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I recently returned from eleven days in Iran. Before I went, friends told me I was crazy to go. They said I'd meet a lot of anti-American hostility. I'd be in danger, even. I met zero hostility. I don't want this article to become a list of what Iran isn't. That reminds me too much of my first interests in the country. I write fiction books for children and young adults. In 1999, I decided to write the tale of Beauty and the Beast from the lion's point of view. My searching through older versions of the story led to...

Just weeks after he shelved his plan to overhaul the state's public pension system, Gov. Schwarzenegger is expected to stump for his remaining reform measures Wednesday morning at an invitation-only town hall meeting at a Fontana steel plant. About 500 people, including some steel workers, will be on hand for Schwarzenegger's visit at the 950-employee California Steel Industries, said Brett Guge, the company's vice president of administration. "Our employees will be the primary ingredient of the audience but the governor's office has put together a list of area people that they are inviting," Guge said. "We're honored that the governor...

President Bush and Russian President Putin seemed to get along famously last Thursday in Bratislava. And at their post-meeting press conference, President Bush was visibly pleased when Putin stated publicly that Russia’s choice of democracy will never be reversed. Unfortunately, there is no connection between what Putin says and what he does. In the last few years he has steadily eroded Russia’s democracy; today that country is, in fact, the only major country that is less democratic today than it was when President Bush took office in January 2001. And Putin’s recent decisions to go ahead with its sale of...

YELAHANKA AIRBASE ,BANGALORE, FEB 9: Rafael of Israel has unveiled a helmet, nicknamed “mind reader”, at the ongoing Aero India exhibition here. The helmet, whose commercial name is Eyeball, is equipped with mounted sights. A tiny camera follows the pilot’s pupil and locks on-board weapons onto the pilot’s line of sight. The helmet, developed by the company’s missile division, provides displays to the pilot regardless of where he is looking. Company officials told FE: “The helmet has passed all development stages and was successfully tested by Israeli F-16 pilots. The Rafael helmet has several advantages over the Elbit helmet.” Rafael’s...

President Bush says the nation needs advanced nuclear-power plants, calling them a clean, "renewable" energy source for the future... New Mexico Republican Pete V. Domenici... said he welcomed Mr. Bush's remarks. "Without any question," he said, the long-term electricity-generating alternative to the nation's dwindling supplies of natural gas "will have to be nuclear power. If America is afraid of it, the world will use" advanced nuclear technology. Sen. Domenici is expected to offer an energy bill that will include financial incentives for the first new nuclear-power plants. Nuclear power now supplies 20% of the nation's electricity, according to the U.S....

Good afternoon, Freepers! I have two kittens, approximately 7 months old that we adopted approximately 5 months ago. They were hand raised from approximately 2 weeks of age (their mother was killed on the roadside), and they're about the friendliest cats I've ever run into. However, they've gotten to be more than my daughter is willing to handle. As it stands, I'm taking care of my daughter, the house, the original cat and the dog, and myself - so I've got my hands full. If there is anyone in the Oak Ridge/Knoxville area who would like to have two loving,...

My wife is serious about taking a job in the DC area and we are planning on moving there soon. However, we are not getting much help and we are on a budget. I figured a network of people in the area might be able to help me out the answers to my questions. First is finding a place to live. We are a little strapped for cash and I am looking for the most economical, but cleanest, and safest place to live. From what I gather, that means living the VA suburbs. Does anyone know of an apartment service...

<p>U.N. Opted For Less American Security to Present A ‘Friendly Image’</p> <p>It seems there was more to the U.N.'s (search) refusal of the U.S. offer of more security at their Baghdad (search) headquarters than a desire to keep it from looking like a fortress. U.N. spokesman Salim Lone told the Associated Press that U.N. officials also, ‘did not want a large American presence outside.’ And U.S. officials say that despite their warnings that car bombings and other such attacks were possible, U.N. officials did not want the kinds of heavy barriers U.S. forces had been putting in front of other soft targets because the U.N. wanted to present a friendly image to the Iraqi people.</p>

San Jose Teen Dies Trading Friendly Punches With Pal Officials decline to press charges. They say game is a common 'test of manhood' and doesn't have a high death risk. By Hilda Munoz, Times Staff Writer A punching contest between two teenage friends Sunday ended when one of the boys died in front of his San Jose home after receiving a blow to the chest. Jacob Salas, 16, was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, authorities said. Richard Jimenez, 19, who allegedly delivered the fatal blow, fled the scene but was arrested at a friend's house five hours later and...

THREE wounded British soldiers described yesterday how they survived a terrifying attack by an American anti-tank aircraft that killed one of their troop and destroyed two armoured vehicles. One of the survivors criticised the American pilot for showing “no regard for human life” and accused him of being a cowboy who had gone out on a jolly. Another survivor said that he had stumbled out of the burning wreckage of his light tank and waved frantically to the pilot of the low-flying A10 to try to halt his “friendly fire” as he returned to attack again. The blunder, 35 miles...

Friendly fire threat to Gulf troops By Michael Smith, Defence Correspondent (Filed: 06/01/2003) British troops should not be sent to fight in Iraq unless a system is in place to prevent accidental attacks by American aircraft, says a retired senior officer whose unit was bombed in a friendly fire incident during the 1991 Gulf war. In a letter to The Telegraph today, Lt-Col Andrew Larpent accuses the Ministry of Defence of "serious negligence" in failing to introduce a system that would prevent such accidents. Lt-Col Larpent commanded 3 Bn Royal Regiment of Fusiliers during the Gulf war. Nine of his...

Friendly fire deaths linked to US pilots 'on speed' By Andrew Buncombe in Washington 03 August 2002 American pilots in Afghanistan, blamed for a series of "friendly fire" incidents and devastating erroneous attacks on innocent civilians, were routinely provided with amphetamines to tackle fatigue and help them fly longer hours. Pilots were allowed to "self-regulate" their own doses and kept the drugs in their cockpits. The pilots were provided with the stimulant Dexedrine, generically known as dextroamphetamine and referred to as a "go-pill" by the airmen, when they set off on missions. When they returned, doctors gave them sedatives or...

University of Florida Computer Servers Promoting Terrorist Friendly Web SiteBy Jeremy Reynalds (bio) Other Articles by Jeremy Reynalds Back to News / Home PageComputer servers owned by the University of Florida in Gainseville are apparently being used by a student at the University on his school web site to promote an anti-American, terrorist- friendly web site, www.al-sakher.com The school web site, grove.ufl.edu/~olayyan/hateb1.html, has a prominent link to www.al-sakher.com, which contains an abundance of anti-American rhetoric and pictures such as this one, captioned on the site as: "America Lost the War."  It was not possible to determine for sure site...