Free Republic

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan—The U.S. has poured more than $100 million into upgrading the Kajaki hydropower plant, the biggest source of electricity in south Afghanistan. And it plans on spending much more, in an effort to woo local sympathies away from the Taliban insurgency. Yet, one of the biggest beneficiaries of this American-taxpayer-financed project are the Taliban themselves. Since U.S.-funded repairs of a turbine at the Kajaki plant doubled its capacity in October, nearly half of the total electrical output has flowed to districts in Helmand province where the Taliban administer the grid, Afghan officials say. In those districts, residents pay...

That's the warning from federal lawmakers who today introduced a bill to prevent a catastrophic cyber attack upon a power grid or the banking system from ever happening, and to defend against a multitude of other, perhaps less devastating cyber assaults against the government, the businesses and the people of the United States. "The threat of a cyber attack is very real," said Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), at a press conference introducing the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010, a bill she co-sponsored with Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Thomas Carper (D-DE). "We cannot wait for a...

On May 27th, more than a month into the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history, Barack Obama strode to the podium in the East Room of the White House. For weeks, the administration had been insisting that BP alone was to blame for the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf – and the ongoing failure to stop the massive leak. "They have the technical expertise to plug the hole," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs had said only six days earlier. "It is their responsibility." The president, Gibbs added, lacked the authority to play anything more than a supervisory role –...

The Israel Defense Forces had little trouble explaining the naval commando raid yesterday to the Israeli public. The troops slid from helicopters into a violent crowd, which attacked them with sticks. It's no wonder the troops opened fire in self-defense. The situation in the international arena, though, is the diametric opposite. No matter how much effort it invests, Israel will never be able to explain to the world how nine civilians were killed, without a single death on our side - and the dead are citizens of the country that was until recently our best friend in the region. The...

Irrespective of their politics, flawed leaders share a common trait. They generally remain remarkably oblivious to the harm they do to the nation they lead. George W. Bush is a salient recent example, as is former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. When it comes to foreign policy, we are now witnessing a similar phenomenon at the Obama White House. Here is the Obama pattern: Choose a foreign leader to pressure. Threaten him with dire consequences if he does not bend to Washington's will. When he refuses to submit and instead responds vigorously, back off quickly and overcompensate for failure by...

Several thousand barrels of North Slope crude oil spilled into a containment area along the Alaska pipeline Tuesday when an open valve at a pump station allowed oil to overflow a tank, the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company said. Alyeska said the incident took place about 10:30 a.m. (2:30 p.m. ET) during a planned pipeline shutdown while the company was conducting fire command and valve leak testing at the pump station. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation said a battery failed to control the valve when power was switched from the main grid during Alyeska's tests. The valve has been closed,...

An oil refinery just southeast of downtown San Antonio is on fire. The fire started at the AGE Refinery on South Presa, following an explosion. Large black plumes of smoke can be seen spilling into the skies above San Antonio. The plant is located near Mission San Juan on Military Dr. and Presa. AGE Refining, Inc., is based out of San Antonio. They refine several specialized petroleum products, including jet fuel and diesel. The company was founded in 1991. There is at least one burn victim, according to initial reports. Our sister station, KENS 5, has a crew on the...

President Obama's administration has asked Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer to create a game about reducing the U.S. deficit. Erskine Bowles, co-chair of Obama's fiscal commission, wants the game to be made so the general public can have a go to balancing the budget, reports USA Today. Such a game, should it be created, would be part of the U.S. Government trying to find a solution to addressing the United States' $12.8 trillion debt. Democratic Senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska says the game could "go viral."

<p>Hartford, Connecticut (CNN) -- A bill in Connecticut's legislature that would remove the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse cases has sparked a fervent response from the state's Roman Catholic bishops, who released a letter to parishioners Saturday imploring them to oppose the measure. Under current Connecticut law, sexual abuse victims have 30 years past their 18th birthday to file a lawsuit. The proposed change to the law would rescind that statute of limitations. The proposed change to the law would put "all Church institutions, including your parish, at risk," says the letter, which was signed by Connecticut's three Roman Catholic bishops. The letter is posted on the Web site of the Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference, the public policy and advocacy office of Connecticut's Catholic bishops. It asks parishioners to contact their legislators in opposition of the bill. The "legislation would undermine the mission of the Catholic Church in Connecticut, threatening our parishes, our schools, and our Catholic Charities," the letter says. The Catholic archdiocese of Hartford also published a pulpit announcement on its Web site, which was to be read during Mass on Sunday, urging parishioners to express opposition to the bill. The bill has been revised to address some of the church's concerns about frivolous abuse claims against it, according to Connecticut state Rep. Beth Bye, one of the bill's sponsors. "The church didn't recognize that this bill makes improvements," Bye said. "The victims -- their lives have been changed and some will never recover from years of sexual abuse. For me, it's about giving them access to the courts." The bill does not target the Catholic Church, she said.</p>

A father was told he was not allowed take pictures of his four-year-old son at a Sunderland shopping centre because of fears he could be a paedophile. Kevin Geraghty-Shewan, of Kent, was challenged by a security guard at The Bridges after photographing his son Ben on a children's train ride. He was told he could not prove Ben was his son and later quizzed by a police officer called to the centre. Bosses at the shopping centre have apologised for the "misunderstanding". Mr Geraghty-Shewan, 48, of Gillingham, said they had visited the shopping centre after Ben was given £10 from...

In a fight as fierce as any seen in the Super Bowl, lawyers on Wednesday tussled with Supreme Court justices in a case examining the fundamental operations of the 32-team National Football League. The NFL asserts that as a legal joint venture it operates as a single entity in making key decisions that impact all of its member teams. But a lawyer representing a small apparel company that sued the league for supposedly violating the Sherman Antitrust Act argued the teams are independent actors free to enter into business contracts as they see fit. Labor unions, including the one representing...

Police in Pakistan say that unknown gunmen shot and killed a senior army officer and his driver in Islamabad. The attack is the second this week in the city and the violence is seen as retaliation for the ongoing military offensive against Taliban extremists in their stronghold of the South Waziristan region, near the Afghan border. Police say the early-morning attack took place in a residential part of the city, where assailants ambushed a military vehicle carrying a senior officer of the Pakistani military. An eyewitness says two men took part in the assault that instantly killed the driver and...

A strong earthquake has shaken buildings in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 and was centered in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan. That's according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake was felt in the Afghan capital, Kabul, and in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

In a speech in Pittsburgh, Penn., Palin pledged that a McCain-Palin administration would fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, exempt disability programs from the domestic discretionary spending freeze they plan to institute next year, and will provide school vouchers so families can send their special needs children to the school of their choice. "Too often, even in our own day, children with special needs have been set apart and excluded," said Palin, whose infant son Trig has Down syndrome. "Too often, state and federal laws add to their challenges, instead of removing barriers and opening new paths of...

Shortly before the unexpected departure of Princeton’s top chief medical officer this summer, an investigation by the State of New Jersey revealed that since 2003, Princeton’s McCosh Health Center has failed to comply with state laws for reporting STDs. The state investigation, which involved a visit from a surveillance team and an official warning, was concealed from students and administrators. Vice President Janet Dickerson, who directly supervises the head of McCosh, did not learn of the state investigation until three months after it occurred. When a Tory reporter asked her to comment on the case she was caught unawares. “I’m...

BOSTON, MA - China aims to leapfrog the United States in technological development with substantial investment in nanotechnology, but whether those efforts will actually pay off is still unclear. That was the message from University of California at Santa Barbara researchers presenting their findings on the state of Chinese nanotechnology here at the AAAS annual meeting. Richard Applebaum and Rachel Parker from the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at UCSB conducted about sixty interviews with Chinese officials to piece together a picture of the current state of Chinese nanotechnology. Applebaum set the specific research effort within the context of China's...

The frustration of proving one's age to buy things like alcohol and tobacco does not end when you reach the appropriate legal age. Those of us who are fortunate enough to have a youthful appearance are forever burdened with having to carry a state-issued ID card to every place where we might want to buy alcohol or tobacco. Over the past few years, we've been gradually subjected to another, more intrusive ID-related hassle -- that of electronic drivers license scanning. It's one thing when a government representative scans your driver's license; it's another thing entirely when a restaurant does it,...

Matthew J. Schmitz December 15, 2007 Princeton, NJ After receiving multiple death threats, a Princeton student was beat unconscious last Friday in what appears to be a politically-motivated assault. The attack came after emails saying, "WE WILL KILL YOU," were sent to the officers of a student group that promotes traditional views of marriage and sexual ethics. Francisco Nava '09, suffered serious abrasions, bleeding, and a light concussion after being beat until he lost consciousness this Friday. The attack, which occured within blocks of Princeton's campus, appears to be connected to multiple death threats received by Nava and other officers...

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea pledged to detail its nuclear programs and disable all activities at its main reactor complex by year's end, then signed a wide-ranging reconciliation pact with South Korea Thursday promising to finally seek a peace treaty to replace the 1953 cease-fire that ended the Korean War. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun also said they would open regular links across their heavily fortified border under the deal struck a day after the North made its firmest commitment yet to nuclear disarmament. Kim and Roh signed the wide-ranging agreement...

DETROIT (AP) — Say some clown steals your car from the parking deck at work. If it's equipped with General Motors' OnStar service, he could be in for a big surprise and you could get a little revenge — and even see your car again. Starting with about 20 models for 2009, the service will be able to slowly halt a car that is reported stolen, and the radio may even speak up and tell the thief to pull over because police are watching. OnStar already finds 700 to 800 cars per month using the global positioning system. With the...