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Earth might seem like a more active and dangerous place than ever, given the constant media reports of multiple natural disasters recently. But a broader view reveals that it's not Mother Nature who's changed, but we humans. Drawn by undeveloped land and fertile soil, people are flocking to disaster-prone regions. This creates a situation in which ordinary events like earthquakes and hurricanes become increasingly elevated to the level of natural disasters that reap heavy losses in human life and property. Meanwhile, in any given year, the death toll at the hands of Mother Nature varies greatly, as do the sorts...

What do Ceausescu, Hitler and Bush have in common? OK, sorry. But what else do they have in common? By Michael Leidig in Bucharest (Filed: 25/09/2005) It seemed like a good idea at the time: a light-hearted advertising campaign to persuade Romanians to adopt a stray dog, using pictures of three well-known 'historical figures’ with their pets. Posters across the capital showed Adolf Hitler, Nicolae Ceausescu — Romania’s former dictator — and George W Bush, over the slogan: 'A dog loves you just the way you are.’ But the American Embassy did not find the association of Mr Bush with...

PHOENIX (AP) - When burglars broke into Rep. Jim Kolbe's cabin last month, they ignored an antique rifle and other valuables. Instead, the intruders ate some food, used the shower and took some clothes from the home less than 30 miles from the Mexican border, near the nation's busiest corridor for illegal immigrants. Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada regularly hears about migrants burglarizing homes as they cross the Arizona desert. Two or three such break-ins are reported in the county each month, and residents complain about trespassers every day, he said Thursday. "It happens. And it probably happens more...

Tony Blair and George Bush have "far more blood on their hands" than the terrorists who carried out the London tube bombings, George Galloway said today. Mr Galloway, Respect MP for Bethnal Green, said that the attacks on the capital by Islamic extremists could not be separated from the invasion of Iraq and Britain's treatment of the Muslim world. He said that the "al-Qaida phenomenon" had arisen directly as a result of western policies in the Middle East. Mr Galloway had already attracted criticism for remarks made to Syrian television, attacking Arab governments which collaborated with foreigners in the "rape"...

SALISBURY - Rowan County officials paid private investigators more than $23,000 over the past five years to search for the writer of anonymous letters criticizing county spending. According to the private eyes, that person turned out to be one of the county's own. The Board of Commissioners never discussed or approved spending for the investigation at any formal meeting. Only County Manager Tim Russell, his assistants and possibly two commissioners' chairmen knew of the investigation, The Salisbury Post reported. Russell said he hired the agency because of the letters' threatening tone. The investigation was revealed after Kiker Investigations issued a...

Mounting evidence suggests a plastic additive common in baby and sports bottles and used to line the inside of soda and tin cans is accumulating in our bodies at levels far beyond those known to cause considerable health problems in lab animals. At least that's the conclusion in research underwritten by the government or an independent source such as a university, a new review of 115 peer-reviewed publications has found. Industry-sponsored research has so far found no problem with the additive, bisphenol-A. And that, say the authors of a report published in the current edition of Environmental Health Perspectives, contributes...

WASHINGTON (AP) - When California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger nabbed an endorsement from Common Cause for his plan to redraw political district lines, some Democrats and open-government activists were dismayed. How could the respected good government group sign on with a governor who's been criticized for his supercharged fund-raising? Why was Common Cause embracing a plan that's picked up little or no backing from other nonprofit groups? "Common Cause is star-struck and so they're lending the governor their brand," said Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a Santa Monica-based consumer group that's among Schwarzenegger's chief critics....

New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) has long been rumored as desperately seeking the democratic nomination for president in 2008. And while many political observers fully expect the power hungry former First Lady to hit the campaign trail within only a few months of being re-elected as a US Senator in 2006, US News & World report claims to have a confirmation of sorts. From USNews.Com's Washington Whispers: Hillary's in… You don't have to take it from us about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton 's desire to run for president. Her brothers, Hugh and Tony Rodham, say it's true. Friends...

12/27/04Human Sacrifice Was Common in Burnt City Tehran (Iranian Cultural Heritage News Agency) -- According to archeological research in the 5000-year-old burnt city, in eastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, sacrificing human beings was a common practice in ancient times. After excavating a number of graves in the cemetery of the burnt city, the Iranian archeological team came across signs of murder and generally beheaded bodies.“During excavations in the burnt city cemetery, we came across a grave with only one skull buried along with gifts and personal items needed for the afterlife. There was also another grave in the form of a...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Do the media give aid and comfort to terrorists by giving their violence maximum exposure and impact at times while sanitizing the perpetrators and tainting their victims at others? It is standard procedure for many media outlets to describe the perpetrators of terrorist acts - the premeditated slaughter of civilians - with a range of euphemisms, "militants" being the most common. Thus, The New York Times can headline a report on the killing of a hostage as "Iraq Militants Said to Behead a Truck Driver From Bulgaria." Similarly, terrorists killed in a military strike can be described in another as...

When is it “OK” for an innocent bystander to be brutalized at the whim of a common thug? Amid the collection of worldviews we endeavor to rationalize in our pluralistic cultural, brutalizing ones neighbor and stranger alike is still repugnant to most. Who among us, whether atheist, Christian, or secular humanist will praise and commend the actions of a judge who in the name of love and understanding does not penalize the lawbreaking thief, rapist, and murderer. Why is it so difficult for the average person to apply this simple example of reality to God? If the Creator God...

ISSUE 5 "We have to find a way not to have the politics that looks for the lowest common denominator, but one that reaches for the highest common denominator …"  Sen. John Kerry, Speech To The American Legion National Convention, Nashville, TN, 9/1/04KERRY'S COMMON DENOMINATOR___________________________________________________________________HIGHEST OR LOWEST? John Edwards (D-NC):   “The best I can tell, his health care plan is pray you don’t get sick.”  (Liz Sidoti, “Edwards Delivering Stronger Criticism Of Bush, Cheney - With A Smile,” The Associated Press, 9/13/04)Teresa Heinz Kerry:  “The price of this president’s failed health-care policies is paid in the coin of human suffering,...

ISSUE 3"We have to find a way not to have the politics that looks for the lowest common denominator, but one that reaches for the highest common denominator …"  Sen. John Kerry, Speech To The American Legion National Convention, Nashville, TN, 9/1/04KERRY'S COMMON DENOMINATOR___________________________________________________________________HIGHEST OR LOWEST?    Sen. John Kerry (D-MA):   "'This president has talked about compassion, but he's walked right by. He's seen people in need but crossed right by,' Kerry said. … 'We are not going to allow them to put a "do not enter" sign on the White House door,' Kerry said at the Washington Convention Center."  (Jim...

ISSUE 2 "We have to find a way not to have the politics that looks for the lowest common denominator, but one that reaches for the highest common denominator …"  Sen. John Kerry, Speech To The American Legion National Convention, Nashville, TN, 9/1/04KERRY'S COMMON DENOMINATOR___________________________________________________________________HIGHEST OR LOWEST? Sen. John Kerry (D-MA): "Senator John Kerry turned to the Bible on Thursday to go after President Bush, warning a black Baptist audience here to 'beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing.'"  (Jodi Wilgoren, "Kerry Invokes The Bible In Appeal For Black Votes," The New York Times, 9/10/04)Sen. Kerry: "For...

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-Cuba), speaking at a Democratic party fundraiser in San Francisco yesterday, was remarkably frank about the Democrats' intentions to use socialist redistribution policies if the party gains power after the November elections.As reported by the Associated Press, Sen. Clinton said, "Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you. We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."With her blunt statement,...

..."Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you," Sen. Clinton said. "We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."

Left-handedness common in Ice Age By Dr David Whitehouse BBC News Online science editor A right-hand print signifys left-handedness The fraction of left-handed people today is about the same as it was during the Ice Age, according to data from prehistoric handprints. They were found in caves painted during the Upper Palaeolithic period, between 30,000 and 10,000 years ago. Left-handedness may have conferred prehistoric man advantages, such as in combat, say the researchers. The research is published in the February issue of the journal Biology Letters. Evolutionary advantages When Stone Age man produced their remarkable cave paintings they often left...

Houston accountant Mike Willingham doesn't own enough stock to sit on the stockholder committee for Atlanta's bankrupt Mirant Corp. But he's on it, thanks to an unusual campaign he launched when the struggling energy company filed for Chapter 11 protection this summer. Willingham, known as Hammr6 on the Internet, holds the committee's Yahoo seat. He represents Westlurker, JohnGalt, Arizzzona, Oledude and hundreds of other Mirant stockholders who frequent a Yahoo Internet chat room now banished in post-bankruptcy ignominy to a Web site location only the already initiated can find. Through proxies from more than 400 of those Yahoo-ers, Willingham now...