Free Republic

What's up with the main forum pages??? The abibility to post a new thread directly form the Forum page is missing. We used to be at the top right and now it's gone. To post a new article we have to go to an existing article to find the Post Article link.

HACIENDA HEIGHTS, Calif. (AP) -- The only familiar signs at the McDonald's in this large Asian community are the golden arches, the drive-through and the menu. Gone are the plastic furniture, Ronald McDonald and the red and yellow palette that has defined the world's largest hamburger chain. Leather seats, earth tones, bamboo plants and water trickling down glass panels have taken their place. The makeover elements are meant to help diners achieve happiness and fortune -- whether they realize it or not. That's because the restaurant was redesigned using the principles of feng shui, the ancient Chinese practice of arranging...

The world can expect a roller-coaster ride of conflict and unrest, natural disasters and a plunge in global stock markets once the Year of the Pig begins, Chinese soothsayers say. As the world farewells the Year of the Dog on Sunday, believers in Chinese superstitions have been busy consulting fortune tellers, feng shui geomancers and a wealth of new books for the year's fortunes. Chinese fortunes are based on a belief that events are dictated by the different balances in the elements that make up the earth -- gold, wood, water, fire and earth. Feng shui expert Raymond Lo said...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Los Angeles Zoo paid $4,500 to an expert in the ancient Chinese art of feng shui to ensure three endangered golden monkeys on loan from China can have a strong life force. Consulting the feng shui expert was part of the cost for a $7.4 million enclosure for the golden monkeys debuting at the zoo later his year. Feng shui focuses on balance in design to promote health and happiness. Feng shui is in demand among high-end architects and interior designers, but Beverly Hills-based feng shui expert Simona Mainini said the Los Angeles Zoo's effort...

The administrative office in Fulmore Middle School is probably the last place anybody would expect to see a tiny crystal hanging from the ceiling. But the spinning object isn't just for show at the Central Austin school: It's good feng shui. Stacy Davenport, a feng shui consultant, has spent the past two months bringing the basics of the ancient Chinese philosophy to the campus grounds, offices and classrooms. Feng shui emphasizes using space and colors as a way to achieve harmony with the environment. The crystal on the office ceiling is meant to deflect energy. The back wall is painted...

HAYWARD, California (AP) -- Developers looking to maximize the marketability of their homes are complaining about the city's street address rules, which they claim can scare off buyers who practice the ancient Chinese art of feng shui. Under a numbering system established by Alameda County in the 1950s, addresses are assigned based on how far the homes are from downtown Oakland, a method that puts five digits on almost every mailbox in Hayward and other cities in the county. The numbers have always been hard to remember, but home builders recently raised concerns that they may decrease property values because...

A handyman's guide to decks and other manmade disasters BY DAVE BARRY (This classic Dave Barry column was originally published on May 28, 2000.) Today's Do-It-Yourself Project Is: How To Build a Deck. There's nothing like adding a deck to transform an ordinary home into a home attached to a mass of inexpertly nailed wood. And just imagine the family fun you'll have this summer with a deck! ''Come on, kids!'' you'll call to your children. ''Let's go out on the deck and have some fun!'' ''Shut UP,'' they'll gaily reply, because they are engrossed in a Sony PlayStation video...

The Walt Disney Company has unveiled its plans for its new theme park in Hong Kong —a perfect reproduction of Disneyland—well, not exactly “a perfect reproduction.” Changes had to be made after Disney consulted with a feng shui master. The front page of the New York Times business section reports that a specific redesign was necessary to form a perfect twelve-degree angle “to ensure prosperity.” Another walkway is being redesigned to create an angle that will keep positive chi, that is, “life energy,” from flowing into the sea. In addition, “Disney burns incense ritually as each building is finished,” and...

The purpose of this Kerry visualization is a shift in consciousness -- to move voters away from the negative programming of the Republicans and vested interests -- to a positive attraction for Kerry based on his good character, values and right action. Method: [1] Light a candle. Gaze at the flame. Get calm. [2] Slowly repeat the intentions, or listen to the audio version. See the visualization ideas as very real. Note: This visualization is not chronological or linear, but a broadcast of positive visuals cascading out to the hearts and minds of Americans. The visuals are meant to awaken...

Beijing, China - Fengtek released their first motherboard based on the ancient Chinese philosophy of Feng Shui. Many interior designers use the principles of Feng Shui to arrange furniture in rooms, so the areas have positive energy. Fengtek is the first company to move these principles to motherboard design. Charles Huang, CEO of Fengtek, said he had been "looking for a way to combine modern technology with traditional Asian wisdom. My father had a motherboard company, so why not start there?" Vincent Xiang, lead designer at Fengtek, explained how positioning the components away from traditional locations brought peace to the...

The budget is in the tank and the workers' compensation system is in disarray. California, it appears, is suffering from bad chi. What better time, Assemblyman Leland Yee argues, for a feng shui tuneup? Yee, a San Francisco Democrat, is pushing a legislative resolution that urges the state and municipalities to consider adopting design standards that incorporate the ancient Chinese art of geomancy. Feng shui (pronounced fung shway) principles hold that one's physical surroundings and the flow of chi (pronounced chee), or energy, can be arranged to attract harmony, wealth and good luck.

California Measure Would Align Building Rules With Feng Shui By PATRICIA LEIGH BROWN Published: January 30, 2004 SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 29 — With a budget deficit of about $14 billion, California could use a major infusion of positive energy. So it may be appropriate timing that in this most Asian of mainland American regions, State Assemblyman Leland Y. Yee, Democrat of San Francisco, has introduced a resolution that urges the California Building Standards Commission to adopt standards that would aid feng shui, the ancient Chinese practice of promoting health, harmony and prosperity through the environment. The resolution, which has yet...

A San Francisco politician has proposed a new law which would mean planners have to consider a building's energy flows. The 4,000-year-old Chinese art of feng-shui claims to channel positive energy, known as chi, leaving the building's occupier in a state of harmony. Buildings, and the objects within them must, be positioned correctly to channel the energy properly. Leland Y Yee's proposal would mean that the California Building Standards Commission would have to adopt standards that would aid feng shui. The motion must pass the committee stage before progressing to the full Assembly for approval. "The structure of a building...

SACRAMENTO -- If a leading Democratic lawmaker has his way, your next new house may be built according to standards that supposedly put it -- and you -- in harmony with unseen natural forces. Leland Yee, the assistant speaker pro tem, is backing a bill that could insert the millenniums-old strictures of feng shui into California's building code. Some lawmakers roll their eyes. Some chuckle. Some wonder privately how an ancient system of alignment with invisible life forces could possibly fit into a nuts-and-bolts building code designed to ensure fire safety and structural integrity. To Yee, however, Assembly Concurrent Resolution...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (McCLATCHY) - No one can accuse Arnold Schwarzenegger of not being able to work a room. The new governor was at Frank Fat's restaurant the other night for the annual Chinese New Year celebration and unveiled his own "napkin deal" with Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, the San Francisco Democrat who'll have a lot to say about the final shape of Schwarzenegger's budget proposal. Fat's was scene of a famous 1987 tort "reform" deal sketched on a tablecloth and later copied to a napkin so senators could see details the following day. "I agree to support Proposition...

YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORKLawmaker: Put feng shui in building codeCalifornian wants state commission to push ancient Chinese practice Posted: January 16, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern By Ron Strom© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com A Democratic California legislator has introduced a resolution that would urge state officials to include the principles of feng shui in the California Building Standards Code, which is used in the design of public buildings. The legislation, ACR 144, was introduced last week by Assemblyman Leland Y. Yee of San Francisco. Feng shui is an ancient Chinese practice that encourages the correct design of living spaces so people can experience "a positive energy...

Worth repeating. Although I'm sure you're all too narrow-minded and angry to consider words like these. But... Please remove the word "Free" from your name. You poor folks don't have a clue. Have everyone read the Constitution again... carefully and, perhaps, sober this time. Sad and pathetic.. an wholly UN-American Signed David (Who loves truly American ideals)

BERLIN - If German politicians lack ideas for reforming the country's struggling healthcare and pensions systems, they can now blame an adverse flow of energy in their workplace. The German parliament's glass dome, a Berlin landmark, makes for bad feng shui, according to an expert in the Chinese art of positioning objects, buildings and furniture. "The energy is downright sucked out of MPs' heads by the glass dome," feng shui adviser Wilhelm Wuschko told the mass-circulation daily Bild on Saturday. To keep the energy inside, the dome should be coated with a protective foil, he said. Bild said the office...

Aug 4, 10:49 am ET BERLIN (Reuters) - If German politicians lack ideas for reforming the country's struggling healthcare and pensions systems, they can now blame an adverse flow of energy in their workplace. The German parliament's glass dome, a Berlin landmark, makes for bad feng shui, according to an expert in the Chinese art of positioning objects, buildings and furniture. "The energy is downright sucked out of MPs' heads by the glass dome," feng shui adviser Wilhelm Wuschko told the mass-circulation daily Bild Saturday. To keep the energy inside, the dome should be coated with a protective foil, he...

BERLIN (Reuters) - If German politicians lack ideas for reforming the country's struggling healthcare and pensions systems, they can now blame an adverse flow of energy in their workplace. The German parliament's glass dome, a Berlin landmark, makes for bad feng shui, according to an expert in the Chinese art of positioning objects, buildings and furniture. "The energy is downright sucked out of MPs' heads by the glass dome," feng shui adviser Wilhelm Wuschko told the mass-circulation daily Bild on Saturday. To keep the energy inside, the dome should be coated with a protective foil, he said. Bild said the...