Free Republic

When I left Moscow as a teenager in 1980, the Soviet regime seemed eternal -- virtually impervious to internal change or external defeat, at best containable in its imperial ambitions. When the changes then known under the blanket term glasnost began toward the end of the ’80s, my first reaction was that all the talk of reform and openness was just a cosmetic gloss for Western consumption. However, a few years and five trips to my former homeland later, I was inclined toward a new conviction: Whatever happened in Russia, good or bad, there was no going back to the ...

<p>ATLANTIC CITY -- Acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco told an audience at a racial profiling conference Monday he fears racism may have played a role in public opposition to a sports arena in Newark.</p> <p>DiFrancesco's spokesman, Tom Wilson, promptly clarified the governor's remarks to say he did not intend to suggest any critics of the arena deal were driven by bigotry. Such critics include Republican gubernatorial candidate Bret Schundler, who wants voters to approve the arena first in a ballot referendum.</p>

MIAMI (AP) - A fired Miami police officer suspected in a string of deadly shootings and wrongdoing was ordered jailed until trial Monday after prosecutors warned he might intimidate witnesses. Jesus Aguero is the only one of 13 current or former members of special Miami police squads to be detained. All have been charged with planting guns at crime scenes and covering up four questionable police shootings that left three people dead. Aguero fired shots in two of the shootings and allegedly pocketed guns for later use as "throw-down" weapons, prosecutors say. Defense attorney Hugo Rodriguez said the government's case ...

LOS ALTOS, Calif. -- Although an increasing majority of American mothers with infants also work, parents continue to tell pollsters it's better for dad to earn the money and mom to stay home with the children.Reflecting a trend of recent decades, two-thirds of mothers with children younger than 6 were employed in 2000, according to a report released Monday. In 1980, fewer than half of such mothers worked.The report, "Caring for Infants and Toddlers," was primarily a review of published work by child care experts. It was issued by the Los Altos-based David and Lucile Packard Foundation.One of the ...

Monday September 10 8:28 PM ET Bonior Prepares to Step Down as House Leader By Thomas FerraroWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rep. David Bonior plans to announce on Tuesday he will step down in January as the Democratic whip in the House of Representatives, an aide said on Monday.Bonior's long-awaited announcement comes a month after he declared his candidacy for governor of Michigan, and will help set the stage for what may be the election of the highest ranking woman ever on Capitol Hill.Reps. Nancy Pelosi of California and Steny Hoyer of Maryland both claim to be within grasp of nailing down ...

<p>HOUSTON — Andrea Yates' ability to assist her attorney in her defense and to rationally and factually understand the case against her could be fragile and change no matter what a jury determines this week, legal experts say.</p> <p>Jurors were being picked beginning Tuesday to hear evidence if the Houston mother, accused of drowning her five children in the family's bathtub in June, is fit to stand trial.</p>

...On a Day when Congressman ~GARY CONDIT~ would not even show his face on the House Floor to introduce his own Bill before other Members of Congress with the Stanislaus County Grand Jury ~CONDIT~ Criminal Complaint Letter due in the Mail to JUDICIAL WATCH... ...JUDICIAL WATCH's Chairman LARRY KLAYMAN -&- Flight Attendant ANNE MARIE SMITH's Att. JIM ROBINSON will be Guest Appearing tonight... ...on CNBC/MSNBC-TV's ..'Rivera-Live'.. @ 6:00pm PDT - 9:00pm EDT...

It will be very easy for you to say, "Well, I will do something, some day. When I can afford it, I am going to." But would you let an old "grad" tell you one thing now? Giving is a habit. Get into the habit now, because you will never be able to afford to give and contribute, thus to repay the obligation you owe to those people who made this college possible, if you wait until you think you can afford it. Start now regardless of how small, and in the days to come when you are confronted with ...

MYSORE: The youth are now basking in the warmth of coconut groves and the pubs seem to be gradually losing their sheen.The neera (toddy) agitation launched by the farmers in Karnataka has come as a blessing in disguise for many youths who now choose to spend their weekends amid coconut groves sipping the latest `country drink' at cheaper prices.The students love to zip up 4-5 km on their bikes to farms and spend the whole day at makeshift pubs with farmers where they are provided with neera extracted from the coconut trees.``The business is flourishing so well that many farmers ...

W A S H I N G T O N, Sept. 10 — Months after Elizabeth Dole's name first surfaced as a possible Senate candidate from North Carolina, sources say the former presidential candidate is now ready to return to the campaign trail. ABCNEWS has learned Dole plans to formally announce her bid for the Senate seat now held by retiring Sen. Jesse Helms on Tuesday in her hometown of Salisbury, N.C. Since Helms announced his retirement last month, leading Republicans in Washington — from the White House to the committee charged with taking back control of the Senate for ...

Sep 10, 2001Russian Defense Minister Opens Door a Crack on Modifying ABM Treaty By Vladimir IsachenkovAssociated Press Writer MOSCOW (AP) - Russia might accept changes in the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty but will reject wording that would allow national missile defenses like the one the Bush administration wants to build, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Monday. "Theoretically, I do not exclude the possibility" of modifying the 1972 ABM treaty, Ivanov said in an interview with the Interfax news agency. However, he said the treaty's prohibition on establishing a nationwide missile defense must still stand. "When I say theoretically, I mean ...

In just eight years from 1992 to 2000, America witnessed perhaps the most successful pogrom against the culture of family in the past thirty years. The three leading players in this campaign of terror were the prima donnas of Il Villagio Familia. At the head of la familia was Dona Hillary!, and nearby, her intimates &#151; Capo Donna Shalala and Consigliore Janet Reno. Like-minded and agenda-driven, adroitly utilizing fear and intimidation, they deeply corroded the cultural and constitutional reverence for &#151; and confidence in &#151; the traditional family. Dona Hillary! revealed the agenda she had pursued for years when she ...

Does former Attorney General Janet Reno think her appearance Thursday in Waco, Texas, will be a good photo opportunity to bolster her bizarre decision to run for governor in Florida? She might be surprised. Young Conservatives of Texas and Citizens Organization for Public Safety announced plans today to stage an information campaign and protest when Reno speaks at Baylor University. On Wednesday, the groups will hold a "teach-in" (nicely appropriating a term from 1960s leftists) and screen Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Mike McNulty's "Waco: A New Revelation" and, after a question-and-answer session, his new short film, "The F.L.I.R. Project," which focuses ...

<p>When it comes to choosing a mate in the United States, men still have the upper hand — but not as much as they used to.</p> <p>There are still more women than men in America, but the gap is shrinking. According to the latest Census report, there were 138.1 million men in 2000, a 14 percent increase from 1990. Women numbered 143.7 million, a 13 percent increase from 1990.</p>

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The underage drinking case against President Bush's 19-year-old daughter Barbara was dismissed Monday after she completed community service and other requirements, a city spokeswoman said. Bush had pleaded no contest in June to a charge of minor in possession of alcohol. She completed eight hours of community service at Goodwill, attended an alcohol awareness class, paid $100 in court fines and stayed out of trouble for three months, city spokeswoman Patty Gonzales said. The charge will be wiped from her record, Gonzales said. Bush, who attends Yale University, and her twin sister, Jenna, who attends the ...

You can always count on human nature. Which explains what happened to the 20 bicycles that Florida State University bought last fall for anyone to use as free transportation around campus: All the bikes were stolen before the first semester was over. "I was very disappointed," said Laura Miller, FSU's acting director of parking services. "The program was a washout, unfortunately.” The bikes, all one-speed, unisex, bright yellow-painted cruisers, were purchased for $200 apiece. They were an effort to fight traffic congestion by encouraging students, faculty and staff to leave their cars parked when traveling across campus. The idea was ...

A TEXAS man who popped out for a fried chicken takeaway spent three days in a sewer after falling down a drain. Kevin Funchess had been planning to go on a diet when he had a craving for a late-night snack. While crossing a road he slipped down a storm drain and became wedged 3ft beneath the street. His head was jammed against the wall and his left side was pinned so that he could move only his right hand. The 41-year-old teacher had a mobile phone, but it was stuck underneath him. He heard it ring several times as ...

Who do you think is responsible for the current economic climate? Bush or Clinton Current results: Bush 47% Clinton 53 % Paste the following url in a new browser window to get to the poll http://www.msnbc.com/news/546681.asp Some other people have also expressed an interest in this poll HERE

Reparations clamor of dubious design Bruce Bartlett The recent United Nations conference on racism in Durban, South Africa, raised again the issue of reparations for slavery. This is an idea that was first developed last year by Randall Robinson's book, "The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks." Now, it seems, the issue has moved past compensating the descendants of slaves to compensating those who sold them into slavery in the first place. At the U.N. conference, some African leaders said that since slaves were forcibly taken from Africa, they deserve compensation for this loss. Among many problems with this argument ...

<p>AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- The underage drinking case against President Bush's 19-year-old daughter Barbara was dismissed Monday after she completed community service and other requirements, a city spokeswoman said.</p> <p>Bush had pleaded no contest in June to a charge of minor in possession of alcohol. She completed eight hours of community service at Goodwill, attended an alcohol awareness class, paid $100 in court fines and stayed out of trouble for three months, city spokeswoman Patty Gonzales said.</p>