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Bird influenza viruses have a variety of strategies to cross the species barrier and spreadThe 2009 H1N1 influenza virus used a new strategy to cross from birds into humans, a warning that it has more than one trick up its sleeve to jump the species barrier and become virulent. In a report in this week's early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, researchers show that the H1N1, or swine flu, virus adopted a new mutation in one of its genes distinct from the mutations found in previous flu viruses, including...

Since Angelina Jolie adopted her daughter Zahara in 2005, the number of Americans adopting Ethiopian children has quadrupled. A pop-media obsession with celebrities adopting children in Africa has resulted in a queue of adopting foreigners dealing with opportunistic adoption agents in operating in a regulatory vaccuum. In Ethiopia - and beyond - its creating a heartbreaking mess.

The evidence would indicate young Barack Hussein Obama was adopted by Indonesian citizen Lolo Soetoro after Soetoro and Obama's mother were married. The most convincing evidence is the Hawaii divorce papers filed in 1980 as Stanley Ann Soetoro vs. Lolo Soetoro. This document lists the couple as having two children. One is under the age of eighteen. That would be Maya Soetoro who was born in 1970. The other child is listed as over eighteen and in need of educational support. That would be Barry Soeroto (Barack Hussein Obama.) There are no other know children related to this marriage.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2008 – Support by the boxful from a New York home-front group is keeping servicemembers’ spirits high as they serve overseas. “Being so far away from home, we want our daughter, son-in-law, and the 450 soldiers in their unit and other units to know that we love them, and think about them every day,” said Sylvester Henry, president of Adopt A Unit US. “Our objective is to provide the (servicemembers) with an abundance of support and comfort in order to encourage strength and optimism (while) bringing them as close to home as possible.” Helping servicemembers feel...

A curious cat narrowly escaped death after getting trapped behind a bathroom cupboard for 44 days. Pensioner Jessie Sculpher, 79, was devastated when her new pet Tabitha went missing just three days after she took her home from the RSPCA. After searching her home and garden, Jessie resigned herself to the idea that Tabitha had run away. It was only when Jessie heard a strange sound coming from behind the vanity unit in the bathroom over a month later, was she finally reunited with her feline friend. Jessie recalled: "It was 4am and I heard some scratching and knocking coming...

This is my first vanity post. I just had to share this: We're thinking of calling her Mariah because she came in on the wind. LOL We've had her for about an hour now ... Neighbors found her in their backyard beneath the trampoline in the weeds and stickers and all filthy and starved with one eye all half closed with dirt and her nose all filled with dirt. We cleaned her up, fed her warm milk from an eye dropper and made her a crib in the nursery where they all begin their lives in Wonderland. LOL She's adorable...

Motherless Squirrels' Nest Found On Downed Tree Limb LAKE CITY, Fla. -- At first glance, the scene appears normal: a Chihuahua mother appearing to cuddle with her pups as they nurse. A closer look at the days-old babies reveals they aren't canines, but four tiny squirrels, reported WJXT-TV in Jacksonville. A Columbia County family said its dog's maternal instinct kicked in when 10-year-old Mimi laid eyes on the baby squirrels. Mimi took the motherless squirrels in as if they were her own, making for one mix-and-match family. Their eyes are still closed, but their tails are a dead giveaway that...

BRENTWOOD, Tenn., Nov. 11, 2006 ? Six cities delivered a simple message to about 750 of their extended family members here yesterday: ?Welcome Home 1/327th Infantry Regiment.? Residents of Brentwood, Ashland City, Franklin and Winchester, Tenn., were joined by representatives of San Mateo and Burlingame, Calif., to welcome home the 101st Airborne Division?s 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment based at Fort Campbell, Ky. That warm welcome came in the form of a parade down streets lined with cheering residents, but had little to do with the unseasonably warm temperatures, Brentwood Police Chief Ricky Watson said. ?I was in (the...

Vatican has adopted a tougher line with Islam By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent (Filed: 18/09/2006) At first sight, there may seem to be little divergence between Pope Benedict XVI's approach to Islam and that of his predecessor. The present Pope, a scholar who has made an extensive study of the faith, is clearly keen to promote understanding between Christians and Muslims and has many personal contacts. At his inaugural Mass as Pope in April last year, he made a point of welcoming Muslim leaders. In reality, however, Benedict XVI has adopted a far more cautious approach than the late John...

Earlier this week I wrote that the White House was both stupid and arrogant. This week President Bush spoke to the nation on the immigration problem and promptly proved that I was right. There can be no doubt that the overwhelming majority of Americans—Republican or Democrat—are vehemently opposed to giving illegal immigrants a pass and allowing them to become citizens as a reward for breaking the law by violating our borders. Ignoring what a majority of Americans demand is just plain arrogant. They also oppose the kind of guest-worker program the president backs because they know it would be simple...

5/9/2006 - BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AFPN) -- Olga finished school 70 years ago. After graduating, she became a teacher of Russian, German and finally mathematics for more than 30 years. She has so much to share about that time, but today, she has fewer and fewer people to hear her stories. Brothers and sisters, husbands and children have passed or moved too far away to visit. That’s why lunch with the American Airmen is such a treat, said Tech. Sgt. Victoria Querido. On May 4, Sergeant Querido led her final luncheon trip of the rotation, with a dozen Airmen from the...

Jeremiah Clayton Jones discovered that his former fiancée was pregnant just three weeks before the baby was due, when an adoption-agency lawyer called and asked if he would consent to have his baby adopted. "I said absolutely not," said Mr. Jones, a 23-year-old Arizona man who met his ex-fiancée at Pensacola Christian College in Florida. "It was an awkward moment, hearing for the first time that I would be a father, and then right away being told, 'We want to take your kid away.' But I knew that if I was having a baby, I wanted that baby." Mr. Jones...

San Diego -- The University of California, under fire for its pay practices, gave final approval Thursday to two proposals to overhaul the way it hands out compensation and doled out a new round of increases for managers. The university Board of Regents unanimously approved a plan that gives UC President Robert Dynes discretion to increase hundreds of executives' pay within large salary bands, ... --snip-- The regents also endorsed a plan to ban administrators from negotiating severance agreements worth more than $100,000 without the regents' approval. The board acted one month after The Chronicle reported that UC had secretly...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Republican Party Platform. Adopted at St. Louis, June 16, 1896. The Republicans of the United States, assembled by their representatives in National Convention, appealing for the popular and historical justification of their claims to the matchless achievements of thirty years of Republican rule, earnestly and confidently address themselves to the awakened intelligence, experience, and conscience of their countrymen in the following declaration of facts and principles: For the first time since the Civil War the American people have witnessed the calamitous consequences of full and unrestricted Democratic control of the Government. It has been a record of unparalleled incapacity,...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's landmark constitution was adopted by a majority of voters during the country's Oct. 15 referendum, as Sunni Arab opponents failed to muster enough support to defeat it, election officials said Tuesday. Results released by the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq showed that Sunni Arabs, who had sharply opposed the draft document, failed to produce the two-thirds "no" vote they would have needed in at least three of Iraq's 18 provinces to defeat it. Nationwide, 78.59 percent voted for the charter while 21.41 percent voted against, the commission said. The charter required a simple majority nationwide with...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

March 16, 2004 RE: Press Release The Family Readiness Group for the 333rd Military Police Unit in conjunction with the City of Freeport and the surrounding Communities are proud to Present the Chairs for the Welcome Home Fund: Cal Wescott-fundraising, Nickee Bender-Party, and Duane Wenzel-Escort/Parade home. The fundraising Chair and the committee are designed to raise funds to give the soldiers a great welcome home, celebrate with their families, and the community. The party Chair and committee are designed to create a celebration for the soldiers with their family, and the community The Escort Chair and the committee are designed...

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration adopted a new plan and guidelines today for replacing swamps and bogs that have been filled or drained to make way for highway, housing or other projects.</p> <p>Administration officials said their approach, based on input from six agencies, will not diminish the role of wetlands in providing habitat to wildlife, flood control and water quality.</p>

Abandoned baby 'adopted by chimps' April 15 2002 AFP A disabled Nigerian boy believed to have been adopted and raised by chimpanzees for 18 months is in care in a specialist children's home in this northern city. Named Bello by nursing staff at the Tudun Maliki Torrey home in Kano, he was brought to them six years ago by hunters after being found with a chimpanzee family in the Falgore forest, 150 kilometres south of Kano, according to staff. Believed to have been aged around two years when he was taken in, Bello is probably the son of nomadic ethnic...