Free Republic

Maryland State Police have a strange case to solve: A man walked into a Frederick County 7-11 Wednesday morning and tried to rob it. His weapon of choice? A banana. The 7-11 on Fingerboard Road in Monrovia has been robbed before, but never like this. At 12:45 a.m., a masked man walked up to the counter and grabbed--a banana. He aimed it at the clerk and demanded cash. "What's he think he's going to do with a banana?! Ain't much you can do with a banana! Throw the peel down and hope he slips on it," said resident Michael Benton....

A jury in a lawsuit against Dole Fresh Fruit Co. on Thursday awarded $2.5 million in punitive damages to five workers who said they were made sterile by use of a pesticide used on Nicaraguan banana plantations in the 1970s. Last week, the Superior Court jury awarded $3.3 million in actual damages to six workers. The jury's finding that Dole acted maliciously in harming five of the six allowed punitive damages to be considered for the five. The punitive damages total was to be split evenly among the five workers. Twelve workers originally filed suit, but the jury determined that...

If you're wondering who's largely to blame for the alleged heating up of the climate you need look no further than Jane Fonda. That's what "Freakanomics" columnists Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt suggest in Sunday's New York Times Magazine. "If you were asked to name the biggest global warming villains of the past 30 years, here's one name that probably wouldn't spring to mind: Jane Fonda. But should it?" the authors ask. According to Editor & Publisher, the two cite Fonda's anti-nuclear thriller "The China Syndrome," which opened just 12 days before the Three Mile Island accident in...

Start of banana farming in Africa pushed back 2000 years According to recent evidence from Uganda, the banana may have arrived on the African continent more than 4000 years ago, some 2000 years before the accepted introduction of the fruit on the continent. The finding was published in the January 2006 issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science (Vol. 33(1):102-113). The authors base their claim on banana phytoliths - distinctive microscopic silica bodies that accumulate in plant cells - which they found in sedimentary layers estimated to be 4000-4500 years old. Earlier findings in Cameroon of 2500 year-old banana phytoliths...

Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., has a new ally in his effort to torpedo an environmentally friendly "wind farm” off the coast from the Kennedy compound in Hyannis – the Pentagon. The Defense Department has begun a study to find out if wind turbine projects designed to produce energy could interfere with military radar – even though wind farms are already operating in military radar areas. The study is threatening not only the Cape Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts, but other wind farm projects around the country as well. The study was inserted in the 2006 Defense Authorization Act...

The CHEEBA Club's celebration of marijuana is 'part entertainment (free food and dodge ball), but it's also about social justice.' So, like, check this out. These dudes at Macalester College are throwing this righteous party Thursday. They're calling it CHEEBAdanza — "the Twin Cities premier marijuana festival." Says so right on the green flier. This isn't one of those mediocre pot fests — it's A-grade all the way. Excellent. First of all, OK, you have the date, right? Thursday, April 20. That's 4/20. And you know the party starts at 4:20 p.m. That's the legendary tokin' hour, my friends. So...

Cultured Containers has developed the BananaBunker® to protect this delicate fruit from bruising when placed in your backpack, nap sack, soft carrying case, or briefcase. The container also protects your backpack’s valuable contents, such as CD players, textbooks, binders, and business documents. Whether you are on a hiking trip, day trip, athletic event, between classes, or at a board meeting, the BananaBunker® will keep your fruit safe until you are ready to snack. Go ahead, eat healthy!

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla., Oct. 18, 2005 – Albert Davis of Largo, Fla., may have retired from the U.S. Navy in 1973, but he's still serving his country and doing all that he can for the military. For the last 15 years, he and his wife Barbara have been diligently baking loaves of banana bread for American troops serving around the world. How many? Seven an hour, 94 per day, every day --- so many that on Oct. 14 the couple presented Army Gen. John Abizaid, commander of U.S. Central Command, with their 75,000th loaf during a ceremony here....

Looking back at a close election won, lost or stolen by an unlikely candidate one must guard against over rationalizing. On occasions like this pundits who never told us so tend to speak as if they could have, or nearly did tell us so. The neurotic pundit in us wants to do the same thing. The results of the recent elections in Iran, all economic explanations and political conspiracy theories notwithstanding, could easily have been different. If Karrubi’s stunt of $60 checks raining from heavens had been slightly more successful or if Rafsanjaani had pulled out in favor of Karrubi...

Hiking along a ridge trail at Point Reyes National Seashore, Peter Douglas can see the shadow of his past and a glint of the future. The deep-green landscape of conifer trees and chaparral is where he built his first home, raised two sons and spread his grandmother's ashes. He helped establish this place as a national park and a personal reminder of why he perseveres as a leading advocate for California's 1,100-mile coastline. A political Houdini, Douglas has spent a lifetime sparring with developers, local government and even fellow environmentalists over his vision of coastal protection. This year marks his...

GREENWICH, Conn. - A former Stamford police officer has been charged with lewd conduct involving a toy banana. Arthur Bertana, 62, who had been on probation for lewd conduct more than four years ago, was arrested Saturday after police said he placed a toy banana in his pants and flashed people. Bertana was charged with breach of peace and interfering with a police officer

Ancient vessel retraces voyages of the past By Stefanos Evripidou IT LOOKS like a tree house stuck on a bamboo banana. In reality it's the incarnation of a pre-Pharaonic reed boat, designed and built to unravel the mysteries of prehistoric navigation. The Abora II drifted in to Larnaca marina yesterday. Weighing in at six- tonnes, the vessel is a totra-reed boat. It is 11.5 metres long, 3.5 metres wide and 1.5 metres deep. The man responsible for building the huge boat is Dominique Goerlitz, a biology teacher at a school in Germany. As a student, Goerlitz was fascinated by the...

This Clown is a super flambouantly gay character who performs at Boston's Faneuil Hall. Do not shake hands with either of these two "men"

prepare to die laughing. Flash movie depicting liberals as bananas sung to the one bananas two banana song... Priceless. Just for the Hillary head alone.

Philadelphia, Pa. - The next time you order a banana split or sip on a banana daiquiri by the poolside, make sure you savor the sweet taste of the popular yellow fruit, because it may go the path of the mighty dinosaurs - extinction. That's right, the crescent-shaped fruit, which is one of the largest agricultural products in the world, is in for the fight of its life against a plague of pests and diseases. The banana's biggest foe is Black Sigatoka, a fungal disease that affects the fruit's all-important leaf area, causing premature ripening and reducing the productive life...

Date: Posted 8/13/2002 Will A Banana A Day Keep A Stroke Away? Low Potassium Intake May Increase Stroke Risk St. Paul, MN – People with a low amount of potassium in their diet may have an increased risk of stroke, according to a study published in the August 13 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The observational study involved 5,600 men and women over age 65 who were free of stroke when they started the study. The participants were followed for four to eight years to record the number and type of strokes that...