Free Republic

Less than three weeks ago, on October 10, I had a post about Cuba with the headline “What The Hell Is Going On In Cuba?” The post noted that it is difficult to get real information from Cuba, and that there had recently been almost total silence about that island from the mainstream media. But if one researched some out-of-the-way sources, it turned out that there is some sort of sudden economic collapse going on there. Besides economic production declining significantly, and pervasive shortages of basic goods, there was also information from a source in Spain (El Pais) that Cuba’s...

The ruling classes of the globe are continuing to warn that the power grids all across the globe will be stretched thin this coming summer. There will not be electricity worldwide to meet the soaring demand for more energy, which is threatening more than one billion people with rolling blackouts. Power grids are already being stretched thin by fuel shortages, droughts and heatwaves, commodity disruptions, soaring prices due to the war in Ukraine, and the failed green energy transition where grid operators retired too many fossil fuel generation plants. Combine this all together, and a perfect storm of blackouts threatens...

Temperatures across parts of Texas will nosedive this week, from balmy highs Wednesday in the 70s and 80s to below freezing Thursday night into Friday, with the chance of a wintry mix. “75 to 35 sounds like a car manufacturer’s braking power, but the numbers are not in miles per hour: It’s the range of temperatures in Houston over the next few days,” said meteorologist Chad Myers. And it’s not just the Lone Star State headed for a Texas-size cold plunge. An extended cold front will stretch from the southern tip of that state to the northern edge of Maine,...

SNIPPET: "A Reston man who federal officials said sold $250,000 worth of machinery parts from American manufacturers to Iranian companies pleaded guilty to felony charges in U.S. Federal Court in Alexandria on Thursday. Vahid Hosseini, 62, ran a business called Sabern Industries from his home in Reston, FBI officials said."

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California's electricity sector is more vulnerable to climate change than previously thought, as higher temperatures will impede the state's ability to generate and transmit power while demand for air conditioning rises, a report said Tuesday. The data is part of the latest report released by the California Natural Resources Agency and the California Energy Commission, which are trying to help state and local leaders prepare for life in the hotter, drier California of the future. (Report: http://r.reuters.com/zag79s) Wildlife, agriculture and coastal communities are also at serious risk from climate change, the report said. Sea levels could...

I am sorry to post a vanity. I wanted to look through Computers area but had some trouble finding it. I have a 3 year or or so eMachines desktop with XP. I have other machines but this is an at home mule. I went on a trip, came back and my cable for DSL had been knocked down by a truck. I had the phone company come out to restring it.

I got a great deal on an Emachine about 16 months ago, so great one of the guys in my office got one the same day. He emailed me over the weekend his power supply went out - not normally a big deal, just a simple replacement - the down side is that when this power supply goes, it changes the polarity of the motherboard - so when it goes, the motherboard goes. He found out from the Geek squad this is becoming a huge problem. Well, today my son's PS went out taking the motherboard with it so now,...

A suspected terrorist accused of conspiring to assassinate President Bush said he proposed the plot but it wasn't pursued, and he was frustrated that other members of his al-Qaida cell lacked initiative, according to prosecutors. A government motion unsealed this week by a federal judge reveals new details in the case against Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 24, who is scheduled to go on trial next month. Prosecutors say the Falls Church resident has admitted joining al- Qaida while attending college in Saudi Arabia and that he discussed numerous terrorist plots, including plans to assassinate Bush and hijack airplanes. Abu Ali...

Even though it's Ferrari red, zooms from zero to 60 in four seconds, and has a sensuous black leather dash with the same Motech data display found in Grand Prix race cars, this is not your typical little red sports car. At stoplights, adjacent drivers often ask Rick Woodbury for a card and where they can buy his car. For starters, it's smaller. Or rather, smallest. At 39 inches wide and 8 feet 5 inches long, it's skinnier than some motorcycles and shorter than many a living-room couch. It runs on batteries, not gas. And, if the thing ever makes...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - NASA (news - web sites)'s two robotic rovers on Mars have begun scaling back their working hours as the approach of autumn on the Red Planet and dust on their solar panels slowly chokes off their power supplies, a NASA official said on Friday. The rovers Spirit and Opportunity, which landed on the Red Planet three weeks apart in January, are engaged in intensive searches for signs of water on opposite sides of Mars. Evidence of rocks or soil that formed in water would help validate scientists' theories that for the first half of its 4.6-billion-year...