Free Republic

Model of Easter Island Collapse Might Reveal Message for Today By Lisa ZygaGraphs based on the researchers’ model, showing the population (top) and resources (bottom). The decline of resources coincides with a sharp population increase, followed by a sharp decrease. Image credit: M. Bologna and J. C. Flores. When a thriving civilization suddenly collapses, it’s often a mystery – and an ominous one, at that. For Easter Island circa 1000-1400 AD, experts believe it was a case of humans overexploiting their natural resources – mostly, the palm tree. But exactly where did the culturally rich Rapanui society go too far?...

In interview with Yedioth Ahronoth, Israeli model Bar Refaeli slams Israel, announces move to Los Angeles, says has no regrets regarding dodging army service It all started a while back, when top model Bar Refaeli said she had no intention of bringing more of her famous friends to Israel, and announced she was entertaining the idea of relocating to Los Angeles. snip Well, now it’s final. In an interview for a special holiday magazine in Yedioth Ahronoth, Refaeli declared that she was moving to the city of angels. snip In her interview, the Israeli model said she was not against...

The man with the German SupermodelTuesday, September 25, 2007   This scale model of World War II German battleship Admiral Graf Spee is 9m (30ft) long and weighs 320kg (700lb). It took creator William Terra six years to build and cost £5,000. Made from wood strips and fibreglass, the Spee can reach speeds of 15mph, thanks to its 11.2Kw engine. It also plays music by German composer Richard Wagner through an in-built stereo, said former fire officer Mr Terra, 65, from Maine, US.

The South Carolina beauty queen who suffered a geographic meltdown over "U.S. Americans" during last month's Miss Teen USA pageant can now have the last laugh, with the chance to make up to $25,000 a day as a model for Donald Trump. Lauren Caitlin Upton, 18, of Lexington, S.C., reportedly flew to New York City today to begin employment for Trump Model Management. "My lifelong dream has been to travel the world and pursue my modeling career," Upton told WIS-TV. "Randomly, [my mistake] has offered me that opportunity." The station says she'll live in the Trump Apartments in Manhattan, with...

The bull market in stocks continues, but to hear various exponents of the bearish persuasion talk, you'd think the party was ending right now. At least that's the impression I get reading some of their weekly rants on various Internet sites. A reader recently directed me to a web site that features the commentary of the distinguished Dr. John Hussman, who runs the Hussman series of mutual funds. Hussman publishes a weekly commentary on various market-related issues on his web site. In a recent commentary published on the Hussman Funds web site he asked the question, "How Much Do Interest...

Maxim Features Models From Israeli Army Maxim Features Models From Israeli Army; Many in Israel Call It Inappropriate By MATTI FRIEDMAN The Associated Press JERUSALEM A new public relations effort by Israel's New York consulate wants the country known less for its conflict with the Palestinians or for its myriad holy sites than for its beautiful women in uniform. Or, more accurately, out of uniform. A spread in the upcoming July issue of Maxim features a roster of Israeli models, all ex-soldiers, photographed wearing very little in the cause of their country. Headlined "Women of the Israel Defense Forces," the...

On the Rocks - The Martini Girl Sold in to Sex Slavery by VICTORIA MOORE Last updated at 11:32am on 2nd June 2007 As the Martini Girl, she embodied the sexual promise of the 1970s. Then she vanished. Only now, can Deborah Jackson's incredible story of sexual enslavement be told... She was the face of the racy advert that promised: "Any time, any place, anywhere." And stretched out in a red swimsuit beside a pool, hair tousled in the breeze and a cluster of iced drinks glasses beaded with condensation beside her, the Martini Girl seemed to embody the new...

"This was just too awesome to go without posting. All kids remember popping open one of those boxes, taking out all of those blister kits and begin piecing together a car. This 1:1 model scale 1940 Ford was the work of the St. Joe Valley Street Rod Club in South Bend, Indiana. The setup is complete with a giant X-acto knife, Testor's paint and glue. Add it all to another lonely Friday night and this is pretty much my childhood. –Travis Hudson"

PALMDALE - Eugena Washington, a 22-year-old Palmdale High School graduate, managed to survive 11 episodes of "America's Next Top Model," but ultimately was defeated in her bid for the crown on Wednesday night's season finale of the reality show. As one of three remaining competitors, she was the first to be eliminated. The judges praised her natural talent but said she didn't show enough personality or drive to earn the "Top Model" title. "I just wish my performance spoke for itself," Washington said, after host Tyra Banks announced her elimination. "I am pretty disappointed, disappointed that I didn't explain myself...

France to deport 'model student' By Colin Randall in Paris (Filed: 10/08/2006) A Nigerian teenager who is described as a model student is to be deported from France as the authorities intensify a crackdown on illegal immigration that critics have branded a "child hunt". Jeff Babatundé, who had been sheltered by a teacher until his arrest last week, failed in a legal challenge to an expulsion order and is likely to be sent back to Africa before an appeal is heard. Mr Sarkozy wants to deport 25,000 illegals Mr Babatundé, 19, says he has no close relatives in Nigeria, which...

...Canada is, along with the United States, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, part of the Anglosphere. The Anglosphere comprises the best nations, with the best records for goodness of any major powers in recorded history. Though imperfect, we've collectively been on the right side of more issues, created better societies, and liberated more people from tyranny than anyone else ever. (Example: Nearly every former British colony today has a democratic government. No other European power can say that---not even close.) Not to put too fine a point on it---we're just better. Not genetically, for goodness sake---but culturally. Who knows,...

(WCCO) Minneapolis On March 30, Minnesota Timberwolves center Eddie Griffin was drunk and masturbating when he crashed his luxury SUV into a parked Suburban outside a store in Minneapolis, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by the man whose Suburban was hit in the crash. The WCCO-TV I-TEAM obtained copies of 911 calls and store surveillance video of the incident, along with an accident report the police submitted to the state. Several of the 911 callers that night said Griffin was drunk. One witness said Griffin told him he was watching pornography in a DVD player mounted on the dashboard...

Whether you’re a free-loading virus or a meat-stealing monkey, selfishness pays. So how could cooperators survive in a cheater’s world? Thomas Flatt, a postdoctoral research associate at Brown, was part of a group that created a theoretical model that neatly solves this dilemma, which has stumped evolutionary biologists and social scientists for decades. The trick: Keep the altruists in small groups, away from the swindling horde, where they multiply and migrate. It’s a truth borne out in biology and economics: Selfishness pays. Viruses can steal enzymes to reproduce. Tax evaders can take advantage of public services to survive and thrive....

MODEL Michelle Leslie wore a burqa during her stay in a Balinese prison on drugs charges to avoid being raped... Leslie said she awoke in the Kerobokan prison one night to find a man sitting on the end of her mattress, laughing and singing: "Jiggyjig Missa Leslie. Bali holiday. Jiggyjig". "I knew jiggyjig translated into having sex," Leslie told the magazine. "He was saying Australian model and stroking my leg. I screamed: `Get out of here!'." Leslie said she was aware another woman was being taken from her cell regularly for sex, and realised her fate would be the same...

RUSTAMIYAH, Iraq, May 26, 2006 – They call it "Sandhurst in the Sand." The Iraqi military academy here is modeled after Britain's Sandhurst Royal Military Academy, in Camberley, Surrey, and it has begun turning out officers for the new Iraqi army. Danish Sgt. Maj. Warrant Officer J.H. Post speaks through an interpreter with his Iraqi counterpart during a May 24 field exercise with cadets of the Iraqi military academy at Rustamiyah, Iraq. Photo by Jim Garamone  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. "The key here are the cadets themselves and what they do," British Col. Maurice Sheen, the senior...

Scientists use quantum gravity to describe the universe before the Big Bang.Scientists may finally have an answer to a "big" question: If the Big Bang was the beginning of the universe, what could have caused it to happen? Using a theory called "loop quantum gravity," a group led by Penn State professor Abhay Ashtekar has shown that just before the Big Bang occurred, another universe very similar to ours may have been contracting. According to the group's findings, this previous universe eventually became so dense that a normally negligible repulsive component of the gravitational force overpowered the attractive component, causing...

A married couple attending an international model aircraft demonstration in southern Hungary Saturday were killed when one of the planes, a model Pitts biplane, suddenly crashed into the crowd.

BERKELEY — In the early 1970s, California faced a one-two punch of doubled oil prices and soaring electricity demand, with new coal and nuclear power plants projected every eight miles along the coast from San Diego to San Francisco. The plants never got built because a motley band of physicists and state lawmakers cut energy demand down in ways as ambitious as reinventing the fluorescent light bulb and as simple as slapping energy-usage labels on refrigerators. They also retooled the electricity market so power companies spent money helping people use less energy. Utilities were investing in selling less electricity, but...

MIAMI - Former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model May Andersen was arrested after allegedly becoming unruly and striking a flight attendant on a plane from Amsterdam to Miami, police said. Andersen, 23, from Denmark continued being loud and violent after officers met Martinair Flight 643 on the ground Thursday, Miami-Dade Airport Police said. She was examined for alcohol and substance abuse at Jackson Memorial Hospital and later transported to the Miami-Dade County Jail. She has a hold for immigration, which means no bail has been set. She cannot be released until immigration lifts it, said Janelle Hall, a corrections spokeswoman.

U.S. Army Spc. Andrea Landi works on the tire of a vehicle at Forward Operating Base Caldwell. U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Anthony D. Buchanan U.S. Army Spc. Andrea Landi Recruiting Efforts Attract, Retain Model Soldier By 2nd Lt. Anthony D. Buchanan 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment BALAD RUZ, Iraq, April 19, 2006 - ; Spc. Andrea M. Landi, a mechanic from Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division was intrigued by an Army recruiting TV commercial in her home in Anchorage, Alaska."I saw a commercial with people jumping out of airplanes and...