Free Republic

'It is the tragic story that everybody knows the end to - the doomed Titanic sinks. Its final hours have become the stuff of myth - but how much have the various film versions of the story helped to create and reinforce these legends?'

An auctioneer has hired experts to try to verify claims by the owner of the century old instrument that it belonged to Wallace Hartley, the leader of the vessel’s eight-man musical ensemble. If proved, it could become the most valuable Titanic artefact ever to be considered for auction. But the claim is being treated with caution as a result. Hartley and his fellow musicians earned legendary status for their decision to play on as the ship sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912. They are said to have played the hymn “Nearer My God to Thee” after the...

<p>March 31, 2004 -- STAMFORD, Conn. - More than 18 months away from the West Wing haven't curbed Karen Hughes' appetite for a political fight - as President Bush's one-time right-hand woman yesterday ripped into Sen. John Kerry while promoting her new book. Speaking before 125 people at the Marriott here, the first stop on a 16-city tour in support of her new book "10 Minutes from Normal," Hughes assailed the Democratic presidential nominee on both domestic and foreign issues.</p>

Titanic MemoriesSurvivor, Discoverer Reflect on ‘Unsinkable’ Ship, 90 Years LaterApril 14 — When it set sail from Southampton, England, 90 years ago, the supposedly unsinkable Titanic was the very symbol of the future. We were not supposed to go on that ship; we were supposed to go on another one," says Millvena Dean, 90, of Ashurst, England, one of only four survivors still alive today. "But as there was a lack of coal and they wanted all the coal for the Titanic … so we were asked if we'd like to go on the Titanic. So my father was delighted."...