Free Republic

While most cats are known for their ability to land on their feet, some in China may soon be able to glide to safety on their mysterious wings. A tabby from the Qingyan province in China recently sprouted a pair of fur-covered wings on his back during a hot-weather spell, the U.K.’s Daily Mail reported. One cat owner, identified only as Feng, claimed her pet’s wings were the result of stress from too many females desiring to mate with him, the Mail reported. “At first they were just two bumps,” she told the Mail. “But they started to grow quickly

It appears that Keith Olbermann might be vying for the title of Most Annoying Anchor On Television. First we had Olbermann dissing Joe Scarborough during a live broadcast on Monday from the Democrat convention. Then a day later, Olbermann managed to enrage Chris Matthews during another broadcast. And now it looks like Olbermann is going for broke in the insult department by pushing to have Tom Brokaw banned from appearing on MSNBC as reported in Page Six of today's New York Post: At a forum on Sunday, when Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell called MSNBC "the official network of the Obama...

Contrary to popular belief and common medical advice, eating seeds, nuts, corn and popcorn does not cause the bowel disease diverticulosis or its painful complications, researchers said on Tuesday. In fact, nuts and popcorn may even provide some protection from the complications and those who avoid nuts may be depriving themselves of valuable nutrients, said Dr. Lisa Strate and colleagues at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.

Rural Kanpur is fighting its most frightening scourge — a mystery disease that has left a long line of bodies in its trail and doesn’t seem anywhere finished. What started from one village two weeks ago has now spread to 350 and has so far claimed 160 lives. Thousands more are bed-ridden. On an average, 15 to 20 people have been dying every day; Saturday saw the highest toll in a day: 24. The district’s health department is somewhat confused about the nature of the disease that has struck. At the beginning, the diagnosis was viral fever. Then doctors concluded...

Get onto the B1217 – the Ferrybridge-to-Tadcaster road – just after the M1 joins the A1M, and you’ve crossed that unmapped line where the north stops being grim and begins to be bracing. Go through Saxton, past the Crooked Billet pub, and on your left you’ll see rising farmland, green corn and copses – an old landscape, untroubled by poets or painters or the hyperbole of tourist boards, but handsome, still and hushed. The road is straight; it knows where it’s going, hurrying along, averting its gaze. Through the tonsured hedge you might just notice a big old holly tree...

Who says there’s nothing funny about Barack Obama? From this site at WLS Chicago- http://www.wlsam.com/article.asp?id=849697&SPID=12107 Click on the links below or scroll down to “Last month, Jerry’s Kidders embarked on an ambitious experimental project. We attempted to prove that it was possible to make Barack Obama jokes for an hour. (part one: part two:” and click on them there. http://wlsam.1871dev.com/content/img/f47256/Agar___Barack_No_Phobia_Pt_1.mp3http://wlsam.1871dev.com/content/img/f47257/Agar___Barack_No_Phobia_Pt_2.mp3

This is the brand spankin new video from Kid Rock called Warrior.

San Francisco-based UnionBanCal Corp. reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by its majority shareholder for $73.50 per share. or $3.5 billion, giving Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. a platform on which to build a major American bank. MUFG’s latest bid represents a 17 percent increase from last week’s bid of $63 per share and 27 percent higher than a $58 bid made in April, which was not made public at the time. MUFG, a majority shareholder of the bank since 1996, holds a 65.4 percent stake in UnionBanCal.

LAHORE, Pakistan — Saira Liaqat squints through her one good eye as she brushes a woman's hair. Her face, most of which the acid melted years ago, occasionally lights up with a smile. Her hands, largely undamaged, deftly handle the dark brown locks. A few steps away in this popular beauty salon, Urooj Akbar diligently trims, cleans and paints clients' fingernails. Her face, severely scarred from the blaze that burned some 70 percent of her body, is somber. It's hard to tell if she's sad or if it's just the way she now looks.

Update: Now we know where the western half of the Georgian Army is located - Kutaisi(5) Textbook invasion of Georgia. Tactical pause. Cease fire allegedly brokered. Russia insists on doing "recon" and defending against any attacks. Some firing continues. Reports of 30,000 refugees, mostly women and children, fleeing north to Russia (the men, apparently, are remaining behind as irregular militia fighting with the Russians). Other reports indicate at least 60,000 fled south east to Tbilisi from parts of Ossetia and the town of Gori. Time for a map to see how the situation is shaping up (Library, University of Texas,...

Gifted Student Hospitalized After Drinking Liquid Nitrogen.

Bigfoot may have been found. Maybe. We'll see. Two Northern California men and two Georgians say they've got a body, a photo and DNA evidence pertaining to the elusive forest-dwelling man-ape — and that they'll reveal all at a press conference in Palo Alto, Calif., on Friday. "I think you'll find that this is the real deal," Robert Barrows of Redwood City, Calif., told the Bay City News local wire service.

Richard Benson is president of Specialty Finance Group, LLC , offering diversified investment banking services. Over the last eight years, we have watched in horror as a two-term Republican Administration furthered programs that have effectively thrown lit sticks of dynamite into our American factories. These programs have dismantled entire industries in the United States and encouraged their growth in China and elsewhere in Asia because of cheap labor. Also, during this time the illusion of prosperity was maintained by a Greenspan Fed as interest rates were cut to record lows, and a disastrous housing bubble was created. Americans were so...

The Most Advanced Quadruped Robot on Earth BigDog is the alpha male of the Boston Dynamics family of robots. It is a quadruped robot that walks, runs, and climbs on rough terrain and carries heavy loads. BigDog is powered by a gasoline engine that drives a hydraulic actuation system. BigDog's legs are articulated like an animal’s, and have compliant elements that absorb shock and recycle energy from one step to the next. BigDog is the size of a large dog or small mule, measuring 1 meter long, 0.7 meters tall and 75 kg weight. Video at link.

I don't know how to classify this as far as being "newsworthy" but it's certainly interesting how Left Coast companies and individuals are acting in regards to the debacle Nancy Pelosi's book has become from a sales standpoint and PR disaster. Amazon.com has deleted hundreds of posts and reviews and caused numerous "Amazon Prime" cancellations due to their heavy handed censorship of their buying community. Now I've read the consumer reviews of this book on and off since Friday and while obviously many didn't read the book, just like the Ann Coulter "reviews", the anti-Ann reviews remain while those critical...

During slumber, our brain engages in data analysis, from strengthening memories to solving problems ...Until the mid-1950s, scientists generally assumed that the brain was shut down while we snoozed. Although German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus had evidence in 1885 that sleep protects simple memories from decay, for decades researchers attributed the effect to a passive protection against interference. We forget things, they argued, because all the new information coming in pushes out the existing memories. But because there is nothing coming in while we get shut-eye, we simply do not forget as much. Then, in 1953, the late physiologists Eugene Aserinsky...

COME ONE COME ALL!

The unidentified animal had an “upright, human-like” walk and black fur, according to eyewitnesses who spotted the creature in woods in northwestern Ontario last week. A large, six-toed footprint was found in the area 140 miles northeast of Winnipeg shortly afterwards. There have been dozens of reported sightings of large, hairy humanoids, known as the Bigfoot or sasquatch, in the remote forests on the west coasts of Canada and United States in recent decaded, although evidence for their existence is scant. "What do I think it was? Right now I'm not even sure what it was. But it really scared...

It’s Not Always About the Autism July 26, 2008 - by Katherine Berry Seldom does a week go by anymore without autism somehow making the news. Most recently, talk show host Michael Savage scoffed at the notion that autism is a health epidemic among the nation’s children saying, instead, “In 99 percent of the cases, it’s a brat who hasn’t been told to cut the act out.” Not surprisingly, the autism community was outraged and immediately began petitioning WOR Radio to fire Savage. The online community responded similarly. Advertisers began pulling their ads and affiliate stations dropped Savage’s show. But...

Men have long been accused of judging women on looks alone, but even the plainest Jane can get their hormones raging, a study has found. Research involving a group of male students found that their levels of the hormone testosterone increased to the same extent whether they were talking to a young woman they found attractive – or to one they didn't fancy much at all. After 300 seconds alone in the same room as a woman they had never met before, and in some cases did not find particularly attractive, the men's testosterone levels of the hormone had shot...

Bob Barr, the U.S. presidential candidate of the Libertarian Party, said the Bush administration's diplomatic engagement with Iran is "long overdue." Iran appears to be years away from possessing nuclear weapons, giving time for diplomacy to work, Barr said in a release. He said that war with Iran would be a disaster. "American troops in Iraq would be at risk. U.S. citizens would be targeted for terrorist acts," he said. "Tehran could retaliate against Israel. Oil shipments would be disrupted, causing energy prices to soar even higher. Allied states in the Persian Gulf would be vulnerable to attack. Chances for...

Click video: Troops Choice. Obama: "Fox News has such the hook up with Armed Frorces t.v...... is that the Commander in Chiefs choice?"

Medicare pays doctors for specific services. If a patient has a checkup that includes an X-ray, a urine analysis and a physical, Medicare pays the doctor three separate fees. Each fee is meant to reimburse the doctor for the time and skill he or she devotes to the patient. But it is also supposed to pay for overhead, and this is where the problem begins. To Medicare, a doctor’s overhead (or “practice expense”) includes such items as rent, staff salaries and the cost of high-tech medical equipment. When the agency pays a fee to a doctor who has performed a...

The Media Mob has learned that a team of Hollywood insiders is currently working on a screen adaptation of Truth And Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power—the 2005 book by former CBS News producer Mary Mapes, in which she defends the 60 Minutes II story by Dan Rather about President George W. Bush's time in the Texas Air National Guard, which ran on CBS in September 2004 and eventually led to her ouster from the network. Who would want to turn "Rathergate" into a feature-length film? According to sources familiar with the situation, Producer Mikkel Bondesen,...

A Savage Betrayal Of Humanity Radio Host Michael Savage Says Autistic Kids Aren't Sick..."Just Brats" One Parent Begs To Differ by Steve and Ryan Young I’ve written for years about the problems I’ve had with talk radio, and did so, for the most part with tongue tucked firmly in cheek. I’ve even had my own show in L.A. so In some way, I’ve been a part of the problem I write about. I do get ticked off, but rarely does anything said on talk radio ever cause me to lose my sense of humor. Until this past Wednesday. On his...

Bayonetted and shot by drunken assassins, the slaughter of the Russian royal family shook the world. Now a new book reveals in compelling detail the horrifying final days of the Romanovs. As the light faded, a train halted in the siding near the remote railway station of Lyubinskaya on the Trans-Siberian railway line.

PARIS (AFP) - Water bathed the surface of southern Mars for millions of years, helping to create an environment theoretically capable of nurturing life, according to a new study into the planet's mysterious oceans. Scientists at Brown University in Rhode Island used an instrument aboard a US spacecraft, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, to hunt for traces of phyllosilicates, or clay-like minerals that preserve a record of water's interaction with rocks. They found phyllosilicates in thousands of places, in valleys, dunes and craters in the ancient southern highlands, pointing to an active role by water in Mars's earliest geological era, the...

Nisshinbo Industries Inc. (TSE:3105) has worked with the Tokyo Institute of Technology to develop the technology to use carbon instead of expensive platinum as the electrode catalyst for fuel cells. The company hopes to have a practical version of the new catalyst ready in fiscal 2009, and will start by commercializing a product for the electrodes of residential fuel cells. Later, it will develop and commercialize a version for automotive fuel cells.

Scarborough admits that he is courting a new constituency. http://nymag.com/news/media/48518/

The profession of journalism has lost another great. Tony Snow, the affable anchor of Fox News Sunday, host of his own radio talk show and Press Secretary under President Bush, lost his valiant battle with colon cancer on Saturday at the age of 53. Snow left a legacy of true professionalism and fair play in a business that can often be brutal and harsh when covering the political landscape. To a person, he had the respect and admiration of those he encountered; from the high and powerful in Washington, to the press corps he had to deal with as the...

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba — A man facing trial at Guantanamo for allegedly running a training camp for Sept. 11 hijackers said Thursday he would be "proud" to have participated in an attack on the U.S. "Any attack I undertook against America, or even participated or helped in, I am proud about it, and I am happy," Waleed bin Attash told a military judge. The judge, Marine Col. Ralph Kohlmann, cut Attash off before he could say anything further that could incriminate him at his upcoming trial on charges that include murder.

One of the mysteries of the universe is why President Bush bothers to charge the fixed bayonets of the global warming theocracy. On the other hand, his Administration's supposed "cowboy diplomacy" is succeeding in changing the way the world addresses climate change. Which is to say, he has forced the world to pay at least some attention to reality. That was the larger meaning of the Group of Eight summit in Japan this week, even if it didn't make the papers. The headline was that the nations pledged to cut global greenhouse emissions by half by 2050. Yet for the...

Anti-Civil Liberties Union by: Malcolm A. Kline, July 09, 2008 The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has sold many college students on the notion that the group defends the downtrodden against the powerful. In reality, the ACLU bears a closer resemblance to the insulated plutocrats it inveighs against than it does to any underdog that you can think of. “The ACLU forced a Catholic charity to pay for an employee’s abortion and an Orthodox Jewish charity to provide housing for an avowedly lesbian employee and her lover,” Steve Aden of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) said at a seminar on...

Ok, I was wondering with McCain trying to prove how much of a "maverick" and "moderate" along with his publically trashing of Pres. Bush, will he allow Pres. Bush to introduce him or even speak at the convention? Pres. Bush may not be popular with Democrats and some Democrat/Independents, but he is still at least somewhat liked by Republicans. Do you think McCain will allow President Bush or Vice President Cheney to speak at the national convention, or will he pretend like they do not exist? By the way, there is a rumor McCain may change it up like Obammesiah...

Ever notice things the left likes are immune from CGWP (Causes Global Warming Panic)? So, Plasma TVs cause global warming. Well, Arugula causes global warming. Sure. Why not? It is a cultivated plant and as we know any agricultural activity — like any activity of man — causes global warming. It requires fertilizer, pesticides and water, which is made up of H2O and we all know that O is a main ingredient of CO2, with a capital C, which rhymes with G, which stands for Global Warming.

http://www.realamericanstories.com/ People describe what it means for them to be an American.

Hartford (WTNH) _ A long forgotten flag was discovered at the Connecticut Historical Society and it dates back to the days of President Abraham Lincoln. Dr. Susan Schoelwer from the Connecticut Historical Society says a handwritten note accompanied the flag inside a simple black box. "You know we have a lot of stuff with a lot of little notes on them. Some of them are true and some of them are not," Susan said. In this case the note claims that the tattered American flag was present at a traumatic event in American history and the hand of a great...

Gold and silver bugs, move over. Investors are flocking to a new class of precious metals: the kind that actually do things, rather than end up in vaults or on fingers. Platinum prices have soared 33% this year and its cheaper cousin, palladium, has risen 22%, largely on demand for cleaner cars. A flood of new investment vehicles -- including exchange-traded funds -- that allow investors to bet on these metals' trajectory also are fueling the market. The two metals are called "precious" because of their scarcity. Platinum jewelry has long been a higher-end alternative to gold. But unlike gold,...

London (agencies) A Desperate dad last night begged medics for help because he is turning naturally into a woman. Pub singer Terry Wright said: “I am a man, not a woman. And I do not want to be a woman. “I just want to get my life back to normal.” Father-of-five Terry, 60, started losing his hair and beard ten years ago. Since then he has developed smooth skin, hot flushes. And kids living nearby taunt him by calling him “She-Man”. Blood tests have revealed Terry has abnormally high levels of the female hormone oestrogen. But doctors who have examined...

Looking for a new car? Maybe you have your heart set on something fuel-efficient because of $4 gas? Or perhaps you had a good year and feel you're ready to move up to something with a touch of style, luxury or class? Get in line. Despite tough times for the auto industry in general, there are some car models--across a broad range of classes and sizes--that are so popular that auto manufacturers are selling them faster than they can build them. The range of hard-to-get vehicles is as diverse as consumer tastes and budgets in general. Case in point: As...

Department of Veterans Affairs Prepares to Strip John McCain of Vietnam Veteran Title News Release Date: 26 June, 2008 From: website, www.BlueWaterNavy.org  Note: This article refers to proposed changes to the rules defining 'Service in Vietnam' set forth by the Department of Veterans Affairs in response to the 'Haas vs. Peake' decision in the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. By the implementation of changes as set forth in the Federal Register, April 16, 2008, regarding "Definition of Service in the Republic of Vietnam," for the purpose of clarifying eligibility for presumption of exposure to herbicides status, the DVA very clearly...

Surprising many Republican insiders, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is at the top of the vice presidential prospect list for John McCain. But lack of personal chemistry could derail the pick. “Romney as favorite” is the hot buzz in Republican circles, and top party advisers said the case is compelling. Campaign insiders say McCain plans to name his running mate very shortly after Barack Obama does, as part of what one campaign planner called a “bounce-mitigation strategy.”

As a musician and producer who lives and breathes for new technology, I am convinced of two things concerning the future of radio: 1. Terrestrial radio is a dead man walking. 2. Satellite and Internet radio are the going to be the new and permanent sheriffs in town. Now I think we all know why The National Association of Broadcasters is so against the Sirius/XM Merger. Their business model is so outdated it has rust flaking off the chassis. We know that the satellite radio race is in turmoil thanks to our fun loving politicians at the Justice Department and...

Last month, Wake Forest dropped the SAT and ACT as an entrance requirement, becoming the only top-30 national university with a test-optional policy. This step away from standardized tests will help us and other institutions of higher education move closer to the goals of greater educational quality and opportunity. Our decision to reevaluate our admissions policy grew out of a close look at the state of higher education and some long, hard thinking about the kind of university we want Wake Forest to be. For several years, a growing body of research has made clear that America's top colleges and...

Thirty years ago this past week, Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. condemned our nation's selective colleges and universities to live a lie. Writing the deciding opinion in the case Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, he prompted these institutions to justify their use of racial preferences in admissions with a rationale most had never considered and still do not believe – a desire to offer a better education to all students. To this day, few colleges have even tried to establish that their race-conscious admissions policies yield broad educational benefits. The research is so fuzzy and...

NEW YORK — Amnesty International is currently touring the country with a life-sized replica of a maximum security prison cell at Guantánamo Bay. But critics say the cell, which is an attempt to call attention to alleged human rights abuses at the camp, is missing basic amenities provided to prisoners. The 7x10-foot cell, on display on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., lacks amenities like bedding, toiletries and a copy of the Koran, and it has nothing to illustrate that regular meals are served to inmates three times a day.

Welcome to the 26 JUN 08 edition of The FReeper Canteen! Happy Birthday toCHESTY PULLER! Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller (26 JUN 1898 - 11 OCT 1971) was the most decorated Marine in American history. Puller is the only United States Marine to receive five Navy Crosses, the United States Navy's second highest decoration after Congressional Medal of Honor. During his career, he fought in World War 2 and the Korean War, and participated in some of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history. Puller, whose nickname was inspired by his barrel chest, was born in West Point,...

A Yale Tale by: Malcolm A. Kline, June 25, 2008 Under the guise of scholarship, the professoriat would have us “leave them alone” but is the feeling mutual? You can get an insight into the answer to this question not by what they tell the public but what they communicate to each other. Take Yale sociologist Michael Yarbrough. His university web site tells us that he “works in the areas of law and society; family; the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality; and political subjectivity.” His page goes on to note that “He is particularly interested in the role of...

I'm an Iowan. My feet are dry.. all Praise to God. So, I will say what is on the minds of a lot of Iowans that are busy trying to hold their families together right now. These flood victims are no less worthy of help than New Orleans residents. To totally ignore them is like an elephant in the room. Why are you ignoring us? Are we too humble? Are we too unworthy because we help ourselves and each other? Are we the wrong class? The wrong color? The wrong location? Are we too quiet? Or are we not something...

Planned Parenthood's New Approach Draws Critics Planned Parenthood is building new, more stylishly appointed health centers as part of an effort to attract more-affluent patients and increase its revenue, but some critics say that Planned Parenthood is drifting away from its original mission, reports The Wall Street Journal. Planned Parenthood has built two large new health centers, with at least five more on the way, and has opened more than two-dozen “express centers,” which offer faster service and sell merchandise. Many of the centers are located in suburban shopping malls. Last year, the organization altered its mission statement, which used...