Free Republic

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2008 – The top U.S. general in the Pacific told Congress yesterday that he’s working to strengthen the U.S.-Sino relationship, but he emphasized the need to keep a close eye on China as it strives to expand its influence in the region. Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating told the Senate Armed Services Committee he sees headway in breaking down longstanding divisions between the two countries, but remains troubled by China’s lack of transparency about its military programs. The Defense Department released its 2008 China Military Power Report earlier this month, noting that China spent more than...

DETROIT (AP) — The tentative contract between General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers would allow GM to close a plant each in Michigan and Indiana and possibly shut down several other facilities, according to a detailed copy of the agreement. The moves are the downside of job security pledges that the UAW won in the negotiations, including commitments for new products at 16 plants. About 74,000 hourly GM workers will vote on the pact starting this week, with a final tally to be done by Oct. 10. Gregg Shotwell, a GM worker and frequent critic of the UAW,...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2007 – The Defense Department announced today that it will close the Talon intelligence reporting system Sept. 17 and maintain a record copy of the collected data in accordance with intelligence oversight requirements.  Talon was established in 2002 by then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz as a way to collect and evaluate information about possible threats to U.S. servicemembers and defense civilians at stateside and overseas military installations. It is being closed because reporting to the system had declined significantly, and it was determined to no longer be of analytical value, said Army Col. Gary Keck,...

OAKDALE, Calif. -- The Hershey's chocolate plant in Oakdale will be shut down, officials said Monday. The closure, which will take place in phases and will mean the loss of up to 600 jobs, is set to be complete by February 2008. The plant is a key part of life for many in this Stanislaus County town of 17,500. The community hosts a chocolate festival on the third weekend in May each year. The first products to cease production at the Oakdale plant will be Hershey's kisses with almonds and Hershey's syrup. Both product lines will be transferred to the...

Kenyans close border with Somalia Thousands of Somalis have sought refuge in Kenya over the years Kenya has shut its border with Somalia and will not allow more refugees into the country, says its foreign minister. Earlier the Kenyan authorities deported more than 420 Somali refugees who had crossed the border in recent days. The UN refugee agency has condemned Kenya's actions, with aid workers expressing frustration at being unable to help Somalis fleeing conflict. There have been clashes near the Kenyan border with Islamist militias being pursued by Ethiopian and Somali troops. Kenya has deployed tanks and helicopters to...

Stock Markets Will Close Tuesday for Funeral of President Ford NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Stock Exchange said Friday it will close on Tuesday as part of a national day of mourning to mark the funeral of President Gerald R. Ford. The NYSE joined the Nasdaq Stock Market, which made a similar announcement on Thursday. It had been expected that the stock exchanges would close out of respect for the 38th president. Financial markets have traditionally closed for presidential funerals, the last time being the burial of President Ronald Reagan in June 2004. Wall Street's closing on the...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2006 – Iraqi police and coalition forces captured two insurgents Oct. 9 in Samarra, Iraq, and Iraqi police shut down an insurgent financial operation Oct. 9 in Tikrit, military officials in Iraq reported. Iraqi police and coalition forces conducting a joint patrol captured two suspected insurgents who were attempting to enter Samarra by vehicle through a gap in the city’s surrounding berm. A search of the suspects’ vehicle revealed a sniper rifle. The individuals were detained for questioning. The combined patrol also apprehended an individual after receiving small-arms and indirect fire at a checkpoint. After determining the...

'New Moderates' close in on Left as Sweden votes By David Rennie in Stockholm (Filed: 16/09/2006) Sweden will vote tomorrow in an election in which a centre-Right candidate who compares himself to David Cameron has dragged his party out of the political wilderness to mount a serious challenge to the Social Democrats who have held power in Sweden for 65 of the last 74 years. Fredrik Reinfeldt In a high-risk strategy Fredrik Reinfeldt, the leader of the centre-Right opposition, has jettisoned cherished conservative policies and embraced the lavish, cradle-to-grave welfare state that is the cornerstone of the Swedish social model...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, Sept. 13, 2006 -- Staff Sgt. Mike Myers experienced one of the most frightening events of his life in Afghanistan, while the birth of his child was taking place simultaneously more than 7,000 miles away. Army Staff Sgt. Mike Myers explains what happened to him on a recent mission as he sits in the driver's seat of a Humvee he was operating when it was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. The attack came Sept. 6 at almost the same time his son was being born in the U.S. Myers is a security forces member deployed...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Iraqi government on Thursday ordered Arabic satellite network Al-Arabiya to shut down its Baghdad operations for one month, state television reported. Al-Arabiya said Iraqi police later arrived at its offices to enforce the order. The other pan-Arab satellite network, Al-Jazeera, had its office in the capital closed two years ago. Al-Arabiya, which is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at first said its headquarters had not yet been informed of a ban, but later said on live television that police had arrived at its Baghdad offices to close its operations down. The order apparently was issued...

SAN JOSE At least seven children suffered diarrhea after playing in a popular downtown fountain, and city health officials worry the water may have infected many more. The fountain at Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park has not flowed since late last week, when tests confirmed the presence of the microscopic parasite that causes cryptosporidiosis, a diarrhea-inducing virus. The health department continued investigating Thursday whether 13 more cases of cryptosporidiosis and 15 cases of salmonella in children since mid-July were linked to the tainted fountain. One child was hospitalized but has since recovered, said Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, the county's public health...

WASHINGTON - American Indians suing the government over billions of dollars in lost royalties say they are contemplating an offer by members of Congress to resolve their lawsuit for $8 billion. The offer is considerably lower than the $27.5 billion plaintiffs offered to settle for a year ago. But plaintiffs say they are considering it seriously, bringing them closer than ever to ending the lawsuit, which has bogged down the Interior and Justice departments for 10 years. "Eight billion dollars is something I wish was higher, but I'm glad they were able to bring something forward that was equitable," the...

Afghanistan close to anarchy, warns general · Nato commander's view in stark contrast to ministers' · Forces short of equipment and 'running out of time' Richard Norton-Taylor Saturday July 22, 2006 The Guardian (UK) British soldiers on patrol in Sangin, Helmand province. Photograph: Cpl Rob Knight/MoD/PA The most senior British military commander in Afghanistan yesterday described the situation in the country as "close to anarchy" with feuding foreign agencies and unethical private security companies compounding problems caused by local corruption. The stark warning came from Lieutenant General David Richards, head of Nato's international security force in Afghanistan, who warned that...

Islamists close in on Somalian government By David Blair in Baidoa (Filed: 14/07/2006) The ruined town of Baidoa, where ragged gunmen roam bullet-scarred streets, is Somalia's alternative capital. Pulverised buildings, choked with weeds, house the country's official government, which has a president, cabinet and 275-member parliament. Somali Islamic fighters in Baidoa Barely 150 miles away, Islamist extremists have seized most of Somalia's real capital, Mogadishu, and the surrounding territory. Baidoa, where the "transitional federal government" clings to notional power thanks to international sponsorship, may be the Islamists' next target. It took 14 peace conferences to create this threadbare administration and,...

Traders Sports, one of the biggest gun dealers in the state, hopes a hearing in U.S. District Court next week will keep them in business. Traders has been under scrutiny for several years by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), which is trying to shut down the gun dealer. The ATF decided to revoke Traders gun permit on June 1. After an audit in 2003, the ATF claims that Traders can’t account for 1,767 weapons, and that guns sold at Traders turn up in crimes at an alarming rate. ATF spokeswoman Marti McKee said she couldn’t comment on...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The government of Puerto Rico ran out of money Monday, forcing the U.S. commonwealth to close public schools and shut down government offices, putting almost 100,000 people out of work. The legislature and governor failed to reach a last-minute accord that would have averted the first-ever partial shutdown of the government in island history.

Self-destructing comet to flash close by 10:30 24 April 2006 NewScientist.com news service Kimm Groshong Astronomers will soon be treated to a close-up celestial show, with a fragmenting comet streaming across the sky in more than 30 chunks. Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 has been breaking up since 1995, but between 12 and 14 May will come closer to the Earth than any comet since 1983. Fortunately no threat is posed to Earth since, even at its closest, the nearest of the pieces will be twenty times more distant than the Moon. But astronomers around the world will take advantage of the...

CENTRE-left leader Romano Prodi has claimed a knife-edge victory in Italy's general election, but Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's allies dispute the result and are demanding a "scrupulous" check of the count. Twelve hours after polling stations closed, Mr Prodi declared his broad coalition had secured a majority in both houses of parliament and promised to unify Italy after a divisive, acrimonious election campaign. "We have won," he told flag-waving supporters who had waited until the early hours in a Rome square as the count ebbed and flowed in the closest election in modern Italian history. The centre-left said it was...

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2006 – U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley and Afghani Gen. Bismullah Khan met today and agreed that continued close cooperation between Afghan, coalition, NATO and Pakistani forces is essential to stabilizing Afghanistan and freeing the country of the Taliban and other terrorists. Freakley, commanding general of Combined Joint Task Force-76, and Bismullah , who serves in the Afghan National Army, met in Khan's office at the Afghan Ministry of Defense. Their Afghan National Army arranged the meeting. The Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police have worked cooperatively with each other and with coalition and...

Rosemary Roberts: Close book on Black History MonthFriday, March 24, 2006 From time to time, this column focuses on local topics, so herewith are some observations: Let's start with Leonard Pitts Jr., the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist whose syndicated column appears in this newspaper. I'm a huge Leonard Pitts fan because he writes well, thinks deeply and gores sacred cows. Pitts was in Greensboro this week speaking to a sold-out audience at the UNCG Friends of the Libraries Annual Dinner. His topic, "Bearing Witness," pertained to racial issues. Pitts, who is African American, made a statement that made me want to...