Free Republic

...So it is no coincidence that when the opportunity arose, we chose the Pasvik River, the river that forms the border between Norway, Russia and Finland. For one simple reason: the Pasvik River alone tells the story not only of the High North, but also of the continent. Nothing less. We followed it from Lake Inari in Finland, where it originates, to Kirkenes, where it flows into the Barents Sea. From the depths of Lapland, where it tells History, to the Arctic Ocean, where it meets future. The Pasvik border can be summed up like this, stories of reindeer and...

Russian President Putin vowed to 'knock the teeth out' of nations who grab pieces of the state's vast territory Secretary of State Blinken warned Moscow the North Pole must remain 'free of conflict' at Thursday's summit His Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov hit back, saying the Kremlim saw 'no grounds' for conflict in the Arctic, but warned the West about militarising on Russia's doorstep and said the country would defend itself Comes as Russia revealed a massive polar military airbase, Nagurskoye, in the Franz Josef Land archipelago It has been heavily militarised with missiles, a radar system and a runway handling...

Hillary Clinton announced Friday that she wants to enlist 5 million new volunteers into a “national service reserve” aimed at 18- to 30-year-olds. “What if we strengthen the culture of service in America? So it wasn’t just something we did one day a year, but it became a regular part of our lives,” she asked in a Florida rally on the topic of national service Friday. The former secretary of state argued that her volunteer plan would help combat growing self-segregation in America, where people surround themselves with people who think, talk, look and read the same news as them....

<p>Today President Bush visits Michigan, where he'll promote his energy policy and in particular defend his modest revision of the nation's clean air rules. It's a good opportunity for the rest of us to revisit the distortions that have surrounded this subject.</p>

<p>The timing appears purely coincidental. But the Bush Administration couldn't have picked a better first response to the Great Northeast Blackout than the regulatory clarification the EPA is slated to unveil tomorrow. The refinements to the "new source review" (NSR) provisions of the Clean Air Act mean power generators will be able to maintain their facilities without fear of being hauled into court.</p>