Free Republic

A mysterious metal ball reportedly fell from space , landing in a grasslands area of the African nation of Namibia. So far experts claim the object is not of alien origin. It has two bumps on each end, appears to be hollow and weights about 13 pounds. Namibia's National Forensic Science Institute Director Paul Ludik said the sphere is 3.6 feet around and is made out of a "sophisticated" alloy that is not unknown to modern science, although it has no identifying markings to link it with a country or a company. So far that's about all we're told. But...

PLYMOUTH, Mass. -- A piece of debris came crashing through the roof of a building in Plymouth. Investigators are not sure where the piece of debris came from or what it came from. However, they do know it came from far up because the force of the object falling tore a hole through the roof of a building. Luckily, the object fell into an empty room and no one was hurt. Andrew McWilliams, an employee at Michael’s Warehouse, was shocked when he opened a door in his office to see the debris on the floor. “And that was the first...

A new map of the moon has uncovered a trove of areas rich in titanium, which could one day be mined. Lava flows that turned into rocks on the moon are enriched with titanium in concentrations far higher than what is found on Earth. The precious material could be used to construct equipment for lunar and other spacecraft.< Detailed maps from a robotic NASA science satellite circling the moon show deposits as rich as about 18 percent, planetary geologist Jeffrey Gillis-Davis, with the University of Hawaii, told Discovery News. “Up to 3 percent is considered high on Earth,” he said....

With Labor Day coming up, I find myself again reflecting on the wisdom of our elected leaders, who, in years past, had the insight to offer a holy day of celebration in honor of the American Labor Movement and its Marxist underpinnings. But that’s not all I found myself doing this fine weekend. No, I was on the road for an extended drive in my fairly new, reliable as hell, non-union-built Toyota Tacoma, which came equipped with Sirius Satellite Radio reception. Our single local “conservative talk” station, in typical lame fashion, had again bumped Rush’s Weekend in Review for some...

I would trade a cow for these magic beans. Seriously. "Coffee Joulies" are a new invention that are stainless steel "beans" that keep your coffee at the perfect temperature for several hours. Hours. How do they work? Their Kickstarter page says: This material is designed to melt at 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and absorbs a lot of energy as it melts. This is how Joulies cool your coffee down three times faster than normal. Once it reaches this temperature, the special material begins to solidify again, releasing the energy it stored when it melted. This is how Joulies keep your coffee...

Ugh. Hong Kong's English daily South China Morning Post has a distinctly unsavory dispatch from the Chinese media this morning: Government scientists have released research that millions of acres of Chinese agricultural land and over 12 million tons of Chinese grain are contaminated by toxic metal pollution, according to this week's edition of the China Economic Weekly, a state-run magazine. Last week, a separate article reported that 10% of Chinese rice contained excess cadmium, a heavy metal known to cause cancer.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2010 – Final preparations are under way in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for the commissioning tomorrow of the Navy’s newest guided-missile destroyer, to be named honoring Marine Corps Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, who received the Medal of Honor posthumously for heroism in Iraq. Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James F. Amos is slated to deliver the keynote address during the ceremony at Port Everglades, and Debra Dunham will serve as sponsor of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer named for her late son. Navy Cmdr. M. Scott Sciretta, USS Jason Dunham’s first commanding officer, and his 276-member crew also...

Sharply raising the stakes in a dispute over Japan’s detention of a Chinese fishing trawler captain, the Chinese government has placed a trade embargo on all exports to Japan of a crucial category of minerals used in products like hybrid cars, wind turbines and guided missiles. Chinese customs officials are halting all shipments to Japan of so-called rare earth elements, industry officials said on Thursday morning. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao personally called for Japan’s release of the captain, who was detained after his vessel collided with two Japanese coast guard vessels about 40 minutes apart as he tried...

Uranium is a very unusual sector. For one, it's small. So small, that at one point in history top-producing nations like Canada and France tried to form a uranium cartel to control prices for the metal. The "uranium OPEC" failed. But production today is de facto controlled by a handful of companies. Consider this. The world's top ten uranium mines account for 59% of global production. (The top mine, Saskatchewan's McArthur River, alone puts out 15% of the world's supply.) This is very concentrated, compared to other sectors. In the copper sector, the top ten mines turn out just 30%...

Just when you thought a medical degree meant something, Ozzy Osbourne is now “Dr. Ozzy.” Crazy, that’s how it goes. The former pill-popping, pot-smoking, cognac-swilling ant snorter who was hit by a plane, treated for rabies, committed to a mental hospital and declared legally dead twice has a new gig - health columnist for the Times of London. What, Keith Richards wasn’t available? Writes Dr. Ozzy: “It makes perfect sense: I’ve seen literally thousands of doctors over my lifetime, and spent well over 1 million pounds on them, to the point where I sometimes think I know more about being...

Supplies of speciality metals like lithium, neodymium and indium could become restricted unless recycling rates improve. That's the message from the first two of six reports prepared to assess metal supply sustainability for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 'Scientists should anticipate the possibility that they may not have the whole periodic table to work with in future,' says Thomas Graedel, who led the Global Metal Flows Working Group that compiled the studies.  The report series won't deliver overall supply and demand projections until nearer to the 2012 Rio Earth Summit. Nevertheless Graedel, who is also director of Yale University's Center for Industrial Ecology...

Ronnie James Dio, whose soaring vocals, poetic lyrics and mythic tales of a never-ending struggle between good and evil broke new ground in heavy metal, died Sunday, according to a statement from his wife and manager. He was 67.

Bret Michaels was rushed to the hospital late Thursday night after suffering a massive hemorrhage near his brain stem, this according to People.com. Michaels is reportedly in critical condition at an undisclosed hospital. According to the report, Michaels was suffering from excruciating headaches earlier in the day. According to the report, Michaels underwent several tests -- including CAT Scans and MRIs. The report claims it was determined Michaels suffered from a "subarachnoid hemorrhage" -- bleeding at the base of his brain stem. Earlier this month, Michaels was rushed to the hospital after experiencing stomach pains -- he ended up having...

The China Containerized Freight Index has bee-lined upward in 2010. The index tracks shipping prices for goods sailing from China to 11 different regions around the world. Between January 15 and February 26, the index rose 17%. During the same period, the Baltic Dry Index (which tracks average shipping prices globally) fell 18%. As I mentioned, these numbers suggest a big increase in goods being shipping from China relative to the rest of the world. With anecdotal evidence that at least some of the exports were metals. The fear being that Chinese metals stockpiles are being drawn down and re-exported....

THEIR reputation for raping and pillaging may not have set them out as the ideal role-models for an environmentally-friendly way of life. But it seems that lessons could perhaps be learnt from the Vikings after the intriguing discovery in Yorkshire of what is believed to be a metal recycling centre dating back to the 11th century. Historians and metal detector enthusiasts have made the find which is being heralded as evidence of how the Norse invaders recycled their fearsome array of weapons. Hundreds of pieces of metal including arrowheads, shards of swords and axe heads have been unearthed as part...

Gold Reaches New Record Above $1,100 By Nick Godt MarketWatch NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures barreled to a new record high above $1,100 an ounce on Friday, as news that the U.S. unemployment rate topped 10.2% in October boosted expectations the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates near zero well into next year, pressuring the dollar. Gold for December delivery, the most active futures contract, rose as high as $1,100.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained up to $1,101.90 an ounce in electronic trade. It recently gained $6.40, or 0.6%, to $1,095.80. The U.S. economy...

Lit drummer Allen Shellenberger dead at 39 By Alex Young on August 14th, 2009 Allen Shellenberger, founding member and drummer of the band Lit, lost his battle with brain cancer yesterday. He was 39-years-old. In May of 2008, the California native was diagnosed with a malignant glioma brain tumor and immediately underwent clinical trials, chemotherapy, and radiation treatments at the Cedars-Sinai Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute. Shellenberger had been a member of Lit for nearly two decades and had been performing with the band until last fall. He is survived by his daughter Giovanna Mackey, his mother Connie James, and his...

The US has been Brazil’s principal trading partner for nearly 80 years, but a sudden surge in Chinese demand for Brazilian iron ore in the first quarter of this year dislodged the Americans. The news is the latest sign of China’s increasing challenge to US hegemony in Latin America. China has been steadily increasing its sphere of influence and has become particularly close to the four “Red” South American countries: Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru.

If you’re looking for “Spinal Tap” jokes, you won’t find them here. Sure, that “mock-umentary” did a great job nailing the vacuous hilarity at the heart of bloated ’80s heavy metal, and it made just about every rock documentary that followed in its wake seem like at least a bit of a joke. Iron Maiden, however, has never fit the accepted mold, nor followed the rules. And with its brilliant new “road movie” “Flight 666,” the band shows no sign of doing so — now or ever.

The Federal Aviation Administration says a piece of hot metal that crashed through the roof of a Jersey City business did not come from an airplane.FAA spokeswoman Arlene Salac says investigators examined the metal and determined it is made of cast iron, which is not used in airplanes. She says it's up to local authorities to determine where the object came from.Owner Al Smith was fork-lifting a sofa onto a wooden storage platform around 10 a.m. at his moving company when he heard a sound he thought was a bomb.A piece of warm metal the size of a brick came...

NEW YORK - One of Iraq's first heavy metal bands has been reunited in the United States after fleeing their homeland as refugees. Members of Acrassicauda faced death threats in Iraq for playing Western rock music and went into hiding before spending two years exiled in Syria and Turkey. Named after a type of scorpion, Acrassicauda began writing and playing heavy metal in 2001 after being inspired by bands including Metallica and Slayer.

Saw this and got really really excited about it.

AugustReview.com [Editor's note: members of the Trilateral Commission and companies with Commission representation appear in bold type.] Since 1973, this writer has made inquiry as to the location and ownership of the vast stores of monetary gold (400 oz., .999 pure bars) in the world. There has not been a formal audit on Fort Knox, for instance, since the Eisenhower administration. Official statistics on gold holdings are often contradictory. Getting plain answers from any Central Bank in the world, including the Fed, is virtually impossible. This paper points out a pattern of manipulation that has been clearly observed by many...

At first glance, Cesare Bonizzi looks like the archetypal Capuchin monk - round-faced, stout, with twinkling eyes and a long flowing white beard. But beneath his robes beats a heart of metal. Brother Cesare is the lead singer in a heavy metal band which has just released its second album. A former missionary in the Ivory Coast, he lives in a small friary in the Milan hinterland. The 62-year-old monk's love affair with heavy metal began when he attended a Metallica concert some 15 years ago. "I was overwhelmed and amazed by the sheer energy of it" he says. Brother...

Per popular demand, after the very successful "Who Is Your Favorite Drummer?" thread, here we have a new posting to determine who is your favorite guitarist of all time.

My Favorite: BUN E. CARLOS OF CHEAP TRICK! I LOVE YA, BUN!!!

And The Winners Are....

Musicians Ozzy Osbourne, Stevie Nicks, Ted Nugent, Steve Winwood, Robert Plant, Kenny Loggins, Glenn Frey, Alice Cooper, Tony Iommi, Chris Squire, James Taylor, Todd Rundgren, Jackson Browne, Olivia Newton-John, Donna Summer, John Bonham (R.I.P.) & Rick James (R.I.P.)

Saw that they finally have this up on the band's website, so I figure I'll post it to give people an opportunity to learn that not all of us metal fans are dirty, dark people who take one shower a week. Hope you guys enjoy it.

A'Keiba Burrell - daughter of rapper MC Hammer. Landon Brown - eldest son of R&B singer Bobby Brown. Lara Johnston -daughter of Doobie Brothers' singer Tom Johnston. Chloe Lattanzi - daughter of Olivia Newton-John. Crosby Loggins - son of singer Kenny Loggins. Jesse Money -daughter of singer Eddie Money. Jesse Blaze Snider - son of Dee Snider. Albert J. Brown IV - son of R&B singer Al B. Sure. Lucy Walsh - daughter of legendary guitarist Joe Walsh.

Metal pipes worth more than some US homes By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles Last Updated: 2:19am BST 02/04/2008 Copper pipes and wiring found in many of America's repossessed homes are now more valuable than the properties themselves. Across the country thieves are stripping empty houses of the copper, aluminium, and brass in their plumbing and heating systems to take advantage of the crashing property market and the soaring price of scrap metal, much of which is sold to China and India. The trend has accelerated as the glut of unwanted properties clog the market, dragging down house prices. "Houses...

"Copper thieves hit Omaha's police/fire training center being built"... "Not even public-safety buildings are immune from thieves in search of copper. The building that will house Omaha’s police and fire training center, under construction at Rainwood Road and Nebraska Highway 133, was victimized... Thieves stole copper piping and fittings, a saw and a core-drill machine worth more than $5,000. The building is next door to the National Guard Readiness Center."

Quiet Riot vocalist Kevin DuBrow was found dead at his home in Las Vegas on Sunday. Friends reportedly went to his home and found the singer. The musician was 52. DuBrow started the heavy metal band Dubrow in 1980 and later changed the name to Quiet Riot. The group released an album “Mental Health” that took them to the top of the charts. They were the first metal band to receive number one status on their debut album. Their latest album “Rehab” was released in 2006. Most recently, the group performed in July at glam metal festival “Rocklahoma” and at...

Baby's x-ray showing the inserted metal implants (photo: Bill Osment) A cat who was fitted with metal plates in all four legs after surviving two 21ft falls has been dubbed "bionic".Six-year-old Baby fractured her back legs after falling from a window in her south London home in September. The domestic short-haired cat had a metal plate and screws inserted at the Blue Cross animal hospital in Victoria. To the surprise of vets, an X-ray showed she had two implants in her front legs, inserted after a similar plunge when she was a kitten. Extremely lucky Vets said Baby was...

Archaeologists stumble on sensational find 4 October 2007 Prokuplje -- Serbian archaeologists found evidence of the what could be the oldest metal workshop in all of Europe. According to National Museum archaeologist Dušan Šljivar, experts found a “copper chisel and stone ax at a location near Prokuplje in which the foundation has proven to be 7,500 years old, leading us to believe that it was one of the first places in which metal weapons and tools were made in prehistory.” Archaeologists hope that this find in southern Serbia will prove the theory that the metal age began a lot earlier...

LONDON - Led Zeppelin will perform a one-time comeback concert in memory of Ahmet Ertegun, a co-founder of Atlantic Records. The band will perform together for the first time in 19 years on Nov. 26, at London's The O2 venue, on the banks of the River Thames. Promoters said the concert would pay tribute to Ertegun _ the label boss who popularized Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Led Zeppelin _ who died in December at age 83. "During the Zeppelin years, Ahmet Ertegun was a major foundation of solidarity and accord," said Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant. "For us he...

I have this machine called a Metals Analyzer made by Applied Precision Technologies. It looks to be made in the 60's. It was given to my father by a man who said it was based on Tesla coil technology. Anyone know anything about it?

Police have warned of a bizarre crime wave sweeping Britain as thieves strip millions of pounds' worth of metal off buildings to ship to China and other countries where demand is soaring.   Costly: The damaged roof of the Ragged School Museum, which was left with a repair bill of £20,000 Thousands of properties - including hundreds of churches and other historic buildings with lead roofs - have been targeted by organised gangs who sell the metal on to unscrupulous dealers.It is then shipped overseas, either as scrap or after being melted down, to countries such as India, China and...

Police have warned of a bizarre crime wave sweeping Britain as thieves strip millions of pounds' worth of metal off buildings to ship to China and other countries where demand is soaring. Thousands of properties - including hundreds of churches and other historic buildings with lead roofs - have been targeted by organised gangs who sell the metal on to unscrupulous dealers. It is then shipped overseas, either as scrap or after being melted down, to countries such as India, China and Dubai, which are struggling to find enough materials to keep their booming manufacturing and building industries supplied. According...

As the price of copper and other metals rises, increasingly bold thieves in Washtenaw County are stripping the plumbing out of new houses, cutting catalytic converters off cars and going so far as stealing the ground wires from emergency radio towers. Yet the latest target of metal-seeking crooks has people shaking their heads in disbelief. "There's this fundamental belief that you'll be treated right after you're gone and that cemeteries won't be victimized,'' Washtenaw County Sheriff's Cmdr. Dave Egeler said after nearly 70 copper vases were swiped from grave sites at the Washtenong Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Ann Arbor...

When most bombs go off, they release a spray of deadly shards of steel. Now, imagine that those shards were themselves explosive, detonating in a massive chain reaction. It's for real: Defense contractors are harnessing the strange alchemy of reactive materials (RMs) — in which two or more inert materials are mixed to create an explosion — to develop smaller, more lethal warheads, as well as new ways to protect troops against mortar rounds and rocket-propelled grenades. RMs generally consist of powdered metals, such as aluminum or titanium, combined with an oxidizing agent. Whether that agent is another powdered metal...

China to increase rare metals' export tax By Tu Lei (chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2007-05-28 17:07 China will raise export taxes on a range of rare metal products, including tungsten, rare earth, and molybdenum, from June 1, in a bid to protect resources from running out, said Wu Rongqing, an official with the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council. The policy says the increased export tax on tungsten, rare-earth, and molybdenum is 15 percent, and tariffs on molybdenum oxide, ammonium molybdate, and natrium molybdate range from a five to 15 percent increase compared with the tax rebate policy on rare metals...

Japanese metal stolen to 'feed China's Olympic boom' Justin McCurry in Tokyo Monday March 5, 2007 Guardian Unlimited (UK) A worker pushes parts of a motorcycle at a scrapyard in Guangzhou, southern China. Japanese authorities claim metal stolen across the country ends up with Chinese metal merchants. Photograph: Color China Photo/AP The next time Japanese children turn up at their local park to find that their slide has disappeared overnight, they could try blaming rocketing world metal prices. Stainless steel slides are among a growing list of metal objects to have vanished in Japan in a spate of thefts that...

Some of the artefacts confiscated may be up to one million years old French customs officials say they have seized more than 650 ancient artefacts smuggled from Mali in one of the largest such finds at a Paris airport. Described as an "archaeological treasure", the objects were thought to be on their way to private US buyers. Experts say most of the items are from the Neolithic period, but some may be up to one million years old. The artefacts are thought to have been taken from archaeological sites on the edge of the Sahara desert. The 669 items...

I need some ideas from someone familiar with US military medals. I'm holding in my hand right now a medal that belonged to an officer in the Army of the Republic of China during WWII. As far as I can figure, the medal is a Purple Heart, but the ribbon is from a Silver Star. It does not have any obvious signs of having been altered in any way. If not some kind of fake or forgery, does anyone have any ideas what this might be? Thanks!

(New Haven-WTNH, Sept. 19, 2006 10:45 PM) _ A student's refusal to walk through a safety detector earns him a trip home. For some the installation of metal detectors in schools is to better protect those inside. One New Haven student is refusing to walk the walk, questioning whether his rights are being violated. The district says it is like the right to enter a courtroom or get on a plane. It's new policy to keep young people safe. For this New Haven student it's all about his fourth amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Nick...

Thirty-seven years after Led Zeppelin's debut, their albums continue to sell in the millions, while their music inspires everyone from Aussie metalheads to Nashville punks The studded leather bracelets and Napoleon Dynamite merchandise at Hot Topic target customers between the ages of fourteen and twenty-two—kids who weren't born when Led Zeppelin broke up in 1980. Nonetheless, the all-time top-selling band T-shirt at the chain's 700-plus mall stores is Zep's Swan Song tee—the one bearing the image of a naked, winged Apollo. "It's not like with the CBGB or Ramones T-shirts, where it was a fashion trend," says Cindy Levitt, vice...

Ancient Metal Relics Discovered in Jiroft Jul 19, 2006 The police department of Jiroft succeeded in confiscating 41 metal relics belonging to the pre-historic and historic periods. The most ancient one is a Riton belonging to the third millennium BC. Riton is a kind of goblet with the head of an animal, usually in the shape of a lion, horse, ibex, or winged lion. "The police department of Jiroft found 41 bronze, copper, and silver relics. The most ancient one is a Riton with the head of a humped cow belonging to some 5000 years ago," said Nader Soleimani, archeologist...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Jan. 26, 2006) Amidst the 800 shiny new cars at the 2006 Washington D.C. Auto Show, the Stryker stands out like a sturdy green oak in a flower garden. “We’re here in support of recruiting command and basically to show the taxpayers what they’re getting for their money,” said Randall R. Rankin, spokesperson for the Stryker display. “It’s big, it’s green, it’s got a gun on it, and it draws a crowd.” The purpose of the display is to showcase the Army’s newest capabilities, the Stryker family of vehicles being one of the newer vehicles in...