Free Republic

Sir Winston Churchill: “Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy; its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.” French physicist Blaise Pascal once wrote, “This letter is long because I hadn’t the time to make it short.” Even though Pascal’s comment seems contradictory, it isn’t, as demonstrated in great short stories that have withstood the test of time by delivering essential elements — time, place, setting, plot, and characters — in a minimum of words.

No injuries are reported after a SpaceX rocket prototype detonated in Texas today (Aug. 22) after an anomaly was found in the rocket, the company said in a statement. The Falcon 9 Reusable (F9R) — a successor to the Grasshopper vertical take-off and landing rocket — was completing the latest in a series of ambitious tests that previously saw the prototype successfully testing new steerable fins. “Today’s test was particularly complex, pushing the limits of the vehicle further than any previous test,” SpaceX said in a statement (which you can read in full below the jump.) “As is our practice,...

Kangaroo meat ‘halal,’ Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate says Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) has issued a fatwa stating that kangaroo meat and grasshoppers are “halal” food, but Islam bans eating “badgers, martens, weasels, beavers and sea otters.” “Islamic scholars agree that ‘halal’ animals that are not mentioned in the Quran and in the hadith [the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad] are those that don’t eat feces and carcasses, and which are therefore neither wild nor coarse,” the Diyanet’s High Committee of Religious Affairs said in response to a citizen’s question. As such, the fatwa continues, kangaroo is classified in the...

Founded in 2002, SpaceX makes its cargo capsules and rockets at a sprawling facility in Hawthorne that was once used to assemble fuselage sections for Boeing 747s. The company, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., has successfully carried out two cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station for NASA. It is the only commercial company to do so. It was founded by Los Angeles billionaire Elon Musk, who earlier this week laid out plans for his Hyperloop transportation system to much fanfare. The design aims to take travelers from Los Angeles to San Francisco in just 35 minutes....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1QGMOX_NfA California-based spacecraft company SpaceX has released a video of the June 14 test of its Grasshopper rocket. The company said it soared over 1,000 feet during its latest trial run in June and it made a remarkably precise landing. In detail, the rocket flew 325 m, or 1066 feet, after liftoff in McGregor Texas, a rocket development facility. This breaks its previous record height of 840 feet .The test also drew praise for precision in landing. The precision is attributed to new navigation sensors that measure distance between the ground and the vessel. "Most rockets are equipped with sensors...

"The Ant and the Grasshopper," a fable by Aesop, provides a moral lesson about hard work and saving. During the warm months, the ant works hard to store up food for the winter, while the grasshopper sings and plays. When winter arrives, the grasshopper asks the ant for food because it has none. In today's world, China is like the ant, and America is like the grasshopper. America tends to focus on enjoying today instead of preparing for tomorrow. This trait has led to a nation of debtors. And, like for the grasshopper, our lack of savings may lead to...

It is not widely known that Aesop (floruit circa 550 B.C.), a visionary writer if there ever was one, composed two versions of the story of the Ant and the Grasshopper. The traditional version used to be very widely known — you’ll see in a moment why it is out of favor today — and it can be outlined briefly: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter,...

This one is a little different.... Two Different Versions! ................. Two Different Morals! OLD VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold. MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself. MODERN VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house...

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A Denver-area woman says that she opened a can of spinach and found half a dead grasshopper inside. I just think it's very gross, Donna Labrador told the Denver Post. I will never eat another can of veggies again. Probably not spinach, anyway. Labrador planned to saute the spinach in olive oil to make a late dinner Wednesday to share with her 3-year-old daughter, Isabella. But she said the grasshopper was such a disturbing find she skipped dinner Wednesday and breakfast Thursday morning. She called the company that canned the spinach and got the promise of a mailer to send...

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO - The former San Francisco mayoral candidate and homeless taxi driver Grasshopper Alec Kaplan was scheduled to be arraigned today for climbing naked on top of his van and playing his guitar in the nude outside the San Mateo Convention Center. Prosecutors are charging Kaplan, 37, with misdemeanor public nuisance. Court records did not indicate the outcome of the arraignment as of mid-day. The alleged incident occurred near the convention center at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 21 _ the day of the San Mateo County Democratic Presidential Straw Poll at the convention center. "Apparently, he...

Bring on the hate mail. I know I'll be receiving plenty of it from the people who don't want to hear what I'm going to say. To begin with, I'm tired of the hard working people in the United States playing Atlas to those who don't plan beyond the moment or to those who believe that the rest of the world exists to bail them out when they encounter disaster. Government spending of citizens' hard earned tax dollars to bail out every victim of disaster, poor business practice, or persons lacking in motive to overcome adversity has led to a...

The ant and the grasshopper OLD VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold. MORAL OF THE STORY FOR OLD VERSION: Be responsible for yourself. MODERN VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter....

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold. MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself! MODERN VERSION The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool and laughs and dances...

The Ant And The Grasshopper Classic Version: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed...Grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold. Liberal Version: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up Heath supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool and laughs and dances and plays...

Classic VersionThe ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool...(snip)Modern VersionThe ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool..(snip)..CBS, NBC and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast...(snip)Click here for full article.

JULY 19, 2002 Beijing pest is also a tasty, crunchy treat BEIJING - They are flying about the capital in swarms, and residents are capturing them by the bagful. They're filled with protein and, some say, are delicious - and crunchy - when deep-fried. Beijing's summer locusts have arrived, though experts say the sand-hued, beady-eyed bugs are more of a nuisance this year than a danger to crops. The insects, from the outskirts of Beijing or Inner Mongolia, are not the destructive migratory species which laid waste to millions of hectares of farmland around the country earlier this year, said...