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Demonstrations in the wake of Iran's presidential election are a sign that country's dissidents want the U.S. to get involved in the disputed contest, Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) asserted Monday. Bond, the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, pushed back against President Obama's claim that the election is not a U.S. issue, and urged the administration to speak out more forcefully in favor of Iranian dissidents."We didn't have anything to do with this uprising; we're not trying to tell them who they should select," Bond said on CNBC Monday morning. "But when they have such obvious election fraud and...

As dismay grows in his own party and among many observers over Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s seemingly surprising embrace and defense of left-liberal Democrat Rob Reiner and his tenure as chairman of the California Children and Families Commission, it is becoming evident that some of Schwarzenegger’s highest ranking appointees and advisors have long been involved with the controversial commission and the movie director/initiative promoter himself and have played key roles in the direction the program has taken. “The First 5 Commission,” says one Schwarzenegger friend using the Reiner commission’s nickname, “and Reiner himself have been much closer to the governor...

Oakland grocers set to fight vandals Police say they will have more details this week in the attacks on two liquor stores By William Brand, STAFF WRITER NATION OF ISLAM minister Tony Muhammad, standing in front of Muhammad Mosque 26 in Oakland on Saturday, says the Nation had no part in the destruction inside two West Oakland liquor stores Wednesday night. (GREG TARCZYNSKI) OAKLAND — The president of the Yemini American Grocery Association said Saturday that grocers have the right to defend themselves if their stores are invaded like two West Oakland markets were hit Wednesday night. The association, which...

UNITED NATIONS - A U.N. investigation concluded that high-ranking Syrian and Lebanese security officials were involved in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, according to a report released Thursday. The report by chief investigator Detlev Mehlis said Hariri's Feb. 14 assassination was so complex that it would be difficult to imagine that the Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services didn't know about it. The decision to assassinate Hariri "could not have been taken without the approval of top-ranked Syrian security official and could not have been further organized without the collusion of their counterparts in the Lebanese security...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2005 – More than 110 Iraqi battalions are involved in the fight against terrorists, officials in Baghdad said this week. The contributions of the units vary, but all are participating in operations. The Iraqi ministries of Defense and Interior have developed readiness assessment criteria for units. Much like the readiness assessments for the U.S. Army, the criteria measure capabilities in six different areas: personnel, command and control, training and mission-essential tasks, sustainment, equipment, and leadership. Different readiness levels indicate different capabilities. Level 1 is the highest rating, where units are fully independent in all aspects. This includes...

Israeli-Arabs played a major role in the Oslo War, with 236 involved in various terror attacks that killed 136 and wounded 790 since the beginning of the terror offensive in September 2001. In 2004 alone, 50 Arabs with Israeli citizenship were part of 25 terror cells uncovered by Israeli security forces. One of the most recent cases was that of Ashraf Kaisi, an Israeli-Arab from Baka al-Gharbiya who took a major role in the most recent attack. He transported the suicide terrorist bomber to the Stage Club on Tel Aviv’s beachfront several weeks ago, after having helped him choose the...

SACRAMENTO — State Senate leader Don Perata officially unveiled legislation Wednesday to fund huge Bay Bridge cost overruns and other seismic-retrofit needs throughout the state with a multibillion-dollar bond that would go to voters. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has indicated he would consider Perata's Essential Facilities Seismic Retrofit Bond. Both developments, foreshadowed by the Oakland Tribune last month, could lead to the bond's being placed on the expected November special election ballot. But at the same time, the Republican governor has told the Democratic Senate president pro tem from Oakland that he is still interested in replacing the single-tower suspension span...

NO POLITICAL BIAS--none at all.Is CBS wise to insist that there was no political bias involved? So says the independent panel that CBS News asked to find out what went wrong with its infamous Sixty Minutes Wednesday broadcast concerning George W. Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard. "The panel," says its 224-page report, "cannot conclude that a political agenda at 60 Minutes drove the . . . segment." Why not? Certainly the panel could have drawn that conclusion had it uncovered "smoking gun" evidence--such as an anti-Bush or pro-John Kerry email written by, say, the producer, Mary Mapes....

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Newlywed Gays Brave Critics in Search of Security Fri Mar 12, 3:43 PM ET By Teresa Carson PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) - Daffodils line the walkway, a tricycle sits by the front door and family photos are proudly displayed on the shelves in the house where two-and-a-half year-old Avery is trying to finagle himself a cookie. This tranquil domestic scene belies the turmoil, including death threats, lawsuits, Bible thumping and a bitter national debate prompted by this family and others like it. Avery's parents, both women, just got married. Kelly Burke, 34, and Dolores Doyle, 38, have been together for 16...

Saddam 'actively involved' in directing attacks on the US forces By Philip Sherwell in Baghdad (Filed: 21/12/2003) Saddam Hussein was personally directing the post-war insurgency inside Iraq, playing a far more active role than previously thought, American intelligence officers have concluded since his capture. Despite the bewildered appearance of the deposed dictator when he was hauled from his hiding-hole last weekend, he is believed to have been issuing regular instructions on targets and tactics through five trusted lieutenants. US soldiers arresting former Iraqi officers and Ba'ath party members in Tikrit last month This conclusion could have serious implications for his...

A few months ago, Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham was denouncing the very idea of National Missile Defence. Now he, Defence Minister John McCallum, and even Prime Minister Jean Chrétien have been making noises that suggest Canada will buy into the Americans' plan for a continental missile protection plan. What's changed? The first point that is clear is that U.S. President George Bush, his determination no longer in doubt after the Iraq war, is going to press ahead with development of a small National Missile Defence (NMD) system and has made plans for initial deployment by 2005. No effective NMD...

GUEST OPINION It's your call Get government out of licensing or lose more freedom By BILL O'NEILL Charlton Heston, president of the NRA, lectures to college students: "I submit that you and your counterparts in colleges from coast to coast also appear to be the most socially conformed and politically silenced generation since Concord bridge. And so long as you shrug your shoulders and abide by it, then by the standards of your grandfathers, you are cultural cowards." It takes years of indoctrination to trick kids to sacrifice themselves to government. Public education, i.e., government training of children, always has...