Free Republic

So why choose this strain? "Ames is certainly a challenge to any vaccine," Martin Hugh-Jones of Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge told New Scientist. When lab animals immunised with the vaccine now being given to thousands of American troops are exposed to anthrax, many are still killed by the Ames strain. Alternatively, the attackers may simply have wanted a strain of proven virulence that's hard to trace, says Ken Alibek, former deputy head of the Soviet bioweapons programme. "If I were a terrorist I would certainly not use a strain known to be from my country," he told New...

With the recent release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on video and DVD, it is an apt moment to review the religious reaction to last fall's two major film releases, the Harry Potter movie and the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The key religious issue in both movies is the role magic and witchcraft play in the stories, and the presence of wizards as main characters. Is it acceptable for Christians to enjoy these entertaining stories when the Bible forbids witchcraft and links it to sin and demons? With regard to Harry Potter, it...

It has been said of the Palestinians that they never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. We will now see for certain whether the old saw is true. U.S. President George W. Bush's call for a change in Palestinian leadership presents the Palestinian people with a historic chance. If they turn away from their corrupt and discredited leaders and renounce terrorism as a means of achieving their national objectives, they can count on the support of the world's only superpower for an independent Palestine. In his Middle East address this week, Mr. Bush called on the Palestinians to elect...

There is much to quibble about in this polemic, but to judge it by the standards of an academic treatise, or even those of a comprehensive popular book, would be to miss an absolute jewel with a vitally important message. Bruce points out the futility and the dangers of trying to advance civil rights by restricting civil liberties. Along the way, she provides an insider's--indeed, an apostate's--account of the hostility that much of the contemporary Left feels toward independent thinking. A columnist and a former president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW), Bruce sets...

Europeans Courting International Disaster By Robert Kagan Sunday, June 30, 2002; Page B07 We hear it said these days that the United States should show more sensitivity to the concerns and interests of our European allies. No doubt true. But it would be nice if the Europeans showed a little understanding now and then, too. Take the current flap over the International Criminal Court. The treaty establishing the court goes into effect tomorrow. The Bush administration, which has withdrawn President Clinton's ill-advised signature of that treaty, is demanding immunity from prosecution by the ICC for any American soldiers serving abroad...

Bush's belligerent outbursts blasted    Pyongyang, June 28 (KCNA) -- U.S. President Bush recently let loose belligerent outbursts that "he is calling evil for what it is" and "the U.S. would fight it with all its might". In this regard Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary says that by "all his might" Bush meant the U.S. military muscle and by saying "the U.S. would fight the evil" he disclosed his intention to stifle and liquidate the progressive countries which are regarded as obstacles in carrying out its strategy of aggression and domination.     The commentary goes on:     The U.S....

Despite a Supreme Court ruling on Thursday that allows parents to use government-financed vouchers for religious and private schools, vouchers face particularly tall hurdles in New York State. Both supporters and opponents say there is strong language in the state Constitution prohibiting government aid — direct or indirect — to religious education. In addition, the power of the New York City teachers' union, the United Federation of Teachers, as a political force in Albany may prevent elected officials who are ambivalent about vouchers from supporting them, especially in an election year, when candidates may need union endorsement. But if vouchers...

The economy is doing fine, but the stock market is slumping. So far, the blame has rightly been placed on corporate corruption, dishonest accounting practices and some ill-advised protectionist trade moves by the Bush administration. But these, it seems, are only partly to blame. A worrisome USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll reveals that only one in three Americans believes the United States is now winning the war on terrorism, with a full half saying the war is at a stalemate. Compare this with last January, when two-thirds of the country said the United States was winning the war. Could it be that...

Surreptitious Weapon Looks Like A Cell Phone Guns Disguised As Cell Phones Pose New Airline Security ThreatPOSTED: 4:33 p.m. EDT June 27, 2002UPDATED: 2:35 p.m. EDT June 28, 2002FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Aviation security consultant Wayne Black finds many airport screeners don't know what they're doing. "We are still playing catch-up, and will be playing catch-up [for some time]," Black said. "We are still not trained." "I saw people with these little wands scanning the forehead of a bald man," Black continued. "You'll see them pull an 80-year-old lady in a wheelchair out of line and search her and scan...

The farmer jailed for the manslaughter of a 16-year-old burglar is being sued for up to £50,000 by one of the men who broke in to his home. Brendan Fearon, 32, was wounded in the shooting at Tony Martin's Norfolk farmhouse which ended in the death of teenager Fred Barras. Fearon now plans to sue Martin for thousands of pounds in damages - claiming assault and trespass against the person. But friends of the jailed farmer expressed their anger at the news. Malcolm Starr, a businessman who has led a campaign to secure Martin's release, said he was astonished Fearon...

How do I carry a handgun (9mm) in a car during vacation (for a week) with out being illegal. Someone said that if you kept it locked up in a case that would be ok. Is he right?

The modern Marian "movement" is characterized by a large number of alleged apparitions, many of which bear little resemblance to the historical series of major approved apparitions, those between Guadalupe, in 1531, and Banneux in 1933. This article looks at the actual mechanism of the modern alleged apparitions, and compares it with that of the genuine apparitions: when this is done, the shortcomings of the former become very clear. The topicality of all this is evident from the recent statement of Cardinal Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo, who, speaking at the Synod of Bishops in Rome, on the subject of religious...

NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. - Refugees seeking asylum in Canada after first landing in the United States will be turned away at the border under a plan signed yesterday by John Manley, the Deputy Prime Minister, and Tom Ridge, the United States Homeland Security Director. The agreement is an attempt to stop refugees from "shopping for a country," Mr. Manley said yesterday at a jovial rooftop meeting overlooking a busy border crossing on the Niagara River. The asylum agreement was announced as part of a progress report on the Smart Border Declaration, a 30-point outline for action needed on Canada-U.S. border...

We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail! [President Bush]Good morning!! Do not let the victims of the attacks on New York and Washington, nor the brave members of our Nation's military who have given their lives to protect our freedom, die in vain!! I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD WITH LIBERTY, AND JUSTICE, FOR ALL President Bush will undergo a colonoscopy. During that time, he will transfer powers to Vice President Dick Cheney. Algore blames the...

TORONTO and OTTAWA - Four Canadian paratroopers were killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan because of a catastrophic communications breakdown that stretches to the highest levels of the United States command structure, a U.S. military official said last night. The F-16 pilot who dropped the bomb, the official said, should not have been flying anywhere near the Canadian troops, but U.S. Central Command failed to tell his superiors that allied forces were training in the area. "There should have been an invisible wall in the sky that all command control structures knew about," said the official, who spoke to the...

Having to recite the Pledge of Allegiance as a youngster often gave me the willies. Thought it was a damn lie. Still do, though I stand patiently at attention and wait for the disingenuous routine to end. Unlike the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, I have no problem with the "one nation under God" part of the pledge. A heathen like me is all for more spirituality. I just have difficulty mustering any conviction for the part about "with liberty and justice for all." I find that to be a bit of a reach.I believe Native Americans would beg...

Freethought member angry over lawn signs By RICHARD SCHWARTZMAN and MICHAEL P. RELLAHAN June 29, 2002 BIRMINGHAM -- Just months after a federal judge ordered the removal of the Ten Commandments plaque from the Chester County Courthouse, a complaint about Ten Commandments lawn signs in Birmingham has been filed. West Chester engineer James Brooks, a member of the Freethought Society who assisted in the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, said he believes the signs are a deliberate agitation by residents who put up the signs on their own property. In a one-page letter to township Code Enforcement...

MEMPHIS -- Former Vice President Al Gore, on the evening of a political retreat with Democratic Party supporters and fund-raisers, said in an interview Friday that, if he decides to challenge President Bush in 2004, he would consider reuniting with U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman as his running mate. "Of course" Lieberman would be in contention, Gore said. Lieberman has vowed to quit his own presidential campaign if Gore steps into the race. Referring to that pledge, Gore said Friday, "I like what he's doing." The pledge has become a sticking point for Lieberman, and some observers wonder if the...

<p>A former Wall Street broker accused of laundering $15 million in cocaine money for a corrupt Mexican governor-turned-druglord claimed yesterday she thought he was just a regular "high-net-worth client."</p> <p>Wearing an elegant royal blue dress and a gold necklace, Consuelo Marquez, 39, pleaded not guilty to charges of money laundering, bank fraud and wire fraud allegedly committed while working for Lehman Brothers in Manhattan.</p>

http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/local_news/article/0,1426,MCA_437_1237556,00.html city City seeks OK to levy payroll tax Council makes plans to cover legislative cuts By Blake Fontenay fontenay@gomemphis.com June 29, 2002 Faced with potentially devastating funding cutbacks, City Council members asked the state Friday for authority to adopt a payroll tax. A payroll tax would tax the wages of those who work within the Memphis city limits. Some council members said the measure would be an equitable way to make nonresidents who work in Memphis share the cost of city services. Past efforts to adopt a payroll tax have been met with ferocious opposition from business leaders. Councilman...