Free Republic

Workers face prospect of wage, benefit concessions or court-ordered cuts. First came the U.S. steel industry. More recently, money-losing airlines have landed themselves in bankruptcy court to cut labor costs. Now, Saturday's filing by auto parts maker Delphi signals that the U.S. auto industry has arrived at the same crossroads with it’s work force: agree to out-of-court concessions, or face the prospect of court-ordered cuts in wages, benefits and pensions. Delphi, a $29 billion industrial giant, has been struggling to make a profit since General Motors spun off its parts subsidiary in 1999. Last year, Delphi lost $4.8 billion; it...

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 9, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The first week of the Synod of Bishops focused chiefly on seven topics, foremost among them "the sacrificial dimension of the Eucharist," says a spokesman for the assembly. In fact, Benedict XVI dedicated his free intervention on Thursday to this question, said Isidro Catela, spokesman to the Spanish-language media. "Sacrifice" and "banquet" are the two recurrent concepts mentioned by synod members, said Catela. Framed in this context are "the experiences of contemporary martyrdom, not only of known persons but also of the daily suffering of so many people," he said. The second topic frequently...

University of Alberta researchers have proven the potential for constructing electronic circuitry on a molecular scale, a breakthrough that could shatter the limitations of conventional transistor technology and pave the way for smaller, faster, cheaper microelectronic devices. The report by National Research Council National Institute of Nanotechnology's Molecular Scale Development Group, led by U of A physics professor and iCORE Chair in Nanoscale Information and Communication Technologies Dr. Robert Wolkow, has been published in the June 2005 issue of the journal Nature. Wolkow said his team has proven that a single molecule can be controllably charged while all the surrounding...

The Times October 10, 2005 Ten arrested in raids against groups linked to al-Zarqawi By Daniel McGrory and Stewart Tendler ISLAMIC terrorist suspects arrested in a series of raids at the weekend are believed to be members of a group recruiting young Muslims in Britain to fight coalition troops in Iraq. The men, most of whom are thought to be Iraqi refugees living in the UK, are suspected of having ties to a group linked to alQaeda. The group is reported to have been plotting a wave of car bomb attacks across Britain and Europe. The arrests follow concern at...

From the Rev. Benjamin Bernier of Providence Reformed Episcopal Church in Texas, we have this excellent sermon, The Renewal of the Mind, which is based on Ephesians 4:17-32. There is much to like about this sermon, and I in particular liked this part, where Rev. Bernier talks about the dangers of those within the visible Church who still allow their hearts to be filled with unbelief, deception, and untruth:The Epistle lesson is an exhortation for Christians he is not speaking to the unbelieving gentiles. He is speaking to believers to whom in the beginning chapters of Ephesians he has summarized...

Fear is fast becoming a caricature of itself. It is no longer simply an emotion or a response to the perception of threat. It has become a cultural idiom through which we signal a sense of unease about our place in the world. Popular culture encourages an expansive, alarmist imagination through providing the public with a steady diet of fearful programmes about impending calamities - man-made and natural. Now even so-called high culture cannot resist the temptation of promoting fear: a new exhibition in the Museum of Modern Art in New York has the theme of 'The perils of modern...

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germans are expected to learn on Monday who will take charge of their country, after talks between Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and conservative rival Angela Merkel aimed at settling the bitter leadership feud. Schroeder and Social Democrat (SPD) chairman Franz Muentefering are to sit down for a third, and probably final, time from 11 a.m. (0900 GMT) on Monday with Merkel and her ally, Christian Social Union (CSU) leader Edmund Stoiber. The four party heavyweights ended a second round of discussions shortly before midnight on Sunday and left without saying a word. They had cautioned last week that...

Archbishop Robin Eames, Primate of Ireland, said Wednesday that he hoped Archbishop Peter Akinola, Primate of Nigeria, would reconsider recent actions which Eames said could damage efforts to keep the Anglican Communion intact. Eames made his comments during a question and answer period following the second of two lectures he presented at Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) in Alexandria , Va. The Communion's senior primate, Eames chaired the Lambeth Commission, a group formed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to help the Communion through a controversy over the role of gay men and lesbians in the Church. Akinola, who heads...

Merkel has worked out a deal with Schroeder after a close election. She will be the new chancellor come November. Here is an interview the FT had with her last July...this is our new ally in the WoT.The following is an edited transcript of the FT interview with Angela Merkel, Christian Democratic Union leader. FT: You have been in France recently. Was it a productive journey? Angela Merkel: I was in France. I spoke to the president, the prime minister and to the interior minister, but in the last case I was speaking to him in my capacity as chairwoman...

Capitalism 'causes natural disasters' From: Agence France-Presse From correspondents in Caracas October 10, 2005 VENEZUELAN President Hugo Chavez has blamed global capitalism for earthquakes hitting India, Pakistan and Afghanistan as well as for mudslides that have struck Central America and Mexico. On his weekly radio and television call-in program, "Hello, Mr. President," Mr Chavez said these catastrophes were nature's answer to the "world global capitalist model". "This model is destroying the world. The world is in danger. Never has there been such disasters, hurricanes, droughts, torrential rains. Incredible! The world is dangerously off balance," he said. Earlier yesterday, US television...

Germany's Rhein-Main Air Base Closing By MATT MOORE, Associated Press Writer 26 minutes ago The runways that once helped feed a blockaded Berlin, bade Elvis farewell after his Army service and provided the first glimpse of freedom for hostages returning from Iran now stand empty. A hub of U.S. military activity for decades, Rhein-Main Air Base is being given back to Germany and its logistical functions taken over by bases at Ramstein and Spangdahlem. Ceremonies set for Monday will mark the handover, which will take until the end of the year. "The mission has moved," said U.S. Air Force Col....

What is driving the search for new relationships in the Anglican Communion? What is driving the realignment of the Communion? Why have people been leaving their current relationships in the Anglican Communion, with their parish, bishop, diocese or province? The situation of the diocese of Recife is a classic illustration of the situation: here is a diocese which has oversight of parishes in the United States, but itself is now under the oversight of another province than the one where it is located geographically. Loss of Anglican Identity The drivers of this change are that people are being dispossessed...

Are you totally confused about the Miers nomination. Get the guide Pro and Con to help you out.

Just got back from the Georgia National Fair. Ahhhh, the fair. The addicting aroma of deep fried oreos, bratwurst, Indian tacos, caramel apples, assorted meats on a stick, 5 pound baskets of cajun fries drowning in melted cheese, and turkey legs, all set amidst a background of electronic sounds permeating from the midway, people lugging around massive stuffed animals won from a carnie game, barns full of goats and horses ready to be judged, and the most important thing of all: the commercial vendors. Here, in the vast confines of numerous warehouses, hundreds of vendors set up shop, peddling anything...

In what is becoming a familiar scene in courtrooms nationwide, information collected from a car’s “black box” was used to convict a motorist of criminal charges. On June 30, a Peabody, Mass., District Court jury found Michelle Zimmerman guilty of misdemeanor motor vehicle homicide in the death of her front seat passenger, Kenneth Carlson. The jury concluded Zimmerman was driving negligently when she skidded out of control and struck a tree on Jan. 4, 2003. Information collected from the event data recorder (EDR), or black box, in her GMC Yukon reported that Zimmerman was driving 58 mph in a 40...

Life and Liberty Ministries This years outreach at the Philadelphia Outfest went quite differently from last years event. We had a tremendous six-plus hours of ministry without interuption. The police worked with Repent America's Michael Marcavage to ensure that the outreach participants would be unmolested by some of the more hostile hearers. The preaching was powerful and thousands of the celebrants went home having heard the powerful message of salvation. Pray for those who stood around to hear the preaching, those who we had conversations with, and and those who were convicted by the large presence of Gospel messages on...

PRIMM, Nevada (Reuters) - A Stanford University team won a $2 million prize on Sunday for sending a modified Volkswagen across 132 miles of rugged desert, guided only by sensors and computers in a race the Pentagon hopes will lead to a technological breakthrough in warfare. Twenty-three driverless vehicles were sent into the Mojave Desert on Saturday in a race sponsored by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, known as DARPA. After extending the race a day to allow a slow-moving robotic vehicle to finish, the Stanford University vehicle, known as Stanley, was declared the winner of the Grand...

BASRA, Iraq The most powerful and feared institution here in southern Iraq's largest city is a shadowy force of 200 to 300 police officers, known collectively as the Jameat, who dominate the local police and who are said to murder and torture at will. They answer to the leaders of Basra's sectarian militias.

Brett Favre made the most of a makeshift offense and carried the Green Bay Packers to a much needed victory. Favre completed 19 of 27 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions in three quarters and the Packers earned their first win of the season by routing the New Orleans Saints 52-3 Sunday. After going three-and-out and giving up a field goal, Green Bay (1-4) scored 52 unanswered points in snapping a four-game losing streak at Lambeau Field that dated to last Dec. 12. Their 35-point first-half outburst was their biggest one-half output since Dec. 6, 1992,...