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WASHINGTON, March 22, 2007 – Medal of Honor recipients are heroes, despite their many humble objections to the label, and are important to the fabric of our society, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England told those gathered yesterday to celebrate the official naming of March 25 as National Medal of Honor Day. Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England highlights the importance of the Medal of Honor and its recipients to the nation and military while speaking at a ceremony honoring recipients and celebrating Congress’s recent designation March 25 each year as National Medal of Honor Day. Photo by Fred W. Baker...

Azores set for Hurricane Gordon The Azores islands in the mid-Atlantic have been placed on high alert for Hurricane Gordon, which is due to hit the Portuguese territory shortly. People and livestock have been told to stay indoors as forecasters warn the hurricane will bring heavy rain and winds of 170km/h (105mph). Waves as high as 12 metres (40ft) are also predicted and the region's ports are expected to be the most exposed. Some 240,000 people live in the nine Azores islands. Farming and fishing are the mainstay of the economy of the islands, which lie about 1,500 km (930...

Germany's far-Right set for poll gains By Kate Connolly in Berlin (Filed: 15/09/2006) Germany's far-Right is set to increase its power base in state elections this weekend, securing a historic foothold in a regional parliament for the third time in two years. The leading candidates for the National Democratic Party (NPD), Germany's oldest neo-Nazi party, have swapped their skinheads and combat boots for smart suits and gelled hair, in their attempt to attract a wider vote by shedding their thug-like image. A supporter of Germany's far-Right NPD holds a flag in Berlin Some of their campaign slogans, such as "working...

Philippine volcano 'set to erupt' Mayon is the most active volcano in the Philippines The Philippine authorities have ordered the evacuation of about 35,000 people living near a volcano, saying an eruption could take place soon. The alert was raised to four - the second highest level - following increased activity at Mount Mayon, in the centre of the country. It has been rumbling since February and started emitting lava in mid-July. Mayon is the most active volcano in the Philippines, having erupted about 50 times in the past 400 years. People living in the region watched with alarm early...

7/12/2006 - SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) -- Political freedom is something the military has defended since the founding of the United States. But, while free to participate in the political process, there are some rules military members need to know. "Our main job is to follow the orders that come down our chain of command, which has an elected official at the top," said Maj. Frank Minogue, chief of civil law for Air Education and Training Command at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. "It would undermine our whole command structure if it appeared that the Air Force was supporting one side,...

EU set to host Iran nuclear talks By Emma Jane Kirby BBC News, Brussels Ali Larijani has ruled out a swift Iranian response Iran's top nuclear negotiator and the EU's foreign policy chief are meeting to try to diffuse a row over Tehran's contested nuclear plans. The EU presented Iran with a package of incentives designed to make it suspend controversial uranium enrichment. So far Iran has failed to give a response to the offer. Iran says it needs nuclear power for electricity but some countries fear it could be covertly trying to develop nuclear weapons. The talks in Brussels...

HANOI, Vietnam - Disgraced British glam rocker Gary Glitter will have his appeal heard next month against a 3-year sentence for child molestation, a court official said. "His appeals trial is set for June 15," said Bui Ngoc Hoa, head of the People's Supreme Court of Appeals in Ho Chi Minh City. The trial would last one day, he added. Glitter, 62, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison by a Vietnamese court on March 3 for committing obscene acts with girls aged 10 and 11 at his rented seaside villa...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - After spending half his life in a Pakistani jail, Tahir Mirza Hussain is scheduled to hang on his 36th birthday for killing a taxi driver _ even though a court acquitted him 10 years ago. Hussain, a British-Pakistani, claims he is innocent. He was cleared by a secular court but retried and found guilty in an Islamic one. He now faces execution June 1 unless President Gen. Pervez Musharraf intervenes. His muddled case, spanning two decades, is emblematic of Pakistan's corrupt and bifurcated legal system, described by a leading rights activist as "flawed" and in desperate need...

Taiwan storm set to get louder By Chris Hogg BBC News, Hong Kong Tensions between the two sides are running high It is 12 months since China passed a law authorising the use of force against Taiwan if the self-governing island moved towards formal independence. On the face of it, it looks like nothing much has changed since then. Both sides are still flinging insults at each other. China is still refusing to talk to Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian. The "status quo", as people call it, remains in place. But conversations with the leading players and analysts who monitor their...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2006 – With "the greatest force for freedom in the history of the world on their side," Americans should feel confident in efforts to combat terrorism and spread democracy, President Bush said today in praise of the nation's armed forces. Speaking at the 88th Annual American Legion Convention here, the president thanked the organization for its long-time support of U.S. troops and told veterans in the group they've set an example for today's servicemembers. "Our men and women on the front lines are taking inspiration from the valor and courage that you've shown in the field of...

2/9/2006 - U.S. MILITARY GROUP QUITO, Ecuador (AFPN) -- It was a busy day for the 21st Medical Group -- 1,501 patients seen in eight hours during a medical readiness exercise here. The constant stream of Ecuadorians moved through the treatment areas like a quiet, but strong steam engine. There was a sense of calm and orderliness as the Ecuadorian Army security team kept the crowds in control, which helped facilitate the number of people seen Feb. 7 in the small village of Otavalo. U.S. and Ecuadorian Air Force doctors worked side-by-side to treat Ecuadorian patients. In four isolated towns,...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23, 2005 - The servicemembers recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here will receive a unique gift this holiday season: a larger-than-life chess set adorned with signatures and messages of support. The 8-by-8-foot chess set is being donated by Mega Chess, a private company in California, and delivered by Operation Interdependence, an organization that supports regularly scheduled deployments of troops with care packages. This is about the 20th chess set Operation Interdependence is delivering to troops, said Albert Renteria, Operation Interdependence founder and president. Each set is donated by Mega Chess and bears the signatures of hundreds...

No more Patriot Act means Operation Able Danger and 9/11 all over again. Don't let the sun set on the Patriot Act. Call your state senator at 202-225-3121. Freed Iraq. No thanks to Democrat oposition. Cowards cut and run. Marines never do. Stay the course. Peace with God. I believe in a time when Americans had guts. Maximum Effort. Abandon Iraq? NO! Thank you, FreeRepublic, for allowing me to post my work!

BAGHDAD, Dec. 16, 2005 – The day seemed downright festive: children marched in impromptu parades, men wore suits -- on their day off, no less -- and entire families took long walks from their homes to polling sites. The Iraqi parliamentary elections Dec. 15 gave Iraqis a chance to showcase the pride they have in their country and the hope they have for the future, officials here said. "Nationalism is defined by the actions of the people," said Maj. Ross Coffman, 4th Brigade Combat Team executive officer. "It only takes a moment to see their faces as they vote, to...

BOSTON (AP) - Investigators were searching for suspects in one of the city's bloodiest crimes in recent memory after four men were fatally shot in a basement that neighbours said had been set up as a music studio. The dead were in their late teens and early 20s, authorities said. Three men were found dead at the house and the fourth died at a hospital, police Supt. Bobbie Johnson said. Johnson said witnesses told police they saw a heavy-set person fleeing the scene Tuesday night. Police said the people involved appeared to know each other, but Johnson would not comment...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2005 – Iraqi and coalition forces have set the conditions for a successful Dec. 15 parliamentary election in Iraq that will be mostly free of violence, U.S. officials said today. The officials also said a broad and representative cross-section of the Iraqi population, including Sunnis, will participate "By and large, with the exception of the al Anbar province, (we) are very confident that there will be a large turnout and little or no violence," Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., commander of coalition forces in Iraq, said. Even in Anbar, "we expect better turnout this time than...

BAGHDAD, (Army News Service, Dec. 6, 2005) – Coalition and Iraqi security forces continued to disrupt al Qaeda in Iraq terrorist and foreign-fighter activities during more than 450 company-level combined operations throughout the country Nov. 26 through Dec 2. “Fifty percent of the combat operations conducted this past week throughout the Iraqi theatre of operation were combined Coalition and Iraqi security force operations, while another 21 percent were independent Iraqi security force operations,” said Maj. Brandon Robbins, operations officer, Multi-National Corps, Iraq. “The ability of the Iraqi Army forces to conduct these combined and independent operations is significant.” Coalition and...

Farmer set on fire in Zimbabwe By Peta Thornycroft at Ngawarati Farm, Norton (Filed: 28/11/2005) One of Zimbabwe's last remaining white farmers was strangled and burned to death in an attack inside his home yesterday. Don Stewart, 68, was set upon shortly before dawn in the bedroom of his tightly-guarded homestead near Norton, 25 miles west of Harare. He was one of the last 300 white farmers left in Zimbabwe. There were 4,000 five years ago.Police insisted that Mr Stewart's murder was the work of common criminals and had no political motive. His assailants were unable to penetrate the barred...

Oakland grocers set to fight vandals Police say they will have more details this week in the attacks on two liquor stores By William Brand, STAFF WRITER NATION OF ISLAM minister Tony Muhammad, standing in front of Muhammad Mosque 26 in Oakland on Saturday, says the Nation had no part in the destruction inside two West Oakland liquor stores Wednesday night. (GREG TARCZYNSKI) OAKLAND — The president of the Yemini American Grocery Association said Saturday that grocers have the right to defend themselves if their stores are invaded like two West Oakland markets were hit Wednesday night. The association, which...

Palestinian Elections Set For January Elections Were Postpone Due To Gaza Pullout Aug 20, 2005 2:56 pm US/Mountain Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas (File) AP (CBS) RAFAH, Gaza Strip Palestinian parliamentary elections will be held Jan. 25, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas announced Saturday. The elections were to have been held in July, but were postponed indefinitely because of Israel's Gaza pullout. In setting a firm date, Abbas was making a conciliatory gesture to his political rival, Hamas, which is expected to make a strong showing in the vote. "The parliamentary election will take place in all of the homeland districts on...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 2005 – Almost 900 of the nearly 2,000 detainees held in brigade- and division-level internment facilities in Iraq were released in July, U.S. military officials in Baghdad reported. "The release of detainees is a positive step toward the fundamentals of establishing a democracy," said Army Col. Arnaldo Claudio, the provost marshal for Multinational Corps Iraq, which oversees combat and stability operations in the country. "It is also an indication of Iraqi and coalition forces working together towards a common objective - a free and prosperous Iraq." The colonel emphasized that the detainees had been treated well. "Detainees...

N.C. Hearing Opens on 1979 Klan Killings By TIM WHITMIRE, Associated Press Writer 32 minutes ago Signe Waller, right, is comforted by Cory Wechler, a friend, on stage as she reads her prepared statement, Friday, July 15, 2005, during the public hearing of the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Greensboro, N.C. Waller was at the November 3, 1979 anti-Ku Klux Klan rally when a violent confrontation between Communist Workers Party members and the Ku Klux at Morningside Homes in Greensboro, left five CWP members dead, including her husband Dr. Jim Waller. (AP Photo/Lynn Hey) GREENSBORO, N.C. - The widow...

Despite an upsurge in the frequency and severity of terrorist attacks, the IDF is going ahead with plans to transfer control of five key cities in Judea and Samaria to the Palestinian Authority. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz is scheduled to meet with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in the next few days in order to coordinate the IDF withdrawal. The withdrawal, agreed upon at the Sharon-Abbas summit in Sharm El-Sheik, has been held up due to a terrorist attack on a Tel Aviv night club on February 25, which killed five and wounded 50. The suicide bomber came from Tulkarem, one...

'Rattled' Blair to set tough tests for migrants By Toby Helm, Chief Political Correspondent (Filed: 07/02/2005) Tony Blair will try today to recapture ground lost to the Tories on immigration by announcing plans to turn away people who do not bring economic benefits or professional skills to the country. The Prime Minister and Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, will announce the tough new tests for would-be immigrants from outside the EU as part of a five-year-plan to bring immigration under control. Labour's new policy: ‘firm, fair and workable’ The policy, which Labour says is "firm, fair and workable", will involve...

Britain urges Bush to set out Iraq withdrawal timetable By Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Editor (Filed: 20/01/2005) Britain is urging America to announce a timetable for withdrawing coalition troops from Iraq over the next 18 months or more. With a new Iraqi government due to take power after next week's elections, The Telegraph has learned that British officials believe the time is ripe for the coalition to announce an "indicative timetable" for its departure. An Iraqi family watch as a US patrol passes them in Khatoon There would no firm deadline and the withdrawal would depend on the gradual ability...

Gonzales Had Key RoleIn March 2002, U.S. elation at the capture of al Qaeda operations chief Abu Zubaida was turning to frustration as he refused to bend to CIA interrogation. But the agency's officers, determined to wring more from Abu Zubaida through threatening interrogations, worried about being charged with violating domestic and international proscriptions on torture. They asked for a legal review -- the first ever by the government -- of how much pain and suffering a U.S. intelligence officer could inflict on a prisoner without violating a 1994 law that imposes severe penalties, including life imprisonment and execution, on...

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!

Garden's set to rock Final touches in place for one huge party BY MAGGIE HABERMAN DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU Madison Square Garden is ready for a Republican party. The star-spangled balloons are blown up and bagged; the cherry-red carpet is nailed in place; the blue delegate seats are nailed to the floor, and the confetti with pictures of GeorgeW. and Laura Bush is set to go. There's one stage for the speakers and a separate, hydraulic platform for the entertainers. Then there's a secret stage for the President himself that won't appear until Thursday night. That was the view...

Five decades ago, Nazi case set precedent for military tribunals Connie Cass THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 12:00 AM WASHINGTON -- A German submarine slipped through dark waters toward New York's Long Island in June 1942, creeping so close it bumped the sandy bottom. A second settled into shallows along the Florida coast. Each sent ashore four men, who dragged crates of explosives up the beaches. They were under orders to blow up American railroads, bridges and factories. But none got the chance. All eight were arrested within two weeks. Within two months, six were executed. They...

Japanese growth set to beat US Japanese consumers are key to an ongoing recovery Japan's economic growth forecasts have been revised upwards as the recovery gathers steam. Bulging demand has pushed estimates to 6.1% for the full year, up from the previous estimate of 5.6%. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 1.5%, in real terms, in the first quarter up from the previous estimate of 1.4%. Japan is the world's second biggest economy and now looks set to outstrip US growth of 4.4% annualised for the same period of January-March. It is welcome news for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, attending the...

Indonesia set to outlaw sex before marriage Reuters Tuesday September 30, 2003 The Guardian (UK) Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, is drafting regulations that could outlaw sex before marriage, living together outside wedlock, and homosexuality, an official said yesterday. Abdul Gani Abdullah, the director general of legislation, said the draft revisions would also ban witchcraft. Muslim leaders, including experts in Islamic sharia law, had been consulted, he added. But certain criteria would need to be met before a crime was committed under the revisions, he said. "If society chooses not to do anything and has no objection to...

MSBlast copycat set to pounce, firm says By Ina Fried CNET News.com September 16, 2003, 5:42 PM PT Tools now exist to exploit a recently announced Windows flaw, further increasing the likelihood that new viruses will emerge soon, a security firm has warned. Ken Dunham, an analyst at Reston, Va.-based iDefense, said Tuesday it is "highly likely" that new worms or Trojan horses will emerge in the next few days. They are expected to prey on computers that have not been updated with the latest security patch for Microsoft's operating system. "A new Blaster-like worm family could be created in...

<p>Consuming a chunk of organic health food is a act of drug abuse in the eyes of the Drug Enforcement Administration — if it contains, as some snacks do, hemp as an ingredient. An appeals court in Alaska says residents can possess up to a quarter-pound of pot for their own use. In a Zogby poll conducted last month in New Hampshire, 84 percent of voters said they supported changing federal law to allow patients to use medicinal marijuana without fear of arrest. Marijuana continues its beeline for the mainstream after years of reefer madness. Federal officials are ready to do battle, with the next target being hemp as food. While it sounds simple enough — one side of mostly pro-marijuana advocates looking to climb another rung on the ladder toward pot tolerance — the fact that the hemp food case even has legs portrays the continued move toward societal legitimacy of the illegal weed. "There is a lot more tolerance for marijuana," said Bruce Mirken, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, which favors pot legalization and most other liberalization of marijuana laws. "And it appears that there are more people rallying around this issue." What people are not seeing, said Ed Childress, a DEA spokesman in Washington, "is the marijuana-legalization lobby at work behind the scenes, with better resources." Two years ago, DEA head Asa Hutchinson said that foods using seeds from the hemp plant violated federal law. He ordered a crackdown on the foods, but his dictate was stayed by a court order. Courtroom wrangling has drawn out the battle. For now, purveyors of the products are free to sell. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will begin hearing arguments in the case next week. "It was really a matter of hemp not existing as something that can be consumed," said Richard Meyer, a DEA spokesman in San Francisco. If the DEA gets its way, insisting that hemp-as-food violates federal law, Lynn Gordon says, she stands to lose $800,000. Miss Gordon's Minneapolis-based French Meadow Bakery produces, among other things, bread with hemp seeds as a primary ingredient. She distances herself from the pro-pot lobby. "I don't advocate marijuana use, I don't smoke marijuana," Miss Gordon said. But her multigrain Healthy Hemp bread uses hemp seeds that she purchases legally from Canada, where hemp plants are grown for industrial use and consumption. "This is not to get people high, it is something that tastes good." Hemp-food advocates say sterilized hemp seed and oil are exempt from the Controlled Substances Act under the statutory definition of marijuana, just as poppy seeds are exempted under the statutory definition of the opium poppy. The growing support for marijuana in all forms is at odds with a federal government that has gone to great lengths to fight it. Increasing leniency, such as that in Alaska, eventually could doom the federal efforts. "I do not believe in drugs," said Erwin A. Sholts, chairman of the North American Industrial Hemp Council, which advocates the use of hemp for both food and industrial use. "But if the DEA doesn't wake up and smell the flowers, there may be something passed in Congress that they can't live with."</p>

Speed restrictions have been issued across Britain's rail network as temperatures soar to record-breaking highs. With the mercury set to hit the mid-30s by midweek, rail operators have lowered the speed limit on the busiest routes because of fears the rails may buckle in the heat. Long-distance Virgin services will be worst hit with extended journey times between London and Birmingham, Manchester, Crewe and Scotland. Forecasters say Britain is set for the hottest week of the year - and possibly the hottest week ever. Temperatures in the south-east could smash the previous 37.1C record set in Cheltenham 13 years ago....

March 11, 2003 Movie men add special effects to media warFrom David Charter Camp As Sayliyah, Doha THE Pentagon has enlisted Hollywood to help to present its daily briefings to the world. Fresh from the latest Michael Douglas film, one of Tinseltown’s top art directors has been hired to create a $200,000 (£125,000) set for General Tommy Franks and other American commanders to give daily updates. George Allison, 43, who has designed White House backdrops for President Bush and worked with the illusionist David Blaine, has been flown into the US Central Command base in Qatar as part of...

The Drama Complex The traditions of Greek tragedy as in Oedipus Rex are based upon the religious traditions of the Greeks - - the idea of destiny or a preordained fate subject to the whims of the gods. Socrates saw this fallacy in Plato’s Euthyphro, when he asked Euthyphro what was pleasing to the gods and how could someone be pious to the gods when they all wanted something different than the others. It made no sense to observe the divinity of one god and ignore the demands of another god. How could a person know what it was to...

Aussies set for war in Iraq December 18 2002 at 11:50AM Australian Prime Minister John Howard acknowledged on Wednesday that contingency plans were being made for war in Iraq, amid reports that defence commanders have been told to prepare to go to war in March. Sydney's Daily Telegraph quoted senior military officers saying they expected President George Bush to give the green light early next month for final 60-day preparations for a March campaign. Troops from the Special Air Services regiment, battle-toughened by a year in Afghanistan, will spearhead Australia's involvement as US and British forces lead major air and...