Free Republic

BERLIN (AP) - Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder insisted on Monday that there was no turning back in cutting social programs despite pressure to reverse the unpopular measures after his party suffered a rout in a German state election. Schroeder's Social Democrats lost 45 percent of their voter support Sunday in the small western state of Saarland, while the conservative Christian Democrats - the main opposition party at the national level - retained control of the local legislature and the governor's post. Schroeder said Monday he "would have wished for a better result." But in a speech to labor leaders, he said...

JIUQUAN, China - Rising space power China provided a rare peek into its top-secret launch center Wednesday, capitalizing on its recent success in orbit to promote the military-funded project as a lure for foreign investment and a key to growing prosperity. A police car with flashing lights led busloads of international journalists across northwestern China's vast Gobi Desert to the Jiuquan space center, past armored patrol vehicles and a sign, in English: "Foreigners are not allowed to enter without permission." It was the first time China let foreigners enter, though officials forbade photographs of the command-and-control center with its rows...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (SMW) - As recently as a year ago, California correctional officers set up a picket line to shut down a college program for inmates at Ironwood State Prison. Why should convicts get a free crack at college, the union argued, when the officers' kids have to pay for it? So when the California Correctional Peace Officers Association this year won a say at the bargaining table in evaluating whether a college program at San Quentin should be expanded, inmates rights activists and the union's legislative critics blew a fuse. They suggested that any role the CCPOA plays in...

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran said Monday the international community has no reason to be suspicious about its nuclear ambitions, despite allegations by the United States that it is trying to produce nuclear weapons. "Iran has not violated any of its commitments to international treaties in its nuclear program," Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi was quoted as saying by the official Islamic Republic News Agency. His comments came a day after U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said the Bush administration sees a new international willingness to act against Iran's nuclear program. The world is finally "worried and suspicious" about the...

Listen to Michael Bowman's report (RealAudio) Bowman report - Download 278k (RealAudio)   Condoleezza Rice The United States is blasting Iran's decision to resume constructing machinery designed to enrich uranium, a process that can be used to generate weapons-grade nuclear material. White House spokesman Scott McClellan says Iran's decision to resume building centrifuges can only heighten international concerns about its nuclear program. Speaking with reporters en route to a NATO summit in Turkey, Mr. McClellan said Iran's failure to comply with the International Atomic Energy Agency and to stop all enrichment-related reprocessing activities reinforces U.S. concern.For the Bush administration, those...

n March, just as the Bush administration was showing reporters some of the secret nuclear equipment that Libya gave up after renouncing its arms program, the Libyans received a fresh shipment of illegal parts from the nuclear black market, according to a new report by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, was not cheating, however. The Libyans may have been as surprised

May 24, 2004: The Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) regards its submarine force as its first line naval force. Not without reason. Only the submarine force has nuclear powered ships. More importantly, Chinese submarines pose the most significant threat to hostile naval forces, especially U.S. Navy carrier battle groups. The Chinese submarine force is undergoing rapid conversion to modern propulsion, sensor and weapons technologies. At the same time, serious measures have been taken to reduce noise levels and increase the effectiveness of the crews. The elite portion of the submarine force is its nuclear powered ships. Submarines are officially "ships"...

OFFICIAL 2004 DNC CONVENTION PROGRAM 6:00pm - Opening flag burning ceremony. 6:30pm - Anti-war rally no. 1. 6:40pm - Ted Kennedy proposes a toast. 7:00pm - Tribute theme to France. 7:10pm - Collect offerings for al-Zawahri defense fund. 7:20pm - Ted Kennedy proposes a toast 7:25pm - Tribute theme to Spain. 7:45pm - Anti-war rally no. 2. (Moderated by Michael Moore) 8:00pm - John Kerry presents one side of the issues including killing unborn babies & saving whales 8:25pm - Ted Kennedy proposes a toast. 8:30pm - Terrorist appeasement workshop. 9:00pm - Gay marriage ceremony. 9:30pm - * Intermission *...

OFFICIAL 2004 DNC CONVENTION PROGRAM 6:00pm - Opening flag burning ceremony. 6:30pm - Anti-war rally no. 1. 6:40pm - Ted Kennedy proposes a toast. 7:00pm - Tribute theme to France. 7:10pm - Collect offerings for al-Zawahri defense fund. 7:20pm - Ted Kennedy proposes a toast 7:25pm - Tribute theme to Spain. 7:45pm - Anti-war rally no. 2. (Moderated by Michael Moore) 8:00pm - John Kerry presents one side of the issues 8:25pm - Ted Kennedy proposes a toast. 8:30pm - Terrorist appeasement workshop. 9:00pm - Gay marriage ceremony. 9:30pm - * Intermission * 10:00pm - Flag burning ceremony no. 2....

LOS ANGELES, April 2, 2004—Jody Eldred Productions today announced it has just completed filming and is in the final stages of production on an inspirational documentary called, “Changed Lives: Miracles of The Passion,” which will air nationwide Easter weekend. With rave reviews from Diane Sawyer on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and Joe Scarborough on MSNBC’s “Scarborough Country,” this one-hour T.V. special was shot in High Definition and documents the true stories of people whose lives have been forever changed by Mel Gibson’s incredible motion picture “The Passion of The Christ.” “I knew instantly that people’s lives were going to be...

<p>April 2, 2004 -- ALMOST a year after the fall of Baghdad, everybody knows that Saddam Hussein stole billions from the Iraqi people. What is now emerging is that the United Nations was his partner in crime - aiding and abetting him during the eight-year Oil-for-Food program. Initially an attempt to alleviate the hardship of U.N. sanctions on Iraqis, Oil-for-Food raises troubling questions not only about the United Nations' competence, but its role in propping up Saddam's tyrannical regime.</p>

<p>I have been losing my hair since I joined the California Legislature. It is not because of age; it is because of frustration. The more I hear about government, the more frustrated I get, and the more hair I lose.</p> <p>Let me give you an example.</p>

MARINA DEL REY, CA (PREWEB) March 18, 2004 -- Jody Eldred Productions, a television and film production company in Marina Del Rey, CA is in the final stages of preparing a nationwide television special to air this Easter called, "CHANGED LIVES: MIRACLES OF THE PASSION." The documentary is telling the stories of people forever changed as a result of seeing the film. These visual testimonies will give powerful witness to the life-altering power of Jesus Christ as presented through this incredible motion picture. SEEKING VIDEOTAPED STORY SUBMISSIONS As part of this documentary, the Jody Eldred Productions is asking people to...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States warned North Korea that it would face action from the international community if it does not stop exporting dangerous weapons and other illegal activities. "If North Korea will not act, it will find the United States, its allies and other partners equally prepared to respond with measures that ensure North Korea cannot threaten our countries or international stability," said Mitchell Reiss, the department's director of policy planning. Speaking at the Heritage Foundation, one of Washington's leading repositories of expertise on East Asia, Reiss said the United States was taking steps to enforce its laws...

Vietnam veteran Larry J. O’Daniel has today challenged former fellow officer and veteran, John Forbes Kerry to come clean with charges Kerry has made in the past. O’Daniel, a decorated combat veteran and present Director of the National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Coalition, served in the legendary Phoenix Program and says that the issue is one that the Senator himself has brought on. “His attempt to denigrate the service of our incumbent President while this legacy of his hangs on says much about the real issue of this election - Leadership and Character. The Senator from Massachusetts lacks...

New program would help the working poor get cars By SCOTT WILLIAMSswilliams@journalsentinel.com Posted: Feb. 20, 2004 For the working poor, having a dependable automobile can mean the difference between getting ahead or going nowhere - in more ways than one. That is why social service agencies are trying to launch a program in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties that would use federal money to help low-income residents buy used automobiles. Known as "Ways to Work," the program is based on the assumption that mass transit and other options are not always adequate, especially for people who must commute long distances to...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryJanuary 10, 2004 President's Radio Address      Audio THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. As the year 2004 begins, America's economy is strong and getting stronger. More Americans than ever own their own homes. More businesses are investing. More manufacturers are seeing increased activity than at any time in the last 20 years. Stock market wealth has increased by more than $3 trillion over the past year. And over the past five months, more than a quarter-million Americans started work at new jobs. In December, the unemployment rate fell to 5.7 percent, from a high of 6.3...

Program targets growing problem of abandoned mobile homes The Associated Press Jan 4, 2004 : 10:14 pm ET RALEIGH, N.C. -- Local officials have asked the mobile home industry to help devise ways to remove abandoned single-wides, a growing eyesore they say can hurt efforts to attract jobs. The N.C. Association of County Commissioners estimates that 40,000 derelict mobile homes lurk in the state's woods and fields. Unlike old tobacco barns that also dot rural North Carolina, single-wides lack rustic charm. "This is an economic development issue," said Paul Meyer, assistant general counsel for the N.C. Association of County Commissioners....

POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: Dean-Backed Vermont Tax Credit Program Draws Scrutiny The Associated Press MONTPELIER, Vt. Dec. 27 — Democratic presidential contender Howard Dean criticizes President Bush for giving unneeded tax breaks, but as Vermont governor, he supported a program critics say did much the same for corporations. The Vermont Economic Progress Council, which Dean signed into law in 1998 to provide tax credits to businesses promising to expand, has approved more than $80 million in such credits, according to a report by the state auditor. Companies had claimed about $25 million of those credits by the end of the 2001 tax...

U.S. Ends Foreigner Registration Program By SUZANNE GAMBOA, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - The government is scrapping a rule imposed after the Sept. 11 attacks that required men and boys from countries with suspected links to terrorism to register multiple times with U.S. officials. The rule forced tens of thousands of Middle Easterners and others visiting America to provide personal information to government officials. Asa Hutchinson, the Homeland Security Department's undersecretary for border and transportation security, said a new registration system that will apply to more foreigners will be in place next month, making the current program unnecessary. The program...