Free Republic

The European Commission is due to announce the timetable it will adopt for admitting Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union. It is expected that Bucharest and Sofia will be told they can join on 1 January 2007 - but under strict conditions. They will be checked for progress in curbing organised crime, controlling animal disease and instituting procedures for administering farm aid. The conditions are tougher than imposed on previous new members, observers say. The BBC's Oana Lungescu in Strasbourg says they are intended both as a reassurance for EU citizens, only half of whom support further enlargement, and...

Iran threatens to use 'oil weapon' in nuclear standoff · Energy crisis would leave people 'shivering in cold'· UN deadline looms for Tehran to accept deal Simon Tisdall in Tehran Monday August 7, 2006 The Guardian (UK) Iran warned Britain and the US yesterday that the international community could face a new oil crisis if the United Nations security council imposes sanctions on Tehran over its alleged attempt to acquire a nuclear weapons-making capability. Speaking in Tehran, Ali Larijani, the country's chief nuclear negotiator and head of the supreme national security council, said Iran would be reluctant to cut its...

WASHINGTON, July 19, 2006 – Extremists in Afghanistan attacked coalition forces from a religious site yesterday, and targeted several civilian areas this week, including a bridge, a school and a wedding party, military officials in Afghanistan reported. Extremists began firing on coalition forces in the village of Nowzad in Helmand province yesterday. The sniper fire came from the direction of a religious shrine. There were no reported injuries to coalition forces or damage to equipment. In a separate incident in Kandahar province, a supply convoy received small-arms fire from a nearby mosque. While there were no casualties in this incident,...

There has been an increasing trend towards building DNA databases all over the world. In America there are many states that take your DNA for a misdemeanor crime and also during a traffic stop. There have been DNA dragnets all across America. You are pulled over by a police officer for running a red light and he tells you to swab the inside of you’re mouth. Any authority figure will normally get what he wants if he applies a little pressure. We were taught to obey our authorities from grade school so it is embedded in our psyche. A basic...

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has licensed free anti-spyware software for all government employees and armed forces personnel for use on personal computer systems. According to the Federal Trade Commission’s Web site at www.ftc.gov, Spyware is software that monitors or controls the use of your computer. It could send pop-up ads, redirect browsers to certain Web sites, or even record your keystrokes. A pop-up ad could even try to trick someone into typing in bank account information, leading to identity theft. Users may also be able to get the software through their respective Automated Data...

A local farmer talks about the price of fertilizer to members of the Nahia City Council at the General Culture Center in Iskandariyah, Iraq, April 29, 2006. Farmers requested the meeting in an effort to speed-up the process of standing up a new farmer’s union program in the area so farmers would be able to resource off of each other and boost the economy. U.S. Army photo by Cpl. Michael Molinaro Iraqi Farmers Use Democracy to Voice Concerns The farmers expressed a desire to the Ministry of Agriculture to sustain them in their quest for newer farm equipment, an...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The California Assembly has voted to restrict the use of ultrasound machines for personal use, approving a bill that would allow them to be sold only to licensed professionals. Democratic Assemblyman Ted Lieu introduced the bill after "Mission: Impossible III" star Tom Cruise bought an ultrasound machine to see images of his unborn child. The actor's fiancee, Katie Holmes, gave birth to the couple's daughter, Suri, last month in Los Angeles. Doctors and technologists typically receive years of training to perform ultrasound exams, which help obstetricians check a baby's health. Cruise was criticized by doctors who said...

4/27/2006 - POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. (AFPN) -- An emergency parachute jettison device was used for the first time during a Joint Forcible Entry Exercise here April 25. Loadmasters from Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., and Dyess AFB, Texas, participated in the exercise. Chief Master Sgt. Steven Pyszka and Master Sgt. Lee McDaniel, loadmaster training instructors from Air Mobility Command, came to ensure the device was properly set up and operated. The new jettison device has been in development since 1997. It was created to quickly and safely jettison malfunctioning parachutes during an airdrop delivery of heavy equipment....

Dig finds long-term use at Hell's Half AcreSite was home to Indians at least 1,200 years ago By The Associated Press CASPER, Wyo. -- A preliminary report on an archaeological dig says Hell's Half Acre, west of Casper, was home to prehistoric American Indians at least 1,200 years ago, and perhaps as long as 8,000 years ago. John Albanese, chairman of the Natrona County Historic Preservation Society, told Natrona County commissioners on Thursday that archaeological evidence shows Indians were hunting bison at Hell's Half Acre between 1,200 and 3,000 years ago, and that some evidence appeared to be much older....

WASHINGTON, March 13, 2006 – Terrorists in Iraq resort to using improvised explosive devices because they lack the ability to engage in conventional military operations, President Bush said here today. "After the terrorists were defeated in battles in Fallujah and Tal Afar, they saw they could not confront Iraqi or American forces in pitched battles and survive, and so they turned to IEDs, a weapon that allows them to attack from a safe distance without having to face our forces in battle," Bush said during a speech at George Washington University's Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. The president also...

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2006 – A congressionally appointed commission will commence the most comprehensive review of the National Guard and reserves in history. Retired Marine Maj. Gen. Arnold Punaro chairs the 13-member commission. The reserve components have played an increasingly important part in the global war on terror, Punaro said during an interview. Congress formed the commission on the National Guard and Reserves as part of the 2005 National Defense Authorization Act. Punaro said Congress felt an independent group needed "to take a more fundamental look at how the reserves are organized, trained and equipped." In addition, the commission will...

PASADENA, Calif. - Singer Kelly Clarkson, who vaulted to fame as the first "American Idol" winner in 2002, is not letting any of her songs be used by new contestants on the show. A spokesman for Clarkson insisted it's nothing personal, but the stance prompted a public scolding from "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell. "I think that by ignoring the show you're ignoring the audience who put you there," Cowell said Tuesday. Clarkson has become a major star in the past year, with her hit "Since U Been Gone" earning both massive sales and critical respect, particularly from a rock...

'Only a matter of time before terrorists use weapons of mass destruction' By Con Coughlin (Filed: 17/01/2006) Biological weapons pose a far more serious long-term terrorist threat to the West than nuclear weapons, according to Washington's leading counter-terrorism expert. And Henry "Hank" Crumpton, the newly-appointed head of counter-terrorism at the US State Department, believes that it is simply a matter of time before international terrorist groups such as al-Qa'eda acquire weapons of mass destruction and use them in attacks. Henry Crumpton refuses to rule out the military option to tame Iran's nuclear amitions In an exclusive interview with The Daily...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5, 2006 – Defense Department installations have begun implementing new cell phone restrictions for drivers on military bases. The new regulation, published in the Federal Register in April 2005, states that anyone driving a motor vehicle on a DoD installation cannot use a cell phone unless the vehicle is safely parked or the driver is using a hands-free device. Many installations already have implemented the new restrictions, and the rest will implement the rules on their own schedule, said John Seibert, assistant for safety, health and fire protection for DoD. There is no deadline for installations to implement...

11/28/2005 - INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey (AFPN) -- Giving and receiving are the hallmarks of the holiday season. If you don't believe it, ask the aerial porters here who receive an average of 600,000 pounds of cargo every day and give the warfighters in Iraq "gifts" they can use. "When airlift operations at Frankfurt (Germany) closed, Incirlik ops ramped up significantly," said 1st Lt. Jim Burnham of the 728th Air Mobility Squadron. "We rely on the Reserve force to come in and augment us." Of the 250-person team, 100 of the aerial porters are Reservists deployed for 30 to 120...

Iraqi Soldiers Use Insurgents' Weapons U.S. soldiers refurbish the weapons, and the Iraqi troops, in turn, have taught the U.S. troops how to look for booby traps on the weapons and how to disassemble them faster. By U.S. Army Pfc. Joshua R. Ford Multinational Corps-Iraq LOGISTICAL SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA, Iraq, Nov. 21, 2005 — From small arms to M-1 Abrams tank weapon systems, the 3rd Forward Support Battalion, 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division armory can fix just about any U.S. Army ground weapon. When the order came down to refurbish 88 AK-47s, they were ready for the challenge. "It...

U.S. to Iraq: Curb Use of Shiite Militias Thursday November 17, 2005 11:46 PM By ROBERT H. REID Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The Iraqi government has promised to investigate detention facilities across the country to ensure prisoners are not tortured, the United States said Thursday, sharply warning Iraqi officials against allowing Shiite militias a role in the security services following allegations of torture of Sunni Arabs. The Interior Minister, who is in charge of the facilities and security forces, said torture claims were exaggerated. Sectarian rhetoric sharpened four days after U.S. troops found up to 173 malnourished...

We will use force, Blair warns Iranians By Anton La Guardia, Toby Helm and David Rennie (Filed: 28/10/2005) Tony Blair delivered his strongest warning to Iran last night, saying Teheran would not be allowed to become a "threat to our world security". He hinted that the West might have to resort to force. The Prime Minister said western allies would meet in the next few days to decide how to react after President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad called for Israel to be "wiped off the map". Tony Blair felt a 'real sense of revulsion' at the remarks While the initial response is...

Plastic surgeon Frederic Corbin was intrigued last year when he saw an ad for a product that offered the same protein used in the wildly popular wrinkle treatment Botox — only much, much, cheaper. "My initial reaction was, 'Hmm, Botox now has some competition,'" recalled Corbin, who practices in Beverly Hills, Calif. But when he received a vial of the botulinum toxin in the mail, he was puzzled by the warning: "For Research Purposes Only. Not for Human Use." He says he returned it and more or less forgot about it until he heard about four people last December whose...

Dell plant supporters oppose lawsuit 10/13/2005 9:21 AM By: Associated Press GREENSBORO, N.C. -- A motion filed in Wake County Superior Court asks for the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the roughly $300 million incentives deal with Dell Inc. The motion was filed Wednesday on behalf of the state, the city of Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, Dell and others. The North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law charges in its lawsuit filed in June that the incentives violate state constitutional prohibitions against the use of public resources for private benefit and fail to treat taxpayers equally. In exchange for creating at least...