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oncern over the Iranian nuclear-weapons program is growing, as well it should. As the UPI's Eli Lake has recently reported, even Mr. Al-Baradei of the international nuclear-watchdog organization is concerned, and the CIA has reportedly reduced its estimate of how long it will take before Iran has the bomb, from four-to-five years to two. It's hard to get accurate information on such matters — the United States has typically been surprised at the speed with which countries develop nuclear weapons, and just a few years ago the Clinton folks were astonished at an Indian nuclear test — but there...

<p>Richard Petty once joked that he thought stock car racing was rough, tough and ruthless — until he ventured into politics, where the sharks ate him alive.</p> <p>Maybe NASCAR should have learned from King Richard's experience and stuck to racing.</p>

The Center for Middle East Studies at UC Berkeley says in its mission statement that "the center aims to reach the broadest possible constituency, working with a variety of organizations and individuals to discover new avenues for scholarly outreach and cooperation (http://ias.berkeley.edu/cmes)." Such goals are respectable and embody those which a university should strive to provide for its students. As part of its goal to promote understanding, CMES has been responsible for the many lectures and presentations about the situation in the Middle East over the past year. Former speakers include revisionist Israeli historian Illan Pappe and Palestinian activist Edward...

Dr. Germ reported in custody - Rihab Taha

MSN Home  |  My MSN  |  Hotmail  |  Search  |  Shopping  |  Money  |  People & Chat   Search the Web      Powered by MSN Search     Home     Investing     Banking     Planning     Taxes     Money Plus        Help        Investing Home     Portfolio     Markets     Stocks     Funds     Insight     Brokers     CNBC TV   More of CNBC  L I V E   V O T E  RESULTS Total Votes: 11595 When do you think Clinton should run for president? 2004  10% 2008  13% Never  77% Votes tallied every 60 seconds. E-mail your comments on today's Squawk Box Poll Join the Squawk Box Message Board SquawkBack Poll: President Hillary Clinton? She's better known than many of the declared Democratic candidates. Is it...

At times, [during the Iraq War] Ms. Banfield sounded like she was Press Secretary for Saddam Hussein and Hezbollah .Still, she could be a big news star someday. She is sexy and attractive, articulate and smart. And the press loved her.But now she is being sent to Coventry for opening her cute little mouth.This was amazing. Why was NBC News President himself bothering to squelch this little pipsqueak when she squeaked in Kansas?They are so upset with Banfield at 30 Rockefeller Center that insiders are saying that her career is finished at NBC, if not elsewhere.

Cause of Haywood's death unknown Associated Press DALLAS -- Just days before Dallas Cowboys running back Ennis Haywood died of a brief illness, he had impressed teammates with his performance at workouts. An autopsy was to be scheduled Monday for Haywood, who was placed on life support at Medical Center of Arlington before his death on Sunday. "The cause of death at this time is unknown,'' hospital spokeswoman Diane Stout told The Associated Press. Stout said she doesn't know why Haywood, 23, was being treated. But she said an autopsy would determine the cause of death. Haywood's sister-in-law, Angela Jernigan,...

United States intelligence officials have concluded that the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, went into seclusion during the final build-up to the war in Iraq because he feared that he too might be the target of attack. This led the Pentagon to consider new ways to keep him and his inner circle on edge as a way of bolstering deterrence on the peninsula. Intelligence reports say Mr Kim vanished from public view for 50 days starting in mid-February, a time when the Pentagon also moved bombers into the Korean area of operations. The military's ability to mount precision attacks on...

U.S. judge rules against Milne heir in Pooh case Friday May 9, 8:06 pm ET By Gina Keating LOS ANGELES, May 9 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday denied a bid by the granddaughter of Winnie the Pooh creator A.A. Milne to reclaim the copyright to the classic children's books, dealing a setback to her partner, The Walt Disney Co. Judge Florence-Marie Cooper of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles said that Clare Milne could not use changes in U.S. copyright law to reclaim rights to the honey-loving bear that her grandfather sold to literary agent Stephen Slesinger...

Sacramento's fiscal woes damage quality of life and public optimism. By D.J. Waldie Like a bulldozed hillside above Los Angeles waiting for more tract houses, optimism in California is starting to erode. We don't know exactly what's happening, only that we're finally at the end of a year of public dissimulation about the readiness of the state's $35-billion budget shortfall to consume large parts of the way of life that we've wished into existence since 1945. Our California — imperfect, heedless and lovely — is our home, and it's beginning to feel awfully neglected.

<p>Boston-area Catholics, increasingly alienated by the sexual abuse crisis that has rocked the church, say the characteristic they would most like to see in a new archbishop is openness to change, according to a new Boston Globe poll.</p> <p>Overwhelming majorities of Catholics living in the Archdiocese of Boston still have favorable opinions of their own parish priests and of Pope John Paul II, and 41 percent say their faith is very important to their everyday lives.</p>

A Few of FR's Finest ....Every Day FR is a Treasure Trove of talented, compassionate, patriotic, wonderful people who gather every day to discuss the latest news and issues; salute and support our military and our leaders;  tell a few jokes;  learn a new word;  write poetry;  pray for those in need;  and congratulate those who are deserving. Thank you, Jim Robinson, for giving us the vehicle in which we can express ourselves. Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free...

Some Democrats move delicately to the right on gun control By RICK MONTGOMERY The Kansas City Star Howard Dean puts it point-blank. "Sure," said the former Vermont governor, a Democrat running for president. "You can walk into my office with a gun." Because packing heat is legal in the Green Mountain State, Dean doesn't mind if you carry a gun there -- provided you are not a convict, mentally ill or threatening someone with your weapon. Perhaps no other state in the nation is so lenient when it comes to carrying concealed firearms. Repeat: Dean is a Democrat, and widely...

Wielding machetes and rocket-launchers, hordes of tribal warriors and children have marauded through the Democratic Republic of Congo town of Bunia, unleashing an orgy of killing and forcing tens of thousands of terrified refugees across the Ugandan border. United Nations officials have warned the Security Council that the crisis was potentially a genocide in the making, drawing parallels with Rwanda, where between 500,000 and 1 million people, mainly Tutsis, were killed by Hutus in 1994. "Bunia is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe," Fred Eckhard, the spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, said on Sunday. As the situation...

  NEW YORK, May 9, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a lengthy interview with Bill Moyers released today, Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates reveals the inspiration for his funding of pro-abortion population control measures. Responding to a question by Moyers on how he came to fund "reproductive issues" Gates answered, "When I was growing up, my parents were always involved in various volunteer things. My dad was head of Planned Parenthood. And it was very controversial to be involved with that. And so it's fascinating. At the dinner table my parents are very good at sharing the things that they were doing....

Karl Rove led the nation to war to improve the political prospects of George W. Bush. I know how surreal that sounds. But I also know it is true. As the president's chief political adviser, Rove is involved in every decision coming out of the Oval Office. In fact, he flat out makes some of them. He is co-president of the United States, just as he was co-candidate for that office and co-governor of Texas. His relationship with the president is the most profound and complex of all of the White House advisers. And his role creates questions not addressed...

The leader of Israel's opposition Labor Party, who guided the party to its worst election defeat in 55 years, resigned Sunday, throwing Israel's peace camp into further disarray."So reads the beginning of an Associated Press story last week that passes for objective but betrays the kind of insidious bias that permeates most mainstream news reports from Israel. This particular story is certainly no worse than many, and may in fact be better than most, which makes it useful as an example of what's wrong with the usual reportage. Our first clue that the story suffers from a biased subtext...

Disaster drill begins today in South Seattle By Christine ClarridgeSeattle Times staff reporterMany of the patrol cars, firetrucks and ambulances South Seattle residents will see or hear today won't be responding to real emergency calls. They will be participants in one of the country's largest disaster drills ever. The drill, dubbed Topoff 2, for Top Officials, is designed to test the mettle of local and national emergency-response teams to the detonation of a "dirty bomb" in South Seattle. What you might seeIn South Seattle and Sodo areas: • The exercise will take place near the Tully's roasting plant (the...

Issa's bid to recall governor questioned To many, intentions remain under cloud By John Marelius STAFF WRITER and Dana Wilkie COPLEY NEWS SERVICE May 12, 2003 What is Darrell Issa up to That is the question preoccupying California political circles as the wealthy Republican congressman from Vista appears to be hijacking the struggling grass-roots effort to recall Gov. Gray Davis. Republicans are confident Issa and his political team have the wherewithal to force a recall election against the governor, but are perplexed by conflicting statements as to what Issa's intentions are. On Thursday, Issa donated $100,000 to his new committee,...

We are making a difference that is for sure. On Saturday I went to the package store to get my alcohol supply and I couldn't believe what I witness. Read on