Free Republic

Sino-U.S. trade tensions could flare up again as it appears China will miss its obligations under a nearly expired agreement that emerged from a dispute during the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump, analysts said. The Economic and Trade Agreement signed by the two superpowers in January 2020 is set to end December 31. Trade observers say China has not complied with a clause that obligates it to buy imports of manufactured goods, farm products, energy products and certain services from the U.S. at a total of $200 billion more than the 2017 total. China purchased $186 billion in...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 24 — When President Bush went on national television one Saturday morning last December to acknowledge the existence of a secret wiretapping program outside the courts, the fallout was fierce and immediate. Mr. Bush’s opponents accused him of breaking the law, with a few even calling for his impeachment. His backers demanded that he be given express legal authority to do what he had done. Law professors talked, civil rights groups sued and a federal judge in Detroit declared the wiretapping program unconstitutional. But as Democrats prepare to take over on Capitol Hill, not much has really changed....

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 — One of the most resonant arguments in the debate over Iraq holds that the United States can move forward by pulling its troops back, as part of a phased withdrawal... ...This is the case now being argued by many Democrats, most notably Senator Carl Levin of Michigan... who asserts that the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq should begin within four to six months. But this argument is being challenged by a number of military officers, experts and former generals, including some who have been among the most vehement critics of the Bush administration’s Iraq policies.......

I've scoured the internet, and I just can't find what I consider to be a trusted source on this topic. I have a 2 part question: Our DVD player, a Toshiba SD-V291 (VCR + DVD) has been skipping and doing stop-start "hiccuping" on DVDs (including brand new ones) that play just fine on my laptop, other players, etc. First, why is it doing this (a cleaner has been used to no avail), and second, because we're thinking of getting a multi-DVD changer anyway (but accelerated due to this), what brands/models have my FRiends here at FR had better luck with?