Free Republic

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, who made few friends in corporate board rooms early in his first term as he pressed for tighter regulations on banks and remarked on the "fat cats" who helped precipitate the financial crisis, heads into his final year in the White House having built – or rebuilt – alliances with chief executives of the nation's biggest companies. The president and his top advisers have kept an open door for CEOs of Fortune 100 companies, keeping almost 1,000 appointments with them, a Reuters review of White House records shows. Of the hundreds of appointments listed,...

This "Modern Damascus" is made from several types of steel and iron slices welded together to form a billet, and currently the term "damascus" (although technically incorrect) is widely accepted to describe modern pattern welded steel blades in the trade. The patterns vary depending on how the smith works the billet. The billet is drawn out and folded until the desired number of layers are formed. In order to attain a Master Smith rating with the American Bladesmith Society, the smith must forge a damascus blade with a minimum of 300 layers. Special thanks to the band Foreign Fields from...

World Championship Blacksmiths' Competition Tong Making Class. The Competitors had 45 min. to make a pair of Hot Fitting tongs out of 3/4 round stock with the reins already ran out. Jul 11, 2011

(CNSNews.com) – Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), a member of the “Gang of Eight” that helped write and pass the immigration reform bill in that chamber, said he did not know how many passports a person could forge under the proposed law before being charged with a crime. On Capitol Hill on Wednesday, CNSNews.com asked McCain, “Senator McCain, can I ask you a question about the Senate immigration bill? Under the bill, how many passports can someone forge before it becomes a crime?” McCain said, “You’re going to have to ask our folks that, I don't think that we stand for...

The Irish Forge exhibit at Virginia's Frontier Culture Museum is housed in a building originally constructed in County Fermanagh, Ulster (Northern Ireland). The rustic architecture of this blacksmith's shop is typical of buildings constructed in northern and western Ireland at that time: solid stone construction, whitewashed, with a thatch roof. Inside, a Museum guide who knows what he's doing demonstrates how ironwork was made in the 18th century.

LOGISTICS SUPPORT AREA ADDER — Nearly a year ago, 28-year-old Army Sgt. Virgil Swisher, 82d Sustainment Brigade, knew he would be deploying here. What he did not know was that he would be working outside the scope of his military occupational specialty. “I came out here to do my job as a wheeled mechanic. I heard so many different things about Iraq and I expected to see what we in America see on T.V., but I was surprised,” Said Swisher. Since arriving at Logistics Support Area Adder in southern Iraq, Swisher along with other Soldiers throughout the installation were tasked...

The government will unveil today a new security arrangement with the United States that will allow US military involvement in addressing "non-traditional threats" including terrorism, piracy, disease outbreaks and natural disasters. Philippine security officials emphasized that the new arrangement is not a treaty but an "institutional framework" that will cover issues not specifically cited in the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and the Visiting Forces Agreement between the two countries. The Philippine government proposed the crafting of the framework about a year ago. Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz, a lawyer, noted that the MDT commits both countries to come to each other’s...

SACRAMENTO — Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spent Monday trolling the Capitol for political support, dropping in on old Democratic friends and allies to wangle more money for transportation projects and to build momentum for his plans to take over Los Angeles public schools. Villaraigosa's most surprising ally was not on the calendar, but his presence was palpable. The Democratic mayor has found plenty of common ground in recent months with California's Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. The two have struck an improbable relationship that could yield a windfall for Los Angeles and boost the fortunes of two of California's most...

I've got several questions about Valley Forge, both during Revolutionary times and now, and I was hoping you folks could help me out.

Dan Rather still doesn't get it. Rather spoke Monday at Fordham University School of Law in Manhatten and, with lips-a-quivering and eyes-a-watering, said that "there is a climate of fear running through newsrooms stronger than he has ever seen in his more than four-decade career." Spare us the phony tears, Dan. The fear in the newsroom is that you guys no longer have a stranglehold on what gets out to the American people. Remember those forged documents, Dan? I played an early role of proving that your unimpeachable source, Bill Burkett, was as loony as Cindy Sheehan after 3 fingers...

Nearly four years have elapsed since the Oslo process (1993-2000) between Israelis and Palestinians foundered in bloodshed. Over that period, two U.S. administrations have tried to forge policies that would reduce the violence and point toward a solution to the conflict.It has not been a single-minded pursuit. Since September 11, 2001, the prime focus of Washington has been the management of unprecedented U.S. military interventions in the region, which removed regimes from power in Afghanistan and Iraq. The notion of Israeli-Palestinian peace as the key to regional stability has been replaced by the war on terror and the insistence on...

Complaints About Broadcast Journalism Background The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) receives numerous consumer complaints about broadcast journalism (television and radio journalism). Consumers complain that networks, stations, news reporters and/or commentators have given inaccurate or one-sided news reports or comments, have either failed to cover certain events, or have covered them inadequately. Some consumers complain that the news has been staged or that news reports overemphasize or dramatize certain aspects of events. Other consumers object that broadcasters have announced an illness, accident, or a death of an individual before his or her family has been notified, or have in some way...

CBS Lies. Will Dan Rather Get Away With It This Time? Written by Doc Farmer Sunday, September 12, 2004 Last week, 60 Minutes The Sequel (This Time It's Personal) ran a hard-hitting no-hold-barred investigative report trashing President George W. Bush. This is the fourth or fifth time CBS News has done this. Normally, this is done in the fashion of taking Bush-bashing books being sold by a publisher owned by the parent company of CBS News (Viacom) and doing puffball interviews with the authors. This time, however, CBS decided to raise, ad nauseum, the already discredited canard regarding Dubya's National...

"UPDATE: Jeff Harrell forwards a link to USA Today's collection of the recently discovered Bush/TANG documents. Funny thing, though: There are six documents here, not four. USA Today has all four of the memos listed in the sidebar for the CBSNews.com article plus two additional documents dated February 2, 1972 and June 24, 1973, respectively. The two new docs have the same font as the other four, and that pesky little raised superscript makes yet another cameo in the June 24th document." This links to http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-09-09bushdocs.pdf

This is GREAT....you can prove the 'Killian Memos' are fake....show your friends....become a bigshot.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Old rifts over the war in Iraq kept the European Union from forging a united position on when the United States should cede power, highlighting the difficulties Washington will face trying to reach agreement on a new U.N. resolution. President Bush hopes such a resolution will bring more troops and money into Iraq. The unofficial target date for adopting a U.N. resolution is Oct. 22 - the day before a major donors meeting begins in Madrid, Spain, to try to generate funds for Iraq's reconstruction. On Monday, Russia said it wants a "realistic but short" timeline...