Free Republic

The fourth of the 12 Caesars, Caligula — officially, Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus — was a capricious, combustible first-century populist remembered, perhaps unfairly, as the empire’s most tyrannical ruler. As reported by Suetonius, the Michael Wolff of ancient Rome, he never forgot a slight, slept only a few hours a night and married several times, lastly to a woman named Milonia. During the four years that Caligula occupied the Roman throne, his favorite hideaway was an imperial pleasure garden called Horti Lamiani, the [fake news edited out] of its day. The vast residential compound spread out on the Esquiline Hill,...

Many Arabs also strongly condemned Egypt and Jordan for agreeing to help in extinguishing the blaze, according to Arab media outlets. Many in the Arab world seem to be happy with the big fire that has been raging in northern Israel over the past few days. Judging from comments on the blaze from readers in several leading Arab media outlets and websites, a majority believe that God is “punishing” Israel for occupying Arab lands and killing Palestinians, especially during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip. Many Arabs also strongly condemned Egypt and Jordan for agreeing to help in extinguishing...

WASHINGTON, May 29 — Hoping to win a Congressional majority in November, some optimistic Democratic lawmakers have taken to referring to Representative Nancy Pelosi as "speaker," as in speaker of the House. So have some optimistic Republicans. --snip-- Ms. Pelosi, the California Democrat and House minority leader, lends herself to easy caricature by Republicans. She is an unapologetic liberal, with a voting record to match (the Republican National Committee chairman, Ken Mehlman, said she was neither a "New Democrat" nor an "Old Democrat" but a "prehistoric Democrat"). She is wealthy (married to an investment banker, she has assets listed at...

The pond on Denny Heasley's property doesn't get nearly as fogged in as San Francisco Bay - not that the span he's building needs to be nestled in fog to bear a striking resemblance to the famed Golden Gate Bridge. The 100-foot-long 17-foot-high replica is painted bright orange - "exactly the same color" as the Golden Gate, Heasley said proudly. A retired excavator, Heasley is getting used to greeting inquisitive passers-by. He estimates that 10 to 12 people drop by on weekends and ask about it. "A lot of people stop and want to know if they can walk on...

Stone warrior delights experts By Paul Rincon BBC News Online science staff The style of the armour is unusual for this area of France Archaeologists are delighted by a 2,500-year-old stone statue that offers a rare insight into life in western Europe before the Roman conquest. The stone torso, unearthed at Lattes in southern France, is one of just a few detailed figurines considered to have been made by the ancient Celts. The statue of a male warrior wears a style of armour worn in Spain and Italy and was life-size when it was complete. The "Warrior of Lattes" is...