Free Republic

The legislation leaves out critical election security provisions that had been in two omnibus bills that moved through the Georgia House and Senate in March. Last Thursday, Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed the “Election Integrity Act of 2021,” Senate Bill 202, into law. The 95-page bill adds ID requirements for mail-in ballots, halts the acceptance of absentee ballots within 11 days of an election, and prohibits third-parties from providing gifts to voters waiting in line at a polling place.“Significant reforms to our state elections were needed,” Kemp said upon signing the bill. “There’s no doubt there were many alarming...

As many as one in five Londoners had syphilis by their mid-30s during the late 18th century, according to a detailed new study on the sexually transmitted infection (STI) and its spread in the capital of the United Kingdom. Researchers used data from hospital admissions and workhouse infirmaries to reach their figures, making allowances for duplicate records, private treatments, and the possibility of syphilis numbers getting mixed in with other diseases like gonorrhea or chlamydia. The findings show a much higher incidence in London than elsewhere in the country at the time – other studies show 'the pox' was half...

The mothers of British prime ministers don’t often sell their sexual favours for cash. But Lady Melbourne, whose son became the young Queen Victoria’s favourite politician, was an unusual woman. In the 1770s, it was rumoured that one of her lovers had sold her to the Earl of Egremont for £13,000 and she had pocketed half the money. Who knows if the rumours were true? But, as this entertaining — if occasionally disorganised — book shows, Lady Melbourne was a fascinating character. The poet Byron knew her when she was an older woman. Despite a 37-year difference in their ages,...

Mar 5 2006 3:15PM Georgian communists mark Stalin's death anniversary TBILISI. March 5 (Interfax) - A gathering to mark the anniversary of Stalin's death was held on Sunday by Georgian Communists in the Georgian town of Gori, the birthplace of Stalin. About 100 communists and members of the Dzhugashvili family, among them Stalin's grandson Yevgeny Dzhugashvili, gathered in front of the local Stalin museum, an Interfax correspondent reported. After the meeting, wreaths were laid to a monument to Stalin in the center of Gori. sd md

Georgians play rugby, eat tripe and garlic for breakfast and have ousted their President after 12 years Georgia achieved independence from the old Soviet Union in 1991. It has a population of five million and average annual income is US $590 (£341) A mostly forgotten civil war has been fought in Georgia for more than a decade. The province of Abkhazia has had semi-autonomous status since 1993, but 10,000 people died in the fight for independence and the conflict continues with sporadic violence. The US and Russia are vying for influence in Georgia. The country is a thoroughfare for oil...