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SETH J. FRANTZMAN On a pleasant Thursday in December 1948, Emilio Traubner, a correspondent for The Palestine Post, found himself near Abu Kabir, not far from Jaffa. Trenches and expended cartridges were strewn about, reminders of the fighting between units of the Irgun and local Arab forces that had taken place there seven months previously. There was a large Arab villa from where Traubner recovered a diary. It turned out to be the daily record of Yusuf Begovic of Pale, a town near Sarajevo in modern-day Bosnia-Herzegovina. In it Begovic had described his activities as a cook for the “Arab...

Japanese officials have said that the Tokyo’s zoo has been flooded with calls to refuse a pair of pandas offered by Chinese President Hu Jintao, fearing that the money from the lease would fund Beijing's clampdown in Tibet. "We have received many calls from ordinary citizens who sometimes hysterically condemn" the proposal, said Hidemasa Hori, an Ueno Zoo official. "There are others who call and say that Japan doesn't need to bow its head and pay money just to rent the pandas," he added. Many callers cited China's crackdown on protests in Tibet, saying that the issue "is not really...

CHESTER, Va. (May 2) - Like many boys in the South, Sam White got hooked on the Civil War early, digging up rusting bullets and military buttons in the battle-scarred earth of his hometown As an adult, he crisscrossed the Virginia countryside in search of wartime relics -- weapons, battle flags, even artillery shells buried in the red clay. He sometimes put on diving gear to feel for treasures hidden in the black muck of river bottoms. But in February, White's hobby cost him his life: A cannonball he was restoring exploded, killing him in his driveway. More than 140...

I have really tried to accept things, but I have finally reached my point. Disclaimer, Mods, please move this wherever necessary. I have been watching "Carrier" on PBS plus a few other documentaries lately on our military and I am embarrassed. When did our military people turn into baby machines looking for a reason out because of a child they should not have had? They teach new parent classes on a ship, how about a class on how not to be a parent when you can't be one? And don't whine when you get deployed because you miss your kids....

CLEVELAND (AP) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Thursday backed off his assertion that pork-barrel spending led to last year's deadly bridge collapse in Minneapolis. With Democrats criticizing him for citing wasteful spending as the cause of the disaster, McCain told reporters in Cleveland, "No, I said it would have received a higher priority, which it deserved." That statement was in contrast to McCain's remarks to reporters aboard his campaign bus as it rolled through Pennsylvania on Wednesday: "The bridge in Minneapolis didn't collapse because there wasn't enough money. The bridge in Minneapolis collapsed because so much money was...

SOLAR BLAST: No sunspots? No problem. Yesterday the blank sun unleashed a solar flare without the usual aid of a sunspot. At 1408 UT on April 26th, Earth-orbiting satellites detected a surge of X-rays registering B3.8 on the Richter scale of solar flares. Shortly thereafter, SOHO coronagraphs photographed a coronal mass ejection (CME) billowing away from the sun: The expanding cloud could deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field late on April 28th or 29th. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras when it arrives. This strange solar flare came from a patch of sun (N08,E08) where magnetic...

The Black Dog, symbolising depression and made famous by Churchill, was the bane of ad executive Matthew Johnstone’s life – until he put it in a book and brought it to heel. Interview by Catherine O’Brien Matthew Johnstone’s meteoric career as a creative director in advertising took him from Sydney to San Francisco and New York, earning him a clutch of awards on his way. He was a man who appeared to have it all – and yet, for many years, he hid a dark secret. He was suffering from clinical depression. “Advertising is about being shiny and up. You...

6th Annual Rally for the Troops will be held on Sunday April 20, 2008 at 11:00 PM in downtown Cleveland’s Public Square. Free Parking at Tower City Parking lots. Last year an estimated 5000 motorcyclist attended the Rally. Bikes will stage at 8:30 AM from Cleveland Harley Davidson Sales Company (W145 and Lorain), Lake Erie Harley Davidson (Avon Ohio); South East Harley Davidson (Bedford Hts. Ohio) and Western Reserve Harley Davidson (Mentor Ohio). Bikes will depart for downtown Cleveland at 9:30 AM. Jim Mantel of WGAR will MC the Rally and Monica Robins of WKYC will sing the National Anthem....

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Pentagon is launching a multimillion dollar initiative to regrow skin, muscles, ears, noses and even new limbs for wounded servicemembers, using their own stem cells. The Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine, or AFIRM, is a five-year, Army-led cooperative program using cutting-edge stem cell research to treat badly wounded servicemembers. “You often hear people talking about a conflict having a ‘signature wound,’” Lt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker, the Army’s surgeon general, told reporters at a Thursday news conference announcing the new institute. “Well, the signature weapon of this war is blast.” Some of AFIRM’s earliest work...

Young Britons are out of touch with their culinary heritage, a survey claims. They are so ignorant about traditional foods that some regional delicacies risk being lost for ever. Many thought that the Lincolnshire dish of haslet was a morris dancer's waistcoat. A traditional haslet: definitely not a waistcoat About 2,000 people were given a list of 10 dishes from around the country and asked to choose a definition for each. However, although the poll posed few problems for those over 45, more than half of the younger generation were baffled. Haslet - a salted pork and offal dish -...

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cast doubt Wednesday over the U.S. version of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, calling it a pretext used to invade Afghanistan and Iraq. Though Iran has condemned the Al Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington in the past, this was the third time in a week Ahmadinejad questioned the death toll, who was behind the attacks and how it happened. "Four or five years ago, a suspicious event occurred in New York. A building collapsed and they said that 3,000 people had been killed but never published their names," Ahmadinejad told...

The 'Tree Man of Java' is hoping to get married after doctors performed four major operations to hack away the bark-like tissue sprouting from his hands and feet. ** Tree man 'who grew roots' may be cured ** Watch: US dermatology expert treats tree man ** Jehovah's Witness fights curse of the face-eating tumour For 20 years Dede Koswara lived covered in warts with huge tree-like growths encasing his limbs. Today Dede, whose plight was highlighted on the Telegraph website, can once more use his hands and walk without pain. He can see the outline of his toes for the...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Baby boomers say they are worried about achieving a comfortable retirement, but a new study suggests Generation X is even more pessimistic.

"A mix of 170 U.S. soldiers and civilians recently braved 100-degree temperatures and the risk of enemy fire to attend a ceremony to restore dignity to an American flag found lying in the mud last month in front of a Conyers apartment complex."

As we pump out greenhouse gases, most of the discussion focuses on direct consequences like rising seas or aggravated hurricanes. But the indirect social and political impact in poor countries may be even more far-reaching, including upheavals and civil wars — and even more witches hacked to death with machetes. In rural Tanzania, murders of elderly women accused of witchcraft are a very common form of homicide. And when Tanzania suffers unusual rainfall — either drought or flooding — witch-killings double, according to research by Edward Miguel, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley. “In bad years, the killings...

by Steven Ertelt LifeNews.com Editor April 9, 2008 Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new report from a Planned Parenthood watchdog finds chapters of the Komen Race for the Cure breast cancer group gave affiliates of the national abortion business over $700,000 last fiscal year. The enormous amount should be a red flag to pro-life advocates, one leading activist says. Figures from STOPP International show Komen chapters giving $711,485 from April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006 to Planned Parenthood affiliates.

If you’ve ever wondered what the Marines have in mind when they advertise for “a few good men,” look no further than Gunnery Sgt. William “Spanky” Gibson. Two years ago, he lost a leg to a sniper’s bullet in Iraq. Today, he’s back in the combat zone — by his own choice.

An upcoming joint US-Israel report on the September 6 IAF strike on a Syrian facility will claim that former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein transferred weapons of mass destruction to the country, Channel 2 stated Monday

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- To save the world, we need a leader who will make a stand as Franklin Delano Roosevelt did during World War II and force change upon us. That pretty much sums up the conclusions of many of the world's best thinkers who gathered last week at the Aspen Environment Forum. The meeting, held over the course of three days, included talks and discussions with E.O. Wilson, the eminent biologist; Lester Brown, founder of the Earth Policy and Worldwatch Institutes; Amory Lovins, chairman of the Rocky Mountain Institute; and a host of scientists and leaders from...

Apr. 4 - Palestinian fishermen catch and kill a giant sea turtle, thought to be a Leatherback, an endangered species. The rare giant sea turtle caught on a beach near Gaza City was slaughtered and eaten by Palestinian fishermen who said its blood was an aphrodisiac, among other therapeutic qualities. A Reuters cameraman said the fishermen collected the giant turtle's blood and gave it to children suffering from trauma and adults with back problems.

[Money quote] "The problem with this everything-is-dangerous outlook is that over-protectiveness is a danger in and of itself. A child who thinks he can’t do anything on his own eventually can’t."

To reduce trash, Mayor Greg Nickels wants Seattle shoppers to pay a fee on all disposable bags — paper and plastic — at grocery, convenience and drug stores. Customers would be charged a 20-cent "green fee" per bag used at the checkout line. If approved by the City Council, the fee would take effect Jan. 1. "The answer to the question 'Paper or plastic?' should be 'Neither,' " Nickels said at a news conference Wednesday morning. "Both harm the environment. Every piece of plastic ever made is still with us in the environment, and the best way to handle waste...

The Los Angeles City Council dropped plans Tuesday for a symbolic moratorium on killing, deciding instead to use the upcoming anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination to promote peace. Council members had been asked by a handful of activists to declare a 40-hour ban on murder and other violence, a concept one critic quickly derided as "silliness." After a 45-minute debate, the council reworked its resolution, saying the city's opposition to homicides should last more than a single weekend. "A moratorium on violence and killing is something we should support 365 days a year and every minute we...

A convicted serial rapist fired from his job flipping burgers at a Tewksbury McDonald’s is suing the Golden Arches and the mom who exposed him because she refused to clown around with her children’s safety. Scott Gagnon, 50, who served 27 years behind bars after pleading guilty to picking up and raping five hitchhikers ages 15 to 25 in Essex County 30 years ago, said McDonald’s knew he was a registered Level 3 sex offender when Andrea Quinn found out where he was working from the Sex Offender Registry Board’s Web site and complained to his bosses. “I never met...

Tito Mukhopadhyay shuffles to the front door of his home in Austin, Texas. He's coming home from school, something that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. His mother, 45-year-old Soma Mukhopadhyay, is considered a pioneer in a breakthrough treatment for some autistic children who face the stigma of being considered "mentally retarded." That was a label Soma never accepted for 19-year-old Tito. And after hearing Tito's story, you'll never look at an autistic child the same way. "How was your day?" Soma asks. Before Tito can answer, he obsessively moves around the house, placing the TV remote...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LHoyB81LnE

Four decades after the Central Intelligence Agency hired thousands of jungle warriors to fight Communists on the western fringes of the Vietnam War, men who say they are veterans of that covert operation are isolated, hungry and periodically hunted by a Laotian Communist government still mistrustful of the men who sided with America. “If I surrender, I will be punished,” said Xang Yang, a wiry 58-year-old still capable of crawling nimbly through thick bamboo underbrush. “They will never forgive me. I cannot live outside the jungle because I am a former American soldier.”

OK everyone, it's time for my quarterly "What Are You Reading Now" post. I like to get a feel for what Freepers are reading these days. It can be anything...a best seller, a literary classic, a trashy pulp novel, a scientific journal, etc. Do not demean this thread with posts like "I'm reading this Thread right now". It became un-funny a long time ago. I'll start. I've just started "One Square Mile Of Hell: The Battle For Tarawa" by John Wukovitz. Rather than a minute by minute account of the battle, it takes a more personalized view of the battle...

Darvaz: The Door to Hell Category: Funny, History, Photos | This place in Uzbekistan is called by locals “The Door to Hell”. It is situated near the small town of Darvaz. The story of this place lasts already for 35 years. Once the geologists were drilling for gas. Then suddenly during the drilling they have found an underground cavern, it was so big that all the drilling site with all the equipment and camps got deep deep under the ground. None dared to go down there because the cavern was filled with gas. So they ignited it so that no...

F-18 pilot returns home to canine friend from Iraqi war zone They spent months in an Iraqi war zone cementing a special bond. Marine Major Brian Dennis greets Nubs early Saturday morning at Camp Pendleton. But after more than a month of being apart, Marine Maj. Brian Dennis began to worry if Nubs the dog would still remember him, especially in a new place like San Diego. Their reunion early Saturday at Camp Pendleton clearly showed otherwise. The 2-year-old old dog, named for his two nubby ears, drenched Dennis' face with doggie kisses and said hello with excited whimpers. “You...

There are very few Christian relics as important and as controversial as the Shroud of Turin. This linen cloth, measuring about 4.4m by 1.1m (14.4x3.6 feet) holds the concealed image of a man bearing all the signs of crucifixion. Scientific tests have proved that there are blood stains around the marks consistent with a crown of thorns and a puncture from a lance to the side. In a new documentary, we have been given intimate access that no other broadcaster has had before. Until the 1980s, millions of Christians around the world believed the Shroud to be the burial cloth...

...Just as you can starve a fat person and induce them to lose weight, you can starve a child and prevent them from growing. Neither implies that overeating was the root cause of their getting fat or growing bigger. There is considerable evidence that the obesity epidemic is caused by a hormonal phenomenon, specifically by the consumption of refined carbohydrates, starches and sugars, all of which prompt (sooner or later) excessive insulin secretion. Insulin is the primary regulator of fat storage. When insulin levels are elevated, fat accumulates in our body tissue; when they fall, fat is released and we...

Some 3,000 scientific robots that are plying the ocean have sent home a puzzling message. These diving instruments suggest that the oceans have not warmed up at all over the past four or five years. That could mean global warming has taken a breather. Or it could mean scientists aren't quite understanding what their robots are telling them. This is puzzling in part because here on the surface of the Earth, the years since 2003 have been some of the hottest on record. But Josh Willis at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory says the oceans are what really matter when it...

Spring break has turned violent and deadly in unrelated incidents on Galveston Island. A 16-year-old girl from Deer Park drowned amid strong winds and currents. Elsewhere, a number of fights capped a concert on East Beach. A dozen were arrested. At spring break destinations everywhere, these scenes are often repeated. Yet psychologist Laurence Abrams says teens are just trying to enjoy themselves and the alcohol, sex and trouble tend to come with that. "They're not trying to hurt themselves. They're trying to have fun. Sometimes they make mistakes, as we all do. I'm not in favor of it. Don't misunderstand...

Northrop Grumman has demonstrated exemplary performance capability of a laser chain, the first major building block of a solid state demonstrator laser designed to reach a power level of 100kW. The Joint High-Powered Solid State Laser (JHPSSL) Phase 3 program exceeded all target requirements of its second major demonstration milestone, including excellent beam quality. The JHPSSL system is designed to accelerate solid-state laser technology for military uses, including force protection and precision strike missions for air-, sea-, and ground-based platforms. "Northrop Grumman's JHPSSL will demonstrate the laser technology for the next generation of protection for the nation's warfighters on the...

This 10-minute video contains a vivid comparison of the power difference between the 5.56mm NATO round and the 7.62 NATO round. It is DRAMATIC... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QTIiEGFbCQ

This is the official thread for the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour.. During the launch I'm going to be in bed sleeping since I have to go to work the next day..

I have been thinking about this since nursing school. It was always a matter of the right motives, but the wrong time. Well, I have been talking to the Assistant Gunner (My bride of 19 years) and she agrees that the time is right. So I contacted my good friend who is a medical recruiter for the US Navy. He has laid out the whole shooting match for me, good and bad. I relayed this to my wife. She says, "God will guide us and whatever happens, He'll take care of us. Do what you know is right." So I...

I wonder if anybody has seen this movie - "September Tapes". Its about regular guys who after 9/11 who take a film crew to Afghanistan in order to find out the truth for themselves. I DO NOT WANT TO GIVE THE MAIN PLOT AWAY and would request the same from people who have seen it. I for one love movies and have not seen more exciting edge of the seat action. Its an independent movie and obviously small budget, but it shows what a creative mind can do! All the 100 million dollar block busters turn into crap in front...

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=5650953844559954353&q=Riots+in+Copenhagen&total=105&start=10&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1 Check out this and other footage of rioting in Copenhagen

Washington, D.C. (March 5, 2008) -- Last week, I took some heat from readers for saying here that Toshiba should offer company discounts to HD DVD owners after announcing it was exiting the business. I reasoned that it would be good business for Toshiba to send a signal to its customers that it appreciated their commitment to HD DVD. Now that the format is going out of business, the HD DVD player will be nearly obsolete. So, an offer, let's say, of 20 percent off a Toshiba LCD HDTV would make people feel better about their investment in not only...

Eagle Rock teacher creates insect monitor job to treat creatures respectfully By Naush Boghossian, Staff Writer When Eagle Rock teacher Melodie Conrad saw a student stomp on a bug several years ago, she knew she had to do something. But while student monitors for the hallways, chalkboards and classroom windows have been around for years, nobody was quite prepared for the new duty she created: bug monitor. Now, if any creepy-crawly wanders into her classroom at Eagle Rock Elementary School & Magnet Center, the student bug monitor swoops in with a paper towel or napkin, scoops up the critter and...

Originally posted last October: DRAFTKATHERINEHARRIS Kitty vs The Can'tidates -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Videos! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kitty vs The Can'tidates - Pt. 2 Kitty vs The Can'tidates - Pt. 1 Pre-Launch Video Paid for by the Florida Democratic Party (214 South Bronough Street, Tallahassee, FL 32301, 850-222-3411) and not authorized by any federal candidate or candidate's committee.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Sometimes the cliché fits: It looks like a bomb went off—not necessarily in this lab, but somewhere, with the aftermath seemingly carted here. The gutted remains of a sedan, its engine exposed, the seats ripped out of the frame, sits encased in cables. At other workstations the focus is a single part—an isolated camshaft, an alternator hooked up to test apparatus. It would be easy to misinterpret this place and think that researchers at MIT’s Lab for Electromagnetic and Electronic Systems (LEES) are either piecing back together some shattered car or entering the Automotive X Prize. In...

This year, more than 21,000 people will be diagnosed with some form of brain cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute. While benign forms are relatively easy to treat, malignant tumors require a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Even then, tumor cells may remain deeply lodged, replicating and spreading quickly through healthy brain tissue. Now researchers at Yale University have found that a virus that's in the same family as rabies effectively kills an aggressive form of human brain cancer in mice. Using time-lapse laser imaging, the team watched vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) rapidly home in on brain tumors,...

Exclusive: Mysterious Deaths Posted Friday, February 29, 2008 ; 06:11 PM Updated Friday, February 29, 2008 ; 10:22 PM Watch Story Video Three West Virginia military men die within a three week period, but they weren't at war when they lost their lives. Share your reaction Story by Sara Gavin Email | Bio | Other Stories by Sara Gavin CHARLESTON -- The last time Janette Layne saw her husband Eric was January 24th. "He would normally stay up watching TV at night because it was hard for him to sleep and I went ahead and went to bed. The next...

Idaho Planned Parenthood Faces Controversy Over Racially Motivated Donation

Washington, D.C. (February 29, 2008) -- Sony, the leading supporter of Blu-ray, has said the new high-def disc will replace the standard-def DVD in the next several years. Is that possible? After all, standard-def DVD players are in nearly every American home and many people have built up impressive collections of DVD film libraries. However, now that Toshiba has pulled the plug on HD DVD, it's my view that Blu-ray has an opportunity to become the leading home video format. So, how can Blu-ray replace the DVD? Here are five steps: 1. Lower Player Prices to Under $200 Blu-ray players...

On July 9, 1755, Colonel George Washington was traveling with General Edward Braddock’s army toward Fort Duquesne when they were ambushed by Indians and French hiding in the woods. In the ensuing massacre, hundreds of British soldiers, including Braddock, were killed or seriously wounded. Perched on their horses, officers were perfect targets. One after another, they were hit. Bullets ripped through Washington’s coat, knocked his hat off, and killed two of the horses he rode. Rumors circulated that Washington had been killed. On July 18, he wrote his brother from Fort Cumberland, “As I have heard since my arriv’l at...

Open Letter to Senator McCain Senator McCain, I write this to you out of dire concern for the outcome of the general election, thus the direction our great country will be led at this crucial time in our history. It appears Barrack Obama will secure the Democratic nomination. With the overwhelmingly diverse support he is receiving and the ensuing contributions, coupled with the fact Democratic voter turnout is consistently much higher than ours, it is imperative the staunch conservative base of our party be not only fully aligned, but also inspired. For this reason, your choice of a VP running...