Free Republic

While most war crimes committed by Serb forces during the Balkan wars are being investigated and made public knowledge, the role played by Russian mercenaries kontraktniki [contract soldiers] deserves more attention. Many Russian citizens voluntarily fought in the Balkans for the government of Serbian President Slobodan Miloševiæ, committing a range of crimes along the way including mass murder, assault and battery, rape, robbery, and theft. Most, if not all, of these Russian kontraktniki war criminals have gone unidentified by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague – hence, so far, unpunished. As the Miloševiæ trial...

The Cosmic Horseshoe is a monster within a monster. Image Credit: NASA/ESA/STScI If size doesn’t matter, then explain this: The Cosmic Horseshoe is a gravitationally lensed system with the foreground galaxy being one of the heaviest in the known universe, hundreds of times our own galaxy. It is so heavy that it warps space-time to such a degree that the light of a background galaxy is distorted into a horseshoe. Inside that galaxy sits an equally impressive supermassive black hole. According to the latest study, this could be the biggest ever found. There have been several claims in the last...

Game Data:Penn State at Ohio State * Date, Time: Sat., Oct. 30; noon (Eastern)* Location: Ohio Stadium* TV: ABC; Announcers: Brent Musberger, Gary Danielson, Jack Arute.

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. is expected to sell Binion's Horseshoe hotel-casino in downtown Las Vegas to another interested casino operator and retain the rights to the Horseshoe brand for use elsewhere in Las Vegas, experts say. On Monday Harrah's reached a preliminary agreement to buy the Horseshoe from owner Becky Behnen. The agreement is subject to the execution of a definitive written agreement and approval from Nevada regulators and others. In addition to owning the famed Horseshoe brand, Harrah's said it also would retain the popular World Series of Poker tournament that draws hundreds of poker fans to the property every...