Free Republic

With the opening of China's economy, women are also becoming more open about showing their bodies, and they can do it with bikinis in the summer. This swimwear is becoming popular among Chinese girls. But before wearing a bikini, there are a few things women need to know before donning a bikini. Many women will try to lose weight before wearing a bikini. Yet fashion experts say that in order to look attractive in a bikini, the following eight things are more important than weight. Tip 1: The color of your skin means much more than the color of the...

Sunday, August 12, 2007 5:44 PM EDT MONTREAL - Novak Djokovic called his Rogers Cup semifinal victory over Rafael Nadal one of the biggest victories of his career. It turns out he was only getting warmed up. Djokovic upset world No. 1 Roger Federer 7-6 (2), 2-6, 7-6 (2) Sunday to win the $2.45 million Masters Series event, solidifying himself as a serious contender to win the U.S. Open beginning later this month in New York. "It's a dream come true to win such a strong tournament as this and to win against probably the best player ever in the...

Call it a metaphor for a prosperous, risk-embracing age or just call it bad driving. Auto makers are turning out a new breed of supremely fast sports cars that sell for upwards of $250,000 and share many characteristics of purebred racecars. But as more of them hit the road, often in the hands of inexperienced drivers, a growing number are ending up wrapped around trees, smashed into guardrails or otherwise totaled in accidents. In the past 18 months, drivers across the world have cracked up at least six rare $1 million Ferrari Enzos -- only 400 of which were built....

After having read that Vanity Fair had "pointed out" the Neocon rebuttal of Bush's policy in Iraq, I wrote to David Frum this message : drzz Sent : Saturday, November 4, 2006 7:55 AM To : David Frum I discovered a claim in my local newspaper that you and some neoconservatives said critics about the Bush administration. According to the website of Vanity Fair, you said that Bush "says the words but doesn't understand the ideas." I have read also Richard Perle said the Iraq war was a mistake. I hardly believe these comments come from neoconservatives, and I write...

I hope someone can lead me in the right direction. I am looking for diagrams preferrably or some other clear explanation of the cross section of different mounting systems for handguns. The Weaver mount is one example. I cannot find a cross section with dimensions anywhere. I have googled but came up empty. I am CONFIDENT some of you could educate me on this. Thanks for your help.

Two economists argue in a study to be released today that social drinkers tend to have more charisma, a fatter Rolodex and more friends than those who abstain or drink alone. That garrulousness, they say, translates into higher income — 10% more for men and 14% more for women.

The "how and why" surrounding 20-year-old Daniel Hogan's mysterious death is being kept under wraps in an autopsy report that should have been completed last night. The only son of American celebrity Anna Nicole Smith died on the maternity ward at Doctors Hospital while visiting his mother and newborn baby sister on Sunday. According to sources close to the case, preliminary investigations revealed that various medications along with drugs were found in his system. "All we know right now is that he was on anti-depressants," the source said. "Some things indicate that he probably overdosed on those drugs." While local...

Tongan King Tupou IV dies at 88 King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV King Taufa'ahau had been suffering from an unspecified illness The people of Tonga have been plunged into mourning following the death of 88-year-old King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV. Public buildings are being draped in black and purple as a mark of respect. King Tupou IV was absolute ruler of the South Pacific island nation for 41 years, making him the world's fourth longest-serving monarch. His son, Crown Prince Tupouto'a, was sworn in as the new king at a brief ceremony on Monday, but it could be at least a year...

Many will recall that on July 8, 1947, witnesses claim an unidentified object with five aliens aboard crashed in a sheep and cattle ranch just outside Roswell, New Mexico. This is a well known incident that many say has long been covered up by the US Air Force and the federal government. However, you may NOT know that in the Month of March 1948, exactly nine months after that historic day, Albert Arnold Gore, Jr.; Hillary Rodham; John F. Kerry; William Jefferson Clinton; Howard Dean; Nancy Pelosi; Dianne Feinstein; Charles E. Schumer; and Barbara Boxer were born. That piece of...

This is true Professor Wichman E-mail Claim: A Michigan professor sent an e-mail telling Muslim students to leave the country Status: True. Professor Wichman E-mail Hooray for Michigan State University (The Spartans) and Professor Wichman! Well, what do we have here. Looks like a small case of some people being able to dish it out, but not take it. Let's start at the top. The story begins at Michigan State University with a mechanical engineering professor named Indrek Wichman. Wichman sent an e-mail to the Muslim Student's Association. The e-mail was in response to the students' protest of the Danish...

Warsaw, Sep 2 : Pageant contestants from around the globe gathered here for the Miss World 2006 contest, organisers said Saturday. The beauty queens arrived in the Polish capital Friday for a month of pageantry across the country ahead of the final of the Miss World 2006 pageant contest scheduled for Sep 30. The highlights of the month-long tour will be the final, which will be staged at the Congress Hall of the Science and Culture Palace here. When Eric Morley founded Miss World in 1951, he might not have imagined that the pageant would one day attract a global...

Kyra Phillips, the CNN anchor whose live microphone resulted in her bathroom chatter about her sister-in-law being broadcast over a speech by President Bush, went on "the CBS Late with David Letterman" Friday (September 1) to as part of her public mea culpa.Recognizing that humor is sometimes the best defense, Phillips appeared on the show and delivered on of the program's famous "Top Ten Lists."Of course, with "the Late Show" being on the notoriously anti-Bush CBS, Letterman's writers couldn't resist making the punchline about the president, not the reporter's gaffe: Top Ten Kyra Phillips Excuses Presented by CNN Anchor Kyra...

EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. -- Proponents of ethanol see it as a fuel additive that can relieve the nation's energy woes. Pleasure boaters like Walter Kaprielian say they need it like a hole in the hull. Mr. Kaprielian's 1969 boat was made in Miami by Bertram Yacht, whose sturdy older vessels have a devoted following. But the 20-footer, a beamy craft with a small cabin, has had all sorts of things go wrong with it since marinas here began selling nothing but ethanol-blended gasoline two years ago. The boat has spent the summer sitting in a repair yard while its owner...

— Outspoken country star has own label, movie deal, integrity intact. — Happy Toby Keith Appreciation Day! Just a few weeks ago, the Greenacres Kiwanis Club named Toby Keith its Man of the Year and successfully lobbied the Palm Beach County Commission to proclaim Sept. 1 "Toby Keith Appreciation Day." They chose Keith because of the five trips he's made overseas to entertain the troops. They chose today to coincide with his concert tonight at Sound Advice Amphitheatre. Keith called from Buffalo where he was a few shows into his 60-stop Ford Trucks-sponsored Hookin' Up & Hangin' Out Tour, a...

Folks, I'm stumped... I need help with the following: Given - Two completed suduko puzzles A (correct answer) and R (unknown result). Question: What is the fewest number of checks that can be made to prove that A = R for the following assumptions: Assumption1 Assume that in R, no sub area has any duplicate numbers (ie, 1-9 inclusive) Assumption2 Assume that in R, no row has any duplicate numbers (can also be proven using columns instead of rows. Also - prove true or false When A = R, the diagonals will always include at least 1 duplicate number Write...

FOUR thousand years ago work began to erect the great earthen burial mounds that comprise the Bronze Age barrow cemetery at the Knowes of Trotty, in Harray, Orkney. There are at least 16 barrows - or graves - in two rows, nestling between the edge of the farmlands and the foot of the moorland. Many were raised upon natural mounds to enhance their prominence. It is a spectacular site, even today, and there are indications that in the Bronze Age the Knowes of Trotty was a cemetery of special significance. The barrows were built to honour the dead of the...

'Gilligan's Island' boat up for sale PARKSVILLE, British Columbia, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- The S.S. Minnow, which gained notoriety for its role on U.S. TV's "Gilligan's Island," is being sold by a Canadian boat broker for just under $100,000. The New York Post said George Schultz is selling the 37-foot boat for $99,000 in British Columbia for its owner Scotty Taylor, who is parting with the large piece of TV memorabilia due to his increased age. Originally built in 1960, the wooden Wheeler Express Cruiser was visible in the popular TV comedy's opening credits starting in 1964 and Taylor, its...

Chinese police have arrested five people for organizing striptease performances at funerals. [snip] The CCTV report concerned an Aug. 16 funeral where two troupes of strippers performed before a crowd of about 200 villagers, including children. Xinhua said the strippers are used to boost attendance at funerals. Local villagers say the level of honor bestowed on the deceased is dependent on the number of funeral attendees.

LARRY SMITH knows he is treading a fine marital line. Mr. Smith, 37, is the editor of Smith, an online magazine he founded, and he loves to work in bed at all hours — midafternoon, 2 a.m. if insomnia strikes, then again in the morning. “Sitting there in bed half awake with a cup of coffee is extremely pleasant,” he said. Yet Mr. Smith is all too aware of his wife’s mounting disapproval of his routine and suspects that a laptop-in-bed ban could be imminent. As electronic devices get smaller, people tote their technology around the house more than ever....

For a woman who claims her life is 'mundane', JK Rowling likes a luxury holiday. In the past few years she has cruised the Galapagos at a cost of around £15,000, blown £14,000 on a holiday in Mauritius and enjoyed the comforts of a £6,000-aweek hotel in the Seychelles.Her latest outing, however, tops the lot. For, after a charitable engagement in New York, she and her family have decamped to the Hamptons, that millionaire's playground on the East Coast, to stay in an imposing seven-bedroom beachfront house. The cost - £76,000 a week.JK Rowling (and husband Neil) splashing about in...