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A woman claimed yesterday to have seen two balls of lightning in her house in West Wales. Annie Dobson, from Kidwelly, said she was terrified to see the mysterious phenomena bouncing around her home. BBC weather presenter Derek Brockway said the incident was very unusual and potentially deadly. “For years, the very existence of ball lightning was controversial,” he said. “Most scientists now accept that it does occur, but there is still no agreed explanation of what it is. “One theory suggests that ball lightning is a highly ionised blob of plasma held together by magnetic fields, while an exotic...

From Strong's Hebrew Dictionary (Word #) 1299 baraq baw-rak' a primitive root; to lighten (lightning):--cast forth. (Word #) 1300 baraq baw-rawk' from 'baraq' (1299); lightning; by analogy, a gleam; concretely, a flashing sword:--bright, glitter(-ing sword), lightning.

"What if a presidential candidate took a position on gay marriage that was different from your own? Would you still consider voting for him because of his position on other issues, or would you not vote for him under any circumstances?" . Still Consider Not Vote For No Answer/ Unsure % % % 6/18-25/08 72 22 6

<p>I was advised that this scenario would not be entertained on anywhere else. The member that I discussed it with couldn’t, or wouldn’t explain why. I was just trying to understand the great disparity between the goals of Free Republic at the About Free Republic webpage and all the policies of Free Republic that are diametrically opposed to the goals.</p>

ANTRIM, N.H. (WBZ) ― A 21-year-old Antrim woman is recovering after being struck by lightning Wednesday night. The bolt hit her feet and came out through her nose ring. Jessica Lafreniere was hit while she was walking through her family's garage. "She had walked into the garage to go outside to turn off the faucet. The light came in through the garage and hit her," Jessica's mother, Danielle Taylor told WBZ. "It was like a red flash that came from her feet and she was thrown into my arms. She was blue and purple, and stiff as a board." "When...

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- A man watching TV and listening to music inside an Orange County apartment was struck by lightning while holding a cigarette out of a window. Adam Rice was struck on the hand Wednesday afternoon at the Whisper Lake apartments, located on state Road 436 south of University Boulevard. "All of sudden it sounded like fireworks go off, just loud pops, like, constantly," Rice said. "The whole house lit up blue, and I got zapped on my hand." Rice told Local 6 News that the current traveled through his body and exited between the two smallest toes...

The minister who survived a lightning bolt [Rockaway, NJ] -- A fall into Purgatory Chasm couldn't take down the Rev. Matthew McNamara many years ago, and a bolt of lightning that ripped through him from head to toe this week was no match either. "I feel blessed," McNamara said yesterday from his hospital bed at Morristown Memorial Hospital, where he is in good condition and being treated for burns to his head and foot. The Pequannock resident was hit by lightning Monday night as he was readying Camp Marcella, a state-run summer camp for blind and visually impaired children, for...

A cloud-to-ground ligtning strike from a severe thunderstom hit a large gasoline storage tank at the Magellan Petroleum tank farm in Kansas City, igniting 2 million plus gallons of unleaded gasoline, rapidly growing into a huge inferno of flame belching over 200 feet in the air. Local authorities have elected to let the fire burn itself out, which is anticipated to take a day or more. The fire is presently contained to the burning tank. Authorites and company officials feel confident the fire poses no danger to other large storage tanks nearby. Video from local news helicopters shows tank walls...

Lightning bolts appear above and around the Chaiten volcano as seen from Chana, some 30 kms (19 miles) north of the volcano, as it began its first eruption in thousands of years, in southern Chile May 2, 2008. Cases of electrical storms breaking out directly above erupting volcanos are well documented, although scientists differ on what causes them. Picture taken May 2, 2008. REUTERS/Carlos Gutierrez (CHILE) The Etna volcano in Sicily rumbled back to life on Tuesday with a "seismic event" followed by a burst of ash, volcanologists said three days after minor eruptions shook the cone. A "seismic...

Few sights in nature can compare to the sheer magnificence of a volcano erupting in full flow. But while scenes of molten lava are relatively commonplace, this otherworldly picture of Chaiten Volcano in southern Chile shows a truly spectacular, and devastating, volcanic phenomenon.

This amazing photograph gives whole new meaning to the phrase "May God strike me with lightning if ..." Rio de Janeiro's world-famous statue of Christ the Redeemer was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm over the Brazilian city on Sunday. Scroll down for more ... The statue - which towers over the city as the largest statue of Christ in the world - did not appear too damaged after the strike, according to Brazilian reports. The statue stands 39.6 metres (130ft) tall, is made of 700 tons of reinforced concrete, and is located at the peak of the 700-metre (2,296ft)...

(Downed power lines electrified the street) Madison, WI - Two adults and a child were electrocuted by a downed power line on Madison's north side late Wednesday afternoon as a storm swept through the city. Madison experienced a heavy downpour around 4 p.m. About that time, witnesses saw the victims waiting for a bus on N. Sherman Ave. when lightning hit power lines above them. The downed lines apparently electrified the area in which they were standing. "It's a horrible tragedy with three people deceased," Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said at the scene. "It appears to be a complete accident....

CHINESE meteorologists have warned that the site of most venues for the 2008 Beijing Olympics could suffer a high number of lightning strikes after the Games begin, state media said on today. Lightning has killed 499 people in China so far this year, nearly 200 more than in the same period last year. In an academic paper submitted yesterday to an international conference, Guo Hu, head of the Beijing Meteorological Observatory, and fellow researcher Xiong Yajun said they had studied Beijing lightning data from 1995 to 2005 - and Haidian district was the area most heavily hit. Most of the...

Lightning struck an illegal border crosser Monday night about 10 miles north of the border in the Altar Valley southwest of Tucson. The 38-year-old man was transported to University Medical Center and survived, said Richard DeWitt, Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokesman. A Border Patrol agent encountered the group at about 10:30 p.m. Monday near milepost 10 on Arizona 286, he said. The group members said the lightning struck the man at about 8:30 p.m. and that, due to the wet ground, three others were shocked as well, DeWitt said. Members of the group said they carried the 38-year-old man to...

YORK - Flip-flops and faith. Without those two things, Marie Drackert says, she wouldn't be alive today. Drackert was sitting in her York County home July 29, watching the weather on television, when a bolt of lightning came down her chimney and out through her fireplace, frying appliances and sending a jolt of electricity through her body. She believes the rubber in her flip-flops kept her insulated from the strike. Her faith kept her going. "I told my son I'm going to bronze those flip-flops," she said. "I swear."

MAGGIE VALLEY (AP) — Dozens of visitors were rescued Monday from the chair lift at Ghost Town in the Sky after lightning struck the ride. Ten riders made it to the ground safely with the help of a rope ladder system, said David King, sales and marketing manager. Twenty-eight others had to wait until repairs were made. Rescue workers tossed ponchos, for protection from the rain, to those who were stuck. Wendy Whiteside of Knoxville, Tenn., said she and her family were about 10 chairs from the top when the ride stopped. The problem didn't dissuade her from possibly trying...

Mr. Ducklips’In the News!* * * * FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The father of a teenage football player killed by a lightning strike during a high school football game has filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Broward County School Board, saying the school did not provide sufficient warning, the man's lawyer said. The player was struck as he ran off the field when play was suspended during a sudden thunderstorm. James C. Suckalott has to be this man’s lawyer. He and his cohorts, Ernie the Attorney and Sawyer the Lawyer, are experts on everything: mesothelioma; stock market losses; cerebral palsy;...

50-year-old pastor from a church here in San Antonio was killed Tuesday afternoon after he was hit by a bolt of lightning while hiking with his two teenage sons, authorities told News 4 WOAI. The man and his two sons were hiking in the Lost Maples State Natural Area near Vanderpool close to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. It started raining and the family went to seek cover under a cedar tree, Bandera County Sheriff Don Berger said. The father was then hit by lightning and died instantly, officials said. The park is located about 65 miles northwest of San Antonio. Members...

FRESNO, Calif - Crews hoping for wet weather to help combat lightning-sparked wildfires in California faced a new threat Wednesday: too much rain. Flash flood warnings were posted for much of the eastern Sierra Nevada on Wednesday as the National Weather Service predicted a 40 percent chance of rain over a cluster of wildfires in Plumas National Forest. Fire officials worried that crews battling a 22,000-acre blaze about 125 miles northeast of Sacramento could face mudslides on burned-over slopes. That blaze was only about 20 percent contained late Tuesday, after afternoon lightning sparked some new spot fires on the parched...

With no rain or even clouds to warn him of the danger, death came literally out of the blue Thursday to a self-employed landscaper. The killer was a powerful bolt of lightning that cracked through perfectly clear skies. David Canales, 41, of West Miami-Dade, was on the job at a Pinecrest home when the bolt hit. It first seared a tree, then traveled and struck Canales, standing nearby. Experts said Canales was killed by a weather phenomenon fittingly called a ''bolt from the blue'' or ''dry lightning'' because it falls from clear, blue skies.

A Dade landscaper died after being struck by an unusual type of lightning that's stronger, hotter, lasts longer and strikes from clear skies. By TERE FIGUERAS NEGRETE AND LUISA YANEZ With no rain or even clouds to warn him of the danger, death came literally out of the blue Thursday to a self-employed landscaper. The killer was a powerful bolt of lightning that cracked through perfectly clear skies. David Canales, 41, of West Miami-Dade, was on the job at a Pinecrest home when the bolt hit. It first seared a tree, then traveled and struck Canales, standing nearby. Experts said...

Manchester, New Hampshire - Was it a sign from above? Lightning zapped remarks by Republican presidential contender and former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani during a debate Tuesday night, just as he began defending his pro-choice stand on abortion rights against criticism by a Roman Catholic bishop. 'I guess I'm here by myself,' Giuliani quipped after a loud buzz momentarily interrupted the sound system. He turned around, then looked skyward as the audience broke out laughing. 'For someone who went to parochial schools all his life, this is a very frightening thing that's happening right now,' he said. Debate host...

Like a molten thread of white heat, lightning cuts across the grey skies above midtown Manhattan to find the top of the Empire State Building. The storm yesterday afternoon was part of the latest blast of bad weather to hit New York. The murky skies and lightning, seen from across the East River in this dramatic picture, were accompaniedby 72mph winds and a deluge which saw an inch of rain fall in nearby Central Park. There was no damage to the 1,454ft Empire State Building. The lightning rod at its very top absorbs such strikes around 100 times a year....

Close window Published online: 11 May 2007; | doi:10.1038/news070508-12 Lightning spurs hurricanesLink shows storms in Africa can cause havoc in the United States.What creates an Atlantic hurricane? The most devastating ones are spurred by intense thunderstorms in the Ethiopian highlands, according to new research. The link between lightning strikes and hurricane formation should give researchers a heads-up about when a nasty hurricane might form, weeks before it could make landfall in the United States, says Colin Price of Tel Aviv University in Israel. Today, scientists apply various models to predict storm tracks and strength, but only once they form...

Stroke of Good Fortune: A wealth of data from petrified lightning Sid Perkins The lumps of glass created when lightning strikes sandy ground can preserve information about ancient climate, new research indicates. BOLT FROM THE BLUE. When lightning strikes the ground, it fuses sand in the soil into tubular masses of glass called fulgurites (top). The gases trapped in bubbles in that glass (bottom) yield clues to ancient soil and atmospheric chemistry and climate. L. Carion/Carion Minerals, Paris; Navarro-González Worldwide, lightning flashes occur about 65 times per second. Each bolt releases as much energy as is stored in a quarter-ton...

FORT WORTH, Texas, Dec. 15, 2006 – The Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-35 Lightning II lifted into the skies today for the first time, completing a successful inaugural flight and initiating the most comprehensive flight test program in military aviation history. “The Lightning II performed beautifully,” said F-35 Chief Pilot Jon Beesley following the flight. “What a great start for the flight-test program, and a testimony to the people who have worked so hard to make this happen.” The most powerful engine ever placed in a fighter aircraft – the Pratt & Whitney F135 turbofan, with 40,000 pounds of thrust...

First Flight of the F-35 occured at takeoff 12:45 CDT from Fort Worth Texas and the Joint Reserve Naval Air Station.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Nearly a year after the disaster, state investigators have concluded that the Sago Mine explosion that left 12 miners dead was caused by a lightning bolt that ignited methane gas underground, a union official said. The mine's owner, International Coal Group Inc., has argued since March that lightning was to blame for the Jan. 2 blast, a theory critics of the company have disputed. The report is to be released Monday, but United Mine Workers officials who helped in the investigation have been briefed on it, Dennis O'Dell, the union's health and safety director, said Wednesday. [Snip]...

Fulgurites! The second is the world record holder.

Photo #1. BANG!!! Huge bolt of lightning strikes near the control tower and a taxiing C-130 Hercules at Balad Air Base, Iraq, on 16 May 2006. Image ID: 060516-F-0185C-001Photographer: Senior Airman James Croxon, United States Air Force (USAF) Big image link: http://www.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/060516-F-0185C-001.jpgCourtesies: http://www.af.mil/news/story_media.asp?storyID=123020502 (source), http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20061026.htm (above image), http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/bifurcated/rivets/77#oct282006 ("Bang") Photo #2. And a few seconds later...BANG!!! Yet another way-too-massive lightning bolt hits near the control tower and a taxiing C-130 Hercules at Balad Air Base, Iraq, on 16 May 2006. Image ID: 060516-F-0185C-005Photographer: Senior Airman James Croxon, United States Air ForceBig image link: http://www.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/060516-F-0185C-005.jpgCourtesies: http://www.af.mil/news/story_media.asp?storyID=123020502 (source), http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20061026.htm (above image),...

See for example this thread first. A woman who was struck by lightning At home! Now that's kinda frightening Struck her in the mouth And departed "down south" Now she's burned on her buns; and teeth whitening?

A WOMAN has suffered severe burning to her anus after being struck by lightning which hit her in the mouth and passed right through her body. Natasha Timarovic, 27, was cleaning her teeth at home when lightning struck the building. She said: "I had just put my mouth under the tap to rinse away the toothpaste when the lightning must have struck the building. I don't remember much after that, but I was later told that the lightning had travelled down the water pipe and struck me on the mouth, passing through my body. It was incredibly painful, I felt...

Nothing on the planet can see the F-22, much less outfight it. But when the F-35 comes online, the two will literally dominate the skies. The F-35 will be able to see virtually hundreds of airplanes at distances far exceeding the scope of previous fighter systems. Tracking distances are classified, but the new aircraft's sight range is said to be twice that of existing fighters (about 40 miles in every direction for existing aircraft).

Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, commanding general, 25th Infantry Division, greets the Iraqi Army division commanders for the first time as he takes charge of Multi-National Division - North at Contingency Operating Base Speicher. Department of Defense photo by Army Spc. Michael Pfaff, 133rd MPAD. TIKRIT --Following a year marked by noteworthy successes in growing the size and capabilities of the Iraqi security forces, rebuilding Iraq and providing security for a vast region of the country, the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division on Wednesday transferred control of Multi-National Division North to the Army’s 25th Infantry Division. “Our mission here is...

Tropic Lightning Puts on the ‘Groove’ Concert gives soldiers a break from the war. By Spc. Mike Alberts 3rd Brigade Public Affairs CAMP BEUHRING, Kuwait, Aug. 29, 2006 — For a moment, soldiers were anywhere but in the desert. There was no wind, sand, heat or war. In their minds, soldiers were transported by the power of music to more familiar places. For a moment, soldiers got their “groove” on. “V.C. Groove,” a 76th Army Band ensemble, performed live for Tropic Lightning soldiers and others at the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation stage here at Camp Beuhring, Kuwait, Aug. 3....

170 die (45 kids) as Russian plane is struck by lightning Tom Parfitt in Moscow Wednesday August 23, 2006 The Guardian A Russian airliner that crashed in eastern Ukraine yesterday killing all 170 passengers and crew on board was probably struck by lightning as it encountered heavy turbulence, a preliminary investigation suggested last night. The Tu-154 was flying from the Black Sea resort of Anapa to St Petersburg when it went down in open countryside about 30 miles north of the city of Donetsk. More than a quarter of the aircraft's passengers were children. Russia's transport ministry said bad weather...

These days, it seems, you need a college degree just to live in or around New York City. Almost 5 million people over the age of 25 in the New York metropolitan area — more than a third of the region’s population — had at least a bachelor’s degree in 2005, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau. In Manhattan, nearly three out of five residents were college graduates and one out of four had advanced degrees, forming one of the highest concentrations of highly educated people in any American city. The degree-holders are rapidly displacing the dropouts,...

San Salvador, Aug 7 (EFE).- At least 15 people, several of them children, were injured by the electric shock of a lightning bolt that hit the surroundings of an amusement park in San Salvador, a rescue team said Monday. Salvadoran Red Cross official Carlos Lopez Mendoza told EFE that the organization attended 15 people, some with burns and others with electric shock, after lightning hit a power-line transformer Sunday night. The lightning caused apprehension among the hundreds of people crowding the "Campo de la Feria," or Festival Field, set up as part of a civic celebration that ended Sunday. EFE...

The F-35 (recently named the Lightning II) is due to enter service soon. While the F-22 is widely seen as the ultimate air-to-air machine, the F-35 is described as a multi-role aircraft. How does the F-35 compare in the air-to-air mission against likely competitors like the French Rafale, the Swedish Gripen, and the multi-national Eurofighter? The Rafale, Gripen, and Eurofighter are all in service or expected to enter service in 2006. All of them boast some of the best electronics suites ever to appear in combat aircraft. All have top speeds approaching 2,000 kilometers an hour. All three aircraft carry...

by Mark Finkelstein July 12, 2006 - 20:09 Was it Robert Novak who jolted aficionados of the vendetta-against-Joe-Wilson conspiracy theory, or was the message coming from . . . a Higher Authority? You be the judge, after having a look at the screen capture from this evening's Special Report with Brit Hume on FNC. Yes, that's a lightning bolt. No, it wasn't photo-shopped - it's the real thing. The bolt hit while the panel was discussing the implications of the just-aired interview of Bob Novak by Brit Hume. Hume questioned Novak about his disclosure of Valerie Plame's employment by the...

Castle Rock - Jason Bunch was listening to Metallica on his iPod while mowing the lawn outside his Castle Rock home Sunday afternoon when lightning hit him. The last thing the 17-year-old remembers was that a storm was coming from the north and he had only about 15 minutes before he should go inside. Next thing he knew, he was in his bed, bleeding from his ears and vomiting. He was barefoot and had taken off his burned T-shirt and gym shorts. He doesn't know how he got back in the house. Bunch immediately called his mother, who was in...

Lightning Strikes Teenager Listening To iPod British Doctors Issued Warning 2 Weeks Ago POSTED: 5:10 pm MDT July 6, 2006 UPDATED: 11:06 am MDT July 7, 2006 CASTLE ROCK, Colo. -- A teenager who was hit by lightning over the weekend talked about his close brush with death Thursday. Jason Bunch was mowing the lawn and listening to his iPod at his home in Castle Rock in the 3200 block of Cherry Plum Way on Sunday when he was struck. He was taken to the hospital and was then put into the intensive care unit. Bunch recovered and was released...

WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) - The stealthy F-35 Joint Strike Fighter being developed by the United States and eight other countries is to be named the "Lightning II," in homage to two earlier fighters. The supersonic F-35 is being built by a team led by Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) at a cost of $276 billion. It is the costliest U.S. weapons program ever. "The F-35 Lightning II will be the centerpiece of airpower in the 21st century for America and our allies," Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England said in a statement on Friday. Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed is...

Pictures: Exclusive first photos of Lockheed Martin F-35 JSF ahead of official roll-out flightglobal.com has obtained exclusive photographs of Lockheed Martin's first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) as it emerged from the paint shop at Fort Worth, Texas ready for its formal roll-out and naming on 7 July. Aircraft AA-1 (pictured below), an F-35A conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) variant of the JSF, is expected to fly by late October. As a result of a redesign to reduce the weight of the F-35B short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant, AA-1 is a one-off and not fully representive of the...

Ditch That Cell Phone in a Thunderstorm http://www.healthday.com/view.cfm?id=533442 The devices may prove deadly in a lightning strike, some doctors suggest By Amanda Gardner HealthDay Reporter FRIDAY, June 23 (HealthDay News) -- Citing the case of a 15-year-old girl struck by lightning while using her cell phone in a London park last year, some doctors are warning against the outdoor use of the devices during stormy weather. The girl survived, but is confined to a wheelchair, has lost some hearing in the ear she was holding the phone to, and suffers a variety of physical, cognitive and emotional problems. She has...

WESTMINSTER, Colo. -- A 46-year-old man on a motorcycle was struck by lightning and killed Wednesday evening while riding in rush hour traffic on the Boulder Turnpike. Witnesses said they saw a flash of light just before the yellow motorcycle crashed into the center concrete divider. Gary Missi, of Longmont, was pronounced dead at the scene. It is unknown if Missi was killed by the lightning strike or by the crash that followed, authorities said. An autopsy is pending. However, Missi's bike was not badly damaged and he had injuries consistent with a lightning strike, Westminster police said. Missi was...

SOFIA (Reuters) - Lightning killed an entire herd of 70 goats in central Bulgaria Thursday, but their goatherd escaped unharmed, civil defense officials said. The herd was sheltering under a large tree during a summer storm when the bolt struck, killing all of them. "At least the goatherd managed to survive. He was under a different tree," civil defense officer Anastas Iribadzhakov told Reuters.

So, what did you fellow Freepers think about Cars?

Hello, fellow white people! Yeeeeeehaawwwwww! What in tarnation is all this jibber jabber I hear about the Iraqi war going anything but one hundred percent perfectly?! I tell ya what that is: COMMIE talk! These Un-American libs (which include minorities, women, and other minorities, such as blacks and homosexual gay queers!) the war has turned into a black hole with no "forseeable" (whatever in tarnation that big word means) end in sight. To this I say, shut your damn mouth! The only opinions that should be expressed are those that are in total agreement with our distinguished president, Dick Cheney,...

Five youths were killed when a large metal cross where they were praying was struck by lightning in central Mexico, local media reported. The five ranged in age from 9 to 16 years old.