Free Republic

News came this past week that the former Florida governor was canceling $3 million in TV ad buys in the crucial early-voting states of Iowa and South Carolina, a concession to financial and political reality that has been a long time coming. Bush aides may have hoped to bury the news by dropping it during a holiday week when people are paying little attention to politics. And they sought to spin it in the best possible light: The campaign would be sending 50 more staffers into the four states with the first contests to beef up its already strong on-the-ground...

Doug Reuhl, president and CEO of American since 1988, blamed an unforgiving economy, especially over the past five years, for the closure and said the company would begin a going-out-of-business sale Thursday to liquidate its entire inventory of furniture, electronics and appliances. "While this is a sad moment, it is also a proud moment," Reuhl said in a news release. "It's a moment to be proud of our efforts and to be proud of what we have delivered to the community." A switchboard operator at American TV refused to answer additional questions Monday or transfer a reporter to anyone else,...

Loehmann’s, a specialty retailer that has had a presence in Georgia for years, is going out of business and closing its 39 locations, including two in metro Atlanta. *** Loehmann’s blamed declining economic conditions in key markets, including New York, California, Florida and the Midwest, for a drop in business.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 21 (Bernama) -- With his good looks Dr Sashi Tharoor could have been a star in the Indian film industry. Instead, he choose to be a career diplomat and spent the last 28 years serving the United Nations (UN). Now he cherishes another ambition -- to lead the UN, the world's largest and vital organisation. The 50 year-old diplomat is India's official candidate for the UN secretary-general's post which falls vacant when Kofi Annan completes his second and final five-year term in December this year. The London-born United States-educated Indian, who will join three other Asian candidates...