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SCANIA — In adherence to the security agreement between the United States and Iraq, a recent ground-breaking ceremony here began the process of returning the southbound lanes of Baghdad Highway 1 to the people of Iraq. The southbound lanes, which have been closed since late 2003, will soon be fully accessible to the Iraqi people again. “This news will bring happiness to the local nationals and all the Babil Region,” said Majid Saleem Kareem, director general of roads and bridges for Babil Province. “An agreement was made, and Coalition forces are making sure that it is met.” Nearly 20 Iraqi...

ATLANTA -- A well-armed couple opened fire with an assault rifle and pistol early Friday morning on some car thieves in southwest Atlanta. The couple at a home in the 1900 block of Childress Drive told police that after somebody tried to steal their car last week, they rigged up a homemade alarm in their carport using string and cans.

It is said, philosophically, that there are no new thoughts, no unexplored concepts – just new ways of expressing what has been previously thought. That is the historical equivalent of saying that History repeats itself only in different detail. You see, for nearly as long as there has been representative government, people have gravitated toward factions or parties. We know England once had Whigs and Tories and is now dominated by a Labour Party and a Conservative Party. For the pre-Renaissance Florentines, there were the Guelfs and the Ghibellines. In time, the Ghibellines were driven out and the city was...

(IsraelNN.com) Following a meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Thursday, newly-appointed American Middle East envoy George Mitchell called for open crossings into Gaza and greater Fatah involvement there. Talking to reporters after his discussions with Fatah leader Abbas and other PA officials, Mitchell said, "To be successful in preventing the illicit traffic of arms into Gaza, there must be a mechanism to allow the flow of legal goods. And that should be with the participation of the [Fatah-controlled] Palestinian Authority." Fatah is the faction currently heading the Judea and Samaria half of the Authority, while the...

Ok boys and girls here is a chance to defend what you hold dear and near to your religion. For years now I have seen threads that make statements that I do not agree with but can not respond to because they hide behind the guise of being a devotional, or a caucus, or ecumenical. So here is a chance for open debate for all things that have been closed to opposing views in the past. There will be only two guide lines no personal attacks and no posting of numerous links in a response or making a point. If...

This morning, David Axelrod appeared on Fox Chicago Sunday and had some notable remarks on both the local and national fronts. He said that President-elect Barack Obama plans to stay out of Prairie State politics once in the White House and doesn't plan on being "a kingmaker or boss here in Illinois." When co-host Dane Placko asked him about the vacant U.S. Senate seat, Axelrod disclosed that the Obama has spoken to Gov. Blagojevich about his replacement. Watch it: ...

Here's video of a scene that would play out much differently in most places outside New Hampshire...Ryan Marvin of Manchester shows up to file a complaint against the police while openly wearing his massive .22. http://youtube.com/watch?v=zrhmhxDd1S4

JESUS THE CHRIST, by Apostle James E. Talmage (D.Sc.D., Ph.D., F.R.S.E.) is a doctrinal study on the life and ministry of Christ, and is considered by most Mormons as the authoritative treatise on Savior’s mission and message, expounding all scriptures in one on the various aspects of the life of our Redeemer. CHAPTER 39 MINISTRY OF THE RESURRECTED CHRIST ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE By considering the apostolic ministry in immediate sequence to our study of the Lord's ascension from the Mount of Olives, we have departed from the chronological order of the several personal manifestations of the risen Savior to...

CALLING ON ALL REPUBLICANS IN THE GREAT STATE OF TEXAS Last night Hillery said she was "ready to defeat the Republicans" I say we have a rare opportunity to take her on directly, and take her out. The state of Texas has open voting. We should all tell/plead/beg our friends and family in Texas to "pimp" ourselves out for one day. Vote Obama and sweep that woman into the dust bin of history. Here's our chance republicans - why do you hesitate? Like it or not, Maverick is our horse. His nomination is sure. Lets use our vote wisely on...

BAGHDAD, Feb. 14, 2008 – Iraqi police stations officially opened for business Feb. 10 in the Adil, Khadra and Jamia neighborhoods in the Iraqi capital’s Mansour district. An Iraqi policeman takes roll at the Adil police station in western Baghdad, Feb. 9, 2008, prior to police training. Iraqi police stations officially opened for business in three neighborhoods of Baghdad’s Mansour district the next day. Photo by Sgt. James P. Hunter, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. More than 490 recruits graduated from the Camp Fiji Iraqi Police Training Facility in Baghdad, and more than 260 of them were...

A felony conviction and subsequent deportation didn’t stop Manuel Enrique Morales from crossing the border to return to Mesa, where police allege he and others terrorized victims with an assault rifle in a series of home invasions. This time, though, the 19-year-old illegal immigrant is going to stay awhile because police jailed him and five alleged accomplices in the spree of armed robberies that span from Nov. 16-29. Home invasions were becoming so rampant in Mesa in recent months that police formed a special task force to address the problem, which they believed was the work of as many as...

Primaries: Open and Closed Open primaries (or pick-a-party) are those in which voters of any affiliation may vote for the slate of any party.Closed primaries are those in which only the voters affiliated with a party may vote in its primary.Blanket primaries (or "jungle primaries") are those in which voters, regardless of affiliation, may choose the party primary in which they want to vote on an office-by-office basis. The blanket primary was struck down in 2001 by the Supreme Court in CA Democratic Party v. Jones. The following is a running list of states by primary type: open, potentially closed,...

Justine Henin cruised to a second US Open and seventh Grand Slam title with a 6-1 6-3 victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova in Saturday's final. The Belgian went into the match with a 14-2 record against Kuznetsova, and having beaten Serena and Venus Williams in her last two matches. And Henin, 25, played some more fabulous tennis as she broke three times in dominating the first set. She kept up that form in the second to regain the title she first won in 2003. "It's such a great feeling - my first win four years ago was an amazing memory and...

PATROL BASE DRAGON — Children play. They get dirty, swim in canals and climb up trees; risk is part of the game. When accidents happen, it is nice to have a place to go for cuts, scrapes and serious injuries. For the Iraqi children who live in the countryside just yards from Patrol Base Dragon, near the Euphrates River, that place is the Battalion Aid Station run by Capt. Christopher “Kit” Dominguez, a native of Grand Junction, Colo., and physician’s assistant for Company C, 210th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), out of Fort...

Below is a video of my August 5 open carry incident in New Hampshire. It starts audio-only then the video picks up a minute or two later when our pro photographer runs to the scene. Basically I'm a liberty activist here; I wear a holstered pistol in public roughly once a week. It's legal in New Hampshire but not that common south of the notches. Cops sometimes ignore, sometimes harass you for doing it. When that happens to me, I don't get angry but use the chance to educate police about the open carry rights of NH citizens. I was...

Aaron Swartz today announced the launch of the new Open Library project. The goal of the project is to produce the world's greatest library on the Internet free for anyone to use. Starting with the Internet Archive's book scanning project and organizing the insertion of new content via a wiki-type model the project seems to be off to a great start. The demo, source code, and mailing lists were all opened up today in hopes of drawing interest from the public at large.

KREIDI — U.S. forces joined local Iraqis to celebrate the opening of new water wells in Kreidi and Mualih Hasso, two villages near Forward Operating Base Qayyarah in the Ninevah province. Soldiers with 5th Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment and Company B, 431st Civil Affairs (CA) Battalion participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony in Kreidi put on by leaders from both villages to commemorate the occasion. “Today is a good day,” said Dr. Mohammed Ismael Ahmed, a local physician and a tribal liaison for multiple small villages in the area. “The water from these wells will be used for washing,...

The United States could take in up to 25,000 Iraqi refugees this year -- more than three times the number it previously agreed to admit -- in an effort to provide some relief to the crisis affecting several Arab countries, the State Department said yesterday.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is touring the hardest-hit of California's farmland today, as efforts continue to gauge the damage done by the recent cold snap. The tour of Central Valley farms and orchards coincides with the opening of one-stop assistance centers in Riverside and San Bernardino counties and 16 other communities for agricultural workers out of work because of the frigid temperatures. The centers are offering job and unemployment assistance, food, healthcare and other services, according to the governor's office. New centers are at the following locations: * Workforce Development Center 1151 Spruce Street Riverside, CA 92507 * San Bernardino Employment...

Stuck Mojo guitarist and songwriter, Rich "The Duke" Ward, will be appearing on the Fox Radio Network (FNC) at approximately 7:10 EST, Tuesday, December 19th on John Gibson's "The Big Story" to discuss the song/video "Open Season" from the new Stuck Mojo album "Southern Born Killers." To listen, click on the link below and choose the "Listen Live" button. http://www.foxnews.com/bigstory/index.htmlWith "Open Season," Stuck Mojo has taken a stand against the current, global jihad being waged by violent, Islamic extremists. This war is not only against America or Western Civilization, but against anyone who does not agree with their interpretation...