Free Republic

Philips picks blue lasers for itty-bitty discThu Jun 20, 2:40 PM ETRichard ShimConsumer-electronics giant Philips is demonstrating a prototype miniature disc drive that uses a coin-size disc capable of storing nearly twice as much data as a standard-sized CD. The drive uses 3cm discs that can store up to 1GB of data. Typical CDs, measuring 12cm in diameter, can hold up to 650MB of data. The prototype drive measures just 5.6 by 3.4 by 0.75cm--suitable for use in portable devices such as digital cameras, handhelds and cell phones--but the company is continuing to work to shrink the drive. Philips issued...

What's a Military Family Worth? by Rush Limbaugh, March 11, 2002 I think the vast differences in compensation between the victims of the September 11th casualty, and those who die serving the country in uniform, are profound. No one is really talking about it either because you just don't criticize anything having to do with September 11th. Well, I just can't let the numbers pass by because it says something really disturbing about the entitlement mentality of this country. If you lost a family member in the September 11th attack, you're going to get an average of $1,185,000. The range...

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Brazil on Thursday became the 69th country to ratify the treaty establishing a new and permanent International Criminal Court to pursue heinous wrongdoing such as genocide and war crimes.Brazilian U.N. Ambassador Gelson Fonseca deposited the ratification papers during a ceremony at U.N. headquarters, following their signing on June 12 by Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso.Ratification "reaffirmed Brazil's commitment to the tribunal as a milestone in the protection of human rights and in furtherance of international peace and security," Brazil's U.N. mission said in a printed statement.The court, to be based in The Hague, Netherlands, will not...

JUSTICES SAY RIGHTS VIOLATED, TOSS DRUG CONVICTION Drug task force detectives violated the constitutional rights of a Decatur man convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday in tossing out the conviction. James Patrick Keenom's appeal of the 2001 conviction, for which he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, contended that Benton County Circuit Judge Tom Keith should have granted Keenom's motion to suppress evidence obtained by the detectives. Keenom said they violated his Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure by authorities. The high court's 5-2 decision agreed. Keenom was arrested the night of March...

Israeli TV to Air Fox News After CNN Bias Charge, Ha'aretz Says Tel Aviv, June 20 (Bloomberg) -- Yes Ltd., Israel's satellite broadcaster, will air News Corp.'s Fox News as an alternative to AOL Time Warner Inc.'s Cable News Network because of complaints that CNN is biased, Ha'aretz said, citing the Israeli company. Yes will continue its CNN broadcasts. Its decision to air Fox News follows published remarks by CNN founder Ted Turner, equating both Palestinian suicide bombings and Israeli air raids on the West Bank as forms of terrorism. Turner, the vice chairman of AOL Time Warner, said in...

Snelling Considers Leaving GOP -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BY PETER FREYNE Email Peter! First it was U.S. Sen. Jim Jeffords rocking the political world a year ago with his departure from the increasingly far-right-wing Republican Party. Now Seven Days has learned another prominent Vermont Republican is considering doing likewise. When asked this week if she would stand for reelection as a Republican, Chittenden County State Sen. Diane Snelling told us she is “reviewing many options.” She said there were a lot of times this past session “when I wasn’t as comfortable as I wanted to be in the [Senate] Republican caucus.” Consider that...

The Board of Supervisors in Fairfax County, Va., recently passed a measure that limits the portion of a home's front yard that can be paved for a driveway to 25 percent (30 percent for very small lots) and also prohibits parking on the homeowner's grass. Why are too many cars on a lawn a problem? According to one county supervisor, "It tends to suddenly make the neighborhood look commercial rather than residential . . . and it has a profound affect on the quality of a neighborhood." The president of the City Park Civic Associated said, "Neighborhoods like ours, older...

Thursday, June 20, 2002 State Duma Passes Bill for Investing PensionsBy Torrey Clark Staff Writer The State Duma on Wednesday passed a pension bill in the crucial second reading that sets out the instruments into which a portion of pensions can be invested.The current pay-as-you-go pension system -- already under strain -- is a potential time bomb because the working population is shrinking as the retirement-age population swells. The government hopes to avert a disaster by moving partially to an investment-based system, which could also inject billions of rubles into the capital markets. The bill needs to pass a third...

Thursday, 20 June 2002Trade Deficit: Globalists Win-American Working Families Lose Boulder, CO — The newly formed America First Party is deeply saddened, but unsurprised to see the April trade deficit rise to an all-time record high of $35,900,000,000.00 (35.9 billion dollars). "That is a whole bunch of zeros stacked up against America's working families. Those who support global free trade instead of fair trade had another win in April, they got exactly what they want: dollars taken from the back pockets and kitchen tables of everyday Americans and sent overseas. If our elected politicians are unwilling to recognize that they have made...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. June 21 — Two brothers were convicted Friday of helping run a North Carolina-based support cell that funneled cigarette-smuggling profits to the militant group Hezbollah. Mohamad Hammoud, 28, accused of being the leader of the cell, was convicted of 16 counts that included providing material support to Hezbollah. Chawki Hammoud, 37, was found guilty of charges including cigarette smuggling, credit card fraud, money laundering and racketeering. Jurors deliberated 21 hours over three days. On Friday afternoon, they told the judge they were deadlocked on one count, a charge that Mohammad Hammoud conspired with others to provide material support...

Mothers in Prison Losing All Parental Rights June 21, 2002 by Ann Farmer, Women's Enews Dial up Michelle Spruill and her gentle voice recording tells you that "if you ever need a helping hand, you can find one at this number." On her other line she signs off, "God loves you and so do I." Knowing that Spruill reluctantly gave up two sons for adoption two years ago, a recent caller can't help wondering if the messages aren't somehow intended for their ears. In late 1996, Spruill began serving a five-year sentence in an Illinois prison for various property crimes...

For Gary Drew, the message matters more than the money. Drew is one of the top drivers at Oxford Plains Speedway, with designs on winning his first Pro Stock title at one of New England's most hallowed short tracks. Despite winning the Oxford True Value 250 a year ago, Drew was in the market for a new primary sponsor during the off-season. If you don't have consistent sponsorship in auto racing, you can't have consistent success. What Drew got was a symbiotic match. Before the season, Drew reached an agreement to drive for Kick Butts Racing, a promotional arm of...

Club bans Boy George over fight by Richard Simpson Boy George has been banned from a gay club in Soho after knocking out a manager in a fistfight - the second time he has floored a man in bare-knuckle dust-up in the last two days. Boy George: trouble flared after the star was not recognised More on this Story Noel pours his heart out (20 Jun 2002) The former Culture Club frontman - who in recent years has made a fortune as a superstar DJ at club residencies around the world - was thrown out of Wardour Street's Sweet Suite...

A trend has developed in the news business over the past few years to report forest fires, any forest fire. In fact, forest fire news is so popular that it has become the land-locked equivalent of reporting every shark attack. Why, if it weren't for forest fires and shark attacks most of the cable news outlets would go out of business. It is almost a rule of thumb that the more forest fire and shark attack news you get, the farther out we are from Sept. 11. I'm not sure, but I think we are supposed to get the idea...

LAND OF FEAR: AMERICANS SEE FOURTH OF JULY TERROR LIKELYFri Jun 21 2002 18:13:17 ET Half of Americans (57%) surveyed by TIME magazine and CNN believe a terrorist attack on the 4th of July is very or somewhat likely (13% and 44% respectively; 11% say "not at all likely," 27% say "not very likely"). Americans think that overall, the U.S. has risk of a terrorist attack is "high" (39%) or "significant" (29%). Americans favor Tom Ridge over Rudy Giuliani to head a new cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security. The current director of the office of Homeland Security gets 39% support,...

Clinton Pays Kendall But Stiffs Bob Bennett Not all legal bills are created equal—at least in the view of Bill and Hillary Clinton. The high-powered couple are paying off their seven-figure debt to Williams & Connolly lawyer David Kendall but still owe Skadden, Arps lawyer Bob Bennett more than $1 million. The Clintons have been making monthly payments to Williams & Connolly with income from book deals and speech fees. They had no choice: The firm told the former president that he couldn't continue to use the services of W&C attorney Bob Barnett, who handles Bill Clinton's business deals, unless...

MOSCOW (AP) - Hunted down by the U.S. Navy off Cuba during the 1962 missile crisis, a furious Soviet submarine commander ordered a nuclear-tipped torpedo armed for action but then controlled his anger and brought the sub to the surface, where American ships were waiting. The previously unknown incident - which might have pushed the two superpowers closer to nuclear war - is disclosed in a book released this week. The book, written by Russian journalist Alexander Mozgovoi, tells the story of four Soviet submarines engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with the U.S. Navy off Cuba at the height of...

<p>WASHINGTON — Senate leaders neared agreement Friday on a deal to speed confirmation of some of President Bush's judicial nominees in exchange for putting an aide to Majority Leader Tom Daschle on the Federal Communications Commission.</p> <p>"We've made substantial progress," Daschle said of negotiations over the past few weeks, including a meeting Thursday with White House officials.</p>

Audiogalaxy is no more.

Turk bank seizure blow to political nepotism-analystsMark Bentley, ISTANBUL, June 20 (Reuters) - The seizure by Turkey's bank watchdog of Pamukbank, the country's seventh largest bank, is a blow to political nepotism in the crisis hit economy and another victory for Economy Minister Kemal Dervis in his reform quest, analysts said. The state sponsored banking watchdog has already seized 19 private banks, which were at the heart Turkey's recent financial turmoil, though the sale or closure of some of them has been delayed by court appeals filed by owners or employees. But the latest seizure set a landmark: Pamukbank was...