Free Republic

WASHINGTON–Senator John Edwards on Wednesday said a federal appeals court was wrong to declare the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional. "America is one nation under God," Senator Edwards said. "This ruling is wrong." A 1954 act of Congress inserted the phrase "under God" after the words "one nation" in the pledge. The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the pledge violates the Constitution's separation of church and state only applies in the nine Western states that make up that San Francisco-based appeals court. It does not apply in North Carolina. Senator Edwards recites the pledge each morning...

Strippers, table top dancers and topless barmaids will no longer be completely uncovered after winning approval to form their own union.The Striptease Artists Association will immediately begin pushing for a national award to underpin wages and conditions in the raunchy industry.The new union, which gained registration from the Aussie Industrial Relations Commission this week, also wnat to improve workplace health and safety, citing injuries from slips on oily stages or trips from high heels. A spokeswoman for the SAA, who goes under her stage name of 'Mystical Melody,' says the union had been formed to protect young women from exploitation...

BUCHAREST, Romania (June 27, 2002 11:09 p.m. EDT) - The Internet's key oversight body is coming under fire from Europeans and others who want more independence from the U.S.-based organization. Domain name managers in some countries want more autonomy than the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, is willing to yield. Many, speaking at the organization's meeting here, have refused to pay membership dues. "Some of us feel that we should stand up for our reasonable rights and not give in to a U.S. corporation," said William Black, chairman of Nominet, which operates the popular ".uk" address...

— WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Forest Service and other agencies could need as much as $1 billion in emergency funds to cover the cost of fighting wildfires like those ravaging the West, senators said on Thursday. But budget pressures forced a key Senate committee to trim $217 million in extra firefighting funds from a spending bill for public lands in fiscal year 2003, likely foreshadowing coming battles with a White House eager to keep federal spending down in the face of mounting fiscal pressures.The Senate Appropriations Committee voted unanimously to clear the $19.3 billion bill, which funds many programs...

In her latest "NY1 For You,” Susan Jhun reports on some New Yorkers who work in the Chrysler building, where extra-tight security has had a negative effect on business. At ALCO Lock and Safe Company, they know all about tight security. But they also know that since September 11, security in their building is so tight that they say they're losing all their business. “Maybe 80 percent, 70 percent of the business comes from the walk-in people coming from the subway or going to the building,” said Alco manager Luis Perez, “and everything is sealed up and it's very hard...

I'm pretty sure I saw a headline somewhere to the effect that the Palestinian media did not broadcast Bush's June 24 speech live. Is this correct? If so, why? Was it broadcast later? I would very much like to know the answer for a personal discussion I am currently involved in. If anyone can help I think it will be of interest to many FReepers. Pardon my laziness in not researching this personally, but I just don't have the time right now to hunt down a definitive answer. BTW, the concluding paragraphs of Bush's speech underscore his desire to communicate...

Old Glory shall fly ever high / This is my pledge till I die/ Hear this voice filled with pride/ LONG LIVE AMERICA! This is the refrain to a patriotic song rarely heard but only recently getting more local attention in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ed Manuel is a Walnut Creek, CA. resident, onetime city of Hercules mayor who wrote the lyrics and melody to this wonderful and timely patriotic song. He is an American citizen who came from the Phillpines and penned this song because he truly loves the United States. He has no formal singing experience, but...

NEW YORK: Top banks from New York to Frankfurt to Tokyo are owed about $4.5 billion by telecommunications company WorldCom, which disclosed one of the biggest accounting scandals ever. But WorldCom's top bank lenders, including Bank of America Corp, JP Morgan Chase & Co, and Citigroup, have refused to give it any more money, according to a source close to the matter, in a move that pushes WorldCom closer to bankruptcy. Banks also had limited possible losses by parceling the loans out among themselves. Still, bad loans are a grave concern after a string of large US corporate bankruptcies and...

<p>A St. Augustine woman died Wednesday after running a red light, hitting two trees and crashing her car into a house, authorities said.</p> <p>The woman was about 80 but her name and exact age weren't released because her family hasn't been notified, said Kevin Kelshaw, spokesman for the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office. No one else was hurt.</p>

JAKARTA, Indonesia, June 27 — From South Korea to Indonesia, China is rapidly strengthening its economic presence across Asia, gobbling up foreign investment and chipping away at the United States' position as the region's economic engine. As it buys up goods, parts and raw materials from its neighbors as never before, China has accompanied its new heft with diplomatic efforts to assure them that it wants to offer cooperation, not competition. Many have rushed to China's embrace and are nimbly shifting their economic alliances, particularly as the United States makes its way through only a tentative economic recovery. "For all...

THE BABY SUICIDE BOMBER.. HAS IT COME TO THIS? Sickening! Baby Bomber

Savage and the Paul Revere Society are trying to bust up that 9th Circuit Court. This is actually a petition you can sign and get others to sign, as opposed to the ones online. This is worth a shot.

<p>A bill that would require the state Department of Education to study use of psychotropic medications among California public school children passed the Assembly Education Committee on Wednesday.</p> <p>Senate Bill 1289 would require that the study review the role of school personnel in recommending psychiatric drugs, such as Ritalin, to control a student's problem behavior, as well as what alternatives schools offer to address the problems.</p>

A threat by President George Bush to topple Yasser Arafat by starving the Palestinian Authority of cash made little immediate headway yesterday when the European Union released new funds to repair the damage caused by Israel's military invasions. Speaking from the G8 summit in Calgary late on Wednesday, Mr Bush said: "We won't be putting money into a society which is not transparent and [is] corrupt, and I suspect other countries won't either." The EU, which together with the Arab League has been keeping Mr Arafat's government afloat, will continue to provide €10m (£6.5m) a month to his administration, a...

HACKINGAussie hacker jailed for sewage attacksby Luke TaggPosted Thu, 01 Nov 2001A 49-year old Brisbane man has been sentenced to two years in prison for hacking into a local council's computerised waste management system, causing an environmental disaster which saw millions of litres of raw sewage spill into rivers, parks and the grounds of a Hyatt Regency hotel. Vitek Boden was found guilty on 30 charges involving computer hacking, theft and causing significant environmental damage after his exploits in March and April last year, in what is being described as the world's first environmental vandalism case. The Maroochydore District Court...

When he entered the NFL in 1985, Randall Cunningham hoped he would make it through seven seasons. He made it through many more than that. Finally, the official end of an often brilliant career came Wednesday, but in his heart, Cunningham figured his 16-year run was finished months ago. "I think I realized at this stage in my life I could continue to play another two years, but I wanted to do what was best for my life," said Cunningham, arguably the greatest player in UNLV history. "My wife is supposed to have a baby in October. I want to...

CLEVELAND -- The disappointing Cleveland Indians traded ace Bartolo Colon to the surprising Montreal Expos for first baseman Lee Stevens in a six-player deal Thursday night. The Indians sent Colon and a player to be named to the Expos for Stevens and three minor league prospects -- shortstop Brandon Phillips, pitcher Cliff Lee and outfielder Grady Sizemore. The Indians, who had high hopes after starting the season at 11-1, have faded ever since in the AL Central. They are 36-41 and in third place, seven games behind Minnesota. The Expos, who escaped baseball's plan to eliminate them in the offseason,...

WASHINGTON — The recent arrest of a Palestinian man from Florida has convinced U.S. officials that a network of al Qaeda operatives exists in the United States, CBS reported on Thursday. It said Adham Hassoun, arrested earlier this month, was an "important link" to accused al Qaeda member American Jose Padilla, as well as other groups based in the United States who may be awaiting orders for future attacks. "A number of people are under surveillance. None is believed to have had a supporting role in the Sept. 11 attacks. Some may have been slated to assist Zacarias Moussaoui," it...

Here are the scanned images of our Settlement with the LAT/WP: Page 1 through 3 is the Stipulation for entry of Amended Final Judgment Page 4 is blank Page 5 through 11 is the Amended Final Judgment. Page 12 is blank Page 13 through 16 is the LA Times/Chicago Tribune and affiliates Page 17 is blank Page 18 through 20 is the Washington Post/Newsweek and affiliates Page 21 blank Page 22 through 62 is the original Final Order for Partial Summary Judgment Page 1: Page 1 Click below for the remaining pages: Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4...

<p>WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Federal agents conducted sweeps of shopping malls around the country this week and questioned more than 60 people in a search for possible sources for terrorism funding, officials said Thursday.</p> <p>The joint investigation by the FBI and Immigration and Naturalization Service apparently targeted Pakistanis operating or working at jewelry kiosks in malls.</p>