Free Republic

Say a prayer for my dad Norman; he died tonight from Pneumonia. He was a great man: Air force Lt. Col. 22years (reserves), airline 747 captain, and superb father. Never bragged, never raised his voice in anger.A dear man. Started smoking the year Harry Truman took office. Say a prayer for him and his family. Thanks.

Iran, Russia to Set Timing For Delivery of Fuel to Bushehr Plant MOSCOW -- Russia and Iran will fix a date for the delivery of nuclear fuel to Iran shortly, the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy announced on Monday. An unidentified spokesman with the ministry said the Russian and Iranian working groups in their debates on Tuesday and Wednesday will set the timing of the delivery which is meant for the Unit 1 of Iran's Bushehr Power Plant. The debates come in the course of the visit by the President of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO) Gholam-Reza Aqazadeh who arrived...

A Question for lawyers: Why can't the Congress pass a provsion that prohibits any higher education institution, that gets federal money, to forbid them from asking any (application)question that might indicate the race of that applicant? Can this be done? Would Democrats look stupid blocking this when 70 % of the people want color-blind policies?

US troops fire on Iraqi protest American troops have opened fire on a demonstration in Baghdad. There are reports of several casualties, with the AFP news agency saying that one man was shot dead. The demonstration - by sacked members of the Iraqi army - was taking place outside the main entrance to the former presidential compound which now houses the US-led military coalition running Iraq. Demonstrators started throwing stones at the US guards who responded with gunfire. The crowd also set upon a television crews and beat passing United Nations and television vehicles with their shoes, witnesses said. "Demonstrators...

Baghdad -- The 100 or so former military officers standing in the midday sun didn't look like much of a menace. But the threat was there: Pay up, or else. As the temperature soared well above 100 degrees, they waited sullenly at the entrance to the former presidential palace compound, where the U.S. occupation government headquarters are located behind coils of razor wire. "We're not asking for the Americans' money," said Lt. Gen. Muhammed Abdelkadim, a former commander of the Baghdad air defense. "It's our money. It's our pay." None of the nearly half-million members of Iraq's military, he said,...

The Russian military command seems to have learned the lessons of the Iraq war and now plans to demonstrate the USA and its allies the whole of Russia's resolve to strike back against any potential threat from the West, the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta reports. The newspaper says that as soon as NATO Secretary General George Robertson leaves the Russian capital, Moscow will immediately launch the largest military exercises it has seen in years. During the exercises, the newspaper says, Russian strategic bombers and submarine missile-carriers will simulate nuclear attacks against several military targets on the territory of the USA...