Free Republic

LONDON — Canadian doctors have been advised not to use a batch of 170,000 swine flu vaccines after six reports of serious allergic reactions among recipients, but there are no similar reports from other countries, pharmaceuticals company GlaxoSmithKline PLC said Tuesday. Authorities routinely monitor vaccines for any signals of problems, such as the allergic reactions that do occur, rarely, every year. Company spokeswoman Gwenan White said that GlaxoSmithKline advised medical staff in Canada ast week to refrain from using one batch of the vaccine while they look into reports that that it might have caused more allergic reactions than normal....

Transcript of remarks made by Leo Carrington (who doesn’t exist) to a mandatory meeting of all employees of Carrington Automotive Enterprises, Inc. (which doesn’t exist either) on August 17th, 2009 at the Royal Payne Hotel (a purely imaginary place) in Norfolk, Virginia (which does, in fact, exist). The Employee Meeting: I would like to start by thanking you for attending this meeting, though it's not like you had much of a choice. After all, attendance was mandatory. I'm also glad many of you accepted my invitation to your family members to be here as well. I have a few remarks...

I was curious about the process of creating a small business, and I was wondering if anyone could provide any info that I might find useful? First up, are there any books which're useful for anyone interested in starting a small business? Any titles which provide a lot of help? Second, where can one find possible sources of funding for a small business? Bank loan, of course, but anywhere else, in addition to fronting whatever you can? Last but not least, anyone here create and operate their own small business? What sort of things did you plan for ahead of...

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama on Friday sought to reach out to white, working class voters in this center of Appalachian Ohio with his populist promises to rescue the economy, boost small business, and provide help with college tuition and health care — even as he accused his opponents of sowing division instead of tackling the economic crisis. Now a University of Illinois professor, Mr. Ayers has served on two community boards in Chicago with Mr. Obama and hosted a meeting in his home for Mr. Obama early in his Chicago political career. "I know my opponent is worried...

...Small-dollar donations to Obama have surged this year, and those donors became crucial in the spring as the battle to secure the Democratic nomination intensified. ...Employees of investment bank Goldman Sachs, for example, have contributed more than $570,000 to his campaign. Another problem with asserting that small donors are an antidote to undue influence by wealthy contributors is that even small donors are almost certainly much richer than the average American. ..the Campaign Finance Institute found that more than half of donors earned between $75,000 and $250,000 a year. The median U.S. income that year was $46,000. ...big-ticket fundraising among...

Barack Obama 'belittles' small town America By Tim Shipman in Washington Last Updated: 12:52am BST 13/04/2008 Barack Obama's presidential campaign has been knocked off balance after the Democratic White House frontrunner was caught on tape apparently belittling the fears of small town Americans who have lost their jobs. Senator Barack Obama speaks at a town hall meeting at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana The senator from Illinois was forced into a frantic damage limitation exercise after a recording emerged in which he appeared to dismiss impoverished blue collar workers as bitter individuals who have turned to God, guns and...

Have you ever wanted to rule your very own country? A micronation is an area of land claimed by one or more persons to be independent from any major recognized nation in the world. Some of these have incredible histories of war, triumph and independence and still survive today, while others have long since been abandoned, annexed or destroyed. Sealand was established in the 1960s an Englishman and his family took possession of an abandoned anti-aircraft platform off the coast of Britain and declared it to be the Principality of Sealand. In the1970s a coup attempt was made and...

Former Smithsonian secretary Lawrence M. Small took nearly 10 weeks of vacation a year during seven years running the vast museum complex and was absent from his job 550 workdays while earning $5.7 million on outside work, according to an independent commission report to be released today. The Smithsonian's second-ranking official, Sheila P. Burke, was absent from her job as deputy secretary for 400 days while earning $10 million over six years on non-museum work.....

In a desperate attempt to make Rudy Giuliani out to be the hero of Tuesday night’s debate, Fox News is continuing to attack Texas Congressman Ron Paul for something he did not say. In the latest installment of this campaign, John Gibson of Fox News says that Paul “suggested that the U.S. actually had a hand in the [9/11] terrorist attacks.” No, what he said was that U.S. foreign policy was a reason why Osama bin Laden attacked America. This is a fact. Gibson’s comment shows how Fox News has been eager to slant the news in favor of Giuliani,...

SANTA ANA SCHOOLS deserve a public spanking if, as alleged, they created phantom classes to pull the wool over state officials' eyes. The idea was to make it look as though there were no more than 20 students per teacher in the primary grades so the schools could receive the full $16 million they were entitled to from the state for reducing class size. As lowdown as such a trick would be, it sheds light on one of the more rigid and expensive regulations governing public education in California. The decade-old class-size reduction program was a poorly planned experiment that...

Monday, March 26, 2007; 1:02 PM Lawrence M. Small, the banker who took over the Smithsonian Institution seven years ago, was replaced Monday, according to congressional sources. Roger Sant, head of the Smithsonian's executive committee, was expected to make an announcement this afternoon. Small's management of the Smithsonian has been sharply criticized by members of Congress, and his compensation and spending practices have been subjected to scrutiny by the Smithsonian's inspector general. Last week, two separate committees were appointed to look into management operations at the museum complex, which includes 18 museums and research facilities as well as the National...

As the Republican and Democratic parties dive into the electoral process with their eyes closed and minds firmly set on neutral, should true believers in a limited government, from any political party, care one way or another about the result? Does it matter whether Hillary Clinton or Rudy Giuliani gets to call the White House “home” in 2009? Does it make any difference? For our government, not especially.

Small Houston oil company at the center of global dramaERHC's story becomes oddly intertwined with FBI bribery probe By DAVID IVANOVICH Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau Sept. 18, 2006, 1:28PM WASHINGTON - Initially, theirs was a tale to rival that of any legendary Texas wildcatter. A little-known Houston oil company lands a potential blockbuster deal in the crude-rich waters off West Africa and appears poised for a big payoff. Negotiating the rocky shoals of West African politics and threats of arrest for sedition, ERHC Energy, a tiny company with no experience in offshore drilling, secures the rights from the...

BAGHDADI, Iraq (Aug. 17, 2006) -- After 30 recent graduates from the Iraqi police academy came to Baghdadi, Iraq, residents in this Saddam-era military housing complex are expressing interest in joining the police force because they are noticing a decrease in insurgent activity. Marines with the Hawaii-based 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, or “America’s Battalion”, are combating the insurgency with local police officers – who recently received “much needed” new gear to get the job done – pistols, protective vests, rifles and batons to use while patrolling the city’s streets. Soon they will receive radios and police cars, said Maj....

Wanted: small asteroid for use as slingshot to slay a Goliath Ian Sample, science correspondent Saturday July 15, 2006 The Guardian (UK) It worked for David as he squared up to Goliath, and now scientists hope a slingshot will help save the planet. Scientists at the French space agency, CNES, have calculated how to capture an asteroid and manoeuvre it into a near-Earth orbit, from where it can be flung into the path of a larger asteroid that threatens to collide with Earth. The plan joins a growing list of strategies put forward to protect our home planet should scientists...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, July 12, 2006 – Air Force Tech. Sgt. William Long likes a challenge. But a couple weeks ago, one challenge seemed insurmountable. Air Force officials had notified an airman deployed to a remote forward operating base that his wife was gravely ill. The Air Force placed him on emergency leave, then tried to figure a way to get him from the Afghan frontier to the United States. As a controller in the Air Terminal Operations Center here, Long decided to tackle the problem. Long, deployed from Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Mich., found an Army helicopter...

THESE ARE THE SENATORS WHO VOTED TO GIVE SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS TO ILLEGAL ALIENS REGARDLESS OF POLITICAL PARTY, THESE POLITICIANS NEED TO BE DEFEATED IN 2006, 2008 OR 2010, WHENEVER THEY NEXT COME UP FOR OFFICE. SEND THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW; THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES NEEDS TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION -- THAT IS, UNLESS THEY DO NOT MIND SHARING THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY WITH FOREIGN WORKERS WHO NEVER PAID INTO IT AND AMERICAN CITIZENS ARE BEING LEFT OUT. Grouped by Home State Alabama: Alaska: Stevens (R-AK), Yea Arizona: McCain (R-AZ), Yea Arkansas: Lincoln (D-AR), Yea Pryor (D-AR),...

6/7/2006 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Patrolling the sky over Iraq for more than 2,250 hours in May, the 46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron here leads the largest unmanned aerial vehicle operation in the world with one of the Air Force’s smallest aircraft -- the MQ-1 Predator. Providing “real-time eyes-in-the-sky,” the squadron of about 20 aircraft is often the critical link between ground commanders and what is around the next corner in combat. “We’re the largest game in town and an integral part of just about every large joint operation in Iraq,” said Capt. Fred Atwater, 46th ERS commander....

I am curious why none of the media covers the most important aspect of the Malvo shootings. If you look at Newspapers on the dates when the shootings are underway you discover something I find quite interesting. The shootings begin to dominate the news the day before the debate on the Iraq war starts and they catch them the day after the declaration of war??? If you ask most people "do you remember the debate about starting the second Iraq war", they will all answer "yes of course". But if you followup with the question "name one point in the...

I recently received a reply to a post that stated: "This should be beneath a "freeper". Sad." So I asked.. what is it that makes a FReeper? My reply (and I will admit was tasteless) was also questioning. It stirred controversy and was removed? Why Moderators? Can you not tell me? Did it not meet with your "FReeper" mentality? According to all posted guidelines it should be listed but no, you chose to delete it. Yes.. I'm the first one IBTZ, I'm sure you'll nick me for speaking up..