Free Republic

The globalist World Economic Forum (WEF) founder Klaus Schwab has begun to “start the process” of stepping down as chair of its board of trustees, the Geneva-based institution confirmed Thursday. The German academic said the forum, which convenes its annual gathering of world elites at the Swiss resort of Davos, must recover its “sense of mission” after a period of turmoil. The Financial Times first reported Schwab’s departure, citing a letter to trustee board members and confirmation by two people with knowledge of the situation. The missive reportedly said in part: I am deeply convinced that in today’s special context...

An American Airlines flight from Boston aborted its landing at Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC, Tuesday to avoid a plane departing from the same runway. “An air traffic controller instructed American Flight 2246 to perform a go-around at Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) Airport to ensure separation was maintained between this aircraft and a preceding departure from the same runway,” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement. American Airlines said the flight landed “safely and normally” and described the move as standard operation to give the plane more time for the other plane to take off. “American...

MOSCOW - This week's NATO summit in Romania will be Vladimir Putin's last appearance at a top-level international forum before he steps down as Russian president, still pushing to halt NATO's expansion into the stomping grounds of the former Soviet Union. The Kremlin realizes it doesn't have the power to force the West to reverse its recognition of Kosovo's independence or persuade Washington to drop its plan to deploy missile defenses in Poland and the Czech Republic. But Putin has had notable success in blocking NATO membership for its former Soviet neighbors — Ukraine and Georgia. "Georgia's accession into NATO...

The pay of a former staffer of Inland Rep. Jerry Lewis was cut less than a year before she took a job with a Washington lobbying firm, enabling her to avoid a rule prohibiting high-ranking congressional staff members from lobbying their old bosses or committees for one year, House records show. Letitia White worked as an assistant to Lewis, R-Redlands, on the House Appropriations Committee before leaving to take a job as lobbyist in 2003 with the firm then known as Copeland, Lowery, Jacquez, Denton & Shockey. Congressional staff members who earn 75 percent of a House member's salary are...

USS NASHVILLE, At Sea (NNS) -- A Utility Landing Craft (LCU) operated by Sailors assisting the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) landed in Lebanon, July 20, to begin transporting American citizens who have chosen to depart that country. The LCU deployed from USS Nashville (LPD 13) and is the first U.S. naval vessel to land in Lebanon in support of the voluntary departure of U.S. civilians. “Nashville moved into position this morning just a couple of miles off the coast of Lebanon,” said Lt. Cmdr. Thomas Ulmer, Commander, Amphibious Squadron 4 liaison. “It launched its LCU and put...

SAN FRANCISCO California State University secretly paid millions of dollars to outgoing campus presidents and top executives, in some cases keeping them on the payroll up to five years after leaving office. Neither the chancellor nor trustees at the nation's largest public university system publicly disclosed the "transition pay," lucrative consulting contracts and tenured teaching positions, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday. Chancellor Charles B. Reed said his office spent as much as $4 million over the past decade for "special assignments" and paid leave for former campus presidents and vice chancellors. Reed said in a June 23 e-mail to...

The 278th Regimental Combat Team will redeploy from Iraq; the Iraqi Army's 5th Division will assume a greater role in Diyala Province. By Multinational Force-Iraq TIKRIT, Iraq, Oct. 27, 2005 — More than 3,000 U.S. soldiers from Task Force Liberty and the 278th Regimental Combat Team will conclude their mission in eastern Diyala Province with a departure ceremony on Forward Operating Base Caldwell on Oct. 29. The 1st Brigade of the Iraqi Army's 5th Division in Diyala, because of their proven operational capabilities, will take on a greater security role in the military operations in the sector during the ceremony....

Departing congressmen cash in for big bucks By MATT STEARNS Posted on Tue, Dec. 21, 2004 Knight Ridder Newspapers WASHINGTON - For many congressmen and senators, Congress is something like the Eagles' song "Hotel California": Members check out, but they never really leave. With the 108th Congress now passed into history, another Washington tradition is playing out this month as departing members of Congress, rather than returning home, trade their years of service for big paychecks from lobbying groups, investment banks and law firms. Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., is sifting among offers. Rep. Jack Quinn, R-N.Y., will join one of...