Free Republic

As we have discussed here a few times, Democrats often struggle with identifying who the real bad guys are in a conflict. Sure, they had a moment of clarity after 9/11, but that was all too fleeting. They have spent most of the two-plus decades since running interference or being flat-out apologists for anyone with a suicide vest. For the longest time, the Democrats at least managed to keep the most virulent anti-Semitic voices among them out of national office. When Minnesota sent Keith Ellison to Congress in 2007, he would at least try to be coy about his true...

width =65% The California two-spot octopus displaying its blue eyespot. (Judit Pungor/UC Berkeley) Squishy cephalopods never cease to amaze with their clever features, including brained arms, color-shifting camouflage, escape artistry, and puzzle-solving skills. New analyses of squid, octopus, and cuttlefish (coleoid) genetics reveal their genomes are just as deliciously weird as the animals themselves. The cephalopod genome "is incredibly churned up," says developmental biologist Caroline Albertin, who led one of two new studies identifying strange twists in these cephalopods' genetic histories. In a massive effort, Albertin and colleagues sequenced three soft-bodied cephalopod genomes: the California two-spot octopus (Octopus bimaculoides) –...

The fossilised remains of the animal were discovered in what is now Montana back in 1988 but it has only been identified as a new species of vampyropod now. This group of soft-bodied cephalopods was previously believed to have eight arms, but the new species actually has 10. 'This is the first and only known vampyropod to possess 10 functional appendages,' said Dr Whalen. During their new analysis of the fossil, the researchers found that the species had 10 arms with suckers, and dated back 328 million years – 82 million years older than the previous earliest record. 'The arm...

A still of an adult bigfin squid caught on camera. (NOAA Ocean Exploration) A ghostly squid with huge, iridescent fins and funky, elbow-like bends in its tentacles is rarely seen, but scientists recently captured stunning footage of the elusive animal during an expedition in the Gulf of Mexico. To date, there have been fewer than 20 confirmed sightings of this deep-sea cephalopod, known as a bigfin squid (Magnapinna), and this recent sighting adds one more to the list, according to a statement from NOAA Ocean Exploration. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists spotted the elusive squid on their recent...

Nearly 100 similar blob sightings have been reported around Norway and the Mediterranean Sea since 1985, but the mysterious gelatinous masses have always evaded classification. Now, thanks to a year-long citizen science campaign and a new DNA analysis, researchers have finally identified the blobs as the rarely-seen egg sacs of a common squid called Illex coindetii. According to a new study, published March 30 in the journal Scientific Reports, each blob may contain hundreds of thousands of teensy squid eggs, encased in a bubble of slowly disintegrating mucus. Remarkably, while scientists have known about I. coindetii for more than 180...

New Jersey is a wonderfully diverse place. Though a relatively small state, it has the highest population density in the U.S. It's also brimming with an immense amount of Italian-American residents. I'm half-Italian, but I didn't grow up speaking a lick of the mellifluous tongue. From pizza and pasta to "The Sopranos," I was raised in a place where the notion of Italy is celebrated. However, it took me some time to note that this was not Italian culture, per se, but a slightly different "sect" altogether — an Italian-American history and culture that's rich in and of itself. It...

Stretching for miles across the horizon, a vast armada of Chinese fishing boats trawl the pristine waters close to the Galapagos Islands. Ostensibly fishing squid, the real target for the 265-strong fleet are sharks to serve the appetite for expensive fin soup, costing up to £350 a bowl, sold in markets across China and Hong Kong. Night and day, the vessels – many the size of a football pitch – ransack the seabed, scooping up not only whale and hammerhead sharks but other species including turtles and birds.

A monster-like 4.2 meter-long (13ft) giant squid – which brings to mind the mysterious kraken – has been discovered on a Wellington beach by shocked New Zealand brothers out for a morning dive.

An enormous 14-foot squid has washed up on the shores of Wellington, New Zealand, prompting images of the colossal cephalopod to go viral. Three brothers, Dan, Jack and Matthew Aplin, stumbled upon the find on Saturday. Dan is a member of the Ocean Hunter Spearfishing & Freediving Specialists in Wellington, which posted several images of the impressive squid to its Facebook page. "Wellington team member Dan had an interesting find in Wellington this morning!" the Ocean Hunter Spearfishing & Freediving Specialists captioned the images. The post had been shared almost 6,000 times as of Monday morning.

The strange squid was captured on April 17 by the crew of NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer during a scientific voyage studying an ocean area never explored before. The mission has been conducting both scientific research and capturing images of deep-sea habitats in the western Gulf of Mexico that likely found nowhere else. “Dive 04 targeted an unnamed mound in East Breaks (EB) 1009, an area of the Gulf of Mexico that had never before been explored using deep-sea submersibles. The closest historical dive to the site was a single 2009 survey that autonomous underwater vehicle Sentry conducted over 12 kilometers...

An impressively weird dessert washes ashore in New ZealandAn ice cream shop in Auckland, New Zealand is taking the burgeoning goth dessert trend to new heights by serving a giant chocolate-dipped cone with a mantle and menacing tentacles protruding from the top of creamy sphere. The chef at Giapo Kitchen thought that this undeniably phallic treat would be a nice way to commemorate the 10th anniversary of The Colossal Squid’s arrival at the Museum of Te Papa Tongarewa. Here’s a clip of the chocolate tentacles being inserted into the cone after it’s dipped: The squid dessert is just as spooky...

Indonesia — The rotting carcass of a massive sea creature washed ashore and was discovered Tuesday night on an island in Indonesia. The creature, which measures around 72 feet long, washed up on Seram Island and was discovered by resident Asrul Tuanakota, the Jakarta Globe reports. Tuanakota initially thought the creature was a stranded boat. Many residents speculate the remains are from a giant squid or a whale. Mbs Sangadji posted photos of the creature on Facebook Wednesday afternoon. The post reads: “Giant squid discovered by Asrul Tuanakota on May 10, 2017, at 09:00 IEST. The Giant squid was stranded...

Something strange is happening to the oceans. As coral reefs wither and fisheries collapse, octopuses are multiplying like mad... cephalopods—squids, octopuses, cuttlefish—are booming, and scientists don’t know why. An analysis published today in Current Biology indicates that numerous species across the world’s oceans have increased in numbers since the 1950s. “The consistency was the biggest surprise,” said lead study author Zoë Doubleday of the University of Adelaide. “Cephalopods are notoriously variable, and population abundance can fluctuate wildly, both within and among species.”

A new lawsuit accuses Goya Foods Inc of cheating consumers by selling canned octopus products that actually contain cheaper, lower quality jumbo squid. "Independent DNA testing" confirmed that the largest Hispanic-owned U.S. food company made the switch, according to a complaint filed late Wednesday in the federal court in San Jose, California. The lawsuit seeks at least $5 million of damages. Goya, based in Jersey City, New Jersey, did not immediately respond on Thursday to requests for comment. The plaintiff Luis Diego Zapata Fonseca, of Salinas, California, sued on behalf of purchasers nationwide and in California of Goya canned octopus...

The extremely elusive giant squid are typically never seen by the human eye but one four-metre long Architeuthis decided to put on a show for a group Japanese spectators on Christmas Eve. The massive orange and white live squid was filmed swimming next to a boat's moorings in Toyama Bay on the west coast of Japan, according to Motherboard. Such large squid live deep underwater and are normally only found dead floating on the surface of the ocean or washed up on beaches, according to Ocean Portal.

... Early on in my military career, way back when I was a PFC, my Battalion would occasionally have “Fun Runs”. A Fun Run is just like running for several miles. Except that it’s fun. Because people that outrank you say so. This is pretty much the Army equivalent to declaring “Our office is so much fun! On Friday we get to wear Hawaiian shirts!” It’s awesome if you happen to love Hawaiian shirts, but just kinda sucks if you have taste. One of the features of the Fun Run was that afterward the Battalion would gather together and hold...

A two-man Greenpeace submarine has been attacked by squids on an expedition in the Bering Sea -- and all the gory details were captured in a Vine.

Camouflaged clothing that mimics squid skin is being developed to hide soldiers from night vision equipment.Most camouflage materials used to disguise soldiers and vehicles during the day show up easily when viewed through night vision goggles and infrared cameras. This is because leaves and other foliage reflect infrared light in a different way to other fabrics and materials. However, scientists at the University of California Irvine have created a new “stealth” coating that can change the way it reflects infrared light on command. The films, which are around 100,000 times thinner than a human hair, can be switched on and...

Discovery Channel has released the first clip from its upcoming documentary about the elusive giant squid, which can grow to a monstrous 26 feet in length and is likely the source of the Nordic legend of the kraken. Discovery Channel will air the footage -- the first time the giant squid has ever been seen in its underwater habitat -- in the special “Monster Squid: The Giant Is Real,” on Sunday, Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. ET.

A team led by Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) has shot the first videos of the elusive giant squid, the largest invertebrate on the planet, in its natural environment.Dubbed the “monsters of the sea,” giant squid can grow up to 18 meters (60 feet) in length. Little is known of the massive creature's ecology as they live in the deepest depths of the ocean.Although photos of giant squid have been taken deep underwater, this was the first time that videos have caught one in action in its normal habitat, NHK said.The public broadcaster said the first videos were shot in July...