Free Republic

Kenya orders Italian to stop ruining historic site Posted Mon, 22 May 2006 Nairobi - Kenyan authorities have moved quickly to protect one of the country's historical sites along the Indian Ocean coast by ordering a foreign investor from Italy to immediately stop developing a piece of land where an ancient ruin with historical values stands. The piece of land holds the ruins of an ancient mosque where a prominent Chinese sailor, Zheng Hess, prayed when he visited the historical town of Malindi in 1415.The ruins of Khatiba mosque lie less than a kilometre from the Indian Ocean shores in...

Carol Hutnick found a box full of history on Highway 29 near Kelly's Steakhouse on Tuesday. Among the incredible items just lying on the side of the road are an 1860s-era photograph of General James B. Weaver and World War II ration books with unspent coupons in them.

WASHINGTON, April 21, 2006 – Afghans reported improvised explosive devices to local officials in two separate incidents today, and Afghan National Army aviators completed their first combat-support mission April 15, military officials in Afghanistan reported today. Afghan National Army Sgt. Abdul Khaliq, of the ANA's Central Movement Agency, hands a box of food to U.S. Army Sgt. Juan Trejos on an Afghan Air Corps Mi-17 Hip helicopter at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, April 12. Soldiers from ANA's Central Movement Agency trained with their coalition counterparts prior to the ANA Air Corps first aerial resupply mission in partnership with the...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, April 17, 2006 – Afghan National Army Air Corps aviators began training with Task Force Falcon aviators and U.S. Army soldiers here April 11. Army Col. Michael Rose welcomes Afghan National Army Air Corps aviators as they arrive at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, April 11. Rose commands the coalition's Task Force Falcon. The Afghan aviators will operate with coalition forces during Operation Mountain Lion and beyond. Photo by Sgt. Stephanie van Geete, USA   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The arrival of the 18-person team marks the first assignment of Afghan aviators here in...

WASHINGTON, March 21, 2006 – Sectarian violence that erupted after the Feb. 22 bombing of a mosque in Samarra, Iraq, could have led to civil war. But Iraqis stayed united and are working to build a united government, President Bush said here today. When violence broke out, the Iraqi army didn't break apart into sectarian divisions, and religious and political leaders stood up to the violence and committed themselves to progress, Bush said at a White House news conference. The efforts of the Iraqis, along with continued coalition support, are what kept the country out of civil war, he said....

"Weather Disaster of Historic Proportions" Could Strike as Early as This Year... The northeast U.S. coast could be the target of a major hurricane, perhaps as early as this season, according to research announced today by the AccuWeather... Hurricane Center. "The Northeast is staring down the barrel of a gun," said Joe Bastardi, Chief Forecaster... "The Northeast coast is long overdue for a powerful hurricane...not a question of if but when." ... "If you examine past weather cycles that have occurred in the Atlantic, you will see patterns of storms," added Ken Reeves, Expert Senior Meteorologist and Director of Forecasting...

(audio of broadcast available via link) I'd never heard this before. It's amazing how this man spoke out in defense of America, given the times in which he broadcast it. It applies to current times, I think. Too bad we don't have broadcasters willing to buck the norm any longer.

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91) returned to San Diego Feb. 24, after a five-month deployment to the Western Pacific in support of the global war on terrorism (GWOT). Pinckney made port visits to Guam, Singapore, Australia, Fiji and Hawaii. While in Guam, Pinckney became the first guided-missile destroyer to refuel and replenish the Mark Five (MK V), a high-performance combatant craft used by Navy SEALs. Pinckney was also the first DDG to embark two HH-60H Seahawk helicopters with their detachment, 20 Marine Corps personnel of a Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team (FAST) detachment...

All donations are welcome and none is too big or too small, but the $25,000 just received from Donald Trump is pretty special, said Beauvoir board member John French of Long Beach, who is involved in raising money to restore the Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library in Biloxi. Though heavily damaged by Katrina, Beauvoir is one of very few historic landmarks still standing on the Coast. It has been identified by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as a property that should be preserved. "This is our history and when you lose something like that it is very difficult...

PHOENIX — The World War II-era black officers’ club on Fort Huachuca has been listed as one of 12 Arizona’s Most Endangered Historic Places by the Arizona State Preservation Foundation. The listing on Jan. 24 is seen as an additional positive step by the president of the Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers in the organization’s attempt to save Building 66050. “It (the listing) brings us more publicity and will help in fund-raising,” Tom Stoney Sr. said Monday. SWABS has also applied to the National Trust for placing the black officers’ club on its annual list of historic places in danger,...

Canada's historic opportunity by Peter O'Donnell This federal election gives Canada a historic opportunity for national reconciliation and healing. You may not have heard that interpretation of this rather vicious election campaign before, but I'll tell you why I think this to be the case. For the past twelve years, and probably to a lesser extent for most of the last half century, certain groups of Canadians were widely held to be second-class citizens. Canada has been governed by an elite, which the Liberal Party has represented almost exclusively, composed of certain business groups, media interests, and academic perspectives, together...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2005 – Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise visit to Iraq today to hail the country's successful Dec. 15 parliamentary election in which more than 70 percent of Iraqis -- 11 million-plus voters -- participated. Meanwhile, the vice president's wife, an historian, took to the airwaves today to provide historical context for the elections. "It's an honor for me to be here to mark the tremendous success of the Iraqi people," the vice president told reporters in Baghdad. "The participation levels [in the election] all across the country were remarkable." In fact, the biggest change in...

It is 10 pm on the US East Coast...and 6 am December 15 in Baghdad. The Iraqi polls will be opening soon...millions of Iraqis are about to experience for the first time that rush one gets when you vote for the first time. God Bless our troops and may god bless the voters in Iraq as they head to the polls.Let Freedom Ring!!!

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2005 – The Dec. 15 parliamentary elections in Iraq represent "a watershed moment in the story of freedom" that's important not only to Iraq's security and democratic future, but also to America's, President Bush said today at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars here. "Iraqis will go to the polls to choose a government that will be the only constitutional democracy in the Arab world," the president said. "Yet, we need to remember that these elections are also a vital part of a broader strategy for protecting the American people against the threat of terrorism." Bush...

BAGHDAD, Iraq – U.S. troops are staying a mile away from the polling stations for Thursday's national elections. But they're close by – ready to back up tens of thousands of Iraqi security forces if called upon. In the northern city of Mosul, soldiers in Stryker armored personnel carriers, the U.S. Army's most advanced infantry vehicle with satellite-linked computers, have mapped out every polling station and listed the mobile phone numbers for local polling officials and Iraqi officers to make sure they can respond quickly. The Americans moved into a supporting role late Wednesday after carefully coaching Iraqi police, who...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Voting begins Monday in hospitals, military camps and even prisons across Iraq, launching the process to choose a new parliament that the United States hopes can help quell the insurgency so U.S. forces can begin heading home. Iraq's government announced it will close its borders, extend the nighttime curfew and restrict domestic travel starting Tuesday — two days before the main election day — to prevent insurgents from disrupting the vote. "We are very prepared for the elections, and we are highly determined," Interior Minister Bayan Jabr said. "We hope that everyone participates and that it will...

PATUXENT RIVER , Md., Dec. 6, 2005 – For a people who first heard of it while they lived under Soviet influence, this U.S. Navy fighter aircraft is of great public interest. Polish citizens invariably know it by name. Employees of PZL-Swidnik even refer to it with a hint of ownership – the F-14 Tomcat. " The recent agreement paves the way for the eventual creation of long-term technical and economic benefits that will produce dividends for both the U.S. and Poland." Czes Covington A business bridge between the U.S. Navy’s F-14 program and a Polish aerospace company is in...

FORT HUACHUCA — It was a perfect autumn afternoon Sunday as hundreds of people visited the dozen historic officers’ residences, constructed from 1884 to 1915, on this historic Army post. Organizers of the yearly event sponsored by the Fort Huachuca Community Spouses Club estimated about 1,000 people toured the Christmas-decorated homes Sunday. Proceeds for the events support the club’s scholarship program. For some people, it was the first time they had visited the houses. Gennette Hawley and Mary Courtnell traveled from Green Valley, and declared the afternoon satisfying. Both women are originally from the East — Hawley from upstate New...

D-Day survivor Ray Lambert, right, talks with 1st Infantry Division Engineer Brigade Command Sergeant Major John Gioia at Utah Beach Oct. 4 as part of the 1st Infantry Division's staff ride to Normandy, France. Photo courtesy of 1st Infantry Division Public Affairs D-Day Veteran Recalls Historic Day More than 61 years later, under dark gray skies and into a sweeping wind that mimicked D-Day conditions, a veteran of the battle tackles the beach and wins once again. By SSG W. Wayne Marlow1st Infantry Division Public Affairs NORMANDY, France, Nov. 8, 2005 — NORMANDY, France - The terrain at Omaha...

11/1/2005 - EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) -- A group of Edwards aircraft maintainers recently joined efforts to restore a historic aircraft for the Air Force Flight Test Center museum. A team of 36 maintainers from the 412th Equipment Maintenance Squadron's corrosion control, armament, structural maintenance, inspection flight and fabrication flight and from the 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron worked weekends and nights for more than three months to restore an F-106 Delta Dart in time for display at the 2005 Edwards Open House and Air Show. Maj. Matt Humes, 412th Equipment Maintenance Squadron commander, said he got the...