Free Republic

A fat beaver stuck in a wrought-iron fence was rescued this week by a quick-thinking animal services officer. The adult beaver, still carrying excess fat from winter hibernation, was found stuck between two fence bars around noon Tuesday on a private property in Hamilton, city spokesperson Ann Lamanes said in a release. Officer Sarah Mombourquette used soap to free the beaver, which suffered some injuries. After resting at the city’s animal services shelter and snacking on some vegetables, the beaver is recovering at the Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge in Jarvis, Ont., and is expected to eventually be released back into the...

Three mechanics at Alaska Airlines reported to company officials earlier this year that they found no grease on the jackscrew of an MD-83 jet — the same problem that led to the fatal crash of Alaska Flight 261 nearly six years ago. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), after questions from The Seattle Times, announced yesterday it plans to open a full inquiry into the mechanics' allegations, as well as a second jackscrew incident last week that raised additional questions. "We will interview all of the people involved," said FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown in Washington, D.C. Alaska disputed the three mechanics'...

First, a bit of background. I have a friend whose NG transportation unit was activated in February and through the usual Army SNAFU's didn't get depoyed to Iraq until late April. Needless to say that within the first couple of weeks his unit started coming under fire. On one accasion when they were ordered to dismount and return fire, over half of the unit's M-16's jammed after a couple of shots. Figuring that I needed to do someting to help them out, I did a bit of research and came up with a product called Militec Synthetic Metal Conditioner. I...