Free Republic

SARAH Palin's teenage Bristol has broken off her engagement to Levi Johnston two months after the birth of their child. The 18-year-old daughter of the Alaskan Governor told the Associated Press (AP) she was "devastated" by the split. "Unfortunately, my family has seen many people say and do many things to 'cash in' on the Palin name," she said in a statement. "Sometimes that greed clouds good judgment and the truth." Mr Johnston, 19, told AP the pair had mutually decided to end their relationship. Bristol Palin's pregnancy was announced last summer days after her mother was named John McCain's...

> The most exciting aspect of this new annealing process is the unlimited size of the crystals that can be treated. The breakthrough will allow us to push to kilocarat diamonds of high optical quality” says coauthor Ho-kwang Mao. Because the method does not require a high pressure press, it promises faster processing of diamonds and more types of diamonds to be de-colored than current high-pressure annealing methods. There is also no restriction on the size of crystals or the number of crystals, because the method is not limited by the chamber size of a high pressure press. The microwave...

German special forces had an important Taliban commander in their sights in Afghanistan. But he escaped -- because the Germans were not authorized to use lethal force. The German government's hands-tied approach to the war is causing friction with its NATO allies. The wheat is lush and green in the fields of northern Afghanistan this spring. A river winding its way through the broad valley dotted with walled houses completes the picturesque scene. Behind one of these walls, not far from the town of Pol-e-Khomri, sits a man whose enemies, having named him a "target," would like to see dead....

Hajji, of Hackney, east London, had concealed a 6,000-pound engagement ring inside a helium balloon. The idea was that she would pop the balloon as he popped the question. But as he left the shop, a gust of wind pulled the balloon from his hand and he watched the ring -- and quite possibly the affections of his girlfriend -- sailing away over the rooftops.

Change in North Korea? So far, there's little sign of it. Saturday, October 13, 2007; Page A18 THE BUSH administration and the South Korean government are behaving as if they expect a remarkable transformation in North Korea within the next few months. The administration is quietly preparing to remove the regime of Kim Jong Il from the list of state sponsors of terrorism -- essentially reversing and repudiating President Bush's description of Pyongyang as part of an "axis of evil." For his part, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun -- like Mr. Bush, an unpopular lame duck -- showered Mr. Kim...

Jenna Bush Ducks Iraq, Talks EngagementIn Book-Promoting Interview, First Daughter Avoids Iraq Questions, Discusses Her Romantic Engagement Story The recently engaged Jenna Bush, daughter of President Bush and first lady Laura Bush, walks across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2007, as she arrives with her parents from New York where the president attended the the annual United Nations General Assembly. In August the White House announced Jenna's engagement to Henry Hager of Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Scott Applewhite) (AP) WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2007 Jenna Bush said her "boyfriend" - she doesn't like the word...

Sgt. 1st Class Mark Dengate, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, examines an Iraqi baby brought to a cooperative medical engagement in Baghdad’s Karkh District, Sept. 20. Photo by Spc. Alexis Harrison, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs. BAGHDAD — Normally in a support role, you support ongoing operations with maintenance and logistics. You hardly ever get out in the streets to perform first-hand operations.Troops from the Forward Support Company D, 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, recently spearheaded a cooperative medical engagement involving several Coalition...

1. Norman Hsu Gave to Kennedy, Kerry, Obama, Others Already posted separately on the forum. 2. Hillary Fundraiser Curses Out GOP When Florida’s Republican Party attacked Hillary Clinton for enlisting a fundraiser once accused of racketeering, the fundraiser responded with a profanity-laced tirade — and later apologized. Former Hialeah, Fla., Mayor Raul Martinez was brought up on federal corruption charges nearly two decades ago. He was convicted but successfully appealed, and two more trials ended in hung juries, the Miami Herald reported. After the Democrat hosted a Clinton fundraiser at his home on Monday, Sept. 10, Republican Party of Florida...

Last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's team of senior environmental advisors ended a trip to Europe with executives from Chevron, PG&E and other corporations. The trip was designed to study Europe's efforts to curb global warming, but it also spotlighted how the Schwarzenegger administration sometimes deals with the companies it regulates. It's called "constructive engagement" - treating corporations under regulatory control as partners rather than enemies to be beaten into submission. The agency that regulates California workplaces, Cal-OSHA, often relies on cooperative agreements with company owners rather than threats of huge fines to improve conditions. CalPERS also has attempted to use...

This movie is moving around the country. They are sometimes having discussions after it. I think that anyone who thinks they know what happened at Waco has another thing coming.

The mission to help Iraqis build a free and prosperous Iraq is at a critical juncture. In order to reduce the unacceptably high levels of violence, the president has recently set forth a new strategy that increases the number of troops patrolling the streets of Baghdad and Anbar province. Although some Americans have concerns about this new strategy, they are united in their desire that our troops have the best training and equipment possible in order to achieve success. Americans also want to ensure that our leaders are sending our forces into combat with rules of engagement that permit them...

Ok, I want to propose. I dont know how to go about a ring. I want something cheap but nice. She is the nicest, most understanding woman on the planet, but I dont want to look like a cheapskate. I am not that rich. going into my life savings for this. any freepers have any advice. I would like to propose on Canadian thankgiving in Oct. She lives in Toronto. plan to be moved in with her by Christmas *smile*

BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip - Israeli forces on Thursday took over the remains of three abandoned Jewish settlements in the northern Gaza Strip and entered a nearby Palestinian town, creating a temporary buffer zone to prevent Palestinian militants from firing rockets at Israel. The army last week launched its largest operation in the coastal area since it withdrew from the territory a year ago. The operation, which followed the capturing of an Israeli soldier, was expanded overnight after militants from the ruling Hamas group fired two homemade rockets at the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, which used to be out...

Last week John Kerry revealed his plan to "redeploy" U.S. forces from Iraq. This plan is different from fellow Defeaticrat Jack Murtha's plan to "redeploy" U.S. forces from Iraq to Okinawa, which Congressman Murtha seems to think is in the general neighborhood of Iraq. Iraq's in the Middle East, Okinawa's in the Far East: C'mon, how far can it be to get from the Far to the Middle? After all, the distance between the farthest fringe of the kook left and the center of the Democratic Party seems to be closing up every week. Anyway, Sen. Kerry doesn't want to...

Francis Fukuyama's recent essay in the New York Times, "After Neoconservatism," isn't just a call for neo-realism in lieu of neoconservatism. It's a call for nothing in lieu of something. Admittedly, sometimes doing nothing is the best policy. But after 9/11, as we survey the threat of Islamic terror and rogue states, should we really settle for so little? After excoriating the real and imagined sins of neoconservatism, Fukuyama offers the following plan for reforming our foreign policy: 1) "In the first instance, we need to demilitarize what we have been calling the global war on terrorism and shift to...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - If the wedding is off, the engagement ring must be returned, Pennsylvania state law states but a broken engagement and ensuing legal battle over a $35,000 ring may change that. Mario Mele, 64, a former county commissioner who owns a dental insurance agency, met Janet Grace, 46, of Philadelphia, a construction manager, in December 2004. Last spring, he gave her a 2 1/2-carat, princess-cut diamond set in hand-crafted platinum. Less than two months later, he asked for it back. Grace, who had designed the ring, refused, sold the diamond and replaced it in the setting with a...

A Marine who's planning to marry a Texan got an early Christmas present: A fellow shopper picked up the tab for a $3,000 diamond engagement ring after the two struck up a conversation in a jewelry store. The 54-year-old Dallas woman who paid for the 1-carat, princess cut diamond ring wants to remain anonymous, Helzberg Diamonds spokeswoman Stacey McBride told The Associated Press on Friday. The woman's father was in the military, her brother was a Marine who died in Vietnam and her nephew just got back from Iraq, McBride said. Marine James Lynaugh, 28, of Patuxent River, Md., was...

WASHINGTON - Pakistan's president on Sunday defended his recent attempts to engage Israel's government, saying most Pakistanis support his policy. Gen. Pervez Musharraf, whose foreign minister recently met for the first time with his Israeli counterpart, said he enjoyed widespread support for the diplomatic breakthrough. Both sides have said it was the result of Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. "When we are talking to the Israelis and the Israeli foreign minister, or I address the Jewish congress, I am very clear that this is the strategic direction that Pakistan needs to take," Musharraf said on CNN's "Late Edition." "The...

Nations use four basic instruments of power to manage strategic events and shape global situations—diplomacy, finances, information and military. Senator Kerry’s philosophy, as was Mr. Carter’s, is to use these instruments in a linear manner—one at a time—subject to the veto of other nations. This doctrine trivializes and employs military at a disadvantage. The failure of this doctrine has been obvious in recent history. Other nations easily rebuff each predictable move, and these applications are then turned to the detriment of the United States. Examples include double digit inflation, military obsolescence, and rouge nation emboldenment. The Bush doctrine, by contrast,...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Fellow journalists accused U.S. troops of negligence in the shooting death of a a Reuters cameraman, saying he was clearly identified as a newsman when a tank opened fire at him. Mazen Dana, 41, was shot and killed by U.S. soldiers Sunday while videotaping near a U.S.-run prison on the outskirts of Baghdad. The U.S. Army said its soldiers mistook his camera for a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. The film Dana shot showed a tank driving toward him. Six shots were heard, and the camera appeared to tilt forward and drop to the ground after the...