Free Republic

It was just after 2 a.m. on a pitch-black Friday morning when Bernadette Greene-Placentia’s life changed. The Democratic candidate for Congressional District 8 strolled across a parking lot to repair a damaged campaign sign. It was a routine she’d followed all summer. This time, she only made it a few yards. An attacker smashed her over the head. She blacked out. She woke up to find a strange man on top of her. Greene-Placentia struggled to open her eyes. She felt a sharp pain below her waist. The attacker was pulling his penis out of her. She heard him mumble...

Final preparations have begun for the most complex air combat training scenarios above the skies of the Northern Territory. From 6-27 June, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) will host an array of international Air Force participants in Exercise Pitch Black 08. Pitch Black is a regular RAAF exercise held every two years in the Northern Territory. Up to 3000 service men and women from Australia and countries including the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and France will support the exercise, with ground crews and aircrews operating some of the most sophisticated military systems employed in the world. An additional...