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Taleban militants vowed to abduct more foreigners after ending a six-week hostage drama by releasing the last seven of a group of kidnapped South Koreans under a deal with the Seoul government. We will do the same thing with the other allies in Afghanistan, because we found this way to be successful,’ Taleban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi told the Associated Press via cell phone from an undisclosed location. The seven hostages were handed over Thursday to the International Committee of the Red Cross in two separate exchanges close to the central Afghan city of Ghazni, Red Cross officials and an...

Rudy Giuliani invited his high-dollar fundraisers to a weekend-in-New-York-themed meeting this summer, and in between the dinners and the golf and the Broadway shows came talk of a man they all were watching warily: Fred Thompson. Thompson's would-be presidential campaign was creating a buzz among Republicans -- particularly conservatives hungry for an alternative to Giuliani -- and people who were at the meeting said Giuliani's campaign team was relieved Thompson hadn't joined the race yet. "They thought they were getting a break that he didn't get in," said one attendee. "They were pleasantly surprised Thompson hadn't announced, and that was...

What a surprise for Dr. Jim Borge, when he heard all the commotion in his kitchen recently in his home on Silverado Trail near Monticello Road. When Jim walked into the kitchen, he found his dog fighting with a mountain lion. The mountain lion came in through the doggy door. Jim is an avid outdoorsman and knew how to scare the cat. He grabbed a broom and yelled at the cat as he beat it, and he ran back out through the doggy door. When Dr. Borge was out for a walk the next day, he was walking by his...

It'll be interesting to see if this gets any attention. Right now pro and anti-war forces are battling over the new nonpartisan Government Accountability Office report that leaked yesterday which says that the Iraqi government is falling short of virtually all the benchmarks that have been set for it. Because this new GAO report will be an effective weapon to use against the positive assessment that General Petraeus is likely to deliver next month to Congress, the pro-war forces are eager to discredit it. The White House is claiming that the report is overly negative. The Pentagon wants the GAO...

Double VC for Afghan heroes First officer to receive citation since Falklands by MARK NICOL - More by this author » Last updated at 00:27am on 2nd September 2007  Two British soldiers from the same battalion have been nominated for the Victoria Cross in recognition of their incredible bravery in the face of the enemy.  The citations for Britain's highest gallantry award came after the men were involved in fierce fighting against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The first is Captain David Hicks – who would become the first officer to win the VC since Falklands hero Lieutenant-Colonel Herbert 'H'...

(PEORIA) - Caterpillar Inc. announced Tuesday it will begin making small and medium-sized diesel engines in China, including some from a new manufacturing facility it plans to build there. The company said the engines will be made at facilities in Wuxi in the Jiangsu province, according to a memorandum of understanding reached with the Wuxi National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone. It's part of a multi-year investment to develop and manufacture the engines, which will be sold under the Caterpillar and Perkins brands. "This is about increasing our global capacity to meet customer demand," said spokesman Rusty Dunn. "It's a significant...

I must confess to being disappointed five years ago when my son, Vineet, told me he had no interest in applying to any of the schools I consider elite. He said he would fit in better at a public state university and he didn't believe that choice would lessen his chances of career success. Perhaps it was the bias that my company's venture capitalists showed toward management teams from top-tier colleges that skewed my thinking. Whatever the cause, I have since concluded I shouldn't have been upset in the least. An education from one of the world's top schools may...

India begins talk with Russia for 2nd nuclear submarine Shishir Gupta With just over a year left for India to get its first leased nuclear submarine from Russia, New Delhi last week quietly revived its dialogue with Moscow for a second Akula-class submarine. While India has openly denied any interest in a nuclear submarine, talks on leasing the second submarine figured in a meeting on August 27 between National Security Advisor M K Narayanan and senior Russian officials including First Deputy Prime Minister of Sergei Ivanov, and Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov. According to sources, a decision on the second lease...

One of the more momentous cases in Supreme Court history, Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819), involved an attempt by the state of New Hampshire to wrest control of the privately chartered school from its board of trustees. But a corporate charter like Dartmouth's, the Marshall Court ruled, is the same as a private contract; the state could not simply annex the school. The sanctity of contract has preserved the independence of not a few colleges and universities. But institutions of higher learning now shy from the same oversight their faculties have demanded of the corporate world, and some of the...

To have a conservative candidate as our nominee, we need to rally behind a single candidate and need to do so fast. Mike Huckabee is an articulate defender of conservative values, likeable and electable. When the choice of Presidential Candidates became clear, I wrote that both Rep. Duncan Hunter and Gov. Mike Huckabee are both true conservatives and effective communicators of conservative philosophy. They have common sense, yet compassionate, philosophies and would both make excellent presidents. While Rep. Hunter should be receiving far more publicity than he is, the fact is that, through no fault of his own, he's not....

Susan Moses Created: 5/15/2007 2:59:08 PM Updated:5/16/2007 6:11:13 AM SANIBEL ISLAND, FL -- A Florida retiree battling cancer himself has discovered a possible method of killing cancerous cells with radio waves. If it works, it could be the "Holy Grail" of cancer treatments. His is the great American story. A broadcast engineer, who shrewdly evolves into the owner of several TV and radio stations, sells them for a bundle and retires early to picturesque Sanibel Island. But Easter 2002, began an unexpected chapter in the story of John Kanzius, a year and-a-half after he retired. He was diagnosed with a...

NOTE: this is a repost from a few days ago. I apologize and should have known better than to post her email address. That is why it was pulled ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The campaigns of John Edwards and Barack Obama are in possession of info they could be using to go after Hillary. Last week, I located the home fax of Joe Trippi and sent him info that I thought might be valuable to him for John Edwards. Now that the Norman Hsu story has broken, it would be a perfect time to use it against her. In the Obama camp on...

(Beijing) - For a closer look at China's sizzling economy, walk the marble floors of Beijing's latest luxury mall. From its Japanese-style food court selling $4 chocolate éclairs to its glittering floors of branded international fashion, Shin Kong Place is a palace of conspicuous consumption. The only thing missing, on a sizzling summer afternoon, was customers. Sales staff idled at display racks as a trickle of young visitors looped around the frigid mall. Most were content to window-shop, dreaming of the day when they could afford to drop $100 on a tassled tote bag. "These prices are too expensive. People...

Close window Published online: 30 August 2007; | doi:10.1038/news070827-5 Smoking stays in your genes after you quitCigarette habit may leave a molecular mark.Heidi LedfordGene expression changes brought on by heavy smoking may persist long after the smoker has kicked the habit, researchers have found. The results could provide a molecular explanation for the continued increased risk of lung cancer and other pulmonary ailments among former smokers. When smokers quit, their bodies gradually begin to undo the damage cigarettes have wrought. But contrary to popular belief, not all of the body's systems make a full recovery. Although the risk of...

Tailgating: It's all in the preparationSerious fans set up shop early in Athens as season begins By JENNIFER BRETT The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 09/01/07 Athens — Long before game time, the fields were full of action. Grassy quads throughout the University of Georgia campus started filling up Saturday morning as tailgating season, a cherished Bulldog tradition, began. "Most of this group was here this morning at 9," said Kim Folsom of Sugar Hill, breaking bread with a group of about 50 friends, relatives and co-workers. With relatively mild weather following the recent bout of withering heat, fans turned Athens...

The catchphrase of America's famous cowboy humorist Will Rogers was "Never met a man I didn't like." Judging from the activities at the men's room of the Will Rogers Memorial Park in Beverly Hills, many of the patrons of said facility evidently feel the same way. George Michael, the stubbly boy rocker of the Eighties, was arrested therein for attempting to play footsie with an undercover cop. "Guilty feet have got no rhythm," as George famously observed on his hit song "Careless Whisper." After pleading no contest, he subsequently made a rock video mocking the arresting officer, with George prancing...

Fred Thompson does not want to meet the Butter Princess. Everywhere he turns at this morning's meet-and-greet at the Minnesota State Fair, he is surrounded by hundreds of star-struck onlookers, many of them "Law & Order" fans who line up three-dozen deep for a close-up with the actor who would be president. Thompson, a sometimes reluctant campaigner, is in full movie-star mode, and has his good-ole-boy charm set on high. All the women he meets are "honey" and the men "buddy." Even dressed down in khakis and a blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up, he is hard to miss....

Since September 11 we have asked the question: "What is the real Islam?" The answers from Muslims and Westerners are contradictory and make us confused. There is one way to gain clarity and surety about Islam—our best rational approach is the scientific method. Let us start with the fact that the complete doctrine of Islam is found in three texts: Koran, the Sira (Mohammed’s biography) and Hadith (stories and anecdotes about Mohammed)—the Islamic Trilogy. The Koran is confusing as it is arranged, but it can be made straightforward by scientific analysis. The first step is to put the verses in...

September 2, 2007                             Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Psalm: Sunday 32     Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading 1Sir 3:17-18, 20, 28-29 My child, conduct your affairs with humility,and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts.Humble yourself the more, the greater you are,and you will find favor with God.What is too sublime for you, seek not,into things beyond your strength search not.The mind of a sage appreciates proverbs,and an attentive ear is the joy of the wise.Water quenches a flaming fire,and alms atone for sins. Responsorial PsalmPs 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11...

Military scientists tested mustard gas on Indians · Hundreds of soldiers used in experiments · Illnesses caused by carcinogen not tracked Rob Evans Saturday September 1, 2007 The Guardian British military scientists sent hundreds of Indian soldiers into gas chambers and exposed them to mustard gas, documents uncovered by the Guardian have revealed. The Guardian understands that the British military did not check up on the Indian soldiers after the experiments to see if they developed any illnesses. It is now recognised that mustard gas can cause cancer and other diseases. Many suffered severe burns on their skin, including their...