Free Republic

Now that we're heading into the winding down period of hurricane seasons, what are the global warming "experts" saying about the season? It's been awfully quiet.

"Two British Cabinet ministers showed off a doomsday vision of disappearing cities and rising seas on Thursday, part of an effort to push nations to strike a new pact on curbing emissions of global warming gasses."

"Second, the gotcha revelation on Sept. 25 about a secret nuclear plant put Tehran on the defensive with both its enemies and allies - and undermined Ahmadinejad's U.N. media blitz, which had been designed to boost his post-election image."

"Are women more effective lawmakers than men? That’s the preliminary conclusion of a study conducted by researchers at Stanford University and the University of Chicago, who say that on average, women in Congress introduce more bills, attract more co-sponsors and bring home more money for their districts than their male counterparts do. "

(Reuters) - Internet auction and services company EBay Inc has reached a deal to sell its online telephony unit Skype to a group of private investors, the New York Times said, citing two people briefed on its plans. Andreessen Horowitz, a new venture capital firm headed by the Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen, is likely to be among the investors in the group, the paper cited the people as saying. London-based Index Ventures and Silver Lake Partners may also be involved in the deal, one of the people told the paper.

"Not content to let General Motors grab all the shiny happy tree-huggy headlines today with its 230 mpg claim for the Chevy Volt in city operation, the gang manning the NissanEVs Twitter account needled GM's range-extended EV messiah, tweeting: Nissan Leaf = 367 mpg, no tailpipe, and no gas required. Oh yeah, and it'll be affordable too!"

The United Nations said Friday the number of civilians killed in conflict in Afghanistan has jumped 24 percent so far this year, with bombings by insurgent and airstrikes by international forces the biggest single killers. In a grim assessment of the first half of 2009, the U.N. assistance mission in Afghanistan said the Taliban and other anti-government militants have become more deadly by shifting from ambush attacks to suicide bombings, roadside explosives and targeted assassinations. It warned that more civilians would likely be killed as insurgents try to battle a troop increase by the administration of President Barack Obama, and...

" Nigeria's League for Human Rights says overzealous security forces are killing innocent civilians as the military tries to crush an Islamist militant sect. League director Shamaki Gad Peter tells The Associated Press that rights workers saw the bodies of up to 20 people after troops began an offensive on the sect's headquarters in Maiduguri on Wednesday. He says they were unarmed and some were shot from behind and assumed to be trying to escape the mayhem. The rights worker says many other innocent people have been arrested."

" A Canadian astronaut aboard the International Space Station said on Sunday it looks like Earth's ice caps have melted a bit since he was last in orbit 12 years ago. Bob Thirsk, who is two months into a planned six-month stay aboard the station, said he is mostly in awe when he looks out the window, particularly at the sliver of atmosphere wrapped around the planet. "It's a very thin veil of atmosphere around the Earth that keeps us alive," Thirsk said during an in-flight news conference. "Most of the time when I look out the window I'm in...

" Ford Motor Co posted a $2.3 billion quarterly net profit, mainly due to debt restructuring, and said it was on track to at least break even in 2011, sending its shares up more than 7 percent. Ford posted an operating loss for the quarter that was better than analysts expected, excluding a net gain of $2.8 billion from one-time items that included the debt reduction actions, despite reeling global markets that helped push U.S. rivals General Motors and Chrysler into bankruptcy. The automaker said it expects the U.S. economy to begin to recover in the second half of this...

OAKLAND, Calif. – Oakland residents overwhelmingly voted Tuesday to approve a first-of-its kind tax on medical marijuana sold at the city's four cannabis dispensaries.

Need some help. I had a rather spirited debate last night with my father about the 46 million uninsured people claim that the Dems keep throwing around. I told him that 20% of that number are illegal immigrants and he said that's not true that there are 46 million legal AMERICANS who can't get health insurance and anyone who doesn't believe that is kidding themselves, blah blah blah. My poor dad believes everything the MSM tells him. Can anyone give me a good set of links that debunks and breaks down the 46 million number? I'd really appreciate it!

A bill to tax and regulate marijuana in California like alcohol would generate nearly $1.4 billion in revenue for the cash-strapped state, according to an official analysis released Wednesday by tax officials. The State Board of Equalization report estimates marijuana retail sales would bring $990 million from a $50-per-ounce fee and $392 million in sales taxes. The bill introduced by San Francisco Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano in February would allow adults 21 and older to legally possess, grow and sell marijuana.

The finances of several states around the nation are sinking deeper into chaos as lawmakers struggle to work out budget differences amid a recession that has wiped out tax revenue and set the stage for dramatic cuts in service and pay for government workers. The start of the new fiscal year arrived Wednesday with states from California to Connecticut still without spending plans in place. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal emergency and ordered state offices closed three days a month to save money as state officials plan to pay bills with IOUs starting Thursday.

"WASHINGTON – The wind, a favorite power source of the green energy movement, seems to be dying down across the United States. And the cause, ironically, may be global warming — the very problem wind power seeks to address. The idea that winds may be slowing is still a speculative one, and scientists disagree whether that is happening. But a first-of-its-kind study suggests that average and peak wind speeds have been noticeably slowing since 1973, especially in the Midwest and the East."

You worry a lot about the environment and do everything you can to reduce your carbon footprint -- the emissions of greenhouse gases that drive dangerous climate change. So you always prefer to take the train or the bus rather than a plane, and avoid using a car whenever you can, faithful to the belief that this inflicts less harm to the planet. Well, there could be a nasty surprise in store for you, for taking public transport may not be as green as you automatically think, says a new US study.

BEIRUT – Vice President Joe Biden reinforced U.S. support for Lebanon's government Friday ahead of key parliamentary elections that could see the pro-Western faction ousted by Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies. Hezbollah has accused Washington of trying to influence the June 7 election in favor of the pro-Western faction that dominates the government. The militant group said Friday that the visit by Biden and an earlier one by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton raised "strong suspicion and amounted to a clear and detailed interference in Lebanon's affairs."

"Miss California may have lost her shot at becoming Miss USA after expressing her opposition to same-sex marriage but she’s nevertheless emerged as a star. After getting booed by the beauty pageant crowd and berated by one of the contest judges Sunday, Carrie Prejean is suddenly a conservative sensation, a poster girl for the right who has bloggers, talk show hosts and Republican pols singing her praises. Prejean’s beauty contest saga began Sunday when competition judge and openly gay blogger Perez Hilton asked her if she supports gay marriage. “We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage...

NEW YORK (Reuters) – General Growth Properties Inc, the second largest U.S. mall owner, filed for bankruptcy protection on Thursday in one of the biggest real estate failures in U.S. history. Ending months of speculation, the Chicago-based mall owner, which listed total assets of $29.56 billion and total debts of $27.29 billion, sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors along with 158 of its more than 200 U.S. malls, while it seeks to restructure some of its debt.

"Taliban insurgents rejected on Wednesday a U.S. offer of "honorable reconciliation" as a "lunatic idea" and said the withdrawal of foreign troops was the only way to end the war in Afghanistan."