http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/year/ en-us Fri, 1 Jan 2010 23:33:44 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419226/posts Vt newspaper names homo advocate Vermonter of the Year Green Mountain Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419226/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 23:33:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418462/posts WORLD IN A SNAP | Interesting images from around the world AUSTRALIA_NEW_YEAR Fireworks flash over Sydney Harbor during New Year celebrations, Friday, Jan. 1, 2010. The annual fireworks extravaganza over the city's landmark harbor bridge and opera house are the centerpiece of Australia's celebrations. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft) New_Year_AUSTRALIA Fireworks flash over Sydney Harbor during New Year celebrations, Friday, Jan. 1, 2010. The annual fireworks extravaganza over the city's landmark harbor bridge and opera house are the centerpiece of Australia's celebrations. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft) JAPAN_NEW_YEAR People set balloons free to celebrate the New Year at Zojoji Buddhist temple in Tokyo, early... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418462/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:40:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417955/posts Treasuries headed for the worst year in at least three decades as the U.S. stepped up debt sales to help spur growth in an economy recovering from the biggest slump since the Great Depression. The existing seven-year note was little changed after a $32 billion of sale of the debt drew a yield of 3.345 percent, compared with an average forecast of 3.372 percent in a Bloomberg News survey of four of the Federal Reserve’s 18 primary dealers. U.S. government securities have fallen 3.6 percent this year, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes, the worst performance since 1978. Finance & Commerce http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417955/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:57:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416847/posts Washington (AP) - After a sleepless, overnight flight to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month, President Barack Obama made a not altogether surprising admission. He was tired. Who could blame him? The president was on his ninth foreign trip to his 21st country; he added a 10th trip the following week. The year had been bookended by the two most intense periods of his young presidency -- the early decisions to bail out the nation's banks and automobile industry, steps the president deemed unpopular but necessary, and his December orders to deploy 30,000 additional U.S. troops... CNS News/AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416847/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:52:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416799/posts President Barack Obama is ending the year tired - and who could blame him? AP correspondent Julie Pace reports on the multitude of issues that have left the president looking forward to his vacation. (Dec. 29) AP & MiamiHerald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416799/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 07:09:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2366508/posts Clearly, there was momentum for the GOP this summer that has slowed or reversed in autumn. The party used that momentum to get top candidates into key Senate and House races, which will reap benefits if voters are angry at the Democrats a year from now. But the 1993-1994 scenario is not, so far, repeating itself wash independent http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2366508/posts#comment Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:28:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2350867/posts If the academic year gets pushed deeper into summer, as President Obama is advocating, the grumbling will not be limited just to students and teachers who will be forced to spend more days in school. Critics say the president's call for a longer academic calendar and a shorter summer vacation will bring on a host of unintended consequences -- including increased costs for school systems, major cuts to the nation's hotel and tourism industries, and a serious blow to summer camp operators. Obama says kids in the U.S. spend too little time in the classroom, putting them at a disadvantage... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2350867/posts#comment Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:00:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2348893/posts 2009 H1N1 Flu: Situation Update: The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) based on the 122 Cities Report was low and within the bounds of what is expected at this time of year. Center for Disease Control and Prevention Website http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2348893/posts#comment Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:09:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2188591/posts WASHINGTON (AFP) – Even with an additional 17,000 troops in Afghanistan, the top US commander there predicted "a tough year" in 2009 and warned that the situation would not be quickly turned around. General David McKiernan, who commands US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, spoke a day after President Barack Obama approved the deployment in the coming months of two additional combat brigades and support forces, about 17,000 troops in all. "Even with these additional forces, I have to tell you, 2009 is going to be a tough year," McKiernan told reporters at the Pentagon. "There are the baseline problems... AFP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2188591/posts#comment Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:35:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1946587/posts My New Year's resolutions so far are: 1- To get a job. It's becoming series. 2- To go fishing and hunting this year. 3- If I don't get a job, concentrate on fishing and hunting, and building polygons with Magnetix. 4- Not to post vanities. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1946587/posts#comment Tue, 1 Jan 2008 03:07:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1884469/posts There it sits on your night stand, that book you've meant to read for who knows how long but haven't yet cracked open. Tonight, as you feel its stare from beneath that teetering pile of magazines, know one thing — you are not alone. One in four adults say they read no books at all in the past year, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Tuesday. Of those who did read, women and seniors were most avid, and religious works and popular fiction were the top choices. The survey reveals a nation whose book readers, on the whole, can... Yahoo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1884469/posts#comment Tue, 21 Aug 2007 21:24:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1828457/posts NEW YORK — A young mother's car left out of gear accidentally rolled over her only son and killed him, a year after her soldier husband was killed in Iraq, relatives and police said. "It's a tragedy for all my family," said Evelyn Mercedes, 65, the soldier's grandmother. "My grandson dies. Now, this happens to the baby." Christopher Mercedes, who turned 1 last month, slipped from his mom's arms as she got out of the sport utility vehicle that began rolling because it was in neutral gear rather than park, police said. "She was hysterical, crying out, 'Somebody help me... foxnews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1828457/posts#comment Fri, 4 May 2007 16:43:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1822351/posts   Conn. Guard Soldiers Reflect on Year in Afghanistan Events of 9/11 compel Marine to enlist in Army National Guard. By U.S. Army Sgt. Matthew Clifton22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment FORWARD OPERATING BASE GARDEZ, Afghanistan, April 23, 2007 — Whether serving on active duty, Army Reserve or Army National Guard, deployments have become all but inevitable for soldiers in the U.S. Army. "[The enemy] doesn’t care if you’re in the National Guard or if you’re not on a combat mission." U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Richard Rafferty Some troops have seen more years in Iraq or Afghanistan than they have... Defend America News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1822351/posts#comment Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:27:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1774746/posts The imam of the Taipei Grand Mosque complained to Taiwan's foreign minister for sending him a greeting card for the Chinese New Year showing four pigs, a newspaper said on Saturday. After receiving the New Year card, Imam Ma Hsiao-chi pointed out to the Foreign Ministry that the card was offensive to Muslims, the Liberty Times reported. Muslims do not eat pork and regard pigs as unclean animals. But the ministry defended Foreign Minister Huang Chih-fang's sending out the greeting cards, which were printed because 2007 is the Year of Pig according to the Chinese lunar calendar. "Sending New Year... Playfuls.com | DPA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1774746/posts#comment Sat, 27 Jan 2007 20:39:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1760604/posts CAMP FALLUJAH — Marines with Regimental Combat Team 5 spent 2006 making significant progress, with the help of the Iraqi Army, in eastern Al Anbar Province. Fallujah, once the site of a pitched battle between Marines and al Qaida insurgents, is now considered a Sunni safe haven. It’s a marked progression that’s led to Marines turning over increasing responsibility to the Iraqi Security Force, a functioning city government and Iraqis seeking safety within the city’s limits. It’s been a year of tough days, spectacular battlefield performances, hope, faith and steadfast discipline. “We have aggressively worked to make Fallujah a model... Multi-National Forces-Iraq http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1760604/posts#comment Sun, 31 Dec 2006 15:42:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1714609/posts He's the last man standing on refugee island and costs Australia £8m a year By Nick Squires in Sydney (Filed: 06/10/2006) He is possibly the loneliest refugee in the world and he is being maintained at a cost of £8 million a year. Mohammed Sagar has spent the past five years living in a detention camp on Nauru, a sun-baked rock in the middle of the south Pacific. He was one of 1,500 refugees from the Middle East and Afghanistan sent to the near-bankrupt republic under Australia's so-called Pacific Solution to boatloads of people fleeing their homelands. They were intercepted... The Telegraph (UK) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1714609/posts#comment Fri, 6 Oct 2006 01:26:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1708852/posts 8,400-year old settlement unearthed in Ýzmir’s Ulucak Tumulus Monday, September 25, 2006 ÝZMÝR - Turkish Daily News A team of archaeologists working at the Ulucak tumulus, located in Ýzmir's Kemalpaþa district, have unearthed a Neolithic settlement area dating back some 8,400 years, an archaeologist announced last week. Archaeologist Fulya Dedeoðlu of Ege University told the Doðan News Agency that excavations had been under way in the area since 1995. She said they believed their latest discovery could be the oldest settlement dating from the Neolithic period unearthed to date and added that further excavations on the lower levels could reveal... Turkish Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1708852/posts#comment Tue, 26 Sep 2006 22:55:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1708078/posts 9,500-year-old decorated skulls found in Syria Sun Sep 24, 4:14 PM ET DAMASCUS (AFP) - Archaeologists said they had uncovered decorated human skulls dating back as long as 9,500 years ago from a burial site near the Syrian capital Damascus. "The human skulls date back between 9,500 and 9,000 years ago, (on which) lifelike faces were modelled with clay earth ... then coloured to accentuate the features," said Danielle Stordeur, head of the joint French-Syrian archaeological mission behind the discovery. Located at a burial site near a prehistoric village, the five skulls were found earlier this month in a pit... Yahoo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1708078/posts#comment Mon, 25 Sep 2006 21:18:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1706465/posts A 5-year-old girl is undergoing treatment for possible HIV infection after the man charged with raping her -- an illegal alien who was previously deported to Mexico -- admitted he has the virus, authorities said. The case has re-energized some state lawmakers to push for tougher penalties for people who commit sex crimes and knowingly expose their victims to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Julio Cesar Cruz Martinez, 32, of Fairhope is being held in a segregated unit at the Baldwin County Corrections Center on charges of first-degree rape, sexual abuse and sodomy, a jail official said Wednesday. Police... Press-Register http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1706465/posts#comment Fri, 22 Sep 2006 18:16:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1698467/posts Chinese archaeologists discover 2,000-year-old leather shoes Beijing, Sept. 9 (PTI): Six leather shoes, made some 2,000 years ago, have been discovered at a relic site in Dunhuang in northwest China's Gansu Province, taking the Chinese shoe-making industry older by some 1,000 years.The leather shoes, from the Han Dynasty (205 BC-220 AD), are the oldest leather shoes found in China, indicating that the history of China's leather shoe-making is some 1,000 years longer than previously believed, an archaeologist from Gansu Province, He Shuangquan said. The newly found, well-preserved shoes were made for children, aged three to six years old, said He,... The Hindu http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1698467/posts#comment Sat, 9 Sep 2006 18:19:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1696116/posts Spc. Patrick Hart, military policeman, hands over keys to an Iraqi Police lieutenant of the Tarmiyah Police Station for seven of the 18 new Iraqi Police trucks being distributed from Camp Taji. The Iraqi Police are being issued 96 trucks throughout the 1st Brigade Combat Team’s area of responsibility, north of Baghdad, to help the police curb sectarian violence. Department of Defense photo by Army Sgt. 1st Class Brent Hunt. CAMP TAJI -- In an effort to make the Taji district north of Baghdad a safer place to live, Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldiers provided the Iraqi Police stations in... Multi-National Forces-Iraq http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1696116/posts#comment Wed, 6 Sep 2006 01:20:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1693918/posts SACRAMENTO – After a partisan battle over Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's failed “Year of Reform” initiatives last fall, the Republican governor and Democratic legislators yesterday wrapped up what could be called the “Year of the Deal.” They addressed long-neglected infrastructure by putting a record $37.3 billion bond package on the November ballot, produced a rare on-time budget and helped average Californians through a higher minimum wage and cheaper prescription drugs. They also increased school spending by 10 percent, moving a lagging California closer to the national average spent per pupil, and directed $3 billion in new spending over the next seven... San Diego Union - Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1693918/posts#comment Fri, 1 Sep 2006 17:43:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1690208/posts Natascha weighs less than when kidnapped By Kate Connolly in Vienna (Filed: 26/08/2006) The full horror of Natascha Kampusch's eight-year kidnap ordeal became clearer yesterday as her mother said that the 18-year-old girl weighed less now than when she was abducted. Brigitte Sirny said she had been shopping for size 6 clothes for her daughter whose weight had dropped to 6st 6lb despite having grown to 5ft 3in. She said her daughter had "nothing" except for an orange dress she was wearing when she escaped her "master". Natascha has developed a formal, slightly stilted high-German accent similar to that of... The Telegraph (UK) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1690208/posts#comment Sat, 26 Aug 2006 01:07:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1690036/posts Archaeologists find 2,500-year-old mummy in Mongolia, tattoos and all Thu Aug 24, 2:18 PM ETAFP/DDP/GAI-HO Photo: This undated picture released by the German Archaeological Institute (GAI) shows a mummified body from... BERLIN (AFP) - An international group of archaeologists has unearthed a well-preserved, 2,500-year-old mummy frozen in the snowcapped mountains of Mongolia complete with blond hair, tattoos and a felt hat. The president of the German Archaeological Institute, Hermann Parzinger, hailed the "fabulous find" at a press conference to present the 28-member team's discovery in Berlin. The Scythian warrior was found in June at a height of 2,600 meters (8,500... Yahoo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1690036/posts#comment Fri, 25 Aug 2006 19:14:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1685578/posts 8/17/2006 - RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- The Air Force is on track to make its recruiting goal this year, marking the seventh consecutive year the service has brought in the right number and mix of new Airmen. To date, 25,645 people have enlisted in the Air Force and entered active duty in fiscal 2006. That puts the Air Force on pace to send 30,750 men and women to basic training and technical schools to fill jobs in more than 150 areas. In response to the Air Force's force shaping, fiscal 2007 recruiting goals have been reduced by... Air Force Links http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1685578/posts#comment Thu, 17 Aug 2006 23:37:15 GMT