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Coffee is a staple of American life and a good incentive for getting out of bed in the morning. The true cost of this beverage, however, is shocking. It is estimated that small-land coffee farmers in Latin America, Asia and Africa sell their goods for roughly 24 cents a pound while paying 80 cents a pound to produce their product. They are often paid roughly half the market price, with 50 percent going to middlemen taking advantage of the situation. This leaves farmers in developing nations living in poverty and makes the period between harvests especially difficult. Retail prices remain...

Today, in New York Supreme Court, in response to Dan Rather's civil lawsuit, CBS filed a lengthy 30-page motion to dismiss the case.CBS executives also released a statement today, noting that they are "mystified" by Rather's "bizarre allegations" but will "vigorously" defend themselves in court if need be. "Dan Rather is one of the most important figures in the history of broadcast journalism, and for more than 40 years was one of our most valued colleagues," CBS said in the statement. "That is why we at CBS are mystified and saddened by the baseless and self-serving allegations and distortions...

Who is George Soros and why is he saying such awful things? Most Americans do not know this billionaire investor, but, using his vast wealth, he has become a force in left-wing political circles. In some ways, he is the litmus test for Democratic politics.     Mr. Soros usually concerns himself with foreign affairs, pointing out what he considers the failures of the Bush administration. In interviews with the press, Mr. Soros claims President Bush's war on terror "is really exploitation." Moreover, he urges European leaders to adopt a stance different from the United States.     Writing in the London-based Independent, Mr....

EDINBURG — Longtime CBS anchor and Texas native Dan Rather will appear Tuesday as part of the University of Texas-Pan American’s 2006-07 Distinguished Speakers Series. University students and faculty will be admitted to the UTPA Fine Arts Auditorium at 7 p.m. The general public will be allowed to enter at 7:20 p.m. The auditorium is on the side of campus bounded by West University Drive. Rather’s talk is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. and is expected to focus on his life, career development and current events, said Melissa Benavides, associate director of the university’s student union. "We are expecting...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Dan Rather, who has been working at "60 Minutes" since leaving as "CBS Evening News" anchor last year, apparently is in his final days at CBS News. CBS executives and Rather's representatives appear close to a deal that will end Rather's association with CBS News after more than 40 years, according to an executive knowledgeable about the situation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Thursday. Rather, 74, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that he has had no conversations about continuing at "60 Minutes" beyond the television season that ended last month. Another...

Wednesday, Jun 07 Rick Kaplan Resigns: "He Has Led MSNBC Through A Period Of Impressive Growth" "I want to thank Rick for his service to MSNBC," NBC News president Steve Capus said in a message to MSNBC employees at 4pm. "Over the last two and a half years, Rick has been a tireless champion for the network and all the hard work you do each and every day. He has led MSNBC through a period of impressive growth especially in primetime. You, the staff at MSNBC, are enormously dedicated and have built a rock-solid foundation for our future growth. MSNBC...

Relations between the US and Russia are deteriorating badly and there is a danger of conflict in the flashpoints of the south Caucasus, according to senior former officials and corporate leaders advising the EastWest Institute (EWI). EWI board members at the think-tank's annual meeting in Charleston were almost unanimous in calling for moves to prevent what one called an emerging "cold peace" between the US and Russia. John Mroz, founder and president of EWI, called the deterioration worrisome. He placed the trend in the context of growing distrust between the major powers, including China, with the world in a state...

Leslie Cauley, the USA Today reporter who last week “broke” the news that three major U.S. telecommunications companies were assisting the National Security Agency in building a database to more easily track any communications by potential terrorists, is listed as a donor to former House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt... A search found a listing for "writer and journalist" Leslie Cauley, indicating she gave $2,000 to Gephardt on June 30, 2003, when Gephardt was running for the Democratic presidential nomination. And that seems not to be her only tie to Democratic politics ... Cauley's link to a Democratic campaign seems likely...

Maybe we should have remained a colony. Americans Sicker Than Britons? Calvin Malone of Milwaukee says he runs four times per week to stay in shape. He was working out at the Downtown YMCA on Tuesday. Throughout the facility are signs encouraging patrons to exercise and embrace a healthy lifestyle. A report released today says middle-aged Britons are much healthier than their American counterparts. Richard Nord, 71, from Shorewood, shown at the Downtown YMCA on Tuesday, says he has had a disciplined exercise routine since he was 40 years old. Despite paying more than twice as much for health care,...

Disgraced CBS Anchor Proposes "Rather's Rules" for Good Journalism Posted by Rich Noyes on March 9, 2006 - 10:31.Dan Rather spoke at a Cherry Hill, New Jersey high school last night (Wednesday), South Jersey's Courier-Post reports this morning, and reporter Jim Walsh noted (without irony) that the disgraced and replaced CBS Evening News anchor proposed “Rather’s Rules” for improving journalism.Isn’t that a bit like “Dr. Kevorkian’s Rules” for better medicine?In his speech, Rather repeated his recent chiding of the national media for being too soft, and in “need of a spine transplant.” But when it came to his own...

Mujahidin Shura Council Claims Operations in Mosul, Al-Fallujah, Baghdad On 1 March, 2006, "eXtreme" posted to Hanin Net three statements issued by The Mujahidin Shura Council in Iraq [Majlis Shura al-Mujahidin fi al-Iraq] in which the group claimed responsibility for destroying a US armored vehicle in Mosul and another in Al-Fallujah and clashing with police and Badr Corps forces in Baghdad. "eXtreme" attributed the messages to the "Media Commission" of the Mujahidin Shura Council in Iraq. The "Issues of Iraq and the Nation" forum in Hanin Net is dedicated to news on jihad and Iraqi insurgent groups. A translation of...

I am the odd loner in my community who enjoys hearing tales of our American founding fathers, our heroes and was always completely fascinated by the letter of Sullivan Ballou by the civil war, the human struggle for an ideal they, themselves perhaps know little of... I would not go into detail what promted me to write this, perhaps I needed a channel to spout out my intense discomfort after having to constantly listen to and deal with professors in my college and their utter hypocrisy. I Love this country, I love it personally. I love the people; I love...

In an interview with Marvin Kalb carried live by C-SPAN from the National Press Club on Monday night, Dan Rather made quite clear that he believes in the accuracy of his Bush National Guard story based on what everyone else realizes were fabricated memos. Rather argued that "one supporting pillar of the story, albeit an important one, one supporting pillar was brought into question. To this day no one has proven whether it was what it purported to be or not." Kalb pressed for clarification: "I believe you just said that you think the story is accurate?" Rather affirmed: "The...

Lima, Jul. 26, 2005 (CNA) - The President of the Pontifical Council for Heath Care, Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, recalled the Terry Schiavo case this week and said “they killed her” by denying her food and hydration.According to the cardinal, “Food and hydration are never considered medicine.”  “To remove them means euthanasia, it means killing, and so this woman was killed by hunger and starvation.  Let’s stop with the euphemisms—they killed her,” he stated.“Law consists of a rational ordering that seeks the common good and not the common evil,” Cardinal Lozano noted, “but many times there are laws that are...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Vanderbilt University would violate a decades-old contract if it stripped the word "Confederate" from the name of a dormitory built with the help of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, a court ruling released Wednesday said. The heritage group donated a third of the building's cost. In return, the name Confederate Memorial Hall was chiseled into stone over the main entrance.

Flaws to the 2 Party System Voting? It is that time of year again for us to vote. “I’m gonna vote for whoever is on the Democratic side” said my grandfather. “Who cares, they are all the same, makes no difference to me if Kerry or Bush wins” stated my mother. Is this how you and your family feel when it comes the time to vote? America is known as the land of the free, and to have the most democratic governmental system in this world, but is it really? How can we say that America’s government is democratic when...

Guest Column: Semantics might have kept us out of Iraqi sand trap Erik Williams Opinion TALK AMARILLO "The seeds of liberty and freedom have been planted in the desert, and watered with the blood of martyrs, and in what tyranny once made waste, the flower of democracy shall bloom." It has been two years since an autocrat threatened the peace of the world. He brazenly challenged the United Nations, defied the great powers with rude ambition and naked aggression, kept his citizens in thrall to his arrogant will, deceived and manipulated the international community, and endangered the freedoms and liberties...

It is through a lense of grim compassion that I view certain liberal pundits: Maureen Dowd and Richard Cohen, for instance. This pair is so committed to their litany of failed predictions that they'll stick with them no matter how far out of whack they may be. But I feel a certain sympathy for them: at least they truly are committed, along with being sour and inane. Who can blame them? History hasn't treated either kindly and, given the momentum of the Administration's sweeping initiatives, it's only going to get worse for them. Thus, I do feel a sort of...

Dan Rather enters the CBS broadcast center for his last scheduled broadcast of the 'CBS Evening News' March 9, 2005 in New York. Tributes to the 73-year-old newsman were mixed with sniping after his final months were marred by a reporting scandal that tarnished his reputation. REUTERS/Chip East

NEW YORK (AP) - As his final evening newscast approaches on Wednesday, Dan Rather is seeing the indignities pile up as quickly as the roses that were tossed in the path of Tom Brokaw when the NBC anchorman stepped down late last year. The latest came in a New Yorker magazine article, where fellow CBS News legends Walter Cronkite and Mike Wallace talked about how difficult it was to watch Rather as an anchor.