Free Republic

Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, commanding general, 25th Infantry Division, greets the Iraqi Army division commanders for the first time as he takes charge of Multi-National Division - North at Contingency Operating Base Speicher. Department of Defense photo by Army Spc. Michael Pfaff, 133rd MPAD. TIKRIT --Following a year marked by noteworthy successes in growing the size and capabilities of the Iraqi security forces, rebuilding Iraq and providing security for a vast region of the country, the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division on Wednesday transferred control of Multi-National Division North to the Army’s 25th Infantry Division. “Our mission here is...

Tropic Lightning Puts on the ‘Groove’ Concert gives soldiers a break from the war. By Spc. Mike Alberts 3rd Brigade Public Affairs CAMP BEUHRING, Kuwait, Aug. 29, 2006 — For a moment, soldiers were anywhere but in the desert. There was no wind, sand, heat or war. In their minds, soldiers were transported by the power of music to more familiar places. For a moment, soldiers got their “groove” on. “V.C. Groove,” a 76th Army Band ensemble, performed live for Tropic Lightning soldiers and others at the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation stage here at Camp Beuhring, Kuwait, Aug. 3....

170 die (45 kids) as Russian plane is struck by lightning Tom Parfitt in Moscow Wednesday August 23, 2006 The Guardian A Russian airliner that crashed in eastern Ukraine yesterday killing all 170 passengers and crew on board was probably struck by lightning as it encountered heavy turbulence, a preliminary investigation suggested last night. The Tu-154 was flying from the Black Sea resort of Anapa to St Petersburg when it went down in open countryside about 30 miles north of the city of Donetsk. More than a quarter of the aircraft's passengers were children. Russia's transport ministry said bad weather...

These days, it seems, you need a college degree just to live in or around New York City. Almost 5 million people over the age of 25 in the New York metropolitan area — more than a third of the region’s population — had at least a bachelor’s degree in 2005, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau. In Manhattan, nearly three out of five residents were college graduates and one out of four had advanced degrees, forming one of the highest concentrations of highly educated people in any American city. The degree-holders are rapidly displacing the dropouts,...

San Salvador, Aug 7 (EFE).- At least 15 people, several of them children, were injured by the electric shock of a lightning bolt that hit the surroundings of an amusement park in San Salvador, a rescue team said Monday. Salvadoran Red Cross official Carlos Lopez Mendoza told EFE that the organization attended 15 people, some with burns and others with electric shock, after lightning hit a power-line transformer Sunday night. The lightning caused apprehension among the hundreds of people crowding the "Campo de la Feria," or Festival Field, set up as part of a civic celebration that ended Sunday. EFE...

The F-35 (recently named the Lightning II) is due to enter service soon. While the F-22 is widely seen as the ultimate air-to-air machine, the F-35 is described as a multi-role aircraft. How does the F-35 compare in the air-to-air mission against likely competitors like the French Rafale, the Swedish Gripen, and the multi-national Eurofighter? The Rafale, Gripen, and Eurofighter are all in service or expected to enter service in 2006. All of them boast some of the best electronics suites ever to appear in combat aircraft. All have top speeds approaching 2,000 kilometers an hour. All three aircraft carry...

by Mark Finkelstein July 12, 2006 - 20:09 Was it Robert Novak who jolted aficionados of the vendetta-against-Joe-Wilson conspiracy theory, or was the message coming from . . . a Higher Authority? You be the judge, after having a look at the screen capture from this evening's Special Report with Brit Hume on FNC. Yes, that's a lightning bolt. No, it wasn't photo-shopped - it's the real thing. The bolt hit while the panel was discussing the implications of the just-aired interview of Bob Novak by Brit Hume. Hume questioned Novak about his disclosure of Valerie Plame's employment by the...

Castle Rock - Jason Bunch was listening to Metallica on his iPod while mowing the lawn outside his Castle Rock home Sunday afternoon when lightning hit him. The last thing the 17-year-old remembers was that a storm was coming from the north and he had only about 15 minutes before he should go inside. Next thing he knew, he was in his bed, bleeding from his ears and vomiting. He was barefoot and had taken off his burned T-shirt and gym shorts. He doesn't know how he got back in the house. Bunch immediately called his mother, who was in...

Lightning Strikes Teenager Listening To iPod British Doctors Issued Warning 2 Weeks Ago POSTED: 5:10 pm MDT July 6, 2006 UPDATED: 11:06 am MDT July 7, 2006 CASTLE ROCK, Colo. -- A teenager who was hit by lightning over the weekend talked about his close brush with death Thursday. Jason Bunch was mowing the lawn and listening to his iPod at his home in Castle Rock in the 3200 block of Cherry Plum Way on Sunday when he was struck. He was taken to the hospital and was then put into the intensive care unit. Bunch recovered and was released...

WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) - The stealthy F-35 Joint Strike Fighter being developed by the United States and eight other countries is to be named the "Lightning II," in homage to two earlier fighters. The supersonic F-35 is being built by a team led by Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) at a cost of $276 billion. It is the costliest U.S. weapons program ever. "The F-35 Lightning II will be the centerpiece of airpower in the 21st century for America and our allies," Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England said in a statement on Friday. Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed is...

Pictures: Exclusive first photos of Lockheed Martin F-35 JSF ahead of official roll-out flightglobal.com has obtained exclusive photographs of Lockheed Martin's first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) as it emerged from the paint shop at Fort Worth, Texas ready for its formal roll-out and naming on 7 July. Aircraft AA-1 (pictured below), an F-35A conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) variant of the JSF, is expected to fly by late October. As a result of a redesign to reduce the weight of the F-35B short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant, AA-1 is a one-off and not fully representive of the...

Ditch That Cell Phone in a Thunderstorm http://www.healthday.com/view.cfm?id=533442 The devices may prove deadly in a lightning strike, some doctors suggest By Amanda Gardner HealthDay Reporter FRIDAY, June 23 (HealthDay News) -- Citing the case of a 15-year-old girl struck by lightning while using her cell phone in a London park last year, some doctors are warning against the outdoor use of the devices during stormy weather. The girl survived, but is confined to a wheelchair, has lost some hearing in the ear she was holding the phone to, and suffers a variety of physical, cognitive and emotional problems. She has...

WESTMINSTER, Colo. -- A 46-year-old man on a motorcycle was struck by lightning and killed Wednesday evening while riding in rush hour traffic on the Boulder Turnpike. Witnesses said they saw a flash of light just before the yellow motorcycle crashed into the center concrete divider. Gary Missi, of Longmont, was pronounced dead at the scene. It is unknown if Missi was killed by the lightning strike or by the crash that followed, authorities said. An autopsy is pending. However, Missi's bike was not badly damaged and he had injuries consistent with a lightning strike, Westminster police said. Missi was...

SOFIA (Reuters) - Lightning killed an entire herd of 70 goats in central Bulgaria Thursday, but their goatherd escaped unharmed, civil defense officials said. The herd was sheltering under a large tree during a summer storm when the bolt struck, killing all of them. "At least the goatherd managed to survive. He was under a different tree," civil defense officer Anastas Iribadzhakov told Reuters.

So, what did you fellow Freepers think about Cars?

Hello, fellow white people! Yeeeeeehaawwwwww! What in tarnation is all this jibber jabber I hear about the Iraqi war going anything but one hundred percent perfectly?! I tell ya what that is: COMMIE talk! These Un-American libs (which include minorities, women, and other minorities, such as blacks and homosexual gay queers!) the war has turned into a black hole with no "forseeable" (whatever in tarnation that big word means) end in sight. To this I say, shut your damn mouth! The only opinions that should be expressed are those that are in total agreement with our distinguished president, Dick Cheney,...

Five youths were killed when a large metal cross where they were praying was struck by lightning in central Mexico, local media reported. The five ranged in age from 9 to 16 years old.

0545 - 04082006 - We're ok here in Oak Ridge as far as I can tell. Warnings and Watches through the night, lots of heavy lightning, thunder, heavy rain. Stepped outside the school during my daughter's play to keep an eye on the weather, and it was constant lighting across the horizon. My daughter slept in the living room with ear plugs, the Sheltie kept running back and forth between the two of us. Still dark out there, so I don't know if we sustained any external damage, but no leaks here in the house, and power was never lost....

...OUTBREAK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND TORNADOES EXPECTED OVER PARTS OF THE TENNESSEE AND LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEYS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OK IS FORECASTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF WIDESPREAD SEVERE STORMS INCLUDING A FEW STRONG...LONG-TRACK TORNADOES OVER PARTS OF ALABAMA...MISSISSIPPI AND TENNESSEE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THE AREAS MOST LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE THIS ACTIVITY INCLUDE NORTHERN ALABAMA NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI WESTERN AND MIDDLE TENNESSEE SURROUNDING THE HIGH RISK AREA...THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY NORTHEASTWARD INTO OHIO VALLEY AND THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS

...AN OUTBREAK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING VERY LARGE HAIL AND TORNADOES IS EXPECTED OVER PARTS OF THE EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PLAINS TODAY AND TONIGHT... THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OK IS FORECASTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF TORNADOES...VERY LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS OVER PARTS OF THE EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PLAINS TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE AREAS MOST LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE THIS ACTIVITY INCLUDE EASTERN KANSAS FAR NORTHWEST MISSOURI SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA