Free Republic

EU denies free air ticket bribes for Yes vote in French poll By David Rennie in Brussels (Filed: 21/04/2005) The European Commission denied yesterday it was bribing French voters to vote Yes in next month's referendum on the draft constitution. That was despite its unveiling a scheme to offer free and subsidised transatlantic air tickets to residents of Martinique and France's other overseas territories and departments. Under France's colonial traditions, Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Tahiti are legally treated as parts of the mainland and are known in French as "Dom-Toms". That grants residents of those palm-fringed corners of the...

BOISE, Idaho - Someone donated a $30,000 winning lottery ticket to the Idaho Foodbank. The ticket was tucked inside an envelope without a return address Wednesday, Foodbank Director Roger Simon says. Idaho Lottery officials say it's first time they know of someone donating the entire amount of a winning ticket to a charitable organization. The Foodbank will use the money for its children's programs. The Stinker Station that sold the winning ticket also gave the food bank $300 from the money it got from the commission for selling the winning ticket.

Most local agencies prefer in-house investigations and discipline to ticketing peers::: TAMPA - You blow through a stop sign, slam into a car and injure the other driver. Automatic traffic ticket, right? Maybe not. Last week, a Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy ran a stop sign and rammed another car. The other driver was taken to the hospital. But Deputy Carole Frauenfeld didn't get a ticket. Sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said the deputy who was at the crash scene told her: "You don't cite people to punish them. You cite them to teach them something. In this case, the deputy knew...

A Russian couple admitted trying to avoid buying a train ticket for their 3-year-old daughter by putting her in a suitcase. Before boarding, the parents stopped off for a few drinks at a Moscow train station and took their eyes off the suitcase, which was stolen by thieves. They panicked, called cops and admitted their nefarious deed.

DANVERS — Patrolmen have cost the town $173,000 by refusing to write traffic tickets in a ploy to influence contract negotiations, top police brass and town management officials allege in a complaint filed with the state last week. Town officials claim police union members are handing out warnings rather than tickets in an effort to cost the town money and gain leverage at the bargaining table, according to their complaint to the state Labor Relations Commission. The 44-strong police union has gone nearly a year-and-a-half without a new contract in a dispute over raises. But at least on police union...

Kerry aide accused over 'Superman' stem cell claim 13/10/2004 - 15:02:05 Vice-presidential hopeful John Edwards has sparked a row by claiming that under a John Kerry administration “people like Christopher Reeve will get up out of that wheelchair and walk again”. Mr Edwards raised eyebrows with the pledge at an election campaign rally, a day after the death of the paralysed Superman actor was announced. The Kerry team has repeatedly promised that it would allow stem cell research if in power, opening the way for potential cures for diseases. By contrast President George Bush has placed strict limitations on the...

BURLINGTON, Iowa -- A psychiatrist who police say smeared excrement on dollar bills used to pay a parking ticket has been charged with harassment of a public official. Ronald Preston McPike, 52, was arrested Sept. 30 at his office in Burlington. He pleaded not guilty to the charge, a misdemeanor, and was released on $125 bond pending a Dec. 8 court appearance. Officers received an envelope in July labeled "Foreign brown substance on bills." The envelope contained several dollar bills and a parking ticket made out to a vehicle registered to McPike, police said. Tests indicated the brown substance was...

Edwards criticizes Kerry over lobbyists, trade 2-2-04 By Tom Raum, Associated Press Writer News & Record CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Democratic presidential contender John Edwards, in a must-win battle for South Carolina, criticized chief rival John Kerry on Monday for accepting contributions from lobbyists and supporting trade pacts that he contends have cost U.S. jobs. Edwards, who had gained support in Iowa and New Hampshire for running a positive campaign, claimed in a speech at the College of Charleston that "I don't take contributions from lobbyists, and he obviously does." However, Edwards accepted one donation in 2002 directly from a...

Patrol Stands by 205 Speeding Ticket Fri Sep 24, 7:54 PM ET Add Strange News - AP to My Yahoo! WABASHA, Minn. - There's little doubt that a Stillwater motorcyclist could wind up his Honda sport motorcycle past 180 mph, but members of the motorcycle racing world question whether the State Patrol was correct to cite him for 205 mph last weekend. The State Patrol is standing by its stopwatch, and the speeding ticket a veteran trooper wrote for Samuel Tilley for driving his 2003 Honda RC51 on U.S. Highway 61 near Wabasha on the state's eastern border. Tilley faces...

Man arrested for going 140 mph over limit Wabasha, MN, Sep. 21 (UPI) -- The Minnesota State Patrol pilot couldn't believe his stopwatch when he clocked a motorcycle on U.S. 61 traveling at 205 mph. "I was in total disbelief," Al Loney told Tuesday's St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press. "I had to double-check my watch because, in 27 years, I'd never seen anything move that fast." In fact, Looney said the motorcycle was traveling faster than his airplane. Loney radioed another state trooper, who stopped the two motorcyclists Saturday and arrested the faster rider, Samuel Armstrong Tilley, 20, for reckless...

Any Nevada Freepers in the Douglas county or Carson City area who want tickets to the Cheney appearance in Reno on Thursday should e-mail ASAP! I can get a very few tickets, without your having to drive to Reno to pick them up. I will need your full name to put on the list of attendees. It is 12:11, this opportunity is only good for a couple of hours. E-mail, sia@pyramid.net Phone (775) 782-4342

Cheney Slams Dem. Ticket on Malpractice Monday July 19, 2004 11:46 PM By SCOTT CHARTON Associated Press Writer COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Vice President Dick Cheney criticized the Democratic ticket on Monday, arguing that John Kerry and John Edwards have opposed changes to the medical malpractice insurance system because they are too close to trial lawyers. During a question-and-answer session with Bush-Cheney backers, the vice president said the administration is pushing to cap the amounts from large court judgments for what he called ``non-economic suffering.'' ``Both Sens. Edwards and Kerry have consistently voted against medical liability reform. They don't want...

Let's start a banner and work on images of a Edwards-Kerry ticket for the Dems! Mess with their minds.

The Godless Americans Political Action Committee (GAMPAC) has formally endorsed John Kerry for President. The committee, that was formed in March, announced at a press conference that they represent nearly 30 million Americans that could translate into as many votes. Their website is: www.godlessamericans.org This endorsement of Kerry, by those who do not believe in God, and want to outlaw all references to God in public places, re-define marriage, make homosexuality the norm, advance a culture of vulgarity and kill all babies of inconvenience, [should not] come as a surprise. If elected, Kerry will fully represent them. Before this...

Little Johnny Edwards meets the Republicans

Does anyone have a link to Kerry's statement during the primary campaign that Edwards is unqualified to be President?

George and Laura Bush and Bill and Hilary Clinton are traveling by train to the Super Bowl. At the station, George and Laura each buy a ticket and watch as Bill and Hilary buy just one ticket. "How are the two of you going to travel on only one ticket?" asks George W, astonished at what he is seeing. "Watch and learn," answers Hilary. They all board the train. George and Laura take their respective seats but Bill and Hilary cram into a toilet together and close the door. Shortly after the train has departed, the conductor comes around collecting...

Ticket sales flop adds to Olympic miseries in Athens By Harry de Quetteville in Athens (Filed: 26/06/2004) Ticket prices for events at the Athens Olympic Games will not be cut even though only a third of seats have been sold 50 days before the opening ceremony, the organisers said in Athens yesterday. Athens has long faced criticism for construction delays and the prospect that some venues might not be finished on time. Work goes on at main Olympic stadium in Athens But now that the stadia are finally almost ready, the Greek organising committee - known as Athoc - faces...

HELSINKI - One of Finland’s richest men has been fined a record 170,000 euros ($217,000) for speeding through the centre of the capital, police said on Tuesday. Jussi Salonoja, 27, heir to his family’s sausage business, was caught driving 80 km per hour (50 miles per hour) in a 40 kph (25 mph) zone last Thursday, the police said. Finnish traffic fines vary according to the offender’s income and, according to tax office data, Salonoja’s 2002 earnings were close to seven million euros.

HELSINKI, Finland - Police gave a record $216,900 speeding ticket to a millionaire under a system in which traffic fines are linked to an offender's income. The Iltalehti tabloid reported that millionaire Jussi Salonoja zoomed through the city center last weekend in a 25 mph zone and police handed him a ticket of $216,900. It didn't say what his speed was. The fine was based on information they got directly for the inland revenue office, the Tuesday report said. Salonoja, 27, could not be reached for comment, and police declined to discuss the alleged speeding incident until it reaches...