Free Republic

Milk has become a luxury item in Cuba since Soviet subsidies dried up in the 1990s, leading to a shortage of quality animal feed and a disastrous decline in milk yields. Fidel Castro's government hopes to solve the problem by "resurrecting" a bovine hero of the Communist revolution - 17 years after its death.The daily milk yield of a cow called Ubre Blanca (White Udder) astonished and delighted Communist Party officials in the early 1980s. In 1982 it produced 110 litres of milk in a single day - four times the average - and instantly became a legend throughout Cuba....

The actions and internal documents of teachers unions reveal their intent to undermine charter schools.by Lynn Vincent "We’ve seen time and time again where school employees’ interests conflict with the interests of children," Mr. Riley said. "And it seems like the kids always lose." -- Kevin Riley Torri Hurst’s face is buried in a book. A 6th-grader at Robert Mueller Charter School in Chula Vista, Calif., Torri sports eye-glasses, a short afro, and a tall I.Q. At intervals, he raises his head to chat quietly with tablemates Carlos and Reuben. The book Torri holds inches from his nose is Lois...

In Praise of Vulgarity How commercial culture liberates Islam -- and the West By Charles Paul Freund Who will ever forget the strangeness of the first images out of post-Taliban Afghanistan, when the streets ran with beards? As one city after another was abandoned by Taliban soldiers, crowds of happy men lined up to get their first legal shave in years, and barbers enjoyed the busiest days of their lives. Only a few months earlier, in January 2001, dozens of barbers in the capital city of Kabul had been rounded up by the Taliban’s hair-and-beard cops (the Ministry for...

http://www.activedayton.com/auto_docs/epaper/editions/today/opinion_3.html We Can’t Escape World’s Dangers --Trading Liberties in Hopes of Finding security would Backfire on us. The headline at the top of the front page was ominous. "Poll: Most Americans would give up freedoms," it said. The accompanying article by the Associated Press cited a Gallup Poll that found that four of five Americans "would give up some freedoms to gain security" and that 40 percent of us worry that we or our families will fall victim to terrorism. Such is the state of anxiety in the wake of Sept. 11. What freedoms, exactly, would people willingly give up?...

Border governors flex influence muscle By Hernán Rozemberg The Arizona Republic June 23, 2002 12:00:00 Leaders from U.S.-Mexican border states said Saturday that last year's terrorist attacks created unprecedented interest in the region and now is their best chance to influence federal policy in both countries. Emerging from a series of closed-door meetings at the 20th Border Governors Conference in Phoenix, the representatives from Mexico's six border states said that for 19 years, they've seen little action taken in Mexico City after submitting detailed conference reports. This time, they say, they will insist on getting answers. Hotly debated issues like...

Everubody is asking what is the secret of life.I will say this..

Took Jasper to the Vet on Saturday. He always does the same thing when we’re waiting in the lobby: he faces the door and stands statue-still, as if he can will himself out of the room. He has a long history with this place, dating back to mere puppyhood - we’d had him just a week when he contracted parvovirus, which has mortality rate slightly higher than ebola. It was just awful. (You give your heart to a puppy right away - they’re much cuter than newborns, to be honest; less of a grumpy greasy beet-red Churchill factor.) We took...

The prosecution has finished up their third week in the case against David Westerfield. To review transcripts of the Preliminary Hearing (PH) or the trial Transcripts/DocumentsFor a look at the window screen that DW supposedly looked out to peer into the VD backyard. Bathroom WindowThe VD's backyardVD BackyardThe trial resumes tomorrow at 9:00am. The prosecution has said they will conclude by the end of the month (6/27).previous thread

PESHAWAR, Pakistan A mortar shell meant to be fired in celebration of a wedding in a Pakistani tribal area exploded prematurely Saturday, killing at least 25 people, including the bride-groom and many of his relatives, officials said. The blast occurred in the village of Korez, 180 miles south-west of the northeast Pakistan frontier city of Peshawar. Several people, including some children, were killed outright. Members of Pakistan's tribes often fire small and heavy weapons in the air to celebrate.

It's clear that Martin Sheen is a little confused in being able to separate his role as president on West Wing, and real life. Such as what he's said while campaigning for Janet Reno: "This is the most gratifying experience I've had since I became acting President." I remembered another politician he played in the movie Dead Zone. His character's name was Greg Stillson, first appears while running for the Senate (a campaign incorporating blackmail and intimidation might I add). Christopher Walken's character in Dead Zone becomes able to "read" a person's future by touching their hand. His visions are...

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) _ Consumer advocate and political activist Ralph Nader is scheduled to appear at the Coliseum in New Haven next week. ``The purpose of these events this year is to bring people together in cities across America, which is especially critical now,'' said Nader, the 2000 Green Party presidential candidate. New Haven is the 11th stop in Nader's ``People Have the Power Tour,'' sponsored by the nonprofit grass roots group, Democracy Rising, Nader's newest political organization. The group focuses on issues such as living wage legislation and ending corporate welfare. The New Haven event, set for 5...

<p>Where Would You Want Your $24 Billion in Taxes to Go? Speak up, it's your money, how many Americans have no "health care" or "medicine" they so desperately need?</p> <p>A bill sponsored by Senator Jeff Bingaman and Senator John McCain.</p>

A group of drinkers who congregate in a churchyard have asked bell ringers' to tone down the noise.They've told officials at St Peter's Church in south Croydon the sound is ruining their drinking sessions.Verger Geoffrey Hall says he couldn't believe it when they asked him for quieter bell ringing practice.He told the Sunday Mirror: "I said if they didn't like the sound of the bells, they could go somewhere else."Reverend Stephen Knowers has defended the drinking group and says they're good for the cemetery.He said: "They don't cause any trouble and discourage any serious problems, like vandalism, by being there."It's...

Prayers requested during week of 6/23/02 Urgent prayer request for Teacup, mini teacup, and sonPrayer request for potlatch and mother Prayers requested during week of 6/16/02 Continued prayers for Lex and familyPrayers for EggsAckley's mother and familyPraise report--Update on NatureGirl's father-in-lawPrayers for VaBthang4's stepfather GaryPrayer request for JoePrayers for JohnnyGage's sister-in-law AngelaPrayer request for gwmoore's fatherPrayers for the wife of a friend Prayers requested during week of 6/09/02 Continued prayers for Betsy and for LeeMcCoy and familyPrayer request for Megan who lost her brother last summerPrayers for best friend during lossContinued prayers for Elizabeth SmartPrayers for AKA Elena with health...

Sondra Solovay weighs just over 21 stones [294 lb]. She could be in better shape. But last week there was no time to worry about a distinct lack of pace as she attempted a headlong dash across an airport in southern California.Miss Solovay was late for her Southwest Airlines flight home to Oakland, near San Francisco. The Ivy-League educated lawyer, who had just addressed a civil rights conference, needed to get to her office for an important meeting with a client later that day.When she reached the airline's ticket desk she was out of breath, on time and rather...

After humans first set foot on the moon in 1969, most people assumed we had begun a sustained move outward. They were wrong. Or perhaps they were just early. No longer. With spaceports planned in Oklahoma and Tonga, a commercial space station in development by Mir Corp., and privately financed trips to the International Space Station a reality -- perhaps it is time to take a step back and ask whether humans should be in space at all. Patrick Collins, a British economist working in Japan, is certain that space commerce, driven by tourism, would bring the world unparalleled prosperity....

Report Says Islamic Militant Cell Plotted Attack on Bologna Church The Associated PressPublished: Jun 23, 2002 ROME (AP) - Suspected Islamic militants were plotting an attack on a northern Italian church that has been the subject of protests by Muslims in the past, a newspaper reported Sunday. The Milan daily Corriere della Sera said the San Petronio basilica in Bologna was targeted apparently because it contains a 15th century fresco that depicts Islam's prophet Muhammad in Hell, being devoured by demons. Last year, a group of Italian Muslims appealed unsuccessfully to the Vatican to have the fresco by Giovanni da...

<p>Morning television darling Katie Couric may be extra early to work Wednesday.</p> <p>That's when Couric may get to settle a score with one of the scheduled guests on "Today," conservative commentator Ann Coulter.</p> <p>Coulter is supposed to show up to promote her new, 205-page book, "Slander," which hits bookstores Tuesday. In the tome, she rips into A-list names from the worlds of media, politics and entertainment in her quest to expose "liberal lies about the American right."</p>

Just found out that the National Education Association is meeting next week, June 30 thru July 5, at the Dallas Convention Center. Does anybody here plan to be there to protest the NEA's policies?

BAGHDAD: Iraq will hold a popular referendum on October 15 to decide whether to renew President Saddam Hussein's mandate for a further seven years, an official newspaper reported. "The previous referendum on October 15, 1995, and the upcoming referendum on October 15, 2002, show the close relationship between the faithful Iraqi people and the great leader Saddam Hussein," Al-Qadissiya said. "What was achieved in the previous referendum and what will be achieved in the upcoming one will signal the failure of the aggressive and terrorist policy of the US administration," the paper said. The United States has repeatedly threatened to...