Free Republic

On Sunday, we got still more evidence to suggest that China’s economy isn’t growing at anywhere near the clip the official figures suggest as industrial production came in light of expectations and FAI rose at the slowest pace since 2000. “This is very disappointing data,” said ANZ economist Li-Gang Liu.“It’s very difficult to see Premier Li Keqiang getting his 7% growth target this year.” The statistics bureau warned of continued headwinds. “The foundation for the recovery is not solid,” it said on its website. “External and internal demand for industrial products remains weak and industrial production still faces relatively big...

Standoff may crumble Whitmire returns; Perry weighs 3rd special session By RACHEL GRAVES and ARMANDO VILLAFRANCA Sept. 2, 2003, 10:25PM State Sen. John Whitmire came home to Houston late Tuesday, possibly ending the long holdout by Texas Democratic senators who fled the state to prevent a vote on congressional redistricting. Whitmire, who revealed earlier Tuesday that he had sneaked home over the Labor Day weekend, returned to Albuquerque, N.M., to meet with his colleagues but did not even unpack his bags before catching a flight back to Houston Tuesday night. He said he remains opposed to redistricting, but he would...

Baghdad slips into lawlessness as its defences crumble By Andrew Buncombe in Baghdad 09 April 2003 The road into Baghdad was lined with thousands of people. Some were waving, some were frowning and some appeared unsure whether to wave or frown. Others were too busy looting even to look up. Baghdad is falling – of that there seems little doubt. Yesterday there was so much American armour pouring though the debris-strewn streets into the south, east and west of the city that it seems now only a matter of days, perhaps even hours, before Allied forces claim they have secured...

<p>In May, as he symbolically began construction on a new Department of Transportation building in Los Angeles, Gov. Gray Davis hailed it as part of a "transportation renaissance" that he had begun.</p> <p>"After decades of government inaction, my administration is working hard to relieve the transportation bottleneck," Davis said, citing a record level of highway construction in the state.</p>