Free Republic

Prosecutors appeal ruling to free Georges Ibrahim Abdallah serving life sentence for 1982 killing of US military attaché Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov PARIS — A French court on Friday ordered the release of pro-Palestinian Lebanese terrorist Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, jailed for 40 years for the 1982 killings of two foreign diplomats, prosecutors said. The court said Abdallah, first detained in 1984 and convicted in 1987 over the murders, would be released on December 6 provided he leaves France, French anti-terror prosecutors said in a statement to AFP, adding that they would appeal. “In (a) decision dated...

Author Gregory Galloway and Jim Fishman will discuss crime fiction of the 30s and 40s, as well as Galloway’s newly published noir crime novel, “Just Thieves” at 5 p.m. Feb. 12 on Zoom, in a program offered by the Cornwall Library. According to Galloway, “Just Thieves” centers around two recovering addicts who view themselves as “thieves for hire”, robbing houses to take specific objects for a mysterious boss. The specificity of the stolen items ultimately suggests that humans are at the mercy of our desire for ownership. Employing a classic noir theme, Galloway has the protagonists take to heart the...

What is often in shredded cheese besides cheese? Powdered cellulose: minuscule pieces of wood pulp or other plant fibers that coat the cheese and keep it from clumping by blocking out moisture. One of an array of factory-made additives, cellulose is increasingly used by the processed-food industry, producers say. Food-product makers use it to thicken or stabilize foods, replace fat and boost fiber content, and cut the need for ingredients like oil or flour, which are getting more expensive. Cellulose products, gums and fibers allow food manufactures to offer white bread with high dietary fiber content, lowfat ice cream that...

AUSTIN, Texas, July 17 (UPI) -- A Texas company has reportedly started freezing stem cells taken from baby teeth pulp tissue in hopes the cells might some day lead to disease treatments. BioEden Inc., which opened for business last week, told the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman, it's betting the science eventually will catch up with its aspirations. "We are absolutely confident this will work," Jeff Johnson, president of Austin's BioEden, told the newspaper. "All indications are this is a wonderful source of stem cells." The company said it expects baby teeth stem cells might eventually be used for bone, teeth nerve...

Ed Hudgins, Washington director of The Objectivist Center, recently acquired an unusual item: a rare copy of the June 1953 issue of Famous Fantastic Mysteries, a graphic novel that featured a reprint of Ayn Rand’s novelette Anthem. With Ed’s permission, we’re happy to reproduce here the (somewhat lurid!) cover page of this rare graphic novel.