Free Republic

The much-trumpeted "reset" of relations between Russia and the U.S. was dealt a slap in the face last week as Moscow went on the offensive against Ukraine and Georgia. After Russian President Dmitri Medvedev waded into Ukrainian politics with barbed criticism of his Ukrainian counterpart's "anti-Russian" policies, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin embarked on a provocative trip to reaffirm support for Abkhazia, the Moscow-backed territory that enjoys de facto independence from Georgia.

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2008 – It’s almost peak moving season again for military families, and Defense Department leaders want families to know new resources are available to help. “Plan My Move,” soft-launched in late summer, is the next generation of DoD’s MilitaryHomefront tools to provide an integrated “e-moving” solution, officials said. Moving to a new community can be a stressful event for all service and family members,” Leslye A. Arsht, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy, said. “This tool helps to ease that burden. It will put our servicemembers and their families in direct contact...

BEIJING - China took steps Friday to let its currency trade more freely against the dollar and to cool its sizzling economy ahead of talks in Washington over Beijing's soaring trade surplus. China eased controls on the yuan amid pressure from the U.S. and Europe, but cautioned against expecting sharp increases in its value. The U.S. responded that Beijing is not moving fast enough to allow its currency to strengthen and help reduce its growing trade gap with China. The Chinese government also raised interest rates for the second time in just over two months and tightened bank credit to...

US spy satellites detect N Korea's nuclear moves By Colin Joyce in Tokyo and Richard Spencer in Beijing (Filed: 05/10/2006) The United States has detected activity in North Korea indicating possible preparations for an underground nuclear test. Spy satellites have picked up unusual movement of vehicles at potential test sites, although an American official said it did prove that a test was imminent. Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe: the North Korean issue is expected to dominate his visits to China and South Korea The images were seen the day after North Korea said it would conduct its first test, a...

FORT HUACHUCA — This year’s gala fund-raiser dinner for the Mountain View Colored Officers’ Club Rehabilitation Project is expected to lead into a major effort to obtain donations to restore the World War II facility. Just recently, the association received an artist’s rendering of what the building looked like when it was constructed in 1952. The fort was the major Army post training colored soldiers, as black soldiers were called in that era, for combat during the war. Two divisions, the 92nd and 93rd trained on the post, with one being sent to fight in Europe and the other in...

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanese troops began deploying south of the strategic Litani River early Thursday, a senior military official said, after the Israeli army stepped up its withdrawal from the south Lebanon region and handed over some of its positions to U.N. peacekeepers. The rapid developments aimed at ending 34 days of fighting came after Lebanon's government agreed Wednesday to deploy troops near Israel's border for the first time in 40 years. A senior official in the Lebanese army told The Associated Press around dawn Thursday that Lebanese troops, backed by tanks and other armored vehicles, had begun arriving south...

WASHINGTON (July 31) - City officials are moving up a nighttime curfew as they try to overcome a spike in crime that's been marked by a rise in juvenile arrests. Beginning Monday, most juveniles could be taken into police custody if they are found on the streets of the nation's capital between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. The curfew used to begin at midnight. "Too often, young people are becoming involved in violent crimes," said Mayor Anthony A. Williams. "This earlier curfew hour is necessary in order to protect them from becoming victims of crime or from becoming involved in...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Flush with intelligence, the U.S. military moved quickly Friday to take advantage of the power vacuum left by the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, carrying out nearly 40 raids in an effort to stop his terror network from regrouping. A U.S. military search of the destroyed safehouse where the al-Qaida in Iraq leader was killed Wednesday yielded documents and information storage devices that are being assessed for potential use against his followers, a military officer said. An M-16 rifle, grenades and AK-47 rifles also were found, according to the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because...

Following up a suggestion made last month by a Republican legislator, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has moved to increase California's minimum wage by $1 an hour between now and early next year. Schwarzenegger today petitioned the state's Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) to increase the minimum wage from its current rate of $6.75 an hour. The last increase was in January 2002. Last month, Sen. Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) suggested the very same plan-- a way to avoid the current impasse with Democrats in the Legislature. Schwarzenegger and Maldonado have advocated for only the $1 hike, while Democrats also want a provision...

WASHINGTON, May 8, 2006 – Officials at U.S. Transportation Command headquarters at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., call themselves the "ing" command, because they're always supporting other commands. They call the geographic combatant commands the "ed" commands, because they're the ones supported, Air Force Command Chief Master Sgt. Kenneth J. McQuiston, the command's senior enlisted leader, told his peers from the "ed" commands here today. Senior enlisted leaders from combatant commands and the service senior enlisted advisors and their spouses are meeting in the Pentagon this week at the invitation of Army Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey, senior enlisted...

AMMAN, Jordan (Army News Service, Feb. 28, 2006) – The seventh and final group of soldiers graduated from an elite counterterrorism course in Jordan last week, bringing to an end a special operations training partnership among Iraq, Jordan and the U.S. that taught more than 500 Iraqi troops since 2003. During the Feb. 23 graduation ceremony, 77 new Iraqi special operators – among them Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds – completed the three-month Operator Training Course which will now move to a permanent training base in Iraq. With graduation, the Iraqi soldiers became the newest members of the Iraqi Counterterrorism Force,...

The aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln has departed its home port at Everett for a six-month deployment in the western Pacific." ....

Task Force Pacemaker engineer crews cut a path through a mountain pass to connect Tarin Kowt to Kandahar City, Aug. 26, 2005. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Stephen Lum U.S. Army Spc. David Ige Soldier Moves Afghan Mountains By Sgt. 1st Class Stephen Lum117th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Feb. 24, 2006 — Spc. David S. Ige, a 298th Engineer Detachment heavy equipment operator, loves hard work. His Army National Guard horizontal engineer section joined active duty and Army Reserve soldiers to complete the 117-kilometer Tarin Kowt Road this past fall. Twelve to 14-hour workdays...

South Africa moves to ban foreign landowners By David Blair in Pretoria (Filed: 18/02/2006) The era when Britons were free to acquire farms and homes in South Africa was drawing to a close yesterday when an official panel recommended a "moratorium" on foreigners buying or selling any land. This freeze would apply to every category of land, ranging from housing and farms to private game parks and industrial sites. It could be followed by new laws banning foreigners from buying freehold property and restricting them to 99-year leases. Foreigners are accused of forcing prices too high Estate agents criticised these...

SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq, Feb. 9, 2006 — The thought of a field hospital conjures up images of medics rolling battle-wounded troops on gurneys into a dimly lit operating room. "We are the only surgical-based clinic at Victory Base Complex. We’ll do emergency surgery here, but then move (the patient) to a higher-level facility (in or out of theater)." U.S. Air Force Col. Christian Benjamin The 447th Expeditionary Medical Squadron at Sather Air Base, at Baghdad International Airport, also faced the desert dust and worked in cramped quarters. They moved inside recently to a new 15,000-square foot modular medical clinic,...

SEOUL, South Korea, Feb. 3, 2006 – Changes that have taken place in the U.S.-Republic of Korea alliance are meant to find a "better balance" in the very successful pact, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here today. The balance between U.S. and Korean capacity allows each country to focus on those things that each country can contribute best to the alliance, Marine Gen. Peter Pace said. Pace spoke to reporters about the U.S.-Korean Alliance and regional matters following a ceremony in which Army Gen. B.B. Bell took the reins of Combined Forces Command Korea and U.S....

Mugabe moves against city whites By Peta Thornycroft in Harare (Filed: 02/02/2006) President Robert Mugabe has begun confiscating and vandalising white-owned property in Zimbabwe's cities, after taking over most farms in the countryside. His police last week evicted hundreds of people from their homes eight miles from the centre of Harare. Ian Ross, 68, the owner of Gletwyn farm, incorporated into the capital in 1996, could hardly control himself as he recalled how police turfed his workers out into the rain. "They arrived to evict the workers, which they did piece by piece, village by village compound by compound," said...

US moves diplomats out of Europe Rice said the US must be "where the action is" The US is to reduce the number of its diplomats posted to Europe, and will send more to other countries, including China, India, Nigeria and Lebanon. "America must begin to reposition our diplomatic forces around the world," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday. She said it was an anomaly that the US had the same staff levels in Germany as in India, more than 10 times the size. She said the redeployment would help foster democratic and economic change. Ms Rice told...

Zimbabwe army 'moves onto the land' By Sue Lloyd Roberts BBC News Many Zimbabweans are now scavenging for food In an attempt to rescue his failing programme of land redistribution, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is trying to involve the army in a "command agriculture" programme. "Instructions have already been passed onto battalion commanders," a Zimbabwean army major told the BBC. Five years after Mr Mugabe ordered the seizure of the white-owned commercial farms, agricultural production has halved. Mr Mugabe has admitted that the people to whom he gave some 4,000 farms have some responsibility for the country's current problems. "Mugabe...

WASHINGTON - Overcoming internal opposition, House Republicans on Thursday began debate on legislation intended to shut down illegal immigration and require employers to verify the legal status of their workers. After GOP leaders appealed for party unity, the Republican-controlled House voted 220-206 to approve a parliamentary measure needed to move ahead on the bill. The dispute slowed action on the measure, which was expected to be completed Friday at the earliest. Late Thursday, the House was working its way through amendments, including one that would require construction of fencing along parts of the U.S. border with Mexico. On voice vote,...