Free Republic

WASHINGTON - Somewhere in the United States live a few former spies from the communist government of Czechoslovakia, which passed into history in 1989. When officials of the new Czech Republic tried to recall them, they simply refused. They had grown accustomed to their lives in America, they said, and did not want to abandon their families. The Czech government decided to leave them alone. The spies were sleeper agents who had never been activated. The communist government, a hard-line treaty ally of the Soviet Union, had planned to order them to duty in the event of a crisis or...

PHOTO Stephen Glass has written a novel about his life called “The Fabulist.” (CBS) " I wanted them to think I was a good journalist…a good person. I wanted them to love the story so they would love me.” Stephen Glass (CBS) Stephen Glass, the young Washington writer whose often-outrageous articles proved, in the end, to be rarely true, tells Correspondent Steve Kroft that he piled lie on top of lie to gain the admiration of his colleagues. Glass, who has written a novel about his life called “The Fabulist,” appears in his first interview on 60 Minutes Sunday, May...

Taglinus FreeRepublicus (11th Edition) Recent taglines exhibiting Freeper wit, compassion, curiosity, brilliance, etc. Enjoy! Billboards for the rich, spraycans for the poor, and taglines for the rest. ~ thatdewd ~ Beeeep...Syntax Error! - My reality check just bounced.     SAMWolf, 5/4 This message powered by my CD player being turned off.     lainie, 5/4 The greatest 3 innings in baseball history. ....8-8-88.     ThreePuttinDude, 5/4I'm SO glad to no longer be associated with the Party of Dependence on Government.     Recovering_Democrat, 5/4 If at first you DO succeed, try to hide your amazement.     petuniasevan, 5/4 For all your...

AFP Photo Two key powerbrokers began making their mark on post-war Iraq as Paul Bremer, the top US civilian official, began touring the Gulf a day after a top Shiite Muslim leader returned home in triumph from 23 years of exile.Bremer, a 61-year-old career diplomat and counterterrorism expert arrived in Doha to outline his mission to supervise the rebuilding and democratization of war-torn Iraq.Tapped Tuesday by US President George W. Bush for the post, Bremer was accompanied by General Richard Myers, chairman of the US military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, and was to met retired general Jay Garner, the US...

ONE COP'S VIEW Why HPD has all the problems it does By SGT. T.A. BRITT WHAT in the heck is going on over at the Houston Police Department? The officers are making more money than ever. They have a working relationship with the administration. Why all of the bad press? What has happened to cause so many people to doubt the honesty and integrity of my police department? In the past year, we have had the following things come to light: •A crime lab in a new building leaked like a sieve. Evidence was destroyed or tainted to the point...

Games industry set for LA extravaganza 12 May 2003 - Reuters LOS ANGELES: Cram 65,000 people into a convention centre, add the sounds of aliens being shot and race cars being crashed at rock-and-roll volumes, then sprinkle in a few women dressed in costumes just an inch or two this side of indecency. What you get is E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the video game industry's annual convention that starts this week in Los Angeles and represents the favoured forum for deal-making and promotion in a business expected to generate US$30 billion in sales in 2003. "I think it's going...

Michael Moore is trying to tie Bush to bin Laden! His film is scheduled to be released in 2004, in the middle of the campaign! And Disney's Miramax is reportedly financing this hit piece!Of course we must boycott Disney and Miramax. But letters (hard copy ones, ones they have to hold in their hands and look at) are another effective way of getting the message out that America doesn't want Michael Moore's Bush-bashing films in their marketplace!!Here are some contact numbers and street addresses to mail your letters to. Please remember: the person who answers the phone may have NO...

Mark Steyn jokingly, we think, bills himself as a one-man global content provider and it's a claim he has evidence for. He appears regularly in The Daily Telegraph, the National Post, The Spectator, The Sunday Telegraph, the Jerusalem Post -- among others -- and refuses to write for the New York Times. Mark refused to do an interview with ESR unless he could pose nude on our cover but relented and gave us one anyway. First, thanks very much for joining us despite our waffling on allowing you to pose nude for ESR's cover. Now that the U.S.-led coalition has...

IT NEVER rains but it pours in the forex market. And if you were caught long on the United States dollar, there wasn't enough time to run for shelter. In just the past week, the US dollar fell 1 to 2 per cent against the euro, Japanese yen and Singapore dollar. The sudden change in mood is generally attributed to two men and a twin deficit. The twin deficit is old hat. America is now running the largest current account deficit in its history, totalling US$503 billion (S$876.2 billion) last year, or almost 5 per cent of the country's GDP....

Personal income increased $35.5 billion, or 0.4 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) increased $26.5 billion, or 0.3 percent, in March, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $30.7 billion, or 0.4 percent. In February, personal income increased $19.5 billion, or 0.2 percent, DPI increased $13.3 billion, or 0.2 percent, and PCE increased $9.2 billion, or 0.1 percent, based on revised estimates. see link for full statistics

<p>Once again we have embarked on road constriction season. Once again I have to wonder at the supposed logic behind the planning. Neither of the two major cities I normally drive through seem to have any concern for the users of the highways when planning road constriction. Both cities have at least 2 routes through or around them, yet both insist on having all potential routes constricted at the same time. I'm sure that we can all agree that removing a lane or two from service will help to create traffic jams. I think we can all also agree that traffic jams add to pollution, road rage, and fuel use. They also increase the chance for accidents. If, in cities with alternate routes (i.e. a bypass route) one of the routes was left barrier free, much of the through traffic would use that route, not only making travel easier and safer for the commuters, but also improving safety for those working on the roads.</p>

TEHRAN - Reformists and conservatives in Iran are reportedly working on a compromise deal over two key reform Bills in a bid to avoid a damaging political showdown. The Bills, which are aimed at boosting moderate President Mohammad Khatami's authority, have become the centrepiece of the rumbling power struggle in the Islamic Republic between elected reformists and conservatives resistant to change. Radical reformists have threatened to quit parliament if the electoral reform Bill and another Bill aimed at curbing the power of the hardline judiciary are definitively blocked. They have also called on Mr Khatami to resign should the Bills...

Vespers (Evening Prayer) O God, come to my aid. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. ____________ A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point. Psalm 109(110) The Messiah, king and priest The Lord has said to my lord: "Sit at my right hand while I make your enemies into your footstool". From Sion the Lord will give you a sceptre, and you will rule in the midst of...

CAPE CORAL, May 9, 2003- A Cape Coral man is trying to clear his name after bogus fliers were circulated in his neighborhood accusing him of being a child molester. For Michael Wheeler, it's a living nightmare. *** Imagine what it would feel like to find out your neighbors think you're a sex offender. Read the flier (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader - free download) "The first thought that went through my head is how could I be accused of something I think is the worst crime anybody could commit," said Wheeler. Wheeler is living in a nightmare. "None of the...

Bush's advisers are torn between talks and economic blockade WASHINGTON - As US President George W. Bush enters two weeks of intense diplomacy over disarming North Korea, American and Asian officials say new arguments have surfaced over how to prevent the starving, desperate nation from lashing out at the world. When South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun arrives in Washington later in the week from New York where he touched down yesterday, he will discover Washington remains divided over what strategy to adopt towards the North. Mr Bush's advisers are split on whether to continue negotiating or organise an international...

Clinton tells graduating Syracuse students to participate in life Sunday May 11, 2003 By WILLIAM KATES Associated Press Writer SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) Former President Bill Clinton on Sunday told nearly 5,400 graduating Syracuse University students to ignore the headlines and focus on the trend lines while taking an active role in public affairs. ``The trend line is, we are growing more interdependent. We cannot escape each other,'' Clinton said, as more than 19,600 parents and well-wishers looked on inside the Carrier Dome at the school's 149th commencement. ``We reap enormous benefits and assume greater risks. Your job, as a citizen...

Walker's World: France touts its military By Martin Walker UPI Chief International Correspondent From the International Desk Published 5/11/2003 5:50 AM View printer-friendly version PARIS, May 11 (UPI) -- The helicopters swooped in low over the sea as the transport planes flew in high to drop their paratroops inland and the Marines charged ashore from their amphibious vehicles. Offshore, the sleek gray warships were hidden by the smoke from their own barrages of fire as the attack went in from land and sea and air. There might have been no enemy, and only an appreciative audience of 10,000 friendly and...

Inflation is our friend, says Fed Bill Jamieson EXACTLY what game is Alan Greenspan playing? Or is he too frightened to tell us? Last week the Federal Reserve that he chairs catalysed an anxious debate across America and the markets that the world’s biggest economy could be heading for deflation. This is quite the nastiest word in central bank parlance and immediately conjures up the spectre that Japan’s disease could be spreading world wide. The Fed’s Open Markets Committee left interest rates unchanged at 1.25%. But this was instantly overshadowed by what some have hailed as the most important statement,...

While China struggles to halt the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the virulent disease has yet to spread to Japan. But health experts are in general agreement that it's probably just a matter of time before the first cases are reported among Japanese. One possible "Trojan Horse" for SARS to gain entry to Japan may be through a tried and true channel of infection: the sex industry. Even though this hasn't happened yet, Shukan Tokuho (May 26) reports that massage parlors and nightclubs employing Chinese ladies are already feeling the pinch. "From around the middle of March, the...

U.S. to Syria: Don't Be 'On Wrong Side of History'Sun May 11, 2003 03:02 PM ET JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sunday that Syria would find itself "on the wrong side of history" if it tried to destabilize postwar Iraq or continue harboring radical Palestinian groups. Powell spoke in an Israeli television interview after launching talks with Israel and the Palestinians on implementing a new "road map" peace plan. He said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should have "every incentive to respond" to issues he raised in talks with him in Damascus a week ago addressing...