Free Republic

“A large Christian cross image, formed by sunlight, for many years has appeared, then disappeared and vice versa on a 368 meter tall communications tower in the middle of Berlin, Germany. The tower is the Fernsehturm TV Tower built between 1965 and 1969 by the German Democratic government-Communist in East Germany. When the sun shines on the Fernsehturm’s titled stainless steel dome, an image of a Christian cross usually appears. The architects of the tower and dome never purposely deigned the structure to project the cross image and were just as surprised as everyone else when they first saw it,...

Though he has stayed active in politics — and reappeared on the campaign trail in New Jersey and Virginia just two weeks ago — Obama said he believes he’s up to something bigger, and thereby more curative for what he believes has gone wrong in elections. “The moment we’re in right now, politics is the tail and not the dog,” he said. “What we need to do is think about our civic culture, because what’s wrong with our politics is a reflection of something that’s wrong with the civic culture, not just in the United States but around the world.”...

Kellogg’s has apologized for a cereal-box cartoon that featured a bunch of light-colored Corn Pops hanging out in a mall — while a darker-skinned Pop scrubs the floor. Pictures showing the packaging surfaced on social media and prompted the company to respond. “Hey @KelloggsUS why is literally the only brown corn pop on the whole cereal box the janitor?” asked Marvel Comics writer Saladin Ahmed. “[T]his is teaching kids racism.” “Yes [it’s] a tiny thing, but when you see your kid staring at this over breakfast and realize millions of other kids are doing the same ... ” he added...

Hurricane Harvey took out a number of OIL REFINERIES. One problem was FLOODING. This meant that backup equipment would not function because of flooding. Another concern is that of a refinery explosion such as has occurred in the past (Texas City - 1947 and 2005, Carson - 1985 and 2016). In such explosions surrounding areas might cause injuries and damage to surrounding property. Another concern is terrorism. Possible simple fix? Same used for Mississippi River. The force of water is extremely powerful. So how is it controlled - earthern levees and other works. Probably the minimum height for refineries might...

They were previously allowed to use mere driving licenses. But residents of some US states may soon require additional ID, such as passports, if they wish to embark on air travel - even if just domestically. That's the new procedure on the horizon for people from states that have not yet introduced the standards required by the 2005 Real ID Act, which demands stricter regulations for state-issued IDs. The states that haven't yet fallen into line each now have a grace period of three months to meet the revised criteria. This deadline expires on 22 January 2018.

A global tipping point for electric cars could come as early as 2022, as battery costs decrease and concerns about range and infrastructure ease. That’s from analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, who in a little over a year’s time have turned even more optimistic about the future dominance of electric cars over internal-combustion vehicles. In a Tuesday note, the analysts forecast that one in three cars will be purely electric by 2030; their July 2016 prediction was one in 10 by the same year. “There are several factors converging that have led us to revise our thinking —...

WASHINGTON — The number of DoD personnel deployed to help their fellow citizens in Puerto Rico jumped from around 4,600 to around 6,400 members, Gov. Ricardo Rossello said during a San Juan news conference Sunday. The governor briefed on all the lines of effort as the island commonwealth strives to recover from the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria. Supply ships continue to arrive and the governor and federal officials are working together to ensure food, water and fuel get to the people who need it the most. ‘There is Increased Capability’ “In terms of personnel, the DoD has increased their...

A sex doll was so heavily molested by eager men it broke before anyone could actually use it. Or use it privately, anyway. We're not entirely sure what happened to 'Samantha'. But its owner complained that the £3,000 robot was left "heavily soiled" after being exhibited at a tech fair. Developer Sergi Santos, from Barcelona, Spain, says visitors to the Arts Electronica Festival in Linz treated the 'intelligent' sex doll "like barbarians", and added that two fingers were broken in the melee. "The people mounted Samantha’s breasts, her legs and arms," Sergi said. "Two fingers were broken. She was...

Vehicles laden with food, masks and bedding have been dispatched to help more than 75,000 people who have fled a volcano on the tourist island of Bali, as rising magma and increased tremors fuel fears of an imminent eruption. Mount Agung, about 75 kilometres (47 miles) from the Indonesian tourist hub of Kuta, has been rumbling since August, threatening to erupt for the first time since 1963. "The chance that an eruption will happen is quite big. But it cannot be predicted when it will happen," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the disaster mitigation agency, said. The increased frequency of...

As much joy as a pet can bring to the life of its human, when a beloved dog or cat falls ill, the emotional toll can be high. In fact, caring for an ailing animal often ends up placing a significant "caregiver burden" on its owner, new research finds. "Think of the phrase, 'Giving until it hurts,'" said study author Mary Beth Spitznagel. Essentially, it's the heavy emotional burden one can experience when the act of caring stretches a person's physical, emotional or even financial capacities to the breaking point. "We found that individuals with a chronically or terminally ill...

Students in a sociology class at San Diego State University can earn extra credit if they take a quiz to determine their level of “white privilege.” Professor Dae Elliott offered the option to her sociology class students, a “White Privilege Checklist” that includes 20 questions that aim to illustrate that “racial privilege is one form of privilege.”

The manufacturer of the $2.36 million Baltimore Bike Share system said his company has never experienced the level of theft that caused officials to announce a temporary shutdown of the program to allow additional locking devices to be installed to the bike docks. The original locks on the bike stations were overwhelmed by thieves ripping the bicycles out at an unprecedented pace, said Alain Ayotte, CEO of Bewegen Technologies, the Canadian manufacturer. “We don’t have this issue anywhere else, not at this level,” Ayotte said Wednesday. “Our locking system is recognized [as] very, very up to industry standard, but due...

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - Lady Gaga said Thursday she had been hospitalized in "severe pain" and was pulling out of Brazil's Rock in Rio festival, which she was due to headline this weekend. The superstar, who revealed Tuesday that she suffers from the chronic disease fibromyalgia, had been due to open the festival on Friday in Rio de Janeiro.

I am requesting prayers for a dear friend of mine and her ex-husband who lost their only daughter in a car accident Friday night. Their daughter was 27, and she had served our country in the US Navy for 7 years. Her parents are both devastated. Rhiannon was living in Maryland while she working for a military contractor. The accident happened Friday night in Maryland and her mother had to travel up from South Carolina and her father from Tennessee over the weekend to ID her body.

WASHINGTON – Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) on Wednesday asked terror experts for answers on how to combat the rise of white nationalists, as she has been fielding death threats from extremists. “What can we do to deal with the KKK, the white nationalists, the extremists, the alt-right?” Waters, who serves as ranking member of the House Committee on Financial Services, asked during a Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance hearing. “They’re on the internet, they’re Breitbart. If you look at the YouTube, you see how much they want to kill me and others. What can we do?” The hearing was...

A Nevada sheriff says the man who ran into the flames at the Burning Man festival’s signature burning ceremony has died. Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen says the man ran through a human-chain of security officers at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 2) during the Man Burn event at the counter-culture festival. The sheriff says the man was rescued by firefighters and later died at the UC Davis hospital burn center in California. About 70,000 people are attending the art and music celebration in the Black Rock Desert, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of Reno. The nine-day event culminates...

No, The Image Above Is Not Photoshopped: There Is A Chinese Equivalent Of The Star Wars Canyon In The U.S. Or The Mach Loop In UK. Scheduled for release on Sept. 30, 2017, Sky Hunter is the first action movie focused on China’s PLAAF (People’s Liberation Army Air Force). According to the trailer, the story is about a group of elite military who are called into action to resolve a hostage crisis and foil a terrorist plot. The movie features, along with some CGI actual flying footage of various front line combat aircraft, including the Y-20 airlifter, the J-20 stealth...

The first total solar eclipse in nearly a century not only has injected a much-needed sense of awe towards astronomy into our culture, but also has introduced a golden age of eclipse watching. In the 21st century, 10 total solar eclipses will send the moon's shadow over U.S. soil, with six of these events passing over vast swaths of the country. The next one occurs on April 8, 2024, a brief intermission of only seven years, and will cut a path from Mexico to Texas to Maine and the maritime provinces of Canada. Nicknamed "The Great North American Eclipse," 13...

A day after a 60-year-old woman was killed in Uttar Pradesh on suspicion of cutting off people’s hair and 11 more women complained of braids being chopped off in Delhi-NCR on Thursday, psychiatrists blamed mass hysteria as panic spread. Police, too, have requested people not look at these incidents as a “supernatural phenomenon” or work of a ghost. “From all the available evidence, it seems the women are cutting their own hair either consciously or in an altered sensorium, likely to seek attention,” said Dr Sudhir Khandelwal, former head of the department of psychiatry at All India Institute of Medical...

The FBI also focuses on education for different catalysts for radicalization designed to help the public increase awareness of radicalization. These products are widely disseminated to the law enforcement and community partners for further engagement with the public, and demand continues to increase for additional products. The FBI has a website, Don’t Be a Puppet: Pull Back the Curtain on Violent Extremism, specifically designed for the public and for use by educators and community leaders and organizations for school-age children. Visits to the site average nearly 7,400 a month. Also in reaching out to communities, the FBI has produced other...