Free Republic

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan, April 28, 2009 – A busy marketplace is a common sight in the city of Nangalam during the day, but as night falls, the lack of electricity turns the bustling Konar province commercial center into a ghost town. “By 6 p.m. all the shops would close and people would head back home, that way they wouldn’t be frightened by the [anti-Afghanistan forces], or injured when they were walking down a dark street,” said Army Sgt. 1st Class Robert Campos of the 416th Civil Affairs Battalion, based in San Diego, Calif. In order to increase security and...

President Obama on Saturday struck back aggressively at critics of his $3.6 trillion budget proposal, casting himself as a populist crusader whose "sweeping change" has angered Washington's entrenched special interests, and promised to fight them. "I realize that passing this budget won't be easy. Because it represents real and dramatic change, it also represents a threat to the status quo in Washington," Mr. Obama said in his weekly video and radio address. Mr. Obama's language was combative and confrontational, as he promised to fight for "American families." "I know these steps won't sit well with the special interests and lobbyists...

President Barack Obama's first budget includes $15 billion a year for renewable energy programs and an ambitious plan to raise $646 billion from a carbon reduction proposal. "Because our future depends on our ability to break free from oil that's controlled by foreign dictators, we need to make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy," Mr. Obama said Thursday morning. "That's why we'll be working with Congress on legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy." The plan uses money from a cap-and-trade program — which would allow companies to...

President Obama will pledge Tuesday night that the nation "will rebuild, we will recover," as he delivers an address to a joint session of Congress and with a nervous nation watching at home. "While our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken; though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before," Mr. Obama will say, according to excerpts of his remarks. In lofty language, Mr. Obama is expected to promise a new path forward...

CAIRO (AP) — A bomb exploded Sunday in a crowded Cairo market frequented by tourists, wounding at least 14 people, including foreigners, said police and medical sources.

From television specials to newspaper editorials, the media are pushing the idea that current economic problems were caused by the market and that only the government can rescue us. What was lacking in the housing market, they say, was government regulation of the market's "greed." That makes great moral melodrama, but it turns the facts upside down. It was precisely government intervention that turned a thriving industry into a basket case. An economist specializing in financial markets gave a glimpse of the history of housing markets when he said: "Lending money to American homebuyers had been one of the least...

GARMA, Iraq (Dec. 12, 2007) -- Residents here celebrated a success for their livelihoods, with the grand reopening of a marketplace central to the city’s economy, Dec. 1. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6, and other Coalition Forces joined Garma citizens and local dignitaries in the celebration of the market reopening, marking progress toward economic growth for the community. “It’s a sign of progress and hope for a new tomorrow,” said Capt. Quintin D. Jones, commanding officer with Company L. “The mayor and I wanted to make an immediate impact in the area by making...

Just about every month, CNW Market Research meets with a group of would-be car buyers and plays a trick on them. Sometimes the company, which specializes in auto sales trends, takes a Toyota Camry, removes any identifying logos, and tells them it's a new model from one of the U.S.-based auto makers. Or it takes a domestic car and tells them it's a Toyota or another import make. Either way, the result is the same. "If they think it's an American car, the perception of the vehicle falls dramatically," said Art Spinella, vice president of the Bandon, Ore.-based firm. "Detroit...

Iraqi army soldiers take lead on Riyadh mission. RIYADH, Iraq, March 21, 2007 — The Iraqi army soldiers’ flashlights pierce the darkness as they search the Riyadh marketplace for any wires or materials that may indicate the emplacement of an improvised explosive device in the area. Following close behind are U.S. soldiers from D Company, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, who work closely with the Iraqi army to conduct searches of various parts of the city. "The IA (Iraqi army) is making strong improvements with the command, from the top down, with putting the right men into the right job...

Freedom of speech on many university campuses is being exercised with an increasingly liberal bias that is staking a worrisome monopoly on the free marketplace of ideas. Evidence of this bias is a new study published in the March issue of Forum, which showed that—by their own description—72 percent of professors in American universities and colleges are liberal and 15 percent are conservative. Hence, it is reasonable to question whether students are receiving a fair and balanced education. The concern is understandable. As stated by one of the study’s authors, Robert Lichter, “In general, even broad-minded people gravitate toward other...

Thinking Outside The “Big Box” Brief Analysis No. 501 Friday, Frebruary 18, 2005 by Pamela Villarreal Neighborhoods, city councils and the media are debating whether to welcome or discourage big-box retailers. While Wal-Mart comes to mind, big-box retailers are defined as any free-standing store greater than 50,000 square feet, and most big-box stores now range in size from 90,000 to 200,000 square feet. Critics claim that large retailers crowd out mom-and-pop competitors and replace them with windowless warehouses filled with minimum wage workers. Big-box retailers promise economic benefits such as sales tax revenues, jobs, competitive wages and low prices. But...

Chase to the Chase - Jonathan Baum-Yahoo Sports(excerpt)The inaugural NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup begins at Loudon, N.H., on Sept. 19. Only the top 10 drivers in the standings – along with any other drivers within 400 points of the leader – after the Sept. 11 race at Richmond International Raceway will be eligible to compete for the 2004 Cup championship. Including this weekend's GFS Marketplace 400 at Michigan International Speedway, just four races remain until the Chase 10-driver cutoff happens after the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond (the Sharpie 500 at Bristol and the Pop Secret...

ABU GHRAIB, Iraq - Amid burst of gunfire and prayer, Iraqi rioters waving portraits of Saddam Hussein battled U.S. troops and tanks on Friday, when a dispute over a marketplace outside Baghdad exploded into anti-American fury. Two Iraqis were killed, and 17 others and two U.S. soldiers were reported wounded. Farther west in Fallujah, a center of the anti-U.S. resistance, an explosion and fire struck the office of the mayor, who has cooperated with the U.S. occupation. In a melee that followed, one Iraqi was killed, and later Friday U.S. troops came under attack at the same spot. An Islamic...

New intelligence suggests a series of Iraqi missiles have mis-fired and hit residential areas of Baghdad, Downing Street says. The Prime Minister's spokesman said information had been received which indicated Iraq's air defence commander has been sacked due to the poor performance of missile systems in Baghdad. He said: "A large number of surface-to-air missiles have been malfunctioning and many have failed to hit their targets and have fallen back onto Baghdad before exploding. "Civil defence workers have been instructed to remove Iraqi missile fragments which fell on residential areas before journalists arrive on the scene." The spokesman stopped short...

5:07 EST Developing story right now is that the 'bomb' that went off in the market earlier is left too small a crater for coalition weapon. It was only 2 feet deep. Suspected to be an Iraqi air defense weapon. The weapon, repeat, does not resemble any coalition 'penetration weapon'.