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A plant that started life during the last Ice Age is still going strong in the arid scrublands of California, scientists revealed today. Researchers believe the Jurupa Oak has been around for 13,000 years, making it the oldest living plant in the world. The oak is made up of a community of cloned bushes and scientists believe it has managed to survive the extreme effects of climate change by regenerating.

The entire grove of trunks is in fact one plant, a newly discovered Palmer's oak (Quercus palmeri) that researchers estimate is over 13,000 years old, making it one of the oldest plants on Earth... none of its 70 stems get more than a few feet tall, and it grows in a boulder pile that doubles as shelter from the area's buffeting winds. At first glance, the scientists thought it was an isolated grove of trees, but something didn't add up: None of them produced fertile acorns, so the plants couldn't reproduce... Genetic analysis confirmed their suspicion. Each of the 70...

Southern California Freepers: The owners of Riley's Farm in Oak Glen, California asked me to extend this special dinner & liberty offer for those of you looking to do something fun, educational, and inspirational tomorrow night. The Rileys have built the beginnings of a colonial township in Oak Glen (near Yucaipa and Redlands) and they are beginning a new program called "An Evening with Patrick Henry." You get live colonial music, a colonial dinner, and Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty" speech, performed by colonial re-enactors. It all takes place in a farm tavern, re-recreating an 18th century candle lit public...

Sunday afternoon, under my Oak tree. Tufted Titmouse, and a Cardinal.

"On September 27, 204 Marines and soldiers who were returning from Iraq were not allowed into the passenger terminal at Oakland International Airport. Instead they had to deplane about 400 yards away from the terminal where the extra baggage trailers were located." This was not a security measure. After going through super-tight security, checking for contraband, ammunition and explosives in Kuwait, the soldiers and Marines had been allowed in the terminal building in Germany and at JFK in New York. But on the far-left coast they were quarantined from civilians.

OAKLAND -- Oakland International Airport officials apologized for prohibiting a planeload of U.S. troops, just back from Iraq, from entering the passenger terminal during a layover Thursday, prompting conservative pundits and bloggers to hold up the incident as an example of the "Left Coast" dishonoring soldiers. "We apologize, I apologize to any members of the military that were on this flight and may have experienced some discomfort or perception of disrespect," said Omar Benjamin, executive director of the Port of Oakland, which operates the airport. "There was no disrespect intended" when North American Airlines Flight 1777 was directed to wait...

By Audrey Hudson - The Oakland International Airport did not break any laws or regulations when it denied 200 Marines and soldiers access to the passenger terminal during a layover last year from Iraq to the troops' home base in Hawaii, the Transportation Department says. Calvin L. Scovell III, the department's inspector general, blamed the mix-up on security concerns and a communication failure between the Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department. The contract to allow military layovers at the California airport "did not require that military personnel have access to the airport terminal; it only required that military personnel...

The below message was received from Eaglesnest1 who doesn't quite yet know how to post a thread. Please help if you can. I'm also not sure the mother can actually make it to the airport so that is why this Welcome Home is so important. Thanks [Mr] Trooprally _______________________________________________________Hey FReepers, Does anyone live near the Oakland, CA airport? We have a request from the family of an airman returning Sunday from his second deployment in Iraq for him to receive a welcome home from as many troop supporters as possible. This information comes through Gathering of Eagles and Welcome Home,...

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory has warned that its computer systems have been infiltrated by one or more hackers who skirted system's security to gain access to personal information on the lab's visitors. The information was then used in a phishing scheme that attempted to convince victims to open a malicious e-mail attachment. The lab has not commented on the attackers' suspected motives Hackers have penetrated an upper layer of data at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a multiprogram science and technology lab managed for the U.S. Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. Scientists and engineers at ORNL work to...

Somewhat related: Remember the Oakland International Airport troop-snubbing story? There’s a new development. Thirdwavedave reports on an announcement to come tomorrow from Rep. John Mica via Andrea Shea-King: During the interview, Mica gave our listeners some “inside information” about the Oakland airport that has yet to be shared, officially, with the public, but will be Tuesday when congress reconvenes. Mica said the Department of Defense and Charter Flight Operators have agreed to halt all flights into the Oakland airport. Sacramento International, according to Mica, will likely be the airport to receive our troop layover flights from now on. Again, Mica...

What happened to our troops in Oakland By Michelle Malkin  •  September 30, 2007 10:58 AM Two days ago, an e-mail about the rude treatment of Marines and soldiers returning from Iraq started making the rounds on the Internet. The brother of one of the mistreated Marines who described the incident at Oakland Airport works on the Hill. The brother forwarded the Marine’s e-mail around. The e-mail is real, contrary to the Daily Kos nut who dismissed it as “fake” without any evidence whatsoever (can you say p-r-o-j-e-c-t-i-o-n). I contacted the Marine chaplain to verify the e-mail on Friday. He confirmed....

Spitting on the Marines [Michael Ledeen] Here is an e-mail from a Marine chaplain recently returned from Iraq. The story speaks for itself—lousy treatment of our troops at our own airports. He writes about Oakland, and while checking around I find that this is a common experience. I hope that one of our leaders will find a way to put an end to such behavior. Marines and Soldiers Returning from Iraq not allowed into Oakland terminal On September 27th 204 Marines and soldiers who were returning from Iraq were not allowed into the passenger terminal at Oakland International Airport. Instead...

The national bird, the bald eagle, will have a national tree, the oak, to alight on if legislation passed Tuesday by the House makes its way through Congress and is signed by the president. The oak tree, said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia, is present in all 50 states and "represents the fundamental characteristics of this great nation: strength, endurance and beauty." Goodlatte, in a statement, said the oak, in addition to being a highly prized material for furniture and flooring, has played a vital role in the nation's history. He recalled how Andrew Jackson took shelter under Louisiana's Sunnybrook Oaks...

GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. - Two men died Tuesday after a tree fell on the pickup truck they were riding in near Grand Rapids. Kenneth Michael Johnson, 42, and James Matthew Booth, 40, both of rural Grand Rapids, were working for Harris Township at the time, Itasca County sheriff's officials said. Sheriff Pat Medure said the two men were riding in their township work truck when an oak tree fell on its cab at about noon.

VENTURA, Calif. - A man who bulldozed more than 300 oak trees on his property could face more than 3 years in jail after he was convicted on criminal charges. William Kaddis, 58, could also face fines of nearly $100,000. He also was convicted Friday of illegally keeping 62 dogs on his property in the town of Ojai, altering a stream without permission and filing a false police report. The oak trees, protected under a 1992 Ventura County law, were destroyed sometime before October 2001. "This was the largest rape of land in the history of Ventura County, and if...

OXFORD, Miss., Oct. 21 — This was no everyday summit conference. For a start, there were a lot more bluejeans than pinstripe suits.There were dire predictions, of course, and the requisite amount of pointing with alarm. But instead of conference rooms perfumed with cigar and cigarette smoke, there were tents perfumed with oak and hickory smoke, and instead of a final communiqué full of dependent clauses, there was a final speech by Calvin Trillin of The New Yorker, full of one-liners.More than 300 people, mostly Southerners, some more knowledgeable than others, gathered on the campus of Ole Miss last weekend...

Just reported on Maryland nightly news: The "Wye tree", a 460 year old white oak in Wye Mills, MD, has fallen down across a highway. It is not certain if it was struck by lightening or the victim if high winds (stormy here today). Previously, some of it's branches were cut and made into gavels. The "Liberty tree" (somewhere else in Maryland) cracked and was cut down recently and made into guitars. I'm typing all this from memory, so pardon any errors. If anyone has a URL or official report, please do post it.