Free Republic

WASHINGTON – Falling power prices, turmoil in the energy industry and concerns about state involvement in the electricity market have slowed the development of power plants in California, according to a congressional study released yesterday. But state officials disputed some of the report's assertions, saying dozens of plants had come on line or were in the works. Fifty-nine proposed power plants, representing 11,500 megawatts of generation, either were canceled or postponed as of December 2001, according to the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress. A megawatt can power 750 to 1,000 homes. But Steve Maviglio, a spokesman for...

Arab NewsSAUDI ARABIA'S FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=16328 Psychological warfareBy John R. Bradley, Arab News Staff Published on Tuesday, June 25, 2002 JEDDAH, 25 June — A number of Western cells are presently operating in Saudi Arabia, both overtly and covertly, and have launched periodic assaults on the youth of the Kingdom in the months since the deadly Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.It is time that this matter was addressed with the sense of urgency and outrage it warrants.The Westerners who make up these cells are experts in psychological terrorism.Although there is reportedly intense rivalry among them,...

Tougher Sentences OK'd in Gun Crimes Mon Jun 24,10:46 AM ETBy GINA HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - A sharply divided Supreme Court ruled Monday that judges can lengthen the prison sentences of people who use guns while committing other crimes, even if the defendant hasn't been convicted of any charge specifically involving the weapon. With the 5-4 decision, justices avoided a ruling that could have threatened prison sentences of thousands of inmates and put in doubt sentencing laws in nearly every state. At issue was federal prosecutors' practice of winning convictions for crimes such as drug dealing, then...

<p>WASHINGTON — South African politicians are accusing American charitable dollars of helping to promote oral sex between teenagers in their country.</p> <p>They say the country's leading AIDS charity, bankrolled by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Kaiser Family Foundation, has told thousands of teenagers to engage in oral sex in a bid to halt the spread of HIV, an epidemic that has infected one in five adults in South Africa and is expected to leave one million orphaned by the end of 2005.</p>

<p>LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Actress Jennifer Aniston's lawsuit against two magazine publishers for printing unauthorized photos of her sunbathing topless will proceed next week without a jury, the judge ruled Monday.</p> <p>U.S. District Judge Ronald Lew said he would conduct a court trial and render a verdict himself - which is permitted for civil cases under federal law - because Aniston's lawyers failed to demand a jury when the lawsuit was filed in 2000.</p>

<p>SALT LAKE CITY — Police investigating the abduction of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart are asking the public for information regarding three vehicles that a handyman who used to work for the girl's parents may have been driving.</p> <p>The cops told Fox News that Richard Albert Ricci, 48, who has failed a lie-detector test in the case and has confessed to burglarizing the missing girl's home last year, may have had access to the three cars.</p>

Sunday, June 23, 2002 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal COLUMN: Vin Suprynowicz 'You are not to reference the Constitution ... ' Protesting a Denver ordinance against bearing arms, business owner and Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Rick Stanley late last year strapped on a hip holster bearing a .380 Beretta (fellow protester Duncan Philp chose a shoulder rig) during a Dec. 15 rally celebrating the 210th anniversary of the Bill of Rights. He'd advertised what he was going to do and invited Denver police to come get him. They did. He was peacefully arrested by 18 officers, and brought to...

UNITED NATIONS, June 25 (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned on Tuesday that President George W. Bush's call for Palestinian elections could backfire by producing a more hard-line leadership than was now in charge. Annan said there were also key gaps in the Bush plan that Washington's international partners must now help fill in, including what to do while awaiting the new Palestinian leadership that Bush has demanded. "There's been a call for a new Palestinian leadership. What happens between now and until a new leadership exists? Do we work with the government that we have, or do we...

VIENNA (Reuters) - The United Nations ( news - web sites)' nuclear watchdog Tuesday warned that radioactive materials needed for a "dirty bomb" could be found in almost every country and more than 100 states had inadequate controls to prevent their theft. Since the hijack attacks in the United States on September 11, fears have grown that radical groups could acquire nuclear materials to make dirty bombs, crude devices using conventional explosives to spread radioactive material. Two weeks ago, U.S. authorities said they had foiled a plot to explode a dirty bomb in the United States. "What is needed is...

U.S. President George W. Bush has been adamant since Sept. 11 about stopping terrorism, but he took a firm step in the opposite direction in his speech yesterday. He should have told the Palestinians clearly and unequivocally that their 21-month campaign of violence against Israel is unacceptable and must conclude before any discussion of rewards can be started. Instead, the President outlined his vision for a "provisional" Palestinian state and demanded an end to what he called "Israeli settlement activity in the occupied territories." Both of these constitute very major benefits to the Palestinians; as such, they represent rewards for...

On June 19, 2002, the Palestinian daily Al-Quds published a communiqué regarding Palestinian martyrdom attacks. The communiqué was signed by 55 prominent Palestinians, among them Sari Nusseibeh and Hanan Ashrawi. Two days later, the communiqué was reissued with modifications and additional signatures. Additionally, an English translation was published in The Jerusalem Times (Palestinian Authority), on June 20. The following is the text of both issues of the communiqué as well as reactions of Palestinian public figures:(1) Communiqué: First Release "A Call:""Out of our national responsibility, and due to the gravity of the situation the Palestinian people is in, we, the...

Performances by Rosie O'Donnell, Cher, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and more guaranteed to bring the house down UNCASVILLE, CT – May 30, 2002 – Some of the music industry’s greatest legends will be under one roof June 21st-23rd to help Mohegan Sun, the East Coast’s extraordinary entertainment and gaming destination, celebrate the grand opening of its luxury Mohegan Sun hotel and Elemis Spa at Mohegan Sun. Performances by Rosie O'Donnell, Cher, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and The Blues Brothers are all part of the weekend festivities expected to attract celebrities, VIPs and high rollers alike. “We’re excited to play...

June 25— JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel beamed a new Arabic-language satellite channel to the Arab world Tuesday, launching an uphill battle to win over regional public opinion inflamed against the Jewish state by a Palestinian uprising. Israeli media experts and government officials believe Israel is lagging far behind in what they see as a "Cold War"-style propaganda war being waged on state-owned Arab satellite TV stations beaming throughout the Middle East.The Israel Broadcasting Authority's new Middle East Channel is up against some 140 Arab satellite channels that Israel says promote a 21-month-old Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation."The idea is ......

RENO, Pa. -- A fire at a Venango County gas plant was still smoldering this morning but residents of nearby homes were allowed to return and Route 8 has been reopened. As many as 25 explosions and a fire struck the Goss Gas plant around 8 last night. The blasts at the plant, which produces propane, critically injured three workers. They were identified this morning as Eric Graham, 26, of Franklin, who has burns over 25 percent of his body; Valerie Sutton, 26, of Oil City, burns to 16 percent of her body; and Mitchell Eismont, 22, of Franklin, burned...

Cato Policy Analysis No. 443 June 26, 2002 Breaking the Vicious CyclePreserving Our Liberties WhileFighting Terrorism by Timothy Lynch Timothy Lynch is director of the Cato Institute's Project on Criminal Justice. Executive SummaryWhen terrorists perpetrate atrocities against innocent American civilians, the public response is initially one of shock, which then quickly turns into anger. It is also common for people to experience a deep sense of anxiety in the aftermath of such attacks—especially as they hear poignant stories about fellow citizens who were so suddenly and unexpectedly killed. Such stories are a harsh reminder of one's own mortality and...

Las Vegas Terror Threat Update - An Interview with the Man Who Heard the Call by J.J. & Nancy Johnson Published 06. 24. 02 at 10:14 Sierra Time FBI News Release, June 21, 2002: "The FBI's investigation into the allegations made by Michael Hamdan is substantially complete. The remainder is expected to be concluded in the next several days. Results of the investigation to date do not substantiate these allegations and the FBI has determined that this information is not credible." Hamdan sits with J.J. Johnson Sierra Times Photo Yet Michael Hamdan, 54, is sticking to his story -...

In an effort to erase a growing disparity in voter turnout that has alarmedGOP strategists, the Republican National Committee has developed an elaborate new get-out-the-vote plan and is trying to convince state parties to put it into practice.The plan, which has the backing of White House strategists, is noteworthy both for its breadth and for the elaborate research on which it is based.While many of the results were not surprising — additional manpower can turn out potential voters, and sharper, customized voter contact messages will increase participation, etc. — the results could help national party officials sell their state affiliates...

Photo radar van snaps a biggie: patrol division bossBy MARK FREEMANMail Tribune Zipping along South Holly Street on May 28 in his white Pontiac, Tim George didn’t see the little orange sign warning that he was headed for a new kind of Medford speed trap. George noticed the white van with the radar gun and the large speed sign just as he drove into range of Medford police’s newest traffic-enforcement device — the roving photo-radar van. "I saw them take my picture, said George, 46, of Medford. "I knew they had me." Just 15 minutes into its first shift nabbing...

The e-mail message that set off a chain of sales of ImClone Systems Inc. stock last year andeventually led to the arrest of its former chief executive explicitly said the company's cancer drug, Erbitux, was about to be rejected by the Food and Drug Administration. A Dec. 24 e-mail message to Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. executives from a Washington lawyer cited an FDA official as saying that bad news was coming, in the form of an FDA document called a "refusal to file letter" or "RTF" -- effectively, a rejection notice. Bristol and ImClone were partners in developing Erbitux. "I have...