https://freerepublic.com/tag/by:charlesm/ en-us Sat, 13 Sep 2008 22:05:37 GMT Focus Forum 15 https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081803/posts WASHINGTON – Alan Greenspan says the country can't afford tax cuts of the magnitude proposed by Republican presidential contender John McCain — at least not without a corresponding reduction in government spending. "Unless we cut spending, no," the former Federal Reserve chairman said Friday when asked about McCain's proposed tax cuts, pegged in some estimates at $3.3 trillion. "I'm not in favor of financing tax cuts with borrowed money," Greenspan said during an interview with Bloomberg Television. "I always have tied tax cuts to spending." McCain has said that he would offset his proposed cuts — including reducing the corporate... AP / Yahoo front page https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081803/posts#comment Sat, 13 Sep 2008 22:05:37 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081413/posts As we watched Sarah Palin on TV the last couple of days, we kept wondering what on earth John McCain was thinking. If he seriously thought this first-term governor — with less than two years in office — was qualified to be president, if necessary, at such a dangerous time, it raises profound questions about his judgment. If the choice was, as we suspect, a tactical move, then it was shockingly irresponsible. It was bad enough that Ms. Palin’s performance in the first televised interviews she has done since she joined the Republican ticket was so visibly scripted and lacking... NY Times https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081413/posts#comment Sat, 13 Sep 2008 05:29:24 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2072156/posts ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) — On the eve of the Republican convention, a new national poll suggests the race for the White House remains dead even. A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Sunday night shows the Obama-Biden ticket leading the McCain-Palin ticket by one point, 49 percent to 48 percent, a statistical dead heat. The survey was conducted Friday through Sunday, after both the conclusion of the Democratic convention and McCain’s selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. A previous CNN poll, taken just one week earlier, suggested the race between Sens. McCain, R-Arizona, and Obama, D-Illinois,... CNN https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2072156/posts#comment Mon, 1 Sep 2008 02:54:57 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2071688/posts ST. PAUL, Minn., Aug. 30 -- Their first encounter was last February at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington. Sarah Palin was one of several governors who met privately with Sen. John McCain, by then well on his way to capturing the Republican presidential nomination, and her directness and knowledge were impressive. Far from being a last-minute tactical move or a second choice when better known alternatives were eliminated, Palin was very much in McCain's thinking from the beginning of the selection process, according to McCain's advisers. The 44-year-old governor made every cut as the first list of candidates... Washington Post https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2071688/posts#comment Sun, 31 Aug 2008 08:27:02 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2071594/posts Brash McCain pick of AK Gov. Palin neutralizes historic Obama speech, stunts the Dems' convention bounce UTICA, New York - Republican John McCain's surprise announcement Friday of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate - some 16 hours after Democrat Barack Obama's historic speech accepting his party’s presidential nomination - has possibly stunted any Obama convention bump, the latest Zogby Interactive flash poll of the race shows. Data from this poll is available here The latest nationwide survey, begun Friday afternoon after the McCain announcement of Palin as running mate and completed mid-afternoon today, shows McCain/Palin at 47%, compared... Zogby https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2071594/posts#comment Sun, 31 Aug 2008 03:02:20 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035054/posts PHOENIX (AP) - John McCain hopes to solve the country's energy crisis with cold hard cash. The presumed Republican nominee is proposing a $300 million government prize to whoever can develop an automobile battery that far surpasses existing technology. The bounty would equate to $1 for every man, woman and child in the country, "a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency," McCain said in remarks prepared for delivery Monday at Fresno State University in California. McCain said such a device should deliver power at 30 percent of current costs and have "the... AP https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035054/posts#comment Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:58:17 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017921/posts BEICHUAN, China - Flags flew at half-staff, public entertainment was canceled and 1.3 billion people were asked to observe three minutes of silence as China began three days of mourning Monday for the victims of the nation's massive earthquake. Officials asked for the horns of cars, trains and ships and air raid sirens to sound as people fell silent at 2:28 p.m. — exactly one week after the quake splintered thousands of buildings and killed an estimated 50,000 people. Chinese news portal sina.com said the government had ordered all visitors to online entertainment and game pages to be redirected to... Yahoo! AP https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017921/posts#comment Mon, 19 May 2008 04:20:45 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015854/posts Beijing (ANTARA News) - A first batch of 100 elite troops parachuted on Wednesday into a cut off area close to the epicentre of a massive earthquake in southwest China, state media reported. The troops landed in badly hit Maoxian county just north of the epicentre of Monday's 7.9 magnitude quake, Xinhua news agency aid. Efforts to parachute soldiers in the day before were stymied by heavy rain, which has left survivors huddled under muddy tarpaulins. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said earlier 100,000 military personnel and police had been mobilised for the relief effort. Antara News https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015854/posts#comment Wed, 14 May 2008 16:31:24 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015130/posts A soldier holds back relatives trying to enter a collapsed school building The parents of an earthquake victim mourn near their child's body at the site of a collapsed school building in Dujiangyan A boy is rescued from the debris of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Dujiangyan, Sichuan province May 13, 2008. A student helps a schoolmate trapped in the ruins of a collapsed school building in the earthquake-affected Beichuan county, Sichuan province Soldiers carry a wounded person out of the debris of a collapsed building in the earthquake-affected Beichuan county DUJIANGYAN, China — The children who... NYT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015130/posts#comment Tue, 13 May 2008 05:33:08 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2014814/posts A rescuer searches for victims after an earthquake in Chongqing municipality May 12, 2008. Water and mud flow on a street after an earthquake broke an underground pipe in Chengdu, Sichuan province CHONGQING, China - Chinese state media says more than 8,500 have died in Sichuan province alone from a massive earthquake. The official Xinhua News Agency said that another 10,000 people were believed hurt in one of the province's counties after the 7.8-magnitude quake on Monday. Nearly 900 students were trapped after their school collapsed about 60 miles from the quake's epicenter. Xinhua reported students also were buried... Yahoo! AP https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2014814/posts#comment Mon, 12 May 2008 15:47:42 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2009924/posts SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China will open the world's longest cross-sea bridge on Thursday, linking the financial and commercial hub of Shanghai with the booming port and industrial city of Ningbo, the official Xinhua news agency said. The 11.8 billion yuan ($1.7 billion) cable-stayed structure, spanning Hangzhou Bay in Zhejiang Province south of Shanghai, will be open to traffic on a trial basis at midnight following an inauguration ceremony on Thursday afternoon, Xinhua said. The 36 km span will shorten travel time between Shanghai and Ningbo, two key port cities in China's prosperous Yangtze River Delta, to two-and-a-half hours from... Reuters https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2009924/posts#comment Thu, 1 May 2008 21:42:35 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2007886/posts BEIJING (Reuters) — Dozens were injured or killed Monday in a collision of two passenger trains in eastern China, the official Xinhua News Agency cited a medical worker at the scene as saying. Witnesses and a government spokesman also said there were heavy casualties in the crash in Shandong Province, which made 10 cars of the train topple into a ditch, Xinhua reported. “More than 80 people are injured, both seriously and not as seriously,” a hospital official in Zhoucun district told Reuters. NYTimes https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2007886/posts#comment Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:49:12 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2007500/posts ANDERSON, IND. – Barack Obama’s campaign is refusing any more debates with Hillary Clinton until after the May 6th primaries, despite attempts by the Clinton campaign to offer a new debate structure. “We have participated in 21 nationally televised debates, the most in primary history, including four exclusively with Senator Clinton,” said Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs. “Senator Clinton refused an earlier invitation that had been accepted to debate in North Carolina.” The Clinton campaign objected to that debate because it was during Passover. Clinton campaign manger Maggie Williams sent a letter the Obama camp today, suggesting a Lincoln-Douglas style debate... CBS https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2007500/posts#comment Sun, 27 Apr 2008 00:59:29 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2007386/posts Japanese police officers stand on guard as pro-China supporters wave Chinese national flags before the start of the Olympic torch relay in Nagano, central Japan April 26, 2008. Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cui Tiankai, left, looks at Olympic flame attendants charged with the flame during the starting ceremony for the Olympic torch relay in Nagano, central Japan, Saturday, April 26, 2008. Pro-China supporters cheer as a police officer stand on guard before the start of the Olympic torch relay in Nagano, central Japan April 26, 2008. Holding small Chinese flags and a placard welcoming the Beijing Olympic torch relay,... Yahoo! https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2007386/posts#comment Sat, 26 Apr 2008 18:11:44 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2001176/posts Taipei - The number of people in Taiwan who described ties between Taipei and Beijing as friendly has jumped since the two administrations held their first dialogue in 1993, an opinion poll released Monday found. Thirty-nine per cent of the respondents said relations were friendly, compared with 32 per cent after the 1993 meeting in Singapore, according to a poll conducted by the China Times daily [Taiwan-based paper, unaffiliated with the mainland] after Taiwan vice president-elect Vincent Siew met with Chinese President Hu Jintao over the weekend in China. Only 22 per cent thought China is still hostile toward Taiwan,... Monster and Critics https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2001176/posts#comment Mon, 14 Apr 2008 05:44:49 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2000940/posts WASHINGTON - It would be a "cop-out" for countries to skip the opening ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics as a way of protesting China's crackdown in Tibet, President Bush's national security adviser said Sunday. The kind of "quiet diplomacy" that the U.S. is practicing is a better way to send a message to China's leaders rather than "frontal confrontation," Stephen Hadley said. President Bush has given no indication he will skip the event. "I don't view the Olympics as a political event," Bush said this past week. "I view it as a sporting event." The White House has not yet... Yahoo! AP https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2000940/posts#comment Sun, 13 Apr 2008 16:08:09 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997633/posts VIENTIANE, Laos - A high-rise Chinatown that is to go up by Laos' laid-back capital has ignited fears that this nation's giant northern neighbor is moving to engulf this nation. So alarmed are Laotians that the communist government, which rarely explains its actions to the population, is being forced to do just that, with what passes for an unprecedented public relations campaign. The "Chinese City" is a hot topic of talk and wild rumor, much of it laced with anxiety as well as anger that the regime sealed such a momentous deal in virtual secrecy. The rumblings are being heard... AP https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997633/posts#comment Sun, 6 Apr 2008 19:46:05 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997587/posts Chinese delegates light the Olympic torch at the beginning of its relay from Wembley Stadium in London, Sunday April 6, 2008. Police scuffled with protesters as Olympians and celebrities carried the Olympic torch through snowy London during a chaotic relay Sunday. British Prime minister Gordon Brown watches the handover of the Olympic torch at No.10 Downing street during the Olympic torch relay in London A demonstrator tried to snuff out the flame with what appeared to be a fire extinguisher. British athlete Paula Radcliffe runs with the Olympic torch along the route of the torch relay in London, Sunday... ESPN https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997587/posts#comment Sun, 6 Apr 2008 16:44:17 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997319/posts One evening last July, Senator John McCain of Arizona arrived at the New Hampshire home of Erin Flanagan for sandwiches, chocolate-chip cookies and heartfelt talk about Iraq. They had met at a presidential debate, when she asked the candidates what they would do to bring home American soldiers — soldiers like her brother, who had been killed in action a few months earlier. Mr. McCain did not bring cameras or a retinue. Instead, he brought his youngest son, James McCain, 19, then a private first class in the Marine Corps about to leave for Iraq. Father and son sat down... New York Times https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997319/posts#comment Sat, 5 Apr 2008 21:37:35 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1990031/posts The State Department investigation into how and why the passport files of three presidential candidates were breached is scrutinizing an employee at a Virginia-based company, which is headed by an adviser to Barack Obama’s campaign. The Washington Times, which broke the news Thursday that Obama’s files were improperly accessed, reported Saturday that the State Department inspector general’s internal probe will include polygraph tests of supervisors to determine whether there was a political motive behind the breaches. The article said a focal point of the probe will be an employee who works for The Analysis Corporation and is still with the... FOX News https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1990031/posts#comment Sat, 22 Mar 2008 22:19:16 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1990019/posts What I saw was calculated targeted violence against an ethnic group, or I should say two ethnic groups, primarily ethnic Han Chinese living in Lhasa, but also members of the Muslim Hui minority in Lhasa. And the Huis in Lhasa control much of the meat industry in the city. Those two groups were singled out by ethnic Tibetans. They marked those businesses that they knew to be Tibetan owned with white traditional scarves. Those businesses were left intact. Almost every single other across a wide swathe of the city, not only in the old Tibetan quarter, but also beyond it... CNN https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1990019/posts#comment Sat, 22 Mar 2008 21:46:20 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1988867/posts Demonstrators are seen on the streets during a riot in Lhasa, Tibet, in this frame grab from China's state television CCTV March 14, 2008. Chinese paramilitary police unload equipment on a road on the outskirts of Hutiaoxia, March 20, 2008 Armed Chinese paramilitary riot police jump down from a truck as they set up camp in Hutiaoxia, March 20, 2008 Tibetan protesters throw stones as they give vent to their frustration with Chinese rule in Lhasa, China Tibetan protesters burn motorcycles and bicycles belonging to Chinese residents in Lhasa Chinese soldiers in riot gear sit in the main square of... Yahoo! https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1988867/posts#comment Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:59:53 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1986242/posts SHANGHAI, March 15 (Reuters) - China's carefully controlled media may have remained largely silent on the unrest in Tibet, but a look at Chinese blogs reveals a vitriolic outpouring of anger and nationalism directed against Tibetans and the West. On Saturday, a rash of angry blog posts appeared after China confirmed deaths in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, and U.S. actor Richard Gere called for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics should the authorities mishandle the protests. Many blamed the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, for inciting the riots. The view was echoed by... Guardian https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1986242/posts#comment Sat, 15 Mar 2008 18:21:09 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1986201/posts BEIJING — Thousands of Buddhist monks and other Tibetans clashed with the riot police in a second Chinese city on Saturday, while the authorities said they had regained control of the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, a day after a rampaging mob ransacked shops and set fire to cars and storefronts in a deadly riot. Skip to next paragraph Multimedia Protests in Tibet and NepalSlide Show Protests in Tibet and Nepal Related Times Topics: Tibet Back Story: Somini Sengupta Discusses Mt. Everest Decision (mp3) Enlarge This Image Reuters Residents in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, walked through Barkhor, an ancient part of the... New York TImes https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1986201/posts#comment Sat, 15 Mar 2008 16:48:34 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1966015/posts At the big Oprah-headlined rally for Barack Obama in Los Angeles on Saturday, surprise guest Maria Shriver, California's First Lady, cited -- as one of a string of reasons why the state's Democrats should vote for the Senator from Illinois -- the fact that, like California, he was "diverse." In the wake of Super Tuesday, we've learned that such diversity doesn't necessarily include Latinos, especially those older than 30. But a self-congratulatory article in the India Express touting the influence of Indian-Americans in the Democratic primary process reveals even greater constraints on the appeal of Obama's diversity. In California, exit... Salon https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1966015/posts#comment Wed, 6 Feb 2008 20:24:42 GMT