Free Republic

Lord May, the president of the British Science Association, said religion may have helped protect human society from itself in the past and it may be needed again. “A supernatural punisher maybe part of the solution.” He said in the past a belief in a god, or gods, that punish the unrighteous may have been part of the mechanism of evolution that maintains co-operation in a dog-eat-dog world. Having a god as the ultimate punisher was possibly a logical step for a society to take, he added. "Given that punishment is a useful mechanism, how much more effective it would...

Obama Is Fast Losing White Voters' Support His approval ratings with the crucial bloc have plunged since April. Strategists say the healthcare debate is largely to blame, but that's not the only reason. The Obama family returns from Camp David. It's unclear whether President Obama's ratings slip is based on policy or personal issues. (Ron Sachs / Pool Photo / September 6) Graphic: Poll results By Peter Wallsten September 7, 2009 Reporting from Washington - After a summer of healthcare battles and sliding approval ratings for President Obama, the White House is facing a troubling new trend: The voters losing...

What you are about to read below is something I stumbled on tonight. A blogger asking folks to file legal complaints against a non-liberal even though the blogger states that he/she doesn't know if there is legal precedent...just for fun. More at the link. Wanna get some payback for all of the right-wing intolerance thrust upon us by religious broadcasters? I don’t know if any part of Lesea is tax-exempt, or if Darrell Dumas (pronounced “DumbaXX” I believe) operates a tax-exempt operation, but just for fun, why not return the bad Karma by filing a tax-exemption violation complaint about Lesea...

(IsraelNN.com) SNIPPET: "Jude Kenan Mohammad, an American who was to go on trial in Pakistan for, among other things, planning a terror attack in Tel Aviv, disappeared on Saturday." SNIPPET: "Mohammad was a member of an American Islamic terror cell based in North Carolina, along with seven other U.S. citizens."

It is hard for me to write this piece, I must confess. I like President Obama, personally. He seems to epitomize the American Dream. A man of eloquence and education and personal challenge and family ordeal. A man who has ostensibly moved above his past and who once braved a future with what appeared to be a moderate realism and political pragmatism for which our American citizens were hungry. I fully admit that there was once hope from this author for what Barack Obama promised on the campaign trail of 2008. Of course, those days are long gone. In the...

Pupils who speak English as a first language are in the minority in 13 out of London’s 33 boroughs, according to official figures released Tuesday. Fifty-six percent of children in elementary schools in inner London do not speak English as their first language. Throughout the country, English is not the mother tongue to one in seven elementary-school-aged children. Such high numbers of inexperienced, and in many cases, incapable, English speakers is putting a heavy burden on Britain’s education system. Far more disturbing than this, though, is that it shows how much immigration is changing Britain. The data, from the Department...

Who said there is no bipartisanship in this heath care debate. There is now some discussion that the president might go for the "the trigger" option in his Obamacare plan. The trigger option keeps a government-run insurance plan on reserve, as long as the insurance companies continue to stay within cetain guidelines. Senior White House officials, in conversations with reporters today, are floating the idea that President Obama is secretly negotiating with Sen. Olympia Snowe over a health care compromise that would phase in a government-funded health care alternative if private insurance companies fail to meet quality and cost benchmarks...

Beer could stop bones going brittle Drinking beer regularly could stop bones from going brittle, according to scientists in Spain. A study found that the bones of women who drink beer regularly are stronger, making them less likely to suffer from osteoporosis. It is thought that the high level of silicon in beer slows down the thinning that leads to fractures and boosts the formation of new bone, the journal Nutrition reports. Beer is also rich in phytoestrogens, plant versions of oestrogen, which keep bones healthy. Bones are made up of a mesh of fibres, minerals, blood vessels and marrow,...

I’d like to take a few minutes and write directly to younger readers, specifically teens and young adults. When you’ve questioned authority – for whatever reason – and were told, “Because I said so,” what was your immediate response? What is your general knee-jerk reaction to being told that “you’re too young to understand”? (Do not confuse this with being disrespectful to authority.) Questions can – and should – be asked, but in a respectful way. This is the principle upon which our Constitution’s First Amendment is based: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting...

A new species of giant rat has been discovered deep in the jungle of Papua New Guinea. The rat, which has no fear of humans, measures 82cm long, placing it among the largest species of rat known anywhere in the world.

Europe's largest car maker Volkswagen is planning to more than double its India headcount with addition of 1,500 employees at its Chakan plant alone in Maharashtra. The group, which started production at Chakan near Pune in March 2008, is looking at full-capacity production at this plant by 2012 and would need to increase its staff strength for the same, its India head said. Volkswagen has two facilities in India at Aurangabad and Chakan, which assembles cars of its three brands -- Skoda, Audi and Volkswagen. “We opened our Chakan facility this year and it is producing Skoda Fabia now, but...

Japan's Suzuki Motor (7269.T) said it plans to invest about 20 billion yen ($215 million) to build a new car factory in India, aiming to upgrade its production facilities in the face of growing competition. Suzuki, which controls about half the Indian car market through unit Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MRTI.BO), said late on Saturday that the new facility would come on-line as early as 2011 and have an annual output capacity of about 250,000 cars. The plant will expand its existing Manesar facility in the state of Haryana, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from New Dehli.

Archaeologists have solved an ancient mystery surrounding the famous Easter Island statues. At 2,500 miles off the coast of Chile, the island is the world's most remote place inhabited by people. Up to 1,000 years ago, the islanders started putting giant red hats on the statues. The research team, from the University of Manchester and University College London, think the hats were rolled down from an ancient volcano. Dr Colin Richards and Dr Sue Hamilton are the first British archaeologists to work on the island since 1914. They pieced together a series of clues to discover how the statues got...

Fox News host Glenn Beck, who led the charge against Van Jones, the environmental adviser who resigned early this morning following controversy over past radical statements and affiliations, said in a statement to POLITICO that "the American people stood up and demanded answers." "Instead of providing them, the Administration had Jones resign under cover of darkness," Beck said. "I continue to be amazed by the power of everyday Americans to initiate change in our government through honest questioning, and judging by the other radicals in the administration, I expect that questioning to continue for the foreseeable future."

Downing Street has hit back at Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for attacking the decision to release the Lockerbie bomber.

Monday, September 07, 2009 Rifqa Bary Facebook Fatwa: "We Need to Kill Her" I have said from the very first that Rifqa Bary is the highest value target in America. Apostasy is the most egregious crome against Islam. Her crime is not just against the family. it is against Islam. Islam! I know Ohio law enforcement and Florida law enforcement found no threat to Rifqa but perhaps that can ut down the kool aid for five minutes and do their job. There is a pro-Islamic site on Facebook that threatens Rifqa Bary with death.  Will everyone stop the PC,...

Hundreds of thousands of Bay Area commuters remain in limbo today as crews scramble to complete an emergency repair to the workhorse Bay Bridge. The 73-year-old bridge, crossed by more than 260,000 cars and trucks a day, was shut down for a larger, unrelated seismic upgrade project. Now, crews are working to fix a cracked steel link, called an eyebar, that helps hold up the east span. Inspectors discovered the problem Saturday afternoon, setting in motion a dash to fix a problem that - by itself - would have forced officials to shut down the bridge. "There's a lot of...

Facing incendiary charges that health-care reform would result in government financing of abortion and euthanasia, President Obama has made an unusual appeal to religious groups to help sell the plan and debunk critics' "false witness." "I'm going to need the help of all of you," Obama told an August 19 conference call and live webcast that attracted an estimated 140,000 people. "I need you to knock on doors, talk to your neighbors. I need you to spread the facts and speak the truth." The "40 Minutes for Health Reform" call, organized by the Washington-based group Faith in Public Life and...

WATERBURY, Conn. - Connecticut residents are arming themselves at quite a clip, with women, in particular, packing heat in growing numbers. The state issued 7,741 pistol permits from January through May, a 90 percent increase over the same time period in 2008. Nearly 12,000 new permits have been issued so far this year in a state that recently posted one of the lowest gun ownership rates in the country, according a study of 2006 data by the Violence Policy Center, a national gun control advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. Connecticut gun retailers and educators who run the safety classes...

ASHBURNHAM - There are rolling hills and ivy-covered brick buildings. There are small classrooms, high-tech labs, and well-manicured fields. There’s even a clock tower with a massive bell that rings for special events. Cushing Academy has all the hallmarks of a New England prep school, with one exception. This year, after having amassed a collection of more than 20,000 books, officials at the pristine campus about 90 minutes west of Boston have decided the 144-year-old school no longer needs a traditional library. The academy’s administrators have decided to discard all their books and have given away half of what stocked...