Free Republic

Berlin, Germany (AHN) - A German court has ruled that a suspected terrorist can name his son Djehad, the German word for jihad or holy war. The upper regional court in Berlin upheld Tuesday the rulings of two lower courts allowing Egyptian-German Reda Seyam, 49, to name his four-year-old son Djehad on grounds that it is a common Arabic name for males. Germany's birth registration agency, which implements the country's strict naming law, contested the name in court arguing that the father intended it to be interpreted literally and could harmful to the child, who would be associated with terrorism....

SCIO, N.Y., March 26, 2007 ? The Navy honored Marine Cpl. Jason L. Dunham March 24 by naming a guided missile destroyer after the fallen Marine hero during a ceremony here. Hundreds of students, teachers and veterans packed the gym of Scio Central High School as Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter announced that the name of the Navy?s newest Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer would honor the memory of the Marine Corps? most recent Medal of Honor recipient. Dunham is the Marine Corps? first Medal of Honor recipient for actions in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He earned the Medal...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18, 2007 – The government of Iraq and the coalition officially announced the name for the Baghdad security plan yesterday. The operation is named “Fardh Al-Qanoon,” an Iraqi phrase that translates to “Enforcing the Law.” The title was agreed upon by the Iraqi government, with the support of coalition leaders, and reflects the Iraqi-led nature of the operation, military officials said. "The plan is imposing the law on anyone who violates it," Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said. Under the Baghdad security plan, the Iraqi government will increase security forces in the city to partner with increased coalition...

12/9/2006 - SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Sometimes a tragedy inspires others to strive for excellence. That's what happened here for two Air Force units near Baghdad as they worked together to bring in some good for fellow Airmen. Airman 1st Class LeeBernard Emmanuel Chavis was killed while patrolling the streets of Baghdad Oct. 14 in the turret of his armored humvee. His death motivated a team of vehicle maintenance Airmen to design and build a new protective turret to avoid similar deaths. "This is a story about Airmen helping Airmen. We're trying to help the people who go...

4/12/2006 - VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) -- The missile defense site here took on a new name April 10. The Ronald W. Reagan Missile Defense Site honors the 40th president of the United States who was a champion of the need for missile defense. Attendees at the ceremony included former First Lady Nancy Reagan; Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England; Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens; former California Gov. Pete Wilson; Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz, vice commander of Air Force Space Command; and Lt. Gen. Henry A. "Trey" Obering III, director of the Missile Defense Agency. “President Reagan simply...

GROTON, Conn. (NNS) -- The multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) and guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) were named honorary flagships March 13 for the upcoming search for the remains of the original Bonhomme Richard, which sank in the North Sea in 1779. The search project revolves around one of the most memorable battles of the American Revolution, where John Paul Jones, an American naval hero, uttered his legendary words, “I have not yet begun to fight!” “It’s entirely appropriate that these front-line warships are honorary flagships of the expedition, as they are representative...

Uganda rebel leaders named as world's most wanted men By Mike Pflanz, East Africa Correspondent (Filed: 08/10/2005) Five commanders of a vicious rebel army of kidnapped child soldiers led by a brutal self-proclaimed mystic are officially the world's most wanted men, according to the International Criminal Court. The court, based in The Hague, has issued its first arrest warrants for the five members of the Lord's Resistance Army, a shadowy cult responsible for a two-decade campaign of terror in northern Uganda. Joseph Kony's forces have kidnapped 20,000 children The wanted men are the LRA's elusive leader, Joseph Kony, a 44-year-old...

SACRAMENTO — California First Lady Maria Shriver named as her top aide Tuesday a former senior official to ex-Gov. Gray Davis, the Democrat her husband tarred in the 2003 recall campaign as the symbol of ineffectual government. Daniel Zingale, who served under Davis as the link between the governor's office and the vast state bureaucracy, will be the new chief of staff to Shriver, a Democrat. He will return to the governor's suite of offices on the first floor of the Capitol, this time surrounded by many Republicans who labored to oust Davis. Zingale has also been an unpaid political...

SAN FRANCISCO – Zach W. Hall, a veteran neuroscientist and associate dean of medical research at the University of Southern California's medical school, was recommended Monday to become interim president of California's new $3 billion stem cell research institute. The recommendation by a subcommittee was passed on to the full 29-member committee appointed to oversee the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which was widely expected to approve it Tuesday during its monthly meeting at Stanford University is widely expected. Hall would take over the interim president slot from Robert N. Klein, who would remain as the committee's chairman. Hall, 67,...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Despite Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's repeated denunciations of steroid use among bodybuilders, the annual bodybuilding contest that bears his name has come under the spotlight for steroid use ever since federal drug agents swept in to subpoena current and past competitors last year. Schwarzeneggger, a former bodybuilder and seven-time Mr. Olympia winner, will be on hand again this year at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio, scheduled to begin on March 5. He's attended the festival every year since it first began in 1989. The raid by federal agents at last year's gathering helped lead to the indictments...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Former state Senate leader John Burton has been appointed to the board of the California Tahoe Conservancy by the Senate committee he used to head. Burton, a San Francisco Democrat, spent 26 years in the Legislature, serving as Senate president pro tem from 1998 until last November, when he was forced from office by term limits. He was also a member of Congress for eight years. The conservancy, established in 1984, acquires property in the Lake Tahoe area to protect open space and wildlife habitat and to provide recreation. The appointment was announced Wednesday by the Senate...

Clinton, Schumer Named Co-Porkers of the Month Melanie Hunter Deputy Managing Editor (CNSNews.com) - New York Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer have been named Co-Porkers of the Month for February by a taxpayer watchdog group for pledging to fight President Bush's efforts to reform the Community Development Block Grant program. Schumer called Bush's plan to transfer the grant program to the Commerce Department and merge it with 17 other economic development programs a "meat axe approach" to reducing the deficit, adding that CDBGs "are the single most important tool that cities like New York have to grow." According...

Minnesota Republicans finally won one for the Gipper on Thursday, passing resolutions in the House and Senate declaring this Sunday (his birthday) as Ronald Reagan Day, and then upping the ante with a proposal to designate the Twin Cities Interstate 494/694 loop the "Ronald Reagan Beltway." Minnesota is the only state never to have voted for Reagan, and recent proposals in the aftermath of his death last June to rename the State Office Building and the Olson Memorial Highway (Hwy. 55) for Reagan have been panned by DFLers. (Floyd B. Olson was a radically liberal Farmer-Labor governor in the 1930s.)...

TIME MAGAZINE MAN OF THE YEAR GEORGE W. BUSH NEW YORK - After winning re-election and "reshaping the rules of politics to fit his 10-gallon-hat leadership style," President George Bush (news - web sites) for the second time was chosen as Time magazine's Person of the Year. The magazine's editors tapped Bush "for sharpening the debate until the choices bled, for reframing reality to match his design, for gambling his fortunes — and ours — on his faith in the power of leadership." Time's 2004 Person of the Year package, on newsstands Monday, includes an Oval Office interview with...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Hurricane Victims File for Unemployment 3 minutes ago By ALLEN G. BREED, Associated Press Writer PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - Still smarting over the loss of their homes, Hurricane Charley's victims turned out by the hundreds in 90-degree heat Tuesday to cope with the storm's latest blow to their lives — the mass shutdown of businesses that has left them without jobs. "Charley laid me off," said Rose Vito, a 57-year-old telemarketing assistant in red-plaid pajamas, lined up outside the Employ Florida mobile benefits station in Port Charlotte's Harold Avenue Recreational Center parking lot. "Without phones and computers, they can't function."...

Rob Reiner Named Democrat of the Year By ROSANNA MAH, The Independent Staff Writer 07.JUL.04 One of Hollywood’s leading political advocates Rob Reiner is being honored as “Democrat of the Year” by the West Hollywood Democratic Club for his outstanding contributions to Democratic Party causes. “Rob Reiner is a lifelong Democrat,” said club president Donald DeLuccio. “He wants to get Democrats elected and his goal is giving back to the community.” In an effort at mobilizing local interest in the upcoming presidential campaign, the liberal organization is also honoring Antonio Villaraigosa, Kerry campaign national co-chair, with the organization’s “President’s Award.”...

Clinton claim causes stir in NZ 24 June 2004 Bill Clinton has raised eyebrows in New Zealand after claiming his wife, Hillary Clinton, was named after famous Kiwi mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary, AFP reported today. Problem is, Hillary conquered Mount Everest in 1953, almost seven years after infant Hillary was born. Clinton makes the claim in his memoir, My Life, which went on sale this week. The former president travelled to New Zealand several times while in office and referred to Sir Edmund as "the second favourite Hillary in our household". Hillary Clinton herself has attributed her name to the...

Terrorist Arafat Clings to Power (Same Old, Same Old) By Andrew L. Jaffee, September 7, 2003 Home   Search   Forum   Terms Yasser Arafat today named Palestinian Authority (PA) parliamentary speaker Ahmed Qurei as new prime minister. Qurei will replace Mahmoud Abbas, who resigned yesterday. The BBC describes Qurei as: ...a leading member of the mainstream Fatah faction who helped to negotiate the Oslo peace accord with Israel 10 years ago. ... Palestinian officials describe him as an Arafat loyalist who's unlikely to challenge the veteran leader. "Arafat loyalist" means he's tainted by terror, and will continue the PA's rampant mismanagement and corruption. Same...

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) - William W. Parsons, director of NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, was named today as the new manager of the space shuttle program.</p> <p>Parsons succeeds Ronald Dittemore, who resigned April 23. Dittemore rose to prominence while acting as a spokesman for the space agency following the destruction of space shuttle Columbia.</p>