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Giant pythons capable of swallowing a dog and even an alligator are rapidly making south Florida their home, potentially threatening other southeastern states, a study said. "Pythons are likely to colonize anywhere alligators live, including north Florida, Georgia and Louisiana," said Frank Mazzotti, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences professor, in his two-year study. The pythons thriving in Florida are mostly Burmese pythons from Myanmar that were brought over as pets and then turned loose in the wild. From 2002-2005, 201 of the beasts were caught by state authorities, but in the last two years the number...

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert resisted pressure Sunday to launch a broad military operation against Gaza rocket squads, a day after an 8-year-old boy lost his leg in a rocket attack on a much-targeted Israeli town. The ongoing rocket barrages and Israeli military attacks threaten to scuttle U.S.-backed efforts to prod Israel and the Palestinians toward a final peace agreement by the end of the year. Israel has warned it would not implement any peace deal if the violence continues. Yet, senior military and government officials oppose a broad Gaza invasion, for fear dozens of soldiers and Palestinian...

Australian jellyfish that invaded the Gulf of Mexico seven years ago have made a "vigorous reappearance" this summer and threaten to devour native fish, scientists announced Friday. And in the Gulf, with plenty to eat, they grow to monster size. "In their native waters, they tend to be fist-sized," said Monty Graham of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. "Here in the Gulf, they can be a big as dinner plates.” The creatures can weigh up to 25 pounds. The Australian spotted jellyfish, Phyllorhiza punctata, are not dangerous to humans. But scientists say the invasion could pose a threat to the...

MONTEREY, Calif. - Jumbo squid that can grow up to 7 feet long and weigh more than 110 pounds is invading central California waters and preying on local anchovy, hake and other commercial fish populations, according to a study published Tuesday. An aggressive predator, the Humboldt squid — or Dosidicus gigas — can change its eating habits to consume the food supply favored by tuna and sharks, its closest competitors, according to an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal. "Having a new, voracious predator set up shop here in California may be yet another...

ISTANBUL, Turkey - Reports that Turkey has massed a huge military force on its border with Iraq bolstered fears that an invasion targeting hideouts of Kurdish rebels could be imminent. But how deeply into Iraq is the Turkish army willing to go, how long would it stay and what kind of fallout could come from allies in Washington and other NATO partners? All these questions weigh on Turkey's leaders, who have enough on their hands without embarking on a foreign military adventure. Turkey is caught up in an internal rift between the Islamic-rooted government and the military-backed, secular establishment, less...

BRADENTON -- A man who was shot early Saturday during a botched home-invasion robbery in the Braden Crossing neighborhood was arrested Monday on an attempted murder charge. Authorities say Bradenton resident Clayton Nathaniel Dowling, 23, was one of four men who barged into a house in the 5500 block of 47th Court East while pretending to be police officers. The victim, Jerry Johnson, was hiding in a closet when Dowling confronted him, according to sheriff’s reports. Johnson punched Dowling and grabbed the pistol that was tucked in the man’s waistband. Johnson fired at Dowling, striking him four times, sheriff’s Detective...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Fish that leap into passing boats may be a fisherman's fantasy, but scientists fear that hyperactive Asian carp will reach the U.S. Great Lakes, devour the base of the food chain and spoil drinking water for 40 million people. In less than a decade since escaping southern U.S. fish farms, the hardy and voracious carp have come to dominate sections of the Mississippi River and its tributaries. "It is a crisis," said Phil Moy of the University of Wisconsin and the government-affiliated water protection group Sea Grant. "We've seen some pretty significant adverse invaders in the Great...

LONDON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush allegedly said God told him to invade Iraq and Afghanistan, a new BBC documentary will reveal, according to details. Bush made the claim when he met Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and then foreign minister Nabil Shaath in June 2003, the ministers told the documentary series to be broadcast in Britain later this month. The US leader also told them he had been ordered by God to create a Palestinian state, the ministers said. Shaath, now the Palestinian information minister, said: " President Bush said to all of us: 'I'm driven with a...

Washington, Sept. 25: New Delhi acquitted itself reasonably well in the first significant challenge to its global standing and diplomacy since the world acknowledged India as an emerging global power worthy of being in the big league in the 21st century. The handling of the challenge — its vote on whether Iran’s nuclear programme should be referred to the UN Security Council — was all the more commendable because its outcome defied domestic political expediency. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh personally cleared the decision to vote with the US and the so-called EU-3, namely Germany, France and the UK, in favour...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Friday he has documentary evidence that the United States plans to invade his country. Chavez, interviewed on ABC's "Nightline," said the plan is called "Balboa" and involves aircraft carriers and planes. A transcript of the interview was made available by "Nightline." He said U.S. soldiers recently went to Curacao, an island off Venezuela's northwest coast. He described as a "lie" the official U.S. explanation that they visited Curacao for rest and recreation. "They were doing movements. They were doing maneuvers," Chavez said, speaking through a translator. He added: "We are coming up...

MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan (AFPN) -- They came fired up and ready to entertain the troops, and that is exactly what comedians Dave Attell and Scott Kennedy did here Sept. 14. The two stand-up comedians have been touring U.S. Central Command hot spots entertaining everyone from Florida Army National Guardsmen at a forward-deployed location to Airmen and Soldiers at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. No matter where they went, Mr. Attell and Mr. Kennedy said they enjoy the time they spend with the military. “I love coming down and talking to the guys and ladies, just showing our support,” Mr. Attell...

You can add Minnesota to the list of Bush HQ's that got Invaded by over-zealous Union Kerry supporters. The link in this post is a PDF that also contains photos of the incident. This thread is also going on about the West Allis HQ.... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1236654/posts

The Republican Party of Wisconsin HQ in West Allis was invaded by supporters of John Kerry yesterday. This release was issued by the WI-GOP: (MILWAUKEE) – More than 50 demonstrators supporting Democrat presidential candidate John Kerry stormed a Republican campaign office in West Allis at mid-day today, trespassing, creating a disturbance through the use of a bullhorn in the office and then refusing to leave when asked. The Chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin (RPW) condemned the action by Kerry supporters, and asked the Kerry campaign and the Democrat Party of Wisconsin to do the same. “Do John Kerry...

Ah, the travails of a tiny country caught at the crossroads of greater powers. Sound familiar? Lithuania? Armenia? Israel? There have been so many holocausts that we could easily pick one out of a hat and discuss it. But because of recent developments in Damascus and Beirut, we’ll discuss Lebanon today. In a move I found quite surprising, the U.N. Security Council voted Friday in, support for a free and fair electoral process in Lebanon's upcoming presidential election, conducted according to Lebanese constitutional rules devised without foreign interference or influence. The new U.N. resolution also called for, the restoration of...

A team of military intelligence and police drug enforcement units rounded up some 50 Muslim residents of the Al-Salam Mosque Compound in Barangay Culiat, Quezon City as part of intensified operations against illegal drugs and firearms in the metropolis. Senior Superintendent Procopio Lipana, chief of the Central Police District-Criminal Investigation Unit (CPD-CIU), said 12 suspects remained under their custody while the rest were released. Lipana identified the 12 as Dawabe Ben Albi Maulana, businessman from Basilan; Musa Sabaddin Abdurahman, 27; Awop Wadja Ignus, 26; Radjail Karawan Tirih, 34; Raquel Francisco Mabajo, 26; Pamaran Alain Awali, 48; Abubakar Cuevas Zunco, 34;...

Ex-President Bill Clinton's attacks on his successor reached a new low last week when he told a University of Florida audience that President Bush was planning to invade North Korea. Though Clinton's address was widely covered in the mainstream press, only the university's campus publication "The Oracle" noted that he "criticized the Bush administration for looking for multinational support in a possible North Korean invasion." The prediction by the former U.S. president, however erroneous, that the current commander in chief is preparing for a military strike against North Korea is likely to further exacerbate tensions between Pyongyang and Washington, D.C....

Perhaps the reason why the Bush administration is focusing on Iraq rather than North Korea is a bit more complex than it appears. The issues involved are more problematic than the Left's typical hand-scrawled protest signs, "Babes, not Bombs."Is the Bush administration using a double standard by aggressively reacting to Iraq but seeming to downplay the North Korean threat? The Left criticizes Bush, claiming that his concentration on Saddam Hussein is causing him to ignore the real threat, Kim Jong-il, who is rumored to already have missiles with the capability of striking the United States. Unfortunately, many on the Left...

Report: 30,000 U.S. troops now in northern Saudi Arabia SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COMTuesday, March 11, 2003 ABU DHABI — Saudi opposition sources, whose initial reports of a U.S. deployment in northern Saudi Arabia have proven credible, now assert that the number of U.S. troops in the kingdom has reached 30,000. Saad Al Faqih, a spokesman for the London-based Saudi Islamic Reform Movement, said the U.S. forces are being deployed along the Iraqi-Saudi border. Faqih told the Qatari-based A-Jazeera satellite channel that the U.S. troops are equipped with weapons and are being harbored in Saudi military bases. More U.S. troops...

StopSaddamNow.org was created to express support for action against Saddam Hussein. Now. While the build-up of US and allied forces in the Middle East may inspire Saddam to give up and go into exile, war may be necessary. The bottom line is that the threat posed by Saddam and his weapons of mass destruction must come to an end. Now. We ask you to join with us to sign an Open Letter to "Stop Saddam Now". When you sign the Open Letter to “Stop Saddam Now”, your name will be listed here at this website. By attaching your name to...

ARLINGTON, Va. — Protecting Iraq’s oil wells would be a major priority for U.S. troops if the United States goes to war against Saddam Hussein, a senior defense official said Friday. Saddam “has the capability and, in fact, the interest to cause damage” to some or all of Iraq’s wells, the official, who declined to be named, told Pentagon reporters. “We see that as a real potential crisis.” Planners in U.S. Central Command “have crafted plans to allow us to secure and protect fields as soon as possible” in the event of a war, the official said. Iraq has about...

No Child's Privacy Left Uninvaded NewsMaxBuried deep in the 670 pages of the new No Child Left Behind Act is a sensible provision that military recruiters must be given access to school campuses - something that liberal anti-military school administrators at 19,228 schools had denied them. But accompanying that provision was another not at all sensible requirement....School officials in San Francisco and Portland, Ore., for example, have barred recruiters from schools because they complain that the military allegedly discriminates against gays and lesbians. But accompanying that provision was another not at all sensible requirement that recruiters be given not only...

Should the U.S. Invade Iraq?

The same writers who predict that the United Nations will soon cease to exist correctly predicted the fall of the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall. Regardless of whether they are right or not, the UN's latest inaction regarding Iraq is a sign that the UN is well on its way into insignificance.About ten years ago James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg predicted in their third book “The Sovereign Individual” that the United Nations would cease to exist early in the 21st century. The only reason why this prediction should attract our attention is that these two also predicted the...

Will Bush invade Cambridgeshire? (Filed: 05/09/2002) The American president can now send troops to free US citizens imprisoned in Britain by the International Criminal Court. Joshua Rozenberg, Legal Editor, reports. If President George W Bush decides not to invade Iraq, he could usefully spend some time planning an attack on Whitemoor prison in Cambridgeshire. Last month, the president signed legislation that authorises him to "use all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any person . . . being detained or imprisoned by, on behalf of, or at the request of the International Criminal Court".(AMEN!) Britain, for...