Free Republic

The recent series of multi-billion dollar acquisitions of chunks of major financial institutions like Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Blackstone Group and Bear Stearns by foreign governments, many of them authoritarian, nontransparent and unfriendly to the West--a buyout of America’s prime symbols of economic prowess--symbolizes not only our economic decline but also the emergence of sovereign wealth funds as power brokers in international relations. These government-owned investment funds, some controlled by oil rich autocrats and some by Asian powers like China and Singapore, are pouring billions into hedge funds, private equity funds, real estate, natural resources, media conglomerates and other...

Jefferson City, MO – Ford Motor Company today announced a research project that can help significantly decrease foreign oil imports -- the first E85 compatible hybrid. The flexible-fuel hybrid Escape was unveiled at today’s Washington Auto Show. “As a leader in both hybrid vehicles and in vehicles capable of operating on ethanol-based fuels, Ford is the ideal company to bring both technologies together for the first time,” says Anne Stevens, executive vice president, Ford Motor Company, and chief operating officer, The Americas. Ford currently manufactures two additional hybrid vehicles: the gasoline powered Escape and Mercury Mariner. The company expects to...

DES MOINES, IA - Gov. Tom Vilsack will trade in his gas guzzling sports utility vehicle for a more fuel efficient hybrid vehicle, his spokesman said. Vilsack spokesman Matt Paul said the governor plans to get rid of his 2005 GMC Yukon, which gets 13 miles per gallon, according to Consumer Reports, for a new flexible fuel SUV, which runs on E85, a gas-ethanol blend. E85 is cheaper than the 10-percent ethanol blend and regular unleaded gas sold at most stations. The fuel is only sold at about 20 stations statewide

A representative of a pro-life women's group was edited out of an upcoming MTV documentary that is scheduled to air tonight on the youth-oriented music television station. Former Feminists for Life intern Natalie Nardelli was slated to appear in tonight's "Choose or Lose: Sex, Votes and Higher Power," one in a series of programs designed to educate young adults on political issues in the upcoming elections and to encourage them to vote. In an email to Nardelli, MTV defended its decision. "[T]he pro-life bites we ended up using were from an expert who was more representative of the mainstream objection...