Free Republic

The race is on to try and save 46 pilot whales stranded on a West Australian beach after 51 died overnight. An image showed the mammals huddling in the shape of a heart near the shore before the mass stranding on Cheynes Beach in southern Western Australia on Tuesday, making international headlines. Authorities on Wednesday morning said volunteers would help to get the surviving whales back out to deeper water throughout the day. The public has been asked to stay away from the popular tourist spot.

One day in advance of Trans Day of Visibility and four days after a trans-identified woman mowed down 3 children and 3 adults at a Christian school in Nashville, President Joe Biden released a statement saying that "Transgender Americans shape our Nation’s soul."In a White House press briefing, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who notably came out herself on October's "coming out day" in 2022, doubled down on those remarks. https://rumble.com/v2fin0q-wh-press-sec-...on-a-day-that-we-should-be-lifting-up-our-trans-kids....htmlThe White House statement on Transgender Day of Visibility claimed that the many bills going into effect across the US to prohibit child sex changes and the medical mutilation of minors...

NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Christie is everywhere. The former New Jersey governor and onetime Republican presidential candidate denounced “conspiracy theorists” during a September appearance at the Ronald Reagan Library in California. He followed up with a speech this month to influential Republicans in Las Vegas, warning that the party will only succeed if it offers a “plan for tomorrow, not a grievance about yesterday.”

The matter-eating beast at the center of the Milky Way may actually account for Earth's existence and habitabilityAdapted from Gravity’s Engines: How Bubble-Blowing Black Holes Rule Galaxies, Stars, and Life in the Cosmos, by Caleb ScharfOur existence in this place, this microscopic corner of the cosmos, is fleeting. with utter disregard for our wants and needs, nature plays out its grand acts on scales of space and time that are truly hard to grasp. Perhaps all that we can look to for real solace is our endless capacity to ask questions and seek answers about the place we find ourselves...

One strains, studying the entire history of presidential elections, to think of a president who was re-elected under such economic conditions as prevail in the U.S. today. Now, with June's campaign finance data trickling out, we can add the grotesque financial mismanagement of the Obama campaign as another factor counting against the president in addition to those historic headwinds.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is giving city workers an important health choice: enroll in a new wellness plan, expected to be unveiled Friday, or pay a higher premium. The price if they don't enroll: $50 a month. The program includes an initial screening that focuses on preventative care for asthma, heart disease and diabetes. City employees would then receive wellness training to achieve long-term health goals, including weight loss. Smokers wouldn't be penalized, but they would be encouraged to quit. Advisers overseeing the program will monitor progress on a bimonthly basis, and those who reach their goals could see their health...

New Shape shifting design allows Chinese women to fly under the radar of the bamboo curtain. See video at link. (Another example of Chinese entrepreneurial success of capitalism.)

SPIES WHO LOOK JUST LIKE US: THE GAME THAT IS NOT A GAME SNIPPET: "The basic task of all spies, including the SVR Russian operatives recently caught, is to "steal and shape," Simmons explained. The "steal" aspect is best known to the public, that is, stealing another nation's military or production secrets, but Simmons also described how spies can "shape" a nation. Spies engaged in the "shape" aspect of espionage are known as "agents of influence," Simmons said. These "agents of influence" attempt to mold the thinking of a society or a government by targeting "experts who are quoted in...

NATO report said Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear programs constituted a major threat to the security of the Western alliance.The report, issued on May 17, warned that Teheran could launch an attack on NATO allies, including those in Europe. "Defending against the threat of a possible ballistic missile attack from Iran has given birth to what has become, for NATO, an essential military mission," the report, authored by a group led by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, said. The report, which outlined NATO strategy, envisioned an Iranian attack on Europe by 2020. NATO contains a principle known as...

Defense Secretary Robert Gates begins another push for Pentagon cuts, NATO is preparing to follow suit. Adm. James Stavridis, the supreme allied commander of NATO, said Monday he will look to make "significant" cuts of both flag officers – generals and admirals – as well as staff for the US and NATO allies. The comment follows a speech by Mr. Gates at the Eisenhower library in Abilene, Kan., May 8, in which the Defense secretary promised significant belt-tightening at the Pentagon – one of the dominant themes of his tenure. In the speech, Gates mentioned the Pentagon's European operations, noting...

The standard model of cosmology predicts that the universe is infinite and flat. However, cosmologists in France and the US are now suggesting that space could be finite and shaped like a dodecahedron instead. They claim that a universe with the same shape as the twelve-sided polygon can explain measurements of the cosmic microwave background – the radiation left over from the big bang – that spaces with more mundane shapes cannot.Power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. Data from WMAP have extended the accuracy of the spectrum far beyond what was known from earlier measurements. This plot...

Definition: "ventifact" -- A stone that has been flattened and sharpened by wind abrasion. Three fun examples: Jabba the Hutt's mouth (Dry Valleys, Antarctica) Never to touch again (Antarctica) The Furrowed Conglomerates (Argentina)

The Shape of ArmageddonSure, the world will end. What will rise up to take the place of human civilization? The years 2004 and 2005 brought global disasters enough to gladden the heart of any prophet of doom. With the tsunami, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, famine, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, suicide bombers, and bird flu, all the biblical signs are there to suggest that the end of the world is at hand. But that should be qualified by saying that the end of the world as we know it may be at hand - civilization, we call it. Human life will...

Famous Buildings Become Branding Tools The entire five-story Ferrari showroom in Chungdam-dong, Seoul is wrapped in glass, its interior structure, and its expensive cars, on full display. Illuminated by powerful white lights, the building is an extraordinary sight at night. The facade of Galleria Department Store in Apgujung-dong radiates with high-tech glass discs mounted on the building's concrete surface. Equipped with special LED-lights, the discs generate a mother-of-pearl effect during the day and a continuously changing pattern of colors in the evening. Galleria Department Store in Apgujung-dong, Seoul These are examples of a trend called "Building Marketing" that employs...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2006 -- National security interests compel the United States to shape, but not control, developments in the Middle East, a region of the world that is being shaken by globalization, the senior U.S. officer responsible for the region said here yesterday. The Middle East has always been a melting pot of ethnicity, shifting allegiances and off-and-on violence, Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, commander of U.S. Central Command, said in luncheon remarks to members of the Military Officers Association of America. The Middle East and nearby regions that are also part of CENTCOM’s area of operations contain...

7/18/2006 - BALAD AIR FORCE BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- When Airmen deploy to combat, they expect a mission-focused environment. Without the daily demands of home life and the distractions of fast-paced America, many use their limited spare time to develop themselves in new ways. "Some people get in shape at the gym," said Chaplain (Capt.) Jose Tate, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Chaplain Services. "Some say they want to get in shape spiritually." For people seeking this kind of growth, chaplains provide the services, counseling and sometimes just a friendly ear for those who want to talk. "First and foremost, we...

RUSTAMIYAH, Iraq, May 26, 2006 – The Iraqi Center for Military Values, Principles and Leadership here aims to build an army that is competent, loyal and accountable. Ken Johnson, the senior American adviser to the center, said the center's building process seeks to change the culture of the Iraqi military as it works to become a part of a democratic country. Part of the process is simply defining the values of the Iraqi military. The structure of the force will be built on those enduring values. "This obviously is not something we can impose upon the Iraqis," American adviser Army...

Shape-shifting car will brace for impact 15:34 10 May 2006 NewScientist.com news service Tom Simonite A car that can anticipate a side-on impact and subtly alter its body shape to absorb the force of the crash is being developed by researchers in Germany. The car will use hood-mounted cameras and radar to spot a vehicle on course for a side-on collision. Once it realises an impact is imminent it will activate a shape-shifting metal in the door. This reinforces the bond between door and frame, which is normally a weak spot, and distributes the force of the blow more safely....

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2006 – Iraqi and coalition forces have boosted their presence in Baghdad in response to a surge in attacks against Iraqis that officials link to today's seating of the country's new parliament, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman told reporters. "Operation Scales of Justice" was launched to enhance security in Iraq's capital city as the parliament begins selecting the country's new government, Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch said today in Baghdad. The 275-member body met briefly today to begin the difficult process of electing a president, two vice presidents and a prime minister. Lynch called the seating of...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Jan 17, 2006) – More than 300 aircraft of all types will roll off assembly lines and improve the Army’s war-fighting capability during the next seven years, according to Army aviation leaders at a forum here. Speaking to more than 400 attendees during the Institute of Land Warfare and Aviation Symposium Jan. 12, Claude M. Bolton Jr., assistant secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, said new Apaches, light utility helicopters, cargo fixed-wing aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles will be built. He also stressed the importance of future aircraft development programs. Monies drive momentum...