Free Republic

A 4,000-year-old copper dagger has been unearthed in northeastern Italy's Tina Jama Cave, according to a SciNews report. Federico Bernardini of Ca' Foscari University said that the dagger is similar to copper daggers uncovered in Slovenia. "The findings are essential for understanding the technological, cultural, and social transformations in Europe during that period," added Elena Leghissa of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences. "The discovery of the copper dagger is an exceptional event that raises questions about the cave's use," she added. A structure made of stone slabs and blocks between about 2000 and 1500 B.C. was also excavated near the...

Researchers have shown that ancient Egyptian iron beads held at the UCL Petrie Museum were hammered from pieces of meteorites, rather than iron ore. The objects, which trace their origins to outer space, also predate the emergence of iron smelting by two millennia. Carefully hammered into thin sheets before being rolled into tubes, the nine beads – which are over 5000 years-old - were originally strung into a necklace together with other exotic minerals such as gold and gemstones, revealing the high value of this exotic material in ancient times. The study is published in the Journal of Archaeological Science....

King Tut owned a dagger that was out of this world—literally. Researchers have recently published a study in the journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science that supports what has long been suspected: The ancient Egyptians were using meteoritic iron well before the spread of iron smelting technology. The recent study on King Tut’s dagger, led by researchers from Italy and Egypt, used X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry to analyze the composition of the iron blade. Iron meteorites mostly contain iron and nickel, and the results of the XRF analysis on King Tut’s dagger confirm that the blade is mostly composed of iron...

Sen. Chuck Schumer is pushing hard to limit corporate campaign spending -- and to maximize his own campaign's take from corporations. But that hypocritical chutzpah is entirely fitting when it comes to the so-called DISCLOSE Act -- which is a naked effort to squelch the speech of Americans who might criticize Democrats in this year's campaign season. Democrats are trying to rewrite campaign-finance law to limit corporate (and grass-roots) spending on politics. And Schumer -- who faces no meaningful opposition this fall -- is looking to raise every buck he can from the folks he wants to crack down on....

It’s no secret Democrat Leaders will fall faster than a house of cards in the wind in November 2010. Even the ones at the very top are vulnerable. Take current Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for instance, the king pin of the unpopular health care redistribution law, and 10 year incumbent with a 7½ million dollar war chest, is up for re-election. Despite a favorable history with the voters, Reid is more than down in the polls, heck, he will lose most predict. In a match-up with three different GOP contenders Reid cannot manage 50% approval, clearly voters in the...

The alloy used suggests sophisticated metal-working skillsArchaeologists have discovered a precious golden dagger dated to about 3,000BC in a Thracian tomb in the centre of Bulgaria. It is the latest find from one of many tombs believed to have formed the cradle of Thracian civilisation. The dagger, made of an alloy of gold and platinum, was found near the village of Dubovo. Bozhidar Dimitrov, head of Bulgaria's National Museum, told Reuters news agency the discovery was "sensational". It is the latest in a string of finds in the area in recent years which has excited archaeologists and has provided...

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Sikh students can carry ceremonial daggers to class and that doing so does not pose an undue danger to others in the schools. The top court overturned Thursday morning a Quebec Court of Appeals ruling that had barred the kirpan from schools in the province. The Quebec court had said a limit on religious freedom was reasonable, given the safety concerns from carrying the daggers to school. "Religious tolerance is a very important value of Canadian society," the top court judges wrote in their decision. "A total prohibition against wearing a kirpan...

Sikhs in B.C. are cheering the Supreme Court of Canada's decision that upholds the right of Sikh children to wear a ceremonial dagger to school. The case involved a Montreal student who wasn't allowed to wear his kirpan to school. Schools in B.C. have long permitted orthodox Sikh students to wear the ceremonial dagger. In its 8-0 judgment, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a total ban infringed on Gurbaj Singh's guarantees of religious freedom under the Charter of Rights.

KARABILA, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. forces launched their second major offensive in western Iraq in as many days on Saturday, ratcheting up the hunt for rebels and weapons in the Euphrates river valley that stretches to the Syrian border. Faced with slipping poll numbers, President Bush asked Americans to show patience, saying that since U.S. troops overthrew Saddam Hussein, Iraq had become a "central front in the war on terror" and a "vital test" for U.S. security. Around 1,000 U.S. Marines and soldiers, supported by Iraqi troops and backed by fighter jets and helicopters, launched Operation Dagger in the desert...

I recently went back to school and I'm taking an Irish history course. I have a 25 page final draft paper due next month on the history of the Irish and American Irish in New York City and have gotten started on it during the last week. One of the key individuals I am writing about in Archbishop "Dagger" John Hughes. I have a lot of secondary sources that write about him as a section of a larger book, but I would like to have an autobiography if possible. I know Richard Shaw wrote a book titled Dagger John, The...

I was reading the new book just out by Robin Moore entitled, "The Hunt for Bin Laden" and came across some excerpts that I wanted to cite in honor of my NY friends. This book has been hard to put down and parts of it are simply hilarious. So, with the setting in Afghanistan early on in the conflict...quoting from pages 74-75 and 99: ----------------------------- Like it's Vietnam predecessor, "Puff the Magic Dragon," the Spectre is easily described by Special Forces troops on the ground as "raining death." With Chain guns, and autoloading 105mm cannon, a 25mm Gatling gun and...

The dagger to the heartArmoured assault By Anne Penketh 06 April 2003 It was, the US military had promised, "a dagger clearly pointing at the heart of the regime". Before dawn yesterday, after securing the runway of the airport on the city's southwestern outskirts despite fierce Iraqi resistance, US troops and tanks thrust close to the heart of Baghdad. A column of 26 Abrams tanks and 10 Bradley fighting vehicles from the US Army's 3rd Infantry division (Mechanised), headed into the city from the south. On their 25-mile journey, which took three hours to complete, they cheekily swung up Hilla...

Allies: the dagger is pointed at the heart of Baghdad regime By Michael McCarthy 03 April 2003 The great finale of the Second World War, the battle for Berlin, began on 21 April 1945 when the Russian generals Georgi Zhukov and Ivan Konev launched a ferocious artillery bombardment of the city before fighting their way in, street by street and building by building. They battered the place to bits and it was all over in 11 days. What the Allies hope will be the great finale of the Iraq conflict, the battle for Baghdad, began yesterday on Day 14 of...

American ground troops surged to within 25 miles of Baghdad in a two-pronged attack from the south on Wednesday, smashing Republican Guard units in their path. The discovery of 11 bodies, Americans likely among them, tempered the joy over a POW's rescue. "The dagger is clearly pointed at the heart of (the) regime right now," Brig Gen. Vincent Brooks said as American convoys rolled toward Saddam Hussein's seat of power. Commanders said two elite Republican Guard divisions were no longer credible fighting forces. The American advances brought thousands of troops within the red zone -- an imaginary line on...

Allied forces were 20 miles from the outskirts of Baghdad last night after smashing their way through the front lines of Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard. The Pentagon said that two divisions had been "destroyed". A US marine pauses after securing a bridge over the Tigris, vital for the advance on Baghdad Allied bombs and missiles rained down on the Iraqi rear defences preparing the route into the capital. In a swift advance on two fronts, US forces moved as far as 40 miles from their start positions. From the south-east, marines captured a key bridge across the Tigris at the...

United States Army and Marine divisions reached the outskirts of Baghdad today after surging past the remnants of Republican Guard units in a two-pronged attack that met only "sporadic" resistance. "I would say that the Medina and Baghdad Divisions are no longer credible forces," Maj. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal of the Army, vice director for operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the Pentagon. American officials said artillery fire and the daily, relentless waves of airstrikes had destroyed the two divisions, which were to protect the southern approaches to the capital. The Republican Guard is regarded as the...