Free Republic

Top GOP oversight officials say they took their investigation of the Justice Department’s “Project Gunrunner” – in which military-grade weapons were permitted to be smuggled into Mexico – to the Phoenix, Arizona last week and that transcribed interviews with key officials there contradict the agency’s official story. In a May 3 letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, House oversight committee Chairman Darrell Issa and Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley criticize Holder for continuing to deny the increasingly apparent facts that guns were allowed to be smuggled across the border. Grassley even added a personal touch, advising in a handwritten “P.S.”...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration said Friday that two Democratic senators falsely took credit for steering millions of dollars to projects in their home state, even as officials acknowledged that the Homeland Security secretary met with the lawmakers and discussed financing the projects. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano denies politics played any role in distributing stimulus money. The Associated Press reported this week that her department did not follow its own priority list when selecting projects. Montana Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester have taken credit for helping secure $77 million in stimulus money for repairs at border stations...

Week of April 15, 2006; Vol. 169, No. 15 , p. 237 Early farmers took time to tame wheat Bruce Bower Domesticated varieties of wheat emerged gradually in the prehistoric Near East over a roughly 3,000-year span, a new investigation suggests. CULTIVATED FINDS. Microscopic analysis of wheat grains such as these from a 6,500-year-old Syrian site revealed clues to plant domestication in prehistoric times. Willcox/CNRS Ken-ichi Tanno of the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature in Kyoto, Japan, and George Willcox of the National Center for Scientific Research in Berrias, France, examined 804 wheat-ear remnants recovered at four ancient villages...

A little more than two years ago, Mario Barcia Jr. was awakened in the dead of night by banging on his door. Startled -- and shaken from two previous robberies -- he grabbed his gun and ran to the front of the house. Within a matter of seconds his life would change forever. Seeing what he described only as a bright light shining through his back door, Barcia fired a single shot. Five shots were returned. Then Barcia fired twice more. His first shot had hit Miami-Dade County police officer Chad Murphy in the back. Barcia was arrested and charged...

Last week, George W. Bush took the oath of office and began his second term. With 150,000 troops still in Iraq, Iran developing nuclear weapons and new leadership in the Palestinian Authority, the Middle East will continue to dominate White House attention.To what extent will Bush's second term be different from his first? For better or worse, not much.Pundits who keep a scorecard of second-term appointments forget three factors: First, this president remains firm in his views. When he speaks about freedom, liberty and democracy, he is sincere. Second, the rank-and-file of not only the CIA, but also of the...

Humans took 1000 years to tame wild plants Anna Salleh ABC Science Online Tuesday, 13 April 2004 The Dead Sea Plain dig in Jordan. The base of a curved stone wall can be seen in front of the researcher (Image: P Edwards) Remnants of ancient barley, wheat, figs and pistachios nearly 10,000 years old are helping to solve the mystery about how and when nomadic hunter-gatherers became sedentary farmers. A team led by Australian archaeologist Dr Phillip Edwards of Melbourne's La Trobe University said its findings in the Middle East suggested humans went through a 1000-year phase of cultivating wild...

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending a midnight showing of The Two Towers. What follows is my attempt at a spoiler-free review. Of three books of the trilogy, "The Two Towers" was always my favorite - I looked forward to the movie in fevered anticipation. I decided to throw caution to the wind and go to the midnight showing; I knew I would be hurting at work today (quick nurse, my caffine IV is low!) I was very surprised to get to the theater in our small city and find it utterly packed, my friend and I were...

Saturday, 31 August, 2002, 23:01 GMT 00:01 UKHijack suspect took flying lessons Swedish police are still questioning a man on suspicion of planning to hijack a plane, amid speculation that he intended to crash the aircraft into a US embassy. Karem Chatty had received flying lessons in 1996 and 1997 in South Carolina, according to the North American Institute of Aviation. However, Swedish military and police appeared to be at odds over the suspected hijacker's motive. A military intelligence source told Reuters news agency: "We know for sure that the plan was to crash the plane into a US embassy...