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Report: Israel spots nuclear installations in Syria Washington official says Israeli surveillance shows possible Syrian nuclear installation stocked by North Korea, Israeli Arab newspaper claims target of alleged raid last week was Syrian missile base financed by Iran Israel believes that North Korea has been supplying Syria and Iran with nuclear materials, a Washington defense official told the New York Times. “The Israelis think North Korea is selling to Iran and Syria what little they have left,” he said. The official added that recent Israeli reconnaissance flights over Syria revealed possible nuclear installations that Israeli officials estimate might have been...

HONOLULU — Astronomers have discovered 28 new planets outside of our solar system, increasing to 236 the number of known exoplanets, revealing that planets can exist around a broad spectrum of stellar types, from tiny, dim stars to giants.An artist's concept of the Neptune-sized planet GJ436b (right) orbiting the M-class dwarf star Gliese 436 at a distance of 3 million miles.

IRAQ: AL-QAEDA IN IRAQ'S NEW LEADER ISSUES MESSAGE Baghdad, 28 Sept. (AKI) - The proclaimed heir to al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has urged his supporters to capture foreigners and use them as bargaining chips to free a Muslim cleric in the US. "I call on every holy fighter in Iraq to strive during this holy month (Ramadan)... to capture some dogs of the Christians so that we can liberate our imprisoned sheikh," said the speaker, identified as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, referring to sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman, in jail in the US since 1995 for the attack two...

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (news, bio, voting record) crashed his car near the Capitol early Thursday, and a police official said he appeared intoxicated. Kennedy said he had taken sleep medication and a prescription anti-nausea drug that can cause drowsiness. Kennedy, D-R.I., addressed the issue after a spate of news reports. His initial statement said: "I consumed no alcohol prior to the incident."'Later, however, he issued a longer statement saying the attending physician for Congress had prescribed Phenergan on Tuesday to treat Kennedy's gastroenteritis.Kennedy said he returned to his Capitol Hill home on Wednesday evening after a final series of votes...

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is giving astronomers their most detailed view yet of a second red spot emerging on Jupiter. For the first time in history, astronomers have witnessed the birth of a new red spot on the giant planet, which is located half a billion miles away. The storm is roughly one-half the diameter of its bigger and legendary cousin, the Great Red Spot. Researchers suggest that the new spot may be related to a possible major climate change in Jupiter's atmosphere. These images were taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys on April 8 and 16, 2006

Strange Television Ad on MSNBC and Fox News! Somebody please explain this one!

Schoolgirls riot at tourist spot By NIGEL ADLAM 17sep05 HUNDREDS of people watched in horror as a mob of schoolgirls rioted at Darwin's biggest tourist attraction. Most of the youngsters were in their teens. But several witnesses said a few were as young as six. About 20 girls threw sticks and stones, and even pulled out a street bollard, as they fought with security guards. Fighting between rival gangs of boys and girls has been escalating at Mindil Beach markets (pictured). Market manager Tim Robinson said four guards were beaten. Security and market managers are to hold a crisis meeting...

The televised images of poverty-stricken evacuees from Hurricane Katrina are part of a provocative, last-minute effort by a liberal interest group to divert federal Judge John Roberts' path to confirmation as chief justice. MoveOn.org Political Action plans to unveil a TV ad on Monday that questions whether Roberts is sensitive enough to civil rights concerns to lead the Supreme Court. The ad suggests that the plight of the mostly African-American evacuees in New Orleans showed that poverty remains a serious problem among minorities, said Ben Brandzel, the group's advocacy director. In a mix of judicial and racial politics, the ad...

LOS ANGELES - A year and a half after twin robot rovers thrilled space fans with their hijinks on Mars, NASA is heading there again. A fourth Mars orbiter is set to blast off Wednesday, carrying some of the most sophisticated science instruments ever sent into space. Circling the Red Planet, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will scan the desolate surface in search of sites to land more robotic explorers in the next decade. "It's time we start peeling back the onion layer and start looking at Mars from different vantage points," said project manager James Graf of the Jet Propulsion...

Whoa! Can you find that Angry Left face??? click here for reeeeally  large version  

Archaeologists strike gold in secret spot Eleven small, golden reliefs have been unearthed at an archaeological dig somewhere in eastern Norway. Officials won't say where, because they think more of the 1,400-year-old gold objects will be found at the site. Professor Heid Gjøstein Resi with one of the small gold reliefs found in eastern Norway. PHOTO: ARASH A. NEJAD The most intact object found in October depicts a couple, maybe the mythological figures Frøy and Gerd.PHOTO: ARASH A. NEJAD "This is a tremendously unique and exciting discovery, the kind an archaeologist makes only once in a lifetime," professor Heid Gjøstein...

LONDON (Reuters) - The reworked Band Aid charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" has clinched the coveted Christmas number one spot on the UK pop charts, the Official UK Charts Company said Sunday. As expected, Band Aid 20, a nod to the two decades that have passed since Bob Geldof (news) assembled the leading pop stars for the 1984 smash hit record, clung on to the top spot beating off competition from Ronan Keating (news) and pop queen Kylie Minogue (news). Proceeds from the new Band Aid recording -- featuring vocals from stars such as Jamelia and Coldplay's Chris...

WASHINGTON - The park service has given the Presidential Inaugural Committee clearance to erect bleachers along parts of Pennsylvania Avenue where an anti-war group had requested permits to stage a large-scale protest during President Bush (news - web sites)'s parade. The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition had applied for permits to assemble, and in some cases build bleachers, along parts of the historic street that stretches from the Capitol to the White House. The National Park Service has not acted on the coalition's permits. However, angry coalition officials argued Friday that permitting the inaugural committee to build bleachers in several open spaces, such...

Lawyers for the DNC and Kerry-Edwards sent this letter to television station managers, claiming the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth ad is "false" and "libelous." Click here for the full letter (can't be pasted into Free Republic window).

Arab TV to get inside DNC look: Al-Jazeera grabs spot in FleetCenter skybox By Dave Wedge Wednesday, July 21, 2004 It's been called everything from the CNN of the Arab world to Taliban TV. Next week, though, the controversial Al-Jazeera network will for the first time at a political convention take its place alongside other major networks in a skybox, providing live coverage of the Democratic National Convention from the FleetCenter. ``We're basically just a bunch of hard-working people of every ethnic background, working very hard like everyone else in the news business,'' Washington-based Al-Jazeera producer Stephanie Thomas told the...

<p>Spot, an English springer spaniel with a White House pedigree who spent nearly 15 years with President Bush and his family, has died, the White House announced Saturday.</p> <p>An administration official told CNN that Spot was put to sleep Saturday around 1:30 p.m. after suffering a series of strokes. Her remains will be taken to the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas.</p>

Write a message to President and Mrs. Bush on the death of his dog Spot.

Today, I thought it would be appropriate to have a Dose dedicated to the memory of Spot Fletcher Bush. We , on the Dose, have watched Spotty in her devotion and obedience to her Master and Mistress, and we know that her death will cause great pain for them, and for the entire family. Spot was a 15 year old English Springer Spaniel, daughter of President and Mrs. Bush 41’s dog, Millie. She was born in the White House, and spent her last days there as well, having suffered several strokes in her last days. It was on the recommendation...

WASHINGTON - Spot, President Bush's brown-and-white English springer spaniel, died Saturday. She would have been 15 next month. Spot was a puppy of Millie, who belonged to the elder President Bush and his wife, Barbara, and was born in the White House on March 17, 1989. The White House announced that Spot had a series of strokes recently, including one last week. Spot's veterinarian recommended that she be put to sleep, and the first family followed that advice Saturday.