Free Republic

That is why I am renaming the subcommittee “Immigration and the National Interest,” as a declaration to the American people that this subcommittee belongs to them. Senator Vitter, a strong voice for the national interest, will be serving as Republican Deputy Chairman. The financial and political elite have been controlling this debate for years; this subcommittee will give voice to those whose voice has been shut out: the voice of the dedicated immigration officers who have been blocked from doing their jobs; the voice of the working families whose wages have been reduced by years of record immigration; the voice...

The 2015 Ford F-150 plays a muscular engine note through its speakers. Stomp on the gas in a new Ford Mustang or F-150 and you’ll hear a meaty, throaty rumble — the same style of roar that Americans have associated with auto power and performance for decades. It’s a sham. The engine growl in some of America’s best-selling cars and trucks is actually a finely tuned bit of lip-syncing, boosted through special pipes or digitally faked altogether. And it’s driving car enthusiasts insane.

The Beluga can carry the wings of an A340 airliner or a fuselage section for Airbus' newest wide-body aircraft, the A350. But it's not large enough to transport many A380 super jumbo parts. Those need to travel by boat, barge and road. With a diameter of 7.1 meters, the Beluga has an incredibly large cargo hold. Though its maximum payload of 47 tons is surpassed by only a handful of cargo aircraft, the hold makes it good for oversized but not particularly heavy cargo. With a diameter of 7.1 meters, the Beluga has an incredibly large cargo hold. Though its...

On January 20, Samsung announced what appears to be an exceptional new storage product, a one ounce USB 3 external Flash drive, essentially a portable Flash SSD, called the T1. I did some initial testing and the results suggest Mac owners should defer a decision on this new product until more details are sorted out. _____________________ When I received the Samsung Electronics Portable SSD T1 last week for review, I was enthusiastic about reviewing it. After all, a one ounce (actually just 26 grams), fast, external SSD with a 500 GB capacity looked to be a remarkable and useful product....

In a new patent lawsuit with the Northern California District Court on Tuesday, so-called "patent troll" TriDim Innovations claims Apple infringed two 3D user interface patents with Safari for iOS 7 and iOS 8, Cover Flow and Time Machine. Cover Flow as seen in Safari 4.0. TriDim, a patent holding firm, (a non-performing entity — Swordmaker) , is asserting two patents against Apple, claiming it has suffered and continues to suffer damages through distribution and sale of iOS 7 and iOS 8 devices running Safari, as well as various implementations of Cover Flow and Time Machine. The suit was spotted...

#1 It is being projected that the U.S. oil rig count will decline by 15 percent in the first quarter of 2015 alone. And when there are less rigs operating, less workers are needed so people get fired. #2 Last week, 55 more oil rigs shut down. That was the largest single week decline in the United States in 24 years. #3 Oilfield services provider Baker Hughes has announced that it plans to lay off 7,000 workers. #4 Schlumberger, a big player in the energy industry, has announced plans to get rid of 9,000 workers. #5 Suncor Energy is eliminating...

Recycled whisky waste has £140m potential • The Scotch whisky industry could generate £140 million through recycling whisky wastes into fish feed for Scotland’s fish farming industry and help build a more circular economy. The possibility was highlighted in the Circular Economy Scotland report, which examines how the certain sectors such as oil and gas and the food industry can use their strengths to generate millions of pounds worth of value from materials used in these areas. It suggested the whisky industry could continue to capture heat and electricity from whisky wastes, but biorefining wastes could produce two more products...

SEOUL, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Apple Inc is chipping away at Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's dominant position in its home turf of South Korea - thanks to its new iPhone 6 series. Apple captured a record 33 percent market share in South Korea in November, the highest ever for a foreign brand, according to a monthly report released by Hong Kong-based market research company Counterpoint on Wednesday. In contrast, Samsung's share slipped to 46 percent after hovering around 60 percent for five months. Apple's gains in South Korea are telling, as November was the first full month that the...

It was a mere two months ago that Israeli cyber-security researchers hacked into a device that plugs into the diagnostic port of a car and determined they could remotely control the vehicle from anywhere in the world. At the time, the simulated attack seemed like the automotive version of a canary in a coal mine. If researchers could breach this one device, perhaps other aftermarket products that plug into diagnostic ports were also vulnerable? In short order, another cyber-security firm now reports finding serious flaws in a device used by more than 2 million motorists. Researchers at Florida-based Digital Bond...

Today I want to consider the outlook for bitcoin. 2014 was its worst year on record. It fell by 67%, from $800 to $320 a coin. In doing so, it beat the likes of the Russian rouble and the Ukrainian hryvnia, to the dubious honour of being the world’s worst-performing currency. You know what the world’s best-performing currency was by the way? Nope, not the US dollar, but the Somali shilling. Yup. It surprised me too. Anyway, back to bitcoin… The bursting of the bitcoin bubble So far, 2015 has not been any better than 2014 for bitcoin. At one...

Big layoffs are coming to eBay. The company is planning to slash 2,400 workers across the eBay and PayPal parts of the business. The cuts will impact 7% of the workforce. The layoffs will be made before the end of March. EBay said it was "simplifying organizational structures" in its quarterly earnings released Wednesday. A company spokesperson told CNNMoney that some of the cuts were to unfilled positions, but would not say how many.

Falling gasoline prices may be great for consumers, but they’re tough on energy firms and their workers. The latest layoffs announcement comes from the oilfield services firm Baker Hughes, which plans to cut 7,000 employees — 11 percent of its workforce. Global oil prices have plunged 60 percent since last June, making some drilling operations unprofitable. “While market demand ended up being more resilient in the fourth quarter than many had predicted, the recent declines seen in rig counts will clearly affect results in 2015,” said company CEO Martin Craighead. Speaking to analysts about the layoffs, he said, “This is...

American Express will slash 4,000 jobs, even as the company reported that fourth quarter earnings were dented by foreign currency movements. Bloomberg reported that the job cuts are part of a restructuring, and a spokesperson said they will cut across the company. In its earnings release, the company said it is taking a pretax restructuring charge of $313 million to "improve operating efficiencies." After the bell Wednesday, American Express reported that fourth quarter profits rose 11% to $1.45 billion, or $1.39 a share, versus an expected $1.38 per share. Revenues rose to $9.1 billion from $8.5 billion, a 7% increase,...

Microsoft gathered a bunch of reporters together in its Redmond, Washington, headquarters Wednesday to show off the next version of Windows, Windows 10, which is expected to come out later this year. You can check out our live blog of the event at the bottom of this page, but here were the highlights: * Holograms. The coolest thing was a set of new products that will let people see holographic images. The hardware is called Microsoft HoloLens and looks a lot like Google Glass. There are also software tools within Windows 10 that will let programmers create apps that use...

hy pay an expensive bulldozer driver for foundation work when a drone from the sky paired with an unmanned bulldozer on the ground can compute 3-D plans and do the job better and faster? Construction workers move over. You are next to be unneeded, unwanted, and unloved. The Wall Street Journal reports Drones’ Next Job: Construction Work. Construction-equipment maker Komatsu Ltd. has plans to solve a potential shortage of construction workers in Japan: Let drones and driverless bulldozers do part of the work. Tokyo-based Komatsu said Tuesday it plans to use unmanned aircraft, bulldozers and excavators to automate much of...

Las Vegas, Nevada - One thing you you’re sure to find at every SHOT Show is something new. A new trigger, new barrel, or new gun to set the shooting world on fire. Or, in the case of the National Rifle Association, a new bike. Designed by the world class production crew over at Orange County Choppers, the NRA debuted an OCC-styled Pro Street bike with bullet-like appearance adorned in a matte gunmetal and black paint job on SHOT Show 2015’s opening day . Donated by Century Arms, the bike is adorned with the NRA seal, Century Arms emblem, and...

Chicago tops the 2014 Bed Bug Cities List for the third year in a row. The list, released by pest control company Orkin, ranks the cities by the number of bed bug treatments Orkin performed from January to December 2014. Bed bugs were in the news throughout 2014 in the Windy City, with reports of the blood-sucking insects on public transit and inside several downtown office buildings, as well as in police headquarters, a fire station, school, library and movie theater. Seven cities made double-digit jumps on Orkin's Bed Bug Cities List compared to 2013, including Omaha, Neb. (+16), Lexington,...

The Apple Watch may be the most anticipated tech product to launch this year, but the company's first stab at the watch market dates back 20 years. Most fans probably don't remember the original Apple Watch. It wasn't a real product for consumers; Apple created a limited number as a promotional freebie for Macintosh users who upgraded to Mac OS 7.5 software. The upcoming high-tech Apple Watch will connect with the iPhone via Bluetooth; the first "Apple Watch" came with scratch resistant glass, a blue bezel, a colorful Apple logo and "Mac OS" emblazoned on the wristband. YouTube user Jonathan...

Does anyone recall an accord that states that every nation importing oil from opec, the bulk of which comes from the middle east, must allow a certain number of muslim immigrants into their nation. I first read of this maybe 8 to 10 years ago. I do not know if it was true. That is why I am seeking it now, to verify.

And we all know that the debt is one of the three most important factors of The State Of The Union. Obama spoke of all of these wonderful things he wants to do over the next few years, mainly free stuff! Yet he never mentioned the overwhelming debt that will eventually collapse the system by 2016. He never brought up the success of his health-care plan. Never mentioned that thanks to him, every household has access to affordable health-care and every household is Saving $2500.00 a year !!