Free Republic

Plans to use surface-to-air missiles to protect the skies over London during the Olympics could be thwarted – because they will disturb the habitat of a rare wild flower.

For centuries, almost all carrots were yellow, white or purple. But in the 17th century, most of those crunchy vegetables turned orange. Why? It may have to do with Dutch politics. Next Nature explains: In the 17th century, Dutch growers cultivated orange carrots as a tribute to William of Orange – who led the the struggle for Dutch independence – and the color stuck. A thousand years of yellow, white and purple carrot history was wiped out in a generation.Although some scholars doubt if orange carrots even existed prior to the 16th century....

NEW YORK — Baby carrot farmers are launching a campaign that pitches the little, orange, crunchy snacks as daring, fun and naughty — just like junk food. A group of 50 producers hopes the 'Eat 'Em Like Junk Food' effort starting next week will double the $1 billion market in two or three years. The goal is to get people to think of baby carrots as a brand they can get excited about — not just a plain, old vegetable. A website, http://www.babycarrots.com, features metal music and deep male voices chanting "Baby. Carrots. Extreme." On social networking site Twitter, the...

Growing crops that dangle upside down from homemade or commercially available planters is growing more popular, and its adherents swear they’ll never come back down to earth. ----snip--- The advantages of upside-down gardening are many: it saves space; there is no need for stakes or cages; it foils pests and fungus; there are fewer, if any, weeds; there is efficient delivery of water and nutrients thanks to gravity; and it allows for greater air circulation and sunlight exposure. While there are skeptics, proponents say the proof is in the produce. Tomato and jalapeño seedlings sprout from upside-down planters fashioned out...

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that it could take months for new UN sanctions against Iran to be implemented. The statement comes in contrast to previous ones...

Disfigured fruits and vegetables could be allowed in stores after most European Union members voted to loosen restrictions on produce, officials say. Misshapen bananas and cucumbers could be in stores by next year if reforms on produce rules are carried out, The Telegraph reported Thursday. The Telegraph said produce standards are so strict, many edible foods are discarded by farmers. European agriculture commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said she thinks some regulations should also be thrown out for onions, garlic, cauliflower and spinach. In this era of high prices and growing demand, it makes no sense to throw (misshapen fruit and...

Is Bush Beginning to Resemble Clinton? When he was first sworn in on Jan. 20, 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush would never have imagined that he would eventually resemble his predecessor, former President Bill Clinton. The press suggested that soon after his inauguration, Bush did everything according to an ABC policy -- "Anything But Clinton." But with about a year remaining before his term ends, Bush is now implementing policies that don't follow the ABC plan. On the contrary, he is beginning to seem reminiscent of Clinton. A good example is the Middle East peace conference at the U.S....

By Elan Journo web posted October 29, 2007 Thanks to a new diplomatic deal, the nuclear stand-off with North Korea will allegedly end bloodlessly. In exchange for 950,000 tons of fuel oil, or its equivalent in economic aid and diplomatic concessions from the West, North Korea has promised to disclose all of its nuclear programs and disable all of its nuclear facilities. This new arrangement is being celebrated as a levelheaded, practical, win-win solution to the problem of the North Korean nuclear threat. But this deal, like all previous ones, rewards the North for its aggression and will strengthen...

For students living on ramen noodles or people in low-wage, time-consuming jobs, folks who are down on their luck or living on fixed incomes, healthy eating may seem too expensive. Nutritionists say, however, that's a false perception. Healthy eating, in fact, is cheaper. The cost of expensive eating often isn't the food, it's the bells and whistles of trendy packaging. "You pay for convenience," says Amy Moore, a dietitian at St. Louis University. "What it takes is planning and sometimes a little investment." That means eating more fresh food from low-cost stores and farmers markets, watching store sales and using...

Khamenei rejects 'carrots and sticks' nuclear deal (Filed: 16/06/2006) The supreme leader of Iran yesterday gave the sternest rejection to date of the international package of incentives designed to coax Teheran into abandoning its nuclear ambitions. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said: "The Islamic Republic of Iran will not bend to these pressures." He was referring to the diplomatic "carrots and sticks" agreed earlier this month by America, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia. These included an offer of help with a civilian nuclear programme and the threat of travel bans for senior Iranians. His comments came as Washington used a meeting...

Eating carrots, which are rich in the nutrient beta carotene, as well as foods containing the antioxidant vitamins C and E and zinc, results in a significantly reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration in elderly people, a new Dutch study has found. Currently, age-related macular degeneration affects 11.5 percent of white people over the age of 80. The number of people severely disabled by late-stage AMD in the United States is expected to increase by more than 50 percent, to 3 million, in the next 20 years. Previous studies evaluating antioxidants had shown conflicting results, with one major study showing...

My Years Lost In Space were unbearable.. I used to be a vegetarian until I met this weird carrot man, since this I was scared into being a carnivore.

WAL-MART ANNOUNCES PLANS TO PROTECT GAY EMPLOYEES; Has expanded its antidiscrimination policy... DEVELOPING...

The bombs are blowing all over -- at the time of writing, five hits still recent in Israel, four in Saudi Arabia, five in Casablanca, one in Ankara -- and an indeterminately large number in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq. These last our media persist in describing as "looting and disorder," as if the seemingly random rapes, murders and property destruction in neighbourhoods that never had crime problems before were a spontaneous expression of joie de vivre. They're not, and according to the more respectable sources both Iraqi and U.S., the co-operative Baathist-Islamist underground are the authors of nearly all...

Anatomically incorrect carrot (one with a female body part) going for $69 million dollars on Ebay...

Group Capt John ‘Cat’s Eyes’ Cunningham, who has died aged 84, was a night fighter ace and later a consummate test pilot whose name guaranteed the reputation of British aviation.After destroying at least 20 enemy aircraft, Cunningham piloted the maiden flight of the Comet, which became the world’s first passenger jet airliner.When the plane was involved in a series of dramatic crashes, Cunningham took a model off the production line, and tested it to the point of destruction. He then ushered its amended successors into both airline and Service use.The RAF’s continuing employment of Nimrod, the Comet’s maritime reconnaissance derivative,...

Carrots Modified to Contain Hepatitis B VaccineFri May 10, 5:35 PM ETBy Hannah CleaverBERLIN (Reuters Health) - German scientists have grown genetically modified carrots that contain the vaccine against hepatitis B, which they say could dramatically cut the costs of preventing the disease. Development has reached the stage where the carrots are ready to begin pre-clinical trials and researchers say that carrot-sourced vaccines could be a reality within about 3 years. The current vaccine against hepatitis B is expensive to produce and is administered via three injections, which further increases costs and strains health services. But now plant specialists and...