Free Republic

BISBEE — Not everybody was listening to President Bush’s State of the Union speech Tuesday night. In Bisbee’s Goar Park, a group of about 50 anti-Bush protesters “made a joyful noise to drown out Bush’s lies,” according to organizer Mary Elinor “Walking Mary” Adams, 65. The festive din poured up Brewery Gulch. Children joined in the noisy chorus. Coffee and refreshments were served. “Today, I’m with the people who speak the truth,” Adams said as her friend Beverly “Bobo” Quick, 60, danced nearby, smacking a tambourine on hip and hand. Local jewelry maker Joe Hogan, 70, wearing a Tibetan hat,...

A shop manager's annoyance over problem teenagers hanging around his store is being tackled head on with a noise nuisance device. The Mosquito, which sends out high-pitched soundwaves, is persuading gangs to move on. Robert Gough, who runs the Spar shop in Barry, says the new nine-inch box is a success. As treasurer of PACT (Preventing Anti-Social Crime Together), Mr Gough hopes more businesses will be helped. It's like a buzzing noise. I didn't know where it was coming from, it's not terrible. Shopper Gerda Hunt The box, placed on the outside wall of the store, emits an 80-decibel pulsing...

Welsh inventor's 'mosquito' makes noisy teens buzz off A Welsh inventor claims to have found the perfect solution to rowdy youngsters: noise. Howard Stapleton says his device, the "mosquito", emits an uncomfortable high-pitched ultrasonic sound that can be heard by children and teenagers, but almost no one over 30. It has successfully driven away noisy teens from a grocery store in the Welsh town of Barry and a shop in Stapleton's home town Merthyr Tydfil, making smoking, lounging and foul-mouthed youths a thing of the past.

The difference between Langley Air Force Base and Oceana Naval Air Station on the base closure list is a case of sound and fury. Every nine minutes or so, an F-15 or F/A-22 comes in over Back River at about 245 mph on a path that's gradual and shallow and which leads to the softest, quietest touchdown possible. Col. Tom Tinsley calls it a "don't-spill-the-coffee-on-the-guy-in-first-class" landing. The pilot cuts power, works the brakes and eventually coasts to a stop on an adjoining concrete parking lot. Langley Air Force base has received five complaints this year from people who say their...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Laura Capps/Melissa Wagoner (202) 224-2633 This is a critical moment for this country¹s future. If John Roberts is confirmed, he will have a vital role in setting the direction of the country for generations to come. The Supreme Court is often the last line of defense for the freedoms and liberties for hundreds of millions of Americans. Few responsibilities of the Senate are more important than reviewing the qualifications of nominees for the Supreme Court. Every Senator, Republican or Democrats, has a responsibility to determine whether Mr. Roberts deserves to join the currently closely divided court...

Light Speed a Barrier? To go, the children of tomorrow may have had to discover what is believed impossible today -- how to travel faster than light. Mel Zisfein, deputy director of the national Air and Space Museum, and an aerosynamicist amoung other things, has noted a similarity between the way most people today regard "C," the speed of light, and the way many people a generation or so ago regarded "a", the speed of sound. For this publication, he sketched the illustrations which appear on the following page, and drafted the following... "Some people used to look at...

N. Korean ferry granted port access after giving assurances on music NIIGATA, May 27 Kyodo - A North Korean ferry received permission Friday to use the Niigata port on its upcoming visit after the ferry operator said the ship will refrain from playing loud music. The 9,672-ton Mangyongbong-92 is usually greeted by Japanese nationalists blaring anti-Korean slogans during its calls at the port. Niigata Prefecture issued the port-call permit after the Pyongyang-based operator said it ''will have the ferry exercise self-restraint,'' prefectural officials said.

1. Ethel Merman Ethel Merman (1908-1984) sang such hits as "There's no Business Like Show Business" and "Everything's Coming Up Roses". Ethel Agnes Zimmerman was born at 359 4th Avenue in Astoria, Queens, in her grandmother's house. She has been called the loudest woman in show business, and she probably was! 2. Macy Gray The first time I heard Macy Gray song on the radio, I thought a baby was singing. Well, not really. I suppose I though she was a toddler. When I first saw her on television, I thought she was a Saturday Night Live parody of a...

When he began his quest for a quieter, cleaner city months ago, little did Stephen Rueff know he'd run into throngs of people who believe they have a right to bear leaf blowers. But oh, they're out there, legions who think that the roar of the leaf blower is the sound of liberty. "It's pretty interesting," Rueff said. "There are people who don't accept the notion of a greater good. They don't see that what happens on their own property impacts their neighbor." He's still on his quest, saying the more people learn about leaf blowers, the less they defend...

Toledo City Council is considering an ordinance that could put landlords in jail if their tenants hold too many loud parties. The proposal, which is tougher than either the Athens, Ohio, or Bowling Green ordinances upon which it is based, is an attempt to crack down on student parties in the residential neighborhoods around the University of Toledo, but would apply citywide. "This ordinance addresses the egregious examples of parties and gatherings that are literally out of control," District 5 Councilman Ellen Grachek said. Co-sponsoring the measure are District 1 Councilman Wilma Brown and at-large Councilman George Sarantou. A landlords'...

FCC commissioners yesterday unanimously approved rules for broadband over power line (BPL) technology, which policymakers hope will provide the elusive third broadband access line into most U.S. homes and reduce—or eliminate—the need to regulate the broadband industry. Certainly the most outspoken opposition to BPL has come from the amateur radio community, which has claimed that BPL will create interference with its operations. FCC Chairman Michael Powell called amateur radio operators “an important resource” and expressed hope that the rules the FCC has created will protect them, but he said obstructing the deployment of BPL is not an option. “The potential...

The shooting range at Michigan Department of Natural Resources' Island Lake State Recreation Area must comply with Green Oak Township's noise ordinance, a judge has ruled. Livingston County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Burress Thursday signed a preliminary injunction ordering the DNR to comply with the ordinance, which limits noise to 65 decibels. "We're very, very happy the judge took that stance with it, we really think he's for the people," said Marilyn Carr, a nearby resident who has been one of the most vocal in complaining about the noise levels. If the state does not comply, a court hearing will...

Boycott call not hurting rally interest By Bill Cissell, Journal Staff Writer STURGIS - A call by some motorcycle riders for a boycott of the annual Sturgis motorcycle rally doesn't seem to have hurt interest, and this year's event may be one of the largest in the 64-year history of the August gathering, local and state officials say. This year's rally officially runs Aug. 9-15, but the weeks immediately before and after the rally typically are only a little less hectic. The calls for the boycott came in protest of the sentencing of former Rep. Bill Janklow, R-S.D., for the...

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - A Swedish woman, tired of the noise made by her amorous neighbors in the apartment above, took her quest for some peace and quiet to an official environmental health committee. Jon Persson, who works with the local health committee in Simrishamn, some 382 miles south of the capital, Stockholm, said Thursday that the woman said she was "distressed, angry and tense all over" because her neighbors make love loudly almost nightly. He said it was the first time he can recall such a complaint ever being filed in the Scandinavian country. Typically, most disputes get settled...

Opera-fan judge makes guilty face the music Noise violators earful in Miami Beach By Amie Parnes, Globe Correspondent | April 22, 2004 MIAMI BEACH - Ricky Libutti stood up, faced the judge, and pleaded guilty to cranking up a hip-hop beat after midnight as he cruised down Washington Avenue in his Acura Integra. Judge Jeffrey Swartz offered what must have seemed a Hobson's choice to the 19-year-old with a crew cut and a love for what he called "conscious hip hop." "You can either pay a fine," the judge told Libutti, "or you can spend a leisurely 2 1/2 hours...

Futurism was an international art movement founded in Italy in 1909. It was (and is) a refreshing contrast to the weepy sentimentalism of Romanticism. The Futurists loved speed, noise, machines, pollution, and cities; they embraced the exciting new world that was then upon them rather than hypocritically enjoying the modern world?s comforts while loudly denouncing the forces that made them possible. Fearing and attacking technology has become almost second nature to many people today; the Futurist manifestos show us an alternative philosophy. Too bad they were all Fascists. TO THE YOUNG ARTISTS OF ITALY! The cry of rebellion which...

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - After 17 years of relative quiet, Mother Nature is bringing the noise. Periodical cicadas, a species of the grasshopper-like insects best known for the scratching, screeching "singing" of the males, will emerge this May, filling forests in more than a dozen states. Almost as abruptly as they arrive, they'll disappear underground for another 17 years. "Why do certain insects take only one year to develop, and others take two or three? It's just part of their genetic programming," said Greg Hoover, senior extension entomologist for Penn State University. There are at least 13 broods of 17-year...

Just heard & felt a huge noise here in Las Vegas. My wife & I felt the house shake. My wife has been through many earthquakes in CA and she said it sounded like a "popper" type of quake. I ran outside & looked around 360 degrees and did not see or hear anything. I looked to the direction of McCarran thinking a plane explosion but nothing there either. Anyone else see or hear anything. It was big and since I work out of my home, I've never heard or felt anything like this in LV.

Secret Service Probes Eminem 'Bush Threat' By Mark Sage, PA News, in New York The United States presidential bodyguard said today it was examining lyrics by rap star Eminem to see whether he had threatened George Bush. The Secret Service confirmed it was probing lyrics by the controversial artist, who says in a song: “I’d rather see the president dead.” The words to the song, We As Americans, are available on the internet and have not been released by the award-winning rap artist. Eminem says in the song: “F*** money, I don’t rap for dead presidents. I’d rather see the...

A new shock song from rapper Eminem wishes the president dead, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned...