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Pittsburgh was treated to an impressive show the week of the recent G20 conference. A nice assortment of military choppers of various types and missions, along with odder aircraft difficult both to identify and explain. Both police and the National Guard were out in force, with downtown nearly sealed off. None of this hardware was used against the "3,000 - 4,000" (more like a few hundred) anarchist demonstrators when they turned their righteous wrath on a dozen Starbucks and a Whole Foods store. No serious confrontation was expected and none occurred. Because all of it - the Guard troops, the...

Oct 3, 2009 JAKARTA - A CLOSE aide of slain Malaysian terror leader Noordin Mohammed Top has handed himself in to Indonesian authorities, police said Saturday. National police spokesman Nanan Soekarna said in a text message Aris Ma'ruf, 23, surrendered to police in the Central Java district of Temanggung late Friday after months on the run. 'After interrogation, he was brought to the Central Java police headquarters to be handed over to the Central Java head of Special Detachment 88,' he said, referring to Indonesia's crack US and Australia-backed anti-terror squad.

War On Terror: Indonesian police killed the deadliest terrorist in East Asia Thursday, avenging the murders of 200 and striking a blow against al-Qaida. It took time, but Indonesia never gave up. This is how wars are won.Noordin Mohammed Top, diabolical mastermind behind every major terror attack on Indonesia since 2002, got the death he deserved — cowering in a toilet as the edifice around him exploded and burned. It was a long time coming. Malaysian-born Noordin became Indonesia's nightmare in 2002, after his role in the al-Qaida-affiliated Jemaah Islamiyah blasts on Bali, killing 202. In 2003, he bombed a...

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia's most wanted Islamist militant was killed in a police shoot-out in Central Java, police said on Thursday, lifting a major security threat ahead of a planned visit by U.S. President Barack Obama. Malaysian-born Noordin Mohammad Top, who set up a violent splinter group of regional militant network Jemaah Islamiah, was widely considered the mastermind of the bomb attacks on two luxury hotels in Jakarta in July, as well as other attacks in Bali and in Jakarta which killed scores of Westerners and Indonesians. National police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri announced Top's death at a news conference,...

Thank you Detachment 88. -Cindy # Nick Grace contributed to this report. PHOTO CAPTION: "A photo of Noordin Mohammed Top after he was killed during a raid in Java. The photo was taken with a cell phone. Photo provided by Nick Grace." SNIPPET: "Southeast Asia’s most wanted al Qaeda-linked terrorist has been killed during an overnight raid by counterterrorism police in Solo in Central Java, Indonesia. Police have confirmed that the elusive Noordin Mohammed Top has been killed along with four other terrorists during the assault on a safe house in Java." SNIPPET: "Within the past 24 hours, Indonesia's elite...

Indonesian authorities are celebrating the death of terrorist leader Noordin Mohammed Top, who was killed in a police raid in Java yesterday. Police have also found what they claim is evidence showing Top was Al Qaeda's leader in South-East Asia. But analysts say Indonesia's terrorist network could quickly recover from his death. Police were not specifically looking for Top when they swooped on a property in Solo in central Java, but after avoiding police for years, the infamous terrorist leader's luck had finally run out. Top was one of four men shot dead by the special anti-terrorist police detachment, 88,...

WASHINGTON (AP) - With negotiations on a new international climate treaty proving difficult, the Obama administration's chief climate negotiator on Thursday called on the Senate to act as soon as possible and pass legislation to control the gases blamed for global warming. Todd Stern, the State Department's special envoy for climate change, told a House panel that it was critical for the Senate to pass legislation to give the U.S. the "credibility and leverage" that it needs to convince other countries to reduce their pollution. While Stern cited progress, he said there's still a divide between developing countries worried that...

A leading Swedish newspaper reported this week that Israeli soldiers are abducting Palestinians in order to steal their organs, a claim that prompted furious condemnation and accusations of anti-Semitic blood libel from a rival publication. "They plunder the organs of our sons," read the headline in Sweden's largest daily newspaper, the left-leaning Aftonbladet, which devoted a double spread in its cultural section to the article.

SNIPPET: "Indonesian police confirmed that DNA tests proved that wanted terrorist Noordin Mohammed Top was not killed during last week's raid on a farmhouse in Java in Indonesia." SNIPPET: "DNA tests confirmed that the body of the person killed was that of another wanted terrorist named Amir Ibrohim. Ibrohim, who is also known as Amir Abdullah, worked as a contractor for the JW Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels and is said to have aided in the July 17 attacks. He was reportedly seen on tape escorting one of the suicide bombers during the July 17 attacks. Ibrohim is also believed...

AN ELITE Indonesian police squad has killed a man believed to be the most wanted Islamic militant in southeast Asia, Noordin Mohammad Top, who was linked to bombings in Jakarta and on the island of Bali. Officers of Detachment 88 stormed a house amid green rice paddies in central Java yesterday morning, using robot cameras to find their target as they blasted from room to room with grenades. The man made a last stand inside the bathroom as walls shattered around him, screaming out the name, “Noordin Top”, before black-clad marksmen fired volleys of shots into the room, witnesses said....

RADICAL Islamist Noordin Mohammed Top, the man accused of a series of suicide bombings in Indonesia, is one of Asia's most-wanted and elusive militant leaders. But his long and bloody game of cat-and-mouse with Indonesia's US-trained elite counter-terrorism forces may have come to an end in a storm of gunfire during a raid on a suspected hideout in Central Java today. His death has been reported by local television but police would confirm only that they believed the 40-year-old former accountant was hiding in the house when it was besieged by security forces late yesterday. At least three people are...

Antiterrorism police killed two alleged terrorists and arrested three others suspected of involvement in last month's deadly hotel bombs in Jakarta, a police spokesman said. The nighttime raid on a house near Jakarta uncovered more than 1,000 pounds of explosives, and a car fitted out for another terrorist attack, said Nanan Sukarna, the police spokesman. Meanwhile, a standoff with terrorists at a house near Temanggung, a town in central Java, a province on Indonesia's main island, which began at 5 p.m. local time on Friday continued on Saturday morning. Police say they believe inside the house was Noordin Mohamed Top,...

TWO body bags were seen being taken from a suspected hideout of terror suspect Noordin Top in Indonesia after a raid by police special forces. He was killed during a raid on his hideout, local television reported. The television station did not disclose its sources and police have not confirmed the report, which came as ambulances arrived at the suspected hideout following a 17-hour siege involving heavy gunfire and explosions. A witness said that two body bags were taken from the house. Elite police carrying assault rifles entered the house in Central Java after it had been besieged as part...

Jakarta, Indonesia (AP) - Explosive material recovered from the scene of two suicide bombings at hotels in the Indonesian capital is "identical" to that used by the Southeast Asian terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah in earlier attacks, police said. An unexploded bomb left in a room of the J.W. Marriott in Jakarta resembled devices used in attacks on Bali and one found in a recent raid against the network on an Islamic boarding school in Central Java, national police spokesman told a news conference Sunday.

JAKARTA, July 23 (Reuters) - The Indonesian wife of Noordin Top, the region's most-wanted militant because of his role in a string of bomb attacks in Indonesia, did not know his real name and thought he was a teacher, her lawyer said on Thursday. Malaysian-born Top is one of the prime suspects behind last week's near-simultaneous suicide bomb attacks on the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton, two luxury hotels in Jakarta's main business district, which killed nine people and injured 53, including Indonesians and foreigners. Police and security analysts said the attacks bore the hallmarks of Jemaah Islamiah (JI), the militant...

WASHINGTON (AP) - With health care legislation at a crossroads, the nation's hospitals are near agreement with a key lawmaker and the White House to pick up part of the cost of President Barack Obama's plan for expanded coverage, officials said Monday. The precise size of the deal was not available, although several days ago, talks were focused in the range of $150 billion to $155 billion over a decade. These officials said under the emerging agreement, hospitals would accept lower-than-anticipated payments under Medicare and Medicaid, the federal health care programs for seniors and the poor.

CNSNews.com ) - When President Obama said last week that he wants a government-run, government-owned health insurance provision to be included in the health-care reform bill being readied by Congress, only one of the nation’s top five, large-circulation newspapers thought it was worthy of front-page coverage.

Researchers are cloaking materials from light, sound, and even matter itself. Two years ago a team of engineers amazed the world (Harry Potter fans in particular) by developing the technology needed to make an invisibility cloak. Now researchers are creating laboratory-engineered wonder materials that can conceal objects from almost anything that travels as a wave. That includes light and sound and—at the subatomic level—matter itself. And lest you think that cloaking applies only to the intangible world, 2008 even brought a plan for using cloaking techniques to protect shorelines from giant incoming waves. Engineer Xiang Zhang, whose University of California...

Pleaes pardon my vanity. This morning I read that Israel / Palestinian conflict will be the top priority of an Obama administration. I recall that he had said a few other things were top priorities so I Googled "Obama Top Priority". I almost feel a little bad for BHO. He has a LOT of TOP Priorities! Israel - Palestinian conflict? A top priority http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE4A37B520081105 President elect Barack Obama has said resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be a top priority for his administration Clean energy economy? A top priority http://watthead.blogspot.com/2008/10/obamas-top-priority-apollo-project-to.htmlBarack Obama's top priority if elected president is to launch an Apollo-style...

WASHINGTON - It could turn out to be one of the most significant comments of the 2008 campaign — but coming just ahead of a holiday weekend, it isn’t getting much notice. Upon his return from a visit to Israel and Europe, the nation’s highest ranking military officer warned Wednesday that a military strike on Iran would be a very bad idea. “This is a very unstable part of the world, and I don't need it to be more unstable,” said the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael Mullen.

U.S. Wary Of Small Boat Terrorism As boating season approaches, the Bush administration wants to enlist America's 80 million recreational boaters to help reduce the chances that a small boat could deliver a nuclear or radiological bomb somewhere along the 95,000 miles of U.S. coastline and inland waterways. According to an April 23 intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press, "The use of a small boat as a weapon is likely to remain al Qaeda's weapon of choice in the maritime environment, given its ease in arming and deploying, low cost, and record of success." While the United States...

The top US Conservatives and Liberals By Toby Harnden Last Updated: 12:00pm GMT 29/10/2007 With a year and a few days to go before voters across the United States go to the polls to elect their 44th president, The Daily Telegraph today unveils the first instalments of its list of the 100 most influential Conservatives and 100 most influential Liberals in America. The 2008 election is arguably the most open contest since 1928, the last time there was no incumbent president or incumbent vice president running for their party's nomination. The victor will become the most powerful person in the...

Army Honors Its 'Top Dogs' Sep 21, 2007 BY Lynn Davis Sgt. Scott Warner and Junior get below the wires on the obstacle course low-crawl. The team is with the 241st MP Detachment at Fort Meade. Photo by Department of the Army FORT MEADE, Md. (The Military District of Washington, Sept. 21, 2007) -- The Military District of Washington held the 2007 Canine Competition at Fort Meade last week. Twenty-four teams, each consisting of a handler and his dog, from Fort Meade, Fort Belvoir, Fort Myer, Fort Lee and the National Security Agency competed for four days trying to prove...

NUKUALOFA, Tonga, Sept. 18, 2007 – While Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, was here today meeting with senior Tongan military and government officials, his senior enlisted leader, who had accompanied the admiral, was noticeably absent. Air Force Command Chief Master Sgt. James A. Roy arrives in Tonga to discuss NCO development in the Tongan armed forces as Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, meets with senior Tongan military and government officials. Photo by Donna Miles  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Air Force Command Chief Master Sgt. James A. Roy...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2007 – “The Volunteer State” is slated to receive the Defense Department’s top award next week for supporting Tennessee state employees who volunteer to serve in the National Guard and reserves. The state of Tennessee will be among 15 employers nationwide to receive the 2007 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award during a Sept. 12 ceremony here. The Freedom Award is the highest recognition the U.S. government gives to employers for outstanding support of their employees who serve in the National Guard and reserves. State employee and former Tennessee Army National Guard Sgt. Robert S....

The most popular 100 conservative political websites and blogs for 2007 are listed here. Read who made the list and who surprisingly didn't. Here is a ranking of the top 100 conservative political websites and blogs. Other than sifting and sorting through directories like alexa’s, there’s no easy to determine what are the most popular conservative websites. John Hawkins of rightwingnews has ranked all political websites in order of popularity in the past, but hasn’t put out an updated list since 2004. I have attempted to create an updated list of the conservative websites for 2007, using alexa’s directory and...

-- If Jack Bauer was in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and Nina Mayers, and he had a gun with 2 bullets, he'd shoot Nina twice. -- 1.6 billion Chinese are angry with Jack Bauer. Sounds like a fair fight. -- Jack Bauer could get off the Lost island in 24 hours. -- Jack Bauer once forgot where he put his keys. He then spent the next half-hour torturing himself until he gave up the location of the keys. -- Jack and Jill went up the hill. Only Jack came down. Jill was a terrorist. -- The only reason you're...

The U.S. Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics says the number of graduating high school seniors will peak at 3.3 million in 2011 and decline only slightly to 3.2 million by 2016. Most educators predict that the percentage of those students going to college -- now about 67 percent -- will increase and make the application process even more stressful. Undergraduate enrollment, for instance, is projected conservatively to increase from 15.2 million this year to 16.6 million in 2015, the center says. The number of high school graduates has increased every year since 1996 as the children of the...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2007 – Terror remains the No. 1 threat to the United States and its interests, the new U.S. director of national intelligence said in congressional testimony yesterday. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Retired Navy Vice Adm. John M. “Mike” McConnell gave a tour of the world from a threat level. Al Qaeda remains the terrorist network that poses the greatest threat to the United States, he said. “While many of al Qaeda's senior leadership have been killed or captured, its core elements are resilient,” he said. “They continue to plot attacks against the...

Vatican City - Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, grand sheik at the Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo, has agreed to meet Pope Benedict XVI in Rome, the Vatican said Tuesday. The sheikh is described as a moderate and is regarded as the highest spiritual authority for nearly 1 billion Sunni Muslims worldwide. His decision to accept the pope's invitation was made public by the Vatican press office after a visit to Cairo by Cardinal Paul Poupard, head of the Vatican's commission on relations with Muslims. A date for the meeting has not yet been announced. Benedict has been working hard to improve relations...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2007 – “A Million Thanks” presented its milestone 2.6 millionth letter of support for the troops to the Defense Department’s top enlisted servicemember during a ceremony in his Pentagon office today. Shauna Fleming (second from left) presented Army Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey, the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with the 2.6 millionth letter of support for the troops collected through her A Million Thanks program Feb. 1 at the Pentagon. The letter was written by Sean Siefried, 8, and his sister, Amber, 12, of Eaton, Pa. Orange Lutheran...

Top 10 Discoveries of 2006 Volume 60 Number 1, January/February 2007 How do you know it's been an extraordinary year in archaeology? When the discovery of the earliest Maya writing and a 2,500-year-old sarcophagus decorated with scenes from the Iliad don't crack ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 list: 1. Valley of the Kings Tomb KV63 was the first tomb to be excavated in the Valley of the Kings since Tutankhamun's in 1922. The chamber held seven 18th Dynasty coffins. 2. 3-Million-Year-Old Child After years of chiseling tiny bones out of sandstone blocks from Ethiopia's Rift Valley, paleontologists announced the discovery of a...

Nato's top brass accuse Pakistan over Taliban aid By Ahmed Rashid in Kabul (Filed: 06/10/2006) Commanders from five Nato countries whose troops have just fought the bloodiest battle with the Taliban in five years, are demanding their governments get tough with Pakistan over the support and sanctuary its security services provide to the Taliban. Nato's report on Operation Medusa, an intense battle that lasted from September 4-17 in the Panjwai district, demonstrates the extent of the Taliban's military capability and states clearly that Pakistan's Interservices Intelligence (ISI) is involved in supplying it. President Pervez Musharraf Commanders from Britain, the US,...

Tesco's half-year profits top £1bn (Filed: 03/10/2006) The £1 billion profit accumulated by Tesco over just six months has drawn renewed attacks on the impact the supermarket chain is having on the environment and town centres. Britons spent an average £289 in Tesco stores Tesco said today it took £17 billion from British shoppers in the first half of its financial year, or £289 for every Briton. Profits were bolstered by the group's expansion from food products to electrical goods, insurance and even computer software. But campaigners said Tesco's success is coming at an unacceptable cost. "Tesco's booming profits are...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan Sep 15, 2006 (AP)— Pakistan's parliament unanimously condemned Pope Benedict XVI on Friday for making what it called "derogatory" comments about Islam and demanded he apologize. The Vatican has said Pope Benedict did not mean to offend Muslims with remarks he made in Germany this week about Muhammad and holy war. In a speech, Benedict quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor as saying, "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2006 – The morale of American GIs serving in Iraq continues to be high, regardless of the danger, difficult conditions and family sacrifices they face, the Army’s top enlisted leader said yesterday. In a joint interview with the Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston recalled the stoic attitude displayed by soldiers and family members of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, after learning the unit’s Iraq tour was being extended. Preston, the senior enlisted advisor to Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker,...

Three of the alleged ringleaders of the foiled airplane bomb plot have been identified by western intelligence agencies involved in unraveling the plot. Two of them are believed to have recently traveled to Pakistan and were later in receipt of money wired to them from Pakistan, reportedly to purchase tickets for the suicide bombers. Sources identify the three, who are now in custody, as: --Rashid Rauf --Mohammed al-Ghandra --Ahmed al Khan

Anti-terror laws alienate Muslims, says top policeman · Call for judicial review into causes of extremism· Ghaffur says racism has curtailed his own career Riazat Butt and Vikram Dodd Monday August 7, 2006 The Guardian (UK) A Muslim man looks out at the police cordon following an evacuation in the Beeston area of Leeds after last year’s terrorist attack in London. Photograph: Dan Chung/Guardian One of Britain's top police officers will today warn that anti-terrorism laws are discriminating against Muslims and law enforcement agencies are running a "real risk" of criminalising ethnic minorities. Tarique Ghaffur, assistant commissioner in the Metropolitan...

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 28, 2006 – Almost five years into the mission, American troops are still highly motivated about their duty in Afghanistan, the top enlisted man for Combined Forces Command Afghanistan said. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Wood travels the country with the commander, Army Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, and on his own. He is in a unique position to see what the joint force assigned here thinks. “The morale is great because it doesn’t take long after servicemembers get here to understand what the focus is,” Wood said during an interview. “The baseline for this theater is the...

WASHINGTON, July 18, 2006 – Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld hosted China's senior military officer here today to build on the growing U.S.-China military relationship and discuss issues of mutual interest, including North Korea. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace (left) and Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld (second from left) meet with Gen. Guo Boxiong, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China at the Pentagon July 18. Photo by Staff Sgt. Gary Hilliard, USA   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Gen. Guo Boxiong, vice chairman of...

Time for a new FreeRepublic folding@home thread. Our FreeRepublic team of 351 members comprised primarily of Free Republic members in good standing have banded together to donate their excess CPU cycles to a worthy cause. Via distributed computing, millions of computers around the world, contribute directly to scientific research, in the quest for a greater understanding of diseases such as Alzheimer's, Cancer, and Mad Cow (BSE). Currently, the team is in 85th place (with 908 active CPUs - 47,400 completed Work Units and nearly 8.5 million points). This is an entirely voluntary program, and if you want to learn more,...

WASHINGTON, June 27, 2006 – The highest priority in funding the global war on terror is to ensure that the military members fighting it have all they need to win, a senior defense official told Pentagon reporters today. "This country is committed to making sure the men and women that are out there fighting this war are going to have the resources they need to be successful," said Bryan Whitman, deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs. The Defense Department has obligated $295 billion for the war on terror from Sept. 11, 2001, through March 2006, Whitman said. Those...

BAGHDAD — U.S. and Iraqi forces zeroed in on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi over two weeks, tracking his spiritual adviser to the terrorist leader's doorstep and unleashing the airstrike that included a bomb equipped in Tucson that killed them, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Thursday. The first bomb used in the airstrike was a laser-guided Paveway GBU-12, Lt. Gen. Gary North, the top U.S. air commander in the region, told Reuters. Raytheon makes the bomb's guidance systems in Tucson

WASHINGTON, June 8, 2006 – The Department of Veterans Affairs is revamping its data security procedures following last month's theft of a VA laptop computer that contained personal information of veterans and military personnel still in uniform, the secretary of the VA told a congressional committee today. "We will stay focused on these problems until they are fixed," said R. James Nicholson during hearings before the House Committee on Government Reform. "We will take direct and immediate action to address and alleviate affected people's concerns. We are accountable to our nations veterans and servicemembers." On May 3, the Montgomery County,...

A SENIOR adviser to Police Commissioner Mal Hyde knew two years ago police were breaking strict laws controlling the State's DNA database but did not suspend its operation, court documents have revealed. Transcripts of closed hearings held earlier this year during the prosecution of a suspected armed robber show hundreds of DNA samples instead were sent to a special police taskforce, Operation Helix, which used DNA to arrest more than 150 people over 1100 unsolved crimes. Among police documents suppressed during the hearings were reports prepared for Assistant Commissioner of Crime Madeleine Glynn. The criminal barrister who obtained the documents...

Top Ten Surprises In ABC's Bird Flu Movie (Presented By Britney Spears) 10. Thanks to sponsorship deal, flu is cured by delicious taste of Dr. Pepper 9. Humans attacked by pigeons with tire irons 8. 20% of population comes down with less dangerous "bird hiccups" 7. Every time someone says, "chicken," all the characters chug a beer 6. Hilarious scene in which Leslie Nielsen confuses his Tamiflu with his Viagra 5. Every single person in the world ends up at General Hospital 4. The big villain? Larry Bird 3. Sad conclusion in which Charlie Brown puts a bullet in Woodstock...

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2006 – When the USS James E. Williams sets sail from Norfolk, Va., tomorrow, it will be a special moment for the family of a top Army noncommissioned officer. Army Command Sgt. Maj. William J. "Joe" Gainey poses in his Pentagon office next to a portrait of his cousin, James E. Williams, a Medal of Honor recipient and the most decorated sailor in Navy history. A ship named for Williams, the USS James E. Williams, sets sail on its maiden voyage from Norfolk, Va., May 2. Photo by Kathleen T. Rhem  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image...

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2006 – Mark S. Wrighton was just entering his teen years when the Navy moved his family from Patuxent, Md., to Argentia, Newfoundland. Naval "military brat" Mark S. Wrighton took what he learned from his youth and succeeded in the academic world. The former chemistry professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology is currently the chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis. Photo by Joe Angeles/WUSTL  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. At the time his father was a flight engineer on an extension of the Distant Early Warning Line. The early 1960s Cuban missile crisis was...

MOUNT VERNON, Va., April 20, 2006 – Top DoD and Army leaders gathered here at the home of the country's first war hero today to honor soldiers wounded in Iraq. Army Capt. Robert Klinger shakes hands with Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England after being presented with the Purple Heart Medal during an award ceremony on George Washington's Mount Vernon estate, in Mount Vernon, Va., April 20, 2006. Defense Dept. photo by William D. Moss  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. "I feel very lucky, very lucky. It's nice being married to your own personal hero," Mollie Borders, the wife...

My web site JunkScience.com celebrated its 10th anniversary on April 1, 2006. To mark the event, this column spotlights 10 big junk science stories of the last 10 years. In no particular order, they are: 1. The most toxic manmade chemical? That’s what some called dioxin, a by-product of natural and industrial combustion processes and the “contaminant of concern” in the Vietnam-era defoliant known as Agent Orange. Billions of dollars have been spent studying and regulating dioxin, but debunking the scare only cost a few thousand dollars. Keying off Ben & Jerry’s claim on its ice cream packages that “there...