Free Republic

Former President Carter’s nonprofit has accepted an invitation to send nonpartisan election observers to oversee the midterm elections in a Georgia county next month. The Carter Center, which works to resolve international conflicts, promote democracy and human rights and prevent disease, announced in a release on Thursday that it accepted the invitation from the Fulton County Board of Elections and the Performance Review Board, which makes recommendations to the election board.

WASHINGTON, July 19, 2006 – Sixty-five years after the Defense Department launched a program to train the first black military pilots and aircrews, veterans of the Tuskegee Airmen say they're proud of the barriers they helped break down and the example they set for today's servicemembers. Members of the famed Tuskegee Airmen stand before a mural honoring them during their visit to the Air Force Theater Hospital at Logistical Support Area Anaconda in Iraq in October 2005. From left are Master Sgt. James Sheppard, Tech Sgt. George Watson Sr., Lt. Col. Lee Archer, Lt. Col. Robert "Bob" Ashby, and...

WASHINGTON, May 24, 2006 – A general assigned to the military Joint Staff urged the American public to take time this upcoming weekend to recognize Memorial Day and remember the men and women in uniform who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. "I'd ask each of us in our own way, maybe public and maybe private, to take a few moments to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for America and for the oppressed around the world," said Army Brig. Gen. Carter Ham, deputy director of regional operations for the Joint Staff, told reporters at...

IWO JIMA, Japan (March 16, 2006) -- Marines, sailors, U.S. and Japanese World War II veterans and their family members gathered at the Reunion of Honor Monument March 8, in commemoration of the 61st anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima. The ceremony honored service members killed during the battle and celebrated the current relationship between the U.S. and Japan. Keith M. Little, a Marine veteran and Navajo code talker, was one of the 35 Iwo Jima veterans who shared their stories with the Marines that day. “We faced much resistance (at Iwo Jima),” Little said. “Most of the fighting...

For the first time, biologists have documented gorillas in the wild using simple tools, such as poking a stick in a swampy pool of water to check its depth. Until now, scientists had seen gorillas use tools only in captivity. Among the great apes, tool use in the wild was thought to be a survival skill reserved for smaller chimpanzees and orangutans. The research in the Republic of Congo's rainforests was led by Thomas Breuer of the Wildlife Conservation Society at the Bronx Zoo, which released details of his study. Breuer is in Africa and was not immediately available for...

According to ABC News, only 25% of voters believe every vote will be counted properly. That's good news, actually. It means that something approaching 75% of voters know that the Democrats are planning to cheat any way they can. Anyone else notice the unions have not run political ads this year? Unions got together and decided they could better use that ad money as "get out the vote" money. There is no telling how much money they will be spreading around, but I would guess it would total somewhere between one-hundred and a hundred-twenty million. That's how much they think...

A Christmas Comet By Roger W. Sinnott Early on the morning of December 14th, Japanese amateur Tetuo Kudo was searching the skies with his giant 20 x 120 binoculars. While scanning the constellation Hercules, he spotted something new — a fuzzy 9th-magnitude glow moving slowly east-southeast. Follow-up observations by Ken-ichi Kadota (Saitama, Japan) confirmed the object and revealed a short tail about 1/3° in length, pointing away from the Sun. The comet (C/2002 X5) was announced on International Astronomical Union Circulars 8032 and 8033, and has been officially named Comet Kudo-Fujikawa. A preliminary orbit calculated by Brian G. Marsden of...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 July 26 Clearing Skies Credit & Copyright: Dominic Cantin Explanation: Clear evening skies are a welcome sight for stargazers worldwide, but clearing skies are good too. Just such a glorious occasion was recorded in this dramatic photo taken by Dominic Cantin during a recent gathering of Canadian astronomers at St-Nérée Observatory, located about 60 kilometers southeast of the city of Quebec. Looking toward the west on July...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 June 8 A Fleeting Eclipse Credit & Copyright: Olivier Staiger Explanation: A lunar eclipse can be viewed in a leisurely fashion. Visible to anyone on the night side of planet Earth (weather permitting), totality often lasts an hour or so as the moon glides through the Earth's shadow. But a solar eclipse is more fleeting. Totality can last a few minutes only for those fortunate enough to...