Free Republic

A decade ago, the social theorist Francis Fukuyama wrote a provocative essay titled "The End of History." In it, he argued that market economics and democratic politics were slowly sweeping the world and that their triumph would gradually erase most historic strife. It was a dubious prediction, but the phrase stuck. So let me modify it to suggest a less momentous change: The End of News. The Internet and the explosion of cable and satellite TV channels are blurring the boundaries between news and information. This does not mean the end of newspapers or TV news programs. It surely ...

OTTAWA (CP) -- The federal government is using a secret international computer surveillance network to collect personal information about Canadians, says a former Canadian spy. Canada is part of a Cold War-era electronic interception network, known as Echelon. Until recently the existence of the network, which monitors almost all electronic communications, was almost impossible to prove. But a report by the European Parliament, published May 10, detailed how Echelon works and how Canada is involved. The report, Development of Surveillance Technology and Risk of Abuse of Economic Information, describes Echelon as "part of the post-Cold War developments based on ...

House Rejects Gun Control Bill 2.44 p.m. ET (1844 GMT) June 18, 1999 By Laurie Kellman WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled House rejected a gun control bill Friday that would have lessened some current restrictions while imposing others. The vote against was 280-147. The bipartisan rejection came at the end of a tumultuous three-day debate as lawmakers struggled to respond to this spring's high school shootings in Colorado and Georgia. The vote leaves the fate of gun control legislation uncertain. The Senate last month approved stronger restrictions, and compromise talks with the House are likely to begin this summer. Most of ...

It All Began in a Place Called Hope by dead While surfing the web this morning, I came across this site It all began in a place called Hope.. It contained the following idiotic blather. I thought I’d share it with you all, and rile you up for the weekend.Italics mine. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Only 16 more years to puberty!" Bill Clinton was born (a poor black child, named) William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946, in the small town of Hope, Arkansas. He was named after his (purported) father, William Jefferson Blythe II, who (like dozens of other Clinton ...

Hatch asks why Justice put Starr probe on hold By Jerry Seper THE WASHINGTON TIMES he chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who has challenged a Justice Department ethics investigation of independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr, questioned Thursday why the department had delayed the probe. Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, Utah Republican, told Attorney General Janet Reno in a terse letter that a Justice Department decision to defer the inquiry until after June 30 when the Independent Counsel Act expires was inappropriate and that Mr. Starr "should either be exonerated or sanctioned in a timely fashion." "Delaying an inquiry into the ...

HELSINKI (Reuters) - U.S. and Russian negotiators Friday reached an agreement under which Russian troops will serve in an international peacekeeping force in Kosovo, a U.S. official said. The official, speaking shortly before a news conference by the U.S. and Russian defense ministers, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Russian Foreign Minister Ivan Ivanov, said: ``One can assume that agreement has been reached -- that is the reason for the press conference.'' No details of the accord were immediately available.

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) -- Marcy Palmer paces in the shade of a post oak tree. Two dozen people listen as she teaches the tenets of an ancient religion: ``We believe in the divinity of all things.'' ``We believe that we are all of one life force.'' ``We believe that we are one with nature.'' ``Know thyself.'' Scenes like this have rankled one congressman and triggered a debate about religious freedom within the military. That's because Ms. Palmer is a witch, the high priestess of a group that practices Wicca at Fort Hood with the knowledge and approval of the ...

Washington -- One of the great and anti-democratic goals of American Liberalism is to make public matters so complicated that the public despairs and transfers the matter at hand over to the liberal bureaucrats. Another of the great and anti-democratic goals of American Liberalism is to stand on both sides of every issue. Again confusing the public is the Liberals' desired end, all the better to control the public. On the matter of improved education, the Clintonian Liberal stands four square for educational standards. Yet now when it comes to the standards maintained by SAT college-entrance examinations, the Liberals ...

There has been a lot of chat on the radio about the constitutionality of the new 10 Commandments Law which passed Congress today. Something Limbaugh said sparked an idea. Since the 10 Commandments are really great rules to live by (considering the author, what did you expect), yet the anti-religious crowd want to ban them altogether. Herewith I submit a rewording of the 10 Commandments I believe the ACLU would have a difficult time arguing against. To wit: The Original (and best version): 1. You shall have no other gods besides me. 2. You shall not worship any idols. 3. ...

U.S., Russia call news conference for 1930 GMT HELSINKI, June 18 (Reuters) - U.S. and Russian negotiators will hold a press conference at 1930 GMT at the Finnish presidential palace following three days of talks on the possible use of Russia's role in the Kosovo peacekeeping force, a U.S. official said. The official declined to say whether an agreement had been reached, but said the news conference would include U.S. Defence Secretary William Cohen and Russian counterpart Igor Sergeyev, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari. 15:14 06-18-99 For education and ...

FreeRepublic.com/Judicial Watch Treason is the Reason Rally and Dinner FACT SHEET DATE: Saturday, July 24, 1999 PLACE AND TIME: Rally 12 noon - 2:30 pm — Lafayette Park Dinner (and dancing) 6:00 pm - 12:00 pm — Marriott Crystal Gateway RALLY: Lafayette Park — Speeches on knowledge of possible illegal transfer of military technology to Communist China. The peaceful protest will include attendees moving from Lafayette Park to the White House sidewalk and Pennsylvania Avenue. RALLY SPEAKERS: Larry Klayman (confirmed), Tom Fitton (confirmed), Ambassador Alan Keyes (confirmed), Blanquita Cullum (confirmed), Congressman Bob Barr (pending rally and dinner), Congressman James ...

A hostage standoff at the state's largest mental institution ended today with a fired employee killing one hostage and critically wounding the other after police broke a window to get a better look at him.Dennis Czajkowski, a former Norristown State Hospital nurse who had held the hostages - both nursing supervisors - since Wednesday, shot and killed Carol Kepner, 52, state police spokesman Robert Whitbeck said.Czajkowski wounded the second hostage, 37-year-old Maria Jordan, who was flown to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where she was in critical condition.Czajkowski, 40, was taken away by medical helicopter with unspecified injuries. ...

UN chief to travel to Russia and Britain next week UNITED NATIONS, June 18 (Reuters) - Secretary-General Kofi Annan leaves over the weekend for Russia, where he will meet President Boris Yeltsin, and then travels late next week to Britain to speak on AIDS and meet with British ministers. He visits St. Petersburg on Monday. On Tuesday he meets with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov in Moscow and the Russian Foreign Policy Association on Wednesday. He sees Yeltsin on Thursday as well as Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russia's special envoy for the Balkans, who convinced Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to accept a ...

OF SPIES AND LIES VEXING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ESPIONAGE CHARGES JUST LODGED AGAINST 13 IRANIAN JEWS . . . They are a tiny minority, the Jews of Iran. But ever since the Islamic revolution of 1979, they have drawn hostile attention from Iran's hard-liners. Last week the problem broke into the open: Iran acknowledged that it has arrested 13 Iranian Jews for alleged spying on behalf of Israel and the Unied States. Israel and the United States denied the allegations, saying they were without foundation, and called for the prisoners' release. US officials, who have been engaged in a delicate ...

SUMMIT NOTEBOOK: Rolling Stones, rolling in, as G-8 meets COLOGNE, Germany (AP) - If the Summit of Eight can't generate enough excitement in this city, a small collection of rock legends certainly can. As the leaders of seven leading industrialized nations and Russia met here Friday, the Rolling Stones arrived to conclude their ``Bridges to Babylon'' tour. And U2 frontman Bono planned to wrap a human chain around downtown Cologne. Bono was to arrive Saturday in hopes of delivering a petition to G-8 leaders urging debt forgiveness for poor countries. The Irish rocker, bandmate The Edge and other musicians also ...

INDIA DESTROYS PAKISTANI BASE IN POK, REGAINS 5 POSTS The Times of India Friday, June 18, 1999 India admitted to firing across the Line of Control (LoC) into Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) to destroy a Pakistani military base. The base had been providing infiltrators and Pakistani army regulars in the Kargil region with supplies in the conflict against Indian troops. The post, in Skardu, is opposite the Turtuk valley, which Pakistani troops tried unsuccessfully to capture just days ago. In a major series of offensives, India has also regained 5 military posts that were earlier in control of the ...

PALO ALTO, California--In an industry where doubling and tripling stock prices are as common as sudden, often irrational reversals of fortune, Internet watchers are not surprised by much anymore. But some of the most jaded among them are perplexed by the upcoming public offering of Salon.com. Salon, the San Francisco-based online magazine that has no profits and only a trickle of revenues, has been criticized for its shaky financial model as much as it has been praised for the thoughtful commentary it prints. Not only did Salon bring in a mere $3 million in revenue last year, but almost ...

Iraq said Friday that one person was wounded and buildings destroyed in the north of the country after attacks by U.S. warplanes.``The hostile formations attacked service targets and the bombing led to destruction of buildings and the injury of a citizen,'' the official Iraqi News Agency quoted an unnamed military spokesman as saying.The spokesman said Iraqi air defenses ``challenged them and forced them to depart our airspace into the dens of blasphemy in Turkey.''The U.S. Air Force European Command based in Germany said U.S. Air Force planes bombed Iraqi radar facilities east of Mosul Friday after being fired at by ...

Graduation speech censored Nicholas Lassonde's commencement speech has been cut short by school officials, who say he can't urge his fellow students to follow God. When the A-plus student gets up on the podium for Amador Valley High's graduation today he will give only half of his planned speech. After the first four paragraphs, he'll stop and announce that the rest has been censored. The censorship is especially dismaying, he said, because he planned the speech as tribute to his grandfather, who died Sunday. suppressed speech in full at -- http://www.deadmoose.com/speech

STUPID SOCIALISTS.....READ THIS.....