http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/books-chat/ en-us Fri, 1 Jan 2010 03:09:10 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418774/posts Written in a clear style, Rubenstein’s book evokes in simple language, the most crucial issues of our time: is the West repeating the scenario of the 1940s, organising through a UN, dominated by the OIC – particularly the UN Human Rights Council – a worldwide campaign of demonization of Israel in order to justify its destruction? The Council’s acceptance of the Goldstone Report condemning Israel for self-defence adopts the Islamic view in which jihadist attacks are commended but the resistance of those aggressed upon is taken to be aggression against Allah’s rights. Having lost its legitimacy according to the permanently... The New English Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418774/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 03:09:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418366/posts Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village, though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I... www.online-literature.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418366/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:41:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418081/posts OK, what’s this book about? It’s about what happened to the American government after "conservatives" gained control of Congress in the 1990s and the White House in 2000. It’s about the disastrous decisions that government made, which have created the enormous problems we face now. It’s about the corruption that rotted the Congress. It’s about how traditional conservatism has nearly been destroyed by authoritarianism. It’s about how the “Religious Right” teamed up with amoral authoritarian leaders to push its un-democratic agenda onto the country. University of Manitoba http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418081/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:10:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417613/posts SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY INCOME Allow me to ask the above-mentioned skeptics whether they would hire me after learning during their search process that I was hospitalized seven times for bipolar disorder, lost numerous jobs because of agitated manic-depressive episodes, and was expelled from law school on the very day that the Dean learned that I have bipolar disorder. To those who say that I should get off my dead behind, get a job, and go to work, I say, “Hire me. I dare ya!” I had bipolar disorder prior to the day in 1976 when I started a summer job... Fantastic Book Reviews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417613/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:41:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2415136/posts I am home alone my wife is working and my kids are all doing their own thing, so I am reading a book " Christian faith alone is capable of combining tradition and renewal Tradition alone leads to petrification;renewal alone leads to dissolution,artificial planning and tyrannical centralization ." http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2415136/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 00:53:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2414760/posts IT’S been a tough year for fashion. The juice has been virtually squeezed out of it. Luxury retailers, after seeing margins erode like Nantucket beachfront, have leaned on designers to cut their prices. To stay afloat, design houses are reducing quality and promoting value. Meanwhile fast-fashion chains are eating their lunch as they reproduce runway looks in six weeks. As a symbol of self-inflicted misery, the listless, half-starved model may be perfect after all. At least the fashion world had Michelle Obama and Sarah Palin to help avoid the impression that, you know, nobody cares about clothes and big dangly... The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2414760/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 00:42:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2414755/posts Sarah takes on Big Oil: The compelling story of Governor Sarah Palin's battle with Alaska's 'Big 3' oil companies, as told by the state's top oil and gas editors, Kay Cashman and Kristen Nelson (Hardcover) Product Description Sarah takes on Big Oil illuminates Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's rise to power, along with her successes and failures in dealing with the industry that is the lifeblood of the state's economy. This book is a must read for those seeking to understand Palin's qualifications for national leadership. Purchasers of Sarah takes on Big Oil qualify for a free, two-year, online subscription to... Amazon.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2414755/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 00:33:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2412553/posts Columbia was, he declared, “a citadel of the mind swaying in the vertigo of a civilization changing (without admitting it) the basis of its faith from a two thousand-year-old Christian culture to the new secular and scientific culture.” Whereas the Christian culture “placed God at the center of man’s hope,” the new secular faith, which was “exclusively rational and scientific,” replaced God with Man. This was not indoctrination into communism, at least not explicitly. “No member of the Columbia faculty ever consciously guided me toward Communism,” he stated. “Columbia did not teach me Communism. It taught me despair.” That despair... First Principles http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2412553/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:11:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2412435/posts It's Time: Read NDCIC. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2412435/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:01:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2410265/posts As far as I know, no one has actually spotted one of the much anticipated tablet devices–from Apple (AAPL) or anyone else–in the wild. But that doesn’t stop publishers from dreaming about what they can do with them once they appear. Link to Vimeo video of the Mag+ in Action! Here’s the latest stab at it, from Swedish media outfit Bonnier Group, best known in the U.S. as the publisher of specialty magazines like Field & Stream and Popular Science. This one just popped up, unbidden, in my inbox, and I’m happy to share it, because I think looking at... Media Memo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2410265/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:12:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2409391/posts I ordered two autographed copies of Liberty and Tyranny for Christmas gifts, right from Levin's website. They just arrived today, and I just opened the box like 10 minutes ago, to have a look. Premier Collectibles http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2409391/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:17:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2409351/posts The biggest gift came from Swift herself. The singer has donated $250,000 to schools around the country that she's either attended or worked with. The money will pay teachers' salaries as well as buy books and fund various educational programs. "Something I wanted to do at the end of this amazing year and especially on my birthday was give back to something I really believe in, which is education," says Swift. "The schools that I went to and the amazing people I got to learn from really turned me into who I am, and I wanted to give back." People Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2409351/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:34:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2406770/posts "So many big name stars, singers and sports legends have visited Washington over the years, the city is often referred to as “Hollywood on the Potomac.” So, that’s the title of my new book (available now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Borders) featuring over 200 photographs and stories that detail the fascination between Hollywood stars and Washington power-players — from Presidents Truman through Obama." "Somehow late night talk shows became a logical first step for politicians to reach voters. Somehow rock stars became a political voice of the disenfranchised. Somewhere along the way, American politics and pop culture personalities... bighollywood.breitbart.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2406770/posts#comment Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:26:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2406278/posts "Sarah from Alaska: The Sudden Rise and Brutal Education of a New Conservative Superstar" Two reporters who were embedded on the McCain/Palin campaign trail present their exclusive look at the first Republican woman nominated to be Vice President. Conroy and Walshe include anecdotes about the former Alaska governor's return home from the campaign, as well as interviews with McCain/Palin campaign staffers, and Palin family members. They discuss their behind-the-scenes view of Sarah Palin at Borders in Washington, D.C youtube.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2406278/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 21:36:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2406183/posts December 12, 2009 The Just-War Tradition Obama’s Oslo speech presumes too much about a centuries-old intellectual tradition. By George Weigel In November, the president of the United States ordered a surge of U.S. forces into Afghanistan and called on other countries to do their duty in bringing that war to a successful conclusion. A few weeks later, the same president traveled to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The notion that the juxtaposition of these two events involves a “contradiction” (as the Washington Post subhead put it, and as the president’s speech tacitly acknowledged) is, in fact, a neat... National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2406183/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:37:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2406045/posts A Canadian poll asks the question "would you pay to go see Sarah Palin Speak?" Our friends to the north have been sufficiently tainted by their left-wing media so that 90 percent of respondents say "no" to that question. The Spec http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2406045/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:29:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2405655/posts Author Thomas Frank was just another buttoned-down, Ronald Reagan-loving suburbanite when he headed to college in 1983. The transition from Johnson County to Douglas County proved jarring. Within his first semester at Kansas University his ideals tilted to port. And it wasn’t politics per se that spurred the shift. “There was a moment I remember vividly to this day when I was in Lawrence and I heard on the radio they were playing The Sex Pistols,” Frank says. “In Kansas City in the early ’80s no one ever played The Sex Pistols. It struck me as so incredibly right. It... Lawrence Journal World http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2405655/posts#comment Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:14:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2404354/posts Swedish crime novelist Stieg Larsson left no will when he died five years ago, so everything passed to his father and brother. His companion of 30 years, whom he never married, got nothing. Reporting from Stockholm - Not even Stieg Larsson could've dreamed up "The Girl Who Fought for a Share of the Inheritance." But five years after his untimely death and millions of book sales later, the Swedish crime writer's estate is caught in a bitter feud worthy of one of his thrillers, complete with a strong-willed female protagonist, a murky bog of possible villains and a plot that... Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2404354/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:52:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2403977/posts After fighting his way across Europe during World War II, John Pistone was among the U.S. soldiers who entered Adolf Hitler's home nestled in the Bavarian Alps as the war came to a close. Making his way through the Berghof, Hitler's home near Berchtesgaden, Germany, Pistone noticed a table with shelves underneath. Exhilarated by the certainty of victory over the Nazis, Pistone took an album filled with photographs of paintings as a souvenir. "It was really a great feeling to be there and we knew, by that time, he was on his last leg," Pistone told The Associated Press. Sixty-four... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2403977/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 20:41:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2401701/posts George Bush, Queen Elizabeth, and Vladimir Putin all die and go to hell. While there, they spy a red phone and ask what the phone is for. The devil tells them it is for calling back to Earth. Putin asks to call Russia and talks for 5 minutes. When he was finished the devil informs him that the cost is a million dollars, so Putin writes him a check. Next Queen Elizabeth calls England and talks for 30 minutes. When she was finished the devil informs her that cost is 6 million dollars, so Queen Elizabeth writes him a check.... Nefarious Aquaintance http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2401701/posts#comment Sun, 6 Dec 2009 23:01:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2401201/posts 'Tis the season — every year at this time — for the various renderings of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. This year, the current animated version in the cinema — starring a computer-generated Jim Carrey in multiple roles — has won some plaudits for sticking with the spirit of the Dickens original. So it might come as some surprise to learn that when Dickens himself performed A Christmas Carol, he didn't do it as it's written. And during this holiday season, you can see the proof. In a small glass case at the New York Public Library, there sits... NPR http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2401201/posts#comment Sat, 5 Dec 2009 22:45:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2400998/posts Prof. Rick Trebino Georgia Institute of Technology School of Physics Atlanta, GA 30332 rick.trebino@physics.gatech.edu www.physics.gatech.edu/frog The essence of science is reasoned debate. So, if you disagree with something reported in a scientific paper, you can write a “Comment” on it. Yet you don’t see many Comments. Some believe that this is because journal editors are reluctant to publish Comments because Comments reveal their mistakes—papers they shouldn’t have allowed to be published in the first place. Indeed, scientists often complain that it can be very difficult to publish one. Fortunately, in this article, I’ll share with you my recent experience... scribd.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2400998/posts#comment Sat, 5 Dec 2009 16:18:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2400134/posts It's been a terrible week for Tiger Woods, but the golf star's moment of madness at the steering wheel has brought a surge in sales for a book written by a science writer teaching at Sussex University. A series of pictures released by Florida police of Woods's wrecked SUV includes a shot of the back seat, complete with waterbottle, towel and furled umbrella. But there among the shards of tinted glass in the footwell sits a well-thumbed copy of a paperback with the golf-appropriate title clearly visible: Get a Grip on Physics. This incidental role in Woods's domestic drama has... guardian.co.uk http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2400134/posts#comment Fri, 4 Dec 2009 13:59:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2400500/posts The cover of the January 2010 issue of Golf Digest probably seemed like a great idea at the time. The issue is available on newsstands now and CNBC reports that Golf Digest says it has no plans to pull it. "10 Tips Obama can take from Tiger"? Huh. I can think of a few dozen. (Aside: "How to outsmart your buddies"? "Load it & let it go"? This cover is a gold mine of unintentional comedy.) Tiger and Obama have a history; Tiger spoke at Obama's inauguration and later visited the White House. Obama, of course, has begun embracing golf... Yahoo Sports http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2400500/posts#comment Fri, 4 Dec 2009 21:33:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2399343/posts Cairo, December 2nd, 2009 – Egypt’s leading Egyptologist, Dr Zahi Hawass, has revealed that an excavation team under his charge are investigating an ancient tomb at the centre of claims regarding the alleged discovery of a cave underworld beneath the Pyramids of Giza. In August British writer and explorer Andrew Collins announced that he had rediscovered the entrance to a previously unexplored cave system, entered via a mysterious tomb several hundred meters west of the Great Pyramid. The cave entrance was found following clues left in the 200-year-old memoirs of British diplomat and explorer Henry Salt, who recorded how in... Response Source http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2399343/posts#comment Thu, 3 Dec 2009 15:34:35 GMT