Free Republic

PERTH brothels are increasing staff to contend with the arrival of two US warships carrying more than 5400 sailors. Nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington and guided missile cruiser USS Cowpens docked off Fremantle yesterday. Prevalent in groups of five or six on the streets of Perth today, some sailors were asking locals: "Where do you go to party?". Business groups estimate the sailors' arrival will boost the local economy to the tune of $5 million during the ships' five-day stay. The owner of Perth brothel Langtrees, Beverly Clarke, said today she had put on five extra staff for...

TOWNSVILLE has been forced to turn away a US warship and its 3600-strong crew, which would have brought more than $1 million a day to the port city. The USS Essex, a 258m-long amphibious assault vessel, has been diverted to Cairns for an eight-day shore leave, including the popular Fourth of July celebrations. Outraged Townsville tour operators are facing millions in losses, empty hotel rooms, cancelled tours and more than 400 seats booked for the North Queensland Cowboys home game as a result of the embarrassing backdown. Cairns officials yesterday welcomed the big-spending US seamen and the predicted $10 million...

We Swedes wish to honor: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cole_bombing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darrell_S._Cole True Swedes - like I - love America. Yes, we are Europeans and you are Americans. Often, we insult each other, by employing various methods. Yet, you are our sisters'N'brothers and nothing will ever change tHAT. I would give my life up for America. The US is a nation which believes in true freedom. This idea will conquer the world.

080428-N-7883G-683 SOUTH CHINA SEA (April 28, 2008) The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) prepares to anchor in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor. Hong Kong is Kitty Hawk's last scheduled overseas port visit before its return to the United States later this year. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kyle D. Gahlau (Released)

BUSAN, South Korea — The revamped USS Ohio introduced itself to South Korea on Tuesday, marking the first time a nuclear-powered submarine has docked alongside the nation’s shores. Both U.S. and South Korean special forces will use the submarine during the Key Resolve/Foal Eagle exercise happening throughout March in South Korea, said 7th Fleet commander Vice Adm. Doug Crowder. The Ohio now has more conventional weapons than any other submarine in the world, Capt. Andy Hale told a large contingent of mostly South Korean media at Busan’s naval port. However, it didn’t begin its life that way. The Ohio carried...

An American missile ship set to dock at Haifa Port on Monday is equipped with an anti-missile defense system that could be deployed in the region in the event of an Iranian missile attack against Israel. The USS San Jacinto is an AEGIS cruiser in the Ticonderoga Class and was commissioned in 1988. It carries the most advanced underwater surveillance system available today and is equipped with the AEGIS missile defense system, which was developed by Lockheed Martin to protect against aircraft and missiles. The ship will remain in Haifa for three days. While the IDF developed and operates the...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chinese and American military officials have agreed to put behind them a dispute over China's refusal to allow port calls to Hong Kong by U.S. Navy warships, a Chinese official said Tuesday. China has hinted that its denials of port calls for the USS Kitty Hawk and eight other ships were triggered by Congress' honoring of the Dalai Lama and U.S. arms sales to Chinese rival Taiwan. The rejection of the ships drew protests from the United States and led the Bush administration to call China's Washington defense attache to the Pentagon to hear complaints about the...

WASHINGTON - The Chinese rejection of U.S. ship visits into Hong Kong is broader than initially reported, the Pentagon said Friday, revealing for the first time that a third incident had occurred last week. According to a defense official, a request for the USS Reuben James, a Navy frigate, to make a New Year's holiday stop in Hong Kong was formally denied by the Chinese last Thursday. The denial came the same day the Chinese turned away the USS Kitty Hawk and five ships accompanying it for a Thanksgiving port call. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because...

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States said Thursday it expected China to explain why it turned a US warship away from Hong Kong, but played down the simmering dispute as "one small incident" in a sea of good relations. "We've asked for the clarification, and I think we will get it, and then we'll be able to move beyond this," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters. Beijing linked its decision to deny the USS Kitty Hawk a port-of-call stop to recent US arms sales to Taiwan and a public show of support for Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama...

BEIJING, Nov. 29 — China denied permission for a United States aircraft carrier battle group and other American warships to visit Hong Kong last week because of the Bush administration’s proposal to sell upgrades to Patriot antimissile batteries to Taiwan, Chinese state media said today. Beijing also said today that Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi had not told President Bush in a meeting Wednesday that the decisions to deny the ship visits were a “misunderstanding,” as the White House had reported after the talks.“Reports that Foreign Minister Yang said in the United States that it was a misunderstanding do not accord...

/begin my translation China Refused Kitty Hawk's Stay in Hong Kong due to Naval Exercise Aimed at Taiwan (Hong Kong = Yonhap News) Chung Ju-ho = Ming Bao of Hong Kong reported on Nov. 24 that large-scale Naval Exercise by PLAN is a reason why China refused U.S. carrier Kitty Hawk's scheduled stay in Hong Kong for a while. According to sources, PLAN's Eastern and Southern Fleet conducted large-scale joint military exercise recently in the area of Pacific east of Taiwan, and north of Philippines, practicing hypothetical blockade of Taiwan. Russian-made missile frigates and submarines, 022 stealth missiles, and...

HONOLULU: The top U.S. military commander in the Pacific said Thursday he is "perplexed and concerned" by China's last-minute decision to deny a U.S. aircraft carrier entry to Hong Kong for a previously scheduled port visit. The USS Kitty Hawk and its escort ships were due to dock in Hong Kong for a four-day visit Wednesday until they were refused access. Hundreds of family members who had flown to Hong Kong to spend Thanksgiving with their sailors were stranded by the move. "It's hard to put any kind of positive spin on this," Adm. Timothy Keating told The Associated Press...

HONOLULU (AP) - The top U.S. military commander in the Pacific said he's "perplexed and concerned" by China's last-minute decision to deny a U.S. aircraft carrier entry to Hong Kong for a previously scheduled port visit...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China has unexpectedly denied the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier and its accompanying ships entry to Hong Kong port for a long-planned Thanksgiving holiday visit, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday. "At present, it appears the USS Kitty Hawk strike group will not be making a port call in Hong Kong as previously planned as a result of a last minute denial by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs," State Department spokeswoman Nicole Thompson said. China gave no reason was for the denial, Thompson said. The United States is pressing Chinese authorities for an explanation and...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China has unexpectedly denied the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier and its accompanying ships entry to Hong Kong port for a long-planned Thanksgiving holiday visit, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday. "At present, it appears the USS Kitty Hawk strike group will not be making a port call in Hong Kong as previously planned as a result of a last minute denial by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs," State Department spokeswoman Nicole Thompson said. China gave no reason was for the denial, Thompson said. The United States is pressing Chinese authorities for an explanation and...

An aerial view shows U.S. aircraft carrier USS Ronald W. Reagan sailing into the Sasebo Port, western Japan, Saturday, Feb. 24 2007. The newest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier made a port call at Sasebo U.S. naval base Saturday. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

USS Ronald Reagan in Jebel Ali Posted: Saturday, March 18, 2006 Dubai US navy aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, has arrived in the Dubai port of Jebel Ali. The carrier's 4,800 crew members 'will have a chance to tour, shop, and enjoy liberty,' said a statement by the US Navy's Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain. The 334-metre nuclear-powered vessel arrived in the Gulf last month to conduct maritime security operations in the region and 'support ground troops in Iraq,' said the statement. 'Visits to places like Jebel Ali and Dubai in the UAE are a great opportunity for our...

A BLACK-CLAD figure amid a sea of brilliant white uniforms, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was given a hero's welcome aboard two US warships in Sydney Harbour yesterday. The crews of USS Port Royal and USS Ruben James greeted Dr Rice with cheers and whistles. She told the sailors they were owed a great debt of thanks by the American people, the President and all who desired freedom. "Because you are stalwart, because you have volunteered for this fight (in the global war on terror), we are going to win this great struggle," she said. "We are going...

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2006 – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited the guided-missile cruiser USS Port Royal today during the ship's regularly scheduled port visit here. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks to the crew of the guided-missile cruiser USS Port Royal during a visit to the ship March 16. Port Royal was in Sydney for a regularly scheduled port visit. The secretary made brief but encouraging comments to the crew and visiting media on the ship's main deck before going below decks for a special lunch with the sailors. "This group of wonderful young men and women who represent...

USS Nimitz starts routine visit in HK The USS Nimitz started its routine port visit in Hong Kong on Friday and will stay for a few days. Commander of Carrier Strike Group 11 Rear Admiral Peter H. Daly said at a press briefing on Nimitz that it was a real great pleasure to dock in Hong Kong. Members of the ship consider Hong Kong a favorite port due to its special status as an international city and its unique culture. He said that young people formed a majority of the crew and most of them were having a trip outside...

ABOARD USS JOHN F. KENNEDY (NNS) -- The aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) pulled into Boston Harbor May 19 for a four-day goodwill visit. The port call marked the carrier’s first in five years and afforded the residents of Boston the opportunity to get a closer look at the national strategic asset. “It’s great to be back,” said Kennedy’s Commanding Officer Capt. Dennis FitzPatrick. “Our namesake says it all: This is Boston’s aircraft carrier.” In addition to ship’s company and Sailors from Carrier Air Wing 17, Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) are taking part...

SINGAPORE (NNS) -- Girl Scouts and Brownies from two troops in Singapore dropped in on the crew of USS Safeguard (ARS 50) during a port visit to Singapore to pass out boxes of Girl Scout cookies May 9. The cookie delivery was part of Operation Thin Mint, a program developed by Girl Scouts in the San Diego area, where they teamed up with their customers to send cookies and handwritten notes of support to service men and women serving overseas. “We’re extremely grateful to the Girl Scouts for bringing a piece of home out here to us while we’re deployed,”...

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam - An American warship made a rare visit to Vietnam on Tuesday, a sign the two countries are looking to improve military ties 30 years after the Vietnam War. Sailors dressed in white lined the decks of the USS Gary as the frigate docked in Saigon Port, where it is to remain for five days. The warship was just the third Navy vessel to make a port call in the communist country since the war ended on April 30, 1975. The Stars and Stripes flew alongside the Vietnamese flag as the ship eased up the...

VLADIVOSTOK, July 7, (RIA Novosti) - A US squadron of warships, which included the cruiser Kaupens and the landing ship Harpers Ferry, has completed its unofficial visit to and left the main base of the Russian Pacific fleet - Vladivostok, RIA Novosti was told at the fleet's press-service on Wednesday. An American naval delegation made calls on the commander of the Russian Pacific fleet and the administrations of Primorye Territory and Vladivostok. The US navymen laid wreaths to the Pacific Fleet War Glory memorial, visited the Admiral Makarov Naval Institute, and made a sightseeing tour of the city. Before arriving...

In what could signal a change of policy, a US warship from the Sixth Fleet held a quiet call at the port of Haifa this week. The USS Thorn, a 7,800-ton destroyer, departed Thursday, reportedly after a three-day stay. Its 300 crew members were not allowed to disembark for shore leave to the disappointment of Haifa's businesses. Israeli officials said this was for security reasons. Despite the low-profile visit, it does mark the first time that a large US naval ship has called at an Israeli port since late 2000. The US Navy's removing of Haifa Bay as a port...

<p>Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S.S. Vandegrift, the first U.S. Navy ship to visit Vietnam since the end of the Vietnam War, arrived in the city formerly known as Saigon and now called Ho Chi Minh City to begin a four-day visit.</p>

A US frigate is due to dock in Vietnam on Wednesday, becoming the first US warship to visit since the Vietnam War. The USS Vandegrift is to spend four days in port near Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon and a centre for US forces before they withdrew in 1973. The ship's visit is being seen as a symbolic step towards healing relations between the two countries. Diplomatic ties were re-established in 1995 and since then bi-lateral trade has been growing rapidly. "In the past, the presence of US Navy ships reflected aggression against Vietnamese. This time, it's a...

Two US Navy ships have arrived at a port in southern China for a visit aimed at building trust and reducing misunderstandings between the navies of the two countries, a US naval official said. The calls by the USS Cowpens and USS Vandegrift to the Zhanjiang port are part of a series of exchanges between the two militaries for the past few years, Lieutenant Commander Mike Brown said. "I think it's a good indication that the continuation of relations between the two countries is moving in a positive direction," Brown, the public affairs officer for the US Navy's Carrier Group...

<p>HONOLULU — The first U.S. Navy vessel to dock in Vietnam in almost 30 years is due to arrive there on a landmark port call in November, according to a military source and a former U.S. ambassador. The military contact is the first since the United States pulled out of Vietnam in 1975, withdrawing from a war that cost the United States more than 58,000 lives and left an estimated 1.3 million to 3 million North and South Vietnamese dead. There are an estimated 1,200 American POW/MIAs still unaccounted for. A military official said Friday the ship would dock for five days in what was largely a symbolic gesture reflecting the deepening bilateral relationship between the United States and the communist republic. A spokesman for the Navy's Pacific Command declined to comment, citing security reasons. Bilateral ties between the United States and Vietnam have been improving slowly since the former foes resumed diplomatic relations in 1995. A bilateral trade agreement was signed in 2000, and a deal to resume commercial flights between the two countries was signed on Thursday. "The military-to-military aspect is in a developmental stage," said former Ambassador Charles B. Salmon Jr., currently a foreign policy adviser at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, a Pentagon-funded think tank. Vietnamese Defense Minister Pham Van Tra is due to visit the United States later this year, Mr. Salmon and the military source both said. It will be the first visit by a Vietnamese defense minister since the end of the Vietnam War. Mr. Tra's visit takes place after Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien's recent trip to the United States. Mr. Salmon said that despite the growing relationship the issues of POW/MIAs and human rights violations in Vietnam were still of significant concern for many Americans. The communist government, which tightly controls religion, has clashed and arrested dissident Buddhist monks and refused to recognize Pope John Paul II's appointment of Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man as Ho Chi Minh City's new cardinal.</p>