Free Republic

CARTHAGE, Tenn. - Al Gore has profited from zinc mining that has released millions of pounds of potentially toxic substances near his farmstead, but there is no evidence the mine has caused serious damage to the environment in the area or threatened the health of his neighbors. Two massive white mountains of leftover rock waste are evidence of three decades of mining that earned Gore more than $500,000 in royalty payments for the mineral rights to his property. New owners plan to start mining again later this year, after nearly four years of inactivity. In addition to bringing 250 much-needed...

Former vice-president and global warming guru Al Gore Jr. received more than $500,000 in royalties from the owners of zinc mines, according to a report on Tennessean.com. The mine owners held mineral leases on Gore's farm near Carthage, Tenn. Before being shut down in 2003, the mines emitted thousands of pounds of toxic substances. Reportedly, on several occasions, the water discharged from the mines into nearby rivers had levels of toxins above what was legal. Now the mines have a new owner and are scheduled to reopen later this year. State environmental officials, however, say that overall, the mine has...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Al Gore is garnering wide praise following his documentary's win at last night's Academy Awards -- even from White House Press Secretary Tony Snow. Asked in a press briefing Monday what he thought about Al Gore's documentary film, "An Inconvenient Truth," winning an Oscar, Snow said, "I'm happy for him," and mused, "It's good to have a second career."

Moss steals the show September 18, 2006 - 3:44PM Kate Moss sports the high-rise trend. Photo: Kevin Coombs Hot on the platform heels of New York Fashion Week's close on the weekend, London Fashion Week kicked off with a presentation of Topshop's Unique label on Sunday afternoon. Topshop - an inexpensive high-street chain much like Australia's Sportsgirl - showed a niche collection of edgier, more design-led pieces, reinforcing its place as a fashion-forward brand. But their thunder was stolen by the appearance of Kate Moss in a conspicuously high-waisted pair of jeans. Moss - who is regularly photographed wearing Topshop...

Controversial filmmaker Michael Moore unveiled two new projects last night in Toronto: a documentary about the health insurance business called “Sicko” and film that chronicles the aftermath of the 2004 election, entitled “Slacker.” Moore showed clips from both films as part of a special two-hour presentation at the famed Elgin Theater. Larry Charles, director of the new comedy “Borat” and well-known from his work on the TV show “Seinfeld,” conducted the program that also consisted of a long, funny and intimate live interview with Moore.

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - An obesity pandemic threatens to overwhelm health systems around the globe with illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease, experts at an international conference warned Sunday. "This insidious, creeping pandemic of obesity is now engulfing the entire world," Paul Zimmet, chairman of the meeting of more than 2,500 experts and health officials, said in a speech opening the weeklong International Congress on Obesity. "It's as big a threat as global warming and bird flu."

Former US Vice President, Al Gore arrives at the International Television festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2006 to talk about his award-winning American TV network 'Current TV'. (AP Photo/Ian Jacobs)

Howard Dean's collapse in the December of 2003 and January 2004 is obscured by the sound of his famous scream.  The scream disguised the real result of Iowa, which was a resounding rejection of the orange-capped Deanics, the Al Gore endorsement and the Rob Reiner election day campaigning.  Dean's oratorical excess on the night of his loss was so memorable that the rejection of the left by Iowa Democrats was quickly forgotten. The unlearned lesson of Iowa is that the left is deeply distrusted by the center, much more so than the right.  This is the story that is unfolding,...

In an exclusive appearance on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" airing in full on ABC Sunday, former Vice President Al Gore said, "I can't imagine any circumstances in which case I would become a candidate again," declaring, "I've found other ways to serve [and] I'm enjoying them." So far, the long-time politician -- whose crusade to educate Americans on the effects of global warming is the subject of the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," released worldwide this weekend -- is content to spread his message at the theater and not on the campaign trail. "I have no plans plans to be...

Environmental activists from six states descended yesterday on the Nashville office of Al Gore in an ongoing campaign to convince the former vice president to use his position as an Apple board member to urge the electronics manufacturer to recycle its computers. The Computer TakeBack Campaign, a national coalition of environmental organizations, turned its attentions to Apple Computer after successfully getting HP and Dell to support producer take-back recycling of toxic discarded products carrying their brand names. According to the group's website, Apple electronic wastes contain dangerous toxic chemicals. "The iLife isn't quite as harmonious as it seems. Lurking underneath...

The Muslim-Danish cartoon controversy has provided an excellent teaching opportunity in which the West demonstrates to the Arab world how even insulting/silly/opportunistic/sycophantic speech is allowed expression in our world in the belief that Truth ultimately will prevail. Exhibit A: Al Gore. The former vice president spoke in Saudi Arabia recently at the 2006 Jeddah (not to be confused with Jihadist, though we're not sure why) Economic Forum, where he bashed the U.S. and made Kumbaya noises about all just-getting-along. Which is fine. We'd all like to just get along, but could the Saudis go first? Perhaps Gore, instead of slapping...

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Paramount‘s new specialty division has acquired worldwide rights to Participant Prods.‘ global-warming documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," featuring Al Gore . Helmed by Davis Guggenheim ("Deadwood," "The First Year"), the film, which had its world premiere at last month‘s Sundance Film Festival , weaves the science behind the issue of global warming with the former vice president‘s personal history and longtime commitment to communicating the pressing need to reverse the effects of global climate change. Paramount specialty division president John Lesher called the film "a visually mesmerizing and shocking look at the serious and dire state...

Jeddah. Former US Vice President Al Gore stated Iran’s regime presents threat to the whole world, AFP reports. “Iran is governed by corrupted politicians and religious leaders and presents a threat to the whole world’s future”, said Al Gore during Economic Forum in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. According to him corrupted Iranian government together with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s anti-Israeli views are “a signal for the threat Tehran may pose”.

WARNING that the world will reach the "tipping point" toward an ecological catastrophe within the next 10 years, former US Vice President Al Gore urged international and local leaders to focus their efforts toward halting the phenomenon of global warming. Gore flew to Manila yesterday to address a group of several hundred political and business leaders as well as members of the diplomatic corps at the RCBC Plaza on Ayala Avenue in Makati City on the dangers of neglecting the environment. "We should be worried about threats like terrorism, but we should also be worried about other more important threats...

A crowd of nearly 500 in the Library Theater in Park City, Utah, stayed on through a standing ovation and into the question-and-answer session as Al Gore — one Kentucky reporter actually addressed him as "Mr. President," to laughs and cheers — restated his warnings about the "planetary emergency," global warming. Gore is the star of a documentary entered in the Sundance Film Festival, An Inconvenient Truth, and all the questions were for him. The director, Davis Guggenheim, stood quietly to his left; a bit farther away was the woman who made the film happen, Hollywood Democratic power player Laurie...

I heard the news reports and then on CBS this morning they had the couple on the Early Show. Looking at the parents, it’s easy to see where the baby got its weight. The parents are obese and the baby is starting off that way. Why should we celebrate this and give them all this TV coverage? All three will be a drain to our health care system for years to come.

Been here five years as of today. It's been great fun so far. Thought I'd post a vanity to give everyone an opportunity to mess with me in a centralized location for a change.

The NHS in east Suffolk has announced that it will no longer perform hip or knee replacements on people classed as “obese”. Never mind that the definition it uses for obesity — a body mass index of 30 or higher — is increasingly discredited, and that a much more reliable way of measuring healthy weight is waist-to-hip ratio. (It should be 0.9 or less in men, and 0.85 or less in women; you can check it on www.healthstatus.com/calculate/whr ). A greater objection to this denial of treatment to fatties on account of their self-inflicted fatness is: where on earth do...

A woman interviewed by controversial filmmaker Michael Moore for "Fahrenheit 9/11" claims he edited her segment to downplay her support for President Bush and for American troops fighting the war on terror. Joanne Duetsch, who appeared in a "9/11" scene filmed in Washington, D.C., said when Moore approached her in March 2004 – shortly after al-Qaida-orchestrated bombings in Madrid – he was accompanied by Lila Lipscomb, whom she initially believed was an actress but later learned was the mother of a fallen soldier in Iraq. Duetsch says she didn't know who Moore was at the time but instead assumed he...

The Davidson County Democratic Party is holding the first annual Gore Family Dinner later this month at the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel. That’s Gore as in Al and Tipper. The stated purpose for this dinner is to raise money for Democratic candidates in 2006, but it’s also the first time we’ve seen Al Gore politically back in his home state in some time. Even though the Gores maintain a home in Belle Meade, Gore’s new cable channel has kept him on the move. The channel will be geared towards young people and will debut in August. But Gore’s name is...