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Jarrette Schule was cutting down trees on his rural property Tuesday in Comal County when he noticed a green metallic tube on the muddy ground. “I had never seen it before,” said Schule, a 34-year-old Web developer. “I looked at it, and it kind of looked like a missile launcher.” Schule took a closer look. It was a long, forest-green metal tube. A decal on it read: “Guided Missile and Launcher, Surface Attack.” The discovery was the start of a surreal journey for Schule. Somehow, an unarmed anti-tank weapon — or a very good fake — wound up on his...

A park ranger in Indonesia needed more than 30 stitches after he was attacked by a komodo dragon. The giant reptile managed to climb into a hut where 46-year-old Main was sitting at his desk. The attack happened on Rinca, one of three islands where the world's largest lizard can be found in the wild. He fled out a window as colleagues rushed to his aid, using wooden sticks to drive the lizard out of the hut. He suffered received lacerations to a hand and foot. "I'm lucky I survived," Main said from his hospital bed on nearby Bali island....

The Komodo dragon is the world's largest flesh-eating lizard and living reptile. This amazing creature is only found in the wild on four small Indonesian islands, where they are vulnerable to disease, volcanic activity, and competition with feral dogs and man. It lives on the islands of Komodo, Rinca, Padar, and Flores. The Komodo is an endangered species and there are only about 5,000 of them in existence around the world, including a small number kept and bred in zoos. This giant lizard can grow to 3 meters (10 feet) long, and has an average weight of 70 kg (155...

Draconian rules imposed by the Chinese authorities mean that flags of any non-competing nation are likely to be confiscated from fans, who could be barred from venues if they refuse to comply. Athletes could even be disqualified from competing if they break the rules. Because Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland are not individually represented at the games, only the Union Flag of Great Britain will be allowed inside the stadiums. The regulation is widely believed to be aimed at preventing supporters of an independent Tibet from making political statements by waving its flag, but it will be enforced...

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Scuba divers swept away in strong currents survived 12 hours in shark-infested waters before scrambling onto a remote Indonesian island where they faced yet another threat: a Komodo dragon. ADVERTISEMENT The divers — three from Britain and one each from France and Sweden — came face-to-face with the giant, carnivorous lizard on Rinca's palm-fringed beach, and fought it off by pelting it with rocks and pieces of wood, Pariman, a port official said Sunday. "Luckily, they were able to chase it away," said Pariman, who, like many Indonesians, goes by only one name. The beasts have sharp,...

Because of an continuing disability of my hands I will need to move to speech recognition software. I need a laptop that can handle the internet, the software, Word and a few other programs. Internet recommendations say 2 to 5 gig of working memory to use Dragon expediently. I am having a difficult time finding a 3 to 5 gig laptop that is affordable. One can add memory but is it accessble? Anybody been down this road recently. I would appreciate your input.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2007 – Coalition offensives in southern Baghdad, spurred by Iraqi intelligence, have dramatically reduced al Qaeda-inspired violence, a military commander said today. "We've had about a 60-percent reduction in murders since we arrived and took over in March,"� Army Col. Ricky Gibbs told online journalists and 'bloggers'� during a conference call from Iraq. "That's huge."� Gibbs commands the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team "Dragons"� of 1st Infantry Division, part of Multinational Division Baghdad, deployed from Fort Riley, Kan. His soldiers patrol the Rashid district in southern Baghdad, where al Qaeda insurgents have sought to establish a base,...

An 8-year-old boy was fatally wounded in eastern Indonesia when a Komodo dragon grabbed him by the waist and shook him violently before fleeing. The rare attack by one of the giant lizards occurred during the weekend in a national park on Komodo Island, Sky News reported Monday. The boy had gone behind a bush to relief himself when he was grabbed by the animal. The boy's uncle threw rocks at the lizard until it released him but the child bled to death within half an hour. A search was under way for the Komodo dragon. National park spokesman Heru...

Palaeontologists have unveiled the fossilised skeleton of a two-headed dinosaur that roamed the earth about 100 million years ago (MYA). But before it gets added to the pantheon of prehistoric beasts occupied by luminaries such as Tyrannosaurus Rex and Triceratops, scientists point out the dinosaur was only 70mm tall and died at a very young age. Publishing their findings in the Royal Society journal, the Chinese palaeontologists discovered the specimen in the famed dinosaur stamping grounds of Yixian Formation in the north-east of the country, with its mixture of volcanic and sedimentary rocks an ideal place for fossils to be...

The makers of Welsh Dragon Sausages were warned they could face legal action if they did not specify which meat they were using."I don't think any of our customers actually believe that we use dragon meat," said Jon Carthew, of the Black Mountains Smokery at Crickhowell, after receiving a warning letter from trading standards officers. Mr Carthew has now added the word pork to labels for the 200,000 sausages he makes a year from pork, leek and chilli and he has been told that no further action will be taken. "We use the word dragon because it is synonymous with...

Hunt for Gambia's mythical dragon A child's depiction of the ninki-nanka on the expedition's blog A team of UK dragon-hunters is on an expedition in The Gambia to track down a mysterious creature known locally as the "Ninki-nanka".Believed to live in swamps, the ninki-nanka appears in the folklore of many parts of West Africa. It is described as having a horse-like face, a long body with mirror-like scales and a crest of skin on its head. Team leader Richard Freeman told the BBC, evidence so far was sketchy as most people died soon after seeing it. Mr Freeman, a...

'Hogwarts' Dragon Unveiled By Larry O'Hanlon, Animal Planet News May 24 — A dragon-like dinosaur named after Harry Potter's alma mater has performed a bit of black magic on its own family tree, say paleontologists who unveiled the "Dragon King of Hogwarts" on Monday in Albuquerque. The newly described horny-headed dinosaur Dracorex hogwartsia lived about 66 million years ago in South Dakota, just a million years short of the extinction of all dinosaurs. But its flat, almost storybook-style dragon head has overturned everything paleontologists thought they knew about the dome-head dinos called pachycephalosaurs. "What you knew about pachycephalosaurs — you...

AL TAQADDUM, Iraq (May 4, 2006) -- A line of tracers and a corkscrewing missile flash up from the ground a thousand feet below a CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter, which immediately takes evasive action. Trailing bright sparkles of light emit from its aft sections, as a gout of flame spits from its side-door machine gun. Saving the helicopter from enemy fire are the flying skills of its pilots, the deadly aim of its enlisted crew and an electronic countermeasure flare system. The job of maintaining the M2 .50-caliber machine guns and flares that are instrumental in the helicopter's survival belongs...

Nearly 15 years after the collapse of the USSR, America could encounter what would have been unthinkable during the Cold War - a hostile, communist nation on our southern border. If the plans of the Marxist president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, are successful, America's neighbor to the south will become a virtual enemy camp. For the past five years, Chavez has sent money and agents to Mexico to finance and infiltrate local political groups on the left, according to a Mexican news daily The goal is ideological -- pro-Chavez operatives want to dominate the increasingly powerful left wing in Mexico....

Moscow, Jan. 14 (AP): Russia's Defence Minister on Friday defended his country's military contacts with China, insisting that the cooperation would not upset the security balance in the Far East despite Japanese concerns about Beijing's moves to boost its defence capability. Defence contacts between China and Russia "have developed, are developing and will develop, I can assure you of that," Defence Minister, Sergei Ivanov, said after a meeting with his Japanese counterpart. Since the 1991 Soviet collapse, Moscow and Beijing have developed what they call a strategic partnership, pledging commitment to a "multipolar world" - a term that highlights their...

PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII (NNS) -- The guided missile cruiser USS Chosin (the War Dragon) (CG 65) returned to its homeport of Pearl Harbor after a six-month deployment to the Western Pacific and 5th Fleet area of operations Jan. 9. Chosin, commanded by Capt. Doug Venlet, departed Hawaii in July as part of Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 1. "The Sailors of the 'Mighty War Dragon' performed every mission to Chosin standards - a fantastic effort in everything they did," said Venlet. During the deployment, Sailors from Chosin and helicopter Anti-Submarine Light Squadron 37, Detachment 4 supported maritime security operations (MSO). MSO...

Dragon Eye Protects Troops, Improves Recon The easily-transportable unmanned aerial vehicle gives troops up-to-date reconnaissance over a wide area of terrain. By U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Robert M. Storm JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Nov. 4, 2005 — U.S. Marines and sailors from 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, use the Dragon Eye to minimize friendly casualties and maximize surveillance during missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. The Dragon Eye is the smallest functioning unmanned aerial vehicle. "The Dragon Eye is a good tool if used properly. It's excellent for short range reconnaissance and can easily...

Archaeologists find oldest Chinese dragon totem www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-31 18:43:01 ZHENGZHOU, Oct. 31 (Xinhuanet) -- A 3,700-year-old antique in the shape of a dragon, made up of over 2,000 pieces of turquoise, is believed by many Chinese scholars as the oldest Chinese dragon totem. The antique was discovered in the Erlitou relics site in YanshiCity of central China's Henan Province. Many Chinese scholars believe that Erlitou is the site of the capital of the Xia Dynasty(2,100 BC-1,600 BC), China's first dynasty. "Although some dragon-shaped relics older than the antique in Erlitou have been uncovered in other places, such as the 7,000-year-old...

Dragon-shaped Flying Object Appears in Jilin Province The Epoch Times Sep 12, 2005 An image of the phenomenon captured on an observer's picture-phone (The Epoch Times) At about 6 p.m. on August 6, two students walked out of their library in Jilin University and looked up. “Look! A flying dragon appears in the sky!” A student named Li captured an image of the dragon on his picture-phone, providing the second instance of photo documentation of a dragon flying over China so far this summer. “When I was walking out of the library, I saw a bright, animal-shaped object flying in...

WND FAITH UNDER FIRE Americans roughed up in China Cops reportedly mistreat U.S. Christians during raid on house church Posted: August 9, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Two Americans were roughed up by plain-clothes Chinese police during a raid of a house church in the Communist state, reports Christian-persecution monitor China Aid Association. According to the group, the raid came during a crackdown on house churches that has seen 210 Chinese house pastors and members arrested since last month. On Aug. 2, the two Americans, students believed to be from Westminster Theological Seminary campuses in Texas and California,...

As the dawn breaks on the 21st Century, already the social and political tides that shaped the world of the 20th Century move across the globe, repositioning political alignments, opening some borders while closing others. If the last one hundred years were the American Century, and, as some believe, the United States now stands at the apex of its political, economic and military power, it can be argued that—as history dictates—a fall is sure to follow. How and when is yet to be seen, but already two players wait in the wings, redefining their roles on the world stage and...

Acknowledging that China is a rising influence, the United States has said that it will try to counter it by strengthening regional alliances. "China is clearly a rising influence - I mean, there is no doubt about that - economically, politically, in terms of its sort of global interests," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. "But it has to be managed a couple of ways. First of all, it's very important to be clear about American policies and American interests in the region and that means being very clear about policy, for instance, on Taiwan, where we've had and...

Font Size: Wheels of Fortune By Alexander Monro  Published   12/01/2004  Of all the growth industries in China few have burgeoned with the speed of the automobile industry. Although the middle-class wants more mobility, the status attached to cars is at least as important for an emerging bourgeoisie. Just a few years ago bicycles filled the roads and most cars were China-built taxis. In the 21st century, however, the ultimate Chinese status symbol is four-wheeled and foreign-made. It is also a recent model. Just five years ago the Volkswagen Santana was the car to own but in today's Beijing they're...

Inner Mongolia Yields New Discoveries More than 80 leading archeological experts are participating in an international conference in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, to exchange the latest information on Hongshan, a prehistoric relics site. Relics excavated at the Hongshan ("Red Mountain") site originated around 5000 BC to 6500 BC. Now a part of Chifeng City, the site was discovered in 1935. Some of the relics found at Hongshan have led archeologists to conclude that the heads of Chinese dragons may have been inspired by boars in addition to horses and cattle. Primitive people who struggled to survive by fishing and...

'Descendants of the Dragon' confirmed at the Liaohe River ValleyIn thousands of years, the Chinese people have been deeming themselves as "the descendant of the dragon" though there is no enough solid proof to support the statement. But in this year, with continually findings of dragons in archeological work at the Liaohe River Valley, the statement that the Chinese people are "the descendant of the dragon" is further confirmed. In thousands of years, the Chinese people have been deeming themselves as "the descendant of the dragon" though there is no enough solid proof to support the statement. But in this...

Are Dragons for real? 01/29/2004 16:09 The greatest mystery of all times can finally be fully revealed. Up until recently, science has been rejecting the existence of dragons. Nevertheless, one of such interesting specimens preserved in alcohol has been discovered not so long ago by David Heart from Oxfordshire in his own garage. The dragon appears to be quite cute. The creature does not fit the common description of dragons. He is only 1 meter long and judging by the present umbilical cord, the baby creature has ended up in the bottle straight from an egg or from his mother's...

A pickled "dragon" that looks as if it might once have flown around Hogwarts has been found in a garage in Oxfordshire. Yesterday the baby dragon, in a sealed 30in jar, was in the office of Allistair Mitchell, who runs a marketing company in Oxford. He was asked to investigate by his friend, David Hart, from Sutton Courtenay, who discovered it. A metal tin found with the dragon contained paperwork in old-fashioned German of the 1890s. Mr Mitchell speculates that German scientists may have attempted to use the dragon to hoax their English counterparts in the 1890s, when rivalry between...

SINGAPORE (AP) -- An 8-foot-long Komodo dragon lizard in Singapore's zoo has been receiving traditional Chinese acupuncture treatment for a nerve disorder. "Tirto is now more relaxed and is beginning to enjoy his treatments," a spokesman for the Singapore Zoological Gardens, Vincent Tan, said Tuesday. He said the 8-year-old, 94-pound male lizard, has been receiving twice-weekly treatments for a neurological disorder from veterinarian Oh Soon Hock for the past three weeks. Komodo dragons, the world's largest lizards, are prehistoric-looking reptiles that can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh more than 200 pounds. They have long claws and serrated...