Free Republic

Belgium has started to make iodine pills available free to its 11 million citizens in case of an accident at its ageing nuclear plants, while saying there is no “specific risk.” The government has also launched a website in the country’s official languages of French, Dutch and German to tell people what to do in an emergency as it begins implementing plans announced two years ago. {snip} Pharmacies interviewed by Belgian media said they had begun receiving some of the 4.5 million boxes of 10 iodine pills – which help reduce radiation build-up in the thyroid gland – that were...

A recent LiveScience article "Americans Believe in God, Astrology, and Ghosts" indicates that the beliefs people hold may actually be contradictory and a mix of a variety of themes. This tends to confirm the view that people will believe almost anything regardless of whether it is consistent with what they profess. After all how does one reconcile the fact that 22% of those identifying themselves as Christians also believe in reincarnation? Nearly one in five has had an encounter with a ghost, while 25% believe in astrology. While all this can be somewhat entertaining, I was struck by another article...

Thursday, March 16 at 8/7c "Episode 101" SERIES PREMIERE This exciting series from Simon Cowell and the producers of American Idol about the biggest search ever for America's best new invention will premiere with a two-hour special, with coverage of open casting calls in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. Viewers will see inventors all of all ages present their most prized inventions, featuring everything from the wacky to the heart warming.