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UPDATED: After canceling a planned announcement in London, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is now planning to appear via video link Tuesday morning at Wikileak’s tenth anniversary celebration in Berlin. He’s a last-minute addition to the roster of festivities taking place this week in Germany. Wikileaks used its Facebook page to confirm that Assange would speak at the event, which takes place at 3am Eastern time. Sources close to the event tell Heat Street that Assange may be planning to release some new information his organization has obtained about the U.S. Democratic Party. But Heat Street has yet to receive independent...

ISIS gunmen shot dead at least 14 Real Madrid fans at a supporters club in Iraq - because they 'don't like football'. Three terrorists stormed the café hosting the meeting around midnight and opened fire at the fans who had gathered to watch old recordings of the Spanish football club. Armed with AK-47s, they left bodies strewn across floor in the northern Shi'ite Muslim town of Balad. Gruesome pictures from the scene show the floor covered in broken glass and soaked in blood under posters of Real Madrid players and coach Zinedine Zidane. President of the Madrid supporters club, Ziad...

The following post was written by a former research fellow in the lab of Piero Anversa to whom we’ve promised confidentiality. Anversa has previously told us that he cannot comment because of an ongoing investigation. In the early 2000s, his laboratory published a series of papers regarding the regenerative qualities of bone marrow-derived and cardiac-resident “stem cells." Those initial findings, as well as the research conducted since those early studies, have always been surrounded by controversy, as many have been unsuccessful in efforts to replicate their results. The “Hypothesis” was that c-kit (cd117) positive cells in the heart (or bone...

Two referees working at the World Cup have been identified as strong suspects in the fixing of international games, the Mail on Sunday can reveal. Sources say FIFA were informed during the current tournament that there is evidence of alleged past malpractice by at least two officials on duty. FIFA gather intelligence from associations and anti-corruption partners around the world on an ongoing basis. In recent times they have been swifter to act on intelligence than in the past. But it is understood that by the time the latest information filtered up to FIFA’s security hierarchy in Brazil, the two...

The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan confirmed Thursday that three American doctors were killed by an Afghan security guard who opened fire at a Kabul hospital. The shooting at Cure International Hospital in the western part of the Afghan capital was the latest attack on foreign civilians in the city this year. Two others, including an American nurse, were wounded, according to Afghanistan's Health Ministry. "With great sadness we confirm that three Americans were killed in the attack at CURE Hospital," said a statement posted on the Embassy's Twitter page. "No other information will be released at this time." Afghanistan Minister...

The world’s best soccer player, Lionel Messi, arrived at a Barcelona court Friday morning to face allegations of tax fraud that could put him behind bars for six years if he's found guilty. The 26-year-old Argentinian and his father, Jorge, are charged with using foreign companies in Belize and Uruguay to sell his image rights, defrauding the Spanish taxman of 4 million euros ($5.3 million) in the process. The four-time FIFA World Player of the Year, widely known for his mastery of so-called Tiki-Taka tactics, denies the allegations, which date to 2007.

At the president's news conference Tuesday, when a reporter wondered whether setbacks on gun control and the sequester suggested Mr. Obama was having problems pushing his second-term agenda, the president replied, "Well if you put it that way, Jonathan, maybe I should just pack up and go home." Whoa, big fella. The presidency is a big game. We want you suited up and on the floor. That the presidency attracts individuals focused on Number One is no revelation. But it has always been possible that one of them would disappear so far into the ethers of ego that neither he...

The Great Recession is an apt name for America's current stagnation, but the present phase might also be called the Grand Illusion—because the happy talk and statistics that go with it, especially regarding jobs, give a rosier picture than the facts justify. The country isn't really advancing. By comparison with earlier recessions, it is going backward. Despite the most stimulative fiscal policy in American history and a trillion-dollar expansion to the money supply, the economy over the last three years has been declining.

I was thinking about Veteran's Day, where we are as a country, and those who died to protect what we are now squandering away. I started thinking about those who really are the most important people in our society - the ones who make the most difference and whose jobs mater the most. My conclusion - soldiers. The least important and easiest to find - politicians and entertainers. Thought this was an appropriate topic to discuss, given that we are now living under the umbrella of political celebrities, media celebrities, entertainment industry celebrities, etc.

I rarely post vanities, but I wanted to ask Freepers if they thought it would have made any difference to the average Obama voter if he had stated the same policy goals as Romney. My personal opinion is that for most Obama voters, and for much of the democrat base, it would make no difference. For that matter, I don't think they would have liked Romney any better even if he had run on Obama's platform. This is an important issue, because if its all about brand name, and not about actual policy positions, then there is essentially no way...

And then it all changed. At a certain point he lost the room. Books will be written about what happened, but early on the president made two terrible legislative decisions. The stimulus bill was a political disaster, and it wasn't the cost, it was the content. We were in crisis, losing jobs. People would have accepted high spending if it looked promising. But the stimulus was the same old same old, pure pork aimed at reliable constituencies. It would course through the economy with little effect. And it would not receive a single Republican vote in the House (three in...

...There were wistful notes from the Republicans who'd helped run previous campaigns, most of whom could be characterized as serious, moderate conservatives, all of whom want to see Mr. Romney win because they believe, honestly, that the president has harmed the country financially and in terms of its position in the world. They're certain it will only get worse in the next four years, but they're in despair at the Romney campaign. Some, unbidden, brought up the name James A. Baker III, who ran Ronald Reagan's campaign in 1984 (megalandslide—those were the days) and George H.W. Bush's in 1988 (landslide.)...

People in politics talk about the right track/wrong track numbers as an indicator of public mood. This week Gallup had a poll showing only 24% of Americans feel we're on the right track as a nation. That's a historic low. Political professionals tend, understandably, to think it's all about the economy—unemployment, foreclosures, we're going in the wrong direction. I've long thought that public dissatisfaction is about more than the economy, that it's also about our culture, or rather the flat, brute, highly sexualized thing we call our culture...

DETROIT -- General Motors Co. on Monday reported a $1.15 billion loss on an unaudited basis for the period from July 10 to Sept. 30, providing the first evidence of the auto maker's improvement since emerging from bankruptcy protection.

In a stark reminder of how some battered financial firms remain dependent on government lifelines, GMAC Financial Services Inc. and the Treasury Department are in advanced talks to prop up the lender with its third helping of taxpayer money, people familiar with the matter said.

DETROIT -- Chrysler LLC will likely get a new chief executive and board of directors appointed by Italy's Fiat SpA and the U. S. government, if Chrysler and Fiat follow through on their plans to form an alliance, Chrysler's current CEO told employees in a letter. Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Bob Nardelli said a new board of directors will be appointed by the federal government and Fiat once a deal is completed. The majority of the directors will be independent. "Upon successful completion of the alliance, a board of directors for Chrysler will be appointed by the U.S. government and...

What would you do if you had the bully pulpit? What policies would you promote. What are the best ways to preserve the US and make the world a better place for our children? This is obviously a vanity, but there is a wide range of opinion represented here and clearly not enough vision is coming out of our elected government. What would you do?

On Appeasing Envy By Henry Hazlitt Any attempt to equalize wealth or income by forced redistribution must only tend to destroy wealth and income. Historically the best the would-be equalizers have ever succeeded in doing is to equalize downward. This has even been caustically described as their intention. "Your levellers," said Samuel Johnson in the mid-eighteenth century, "wish to level down as far as themselves; but they cannot bear levelling up to themselves." And in our own day we find even an eminent liberal like the late Mr. Justice Holmes writing: "I have no respect for the passion for equality,...

This is a curiosity-based vanity. My impression is that the average FReeper works very hard. Probably the most common reason people deprive themselves of sleep is to get work done. I've heard some amazing stories of how little sleep soldiers have gotten in the midst of combat. What's your story? Incidentally, the longest I've ever gone without sleep was about 85 hours, with the help of a ton of coffee, Diet Coke, and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.