – As another sign of progress toward establishing a lasting tribute to the 184 people killed at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, the start of on-site construction for the Pentagon Memorial will be marked with a June 15 ceremony here. This design photo shows how the Pentagon Memorial will be built on a two-acre site at the Pentagon, just outside the spot where terrorists crashed the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 into the building. The design includes 184 illuminated benches representing each of the victims killed, with lighted reflecting pools beneath each bench. Photo...

Volunteers to dig into Croatan Indian village site again By CATHERINE KOZAK, The Virginian-Pilot © May 28, 2006 The last time the long-dormant Croatan site was investigated, a team of archaeologists unearthed a 16th-century gold ring that may be the most significant archaeological find of early American history. In June, the team, with many of the same members who were there in 1998 when the English nobleman's ring was found, will be back to revive exploration of the ancient capital of the Croatan Indians in Buxton. Organized by The Lost Colony Center for Science and Research , the team of...

Boadicea may have had her chips on site of McDonald's By Nick Britten (Filed: 25/05/2006) Archaeologists believe they may have found the final battle site for the warrior queen Boadicea - on the site of a McDonald's restaurant. Having spent her life in fierce resistance to one empire - the Romans - her last stand is thought to have been overshadowed by another one, this time corporate. Having found ancient artefacts where new houses and flats are due to be built, experts have now asked the local authority to allow a full excavation of the area. Little is known about...

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...

Archaeologists find 10,000 years of history at Lowcountry site 12:51 PM EDT on Thursday, April 13, 2006 HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- Archaeologists reviewing a site for a highway bridge over the Combahee River have found nearly 10,000 years of history art the location. The archaeologists are reviewing the site before work begins to build a wider bridge to take U.S. 17 across the river, which marks the boundary between Beaufort and Colleton counties. The new bridge will be named for Harriet Tubman, who in 1863 led black Union soldiers on a raid that freed 700 slaves from plantations in...

4/12/2006 - VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) -- The missile defense site here took on a new name April 10. The Ronald W. Reagan Missile Defense Site honors the 40th president of the United States who was a champion of the need for missile defense. Attendees at the ceremony included former First Lady Nancy Reagan; Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England; Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens; former California Gov. Pete Wilson; Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz, vice commander of Air Force Space Command; and Lt. Gen. Henry A. "Trey" Obering III, director of the Missile Defense Agency. “President Reagan simply...

WASHINGTON, April 12, 2006 – Children of U.S. soldiers spearheaded a project to launch a Web site that enables Army youth around the world to communicate with each other. The "Real Teens Connected" Web site, which went live this winter, is a product of the Army's Child and Youth Services Army Teen Panel, and is geared toward teenagers 13-18 years old. The site offers a variety of services to all Army-affiliated youth, including news updates, relocation information and stories written by Army kids. "Kids want to connect with other kids who are in like situations," Pamela "PK" Tomlinson, deputy director...