Free Republic

A flying death trap GERRI PEEV (gpeev@scotsman.com) THEY followed the safety drill to the letter, but all 14 servicemen aboard the Nimrod MR2 were dead within six minutes of a fire breaking out in their ageing plane. The long-awaited Board of Inquiry (BOI) report into what happened when the aircraft exploded above southern Afghanistan on 2 September, 2006, concluded that no-one could have escaped alive. Just 90 seconds after the plane had received 22,000lb of fuel, its crew saw smoke and began emergency drills, transmitting a mayday alert as the cabin depressurised. Three minutes later, after turning in vain to...

Monday, December 11, 2006 Incoming House intelligence chief botches easy intel quiz WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Rep. Silvestre Reyes of Texas, who incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tapped to head the Intelligence Committee when the Democrats take over in January, failed a quiz of basic questions about al Qaeda and Hezbollah, two of the key terrorist organizations the intelligence community has focused on since the September 11, 2001 attacks. When asked by CQ National Security Editor Jeff Stein whether al Qaeda is one or the other of the two major branches of Islam -- Sunni or Shiite -- Reyes answered...

When I check into this site, often there were interesting discussions from the day before I want to look at. But they are already buried 4 pages deep because it seems some people just post anything they find. Who cares about a radio station promotional announcements, Bruno Kirby dying, or any of this other tripe that some people are posting up. I'm new here, but it seems that some guys are pretty much spamming the blog with articles that rate a "1" on the who gives a crap meter. If it isn't something that we will still remember in 10...

THE RAF is drawing up plans to convert a fleet of 25-year-old patrol planes into Britain’s first long-range heavy bomber force since the Falklands war. The plan is being seen as Britain’s answer to America’s B-52 bomber, still in regular use more than 50 years after it first flew. The upgraded Nimrod reconnaissance planes, developed from 1950s Comet airliners, would be able to fly non-stop from Britain to hit targets in countries such as Iraq with cruise missiles or precision-guided bombs. The RAF’s current bombers, mainly Tornados, have a far shorter range and, as in the Iraq war in 2003,...

Fellow Americans, there comes a time every mans life when we must give up ourselves before we are worthy to recieve. There comes a time in this war on terror when in order to protect liberty, we have to give it up in the mean time for safty. That's right folks. Today, Americans have forsaken the creator for the creation and have decided that they would value our "civil liberties" than protecting western civilization and rich white people from the tender mercies of radical Islamic terrorists. Selfish liberals insist and whine that Bush has no right to spy on Americans...

After reading all of the crap that people have been saying regarding Adult Private Social Clubs, I felt that I had to post an article and give my opinion. I am sick and tired of all the religous groups that are saying that there are drugs, prostitution, minors, non-consenting people, and just immoral people at these clubs! First of all, who do these people think they are to decide what is morally right or wrong for me? I believe that I have a good set of morals. I am a law abiding, tax paying citizen, I work full time and...

What exactly is it when people or mods say zot on some of these threads? I've been noticing it lately but never really figured out what it was for? Thanks..

America's openness to newcomers willing to work hard to succeed creates a virtuous cycle that benefits all ---SNIP___ THREE ADVANTAGES. It is hard not to notice the disproportionate number of immigrant success stories in America. All across the world, America is considered the land of opportunity, and so it should not be surprising that the immigrants who do get here end up being uncommonly successful: They are the ones who fought the hardest, stared down the most competition, were driven by the fiercest pangs of hunger. They arrive to find a university system that is unparalleled for the variety it...

SUMMIT COUNTY - The faces of immigrants comprise more and more of Summit County's cultural landscape each year, as foreign workers and their families search for a better life in the High Country. One has only to enter a local grocery store, elementary school or ski resort to meet residents that hail from West Africa, Eastern Europe, South America, Central America and Australia. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 12 percent of Summit County's population was foreign-born that year. Yet for all the opportunities Summit County affords its immigrants, the community sometimes struggles in its ability to meet the needs...

July 9, 2005, 3:13PM Minutemen headed here warned they, too, will be watched Rights groups, archbishop say border watchers aren't welcome By EDWARD HEGSTROM Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle The local Catholic archbishop and immigrant rights activists want to roll up the welcome mat before the Minutemen arrive to patrol for illegal immigrants in Houston. The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, an organization working to stop the flow of illegal immigrants, announced this week that it would send observers to watch day laborers in Houston beginning in October. Previous plans called for placing patrols only along the Mexican border. But Archbishop Joseph...

1. The garden of Eden was in Iraq. (it sure doesn't look much like Paradise on earth today thanks to Saddam). 2. Mesopotamia which is now Iraq was the cradle of civilization! 3. Noah built the ark in Iraq. 4. The Tower of Babel was in Iraq. 5. Abraham was from Ur, which is in Southern Iraq! 6. Isaac's wife Rebekah is from Nahor which is in Iraq. 7. Jacob met Rachel in Iraq. 8. Jonah preached in Nineveh - which is in Iraq. 9. Assyria which is in Iraq conquered the ten tribes of Israel. 10. Amos cried out...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. .................................................................. .................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should...

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – YAL-1A, the Airborne Laser (ABL) aircraft, flew for 2 hours and 31 minutes over this installation on Thursday, December 9, completing an earlier flight cut short because of a faulty instrument reading. The flight was part of a continuing series to reestablish airworthiness – a requirement since the aircraft has been out of service for almost two years for modifications and installation of ABL’s complex beam control system. The plane first flew on Dec. 3, a shorter flight than originally planned. The mission was abbreviated when the crew decided to return to base to...

A Federal Appeals court today upheld the Department of Homeland Security's "Do not kill me" list, citing the constitutional duty of government to protect its citizens. The list, created in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 is designed to help the federal government protect Americans from being killed during dinner. "When Americans are sitting down to dinner or a parent is reading to his or her child the last thing they need is to be killed by a terrorist armed with an Iraqi-made WMD smuggled through Syria or Iran", President Bush said at a meeting of Homeland...

In Al-Mussayib, central Iraq — The road to the front in central Iraq is a place of fast-moving vehicles, blazing Iraqi anti-aircraft guns, tanks and trucks hidden in palm groves, a train of armored vehicles bombed from the air and hundreds of artillery positions dug into revetments to defend the capital. Anyone who doubts that the Iraqi Army is prepared to defend its capital should take the highway south of Baghdad. How, I kept asking myself, could the Americans batter their way through these defenses? For mile after mile they go on, slit trenches, ditches, earthen underground bunkers, palm groves...

A military aircraft is patrolling the skies above London as part of the latest operation to guard against a terrorist attack. The RAF Nimrod is performing a supporting role to troops and police as they continue to guard Heathrow Airport and other key sites in the capital. An MOD spokesman said: "We were able to support the police with an RAF Nimrod. "We can confirm that there were no fighter aircraft or fast jets used with regard to the security operation of London's Heathrow Airport. "We can confirm that there is an Nimrod supporting the police operation. It's a communication...