Free Republic

July 31, 2001 Gray at the end of the tunnel Tod Lindberg      PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Rolling blackouts, the bankruptcy of a major public utility whose stock was held in great quantity by pensioners looking for a safe place for their small nest eggs and the sudden depletion of an $8 billion state budget surplus: That is the legacy so far of the California power crisis. Because the effects were largely confined to one state (albeit the nation's largest and most important) and because of the sheer complexity of the developing crisis itself, it has been altogether too easy for outsiders ...

Search for Levy criticized The Washington Times www.washtimes.com Search for Levy criticized Jim Keary THE WASHINGTON TIMES Published 7/31/01      Two D.C. Council members yesterday criticized the Metropolitan Police Department's search for Chandra Levy, saying too many resources are being diverted to the missing-persons case.      "I wish we could find that missing woman so we could get our police officers back into the neighborhoods," said council member Kevin Chavous, Ward 7 Democrat. "The [police] chief is always saying the crime statistics show that crime is going down. They won't stay down with the [current] level of inattention. They will go ...

Hillary takes 'first stand' on Bush nominee The Washington Times www.washtimes.com Hillary takes 'first stand' on Bush nominee Audrey Hudson THE WASHINGTON TIMES Published 7/31/01      President Bush's appointment to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission is in trouble because of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign to derail the confirmation.      Dubbing the campaign "Hillary's first stand" -- because the New York Democrat until now has kept a low profile -- Republicans privately say Mary Sheila Gall may be the first Bush nomination to fail in the Democrat-controlled Senate.      A vote on Miss Gall's nomination is scheduled for Thursday in an ...

Tuesday July 31, 1:53 PM Russian bus hijackers demand release of Chechen prisoners MOSCOW, July 31 (AFP) - Two armed men who hijacked a bus with 40 people aboard in southern Russia Tuesday are demanding the release of five Chechens held in connection with a previous aircraft hijacking, security officials said, as quoted by the Interfax news agency. It was not immediately clear to which hijacking the hostage-takers were referring.

Waning surplus imperils defense The Washington Times www.washtimes.com Waning surplus imperils defense Dave Boyer THE WASHINGTON TIMES Published 7/31/01      The Senate's top Republican said yesterday that lowered surplus projections could force lawmakers to whittle President Bush's request for increased defense spending.      "If we don't have $18 billion, we won't do $18 billion," said Minority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi, referring to the administration's request for increased defense spending in the new fiscal year.      The Congressional Budget Office next month will release a revised forecast of the federal budget surplus for fiscal 2002, which CBO projected in January would be ...

Toyota faces Jackson's deadline The Washington Times www.washtimes.com Toyota faces Jackson's deadline Steve Miller THE WASHINGTON TIMES Published 7/31/01      Tomorrow is the deadline for Toyota Motor Sales USA to comply with the diversity demands of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who threatens a boycott of the Japanese automaker if his conditions are not met.      Toyota also is defending itself in a lawsuit brought by a friend of Mr. Jackson's, Greg Calhoun. The Alabama consultant and grocery mogul claims that Toyota's American office has failed to pay a $1 million service fee for the study of enhancing diversity at Toyota.      "We ...

ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) -- Some 500 protesters marched on the U.S. Consulate in this seaside city demanding $1.5 million in back pay for 10,000 Mexicans hired to work in the United States during World War II. As part of a 1942 agreement signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Mexican President Manuel Avila, U.S. officials temporarily hired 2.5 million Mexicans to till farmland, build railroads and staff factories in the United States while American men fought overseas. The protesters, made up of workers hired as part of that agreement and relatives of workers who have since died, on Monday ...

Contact: Edward Wright press@racing-rockets.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Rocketship Will Tour Airshow Circuit in 2002 Oshkosh, WI ‹ (July 28, 2001) ‹ X-Rocket, LLC announced today that the world¹s first rocketship act is now available for airshow booking and sponsorship. "The XCOR EZ-Rocket will tour the airshow circuit during 2002, giving millions of Americans their first chance to see a fully reusable, piloted rocketship in action," said X-Rocket president Edward Wright. "X-Rocket is proud to bring this act to the American public during the 2002 airshow season." The EZ-Rocket, built by Mojave, CA-based XCOR Aerospace, made its first test flight on ...

Ancient Peruvian Burial Stones Reveal Dinosaurs! Burial stones discovered in Peru were recently reported on Fox News Network's "Fox Report" with Shepherd Smith. Government archaeologists have found thousands of these stones which seem to depict dinosaurs.  The photo below shows a man riding a Triceratops and smoking a peace pipe! The second photo reveals creature that closely resembles an Allosaurus. Evolutionists teach that they became extinct some 65 million years ago. These smooth "river rock" were etched before the time of Christ.   Read the story Here See the enlarged photos   Triceratops! Allosaurus   Diplodocus In 1992 it ...

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Reuters) - Networking giant Cisco Systems Inc. (news/quote) (CSCO.O) said on Monday it was picked by China United Telecommunications Corp. (0762.HK) (CHU.N) to help China's No. 2 mobile telephone operator expand its communications network. San Jose, California-based Cisco said the expansion, valued at about $40 million, will include its routers, switches and access servers. The program will begin this month and will be rolled out over the next 12 to 18 months. The program will extend China Unicom's Voice-over-Internet Protocol (IP) communications network to more than 321 cities across 30 provinces in China, Cisco said. The new ...

-->   POLL ANALYSES July 31, 2001 Public Favors Bush's Faith-Based Charities Initiative Support strongest among Republicans, conservatives and churchgoers by Jeffrey M. Jones by author--> GALLUP NEWS SERVICE PRINCETON, NJ -- President Bush hopes to pass legislation that would give religious organizations access to federal grants to help them fund the social services they provide, what he calls "faith-based initiatives." For the most part, only secular groups can receive funds to assist in providing most social services, such as those to combat hunger, homelessness, and domestic violence. On July 19, the House passed a bill that would significantly ...

WASHINGTON (AP) Two Cold War spies one American, one Russian meet on a street corner in downtown Washington. They rendezvous in broad daylight, but they're headed to shadowy sides of the city. Their mission: Take people on a morning excursion to more than two dozen espionage sites in the nation's capital. Peter Earnest, a retired CIA case officer, and Oleg Kalugin, former head of KGB operations in the United States, are an odd couple from the odd world of spying. One-time antagonists, they conspire these days to show people Washington's premier places of intrigue and betrayal. For two hours on ...

It is clear that power and sex are a combustible mix. Long before Bill Clinton and Gary Condit spread their wings (and their seed) on the American landscape,soiling dresses and loosing women in the process,Washington has been well known for a long succession of tawdry affairs.From Fanny Fox and Wilber Mills to Anita Hill ,the public has been titillated with tales from the pubic regions...But now as in all things American ,sex has gotten clearly out of hand. It is one thing to castigate Republican Senators and ruin their careers for drunken smooches,it is quite another to have to pretend ...

EU group denounces U.S. spying E-mail, faxes being monitored Steve Kettmann, Chronicle Foreign Service Monday, July 30, 2001 ©2001 San Francisco Chronicle URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/07/30/BU225644.DTL Brussels -- Echelon, an alleged U.S. satellite surveillance system, is getting more and more attention from the rest of world, particularly European Union lawmakers. A year ago, when the European Parliament established a temporary committee to investigate Echelon, most Americans had not heard of the system. It is reportedly operated by the U.S. National Security Agency in association with the governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Governments are questioning what e-mails, ...

Harare (dpa) - President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU(PF) party won a crucial by-election in northern Zimbabwe Monday, state radio reported, at the end of a campaign marked by severe violence. Ruling party candidate Elliot Manyika, 46, was declared winner after counting for the constituency of Bindura about 100 km north of Harare. He won with 15,864 votes against 9,456 against Elliot Pfebve of the Movement for Democratic Change. A total of 25,849 votes out of about 50,000 registered voters were cast, including 529 invalid ballots.

Want some open season type FReepingGround? Try this one: FReeper Feeding Frenzy Central Unreal. PC/Racist/Liberal Crap/Environazis galore. Oh, and they have a nice break to the green link to the WH: Greenie Sobbing rag to The White House Enjoy. Forgive me if this has been posted before but it did not show up in an FR search. -djk

DENVER (AP) - Colorado corrections officials are investigating a youth camp where campers threatened counselors with rocks and sticks during a weekend outing. Camp officials said the incident occurred Sunday at a camp 35 miles south of Grand Junction, Colo. Counselors working for Alternative Youth Adventures of Loa, Utah, called sheriff's deputies for help. "The boys literally talked each other up and it escalated," said Ben Harris, the program's director. "They were saying stuff like, 'We'll bash your head in.'" The program is designed to rehabilitate youths convicted of nonviolent crimes. Judges send youths to the camps instead of sentencing ...

HOUSTON (AP) -- A criminal investigation was launched Monday after complaints that a county hospital district is forcing the public to fund non-emergency health care for illegal immigrants. District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal is investigating the Harris County Hospital District. The complaint was filed by the Young Conservatives of Texas. ''I commented to several people that, 'I can't proceed without a complaint,' but with all the attention I was sure I would get one,'' he said. The prosecutor said he agrees with an opinion issued by Texas Attorney General John Cornyn earlier this month on a 1996 federal law. Cornyn interpreted ...

LONDON (AP) - The creators of "Brass Eye" say it was satire of the media. Its critics, who have spurred the government into action, say the TV program about child sex abuse was sick. Scotland Yard, responding to public complaints, is reviewing a tape of the program. The result may be tighter regulation of Britain's television industry, which continues to press at the boundaries of taste in pursuit of higher ratings. Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, the Cabinet member whose department is responsible for broadcasting, said the Independent Television Commission needs more power to regulate commercial television. "If this is considered ...

Congressman Gary Condit will probably not take a police-administered polygraph test regarding missing intern Chandra Levy because the case is "past the polygraph stage," according to Executive Assistant Chief Terrance Gainer. "I don't think that [a polygraph] is going to happen," Gainer told CNN. Gainer also said that Condit "is not the central figure" in the investigation. Condit passed a privately-administered lie detector test earlier this month. That test, which Gainer subsequently described as "a joke and not worth anything," asked only three questions about the Levy disappearance. At the time, Gainer told Fox News that he did want Condit ...