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(CNN) -- As President Bush toured the Gulf Coast on Friday to survey damage from Hurricane Katrina, residents of New Orleans, including the mayor, said conditions were horrible and getting worse. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin lashed out at state and federal authorities saying they were "thinking small" in the face of the massive crisis. Nagin said he needs military troops to provide security and 500 buses to take people stranded by Hurricane Katrina out of the city. (See video of the demand for national leaders to 'get off their asses' -- 12:09) "I keep hearing that it's coming. This...

NEWARK, April 27 -- A former British clothing merchant was convicted Wednesday of trying to sell shoulder-launched missiles to what he believed was a terrorist group planning to shoot down airliners. The federal jury reached its verdict in its second day of deliberations, finding Hemant S. Lakhani guilty on all five counts. Lakhani, 69, was arrested in 2003 at a hotel room near the Newark airport after getting caught in a sting operation in which undercover operatives posed as terrorists and arms dealers. Prosecutors said he agreed to arrange the sale of more than 50 missiles.

Just three years after the largest and most serious shortage of childhood vaccines in two decades, the federal government's stockpile of childhood vaccines, designed as a buffer against shortages, is nearly empty -- and without immediate prospects of being filled. Three of the four companies that produce the shots recommended for every American child told the federal government last year that they would not sell their products to this little-known but important piece of the nation's public health infrastructure. Although opinions differ, it appears that the Pediatric Vaccine Stockpile has become an innocent bystander wounded in the government's crackdown on...

TOKYO, March 19 -- Condoleezza Rice, on her first foray into Asia as secretary of state, outlined on Saturday a new U.S. vision of Japan's increasing importance as a global power and challenged China to open its political system and work harder to "embrace some form of genuinely representative government." In a speech to about 500 professors and students at Sophia University here, Rice offered an expansive view of Japan's role in the world -- including unambiguous support for its campaign to win a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council -- that suggested the administration viewed the longtime U.S....

In the weeks after a popular uprising toppled a corrupt government in Ukraine, President Bush hailed the so-called Orange Revolution as proof that democracy was on the march and promised $60 million to help secure it in Kiev. But Republican congressional allies balked and slashed it this week to $33.7 million. The shrinking financial commitment to Ukrainian democracy highlights a broader gap between rhetoric and resources among budget writers in the Bush administration and on Capitol Hill as the president vows to devote his second term to "ending tyranny in our world," according to budget documents, congressional critics and democracy...

A newly compiled list of 100 patriotic songs for middle school students has led to a heated debate about how patriotic education should be carried out. The list has sparked controversy because it includes some songs that encourage individualism rather than dedication to society. Sources with the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission said it is the first time that a government agency has compiled such a list. The controversy lies in the fact that among the 100 songs there are several Hong Kong and Taiwan pop songs....

Last week, there were several comments in Carnival of the Capitalists that people would like to see more articles highlighting the benefits of capitalism. This got me thinking about a conversation I had years ago at the beach: Hanging out at the beach one day with a distant family member, we got into a discussion about capitalism and socialism. In particular, we were arguing about whether brute labor, as socialism teaches, is the source of all wealth (which, socialism further argues, is in turn stolen by the capitalist masters). The young woman, as were most people her age, was taught...

Copy the link below and watch this. It's a near perfect representation of Capitalism, Liberitarianism, Conservatism, and the Philosophy of Liberty.

EU steps up talks with US on China arms sales WASHINGTON (AFP) Mar 15, 2005 An EU delegation is in Washington to step up efforts to persuade the United States to agree to lift an embargo against China. But the United States strongly opposes the EU plan and a new law passed by China this week giving a legal basis to an invasion of Taiwan if it moves toward independence is making the European Union rethink. "We believe -- and the US also believes -- that now is the time to ... have a strategic dialogue," Annalisa Giannella, EU foreign...

Indiadaily.com has an interesting article (below) on the diplomatic countermoves that have been provoked by US unilateralism. Distinctly the world is broken into definite alliances. The first is the US led alliance (thirty or so countries providing military in Iraq). The second one is the European Alliance. There is a considerable overlap between NATO, EU and US led alliance. The third emerging alliance is BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The newly formed Russia-China alliance provides Putin the necessary critical mass to move ahead and formally create the BRICS alliance. The word 'BRICs' comes from a 2003...