Free Republic

THE deepest roots of the human family tree may not lie in Africa, where modern man is known to have evolved, but in Asia, scientists have found. The origins of the first primates — the mammalian order to which mankind belongs — have been traced to Asia by American, Chinese and Japanese researchers. Investigations at a fossil bed known as the Lingcha Formation, in South China, and comparisons with similar sites in Europe and North America have revealed that several orders of mammals have a much more ancient lineage in Asia than on the other continents, according to a study...

In the end, Washington Democrats decided to fortify their districts in the California reapportionment rather than try for a few more seats that might help the party win back the U.S. House. That was fine with Republicans, who now believe that no news is good news from California. But for both parties, the result may produce unintended effects for years to come. In Washington, a hint that the 2002 California reapportionment had the potential for causing bad blood inside the Democratic Party came two years ago in a private dining room on the House side of the U.S. Capitol. There,...

A final confrontation on campaign finance reform is about to take place. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle says he is prepared to force the bill to the floor sometime before the March 22 recess. In order to delay or stop the legislation's final passage, Daschle says that he'll utilize all-night sessions to compel opponents to resort to a filibuster. Proponents of campaign finance reform believe they have the 60 votes necessary to stop a filibuster. Conventional wisdom in the beltway predicts that something very close to the House version of the bill will pass and be sent to the president....

A FLAMBOYANT, homosexual academic with a shaven head and taste for luxury emerged as Europe’s newest anti-establishment, anti-immigrant scourge yesterday after his fledgeling organisation routed the main parties in Rotterdam’s municipal elections. The startling success of Pim Fortuyn in The Netherlands’ second largest city, and that of like-minded candidates in other local elections across the country, confirmed his arrival as a potent force in Dutch politics ahead of May’s general election. It also marked a further advance by Europe’s xenophobic Right, this time in a country that prides itself on its tolerance, political correctness and multiculturalism. Mr Fortuyn’s Leefbaar ...

In a new genetic study of modern human origins, an American scientist has found what he says is substantial evidence that could reshape the prevailing "out of Africa" theory. Among his findings, he says, is the likelihood that genes from Neanderthals and other species live on in present-day humans. The findings apparently do not undermine the "out of Africa" theory, which holds that there was a relatively modern founding migration of human ancestors into Asia and Europe from Africa. But they do suggest that there were at least two migrations rather than one — the first about half a ...

TONGUES are wagging at Oxford University over unkind suggestions that Chelsea Clinton is aiming for a degree in partying. Just over a term into a two-year postgraduate course at her father Bill's alma mater, University College, she ought, by rights, to be buried in books at the Bodleian. As a university spokesman said yesterday, she must adhere to the Oxford rule: be in residence for "at least" six of the 11 weeks of this term. But what a difference a term makes. Chelsea, named after Joni Mitchell's Chelsea Morning, is suddenly out and about, in London, Paris and Milan. ...

A JEERING, spitting crowd of black and North African children pushed law and order to the centre of France's presidential campaign yesterday after President Chirac visited one of Paris's most notorious suburbs. M Chirac was touring Val-Fourré in Yvelines, a community just outside Paris, once home to thousands of Renault workers and now the site of violent, rotting slums. During a walkabout, the president was guarded closely as he shook hands and kissed babies. In the evening a raucous crowd gathered outside the local Charlie Chaplin cultural centre where M Chirac spoke at a round table discussion on safety on ...

In California politics, fortunes can turn very quickly. Just ask Richard Riordan. Some saw the former L.A. mayor as the GOP's best hope of beating current governor Gray Davis. But Riordan is presently watching his lead wither away. According to a recent Los Angeles Times poll, Riordan is virtually tied with conservative candidate Bill Simon, and only a week remains before the primary. Among likely Republican primary voters, Riordan and Simon appear to be locked at 31 percent of the vote each. How could this turn of events have happened? When all is said and done, it may be ...

JEWISH settlers have come up with a new way to deter Palestinian suicide bombers - wrapping their corpses in pigskin to deprive them of the fruits of paradise. The settlers believe that contact with a pig, an unclean animal for Muslims and Jews, will rob the bomber of the reward of martyrdom, traditionally said to be 72 virgins. Settlers at Gush Katif, in the Gaza Strip, were the first to claim to have defiled the body of a dead Palestinian with "pigskin and lard". Residents of Efrat, a Jewish settlement near Bethlehem, said they did the same to a Palestinian ...

"Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech." – The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America "The Senators and Representatives … shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution." – Article VI of the Constitution of the United States of America "I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and ...

--'G' WE'RE SORRY-- NBC-owned MSNBC was engaged in its usual cable news activity. Anchor Gregg Jarrett was interviewing Republican consultant Niger Innis. Then it happened. An on-screen graphic was displayed that contained an extra 'g' in Innis' first name. Jarrett, a class act, responded with sensitivity. According to E!-Online, the anchor said, "Let me offer a profuse apology from this network. We accidentally misspelled your name in the last hour and we are terribly sorry." Innis was good-natured in his reaction. "Oh, God, I thought you guys thought I was a rapper or something. Media bias continues -- just ...

--SEX HARASSMENT MACHINE-- James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," is being sued by a former employee, Lisa Agbalaya, for sexual harassment. Agbalaya claims that the singer constantly pestered her and other female staff for sex. So says The London Telegraph. In her deposition, Agbalaya stated that Brown regularly smoked marijuana in the workplace, boasted about his anatomy and gave her zebra print underwear to don while massaging him. The ex-employee is seeking $2 million. Agbalaya's lawyers say that she was dismissed and the office she ran was shut down, all because she faxed a sexual harassment complaint to the ...

--CROWD NOISE-- A bootleg version of the film "Black Hawk Down" recently debuted in Mogadishu, Somalia, according to the Associated Press. Reports tell of Somali men cheering as they watched the movie, but not for what America-loving folks might think. It seems that cheers arose when U.S. helicopters got hit by Somali gunfire. Not surprisingly, there was no audience reaction when Somalis were killed or wounded. Somalia is known for housing a U.S. government-listed terrorist organization called Al-Itihaad. The country is often mentioned as a future destination in the War on Terror. The Left Coast Report predicts that if ...

PEOPLE who have between one and three alcoholic drinks a day can reduce their risk of dementia in later life by up to 70 per cent, according to Dutch researchers. They found that light to moderate drinking reduced the risk of all types of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, by 42 per cent, and of dementia caused by restricted blood vessels by almost twice as much. The study by Dr Monique Breteler, from the Erasmus University Medical School, Rotterdam, followed 8,000 people over the age of 55 for six years. In that time 146 developed Alzheimer's disease, 29 developed vascular ...

Dr. James L. Hirsen, J.D., Ph.D. will appear tonight as a guest of "Politically Incorrect" with Bill Maher. Freepers in the LA area are invited to show up and show their support at the studio near the Farmer's Market for the show taping at 5 pm. All are invited to watch the inimitable Dr. Hirsen on TV tonight.Best of luck, Dr. Hirsen!

--JUST BEING JOHN MALKOVICH-- It's not easy being conservative in Hollywood. Stars like Tom Selleck and Bo Derek have learned that lesson well. But now we're seeing a new right-thinking celebrity braving his way forward. It's none other than the independent-spirited John Malkovich. It seems that the actor recently gave the Chicago Tribune some of his unparalleled observations about our criminal justice system. "America's left wing wants criminals coddled, and no one wants anyone punished," he says. "I would have no problem pushing the switch while having dinner." Malkovich went on to tweak the anti-capital-punishment crowd further by saying, ...

It's been four years since we first heard of her. Now Monica Lewinsky is back, but this time in a little more dignified position. She's promoting an upcoming HBO documentary called "Monica in Black and White." HBO plans to run its debatable contribution to American culture in March. According to the cable channel's press releases, the docudrama mainly features Monica taking questions from college students and staff members of HBO. If the answers Monica gave recently to press reporters at the Pasadena Ritz-Carlton Hotel are any indication, the show won't exactly be a required watch. Greg Braxton, a staff ...

PATHAN tribesmen loyal to the Taliban and al-Qa'eda in eastern Afghanistan are sheltering "hundreds of Osama bin Laden's fighters" in a mountain region known as Zarmat. A string of mud-brick, highland villages between Khawar, in Logar province, and Zarmat, in Paktia province, represents one of the largest pockets of remaining al-Qa'eda members in Afghanistan, Pathan tribal sources said. Most of the fighters are Arabs and Chechens who fled from the al-Qa'eda base at Tora Bora when it was attacked by US troops and anti-Taliban Afghan fighters in December. Afghan officials in Khost said that several dozen US Special Forces ...

<p>In many states across the country, the will of the people is being undermined by the will of the politicians.</p> <p>Dozens of ballot initiatives that have been passed by citizens over the last decade are being repealed, ignored or challenged in court by state legislators or federal agencies.</p>

<p>The new Brooklyn borough president said "diversity" is making him take down a portrait of "old white man" George Washington that's hung in the office for years. Brooklyn Beep Marty Markowitz said he will probably hang a portrait of a black or a woman in his office in place of the country's first president, while moving the Father of Our Country elsewhere in Borough Hall.</p>