Free Republic

National Popular Vote is good for conservatives, the GOP, and public policy. Period. Having been active in support of the initiative for over a year now, I have met and talked to hundreds of conservative leaders, activists, and elected officials. I have found most of those who reflexively oppose it do so because they think it is a process to amend the Constitution, don’t understand how it works or how it would affect outcomes, or are convinced of some grand conspiracy to turn America into a permanent Democrat hegemony. The reality is the current system disenfranchises millions of conservatives from...

A Japanese research group has developed a solid state lithium battery that appears to perform just as well as conventional liquid lithium ion batteries. The group has published their results in Nature Materials and claim to have found a solid electrolyte that performs on a par with current liquid technology, and does so over a much broader temperature range and because it’s solid should be more compact as well as less sensitive to physical damage and fire hazard. Lithium ion batteries are currently used in a wide variety of consumer electronics (and electric vehicles) due to their energy density, re-chargeability...

DEER ISLE, Maine — Before May 17, Kacen Pedrucci was a normal 15-month-old boy. At his Deer Isle home, he was beginning to talk and was walking around happily, exploring his surroundings and putting things in his mouth as toddlers do. He always had a smile and a sweet disposition. One of his favorite books was The Lion King, which was a “talking book” — by pushing a button on the side of the page, jungle sounds could be heard. But for the last three months, Kacen has been at death’s door, in and out of doctors’ offices, emergency rooms...

Recently I wrote an article entitled The Most Dangerous Creation In The History Of Man. The article covered the emergence of Bitcoin; an electronic peer-to-peer currency that has no central banking server, is untraceable, and essentially can not be taxed through coercive measures. The article makes the point that if a currency can not be taxed and controlled, eventually it will topple the coercively funded fascist control grid you call the modern State. Read more about it in this Bitcoin forum post that explains it in more detail. I’ve received several requests for more information about how people can put...

For decades, it's been the gold-standard treatment for the most distressing of mental health disorders: mania, schizophrenia, major depression. But now, lithium - the third element of the periodic table and an essential constituent of soil, oceans and every living organism - is being heralded as the next fluoride: an additive with such therapeutic potential, it should be ingested by millions of Americans every time they pour a glass of drinking water. It's a provocative prospect that research suggests might reduce rates of suicide, violent crime, and hard drug use. The idea gained widespread traction in 2009 when researchers studying...

The man who likely has done more than anyone to put the libertarian philosophy of freedom and small government on the political agenda probably will make another run for the presidency: U.S. Rep. Ron Paul. Paul is always upbeat, but lately he's had more reason to be, as he sees libertarian ideas bubbling up from the grass roots. "People outside of Washington are waking up," he told me, "and they're getting the attention of a few in Washington." Paul has been in Congress more than 20 years, and much of that time he's played a lonely role, often being the...

Philadelphia, PA, 16 February 2011 - Lithium, introduced in the late 1940's, was the first "wonder drug" in psychiatry. It was the first medication treatment for the manic and depressive episodes of bipolar disorder and it remains among one of the most effective treatments for this disorder. In the past 15 years, as molecular mechanisms underlying the treatment of bipolar disorder began to emerge, basic research studies conducted in animals began to identify neuroprotective and perhaps neurotrophic effects of this important medication. The identification of these molecular actions of lithium coincided with the discovery of regional brain volume deficits in...

A regular uptake of the trace element lithium can considerably promote longevity. This is the result of a new study by scientists of Friedrich Schiller University Professor Dr. Michael Ristow's team along with Japanese colleagues from universities in Oita and Hiroshima have demonstrated by two independent approaches that even a ow concentration of lithium leads to low concentration of lithium leads to an increased life expectancy in humans as well as in a mode humans as well as in a mode organism, the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans. The research team presents its results in the online edition of the scientific publication...

New Nanoengineered Batteries Developed at Rensselaer Exhibit Remarkable Power Density, Charging More Than 40 Times Faster Than Today’s Lithium-ion BatteriesAn entirely new type of nanomaterial developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute could enable the next generation of high-power rechargeable lithium (Li)-ion batteries for electric automobiles, as well as batteries for laptop computers, mobile phones, and other portable devices. The new material, dubbed a “nanoscoop” because its shape resembles a cone with a scoop of ice cream on top, can withstand extremely high rates of charge and discharge that would cause conventional electrodes used in today’s Li-ion batteries to rapidly deteriorate and...

Jesse Ventura has found two new reasons not to trust the government, and he's telling anybody in the halls of Congress who will listen. The first bit of intrigue involves what he sees as the military's move to undermine his reality truTV series, "Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura," by not letting him film a stand-up in front of the Eternal Flame at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy. The former Minnesota governor also claims the U.S. is fighting in Afghanistan to secretly secure a massive lithium deposit to make the world safe for cell phone, computer and electric car batteries....

Following the news Monday that geologists have found a mother lode of minerals in Afghanistan -- reports argued deposits of iron, copper, gold and other goodies could collectively be worth close to $1 trillion -- it's worth asking a few extra questions. In particular, there's been an unusually strong focus on the lithium portion of the find. A key ingredient in high-tech batteries for laptops, smart phones, electric cars and the like, its been heralded as the future cornerstone of the world's energy infrastructure. But is lithium really going to save Afghanistan, as many media outlets seem to think? Nope,...

Afghanistan is sitting on a wealth of mineral reserves -- perhaps the richest in the region -- that offer hope for a country mired in poverty after decades of war, the mining minister says. Significant deposits of copper, iron, gold, oil and gas, and coal -- as well as precious gems such as emeralds and rubies -- are largely untapped and still being mapped, Mohammad Ibrahim Adel told AFP. And they promise prosperity for one of the world's poorest countries, the minister said, dismissing concerns that a Taliban-led insurgency may thwart efforts to unearth this treasure. Already in the pipeline...

$1 Trillion in Minerals Discovered in Afghanistan [Daniel Foster] The New York Times reports that a team of U.S. Defense Department officials and geologists have discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped iron, copper, cobalt, gold, lithium, and other minerals scattered throughout Afghanistan — enough to “fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.” E.g.: — An internal Pentagon memo predicts Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” an important component of high-end batteries. — “There are a lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant,”...

Military deployment and close political ties may give U.S. ideal opportunity to harvest valuable resourceLithium deposits worldwide may be sufficient to eventually sustain the demands of an electric-vehicle driven world and modern electronics, but in the near-term, demand-driven shortages loom.  Fortunately, the U.S. has made a pivotal discovery that may help to keep costs in the U.S. down. According to a report in The New York Times, senior American government officials are quoted as saying that a massive mineral deposit has been discovered in Afghanistan which holds $1T USD in lithium, iron, copper, cobalt, and gold deposits.  The lithium deposits are expected to exceed those...

Wow! Talk about a game changer. The story goes on to outline Afghanistan's apparently vast underground resources, which include large copper and iron reserves as well as hitherto undiscovered reserves lithium and other rare minerals. Read a little more carefully, though, and you realize that there's less to this scoop than meets the eye. For one thing, the findings on which the story was based are online and have been since 2007, courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.

The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials. The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe. An internal Pentagon memo,...

Following reports that nearly $1 trillion in natural resources have been found in Afghanistan, Congressman Dennis Kucinich released the following statement: "We have just learned that there are nearly $1 trillion of untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan. This is a massive find that must be managed by the Afghan people. "Even before the discovery of these minerals, we knew that we were propping up a corrupt government in Afghanistan. According to officials, it is likely that Afghanistan's former Minister of Mines took a $30 million bribe to give China the rights to develop a copper mine.“This discovery demands a more...

This week the U.S. Defense Department revealed that Afghanistan possesses at least $908.9 billion in untapped mineral resources. Iron accounts for $420.9 billion of the total, and copper $274.0 billion. There is cobalt, gold and molybdenum. The country could become, according to a Pentagon memo, the “Saudi Arabia of lithium.” Just as interesting, there is niobium, used to make superconducting steel.

Geopolitics: With the war in Afghanistan mired in uncertainty, news that the country has vast mineral treasures to exploit suggests a brighter future. But there's potential turmoil as well as copper and lithium in them thar hills. Reports earlier this week that not only those minerals but cobalt and gold have been discovered in the Central Asian hot spot, just waiting to be mined, gave fleeting hope that the yield of the newfound wealth, estimated at close to a trillion dollars, would offer an enticing exit from the bloody conflict and a new and prosperous civilization. If only. Sobriety quickly...

Afghan minerals may be triple original estimate: Mining Minister 17 June 2010, 1:28 p.m. By Daniela Cambone Of Kitco News www.kitco.com Montreal -- (Kitco News) --Afghanistan's mining minister, said Thursday that mineral deposits in his country could be worth up to three trillion dollars, triple the US estimate from earlier this week. "A very conservative estimate has been one trillion. Our estimation is more than that... the idea is it could be up to three trillion dollars," mining minister Waheedullah Shahrani told a news conference today in Kabul. Kitco News interviewed Shahrani back in March on the sidelines of the...

Afghanistan just got its worst news since the Soviet invasion three decades ago: American geologists have charted as much as a trillion dollars' worth of mineral deposits in that tormented landscape. Up to now, Afghanistan's internal factions and neighbors have been fighting over worthless dirt, Allah and opium. Assigning the battlefield a trillion-dollar value is not a prescription for reconciliation. Expect "The Beverly Hillbillies" scripted by Satan. Even were Afghanistan at peace, its endemic corruption would generate a grabocracy -- a Nigeria, not a Norway. Throw in inherited hatreds and the appetites of its neighbors, and Afghanistan may end up...

WASHINGTON — The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials. The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe. An internal...

WASHINGTON — The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials. The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe. An internal...

Supplies of speciality metals like lithium, neodymium and indium could become restricted unless recycling rates improve. That's the message from the first two of six reports prepared to assess metal supply sustainability for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 'Scientists should anticipate the possibility that they may not have the whole periodic table to work with in future,' says Thomas Graedel, who led the Global Metal Flows Working Group that compiled the studies.  The report series won't deliver overall supply and demand projections until nearer to the 2012 Rio Earth Summit. Nevertheless Graedel, who is also director of Yale University's Center for Industrial Ecology...

When you really need something, it's natural to worry about running out of it. Peak oil has been a global preoccupation since the 1970s, and the warnings get louder with each passing year. Environmentalists emphasize the importance of placing limits on consumption of fossil fuels, but haven't been successful in encouraging people to consume less energy—even with the force of law at their backs. But maybe they're going about it all wrong, looking for solutions in the wrong places. Economists Lucas Bretschger and Sjak Smulders argue that the decisive question isn't to focus directly on preserving the resources we already...

Just over a year ago, and spurred by an article in Time, I wrote a post on the possible global supply of lithium, which is used in renewable batteries, and a major choice for use in the batteries of electric vehicles, such as the Chevy Volt. Since the story has acquired more recent interest this week, and with new information, it is worth re-visiting the topic. I began the original post by noting that our first introduction to these batteries was in our role as an Explosives Lab when we found out - in a series of experiments a long...

Japanese research and development firm Eamex claims to have found a new way to increase the typical average life of a high-capacity lithium-ion battery. Eamex's new technology will allow the demanding batteries to sustain over 10,000 recharges over the course of 20 years. This rather dramatic increase in performance is made possible by new techniques such as a stabilization process of the battery's electrodes, which in-turn puts less stress on the battery's tin. This maintains the bonding of particles for a longer period of time and reduces the overall deterioration process. The result is a battery that lasts up to...

Sunlike stars that harbor planets are low on lithium, according to a recent study that may offer a new tool in the hunt for planets beyond our solar system. Stars are made almost entirely of hydrogen and helium. A small percentage of a star's mass comes from heavier elements, which astronomers refer to as metals. Young, yellow stars like our sun usually have more metals than older, redder stars, although the exact mix of those metals can vary. But astronomers have been unable to explain why otherwise similar sunlike stars have widely different lithium levels.The new study suggests that the...

The push for conversion to plug-in electric cars will do nothing to stop carbon emissions, a report by the GAO warns, throwing cold water on a push by Democrats to get more plug-ins on the road. In fact, the problem could be made worse as demand goes up at coal-fired electrical plants. Plus, the need for batteries may just have the US changing the dictators to which we’re chained, as IBD reports...

Alternative Energy: A government report says reliance on electric cars will do little to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and may merely shift our dependence on foreign sources from one set of dictators to another..."If you are using coal-fired power plants, and half the country's electricity comes from coal-powered plants, are you just trading one greenhouse gas emitter for another?" asks Mark Gaffigan, co-author of the GAO report. The report itself notes: "Reductions in CO2 emissions depend on generating electricity used to charge the vehicles from lower-emission sources of energy."

Drinking water which contains the element lithium may reduce the risk of suicide, a Japanese study suggests. Researchers examined levels of lithium in drinking water and suicide rates in the prefecture of Oita, which has a population of more than one million. The suicide rate was significantly lower in those areas with the highest levels of the element, they wrote in the British Journal of Psychiatry. High doses of lithium are already used to treat serious mood disorders. But the team from the universities of Oita and Hiroshima found that even relatively low levels appeared to have a positive impact...

UYUNI, Bolivia: In the rush to build the next generation of hybrid or electric cars, a sobering fact confronts both automakers and governments seeking to lower their reliance on foreign oil: almost half of the world's lithium, the mineral needed to power the vehicles, is found here in Bolivia - a country that may not be willing to surrender it so easily. Japanese and European companies are busily trying to strike deals to tap the resource, but a nationalist sentiment is building quickly in the government of President Evo Morales, an ardent critic of the United States who has already...

In what could potentially be a revolutionary breakthrough for everything from laptops to electric cars, a South Korean team of researchers have made a major discovery in Lithium-Ion battery technology. A team of researchers at South Korea’s Hanyung University, led by professor Cho Jaephil, has claimed a discovery that could extend lithium ion battery energy capacity by up to 1000% or more. The key to Jaephil’s discovery was the application of a three-dimensional porous silicon graphite cathode, which has the ability of holding up to ten times the number of lithium ions as conventional graphite cathodes. Patents have already been...

Had to go to the doctor yesterday and there I was, stuck in a small waiting room with no way to escape. See, there was this flatpanel on one wall tuned into CNN and I couldn't change the channel or sound, and unfortunately, McCain was speaking. I expect blather, falsehoods, socialism, innuendos, garbage and BS from BO but there is McCain with blather, falsehoods, socialism, innuendos, garbage and BS. I was looking for the nearest chair to put thru the screen. Decided it probably was not the best thing to do. If he had half a brain, and I'm sure...

When Claire, a pixie-faced 6-year-old in a school uniform, heard her older brother, James, enter the family’s Manhattan apartment, she shut her bedroom door and began barricading it so swiftly and methodically that at first I didn’t understand what she was doing. She slid a basket of toys in front of the closed door, then added a wagon and a stroller laden with dolls. She hugged a small stuffed Pegasus to her chest. “Pega always protects me,” she said softly. “Pega, guard the door.” James, then 10, had been given a diagnosis of bipolar disorder two years earlier. He was...

Stanford researchers have found a way to use silicon nanowires to reinvent the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power laptops, iPods, video cameras, cell phones, and countless other devices. The new version, developed through research led by Yi Cui, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, produces 10 times the amount of electricity of existing lithium-ion, known as Li-ion, batteries. A laptop that now runs on battery for two hours could operate for 20 hours, a boon to ocean-hopping business travelers. "It's not a small improvement," Cui said. "It's a revolutionary development." The breakthrough is described in a paper, "High-performance...

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Scientists are preparing for a large clinical trial in 2008 which aims to use stem cells to help 400 patients with spinal cord injuries in Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan grow new cells and nerve fibers. Stem cells from umbilical cord blood will be injected into the spinal cords of the participants, who will also be given lithium to help stimulate cell regeneration, said Wise Young, a leading neuroscientist and spinal cord injury researcher. "What we'd like to do is study a broad range of patients, not just (those with) complete (spinal cord injuries)," said...

Is Putin Being Set Up? by Patrick J. Buchanan Posted Nov 27, 2006 PARIS—Whoever poisoned Alexander Litvinenko had two goals: a long and lingering death for the KGB defector and pointing a finger of accusation for his killing right in the face of Vladimir Putin. Which leads me to believe Putin had nothing to do with it. In an assassination, one must ask: Cui bono? To whose benefit? Who would gain from the poisoning of Litvinenko? Certainly not Putin. Litvinenko's death puts him, the Kremlin and the KGB, now the FSB, under suspicion of having reverted to the terror tactics...

Chris Wallace (FOX TV) just stated on the Monday morning news segment of Fox TV (aired in the 7:00 a.m. EST hour) that, not only did Bill Clinton retain his anger at Wallace after the interview was over and the cameras were off (despite Wallace trying to part on friendly terms), Clinton absolutely fumed at his own personal staff, right then and there while still on the Fox TV premises, for getting him into the interview with Wallace where he had earlier lost his head.Wallace said Clinton's blow up at his staff for this mistake was very visible and...

Serious movement in D.C. – and if I hadn't been there, I would not have believed it. For several months Joan Wire and her daughter have been trying to secure an appointment with a highly effective government official we'll simply call Mr. Washington. Joan Wire is the stalwart wife of Mike Wire. Mike is the storied "man on the bridge," the single most critical eyewitness in the saga of TWA Flight 800, the 747 that was inexplicably blown out of the sky on the night of July 17, 1996. The CIA built its notorious zoom-climb animation around Mike's position on...

WASHINGTON — Did laptop batteries aboard a UPS cargo plane catch fire, causing it to ignite into flames? The National Transportation Safety Board began looking into the question at a hearing Wednesday. All three crew members on the plane owned by the Sandy Springs-based delivery giant were treated for minor injuries after it made an emergency landing shortly after midnight Feb. 8 at the Philadelphia airport. The crew declared an emergency on approach into Philadelphia. Fire and rescue crews met the four-engine jet, a DC-8 that originated in Atlanta, when it touched down shortly after midnight. Firefighters said the blaze...

One look at you tells me all I need to know about you. I am so tired of liberals that think they are so brilliant. You are such a stupid jackass. You are so stupid you probably believe that the Bush administration orchestrated the attacks on 9/11. Every time you go on the internet, every time you make a bank transaction, or pay a bill, every time you try to email a congressman or senator they are getting so much information off of you. Of course it is all a conspiracy by the Bush administration. I have screwed around by...

Here's something for you to ponder over... http://distressedamerican.cf.huffingtonpost.com/ Any thoughts?

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Fellow Americans, there comes a time every mans life when we must give up ourselves before we are worthy to recieve. There comes a time in this war on terror when in order to protect liberty, we have to give it up in the mean time for safty. That's right folks. Today, Americans have forsaken the creator for the creation and have decided that they would value our "civil liberties" than protecting western civilization and rich white people from the tender mercies of radical Islamic terrorists. Selfish liberals insist and whine that Bush has no right to spy on Americans...

After reading all of the crap that people have been saying regarding Adult Private Social Clubs, I felt that I had to post an article and give my opinion. I am sick and tired of all the religous groups that are saying that there are drugs, prostitution, minors, non-consenting people, and just immoral people at these clubs! First of all, who do these people think they are to decide what is morally right or wrong for me? I believe that I have a good set of morals. I am a law abiding, tax paying citizen, I work full time and...

Excuse me for infiltrating your kingdom, but I need to vent. I just had to pay $2.41 a gallon for gas and I can't afford this. I blame Bush and his illegal wars for this travesty. And since you are part of the remaining 40% of dummies who still support that assclown, I blame you, too. I hope so much the Democrats take back Congress in 2006 so this nazi will be impeached and tossed in the clink. How you idiots can't see this man is pure evil, I don't know. Hopefully, both he and KKKarl Rove will be in...

Many argue that communism will never be possible because of "human nature". The essence of this false argument is the belief that a communist society would consist of an all-powerful central government that would tell everybody what to do--and would therefore undermine the creative initiative of individuals and the search for happiness. • This argument is based on two false assumptions: (1) It assumes that a communist society will look like the former Soviet Union, or the current China, North Korea, etc (ie: corrupt police states with a feudal-style ruling class) (2) It assumes that people will only work in...

A few weeks ago, when former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean declared his intention to run for chairman of the Democratic National Committee, news reports had the general tone of "Get this, that crazy scream guy is back, and he wants to run the party." Now, days before the vote, his victory is a "fait accompli." How did this happen? Are Democrats suicidally crazy? Wait. That's too easy. Let me rephrase the question. Why are Democrats suicidally crazy? The conventional rap against Dean as DNC chairman is essentially the same as the conventional rap against him as presidential candidate a year...

I believe National Treasure implies that Freemasons are a POSITVE influence on our country. Anybody that knows the TRUTH about Freemasonry rather than the propaganda they wrap themselves in will NOT be takin in by the positive portrayal in this movie. Please America, wake up, don't buy into the guys who brought "Seperation of Church/State" to America, model ISLAM as the highest truth (the Shriners), label the Holy Bible as "Furinture" in a lodge, and outlaw the name of "Jesus" in any lodge. I know I will get flamed by 10,000 Masons and Mason supporters on this, but if you...