Free Republic

What is vodka eyeballing? A new fad among some kids in Europe may be spreading to the US. In online videos it is dubbed vodka eyeballing and now the claim is that some American teens have tried the odd way to get a buzz. It is just as it sounds - supposedly it is a shot of vodka into the eye. This bizarre new "trend" has found a home on YouTube and some say they are concerned for US kids as the claim is that it will get you a buzz quicker than taking a shot of vodka by mouth....

The world’s top trend forecaster, Gerald Celente, who has been publishing the Trends Journal since 1991, says his Spring 2010 report is one of the most important Trends he’s ever published: “Of all the Trends Journals® I have published since 1991, this issue stands apart. Were I to rank it, I would say it is among the most important. The United States is on a path that, if not diverted, will lead the world into the first “Great War” of the 21st century. This is not fear-mongering, “pessimism porn,” or hyperbole. Though the historical and external circumstances are so different...

This summer's melt of Arctic sea ice has not been as profound as in the last two years, scientists said as the ice began its annual Autumn recovery. At its smallest extent this summer, on 12 September, the ice covered 5.10 million sq km (1.97 million sq miles). This was larger than the minima seen in the last two years, and leaves 2007's record low of 4.1 million sq km (1.6 million sq miles) intact. But scientists note the long-term trend is still downwards. Arctic temperatures have been cooler this year than last year, researchers said, and winds have helped...

WASHINGTON – The Arctic is warmer than it's been in 2,000 years, even though it should be cooling because of changes in the Earth's orbit that cause the region to get less direct sunlight. Indeed, the Arctic had been cooling for nearly two millennia before reversing course in the last century and starting to warm as human activities added greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. "If it hadn't been for the increase in human-produced greenhouse gases, summer temperatures in the Arctic should have cooled gradually over the last century," said Bette Otto-Bliesner, a National Center for Atmospheric Research scientist and co-author...

I'll admit right up front I've given up on the Main Stream Media (MSM). However, I will also admit to occasionally catching a few "news" stories from them. This may be in the form of the leading stories on the 10 o'clock news while waiting for the local weather; or the headlines/topics I have set up on my google start page. So while I don't rely on MSM for "news" (because they don't report it, they give us biased spin and editorials) I do catch a few stories now and then. Honestly, more for morbid entertainment value (as in how...

Ice at the North Pole melted at an unprecedented rate last week, with leading scientists warning that the Arctic could be ice-free in summer by 2013. Satellite images show that ice caps started to disintegrate dramatically several days ago as storms over Alaska's Beaufort Sea began sucking streams of warm air into the Arctic. As a result, scientists say that the disappearance of sea ice at the North Pole could exceed last year's record loss. More than a million square kilometres melted over the summer of 2007 as global warming tightened its grip on the Arctic. But such destruction could...

Researchers study hidden homicide trend Gun-related homicide among young men rose sharply in the United States in recent years even though the nation's overall homicide rate remained flat, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Between 1999 and 2005, homicide involving firearms increased 31 percent among black men ages 25 to 44 and 12 percent among white men of the same age. The study is published in Online First edition of the Journal of Urban Health. "The recent flatness of the U.S. homicide rate obscures the large increases in firearm death among...

While other states move away from giving illegal immigrant college students state benefits, the California Legislature appears to be pushing to give them more access to colleges and universities. Last month, North Carolina's community college system said it would no longer admit illegal immigrants. But in California, where illegal immigrants are allowed to enroll in state colleges, some lawmakers are backing a bill that would allow illegal immigrants to qualify for state financial aid and fee waivers. An estimated 65,000 illegal immigrants graduate from U.S. high schools each year and could potentially attend college, according to a study by the...

ATLANTA - Bucking the trend in many other wealthy industrialized nations, the United States seems to be experiencing a baby boomlet, reporting the largest number of children born in 45 years. The nearly 4.3 million births in 2006 were mostly due to a bigger population, especially a growing number of Hispanics. That group accounted for nearly one-quarter of all U.S. births. But non-Hispanic white women and other racial and ethnic groups were having more babies, too. An Associated Press review of birth numbers dating to 1909 found the total number of U.S. births was the highest since 1961, near the...

FARMERS BRANCH, Texas - This Dallas suburb could become the first city in Texas to adopt a sweeping ordinance intended to keep out illegal immigrants, a cause for concern among its large minority population. More than 50 municipalities nationwide have considered, passed or rejected laws banning landlords from leasing to illegal immigrants, penalizing businesses that employ undocumented workers and making English the local official language. But until now, that trend hasn't been matched in the Lone Star State. "This is the first town in Texas that had the guts to do what's right," Susie Hart, who grew up in Farmers...

Throw a Party for the Dogs With the Latest Luxury Dog Accessories There's a new twist on a Tupperware party that combines two of Americans' favorite pastimes -- throwing at-home shopping parties and spoiling their pets. They're called "pupperware" parties. There are new products galore to help make your dog look and feel debonair. So if Fido is going to be your date, you have to outfit him with the latest in socially appropriate gear. Maggie Gallant, a pet trend expert for Animal Planet, told "Good Morning America" about some hot, new luxury dog products that have turned up at...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 16, 2006 – The Iraqi people will need to carry forward positive trends in Baghdad, a coalition spokesman said there today. Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, of Multinational Force Iraq, said operations in and around Baghdad are designed to reduce murders, kidnappings, assassinations, terrorism and sectarian violence in the capital. Operations are pinpointed at the Doura, Shula and Ameriyah neighborhoods -- all areas threatened by sectarian violence. All three areas have both Sunni and Shiite populations. Iraqi soldiers and police are carrying out most operational missions, while coalition forces provide security cordons and quick-reaction forces. Operations look beyond...

Scenes from “MySpace: The Movie,” created by David Lehre. The 11-minute parody of... MySpace and its users has had millions of hits since it first appeared on the site YouTube on Jan. 31. EVEN as David Lehre’s “MySpace: The Movie,” ... spawned a high-profile feeding frenzy, some of the Hollywood agents, managers and lawyers who were clamoring to represent him didn’t know much about who he was... “It’s their fear of not being a part of it,” said Scott Vener, Mr. Lehre’s manager... ,,,“Their nightmare is a direct feed from moviemaker to audience,” said Walter Kirn ... Geoffrey Gilmore,...

Spanish Jews knew there were hard times ahead. Prime Minister Zapatero has not disappointed them Keen on populist tirades against the United States "Dickhead Bush" and "Ketchup Queen Kerry", his whole campaign did not bring much attention until the moment Al-Qaeda decided to blow up Madrid trains, killing almost 200 people and bringing to an end Spain's membership of the West. From that moment on, everybody knew nothing would be the same, and Spanish Jews knew there were hard times ahead. Prime Minister Zapatero has not disappointed them. 'Understand Nazis' Although many experts had foretold of the imminent disappearing of...

WASHINGTON, May 10, 2006 – The largest of the services, the Army is also the most heavily deployed, and with its one-year "boots-on-the-ground" deployment policy, it keeps its members away from home for the longest duration. Yet so far this year, more than 160,000 people have enlisted or re-enlisted in the Army - the equivalent to every man, woman and child in Chattanooga, Tenn., noted Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, Army personnel spokesman. April proved to be another strong month, with almost 5,700 soldiers joining the active Army and almost 5,900 joining the Army National Guard, he noted. The Army...

The Stanford University Symbolic Systems Program and the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence announced today the Singularity Summit at Stanford, a one-day event free to the public, to be held Saturday, May 13, 2006 at Stanford Memorial Auditorium, Stanford, California. The event will bring together leading futurists and others to examine the implications of the "Singularity" -- a hypothesized creation of superintelligence as technology accelerates over the coming decades -- to address the profound implications of this radical and controversial scenario. "The Singularity will be a future period during which the pace of technological change will be so rapid, its...

A new analysis of weather balloon observations from the last 30 years reveals that the Antarctic has the same 'global warming' signature as that seen across the whole Earth, but is three times larger than that observed globally. The results by scientists from British Antarctic Survey are reported this week in Science. Although the rapid surface warming in the Antarctic Peninsula region has been known for some time, this study has produced the first indications of broad-scale climate change across the whole Antarctic continent. Lead author Dr John Turner of the British Antarctic Survey says, "The rapid surface warming of...

Options for a coming singularity include self-destruction of civilization, a positive singularity, a negative singularity (machines take over), and retreat into tradition. Our urgent goal: find (and avoid) failure modes, using anticipation (thought experiments) and resiliency -- establishing robust systems that can deal with almost any problem as it arises. In order to give you pleasant dreams tonight, let me offer a few possibilities about the days that lie ahead—changes that may occur within the next twenty or so years, roughly a single human generation. Possibilities that are taken seriously by some of today's best minds. Potential transformations of human...

WASHINGTON, March 10, 2006 – Recruiting and retention statistics released today reflect continued across-the-board success and continuation of a nine-month trend, officials said. A top Pentagon official called that a testament to hard work by recruiters and broad public respect for the military in light of the economic boom under way. "February, in recruiting, was another really solid month," said Bill Carr, deputy undersecretary of defense for military personnel policy, during an interview with the Pentagon Channel. In active-duty recruiting, the Army achieved 102 percent of its February goal, bringing more than 6,100 soldiers into the force. The Navy and...

'Brokeback Mountain' sets off gay trend in Hollywood Mar 01 5:27 AM US/Eastern The awards success of a posse of Oscar hopefuls led by frontrunner "Brokeback Mountain" has made gay okay in Hollywood, where once-skittish filmmakers are embracing same-sex love. In what has been billed Oscar's "year of the queer," the romancing cowboys of "Brokeback" are joined by "Capote," the story of gay US author Truman Capote, and "Transamerica," the moving tale of a transsexual in the process of becoming a woman, starring Felicity Huffman. And as this year's pink contenders for Sunday's Academy Awards have been warmly embraced by...