Free Republic

THE United Nations — desperately in need of some positive spin — is considering a ploy to steal some of the Norwegian Nobel thunder by launching its own annual peace prize. It doesn't hurt that the highly politicized Nobel Peace Prize has been bestowed to such unpeaceful types as Yasser Arafat and appeasers like Jimmy Carter. [snip]"In the face of widespread corruption in Iraq's oil-for-food program, weapons proliferation and terrorism, it strikes one as both tone-deaf and feckless of them even to have that on the table."

Tobacco foes, senator spar over budget bill By James P. Sweeney COPLEY NEWS SERVICEJuly 10, 2002SACRAMENTO – State Sen. Steve Peace has long been considered one of the Legislature's brightest but most volatile members, a man known for delivering long, angry rants without warning. But what happened yesterday at an intimate news conference seemed bizarre even for Peace or the Capitol's anything-goes standards. A verbal donnybrook erupted when public-health advocates accused the El Cajon Democrat and others of disguising a major tobacco-industry bill as part of a new state budget. Lisa Rea, a lobbyist for the American Heart Association,...