Free Republic

BILLUND, DENMARK—As part of its new push toward inclusion and diversity, LEGO has unveiled a new set of genderless bricks without male or female connectors. The entirely smooth bricks have no suggestive male nubs or female receptors and instead have entirely smooth, androgynous sides all around. "This represents a new era in inclusive building bricks!" said LEGO spokesperson Bjørn Irkestøm-Slater Walker. "Finally -- anyone can play with our LEGOs without being triggered by those horrid male and female parts that imply they're only supposed to fit in one direction. Every brick can stack on any other brick without anyone misgendering...

Scientists claim that the natural sweetener is a great way to help the body deal with the toxic effects of a hangover. The Royal Society of Chemistry claim that the fructose in the honey – which is also found in golden syrup – is essential to help the body break down alcohol into harmless by-products. The reason why hangovers are so painful is that alcohol is first broken down into acetaldehyde, a substance which is toxic to the body, claimed Dr John Emsley of the Royal Society. This is then converted – using fructose – into acetic acid which is...

The finance director of President Barack Obama's 2008 election campaign and a long-time Washington rainmaker has been appointed the new White House social secretary. Julianna Smoot, professional fund-raiser who helped Mr Obama raise more money than any other presidential candidate in history, will take over from Desiree Rogers, who resigned last week because it was "a good time for me to explore opportunities in corporate world". The White House denied that Ms Rogers was forced out as a result of the debacle in November when gatecrashers managed to get into Mr Obama's first State Dinner. By naming Ms Smoot as...

Here is the perfect TV Ad for McCain I would like to see - sorta goes with his comments last night about how eloquent Obama was - Imagine a Black man tap dancing and the press fawning all over him - from Chicago: (Singing) Give 'em the old razzle dazzle Razzle Dazzle'em Give 'em an act with lots of flash in it And the reaction will bepassionate Give 'em the old hocus pocus Bead and feather 'em How can they see with sequins in their eyes? What if your hinges all are rusting? What if, in fact, you're just disgusting?...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE PROSPERITY, Iraq, Nov. 20, 2006 -- The new mechanics in town wasted no time getting busy when they arrived in Baghdad. Army Spc. Donald Blazer, a generator mechanic for 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, fixes a bracket on a generator door at Forward Operating Base Prosperity in Baghdad. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kap Kim, USA  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Mechanics from the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, took over operations from the 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th...

New ideas are on the horizon for making Davis-Monthan Air Force Base a nicer neighbor. From higher aircraft altitudes to different flight routes to annual town hall meetings, a civic committee is considering an array of suggestions and will present the most promising of them to the public next week. The work of the Military Community Compatibility Committee represents one of most extensive efforts ever made to iron out conflicts that have arisen as urban growth surrounded the air base, one the city's largest employers. The group has spent months trying to find workable solutions that will protect D-M while...

Many french commentators or politicians who like to talk all the day and every day are telling and singing with a smile that USA and allies can do nothing about Iran. I hope they will not smile very long.

AL ASAD, Iraq (Sept. 30, 2005) -- The Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 1 Banshees, based at Al Asad, Iraq, are playing host to two Navy squadrons supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom from late September to early October. As Navy Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 135 transferred operations to VAQ-141, the two squadrons needed a land base because of a carrier gap, a situation caused by aircraft carriers rotating in and out of the area of responsibility. When the USS Chester W. Nimitz, the home of VAQ-135, left the Persian Gulf, the squadron left behind two jets to help VMAQ-1 successfully execute...

PULLEYS MILL -- Friends will begin combing the Johnson County countryside again this morning, hoping to find a champion Rottweiler who ran away from the scene of an accident on Interstate 24 that killed her owner on Monday. The dog's owner, Diane Martin of Chicago, died from injuries she received when her RV crashed into a rock wall near mile marker 2, just east of that interstate's split with Interstate 57.

The Sunday talk show of president Chavez is back in the air after an interruption of a couple of months "for redesign". The show used to be an itinerant affair that lasted from 3 to 6 hours where Chavez occupied the front scene, only relieved on occasion by some video or some "guest" making some form of expose. Alo Presidente was of course a must see of the political class as most of the maneuvers of the regime were announced previously from its set. The new format? Well, the step to a formal TV show with Chavez as the host...

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX SUN JAN 05, 2003 19:25:38 ET XXXXX WHITE HOUSE ANGER AT BOOK BY BUSH 'AXIS OF EVIL' SPEECHWRITER; CONCERN MEDIA TOUR WILL MUDDLE MESSAGE; FRUM DESCRIBES PRESIDENT AS 'TART' **World Exclusive** Former Bush speechwriter David Frum -- credited with the phrase 'Axis of Evil' -- has infuriated top officials at the White House with his controversial new book, the first insider account of the W. Bush Administration, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. Frum helped make international headlines when President Bush's 2002 State of the Union address linked international terrorists to Iran, Iraq and North Korea. But...