Free Republic

The U.S. is helping China build a novel, superior nuclear reactor by  Mark Halper February 2, 2015, 2:48 PM EDT Share icons The Department of Energy is dusting off one of the old betamaxes of nuclear technology: The molten salt reactor. But with political will lacking at home, it will rise in China.In 1973, the Nixon administration made a momentous decision that altered the course of civilian nuclear power: It fired the director of the renowned Oak Ridge National Laboratory, scuppering development of a reactor widely regarded as safer and superior to the complicated, inferior behemoths that define the global...

On twitter and tiktok over the past few weeks, scores of users have become alarmed about the uncomfortable coziness between the natural-food-and-body community and white-power and militant-right online spaces—the “crunchy-to-alt-right pipeline.” Crunchy, coined as a pop-culture reference to granola, has come to refer to a wide variety of cultural practices, including avoiding additives and food dyes, declining or spacing out childhood vaccinations beyond what pediatricians recommend, and more extreme actions in pursuit of health, independence, and purity. Back-to-the-land living and alternative medicine are hallmarks of “crunch.” Much of this subculture is benign, a declaration of anti-modernism or slow living. But...

Residents are concerned a town employee arbitrarily lowered the fluoride level in Richmond’s drinking water below recommended standards based on his personal beliefs. Town Manager Josh Arneson said he was notified by state officials in June that the town’s fluoride levels have been near 0.3 milligrams per liter for the past three years — less than half of the 0.7 milligrams per liter recommended by the Vermont Department of Health and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “I am concerned about the lack of transparency about the fluoride levels being lower than those set by the Community Water Fluoridation...

For communities with a low rate of depression and suicide, there may be something in the water, according to a new study. A comprehensive analysis of findings from previous studies has revealed that regions where the public drinking water contains a high level of naturally occurring lithium — a mineral used most often for the treatment of depression and bipolar disorder — also boast a lower rate of suicide than other areas. The review included all prior research on the effects of lithium, as well as regional water samples and suicide data from 1,286 locales in Austria, Greece, Italy, Lithuania,...

There seems to be a similarity between international trade disputes and Texas Hold’em. There is always a certain amount of bluff that is part of the negotiations. The question is, how much is a bluff and how much is not. The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) has just revealed that they are going to use their stake in rare earth minerals production as their show card. Make no mistake -- the communist government is not bluffing. However, one good card does not make a winning hand. To understand the problem, we first must understand where rare earth mineral deposits are...

Jill Knapp begs us to “Please Stop Asking Me When I’m Going to Have Children.” Being that I am still a newly-wed and have just moved to a new city, I am in no rush to have a kid. This is an unacceptable answer to a lot of people. The constant reminders that your clock is ticking and that you don’t want to be confused for your child’s grandparents when they grow up are not making us move any faster. Having children is a big responsibility. What Jill doesn’t understand is that her fertility is not subject to whim...

Four years ago, psychologist Leonard Sax (MD, PhD) wrote a well-received book titled “Boys Adrift.” The doctor tried to answer the question, why have so many young males fallen into passivity and indifference? Dr. Sax had heard more and more parents complain that their boys stayed indoors most of the time, spent hours on video games, and in general seemed to lack the confidence and esprit de corps that had characterized boys throughout history. “Something scary is happening to boys today,” Sax concluded. “From kindergarten to college, American boys are, on average, less resilient and less ambitious than they were...

Is Mankind Getting Dumber? by Brian Thomas, M.S. * Do today’s children have lower I.Q.’s than yesterday’s? Yes, according to measurements of intellectual and emotional strength gathered from different countries and contexts. The results show the same basic decline and resist the notion that public or other forms of education are to blame. Could the cause instead lie within? Stanford University professor Gerald Crabtree thinks so. He published a pair of essays in the journal Trends in Genetics, citing new discoveries that show why the human intellect is “surprisingly fragile.”1 This biblical creation-friendly notion didn’t sit well with the authors...

Windsor on Monday joined the growing number of municipalities which have voted to end the decades-old practice of adding fluoride to the water supply in the fight against tooth decay. “A lot has changed in the last 60 years … fluoride is not the be-all and end-all to prevent tooth decay,” said Mayor Eddie Francis, who voted with the majority.… “I want to be shown that when we ingest this, we are safe,” said Kimberley DeYong of Fluoride Free Windsor. She and others said not a single study among those cited by fluoridation proponents looked specifically at the industry-sourced chemical...

NEW YORK, June 20, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Beginning August 4, 2012, New Hampshire will require notification that 6-month-olds should not be routinely fed infant formula mixed with fluoridated water to avoid discoloring babies' unerupted teeth (fluorosis), reports the Fluoride Action Network (FAN). Passed by the House, 253-23, unanimously by the Senate, and signed by the Governor, HB-1416 reads: "If a public water supply is fluoridated, the following notice shall be posted in the water system's consumer confidence report: 'Your public water supply is fluoridated. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if your child under the...

For decades, fluoride has been marketed and heralded as essential for good dental hygiene and used in most toothpastes and mouthwashes. In addition, parents have been routinely encouraged to give their kids cavity-fighting fluoride treatments when they visit the dentist. ... But that was then and this is now. In a surprising reversal, last month EPA’s announced that it intends to lower the maximum amount of fluoride in drinking water because of growing evidence supporting the chemical’s possible deleterious effects to children’s health. In 2006, the National Academy of Sciences report that found dental fluorosis – caused by too much...

New York -- May 2, 2010 -- Sixty-five years ago today, officials added fluoride chemicals into Newburgh, NY's public water supply making residents guinea pigs in a failed experiment to discover whether fluoride could safely reduce tooth decay. It didn't. But political pressure declared it a success. Any high school biology student can find the flaws in this "study." Fluoride researchers are still using our bodies and tax dollars for their own benefit. Ten years later, 1955, researchers reported that newly fluoridated Newburgh children had more bone defects, anemia and earlier female menstruation than never-fluoridated Kingston children, according to the...

50 Reasons to Oppose Fluoridation Updated April 12, 2004 by Paul Connett, PhD Professor of Chemistry St. Lawrence University Canton, NY 13617 1) Fluoride is not an essential nutrient (NRC 1993 and IOM 1997). No disease has ever been linked to a fluoride deficiency. Humans can have perfectly good teeth without fluoride. 2) Fluoridation is not necessary. Most Western European countries are not fluoridated and have experienced the same decline in dental decay as the US (See data from World Health Organization in Appendix 1, and the time trends presented graphically at http://www.fluoridealert.org/who-dmft.htm ). The reasons given by countries for...

When Jonas Salk invented polio vaccine, he was a hero — and I’m a terrorist?” he jokes, referring to a placard denouncing him at a recent demonstration by antivaccine activists outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. In recent years, the debate over vaccines and autism, which began in fear and confusion, has hardened into anger. As Dr. Offit’s book details, numerous studies of thimerosal, measles virus and other alleged autism triggers in vaccines have been conducted, and hundreds of children with diagnoses of autism have undergone what he considers sham treatments and been “cured.” Both sides...

calling for the banning of flouride and the dangers of poisoning -

The panel looked at a large body of literature in which fluoride is said to have a statistically significant association with a wide range of adverse effects. They include an increased risk of bone fractures, decreased thyroid function, lowered IQ, arthritic-like conditions, dental fluorosis and, possibly, osteosarcoma. The signers include a Nobel Prize winner, three members of the NRC panel, two officers in the union representing professionals at the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters and the president of the International Society of Doctors for the Environment. "Fluoridation is against all principles of modern pharmacology. It's really obsolete," contends signer Dr. Arvid...

Serious movement in D.C. – and if I hadn't been there, I would not have believed it. For several months Joan Wire and her daughter have been trying to secure an appointment with a highly effective government official we'll simply call Mr. Washington. Joan Wire is the stalwart wife of Mike Wire. Mike is the storied "man on the bridge," the single most critical eyewitness in the saga of TWA Flight 800, the 747 that was inexplicably blown out of the sky on the night of July 17, 1996. The CIA built its notorious zoom-climb animation around Mike's position on...

Dentists Are Fluoride Misinformed New York – February 1 -- Bottled water does NOT contribute to tooth decay despite dentists scientifically unverifiable cautions disseminated through the media. Studies actually show the opposite. America’s children are fluoride-overdosed, it’s ruining their teeth and researchers advise cutting back. The Centers for Disease Control reports from 1/3 to 1/2 of U.S. schoolchildren sport dental fluorosis1 – white-spotted, discolored and/or sometimes pitted teeth, caused by fluoride over-ingestion. The Academy of General Dentistry advises against fluoridated water for infant formula or food preparation because many studies show this ups children’s fluorosis risk.2 The U.S. Surgeon General...

New York - January 16, 2006 - Fluoride, added to water supplies, is touted as a tooth decay preventive. Science increasingly shows fluoridation is ineffective, harmful and a waste of money. But the politics of organized dentistry keeps fluoridated water flowing. Last year, 2005, was a very successful year for the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) and their affiliated groups for getting the truth out and bringing negative fluoride science to the media’s attention. Voters rejected fluoridation in at least nine referenda including Bellingham, Washington, where fluoridationists spent $260,000 to lose against a small group of volunteers armed with the truth...

I picked up a study at the State College recently about Fluoride. It seems that the “optimum” dose of it is considered to be 1mg per liter of water. The State (Nebraska) has set limits between 0.7 to 1.5 mg/l to “reduce tooth decay”. The local water suppliers are charged with meeting and staying within those limits. Prolonged drinking of water with more than 2.0mg/l can cause discoloration of the teeth. Much higher amounts are poisonous. What I found interesting is that the groundwater was tested throughout the state to see what the naturally occurring fluoride was before anything was...