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The meta-message of Cass Sunstein's new book delivers a warning to those who would spread Internet "rumors" about Barack Obama. The Regulatory Czar's latest book is entitled Rumors. It purports to be about how rumors spread. To that end, it's full of remarkable insights such as "Many of us accept false rumors because of either our fears or our hopes." (p. 6) "Your willingness to believe a rumor will inevitably depend on the information with which you start." (p. 19) "Sometimes people believe rumors because other people believe them." (p. 28) Plus the shocking revelation that "Many rumors spread conspiracy...

I know I am new to FR and not entirely sure I am doing this correctly however having said that I know there was a lot of interest in Glenn Beck's show about the Bubba Effect and wanted to let y'all know the subject is being discussed right now on his show.

THE RIGHT TAKES AIM AT MEDIA'S TREATMENT OF OBAMAPOST STAFF REPORT Last updated: 4:19 pm July 25, 2008 Fully expecting Sen. Clinton to be the Democratic presidential nominee, the conservative advocacy group Citizens United spent 18 months and millions of dollars making "Hillary: The Movie." But as the saying goes, God gave them lemons and they made "Hype: The Obama Effect." "Hype" is a full-length feature documentary that will be released on DVD Sept. 1 and will be playing in select theaters across the country. The trailer has been released online and advertising on FOX began this week. Citizens United...

Lots of issues including Russia – the USA complicated relations were discussed at G8 summit in Germany, but the question of the greenhouse effect taken for unimportant for many years appeared to be one of the most disputable. The parties agreed that so-called post-Kyoto agreements implying double reduction of emissions by 2050 should be worked out. In 2013, as soon as the Kyoto protocol is no longer valid, Germany is going to put forward an initiative of an agreement on global 30% cut of CO2 emissions by 2020. The document is supposed to be ready at the end of 2007...

SMILE FOR EFFECT, A PREQUEL TO “THE AMERICAN STREET”. Months ago I wrote a post about the American Street. In it, I describe a verbal exchange I had with a communist propagandizer. Despite the obnoxious T-Shirt this snake oil salesman was wearing, and despite the fact he was trying hard to attract attention – almost everyone around him was doing a good job of ignoring him. I however could not ignore him. You might be asking, why did humint notice a subversive newspaper salesman among an ocean of busy bodies, shuffling diligently from point “A” to point “B”? The answer...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2006 -- If the situation in Iraq is mishandled, regional powers may be tempted to become involved in the country -- causing greater problems for the future, defense secretary nominee Robert M. Gates said today. “Iran is already involved in Iraq and … could become much more so,” Gates said in an appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee as part of the confirmation process. “The Syrians have not been helpful in Iraq, but could become much more harmful to our effort.” Sunni majority countries in the Middle East also could become involved if the Shiite...

Changes in the Sun's brightness over the past millennium have had only a small effect on Earth's climate, according to a review of existing results and new calculations performed by researchers in the United States, Switzerland, and Germany. The review, led by Peter Foukal (Heliophysics, Inc.), appears in the September 14 issue of Nature. Among the coauthors is Tom Wigley of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. NCAR's primary sponsor is the National Science Foundation. "Our results imply that, over the past century, climate change due to human influences must far outweigh the effects of changes in the Sun's brightness,"...

Federal prosecutors in Southern California toiled for years to build a case strong enough to cut off the head of the notorious Aryan Brotherhood prison gang and end its 40-year reign over the federal and state prison system. On Friday, the government saw the fruits of its labor: a sweeping verdict that convicted four top gang leaders of murder, conspiracy and racketeering and made two of the defendants eligible for the death penalty. Yet as prosecutors celebrated, legal analysts and prison gang experts questioned whether the government's near-complete victory will translate into what authorities so keenly desire - the eventual...

MANAMA, Bahrain, April 27, 2006 – Maritime operations in the Middle East are all about anti-terrorism activities, the deputy commander of coalition forces serving with Naval Forces Central Command said here. British Royal Navy Commodore Simon T. Williams said maritime operations have an active and passive deterrence role in what Americans call the Central Command area of operations. "The main effect is trying to change the risk calculus for terrorists," he said in an interview. The command, which has ships from 17 different nations, has task forces covering the seas from the southern border of Kenya to the Pakistan-India border....

Billings, Mont. -- Most elk, bison and trumpeter swans are unfazed by the presence of snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park, a new study suggests. Researchers from the park and Montana State University observed more than 2,100 interactions between snowmobiles and wildlife last winter. In 81 percent of the interactions, the animals either had no apparent response, or they looked and then resumed what they were doing, the study said. The study, commissioned by the National Park Service and conducted between December 2004 and March 2005, is one of several that park officials say they will take into account as they...

When a rock hits the calm surface of a pond, ripples form at the point of impact and travel outward in expanding circles. The story begins with a young man and his dream - a dream of overcoming his health problems and flying for the Air Force. The boy, Ryan Penne, 14, of Chico, Calif., stepped into dreamland last year at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., when he and his family were guests of Col. Darryl W. Burke - then the 9th Reconnaissance Wing's vice commander - for a comprehensive base tour as part of the Make-A-Wish program. Ryan suffers...

Probes may have 'chilling effect' on media By Nick Madigan Sun Reporter Originally published November 16, 2005 The investigations into anonymous leaks in the nation's capital could confound the symbiotic relationship between government officials and reporters, according to observers of the interaction between the press and the politicians they cover. The probes, first in the Valerie Plame case and now in The Washington Post's story about covert CIA prisons, have prompted questions about the benefits and pitfalls of leaking national security secrets, and whether the prospect of investigations into their provenance will mean the leaks could dry up. "What if...

Greenhouse effect occurred 5,000 years ago: archaeologists www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-31 19:10:24 JINAN, Oct. 31 (Xinhuanet) -- It is common sense nowadays that excessive carbon dioxide in the air caused by excessive lumbering leads to global greenhouse effects. But a team of archaeologists from China and the United States is saying that the greenhouse effect started about 5,000 years ago, much earlier than people might expect. This is the conclusion reached by a group of Chinese and US archaeologists based on research on the relics excavated from the ruins of a Neolithic site in Rizhao City, east China's Shandong Province, over the...

JUNEAU, Alaska — Starting Wednesday, a new anti-gun-control law in Alaska will allow handgun owners to carry concealed weapons without a permit in the seven Alaska cities where permits are now required. Gun owners will be allowed to keep their firearms in their vehicle, even if the car is parked on private property where the owner has a no-gun policy. And, some police chiefs say, local ordinances that ban guns from public buildings such as city halls will no longer be enforceable. Alaska’s new law forbids municipalities from passing gun laws that are more restrictive than state law. The National...

WASHINGTON - The effect of greenhouse gases on the Earth's atmosphere has increased 20 percent since 1990, a new government index says. The Annual Greenhouse Gas Index was released Tuesday by the Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory in Boulder, Colo. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide accumulate in the atmosphere as a result of industrial and other processes. They can help trap solar heat, somewhat like a greenhouse, resulting in a gradual warming of the Earth's atmosphere. The Earth's average temperature increased about 1 degree Fahrenheit during the 20th century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that continuing increases...

NEW YORK - After seven politically painful years, the Kyoto Protocol (news - web sites) finally enters into force on Wednesday, reining in industrial emissions of carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse gases" in a first attempt to control climate change. The global pact negotiated in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, remains a small step, potentially eliminating only one-tenth of a projected 30 percent rise in worldwide emissions between 1990 and 2010. Its supporters already are looking beyond it, toward bigger steps once the agreement expires in 2012. Progress will be limited without the United States, however. The world's biggest emitter rejects...

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!

WASHINGTON - High oil prices, which have been a factor in virtually all U.S. recessions over the past three decades, are surging again this year. And the higher crude oil prices climb, the more risk energy costs pose to what, until recently, many expected to be a banner year for the U.S. economy. Some economists are even beginning to worry about an outright recession if oil prices, already at record levels, go much higher. And concerns are rising about the threat of "stagflation," a dreaded economic malady of stagnant growth coupled with rising prices that had the United States in...

Flooding may be a side effect of Venus' move June 20 2004 at 10:33AM Beijing - The recent spectacular transit of Venus across the face of the sun may lead to disastrous flooding along China's Yellow River, a leading scientist warned in the local media on Sunday. While millions were marvelling at the celestial show earlier this month, Geng Guoqing, an expert on natural calamities, was more worried about the consequences for China's second-longest river, the Xinhua news agency reported. He compared historical records reaching 2 187 years back and found a clear correllation between Venus transits and serious floods...

LOS ANGELES, April 2, 2004—Jody Eldred Productions today announced it has just completed filming and is in the final stages of production on an inspirational documentary called, “Changed Lives: Miracles of The Passion,” which will air nationwide Easter weekend. With rave reviews from Diane Sawyer on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and Joe Scarborough on MSNBC’s “Scarborough Country,” this one-hour T.V. special was shot in High Definition and documents the true stories of people whose lives have been forever changed by Mel Gibson’s incredible motion picture “The Passion of The Christ.” “I knew instantly that people’s lives were going to be...