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Bayonetted and shot by drunken assassins, the slaughter of the Russian royal family shook the world. Now a new book reveals in compelling detail the horrifying final days of the Romanovs. As the light faded, a train halted in the siding near the remote railway station of Lyubinskaya on the Trans-Siberian railway line.

PARIS (AFP) - Water bathed the surface of southern Mars for millions of years, helping to create an environment theoretically capable of nurturing life, according to a new study into the planet's mysterious oceans. Scientists at Brown University in Rhode Island used an instrument aboard a US spacecraft, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, to hunt for traces of phyllosilicates, or clay-like minerals that preserve a record of water's interaction with rocks. They found phyllosilicates in thousands of places, in valleys, dunes and craters in the ancient southern highlands, pointing to an active role by water in Mars's earliest geological era, the...

Nisshinbo Industries Inc. (TSE:3105) has worked with the Tokyo Institute of Technology to develop the technology to use carbon instead of expensive platinum as the electrode catalyst for fuel cells. The company hopes to have a practical version of the new catalyst ready in fiscal 2009, and will start by commercializing a product for the electrodes of residential fuel cells. Later, it will develop and commercialize a version for automotive fuel cells.

Scarborough admits that he is courting a new constituency. http://nymag.com/news/media/48518/

The profession of journalism has lost another great. Tony Snow, the affable anchor of Fox News Sunday, host of his own radio talk show and Press Secretary under President Bush, lost his valiant battle with colon cancer on Saturday at the age of 53. Snow left a legacy of true professionalism and fair play in a business that can often be brutal and harsh when covering the political landscape. To a person, he had the respect and admiration of those he encountered; from the high and powerful in Washington, to the press corps he had to deal with as the...

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba — A man facing trial at Guantanamo for allegedly running a training camp for Sept. 11 hijackers said Thursday he would be "proud" to have participated in an attack on the U.S. "Any attack I undertook against America, or even participated or helped in, I am proud about it, and I am happy," Waleed bin Attash told a military judge. The judge, Marine Col. Ralph Kohlmann, cut Attash off before he could say anything further that could incriminate him at his upcoming trial on charges that include murder.

One of the mysteries of the universe is why President Bush bothers to charge the fixed bayonets of the global warming theocracy. On the other hand, his Administration's supposed "cowboy diplomacy" is succeeding in changing the way the world addresses climate change. Which is to say, he has forced the world to pay at least some attention to reality. That was the larger meaning of the Group of Eight summit in Japan this week, even if it didn't make the papers. The headline was that the nations pledged to cut global greenhouse emissions by half by 2050. Yet for the...

Anti-Civil Liberties Union by: Malcolm A. Kline, July 09, 2008 The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has sold many college students on the notion that the group defends the downtrodden against the powerful. In reality, the ACLU bears a closer resemblance to the insulated plutocrats it inveighs against than it does to any underdog that you can think of. “The ACLU forced a Catholic charity to pay for an employee’s abortion and an Orthodox Jewish charity to provide housing for an avowedly lesbian employee and her lover,” Steve Aden of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) said at a seminar on...

Ok, I was wondering with McCain trying to prove how much of a "maverick" and "moderate" along with his publically trashing of Pres. Bush, will he allow Pres. Bush to introduce him or even speak at the convention? Pres. Bush may not be popular with Democrats and some Democrat/Independents, but he is still at least somewhat liked by Republicans. Do you think McCain will allow President Bush or Vice President Cheney to speak at the national convention, or will he pretend like they do not exist? By the way, there is a rumor McCain may change it up like Obammesiah...

Ever notice things the left likes are immune from CGWP (Causes Global Warming Panic)? So, Plasma TVs cause global warming. Well, Arugula causes global warming. Sure. Why not? It is a cultivated plant and as we know any agricultural activity — like any activity of man — causes global warming. It requires fertilizer, pesticides and water, which is made up of H2O and we all know that O is a main ingredient of CO2, with a capital C, which rhymes with G, which stands for Global Warming.

http://www.realamericanstories.com/ People describe what it means for them to be an American.

Hartford (WTNH) _ A long forgotten flag was discovered at the Connecticut Historical Society and it dates back to the days of President Abraham Lincoln. Dr. Susan Schoelwer from the Connecticut Historical Society says a handwritten note accompanied the flag inside a simple black box. "You know we have a lot of stuff with a lot of little notes on them. Some of them are true and some of them are not," Susan said. In this case the note claims that the tattered American flag was present at a traumatic event in American history and the hand of a great...

Gold and silver bugs, move over. Investors are flocking to a new class of precious metals: the kind that actually do things, rather than end up in vaults or on fingers. Platinum prices have soared 33% this year and its cheaper cousin, palladium, has risen 22%, largely on demand for cleaner cars. A flood of new investment vehicles -- including exchange-traded funds -- that allow investors to bet on these metals' trajectory also are fueling the market. The two metals are called "precious" because of their scarcity. Platinum jewelry has long been a higher-end alternative to gold. But unlike gold,...

London (agencies) A Desperate dad last night begged medics for help because he is turning naturally into a woman. Pub singer Terry Wright said: “I am a man, not a woman. And I do not want to be a woman. “I just want to get my life back to normal.” Father-of-five Terry, 60, started losing his hair and beard ten years ago. Since then he has developed smooth skin, hot flushes. And kids living nearby taunt him by calling him “She-Man”. Blood tests have revealed Terry has abnormally high levels of the female hormone oestrogen. But doctors who have examined...

Looking for a new car? Maybe you have your heart set on something fuel-efficient because of $4 gas? Or perhaps you had a good year and feel you're ready to move up to something with a touch of style, luxury or class? Get in line. Despite tough times for the auto industry in general, there are some car models--across a broad range of classes and sizes--that are so popular that auto manufacturers are selling them faster than they can build them. The range of hard-to-get vehicles is as diverse as consumer tastes and budgets in general. Case in point: As...

Department of Veterans Affairs Prepares to Strip John McCain of Vietnam Veteran Title News Release Date: 26 June, 2008 From: website, www.BlueWaterNavy.org  Note: This article refers to proposed changes to the rules defining 'Service in Vietnam' set forth by the Department of Veterans Affairs in response to the 'Haas vs. Peake' decision in the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. By the implementation of changes as set forth in the Federal Register, April 16, 2008, regarding "Definition of Service in the Republic of Vietnam," for the purpose of clarifying eligibility for presumption of exposure to herbicides status, the DVA very clearly...

Surprising many Republican insiders, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is at the top of the vice presidential prospect list for John McCain. But lack of personal chemistry could derail the pick. “Romney as favorite” is the hot buzz in Republican circles, and top party advisers said the case is compelling. Campaign insiders say McCain plans to name his running mate very shortly after Barack Obama does, as part of what one campaign planner called a “bounce-mitigation strategy.”

As a musician and producer who lives and breathes for new technology, I am convinced of two things concerning the future of radio: 1. Terrestrial radio is a dead man walking. 2. Satellite and Internet radio are the going to be the new and permanent sheriffs in town. Now I think we all know why The National Association of Broadcasters is so against the Sirius/XM Merger. Their business model is so outdated it has rust flaking off the chassis. We know that the satellite radio race is in turmoil thanks to our fun loving politicians at the Justice Department and...

Last month, Wake Forest dropped the SAT and ACT as an entrance requirement, becoming the only top-30 national university with a test-optional policy. This step away from standardized tests will help us and other institutions of higher education move closer to the goals of greater educational quality and opportunity. Our decision to reevaluate our admissions policy grew out of a close look at the state of higher education and some long, hard thinking about the kind of university we want Wake Forest to be. For several years, a growing body of research has made clear that America's top colleges and...

Thirty years ago this past week, Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. condemned our nation's selective colleges and universities to live a lie. Writing the deciding opinion in the case Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, he prompted these institutions to justify their use of racial preferences in admissions with a rationale most had never considered and still do not believe – a desire to offer a better education to all students. To this day, few colleges have even tried to establish that their race-conscious admissions policies yield broad educational benefits. The research is so fuzzy and...

NEW YORK — Amnesty International is currently touring the country with a life-sized replica of a maximum security prison cell at Guantánamo Bay. But critics say the cell, which is an attempt to call attention to alleged human rights abuses at the camp, is missing basic amenities provided to prisoners. The 7x10-foot cell, on display on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., lacks amenities like bedding, toiletries and a copy of the Koran, and it has nothing to illustrate that regular meals are served to inmates three times a day.

Welcome to the 26 JUN 08 edition of The FReeper Canteen! Happy Birthday toCHESTY PULLER! Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller (26 JUN 1898 - 11 OCT 1971) was the most decorated Marine in American history. Puller is the only United States Marine to receive five Navy Crosses, the United States Navy's second highest decoration after Congressional Medal of Honor. During his career, he fought in World War 2 and the Korean War, and participated in some of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history. Puller, whose nickname was inspired by his barrel chest, was born in West Point,...

A Yale Tale by: Malcolm A. Kline, June 25, 2008 Under the guise of scholarship, the professoriat would have us “leave them alone” but is the feeling mutual? You can get an insight into the answer to this question not by what they tell the public but what they communicate to each other. Take Yale sociologist Michael Yarbrough. His university web site tells us that he “works in the areas of law and society; family; the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality; and political subjectivity.” His page goes on to note that “He is particularly interested in the role of...

I'm an Iowan. My feet are dry.. all Praise to God. So, I will say what is on the minds of a lot of Iowans that are busy trying to hold their families together right now. These flood victims are no less worthy of help than New Orleans residents. To totally ignore them is like an elephant in the room. Why are you ignoring us? Are we too humble? Are we too unworthy because we help ourselves and each other? Are we the wrong class? The wrong color? The wrong location? Are we too quiet? Or are we not something...

Planned Parenthood's New Approach Draws Critics Planned Parenthood is building new, more stylishly appointed health centers as part of an effort to attract more-affluent patients and increase its revenue, but some critics say that Planned Parenthood is drifting away from its original mission, reports The Wall Street Journal. Planned Parenthood has built two large new health centers, with at least five more on the way, and has opened more than two-dozen “express centers,” which offer faster service and sell merchandise. Many of the centers are located in suburban shopping malls. Last year, the organization altered its mission statement, which used...

Is there someone in your workplace -- a domineering manager, a difficult coworker, or maybe even a demanding client or customer -- who drives you crazy? Are there people at your job who make you feel inadequate, unworthy, or just plain miserable? Difficult people exist at work as in all facets of life, and they come in every variety. Dealing with these types is easier when the person is just generally obnoxious or when their behavior affects more than one person. But it is much tougher when they personally attack you or undermine your professional standing. While you probably can't...

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - One in three information technology professionals abuses administrative passwords to access confidential data such as colleagues' salary details, personal emails or board-meeting minutes, according to a survey. U.S. information security company Cyber-Ark surveyed 300 senior IT professionals, and found that one-third admitted to secretly snooping, while 47 percent said they had accessed information that was not relevant to their role. "All you need is access to the right passwords or privileged accounts and you're privy to everything that's going on within your company," Mark Fullbrook, Cyber-Ark's UK director, said in a statement released along with the survey...

In a week or so, the trumpets will sound, heralding the start of 18 months of non-stop festivities in honor of Charles Darwin. July 1, 2008, is the 150th anniversary of the first announcement of his discovery of natural selection, the main driving force of evolution. Since 2009 is the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth (Feb. 12), as well as being the 150th anniversary of the publication of his masterpiece, “On the Origin of Species” (Nov. 24)... But hold on. Does he deserve all this? He wasn’t, after all, the first person to suggest that evolution happens. ...his grandfather, Erasmus...

...The AP’s disharmony with bloggers may have only just begun, as the alternative it’s now offering to being served with takedown notices involves paying an up-front sum for excerpting online articles — as few as five words… The pricing scale for excerpting AP content begins at $12.50 for 5-25 words and goes as high as $100 for 251 words and up. Nonprofit organizations and educational institutions enjoy a discounted rate. The AP notice can be found: HERE.

Everybody knows somebody who has had a sudden, fatal heart attack, and it's many people's secret fear. More than 300,000 Americans die of heart disease without making it to the hospital each year; Deaths from cardiovascular disease in general have dropped dramatically in recent years, but it is still the No. 1 killer of men and women in the U.S. -- That's in part because, for all the advances doctors have made in understanding risk factors, lowering cholesterol with statins and propping open narrowed arteries with stents, most heart attacks are caused when tiny bits of plaque break loose and...

Societies have a way of designating certain groups of people as "problematic" and then scapegoating them - as a class of people, without regard for individual distinctions within the designated group - as the source of the major problems that society faces. Most countries have done it at one time or another in their history. We've done it here in the United States. Reading through reader responses throughout the online world of HoustonBelief.com, the larger chron.com site, and other major news sources in the country, I wonder if we aren't participating yet again in one of the oldest mechanisms in...

I'm a big Laura Ingraham fan so I was sad today to find out that she is no longer listed at the STREAMING RADIO GUIDE for Conservative talk radio shows. All they have is, at the bottom, a cryptic link to "[Not Laura Ingraham]." I hope she is back on the air soon. It's great that she is on FOX but her best format is radio. She is great the way she uses humor in her radio shows. Laura makes it a lot of FUn to review current events the way she handles it. Her interaction with her radio staff...

Civil-Liberties Group Announces $335-Million Drive The American Civil Liberties Union on Monday announced a campaign to raise $335-million, far more than it has sought before in a single drive, according to the Associated Press. The campaign will focus on raising money to expand the organization’s work in Florida, Texas, and other places where the New York group is not as established. “The purpose is to build a civil-liberties infrastructure in the middle of the country — where battleground states are often under-resourced and our efforts are most needed,” said Anthony Romero, the civil-rights group’s executive director. The organization has already...

[Book review] Excerpt: Mr. Riemen's Nobility of Spirit is intended as a meditation on the forces that threaten civilization and, no less important, on the forces that are desperately needed to sustain it... The originality of Mr. Riemen's argument resides less in its defense of universal values than in its analysis of the assault they have suffered for so long. If so many intellectuals today find it difficult to utter words like "truth," "beauty," "piety" or "goodness" without mockery or ironic derision, the cause may be traced, in large part, to the abuse of those terms by philosophers and social...

Some of the nation’s biggest banks have closed their doors to students at community colleges, for-profit universities and other less competitive institutions, even as they continue to extend federally backed loans to students at the nation’s top universities. Citibank has been among the most aggressive in paring the list of colleges it serves. JPMorgan Chase, PNC and SunTrust say they have not dropped whole categories, but are cutting colleges as well. Some less-selective four-year colleges, like Eastern Oregon University and William Jessup University in Rocklin, Calif., say they have been summarily dropped by some lenders. The practice suggests that if...

Southeast Texas seniors describe storming beach at Normandy as young men By: ROSE YBARRA, The Enterprise 06/06/2008 Updated 06/06/2008 09:57:18 AM CDT Arlie Horn stands by a display of medals he received while serving in the U.S. Army. On the evening of June 5, 1944, Arlie Ray Horn and his fellow soldiers from the 175th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division were fired up. Their adrenaline was pumping as they prepared mentally and physically to invade Omaha Beach - the code name for a spot on the shores of Normandy on the French coast. The troops were ready for immediate battle against...

Excerpt: Friends of New Orleans, a charity formed to help that city recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, is paying for the party, and for a concert with New Orleans-style food at the Fillmore Auditorium afterward for the 6,000 delegates and their guests on Aug. 24, the Sunday before the convention opens.

I know many of you have probably seen this, and heard this wonderful song, but many probably have not. If you haven't, it's worth a few minutes of your time.

Washington Times Renews Website and Paper by: Santiago Leon, June 04, 2008 The Washington Times has recently gone from a 20th Century newspaper to a 21st Century multimedia company that most other news organizations have become. The Times renovated their website for the first time in about five years and changed the design, layout, to allow the readers to interact with today’s news. The website will provide videos and audio webcasts that will be of news stories reported by the Times reporters. The videos will also include six to eight original shows from popular personalities of the paper. One of...

But what scientists do know now that they didn't just a decade ago is that people generate new brain cells, and new connections between them, throughout life. Mental stimulation is one key. The more you challenge your brain, the more new nerve pathways you form. A mini-industry of brain teasers, puzzles and computer games has sprung up to help worried baby boomers do just that. But you can give your brain a good workout with just a few modifications in your daily life. Some of the niftiest are "neurobics" -- a term popularized by the late neurobiologist Lawrence Katz for...

A British artist has produced what she calls a "photo-fit" of the Yeti based on "potentially explosive" new evidence of the elusive creature's existence. Wildlife painter Polyanna Pickering was shown what is believed to be a 100-year-old yeti scalp at a remote monastery in the Himalayas. The sketch was produced with the help of eyewitness accounts At least one expert believe it could be the most important proof yet that the giant apelike beast is more than mere folklore. Ms Pickering was gathering material for a new exhibition in the remote Bhutan region of the Himalayas when she made her...

LOS ANGELES -- The man who composed and whistled the theme to "The Andy Griffith Show" has died. His wife said that Earle Hagen died at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif. He was 88. Hagen composed themes and music for about 3,000 hours of television in his career that lasted 60 years. His other famous themes include "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "The Mod Squad" "Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C." and "I Spy." Hagen won an Emmy for some of the music he wrote for "I Spy."

Once again, the media has released a "nature is out to kill us all" article. Source: Comcast News. The writer of the article was, to be quite blunt, pretty damned irresponsible in selecting the information with which the reader is presented. Go figure. I will break this down point by point and fill in the blanks after each article snippet. My comments are in boldface: Para.1: More than 10,000 people per year are hospitalized with Clostridium difficile. Response: 10,000 people is about 0.00003% of the population of the United States. This hardly constitutes a widespread epidemic. Para. 2: The germ...

Health-care stocks, long considered a safe haven for investors during troubled times, are taking a bigger beating than other sectors, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Dow Jones Wilshire U.S. Healthcare Index is down 11 percent so far this year, according to the paper. Compare that with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (down 5.9 percent) and the Nasdaq Composite Index (7.8 percent). The fall is being led by pharmaceutical and managed-care companies, many of which are down by more than a third. "What happened?" asks the Journal. "Many companies have been simply overwhelmed by their own problems, such as...

In August 1980, with no hope left of winning the nomination, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy conceded defeat to incumbent Jimmy Carter in the Democratic presidential race. "For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end," Kennedy said at the Democratic National Convention in New York. "For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die." And with that, at age 48, Kennedy returned to the Senate, where he committed himself to a career as a legislator, crafting landmark bills on health...

In MemoriamClyde J. McGee September 19, 1930(Beach, MS)— May 11, 2008 (Dallas, TX) BMC, USN Retired from the U.S. Navy after thirty years of service. Laid to rest on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 10:00 A.M. at Restland Memorial Park in Dallas.

In Memoriam Franklin Patric Willeford HN3 USNNAVY CROSSMarch 17, 1943 (Lawton OK) — December 14, 1968 (Quang Nam, Republic of Vietnam) Vietnam Memorial Panel 36W, Row 021 Citation The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Franklin Patric Willeford (3537852), Hospitalman, U.S. Navy, for extraordinary heroism on 14 December 1968 while serving as a Platoon Corpsman in Company C, First Battalion, Fifth Marines, FIRST Marine Division (Reinforced), Fleet Marine Force, in Quang Nam Province, Republic of Vietnam. As Hospitalman Willeford's platoon was participating in a company-sized sweep through an area, the lead element...

Tehran, May 25, IRNA American filmmaker and author, Michael Moore held talks with the representative of Iran's Documentary and Experimental Cinema Development Center at the 61st Cannes International Film Festival in southern France on Sunday. In the meeting, Moore voiced his willingness to take part in the Second Iran International Documentary Film Festival slated for October 14-19. Moore, a vocal critic who denounced Bush and the war in Iraq, further expressed regret for not participating in Iran's first documentary film festival.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a warning Thursday on the anti-smoking drug Chantix, advising medical examiners "to not qualify anyone currently using this medication for commercial motor vehicle licenses." The FMCSA oversees the interstate trucking and bus industry. Chantix, made by Pfizer, Inc., was attacked in a study by a non-profit group on Wednesday for possible links to seizures, dizziness, heart irregularity, diabetes and more than 100 accidents. The Department of Transportation alerted its agencies about the study, asking the office directors be aware of the report's warnings and recommendations. The Federal Aviation Administration banned the drug for...

China's commerce minister taken the unusual step of publicly thanking foreign companies for donating earthquake aid. The minister, Chen Deming, issued his thank-you on national television, dismissing accusations spread on Chinese websites that foreign companies have been doing too little. Chen says China has seen what he called "the greatest amount of donations from the international community ever in history." He rejected as "totally unfounded" complaints posted on Chinese websites that foreign companies were "international misers." Chen says that as of Thursday, foreign companies had donated $245 million in cash and $29 million in supplies, including food, tents and bottled...