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Armoured suits are 'too goofy' say US troops By Francis Harris, in Washington (Filed: 09/05/2006) American troops have complained that a new armoured body suit designed to be worn in Iraq makes them look "goofy". The water-cooled "alien spacesuits" are being handed out to turret gunners in their notoriously vulnerable Humvee vehicles. The new suit is designed to protect against roadside bombs but has had mixed reviews from soldiers The protective suit, based on those worn by bomb disposal officers, was intended to cut spiralling casualties for one of the most dangerous jobs in modern warfare. But some troops have...

Strikes on Iran too risky, says US general By Alec Russell in Washington (Filed: 02/05/2006) Military action against Iran would be fraught with risk and would have repercussions across the region, a leading American general conceded. "Any action militarily is very complicated," Lt Gen Victor Renuart, the director of planning for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told The Daily Telegraph. Donald Rumsfeld, President Bush and Condoleezza Rice in Washington yesterday "And any action by any country will have second-order effects, and that is a strong case to continue the diplomatic process and make it work." His comments are a rare...

'Afro-tunnel' may still be a bridge too far By Jon Clarke and Colin Freeman (Filed: 30/04/2006) Like every other great plan to link one continent with another, it has spent an age gathering dust. A bridge between Africa and Europe has been dreamt of since the Moorish conquest of southern Spain, but the political will and hard cash to build it have always been lacking. Now, in an effort to overcome that inertia, regional officials in southern Spain have turned to an eccentric American architect. Eugene Tsui, whose oddball designs have attracted controversy, has been commissioned by officials in Cadiz,...

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (Army News Service, April 25, 2006) – When deploying Soldiers leave behind loved ones, the disruption to family life can be especially hard on children. That’s why Dr. Thomas Hardaway, a child psychiatrist and chief of behavioral medicine at Brooke Army Medical Center, spoke with first- and second-graders at Fort Campbell, Ky., last fall when the 101st Airborne Division went to Iraq. He was coaching school administrators, counselors, nurses and parents to talk with children about deployment. “Deployment has potential to be destructive to a child’s development,” Hardaway said. “The message I’m trying to give is that...

Now aristocrats will be evicted for living too close to Mugabe By Peta Thornycroft in Harare (Filed: 20/01/2006) Owners of property next to President Robert Mugabe's retirement mansion have received written warning that their houses will be confiscated by the state. The move represents the first time Zimbabwe's elite, both black and white, have suffered at first hand. President Mugabe's £6m palace is nearing completion Millions of Zimbabweans were affected by last year's "clearances" of urban shantytowns and much of the rural population hit by Mr Mugabe's war on white farmers. But, until now, many members of the aristocracy have...

Persepolis architects were geologists, too Tehran Times Culture Desk TEHRAN – Recent geological studies at the Persepolis historical site indicate that Achaemenid era architects used their unique knowledge of geology and mines in the construction of Persepolis, the Persian service of CHN reported on Thursday. The experts were well aware of the science of geology and were keen to discover underground sources of water, geologist Azam Zare said. The studies show that the Achaemenid experts had acquired specialized knowledge and technology, but it is unclear how they mastered these skills, she added. “The studies of the geological team at Persepolis...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2005 – Leaving Iraq before the mission there is finished will make America less, not more, secure and will send a dangerous message that will ring around the world, President Bush said today here at the Woodrow Wilson International Center. Speaking the day before Iraq's national elections, Bush disputed critics who claim the United States would be safer and Iraq less violent if the United States withdrew its forces there. "This view presumes that if we were not in Iraq, the terrorists would be leaving us alone," Bush said. In reality, the president said, terrorists have been...

Hurricane season finally ending, but next year could be bad, too By JOHN PAIN Associated Press Writer November 29. 2005 4:27PM The busiest and costliest Atlantic hurricane season on record officially - and mercifully - draws to a close Wednesday, with hundreds of thousands of Americans still dealing with the devastation wrought by Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Despite the end of the June 1-to-Nov. 30 season, hurricanes could still form over the next few months. In fact, a tropical storm took shape in the Atlantic on Tuesday. But no hurricane has been known to hit the United States between December...

Actor Bruce Willis wanted to serve his country as far back as the Gulf War. His friends laughed at him, telling him he was too old. Undaunted, Willis looked into himself – only to find out they were right. He was too old. So the star of "Die Hard," "The Sixth Sense," "Hostage" and dozens of other movies, did the next best thing. He traveled to Iraq with his band, the Accelerators, to entertain troops with the USO. He is also planning to join returning troops at Fort Lewis in Washington state Nov. 5. "The idea of serving my country...

I offer up my feeble rant here, quite possibly my FR swansong. I've had it w/ W. This supreme court selection is the last straw. He's got no balls. None of our Republican so called "leaders" has any. I'm also tired of seeing that fake little smile of Tom Delay on TV. Neither of these guys have any idea what a working class conservative guy goes through out here in the trenches. W's supreme court pick may be the next thing since sliced bread, but she's 60 years old! UNINSPIRING to the MAX. A Squandered opportunity. Cronyism at its best....

If I gave you $7,000 to spend on whatever you wanted, what would you buy? Seven thousand dollars may not be a huge sum of money, but it is still a significant chunk of change. I mean, you could buy a car, pay your room and board at EMU for the year, or have 70% of the buy-in for the World Series of Poker main event. The list is almost endless, but there is one item in particular that really struck me as surprising when I learned that my gift money could purchase it. It is the Barrett M82A1 sniper...

JACKSON, Miss. (AFPN) -- When Senior Master Sgt. James Sanchez goes on a rescue mission here, he makes sure the basic tools of the trade are in order -- a secure hoist, communication equipment, ear protection, water, dog biscuits and a can of cat treats. To him, no one gets left behind. "It's hard to turn away an animal that is going to die … if you don't get them out," said Sergeant Sanchez, a pararescueman with Air Force Reserve Command's 306th Rescue Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. "If they come to me, I take them. If they...

The Venona decodes, their meaning and interpretation, are too large a subject for this thread.

Pre-Incas kept detailed records too Jude Webber Wednesday, 20 July 2005 This inhabitant of the ancient Peruvian city of Caral would have used knotted string to communicate sophisticated concepts as long as 5000 years ago (Image: Reuters/ Pilar Olivares) A sophisticated arrangement of knots and strings, found on the site of the oldest city in the Americas, indicates ancient Peruvians were skilled at conveying detailed information much earlier than once thought. Archaeologists say the string arrangement, known as a quipu or khipu, indicates ancient Americans were expert communicators thousands of years earlier. Until now the oldest known quipus, often associated...

Monday, June 27, 2005; Posted: 8:02 a.m. EDT (12:02 RELATED • Paul Winchell, voice of Tigger, dies YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Obituaries (Entertainment) Bob Newhart or Create Your Own Manage Alerts | What Is This? NEW YORK (AP) -- John Fiedler, a stage actor who won fame as the voice of Piglet in Walt Disney's Winnie-the-Pooh films, died Saturday, The New York Times reported in Monday editions. He was 80. Fiedler served in the Navy during World War II before beginning a stage career in New York. He performed in supporting roles alongside Sidney Poitier on Broadway, John Wayne in Hollywood...

...The autopsy in the Terri Schiavo case provides a rare moment of political accountability. We should not "move on," as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist suggested. No, we cannot move on until those politicians who felt entitled to make up facts and toss around unwarranted conclusions about Schiavo's condition take responsibility for what they said -- and apologize... So the big-government conservatives had to invent a story. They had to insist that they knew, just knew , more about Terri Schiavo's condition than the doctors on the scene. They had to question Michael Schiavo's motives and imply that he wanted...

Siberians fear minus 30 is too warm for comfort By Julius Strauss in Yuchyugay (Filed: 05/03/2005) The afternoon high is a little below minus 30 degrees Celsius an hour outside the small Siberian settlement of Yuchyugay, even in the pale winter sun. But at this time of the year, locals say with a frown, it should be a steady minus 50. As cars roll across the wide, frozen rivers, traces of running water show where the current runs so fast that the ice melts, a phenomenon, the locals insist, that should only occur much later in the season. Environmental research...

Even in a relationship that has clearly gone somewhere beyond abusive, it can hurt to be reminded how little our "partners" in D.C.—supposedly our agents, in fact, representing our own interests and using only powers we've ceded them—really respect us. No matter how loyal and supportive we try to be—they ask us to trouble ourselves to vote, and more than half of us do, and it seems to make them so proud—well, every once in a while the velvet glove comes off and we get bitchslapped hard with an open iron slap. Not a fist—that would acknowledge that they actually...

She released a book entitled It's My Party, Too: Taking Back the Republican Party... And Bringing the Country Together Again in which she criticizes the policies of the Bush administration and its electoral strategy which she views as divisive. It has been suggested that this may be a prelude to a candidacy for president in 2008 as a moderate Republican. She's been going around several talk shows including Hannity & Colmes criticizing the President Bush. This is a partial transcript from "Hannity & Colmes," Jan. 27, 2005, that has been edited for clarity. SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST:  Our next guest thinks...

Rather got off too easy By Al Knight Denver Post Columnist Article Published: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 An independent panel's probe of the disputed Sept. 8 "60 Minutes" report on President Bush's National Guard service allows for only one conclusion: The program segment was an example of lousy, if not biased, journalism and most of the culprits responsible, especially CBS producer Mary Mapes, deserved to be fired. However, for reasons not yet clear, CBS anchorman Dan Rather was spared a similar fate. Although Rather has resigned his anchorman position, he will continue to work for CBS on both the Sunday...