Free Republic

It´s one of the best kept secrets in America. Not the existence of a "shadow government" ready to keep the bureaucracy afloat in the event of tragedy. Not the location of key military command posts. Not the next strategic move in the War on Terrorism. No. The best kept secret in America, and nearly the only one we´ve got left, is Colonel Sander´s Original Recipe. The secret list of 11 herbs and spices that comprise the ingredients of KFC´s original recipe is more safely guarded than issues of national security. When Colonel Harland Sanders began franchising his chicken restaurant...

<p>A subdued House held an emotional memorial service yesterday for one of its own, Rep. Keith Westmoreland, R-Kingsport, who took his own life Wednesday night after three days of news accounts on charges he had exposed himself to minors.</p> <p>An arrangement of chrysanthemums and lilies from House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh stood on Westmoreland's desk at the rear of the House chamber, and someone had placed a cigar — Westmoreland was seldom seen without one — beside the flowers.</p>

<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) - An INS supervisor was indicted Thursday for allegedly smuggling Philippine immigrants into the United States through Los Angeles International Airport.</p> <p>Maximiano R. Ramos, 53, of North Hills, is a supervisory inspector for the Immigration and Naturalization Service and was stationed at the airport.</p>

WILDLIFE producers have since the beginning of the fast- track land reform programme lost up to 90% of their safari- hunting game and there has been a huge reduction in capture and translocation of wildlife, it has been learnt. Conservative estimates show that the country has lost about 50% of its wildlife and 65% of its tourism as lawlessness prevails on farms and conservancies. Addressing participants at the Wildlife Producers Association AGM last week, chairman Wally Herbst said the country had so far failed to capture animals for export. "There has been no export for some years, although accusations of...

The State Department has classified the United Nations treaty known as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) as a Category 3 (acceptable, ready for ratification, but a low priority). Ironically, this treaty discriminates against women - in particular, mothers, homemakers, poor women, or generally, women who do not buy into radical gender feminism. Though former president Carter signed CEDAW in 1980, it has not been ratified by the Senate -- for good reason. The treaty itself is highly objectionable, defining "discrimination" as "any distinction ... on the basis of sex," in "the...

<p>The sponsors of the popular "Tribute in Light" memorial hope to bring it back for the one-year observance of Sept. 11 and are seeking support from the victims' relatives.</p> <p>Frank Sanchez, executive director of the Municipal Arts Society, told The Post his organization wants to bring back the twin shafts of light that were lit on the six-month observance in lower Manhattan.</p>

The White House was appropriately miffed this week when someone on Capitol Hill leaked classified snippets of information to the media after a closed-door hearing probing the September 11 attacks. The classified briefing before the bipartisan House-Senate intelligence committee included testimony from Lt. General Michael Hayden, who heads the National Security Agency (NSA), the outfit whose mission is to monitor communications from around the world, break codes and make codes. Among the hundreds of thousands of messages captured September 10 were two hints that something might be afoot, Hayden is said to have told the panel. The next day,...

What do I have to do to get fired by the Aspers? I'm listless, I'm depressed, I've got self-esteem issues, the Viagra doesn't work. My wife lounges on the four-poster, reading Toronto Star editorials on freedom of the press and sneering, "Why can't you be a real man, like Russ Mills?" "Russ Mills? The CanCon instrumental artiste from Verdun who got to Number One in 1978 with Music Box Dancer and whose 1984 TV special, A Rocky Mountain Christmas, is still fondly remembered?" "That's Frank Mills, dummy. Russ Mills is the Ottawa Citizen publisher who got canned by David Asper...

A Snapshot of Budget Options Weekly Column: David Coffey, June 20, 2002 It was just a quick call with a simple question for an old legislative friend - a mid-state senator. But did I get an earful - 45 minutes worth! He was at home last Saturday, sipping his morning cup of coffee. I asked how one of the budget proposals would work over the long run. I learned that and much more. Now I'm wiser but sadder. Here's a snapshot of the options at play: 1. The Naifeh/Rochelle/Sundquist income tax (IT) provides the most money for the State and...

<p>The Police Department has requested $270 million from the Bloomberg administration to build a high-tech underground "bunker" in case of another terrorist attack, The Post has learned.</p> <p>"It would have all the gizmos," said one source. "Bomb-proof, disease-proof, you name it."</p>

WITH only 10 days before the permanent International Criminal Court comes into force, Zimbabwean exiles in the United Kingdom have formed an association to support relatives of the victims of President Robert Mugabe's rule and push for his prosecution. In an interview with the Zimbabwe Independent from London, a former student activist, who asked not to be named, confirmed that the Association of the Zimbabwean Relatives of Disappeared or Executed Political Activists was formed in the British capital last weekend. "I can confirm that such an organisation has been formed but I can't disclose everything about it because we are...

As yet another appalling suicide bombing takes place in Israel, killing 19 people and wounding dozens more on a bus packed with schoolchildren in Jerusalem--as Hamas claims credit for the massacre--America's policymakers still insist on seeking an "even-handed," diplomatic solution. In the past 18 months, Israel's six million citizens have suffered 12,480 terrorist attacks. They have buried more than 400 victims-a per-capita death toll six times that of America on September 11. Yet, in an abhorrent act of injustice, Israel continues to be pressured by the United States into making concessions to Yasser Arafat, the arch-patron of those terror...

Three and a half decades after the rise of the feminist movement, American gender politics have begun to come full circle. The feminist movement has always been aided by sympathetic men, and American women would never have come so far so fast without their support. While women still face many problems, those problems have received a fair and often extensive public hearing. Today, men's issues--principally fathers' issues--are where many of our nation's biggest gender inequities lie. And just as many men helped the women's movement, many women are stepping forward to help fathers, forming groups like Moms for Dads...

<p>BOGOTA, Colombia -- Every morning at 7, while roosters are crowing in the barrios, Miguel Abdala Macia comes to work in the rundown headquarters of his juice-making factory, Flor Viva, or Live Flower. He and his partners crank up their machines and begin producing and packaging tropical beverages, from passion fruit to pineapple.</p>

NEW YORK (AP) -- A man who came under intense scrutiny after he was arrested with a box cutter a day after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks pleaded guilty Thursday to credit card fraud charges. Syed Gul Mohammed Shah entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. His sentencing was scheduled for Aug. 15, when he would face a likely sentence of 12 to 18 months in prison. Shah, 35, of Hyderabad, India, admitted selling 15 fraudulent credit cards for up to $2,000 a piece on the black market. Another Indian man charged in the case, Mohammed Azmath, 37,...

(New York-AP) -- An employee at the John F Kennedy International Airport, his wife and another man have been arrested on charges of helping smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States. Police say they charged Sergio Salazar and Angelica Arce-Salazar, both of Queens, and Ramon Thomas Delacruz of Rockland County with alien smuggling today Prosecutors say 42-year-old Sergio Salazar was working for a food and beverages provider at JFK Airport, where he smuggled illegal immigrants through a private tunnel connecting international flights to an immigration inspections area. They say he would help them enter the corridor by unlocking the door...

<p>If Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill can bring rock-star Bono to Africa and Her Britannic Majesty can bestow a knighthood on Mick Jagger, it's hard to fault Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary-general, for establishing his own celebrity diplomatic corps. Certainly you can't beat the fringe benefits: Giorgio Armani, an "ambassador of goodwill" for the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, even designed special sweatshirts for the agency.</p>

Red Sox could sign Williams' son If inked, 33-year-old would likely play in rookie ball By Ian Browne / MLB.com SAN DIEGO -- The Boston Red Sox confirmed a story in Thursday's edition of the Boston Herald that John Henry Williams, son of legendary Hall-of-Famer Ted Williams, is on the verge of signing a minor-league contract with the team. "I can confirm that he had a tryout," said Red Sox spokesperson Kevin Shea, "and the signing is almost complete." The signing could be imminent, perhaps as early as Thursday night. However, the chance of John Henry Williams making the Major...

<p>"Media Mogul Mouths Off." That's a perfect tabloid headline for Ted Turner's recent remarks claiming that Israel has been "terrorizing" the Palestinians, for which display of dull-wittedness (only the latest of many) he's copped a fair old wallop in the press.</p>

(Newark, New Jersey-AP) -- The FBI says there appparently was nothing sinister about attempts by two Middle Eastern men to buy a fake ambulance. The attempted transaction, in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, promoted warnings that terrorists might try to use bogus emergency vehicles as weapons. The FBI interviewed one of the men, a maintenance worker, and found he wanted the vehicle to store tools in its compartments. The other man is to be interviewed tomorrow, but an FBI spokeswoman says the agency doesn't believe there is a terrorism link. The men offered to buy the ambulance from a firm that rents...