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Since sexual harassment can be in the eye of the beholder, the only evidence that meets civil standards of proof, argues a university complaints investigator, can fairly decide what happened. https://academicmatters.ca/2011/10/false-allegations-of-sexual-harassment-misunderstandings-and-realities/

CHICAGO — At a high school near his own neighborhood here, President Obama on Friday will provide new details about an initiative to select 20 communities nationwide as laboratories for better coordination of federal, local, nonprofit and private-sector investments to revitalize long-distressed areas, according to administration officials. Mr. Obama had announced his proposal to designate the so-called Promise Zones during his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, but did not provide many details. As part of the effort,

Back in February, a leaked memo from the Department of the Interior showed that the Obama administration was considering designating as many as 17 new national monuments throughout the West, effectively closing off huge swaths of land to development. That this was being done without the input of Congress or local authorities angered many. Now Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus and Ranking Member on the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands has uncovered 14 more pages from the document that were previously unavailable. The new pages show a federal bureaucracy...

BLITAR, Indonesia - Hiding out in the dense, humid jungle, Markus Talam watched Indonesian soldiers herd manacled prisoners from trucks, line them up and mow them down with round after round of automatic weapons fire. It was 1968, and the killings were part of a final offensive by forces under Gen. Suharto to wipe out the communist party and secure his position as leader of Indonesia, now the world's most populous Muslim nation. "They gunned them down and dumped their bodies in a mass grave dug by other prisoners. I remember the sound of the guns clearly: tat-tat, tat-tat, tat-tat...

Atrocities against civilians and prisoners by Army soldiers during the Vietnam War were more common than originally disclosed to the public, according to a Los Angeles Times review of recently unsealed government files. Some 9,000 pages of archives - the largest collection of documented war crimes in Vietnam - include sworn witness testimony, investigative files and status reports for top military brass that detail 320 wartime atrocities substantiated by the Army. Still, few soldiers were held accountable for the war crimes, according to the newspaper. The abuse was not restricted to one rogue Army division, but was committed by every...

WASHINGTON - Wanted: Face time with President Bush or top adviser Karl Rove. Suggested donation: $100,000. The middleman: lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Blunt e-mails that connect money and access in Washington show that prominent Republican activist Grover Norquist facilitated some administration contacts for Abramoff's clients while the lobbyist simultaneously solicited those clients for large donations to Norquist's tax-exempt group. Those who were solicited or landed administration introductions included foreign figures and American Indian tribes, according to e-mails gathered by Senate investigators and federal prosecutors or obtained independently by The Associated Press. "Can the tribes contribute $100,000 for the effort to bring...

WASHINGTON, April 1, 2006 – A Multinational Division Baghdad helicopter went down at about 5:30 p.m. today southwest of Baghdad, and military officials also reported the results of recent operations in Iraq. Aside from saying the helicopter was conducting a combat air patrol and the crew's status isn't known, officials provided no further details. Additional information on the helicopter and the fate of its crew is being withheld pending investigation and notification of next of kin, according to a Multinational Force Iraq news release. In other news, coalition forces captured three terrorism suspects and killed three others today in...

Atmospheric 'sprites' captured in explosive detail 18:28 16 February 2006 NewScientist.com news service Kimm Groshong Sprites are rare and fleeting events, lasting between just 10 and 100 milliseconds (Image: Steven A Cummer, Duke University) Mysterious flashes of light called “sprites", that occur above thunderclouds during powerful storms, have been captured on film in unprecedented detail by researchers using an ultra-high-speed camera. The best images yet of the flashes – which resemble a giant undulating jellyfish with its tentacles falling from a halo of light – have allowed the team to pick apart their structure and mechanics. Sprites are fleeting events,...

WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wrote at least four letters helpful to Indian tribes represented by Jack Abramoff, and the senator's staff regularly had contact with the disgraced lobbyist's partners about legislation affecting other clients. The activities — detailed in billing records and correspondence obtained by Associated Press — are more extensive than previously disclosed. They occurred over three years as Reid collected about $68,000 in donations from Abramoff's firm, lobbying partners and clients. Reid's office acknowledged last week having "routine contacts" with Abramoff's lobbying partners and intervening on some government matters, such as blocking some tribal...

Gilbert Stuart's portrait of Thomas Jefferson.

Neolithic agricultural community’s daily life shown in amazing detail in dig at ancient site Well-preserved settlement in Kastoria, northern Greece, dating 7,500 years ago illuminates the characteristics of rural life of the times Remains of buildings (trenches for foundations, poles, wall coating, floorings) in the western section of the excavation. By Iota Sykka - Kathimerini The finds at Avgi in Kastoria are far from common. At a site of 3.5 hectares near the Aghia Triada municipality, a 7,500-year-old rural community has been unearthed. Rare miniature vessels the size of a ring, nine fine impressive stamps, 20 human and animal-shaped idols,...

Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata on Wednesday said he has refused to describe his past work as a private political consultant that is part of an FBI probe because the details are not "particularly interesting." Speaking at a luncheon sponsored by the Sacramento Press Club, the Oakland Democrat also said he believes an FBI investigation into his family and political friends has no merit and was spawned by political enemies as he successfully ran for the top Senate job last year. "I believe this whole thing was inspired by a very poorly written opposition report attacking me and my...

CHICAGO (AP) - Prosecutors unveiled their sweeping racketeering case against former Gov. George Ryan on Tuesday, saying he got free Caribbean vacations, cash for family members' businesses and a host of other perks through ties to corrupt state landlords and lobbyists. The government's preview of the evidence they plan to present at Ryan's trial portrays the former governor as intimately involved in even minor details of alleged corruption, from doling out coveted low-digit license plates to holding luncheons for state employees who raised money for his campaign fund. The document is something prosecutors often file in conspiracy cases and most...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

LANDSTUHL, Germany - Fallujah's masked fighters have been fighting house to house, firing from rooftops and mosques with a seemingly unending supply of firepower, wounded U.S. servicemen said Monday, recounting tough urban combat in the Iraqi insurgent stronghold. "They were ready to fight to the death," Lance Cpl. Travis Schafer, a rifleman with a Marine battalion, told a news conference at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, where he was being treated for a shrapnel wound in his right hand. A rocket-propelled grenade had exploded 15 yards to his right in a deserted marketplace. "It's house-to-house fighting," he said. "Rooftop-to-rooftop." About 70...