Free Republic

Spanish-speaking manufacturing workers who lose their jobs because of trade agreements could soon benefit from improved job-retraining programs. That's the outcome of a settlement announced Wednesday by the Labor Department and the Association of Border Workers in El Paso. The Labor Department agreed to pay $6.5 million to retrain hundreds of workers in El Paso who didn't receive vocational training after losing their jobs because of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

LONDON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - A former Wall Street stockbroker plans to launch a hedge fund to short-sell shares in Coca-Cola Co. and give any profits to people in countries he says the U.S. drinks company has exploited. Max Keiser, 44, a self-styled "investment activist", has teamed up with the son of the late entrepreneur Sir James Goldsmith with the aim of halving Coke's share price to $22 dollars in 12 months from its current value of around $40. Profits from the fund would be distributed to the "victims of Coke" in a process supported and audited by Zak Goldsmith's...

<p>February 8, 2004 -- MICHAEL Moore should be forced to give back the Oscar he won for "Bowling for Columbine" because he totally ignored the real reason why two high-school students went on a rampage that left 15 dead — prescription drugs such as Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil. "These kids went off the rails after they were put on medication," said a source who worked on "The Drugging of Our Children," a documentary being produced by Gary Null. The health expert went to Columbine and talked to some of the same people Moore had interviewed. "They had told Moore repeatedly about the meds — he didn't use any of it," our source said. "When his documentary came out, it was all about the guns. He got an Academy Award for something that was a lie." Null refused to comment.</p>

For his role in exposing the radical right fringe of the Republican Party, Ed Sebesta has been called "a really important national figure." No one--least of all Ed Sebesta--would argue that Ed Sebesta of Oak Cliff brought down Trent Lott. But I can make a pretty good case that Lott would still be majority leader of the Senate if Sebesta had never been born. I have written about Sebesta before: A computer engineer by trade, he was drawn into an avocation as a Web archivist by local issues, beginning with his unsuccessful campaign in the early 1990s to have the...

As of 7:50 Central... District 4 1% of precincts reporting Candidate; Votes; % of vote Cynthia Van Auken (REP); 375; 52% Denise Majette (DEM); 347; 48%

<p>ALEC "Bloviator" Baldwin could lose his few remaining fans if he doesn’t stop spouting off about politics, according to the Hollwood Reporter. The trade paper conducted a poll seeking the nation’s opinion of Hollywood celebs’ political stances and discovered that Baldwin ranks high on the list of most-disliked stars based on their politics. Respondents also rated Jane Fonda and Barbra Streisand in the category of Baldwin-esque blowhards, while Arnold Schwarzenegger, Oprah Winfrey and Bono won kudos. Curiously, Charlton Heston and Rosie O’Donnell made both the most-admired and most-hated lists.</p>

<p>Paul Krugman, the Princeton economics professor who writes an op-ed column for the New York Times, didn't make any new friends at the annual Gridiron Club dinner when he grumpily refused to applaud President Bush, Vice President Cheney, or the uniformed military commanders at the white-tie event. "He stuck out like a sore thumb," one witness told online newswire CNSNews.com, especially when everyone but Krugman rose to give the president a standing ovation at the end of his speech. It was noticed that Krugman, a zealot for higher taxes, applauded Sen. Tom Daschle and other Democrats. A senior White House official complained that Krugman's behavior was contrary to the Gridiron's non-partisan, collegial spirit, and said if Krugman and his ilk have "that much disdain for the people they cover, then don't go to the dinner." Krugman told the Web site: "I didn't think of myself being on show . . . This is the thought police. Next they'll say there was something wrong with the expression on my face. This is ridiculous."</p>

<p>Say this for the French. They may be a nation of left-leaning, America-bashing cheese lovers, but even they can’t stand Alec "Bloviator" Baldwin. The latest issue of French magazine Gala nicknames Baldwin "Bedain," which translates to "pot-bellied." The story also refers to the partisan actor as "L’ex-monsieur Kim Basinger." If the Long Island native ever does fulfill his promise to leave this country, he won’t find love in the City of Light.</p>

<p>ALEC ("Bloviator") Baldwin has been getting so much hate mail in the "guest book" on his Web site, he had to close it down. "Most of the offensive material has been political in nature," he said in a "a special note to all our visitors." "I find that rather disappointing considering the Web site was constructed plainly as a means to communicate with my audience about my work." In other words, it was for his fans to express their love. Baldwin, who blames "political extremists whose only goal is to harass and disrupt," vows to reopen the "guest book," but only to those who "leave their actual e-mail address by virtue of a signature verification." No more anonymous bloviating.</p>

<p>NO wonder Alec "Bloviator" Baldwin takes Al Gore's loss to President George W. Bush so personally - he, too, is an election sore-loser.</p> <p>In 1979, when Alec still went by his birth name Alex, the eldest Baldwin brother lost his campaign to be George Washington University's student association president by one vote. After he demanded a recount which only confirmed Baldwin's loss, he dropped out of GW and transferred to New York University.</p>

<p>WHEN producer Art Linson cast Alec "Bloviator" Baldwin for his 1997 movie, "The Edge," he was warned the actor was too "difficult" and not a "big star." But Linson hired Baldwin anyway and learned to regret it.</p> <p>20th Century Fox exec Bill Mechanic was the first to try and block Baldwin's hire, according to Linson's piece about the making of the movie in Vanity Fair. Mechanic presciently insisted Baldwin was "expensive," his success was "spotty," he was "trouble," and couldn't "carry a movie."</p>

Teacher fighting to keep her job Cheryl Mulhearn, a teacher at Florosa, was reprimanded for allegedly telling her class she wished that President Bush had been a victim of the terrorist attacks. By ANGIE TOOLE, Daily News Staff Writer Florosa Elementary School teacher Cheryl Mulhearn plans to fight for her job, denying charges that she said she wished the president had been killed in terrorist attacks or that she visited pornographic sites with a school computer. "I deal with school boards all around the state, and I can tell you there's a real rush to judgement here," said Mulhearn's attorney, ...