Free Republic

New rules about to come into force could put an end to recycling discarded car tyres. The changes mean environmental specialists are now racing to find other ways to save thousands of tonnes of scrap rubber from going to waste. One potential deployment for the unused tyres could be water purification, with a technique that is currently being tested in Kitee, Eastern Finland. Every year, some 50,000 tonnes worth of used car tyres are withdrawn and sent to scrapyards -- where they are in fact put to good use. The rubber in the tyres is almost 100 percent recyclable, finding...

Should the grand jury have been transparent or secretive --- concerning the evidence presented by the district attorney, etcetera? Once again, we have a Travis County grand jury indicting yet another high-profile Republican. One was Tom Delay (then House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005) and now presidential aspirant Rick Perry, governor of Texas. The evidence that is presented is under the discretion of the district/prosecuting attorney. This attorney has strong control over the process and the room itself, and there is no one present to provide counter argument(s), and, finally, there is no judge present. If you are a...

China recently conducted the second flight test of a new, ultra-high-speed missile that is part of what analysts say is Beijing’s global system of attack weapons capable of striking the United States with nuclear warheads. (please see article for full text)

The following database has been made available by the Law Enforcement Support Office of the Defense Logistics Agency and shows armaments and equipment obtained by local law enforcement officials from the U.S. Military and Department of Homeland Security. Simply choose your State and your County and you'll have complete access to see how well militarized your local and county police departments are.

As we await word that Quinn and Rose are returning soon, - and it looks like something is in the works - our friendly group of dedicated FReeper Q&R fans will continue to meet in our usual spot as we always have! So grab your coffee - or whatever you choose to start your day - and drop in for some political chit-chat, or just to shoot the breeze! We are all coming from - or going to - work, but we all stop in to say ‘hi!’ Feel free to join us!

“You go to all of these damn courts, and there’s no white people,” one defendant, slated to appear before a municipal court in St. Louis County, recently said. “In Dellwood, Ferguson, basically, in North County, if you’re black, they’re going to stop you,” the resident said according to a new report on policing in the area. For residents of Ferguson, Missouri, and surrounding municipalities in St. Louis County, it’s not surprising that racial tensions have boiled over. In a town of 21,000, two-thirds of the residents are African-American, and many reports have highlighted a fraught relationship between Ferguson's residents and...

Five liberals experienced the thrill of shooting of a gun for the very first time and it was all caught on camera for your enjoyment. BuzzFeed took the five anti-gun liberals to the Los Angeles Gun Club for a day of shooting. Before they began, the anti-gunners shared their views on gun control and the Second Amendment. One anti-gunner, Allison, posited that the Second Amendment might be “antiquated,” but by the end of the shooting jaunt, she was ready to be a repeat customer at the LA Gun Club.

The foul acts happened three years ago when one girl was 6 and the other was 8. Over a span of months, a woman and her boyfriend decided, as a prosecutor put it, to incorporate the children “into their sexual behaviors as a couple.” The sordid details were aired Thursday in Bibb County Superior Court, where the woman, 29-year-old Amanda Arellano of Crawford County, pleaded guilty to crimes that included rape and aggravated child molestation.

As the outraged community in Ferguson, Missouri, continues to protest the officer-involved shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown, radical communist revolutionaries from places like Chicago and New York City are seemingly infiltrating the local demonstrations and allegedly attempting to “incite” riots. A video uploaded on YouTube Tuesday shows Gregory Lee Johnson, a veteran member of the Revolutionary Community Party, riling up a crowd and seemingly discouraging them from listening to police’s advice to calm things down. Watch that video here (Strong language warning):[see video at link]

With home price inflation and real earnings in decline, the U.S. consumer is in no position to be an effective engine of growth. ECRI’s U.S. Leading Home Price Index predicted a home price growth downturn in March 2013, flagging the “worsening home price growth outlook” right before real home price growth turned down in April 2013. With a renewed plunge in housing affordability to almost its lowest reading in over four years reinforcing the downbeat prospects, that prescient forecast continues to be vindicated, with year-over-year nominal home price growth now falling to a 22-month low. More broadly, yoy growth in...

Most of us probably don't watch as many cartoons as when were kids, but there's a few that we still love. What is your favorite cartoon(s) of all time?

Did you know that these pop stars had black heritage? Pete Wentz musician Troian Bellisario (Pretty Little Liars) Wentworth Miller actor Nicole Richie fashion designer Slash musician Rashida Jones actress Adriana Lima model Maya Rudolph Carol Channing Mariah Carey singer

FULL TITLE: Girl held in a hospital against her will for over a year celebrates homecoming with sweet 16 birthday party A Connecticut teen who was all but imprisoned in a Boston hospital for 16 months finally got the homecoming she deserved Sunday. At the same time, Justina Pelletier of West Hartford got the Sweet 16 party she couldn't have while forcibly separated from her friends and family. 'She's missed so many holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, Easter and all the religious holidays,' Justina's father Lou Pelletier told FoxCT. Justina, who first checked in to Boston Children's Hospital in February 2013...

FULL TITLE: 'I can't go out... the support is really keeping me going during this stressful time. Just stay safe': Under 24-hour guard in fear for his life, Darren Wilson breaks his silence in texts to friend The policeman who shot dead a black teenager in St Louis has revealed he is under 24-hour guard and 'can't go out' at this 'stressful time' in his first comments since the killing. Darren Wilson text messaged a close friend to say that he can't leave protective custody because he would be immediately recognized - making him and his young child a target....

The sexual revolution has presented itself as the great emancipator of women, freeing them from the shackles of outdated misogynistic double-standards that prevented the fairer sex from engaging in as much unbridled, shameless promiscuity as men. But insisting that all women, and sometimes children, are equally capable of exercising their “sexual rights” may get a young girl 25 years in prison. Her name is Jessica Burlew, a 16-year-old girl who is being tried as an adult for killing (one of) her abuser(s) before he could perpetrate a statutory rape. I came across her story as I was researching this story...

Thought this was pretty funny. I don't believe its made it's way around here. It's Tuesday humor and this is worth watching! Crazy Hot Matrix

One female lawyer made an interesting comment back in 1990. Commenting on how many of the female lawyers in the American Bar Association have had abortions: “I’m practically the only one of my friends who hasn’t had an abortion. We’re talking about lots of women in this room…” Sandra J P Dennis Richmond Times – Dispatch August 11, 1990 It’s true that this quote is dated, but it makes one wonder. how has the high abortion rate affected the way these lawyers argued about cases relating to abortion? Are the statistics similar in 2014?

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Cobb County police say a woman who stole a cruiser and sped down Interstate 75 last weekend was high on synthetic marijuana. According to the newly released criminal warrant, Emmerli Wilcoxson drove the stolen cruiser on I-75 southbound beginning at Windy Hill Road. Police said she fled officers, failed to maintain her lane, drove at speeds exceeding 130 MPH and screamed into the police radio before finally causing a serious crash at the North Avenue exit in downtown Atlanta.

Rev. Al Sharpton on Monday called out former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and other potential presidential candidates for what he sees as keeping quiet on the death of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown and the situation in Ferguson. “I’m amazed that we’re not hearing from leading [presidential] candidates — Chris Christie or [former Florida Gov.] Jeb Bush, or Hillary Clinton,” he said on MSNBC.

Facing two serious challengers in the primary next week, Alcee Hastings has found a way to rally Democrats to his banner by going after John Boehner.  Hastings has been stringing together electoral wins for more than two decades and he has a pretty secure grip on one of the most Democratic districts in the nation. But he has two major opponents this time out in Jean Enright, who sits on the Palm Beach County Port Commission, and former heavyweight boxing star Jameel McCline. Hastings should handle both of them though neither is an easy out. But Hastings is looking to...