Free Republic

In response to a newly unclassified Department of Homeland Security report that warns of dangers associated with "right-wing extremists" – and singles out returning war veterans as particular threats – the American Legion has fired off a letter to DHS in protest. "I think it is important for all of us to remember that Americans are not the enemy. The terrorists are," writes David K. Rehbein, national commander of the American Legion, to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano. The Legion's letter comes in response to a report titled "Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment,"...

Just a week after a Manhattan hospital was blamed for the death of a patient from Legionnaires' disease, another said that it may have found the bacteria inside of it as well. Harlem Hospital Center officials said traces of legionella bacteria was found on a sink and a shower head at its building on West 136th Street. But the hospital said no cases of the disease was found in patients. Officials at the hospital said they were superheating its water supply and taking additional steps to kill the bacteria. The news comes just after four patients contracted Legionnaires' disease at...

NEW YORK State health officials are investigating the death of a Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center patient, which may have been caused by an outbreak of Legionnaire's disease. The officials believe the bacteria may have been in the hospital's water system. Richard Montesano died last Wednesday shortly after coming to the hospital for a heart condition. He was using a machine that sprayed water in his throat to fight sleep apnea, but the hospital did not warn his family that tap water could be dangerous. Legionnaire's disease can be found in the water systems of large buildings and is hazardous to...

WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, Germany (Reuters) - Four years after the end of World War II, while much of Germany still lay in ruins, 17-year-old Egon Pohl left his home to join the Foreign Legion and France's war in Vietnam. "It was adventure and a new home," said Pohl, who lied about his age to join the elite French force along with thousands of others trying to escape the chaos and rubble of post-war Germany. An estimated 35,000 Germans served during the eight-year conflict that ended 50 years ago this week when a disastrous defeat at the battle of Dien...