Free Republic

What property slump? Intricate DOLL'S house sells for £50,000 ...This...dolls house is about to sell... after winning the heart of an overseas collector. Collector's item... The tiny 10-bed mansion...servants’ quarters, a music room with grand piano, a hand-crafted games room with snooker table and a library with over 1,000 separately bound books... Retired builder, Peter has spent ...an average of eight hours every day since 1994.... ...(Mr.) Peter Riches... ...The 23-room masterpiece... The library... Peter...hand-etched 32,000 bricks on its walls. He cut the 5,000 roof tiles from cardboard.... The games room... The...dolls house measures 1.2m wide, is 82cm deep and...

White supremacist whoopened fire at U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum 'has links to the BNP' FBI sources claim Obama speech at concentration camp 'was too much for alleged shooter' A white supremacist who killed a security guard after opening fire at Washington's Holocaust Museum had links to the far-Right British National Party, a former associate has said. James von Brunn, described as a 'hard core neo-Nazi', attended meetings of the American Friends of the British National Party, which raised funds for the white supremacist group. Fatal shooting: James von Brunn (left) allegedly shot dead security guard Stephen T. Johns in the...

Rise of the machines: Arnold Schwarzenegger terminates school books and tells pupils to go digital Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: California is facing a $24billion budget deficit ...Arnold Schwarzenegger has a plan to save his state's failing economy - by terminating text books. The governor is telling children to give up the schoolbooks and turn to digital lessons to help the state avoid bankruptcy... ... he said: 'Textbooks are outdated, in my opinion.' He continued: 'For so many years, we've been trying to teach the kids exactly the same way. 'Our kids get their information from the internet, downloaded onto their iPods,...

Fish and chips for the First Lady: Michelle Obama takes her daughters to traditional English pub for £7.95 dinner Mrs Obama waves as she leaves the London pub last night ...The Audley pub in London's Mayfair has probably had its fair share of tourists from across the Atlantic. But when First Lady Michelle Obama led her two daughters into the traditional pub for fish and chips last night even the normally unflappable staff were left gobsmacked. Staff told...of their astonishment as Mrs Obama and her daughters Malia, 10, and eight-year-old Sasha traipsed into the bar.... Just a normal night down...

Jyoti, the world's smallest girl set to make it big on British TV at barely two feet tall Tiny Jyoti Amge is already a 'mini' celebrity in her hometown of Nagpur, India. ...at just under two-foot tall the teenager is the smallest girl in the world.... Standing just one foot 11.5ins at 15-years-old, she is half the size of her two-year-old nephew. Jyoti, centre, with some of her classmates - also aged 15. Her little grey uniform is specially made for herWeighing just 12lbs - only 9lbs more than her weight at birth, Jyoti dreams of becoming an actress and...

WHIO Local News Man In Ladies' Swimsuit Harassing Women SUGARCREEK TWP., Ohio -- Women and children continue to witness a bizarre sight along the Little Miami River. A man wearing a women's swimsuit is harassing people -- mostly women and children -- as they paddle by in canoes along a stretch of the river in Sugarcreek Township. Since last Tuesday, the man has strutted his stuff to more than ten people, wearing a green or blue swimsuit and shouting to women as they cruised down the river in canoes. He runs away after the encounters -- police haven't caught up...

Catholic mother's fury after mental breakdown sees son fostered by gay couple A ten-year-old Catholic boy is being placed in the care of homosexual foster parents against the wishes of his...mother. ...his permanent new foster home, a hotel...run by a middle-aged male couple.... [snip] The boy was first placed in care a year ago when his mother suffered a mental breakdown...left her unable to look after him. ... he attends a faith school and is due to take his First Communion soon.... The Thomas More Legal Centre, a Catholic legal charity...to represent the mother.... Her parish priest and her son’s...

U of I pays 'inspiration officer' $112K for 9-month contract MOSCOW, Idaho. - Public records show the University of Idaho is paying a Minnesota consultant who spends less than two weeks a month on the Moscow campus $112,500 to serve as its "chief inspiration officer." The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reports the university signed a contract with Magaly Rodriguez last year, paying her $12,500 a month as part of a nine-month contract that expires in June. Schools officials say the workshops conducted by Rodriguez have helped save programs, but some faculty are criticizing the contract that was signed during the same...

Top 10 Racing Games at E3 2009 If you don’t have access to a Mustang GT500, a Chevy Camaro or a Corvette ZR1 and a racetrack, a video game with these cars, we guess, is the next best thing. At this year’s E3, racing games reign with multiplayer games like Blur hosting live races 24/7, or games with massive racing worlds like Fuel. Even the iconic character, Sonic the hedgehog, strapped on his seatbelt and revved his engines at E3 this year. Here are 10 games creating a buzz at E3 2009. By Kyle Roerink Published on: June 3, 2009...

That's one way to sell a book! Stephen King gives a sneak peek of his new story... on Bar Refaeli's naked body Known around the world as the 'king of horror', author Stephen King doesn't need to try too hard to sell his books. But after writing his latest tale Morality, King decided to give the story maximum publicity, by 'publishing' it on the naked body of...supermodel Bar Refaeli. ...features nude on the July cover of the U.S. edition of men's magazine Esquire, with the opening paragraphs of King's short story written across her famous curves. The write stuff: Bar...

Al Qaeda beheads British tourist kidnapped at African music festival A Briton kidnapped in North Africa has been murdered, reportedly by beheading, by Al Qaeda terrorists after demands for the release of fundamentalist cleric Abu Qatada... The 60-year-old Briton is said to have been killed on Sunday...by Al Qaeda ahead of Obama's speech in... Cairo today. Murdered: Edwin Dyer as seen in a video released by his kidnappers in February The statement...said they 'killed Dyer on May 31, finding that Britain...does not... care for its citizens'. It added: 'The British captive was killed so that he, and...the British state, may...

Why are Conservatives So Mean? Watch this. Damn ... this is good.

Giant jellyfish invades Earth... in the form of a mysterious crop circle No one ever seen a jellyfish like this before --particularly not in the middle of a farmer's field. The 600ft monster, similar to a giant Portuguese man-of-war, has delighted crop circle watchers by turning up near Kingstone Coombes, Oxfordshire. Crop circle-expert Karen Alexander said: 'We have seen butterfly and bird patterns in the past, but this is the first jellyfish crop circle in the world. It is absolutely huge, three times the size of most patterns. Portuguese man-of-straw: The jellyfish crop circle in a barley field in Kingstone...

Matron at Oprah's school 'forced pupil to watch pornography', court hears in lesbian sex abuse trial By A pupil at a school run by Oprah Winfrey was forced to watch pornography by a dormitory matron, a court has heard. The teenager was among at least seven victims aged 13 and 14 alleged to have suffered sexual and physical abuse at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. Evidence was heard yesterday following explosive claims about sexual misconduct at the school near Johannesburg funded by the U.S. talk show host. Oprah Winfrey cuts the ribbon during the opening...

Oh, no reason. Just messing around on a Sunday afternoon. Just thought you'd get a kick out of it... "When Guns Were Fun" [Mattel toys] Mattel Tommy Burst TV commercial 1960s! Shootin' Shell 45 cap gun commercial ( Mattel ) Jackie Gleason for Pabst Blue Ribbon 1950s "Most Funniest Beer Commercial"

May 27, 2009 Man Violates Migratory Game Bird Treaty Over Ice Cream Here’s a little pop quiz: A Heermann’s gull poops on your head and then goes after your wife’s ice cream. You should: A. Wipe your head off and go get more ice cream B. Run the bird off C. Beat the bird off with a stick Answer: Not C! And here’s why, from the Orange County Register: A Kansas man is contesting a $275 fine by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife for attacking a rare gull in Laguna Beach when the bird tried to steal his wife's ice...

May 28, 2009 Discussion Topic: Cedar Rapids Bans BB- And Air-Gun Carry From The Gazette: At the urging of police, the [Cedar Rapids] City Council has made it a misdemeanor offense to carry a loaded BB gun, air gun or pellet gun in the city limits. Juveniles cannot have the guns at all, loaded or unloaded, unless they are under adult supervision. Police Capt. Bernie Walther said people have used the toy guns in hopes the victims will think they are real. It is easy for anyone, including a police officer, to mistake them for the real thing, he said."It...

This is a simple and amazing bar trick that allows you to balance a fork and spoon on a toothpick. Two forks also works well. It will turn any dull conversation into a “WTF?!” moment where people start pulling out cameras. No training or special items required — you can learn it in about 30 seconds. It might be as inane as my video on how to peel hard-boiled eggs without peeling them. Then again, that video got more than 2 million views, so at least a few of you seem to enjoy sleight-of-hand and general tomfoolery as much as...

Why We All Look At The Floor In An Elevator or, "Why the Elevator Floor Is So Interesting"In horror movies, more people are probably murdered in elevators than in any other closed space, including the shower. In real life, the probability of being the victim of a deadly attack in an elevator is virtually zero. Yet, the way people act towards others when they ride together in an elevator suggests that they have serious concerns about their own safety. If the elevator is crowded, everybody stands still and stares at the ceiling, the floor or the button panel as if...

Al-Qaeda Kidnaps Obama's Teleprompter In an audacious raid Friday, al-Qaeda terrorists managed to slip past White House security and seize President Obama's teleprompter. Their demands were released in a grainy video, which apparently showed the president's teleprompter, bound and blindfolded but unharmed, while heavily armed masked men stood behind it, quoting from the Qur'an. The content of their demands is not being released. ================================================================================================================== "We need a verb!" shouted David Gregory of MSNBC. "I uh, know that," quipped the president testily. "And... I'll make sure my staff, uh, gets back with you," he resumed after regaining his composure. Bravely...