Free Republic

Russia conducted its first nationwide civil defense exercise as President Vladimir Putin scares his people into thinking the West will start a nuclear war with Moscow. Sirens and loudspeakers were sounded in all regions across Russia’s 11 time zones in drills that spawned two days. A message sounded declaring: ‘Attention everyone.” In Moscow, alarms were supposed to go off at 10:43am for one minute, although some had sounded at night, and other residents heard nothing at all. Many residents in other cities like Novosibirsk and Vladivostok heard nothing. The message on TV screens as programs were interrupted stated: “Attention, everyone!

Size measurements of two neutron stars are narrowing down what kinds of exotic matter might exist in their extremely dense cores.Neutron stars are the tricksters of the celestial sphere. Their age, their temperature, even their size is not always what it first appears to be. But with the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) aboard the International Space Station, astronomers are finally beginning to make some headway measuring these stars’ actual size — and with that, some insight into their strange interiors.Members of the NICER team presented two independent size measurements of the most massive neutron star known at the...

David Sinclair, PhD AO @davidasinclair Since my Harvard lab closed yesterday, I've been reading and interpreting this week's published papers on #COVID19. What follows is a thread of information, my interpretation, links to sources & predictions. Let's start with what you need to know... #coronavirus #COVIDー19 Treatments that seem to work are chloroquine (a cheap malarial drug), Gilliad's remdesivir with interferon-beta (in clinical trials from COV-19), plasma from recovered patients, and a steroid (methylprednisilone). Doctors in US are now using remdesivir off-label... SARS-CoV2 attacks pneumocytes in lung, intestine, heart & cells lining blood vessels. In lung, CoV2 prevents cells from...

One of the great things about being a nature lover is that your powers of observation seem to improve. While others are walking by, oblivious to the activities going on all around them, naturalists notice the creatures and the behaviors, especially if they are out of the ordinary. Such was the case on March 24, 2012, a sunny Saturday morning, when Ginger Morneau, her husband Ken, and brother Lou Baker were walking along the Ogden Point Breakwater in Victoria, BC. The breakwater is a favourite spot for locals and visitors, reaching out about a half mile from the waterfront south...

What's become of bin Laden since he gave us all the slip? By Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Editor (Filed: 01/11/2005) Some think he is dead, others that he is hiding because he is scared of being killed. Whatever the reason for the strange disappearance of Osama bin Laden, not seen alive since his last mocking video statement a year ago, he is no longer the face of the global "jihad" against the West. The face of al-Qa'eda: Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian responsible for some of the worst atrocities in Iraq, has become the...

THE troubled English National Opera plans to sing for its survival with the world premiere of a new opera about lesbian lovers that features nudity and sex. ENO, which is only now emerging from a period of deficits of millions of pounds, is pinning hopes on The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, an operatic adaptation of the 1972 film by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, the cult German director. The all-female production tells the story of a fashion designer, von Kant, who develops a crush on Karin, one of her models. It also portrays von Kant’s mistress/slave relationship with her mute...

Every once in a while I stumble across an opinion article that's so irrational, hate-filled and hypocritical that I feel compelled to comment on it, and New York Times writer Paul Krugman's most recent column is no exception. Titled "What's Going On?", this rambling op-ed is filled with more unprovoked attacks on religious minded people than any other I have had the misfortune to read, and I've read more than I care to remember. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/29/opinion/29krugman.html?n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op%2dEd%2fOp%2dEd%2fColumnists%2fPaul%20Krugman Mr. Krugman begins his piece by attempting to impress upon his readers the dangers of extremism in democratic countries, quickly focussing his attention on the...

She released a book entitled It's My Party, Too: Taking Back the Republican Party... And Bringing the Country Together Again in which she criticizes the policies of the Bush administration and its electoral strategy which she views as divisive. It has been suggested that this may be a prelude to a candidacy for president in 2008 as a moderate Republican. She's been going around several talk shows including Hannity & Colmes criticizing the President Bush. This is a partial transcript from "Hannity & Colmes," Jan. 27, 2005, that has been edited for clarity. SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST:  Our next guest thinks...

Vitamin D: What's Enough?Many people may need much more Janet Raloff A few minutes of sun exposure on a summer day can generate huge quantities of vitamin D in a person's body. A cholesterol-like substance in the skin absorbs ultraviolet (UV) energy and creates vitamin D. Then, a cascade of chemical reactions turns vitamin D into a surprisingly versatile hormone—one that has long been recognized to help the body absorb calcium from the diet to build strong bones. Recent work, however, indicates that vitamin D also bolsters muscle strength, insulin action, immune health, and the body's natural defenses against cancer....

When I changed parties a few years ago, many of my Republican friends couldn't believe it. After all, I'd been a Republican since my first vote. I had long dreamt of the day when the Republicans would win control of the House and Senate. In 1994 I got my wish. I was certain the policies Ronald Reagan espoused would soon become a reality. Spending and taxes would fall faster than sweat from a fat man's brow on a hot day in Juarez. Freedom from government regulation would reign across the land. Political expedience in the legislature would come to a...

Whats wrong with this article/picture?Ancient art: A 40,000-year-old white silica sandstone cave painting has been discovered in the Banda district, 800km southeast of New Delhi, India. The painting shows cavemen hunting in the Paleolithic age. Photo: AP

does the shooting stop here??????????

Jeb Bush thought he had the Florida voting booths licked. Idiot proof. Nitwit proof. Lunatic proof. He has yet to comprehend the depths of their black hole brains, the Last Fronteer, a place no sane person has gone before. If Captain Kirk tried to explore that endless void, he would cry, Scottie! Beam me up!Here is what I suggest to Jeb Bush: The people running the voting booths in various parts of Flori-duh need to be led by the hand like children. "This is the enter button. It is spelled, E,N,T,E,R. You take your finger, yes, that's a finger, and...