Free Republic

Stop The Noise Aircraft Noise Battle Becomes Lawsuit... A long-simmering feud over aerobatic flying near busy Hanscom Field, just outside Boston, Mass., has reached a new level, as a group of local residents is pressing a million-dollar lawsuit against several pilots based at the airport, alleging that they are creating a noise nuisance. One of the pilots named in the suit, Steve Pennypacker, told AVweb yesterday that he and his partners are planning to sell their airplane, as a direct result of the pressure. "Flying is just a hobby for me," he said, "but my concern is that this can...

<p>The ear-blasting takeoffs of military fighter jets at suburban Scottsdale Airport have residents buzzing and city officials flying off.</p> <p>Six fighter jets in three formations of two and another pair of fighters have roared into the general aviation airport in recent weeks for refueling stops.</p>

Roaming America's back roads and byways over the past two years, I've noticed an alarming development: Christian supply stores continue to proliferate. They're springing up all over the hinterland, a rural aberration of our vapid consumer culture wherein all things marketable, including Jesus Christ and Christianity, have been reduced to their shrink-wrapped lowest common denominator. When I finally stumbled across the Wholesale Christian Supply Factory Outlet Store in rural Idaho, I thought I'd seen it all, yet I didn't actually go inside this particular store, I just sat in the back of the parking lot where my peripheral vision could...

AUGUSTA — Don't blame earthquakes for the rattles and rolls that shook buildings and shook up people in the middle of the afternoon Friday. The definitive word from the National Earthquake Information Center in Boulder, Colo., is that the three shakes and booms were not caused by earthquakes. Bob Lent, district chief for the U.S. Geological Survey, said, "They did not detect anything above background that could indicate an earthquake." Lent, whose office is on Whitten Road, said, "It sounded like a blast to me." While the rumbling began about 2:45 p.m., more incidents were reported later in the evening....

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea's largest mobile phone operator said Thursday that it will offer cell phone users a new noise service that it says will repel mosquitoes. SK Telecom Co. said subscribers can pay 3,000 won (US$2.50) to download a sound wave that is inaudible to human ears but annoys mosquitoes within a range of three feet. Customers can then play the sound by hitting a few buttons on their mobile phones.

Man facing court over noisy American flag A Michigan man is facing possible court action because his American flag is too noisy. Ray Saelens has been summonsed for violating a noise regulations in Chesterfield Township, Macomb. It's believed the summons follows a complaint from a neighbour, who claims the flapping noise made by the 18ft by 12ft flag is keeping him awake at night. Mr Saelens paid £2,400 to install the flag and 50ft flagpole behind his home after the September 11 attacks. He even changed from using a nylon flag to a polyester flag to try to keep the...

Boom Cars and the Boyz: Is it just "harmless, innocent, fun???

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Even the low-level but chronic noise of everyday local traffic can cause stress in children and raise blood pressure, heart rates and levels of stress hormones, reports a new study by a Cornell University environmental psychologist and his European co-authors. "We also found that girls exposed to the traffic noise become less motivated, presumably from the sense of helplessness that can develop from noise they couldn't control," says Gary Evans, an international expert on environmental stress, such as noise, crowding and air pollution.

(CNSNews.com) - A national organization devoted to fighting noise pollution has taken its battle to the streets, to combat loud exhaust systems installed in cars after they are sold. Noise Free America spokesman Mark Huber says the manufacturers of hot rod mufflers are selling a product that is "lawlessly terrorizing" neighborhoods across America. The Richmond, Va.-based group insists that noise pollution is a serious health hazard. It mentions hearing damage, sleep deprivation, aggression, chronic fatigue and high blood pressure as specific maladies stemming from our noisy world. Noise Free America recently awarded Flowmaster, Inc., a manufacturer of high- performance, after-market...

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Excessive noise, such as jet aircraft flying overhead, impairs children's reading ability and long-term memory, a Cornell University environmental psychologist and his European colleagues conclude in a study of schoolchildren living near airports. "This is the first long-term study of the same children before and after airports near them opened and closed. It nails down that it is almost certain that noise is causing the differences in children's ability to learn to read," says Gary Evans, an international expert on environmental stress, such as noise, crowding and air pollution. In the past, a host of other studies...

Sorry for the vanity post, but I was just counting the money in my wallet when I started to sneeze. Then it hit me: The terrorists are going to use our money against us!We all know how badly infested our paper money is normally. We don't really want to know where that dollar bill has been, thank you. But how many of us remember the Secret Service busting several groups of Iraqis over the last ten years for printing many millions in fake US paper currency? What has been the premise all along of our Russian "partners"? Remember how they...

EBINO, Miyazaki -- A homeless man has been arrested after dropping a headstone over 6 meters onto traffic because he was annoyed at noisy cars that stopped him sleeping in a highway tunnel, police said Sunday.A man who slammed his car into the headstone as it crashed into the Kitakyushu Expressway sustained minor injuries in the crash, but will recover in full.Shunichiro Koyashiki, 47, unemployed of no fixed address but living in a highway tunnel for the past month, was arrested for breaking the law regarding highways and national roads. He admits to the allegations.“Noise from the cars traveling along...

Church leaders, backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury elect, lent support to the campaign against war on Iraq yesterday by warning Tony Blair that military action against Saddam Hussein would be “immoral and illegal”.As MPs stepped up their demands for a recall of Parliament, bishops and other religious leaders endorsed a “Christian Declaration” signed by nearly 3,000 people that was delivered to 10 Downing Street.The document, prepared by the Pax Christi anti-war group, condemned efforts to link action against Iraq with the “war on terrorism”.“We deplore any military action that regards the deaths of innocent men, women and children as...

Design flaws noted in Miller Park roof Defects don't harm safety, officials say By DON WALKERof the Journal Sentinel staff Last Updated: April 17, 2002 The mechanism that drives the Miller Park roof has a "disturbing pattern of design errors" and is the product of defective workmanship, according to stadium district and construction officials. Miller Park Photo/Karen Sherlock Officials associated with Miller Park say that the noise generated by the pivot system for the stadium's retractable roof does not indicate a safety problem. The pivot system is located behind home plate, high above those seated in the upper deck on...

Schoolboy on scooter mows down police patrolman KAWAGUCHI, Saitama -- A schoolboy has been taken into custody after he used his motor scooter to mow down a police officer sent out Monday night to stop him and his friends from creating a disturbance, police said. The officer sustained major head wounds in the clash and remains hospitalized, though is expected to recover fully from his wounds. Police said that they were contacted by a Kawaguchi resident complaining that a group of schoolboys were creating a disturbance. A 28-year-old officer rode his bicycle up to the boy and asked him to...