Free Republic

All of China's activities in outer space are intended for the country's social, economic and technological development rather than for a "space race" with other nations, according to insiders in China's space industry. "We carry out spaceflights to develop high technology and improve economic growth and people's living standard. We don't take part in a space race with any other countries because competition in this regard is meaningless," said Yang Yuguang, a senior space industry observer in Beijing and vice-chair of the International Astronautical Federation's space transportation committee. "If some people are so fond of a space race, then it...

College students at Florida International University were shocked recently to discover that not only is Hillary Clinton 67 years old, but she also hasn’t driven a car since 1996. Lauren Cooley, a field representative with Turning Point USA, recently asked 20 students if they knew these fun facts about the possible 2016 Democratic presidential nominee. Of those interviewed at the public research university, home to roughly 50,000 students, only six guessed Clinton is in her 60s, but of those, they still thought she was younger than 67, Cooley told The Fix. Most thought she is in her 40s or 50s,...

A UN human official is urging the U.S. to turn over control of lands considered to be sacred to Native Americans, including the site of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. James Anaya, the UN special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, unveiled his recommendations in Geneva on Friday after completing a 12-day visit to the U.S. where he met with representatives of indigenous peoples in six states. The fact-finder also had a chance to meet members of the Obama administration and briefed the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, but no member of Congress agreed to meet with him....

...Citing evidence found in the planet's northern plains south of Gemini Scopuli in Planum Boreum, Rodriguez proposes in an article published in Icarus that groundwater emerged through extensive and widespread fractures forming the floors of ancient continental-scale basins on Mars. This led to the formation of river systems, large-scale regional erosion, sedimentary deposition and water ponding. This model does not require sudden massive groundwater discharges, he said. Instead, it advocates for groundwater discharges being widespread, long-lived and common in the northern plains of Mars. "With the loss over time of water from the subsurface aquifer, areas of the northern plains...

Ehud Olmert may decide to accept the French proposal for a cease-fire and unconditional surrender to Hezbollah. That is his privilege. Olmert is a prime minister whom journalists invented, journalists protected, and whose rule journalists preserved. Now the journalists are saying run away. That's legitimate. Unwise, but legitimate. However, one thing should be clear: If Olmert runs away now from the war he initiated, he will not be able to remain prime minister for even one more day. ****** You cannot lead an entire nation to war promising victory, produce humiliating defeat and remain in power. You cannot bury 120...

The Republican expected to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee next year bluntly warned newly re-elected President Bush on Wednesday against putting forth Supreme Court nominees who would seek to overturn abortion rights or are otherwise too conservative to win confirmation.