Free Republic

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co. (KO.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's largest beverage company, on Wednesday joined the Global Compact, a six-year-old U.N. program intended to help businesses become better world citizens. Coca-Cola Chairman and Chief Executive E. Neville Isdell told U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the firm's decision to join the compact during a meeting at U.N. headquarters. The compact is the world's largest voluntary corporate responsibility network with 2,900 participating organizations in 90 countries. The Atlanta-based company has annual sales of $23 billion and markets beverages in more than 200 countries. Isdell said the decision showed the...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

United Nations wages war on capitalism As if our nation's free-market ideal isn't damaged enough -- witness, if you will, the generally lengthy permitting process for businesses and the prevalence of zoning laws, environmental mandates, eminent domain abuses and hefty tax burdens that plague our would-be entrepreneurs and developers in nearly every county, city and state across America. Now comes the United Nations, with its Global Compact Center and its Responsible Investment Initiative. Announced in July at the four-month-long "Universal Forum of Cultures in Barcelona 2004," both these programs are thinly veiled attacks against capitalism that, left unchecked, will result...

Okay, I'm going to take the plunge and get a handgun for concealed carry. I want a weapon with good knockdown power, I'm thinking .40 SW or .45. It needs to have a small frame since I live in San Antonio and the weather is warm most of the year so I won't be wearing heavy clothes. I also want single/double action. I'd also like advice on a holster as well. Weapon must be reliable and able to fire hollow point ammo without jamming. Thanks in advance for the help.

<p>Technology not taxation!</p> <p>That's the battle cry of the Canadian computer industry in a war of words being waged among groups representing the nation's music, technology and retail industries.</p> <p>The dispute centers around fees collected from technology companies to reimburse the music industry for losses incurred by music copying and swapping.</p>

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 November 29 Open Star Clusters M35 and NGC 2158 Credit & Copyright: N. A. Sharp (NOAO), AURA, NSF Explanation: Open clusters of stars can be near or far, young or old, and diffuse or compact. Open clusters may contain from 100 to 10,000 stars, all of which formed at nearly the same time. Bright blue stars frequently distinguish younger open clusters. M35, pictured above on the upper...

Iowa man hoping to moooove into tiny cow business   The Associated Press ROCKWELL, Iowa (June 17, 2002 10:09 a.m. EDT) - Dustin Pillard is betting his farm on compact cows. Pillard has 50 tiny cows on his northern Iowa farm, all about 3 feet tall. He's hoping they'll catch on as pets, and so far inquiries have come in from as far as Europe, Mexico and Argentina. "I like them," said Pillard, 30. "If nobody else does, that doesn't really bother me. We're breeding just for the novelty end of it." The smallest full-grown animal is a 3-year-old...